charter and supplemental charter of the hudson's bay company the royal charter for incorporating the hudson's bay company. a.d. 1670. charles the second, by the grace of god, king of england, scotland, france, and ireland, defender of the faith, &c. to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: whereas our dear and entirely beloved cousin, prince rupert, count palatine of the rhine, duke of bavaria and cumberland, &c. christopher, duke of albemarle, william, earl of craven, henry, lord arlington, anthony, lord ashley, sir john robinson, and sir robert vyner, knights and baronets, sir peter colleton, baronet, sir edward hungerford, knight of the bath, sir paul neele, knight, sir john griffith and sir philip carteret, knights, james hayes, john kirke, francis millington, william prettyman, john fenn, esquires, and john portman, citizen and goldsmith of london, have, at their own great cost and charges, undertaken an expedition for hudson's bay in the north-west part of america, for the discovery of a new passage into the south sea, and for the finding some trade for furs, minerals, and other considerable commodities, and by such their undertaking, have already made such discoveries as do encourage them to proceed further in pursuance of their said design, by means whereof there may probably arise very great advantage to us and our kingdom. and whereas the said undertakers, for their further encouragement in the said design, have humbly besought us to incorporate them, and grant unto them, and their successors, the sole trade and commerce of all those seas, streights, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the streights commonly called hudson's streights, together with all the lands, countries and territories, upon the coasts and confines of the seas, streights, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds, aforesaid, which are not now actually possessed by any of our subjects, or by the subjects of any other christian prince or state. now know ye, that we being desirous to promote all endeavours tending to the publick good of our people, and to encourage the said undertaking, have of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, given, granted, ratified, and confirmed, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant, ratify and confirm, unto our said cousin prince rupert, christopher, duke of albemarle, william, earl of craven, henry, lord arlington, anthony, lord ashley, sir john robinson, sir robert vyner, sir peter colleton, sir edward hungerford, sir paul neele, sir john griffith, and sir philip carteret, james hayes, john kirke, francis millington, william prettyman, john fenn, and john portman, that they, and such others as shall be admitted into the said society as is hereafter expressed, shall be one body corporate and politique, in deed and in name, by the name of the governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay, and them by the name of the governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay, one body corporate and politique, in deed and in name, really and fully for ever, for us, our heirs and successors, we do make ordain, constitute, establish, confirm, and declare, by these presents, and that by the same name of governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay, they shall have perpetual succession, and that they and their successors, by the name of the governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay, be, and at all times hereafter shall be, personable and capable in law to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy and retain, lands, rents, privileges, liberties, jurisdictions, franchises, and hereditaments, of what kind, nature or quality soever they be, to them and their successors; and also to give, grant, demise, alien, assign and dispose lands, tenements and hereditaments, and to do and execute all and singular other things by the same name that to them shall or may appertain to do. and that they, and their successors, by the name of the governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay, may plead, and be impleaded, answer, and be answered, defend, and be defended, in whatsoever courts and places, before whatsoever judges and justices, and other persons and officers, in all and singular actions, pleas, suits, quarrels, causes and demands, whatsoever, of whatsoever kind, nature or sort, in such manner and form as any other. our liege people of this our realm of england, being persons able and capable in law, may, or can have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, retain, give, grant, demise, alien, assign, dispose, plead, defend, and be defended, do, permit, and execute. and that the said governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay, and their successors, may have a common seal to serve for all the causes and businesses of them and their successors, and that it shall and may be lawful to the said governor and company, and their successors, the same seal, from time to time, at their will and pleasure, to break, change, and to make anew, or alter, as to them shall seem expedient. and further we will, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, we do ordain, that there shall be from henceforth one of the same company to be elected and appointed in such form as hereafter in these presents is expressed, which shall be called the governor of the said company. and that the said governor and company shall or may elect seven of their number in such form as hereafter in these presents is expressed, which shall be called the committee of the said company, which committee of seven, or any three of them, together with the governor or deputy-governor of the said company for the time being, shall have the direction of the voyages of and for the said company, and the provision of the shipping and merchandizes thereunto belonging, and also the sale of all merchandizes, goods, and other things returned, in all or any the voyages or ships of or for the said company, and the managing and handling of all other business, affairs and things, belonging to the said company. and we will, ordain, and grant by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that they the said governor and company, and their successors, shall from henceforth for ever be ruled, ordered and governed, according to such manner and form as is hereafter in these presents expressed, and not otherwise: and that they shall have, hold, retain, and enjoy the grants, liberties, privileges, jurisdictions and immunities, only hereafter in these presents granted and expressed, and no other. and for the better execution of our will and grant in this behalf, we have assigned, nominated, constituted, and made, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, we do assign, nominate, constitute and make, our said cousin, prince rupert, to be the first and present governor of the said company, and to continue in the said office from the date of these presents until the 10th november then next following, if he, the said prince rupert, shall so long live, and so until a new governor be chosen by the said company in form hereafter expressed. and also we have assigned, nominated and appointed, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, we do assign, nominate and constitute, the said sir john robinson, sir robert vyner, sir peter colleton, james hayes, john kirke, francis millington, and john portman, to be the seven first and present committees of the said company, from the date of these presents until the said 10th day of november then also next following, and so until new committees shall be chosen in form hereafter expressed. and further we will and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said governor and company and their successors, that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company for the time being, or the greater part of them present at any publick assembly commonly called, the court general to be holden for the said company, the governor of the said company being always one, from time to time to elect, nominate and appoint one of the said company to be deputy to the said governor; which deputy shall take a corporal oath, before the governor and three or more of the committee of the said company for the time being, well, truly, and faithfully to execute his said office of deputy to the governor of the said company, and after his oath so taken, shall and may from time to time, in the absence of the said governor, exercise and execute the office of governor of the said company, in such sort as the said governor ought to do. and further we will and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay, and their successors, that they, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being, or his deputy, to be one, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, shall and may have authority and power, yearly and every year, between the first and last day of november, to assemble and meet together in some convenient place, to be appointed from time to time by the governor, or in his absence by the deputy of the said governor for the time being, and that they being so assembled, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor or deputy of the said governor, and the said company for the time being, or the greater part of them which then shall happen to be present, whereof the governor of the said company, or his deputy for the time being to be one, to elect and nominate one of the said company, which shall be governor of the said company for one whole year, then next following, which person being so elected and nominated to be governor of the said company, as is aforesaid, before he be admitted to the execution of the said office, shall take a corporal oath before the last governor, being his predecessor or his deputy, and any three or more of the committee of the said company for the time being, that he shall from time to time, well and truly execute the office of governor of the said company, in all things concerning the same; and that immediately after the same oath so taken, he shall and may execute and use the said office of governor of the said company, for one whole year from thence next following. and in like sort we will and grant, that as well every one of the above named to be of the said company or fellowship, as all others hereafter to be admitted, or free of the said company, shall take a corporal oath before the governor of the said company, or his deputy for the time being, to such effect as by the said governor and company, or the greater part of them, in any publick court to be held for the said company, shall be in reasonable and legal manner set down and devised, before they shall be allowed or admitted to trade or traffick as a freeman of the said company. and further we will and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that the said governor, or deputy governor, and the rest of the said company, and their successors for the time being, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor or deputy governor, from time to time, to be one, shall and may from time to time, and at all times hereafter, have power and authority yearly, and every year, between the first and last day of november, to assemble and meet together in some convenient place, from time to time to be appointed by the said governor of the said company, or in his absence by his deputy; and that they being so assembled, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor or his deputy, and the company for the time being, or the greater part of them, which then shall happen to be present, whereof the governor of the said company, or his deputy for the time being to be one, to elect and nominate seven of the said company, which shall be a committee of the said company, for one whole year from then next ensuing, which persons being so elected and nominated to be a committee of the said company as aforesaid, before they be admitted to the execution of their office, shall take a corporal oath, before the governor or his deputy, and any three or more of the said committee of the said company, being their last predecessors, that they, and every of them, shall well and faithfully perform their said office of committees in all things concerning the same, and that immediately after the said oath so taken, they shall and may execute and use their said office of committees of the said company, for one whole year from thence next following. and moreover, our "will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that when, and as often as it shall happen, the governor or deputy governor of the said company for the time being, at any time within one year after that he shall be nominated, elected, and sworn to the office of the governor of the said company, as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from the said office, which governor or deputy governor not demeaning himself well in his said office, we will to be removeable at the pleasure of the rest of the said company, or the greater part of them which shall be present at their publick assemblies, commonly called, their general courts holden for the said company, that then, and so often it shall and may be lawful to and for the residue of the said company for the time being, or the greater part of them, within a convenient time, after the death or removing of any such governor, or deputy governor to assemble themselves in such convenient place as they shall think fit, for the election of the governor or deputy governor of the said company; and that the said company, or the greater part of them, being then and there present, shall and may, then and there, before their departure from the said place, elect and nominate one other of the said company, to be governor or deputy governor for the said company, in the place and stead of him that so died or was removed; which person being so elected and nominated to the office of governor or deputy governor of the said company, shall have and exercise the said office, for and during the residue of the said year, taking first a corporal oath, as is aforesaid, for the due execution thereof; and this to be done from time to time, so often as the case shall so require. and also, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, that when, and as often as it shall happen any person or persons of the committee of the said company for the time being, at any time within one year next after that they or any of them shall be nominated, elected and sworn to the office of committee of the said company as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from the said office, which committees not demeaning themselves well in their said office, we will, to be removeable at the pleasure of the said governor and company, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor of the said company for the time being, or his deputy, to be one; that then, and so often, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor, and the rest of the company for the time being, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being, or his deputy, to be one, within convenient time after the death or removing of any of the said committee, to assemble themselves in such convenient place as is or shall be usual and accustomed for the election of the governor of the said company, or where else the governor of the said company for the time being, or his deputy, shall appoint. and that the said governor and company, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being, or his deputy, to be one, being then and there present, shall, and may, then and there, before their departure from the said place, elect and nominate one or more of the said company, to be of the committee of the said company in the place and stead of him or them that so died, or were or was so removed, which person or persons so nominated and elected to the office of committee of the said company, shall have and exercise the said office, for and during the residue of the said year, taking first a corporal oath as is aforesaid, for the due execution thereof, and this to be done from time to time, so often as the case shall require. and to the end the said governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, may be encouraged to undertake, and effectually to prosecute the said design, of our more especial grace, certain knowledge, the mere motion, we have given, granted and confirmed, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant, and confirm, unto the said governor and company, and their successors, the sole trade and commerce of all those seas, streights, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the streights commonly called hudson's streights, together with all the lands and territories upon the countries, coasts and confines of the seas, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks, and sounds aforesaid, that are not already actually possessed by or granted to any of our subjects or possessed by the subjects of any other christian prince or state, with the fishing of all sorts of fish, whales, sturgeons, and all other royal fishes, in the seas, bays, inlets, and rivers within the premisses, and the fish therein taken, together with the royalty of the sea upon the coasts within the limits aforesaid, and all mines royal, as well discovered as not discovered, of gold, silver, gems, and precious stones, to be found or discovered within the territories, limits, and places aforesaid, and that the said land be from henceforth reckoned and reputed as one of our plantations or colonies in america, called _ruperts land_. and further, we do by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, make, create and constitute, the said governor and company for the time being, and their successors, the true and absolute lords and proprietors, of the same territory, limits and places aforesaid, and of all other the premisses, saving always, the faith, allegiance and sovereign dominion due to us, our heirs and successors, for the same to have, hold, possess and enjoy the said territory, limits, and places, and all and singular other the premisses, hereby granted as aforesaid, with their, and every of their rights, members, jurisdictions, prerogatives, royalties, and appurtenances whatsoever, to them the said governor and company, and their successors for ever, to be holden of us, our heirs and successors, as of our manor of east greenwich in our county of kent, in free and common soccage, and not in capite or by knight's service; yeilding and paying yearly to us, our heirs and successors, for the same, two elks and two black beavers, whensoever, and as often as we, our heirs and successors, shall happen to enter into the said countries, territories and regions hereby granted. and further, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, _and to their successors, that it shall and may be_ lawful, to and for the said governor and company, and their successors, from time to time, to assemble themselves, for or about any the matters, causes, affairs, or businesses of the said trade, in any place or places for the same convenient, within our dominions or elsewhere, and there to hold court for the said company, and the affairs thereof; and that also, it shall and may be lawful to and for them, and the greater part of them, being so assembled, and that shall then and there be present, in any such place or places whereof the governor or his deputy for the time being to be one, to make, ordain, and constitute, such, and so many reasonable laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, as to them, or the greater part of them being then and there present, shall seem necessary and convenient for the good government of the said company, and of all governors of colonies, forts and plantations, factors, masters, mariners, and other officers employed or to be employed, in any of the territories and lands aforesaid, and in any of their voyages; and for the better advancement and continuance of the said trade, or traffic and plantations, and the same laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances so made, to put in use and execute accordingly, and at their pleasure to revoke and alter the same, or any of them, as the occasion shall require: and that the said governor and company, so often as they shall make, ordain, or establish, any such laws, constitutions, orders, and ordinances, in such form as aforesaid, shall and may lawfully impose, ordain, limit and provide, such pains, penalties and punishments upon all offenders, contrary to such laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, or any of them, as to the said governor and company for the time being, or the greater part of them, then and there being present, the said governor or his deputy being always one, shall seem necessary, requisite, or convenient for the observation of the same laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances; and the same fines and amerciaments shall and may by their officers and servants, from time to time to be appointed for that purpose levy, take and have, to the use of the said governor and company, and their successors, without the impediment of us, our heirs or successors, or of any the officers or ministers of us, our heirs or successors, and without any account therefore to us, our heirs or successors, to be made. all and singular which laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, so as aforesaid, to be made, we will to be duly observed and kept under the pains and penalties therein to be contained; so always as the said laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, pines and amerciaments, be reasonable, and not contrary or repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable to the laws, statutes or customs of this our realm. and furthermore, of our ample and abundant grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, we have granted, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that they, and their successors, and their factors, servants and agents, for them, and on their behalf and not otherwise, shall for ever hereafter have, use and enjoy, not only the whole, entire, and only trade and traffick, and the whole, entire, and only liberty, use and privilege, of trading and trafficking to and from the territory, limits and places aforesaid; but also the whole and entire trade and traffick to and from all havens, bays, creeks, rivers, lakes and seas, into which they shall find entrance or passage by water or land out of the territories, limits or places, aforesaid; and to and with all the natives and people, inhabiting, or which shall inhabit within the territories, limits and places aforesaid; and to and with all other nations inhabiting any the coasts adjacent to the said territories, limits and places which are not already possessed as aforesaid, or whereof the sole liberty or privilege of trade and traffick is not granted to any other of our subjects. and we of our further royal favour, and of our more especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, have granted, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the said governor and company, and to their successors, that neither the said territories, limits and places, hereby granted as aforesaid, nor any part thereof, nor the islands, havens, ports, cities, towns or places, thereof, or therein contained, shall be visited, frequented or haunted, by any of the subjects of us, our heirs or successors, contrary to the true meaning of these presents, and by virtue of our prerogative royal, which we will not have in that behalf argued or brought into question; we streightly charge, command and prohibit, for us, our heirs and successors, all the subjects of us, our heirs and successors, of what degree or quality soever they be, that none of them directly or indirectly, do visit, haunt, frequent or trade, traffic or adventure, by way of merchandize, into, or from any the said territories, limits or places, hereby granted, or any, or either of them, other than the said governor and company, and such particular persons as now be, or hereafter shall be, of that company, their agents, factors, and assigns, unless it be by the licence and agreement of the said governor and company in writing first had and obtained, under their common seal, to be granted, upon pain that every such person or persons that shall trade or traffick into or from any of the countries, territories or limits aforesaid, other than the said governor and company, and their successors, shall incur our indignation, and the forfeiture, and the loss of the goods, merchandizes, and other things whatsoever, which so shall be brought into this realm of england, or any the dominions of the same, contrary to our said prohibition, or the purport or true meaning of these presents, for which the said governor and company shall find, take and seize, in other places out of our dominions, where the said company, their agents, factors or ministers, shall trade, traffick or inhabit, by virtue of these our letters patent, as also the ship and ships, with the furniture thereof, wherein such goods, merchandizes, and other things, shall be brought and found, the one half of all the said forfeitures to be to us, our heirs and successors, and the other half thereof we do by these presents clearly and wholly for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors. and further, all and every the said offenders, for their said contempt, to suffer such other punishment as to us, our heirs and successors, for so high a contempt, shall seem meet and convenient, and not to be in anywise delivered until they, and every of them, shall become bound unto the said governor for the time being in the sum of one thousand pounds at the least, at no time then after to trade or traffick into any of the said places, seas, streights, bays, ports, havens or territories, aforesaid, contrary to our express commandment in that behalf set down and published. and further, of our more especial grace, we have condescended and granted, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, do grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that we, our heirs and successors, will not grant liberty, licence, or power, to any person or persons whatsoever, contrary to the tenor of these our letters patent, to trade, traffick or inhabit, unto or upon any the territories, limits or places, afore specified, contrary to the true meaning of these presents, without the consent of the said governor and company, or the most part of them. and, of our more abundant grace and favour to the said governor and company, we do hereby declare our will and pleasure to be, that if it shall so happen, that any of the persons free, or to be free of the said company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, who shall, before the going forth of any ship or ships appointed for a voyage, or otherwise, promise or agree by writing under his or their hands, to adventure any sum or sums of money, towards the furnishing any provision, or maintenance of any voyage or voyages, set forth, or to be set forth, or intended or meant to be set forth, by the said governor and company, or the more part of them present at any publick assembly, commonly called their general court, shall not within the space of twenty days next after warning given to him or them, by the said governor or company, or their known officer or minister, bring in and deliver to the treasurer or treasurers appointed for the company, such sums of money as shall have been expressed and set down in writing, by the said person or persons, subscribed with the name of said adventurer or adventurers, that then, and at all times after, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company, or the more part of them present, whereof the said governor or his deputy to be one, at any of their general courts or general assemblies, to remove and disfranchise him or them, and every such person and persons at their wills and pleasures, and he or they so removed and disfranchised, not to be permitted to trade into the countries, territories, and limits aforesaid, or any part thereof, nor to have any adventure or stock going or remaining with or amongst the said company, without the special licence of the said governor and company, or the more part of them present at any general court, first had and obtained in that behalf, any thing before in these presents to the contrary thereof in anywise notwithstanding. and our will and pleasure is, and hereby we do also ordain, that it shall and may be lawful, to and for the said governor and company, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being, or his deputy to be one, to admit into, and to be of the said company, all such servants or factors, of or for the said company, and all such others, as to them, or the most part of them present, at any court held for the said company, the governor or his deputy being one, shall be thought fit and agreeable with the orders and ordinances made and to be made for the government of the said company. and further, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, and to their successors, that it shall and may be lawful in all elections, and bye-laws to be made by the general court of the adventurers of the said company, that every person shall have a number of votes according to his stock, that is to say, for every hundred pounds by him subscribed or brought into the present stock, one vote, and that any of those that have subscribed less than one hundred pounds, may join their respective sums to make up one hundred pounds, and have one vote jointly for the same, and not otherwise. and further, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, we do for us, our heirs and successors, grant to and with the said governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, that all lands, islands, territories, plantations, forts, fortifications, factories, or colonies, where the said company's factories and trade are or shall be, within any the ports or places afore limited, shall be immediately and from henceforth, under the power and command of the said governor and company, their successors and assigns; saving the faith and allegiance due to be performed to us, our heirs and successors aforesaid; and that the said governor and company shall have liberty, full power and authority, to appoint and establish governors, and all other officers to govern them, and that the governor and his council of the several and respective places where the said company shall have plantations, forts, factories, colonies, or places of trade within any the countries, lands or territories hereby granted, may have power to judge all persons belonging to the said governor and company, or that shall live under them, in all causes, whether civil or criminal, according to the laws of this kingdom, and to execute justice accordingly. and, in case any crime or misdemeanor shall be committed in any of the said company's plantations, forts, factories, or places of trade within the limits aforesaid, where judicature cannot be executed for want of a governor and council there, then in such case it shall and may be lawful for the chief factor of that place and his council, to transmit the party, together with the offence, to such other plantation, factory, or fort, where there shall be a governor and council, where justice may be executed, or into this kingdom of england, as shall be thought most convenient, there to receive such punishment as the nature of his offence shall deserve. and moreover, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do give and grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors, free liberty and licence, in case they conceive it necessary, to send either ships of war, men or ammunition, unto any their plantations, forts, factories, or places of trade aforesaid, for the security and defence of the same, and to choose commanders and officers over them, and to give them power and authority, by commission under their common seal or otherwise, to continue or make peace or war with any prince or people whatsoever, that are not christians, in any places where the said company shall have any plantations, forts or factories, or adjacent thereunto, as shall be most for the advantage and benefit of the said governor and company, and of their trade; and also to right and recompense themselves upon the goods, estates or people of those parts, by whom the said governor and company shall sustain any injury, loss, or damage, or upon any other people whatsoever that shall any way, contrary to the intent of these presents, interrupt, wrong or injure them in their said trade, within the said places, territories, and limits, granted by this charter. and that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company, and their successors, from time to time, and at all times from henceforth, to erect and build such castles, fortifications, forts, garrisons, colonies or plantations, towns or villages, in any parts or places within the limits and bounds granted before in these presents, unto the said governor and company, as they in their discretion shall think fit and requisite, and for the supply of such as shall be needful and convenient, to keep and be in the same, to send out of this kingdom, to the said castles, forts, fortifications, garrisons, colonies, plantations, towns or villages, all kinds of cloathing, provision of victuals, ammunition, and implements, necessary for such purpose, paying the duties and customs for the same, as also to transport and carry over such number of men being willing thereunto, or not prohibited, as they shall think fit, and also to govern them in such legal and reasonable manner as the said governor and company shall think best, and to inflict punishment for misdemeanors, or impose such fines upon them for breach of their orders, as in these presents are formerly expressed. and further, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, and to their successors, full power and lawful authority to seize upon the persons of all such english, or any other our subjects, which shall sail into hudson's bay, or inhabit in any of the countries, islands or territories hereby granted to the said governor and company, without their leave and license in that behalf first had and obtained, or that shall contemn or disobey their orders, and send them to england; and that all and every person or persons, being our subjects, any ways employed by the said governor and company, within any of the parts, places, and limits aforesaid, shall be liable unto and suffer such punishment for any offences by them committed in the parts aforesaid, as the president and council for the said governor and company there shall think fit, and the merit of the offence shall require, as aforesaid; and in case any person or persons being convicted and sentenced by the president and council of the said governor and company, in the countries, lands, or limits aforesaid, their factors or agents there, for any offence by them done, shall appeal from the same; that then and in such case, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said president and council, factors, or agents, to seize upon him or them, and to carry him or them home prisoners into england, to the said governor and company, there to receive such condign punishment as his cause shall require, and the law of this nation allow of: and for the better discovery of abuses and injuries to be done unto the said governor and company, or their successors, by any servant by them to be employed in the said voyages and plantations, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company, and their respective president, chief agent or governor in the parts aforesaid, to examine upon oath all factors, masters, pursers, supercargoes, commanders of castles, forts, fortifications, plantations or colonies, or other persons, touching or concerning any matter or thing, in which by law or usage an oath may be administered, so as the said oath, and the matter therein contained, be not repugnant, but agreeable to the laws of this realm. and, we do hereby streightly charge and command all and singular, our admirals, vice-admirals, justices, mayors, sheriffs, constables, bailiffs, and all and singular other our officers, ministers, liege men and subjects whatsoever, to be aiding, favouring, helping and assisting, to the said governor and company, and to their successors, and to their deputies, officers, factors, servants, assigns and ministers, and every of them, in executing and enjoying the premisses, as well on land as on sea, from time to time, when any of you shall thereunto be required; any statute, act, ordinance, proviso, proclamation, or restraint heretofore had, made, set forth, ordained, or provided, or any other matter, cause or thing whatsoever to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding, in witness whereof, we have caused these our letters to be made patent; witness ourself at westminster, the second day of may, in the two and twentieth year of our reign. by writ of privy seal, pigott. supplemental charter, 9th september, 1884. victoria, by the grace of god of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland queen, defender of the faith, empress of india, to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting. _whereas by a royal charter granted on the 2nd day of may in the two-and-twentieth year of the reign of his late majesty king charles the second (in this our charter called "the original charter"), a company was incorporated by the name of "the governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay" with a common seal, for the purpose of trading within the territories mentioned in said original charter: and whereas by the said original charter, after declaring that one of the company should be elected in manner thereafter mentioned, to be called the governor of the company, and that the said governor and company should or might elect seven of their members in such form as thereafter mentioned, to be called the committee of the company, which committee of seven or any three of them, together with the governor or the deputy-governor for the time being, should have the general management of the affairs of the company, it was declared that the governor and company and their successors should from thenceforth for ever be ruled, ordered, and governed according to such manner and form as was thereafter expressed, and not otherwise: and whereas by the said original charter, after appointing prince rupert to be the first governor of the company, and seven persons to be the seven first committees of the company, it was provided that it should and might be lawful to or for the said governor and company for the time being or the greater part of them at any public assembly, commonly called the court general, to be holden for the said company, the governor of the said company being always one from time to time, to elect, nominate, and appoint one of the said company to be deputy to the said governor, which deputy should take a corporal oath before the governor and three or more of the committee of the said company for the time being, well and truly and faithfully to execute his said office of deputy to the governor of the said company, and after his oath so taken should and might from time to time, in the absence of the said governor, exercise and execute the office of governor of the said company in such sort as the said governor ought to do: and whereas the said original charter similarly provided for the election in each and every year between the first and last day of november of one of the company to be governor for one whole year then next following, and required the governor or deputy-governor for the time being to be present at each such election, and required the person so elected to be governor of the company, before being admitted to execute his office, to take a corporal oath before the last governor being his predecessor, or his deputy, and any three or more of the committee of the said company for the time being, that he would well and truly execute the office of governor: and whereas the said original charter similarly provided for the election in each and every year between the first and last day of november of seven of the company to be a committee of the company for one whole year then next ensuing, and required the governor or the deputy-governor of the company for the time being to be present at each, such election, and required the persons so elected to be a committee of the company, before being admitted to execute their office to take a corporal oath that they and every of them should well and faithfully perform their office of committee. and whereas the said original charter similarly provided for the election of a governor or a deputy-governor of the company in the event of the governor or deputy-governor for the time being, at any time within one year after being elected and sworn to the office of governor or deputy-governor, dying or being removed from his office (which governor or deputy-governor not demeaning himself well in his office was to be removeable at the pleasure of the rest of the company or the greater part of them present at a general court), and provided that the governor or deputy-governor so elected should hold office for the residue of the said year, and before being admitted to execute his office should take a corporal oath as aforesaid: and whereas the said original charter similarly provided in the event of any person or persons of the committee of the company for the time being within one year after being elected and sworn to such office dying or being removed from his or their office (which committee not demeaning themselves well in their said office were to be removeable at the pleasure of the governor and company or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being, or his deputy should be one), for the election of one or more of the company to be of the committee in the place of him or them dying or being removed as aforesaid, and the said original charter provided that the person or persons so elected should hold office for the residue of the said year, and before being admitted to execute the office of committee should take a corporal oath as aforesaid, and the governor or the deputy-governor for the time being was required to be present at each such election. and whereas by the said original charter the governor and company were empowered to assemble themselves and hold court for the company and the affairs thereof, and it was thereby declared that it should be lawful for them and the greater part of them present at such assembly, whereof the governor or his deputy for the time being should be one, to make, ordain, and constitute such and so many laws, constitutions, orders, and ordinances as to them or the greater part of them being there present should seem necessary and convenient for the good government of the company, and at their pleasure to revoke and alter the same or any of them as the occasion should require: and whereas by the said original charter the governor or deputy-governor for the time being was required to be present at the admission into the company of servants, factors, and other persons: and whereas by the said original charter it was declared that it should be lawful in all elections and bye-laws to be made by the general court of the adventurers of the said company, that every person should have a number of votes according to his stock, that was to say, for every hundred pounds by him subscribed or brought into the present stock one vote, and that any of those who had subscribed less than one hundred pounds might join their respective sums to make up one hundred pounds and have one vote jointly for the same, and not otherwise: and whereas by a deed under the seal of the company, dated the nineteenth november, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, certain rights of government and other rights and privileges granted, by the said original charter, but not affecting the subject matter of this our charter, were duly surrendered to her majesty, and such surrender was duly accepted by her majesty by an instrument under her sign manual: and whereas for many years the capital of the company has comprised no stock, but has been and is now divided into shares of equal value, and it is desirable that the qualification for votes should be changed from the holding of stock in the company to the holding of shares therein: and whereas many of the provisions contained in the original charter have been found very inconvenient in practice, and are not in accordance with the usual provisions regulating the affairs of modern companies, and in particular the following provisions have been found very inconvenient, that is to say: the provisions requiring the governor, deputy-governor, and committee to be elected every year, and fixing the date of the election between the first and last day of november; the provisions requiring the presence of the governor or deputy-governor at the general courts for the elections of governors or members of the committee, and at the general courts assembled for the purpose of making bye-laws, and on other occasions specified in the said original charter; the provisions requiring a corporal oath to be taken by the governor, deputy-governor, and committee, and by certain other persons on certain occasions. and whereas, in addition to the above provisions complained of, the absence of any power in the said original charter enabling the governor, deputy-governor, or any member of the committee, to resign office, or enabling votes to be taken by proxy, and the absence of several other powers usually given to trading companies for the better regulation of their internal affairs, has been found in practice to be very inconvenient and detrimental to the interests of the company. and whereas the company is desirous that the provisions in the original charter above complained of should be cancelled or modified, and has applied to us for a supplemental charter embodying more suitable provisions._ now know ye that we by these presents do will and ordain that the several provisions contained in the said original charter relating to the election to the office of governor, deputy-governor, or committee, and to the filling up of any vacancy in any such office, and requiring corporal oaths to be taken, and the other provisions contained in the said original charter, shall, so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions contained in this our charter, on and after the day of the date of this our charter, cease to be in force and be annulled. and we do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, the presence of the governor or deputy-governor at any general court or at any meeting of the governor, deputy-governor, and committee (who are hereinafter collectively referred to as the board) shall not be essential for the proper holding of such court or board meeting, and that nothing done at any general court or meeting of the board shall be questioned or disputed on the ground of the absence of the governor or deputy-governor from such general court or meeting of the board, and that in case neither the governor nor deputy-governor happen to be present at any such general court or meeting of the board, at the appointed time for holding such general court or meeting of the board, the members of the committee present or the major part of them shall nominate and appoint one of themselves chairman or president of such court or board, and that the general powers of management and other powers given by the said original charter to any three members of the committee, together with the governor or deputy-governor, shall be exerciseable by any four members of the board, whether the governor or deputy-governor shall form one of such four or not. and we do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, a general court for the company shall be held every year at such place and on such day in november or december as may be appointed by the board. and we do hereby further will and ordain that every question submitted to a general court shall be decided by a show of hands, unless before or upon the declaration of the result of the show of hands, a poll is demanded by at least five members present at such general court, and holding in the aggregate not less than one hundred shares, and unless a poll is so demanded a declaration by the chairman that the motion has been carried or lost, or carried or lost by a particular majority, shall be deemed conclusive evidence of the fact without proof of the number or the proportion of the votes recorded in favour of or against the motion, and that if a poll is demanded as aforesaid, it shall be taken in such manner and at such time and place and either at once or after an interval or adjournment, as the chairman of the general court directs, and the result of such poll shall be deemed to be the resolution of the general court at which the poll was demanded. in case of an equality of votes, the chairman shall, whether on a show of hands or at the poll, have a casting vote in addition to the vote or votes to which he may be entitled as a member. in computing the majority when a poll is demanded, reference shall be had to the number of votes to which each member is entitled by this our charter. and we do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, every member of the company shall have one vote for every five shares in the company held by him, and that any of those members who hold less than five shares may join their respective shares, so as to make up five or more shares, and have one vote jointly for the same; provided nevertheless that no member shall be entitled to vote, or to join with any other member or members in making up a joint vote at any general court in respect of any shares or share, unless he shall have been the holder of such shares or share for at least six months prior to such general court. and we do hereby further will and ordain that votes may be given at every general court either personally or by proxy, but such proxy must be a proprietor in the company, and himself entitled to vote, and the appointment of every such proxy must be in writing and must be in the form following or to the like effect, that is to say: i (or we) appoint ___ my (our) proxy to vote and act for me (us) and in my (our) name (names) on all questions at the general court of the hudson's bay company to be held on the ___ day of ___ and every adjournment thereof whereat i (we) shall not be present in person. dated this ___ of ___. and we do hereby further will and ordain that the chairman may, with the consent of the meeting, adjourn any general court from time to time and place to place, but that no business shall be transacted at any adjourned general court other than the business left unfinished at the general court from which the adjournment took place. and we do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, the governor, deputy-governor, and committeemen shall, after the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-four, hold their respective offices subject to retirement by rotation as hereinafter provided, that is to say, at the general court to be held in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, and at every succeeding general court, three members of the board shall retire from office, and that, until all the present board shall in turn have retired, the members of the board to retire shall from time to time be determined by ballot or otherwise amongst the members of the present board, or such of them as for the time being shall not have retired, but afterwards the members of the board to retire shall be those who shall have been longest in office since their last election, and as between members of the board of equal seniority the member or members to retire shall be determined by lot; provided always that the governor and deputy-governor shall not both retire at the same time, and that in the ballot for determining who shall retire in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, the governor and deputy-governor shall not both be included, but only one of them, such one to be determined by lot; and in the event of neither the governor nor the deputy-governor being selected by ballot to retire in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-five, one of them to be determined by lot shall retire in the year one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six. and provided always that a retiring member of the board shall be eligible for re-election, and that, if the retiring member be the governor or deputy-governor of the company, he shall be eligible for re-election, or any other member of the board shall be eligible for election as governor or deputy-governor respectively; and in the event of any member of the board being elected to the office of governor or deputy-governor, in the place of the retiring governor or deputy-governor such member shall be deemed to have retired from his former office. and we do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, the company at any general court at which any members of the board retire in manner aforesaid shall if it be the turn for the governor or deputy-governor to retire first fill up that office, and then shall fill up the other vacated offices, including any office rendered vacant by the election of any member of the board to the office of governor or deputy-governor as aforesaid, by electing a like number of persons to be members of the board; and that every election or re-election to the office of governor, deputy-governor, or committee shall be conducted in the manner and according to the forms from time to time to be prescribed by the bye-laws of the company, and that such notice of the names of every candidate for election or re-election to any such office shall be given as may be required by the bye-laws for the time being in force. and we do hereby further will and ordain that notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, any member of the board may at any time give notice to the board in writing of his wish to resign, and on the acceptance of his resignation by the board, but not before, his office shall be vacant. nothing in this our charter contained shall affect the power given by the original charter to the company to remove any governor, deputy-governor, or member of the committee who should not demean himself well in his respective office. and we do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything in the original charter contained, any casual vacancy occurring among the members of the board through death, resignation, removal, or other cause, except the expiration of the period of office, may be filled up by the board or the remaining members of the board, whatever there number may be, and if the casual vacancy occur in the office of governor or deputy-governor, such vacancy may be filled by electing any one of the remaining members of the board; and if so filled up a casual vacancy shall be deemed to have occurred in the office of the member of the board so elected to the office of governor or deputy-governor; provided always that any person so chosen to fill up any casual vacancy shall retain his office until the next general court held for the election of members of the board, and at such general court the company shall either confirm such person in his office or shall elect some other person to hold such office in his place, and provided always that the person so chosen and confirmed as aforesaid or the person elected by the company in his stead (as the case may be) shall retain his office so long only as the vacating member of the board would have retained the same if no vacancy had occurred, and provided always that, notwithstanding any vacancy in the board, the continuing members of the board may act so long as there remains not less than four members of the board. and we do hereby further will and ordain that, notwithstanding anything contained in the original charter, the corporal oath thereby required to be taken on the occasions and by the persons therein mentioned shall no longer be required to be taken by any person on any occasion whatsoever. in witness whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent. witness ourself at westminster, the ninth day of september, in the forty-eighth year of our reign. by warrant under the queen's sign manual. palmer. [seal.] london: printed by sir joseph causton & sons 47, eastcheap, e.c. and 114, southwark street, s.e. fort desolation, by r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. or, solitude in the wilderness. the outskirter. to some minds solitude is depressing, to others it is congenial. it was the _former_ to our friend john robinson; yet he had a large share of it in his chequered life. john--more familiarly known as jack--was as romantic as his name was the reverse. to look at him you would have supposed that he was the most ordinary of common-place men, but if you had known him, as we did, you would have discovered that there was a deep, silent, but ever-flowing river of enthusiasm, energy, fervour--in a word, romance--in his soul, which seldom or never manifested itself in words, and only now and then, on rare occasions, flashed out in a lightning glance, or blazed up in a fiery countenance. for the most part jack was calm as a mill-pond, deep as the atlantic, straightforward and grave as an undertaker's clerk and good-humoured as an unspoilt and healthy child. jack never made a joke, but, certes, he could enjoy one; and he had a way of showing his enjoyment by a twinkle in his blue eye and a chuckle in his throat that was peculiarly impressive. jack was a type of a large class. he was what we may call an _outskirter_ of the world. he was one of those who, from the force of necessity, or of self-will, or of circumstances, are driven to the outer circle of this world to do as adam and eve's family did, battle with nature in her wildest scenes and moods; to earn his bread, literally, in the sweat of his brow. jack was a middle-sized man of strong make. he was not sufficiently large to overawe men by his size, neither was he so small as to invite impertinence from "big bullies," of whom there were plenty in his neighbourhood. in short, being an unpretending man and a plain man, with a good nose and large chin and sandy hair, he was not usually taken much notice of by strangers during his journeyings in the world; but when vigorous action in cases of emergency was required jack robinson was the man to make himself conspicuous. it is not our intention to give an account of jack's adventurous life from beginning to end, but to detail the incidents of a sojourn of two months at fort desolation, in almost utter solitude, in order to show one of the many phases of rough life to which outskirters are frequently subjected. in regard to his early life it may be sufficient to say that jack, after being born, created such perpetual disturbance and storm in the house that his worthy father came to look upon him as a perfect pest, and as soon as possible sent him to a public school, where he fought like a mameluke bey, learned his lessons with the zeal of a philosopher, and, at the end of ten years ran away to sea, where he became as sick as a dog and as miserable as a convicted felon. poor jack was honest of heart and generous of spirit, but many a long hard year did he spend in the rugged parts of the earth ere he recovered, (if he ever did recover), from the evil effects of this first false step. in course of time jack was landed in canada, with only a few shillings in his pocket; from that period he became an outskirter. the romance in his nature pointed to the backwoods; he went thither at once, and was not disappointed. at first the wild life surpassed his expectations, but as time wore on the tinsel began to wear off the face of things, and he came to see them as they actually were. nevertheless, the romance of life did not wear out of his constitution. enthusiasm, quiet but deep, stuck to him all through his career, and carried him on and over difficulties that would have disgusted and turned back many a colder spirit. jack's first success was the obtaining of a situation as clerk in the store of a general merchant in an outskirt settlement of canada. dire necessity drove him to this. he had been three weeks without money and nearly two days without food before he succumbed. having given in, however, he worked like a trojan, and would certainly have advanced himself in life if his employer had not failed and left him, minus a portion of his salary, to "try again." next, he became an engineer on board one of the missouri steamers, in which capacity he burst his boiler, and threw himself and the passengers into the river--the captain having adopted the truly yankee expedient of sitting down on the safety-valve while racing with another boat! afterwards, jack robinson became clerk in one of the ontario steam-boats, but, growing tired of this life, he went up the ottawa, and became overseer of a sawmill. here, being on the frontier of civilisation, he saw the roughest of canadian life. the lumbermen of that district are a mixed race--french-canadians, irishmen, indians, half-castes, etcetera,--and whatever good qualities these men might possess in the way of hewing timber and bush-life, they were sadly deficient in the matters of morality and temperance. but jack was a man of tact and good temper, and played his cards well. he jested with the jocular, sympathised with the homesick, doctored the ailing in a rough and ready fashion peculiarly his own, and avoided the quarrelsome. thus he became a general favourite. of course it was not to be expected that he could escape an occasional broil, and it was herein that his early education did him good service. he had been trained in an english school where he became one of the best boxers. the lumberers on the ottawa were not practised in this science; they indulged in that kicking, tearing, pommelling sort of mode which is so repugnant to the feelings of an englishman. the consequence was that jack had few fights, but these were invariably with the largest bullies of the district; and he, in each case, inflicted such tremendous facial punishment on his opponent that he became a noted man, against whom few cared to pit themselves. there are none so likely to enjoy peace as those who are prepared for war. jack used sometimes to say, with a smile, that his few battles were the price he had to pay for peace. our hero was unlucky. the saw-mill failed--its master being a drunkard. when that went down he entered the lumber trade, where he made the acquaintance of a young scotchman, of congenial mind and temperament, who suggested the setting up of a store in a promising locality and proposed entering into partnership. "murray and robinson" was forthwith painted by the latter, (who was a bit of an artist), over the door of a small log-house, and the store soon became well known and much frequented by the sparse population as well as by those engaged in the timber trade. but "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong." there must have been a screw loose somewhere, for bad debts accumulated and losses were incurred which finally brought the firm to the ground, and left its dissevered partners to begin the world over again! after this poor jack robinson fell into low spirits for a time, but he soon recovered, and bought a small piece of land at a nominal price in a region so wild that he had to cut his own road to it, fell the trees with his own hand, and, in short, reclaim it from the wilderness on the margin of which it lay. this was hard work, but jack liked hard work, and whatever work he undertook he always did it well. strange that such a man could not get on! yet so it was, that, in a couple of years, he found himself little better off than he had been when he entered on his new property. the region, too, was not a tempting one. no adventurous spirits had located themselves beside him, and only a few had come within several miles of his habitation. this did not suit our hero's sociable temperament, and he began to despond very much. still his sanguine spirit led him to persevere, and there is no saying how long he might have continued to spend his days and his energies in felling trees and sowing among the stumps and hoping for better days, had not his views been changed and his thoughts turned into another channel by a letter. chapter two. the letter, and its consequences. one fine spring morning jack was sitting, smoking his pipe after breakfast, at the door of his log cabin, looking pensively out upon the tree-stump-encumbered field which constituted his farm. he had facetiously named his residence the mountain house, in consequence of there being neither mountain nor hill larger than an inverted wash-hand basin, within ten miles of him! he was wont to defend the misnomer on the ground that it served to keep him in remembrance of the fact that hills really existed in other parts of the world. jack was in a desponding mood. his pipe would not "draw" that morning; and his mind had been more active than usual for a few days past, revolving the past, the present, and the future. in short, jack was cross. there could be no doubt whatever about it; for he suddenly, and without warning, dashed his pipe to pieces against a log, went into the house for another, which he calmly filled, as he resumed his former seat, lit, and continued to smoke for some time in sulky silence. we record this fact because it was quite contrary to jack's amiable and patient character, and showed that some deep emotions were stirring within him. the second pipe "drew" well. probably it was this that induced him to give utterance to the expression-"i wonder how long this sort of thing will last?" "just as long as you've a mind to let it, and no longer," answered a man clad in the garb of a trapper, whose mocassin foot had given no indication of his approach until he was within a couple of paces of the door. "is that you, joe?" said jack, looking up, and pointing to a log which served as a seat on the other side of the doorway. "it's all that's of me," replied joe. "sit down and fill your pipe out of my pouch, joe. it's good 'baccy, you'll find. any news? i suppose not. there never is; and if there was, what would be the odds to me?" "in the blues?" remarked the hunter, regarding jack with a peculiar smile through his first puff of smoke. "rather!" said jack. "grog?" inquired joe. "haven't tasted a drop for months," replied jack. "all square _here_?" inquired the hunter, tapping his stomach. "could digest gun-flints and screw nails!" the two smoked in silence for some time; then joe drew forth a soiled letter, which he handed to his companion, saying-"it's bin lying at the post-office for some weeks, and as the postmaster know'd i was comin' here he asked me to take it. i've a notion it may be an offer to buy your clearin', for i've heerd two or three fellows speakin' about it. now, as i want to buy it myself, if yer disposed to sell it, i hereby make you the first offer." jack robinson continued to smoke in silence, gazing abstractedly at the letter. since his mother had died, a year before the date of which we write, he had not received a line from any one, insomuch that he had given up calling at the post-office on his occasional visits to the nearest settlement. this letter, therefore, took him by surprise, all the more that it was addressed in the handwriting of his former partner, murray. breaking the seal, he read as follows: "fort kamenistaquoia, april the somethingth:- "dear jack,--you'll be surprised to see my fist, but not more surprised than i was to hear from an old hunter just arrived, that you had taken to farming. it's not your forte, jack, my boy. be advised. sell off the farm for what it will fetch, and come and join me. my antecedents are not in my favour, i grant; but facts are stubborn things, and it is a fact that i am making dollars here like stones. i'm a fur-trader, my boy. have joined a small company, and up to this time have made a good thing of it. you know something of the fur trade, if i mistake not. do come and join us; we want such a man as you at a new post we have established on the coast of labrador. shooting, fishing, hunting, _ad libitum_. eating, drinking, sleeping, _ad infinitum_. what would you more? come, like a good fellow, and be happy! "ever thine, j. murray." "i'll sell the _farm_," said jack robinson, folding the letter. "you will?" exclaimed joe. "what's your price?" "come over it with me, and look at the fixings, before i tell you," said jack. they went over it together, and looked at every fence and stump and implement. they visited the live stock, and estimated the value of the sprouting crop. then they returned to the house, where they struck a bargain off-hand. that evening jack bade adieu to the mountain house, mounted his horse, with his worldly goods at the pommel of the saddle, and rode away, leaving joe, the trapper, in possession. in process of time our hero rode through the settlements to montreal, where he sold his horse, purchased a few necessaries, and made his way down the saint lawrence to the frontier settlements of the bleak and almost uninhabited north shore of the gulf. here he found some difficulty in engaging a man to go with him, in a canoe, towards the coast of labrador. an irishman, in a fit of despondency, at length agreed; but on reaching a saw-mill that had been established by a couple of adventurous yankees, in a region that seemed to be the out-skirts of creation, paddy repented, and vowed he'd go no farther for love or money. jack robinson earnestly advised the faithless man to go home, and help his grandmother, thenceforth, to plant murphies; after which he embarked in his canoe alone, and paddled away into the dreary north. camping out in the woods at night, paddling all day, and living on biscuit and salt pork, with an occasional duck or gull, by way of variety; never seeing a human face from morn till night, nor hearing the sound of any voice except his own, jack pursued his voyage for fourteen days. at the end of that time he descried fort kamenistaquoia. it consisted of four small log-houses, perched on a conspicuous promontory, with a flag-staff in the midst of them. here he was welcomed warmly by his friend john murray and his colleagues, and was entertained for three days sumptuously on fresh salmon, salt pork, pancakes, and tea. intellectually, he was regaled with glowing accounts of the fur trade and the salmon fisheries of that region. "now, jack," said murray, on the third day after his arrival, while they walked in front of the fort, smoking a morning pipe, "it is time that you were off to the new fort. one of our best men has built it, but he is not a suitable person to take charge, and as the salmon season has pretty well advanced we are anxious to have you there to look after the salting and sending of them to quebec." "what do you call the new fort?" inquired jack. "well, it has not yet got a name. we've been so much in the habit of styling it the new fort that the necessity of another name has not occurred to us. perhaps, as you are to be its first master, we may leave the naming of it to you." "very good," said jack; "i am ready at a moment's notice. shall i set off this forenoon?" "not quite so sharp as that," replied murray, laughing. "to-morrow morning, at day-break, will do. there is a small sloop lying in a creek about twenty miles below this. we beached her there last autumn. you'll go down in a boat with three men, and haul her into deep water. there will be spring tides in two days, so, with the help of tackle, you'll easily manage it. thence you will sail to the new fort, forty miles farther along the coast, and take charge." "the three men you mean to give me know their work, i presume?" said jack. "of course they do. none of them have been at the fort, however." "oh! how then shall we find it?" inquired jack. "by observation," replied the other. "keep a sharp look out as you coast along, and you can't miss it." the idea of mists and darkness and storms occurred to jack robinson, but he only answered, "very good." "can any of the three men navigate the sloop?" he inquired. "not that i'm aware of," said murray; "but you know something of navigation, yourself, don't you?" "no! nothing!" "pooh! nonsense. have you never sailed a boat?" "yes, occasionally." "well, it's the same thing. if a squall comes, keep a steady hand on the helm and a sharp eye to wind'ard, and you're safe as the bank. if it's too strong for you, loose the halyards, let the sheets fly, and down with the helm; the easiest thing in the world if you only look alive and don't get flurried." "very good," said jack, and as he said so his pipe went out; so he knocked out the ashes and refilled it. next morning our hero rowed away with his three men, and soon discovered the creek of which his friend had spoken. here he found the sloop, a clumsy "tub" of about twenty tons burden, and here jack's troubles began. the _fairy_, as the sloop was named, happened to have been beached during a very high tide. it now lay high and dry in what once had been mud, on the shore of a land-locked bay or pond, under the shadow of some towering pines. the spot looked like an inland lakelet, on the margin of which one might have expected to find a bear or a moose-deer, but certainly not a sloop. "oh! ye shall nevair git him off," said francois xavier, one of the three men--a french-canadian--on beholding the stranded vessel. "we'll try," said pierre, another of the three men, and a burly half-breed. "try!" exclaimed rollo, the third of the three men--a tall, powerful, ill-favoured man, who was somewhat of a bully, who could not tell where he had been born, and did not know who his father and mother had been, having been forsaken by them in his infancy. "try? you might as well try to lift a mountain! i've a mind to go straight back to kamenistaquoia and tell mr murray that to his face!" "have you?" said jack robinson, in a quiet, peculiar tone, accompanied by a gaze that had the effect of causing rollo to look a little confused. "come along, lads, we'll begin at once," he continued, "it will be full tide in an hour or so. get the tackle ready, francois; the rest of you set to work, and clear away the stones and rubbish from under her sides." jack threw off his coat, and began to work like a hero--as he was. the others followed his example; and the result was that when the tide rose to its full height the sloop was freed of all the rubbish that had collected round the hull; the block tackle was affixed to the mast; the rope attached to a tree on the opposite side of the creek; and the party were ready to haul. but although they hauled until their sinews cracked, and the large veins of their necks and foreheads swelled almost to bursting, the sloop did not move an inch. the tide began to fall, and in a few minutes that opportunity was gone. there were not many such tides to count on, so jack applied all his energies and ingenuity to the work. by the time the next tide rose they had felled two large pines, and applied them to the side of the vessel. two of the party swung at the ends of these; the other two hauled on the block-tackle. this time the sloop moved a little at the full flood; but the moment of hope soon passed, and the end was not yet attained. the next tide was the last high one. they worked like desperate men during the interval. the wedge was the mechanical power which prevailed at last. several wedges were inserted under the vessel's side, and driven home. thus the sloop was canted over a little towards the water. when the tide was at the full, one man hauled at the tackle, two men swung at the ends of the levers, and jack hammered home the wedges at each heave and pull; thus securing every inch of movement. the result was that the sloop slid slowly down the bank into deep water. it is wonderful how small a matter will arouse human enthusiasm! the cheer that was given on the successful floating of the _fairy_ was certainly as full of fervour, if not of volume, as that which followed the launching of the _great eastern_. setting sail down the gulf they ran before a fair breeze which speedily increased to a favouring gale. before night a small bay was descried, with three log-huts on the shore. this was the new fort. they ran into the bay, grazing a smooth rock in their passage, which caused the _fairy_ to tremble from stem to stern, and cast anchor close to a wooden jetty. on the end of this a solitary individual, (apparently a maniac), was seen capering and yelling wildly. "what fort is this?" shouted jack. "sorrow wan o' me knows," cried the maniac; "it's niver been christened yet. faix, if it's a fort at all, i'd call it fort disolation. och! but it's lonesome i've been these three days--niver a wan here but meself an' the ghosts. come ashore, darlints, and comfort me!" "fort desolation, indeed!" muttered jack robinson, as he looked round him sadly; "not a bad name. i'll adopt it. lower the boat, lads." thus jack took possession of his new home. chapter three. domestic and personal matters. jack robinson's first proceeding on entering the new fort and assuming the command, was to summon the man, (supposed to be a maniac), named teddy o'donel, to his presence in the "hall." "your name is teddy o'donel?" said jack. "the same, sir, at your sarvice," said teddy, with a respectful pull at his forelock. "they was used to call me _mister_ o'donel when i was in the army, but i've guv that up long ago an' dropped the title wid the commission." "indeed: then you were a commissioned officer?" inquired jack, with a smile. "be no manes. it was a slight longer title than that i had. they called me a non-commissioned officer. i niver could find in me heart to consociate wid them consaited commissioners--though there was wan or two of 'em as was desarvin' o' the three stripes. but i niver took kindly to sodgerin'. it was in the howth militia i was. good enough boys they was in their way, but i couldn't pull wid them no how. they made me a corp'ral for good conduct, but, faix, the great review finished me; for i got into that state of warlike feeling that i loaded me muskit five times widout firin', an' there was such a row round about that i didn't know the dirty thing had niver wint off till the fifth time, when she bursted into smithereens an' wint off intirely. no wan iver seed a scrag of her after that. an' the worst was, she carried away the small finger of bob riley's left hand. bob threw down his muskit an' ran off the ground howlin', so i picked the wipon up an' blazed away at the inimy; but, bad luck to him, bob had left his ramrod in, and i sint it right through the flank of an owld donkey as was pullin' an apple and orange cart. oh! how that baste did kick up its heels, to be sure! and the apples and oranges they was flyin' like--well, well--the long and the short was, that i wint an' towld the colonel i couldn't stop no longer in such a regiment. so i guv it up an' comed out here." "and became a fur-trader," said jack robinson, with a smile. "just so, sur, an' fort-builder to boot; for, being a jiner to trade and handy wid the tools, mr murray sent me down here to build the place and take command, but i s'pose i'm suppersheeded now!" "well, i believe you are, teddy; but i hope that you will yet do good service as my lieutenant." the beaming smile on teddy's face showed that he was well pleased to be relieved from the responsibilities of office. "sure," said he, "the throuble i have had wid the min an' the salvages for the last six weeks--it's past belavin'! an' thin, whin i sint the men down to the river to fush--more nor twinty miles off--an' whin the salvages wint away and left me alone wid only wan old salvage woman!-och! i'd not wish my worst inimy in me sitivation." "then the savages have been giving you trouble, have they?" "they have, sur, but not so much as the min." "well, teddy," said jack, "go and fetch me something to eat, and then you shall sit down and give me an account of things in general. but first give my men food." "sure they've got it," replied teddy, with a broad grin. "that spalpeen they calls rollo axed for meat the first thing, in a voice that made me think he'd ait me up alive av he didn't git it. so i guv 'em the run o' the pantry. what'll yer plaze to dhrink, sur?" "what have you got?" "tay and coffee, sur, not to mintion wather. there's only flour an' salt pork to ait, for this is a bad place for game. i've not seed a bird or a bear for three weeks, an' the seals is too cute for me. but i'll bring ye the best that we've got." teddy o'donel hastened to the kitchen, a small log-hut in rear of the dwelling-house, and left jack robinson alone in the "hall." jack rose, thrust his hands deep into his pockets, and walked to the window. it was glazed with parchment, with the exception of the centre square, which was of glass. "pleasant, uncommonly pleasant," he muttered, as he surveyed the landscape. in front lay a flat beach of sand with the gulf beyond, the horizon being veiled in mist. up the river there was a flat beach with a hill beyond. it was a black iron-looking hill, devoid of all visible verdure, and it plunged abruptly down into the sea as if it were trying fiercely to drown itself. down the river there was a continuation of flat beach, with, apparently, nothing whatever beyond. the only objects that enlivened the dreary expanse were, the sloop at the end of the wooden jetty and a small flagstaff in front of the house, from which a flag was flying in honour of the arrival of the new governor. at the foot of this flagstaff there stood an old iron cannon, which looked pugnacious and cross, as if it longed to burst itself and blow down all visible creation. jack robinson's countenance became a simple blank as he took the first survey of his new dominions. suddenly a gleam of hope flitted across the blank. "perhaps the back is better," he muttered, opening the door that led to the rear of the premises. in order to get out he had to pass through the kitchen, where he found his men busy with fried pork and flour cakes, and his lieutenant, teddy, preparing coffee. "what is that?" inquired jack, pointing to a small heap of brown substance which teddy was roasting in a frying-pan. "sure it's coffee," said the man. "eh?" inquired jack. "coffee, sur," repeated teddy with emphasis. "what is it made of?" inquired jack. "bread-crumbs, sur. i'm used to make it of pais, but it takes longer, d'ye see, for i've got to pound 'em in a cloth after they're roasted. the crumbs is a'most as good as the pais, an' quicker made whin yer in a hurry." jack's first impulse was to countermand the crumbs and order tea, but he refrained, and went out to survey the back regions of his new home. he found that the point selected for the establishment of the fort was a plain of sand, on which little herbage of any kind grew. in rear of the house there was a belt of stunted bushes, which, as he went onward into the interior, became a wood of stunted firs. this seemed to grow a little more dense farther inland, and finally terminated at the base of the distant and rugged mountains of the interior. in fact, he found that he was established on a sandbank which had either been thrown up by the sea, or at no very remote period had formed part of its bed. returning home so as to enter by the front door, he observed an enclosed space a few hundred yards distant from the fort. curious to know what it was, he walked up to it, and, looking over the stockade, beheld numerous little mounds of sand with wooden crosses at the head of them. it was the burial-ground of the establishment. trade had been carried on here by a few adventurous white men before the fort was built. some of their number having died, a space had been enclosed as a burying-ground. the roman catholic indians afterwards used it, and it was eventually consecrated with much ceremony by a priest. with a face from which every vestige of intelligence was removed, jack robinson returned to the fort and sat down in solitary state in the hall. in the act of sitting down he discovered that the only arm-chair in the room was unsteady on its legs, these being of unequal length. there were two other chairs without arms, and equally unsteady on their legs. these, as well as everything in the room, were made of fir-wood-as yet unpainted. in the empty fire-place jack observed a piece of charcoal, which he took up and began, in an absent way, to sketch on the white wall. he portrayed a raving maniac as large as life, and then, sitting down, began insensibly to hum- "i dreamt that i dwelt in marble halls." in the midst of which he was interrupted by the entrance of his lieutenant with a tray of viands. "ah, yer a purty creatur," exclaimed teddy, pausing with a look of admiration before the maniac. "come, teddy, sit down and let's have the news. what have we here?" said jack, looking at three covered plates which were placed before him. "salt pork fried," said teddy removing the cover. "and here?" "salt pork biled," said the man, removing the second cover; "an' salt pork cold," he added, removing the third. "you see, sur, i wasn't sure which way ye'd like it, an' ye was out whin i come to ax; so i just did it up in three fashions. here's loaf bread, an' it's not bad, though i say it that made it." as jack cut down into the loaf, he naturally remembered those lines of a well-known writer: "who has not tasted home-made bread, a heavy compound of putty and lead!" "are these cakes?" he said, as teddy presented another plate with something hot in it. "ay, pancakes they is, made of flour an' wather fried in grease, an' the best of aitin', as ye'll find;--but, musha! they've all stuck together from some raison i han't yet diskivered: but they'll be none the worse for that, and there's plenty of good thick molasses to wash 'em down wid." "and this," said jack, pointing to a battered tin kettle, "is the-the--" "that's the coffee, sur." "ah! well, sit down, teddy, i have seen worse fare than this. let's be thankful for it. now, then, let me hear about the fishery." nothing pleased teddy o'donel so much as being allowed to talk. he sat down accordingly and entertained his master for the next hour with a full, true, and particular account of every thing connected with fort desolation. we will not, however, inflict this on the reader. reduced to its narrowest limits, his information was to the following effect:-that the indians, generally, were well disposed towards the traders, though difficult to please. that a good many furs had been already obtained, and there was a report of more coming in. that the salmon fishery was situated on a river twenty miles below the fort, and was progressing favourably; but that the five men engaged there were a quarrelsome set and difficult to keep in order. teddy thought, however, that it was all owing to one of the men, named ladoc, a bully, who kept the other four in bad humour. but the point on which poor teddy dilated most was his solitude. for some time he had been living with no other companions than an old indian woman and her half-caste daughter, and they having left him, during the last three days he had been living entirely alone "among the ghosts," many of which he described minutely. this intelligence was brought to an abrupt close by a row among the men in the kitchen. rollo had been boasting of his walking powers to such an extent, that pierre had become disgusted and spoke contemptuously of rollo; whereupon the bully, as usual, began to storm, and his wrath culminated when pierre asserted that, "mr robinson would bring him to his marrow-bones ere long." "jack robinson!" exclaimed rollo with contempt; "i'd walk him blind in two hours." just at that moment the door opened, and jack stood before them. "you are too noisy, men," said he, in a quiet voice, (jack almost always spoke in a soft voice); "remember that this kitchen is within hearing of the hall. rollo, go down to the beach and haul up the sloop's boat, i see the tide is making on her." rollo hesitated. "you hear?" said jack, still in a quiet tone, but with a look--not a fierce look, or a threatening look, but--a peculiar look, which instantly took effect. one has often observed a cat when about to spring. it makes many pauses in its prowling towards its prey, and occasional motions that lead one to expect a spring. but the motion which precedes the actual spring is always emphatic. it may not be violent; it may be as slight as all the previous motions, but there is that in it which tells irresistibly, somehow, of a fixed purpose. so is it, doubtless, with tigers; so was it with jack robinson. his first remark to the men was a prowl; his order to rollo was a pause, with an _intention_; his "you hear?" softly said, had a _something_ in it which induced rollo to accord instant obedience! on returning to the hall, jack paced up and down indignantly. "so there are _two_ bullies in the camp," he soliloquised; "i must cure them both;--but softly, jack. it won't do to fight if you can secure peace by other means. let blows be the last resource. that's my motto. he'll walk me blind! well, we shall see, _to-morrow_!" chapter four. taming a bully. the morrow came, and jack robinson rose with the sun. long before his men were astir he had inspected the few books and papers of the establishment, had examined the condition of the fur and goods store, and had otherwise made himself acquainted with the details of the fort; having gone over its general features with teddy the day before. when the "lieutenant" arose, he found indications of his new master having been everywhere before him, and noted the fact! as teddy was by no means a man of order--although a good and trustworthy man--there was enough to be done before breakfast. jack purposely put rollo into the kitchen to prepare the morning meal, this being comparatively light work. he himself worked with the other men in the stores. there was necessarily a great deal of lifting and shifting and clearing, in all of which operations he took the heaviest part of the work, and did his work better and more thoroughly than any of the others. teddy observed this also, and noted the fact! at breakfast there was naturally a good deal of talk among the men, and special mention was of course made of the energy of their master. breakfast over, jack assembled the men and apportioned to each his day's work. "i myself," said he, "mean to walk down to the fishery to-day, and i leave o'donel in charge; i shall be back to-morrow. rollo, you will prepare to accompany me." "yes, sir," answered the man, not knowing very well how to take this. the others glanced at each other intelligently as they departed to their work. a few minutes sufficed for preparation, and soon jack stood with his rifle on his shoulder in front of the house. rollo quickly made his appearance with an old trading gun. "you can leave that, we won't require it," said jack; "besides i want to walk fast, so it is well that you should be as light as possible." "no fear but i'll keep up with you, sir," said the man, somewhat piqued. "i do not doubt it," replied jack, "but one gun is enough for us, so put yours by, and come along." rollo obeyed, and resolved in his heart that he would give his new master a taste of his powers. jack started off at a good rattling pace, somewhat over four miles an hour. for the first mile rollo allowed him to lead, keeping about a foot behind. then he thought to himself, "now, my friend, i'll try you," and ranged up beside him, keeping a few yards to one side, however, in order to avoid the appearance of racing. after a few minutes he pushed the pace considerably, and even went ahead of his companion; but, ere long, jack was alongside and the pace increased to nearly five miles an hour. only those who have tried it know, or can fully appreciate, what is meant by adding a mile an hour to one's pace. most active men go at four miles an hour when walking at a good smart pace. men _never_ walk at five miles an hour except when in the utmost haste, and then only for a short distance. anything beyond that requires a run in order to be sustained. it was curious to watch the progress of these two men. the aim of each was to walk at his greatest possible speed, without allowing the slightest evidence of unwonted exertion to appear on his countenance or in his manner. they walked on the sands of the shore--there being no roads there--and at first the walking was good, as the tide was out and the sand hard. but before they had got half way to the fishery the sea came in and drove them to the soft sand, which, as nearly every one knows, is terribly fatiguing and difficult to walk in. up to this point the two men had kept abreast, going at a tremendous pace, yet conversing quietly and keeping down every appearance of distress; affecting, in fact, to be going at their usual and natural pace! many a sidelong glance did rollo cast, however, at his companion, to see if he were likely to give in soon. but jack was as cool as a cucumber, and wore a remarkably amiable expression of countenance. he even hummed snatches of one or two songs, as though he were only sauntering on the beach. at last he took out his pipe, filled it, and began to smoke, without slackening speed. this filled rollo with surprise, and for the first time he began to entertain doubts as to the result of the struggle. as for jack, he never doubted it for a moment. when they were compelled to take to the heavy sand and sank above the ankles at every step, he changed his tactics. putting out his pipe, he fell behind a few paces. "ha!" thought rollo, "done up at last; now i'll give it you." the thought that he was sure of victory infused such spirit into the man that he braced himself to renewed exertion. this was just what jack wanted. he kept exactly a foot behind rollo, yet when the other ventured to slacken his pace, (which was now too great to be kept up), he pushed forward just enough to keep him at it, without disheartening him as to result. in the midst of this they both came to a full stop on discovering a box made of birch bark, which seemed to have been dropped by some passing indians. "hallo! what have we here?" cried jack, stooping down to examine it. "my blessin' on't whatever it is," thought rollo, to whom the momentary relief from walking was of the greatest consequence. jack knew this, and hastened his inspection. it was a box of bear's fat. "come, not a bad thing in times like these," observed jack; "will you carry this or the rifle, my man? see, the rifle is lighter, take that." again they stepped out, and the sand seemed to grow softer and deeper as they advanced. they were now five miles from the end of their journey, so jack began to exert himself. he pushed on at a pace that caused rollo to pant and blow audibly. for some time jack pretended not to notice this, but at last he turned round and said-"you seem to be fatigued, my man, let me carry the rifle." rollo did not object, and jack went forward with the box and rifle more rapidly than before. he was perspiring, indeed, at every pore profusely, but wind and limb were as sound as when he started. he finally left rollo out of sight, and arrived at the fishery without him! half an hour afterwards rollo arrived. he was a stout fellow, and by taking a short rest, had recovered sufficiently to come in with some degree of spirit; nevertheless, it was evident to all that he was "used up," for, "it is not the distance but the pace that kills!" he found the fishermen at dinner, buttering their cakes with the bear's grease that had been discovered on the way down. jack robinson was sitting in the midst of them, chatting quietly and smoking his pipe beside the fire-place of the hut. jack introduced him as one of the new men, but made no reference to the walk from fort desolation. he felt, however, that he had conquered the man, at least for that time, and hoped that further and more violent methods would not be necessary. in this he was disappointed, as the sequel will show. that night jack slept on a bed made of old salmon-nets, with a new salmon-net above him for a blanket. it was a peculiar and not a particularly comfortable bed; but in his circumstances he could have slept on a bed of thorns. he gazed up at the stars through the hole in the roof that served for a chimney, and listened to the chirping of the frogs in a neighbouring swamp, to which the snoring of the men around him formed a rough-and-ready bass. thus he lay gazing and listening, till stars and strains alike melted away, and left him in the sweet regions of oblivion. chapter five. the salmon fishery. next morning, jack robinson went out at daybreak to inspect the salmon fishery. the river, up which the fish went in thousands, was broad, deep, and rapid. its banks were clothed with spruce-fir and dense underwood. there was little of the picturesque or the beautiful in the scenery. it was a bleak spot and unattractive. two of the four men who conducted the fishery were stationed at the mouth of the river. the other two attended to the nets about six miles farther up, at a place where there was a considerable fall terminating in a long, turbulent rapid. with his wonted promptitude and energy, jack began to make himself master of his position long before the men were stirring. before ladoc, who was superintendent, had lighted his first pipe and strolled down to the boat to commence the operations of the day, jack had examined the nets, the salt boxes, the curing-vats, the fish in pickle, the casks, and all the other _materiel_ of the fishery, with a critical eye. from what he saw, he was convinced that ladoc was not the best manager that could be desired, and, remembering that ladoc was a bully, he was strengthened in an opinion which he had long entertained, namely, that a bully is never a trustworthy man. he was in the act of forming this opinion, when ladoc approached. "good morning, ladoc," said he; "you rise early." "oui, sair; mais, you gits up more earlier." "yes, i am fond of morning air. the fishery prospers, i see." "it doos, monsieur," said ladoc, accepting the remark as a compliment to himself; "ve have catch fifteen casks already, and they is in most splendid condition." "hum!" ejaculated jack, with a doubtful look at a cask which was evidently leaking, "hum! yes, you are getting on pretty well, but--" here jack "hummed" again, and looked pointedly at one of the large vats, which was also leaking, and around which there was a great deal of salt that had been scattered carelessly on the ground. raising big eyes to the roof of the low shed in which the salt-boxes stood, he touched with his stick a torn piece of its tarpaulin covering, through which rain had found its way in bad weather. he "hummed" again, but said nothing, for he saw that ladoc was a little disconcerted. after some minutes jack turned to his companion with a bland smile, and said-"the next station is--how many miles did you say?" "six, monsieur." "ah, six! well, let us go up and see it. you can show me the way." "breakfast be ready ver' soon," said ladoc, "monsieur vill eat first, p'r'aps?" "no, we will breakfast at the upper station. ho, rollo! here, i want you." rollo, who issued from the hut at the moment, with a view to examine the weather and light his pipe, came forward. "i am going with ladoc to the upper station," said jack; "you will take his place here until we return." "very well, sir," replied rollo, fixing his eyes upon ladoc. at the same moment ladoc fixed his eyes on rollo. the two men seemed to read each other's character in a single glance, and then and there hurled silent defiance in each other's teeth through their eyes! ladoc was annoyed at having been silently found fault with and superseded; rollo was aggrieved at being left behind; both men were therefore enraged--for it is wonderful how small a matter is sufficient to enrage a bully--but jack ordered ladoc to lead the way, so the rivals, or enemies, parted company with another glance of defiance. that day, jack robinson had a somewhat rough and remarkable experience of life. he began by overhauling the nets at the mouth of the river, and these were so prolific that the small flat-bottomed boat used by the fishermen was soon half filled with glittering salmon, varying from ten to fifteen pounds in weight. in order to avoid having his mocassins and nether garments soiled, jack, who pulled the sculls, sat with bare feet and tucked-up trousers. in less than an hour he rowed back to the landing-place, literally up to the knees in salmon! among these were a few young seals that had got entangled in the nets, while in pursuit of the fish, and been drowned. these last were filled with water to such an extent, that they resembled inflated bladders! "breakfast is ready, sir," said one of the men, as the boat-party leaped ashore. "very good," replied jack; turning to ladoc, "now, my man, are you ready to start for the upper fishery?" "eh? ah--oui, monsieur." there was a titter amongst the men at the expression of their big comrade's face, for ladoc was ravenously hungry, and felt inclined to rebel at the idea of being obliged to start on a six-miles' walk without food; but as his young master was about to do the same he felt that it was beneath his dignity to complain. besides, there was a _something_ peculiar about jack's manner that puzzled and overawed the man. the fact was, that jack robinson wanted to know what his bullies were made of, and took rather eccentric methods of finding it out. he accordingly set off at his best pace, and pushed ladoc so hard, that he arrived at the upper fishery in a state of profuse perspiration, with a very red face, and with a disagreeably vacuous feeling about the pit of his stomach. they found the men at the station just landing with a boat-load of fish. they were all clean-run, and shone in the bright sunshine like bars of burnished silver. "now, ladoc," said jack, "get breakfast ready, while i look over matters here." it need not be said that the man obeyed most willingly. his master went to examine into details. half-an-hour sufficed to make him pretty well acquainted with the state of matters at the station, and, during breakfast, he soon obtained from the men all the knowledge they possessed about the fishery, the natives, and the region. one of the men was a half-caste, a fine-looking, grave, earnest fellow, who spoke english pretty well. his name was marteau. "the seals and the bears are our worst enemies, sir," said marteau, in the course of conversation. "indeed! and which of the two are worst?" inquired jack. "another slice of pork, ladoc, your appetite appears to be sharp this morning; thank you, go on, marteau, you were saying something about the bears and seals." "it's not easy to say which of them is worst, sir. i think the bears is, for the seals eat the bits that they bite out o' the fish, and so get some good of it; but the bears, they goes to the vats and pulls out the salt fish with their claws, for you see, sir, they can't resist the smell, but when they tries to eat 'em--ah, you should see the faces they do make! you see, they can't stand the salt, so they don't eat much, but they hauls about and tears up an uncommon lot of fish." "it must make him ver' t'irsty," observed ladoc, swallowing a can of tea at a draught. "it makes one thirsty to think of it," said jack, imitating ladoc's example; "now, lads, we'll go and overhaul the nets." just as he spoke, ladoc sprang from his seat, seized jack's gun, which leant against the wall, shouted, "a bear!" and, levelling the piece through the open doorway, took aim at the bushes in front of the hut. at the same moment jack leaped forward, struck up the muzzle of the gun just as it exploded, and, seizing ladoc by the collar, hurled him with extraordinary violence, considering his size, against the wall. "make yourself a better hunter," said he, sternly, "before you presume to lay hands again on my gun. look there!" jack pointed, as he spoke, in the direction in which the man had fired, where the object that had been mistaken for a bear appeared in the form of a man, crawling out of the bushes on all-fours. he seemed to move unsteadily, as if he were in pain. running to his assistance, they found that he was an indian, and, from the blood that bespattered his dress and hand, it was evident that he had been wounded. he was a pitiable object, in the last stage of exhaustion. when the party ran towards him, he looked up in their faces with lustreless eyes, and then sank fainting on the ground. "poor fellow!" said jack, as they carried him into the hut and placed him on one of the low beds; "he must have met with an accident, for there is no warfare in this region among the indians to account for his being wounded." "'tis a strange accident," said marteau, when the man's clothes were stripped off and the wounds exposed. "an accident sometimes puts _one_ bullet through a man, but seldom puts _two_!" "true," said jack, "this looks bad, here is a hole clean through the fleshy part of his right arm, and another through his right thigh. an enemy must have done this." on farther examination it was found that the bone of the man's leg had been smashed by the bullet, which, after passing through to the other side of the limb, was arrested by the skin. it was easily extracted, and the wounds were dressed by jack, who, to his many useful qualities, added a considerable knowledge of medicine and surgery. when the indian recovered sufficiently to give an account of himself to marteau, who understood his language perfectly, he told him, to the surprise of all, that his double wound was indeed the result of an accident, and, moreover, that he had done the deed with his own hand. doubtless it will puzzle the reader to imagine how a man could so twist himself, that with an unusually long gun he could send a bullet at one shot through his right arm and right thigh. it puzzled jack and his men so much, that they were half inclined to think the indian was not telling the truth, until he explained that about a mile above the hut, while walking through the bushes, he tripped and fell. he was carrying the gun over his shoulder in the customary indian fashion, that is, by the muzzle, with the stock behind him. he fell on his hands and knees; the gun was thrown forward and struck against a tree so violently, that it exploded; in its flight it had turned completely round, so that, at the moment of discharge, the barrel was in a line with the man's arm and leg, and thus the extraordinary wound was inflicted. to crawl from the spot where the accident occurred took the poor fellow nearly twelve hours, and he performed this trying journey during the night and morning over a rugged country and without food. the surgical operation engaged jack's attention the greater part of the forenoon. when it was completed and the indian made as comfortable as possible, he went out with the men to visit the nets which were set at the rapids about two miles higher up the river. chapter six. jack has a desperate encounter. we never can tell what a day or an hour may bring forth. this is a solemn fact on which young and old might frequently ponder with advantage, and on which we might enlarge to an unlimited extent; but our space will not admit of moralising very much, therefore we beg the reader to moralise on that, for him--or herself. the subject is none the less important, that circumstances require that it should be touched on in a slight, almost flippant, manner. had jack robinson known what lay before him that evening, he would--he would have been a wiser man! nothing more appropriate than that occurs to us at this moment. but, to be more particular:-when the party reached the nets, jack left them to attend to their work, and went off alone to the vats, some of which, measuring about six feet in diameter, were nearly full of fish in pickle. as he walked along the slight track which guided him towards them, he pondered the circumstances in which he then found himself, and, indulging in a habit which he had acquired in his frequent and prolonged periods of solitude, began to mutter his thoughts aloud. "so, so, jack, you left your farm because you were tired of solitude, and now you find yourself in the midst of society. pleasant society, truly!--bullies and geese, without a sympathetic mind to rub against. humph! a pleasant fix you've got into, old fellow." jack was wrong in this to some extent, as he afterwards came to confess to himself, for among his men there were two or three minds worth cultivating, noble and shrewd, and deep, too, though not educated or refined. but at the time of which we write, jack did not know this. he went on to soliloquise: "yes, you've got a pretty set to deal with; elements that will cause you enough of trouble before you have done with them. well, well, don't give in, old chap. never say die. if solitude is to be your lot, meet it like a man. why, they say that solitude of the worst kind is to be found where most people dwell. has it not been said, that in the great city of london itself a man may be more solitary than in the heart of the wilderness? i've read it, but i can't very well believe it. yet, there _may_ be something in it. humph! well, well, jack, you're not a philosopher, so don't try to go too deep; take it easy, and do the best you can." at this point jack came suddenly in sight of the vats. they stood in the centre of a cleared space in the forest. on the edge of the largest vat was perched an object which induced our hero to throw forward his fowling-piece hastily. it was a black bear, or rather the hind-quarters of a black bear, for the head and one paw and shoulder of the animal were far down in the vat. he was holding firmly to its edge by the hind legs and one fore-leg, while with the other he was straining his utmost to reach the fish. jack's first impulse was to fire, but reflecting that the portion of the bear then in view was not a very vulnerable part, he hesitated, and finally crept behind a tree to consider, feeling confident that whatever should occur he would be pretty sure of getting a favourable opportunity to fire with effect. quite unconscious of his danger, bruin continued to reach down into the vat with unwearied determination. his efforts were rewarded with success, for he presently appeared on the edge of the vat with a fine salmon in his embrace. now was jack's opportunity. he raised his piece, but remembering marteau's remark about the bear's difficulty in eating salt salmon, he postponed the fatal shot until he should have studied this point in natural history. his forbearance met with a reward, for the bear kept him during the next five minutes in such a state of suppressed laughter, that he could not have taken a steady aim to have saved his life. its sense of smell was evidently gratified, for on leaping to the ground it took a powerful snuff, and then began to devour the salmon with immense gusto. but the first mouthful produced an expression of countenance that could not be misunderstood. it coughed, spluttered, and sneezed, or at least gave vent to something resembling these sounds, and drew back from the fish with a snarl; then it snuffed again. there was no mistaking the smell. it was delicious! bruin, disbelieving his sense of taste, and displaying unwise faith in his sense of smell, made another attempt. he had tried the head first; with some show of reason he now tried the tail. faugh! it was worse than the other; "as salt as fire," as we have heard it sometimes expressed. the spluttering at this point became excessive, and it was clear that the bear was getting angry. once again, with an amount of perseverance that deserved better fortune, the bear snuffed heartily at the fish, tore it to shreds with his claws, and then tried another mouthful, which it spat out instantly. displaying all its teeth and gums, it shut its eyes, and, raising its head in the air, fairly howled with disappointment. jack now deemed it prudent to bring the scene to a close, so, calming himself as well as he could, he took a steady aim, and, watching his opportunity, fired. the bear did not fall. it faced round in a moment, and, uttering a fierce growl, very unlike to its previous tones, rushed upon its enemy, who fired his second barrel at the creature's breast. whether it was that jack's fit of laughter had shaken his nerves so as to render him incapable of taking a good aim, is a matter of uncertainty, but although both shots took effect, the bear was not checked in his career. on it came. jack had no time to load. he turned to run, when his quick eye observed a branch of a tree over his head within reach. dropping his gun he bounded upwards and caught it, and, being unusually powerful in the arms, drew himself up and got astride of it just as the bear reached the spot. but bruin was not to be baulked so easily. he was a black bear and a good climber. finding that he could not at his utmost stretch obtain a nibble at jack's toes, he rushed at the trunk of the tree and began to ascend rapidly. jack at once moved towards the end of the branch, intending to drop to the ground, recover his gun and run for it; but the movement broke the branch off suddenly, and he came down with such a crash, that the bear stopped, looked round, and, seeing his enemy on the ground, began to descend. although somewhat stunned by the fall, our hero was able to spring up and run in the direction of the hut. the bear was so close on his heels, however, that he had no chance of his reaching it. he felt this, and, as a last resource, doubled on his track like a hare and made for the banks of the river, which were twenty feet high at the place, intending to leap into the rapid and take his chance. in this, too, he was foiled. his fall from the tree had partially disabled him, and he could not run with his wonted agility. about ten yards from the edge of the bank the bear overtook him, and it seemed as if poor jack robinson's troubles were at last about to be brought to an abrupt close. but jack was self-possessed and brave as steel. on feeling the bear's claws in his back, he drew his knife, wheeled round, fell into its embrace, and plunged the knife three or four times in its side. the thing was done in a moment, and the two, falling together, rolled over the edge of the steep bank, and went crashing down through the bushes amid a cloud of dust and stones into the raging flood below. at the foot of the rapid, marteau and one of the men happened to be rowing ashore with a load of fish. "hallo! what's that?" cried marteau. "eh!" exclaimed his comrade. "a bear!" shouted marteau, backing his oar. "and a man! what! i say!" "pull! pull!" next moment the boat was dancing on the foam, and marteau had hold of the bear's neck with one hand, and jack's hair with the other. they were soon hauled to land, the bear in its dying agonies and jack in a state of insensibility; but it took the united strength of the two men to tear him from the tremendous grasp that he had fastened on the brute, and his knife was found buried to the handle close alongside of bruin's heart! chapter seven. solitude. on the day of his encounter with the bear, jack robinson sent rollo up to the fort to fetch down all the men except o'donel, in order that the fishery might be carried on with vigour. of course it is unnecessary to inform the reader that jack speedily recovered from the effects of his adventure. it would be absurd to suppose that anything of an ordinary nature could kill or even do much damage to our hero. beyond five deep punctures on his back and five on his breast, besides a bite in the shoulder, jack had received no damage, and was able to return on foot to fort desolation a few days after the event. on arriving, he found his man, teddy o'donel, sitting over the kitchen fire in the last stage of an attack of deep depression and home sickness. jack's sudden appearance wrought an instantaneous cure. "ah!" said he, grasping his master's hand and wringing it warmly; "it's a blessed sight for sore eyes! sure i've bin all but dead, sur, since ye wint away." "you've not been ill, have you?" said jack, looking somewhat earnestly in the man's face. "ill? no, not i' the body, if that's what ye mane, but i've been awful bad i' the mind. it's the intellect as kills men more nor the body. the sowl is what does it all." (here teddy passed his hand across his forehead and looked haggard.) "ah! mr robinson, it's myself as'll niver do to live alone. i do belave that all the ghosts as iver lived have come and took up there abode in this kitchen." "nonsense!" said jack, sitting down on a stool beside the fire and filling his pipe; "you're too superstitious." "supperstitious, is it?" exclaimed the man, with a look of intense gravity. "faix, if ye seed them ye'd change yer tune. it's the noses of 'em as is wust. of all the noses for length and redness and for blowin' like trumpets i ever did see--well, well, it's no use conjicturin', but i do wonder sometimes what guv the ghosts sitch noses." "i suppose they _knows_ that best themselves," observed jack. "p'r'aps they does," replied teddy with a meditative gaze at the fire. "but i rather suspect," continued jack, "that as your own nose is somewhat long and red, and as you've got a habit of squinting, not to mention snoring, teddy, we may be justified in accounting for the--" "ah! it's no use jokin'," interrupted o'donel; "ye'll niver joke me out o' my belaif in ghosts. it's no longer agone than last night, after tay, i laid me down on the floor beside the fire in sitch a state o' moloncholly weakness, that i really tried to die. it's true for ye; and i belave i'd have done it, too, av i hadn't wint off to slape by mistake, an' whin i awoke, i was so cowld and hungry that i thought i'd pusspone dyin' till after supper. i got better after supper, but, och! it's a hard thing to live all be yer lone like this." "have no indians been here since i left?" "not wan, sur." "well, teddy, i will keep you company now. we shall be alone here together for a few weeks, as i mean to leave all our lads at the fishery. meanwhile, bestir yourself and let me have supper." during the next few weeks jack robinson was very busy. being an extremely active man, he soon did every conceivable thing that had to be done about the fort, and conceived, as well as did, a good many things that did not require to be done. while rummaging in the stores, he discovered a hand-net, with which he waded into the sea and caught large quantities of small fish, about four inches in length, resembling herrings. these he salted and dried in the sun, and thus improved his fare,--for, having only salt pork and fresh salmon, he felt the need of a little variety. indeed, he had already begun to get tired of salmon, insomuch that he greatly preferred salt pork. after that, he scraped together a sufficient number of old planks, and built therewith a flat-bottomed boat--a vessel much wanted at the place. but, do what he would, time hung very heavy on his hands, even although he made as much of a companion of teddy o'donel, as was consistent with his dignity. the season for wild fowl had not arrived, and he soon got tired of going out with his gun, with the certainty of returning empty-handed. at last there was a brief break in the monotony of the daily life at fort desolation. a band of indians came with a good supply of furs. they were not a very high type of human beings, had little to say, and did not seem disposed to say it. but they wanted goods from jack, and jack wanted furs from them; so their presence during the two days and nights they stayed shed a glow of moral sunshine over the fort that made its inhabitants as light-hearted and joyful as though some unwonted piece of good fortune had befallen them. when the indians went away, however, the gloom was proportionally deeper, jack and his man sounded lower depths of despair than they had ever before fathomed, and the latter began to make frequent allusions to the possibility of making away with himself. indeed, he did one evening, while he and jack stood silently on the shore together, propose that they should go into the bush behind the fort, cover themselves over with leaves, and perish "at wance, like the babes in the wood." things were in this gloomy condition, when an event occurred, which, although not of great importance in itself, made such a deep impression on the dwellers at fort desolation, that it is worthy of a chapter to itself. chapter eight. horrors. one morning the sun rose with unwonted splendour on the broad bosom of the saint lawrence. the gulf was like a mirror, in which the images of the seagulls were as perfect as the birds themselves, and the warm hazy atmosphere was lighted up so brightly by the sun, that it seemed as though the world were enveloped in delicate golden gauze. jack robinson stood on the shore, with the exile of erin beside him. strange to say, the effect of this lovely scene on both was the reverse of gladdening. "it's _very_ sad," said jack, slowly. "true for ye," observed the sympathising teddy, supposing that his master had finished his remark. "it's _very_ sad," repeated jack, "to look abroad upon this lovely world, and know that thousands of our fellow-men are enjoying it in each other's society, while we are self-exiled here." "an' so it is," said teddy, "not to mintion our fellow-women an' our fellow-childers to boot." "to be sure we have got each other's society, o'donel," continued jack, "and the society of the gulls--" "an' the fush," interposed teddy. "and the fish," assented jack; "for all of which blessings we have cause to be thankful; but it's my opinion that you and i are a couple of egregious asses for having forsaken our kind and come to vegetate here in the wilderness." "that's just how it is, sur. we're both on us big asses, an' it's a pint for investigation which on us is the biggest--you, who ought to have know'd better, or me, as niver kno'w'd anything, a'most, to spake of." jack smiled. he was much too deeply depressed to laugh. for some minutes they stood gazing in silent despondency at the sea. "what's that?" exclaimed jack, with sudden animation, pointing to an object which appeared at the moment near the extremity of a point of rocks not far from the spot where they stood--"a canoe?" "two of 'em!" cried o'donel, as another object came into view. the change which came over the countenances of the two men, as they stood watching the approach of the two canoes, would have been incomprehensible to any one not acquainted with the effect of solitude on the human mind. they did not exactly caper on the beach, but they felt inclined to do so, and their heaving bosoms and sparkling eyes told of the depth of emotion within. in about a quarter of an hour the canoes were within a short distance of the landing-place, but no shout or sign of recognition came from the indians who paddled them. there was an indian in the bow and stern of each canoe, and a woman in the middle of one of them. "well, boys, what cheer?" said jack, using a well-known backwood's salutation, as the men landed. the indians silently took the proffered hand of the trader and shook it, replying in a low voice, "wachee," as the nearest point they could attain to the pronunciation of "what cheer?" there was something so unusually solemn in the air and manner of the savages, that jack glanced at the canoe in which the woman sat. there he saw what explained the mystery. in the bottom lay an object wrapped up in pieces of old cloth and birchbark, which, from its form, was evidently a human body. a few words with the indians soon drew from them the information that this was one of their wives who had been ailing for a long time, and at length had died. they were roman catholic converts, and had come to bury the body in the graveyard of the fort which had been "consecrated" by a priest. to whatever pitch of excitement jack and his man had risen at the unexpected appearance of the indians, their spirits fell to an immeasurably profounder depth than before when their errand was made known. everything connected with this burial was sad and repulsive, yet jack and his man felt constrained, out of mere sympathy, to witness it all. the indians were shabby and squalid in the extreme, and, being destitute of the means of making a coffin, had rolled the corpse up in such wretched materials as they happened to possess. one consequence of this was, that it was quite supple. on being lifted out of the canoe, the joints bent, and a sort of noise was emitted from the mouth, which was exceedingly horrible. had the dead face been visible, the effect would not have been so powerful, but its being covered tended to set the imagination free to conceive things still more dreadful. the grave was soon dug in the sand inside the graveyard, which was not more than a hundred yards on one side of the fort. here, without ceremony of any kind, the poor form was laid and covered over. while being lowered into the grave, the same doubling-up of the frame and the same noise were observed. after all was over, the indians returned to their canoe and paddled away, silently, as they had come; not before jack, however, had gone to the store for a large piece of tobacco, which he threw to them as they were pushing off. during the remainder of that day, jack robinson and his man went about their vocations with hearts heavy as lead. but it was not till night that this depression of spirits culminated. for the first time in his life jack robinson became superstitiously nervous. as for teddy o'donel, he had seldom been entirely free from this condition during any night of his existence; but he was much worse than usual on the present occasion! after sunset, jack had his tea alone in the hall, while o'donel took his--also, of course, alone--in the kitchen. tea over, jack sat down and wrote part of a journal which he was in the habit of posting up irregularly. then he went into the kitchen to give teddy his orders for the following day, and stayed longer than usual. thereafter, he read parts of one or two books which he had brought with him from the civilised world. but, do what he would, the image of the dead woman lying so near him invariably came between him and the page, and obtruded itself on his mind obstinately. once he was so exasperated while reading, that he jumped violently off his chair, exclaiming, "this is childish nonsense!" in doing so he tilted the chair over, so that it balanced for an instant on its hind legs, and then fell with an awful crash, which caused him to leap at least three feet forward, clench his fists, and wheel round with a look of fury that would certainly have put to flight any _real_ ghost in creation. jack gasped, then he sighed, after which he smiled and began to pace the hall slowly. at last he said, half aloud, "i think i'll smoke my pipe to-night with that poor fellow, o'donel. he must be lonely enough, and i don't often condescend to be social." taking up his pipe and tobacco-pouch, he went towards the kitchen. now, while his master was enduring those uncomfortable feelings in the hall, teddy was undergoing torments in the kitchen that are past description. he had had a grandmother--with no nose to speak of, a mouth large enough for two, four teeth, and one eye--who had stuffed him in his youth with horrible stories as full as a doll is of sawdust. that old lady's influence was now strong upon him. every gust of wind that rumbled in the chimney sent a qualm to his heart. every creak in the beams of his wooden kitchen startled his soul. every accidental noise that occurred filled him with unutterable horror. the door, being clumsily made, fitted badly in all its parts, so that it shook and rattled in a perfectly heartrending manner. teddy resolved to cure this. he stuck bits of wood in the opening between it and the floor, besides jamming several nails in at the sides and top. still, the latch _would_ rattle, being complicated in construction, and not easily checked in all its parts. but teddy was an ingenious fellow. he settled the latch by stuffing it and covering it with a mass of dough! in order further to secure things, he placed a small table against the door, and then sat down on a bench to smoke his pipe beside the door. it was at this point in the evening that jack resolved, as we have said, to be condescending. as he had hitherto very seldom smoked his pipe in the kitchen, his footstep in the passage caused o'donel's very marrow to quake. he turned as pale as death and became rigid with terror, so that he resembled nothing but an irish statue of very dirty and discoloured marble. when jack put his hand on the latch, teddy gasped once--he was incapable of more! the vision of the poor indian woman rose before his mental eye, and he--well, it's of no use to attempt saying what he thought or felt! the obstruction in the latch puzzled jack not a little. he was surprised at its stiffness. the passage between the hall and kitchen was rather dark, so that he was somewhat nervous and impatient to open the door. it happened that he had left the door by which he had quitted the hall partially open. a gust of wind shut this with a bang that sent every drop of blood into his heart, whence it rebounded into his extremities. the impulse thus communicated to his hand was irresistible. the door was burst in; as a matter of course the table was hurled into the middle of the kitchen, where it was violently arrested by the stove. poor teddy o'donel, unable to stand it any longer, toppled backwards over the bench with a hideous yell, and fell headlong into a mass of pans, kettles, and firewood, where he lay sprawling and roaring at the full power of his lungs, and keeping up an irregular discharge of such things as came to hand at the supposed ghost, who sheltered himself as he best might behind the stove. "hold hard, you frightened ass!" shouted jack as a billet of wood whizzed over his head. "eh! what? it's _you_, sur? o, musha, av i didn't belave it was the ghost at last!" "i tell you what, my man," said jack, who was a good deal nettled at his reception, "i would advise you to make sure that it _is_ a ghost next time before you shie pots and kettles about in that way. see what a smash you have made. why, what on earth have you been doing to the door?" "sure i only stuffed up the kayhole to keep out the wind." "humph! and the ghosts, i suppose. well, see that you are up betimes to-morrow and have these salmon nets looked over and repaired." so saying, jack turned on his heel and left the room, feeling too much annoyed to carry out his original intention of smoking a pipe with his man. he spent the evening, therefore, in reading a pocket copy of shakespeare, and retired to rest at the usual hour in a more composed frame of mind, and rather inclined to laugh at his superstitious fears. it happened, unfortunately, that from his window, as he lay on his bed, jack could see the graveyard. this fact had never been noticed by him before, although he had lain there nightly since his arrival, and looked over the yard to the beach and the sea beyond. now, the night being bright moonlight, he could see it with appalling distinctness. sleep was banished from his eyes, and although he frequently turned with resolution to the wall and shut them, he was invariably brought back to his old position as if by a species of fascination. meanwhile teddy o'donel lay absolutely quaking in the kitchen. unable to endure it, he at last rose, opened the door softly, and creeping up as near us he dared venture to his master's door, sat down there, as he said, "for company." in course of time he fell asleep. jack, being more imaginative, remained awake. presently he saw a figure moving near the churchyard. it was white--at least the upper half of it was. "pshaw! this is positive folly; my digestion must be out of order," muttered jack, rubbing his eyes; but the rubbing did not dissipate the figure which moved past the yard and approached the fort. at that moment teddy o'donel gave vent to a prolonged snore. delivered as it was against the wooden step on which his nose was flattened, it sounded dreadfully like a groan. almost mad with indignation and alarm, jack robinson leaped from his bed and pulled on his trousers, resolved to bring things to an issue of some sort. he threw open his chamber door with violence and descended the staircase noisily, intending to arouse his man. he _did_ arouse him, effectually, by placing his foot on the back of his head and crushing his face against the steps with such force as to produce a roar that would have put to shame the war-whoop of the wildest savage in america. in endeavouring to recover himself, jack fell upon teddy and they rolled head-over-heels down the steps together towards the door of the house, which was opened at that instant by ladoc, who had walked up to the fort, clad only in his shirt and trousers, (the night being warm), to give a report of the condition of things at the fishery, where he and rollo had quarrelled, and the men generally were in a state of mutiny. chapter nine. the bully receives a lesson. we regret to be compelled to chronicle the fact, that jack robinson lost command of his temper on the occasion referred to in the last chapter. he and teddy o'donel rolled to the very feet of the amazed ladoc, before the force of their fall was expended. they sprang up instantly, and jack dealt the irishman an open-handed box on the ear that sent him staggering against one of the pillars of the verandah, and resounded in the still night air like a pistol-shot. poor teddy would have fired up under other circumstances, but he felt so deeply ashamed of having caused the undignified mishap to his master, that he pocketed the affront, and quietly retired towards his kitchen. on his way thither, however, he was arrested by the tremendous tone in which jack demanded of ladoc the reason of his appearance at such an untimely hour. there was a slight dash of insolence in the man's reply. "i come up, monsieur," said he, "to tell you if there be _two_ masters at fishery, _i_ not be one of 'em. rollo tink he do vat him please, mais i say, no; so ve quarrel." "and so, you take upon you to desert your post," thundered jack. "vraiment, oui," coolly replied ladoc. jack clenched his fist and sprang at the man as a bull-terrier might leap on a mastiff. almost in the act of striking he changed his mind, and, instead of delivering one of those scientific blows with which he had on more than one occasion in his past history terminated a fight at its very commencement, he seized ladoc by the throat, tripped up his heels, and hurled him to the ground with such force, that he lay quite still for at least half a minute! leaving him there to the care of o'donel, who had returned, jack went up to his bedroom, shut the door, thrust his hands into his pockets, and began to pace the floor rapidly, and to shake his head. gradually his pace became slower, and the shaking of his head more sedate. presently he soliloquised in an undertone. "this won't do, john robinson. you've let off too much steam. quite against your principles to be so violent--shame on you, man. yet after all it was very provoking to be made such a fool of before that insolent fellow. poor teddy--i wish i hadn't hit you such a slap. but, after all, you deserved it, you superstitious blockhead. well, well, it's of no use regretting. glad i didn't hit ladoc, though, it's too soon for _that_. humph! the time has come for action, however. things are drawing to a point. they shall culminate _to-morrow_. let me see." here jack's tones became inaudible, and he began to complete his toilette. his thoughts were busy--to judge from his knitted brows and compressed lips. the decision of his motions at last showed that he had made up his mind to a course of action. it was with a cleared brow and a self-possessed expression of countenance that he descended, a few minutes later, to the hall, and summoned o'donel. that worthy, on making his appearance, looked confused, and began to stammer out-"i beg parding, sur, but--but raally, you know--it, it was all owin' to them abominable ghosts." jack smiled, or rather, tried to smile, but owing to conflicting emotions the attempt resulted in a grin. "let bygones be bygones," he said, "and send ladoc here." ladoc entered with a defiant expression, which was evidently somewhat forced. jack was seated at a table, turning over some papers. without raising his head, he said-"be prepared to start for the fishery with me in half-an-hour, ladoc." "monsieur?" exclaimed the man, with a look of surprise. jack raised his head and _looked_ at him. it was one of his peculiar looks. "did you not understand me?" he said, jumping up suddenly. ladoc vanished with an abrupt, "oui, monsieur," and jack proceeded, with a _real_ smile on his good-humoured face, to equip himself for the road. in half an hour the two were walking silently side by side at a smart pace towards the fishery, while poor teddy o'donel was left, as he afterwards said, "all be his lone wid the ghost and the newly buried ooman," in a state of mental agony, which may, perhaps, be conceived by those who possess strong imaginations, but which cannot by any possibility be adequately described. chapter ten. strangers and strange events. the monotony of the night march to the fishery was enlivened by the unexpected apparition of a boat. there was just enough of moonlight to render it dimly visible a few hundred yards from the shore. "indians!" exclaimed ladoc, breaking silence for the first time since they set out. "the stroke is too steady and regular for indians," said jack. "boat ahoy!" "shore ahoy!" came back at once in the ringing tones of a seaman's voice. "pull in; there's plenty of water!" shouted jack. "ay, ay," was the response. in a few seconds the boat's keel grated on the sand, and an active sailor jumped ashore. there were five other men in the boat. "where have _you_ dropped from?" enquired jack. "well, the last place we dropped from," answered the seaman, "was the port quarter davits of the good ship ontario, captain jones, from liverpool to quebec, with a general cargo; that was last night, and ten minutes afterwards, the ontario dropped to the bottom of the sea." "wrecked!" exclaimed jack. "just so. leastwise, sprung a leak and gone to the bottom." "no hands lost, i hope?" "no, all saved in the boats; but we parted company in the night, and haven't seen each other since. is there any port hereabouts, where we could get a bit o' summat to eat?" "there is, friend. just pull six miles farther along shore as you are going, and you'll come to the place that i have the honour and happiness to command--we call it fort desolation. you and your party are heartily welcome to food and shelter there, and you'll find an irishman in charge who will be overjoyed, i doubt not, to act the part of host. to-morrow night i shall return to the fort." the shipwrecked mariners, who were half-starved, received this news with a cheer, and pushing off, resumed their oars with fresh vigour, while jack and his man continued their journey. they reached the fishery before dawn, and, without awakening the men, retired at once to rest. before breakfast, jack was up, and went out to inspect the place. he found that his orders, about repairing the roof of the out-house and the clearing up, had not been attended to. he said nothing at first, but, from the quiet settled expression of his face, the men felt convinced that he did not mean to let it pass. he ordered ladoc to repair the roof forthwith, and bade rollo commence a general clearing-up. he also set the other men to various occupations, and gave each to understand, that when his job was finished he might return to breakfast. the result of this was, that breakfast that morning was delayed till between eleven and twelve, the fishery speedily assumed quite a new aspect, and that the men ate a good deal more than usual when they were permitted to break their fast. after breakfast, while they were seated outside the door of their hut smoking, jack smoked his pipe alone by the margin of the river, about fifty yards off. "monsieur be meditating of something this morning," observed little francois xavier, glancing at rollo with a twinkle in his sharp grey eye. "he may meditate on what he likes, for all that _i_ care," said rollo with a scornful laugh. "he'll find it difficult to cow _me_, as i'll let him know before long." ladoc coughed, and an unmistakable sneer curled his lip as he relighted his pipe. the flushed face of rollo showed what he felt, but, as nothing had been _said_, he could not with propriety give vent to his passion. at that moment jack robinson hailed ladoc, who rose and went towards him. jack said a few words to him, which, of course, owing to the distance, could not be heard by the men. immediately after, ladoc was seen to walk away in the direction of an old indian burying-ground, which lay in the woods about a quarter of a mile from the fishery. five minutes later jack hailed rollo, who obeyed the summons, and after a few words with his master, went off in the same direction as ladoc. there seemed something mysterious in these movements. the mystery was deepened when jack hailed francois xavier, and sent him after the other two, and it culminated when jack himself, after allowing five minutes more to elapse, sauntered away in the same direction with a stout cudgel under his arm. he was soon lost to view in the woods. each of the three men had been told to go to the burying-ground, and to wait there until jack himself should arrive. ladoc was surprised on receiving the order, but, as we have seen, obeyed it. he was more than surprised, however, when he saw rollo walk into the enclosure, and still more astonished when francois followed in due course. none of the three spoke. they felt that jack would not keep them long in suspense, and they were right. he soon appeared--smoking calmly. "now, lads," said he, "come here. stand aside, francois. i have brought you to this place to witness our proceedings, and to carry back a true report to your comrades. ladoc and rollo, (here jack's face became suddenly very stern; there was something _intense_, though not loud, in his voice), you have kept my men in constant hot water by your quarrelling since you came together. i mean to put an end to this. you don't seem to be quite sure which of you is the best man. you shall settle that question this day, on this spot, and within this hour. so set to, you rascals! fight or shake hands. _i_ will see fair play!" jack blazed up at this point, and stepped up to the men with such a fierce expression, that they were utterly cowed. "fight, i say, or shake hands, or--" here jack paused, and his teeth were heard to grate harshly together. the two bullies stood abashed. they evidently did not feel inclined to "come to the scratch." yet they saw by the peculiar way in which their master grasped his cudgel, that it would be worse for both of them if they did not obey. "well," said ladoc, turning with a somewhat candid smile to rollo, "i's willin' to shake hands if _you_ be." he held out his hand to rollo, who took it in a shamefaced sort of way and then dropped it. "good," said jack; "now you may go back to the hut; _but_, walk arm in arm. let your comrades _see_ that you are friends. come, no hesitation!" the tone of command could not be resisted; the two men walked down to the river arm in arm, as if they had been the best of friends, and little francois followed--chuckling! next day a man arrived on foot with a letter to the gentlemen in charge of fort desolation. he and another man had conveyed it to the fort in a canoe from fort kamenistaquoia. "what have we here?" said jack robinson, sitting down on the gunwale of a boat and breaking the seal. the letter ran as follows:- "fort kamenistaquoia, etcetera, etcetera. "my dear jack, "i am sorry to tell you that the business has all gone to sticks and stivers. we have not got enough of capital to compete with the hudson's bay company, and i may remark, privately, that if we had, it would not be worth while to oppose them on this desolate coast. the trade, therefore, is to be given up, and the posts abandoned. i have sent a clerk to succeed you and wind up the business, at fort desolation, as i want you to come here directly, to consult as to future plans. "your loving but unfortunate friend, "j. murray." on reading this epistle, jack heaved a deep sigh. "adrift again!" he muttered. at that moment his attention was arrested by the sound of voices in dispute. presently the door of the men's house was flung open, and rollo appeared with a large bundle on his shoulders. the bundle contained his "little all." he was gesticulating passionately to his comrades. "what's wrong now?" said jack to francois, as the latter came towards him. "rollo he go 'way," said francois. "there be an indian come in hims canoe, and rollo make up his mind to go off vid him." "oh! has he?" said jack, springing up and walking rapidly towards the hut. now it must be told here that, a few days before the events we are describing, jack had given rollo a new suit of clothes from the company's store, with a view to gain his regard by kindness, and attach him to the service, if possible. rollo was clad in this suit at the time, and he evidently meant to carry it off. jack crushed back his anger as he came up, and said in a calm, deliberate voice, "what _now_, rollo?" "i'm going off," said the man fiercely. "i've had enough of _you_." there was something supernaturally calm and bland in jack's manner, as he smiled and said-"indeed! i'm _very_ glad to hear it. do you go soon?" "ay, at once." "good. you had better change your dress before going." "eh?" exclaimed the man. "your clothes belong to the company; _put them off_!" said jack. "strip, you blackguard!" he shouted, suddenly bringing his stick within three inches of rollo's nose, "strip, or i'll break every bone in your carcase." the man hesitated, but a nervous motion in jack's arm caused him to take off his coat somewhat promptly. "i'll go into the house," said rollo, humbly. "no!" said jack, sternly, "strip where you are. quick!" rollo continued to divest himself of his garments, until there was nothing left to remove. "here, francois," said jack, "take these things away. now, sir, you may go." rollo took up his bundle and went into the hut, thoroughly crestfallen, to re-clothe himself in his old garments, while jack strolled into the woods to meditate on his strange fortunes. that was the end of rollo. he embarked in a canoe with an indian and went off--no one knew whither. so, the wicked and useless among men wander about this world to annoy their fellows for a time--to pass away and be forgotten. perhaps some of them, through god's mercy, return to their right minds. we cannot tell. according to instructions, jack made over the charge of his establishment that day to the clerk who had been sent down to take charge, and next morning set out for fort kamenistaquoia, in the boat with the shipwrecked seamen. misfortune attended him even to the last minute. the new clerk, who chanced to be an enthusiastic young man, had resolved to celebrate his own advent and his predecessor's departure by firing a salute from an old carronade which stood in front of the fort, and which might, possibly, have figured at the battle of the nile. he overcharged this gun, and, just as the boat pushed off, applied the match. the result was tremendous. the gun burst into a thousand pieces, and the clerk was laid flat on the sand! of course the boat was run ashore immediately, and jack sprang out and hastened to the scene of the disaster, which he reached just as the clerk, recovering from the effects of the shock, managed to sit up. he presented a wonderful appearance! fortunately, none of the flying pieces of the gun had touched him, but a flat tin dish, full of powder, from which he had primed the piece, had exploded in his face. this was now of a uniform bluish-black colour, without eyelashes or eyebrows, and surmounted by a mass of frizzled material that had once been the unfortunate youth's hair. beyond this he had received no damage, so jack remained just long enough to dress his hurts, and make sure that he was still fit for duty. once more entering the boat, jack pushed off. "good-bye, boys!" said he, as the sailors pulled away. "farewell, teddy, mind you find me out when you go up to quebec." "bad luck to me av i don't," cried the irishman, whose eyes became watery in spite of himself. "and don't let the ghosts get the better of you!" shouted jack. o'donel shook his head. "ah, they're a bad lot, sur--but sorrow wan o' them was iver so ugly as _him_!" he concluded this remark by pointing over his shoulder with his thumb in the direction of the house where the new clerk lay, a hideous, though not severely injured, spectacle, on his bed. a last "farewell" floated over the water, as the boat passed round a point of land. jack waved his hand, and, a moment later, fort desolation vanished from his eyes for ever. readers, it is not our purpose here to detail to you the life and adventures of jack robinson. we have recalled and recounted this brief passage in his eventful history, in order to give you some idea of what "outskirters," and wandering stars of humanity sometimes see, and say, and go through. doubtless jack's future career would interest you, for his was a nature that could not be easily subdued. difficulties had the effect of stirring him up to more resolute exertions. opposition had the effect of drawing him on, instead of keeping him back. "cold water" warmed him. "wet blankets," when thrown on him, were dried and made hot! his energy was untiring, his zeal red hot, and when one effort failed, he began another with as much fervour as if it were the first he had ever made. yet jack robinson did not succeed in life. it would be difficult to say why. perhaps his zeal and energy were frittered away on too many objects. perhaps, if he had confined himself to one purpose and object in life, he would have been a great man. yet no one could say that he was given to change, until change was forced upon him. perchance want of judgment was the cause of all his misfortunes; yet he was a clever fellow: cleverer than the average of men. it may be that jack's self-reliance had something to do with it, and that he was too apt to trust to his own strength and wisdom, forgetting that there is one, without whose blessing man's powers can accomplish no good whatever. we know not. we do not charge jack with this, yet this is by no means an uncommon sin, if we are to believe the confessions of multitudes of good men. be this as it may, jack arrived at fort kamenistaquoia in due course, and kindly, but firmly, refused to take part with his sanguine friend, j murray, who proposed--to use his own language--"the getting-up of a great joint-stock company, to buy up all the sawmills on the ottawa!" thereafter, jack went to quebec, where he was joined by teddy o'donel, with whom he found his way to the outskirt settlements of the far west. there, having purchased two horses and two rifles, he mounted his steed, and, followed by his man, galloped away into the prairie to seek his fortune. the end. johns hopkins university studies in historical and political science herbert b. adams, editor history is past politics and politics present history.--freeman ninth series xi-xii the character and influence of the indian trade in wisconsin _a study of the trading post as an institution_ by frederick j. turner, ph.d. _professor of history, university of wisconsin_ baltimore the johns hopkins press published monthly november and december, 1891 copyright, 1891, by n. murray. isaac friedenwald co., printers, baltimore. table of contents. page. i. introduction 7 ii. primitive inter-tribal trade 10 iii. place of the indian trade in the settlement of america 11 1. early trade along the atlantic coast 11 2. in new england 12 3. in the middle region 18 4. in the south 16 5. in the far west 18 iv. the river and lake systems of the northwest 19 v. wisconsin indians 22 vi. periods of the wisconsin indian trade 25 vii. french exploration in wisconsin 26 viii. french posts in wisconsin 33 ix. the fox wars 34 x. french settlement in wisconsin 38 xi. the traders' struggle to retain their trade 40 xii. the english and the northwest. influence of the indian trade on diplomacy 42 xiii. the northwest company 51 xiv. american influences 51 xv. government trading houses 58 xvi. wisconsin trade in 1820 61 xvii. effects of the trading post 67 the character and influence of the indian trade in wisconsin. introduction.[1] the trading post is an old and influential institution. established in the midst of an undeveloped society by a more advanced people, it is a center not only of new economic influences, but also of all the transforming forces that accompany the intercourse of a higher with a lower civilization. the phoenicians developed the institution into a great historic agency. closely associated with piracy at first, their commerce gradually freed itself from this and spread throughout the mediterranean lands. a passage in the odyssey (book xv.) enables us to trace the genesis of the phoenician trading post: "thither came the phoenicians, mariners renowned, greedy merchant-men with countless trinkets in a black ship.... they abode among us a whole year, and got together much wealth in their hollow ship. and when their hollow ship was now laden to depart, they sent a messenger.... there came a man versed in craft to my father's house with a golden chain strung here and there with amber beads. now, the maidens in the hall and my lady mother were handling the chain and gazing on it and offering him their price." it would appear that the traders at first sailed from port to port, bartering as they went. after a time they stayed at certain profitable places a twelvemonth, still trading from their ships. then came the fixed factory, and about it grew the trading colony.[2] the phoenician trading post wove together the fabric of oriental civilization, brought arts and the alphabet to greece, brought the elements of civilization to northern africa, and disseminated eastern culture through the mediterranean system of lands. it blended races and customs, developed commercial confidence, fostered the custom of depending on outside nations for certain supplies, and afforded a means of peaceful intercourse between societies naturally hostile. carthaginian, greek, etruscan and roman trading posts continued the process. by traffic in amber, tin, furs, etc., with the tribes of the north of europe, a continental commerce was developed. the routes of this trade have been ascertained.[3] for over a thousand years before the migration of the peoples mediterranean commerce had flowed along the interlacing river valleys of europe, and trading posts had been established. museums show how important an effect was produced upon the economic life of northern europe by this intercourse. it is a significant fact that the routes of the migration of the peoples were to a considerable extent the routes of roman trade, and it is well worth inquiry whether this commerce did not leave more traces upon teutonic society than we have heretofore considered, and whether one cause of the migrations of the peoples has not been neglected.[4] that stage in the development of society when a primitive people comes into contact with a more advanced people deserves more study than has been given to it. as a factor in breaking the "cake of custom" the meeting of two such societies is of great importance; and if, with starcke,[5] we trace the origin of the family to economic considerations, and, with schrader,[6] the institution of guest friendship to the same source, we may certainly expect to find important influences upon primitive society arising from commerce with a higher people. the extent to which such commerce has affected all peoples is remarkable. one may study the process from the days of phoenicia to the days of england in africa,[7] but nowhere is the material more abundant than in the history of the relations of the europeans and the american indians. the phoenician factory, it is true, fostered the development of the mediterranean civilization, while in america the trading post exploited the natives. the explanation of this difference is to be sought partly in race differences, partly in the greater gulf that separated the civilization of the european from the civilization of the american indian as compared with that which parted the early greeks and the phoenicians. but the study of the destructive effect of the trading post is valuable as well as the study of its elevating influences; in both cases the effects are important and worth investigation and comparison. footnotes: [footnote 1: in this paper i have rewritten and enlarged an address before the state historical society of wisconsin on the character and influence of the fur trade in wisconsin, published in the proceedings of the thirty-sixth annual meeting, 1889. i am under obligations to mr. reuben g. thwaites, secretary of this society, for his generous assistance in procuring material for my work, and to professor charles h. haskins, my colleague, who kindly read both manuscript and proof and made helpful suggestions. the reader will notice that throughout the paper i have used the word _northwest_ in a limited sense as referring to the region included between the great lakes and the ohio and mississippi rivers.] [footnote 2: on the trading colony, see roscher und jannasch, colonien, p. 12.] [footnote 3: consult: müllenhoff, altertumskunde i., 212; schrader, prehistoric antiquities of the aryan peoples, new york, 1890, pp. 348 ff.; pliny, naturalis historia, xxvii., 11; montelius, civilization of sweden in heathen times, 98-99; du chaillu, viking age; and the citations in dawkins, early man in britain, 466-7; keary, vikings in western christendom, 23.] [footnote 4: in illustration it may be noted that the early scandinavian power in russia seized upon the trade route by the dnieper and the duna. keary, vikings, 173. see also _post_, pp. 36, 38.] [footnote 5: starcke, primitive family.] [footnote 6: schrader, l.c.; see also ihring, in _deutsche rundschau_, iii., 357, 420; kulischer, der handel auf primitiven kulturstufen, in _zeitschrift für völkerpsychologie und sprachwissenschaft_, x., 378. _vide post_, p. 10.] [footnote 7: w. bosworth smith, in a suggestive article in the _nineteenth century_, december, 1887, shows the influence of the mohammedan trade in africa.] primitive inter-tribal trade. long before the advent of the white trader, inter-tribal commercial intercourse existed. mr. charles rau[8] and sir daniel wilson[9] have shown that inter-tribal trade and division of labor were common among the mound-builders and in the stone age generally. in historic times there is ample evidence of inter-tribal trade. were positive evidence lacking, indian institutions would disclose the fact. differences in language were obviated by the sign language,[10] a fixed system of communication, intelligible to all the western tribes at least. the peace pipe,[11] or calumet, was used for settling disputes, strengthening alliances, and speaking to strangers--a sanctity attached to it. wampum belts served in new england and the middle region as money and as symbols in the ratification of treaties.[12] the chippeways had an institution called by a term signifying "to enter one another's lodges,"[13] whereby a truce was made between them and the sioux at the winter hunting season. during these seasons of peace it was not uncommon for a member of one tribe to adopt a member of another as his brother, a tie which was respected even after the expiration of the truce. the analogy of this custom to the classical "guest-friendship" needs no comment; and the economic cause of the institution is worth remark, as one of the means by which the rigor of primitive inter-tribal hostility was mitigated. but it is not necessary to depend upon indirect evidence. the earliest travellers testify to the existence of a wide inter-tribal commerce. the historians of de soto's expedition mention indian merchants who sold salt to the inland tribes. "in 1565 and for some years previous bison skins were brought by the indians down the potomac, and thence carried along-shore in canoes to the french about the gulf of st. lawrence. during two years six thousand skins were thus obtained."[14] an algonquin brought to champlain at quebec a piece of copper a foot long, which he said came from a tributary of the great lakes.[15] champlain also reports that among the canadian indians village councils were held to determine what number of men might go to trade with other tribes in the summer.[16] morton in 1632 describes similar inter-tribal trade in new england, and adds that certain utensils are "but in certain parts of the country made, where the severall trades are appropriated to the inhabitants of those parts onely."[17] marquette relates that the illinois bought firearms of the indians who traded directly with the french, and that they went to the south and west to carry off slaves, which they sold at a high price to other nations.[18] it was on the foundation, therefore, of an extensive inter-tribal trade that the white man built up the forest commerce.[19] footnotes: [footnote 8: smithsonian report, 1872.] [footnote 9: transactions of the royal society of canada, 1889, vii., 59. see also thruston, antiquities of tennessee, 79 ff.] [footnote 10: mallery, in bureau of ethnology, i., 324; clark, indian sign language.] [footnote 11: shea, discovery of the mississippi, 34. catilinite pipes were widely used, even along the atlantic slope, thruston, 80-81.] [footnote 12: weeden, economic and social history of new england, i., ch. ii.] [footnote 13: minnesota historical collections, v., 267.] [footnote 14: parkman, pioneers of france in the new world, 230, citing menendez.] [footnote 15: neill, in narrative and critical history of america, iv., 164.] [footnote 16: champlain's voyages (prince society), iii., 183.] [footnote 17: morton, new english canaan (prince society), 159.] [footnote 18: shea, discovery and exploration of the mississippi valley, 32.] [footnote 19: for additional evidence see radisson, voyages (prince society), 91, 173; massachusetts historical collections, i., 151; smithsonian contributions, xvi., 30; jesuit relations, 1671, 41; thruston, antiquities, etc., 79-82; carr, mounds of the mississippi valley, 25, 27; and _post_ pp. 26-7, 36.] early trade along the atlantic coast. the chroniclers of the earliest voyages to the atlantic coast abound in references to this traffic. first of europeans to purchase native furs in america appear to have been the norsemen who settled vinland. in the saga of eric the red[20] we find this interesting account: "thereupon karlsefni and his people displayed their shields, and when they came together they began to barter with each other. especially did the strangers wish to buy red cloth, for which they offered in exchange peltries and quite grey skins. they also desired to buy swords and spears, but karlsefni and snorri forbade this. in exchange for perfect unsullied skins the skrellings would take red stuff a span in length, which they would bind around their heads. so their trade went on for a time, until karlsefni and his people began to grow short of cloth, when they divided it into such narrow pieces that it was not more than a finger's breadth wide, but the skrellings still continued to give just as much for this as before, or more."[21] the account of verrazano's voyage mentions his indian trade. captain john smith, exploring new england in 1614, brought back a cargo of fish and 11,000 beaver skins.[22] these examples could be multiplied; in short, a way was prepared for colonization by the creation of a demand for european goods, and thus the opportunity for a lodgement was afforded. footnotes: [footnote 20: reeves, finding of wineland the good, 47.] [footnote 21: n.y. hist. colls., i., 54-55, 59.] [footnote 22: smith, generall historie (richmond, 1819), i., 87-8, 182, 199; strachey's travaile into virginia, 157 (hakluyt soc. vi.); parkman, pioneers, 230.] new england indian trade. the indian trade has a place in the early history of the new england colonies. the plymouth settlers "found divers corn fields and little running brooks, a place ... fit for situation,"[23] and settled down cuckoo-like in indian clearings. mr. weeden has shown that the indian trade furnished a currency (wampum) to new england, and that it afforded the beginnings of her commerce. in september of their first year the plymouth men sent out a shallop to trade with the indians, and when a ship arrived from england in 1621 they speedily loaded her with a return cargo of beaver and lumber.[24] by frequent legislation the colonies regulated and fostered the trade.[25] bradford reports that in a single year twenty hhd. of furs were shipped from plymouth, and that between 1631 and 1636 their shipments amounted to 12,150 _li_. beaver and 1156 _li_. otter.[26] morton in his 'new english canaan' alleges that a servant of his was "thought to have a thousand pounds in ready gold gotten by the beaver when he died."[27] in the pursuit of this trade men passed continually farther into the wilderness, and their trading posts "generally became the pioneers of new settlements."[28] for example, the posts of oldham, a puritan trader, led the way for the settlements on the connecticut river,[29] and in their early days these towns were partly sustained by the indian trade.[30] not only did the new england traders expel the dutch from this valley; they contended with them on the hudson.[31] footnotes: [footnote 23: bradford, plymouth plantation.] [footnote 24: bradford, 104.] [footnote 25: _e.g._, plymouth records, i., 50, 54, 62, 119; ii., 10; massachusetts colonial records, i., 55, 81, 96, 100, 322; ii., 86, 138; iii., 424; v., 180; hazard, historical collections, ii., 19 (the commissioners of the united colonies propose giving the monopoly of the fur trade to a corporation). on public truck-houses, _vide post_, p. 58.] [footnote 26: bradford, 108, gives the proceeds of the sale of these furs.] [footnote 27: force, collections, vol. i., no. 5, p. 53.] [footnote 28: weeden, i., 132, 160-1.] [footnote 29: winthrop, history of new england, i., 111, 131.] [footnote 30: connecticut colonial records, 1637, pp. 11, 18.] [footnote 31: weeden, i., 126.] indian trade in the middle colonies. morton, in the work already referred to, protested against allowing "the great lake of the erocoise" (champlain) to the dutch, saying that it is excellent for the fur trade, and that the dutch have gained by beaver 20,000 pounds a year. exaggerated though the statement is, it is true that the energies of the dutch were devoted to this trade, rather than to agricultural settlement. as in the case of new france the settlers dispersed themselves in the indian trade; so general did this become that laws had to be passed to compel the raising of crops.[32] new york city (new amsterdam) was founded and for a time sustained by the fur trade. in their search for peltries the dutch were drawn up the hudson, up the connecticut, and down the delaware, where they had swedes for their rivals. by way of the hudson the dutch traders had access to lake champlain, and to the mohawk, the headwaters of which connected through the lakes of western new york with lake ontario. this region, which was supplied by the trading post of orange (albany), was the seat of the iroquois confederacy. the results of the trade upon indian society became apparent in a short time in the most decisive way. furnished with arms by the dutch, the iroquois turned upon the neighboring indians, whom the french had at first refrained from supplying with guns.[33] in 1649 they completely ruined the hurons,[34] a part of whom fled to the woods of northern wisconsin. in the years immediately following, the neutral nation and the eries fell under their power; they overawed the new england indians and the southern tribes, and their hunting and war parties visited illinois and drove indians of those plains into wisconsin. thus by priority in securing firearms, as well as by their remarkable civil organization,[35] the iroquois secured possession of the st. lawrence and lakes ontario and erie. the french had accepted the alliance of the algonquins and the hurons, as the dutch, and afterward the english, had that of the iroquois; so these victories of the iroquois cut the french off from the entrance to the great lakes by way of the upper st. lawrence. as early as 1629 the dutch trade was estimated at 50,000 guilders per annum, and the delaware trade alone produced 10,000 skins yearly in 1663.[36] the english succeeded to this trade, and under governor dongan they made particular efforts to extend their operations to the northwest, using the iroquois as middlemen. although the french were in possession of the trade with the algonquins of the northwest, the english had an economic advantage in competing for this trade in the fact that albany traders, whose situation enabled them to import their goods more easily than montreal traders could, and who were burdened with fewer governmental restrictions, were able to pay fifty per cent more for beaver and give better goods. french traders frequently received their supplies from albany, a practice against which the english authorities legislated in 1720; and the _coureurs de bois_ smuggled their furs to the same place.[37] as early as 1666 talon proposed that the king of france should purchase new york, "whereby he would have two entrances to canada and by which he would give to the french all the peltries of the north, of which the english share the profit by the communication which they have with the iroquois by manhattan and orange."[38] it is a characteristic of the fur trade that it continually recedes from the original center, and so it happened that the english traders before long attempted to work their way into the illinois country.[39] the wars between the french and english and iroquois must be read in the light of this fact. at the outbreak of the last french and indian war, however, it was rather pennsylvania and virginia traders who visited the ohio valley. it is said that some three hundred of them came over the mountains yearly, following the susquehanna and the juniata and the headwaters of the potomac to the tributaries of the ohio, and visiting with their pack-horses the indian villages along the valley. the center of the english trade was pickawillani on the great miami. in 1749 celoron de bienville, who had been sent out to vindicate french authority in the valley, reported that each village along the ohio and its branches "has one or more english traders, and each of these has hired men to carry his furs."[40] footnotes: [footnote 32: new york colonial documents, i., 181, 389, §7.] [footnote 33: _ibid._ 182; collection de manuscrits relatifs à la nouvelle-france, i., 254; radisson, 93.] [footnote 34: parkman, jesuits in north america; radisson; margry, découvertes et établissemens, etc., iv., 586-598; tailhan, nicholas perrot.] [footnote 35: morgan, league of the iroquois.] [footnote 36: n.y. col. docs., ix., 408-9; v., 687, 726; histoire et commerce des colonies angloises, 154.] [footnote 37: n.y. col. docs., iii., 471, 474; ix., 298, 319.] [footnote 38: _ibid._ ix., 57. the same proposal was made in 1681 by du chesneau, _ibid._ ix., 165.] [footnote 39: parkman's works; n.y. col. docs., ix., 165; shea's charlevoix, iv., 16: "the english, indeed, as already remarked, from that time shared with the french in the fur trade; and this was the chief motive of their fomenting war between us and the iroquois, inasmuch as they could get no good furs, which come from the northern districts, except by means of these indians, who could scarcely effect a reconciliation with us without precluding them from this precious mine."] [footnote 40: parkman, montcalm and wolfe, i., 50.] indian trade in the southern colonies. the indian trade of the virginians was not limited to the ohio country. as in the case of massachusetts bay, the trade had been provided for before the colony left england,[41] and in times of need it had preserved the infant settlement. bacon's rebellion was in part due to the opposition to the governor's trading relations with the savages. after a time the nearer indians were exploited, and as early as the close of the seventeenth century virginia traders sought the indians west of the alleghanies.[42] the cherokees lived among the mountains, "where the present states of tennessee, alabama, georgia, and the carolinas join one another."[43] to the west, on the mississippi, were the chickasaws, south of whom lived the choctaws, while to the south of the cherokees were the creeks. the catawbas had their villages on the border of north and south carolina, about the headwaters of the santee river. shawnese indians had formerly lived on the cumberland river, and french traders had been among them, as well as along the mississippi;[44] but by the time of the english traders, tennessee and kentucky were for the most part uninhabited. the virginia traders reached the catawbas, and for a time the cherokees, by a trading route through the southwest of the colony to the santee. by 1712 this trade was a well-established one,[45] and caravans of one hundred pack-horses passed along the trail.[46] the carolinas had early been interested in the fur trade. in 1663 the lords proprietors proposed to pay the governor's salary from the proceeds of the traffic. charleston traders were the rivals of the virginians in the southwest. they passed even to the choctaws and chickasaws, crossing the rivers by portable boats of skin, and sometimes taking up a permanent abode among the indians. virginia and carolina traders were not on good terms with each other, and governor spottswood frequently made complaints of the actions of the carolinians. his expedition across the mountains in 1716, if his statement is to be trusted, opened a new way to the transmontane indians, and soon afterwards a trading company was formed under his patronage to avail themselves of this new route.[47] it passed across the blue ridge into the shenandoah valley, and down the old indian trail to the cherokees, who lived along the upper tennessee. below the bend at the muscle shoals the virginians met the competition of the french traders from new orleans and mobile.[48] the settlement of augusta, georgia, was another important trading post. here in 1740 was an english garrison of fifteen or twenty soldiers, and a little band of traders, who annually took about five hundred pack-horses into the indian country. in the spring the furs were floated down the river in large boats.[49] the spaniards and the french also visited the indians, and the rivalry over this trade was an important factor in causing diplomatic embroilment.[50] the occupation of the back-lands of the south affords a prototype of the process by which the plains of the far west were settled, and also furnishes an exemplification of all the stages of economic development existing contemporaneously. after a time the traders were accompanied to the indian grounds by _hunters_, and sometimes the two callings were combined.[51] when boone entered kentucky he went with an indian trader whose posts were on the red river in kentucky.[52] after the game decreased the hunter's clearing was occupied by the _cattle-raiser_, and his home, as settlement grew, became the property of the _cultivator of the soil_;[53] the _manufacturing era_ belongs to our own time. in the south, the middle colonies and new england the trade opened the water-courses, the trading post grew into the palisaded town, and rival nations sought to possess the trade for themselves. throughout the colonial frontier the effects, as well as the methods, of indian traffic were strikingly alike. the trader was the pathfinder for civilization. nor was the process limited to the east of the mississippi. the expeditions of verenderye led to the discovery of the rocky mountains.[54] french traders passed up the missouri; and when the lewis and clarke expedition ascended that river and crossed the continent, it went with traders and voyageurs as guides and interpreters. indeed, jefferson first conceived the idea of such an expedition[55] from contact with ledyard, who was organizing a fur trading company in france, and it was proposed to congress as a means of fostering our western indian trade.[56] the first immigrant train to california was incited by the representations of an indian trader who had visited the region, and it was guided by trappers.[57] st. louis was the center of the fur trade of the far west, and senator benton was intimate with leading traders like chouteau.[58] he urged the occupation of the oregon country, where in 1810 an establishment had for a time been made by the celebrated john jacob astor; and he fostered legislation opening the road to the southwestern mexican settlements long in use by the traders. the expedition of his son-in-law frémont was made with french voyageurs, and guided to the passes by traders who had used them before.[59] benton was also one of the stoutest of the early advocates of a pacific railway. but the northwest[60] was particularly the home of the fur trade, and having seen that this traffic was not an isolated or unimportant matter, we may now proceed to study it in detail with wisconsin as the field of investigation. footnotes: [footnote 41: charter of 1606.] [footnote 42: ramsay, tennessee, 63.] [footnote 43: on the southwestern indians see adair, american indians.] [footnote 44: ramsay, 75.] [footnote 45: spottswood's letters, virginia hist. colls., n.s., i., 67.] [footnote 46: byrd manuscripts, i., 180. the reader will find a convenient map for the southern region in roosevelt, winning of the west, i.] [footnote 47: spottswood's letters, i., 40; ii., 149, 150.] [footnote 48: ramsay, 64. note the bearing of this route on the holston settlement.] [footnote 49: georgia historical collections, i., 180; ii., 123-7.] [footnote 50: spottswood. ii., 331, for example.] [footnote 51: ramsay, 65.] [footnote 52: boone, life and adventures.] [footnote 53: observations on the north american land co., pp. xv., 144, london, 1796.] [footnote 54: margry, vi.] [footnote 55: allen, lewis and clarke expedition, i., ix.; _vide post_, pp. 70-71.] [footnote 56: _vide post_, p. 71.] [footnote 57: _century magazine_, xli., 759.] [footnote 58: jessie benton frémont in _century magazine_, xli., 766-7.] [footnote 59: _century magazine_, xli., p. 759; _vide post_, p. 74.] [footnote 60: parkman's works, particularly old régime, make any discussion of the importance of the fur trade to canada proper unnecessary. la hontan says: "for you must know that canada subsists only upon the trade of skins or furs, three-fourths of which come from the people that live around the great lakes." la hontan, i., 53, london, 1703.] northwestern river systems in their relation to the fur trade. the importance of physical conditions is nowhere more manifest than in the exploration of the northwest, and we cannot properly appreciate wisconsin's relation to the history of the time without first considering her situation as regards the lake and river systems of north america. when the breton sailors, steering their fishing smacks almost in the wake of cabot, began to fish in the st. lawrence gulf, and to traffic with the natives of the mainland for peltries, the problem of how the interior of north america was to be explored was solved. the water-system composed of the st. lawrence and the great lakes is the key to the continent. the early explorations in a wilderness must be by water-courses--they are nature's highways. the st. lawrence leads to the great lakes; the headwaters of the tributaries of these lakes lie so near the headwaters of the rivers that join the mississippi that canoes can be portaged from the one to the other. the mississippi affords passage to the gulf of mexico; or by the missouri to the passes of the rocky mountains, where rise the headwaters of the columbia, which brings the voyageur to the pacific. but if the explorer follows lake superior to the present boundary line between minnesota and canada, and takes the chain of lakes and rivers extending from pigeon river to rainy lake and lake of the woods, he will be led to the winnipeg river and to the lake of the same name. from this, by streams and portages, he may reach hudson bay; or he may go by way of elk river and lake athabasca to slave river and slave lake, which will take him to mackenzie river and to the arctic sea. but lake winnipeg also receives the waters of the saskatchewan river, from which one may pass to the highlands near the pacific where rise the northern branches of the columbia. and from the lakes of canada there are still other routes to the oregon country.[61] at a later day these two routes to the columbia became an important factor in bringing british and americans into conflict over that territory. in these water-systems wisconsin was the link that joined the great lakes and the mississippi; and along her northern shore the first explorers passed to the pigeon river, or, as it was called later, the grand portage route, along the boundary line between minnesota and canada into the heart of canada. it was possible to reach the mississippi from the great lakes by the following principal routes:[62] 1. by the miami (maumee) river from the west end of lake erie to the wabash, thence to the ohio and the mississippi. 2. by the st. joseph's river to the wabash, thence to the ohio. 3. by the st. joseph's river to the kankakee, and thence to the illinois and the mississippi. 4. by the chicago river to the illinois. 5. by green bay, fox river, and the wisconsin river. 6. by the bois brulé river to the st. croix river. of these routes, the first two were not at first available, owing to the hostility of the iroquois. of all the colonies that fell to the english, as we have seen, new york alone had a water-system that favored communication with the interior, tapping the st. lawrence and opening a way to lake ontario. prevented by the iroquois friends of the dutch and english from reaching the northwest by way of the lower lakes, the french ascended the ottawa, reached lake nipissing, and passed by way of georgian bay to the islands of lake huron. as late as the nineteenth century this was the common route of the fur trade, for it was more certain for the birch canoes than the tempestuous route of the lakes. at the huron islands two ways opened before their canoes. the straits of michillimackinac[63] permitted them to enter lake michigan, and from this led the two routes to the mississippi: one by way of green bay and the fox and wisconsin, and the other by way of the lake to the chicago river. but if the trader chose to go from the huron islands through sault ste. marie into lake superior, the necessities of his frail craft required him to hug the shore, and the rumors of copper mines induced the first traders to take the south shore, and here the lakes of northern wisconsin and minnesota afford connecting links between the streams that seek lake superior and those that seek the mississippi,[64] a fact which made northern wisconsin more important in this epoch than the southern portion of the state. we are now able to see how the river-courses of the northwest permitted a complete exploration of the country, and that in these courses wisconsin held a commanding situation,[65] but these rivers not only permitted exploration; they also furnished a motive to exploration by the fact that their valleys teemed with fur-bearing animals. this is the main fact in connection with northwestern exploration. the hope of a route to china was always influential, as was also the search for mines, but the practical inducements were the profitable trade with the indians for beaver and buffaloes and the wild life that accompanied it. so powerful was the combined influence of these far-stretching rivers, and the "hardy, adventurous, lawless, fascinating fur trade," that the scanty population of canada was irresistibly drawn from agricultural settlements into the interminable recesses of the continent; and herein is a leading explanation of the lack of permanent french influence in america. footnotes: [footnote 61: narr. and crit. hist. amer., viii., 10-11.] [footnote 62: narr. and crit. hist. amer., iv., 224, n. 1; margry, v. see also parkman, montcalm and wolfe, i., map and pp. 38-9, 128.] [footnote 63: mackinaw.] [footnote 64: see doty's enumeration, wis. hist. colls., vii., 202.] [footnote 65: jes. rels., 1672, p. 37; la hontan, i., 105 (1703).] wisconsin indians.[66] "all that relates to the indian tribes of wisconsin," says dr. shea, "their antiquities, their ethnology, their history, is deeply interesting from the fact that it is the area of the first meeting of the algic and dakota tribes. here clans of both these wide-spread families met and mingled at a very early period; here they first met in battle and mutually checked each other's advance." the winnebagoes attracted the attention of the french even before they were visited. they were located about green bay. their later location at the entrance of lake winnebago was unoccupied, at least in the time of allouez, because of the hostility of the sioux. early authorities represented them as numbering about one hundred warriors.[67] the pottawattomies we find in 1641 at sault ste. marie,[68] whither they had just fled from their enemies. their proper home was probably about the southeastern shore and islands of green bay, where as early as 1670 they were again located. of their numbers in wisconsin at this time we can say but little. allouez, at chequamegon bay, was visited by 300 of their warriors, and he mentions some of their green bay villages, one of which had 300 souls.[69] the menomonees were found chiefly on the river that bears their name, and the western tributaries of green bay seem to have been their territory. on the estimates of early authorities we may say that they had about 100 warriors.[70] the sauks and foxes were closely allied tribes. the sauks were found by allouez[71] four leagues[72] up the fox from its mouth, and the foxes at a place reached by a four days' ascent of the wolf river from its mouth. later we find them at the confluence of the wolf and the fox. according to their early visitors these two tribes must have had something over 1000 warriors.[73] the miamis and mascoutins were located about a league from the fox river, probably within the limits of what is now green lake county,[74] and four leagues away were their friends the kickapoos. in 1670 the miamis and mascoutins were estimated at 800 warriors, and this may have included the kickapoos. the sioux held possession of the upper mississippi, and in wisconsin hunted on its northeastern tributaries. their villages were in later times all on the west of the mississippi, and of their early numbers no estimate can be given. the chippeways were along the southern shore of lake superior. their numbers also are in doubt, but were very considerable.[75] in northwestern wisconsin, with chequamegon bay as their rendezvous, were the ottawas and hurons,[76] who had fled here to escape the iroquois. in 1670 they were back again to their homes at mackinaw and the huron islands. but in 1666, as allouez tells us, they were situated at the bottom of this beautiful bay, planting their indian corn and leading a stationary life. "they are there," he says, "to the number of eight hundred men bearing arms, but collected from seven different nations who dwell in peace with each other thus mingled together."[77] and the jesuit relations of 1670 add that the illinois "come here from time to time in great numbers as merchants to procure hatchets, cooking utensils, guns, and other things of which they stand in need." here, too, came pottawattomies, as we have seen, and sauks. at the mouth of fox river[78] we find another mixed village of pottawattomies, sauks, foxes, and winnebagoes, and at a later period milwaukee was the site of a similar heterogeneous community. leaving out the hurons, the tribes of wisconsin were, with two exceptions, of the algic stock. the exceptions are the winnebagoes and the sioux, who belong to the dakota family. of these wisconsin tribes it is probable that the sauks and foxes, the pottawattomies, the hurons and ottawas and the mascoutins, and miamis and kickapoos, were driven into wisconsin by the attacks of eastern enemies. the iroquois even made incursions as far as the home of the mascoutins on fox river. on the other side of the state were the sioux, "the iroquois of the west," as the missionaries call them, who had once claimed all the region, and whose invasions, allouez says, rendered lake winnebago uninhabited. there was therefore a pressure on both sides of wisconsin which tended to mass together the divergent tribes. and the green bay and fox and wisconsin route was the line of least resistance, as well as a region abounding in wild rice, fish and game, for these early fugitives. in this movement we have two facts that are not devoid of significance in institutional history: first, the welding together of separate tribes, as the sauks and foxes, and the miamis, mascoutins and kickapoos; and second, a commingling of detached families from various tribes at peculiarly favorable localities. footnotes: [footnote 66: on these early locations, consult the authorities cited by shea in wis. hist. colls., iii., 125 _et seq._, and by branson in his criticism on shea, _ibid._ iv., 223. see also butterfield's discovery of the northwest in 1634, and _mag. west. hist._, v., 468, 630; and minn. hist. colls., v.] [footnote 67: some early estimates were as follows: 1640, "great numbers" (margry, i., 48); 1718, 80 to 100 warriors (n.y. col. docs., ix., 889); 1728, 60 or 80 warriors (margry, vi., 553); 1736, 90 warriors (chaurignerie, cited in schoolcraft's indian tribes, iii., 282); 1761, 150 warriors (gorrell, wis. hist. colls., i., 32).] [footnote 68: margry, i., 46.] [footnote 69: jes. rels., 1667, 1670.] [footnote 70: 1718, estimated at 80 to 100 warriors (n.y. col. docs., ix.,889); 1762, estimated at 150 warriors (gorrell, wis. hist. colls., i., 32).] [footnote 71: jes. rels., 1670.] [footnote 72: french leagues.] [footnote 73: 1670, foxes estimated at 400 warriors (jes. rels., 1670); 1667, foxes, 1000 warriors (jes. rels., 1667); 1695, foxes and mascoutins, 1200 warriors (n.y. col. docs., ix., 633); 1718, sauks 100 or 120, foxes 500 warriors (2 penn. archives, vi., 54); 1728, foxes, 200 warriors (margry, v.); 1762, sauks and foxes, 700 warriors (gorrell, wis. hist. colls., i., 32). this, it must be observed, was after the fox wars.] [footnote 74: jes. rels., 1670; butterfield's discovery of the northwest.] [footnote 75: in 1820 those in wisconsin numbered about 600 hunters.] [footnote 76: on these indians consult, besides authorities already cited, shea's discovery, etc. lx.; jes. rels.; narr. and crit. hist. of amer., iv., 168-170, 175; radisson's voyages; margry, iv., 586-598.] [footnote 77: jes. rels., 1666-7.] [footnote 78: jes. rels., 1670.] periods of the wisconsin indian trade. the indian trade was almost the sole interest in wisconsin during the two centuries that elapsed from the visit of nicolet in 1634 to about 1834, when lead-mining had superseded it in the southwest and land offices were opened at green bay and mineral point; when the port of milwaukee received an influx of settlers to the lands made known by the so-called black hawk war; and when astor retired from the american fur company. these two centuries may be divided into three periods of the trade: 1. french, from 1634 to 1763; 2. english, from 1763 to 1816; 3. american, from 1816 to 1834. french exploration in wisconsin. sagard,[79] whose work was published in 1636, tells us that the hurons, who traded with the french, visited the winnebagoes and the fire nation (mascoutins),[80] bartering goods for peltries. champlain, the famous fur-trader, who represented the company of the hundred associates,[81] formed by richelieu to monopolize the fur trade of new france and govern the country, sent an agent named jean nicolet, in 1634,[82] to green bay and fox river to make a peace between the hurons and the winnebagoes in the interests of inter-tribal commerce. the importance of this phase of the trade as late as 1681 may be inferred from these words of du chesneau, speaking of the ottawas, and including under the term the petun hurons and the chippeways also: "through them we obtain beaver, and although they, for the most part, do not hunt, and have but a small portion of peltry in their country, they go in search of it to the most distant places, and exchange for it our merchandise which they procure at montreal." among the tribes enumerated as dealing with the ottawas are the sioux, satiks, pottawattomies, winnebagoes, menomonees and mascoutins--all wisconsin indians at this time. he adds: "some of these tribes occasionally come down to montreal, but usually they do not do so in very great numbers because they are too far distant, are not expert at managing canoes, and because the other indians intimidate them, in order to be the carriers of their merchandise and to profit thereby."[83] it was the aim of the authorities to attract the indians to montreal, or to develop the inter-tribal communication, and thus to centralize the trade and prevent the dissipation of the energies of the colony; but the temptations of the free forest traffic were too strong. in a memoir of 1697, aubert de la chesnaye says: "at first, the french went only among the hurons, and since then to missilimakinak, where they sold their goods to the savages of the places, who in turn went to exchange them with other savages in the depths of the woods, lands and rivers. but at present the french, having licenses, in order to secure greater profit surreptitiously, pass all the 'ottawas and savages of missilimakinak in order to go themselves to seek the most distant tribes, which is very displeasing to the former. _it is they, also, who have made excellent discoveries;_ and four or five hundred young men, the best men of canada, are engaged in this business.... they have given us knowledge of many names of savages that we did not know; and four or five hundred leagues more remote are others who are unknown to us."[84] two of the most noteworthy of these _coureurs de bois_, or wood-rangers, were radisson and groseilliers.[85] in 1660 they returned to montreal with 300 algonquins and sixty canoes laden with furs, after a voyage in which they visited, among other tribes, the pottawattomies, mascoutins, sioux, and hurons, in wisconsin. from the hurons they learned of the mississippi, and probably visited the river. they soon returned from montreal to the northern wisconsin region. in the course of their wanderings they had a post at chequamegon bay, and they ascended the pigeon river, thus opening the grand portage route to the heart of canada. among their exploits they induced england to enter the hudson bay trade, and gave the impetus that led to the organization of the hudson bay company. the reports which these traders brought back had a most important effect in fostering exploration in the northwest, and led to the visit of menard, who was succeeded by allouez, the pioneers of the jesuits in wisconsin.[86] radisson gives us a good account of the early wisconsin trade. of his visit to the ottawas he says: "we weare wellcomed & made of saying that we weare the gods and devils of the earth; that we should fournish them, & that they would bring us to their enemy to destroy them. we tould them [we] were very well content. we persuaded them first to come peaceably, not to distroy them presently, and if they would not condescend then would wee throw away the hatchett and make use of our thunders. we sent ambassadors to them wth guifts. that nation called pontonatemick[87] without more adoe comes and meets us with the rest, and peace was concluded." "the savages," he writes, "love knives better than we serve god, which should make us blush for shame." in another place, "we went away free from any burden whilst those poore miserable thought themselves happy to carry our equipage for the hope that they had that we should give them a brasse ring, or an awle, or an needle."[88] we find them using this influence in various places to make peace between hostile tribes, whom they threatened with punishment. this early commerce was carried on under the fiction of an exchange of presents. for example, radisson says: "we gave them severall gifts and received many. they bestowed upon us above 300 robs of castors out of wch we brought not five to the ffrench being far in the country."[89] among the articles used by radisson in this trade were kettles, hatchets, knives, graters, awls, needles, tin looking-glasses, little bells, ivory combs, vermilion, sword blades, necklaces and bracelets. the sale of guns and blankets was at this time exceptional, nor does it appear that radisson carried brandy in this voyage.[90] more and more the young men of canada continued to visit the savages at their villages. by 1660 the _coureurs de bois_ formed a distinct class,[91] who, despite the laws against it, pushed from michillimackinac into the wilderness. wisconsin was a favorite resort of these adventurers. by the time of the arrival of the jesuits they had made themselves entirely at home upon our lakes. they had preceded allouez at chequamegon bay, and when he established his mission at green bay he came at the invitation of the pottawattomies, who wished him to "mollify some young frenchmen who were among them for the purpose of trading and who threatened and ill-treated them."[92] he found fur traders before him on the fox and the wolf. bancroft's assertion[93] that "religious enthusiasm took possession of the wilderness on the upper lakes and explored the mississippi," is misleading. it is not true that "not a cape was turned, nor a mission founded, nor a river entered, nor a settlement begun, but a jesuit led the way." in fact the jesuits followed the traders;[94] their missions were on the sites of trading posts, and they themselves often traded.[95] when st. lusson, with the _coureur de bois_, nicholas perrot, took official possession of the northwest for france at the sault ste. marie in 1671, the cost of the expedition was defrayed by trade in beaver.[96] joliet, who, accompanied by marquette, descended the mississippi by the fox and wisconsin route in 1673, was an experienced fur trader. while du lhut, chief of the _coureurs de bois_, was trading on lake superior, la salle,[97] the greatest of these merchants, was preparing his far-reaching scheme for colonizing the indians in the illinois region under the direction of the french, so that they might act as a check on the inroads of the iroquois, and aid in his plan of securing an exit for the furs of the northwest, particularly buffalo hides, by way of the mississippi and the gulf. la salle's "griffen," the earliest ship to sail the great lakes, was built for this trade, and received her only cargo at green bay. accault, one of la salle's traders, with hennepin, met du lhut on the upper mississippi, which he had reached by way of the bois brulé and st. croix, in 1680. du lhut's trade awakened the jealousy of la salle, who writes in 1682: "if they go by way of the ouisconsing, where for the present the chase of the buffalo is carried on and where i have commenced an establishment, they will ruin the trade on which alone i rely, on account of the great number of buffalo which are taken there every year, almost beyond belief."[98] speaking of the jesuits at green bay, he declares that they "have in truth the key to the beaver country, where a brother blacksmith that they have and two companions convert more iron into beaver than the fathers convert savages into christians."[99] perrot says that the beaver north of the mouth of the wisconsin were better than those of the illinois country, and the chase was carried on in this region for a longer period;[100] and we know from dablon that the wisconsin savages were not compelled to separate by families during the hunting season, as was common among other tribes, because the game here was so abundant.[101] aside from its importance as a key to the northwestern trade, wisconsin seems to have been a rich field of traffic itself. with such extensive operations as the foregoing in the region reached by wisconsin rivers, it is obvious that the government could not keep the _coureurs de bois_ from the woods. even governors like frontenac connived at the traffic and shared its profits. in 1681 the government decided to issue annual licenses,[102] and messengers were dispatched to announce amnesty to the _coureurs de bois_ about green bay and the south shore of lake superior.[103] we may now offer some conclusions upon the connection of the fur trade with french explorations: 1. the explorations were generally induced and almost always rendered profitable by the fur trade. in addition to what has been presented on this point, note the following: in 1669, patoulet writes to colbert concerning la salle's voyage to explore a passage to japan: "the enterprise is difficult and dangerous, but the good thing about it is that the king will be at no expense for this pretended discovery."[104] the king's instructions to governor de la barre in 1682 say that, "several inhabitants of canada, excited by the hope of the profit to be realized from the trade with the indians for furs, have undertaken at various periods discoveries in the countries of the nadoussioux, the river mississipy, and other parts of america."[105] 2. the early traders were regarded as quasi-supernatural beings by the indians.[106] they alone could supply the coveted iron implements, the trinkets that tickled the savage's fancy, the "fire-water," and the guns that gave such increased power over game and the enemy. in the course of a few years the wisconsin savages passed from the use of the implements of the stone age to the use of such an important product of the iron age as firearms. they passed also from the economic stage in which their hunting was for food and clothing simply, to that stage in which their hunting was made systematic and stimulated by the european demand for furs. the trade tended to perpetuate the hunter stage by making it profitable, and it tended to reduce the indian to economic dependence[107] upon the europeans, for while he learned to use the white man's gun he did not learn to make it or even to mend it. in this transition stage from their primitive condition the influence of the trader over the indians was all-powerful. the pre-eminence of the individual indian who owned a gun made all the warriors of the tribe eager to possess like power. the tribe thus armed placed their enemies at such a disadvantage that they too must have like weapons or lose their homes.[108] no wonder that la salle was able to say: "the savages take better care of us french than of their own children. from us only can they get guns and goods."[109] this was the power that france used to support her in the struggle with england for the northwest. 3. the trader used his influence to promote peace between the northwestern indians.[110] footnotes: [footnote 79: histoire du canada, 193-4 (edition of 1866).] [footnote 80: dablon, jesuit relations, 1671.] [footnote 81: see parkman, pioneers, 429 ff. (1890).] [footnote 82: margry, i., 50. the date rests on inference; see bibliography of nicolet in wis. hist. colls., xi., and cf. hebberd, wisconsin under french dominion, 14.] [footnote 83: n.y. col. docs., ix., 160.] [footnote 84: margry, vi., 3; coll. de mamiscrits, i., 255, where the date is wrongly given as 1676. the italics are ours.] [footnote 85: radisson, voyages (prince soc. pubs.); margry, i., 53-55, 83; jes. rels., 1660; wis. hist. colls., x., xi; narrative and critical hist. amer., iv., 168-173.] [footnote 86: cf. radisson, 173-5, and jes. rels., 1660, pp. 12, 30; 1663, pp. 17 ff.] [footnote 87: pottawattomies in the region of green bay.] [footnote 88: wis. hist. colls., xi., 67-8.] [footnote 89: _ibid._ xi., 90.] [footnote 90: radisson, 200, 217, 219.] [footnote 91: suite, in transactions of the wisconsin academy of science, arts and letters, v., 141; n.y. col. docs., ix., 153, 140,152; margry, vi., 3; parkman, old régime, 310-315.] [footnote 92: cf. jes. rels., 1670, p. 92.] [footnote 93: history of united states, ii., 138 (1884).] [footnote 94: harrisse, notes sur la nouvelle france, 174-181.] [footnote 95: parkman, old régime, 328 ff., and la salle, 98; margry, ii., 251; radisson, 173.] [footnote 96: see talon's report quoted in narr. and crit. hist. amer., iv., 175.] [footnote 97: margry abounds in evidences of la salle's commercial activity, as does parkman's la salle. see also dunn, indiana, 20-1.] [footnote 98: margry, ii., 254.] [footnote 99: margry, ii., 251.] [footnote 100: tailhan's perrot, 57.] [footnote 101: jes. rels., 1670.] [footnote 102: la hontan, i., 53; n.y. col. docs., ix., 159; parkman, old régime, 305.] [footnote 103: margry, vi., 45.] [footnote 104: margry, i., 81.] [footnote 105: n.y. col. docs., ix., 187. on the cost of such expeditions, see documents in margry, i., 293-296; vi., 503-507. on the profits of the trade, see la salle in 2 penna. archives, vi., 18-19.] [footnote 106: see radisson, _ante_, p. 28.] [footnote 107: _vide post_, p. 62.] [footnote 108: _vide ante_, p. 14; radisson, 154; minn. hist. colls., v., 427. compare the effects of the introduction of bronze weapons into europe.] [footnote 109: margry, ii., 234. on the power possessed by the french through this trade consult also d'iberville's plan for locating wisconsin indians on the illinois by changing their trading posts; see margry, iv., 586-598.] [footnote 110: wis. hist. colls., xi., 67-8, 90; narr. and crit. hist. amer., iv., 182; perrot, 327; margry, vi., 507-509, 653-4.] french posts in wisconsin. in the governorship of dongan of new york, as has been noted, the english were endeavoring to secure the trade of the northwest. as early as 1685, english traders had reached michillimackinac, the depot of supplies for the _coureur de bois_, where they were cordially received by the indians, owing to their cheaper goods[111]. at the same time the english on hudson bay were drawing trade to their posts in that region. the french were thoroughly alarmed. they saw the necessity of holding the indians by trading posts in their midst, lest they should go to the english, for as begon declared, the savages "always take the part of those with whom they trade."[112] it is at this time that the french occupation of the northwest begins to assume a new phase. stockaded trading posts were established at such key-points as a strait, a portage, a river-mouth, or an important lake, where also were indian villages. in 1685 the celebrated nicholas perrot was given command of green bay and its dependencies[113]. he had trading posts near trempealeau and at fort st. antoine on the wisconsin side of lake pepin where he traded with the sioux, and for a time he had a post and worked the lead-mines above the des moines river. both these and fort st. nicholas at the mouth of the wisconsin[114] were dependencies of green bay. du lhut probably established fort st. croix at the portage between the bois brulé river and the st. croix.[115] in 1695 le sueur built a fort on the largest island above lake pepin, and he also asked the command of the post of chequamegon.[116] these official posts were supported by the profits of indian commerce,[117] and were designed to keep the northwestern tribes at peace, and to prevent the english and iroquois influence from getting the fur trade. footnotes: [footnote 111: n.y. col. docs., ix., 296, 308; iv., 735.] [footnote 112: quoted in sheldon, early history of michigan, 310.] [footnote 113: tailhan's perrot, 156.] [footnote 114: wis. hist. colls., x., 54, 300-302, 307, 321.] [footnote 115: narr. and crit. hist. amer., iv., 186.] [footnote 116: margry, vi., 60. near ashland, wis.] [footnote 117: consult french mss., 3d series, vi., parl. library, ottawa, cited in minn. hist. colls., v., 422; id., v., 425. in 1731 m. la ronde, having constructed at his own expense a bark of forty tons on lake superior, received the post of la pointe de chagouamigon as a gratuity to defray his expenses. see also the story of verenderye's posts, in parkman's article in _atlantic monthly_, june, 1887, and margry, vi. see also 2 penna. archives, vi., 18; la hontan, i., 53; n.y. col. docs., ix., 159; tailhan, perrot, 302.] the fox wars. in 1683 perrot had collected wisconsin indians for an attack on the iroquois, and again in 1686 he led them against the same enemy. but the efforts of the iroquois and the english to enter the region with their cheaper and better goods, and the natural tendency of savages to plunder when assured of supplies from other sources, now overcame the control which the french had exercised. the sauks and foxes, the mascoutins, kickapoos and miamis, as has been described, held the fox and wisconsin route to the west, the natural and easy highway to the mississippi, as la hontan calls it.[118] green bay commanded this route, as la pointe de chagouamigon[119] commanded the lake superior route to the bois brulé and the st. croix. one of perrot's main objects was to supply the sioux on the other side of the mississippi, and these were the routes to them. to the illinois region, also, the fox route was the natural one. the indians of this waterway therefore held the key to the french position, and might attempt to prevent the passage of french goods and support english influence and trade, or they might try to monopolize the intermediate trade themselves, or they might try to combine both policies. as early as 1687 the foxes, mascoutins and kickapoos, animated apparently by hostility to the trade carried on by perrot with the sioux, their enemy at that time, threatened to pillage the post at green bay.[120] the closing of the ottawa to the northern fur trade by the iroquois for three years, a blow which nearly ruined canada in the days of frontenac, as parkman has described,[121] not only kept vast stores of furs from coming down from michillimackinac; it must, also, have kept goods from reaching the northwestern indians. in 1692 the mascoutins, who attributed the death of some of their men to perrot, plundered his goods, and the foxes soon entered into negotiation with the iroquois.[122] frontenac expressed great apprehension lest with their allies on the fox and wisconsin route they should remove eastward and come into connection with the iroquois and the english, a grave danger to new france.[123] nor was this apprehension without reason.[124] even such docile allies as the ottawas and pottawattomies threatened to leave the french if goods were not sent to them wherewith to oppose their enemies. "they have powder and iron," complained an ottawa deputy; "how can we sustain ourselves? have compassion, then, on us, and consider that it is no easy matter to kill men with clubs."[125] by the end of the seventeenth century the disaffected indians closed the fox and wisconsin route against french trade.[126] in 1699 an order was issued recalling the french from the northwest, it being the design to concentrate french power at the nearer posts.[127] detroit was founded in 1701 as a place to which to attract the northwestern trade and intercept the english. in 1702 the priest at st. joseph reported that the english were sending presents to the miamis about that post and desiring to form an establishment in their country.[128] at the same date we find d'iberville, of louisiana, proposing a scheme for drawing the miamis, mascoutins and kickapoos from the wisconsin streams to the illinois, by changing their trading posts from green bay to the latter region, and drawing the illinois by trading posts to the lower ohio.[129] it was shortly after this that the miamis and kickapoos passed south under either the french or english influence,[130] and the hostility of the foxes became more pronounced. a part of the scheme of la motte cadillac at detroit was to colonize indians about that post,[131] and in 1712 foxes, sauks, mascoutins, kickapoos, pottawattomies, hurons, ottawas, illinois, menomonees and others were gathered there under the influence of trade. but soon, whether by design of the french and their allies or otherwise, hostilities broke out against the foxes and their allies. the animus of the combat appears in the cries of the foxes as they raised red blankets for flags and shouted "we have no father but the english!" while the allies of the french replied, "the english are cowards; they destroy the indians with brandy and are enemies of the true god!" the foxes were defeated with great slaughter and driven back to wisconsin.[132] from this time until 1734 the french waged war against the foxes with but short intermissions. the foxes allied themselves with the iroquois and the sioux, and acted as middlemen between the latter and the traders, refusing passage to goods on the ground that it would damage their own trade to allow this.[133] they fostered hostilities between their old foes the chippeways and their new allies the sioux, and thus they cut off english intercourse with the latter by way of the north. this trade between the chippeways and the sioux was important to the french, and commandants were repeatedly sent to la pointe de chagouamigon and the upper mississippi to make peace between the two tribes.[134] while the wars were in progress the english took pains to enforce their laws against furnishing indian goods to french traders. the english had for a time permitted this, and their own indian trade had suffered because the french were able to make use of the cheap english goods. by their change in policy the english now brought home to the savages the fact that french goods were dearer.[135] moreover, english traders were sent to niagara to deal directly with "the far indians," and the foxes visited the english and iroquois, and secured a promise that they might take up their abode with the latter and form an additional member of the confederacy in case of need.[136] as a counter policy the french attempted to exterminate the foxes, and detached the sioux from their alliance with the foxes by establishing fort beauharnois, a trading post on the minnesota side of lake pepin.[137] the results of these wars were as follows: 1. they spread the feeling of defection among the northwestern indians, who could no longer be restrained, as at first, by the threat of cutting off their trade, there being now rivals in the shape of the english, and the french traders from louisiana.[138] 2. they caused a readjustment of the indian map of wisconsin. the mascoutins and the pottawattomies had already moved southward to the illinois country. now the foxes, driven from their river, passed first to prairie du chien and then down the mississippi. the sauks went at first to the wisconsin, near sauk prairie, and then joined the foxes. the winnebagoes gradually extended themselves along the fox and wisconsin. the chippeways,[139] freed from their fear of the foxes, to whom the wolf and the wisconsin had given access to the northern portion of the state, now passed south to lac du flambeau,[140] to the headwaters of the wisconsin, and to lac court oreilles.[141] 3. the closing of the fox and wisconsin route fostered that movement of trade and exploration which at this time began to turn to the far northwest along the pigeon river route into central british america, in search of the sea of the west,[142] whereby the rocky mountains were discovered; and it may have aided in turning settlement into the illinois country. 4. these wars were a part of a connected series, including the iroquois wars, the fox wars, the attack of the wisconsin trader, charles de langlade, upon the center of english trade at pickawillany,[143] ohio, and the french and indian war that followed. all were successive stages of the struggle against english trade in the french possessions. footnotes: [footnote 118: la hontan, i., 105.] [footnote 119: near ashland, wis.] [footnote 120: tailhan, perrot, 139, 302.] [footnote 121: frontenac, 315-316. cf. perrot, 302.] [footnote 122: perrot, 331; n.y. col. docs., ix., 633.] [footnote 123: _ibid._] [footnote 124: n.y. col. docs., iv., 732-7.] [footnote 125: n.y. col. docs., ix., 673.] [footnote 126: shea, early voyages, 49.] [footnote 127: kingsford, canada, ii., 394; n.y. col. docs., ix., 635.] [footnote 128: margry, v.,219.] [footnote 129: _ibid._ iv., 597.] [footnote 130: wis. hist. colls., iii., 149; smith, wisconsin, ii., 315.] [footnote 131: coll. de manus., iii., 622.] [footnote 132: see hebberd's account, wisconsin under french dominion; coll. de manus., i., 623; smith, wisconsin, ii., 315.] [footnote 133: margry, vi., 543.] [footnote 134: tailhan, perrot, _passim_; n.y. col. docs., ix., 570, 619, 621; margry, vi., 507-509, 553, 653-4; minn. hist. colls., v., 422, 425; wis. hist. colls., iii., 154.] [footnote 135: n.y. col. docs., v., 726 ff.] [footnote 136: _ibid._ iv., 732, 735, 796-7; v., 687, 911.] [footnote 137: margry, vi., 553, 563, 575-580; neill in _mag. western history_, november, 1887.] [footnote 138: perrot, 148; parkman, montcalm and wolfe, i., 42; hebberd, wisconsin under french dominion, chapters on the fox wars.] [footnote 139: minn. hist. colls., v., 190-1.] [footnote 140: oneida county.] [footnote 141: sawyer county.] [footnote 142: margry, vi.] [footnote 143: parkman, montcalm and wolfe, i., 84, and citations; _vide post_, p. 41.] french settlement in wisconsin. settlement was not the object of the french in the northwest. the authorities saw as clearly as do we that the field was too vast for the resources of the colony, and they desired to hold the region as a source of peltries, and contract their settlements. the only towns worthy of the name in the northwest were detroit and the settlements in indiana and illinois, all of which depended largely on the fur trade.[144] but in spite of the government the traffic also produced the beginnings of settlement in wisconsin. about the middle of the century, augustin de langlade had made green bay his trading post. after pontiac's war,[145] charles de langlade[146] made the place his permanent residence, and a little settlement grew up. at prairie du chien french traders annually met the indians, and at this time there may have been a stockaded trading post there, but it was not a permanent settlement until the close of the revolutionary war. chequamegon bay was deserted[147] at the outbreak of the french war. there may have been a regular trading post at milwaukee in this period, but the first trader recorded is not until 1762.[148] doubtless wintering posts existed at other points in wisconsin. the characteristic feature of french occupancy of the northwest was the trading post, and in illustration of it, and of the centralized administration of the french, the following account of de repentigny's fort at sault ste. marie (michigan) is given in the words of governor la jonquière to the minister for the colonies in 1751:[149] "he arrived too late last year at the sault ste. marie to fortify himself well; however, he secured himself in a sort of fort large enough to receive the traders of missilimakinac.... he employed his hired men during the whole winter in cutting 1100 pickets of fifteen feet for his fort, with the doublings, and the timber necessary for the construction of three houses, one of them thirty feet long by twenty wide, and two others twenty-five feet long and the same width as the first. his fort is entirely furnished with the exception of a redoubt of oak, which he is to have made twelve feet square, and which shall reach the same distance above the gate of the fort. his fort is 110 feet square. "as for the cultivation of the lands, the sieur de repentigny has a bull, two bullocks, three cows, two heifers, one horse and a mare from missilimakinac.... he has engaged a frenchman who married at sault ste. marie an indian woman to take a farm; they have cleared it and sowed it, and without a frost they will gather 30 to 35 sacks of corn. the said sieur de repentigny so much feels it his duty to devote himself to the cultivation of these lands that he has already entered into a bargain for two slaves[150] whom he will employ to take care of the corn[151] that he will gather upon these lands." footnotes: [footnote 144: fergus, historical series, no. 12; breese, early history of illinois; dunn, indiana; hubbard, memorials of a half century; monette, history of the valley of the mississippi, i., ch. iv.] [footnote 145: henry, travels, ch. x.] [footnote 146: see memoir in wis. hist. colls., vii.; iii., 224; vii., 127, 152, 166.] [footnote 147: henry, travels.] [footnote 148: wis. hist. colls., i., 35.] [footnote 149: minn. hist. colls., v., 435-6.] [footnote 150: indians. compare wis. hist. colls., iii., 256; vii., 158, 117, 179.] [footnote 151: the french minister for the colonies expressing approval of this post writes in 1752: "as it can hardly be expected that any other grain than corn will grow there, it is necessary at least for a while to stick to it, and not to persevere stubbornly in trying to raise wheat." on this dr. e.d. neill comments: "millions of bushels of wheat from the region west and north of lake superior pass every year ... through the ship canal at sault ste. marie." the corn was for supplying the voyageurs.] the traders' struggle to retain their trade. while they had been securing the trade of the far northwest and the illinois country, the french had allowed the english to gain the trade of the upper ohio,[152] and were now brought face to face with the danger of losing the entire northwest, and thus the connection of canada and louisiana. the commandants of the western posts were financially as well as patriotically interested. in 1754, green bay, then garrisoned by an officer, a sergeant and four soldiers, required for the indian trade of its department thirteen canoes of goods annually, costing about 7000 livres each, making a total of nearly $18,000.[153] bougainville asserts that marin, the commandant of the department of the bay, was associated in trade with the governor and intendant, and that his part netted him annually 15,000 francs. when it became necessary for the french to open hostilities with the english traders in the ohio country, it was the wisconsin trader, charles de langlade, with his chippeway indians, who in 1752 fell upon the english trading post at pickawillany and destroyed the center of english trade in the ohio region.[154] the leaders in the opening of the war that ensued were northwestern traders. st. pierre, who commanded at fort le boeuf when washington appeared with his demands from the governor of virginia that the french should evacuate the ohio country, had formerly been the trader in command at lake pepin on the upper mississippi.[155] coulon de villiers, who captured washington at fort necessity, was the son of the former commandant at green bay.[156] beaujeau, who led the french troops to the defeat of braddock, had been an officer in the fox wars.[157] it was charles de langlade who commanded the indians and was chiefly responsible for the success of the ambuscade.[158] wisconsin indians, representing almost all the tribes, took part with the french in the war.[159] traders passed to and from their business to the battlefields of the east. for example, de repentigny, whose post at sault ste. marie has been described, was at michillimackinac in january, 1755, took part in the battle of lake george in the fall of that year, formed a partnership to continue the trade with a trader of michillimackinac in 1756, was at that place in 1758, and in 1759 fought with montcalm on the heights of abraham.[160] it was not without a struggle that the traders yielded their beaver country. footnotes: [footnote 152: margry, vi., 758.] [footnote 153: canadian archives, 1886, clxxii.] [footnote 154: parkman, montcalm and wolfe, i., 84.] [footnote 155: minn. hist. colls., v., 433. washington was guided to the fort along an old trading route by traders; the trail was improved by the ohio company, and was used by braddock in his march (sparks, washington's works, ii., 302).] [footnote 156: wis. hist. colls., v., 117.] [footnote 157: _ibid._, 115.] [footnote 158: parkman, montcalm and wolfe, ii., 425-6. he was prominently engaged in other battles; see wis. hist. colls., vii., 123-187.] [footnote 159: wis. hist. colls., v., 117.] [footnote 160: neill, in _mag. west. hist._, vii., 17, and minn. hist. colls., v., 434-436. for other examples see wis. hist. colls., v., 113-118; minn. hist. colls., v., 430-1.] the english and the northwest. influence of the indian trade on diplomacy. in the meantime what was the attitude of the english toward the northwest? in 1720 governor spotswood of virginia wrote:[161] "the danger which threatens these, his maj'ty's plantations, from this new settlement is also very considerable, for by the communication which the french may maintain between canada and mississippi by the conveniency of the lakes, they do in a manner surround all the british plantations. they have it in their power by these lakes and the many rivers running into them and into the mississippi to engross all the trade of the indian nations w'ch are now supplied from hence." cadwallader colden, surveyor-general of new york, says in 1724: "new france (as the french now claim) extends from the mouth of the mississippi to the mouth of the river st. lawrence, by which the french plainly shew their intention of enclosing the british settlements and cutting us off from all commerce with the numerous nations of indians that are everywhere settled over the vast continent of north america."[162] as time passed, as population increased, and as the reports of the traders extolled the fertility of the country, both the english and the french, but particularly the americans, began to consider it from the standpoint of colonization as well as from that of the fur trade.[163] the ohio company had both settlement and the fur trade in mind,[164] and the french governor, galissonière, at the same period urged that france ought to plant a colony in the ohio region.[165] after the conquest of new france by england there was still the question whether she should keep canada and the northwest.[166] franklin, urging her to do so, offered as one argument the value of the fur trade, intrinsically and as a means of holding the indians in check. discussing the question whether the interior regions of america would ever be accessible to english settlement and so to english manufactures, he pointed out the vastness of our river and lake system, and the fact that indian trade already permeated the interior. in interesting comparison he called their attention to the fact that english commerce reached along river systems into the remote parts of europe, and that in ancient times the levant had carried on a trade with the distant interior.[167] that the value of the fur trade was an important element in inducing the english to retain canada is shown by the fact that great britain no sooner came into the possession of the country than she availed herself of the fields for which she had so long intrigued. among the western posts she occupied green bay, and with the garrison came traders;[168] but the fort was abandoned on the outbreak of pontiac's war.[169] this war was due to the revolt of the indians of the northwest against the transfer of authority, and was fostered by the french traders.[170] it concerned wisconsin but slightly, and at its close we find green bay a little trading community along the fox, where a few families lived comfortably[171] under the quasi-patriarchal rule of langlade.[172] in 1765 trade was re-established at chequamegon bay by an english trader named henry, and here he found the chippeways dressed in deerskins, the wars having deprived them of a trader.[173] as early as 1766 some scotch merchants more extensively reopened the fur trade, using michillimackinac as the basis of their operations and employing french voyageurs.[174] by the proclamation of the king in 1763 the northwest was left without political organization, it being reserved as crown lands and exempt from purchase or settlement, the design being to give up to the indian trade all the lands "westward of the sources of the rivers which fall into the sea from the west and northwest as aforesaid." in a report of the lords commissioners for trade and plantations in 1772 we find the attitude of the english government clearly set forth in these words:[175] "the great object of colonization upon the continent of north america has been to improve and extend the commerce and manufactures of this kingdom.... it does appear to us that the extension of the fur trade depends entirely upon the indians being undisturbed in the possession of their hunting grounds, and that all colonization does in its nature and must in its consequence operate to the prejudice of that branch of commerce.... let the savages enjoy their deserts in quiet. were they driven from their forests the peltry trade would decrease." in a word, the english government attempted to adopt the western policy of the french. from one point of view it was a successful policy. the french traders took service under the english, and in the revolutionary war charles de langlade led the wisconsin indians to the aid of hamilton against george rogers clark,[176] as he had before against the british, and in the war of 1812 the british trader robert dickson repeated this movement.[177] as in the days of begon, "the savages took the part of those with whom they traded." the secret proposition of vergennes, in the negotiations preceding the treaty of 1783, to limit the united states by the alleghanies and to give the northwest to england, while reserving the rest of the region between the mountains and the mississippi as indian territory under spanish protection,[178] would have given the fur trade to these nations.[179] in the extensive discussions over the diplomacy whereby the northwest was included within the limits of the united states, it has been asserted that we won our case by the chartered claims of the colonies and by george rogers clark's conquest of the illinois country. it appears, however, that in fact franklin, who had been a prominent member and champion of the ohio company, and who knew the west from personal acquaintance, had persuaded shelburne to cede it to us as a part of a liberal peace that should effect a reconciliation between the two countries. shelburne himself looked upon the region from the point of view of the fur trade simply, and was more willing to make this concession than he was some others. in the discussion over the treaty in parliament in 1783, the northwestern boundary was treated almost solely from the point of view of the fur trade and of the desertion of the indians. the question was one of profit and loss in this traffic. one member attacked shelburne on the ground that, "not thinking the naked independence a sufficient proof of his liberality to the united states, he had clothed it with the warm covering of our fur trade." shelburne defended his cession "on the fair rule of the value of the district ceded,"[180] and comparing exports and imports and the cost of administration, he concluded that the fur trade of the northwest was not of sufficient value to warrant continuing the war. the most valuable trade, he argued, was north of the line, and the treaty merely applied sound economic principles and gave america "a share in the trade." the retention of her northwestern posts by great britain at the close of the war, in contravention of the treaty, has an obvious relation to the fur trade. in his negotiations with hammond, the british ambassador in 1791, secretary of state jefferson said: "by these proceedings we have been intercepted entirely from the commerce of furs with the indian nations to the northward--a commerce which had ever been of great importance to the united states, not only for its intrinsic value, but as it was the means of cherishing peace with these indians, and of superseding the necessity of that expensive warfare which we have been obliged to carry on with them during the time that these posts have been in other hands."[181] in discussing the evacuation of the posts in 1794 jay was met by a demand that complete freedom of the northwestern indian trade should be granted to british subjects. it was furthermore proposed by lord grenville[182] that, "whereas it is now understood that the river mississippi would at no point thereof be intersected by such westward line as is described in the said treaty [1783]; and whereas it was stipulated in the said treaty that the navigation of the mississippi should be free to both parties"--one of two new propositions should be accepted regarding the northwestern boundary. the maps in american state papers, foreign relations, i., 492, show that both these proposals extended great britain's territory so as to embrace the grand portage and the lake region of northern minnesota, one of the best of the northwest company's fur-trading regions south of the line, and in connection by the red river with the canadian river systems.[183] they were rejected by jay. secretary randolph urged him to hasten the removal of the british, stating that the delay asked for, to allow the traders to collect their indian debts, etc., would have a bad effect upon the indians, and protesting that free communication for the british would strike deep into our indian trade.[184] the definitive treaty included the following provisions:[185] the posts were to be evacuated before june 1, 1796. "all settlers and traders, within the precincts or jurisdiction of the said posts, shall continue to enjoy, unmolested, all their property of every kind, and shall be protected therein. they shall be at full liberty to remain there, or to remove with all or any part of their effects; and it shall also be free to them to sell their lands, houses, or effects, or to retain the property thereof, at their discretion; such of them as shall continue to reside within the said boundary lines shall not be compelled to become citizens of the united states, or to take any oath of allegiance to the government thereof; but they shall be at full liberty to do so if they think proper, and they shall make and declare their election within one year after the evacuation aforesaid. and all persons who shall continue there after the expiration of the said year without having declared their intention of remaining subjects of his british majesty shall be considered as having elected to become citizens of the united states." "it is agreed that it shall at all times be free to his majesty's subjects, and to the indians dwelling on either side of the said boundary line, freely to pass and repass by land or inland navigation into the respective territories and countries of the two parties on the continent of america (the country within the limits of the hudson's bay company only excepted), and to navigate all the lakes, rivers and waters thereof, and freely to carry on trade and commerce with each other." in his elaborate defence of jay's treaty, alexander hamilton paid much attention to the question of the fur trade. defending jay for permitting so long a delay in evacuation and for granting right of entry into our fields, he minimized the value of the trade. so far from being worth $800,000 annually, he asserted the trade within our limits would not be worth $100,000, seven-eighths of the traffic being north of the line. this estimate of the value of the northwestern trade was too low. in the course of his paper he made this observation:[186] "in proportion as the article is viewed on an enlarged plan and permanent scale, its importance to us magnifies. who can say how far british colonization may spread southward and down the west side of the mississippi, northward and westward into the vast interior regions towards the pacific ocean?... in this large view of the subject, the fur trade, which has made a very prominent figure in the discussion, becomes a point scarcely visible. objects of great variety and magnitude start up in perspective, eclipsing the little atoms of the day, and promising to grow and mature with time." such was not the attitude of great britain. to her the northwest was desirable on account of its indian commerce. by a statement of the province of upper canada, sent with the approbation of lieutenant-general hunter to the duke of kent, commander-in-chief of british north america, in the year 1800, we are enabled to see the situation through canadian eyes:[187] "the indians, who had loudly and justly complained of a treaty [1783] in which they were sacrificed by a cession of their country contrary to repeated promises, were with difficulty appeased, however finding the posts retained and some assurances given they ceased to murmur and resolved to defend their country extending from the ohio northward to the great lakes and westward to the mississippi, an immense tract, in which they found the deer, the bear, the wild wolf, game of all sorts in profusion. they employed the tomahawk and scalping knife against such deluded settlers who on the faith of the treaty to which they did not consent, ventured to cross the ohio, secretly encouraged by the agents of government, supplied with arms, ammunition, and provisions they maintained an obstinate & destructive war against the states, cut off two corps sent against them.... the american government, discouraged by these disasters were desirous of peace on any terms, their deputies were sent to detroit, they offered to confine their pretensions within certain limits far south of the lakes. if this offer had been accepted the indian country would have been for ages an impassible barrier between us. twas unfortunately perhaps wantonly rejected, and the war continued." acting under the privileges accorded to them by jay's treaty, the british traders were in almost as complete possession of wisconsin until after the war of 1812 as if great britain still owned it. when the war broke out the keys of the region, detroit and michillimackinac, fell into the british hands. green bay and prairie du chien were settlements of french-british traders and voyageurs. their leader was robert dickson, who had traded at the latter settlement. writing in 1814 from his camp at winnebago lake, he says: "i think that bony [bonaparte] must be knocked up as all europe are now in arms. the crisis is not far off when i trust in god that the tyrant will be humbled, & the scoundrel american democrats be obliged to go down on their knees to britain."[188] under him most of the wisconsin traders of importance received british commissions. in the spring of 1814 the americans took prairie du chien, at the mouth of the wisconsin river, whereupon col. m'douall, the british commandant at michillimackinac, wrote to general drummond:[189] ... "i saw at once the imperious necessity which existed of endeavoring by every means to dislodge the american genl from his new conquest, and make him relinquish the immense tract of country he had seized upon in consequence & which brought him into the very heart of that occupied by our friendly indians, there was no alternative it must either be done or there was an end to our connection with the indians for if allowed to settle themselves by dint of threats bribes & sowing divisions among them, tribe after tribe would be gained over or subdued, & thus would be destroyed the only barrier which protects the great trading establishments of the north west and the hudson's bay companys. nothing could then prevent the enemy from gaining the source of the mississippi, gradually extending themselves by the red river to lake winnipic, from whense the descent of nelsons river to york fort would in time be easy." the british traders, voyageurs and indians[190] dislodged the americans, and at the close of the war england was practically in possession of the indian country of the northwest. in the negotiations at ghent the british commissioners asserted the sovereignty of the indians over their lands, and their independence in relation to the united states, and demanded that a barrier of indian territory should be established between the two countries, free to the traffic of both nations but not open to purchase by either.[191] the line of the grenville treaty was suggested as a basis for determining this indian region. the proposition would have removed from the sovereignty of the united states the territory of the northwest with the exception of about two-thirds of ohio,[192] and given it over to the british fur traders. the americans declined to grant the terms, and the united states was finally left in possession of the northwest. footnotes: [footnote 161: va. hist. colls., n.s., ii, 329.] [footnote 162: n.y. col. docs., v., 726.] [footnote 163: indian relations had a noteworthy influence upon colonial union; see lucas, appendiculae historicae, 161, and frothingham, rise of the republic, ch. iv.] [footnote 164: parkman, montcalm and wolfe, i., 59; sparks, washington's works, ii., 302.] [footnote 165: parkman, montcalm and wolfe, i., 21.] [footnote 166: _ibid._ ii., 403.] [footnote 167: bigelow, franklin's works, iii., 43, 83, 98-100.] [footnote 168: wis. hist. colls., i., 26-38.] [footnote 169: parkman, pontiac, i., 185. consult n.y. col. docs., vi., 635, 690, 788, 872, 974.] [footnote 170: wis. hist. colls., i., 26.] [footnote 171: carver, travels.] [footnote 172: porlier papers, wis. pur trade mss., in possession of wis. hist. soc.; also wis. hist. colls., iii., 200-201.] [footnote 173: henry, travels.] [footnote 174: canadian archives, 1888, p. 61 ff.] [footnote 175: sparks, franklin's works, iv., 303-323.] [footnote 176: wis. hist. colls., xi.] [footnote 177: _ibid._] [footnote 178: jay, address before the n.y. hist. soc. on the treaty negotiations of 1782-3, appendix; map in narr. and crit. hist. amer., vii., 148.] [footnote 179: but vergennes had a just appreciation of the value of the region for settlement as well. he recognized and feared the american capacity for expansion.] [footnote 180: hansard, xxiii., 377-8, 381-3, 389, 398-9, 405, 409-10, 423, 450, 457, 465.] [footnote 181: american state papers, foreign relations, i., 190.] [footnote 182: _ibid._ 487.] [footnote 183: as early as 1794 the company had established a stockaded fort at sandy lake. after jay's treaty conceding freedom of entry, the company dotted this region with posts and raised the british flag over them. in 1805 the center of trade was changed from grand portage to fort william henry, on the canada side. neill, minnesota, 239 (4th edn.). bancroft, northwest coast, i., 560. _vide ante_, p. 20, and _post_, p. 55.] [footnote 184: amer. state papers, for. rels., i., p. 509.] [footnote 185: treaties and conventions, etc., 1776-1887, p. 380.] [footnote 186: lodge, hamilton's works, iv., 514.] [footnote 187: michigan pioneer colls., xv., 8; cf. 10, 12, 23 and xvi., 67.] [footnote 188: wis. fur trade mss., 1814 (state hist. soc.).] [footnote 189: wis. hist. colls., xl, 260. mich. pioneer colls., xvi., 103-104.] [footnote 190: wis. hist. colls., xl, 255. cf. mich. pioneer colls., xvi., 67. rolette, one of the prairie du chien traders, was tried by the british for treason to great britain.] [footnote 191: amer. state papers, for. rels., iii., 705.] [footnote 192: amer. state papers, ind. affs., l, 562. see map in collet's travels, atlas.] the northwest company. the most striking feature of the english period was the northwest company.[193] from a study of it one may learn the character of the english occupation of the northwest.[194] it was formed in 1783 and fully organized in 1787, with the design of contesting the field with the hudson bay company. goods were brought from england to montreal, the headquarters of the company, and thence from the four emporiums, detroit, mackinaw, sault ste. marie, and grand portage, they were scattered through the great northwest, even to the pacific ocean. toward the end of the eighteenth century ships[195] began to take part in this commerce; a portion of the goods was sent from montreal in boats to kingston, thence in vessels to niagara, thence overland to lake erie, to be reshipped in vessels to mackinaw and to sault ste. marie, where another transfer was made to a lake superior vessel. these ships were of about ninety-five tons burden and made four or five trips a season. but in the year 1800 the primitive mode of trade was not materially changed. from the traffic along the main artery of commerce between grand portage and montreal may be learned the kind of trade that flowed along such branches as that between the island of mackinaw and the wisconsin posts. the visitor at la chine rapids, near montreal, might have seen a squadron of northwestern trading canoes leaving for the grand portage, at the west of lake superior.[196] the boatmen, or "engagés," having spent their season's gains in carousal, packed their blanket capotes and were ready for the wilderness again. they made a picturesque crew in their gaudy turbans, or hats adorned with plumes and tinsel, their brilliant handkerchiefs tied sailor-fashion about swarthy necks, their calico shirts, and their flaming worsted belts, which served to hold the knife and the tobacco pouch. rough trousers, leggings, and cowhide shoes or gaily-worked moccasins completed the costume. the trading birch canoe measured forty feet in length, with a depth of three and a width of five. it floated four tons of freight, and yet could be carried by four men over difficult portages. its crew of eight men was engaged at a salary[197] of from five to eight hundred livres, about $100 to $160 per annum, each, with a yearly outfit of coarse clothing and a daily food allowance of a quart of hulled corn, or peas, seasoned with two ounces of tallow. the experienced voyageurs who spent the winters in the woods were called _hivernans_, or winterers, or sometimes _hommes du nord_; while the inexperienced, those who simply made the trip from montreal to the outlying depots and return, were contemptuously dubbed _mangeurs de lard_,[198] "pork-eaters," because their pampered appetites demanded peas and pork rather than hulled corn and tallow. two of the crew, one at the bow and the other at the stern, being especially skilled in the craft of handling the paddle in the rapids, received higher wages than the rest. into the canoe was first placed the heavy freight, shot, axes, powder; next the dry goods, and, crowning all, filling the canoe to overflowing, came the provisions--pork, peas or corn, and sea biscuits, sewed in canvas sacks. the lading completed, the voyageur hung his votive offerings in the chapel of saint anne, patron saint of voyageurs, the paddles struck the waters of the st. lawrence, and the fleet of canoes glided away on its six weeks' journey to grand portage. there was the ottawa to be ascended, the rapids to be run, the portages where the canoe must be emptied and where each voyageur must bear his two packs of ninety pounds apiece, and there were the _décharges_, where the canoe was merely lightened and where the voyageurs, now on the land, now into the rushing waters, dragged it forward till the rapids were passed. there was no stopping to dry, but on, until the time for the hasty meal, or the evening camp-fire underneath the pines. every two miles there was a stop for a three minutes' smoke, or "pipe," and when a portage was made it was reckoned in "pauses," by which is meant the number of times the men must stop to rest. whenever a burial cross appeared, or a stream was left or entered, the voyageurs removed their hats, and made the sign of the cross while one of their number said a short prayer; and again the paddles beat time to some rollicking song.[199] dans mon chemin, j'ai rencontré trois cavalières, bien montées; l'on, lon, laridon daine, lon, ton, laridon dai. trois cavalières, bien montées, l'un à cheval, et l'autre à pied; l'on, lon, laridon daine, lon, ton, laridon dai. arrived at sault ste. marie, the fleet was often doubled by newcomers, so that sometimes sixty canoes swept their way along the north shore, the paddles marking sixty strokes a minute, while the rocks gave back the echoes of canadian songs rolling out from five hundred lusty throats. and so they drew up at grand portage, near the present northeast boundary of minnesota, now a sleepy, squalid little village, but then the general rendezvous where sometimes over a thousand men met; for, at this time, the company had fifty clerks, seventy interpreters, eighteen hundred and twenty canoe-men, and thirty-five guides. it sent annually to montreal 106,000 beaver-skins, to say nothing of other peltries. when the proprietors from montreal met the proprietors from the northern posts, and with their clerks gathered at the banquet in their large log hall to the number of a hundred, the walls hung with spoils of the chase, the rough tables furnished with abundance of venison, fish, bread, salt pork, butter, peas, corn, potatoes, tea, milk, wine and _eau de vie_, while, outside, the motley crowd of engages feasted on hulled corn and melted fat--was it not a truly baronial scene? clerks and engagés of this company, or its rival, the hudson bay company, might winter one season in wisconsin and the next in the remote north. for example, amable grignon, a green bay trader, wintered in 1818 at lac qui parle in minnesota, the next year at lake athabasca, and the third in the hyperborean regions of great slave lake. in his engagement he figures as amable grignon, _of the parish of green bay, upper canada_, and he receives $400 "and found in tobacco and shoes and two doges," besides "the usual equipment given to clerks." he afterwards returned to a post on the wisconsin river. the attitude of wisconsin traders toward the canadian authorities and the northwestern wilds is clearly shown in this document, which brings into a line upper canada, "the parish of green bay," and the hudson bay company's territories about great slave lake![200] how widespread and how strong was the influence of these traders upon the savages may be easily imagined, and this commercial control was strengthened by the annual presents made to the indians by the british at their posts. at a time when our relations with great britain were growing strained, such a power in the northwest was a serious menace.[201] in 1809 john jacob astor secured a charter from the state of new york, incorporating the american fur company. he proposed to consolidate the fur trade of the united states, plant an establishment in the contested oregon territory, and link it with michillimackinac (mackinaw island) by way of the missouri through a series of trading posts. in 1810 two expeditions of his pacific fur company set out for the columbia, the one around cape horn and the other by way of green bay and the missouri. in 1811 he bought a half interest in the mackinaw company, a rival of the northwest company and the one that had especial power in wisconsin and minnesota, and this new organization he called the southwest company. but the war of 1812 came; astoria, the pacific post, fell into the hands of the northwest company, while the southwest company's trade was ruined. footnotes: [footnote 193: on this company see mackenzie, voyages; bancroft, northwest coast, i., 378-616, and citations; _hunt's merch. mag._, iii., 185; irving, astoria; ross, the fur hunters of the far west; harmon, journal; report on the canadian archives, 1881, p. 61 et seq. this fur-trading life still goes on in the more remote regions of british america. see robinson, great fur land, ch. xv.] [footnote 194: wis. hist. colls., xi., 123-5.] [footnote 195: mackenzie, voyages, xxxix. harmon, journal, 36. in the fall of 1784, haldimand granted permission to the northwest company to build a small vessel at detroit, to be employed next year on lake superior. calendar of canadian archives, 1888, p. 72.] [footnote 196: besides the authorities cited above, see "anderson's narrative," in wis. hist. colls., ix., 137-206.] [footnote 197: an estimate of the cost of an expedition in 1717 is given in margry, vi., 506. at that time the wages of a good voyageur for a year amounted to about $50. provisions for the two months' trip from montreal to mackinaw cost about $1.00 per month per man. indian corn for a year cost $16; lard, $10; _eau de vie_, $1.30; tobacco, 25 cents. it cost, therefore, less than $80 to support a voyageur for one year's trip into the woods. gov. ninian edwards, writing at the time of the american fur company (_post_, p. 57), says: "the whole expense of transporting eight thousand weight of goods from montreal to the mississippi, wintering with the indians, and returning with a load of furs and peltries in the succeeding season, including the cost of provisions and portages and the hire of five engages for the whole time does not exceed five hundred and twenty-five dollars, much of which is usually paid to those engages when in the indian country, in goods at an exorbitant price." american state papers, vi., 65.] [footnote 198: this distinction goes back at least to 1681 (n.y. col. docs., ix., 152). often the engagement was for five years, and the voyageur might be transferred from one master to another, at the master's will. the following is a translation of a typical printed engagement, one of scores in the possession of the wisconsin historical society, the written portions in brackets: "before a notary residing at the post of michilimakinac, undersigned; was present [joseph lamarqueritte] who has voluntarily engaged and doth bind himself by these presents to m[onsieur louis grignion] here present and accepting, at [his] first requisition to set off from this post [in the capacity of winterer] in one of [his] canoes or bateaux to make the voyage [going as well as returning] and to winter for [two years at the bay]. "and to have due and fitting care on the route and while at the said [place] of the merchandise, provisions, peltries, utensils and of everything necessary for the voyage; to serve, obey and execute faithfully all that the said sieur [bourgeois] or any other person representing him to whom he may transport the present engagement, commands him lawfully and honestly; to do [his] profit, to avoid anything to his damage, and to inform him of it if it come to his knowledge, and generally to do all that a good [winterer] ought and is obliged to do; without power to make any particular trade, to absent himself, or to quit the said service, under pain of these ordinances, and of loss of wages. this engagement is therefore made, for the sum of [eight hundred] livres or shillings, ancient currency of quebec, that he promises [and] binds himself to deliver and pay to the said [winterer one month] after his return to this post, and at his departure [an equipment each year of 2 shirts, 1 blanket of 3 point, 1 carot of tobacco, 1 cloth blanket, 1 leather shirt, 1 pair of leather breeches, 5 pairs of leather shoes, and six pounds of soap.] "for thus, etc., promising, etc., binding, etc., renouncing, etc. "done and passed at the said [michilimackinac] in the year eighteen hundred [seven] the [twenty-fourth] of [july before] twelve o'clock; & have signed with the exception of the said [winterer] who, having declared himself unable to do so, has made his ordinary mark after the engagement was read to him. his "joseph x lamarqueritte. [seal] mark. louis geignon. [seal] "saml. abbott, not. pub." endorsed--"engagement of joseph lamarqueritte to louis grignon."] [footnote 199: for canadian boat-songs see _hunt's merch. mag._, iii., 189; mrs. kinzie, wau bun; bela hubbard, memorials of a half-century; robinson, great fur land.] [footnote 200: wis. fur trade mss. (wis. hist. soc.). published in proceedings of the thirty-sixth annual meeting of the state hist. soc. of wis. 1889, pp. 81-82.] [footnote 201: see mich. pioneer colls., xv., xvi., 67, 74. the government consulted the northwest company, who made particular efforts to "prevent the americans from ever alienating the minds of the indians." to this end they drew up memoirs regarding the proper frontiers.] american influences. although the green bay court of justice, such as it was, had been administered under american commissions since 1803, when reaume dispensed a rude equity under a commission of justice of the peace from governor harrison,[202] neither green bay nor the rest of wisconsin had any proper appreciation of its american connections until the close of this war. but now occurred these significant events: 1. astor's company was reorganized as the american fur company, with headquarters at mackinaw island.[203] 2. the united states enacted in 1816 that neither foreign fur traders, nor capital for that trade, should be admitted to this country.[204] this was designed to terminate english influence among the tribes, and it fostered astor's company. the law was so interpreted as not to exclude british (that is generally, french) interpreters and boatmen, who were essential to the company; but this interpretation enabled british subjects to evade the law and trade on their own account by having their invoices made out to some yankee clerk, while they accompanied the clerk in the guise of interpreters.[205] in this way a number of yankees came to the state. 3. in the year 1816 united states garrisons were sent to green bay and prairie du chien.[206] 4. in 1814 the united states provided for locating government trading posts at these two places. footnotes: [footnote 202: reaume's petition in wis. fur trade mss. in possession of wisconsin historical society.] [footnote 203: on this company consult irving, astoria; bancroft, northwest coast, i., ch. xvi.; ii., chs. vii-x; _mag. amer. hist._ xiii., 269; franchere, narrative; ross, adventures of the first settlers on the oregon, or columbia river (1849); wis. fur trade mss. (state hist. sec.).] [footnote 204: u.s. statutes at large, iii., 332. cf. laws in 1802 and 1822.] [footnote 205: wis. hist. colls., i., 103; minn. hist. colls., v., 9. the warren brothers, who came to wisconsin in 1818, were descendants of the pilgrims and related to joseph warren who fell at bunker hill; they came from berkshire, mass., and marrying the half-breed daughters of michael cadotte, of la pointe, succeeded to his trade.] [footnote 206: see the objections of british traders, mich. pioneer colls., xvi., 76 ff. the northwest company tried to induce the british government to construe the treaty so as to prevent the united states from erecting the forts, urging that a fort at prairie du chien would "deprive the indians of their 'rights and privileges'", guaranteed by the treaty.] government trading houses. the system of public trading houses goes back to colonial days. at first in plymouth and jamestown all industry was controlled by the commonwealth, and in massachusetts bay the stock company had reserved the trade in furs for themselves before leaving england.[207] the trade was frequently farmed out, but public "truck houses" were established by the latter colony as early as 1694-5.[208] franklin, in his public dealings with the ohio indians, saw the importance of regulation of the trade, and in 1753 he wrote asking james bowdoin of massachusetts to procure him a copy of the truckhouse law of that colony, saying that if it had proved to work well he thought of proposing it for pennsylvania.[209] the reply of bowdoin showed that massachusetts furnished goods to the indians at wholesale prices and so drove out the french and the private traders. in 1757 virginia adopted the system for a time,[210] and in 1776 the continental congress accepted a plan presented by a committee of which franklin was a member,[211] whereby £140,000 sterling was expended at the charge of the united colonies for indian goods to be sold at moderate prices by factors of the congressional commissioners.[212] the bearing of this act upon the governmental powers of the congress is worth noting. in his messages of 1791 and 1792 president washington urged the need of promoting and regulating commerce with the indians, and in 1793 he advocated government trading houses. pickering, of massachusetts, who was his secretary of war with the management of indian affairs, may have strengthened washington in this design, for he was much interested in indian improvement, but washington's own experience had shown him the desirability of some such plan, and he had written to this effect as early as 1783.[213] the objects of congressional policy in dealing with the indians were stated by speakers in 1794 as follows:[214] 1. protection of the frontiersmen from the indians, by means of the army. 2. protection of the indians from the frontiersmen, by laws regulating settlement. 3. detachment of the indians from foreign influence, by trading houses where goods could be got cheaply. in 1795 a small appropriation was made for trying the experiment of public trading houses,[215] and in 1796, the same year that the british evacuated the posts, the law which established the system was passed.[216] it was to be temporary, but by re-enactments with alterations it was prolonged until 1822, new posts being added from time to time. in substance the laws provided a certain capital for the indian trade, the goods to be sold by salaried united states factors, at posts in the indian country, at such rates as would protect the savage from the extortions of the individual trader, whose actions sometimes provoked hostilities, and would supplant british influence over the indian. at the same time it was required that the capital stock should not be diminished. in the course of the debate over the law in 1796 considerable _laissez faire_ sentiment was called out against the government's becoming a trader, notwithstanding that the purpose of the bill was benevolence and political advantage rather than financial gain.[217] president jefferson and secretary calhoun were friends of the system.[218] it was a failure, however, and under the attacks of senator benton, the indian agents and the american fur company, it was brought to an end in 1822. the causes of its failure were chiefly these:[219] the private trader went to the hunting grounds of the savages, while the government's posts were fixed. the private traders gave credit to the indians, which the government did not.[220] the private trader understood the indians, was related to them by marriage, and was energetic and not over-scrupulous. the government trader was a salaried agent not trained to the work. the private trader sold whiskey and the government did not. the british trader's goods were better than those of the government. the best business principles were not always followed by the superintendent. the system was far from effecting its object, for the northwestern indians had been accustomed to receive presents from the british authorities, and had small respect for a government that traded. upon wisconsin trade from 1814 to 1822 its influence was slight. footnotes: [footnote 207: mass. coll. recs., i., 55: iii., 424.] [footnote 208: acts and resolves of the prov. of mass. bay, i., 172.] [footnote 209: bigelow, franklin's works, ii., 316, 221. a plan for public trading houses came before the british ministry while franklin was in england, and was commented upon by him for their benefit.] [footnote 210: hening, statutes, vii., 116.] [footnote 211: journals of congress, 1775, pp. 162, 168, 247.] [footnote 212: _ibid._, 1776, p. 41.] [footnote 213: ford's washington's writings, x., 309.] [footnote 214: annals of cong., iv., 1273; cf. _ibid._, v., 231.] [footnote 215: amer. state papers, ind. affs., i., 583.] [footnote 216: annals of cong., vi., 2889.] [footnote 217: annals of congress, v., 230 ff., 283; abridgment of debates, vii., 187-8.] [footnote 218: amer. state papers, ind. affs., i., 684; ii., 181.] [footnote 219: amer. state papers, vi., ind. affs., ii., 203; ind. treaties, 399 _et seq._; wis. hist. colls., vii., 269; _washington gazette_, 1821, 1822, articles by ramsay crooks under signature "backwoodsman," and speech of tracy in house of representatives, february 23, 1821; benton, thirty years view; _id._, abr. deb., vii., 1780.] [footnote 220: to understand the importance of these two points see _post_, pp. 62-5.] wisconsin trade in 1820.[221] the goods used in the indian trade remained much the same from the first, in all sections of the country.[222] they were chiefly blankets, coarse cloths, cheap jewelry and trinkets (including strings of wampum), fancy goods (like ribbons, shawls, etc.), kettles, knives, hatchets, guns, powder, tobacco, and intoxicating liquor.[223] these goods, shipped from mackinaw, at first came by canoes or bateaux,[224] and in the later period by vessel, to a leading post, were there redivided[225] and sent to the various trading posts. the indians, returning from the hunting grounds to their villages in the spring,[226] set the squaws to making maple sugar,[227] planting corn, watermelons, potatoes, squashes, etc., and a little hunting was carried on. the summer was given over to enjoyment, and in the early period to wars. in the autumn they collected their wild rice, or their corn, and again were ready to start for the hunting grounds, sometimes 300 miles distant. at this juncture the trader, licensed by an indian agent, arrived upon the scene with his goods, without which no family could subsist, much less collect any quantity of furs.[228] these were bought on credit by the hunter, since he could not go on the hunt for the furs, whereby he paid for his supplies, without having goods and ammunition advanced for the purpose. this system of credits,[229] dating back to the french period, had become systematized so that books were kept, with each indian's account. the amount to which the hunter was trusted was between $40 and $50, at cost prices, upon which the trader expected a gain of about 100 per cent, so that the average annual value of furs brought in by each hunter to pay his credits should have been between $80 and $100.[230] the amount of the credit varied with the reputation of the hunter for honesty and ability in the chase.[231] sometimes he was trusted to the amount of three hundred dollars. if one-half the credits were paid in the spring the trader thought that he had done a fair business. the importance of this credit system can hardly be overestimated in considering the influence of the fur trade upon the indians of wisconsin, and especially in rendering them dependent upon the earlier settlements of the state. the system left the indians at the mercy of the trader when one nation monopolized the field, and it compelled them to espouse the cause of one or other when two nations contended for supremacy over their territory. at the same time it rendered the trade peculiarly adapted to monopoly, for when rivals competed, the trade was demoralized, and the indian frequently sold to a new trader the furs which he had pledged in advance for the goods of another. when the american fur company gained control, they systematized matters so that there was no competition between their own agents, and private dealers cut into their trade but little for some years. the unit of trade was at first the beaver skin, or, as the pound of beaver skin came to be called, the "plus."[232] the beaver skin was estimated at a pound and a half, though it sometimes weighed two, in which case an allowance was made. wampum was used for ornament and in treaty-making, but not as currency. other furs or indian commodities, like maple sugar and wild rice, were bought in terms of beaver. as this animal grew scarcer the unit changed to money. by 1820, when few beaver were marketed in wisconsin, the term plus stood for one dollar.[233] the muskrat skin was also used as the unit in the later days of the trade.[234] in the southern colonies the pound of deer skin had answered the purpose of a unit.[235] the goods being trusted to the indians, the bands separated for the hunting grounds. among the chippeways, at least, each family or group had a particular stream or region where it exclusively hunted and trapped.[236] not only were the hunting grounds thus parcelled out; certain indians were apportioned to certain traders,[237] so that the industrial activities of wisconsin at this date were remarkably systematic and uniform. sometimes the trader followed the indians to their hunting grounds. from time to time he sent his engagés (hired men), commonly five or six in number, to the various places where the hunting bands were to be found, to collect furs on the debts and to sell goods to those who had not received too large credits, and to the customers of rival traders; this was called "running a deouine."[238] the main wintering post had lesser ones, called "jack-knife posts,"[239] depending on it, where goods were left and the furs gathered in going to and from the main post. by these methods wisconsin was thoroughly visited by the traders before the "pioneers" arrived.[240] the kind and amount of furs brought in may be judged by the fact that in 1836, long after the best days of the trade, a single green bay firm, porlier and grignon, shipped to the american fur company about 3600 deer skins, 6000 muskrats, 150 bears, 850 raccoons, besides beavers, otters, fishers, martens, lynxes, foxes, wolves, badgers, skunks, etc., amounting to over $6000. none of these traders became wealthy; astor's company absorbed the profits. it required its clerks, or factors, to pay an advance of 81-1/2 per cent on the sterling cost of the blankets, strouds, and other english goods, in order to cover the cost of importation and the expense of transportation from new york to mackinaw. articles purchased in new york were charged with 15-1/3 per cent advance for transportation, and each class of purchasers was charged with 33-1/3 per cent advance as profit on the aggregate amount.[241] i estimate, from the data given in the sources cited on page 63, note, that in 1820 between $60,000 and $75,000 worth of goods was brought annually to wisconsin for the indian trade. an average outfit for a single clerk at a main post was between $1500 and $2000, and for the dependent posts between $100 and $500. there were probably not over 2000 indian hunters in the state, and the total indian population did not much exceed 10,000. comparing this number with the early estimates for the same tribes, we find that, if the former are trustworthy, by 1820 the indian tribes that remained in wisconsin had increased their numbers. but the material is too unsatisfactory to afford any valuable conclusion. after the sale of their lands and the receipt of money annuities, a change came over the indian trade. the monopoly held by astor was broken into, and as competition increased, the sales of whiskey were larger, and for money, which the savage could now pay. when the indians went to montreal in the days of the french, they confessed that they could not return with supplies because they wasted their furs upon brandy. the same process now went on at their doors. the traders were not dependent upon the indian's success in hunting alone; they had his annuities to count on, and so did not exert their previous influence in favor of steady hunting. moreover, the game was now exploited to a considerable degree, so that wisconsin was no longer the hunter's paradise that it had been in the days of dablon and la salle. the long-settled economic life of the indian being revolutionized, his business honesty declined, and credits were more frequently lost. the annuities fell into the traders' hands for debts and whiskey. "there is no less than near $420,000 of claims against the winnebagoes," writes a green bay trader at prairie du chien, in 1838, "so that if they are all just, the dividend will be but very small for each claimant, as there is only $150,000 to pay that."[242] by this time the influence of the fur trader had so developed mining in the region of dubuque, iowa, galena, ill., and southwestern wisconsin, as to cause an influx of american miners, and here began a new element of progress for wisconsin. the knowledge of these mines was possessed by the early french explorers, and as the use of firearms spread they were worked more and more by indians, under the stimulus of the trader. in 1810 nicholas boilvin, united states indian agent at prairie du chien, reported that the indians about the lead mines had mostly abandoned the chase and turned their attention to the manufacture of lead, which they sold to fur traders. in 1825 there were at least 100 white miners in the entire lead region,[243] and by 1829 they numbered in the thousands. black hawk's war came in 1832, and agricultural settlement sought the southwestern part of the state after that campaign. the traders opened country stores, and their establishments were nuclei of settlement.[244] in wisconsin the indian trading post was a thing of the past. the birch canoe and the pack-horse had had their day in western new york and about montreal. in wisconsin the age of the voyageur continued nearly through the first third of this century. it went on in the far northwest in substantially the same fashion that has been here described, until quite recently; and in the great north land tributary to hudson bay the _chanson_ of the voyageur may still be heard, and the dog-sledge laden with furs jingles across the snowy plains from distant post to distant post.[245] footnotes: [footnote 221: in an address before the state historical society of wisconsin, on the character and influence of the fur trade in wisconsin (proceedings, 1889, pp. 86-98), i have given details as to wisconsin settlements, posts, routes of trade, and indian location and population in 1820.] [footnote 222: wis. hist. colls., xi., 377. compare the articles used by radisson, _ante_, p. 29. for la salle's estimate of amount and kind of goods needed for a post, and the profits thereon, see penna. archives, 2d series, vi., 18-19. brandy was an important item, one beaver selling for a pint. for goods and cost in 1728 see a bill quoted by e.d. neill, on p. 20, _mag. west. hist._, nov., 1887, cf. 4 mass. hist. colls., iii., 344; byrd manuscripts, i., 180 ff.; minn. hist. colls., ii., 46; senate doc. no. 90, 22d cong., 1st sess., ii., 42 ff.] [footnote 223: wis. fur trade mss. cf. wis. hist. colls., xi., 377, and amer. state papers, ind. affs., ii., 360. the amount of liquor taken to the woods was very great. the french jesuits had protested against its use in vain (parkman's old régime); the united states prohibited it to no purpose. it was an indispensable part of a trader's outfit. robert stuart, agent of the american fur company at mackinaw, once wrote to john lawe, one of the leading traders at green bay, that the 56 bbls. of whiskey which he sends is "enough to last two years, and half drown all the indians he deals with." see also wis. hist. colls., vii., 282; mckenney's tour to the lakes, 169, 299-301; mckenney's memoirs, i., 19-21. an old trader assured me that it was the custom to give five or six gallons of "grog"--one-fourth water--to the hunter when he paid his credits; he thought that only about one-eighth or one-ninth part of the whole sales was in whiskey.] [footnote 224: a light boat sometimes called a "mackinaw boat," about 32 feet long, by 6-1/2 to 15 feet wide amidships, and sharp at the ends.] [footnote 225: see wis. hist. colls., ii., 108.] [footnote 226: minn. hist. colls., v., 263.] [footnote 227: see wis. hist. colls., vii., 220, 286; iii., 235; mckenney's tour, 194; schoolcraft, ind. tribes, ii., 55. sometimes a family made 1500 lbs. in a season.] [footnote 228: lewis cass in senate docs., no. 90, 22d cong., 1st sess., ii., 1.] [footnote 229: see d'iberville's plans for relocating indian tribes by denying them credit at certain posts, margry, iv., 597. the system was used by the dutch, and the puritans also; see weeden, economic and social hist. new eng., i., 98. in 1765, after the french and indian war, the chippeways of chequamegon bay told henry, a british trader, that unless he advanced them goods on credit, "their wives and children would perish; for that there were neither ammunition nor clothing left among them." he distributed goods worth 3000 beaver skins. henry, travels, 195-6. cf. neill, minnesota, 225-6; n.y. col. docs., vii., 543; amer. state papers, ind. affs., ii., 64, 66, 329, 333-5; _north american review_, jan., 1826, p. 110.] [footnote 230: biddle, an indian agent, testified in 1822 that while the cost of transporting 100 wt. from new york to green bay did not exceed five dollars, which would produce a charge of less than 10 percent on the original cost, the united states factor charged 50 per cent additional. the united states capital stock was diminished by this trade, however. the private dealers charged much more. schoolcraft in 1831 estimated that $48.34 in goods and provisions at cost prices was the average annual supply of each hunter, or $6.90 to each soul. the substantial accuracy of this is sustained by my data. see sen. doc., no. 90, 22d cong., 1st sess., ii., 45; state papers, no. 7, 18th cong., 1st sess., i.; state papers, no. 54, 18th cong., 2d sess., iii.; schoolcraft's indian tribes, iii., 599; invoice book, amer. fur co., for 1820, 1821; wis. fur trade mss. in possession of wisconsin historical society.] [footnote 231: the following is a typical account, taken from the books of jacques porlier, of green bay, for the year 1823: the indian michel bought on credit in the fall: $16 worth of cloth; a trap, $1.00; two and a half yards of cotton, $3.12-1/2; three measures of powder, $1.50; lead, $1.00; a bottle of whiskey, 50 cents, and some other articles, such as a gun worm, making in all a bill of about $25. this he paid in full by bringing in eighty-five muskrats, worth nearly $20; a fox, $1.00, and a mocock of maple sugar, worth $4.00.] [footnote 232: a.j. vieau, who traded in the thirties, gave me this information.] [footnote 233: for the value of the beaver at different periods and places consult indexes, under "beaver," in n.y. col. docs,; bancroft, northwest coast; weeden, economic and social hist. new eng.; and see morgan, american beaver, 243-4; henry, travels, 192; 2 penna. archives, vi., 18; servent, in paris ex. univ. 1867, rapports, vi., 117, 123; proc. wis. state hist. soc., 1889, p. 86.] [footnote 234: minn. hist. colls. ii., 46, gives the following table for 1836: _st. louis prices._ _minn. price._ _nett gain._ three pt. blanket = $3 25 60 rat skins at 20 cents = $12 00 $8 75 1-1/2 yds. stroud = 2 37 60 rat skins at 20 cents = 12 00 9 63 1 n.w. gun = 6 50 100 rat skins at 20 cents = 20 00 13 50 1 lb. lead = 06 2 rat skins at 20 cents = 40 34 1 lb. powder = 28 10 rat skins at 20 cents = 2 00 1 72 1 tin kettle = 2 50 60 rat skins at 20 cents = 12 00 9 50 1 knife = 20 4 rat skins at 20 cents = 80 60 1 lb. tobacco = 12 8 rat skins at 20 cents = 1 60 1 38 1 looking glass = 04 4 rat skins at 20 cents = 80 76 1-1/2 yd. scarlet cloth = 3 00 60 rat skins at 20 cents = 12 00 9 00 see also the table of prices in senate docs., no. 90, 22d cong., 1st sess.; ii., 42 _et seq._] [footnote 235: douglass, summary, i., 176.] [footnote 236: morgan, american beaver, 243.] [footnote 237: proc. wis. hist. soc., 1889, pp. 92-98.] [footnote 238: amer. state papers, ind. affs., ii., 66.] [footnote 239: wis. hist. colls., xi., 220, 223.] [footnote 240: the centers of wisconsin trade were green bay, prairie du chien, and la pointe (on madelaine island, chequamegon bay). lesser points of distribution were milwaukee and portage. from these places, by means of the interlacing rivers and the numerous lakes of northern wisconsin, the whole region was visited by birch canoes or mackinaw boats.] [footnote 241: schoolcraft in senate doc. no. 90, 22d cong., 1st sess., ii,. 43.] [footnote 242: lawe to vieau, in wis. fur trade mss. see also u.s. indian treaties, and wis. hist. colls., v., 236.] [footnote 243: house ex. docs., 19th cong., 2d sess., ii., no. 7.] [footnote 244: for example see the vieau narrative in wis. hist. colls., xi., and the wis. fur trade mss.] [footnote 245: butler, wild north land; robinson, great fur land, ch. xv.] effects of the trading post. we are now in a position to offer some conclusions as to the influence of the indian trading post. i. upon the savage it had worked a transformation. it found him without iron, hunting merely for food and raiment. it put into his hands iron and guns, and made him a hunter for furs with which to purchase the goods of civilization. thus it tended to perpetuate the hunter stage; but it must also be noted that for a time it seemed likely to develop a class of merchants who should act as intermediaries solely. the inter-tribal trade between montreal and the northwest, and between albany and the illinois and ohio country, appears to have been commerce in the proper sense of the term[246] (_kauf zum verkauf_). the trading post left the unarmed tribes at the mercy of those that had bought firearms, and this caused a relocation of the indian tribes and an urgent demand for the trader by the remote and unvisited indians. it made the indian dependent on the white man's supplies. the stage of civilization that could make a gun and gunpowder was too far above the bow and arrow stage to be reached by the indian. instead of elevating him the trade exploited him. but at the same time, when one nation did not monopolize the trade, or when it failed to regulate its own traders, the trading post gave to the indians the means of resistance to agricultural settlement. the american settlers fought for their farms in kentucky and tennessee at a serious disadvantage, because for over half a century the creeks and cherokees had received arms and ammunition from the trading posts of the french, the spanish and the english. in wisconsin the settlers came after the indian had become thoroughly dependent on the american traders, and so late that no resistance was made. the trading post gradually exploited the indian's hunting ground. by intermarriages with the french traders the purity of the stock was destroyed and a mixed race produced.[247] the trader broke down the old totemic divisions, and appointed chiefs regardless of the indian social organization, to foster his trade. indians and traders alike testify that this destruction of indian institutions was responsible for much of the difficulty in treating with them, the tribe being without a recognized head.[248] the sale of their lands, made less valuable by the extinction of game, gave them a new medium of exchange, at the same time that, under the rivalry of trade, the sale of whiskey increased. ii. upon the white man the effect of the indian trading post was also very considerable. the indian trade gave both english and french a footing in america. but for the indian supplies some of the most important settlements would have perished.[249] it invited to exploration: the dream of a water route to india and of mines was always present in the more extensive expeditions, but the effective practical inducement to opening the water systems of the interior, and the thing that made exploration possible, was the fur trade. as has been shown, the indian eagerly invited the trader. up to a certain point also the trade fostered the advance of settlements. as long as they were in extension of trade with the indians they were welcomed. the trading posts were the pioneers of many settlements along the entire colonial frontier. in wisconsin the sites of our principal cities are the sites of old trading posts, and these earliest fur-trading settlements furnished supplies to the farming, mining and lumbering pioneers. they were centers about which settlement collected after the exploitation of the indian. although the efforts of the indians and of the great trading companies, whose profits depended upon keeping the primitive wilderness, were to obstruct agricultural settlement, as the history of the northwest and of british america shows, nevertheless reports brought back by the individual trader guided the steps of the agricultural pioneer. the trader was the farmer's pathfinder into some of the richest regions of the continent. both favorably and unfavorably the influence of the indian trade on settlement was very great. the trading post was the strategic point in the rivalry of france and england for the northwest. the american colonists came to know that the land was worth more than the beaver that built in the streams, but the mother country fought for the northwest as the field of indian trade in all the wars from 1689 to 1812. the management of the indian trade led the government under the lead of franklin and washington into trading on its own account, a unique feature of its policy. it was even proposed by the indian superintendent at one time that the government should manufacture the goods for this trade. in providing a new field for the individual trader, whom he expected the government trading houses to dispossess, jefferson proposed the lewis and clarke expedition, which crossed the continent by way of the missouri and the columbia, as the british trader, mackenzie, had before crossed it by way of canadian rivers. the genesis of this expedition illustrates at once the comprehensive western schemes of jefferson, and the importance of the part played by the fur trade in opening the west. in 1786, while the annapolis convention was discussing the navigation of the potomac, jefferson wrote to washington from paris inquiring about the best place for a canal between the ohio and the great lakes.[250] this was in promotion of the project of ledyard, a connecticut man, who was then in paris endeavoring to interest the wealthiest house there in the fur trade of the far west. jefferson took so great an interest in the plan that he secured from the house a promise that if they undertook the scheme the depot of supply should be at alexandria, on the potomac river, which would be in connection with the ohio, if the canal schemes of the time were carried out. after the failure of the negotiations of ledyard, jefferson proposed to him to cross russia to kamschatka, take ship to nootka sound, and thence return to the united states by way of the missouri.[251] ledyard was detained in russia by the authorities in spite of jefferson's good offices, and the scheme fell through. but jefferson himself asserts that this suggested the idea of the lewis and clarke expedition, which he proposed to congress as a means of fostering our indian trade.[252] bearing in mind his instructions to this party, that they should see whether the oregon furs might not be shipped down the missouri instead of passing around cape horn, and the relation of his early canal schemes to this design, we see that he had conceived the project of a transcontinental fur trade which should center in virginia. astor's subsequent attempt to push through a similar plan resulted in the foundation of his short-lived post of astoria at the mouth of the columbia. this occupation greatly aided our claim to the oregon country as against the british traders, who had reached the region by way of the northern arm of the columbia. in wisconsin, at least, the traders' posts, placed at the carrying places around falls and rapids, pointed out the water powers of the state. the portages between rivers became canals, or called out canal schemes that influenced the early development of the state. when washington, at the close of his military service, inspected the mohawk valley and the portages between the headwaters of the potomac and the ohio, as the channels "of conveyance of the extensive and valuable trade of a rising empire,"[253] he stood between two eras--the era with which he was personally familiar, when these routes had been followed by the trader with the savage tribes,[254] and the era which he foresaw, when american settlement passed along the same ways to the fertile west and called into being the great trunk-lines of the present day.[255] the trails became the early roads. an old indian trader relates that "the path between green bay and milwaukee was originally an indian trail, and very crooked, but the whites would straighten it by cutting across lots each winter with their jumpers, wearing bare streaks through the thin covering, to be followed in the summer by foot and horseback travel along the shortened path."[256] the process was typical of a greater one. along the lines that nature had drawn the indians traded and warred; along their trails and in their birch canoes the trader passed, bringing a new and a transforming life. these slender lines of eastern influence stretched throughout all our vast and intricate water-system, even to the gulf of mexico, the pacific, and the arctic seas, and these lines were in turn followed by agricultural and by manufacturing civilization. in a speech upon the pacific railway delivered in the united states senate in 1850, senator benton used these words: "there is an idea become current of late ... that none but a man of science, bred in a school, can lay off a road. that is a mistake. there is a class of topographical engineers older than the schools, and more unerring than the mathematics. they are the wild animals--buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, bears, which traverse the forest, not by compass, but by an instinct which leads them always the right way--to the lowest passes in the mountains, the shallowest fords in the rivers, the richest pastures in the forest, the best salt springs, and the shortest practicable routes between remote points. they travel thousands of miles, have their annual migrations backwards and forwards, and never miss the best and shortest route. these are the first engineers to lay out a road in a new country; the indians follow them, and hence a buffalo-road becomes a war-path. the first white hunters follow the same trails in pursuing their game; and after that the buffalo-road becomes the wagon-road of the white man, and finally the macadamized or railroad of the scientific man. it all resolves itself into the same thing--into the same buffalo-road; and thence the buffalo becomes the first and safest engineer. thus it has been here in the countries which we inhabit and the history of which is so familiar. the present national road from cumberland over the alleghanies was the military road of general braddock; which had been the buffalo-path of the wild animals. so of the two roads from western virginia to kentucky--one through the gap in the cumberland mountains, the other down the valley of the kenhawa. they were both the war-path of the indians and the travelling route of the buffalo, and their first white acquaintances the early hunters. buffaloes made them in going from the salt springs on the holston to the rich pastures and salt springs of kentucky; indians followed them first, white hunters afterwards--and that is the way kentucky was discovered. in more than a hundred years no nearer or better routes have been found; and science now makes her improved roads exactly where the buffalo's foot first marked the way and the hunter's foot afterwards followed him. so all over kentucky and the west; and so in the rocky mountains. the famous south pass was no scientific discovery. some people think frémont discovered it. it had been discovered forty years before--long before he was born. he only described it and confirmed what the hunters and traders had reported and what they showed him. it was discovered, or rather first seen by white people, in 1808, two years after the return of lewis and clark, and by the first company of hunters and traders that went out after their report laid open the prospect of the fur trade in the rocky mountains. "an enterprising spaniard of st. louis, manuel lisa, sent out the party; an acquaintance and old friend of the senator from wisconsin who sits on my left [general henry dodge] led the party--his name andrew henry. he was the first man that saw that pass; and he found it in the prosecution of his business, that of a hunter and trader, and by following the game and the road which they had made. and that is the way all passes are found. but these traders do not write books and make maps, but they enable other people to do it."[257] benton errs in thinking that the hunter was the pioneer in kentucky. as i have shown, the trader opened the way. but benton is at least valid authority upon the great west, and his fundamental thesis has much truth in it. a continuously higher life flowed into the old channels, knitting the united states together into a complex organism. it is a process not limited to america. in every country the exploitation of the wild beasts,[258] and of the raw products generally, causes the entry of the disintegrating and transforming influences of a higher civilization. "the history of commerce is the history of the intercommunication of peoples." footnotes: [footnote 246: notwithstanding kulischer's assertion that there is no room for this in primitive society. _vide_ der handel auf den primitiven culturstufen, in _zeitschrift für völkerpsychologie und sprachwissenschaft_, x., no. 4, p. 378. compare instances of inter-tribal trade given _ante_, pp. 11, 26.] [footnote 247: on the "_metis_," _boís-brulés_, or half-breeds, consult smithsonian reports, 1879, p. 309, and robinson, great fur land, ch. iii.] [footnote 248: minn. hist. colls., v., 135; biddle to atkinson, 1819, in ind. pamphlets, vol. i, no. 15 (wis. hist. soc. library).] [footnote 249: parkman, pioneers of france, 230; carr, mounds of the mississippi, p. 8, n. 8; smith's generall historie, i., 88, 90, 155 (richmond, 1819).] [footnote 250: jefferson, works, ii., 60, 250, 370.] [footnote 251: allen's lewis and clarke expedition, p. ix (edition of 1814. the introduction is by jefferson).] [footnote 252: jefferson's messages of january 18, 1803, and february 19, 1806. see amer. state papers, ind. affs., i., 684.] [footnote 253: see adams, maryland's influence upon land cessions to u.s., j.h.u. studies, 3d series, no. i., pp. 80-82.] [footnote 254: _ibid._ _vide ante_, p. 41.] [footnote 255: narr. and crit. hist. amer., viii., 10. compare adams, as above. at jefferson's desire, in january and february of 1788, washington wrote various letters inquiring as to the feasibility of a canal between lake erie and the ohio, "whereby the fur and peltry of the upper country can be transported"; saying: "could a channel once be opened to convey the fur and peltry from the lakes into the eastern country, its advantages would be so obvious as to induce an opinion that it would in a short time become the channel of conveyance for much the greater part of the commodities brought from thence." sparks, washington's works, ix., 303, 327.] [footnote 256: wis. hist. colls., xi., 230.] [footnote 257: cong. rec., xxiii., 57. i found this interesting confirmation of my views after this paper was written. compare _harper's magazine_, sept. 1890, p. 565.] [footnote 258: the traffic in furs in the middle ages was enormous, says friedlander, sittengeschichte, iii., 62. numerous cities in england and on the continent, whose names are derived from the word "beaver" and whose seals bear the beaver, testify to the former importance in europe of this animal; see _canadian journal_, 1859, 359. see du chaillu, viking age, 209-10; marco polo, bk. iv., ch. xxi. "wattenbach, in _historische zeitschrift_, ix., 391, shows that german traders were known in the lands about the baltic at least as early as the knights.] away in the wilderness, by r.m. ballantyne. chapter one. the hunter. on a beautiful summer evening, not many years ago, a man was seen to ascend the side of a little mound or hillock, on the top of which he lingered to gaze upon the wild scenery that lay stretched out before him. the man wore the leathern coat and leggings of a north american hunter, or trapper, or backwoodsman; and well did he deserve all these titles, for jasper derry was known to his friends as the best hunter, the most successful trapper, and the boldest man in the backwoods. jasper was big and strong as well as bold, but he was not a bully. men of true courage are in general peacefully disposed. jasper could fight like a lion when there was occasion to do so; but he was gentle and grave, and quiet by nature. he was also extremely good-humoured; had a low soft voice, and, both in mind and body, seemed to delight in a state of repose. we have said that his coat was made of leather; the moccasins or indian shoes on his feet were made of the same material. when jasper first put them on they were soft like a glove of chamois leather, and bright yellow; but hard service had turned them into a dirty brown, which looked more business like. the sun had burned his face and hands to as deep a brown as his coat. on his head he wore a little round cap, which he had made with his own hands, after having caught the black fox that supplied the fur, in one of his own traps. a coloured worsted belt bound his coat round his waist, and beneath the coat he wore a scarlet flannel shirt. a long knife and a small hatchet were stuck in the belt at his back, and in front hung a small cloth bag, which was so thickly ornamented with beads of many colours, that little of the cloth could be seen. this last was a fire-bag--so called because it contained the flint, steel, and tinder required for making a fire. it also contained jasper's pipe and tobacco--for he smoked, as a matter of course. men smoke everywhere--more's the pity--and jasper followed the example of those around him. smoking was almost his only fault. he was a tremendous smoker. often, when out of tobacco, he had smoked tea. frequently he had tried bark and dried leaves; and once, when hard pressed, he had smoked oakum. he would rather have gone without his supper than without his pipe! a powder-horn and shot pouch were slung over his shoulders by two cross belts, and he carried a long single-barrelled gun. i have been thus particular in describing jasper derry, because he is our hero, and he is worth describing, being a fine, hearty, handsome fellow, who cared as little for a wild indian or a grizzly bear as he did for a butterfly, and who was one of the best of companions, as he was one of the best of hunters, in the wilderness. having gained the top of the hillock, jasper placed the butt of his long gun on the ground, and, crossing his hands over the muzzle, stood there for some time so motionless, that he might have been mistaken for a statue. a magnificent country was spread out before him. just in front lay a clear lake of about a mile in extent, and the evening was so still that every tree, stone, and bush on its margin, was reflected as in a mirror. here, hundreds of wild ducks and wild geese were feeding among the sedges of the bays, or flying to and fro mingling their cries with those of thousands of plover and other kinds of water-fowl that inhabited the place. at the lower end of this lake a small rivulet was seen to issue forth and wind its way through woods and plains like a silver thread, until it was lost to view in the far distance. on the right and left and behind, the earth was covered with the dense foliage of the wild woods. the hillock on which the western hunter stood, lay in the very heart of that great uncultivated wilderness which forms part of the british possessions in north america. this region lies to the north of the canadas, is nearly as large as all europe, and goes by the name of the hudson's bay territory, or rupert's land. it had taken jasper many long weeks of hard travel by land and water, in canoes and on foot, to get there; and several weeks of toil still lay before him, ere he could attain the object, for which his journey had been undertaken. wicked people say that "woman is at the bottom of all mischief!" did it never occur to these same wicked individuals, that woman is just as much at the bottom of all good? whether for good or for evil, woman was at the bottom of jasper perry's heart and affairs. the cause of his journey was love; the aim and end of it was marriage! did true love ever run smooth? "no, never," says the proverb. we shall see. chapter two. the three friends. when the hunter had stood for full five minutes gazing at the beautiful scenery by which he was surrounded, it suddenly occurred to him that a pipe would render him much more capable of enjoying it; so he sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree, leaned his gun on it, pulled the fire-bag from his belt, and began to fill his pipe, which was one of the kind used by the savages of the country, with a stone head and a wooden stem. it was soon lighted, and jasper was thinking how much more clear and beautiful a landscape looked through tobacco smoke, when a hand was laid lightly on his shoulder. looking quickly round, he beheld a tall dark-faced indian standing by his side. jasper betrayed neither alarm nor surprise; for the youth was his own comrade, who had merely come to tell him that the canoe in which they had been travelling together, and which had been slightly damaged, was repaired and ready for service. "why, arrowhead, you steal on me with the soft tread of a fox. my ears are not dull, yet i did not hear your approach, lad." a smile lighted up the countenance of the young indian for a moment, as he listened to a compliment which gratified him much; but the grave expression which was natural to him instantly returned, as he said, "arrowhead has hunted in the rocky mountains where the men are treacherous; he has learned to tread lightly there." "no doubt, ye had need to be always on the look out where there are such varmints; but hereaway, arrowhead, there are no foes to fear, and therefore no need to take yer friends by surprise. but ye're proud o' your gifts, lad, an' i suppose it's natural to like to show them off. is the canoe ready?" the indian replied by a nod. "that's well, lad, it will be sun-down in another hour, an' i would like to camp on the point of pines to-night; so come along." "hist!" exclaimed the indian, pointing to a flock of geese which came into view at that moment. "ah! you come of a masterful race," said jasper, shaking his head gravely, "you're never content when ye've got enough, but must always be killing god's creatures right and left for pure sport. haven't we got one grey goose already for supper, an' that's enough for two men surely. of course i make no account o' the artist, poor cratur', for he eats next to nothin'. hows'ever, as your appetite may be sharper set than usual, i've no objection to bring down another for ye." so saying the hunter and the indian crouched behind a bush, and the former, while he cocked his gun and examined the priming, gave utterance to a series of cries so loud and discordant, that any one who was ignorant of a hunter's ways must have thought he was anxious to drive all the living creatures within six miles of him away in terror. jasper had no such wish, however. he was merely imitating the cry of the wild geese. the birds, which were at first so far-off that a rifle-ball could not have reached them, no sooner heard the cry of their friends (as they doubtless thought it) than they turned out of their course, and came gradually towards the bush where the two men lay hidden. the hunter did not cease to cry until the birds were within gunshot. then he fixed his eye on one of the flock that seemed plump and fat. the long barrel of the gun was quickly raised, the geese discovered their mistake, and the whole flock were thrown into wild confusion as they attempted to sheer off; but it was too late. smoke and fire burst from the bush, and an enormous grey goose fell with a heavy crash to the ground. "what have you shot? what have you shot?" cried a shrill and somewhat weak voice in the distance. in another moment the owner of the voice appeared, running eagerly towards the two men. "use your eyes, john heywood, an' ye won't need to ask," said jasper, with a quiet smile, as he carefully reloaded his gun. "ah! i see--a grey swan--no, surely, it cannot be a goose?" said heywood, turning the bird over and regarding it with astonishment; "why, this is the biggest one i ever did see." "what's yon in the water? deer, i do believe," cried jasper, quickly drawing the small shot from his gun and putting in a ball instead. "come, lads, we shall have venison for supper to-night. that beast can't reach t'other side so soon as we can." jasper leaped quickly down the hill, and dashed through the bushes towards the spot where their canoe lay. he was closely followed by his companions, and in less than two minutes they were darting across the lake in their little indian canoe, which was made of birch-bark, and was so light that one man could carry it easily. while they are thus engaged i will introduce the reader to john heywood. this individual was a youth of nineteen or twenty years of age, who was by profession a painter of landscapes and animals. he was tall and slender in person, with straight black hair, a pale haggard-looking face, an excitable nervous manner, and an enthusiastic temperament. being adventurous in his disposition, he had left his father's home in canada, and entreated his friend, jasper derry, to take him along with him into the wilderness. at first jasper was very unwilling to agree to this request; because the young artist was utterly ignorant of everything connected with a life in the woods, and he could neither use a paddle nor a gun. but heywood's father had done him some service at a time when he was ill and in difficulties, so, as the youth was very anxious to go, he resolved to repay this good turn of the father by doing a kindness to the son. heywood turned out but a poor backwoodsman, but he proved to be a pleasant, amusing companion, and as jasper and the indian were quite sufficient for the management of the light canoe, and the good gun of the former was more than sufficient to feed the party, it mattered nothing to jasper that heywood spent most of his time seated in the middle of the canoe, sketching the scenery as they went along. still less did it matter that heywood missed everything he fired at, whether it was close at hand or far away. at first jasper was disposed to look upon his young companion as a poor useless creature; and the indian regarded him with undisguised contempt. but after they had been some time in his company, the opinions of these two men of the woods changed; for they found that the artist was wise, and well informed on many subjects of which they were extremely ignorant; and they beheld with deep admiration the beautiful and life-like drawings and paintings which he produced in rapid succession. such was the romantic youth who had, for the sake of seeing and painting the wilderness, joined himself to these rough sons of the forest, and who now sat in the centre of the canoe swaying his arms about and shouting with excitement as they quickly drew near to the swimming herd of deer. "keep yourself still," said jasper, looking over his shoulder, "ye'll upset the canoe if ye go on like that." "give me the axe, give me the axe, i'll kill him!" cried heywood. "take your pencil and draw him," observed the hunter, with a quiet laugh. "now, arrowhead, two good strokes of the paddle will do--there-so." as he spoke the canoe glanced up alongside of an affrighted deer, and in the twinkling of an eye jasper's long knife was in its heart, and the water was dyed with blood. this happened quite near to the opposite shore of the lake, so that in little more than half an hour after it was killed the animal was cut up and packed, and the canoe was again speeding towards the upper end of the lake, where the party arrived just as night began to fling its dark mantle over the wilderness. chapter three. the encampment. camping out in the woods at night is truly a delightful thing, and the pleasantest part of it, perhaps, is the lighting of the fire. light is agreeable to human eyes and cheering to the human heart. solomon knew and felt that when he penned the words, "a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun." and the rising of the sun is scarcely more grateful to the feelings than the lighting of a fire on a dark night. so our friends thought and felt, when the fire blazed up, but they were too busy and too hungry at the time to think about the state of their feelings. the indian was hungry. a good fire had to be made before the venison could be roasted, so he gave his whole attention to the felling of dry trees and cutting them up into logs for the fire. jasper was also hungry, and a slight shower had wetted all the moss and withered grass, so he had enough to do to strike fire with flint and steel, catch a spark on a little piece of tinder, and then blow and coax the spark into a flame. the artist was indeed free to indulge in a little meditation; but he had stumbled in the dark on landing, and bruised his shins, so he could only sit down on a rock and rub them and feel miserable. but the fire soon caught; branches were heaped up, great logs were piled on, forked tongues of flame began to leap up and lick the branches of the overhanging trees. the green leaves looked rich and warm; the thick stems looked red and hot; the faces and clothes of the men seemed as if about to catch fire as they moved about the encampment preparing supper. in short, the whole scene was so extremely comfortable, in reality as well as in appearance, that heywood forgot his bruised shins and began to rub his hands with delight. in a very short time three juicy venison-steaks were steaming before the three travellers, and in a much shorter time they had disappeared altogether and were replaced by three new ones. the mode of cooking was very simple. each steak was fixed on a piece of stick and set up before the fire to roast. when one side was ready, the artist, who seemed to have very little patience, began to cut off pieces and eat them while the other side was cooking. to say truth, men out in those regions have usually such good appetites that they are not particular as to the cooking of their food. quantity, not quality, is what they desire. they generally feel very much like the russian, of whom it is said, that he would be content to eat sawdust if only he _got_ _plenty_ _of_ _it_! the steaks were washed down with tea. there is no other drink in rupert's land. the hudson's bay company found that spirits were so hurtful to the indians that they refused to send them into the country; and at the present day there is no strong drink to be had for love or money over the length and breadth of their territories, except at those places where other fur-traders oppose them, and oblige them, in self-defence, to sell fire-water, as the indians call it. tea is the great--the only--drink in rupert's land! yes, laugh as ye will, ye lovers of gin and beer and whisky, one who has tried it, and has seen it tried by hundreds of stout stalwart men, tells you that the teetotaller is the best man for real hard work. the three travellers drank their tea and smacked their lips, and grinned at each other with great satisfaction. they could not have done more if it had been the best of brandy and they the jolliest of topers! but the height of their enjoyment was not reached until the pipes were lighted. it was quite a sight to see them smoke! jasper lay with his huge frame extended in front of the blaze, puffing clouds of smoke thick enough to have shamed a small cannon. arrowhead rested his back on the stump of a tree, stretched his feet towards the fire, and allowed the smoke to roll slowly through his nostrils as well as out at his mouth, so that it kept curling quietly round his nose, and up his cheeks, and into his eyes, and through his hair in a most delightful manner; at least so it would seem, for his reddish-brown face beamed with happy contentment. young heywood did not smoke, but he drew forth his sketch-book and sketched his two companions; and in the practice of his beloved art, i have no doubt, he was happier than either. "i wonder how many trading-posts the hudson's bay company has got?" said heywood, as he went on with his work. "hundreds of 'em," said jasper, pressing the red-hot tobacco into the bowl of his pipe with the end of his little finger, as slowly and coolly as if his flesh were fire-proof. "i don't know, exactly, how many they've got. i doubt if anybody does, but they have them all over the country. you've seen a little of the country now, heywood; well, what you have seen is very much like what you will see as long as you choose to travel hereaway. you come to a small clearing in the forest, with five or six log houses in it, a stockade round it, and a flagstaff in the middle of it; five, ten, or fifteen men, and a gentleman in charge. that's a hudson's bay company's trading-post. all round it lie the wild woods. go through the woods for two or three hundred miles and you'll come to another such post, or fort, as we sometimes call 'em. that's how it is all the country over. although there are many of them, the country is so uncommon big that they may be said to be few and far between. some are bigger and some are less. there's scarcely a settlement in the country worthy o' the name of a village except red river." "ah! red river," exclaimed heywood, "i've heard much of that settlement--hold steady--i'm drawing your _nose_ just now--have you been there, jasper?" "that have i, lad, and a fine place it is, extendin' fifty miles or more along the river, with fine fields, and handsome houses, and churches, and missionaries and schools, and what not; but the rest of rupert's land is just what you have seen; no roads, no houses, no cultivated fields--nothing but lakes, and rivers, and woods, and plains without end, and a few indians here and there, with plenty of wild beasts everywhere. these trading-posts are scattered here and there, from the atlantic to the pacific, and from canada to the frozen sea, standin' solitary-like in the midst of the wilderness, as if they had dropped down from the clouds by mistake and didn't know exactly what to do with themselves." "how long have de company lived?" inquired arrowhead, turning suddenly to jasper. the stout hunter felt a little put out. "ahem! i don't exactly know; but it must have been a long time, no doubt." "oh, i can tell you that," cried heywood. "you?" said jasper in surprise. "ay; the company was started nearly two hundred years ago by prince rupert, who was the first governor, and that's the reason the country came to be called rupert's land. you know its common name is `the hudson's bay territory,' because it surrounds hudson's bay." "why, where did you learn that?" said jasper, "i thought i knowed a-most everything about the company; but i must confess i never knew that about prince rupert before." "i learned it from books," said the artist. "books!" exclaimed jasper, "i never learned nothin' from books--more's the pity. i git along well enough in the trappin' and shootin' way without 'em; but i'm sorry i never learned to read. ah! i've a great opinion of books--so i have." the worthy hunter shook his head solemnly as he said this in a low voice, more to himself than to his companions, and he continued to mutter and shake his head for some minutes, while he knocked the ashes out of his pipe. having refilled and relighted it, he drew his blanket over his shoulder, laid his head upon a tuft of grass, and continued to smoke until he fell asleep, and allowed the pipe to fall from his lips. the indian followed his example, with this difference, that he laid aside his pipe, and drew the blanket over his head and under his feet, and wrapped it round him in such a way that he resembled a man sewed up in a sack. heywood was thus compelled to shut his sketch-book; so he also wrapped himself in his blanket, and was soon sound asleep. the camp-fire gradually sank low. once or twice the end of a log fell, sending up a bright flame and a shower of sparks, which, for a few seconds, lighted up the scene again and revealed the three slumbering figures. but at last the fire died out altogether, and left the encampment in such thick darkness that the sharpest eye would have failed to detect the presence of man in that distant part of the lone wilderness. chapter four. mosquitoes--camp-fire talk. there is a certain fly in the american forests which is worthy of notice, because it exercises a great influence over the happiness of man in those regions. this fly is found in many other parts of the world, but it swarms in immense numbers in america, particularly in the swampy districts of that continent, and in the hot months of summer. it is called a mosquito--pronounced _moskeeto_--and it is, perhaps, the most tormenting, the most persevering, savage, vicious little monster on the face of the earth. other flies go to sleep at night; the mosquito never does. darkness puts down other flies--it seems to encourage the mosquito. day and night it persecutes man and beast, and the only time of the twenty-four hours in which it seems to rest is about noon, when the heat puts _it_ down for a little. but this period of rest strengthens it for a renewal of war during the remainder of the day and night. in form the mosquito very much resembles the gnat, but is somewhat larger. this instrument of torture is his nose, which is quite as long as his body, and sharper than the finest needle. being unable to rest because of the mosquitoes, heywood resolved to have a chat. "come, jasper," said he, looking up into his companion's grave countenance, "although we have been many weeks on this journey now, you have not yet told me what has brought you here, or what the end of your trip is going to be." "i've come here a-hunting," said jasper, with the look and tone of a man who did not wish to be questioned. "nay, now, i know that is not the reason," said heywood, smiling; "you could have hunted much nearer home, if you had been so minded, and to as good purpose. come, jasper, you know i'm your friend, and that i wish you well. let me hear what has brought you so far into the wilderness-mayhap i can give you some good advice if you do." "well, lad, i don't mind if i do. though, for the matter of good advice, i don't feel much in need of any just at this time." jasper shook the ashes out of his pipe, and refilled it as he spoke; then he shook his head once or twice and smiled, as if his thoughts amused him. having lighted the pipe, he stretched himself out in a more comfortable way before the blaze, and said-"well, lad, i'll tell ye what it is--it's the old story; the love of woman has brought me here." "and a very good old story it is," returned heywood, with a look of interest. "a poor miserable set of creatures we should be without that same love of woman. come, jasper, i'm glad to hear you're such a sensible fellow. i know something about that subject myself. there's a pretty blue-eyed girl, with golden hair, down away in canada that--" heywood stopped short in his speech and sighed. "come, it ain't a hopeless case, is it?" said jasper, with a look of sympathy. "i rather fear it is; but i hope not. ah, what should we do without hope in this world?" "that's true," observed jasper, with much gravity, "we could not get on at all without hope." "but come, jasper," said the artist, "let's hear about your affair, and i'll tell you about mine some other time." "well, there is not much to tell, but i'll give ye all that's of it. you must know, then, that about two years ago i was in the service of the hudson's bay company, at one o' their outposts in the mckenzie's river district. we had little to eat there and little to do, and i felt so lonesome, never seein' a human bein' except the four or five men at the fort an' a few indians, that i made up my mind to quit. i had no reason to complain o' the company, d'ye see. they always treated me handsomely, and it was no fault o' theirs that the livin' in that district was poor and the post lonesome. "well, on my way down to lake winnipeg, i fell in with a brigade o' boats goin' to the saskatchewan district, and we camped together that night. one o' the guides of the saskatchewan brigade had his daughter with him. the guide was a french-canadian, and his wife had been a scotch half-caste, so what the daughter was is more than i can tell; but i know what she looked like. she just looked like an angel. it wasn't so much that she was pretty, but she was so sweet, and so quiet lookin', and so innocent! well, to cut the matter short, i fell in love at once. d'ye know what it is, heywood, to fall in love at first sight?" "oh! don't i?" replied the artist with sudden energy. "an' d'ye know," continued jasper, "what it is to be fallen-in-love-with, at first sight?" "well, no, i'm not so sure about that," replied heywood sadly. "i do, then," said jasper, "for that sweet critter fell in love with me right off--though what she saw in me to love has puzzled me much. howsoever, she did, and for that i'm thankful. her name is marie laroche. she and i opened our minds to each other that night, and i took the guide, her father, into the woods, and told him i wanted his daughter; and he was agreeable; but he would not hear of my takin' her away then and there. he told me i must go down to canada and get settled, and when i had a house to put his daughter in, i was to come back into the wilderness here and be married to her, and then take her home--so here i am on my way to claim my bride. but there's one thing that puzzles me sorely." "what is that?" asked heywood. "i've never heard from marie from that day to this," said jasper. "that is strange," replied the other; "but perhaps she cannot write." "that's true. now, you speak of it, i do believe she can't write a line; but, then, she might have got some one to write for her." "did you leave your address with her?" "how could i, when i had no address to leave?" "but did you ever send it to her?" "no, i never thought of that," said jasper, opening his eyes very wide. "come, that's a comfort--that's a good reason for never havin' heard from her. thankee, lad, for putting me up to it. and, now, as we must be up and away in another hour, i'll finish my nap." so saying, jasper put out his pipe and once more drew his blanket over him. heywood followed his example, and while he lay there gazing up at the stars through the trees, he heard the worthy hunter muttering to himself, "that's it; that accounts for my not hearin' from her." a sigh followed the words, very soon a snore followed the sigh, and ere many minutes had passed away, the encampment was again buried in darkness and repose. chapter five. journeying in the wilderness. it seemed to heywood that he had not been asleep more than five minutes, when he was aroused by jasper laying his heavy hand on his shoulder. on rubbing his eyes and gazing round him, he found that the first streak of dawn was visible in the eastern sky, that the canoe was already in the water, and that his companions were ready to embark. it is usually found that men are not disposed to talk at that early hour. heywood merely remarked that it was a fine morning, to which jasper replied by a nod of his head. nothing more was said. the artist rolled up his blanket in a piece of oiled-cloth, collected his drawing materials and put them into their bag, got into his place in the centre of the canoe, and immediately went to sleep, while jasper and the indian, taking their places in the bow and stern, dipped the paddles into the water and shot away from the shore. they looked mysterious and ghostly in the dim morning light; and the whole scene around them looked mysterious and ghostly too, for the water in the lake seemed black, and the shores and islands looked like dark shadows, and a pale thin mist rolled slowly over the surface of the water and hung overhead. no sound was heard except the light plash of the paddles as the two backwoodsmen urged their little canoe swiftly along. by degrees the light of day increased, and jasper awakened heywood in order that he might behold the beautiful scenery through which they passed. they were now approaching the upper end of the lake, in which there were innumerable islands of every shape and size--some of them not more than a few yards in length, while some were two or three hundred yards across, but all were clothed with the most beautiful green foliage and shrubbery. as the pale yellow of the eastern sky began to grow red, ducks and gulls bestirred themselves. early risers among them first began to chirp, and scream, and whistle their morning song,--for there are lazy ones among the birds, just as there are among men. sometimes, when the canoe rounded a point of rocks a flock of geese were found floating peacefully among the sedges, sound asleep, with their heads under their wings. these would leap into the air and fly off in great alarm, with much difficulty and tremendous splutter, reminding one of the proverb, "the more haste the less speed." at other times they would come upon a flock of ducks so suddenly, that they had no time to take wing, so they dived instead, and thus got out of the way. then the yellow hue of sunrise came, a good while before the sun himself rose. the last of the bright stars were put out by the flood of light, and multitudes of little birds on shore began to chirp their morning song; and who can say that this was not a hymn of praise to god, when, in the holy bible itself, in the 150th psalm, we find it written, "let everything that hath breath praise the lord." at last the sun burst forth in all his golden glory. water, earth, and sky glowed as if they had been set on fire. what a blessed influence the sun has upon this world! it resembles the countenance of a loving father beaming in upon his family, driving away clouds, and diffusing warmth and joy. the birds were now all astir together, insomuch that the air seemed alive with them. there are small white gulls, with red legs and red beaks, in those large inland lakes, just as there are on the ocean. these began to utter their sweet wild cries so powerfully that they almost drowned the noise of all the rest. yet the united chorus of the whole was not harsh. it was softened and mellowed by distance, and fell on the ears of the two hunters as pleasantly as the finest music does in the ears of men trained to sweet sounds from infancy. not until the sun had ascended a considerable way on its course through the sky, did jasper think it necessary to lay down his paddle. by that time the upper end of the lake had been reached, and the hunter had run the canoe close to a ledge of flat rock and jumped ashore, saying that it was time for breakfast. "i had almost got to believe i was in paradise," said heywood, as he stepped ashore. "i often think there's a good deal of the garden of eden still left in this world," replied jasper, as he carried the kettle up to the level part of the rock and began to kindle a fire, while the indian, as usual, hewed the wood. "if we could only make use of god's gifts instead of abusin' them, i do believe we might be very happy all our days." "see there, jasper, is one of the birds i want so much to get hold of. i want to make a drawing of him. would you object to spend a shot on such game." heywood pointed as he spoke to a grey bird, about the size of a blackbird, which sat on a branch close above his head. this creature is called by the fur-traders a whisky-john, and it is one of the most impudent little birds in the world! wherever you go throughout the country, there you find whisky-johns ready to receive and welcome you, as if they were the owners of the soil. they are perfectly fearless; they will come and sit on a branch within a yard of your hand, when you are eating, and look at you in the most inquisitive manner. if they could speak, they could not say more plainly, "what have you got there?--give me some!" if you leave the mouth of your provision sack open they are sure to jump into it. when you are done eating they will scarcely let you six yards away before they make a dash at the crumbs; and if you throw sticks or stones at them, they will hop out of the way, but they will not take to flight! "it would be a pity to waste powder on them critters," said jasper, "but i'll catch one for you." as he said this he took a few crumbs of broken meat from the bottom of the provision sack and spread them on his right hand; then he lay down under a bush, covered his face with a few leaves, and thrust out his hand. heywood and the indian retired a few paces and stood still to await the result. in a few seconds a whisky-john came flying towards the open hand, and alighted on a branch within a yard of it. here he shook his feathers and looked very bold, but suspicious, for a few minutes, turning first one eye towards the hand, and then the other. after a little he hopped on a branch still nearer, and, seeing no motion in the hand, he at last hopped upon the palm and began to peck the crumbs. instantly the fingers closed, and jasper caught him by the toes, whereupon the whisky-john began to scream furiously with rage and terror. but i am bound to say there was more of rage than of terror in his cry. jasper handed the passionate bird over to the artist, who tried to make a portrait of him, but he screamed and pecked so fiercely that heywood was obliged to let him go after making a rough sketch. breakfast was a repetition of the supper of the night before; it was soon disposed of, and the three travellers again set forth. this time jasper sang one of the beautiful canoe songs peculiar to that country, and heywood and arrowhead, both of whom had good voices, joined in the chorus. they soon passed from the lake into the river by which it was fed. at first the current of this river was sluggish; but as they ascended, it became stronger, and was broken here and there by rapids. the severe toil of travelling in the backwoods now began. to paddle on a level lake all day is easy enough, for, when you get tired, you can lay down the paddle and rest. but in the river this is impossible, because of the current. the only way to get a rest is to push the bow of the canoe ashore. it was a fine sight to see the movements of jasper and the indian when they came to the first rapid. heywood knew that he could be of no use, so, like a wise man, he sat still and looked on. the rapid was a very strong one, but there were no falls in it; only a furious gush of water over the broken bed of the river, where many large rocks rose up and caught the current, hurling the water back in white foam. any one who knew not what these hunters could do, would have laughed if you had told him they were about to ascend that rapid in such an egg-shell of a canoe! they began by creeping up, in-shore, as far as they could. then they dashed boldly out into the stream, and the current whirled them down with lightning speed, but suddenly the canoe came to a halt in the very middle of the stream! every rock in a rapid has a long tail of still water below it; the canoe had got into one of these tails or eddies, and there it rested securely. a few yards higher up there was another rock, nearer to the opposite bank, and the eddy which tailed off from it came down a little lower than the rock behind which the canoe now lay. there was a furious gush of water between them and this eddy, but the men knew what the canoe could bear, and their nerves were strong and steady. across they went like a shot. they were swept down to the extreme point of the eddy, but a few powerful strokes of the paddle sent them into it, and next moment they were floating behind the second rock, a few yards higher up the stream. thus they darted from rock to rock, gaining a few yards at each dart, until at last they swept into the smooth water at the head of the rapid. many a time was this repeated that day, for rapids were numerous; their progress was therefore slow. sometimes they came to parts of the river where the stream was very strong and deep, but not broken by rocks, so that they had no eddies to dart into. in such places arrowhead and heywood walked along the bank, and hauled the canoe up by means of a line, while jasper remained in it to steer. this was hard work, for the banks in places were very steep, in some parts composed of soft mud, into which the men sank nearly up to their knees, and in other places covered so thickly with bushes that it was almost impossible to force a path through them. jasper and the indian took the steering-paddle by turns, and when heywood required a rest he got into his place in the middle of the canoe; but they never halted for more than a few minutes at a time. all day they paddled and dragged the canoe slowly up against the strong current, and when night closed in they found they had advanced only three miles on their journey. the last obstacle they came to that day was a roaring waterfall about thirty feet high. here, it might have been thought, was an effectual check to them at last. nothing without wings could have gone up that waterfall, which filled the woods with the thunder of its roar; but the canoe had no wings, so what was to be done? to one ignorant of the customs of that country, going on would have seemed impossible, but nothing can stop the advance of a backwoods voyager. if his canoe won't carry him, he carries his canoe! jasper and his friends did so on the present occasion. they had reached what is called a portage or carrying-place, and there are hundreds of such places all over rupert's land. on arriving at the foot of the fall, heywood set off at once to a spot from which he could obtain a good view of it, and sat down to sketch, while his companions unloaded the canoe and lifted it out of the water. then jasper collected together as much of the baggage as he could carry, and clambered up the bank with it, until he reached the still water at the top of the fall. here he laid it down and returned for another load. meanwhile arrowhead lifted the canoe with great ease, placed it on his shoulders, and bore it to the same place. when all had been carried up, the canoe was launched into the quiet water a few hundred yards above the fall, the baggage was replaced in it, and the travellers were ready to continue their voyage. this whole operation is called _making_ _a_ _portage_. it took about an hour to make this portage. portages vary in length and in numbers. in some rivers they are few and far between; in others they are so numerous that eight or twelve may have to be made in a day. many of the portages are not more than an eighth of a mile in length, and are crossed for the purpose of avoiding a waterfall. some are four or five miles in extent, for many long reaches in the rivers are so broken by falls and rapids, that the voyagers find it their best plan to take canoes and baggage on their backs and cut across country for several miles; thus they avoid rough places altogether. jasper delayed starting for half an hour, in order to give heywood time to finish his sketch of the fall. it began to grow dark when they again embarked, so, after paddling up stream until a convenient place was found, they put ashore and encamped within sight of another waterfall, the roar of which, softened by distance, fell upon their ears all that night like the sound of pleasant music. chapter six. the outpost. on the morning of the second day after the events which i have described in the last chapter, our three travellers arrived at one of the solitary outposts belonging to the fur-traders. it stood on the banks of the river, and consisted of four small houses made of logs. it covered about an acre of ground, and its only defence was a wall of wooden posts, about two inches apart, which completely surrounded the buildings. "this fort is a namesake of mine," said jasper, when they first sighted it; "they call it jasper's house. i spent a day at it when i was hereaway two years ago." "who is in charge of it?" asked heywood. "a gentleman named grant, i believe," replied jasper. "that white painted house in the middle of the square is his. the other house on the right, painted yellow, is where the men live. mr grant has only got six men, poor fellow, to keep him company; he seldom sees a new face here from one end of the year to the other. but he makes a trip once a year to the head post of the district with his furs, and that's a sort of break to him." "are there no women at the place?" inquired the artist. "only two," replied jasper. "at least there were two when i was here last; they were the wives of two of the men, indian women they were, with few brains, and little or nothin' to say; but they were useful critters for all that, for they could make coats, and trousers, and moccasins, and mittens, and they were first-rate cooks, besides bein' handy at almost every kind o' work. they could even use the gun. i've heard o' them bringin' down a wild goose on the wing, when none o' the men were at hand to let drive at the passing flock. i do believe that's mr grant himself standin' at the gate o' the fort." jasper was right. the master of jasper's house, a big, hearty-looking man of about five-and-forty, was standing at the gate of his lonely residence, leaning against one of the door-posts, with his hands in his breeches pockets and a short pipe in his mouth. his summer employments had come to an end,--no indians had been near the place for many weeks, and he happened to have nothing at that time to do but eat, smoke, and sleep; which three occupations he usually attended to with much earnestness. mr grant did not observe the canoe approaching from below, for at that time his attention was attracted to something up the river. suddenly he started, took his pipe from his lips, and, bending forward, listened with deep, earnest attention. a faint murmur came floating down on the breeze, sending a thrill of pleasure to the heart of the solitary man, as well it might, for a new face was a rare sight at jasper's house. at last a loud shout rang through the forest, and five indian canoes swept round a point of rocks, and came suddenly into view, the men tossing their paddles in the air and sending rainbows of spray over their heads as they made for the landing-place. these were three or four families of indians, who had come from a long hunting expedition laden with rich furs. their canoes, though small and light, could hold a wonderful quantity. in the foremost sat a young savage, with a dark-brown face, glittering black eyes, and stiff black hair hanging straight down all round his head, except in front, where it was cut short off just above the eyes in order to let his face appear. that fellow's canoe, besides himself, carried his three wives--he was a good hunter, and could afford to have three. had he been a bad hunter, he would have had to content himself, poor fellow, with one! the canoe also contained six or seven heavy packs of furs; a haunch of venison; six pairs of rabbits; several ducks and geese; a lump of bear's meat; two little boys and a girl; a large tent made of deer-skins; four or five tin kettles; two or three dirty-looking dogs and a gun; several hatchets and a few blankets; two babies and a dead beaver. in short, there was almost no end to what that bark canoe could hold; yet that indian, with the stiff black hair, could lift it off the ground, when empty, lay it on his shoulders, and carry it for miles through the forest. the other canoes were much the same as this one. in a few minutes they were at the bank, close under the fort, and about the same time jasper and his friends leaped ashore, and were heartily welcomed by mr grant, who was glad enough to see indians, but was overjoyed to meet with white men. "glad to see you, jasper," cried mr grant, shaking the hunter by the hand; "right glad to see you. it does good to a man to see an old friend like you turn up so unexpectedly. happy, also, to meet with you, mr heywood. it's a pleasure i don't often have, to meet with a white stranger in this wilderness. pray, come with me to the house." the fur-trader turned to the indians, and, saying a few words to them in their own language, led the way to his residence. meanwhile, the indians had tossed everything out of the canoes upon the bank, and the spot which had been so quiet and solitary half an hour before, became a scene of the utmost animation and confusion. while the women were employed in erecting the tents, the men strode up to the hall of reception, where mr grant supplied them with tobacco and food to their hearts' content. these natives, who, owing to the reddish copper-colour of their skins, are called red-men,--were dressed chiefly in clothes made of deer-skin; cut much in the same fashion as the garments worn by jasper derry. the women wore short gowns, also made of leather, and leggings of the same material; but it was noticeable that the women had leggings more ornamented with gay beads than those of the men, and they wore gaudy kerchiefs round their necks. these women were poor looking creatures, however. they had a subdued, humble look, like dogs that are used to being kicked; very different from the bold free bearing of the men. the reason of this was, that they were treated by the men more as beasts of burden than companions. women among the north american indians have a hard time of it, poor creatures. while their lords and masters are out at the chase, or idly smoking round the fire, the indian women are employed in cutting firewood and drawing water. of course, they do all the cooking, and, as the eating always continues, so the cooking never stops. when these more severe labours are over, they employ their time in making and ornamenting coats, leggings, and moccasins--and very beautiful work they can turn out of their hands. on the voyage, the women use the paddle as well as the men, and, in journeying through the woods, they always carry or drag the heaviest loads. for all this they get few thanks, and often when the husbands become jealous, they get severely beaten and kicked. it is always thus among savages; and it would seem that, just in proportion as men rise from the savage to the civilised state, they treat their women better. it is certain that when man embraces the blessed gospel of christ and learns to follow the law of love, he places woman not only on a level with himself, but even above himself, and seeks her comfort and happiness before he seeks his own. few of the red-men of north america are yet christians, therefore they have no gallantry about them--no generous and chivalrous feelings towards the weaker sex. most of their women are downtrodden and degraded. the first night at jasper's house was spent in smoking and talking. here our friend jasper derry got news of marie. to his immense delight he learned that she was well, and living with her father at fort erie, near the plains, or prairies as they are called, on the saskatchewan river. a long journey still lay before our bold hunter, but that was nothing to him. he felt quite satisfied to hear that the girl of his heart was well, and still unmarried. next day the serious business of trading commenced at the outpost. "i should like to get that powder and ball before you begin to trade with the indians, mr grant," said jasper, after breakfast was concluded, "i'm anxious to be off as soon as possible." "no, no, jasper, i'll not give you a single charge of powder or an ounce of lead this day. you must spend another night with me, my man; i have not had half my talk out with you. you have no need to hurry, for marie does not know you are coming, so of course she can't be impatient." mr grant said this with a laugh, for he knew the state of jasper's heart, and understood why he was so anxious to hasten away. "besides," continued the fur-trader, "mr heywood has not half finished the drawing of my fort, which he began yesterday, and i want him to make me a copy of it." "i shall be delighted to do so," said the artist, who was busily engaged in arranging his brushes and colours. "well, well," cried jasper. "i suppose i must submit. i fancy _you_ have no objection to stop here another day, arrowhead?" the indian nodded gravely, as he squatted down on the floor and began to fill his pipe. "that's settled, then," said jasper, "so i'll go with you to the store, if you'll allow me." "with all my heart," replied the fur-trader, who forthwith led the way to the store, followed by the indians with their packs of furs. now, the store or shop at a hudson's bay trading-post is a most interesting and curious place. to the indian, especially, it is a sort of enchanted chamber, out of which can be obtained everything known under the sun. as there can be only one shop or store at a trading-post, it follows that that shop must contain a few articles out of almost every other style of shop in the world. accordingly, you will find collected within the four walls of that little room, knives and guns from sheffield, cotton webs from manchester, grindstones from newcastle, tobacco from virginia, and every sort of thing from i know not where all! you can buy a blanket or a file, an axe or a pair of trousers, a pound of sugar or a barrel of nails, a roll of tobacco or a tin kettle,--everything, in short, that a man can think of or desire. and you can buy it, too, without money! indeed, you _must_ buy it without money, for there is not such a thing as money in the land. the trade is carried on entirely by barter, or exchange. the indian gives the trader his furs, and the trader gives him his goods. in order to make the exchange fair and equitable, however, everything is rated by a certain standard of value, which is called a _made-beaver_ in one part of the country, a _castore_ in another. the first man that stepped forward to the counter was a chief. a big, coarse-looking, disagreeable man, but a first-rate hunter. he had two wives in consequence of his abilities, and the favourite wife now stood at his elbow to prompt, perhaps to caution, him. he threw down a huge pack of furs, which the trader opened, and examined with care, fixing the price of each skin, and marking it down with a piece of chalk on the counter as he went along. there were two splendid black bear-skins, two or three dozen martens, or sables, five or six black foxes, and a great many silver foxes, besides cross and red ones. in addition to these, he had a number of minks and beaver-skins, a few otters, and sundry other furs, besides a few buffalo and deer-skins, dressed, and with the hair scraped off. these last skins are used for making winter coats, and also moccasins for the feet. after all had been examined and valued, the whole was summed up, and a number of pieces of stick were handed to the chief--each stick representing a castore; so that he knew exactly how much he was worth, and proceeded to choose accordingly. first he gazed earnestly at a huge thick blanket, then he counted his sticks, and considered. perhaps the memory of the cold blasts of winter crossed his mind, for he quickly asked how many castores it was worth. the trader told him. the proper number of pieces of stick were laid down, and the blanket was handed over. next a gun attracted his eye. the guns sent out for the indian trade are very cheap ones, with blue barrels and red stocks. they shoot pretty well, but are rather apt to burst. indeed this fate had befallen the chief's last gun, so he resolved to have another, and bought it. then he looked earnestly for some time at a tin kettle. boiled meat was evidently in his mind; but at this point his squaw plucked him by the sleeve. she whispered in his ear. a touch of generosity seemed to come over him, for he pointed to a web of bright scarlet cloth. a yard of this was measured off, and handed to his spouse, whose happiness for the moment was complete--for squaws in rupert's land, like the fair sex in england, are uncommonly fond of finery. as the chief proceeded, he became more cautious and slow in his choice. finery tempted him on the one hand, necessaries pressed him on the other, and at this point the trader stepped in to help him to decide; he recommended, warned, and advised. twine was to be got for nets and fishing-lines, powder and shot, axes for cutting his winter firewood, cloth for his own and his wife's leggings, knives, tobacco, needles, and an endless variety of things, which gradually lessened his little pile of sticks, until at last he reached the sticking point, when all his sticks were gone. "now, darkeye," (that was the chief's name), "you've come to the end at last, and a good thing you have made of it this year," said mr grant, in the indian language. "have you got all you want?" "darkeye wants bullets," said the chief. "ah, to be sure. you shall have a lot of these for nothing, and some tobacco too," said the trader, handing the gifts to the indian. a look of satisfaction lighted up the chief's countenance as he received the gifts, and made way for another indian to open and display his pack of furs. but jasper was struck by a peculiar expression in the face of darkeye. observing that he took up one of the bullets and showed it to another savage, our hunter edged near him to overhear the conversation. "do you see that ball?" said the chief, in a low tone. the indian to whom he spoke nodded. "look here!" darkeye put the bullet into his mouth as he spoke, and bit it until his strong sharp teeth sank deep into the lead; then, holding it up, he said, in the same low voice, "you will know it again?" once more the savage nodded, and a malicious smile played on his face for a moment. just then mr grant called out, "come here, jasper, tell me what you think this otter-skin is worth." jasper's curiosity had been aroused by the mysterious conduct of darkeye, and he would have given a good deal to have heard a little more of his conversation; but, being thus called away, he was obliged to leave his place, and soon forgot the incident. during the whole of that day the trading of furs was carried on much as i have now described it. some of the indians had large packs, and some had small, but all of them had sufficient to purchase such things as were necessary for themselves and their families during the approaching winter; and as each man received from mr grant a present of tobacco, besides a few trinkets of small value, they returned to the hall that night in high good humour. next day, jasper and his friends bade the hospitable trader farewell, and a few days after that the indians left him. they smoked a farewell pipe, then struck their tents, and placed them and their packs of goods in the canoes, with their wives, children, and dogs. pushing out into the stream, they commenced the return journey to their distant hunting-grounds. once more their shouts rang through the forest, and rolled over the water, and once more the paddles sent the sparkling drops into the air as they dashed ahead, round the point of rocks above the fort, and disappeared; leaving the fur-trader, as they found him, smoking his pipe, with his hands in his pockets, and leaning against the door-post of his once-again silent and solitary home. chapter seven. a savage family, and a fight with a bear. about a week after our travellers left the outpost, arrowhead had an adventure with a bear, which had well-nigh cut short his journey through this world, as well as his journey in the wilderness of rupert's land. it was in the evening of a beautiful day when it happened. the canoe had got among some bad rapids, and, as it advanced very slowly, young heywood asked to be put on shore, that he might walk up the banks of the river, which were very beautiful, and sketch. in half an hour he was far ahead of the canoe. suddenly, on turning round a rocky point, he found himself face to face with a small indian boy. it is probable that the little fellow had never seen a white man before, and it is certain that heywood had never seen such a specimen of a brown boy. he was clothed in skin, it is true, but it was the skin in which he had been born, for he had not a stitch of clothing on his fat little body. as the man and the boy stood staring at each other, it would have been difficult to say which opened his eyes widest with amazement. at first heywood fancied the urchin was a wild beast of some sort on two legs, but a second glance convinced him that he was a real boy. the next thought that occurred to the artist was, that he would try to sketch him, so he clapped his hand to his pocket, pulled out his book and pencil, and forthwith began to draw. this terrified the little fellow so much, that he turned about and fled howling into the woods. heywood thought of giving chase, but a noise attracted his attention at that moment, and, looking across the river, he beheld the boy's father in the same cool dress as his son. the man had been fishing, but when he saw that strangers were passing, he threw his blanket round him, jumped into his canoe, and crossed over to meet them. this turned out to be a miserably poor family of indians, consisting of the father, mother, three girls, and a boy, and a few ill-looking dogs. they all lived together in a little tent or wigwam, made partly of skins and partly of birch-bark. this tent was shaped like a cone. the fire was kindled inside, in the middle of the floor. a hole in the side served for a door, and a hole in the top did duty for window and chimney. the family kettle hung above the fire, and the family circle sat around it. a dirtier family and filthier tent one could not wish to see. the father was a poor weakly man and a bad hunter; the squaw was thin, wrinkled, and very dirty, and the children were all sickly-looking, except the boy before mentioned, who seemed to enjoy more than his fair share of health and rotundity. "have ye got anything to eat?" inquired jasper, when the canoe reached the place. they had not got much, only a few fish and an owl. "poor miserable critters," said jasper, throwing them a goose and a lump of venison; "see there--that'll keep the wolf out o' yer insides for some time. have ye got anything to smoke?" no, they had nothing to smoke but a few dried leaves. "worse and worse," cried jasper, pulling a large plug of tobacco from the breast of his coat; "here, that'll keep you puffin' for a short bit, anyhow." heywood, although no smoker himself, carried a small supply of tobacco just to give away to indians, so he added two or three plugs to jasper's gift, and arrowhead gave the father a few charges of powder and shot. they then stepped into their canoe, and pushed off with that feeling of light hearted happiness which always follows the doing of a kind action. "there's bears up the river," said the indian, as they were leaving. "have ye seen them?" inquired jasper. "ay, but could not shoot--no powder, no ball. look out for them!" "that will i," replied the hunter, and in another moment the canoe was out among the rapids again, advancing slowly up the river. in about an hour afterwards they came to a part of the river where the banks were high and steep. here jasper landed to look for the tracks of the bears. he soon found these, and as they appeared to be fresh, he prepared to follow them up. "we may as well encamp here," said he to arrowhead; "you can go and look for the bears. i will land the baggage, and haul up the canoe, and then take my gun and follow you. i see that our friend heywood is at work with his pencil already." this was true. the keen artist was so delighted with the scene before him, that the moment the canoe touched the land he had jumped out, and, seating himself on the trunk of a fallen tree, with book and pencil, soon forgot everything that was going on around him. arrowhead shouldered his gun and went away up the river. jasper soon finished what he had to do, and followed him, leaving heywood seated on the fallen tree. now the position which heywood occupied was rather dangerous. the tree lay on the edge of an overhanging bank of clay, about ten feet above the water, which was deep and rapid at that place. at first the young man sat down on the tree-trunk near its root, but after a time, finding the position not quite to his mind, he changed it, and went close to the edge of the bank. he was so much occupied with his drawing, that he did not observe that the ground on which his feet rested actually overhung the stream. as his weight rested on the fallen tree, however, he remained there safe enough and busy for half an hour. at the end of that time he was disturbed by a noise in the bushes. looking up, he beheld a large brown bear coming straight towards him. evidently the bear did not see him, for it was coming slowly and lazily along, with a quiet meditative expression on its face. the appearance of the animal was so sudden and unexpected, that poor heywood's heart almost leaped into his mouth. his face grew deadly pale, his long hair almost rose on his head with terror, and he was utterly unable to move hand or foot. in another moment the bear was within three yards of him, and, being taken by surprise, it immediately rose on its hind legs, which is the custom of bears when about to make or receive an attack. it stared for a moment at the horrified artist. let not my reader think that heywood's feelings were due to cowardice. the bravest of men have been panic-stricken when taken by surprise. the young man had never seen a bear before, except in a cage, and the difference between a caged and a free bear is very great. besides, when a rough-looking monster of this kind comes unexpectedly on a man who is unarmed, and has no chance of escape, and rises on its hind legs, as if to let him have a full view of its enormous size, its great strength, and its ugly appearance, he may well be excused for feeling a little uncomfortable, and looking somewhat uneasy. when the bear rose, as i have said, heywood's courage returned. his first act was to fling his sketch-book in bruin's face, and then, uttering a loud yell, he sprang to his feet, intending to run away. but the violence of his action broke off the earth under his feet. he dropt into the river like a lump of lead, and was whirled away in a moment! what that bear thought when it saw the man vanish from the spot like a ghost, of course i cannot tell. it certainly _looked_ surprised, and, if it was a bear of ordinary sensibility, it must undoubtedly have _felt_ astonished. at any rate, after standing there, gazing for nearly a minute in mute amazement at the spot where heywood had disappeared, it let itself down on its forelegs, and, turning round, walked slowly back into the bushes. poor heywood could not swim, so the river did what it pleased with him. after sweeping him out into the middle of the stream, and rolling him over five or six times, and whirling him round in an eddy close to the land, and dragging him out again into the main current, and sending him struggling down a rapid, it threw him at last, like a bundle of old clothes, on a shallow, where he managed to get on his feet, and staggered to the shore in a most melancholy plight. thereafter he returned to the encampment, like a drowned rat, with his long hair plastered to his thin face, and his soaked garments clinging tightly to his slender body. had he been able to see himself at that moment, he would have laughed, but, not being able to see himself, and feeling very miserable, he sighed and shuddered with cold, and then set to work to kindle a fire and dry himself. meanwhile the bear continued its walk up the river. arrowhead, after a time, lost the track of the bear he was in search of, and, believing that it was too late to follow it up farther that night, he turned about, and began to retrace his steps. not long after that, he and the bear met face to face. of course, the indian's gun was levelled in an instant, but the meeting was so sudden, that the aim was not so true as usual, and, although the ball mortally wounded the animal, it did not kill him outright. there was no time to re-load, so arrowhead dropped his gun and ran. he doubled as he ran, and made for the encampment; but the bear ran faster. it was soon at the indian's heels. knowing that farther flight was useless, arrowhead drew the hatchet that hung at his belt, and, turning round, faced the infuriated animal, which instantly rose on its hind legs and closed with him. the indian met it with a tremendous blow of his axe, seized it by the throat with his left hand, and endeavoured to repeat the blow. [see frontispiece.] but brave and powerful though he was, the indian was like a mere child in the paw of the bear. the axe descended with a crash on the monster's head, and sank into its skull. but bears are notoriously hard to kill. this one scarcely seemed to feel the blow. next instant arrowhead was down, and, with its claws fixed in the man's back, the bear held him down, while it began to gnaw the fleshy part of his left shoulder. no cry escaped from the prostrate hunter. he determined to lie perfectly still, as if he were dead, that being his only chance of escape; but the animal was furious, and there is little doubt that the indian's brave spirit would soon have fled, had not god mercifully sent jasper derry to his relief. that stout hunter had been near at hand when the shot was fired. he at once ran in the direction whence the sound came, and arrived on the scene of the struggle just as arrowhead fell. without a moment's hesitation he dropt on one knee, took a quick but careful aim and fired. the ball entered the bear's head just behind the ear and rolled it over dead! arrowhead's first act on rising was to seize the hand of his deliverer, and in a tone of deep feeling exclaimed, "my brother!" "ay," said jasper with a quiet smile, as he reloaded his gun; "this is not the first time that you and i have helped one another in the nick of time, arrowhead; we shall be brothers, and good friends to boot, i hope, as long as we live." "good," said the indian, a smile lighting up for one moment his usually grave features. "but my brother is wounded, let me see," said jasper. "it will soon be well," said the indian carelessly, as he took off his coat and sat down on the bank, while the white hunter examined his wounds. this was all that was said on the subject by these two men. they were used to danger in every form, and had often saved each other from sudden death. the indian's wounds, though painful, were trifling. jasper dressed them in silence, and then, drawing his long hunting knife, he skinned and cut up the bear, while his companion lay down on the bank, smoked his pipe, and looked on. having cut off the best parts of the carcass for supper, the hunters returned to the canoe, carrying the skin along with them. chapter eight. running the falls--wild scenes and men. next day the travellers reached one of those magnificent lakes of which there are so many in the wild woods of north america, and which are so like to the great ocean itself, that it is scarcely possible to believe them to be bodies of fresh water until they are tasted. the largest of these inland seas is the famous lake superior, which is so enormous in size that ships can sail on its broad bosom for several days _out_ _of_ _sight_ of land. it is upwards of three hundred miles long, and about one hundred and fifty broad. a good idea of its size may be formed from the fact, that it is large enough to contain the whole of scotland, and deep enough to cover her highest hills! the lake on which the canoe was now launched, although not so large as superior, was, nevertheless, a respectable body of water, on which the sun was shining as if on a shield of bright silver. there were numbers of small islets scattered over its surface; some thickly wooded to the water's edge, others little better than bare rocks. crossing this lake they came to the mouth of a pretty large stream and began to ascend it. the first thing they saw on rounding a bend in the stream was an indian tent, and in front of this tent was an indian baby, hanging from the branch of a tree. let not the reader be horrified. the child was not hanging by the neck, but by the handle of its cradle, which its mother had placed there, to keep her little one out of the way of the dogs. the indian cradle is a very simple contrivance. a young mother came out of the tent with her child just as the canoe arrived, and began to pack it in its cradle. jasper stopped for a few minutes to converse with one of the indians, so that the artist had a good opportunity of witnessing the whole operation. the cradle was simply a piece of flat board, with a bit of scarlet cloth fastened down each side of it. first of all, the mother laid the poor infant, which was quite naked, sprawling on the ground. a dirty-looking dog took advantage of this to sneak forward and smell at it, whereupon the mother seized a heavy piece of wood, and hit the dog such a rap over the nose as sent it away howling. then she spread a thick layer of soft moss on the wooden board. above this she laid a very neat, small blanket, about two feet in length. upon this she placed the baby, which objected at first to go to bed, squalled a good deal, and kicked a little. the mother therefore took it up, turned it over, gave it one or two hearty slaps, and laid it down again. this seemed to quiet it, for it afterwards lay straight out, and perfectly still, with its coal-black eyes staring out of its fat brown face, as if it were astonished at receiving such rough treatment. the mother next spread a little moss over the child, and above that she placed another small blanket, which she folded and tucked in very comfortably, keeping the little one's arms close to its sides, and packing it all up, from neck to heels, so tightly that it looked more like the making up of a parcel than the wrapping up of a child. this done, she drew the scarlet cloth over it from each side of the cradle, and laced it down the front. when all was done, the infant looked like an egyptian mummy, nothing but the head being visible. the mother then leaned the cradle against the stem of a tree, and immediately one of the dogs ran against it, and knocked it over. luckily, there was a wooden bar attached to the cradle, in front of the child's face, which bar is placed there on purpose to guard against injury from such accidents, so that the bar came first to the ground, and thus prevented the flattening of the child's nose, which, to say truth, was flat enough already! instead of scolding herself for her own carelessness, the indian mother scolded the dog, and then hung the child on the branch of a tree, to keep it from further mischief. the next turn in the river revealed a large waterfall, up which it was impossible to paddle, so they prepared to make a portage. before arriving at the foot of it, however, jasper landed heywood, to enable him to make a sketch, and then the two men shoved off, and proceeded to the foot of the fall. they were lying there in an eddy, considering where was the best spot to land, when a loud shout drew their attention towards the rushing water. immediately after, a boat was seen to hover for a moment on the brink of the waterfall. this fall, although about ten or fifteen feet high, had such a large body of water rushing over it, that the river, instead of falling straight down, gushed over in a steep incline. down this incline the boat now darted with the speed of lightning. it was full of men, two of whom stood erect, the one in the bow, the other in the stern, to control the movements of the boat. for a few seconds there was deep silence. the men held their breath as the boat leaped along with the boiling flood. there was a curling white wave at the foot of the fall. the boat cut through this like a knife, drenching her crew with spray. next moment she swept round into the eddy where the canoe was floating, and the men gave vent to a loud cheer of satisfaction at having run the fall in safety. but this was not the end of that exciting scene. scarcely had they gained the land, when another boat appeared on the crest of the fall. again a shout was given and a dash made. for one moment there was a struggle with the raging flood, and then a loud cheer as the second boat swept into the eddy in safety. then a third and a fourth boat went through the same operation, and before the end of a quarter of an hour, six boats ran the fall. the bay at the foot of it, which had been so quiet and solitary when jasper and his friends arrived, became the scene of the wildest confusion and noise, as the men ran about with tremendous activity, making preparations to spend the night there. some hauled might and main at the boats; some carried up the provisions, frying-pans, and kettles; others cut down dry trees with their axes, and cut them up into logs from five to six feet long, and as thick as a man's thigh. these were intended for six great fires, each boat's crew requiring a fire to themselves. while this was going on, the principal guides and steersmen crowded round our three travellers, and plied them with questions; for it was so unusual to meet with strangers in that far-off wilderness, that a chance meeting of this kind was regarded as quite an important event. "you're bound for york fort, no doubt," said jasper, addressing a tall handsome man of between forty and fifty, who was the principal guide. "ay, that's the end of our journey. you see we're taking our furs down to the coast. have you come from york fort, friend!" "no, i've come all the way from canada," said jasper, who thereupon gave them a short account of his voyage. "well, jasper, you'll spend the night with us, won't you?" said the guide. "that will i, right gladly." "come, then, i see the fires are beginning to burn. we may as well have a pipe and a chat while supper is getting ready." the night was now closing in, and the scene in the forest, when the camp-fires began to blaze, was one of the most stirring and romantic sights that could be witnessed in that land. the men of the brigade were some of them french-canadians, some natives of the orkney islands, who had been hired and sent out there by the hudson's bay company, others were half-breeds, and a few were pure indians. they were all dressed in what is called _voyageur_ costume-coats or capotes of blue or grey cloth, with hoods to come over their heads at night, and fastened round their waists with scarlet worsted belts; corduroy or grey trousers, gartered outside at the knees, moccasins, and caps. but most of them threw off their coats, and appeared in blue and red striped cotton shirts, which were open at the throat, exposing their broad, sun-burned, hairy chests. there was variety, too, in the caps--some had scotch bonnets, others red nightcaps, a few had tall hats, ornamented with gold and silver cords and tassels, and a good many wore no covering at all except their own thickly-matted hair. their faces were burned to every shade of red, brown, and black, from constant exposure, and they were strong as lions, wild as zebras, and frolicksome as kittens. it was no wonder, then, that heywood got into an extraordinary state of excitement and delight as he beheld these wild, fine-looking men smoking their pipes and cooking their suppers, sitting, lying, and standing, talking and singing, and laughing, with teeth glistening and eyes glittering in the red blaze of the fires--each of which fires was big enough to have roasted a whole ox! the young artist certainly made good use of his opportunity. he went about from fire to fire, sketch-book in hand, sketching all the best-looking men in every possible attitude, sometimes singly, and sometimes in groups of five or six. he then went to the farthest end of the encampment, and, in the light of the last fire, made a picture of all the rest. the kettles were soon steaming. these hung from tripods erected over the fires. their contents were flour and pemmican, made into a thick soup called rubbiboo. as pemmican is a kind of food but little known in this country, i may as well describe how it is made. in the first place, it consists of buffalo meat. the great plains, or prairies, of america, which are like huge downs or commons hundreds of miles in extent, afford grass sufficient to support countless herds of deer, wild horses, and bisons. the bisons are called by the people there buffaloes. the buffalo is somewhat like an enormous ox, but its hind-quarters are smaller and its fore-quarters much larger than those of the ox. its hair is long and shaggy, particularly about the neck and shoulders, where it becomes almost a mane. its horns are thick and short, and its look is very ferocious, but it is in reality a timid creature, and will only turn to attack a man when it is hard pressed and cannot escape. its flesh is first-rate for food, even better than beef, and there is a large hump on its shoulder, which is considered the best part of the animal. such is the bison, or buffalo, from which pemmican is made. when a man wishes to make a bag of pemmican, he first of all kills the buffalo--not an easy thing to do by any means, for the buffalo runs well. having killed him, he skins him and cuts up the meat--also a difficult thing to do, especially if one is not used to that sort of work. then he cuts the meat into thin layers, and hangs it up to dry. dried meat will keep for a long time. it is packed up in bales and sent about that country to be used as food. the next thing to be done is to make a bag of the raw hide of the buffalo. this is done with a glover's needle, the raw sinews of the animal being used instead of thread. the bag is usually about three feet long, and eighteen inches broad, and the hair is left on the outside of it. a huge pot is now put on the fire, and the fat of the buffalo is melted down. then the dried meat is pounded between two stones, until it is torn and broken up into shreds, after which it is put into the bag, the melted fat is poured over it, and the whole is well mixed. the last operation is to sew up the mouth of the bag and leave it to cool, after which the pemmican is ready for use. in this state a bag of pemmican will keep fresh and good for years. when the search was going on in the polar regions for the lost ships of sir john franklin, one of the parties hid some pemmican in the ground, intending to return and take it up. they returned home, however, another way. five years later some travellers discovered this pemmican, and it was found, at that time, to be fit for food. pemmican is extensively used throughout rupert's land, especially during summer, for at that season the brigades of boats start from hundreds of inland trading-posts to take the furs to the coast for shipment to england, and pemmican is found to be not only the best of food for these hard-working men, but exceedingly convenient to carry. supper finished, the wild-looking fellows of this brigade took to their pipes, and threw fresh logs on the fires, which roared, and crackled, and shot up their forked tongues of flame, as if they wished to devour the forest. then the song and the story went round, and men told of terrible fights with the red-men of the prairies, and desperate encounters with grizzly bears in the rocky mountains, and narrow escapes among the rapids and falls, until the night was half spent. then, one by one, each man wrapped himself in his blanket, stretched himself on the ground with his feet towards the fire and his head pillowed on a coat or a heap of brush-wood, and went to sleep. ere long they were all down, except one or two long-winded story tellers, who went on muttering to their pipes after their comrades were asleep. even these became tired at last of the sound of their own voices, and gradually every noise in the camp was hushed, except the crackling of the fires as they sank by degrees and went out, leaving the place in dead silence and total darkness. with the first peep of dawn the guide arose. in ten minutes after his first shout the whole camp was astir. the men yawned a good deal at first and grumbled a little, and stretched themselves violently, and yawned again. but soon they shook off laziness and sprang to their work. pots, pans, kettles, and pemmican bags were tossed into the boats, and in the course of half-an-hour they were ready to continue the voyage. jasper stood beside the guide looking on at the busy scene. "heard you any news from the saskatchewan of late," said he. "not much," replied the guide; "there's little stirring there just now, except among the indians, who have been killing and scalping each other as usual. but, by the way, that reminds me there has been a sort of row between the indians and the company's people at fort erie." "fort erie," said jasper with a start. "ay, that's the name o' the fort, if i remember right," returned the guide. "it seems that one o' the men there, i think they call him laroche--but what makes you start, friend jasper? do you know anything of this man." "yes, he's a friend of mine. go on, let me hear about it." "well, there's not much to tell," resumed the guide. "this laroche, it would appear, has got into hot water. he has a daughter, a good lookin' wench i'm told, and, better than that, a well-behaved one. one o' the indians had been impertinent to the girl, so old laroche, who seems to be a fiery fellow, up fist, hit him on the nose, and knocked the savage flat on his back. a tremendous howl was set up, and knives and hatchets were flourished; but mr pemberton, who is in charge of fort erie, ran in and pacified them. the indian that was floored vows he'll have the hair of old laroche's head." this taking the hair off people's heads, or scalping, as it is called, is a common practice among the north american indians. when a savage kills his enemy he runs his scalping knife round the dead man's head, seizes the hair with his left hand and tears the scalp off. indeed this dreadful cruelty is sometimes practised before death has occurred. the scalp with its lock of hair is taken home by the victor, and hung up in his tent as a trophy of war. the man who can show the greatest number of scalps is considered the greatest warrior. the dresses of indian warriors are usually fringed with human scalp-locks. "that's a bad business," said jasper, who was concerned to hear such news of his intended father-in-law. "do ye know the name o' this red-skinned rascal?" "i heard it mentioned," said the guide, "but i can't remember it at this moment." "the boats are ready to start," said one of the steersmen, coming up just then. "very good, let the men embark. now, jasper, we must part. give us a shake o' your hand. a pleasant trip to you." "the same to you, friend," said jasper, returning the guide's squeeze. in another minute the boats were away. "now, friends, we shall start," said jasper, breaking the deep silence which followed the departure of the brigade. "good," said arrowhead. "i'm ready," said heywood. the canoe was soon in the water, and the men in their places; but they started that morning without a song. arrowhead was never inclined to be noisy, heywood was sleepy, and jasper was rendered anxious by what he had heard of his friends at fort erie, so they paddled away in silence. chapter nine. the fort, and an unexpected meeting. we turn now to a very different scene. it is a small fort or trading-post on the banks of a stream which flows through the prairie. the fort is very much like the one which has been already described, but somewhat stronger; and there are four block-houses or bastions, one at each corner, from which the muzzles of a few heavy guns may be seen protruding. the trees and bushes have been cleared away from around this fort, and the strips of forest-land, which run along both sides of the river, are not so thickly wooded, as the country through which the reader has hitherto been travelling. in front of the fort rolls the river. immediately behind it lies the boundless prairie, which extends like a sea of grass, with scarcely a tree or bush upon it, as far as the eye can reach. this is fort erie. you might ride for many days over that prairie without seeing anything of the forest, except a clump of trees and bushes here and there, and now and then a little pond. the whole region is extremely beautiful. one that ought to fill the hearts of men with admiration and love of the bountiful god who formed it. but men in those regions, at the time i write of, thought of little beauties of nature, and cared nothing for the goodness of god. at least this may be truly said of the red-skinned owners of the soil. it was otherwise with _some_ of the white people who dwelt there. three weeks had passed away since the night spent by our friends with the brigade. it was now a beautiful evening, a little after sunset. the day's work at the fort had been finished, and the men were amusing themselves by racing their horses, of which fine animals there were great numbers at fort erie. just a little after the sun had gone down, three horsemen appeared on the distant prairie and came bounding at full gallop towards the fort. they were our friends jasper, heywood, and arrowhead. these adventurous travellers had reached a fort farther down the river two days before, and, having been supplied with horses, had pushed forward by way of the plains. on entering the belt of woods close to the fort, the horsemen reined in, and rode among the trees more cautiously. "here's the end of our journey at last," cried jasper, on whose bronzed countenance there was a deep flush of excitement and a look of anxiety. just as he said this, jasper's heart appeared to leap into his throat and almost choked him. pulling up suddenly, he swallowed his heart, with some difficulty, and said-"hold on, lads. i'll ride round to the fort by way of the river, for reasons of my own. push on, heywood, with the indian, and let mr pemberton know i'm coming. see, i will give you the packet of letters we were asked to carry from the fort below. now, make haste." heywood, though a little surprised at this speech, and at the manner of his friend, took the packet in silence and rode swiftly away, followed by the indian. when they were gone, jasper dismounted, tied his horse to a tree, and walked quickly into the woods in another direction. now this mysterious proceeding is not difficult to explain. jasper had caught sight of a female figure walking under the trees at a considerable distance from the spot where he had pulled up. he knew that there were none but indian women at fort erie at that time, and that, therefore, the only respectably dressed female at the place must needs be his own marie laroche. overjoyed at the opportunity thus unexpectedly afforded him of meeting her alone, he hastened forward with a beating heart. marie was seated on the stump of a fallen tree when the hunter came up. she was a fair, beautiful woman of about five-and-twenty, with an air of modesty about her which attracted love, yet repelled familiarity. many a good-looking and well-doing young fellow had attempted to gain the heart of marie during the last two years, but without success--for this good reason, that her heart had been gained already. she was somewhat startled when a man appeared thus suddenly before her. jasper stood in silence for a few moments, with his arms crossed upon his breast, and gazed earnestly into her face. as he did not speak, she said-"you appear to be a stranger here. have you arrived lately?" jasper was for a moment astonished that she did not at once recognise him, and yet he had no reason to be surprised. besides the alteration that two years sometimes makes in a man, jasper had made a considerable alteration on himself. when marie last saw him, he had been in the habit of practising the foolish and unnatural custom of shaving; and he had carried it to such an extreme that he shaved off everything-whiskers, beard, and moustache. but within a year he had been induced by a wise friend to change his opinion on this subject. that friend had suggested, that as providence had caused hair to grow on his cheeks, lips, and chin, it was intended to be worn, and that he had no more right to shave his face than a chinaman had to shave his head. jasper had been so far convinced, that he had suffered his whiskers to grow. these were now large and bushy, and had encroached so much on his chin as to have become almost a beard. besides this, not having shaved any part of his face during the last three weeks, there was little of it visible except his eyes, forehead, and cheek-bones. all the rest was more or less covered with black hair. no wonder, then, that marie, who believed him to be two thousand miles away at that moment, did not recognise him in the increasing darkness of evening. the lover at once understood this, and he resolved to play the part of a stranger. he happened to have the power of changing his voice--a power possessed by many people--and, trusting to the increasing gloom to conceal him, and to the fact that he was the last person in the world whom marie might expect to see there, he addressed her as follows:-"i am indeed a stranger here; at least i have not been at the post for a very long time. i have just reached the end of a long voyage." "indeed," said the girl, interested by the stranger's grave manner. "may i ask where you have come from?" "i have come all the way from canada, young woman, and i count myself lucky in meeting with such a pleasant face at the end of my journey." "from canada!" exclaimed marie, becoming still more interested in the stranger, and blushing deeply as she asked--"you have friends there, no doubt?" "ay, a few," said jasper. "and what has brought you such a long way into this wild wilderness?" asked marie, sighing as she thought of the hundreds of miles that lay between fort erie and canada. "i have come here to get me a wife," replied jasper. "that is strange," said the girl, smiling, "for there are few but indian women here. a stout hunter like you might find one nearer home, i should think." here marie paused, for she felt that on such a subject she ought not to converse with a stranger. yet she could not help adding, "but perhaps, as you say, you have been in this part of the world before, you may have some one in your mind?" "i am engaged," said jasper abruptly. on hearing this marie felt more at her ease, and, being of a very sympathetic nature, she at once courted the confidence of the stranger. "may i venture to ask her name?" said marie, with an arch smile. "i may not tell," replied jasper; "i have a comrade who is entitled to know this secret before any one else. perhaps you may have heard of him, for he was up in these parts two years agone. his name is jasper derry." the blood rushed to marie's temples on hearing the name, and she turned her face away to conceal her agitation, while, in a low voice, she said-"is jasper derry, then, your intimate friend?" "that is he--a very intimate friend indeed. but you appear to know him." "yes, i--i know him--i have seen him. i hope he is well," said marie; and she listened with a beating heart for the answer, though she still turned her face away. "oh! he's well enough," said jasper; "sickness don't often trouble _him_. he's going to be married." had a bullet struck the girl's heart she could not have turned more deadly pale than she did on hearing this. she half rose from the tree stump, and would have fallen to the ground insensible, had not jasper caught her in his arms. "my own marie," said he fervently, "forgive me, dearest; forgive my folly, my wickedness, in deceiving you in this fashion. oh, what a fool i am!" he added, as the poor girl still hung heavily in his grasp--"speak to me marie, my own darling." whether it was the earnestness of his voice, or the kiss which he printed on her forehead, or the coolness of the evening air, i know not, but certain it is that marie recovered in the course of a few minutes, and, on being convinced that jasper really was her old lover, she resigned herself, wisely, to her fate, and held such an uncommonly long conversation with the bold hunter, that the moon was up and the stars were out before they turned their steps towards the fort. "why, jasper derry," cried mr pemberton, as the hunter entered the hall of fort erie, "where _have_ you been. i've been expecting you every moment for the last two hours." "well, you see, mr pemberton, i just went down the river a short bit to see an old friend and i was kep' longer than i expected," said jasper, with a cool, grave face, as he grasped and shook the hand which was held out to him. "ah! i see, you hunters are more like brothers than friends. no doubt you went to smoke a pipe with hawkeye, or to have a chat with the muskrat about old times," said the fur-trader, mentioning the names of two indians who were celebrated as being the best hunters in the neighbourhood, and who had been bosom friends of jasper when he resided there two years before. "no, i've not yet smoked a pipe with hawkeye, neither have i seen muskrat, but i certainly have had a pretty long chat with one o' my old friends," answered jasper, while a quiet smile played on his face. "well, come along and have a pipe and a chat with _me_. i hope you count me one of your friends too," said mr pemberton, conducting jasper into an inner room, where he found heywood and arrowhead seated at a table, doing justice to a splendid supper of buffalo-tongues, venison-steaks, and marrow-bones. "here are your comrades, you see, hard at work. it's lucky you came to-night, jasper, for i intend to be off to-morrow morning, by break of day, on a buffalo-hunt. if you had been a few hours later of arriving, i should have missed you. come, will you eat or smoke?" "i'll eat first, if you have no objection," said jasper, "and smoke afterwards." "very good. sit down, then, and get to work. meanwhile i'll go and look after the horses that we intend to take with us to-morrow. of course you'll accompany us, jasper?" "i'll be very glad, and so will arrowhead, there. there's nothing he likes so much as a chase after a buffalo, unless, it may be, the eating of him. but as for my friend and comrade mr heywood, he must speak for himself." "i will be delighted to go," answered the artist, "nothing will give me more pleasure; but i fear my steed is too much exhausted to--" "oh! make your mind easy on that score," said the fur-trader, interrupting him. "i have plenty of capital horses, and can mount the whole of you, so that's settled. and now, friends, do justice to your supper, i shall be back before you have done." so saying, mr pemberton left the room, and our three friends, being unusually hungry, fell vigorously to work on the good cheer of fort erie. chapter ten. buffalo-hunting on the prairies. next day most of the men of fort erie, headed by mr pemberton, rode away into the prairies on a buffalo-hunt. jasper would willingly have remained with marie at the fort, but, having promised to go, he would not now draw back. the band of horsemen rode for three hours, at a quick pace, over the grassy plains, without seeing anything. jasper kept close beside his friend, old laroche, while heywood rode and conversed chiefly with mr pemberton. there were about twenty men altogether, armed with guns, and mounted on their best buffalo-runners, as they styled the horses which were trained to hunt the buffalo. many of these steeds had been wild horses, caught by the indians, broken-in, and sold by them to the fur-traders. "i have seldom ridden so long without meeting buffaloes," observed mr pemberton, as the party galloped to the top of a ridge of land, from which they could see the plains far and wide around them. "there they are at last," said heywood eagerly, pointing to a certain spot on the far-off horizon where living creatures of some sort were seen moving. "that must be a band o' red-skins," said jasper, who trotted up at this moment with the rest of the party. "they are sauteaux," [this word is pronounced _sotoes_ in the plural; _sotoe_ in the singular] observed arrowhead quietly. "you must have good eyes, friend," said pemberton, applying a small pocket-telescope to his eye; "they are indeed sauteaux, i see by their dress, and they have observed us, for they are coming straight this way, like the wind." "will they come as enemies or friends?" inquired heywood. "as friends, i have no doubt," replied the fur-trader. "come, lads, we will ride forward to meet them." in a short time the two parties of horsemen met. they approached almost at full speed, as if each meant to ride the other down, and did not rein up until they were so close that it seemed impossible to avoid a shock. "have you seen the buffaloes lately?" inquired pemberton, after the first salutation had passed. "yes, there are large bands not an hour's ride from this. some of our young warriors have remained to hunt. we are going to the fort to trade." "good; you will find tobacco enough there to keep you smoking till i return with fresh meat," said pemberton, in the native tongue, which he could speak like an indian. "i'll not be long away. farewell." no more words were wasted. the traders galloped away over the prairie, and the indians, of whom there were about fifteen, dashed off in the direction of the fort. these indians were a very different set of men from those whom i have already introduced to the reader in a former chapter. there are many tribes of indians in the wilderness of rupert's land, and some of the tribes are at constant war with each other. but in order to avoid confusing the reader, it may be as well to divide the indian race into two great classes--namely, those who inhabit the woods, and those who roam over the plains or prairies. as a general rule, the thick wood indians are a more peaceful set of men than the prairie indians. they are few in number, and live in a land full of game, where there is far more than enough of room for all of them. their mode of travelling in canoes, and on foot, is slow, so that the different tribes do not often meet, and they have no occasion to quarrel. they are, for the most part, a quiet and harmless race of savages, and being very dependent on the fur-traders for the necessaries of life, they are on their good behaviour, and seldom do much mischief. it is very different with the plain indians. these savages have numbers of fine horses, and live in a splendid open country, which is well-stocked with deer and buffaloes, besides other game. they are bold riders, and scour over the country in all directions, consequently the different tribes often come across each other when out hunting. quarrels and fights are the results, so that these savages are naturally a fierce and warlike race. they are independent too; for although they get their guns and ammunition and other necessaries from the traders, they can manage to live without these things if need be. they can clothe themselves in the skins of wild animals, and when they lose their guns, or wet their powder, they can kill game easily with their own bows and arrows. it was a band of these fellows that now went galloping towards fort erie, with the long manes and tails of the half-wild horses and the scalp-locks on their dresses and their own long black hair streaming in the wind. pemberton and his party soon came up with the young indians who had remained to chase the buffaloes. he found them sheltered behind a little mound, making preparations for an immediate attack on the animals, which, however, were not yet visible to the men from the fort. "i do believe they've seen buffaloes on the other side of that mound," said pemberton, as he rode forward. he was right. the indians, of whom there were six, well mounted and armed with strong short bows, pointed to the mound, and said that on the other side of it there were hundreds of buffaloes. as the animals were so numerous, no objection was made to the fur-traders joining in the hunt, so in another moment the united party leaped from their horses and prepared for action. some wiped out and carefully loaded their guns, others examined the priming of their pieces, and chipped the edges off the flints to make sure of their not missing fire. all looked to the girths of their saddles, and a few threw off their coats and rolled their shirt-sleeves up to their shoulders, as if they were going to undertake hard and bloody work. mr pemberton took in hand to look after our friend heywood; the rest were well qualified to look after themselves. in five minutes they were all remounted and rode quietly to the brow of the mound. here an interesting sight presented itself. the whole plain was covered with the huge unwieldy forms of the buffaloes. they were scattered about, singly and in groups, grazing or playing or lying down, and in one or two places some of the bulls were engaged in single combat, pawing the earth, goring each other, and bellowing furiously. after one look, the hunters dashed down the hill and were in the midst of the astonished animals almost before they could raise their heads to look at them. now commenced a scene which it is not easy to describe correctly. each man had selected his own group of animals, so that the whole party was scattered in a moment. "follow me," cried pemberton to heywood, "observe what i do, and then go try it yourself." the fur-trader galloped at full speed towards a group of buffaloes which stood right before him, about two hundred yards off. he carried a single-barrelled gun with a flint lock in his right hand and a bullet in his mouth, ready to re-load. the buffaloes gazed at him for one moment in stupid surprise, and then, with a toss of their heads and a whisk of their tails, they turned and fled. at first they ran with a slow awkward gait, like pigs; and to one who did not know their powers, it would seem that the fast-running horses of the two men would quickly overtake them. but as they warmed to the work their speed increased, and it required the horses to get up their best paces to overtake them. after a furious gallop, pemberton's horse ran close up alongside of a fine-looking buffalo cow--so close that he could almost touch the side of the animal with the point of his gun. dropping the rein, he pointed the gun without putting it to his shoulder and fired. the ball passed through the animal's heart, and it dropt like a stone. at the same moment pemberton flung his cap on the ground beside it, so that he might afterwards claim it as his own. the well-trained horse did not shy at the shot, neither did it check its pace for a moment, but ran straight on and soon placed its master alongside of another buffalo cow. in the meantime, pemberton loaded like lightning. he let the reins hang loose, knowing that the horse understood his work, and, seizing the powder-horn at his side with his right hand, drew the wooden stopper with his teeth, and poured a charge of powder into his left--guessing the quantity, of course. pouring this into the gun he put the muzzle to his mouth, and spat the ball into it, struck the butt on the pommel of the saddle to send it down, as well as to drive the powder into the pan, and taking his chance of the gun priming itself, he aimed as before, and pulled the trigger. the explosion followed, and a second buffalo lay dead upon the plain, with a glove beside it to show to whom it belonged. scenes similar to this were being enacted all over the plain, with this difference, that the bad or impatient men sometimes fired too soon and missed their mark, or by only wounding the animals, infuriated them and caused them to run faster. one or two ill-trained horses shied when the guns were fired, and left their riders sprawling on the ground. others stumbled into badger-holes and rolled over. the indians did their work well. they were used to it, and did not bend their bows until their horses almost brushed the reeking sides of the huge brutes. then they drew to the arrow heads, and, leaning forward, buried the shafts up to the feathers. the arrow is said to be even more deadly than the bullet. already the plain was strewn with dead or dying buffaloes, and the ground seemed to tremble with the thunder of the tread of the affrighted animals. jasper had `dropt' three, and arrowhead had slain two, yet the pace did not slacken--still the work of death went on. having seen pemberton shoot another animal, heywood became fired with a desire to try his own hand, so he edged away from his companion. seeing a very large monstrous-looking buffalo flying away by itself at no great distance, he turned his horse towards it, grasped his gun, shook the reins, and gave chase. now poor heywood did not know that the animal he had made up his mind to kill was a tough old bull; neither did he know that a bull is bad to eat, and dangerous to follow; and, worse than all, he did not know that when a bull holds his tail stiff and straight up in the air, it is a sign that he is in a tremendous rage, and that the wisest thing a man can do is to let him alone. heywood, in fact, knew nothing, so he rushed blindly on his fate. at first the bull did not raise his tail, but, as the rider drew near, he turned his enormous shaggy head a little to one side, and looked at him out of the corner of his wicked little eye. when heywood came within a few yards and, in attempting to take aim, fired off his gun by accident straight into the face of the sun, the tail went up and the bull began to growl. the ferocious aspect of the creature alarmed the artist, but he had made up his mind to kill it, so he attempted to re-load, as pemberton had done. he succeeded, and, as he was about to turn his attention again to the bull, he observed one of the men belonging to the fort making towards him. this man saw and knew the artist's danger, and meant to warn him, but his horse unfortunately put one of its feet into a hole, and sent him flying head over heels through the air. heywood was now so close to the bull that he had to prepare for another shot. the horse he rode was a thoroughly good buffalo-runner. it knew the dangerous character of the bull, if its rider did not, and kept its eye watchfully upon it. at last the bull lost patience, and, suddenly wheeling round, dashed at the horse, but the trained animal sprang nimbly to one side, and got out of the way. heywood was all but thrown. he clutched the mane, however, and held on. the bull then continued its flight. determined not to be caught in this way again, the artist seized the reins, and ran the horse close alongside of the buffalo, whose tail was now as stiff as a poker. once more the bull turned suddenly round. heywood pulled the reins violently, thus confusing his steed which ran straight against the buffalo's big hairy forehead. it was stopped as violently as if it had run against the side of a house. but poor heywood was not stopped. he left the saddle like a rocket, flew right over the bull's back, came down on his face, ploughed up the land with his nose--and learned a lesson from experience! fortunately the spot, on which he fell, happened to be one of those soft muddy places, in which the buffaloes are fond of rolling their huge bodies, in the heat of summer, so that, with the exception of a bruised and dirty face, and badly soiled clothes, the bold artist was none the worse for his adventure. chapter eleven. winter--sleeping in the snow--a night alarm. summer passed away, autumn passed away, and winter came. so did christmas, and so did jasper's marriage-day. now the reader must understand that there is a wonderful difference between the winter in that part of the north american wilderness called rupert's land, and winter in our own happy island. winter out there is from six to eight months long. the snow varies from three to four feet deep, and in many places it drifts to fifteen or twenty feet deep. the ice on the lakes and rivers is sometimes above six feet thick; and the salt sea itself, in hudson's bay, is frozen over to a great extent. nothing like a thaw takes place for many months at a time, and the frost is so intense that it is a matter of difficulty to prevent one's-self from being frost-bitten. the whole country, during these long winter months, appears white, desolate, and silent. yet a good many of the birds and animals keep moving about, though most of them do so at night, and do not often meet the eye of man. the bear goes to sleep all winter in a hole, but the wolf and the fox prowl about the woods at night. ducks, geese, and plover no longer enliven the marshes with their wild cries; but white grouse, or ptarmigan, fly about in immense flocks, and arctic hares make many tracks in the deep snow. still, these are quiet creatures, and they scarcely break the deep dead silence of the forests in winter. at this period the indian and the fur-trader wrap themselves in warm dresses of deer-skin, lined with the thickest flannel, and spend their short days in trapping and shooting. at night the indian piles logs on his fire to keep out the frost, and adds to the warmth of his skin-tent by heaping snow up the outside of it all round. the fur-trader puts double window-frames and double panes of glass in his windows, puts on double doors, and heats his rooms with cast-iron stoves. but do what he will, the fur-trader cannot keep out the cold altogether. he may heat the stove red-hot if he will, yet the water in the basins and jugs in the corner of his room will be frozen, and his breath settles on the window-panes, and freezes there so thickly that it actually dims the light of the sun. this crust on the windows _inside_ is sometimes an inch thick! thermometers in england are usually filled with quicksilver. in rupert's land quicksilver would be frozen half the winter, so spirit of wine is used instead, because that liquid will not freeze with any ordinary degree of cold. here, the thermometer sometimes falls as low as zero. out there it does not rise so high as zero during the greater part of the winter, and it is often as low as twenty, thirty, and even fifty degrees _below_ zero. if the wind should blow when the cold is intense, no man dare face it-he would be certain to be frost-bitten. the parts of the body that are most easily frozen are the ears, the chin, the cheek-bones, the nose, the heels, fingers, and toes. the freezing of any part begins with a pricking sensation. when this occurs at the point of your nose, it is time to give earnest attention to that feature, else you run the risk of having it shortened. the best way to recover it is to rub it well, and to keep carefully away from the fire. the likest thing to a frost-bite is a burn. in fact, the two things are almost the same. in both cases the skin or flesh is destroyed, and becomes a sore. in the one case it is destroyed by fire, in the other by frost; but in both it is painful and dangerous, according to the depth of the frost-bite or the burn. many a poor fellow loses joints of his toes and fingers--some have even lost their hands and feet by frost. many have lost their lives. but the most common loss is the loss of the skin of the point of the nose, cheek-bones, and chin--a loss which is indeed painful, but can be replaced by nature in the course of time. of course curious appearances are produced by such intense cold. on going out into the open air, the breath settles on the breast, whiskers, and eyebrows in the shape of hoar-frost; and men who go out in the morning for a ramble with black or brown locks, return at night with what appears to be grey hair--sometimes with icicles hanging about their faces. horses and cattle there are seldom without icicles hanging from their lips and noses in winter. poor mr pemberton was much troubled in this way. he was a fat and heavy man, and apt to perspire freely. when he went out to shoot in winter, the moisture trickled down his face and turned his whiskers into two little blocks of ice; and he used to be often seen, after a hard day's walk, sitting for a long time beside the stove, holding his cheeks to the fire, and gently coaxing the icy blocks to let go their hold! but for all this, the long winter of those regions is a bright enjoyable season. the cold is not felt so much as one would expect, because it is not _damp_, and the weather is usually bright and sunny. from what i have said, the reader will understand that summer in those regions is short and very hot; the winter long and very cold. both seasons have their own peculiar enjoyments, and, to healthy men, both are extremely agreeable. i have said that jasper's marriage-day had arrived. new year's day was fixed for his union with the fair and gentle marie. as is usual at this festive season of the year, it was arranged that a ball should be given at the fort in the large hall to all the people that chanced to be there at the time. old laroche had been sent to a small hut a long day's march from the fort, where he was wont to spend his time in trapping foxes. he was there alone, so, three days before new year's day, jasper set out with arrowhead to visit the old man, and bear him company on his march back to the fort. there are no roads in that country. travellers have to plod through the wilderness as they best can. it may not have occurred to my reader that it would be a difficult thing to walk for a day through snow so deep, that, at every step, the traveller would sink the whole length of his leg. the truth is, that travelling in rupert's land in winter would be impossible but for a machine which enables men to walk on the surface of the snow without sinking more than a few inches. this machine is the snowshoe. snow-shoes vary in size and form in different parts of the country, but they are all used for the same purpose. some are long and narrow; others are nearly round. they vary in size from three to six feet in length, and from eight to twenty inches in breadth. they are extremely light--made of a frame-work of hard wood, and covered with a network of deer-skin, which, while it prevents the wearer from sinking more than a few inches, allows any snow that may chance to fall on the top of the shoe to pass through the netting. the value of this clumsy looking machine may be imagined, when i say that men with them will easily walk twenty, thirty, and even forty miles across a country over which they could not walk three miles without such helps. it was a bright, calm, frosty morning when jasper and his friend set out on their short journey. the sun shone brilliantly, and the hoar-frost sparkled on the trees and bushes, causing them to appear as if they had been covered with millions of diamonds. the breath of the two men came from their mouths like clouds of steam. arrowhead wore the round snow-shoes which go by the name of bear's paws--he preferred these to any others. jasper wore the snow-shoes peculiar to the chipewyan indians. they were nearly as long as himself, and turned up at the point. both men were dressed alike, in the yellow leathern costume of winter. the only difference being that jasper wore a fur cap, while arrowhead sported a cloth head-piece that covered his neck and shoulders, and was ornamented with a pair of horns. all day the two men plodded steadily over the country. sometimes they were toiling through deep snow in wooded places, sinking six or eight inches in spite of their snow-shoes. at other times they were passing swiftly over the surface of the open plains, where the snow was beaten so hard by exposure to the sun and wind that the shoes only just broke the crust and left their outlines behind. then they reached a bend of the river, where they had again to plod heavily through the woods on its banks, until they came out upon its frozen surface. here the snow was so hard, that they took off their snow-shoes and ran briskly along without them for a long space. thus they travelled all day, without one halt, and made such good use of their time, that they arrived at the log-hut of old laroche early in the evening. "well met, son-in-law, _that_ _is_ _to_ _be_," cried the stout old man heartily, as the two hunters made their appearance before the low door-way of his hut, which was surrounded by trees and almost buried in snow. "if you had been half an hour later, i would have met you in the woods." "how so, father-in-law, _that_ _is_ _to_ _be_," said jasper, "were ye goin' out to your traps so late as this?" "nay, man, but i was startin' for the fort. it's a long way, as you know, and my old limbs are not just so supple as yours. i thought i would travel to-night, and sleep in the woods, so as to be there in good time to-morrow. but come in, come in, and rest you. i warrant me you'll not feel inclined for more walkin' to-night." "now my name is not jasper derry if i enter your hut this night," said the hunter stoutly. "if i could not turn round and walk straight back to the fort this night, i would not be worthy of your daughter, old man. so come along with you. what say you, arrowhead; shall we go straight back?" "good," answered the indian. "well, well," cried laroche, laughing, "lead the way, and i will follow in your footsteps. it becomes young men to beat the track, and old ones to take it easy." the three men turned their faces towards fort erie, and were soon far away from the log-hut. they walked steadily and silently along, without once halting, until the night became so dark that it was difficult to avoid stumps and bushes. then they prepared to encamp in the snow. now it may seem to many people a very disagreeable idea, that of sleeping out in snow, but one who has tried it can assure them that it is not so bad as it seems. no doubt, when jasper halted in the cold dark woods, and said, "i think this will be a pretty good place to sleep," any one unacquainted with the customs of that country would have thought the man was jesting or mad; for, besides being very dismal, in consequence of its being pitch dark, it was excessively cold, and snow was falling steadily and softly on the ground. but jasper knew what he was about, and so did the others. without saying a word, the three men flung down their bundles of provisions, and each set to work to make the encampment. of course they had to work in darkness so thick that even the white snow could scarcely be seen. first of all they selected a tree, the branches of which were so thick and spreading as to form a good shelter from the falling snow. here jasper and laroche used their snow-shoes as shovels, while arrowhead plied his axe and soon cut enough of firewood for the night. he also cut a large bundle of small branches for bedding. a space of about twelve feet long, by six broad, was cleared at the foot of the tree in half an hour. but the snow was so deep that they had to dig down four feet before they reached the turf. as the snow taken out of the hole was thrown up all round it, the walls rose to nearly seven feet. arrowhead next lighted a roaring fire at one end of this cleared space, the others strewed the branches over the space in front of it, and spread their blankets on the top, after which the kettle was put on to boil, buffalo steaks were stuck up before the fire to roast, and the men then lay down to rest and smoke, while supper was preparing. the intense cold prevented the fire from melting the snowy walls of this encampment, which shone and sparkled in the red blaze like pink marble studded all over with diamonds, while the spreading branches formed a ruddy-looking ceiling. when they had finished supper, the heat of the fire and the heat of their food made the travellers feel quite warm and comfortable, in spite of john frost; and when they at last wrapped their blankets round them and laid their heads together on the branches, they fell into a sleep more sound and refreshing than they would have enjoyed had they gone to rest in a warm house upon the best bed in england. but when the fire went out, about the middle of the night, the cold became so intense that they were awakened by it, so jasper rose and blew up the fire, and the other two sat up and filled their pipes, while their teeth chattered in their heads. soon the blaze and the smoke warmed them, and again they lay down to sleep comfortably till morning. before daybreak, however, arrowhead--who never slept so soundly but that he could be wakened by the slightest unusual noise--slowly raised his head and touched jasper on the shoulder. the hunter was too well-trained to the dangers of the wilderness to start up or speak. he uttered no word, but took up his gun softly, and looked in the direction in which the indian's eyes gazed. a small red spot in the ashes served to reveal a pair of glaring eye-balls among the bushes. "a wolf," whispered jasper, cocking his gun. "no; a man," said arrowhead. at the sound of the click of the lock the object in the bushes moved. jasper leaped up in an instant, pointed his gun, and shouted sternly-"stand fast and speak, or i fire!" at the same moment arrowhead kicked the logs of the fire, and a bright flame leapt up, showing that the owner of the pair of eyes was an indian. seeing that he was discovered, and that if he turned to run he would certainly be shot, the savage came forward sulkily and sat down beside the fire. jasper asked him why he came there in that stealthy manner like a sly fox. the indian said he was merely travelling by night, and had come on the camp unexpectedly. not knowing who was there, he had come forward with caution. jasper was not satisfied with this reply. he did not like the look of the man, and he felt sure that he had seen him somewhere before, but his face was disfigured with war paint, and he could not feel certain on that point until he remembered the scene in the trading store at jasper's house. "what--darkeye!" cried he, "can it be you?" "darkeye!" shouted laroche, suddenly rising from his reclining position and staring the indian in the face with a dark scowl. "why, jasper, this is the villain who insulted my daughter, and to whom i taught the lesson that an old man could knock him down." the surprise and indignation of jasper on hearing this was great, but remembering that the savage had already been punished for his offence, and that it would be mean to take advantage of him when there were three to one, he merely said-"well, well, i won't bear a grudge against a man who is coward enough to insult a woman. i would kick you out o' the camp, darkeye, but as you might use your gun when you got into the bushes, i won't give you that chance. at the same time, we can't afford to lose the rest of our nap for you, so arrowhead will keep you safe here and watch you, while laroche and i sleep. we will let you go at daybreak." saying this jasper lay down beside his father-in-law, and they were both asleep in a few minutes, leaving the two indians to sit and scowl at each other beside the fire. chapter twelve. the wedding, an arrival, a feast, and a ball. new year's day came at last, and on the morning of that day jasper derry and marie laroche were made man and wife. they were married by the reverend mr wilson, a wesleyan missionary, who had come to fort erie, a few days before, on a visit to the tribes of indians in that neighbourhood. the north american indian has no religion worthy of the name; but he has a conscience, like other men, which tells him that it is wrong to murder and to steal. yet, although he knows this, he seldom hesitates to do both when he is tempted thereto. mr wilson was one of those earnest missionaries who go to that wilderness and face its dangers, as well as its hardships and sufferings, for the sake of teaching the savage that the mere knowledge of right and wrong is not enough--that the love of god, wrought in the heart of man by the holy spirit, alone can enable him to resist evil and do good--that belief in the lord jesus christ alone can save the soul. there are several missionaries of this stamp--men who love the name of jesus--in that region, and there are a number of stations where the good seed of god's word is being planted in the wilderness. but i have not space, and this is not the place, to enlarge on the great and interesting subject of missionary work in rupert's land. i must return to my narrative. it was, as i have said, new year's day when jasper and marie were married. and a remarkably bright, beautiful morning it was. the snow appeared whiter than usual, and the countless gems of hoar-frost that hung on shrub and tree seemed to sparkle more than usual; even the sun appeared to shine more brightly than ever it did before--at least it seemed so in the eyes of jasper and marie. "everything seems to smile on us to-day, marie," said jasper, as they stood with some of their friends at the gate of the fort, just after the ceremony was concluded. "i trust that god may smile on you, and bless your union, my friends," said mr wilson, coming forward with a small bible in his hand. "here is a copy of god's word, jasper, which i wish you to accept of and keep as a remembrance of me and of this day." "i'll keep it, sir, and i thank you heartily," said jasper, taking the book and returning the grasp of the missionary's hand. "and my chief object in giving it to you, jasper, is, that you and marie may read it often, and find joy and peace to your souls." as the missionary said this a faint sound, like the tinkling of distant bells, was heard in the frosty air. looks of surprise and excitement showed that this was an unwonted sound. and so it was; for only once or twice during the long winter did a visitor gladden fort erie with his presence. these sweet sounds were the tinkling of sleigh-bells, and they told that a stranger was approaching--that letters, perhaps, and news from far-distant homes, might be near at band. only twice in the year did the europeans at that lonely outpost receive letters from home. little wonder that they longed for them, and that they went almost wild with joy when they came. soon the sleigh appeared in sight, coming up the river at full speed, and a loud "hurrah!" from the men at the gate, told the visitor that he was a welcome guest. it was a dog-sleigh--a sort of conveyance much used by the fur-traders in winter travelling. in form, it was as like as possible to a tin slipper bath. it might also be compared to a shoe. if the reader will try to conceive of a shoe large enough to hold a man, sitting with his legs out before him, that will give him a good idea of the shape of a dog cariole. there is sometimes an ornamental curve in front. it is made of two thin hardwood planks curled up in front, with a light frame-work of wood, covered over with deer or buffalo skin, and painted in a very gay manner. four dogs are usually harnessed to it, and these are quite sufficient to drag a man on a journey of many days, over every sort of country, where there is no road whatever. dogs are much used for hauling little sledges in that country in winter. the traveller sits wrapped up so completely in furs, that nothing but his head is visible. he is attended by a driver on snow-shoes, who is armed with a large whip. no reins are used. if the snow is hard, as is usually the case on the surface of a lake or river, the driver walks behind and holds on to a tail-line, to prevent the dogs from running away. if the traveller's way lies through the woods, the snow is so soft and deep that the poor dogs are neither willing nor able to run away. it is as much as they can do to walk; so the driver goes before them, in this case, and beats down the snow with his snow-shoes--"beats the track," as it is called. the harness of the dogs is usually very gay, and covered with little bells which give forth a cheerful tinkling sound. "it's young cameron," cried mr pemberton, hastening forward to welcome the newcomer. cameron was the gentleman in charge of the nearest outpost--two hundred and fifty miles down the river. "welcome, cameron, my boy, welcome to fort erie. you are the pleasantest sight we have seen here for many a day," said pemberton, shaking the young man heartily by the hand as soon as he had jumped out of his sleigh. "come, pemberton, you forget miss marie laroche when you talk of my being the pleasantest sight," said cameron, laughing. "ah! true. pardon me, marie--" "excuse me, gentlemen," interrupted jasper, with much gravity, "i know of no such person as miss marie laroche!" "how? what do you mean?" said cameron, with a puzzled look. "jasper is right," explained pemberton, "marie was _miss_ _laroche_ yesterday; she is _mrs derry_ to-day." "then i salute you, mrs derry, and congratulate you both," cried the young man, kissing the bride's fair cheek, "and i rejoice to find that i am still in time to dance at your wedding." "ay," said pemberton, as they moved up to the hall, "that reminds me to ask you why you are so late. i expected you before christmas day." "i had intended to be here by that day," replied cameron, "but one of my men cut his foot badly with an axe, and i could not leave him; then my dogs broke down on the journey, and that detained me still longer. but you will forgive my being so late, i think, when i tell you that i have got a packet of letters with me." "letters!" shouted every one. "ay, letters and newspapers from england." a loud cheer greeted this announcement. the packet was hauled out of the sleigh, hurried up to the fort, torn open with eager haste, and the fur-traders of fort erie were soon devouring the contents like hungry men. and they _were_ hungry men--they were starving! those who see their kindred and friends daily, or hear from them weekly, cannot understand the feelings of men who hear from them only twice in the year. great improvements have taken place in this matter of late years; still, many of the hudson bay company's outposts are so distant from the civilised world, that they cannot get news from "home" oftener than twice a year. it was a sight to study and moralise over--the countenances of these banished men. the trembling anxiety lest there should be "bad news." the gleam of joy, and the deep "thank god," on reading "all well." then the smiles, the sighs, the laughs, the exclamations of surprise, perhaps the tears that _would_ spring to their eyes as they read the brief but, to them, thrilling private history of the past half year. there was no bad news in that packet, and a feeling of deep joy was poured into the hearts of the people of the fort by these "good news from a far country." even the half-breeds and indians, who could not share the feeling, felt the sweet influence of the general happiness that was diffused among the fur-traders on that bright new year's day in the wilderness. what a dinner they had that day to be sure! what juicy roasts of buffalo beef; what enormous steaks of the same; what a magnificent venison pasty; and what glorious marrow-bones--not to mention tongues, and hearts, and grouse, and other things! but the great feature of the feast was the plum-pudding. it was like a huge cannon-ball with the measles! there was wine, too, on this occasion. not much, it is true, but more than enough, for it had been saved up all the year expressly for the christmas and new year's festivities. thus they were enabled to drink to absent friends, and bring up all the old toasts and songs that used to be so familiar long ago in the "old country." but these sturdy traders needed no stimulants. there were one or two who even scorned the wine, and stuck to water, and to their credit be it said, that they toasted and sang with the best of them. at night there was a ball, and the ball beat the dinner out of sight. few indeed were the women, but numerous were the men. indian women are not famous for grace or cleanliness, poor things. but they enjoyed the ball, and they did their best to dance. such dancing! they seemed to have no joints. they stood up stiff as lamp-posts, and went with an up-and-down motion from side to side. but the men did the thing bravely, especially the indians. the only dances attempted were scotch reels, and the indians tried to copy the fur-traders; but on finding this somewhat difficult, they introduced some surprising steps of their own, which threw the others entirely into the shade! there was unfortunately no fiddler, but there was a fiddle--one made of pine wood by an indian, with strings of deer-skin sinew. some of the boldest of the party scraped _time_ without regard to _tune_, and our friend heywood beat the kettle-drum. the tones of the fiddle at last became so horrible that it was banished altogether, and they danced that night to the kettle-drum! of course the fair bride was the queen of that ball. her countenance was the light of it, and her modest, womanly manner had a softening influence on the rough men who surrounded her. when the ball was over, a curious thing occurred in the hall in which it had taken place. the room was heated by a stove, and as a stove dries the air of a room too much, it was customary to keep a pan of water on the stove to moisten it a little. this moisture was increased that night by the steam of the supper and by the wild dancing, so that, when all was over, the walls and ceiling were covered with drops of water. during the night this all froze in the form of small beautifully-shaped crystals, and in the morning they found themselves in a crystal palace of nature's own formation, which beat all the crystal palaces that ever were heard of--at least in originality, if not in splendour. thus happily ended the marriage-day of honest jasper derry and sweet marie laroche, and thus pleasantly began the new year of 18--. but as surely as darkness follows light, and night follows day, so surely does sorrow tread on the heels of joy in the history of man. god has so ordained it, and he is wise who counts upon experiencing both. chapter thirteen. the conclusion. a week after the events narrated in the last chapter, jasper derry was sitting beside the stove in the hall at fort erie, smoking his pipe and conversing with his father-in-law about his intention of going to lake winnipeg with the brigade in spring and proceeding thence to canada in a bark canoe. "of course," said he, "i will take marie with me, and if you'll take my advice, father, you'll come too." "no, my son, not yet a while," said old laroche, shaking his head; "i have a year yet to serve the company before my engagement is out. after that i may come, if i'm spared; but you know that the indians are not safe just now, and some of them, i fear, bear me a grudge, for they're a revengeful set." "that's true, father, but supposin' that all goes well with you, will ye come an' live with marie and me?" "we shall see, lad; we shall see," replied laroche, with a pleased smile; for the old guide evidently enjoyed the prospect of spending the evening of life in the land of his fathers, and under the roof-tree of his son and daughter. at that moment the report of a gun was heard outside the house. one of the window-panes was smashed and at the same instant laroche fell heavily forward on the floor. jasper sprang up and endeavoured to raise him, but found that he was insensible. he laid him carefully on his back, and hastily opened the breast of his coat. a few drops of blood showed where he had been wounded. meanwhile several of the men who had been attracted by the gunshot so close to the house burst into the room. "stand back, stand back, give him air," cried jasper; "stay, o god help us! the old man is shot clean through the heart!" for one moment jasper looked up with a bewildered glance in the faces of the men, then, uttering a wild cry of mingled rage and agony, he sprang up, dashed them aside, and catching up his gun and snow-shoes rushed out of the house. he soon found a fresh track in the snow, and the length of the stride, coupled with the manner in which the snow was cast aside, and the smaller bushes were broken and trodden down, told him that the fugitive had made it. in a moment, he was following the track, with the utmost speed, of which he was capable. he never once halted, or faltered, or turned aside, all that day. his iron frame seemed to be incapable of fatigue. he went with his body bent forward, his brows lowering, and his lips firmly compressed; but he was not successful. the murderer had got a sufficiently long start of him to render what sailors call a stern chase a long one. still jasper never thought of giving up the pursuit, until he came suddenly on an open space, where the snow had been recently trodden down by a herd of buffaloes, and by a band of indians who were in chase of them. here he lost the track, and although he searched long and carefully he could not find it. late that night the baffled hunter returned to the fort. "you have failed--i see by your look," said mr pemberton, as jasper entered. "ay, i have failed," returned the other gloomily. "he must have gone with the band of indians among whose tracks i lost his footsteps." "have you any idea who can have done this horrible deed?" said pemberton. "it was darkeye," said jasper in a stern voice. some of the indians who chanced to be in the hall were startled, and rose on hearing this. "be not alarmed, friends," said the fur-trader. "you are the guests of christian men. we will not punish you for the deeds of another man of your tribe." "how does the white man know that this was done by darkeye?" asked a chief haughtily. "i _know_ _it_," said jasper angrily; "i feel sure of it; but i cannot prove it--of course. does arrowhead agree with me?" "he does!" replied the indian, "and there may be proof. does jasper remember the trading store and the _bitten_ _bullet_?" a gleam of intelligence shot across the countenance of the white hunter as his comrade said this. "true, arrowhead, true." he turned, as he spoke, to the body of his late father-in-law, and examined the wound. the ball, after passing through the heart, had lodged in the back, just under the skin. "see," said he to the indians, "i will cut out this ball, but before doing so i will tell how i think it is marked." he then related the incident in the trading store, with which the reader is already acquainted, and afterwards extracted the ball, which, although much flattened and knocked out of shape, showed clearly the deep marks made by the indian's teeth. thus, the act which had been done slyly but boastfully before the eyes of a comrade, probably as wicked as himself, became the means whereby darkeye's guilt was clearly proved. at once a party of his own tribe were directed by their chief to go out in pursuit of the murderer. it were vain for me to endeavour to describe the anguish of poor marie on being deprived of a kind and loving father in so awful and sudden a manner. i will drop a veil over her grief, which was too deep and sacred to be intermeddled with. on the day following the murder, a band of indians arrived at fort erie with buffalo skins for sale. to the amazement of every one darkeye himself was among them. the wily savage--knowing that his attempting to quit that part of the country as a fugitive would be certain to fix suspicion on him as the murderer--resolved to face the fur-traders as if he were ignorant of the deed which had been done. by the very boldness of this step he hoped to disarm suspicion; but he forgot the _bitten_ _ball_. it was therefore a look of genuine surprise that rose to darkeye's visage, when, the moment he entered the fort, mr pemberton seized him by the right arm, and led him into the hall. at first he attempted to seize the handle of his knife, but a glance at the numbers of the white men, and the indifference of his own friends, showed him that his best chance lay in cunning. the indians who had arrived with him were soon informed by the others of the cause of this, and all of them crowded into the hall to watch the proceedings. the body of poor laroche was laid on a table, and darkeye was led up to it. the cunning indian put on a pretended look of surprise on beholding it, and then the usual expression of stolid gravity settled on his face as he turned to mr pemberton for information. "_your_ hand did this," said the fur-trader. "is darkeye a dog that he should slay an old man?" said the savage. "no, you're not a dog," cried jasper fiercely; "you are worse--a cowardly murderer?" "stand back, jasper," said mr pemberton, laying his hand on the shoulder of the excited hunter, and thrusting him firmly away. "this is a serious charge. the indian shall not be hastily condemned. he shall have fair play, and _justice_." "good!" cried several of the indians on hearing this. meanwhile the principal chief of the tribe took up his stand close beside the prisoner. "darkeye," said mr pemberton, while he looked steadfastly into the eyes of the indian, who returned the look as steadily--"darkeye, do you remember a conversation you had many weeks ago in the trading store at jasper's house?" the countenance of the indian was instantly troubled, and he said with some hesitation, "darkeye has had many conversations in that store; is he a medicine-man [a conjurer] that he should know what you mean?" "i will only put one other question," said the fur-trader. "do you know this bullet _with_ _the_ _marks_ _of_ _teeth_ in it?" darkeye's visage fell at once. he became deadly pale, and his limbs trembled. he was about to speak when the chief, who had hitherto stood in silence at his side, suddenly whirled his tomahawk in the air, and, bringing it down on the murderer's skull, cleft him to the chin! a fierce yell followed this act, and several scalping knives reached the dead man's heart before his body fell to the ground. the scene that followed was terrible. the savages were roused to a state of frenzy, and for a moment the white men feared an attack, but the anger of the indians was altogether directed against their dead comrade, who had been disliked by his people, while his poor victim laroche had been a universal favourite. seizing the body of darkeye, they carried it down to the banks of the river, hooting and yelling as they went; hacked and cut it nearly to pieces, and then, kindling a large fire, they threw the mangled corpse into it, and burned it to ashes. it was long before the shadow of this dark cloud passed away from fort erie; and it was longer still before poor marie recovered her wonted cheerfulness. but the presence of mr wilson did much to comfort her. gradually time softened the pang and healed the wound. and now, little remains to be told. winter passed away and spring came, and when the rivers and lakes were sufficiently free from ice, the brigade of boats left fort erie, laden with furs, for the sea-coast. on arriving at lake winnipeg, jasper obtained a small canoe, and, placing his wife and heywood in the middle of it, he and arrowhead took the paddles, seated themselves in the bow and stern, and guided their frail bark through many hundreds of miles of wilderness--over many a rough portage, across many a beautiful lake, and up many a roaring torrent, until, finally, they arrived in canada. here jasper settled. his farm prospered--his family increased. sturdy boys, in course of time, ploughed the land and blooming daughters tended the dairy. yet jasper derry did not cease to toil. he was one of those men who _feel_ that they were made to work, and that much happiness flows from working. he often used to say that if it was god's will, he would "like to die in harness." jasper's only weakness was the pipe. it stuck to him and he stuck to it to the last. marie, in course of time, came to tolerate it, and regularly filled it for him every night. evening was the time when the inmates of erie cottage (as their residence was named) enjoyed themselves most; for it was then that the stalwart sons and the blooming daughters circled round the great fire of wood that roared, on winter nights, up the chimney; and it was then that jasper received his pipe from his still good-looking, though rather stout, marie, and began to spin yarns about his young days. at this time, too, it was, that the door would frequently open, and a rugged old indian would stalk in like a mahogany ghost, and squat down in front of the fire. he was often followed by a tall thin old gentleman, who was extremely excitable, but good-humoured. jasper greeted these two remarkable looking men by the names of arrowhead and heywood. and glad were the young people when they saw their wrinkled faces, for then, they knew from experience, their old father would become more lively than usual, and would go on for hours talking of all the wonders and dangers that he had seen and encountered long, long ago, when he and his two friends were away in the wilderness. the end. online distributed proofreading canada team (http://www.pgdpcanada.net) from page images generously made available by our roots (http://www.ourroots.ca/) note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see 30377-h.htm or 30377-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30377/30377-h/30377-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30377/30377-h.zip) images of the original pages are available through our roots. see http://www.ourroots.ca/toc.aspx?id=11729&qryid=e57cc7f6-4616-4b18-ad49-5dab00cac663 the 'adventurers of england' on hudson bay * * * * * chronicles of canada series thirty-two volumes illustrated edited by george m. wrong and h. h. langton chronicles of canada series part i the first european visitors 1. the dawn of canadian history by stephen leacock. 2. the mariner of st malo by stephen leacock. part ii the rise of new france 3. the founder of new france* by charles w. colby. 4. the blackrobes* by j. edgar middleton. 5. the seigneurs of old canada by w. bennett munro. 6. the great intendant by thomas chapais. 7. the fighting governor* by charles w. colby. part iii the english invasion 8. the great fortress* by william wood. 9. the acadian exiles* by arthur g. doughty. 10. the passing of new france by william wood. 11. the winning of canada by william wood. part iv the american invasions 12. the invasion of 1775* by c. frederick hamilton. 13. battlefields of 1812-14* by william wood. part v the red man in canada 14. pontiac: the war chief of the ottawas* by thomas guthrie marquis. 15. brant: the war chief of the six nations by louis aubrey wood. 16. tecumseh: the last great leader of his people* by ethel t. raymond. part vi pathfinders and pioneers 17. the 'adventurers of england' on hudson bay by agnes c. laut. 18. pathfinders of the great plains by lawrence j. burpee. 19. pioneers of the pacific coast* by agnes c. laut. 20. adventurers of the far north by stephen leacock. 21. the united empire loyalists by w. stewart wallace. 22. the red river colony* by louis aubrey wood. 23. the cariboo trail* by agnes c. laut. part vii political freedom and nationality 24. the 'family compact'* by w. stewart wallace. 25. the rebellion in lower canada* by a. d. decelles. 26. the tribune of nova scotia* by william l. grant. 27. the winning of popular government* by archibald macmechan. 28. the fathers of confederation* by sir joseph pope. 29. the day of sir john macdonald* by sir joseph pope. 30. the day of sir wilfred laurier* by oscar d. skelton. part viii national highways 31. all afloat by william wood. 32. the railroad builders* by oscar d. skelton. toronto: glasgow, brook & company note: the volumes marked with an asterisk are in preparation. the others are published. * * * * * [illustration: prince rupert from the painting in the national portrait gallery] the 'adventurers of england' on hudson bay a chronicle of the fur trade in the north by agnes c. laut [illustration: printers mark] toronto glasgow, brook & company 1914 copyright in all countries subscribing to the berne convention contents page i. the fur hunters 1 ii. the tragedy of henry hudson 9 iii. other explorers on the bay 23 iv. the 'adventurers of england' 34 v. french and english on the bay 51 vi. the great overland raid 73 vii. years of disaster 89 viii. expansion and exploration 103 bibliographical note 125 index 129 illustrations prince rupert _frontispiece_ from the painting in the national portrait gallery. _page_ a view of the interior of old fort 2 garry drawn by h. a. strong. track survey of the saskatchewan 4 between cedar lake and lake winnipeg the principal posts of the hudson's 6 bay company map by bartholomew. the routes of hudson and munck 10 map by bartholomew. the last hours of hudson 18 from the painting by collier. john churchill, first duke of marlborough 42 from the painting in the national portrait gallery. on the hayes river 58 from photograph by r. w. brock. entrance to the nelson and hayes 60 rivers map by bartholomew. a camp in the swamp country 120 from a photograph. chapter i the fur hunters thirty or more years ago, one who stood at the foot of main street, winnipeg, in front of the stone gate leading to the inner court of fort garry, and looked up across the river flats, would have seen a procession as picturesque as ever graced the streets of old quebec--the dog brigades of the hudson's bay company coming in from the winter's hunt. against the rolling snowdrifts appeared a line, at first grotesquely dwarfed under the mock suns of the eastern sky veiled in a soft frost fog. then a husky-dog in bells and harness bounced up over the drifts, followed by another and yet another--eight or ten dogs to each long, low toboggan that slid along loaded and heaped with peltry. beside each sleigh emerged out of the haze the form of the driver--a swarthy fellow, on snow-shoes, with hair bound back by a red scarf, and corduroy trousers belted in by another red scarf, and fur gauntlets to his elbows--flourishing his whip and yelling, in a high, snarling falsetto, 'marche! marche!'--the rallying-cry of the french wood-runner since first he set out from quebec in the sixteen-hundreds to thread his way westward through the wilds of the continent. behind at a sort of dog-trot came women, clothed in skirts and shawls made of red and green blankets; papooses in moss bags on their mothers' backs, their little heads wobbling under the fur flaps and capotes. then, as the dog teams sped from a trot to a gallop with whoops and jingling of bells, there whipped past a long, low, toboggan-shaped sleigh with the fastest dogs and the finest robes--the equipage of the chief factor or trader. before the spectator could take in any more of the scene, dogs and sleighs, runners and women, had swept inside the gate. [illustration: a view of the interior of old fort garry drawn by h. a. strong] at a still earlier period, say in the seventies, one who in summer chanced to be on lake winnipeg at the mouth of the great saskatchewan river--which, by countless portages and interlinking lakes, is connected with all the vast water systems of the north--would have seen the fur traders sweeping down in huge flotillas of canoes and flat-bottomed mackinaw boats--exultant after running the grand rapids, where the waters of the great plains converge to a width of some hundred rods and rush nine miles over rocks the size of a house in a furious cataract. summer or winter, it was a life of wild adventure and daily romance. here on the saskatchewan every paddle-dip, every twist and turn of the supple canoes, revealed some new caprice of the river's moods. in places the current would be shallow and the canoes would lag. then the paddlers must catch the veer of the flow or they would presently be out waist-deep shoving cargo and craft off sand bars. again, as at grand rapids, where the banks were rock-faced and sheer, the canoes would run merrily in swift-flowing waters. no wonder the indian voyageurs regarded all rivers as living personalities and made the river goddess offerings of tobacco for fair wind and good voyage. and it is to be kept in mind that no river like the saskatchewan can be permanently mapped. no map or chart of such a river could serve its purpose for more than a year. chart it to-day, and perhaps to-morrow it jumps its river bed; and where was a current is now a swampy lake in which the paddlemen may lose their way. when the waters chanced to be low at grand rapids, showing huge rocks through the white spray, cargoes would be unloaded and the peltry sent across the nine-mile portage by tramway; but when the river was high--as in june after the melting of the mountain snows--the voyageurs were always keen for the excitement of making the descent by canoe. lestang, m'kay, mackenzie, a dozen famous guides, could boast two trips a day down the rapids, without so much as grazing a paddle on the rocks. indeed, the different crews would race each other into the very vortex of the wildest water; and woe betide the old voyageur whose crew failed of the strong pull into the right current just when the craft took the plunge! here, where the waters of the vast prairie region are descending over huge boulders and rocky islets between banks not a third of a mile apart, there is a wild river scene. far ahead the paddlers can hear the roar of the swirl. now the surface of the river rounds and rises in the eddies of an undertow, and the canoe leaps forward; then, a swifter plunge through the middle of a furious overfall. the steersman rises at the stern and leans forward like a runner. [illustration: track survey of the saskatchewan between cedar lake & lake winnipeg] 'pull!' shouts the steersman; and the canoe shoots past one rock to catch the current that will whirl it past the next, every man bending to his paddle and almost lifted to his feet. the canoe catches the right current and is catapulted past the roaring place where rocks make the water white. instantly all but the steersman drop down, flat in the bottom of the canoe, paddles rigid athwart. no need to pull now! the waters do the work; and motion on the part of the men would be fatal. here the strongest swimmer would be as a chip on a cataract. the task now is not to paddle, but to steer--to keep the craft away from the rocks. this is the part of the steersman, who stands braced to his paddle used rudder-wise astern; and the canoe rides the wildest plunge like a sea-gull. one after another the brigades disappear in a white trough of spray and roaring waters. they are gone! no human power can bring them out of that maelstrom! but look! like corks on a wave, mounting and climbing and riding the highest billows, there they are again, one after another, sidling and lifting and falling and finally gliding out to calm water, where the men fall to their paddles and strike up one of their lusty voyageur songs! the company would not venture its peltry on the lower rapid where the river rushes down almost like a waterfall. above this the cargoes were transferred to the portage, and prosaically sent over the hill on a tram-car pulled by a horse. the men, however, would not be robbed of the glee of running that last rapid, and, with just enough weight for ballast in their canoes and boats, they would make the furious descent. at the head of the tramway on the grand rapids portage stands the great house, facing old warehouses through which have passed millions of dollars' worth of furs. the great house is gambrel-roofed and is built of heavily timbered logs whitewashed. round it is a picket fence; below are wine cellars. it is dismantled and empty now; but here no doubt good wines abounded and big oaths rolled in the days when the lords of an unmapped empire held sway. [illustration: the principal posts of the hudson's bay company map by bartholomew.] a glance at the map of the hudson's bay company's posts will show the extent of the fur traders' empire. to the athabaska warehouses at fort chipewyan came the furs of mackenzie river and the arctic; to fort edmonton came the furs of the athabaska and of the rockies; to fort pitt came the peltry of the barren lands; and all passed down the broad highway of the saskatchewan to lake winnipeg, whence they were sent out to york factory on hudson bay, there to be loaded on ships and taken to the company's warehouses in london. * * * * * incidentally, the fur hunters were explorers who had blazed a trail across a continent and penetrated to the uttermost reaches of a northern empire the size of europe. but it was fur these explorers were seeking when they pushed their canoes up the saskatchewan, crossed the rocky mountains, went down the columbia. fur, not glory, was the quest when the dog bells went ringing over the wintry wastes from saskatchewan to athabaska, across the barren lands, and north to the arctic. beaver, not empire, was the object in view when the horse brigades of one hundred and two hundred and three hundred hunters, led by ogden, or ross, or m'kay or ermatinger went winding south over the mountains from new caledonia through the country that now comprises the states of washington and oregon and idaho, across the deserts of utah and nevada, to the spanish forts at san francisco and monterey. it is a question whether la salle could have found his way to the mississippi, or radisson to the north sea, or mackenzie to the pacific, if the little beaver had not inspired the search and paid the toll. chapter ii the tragedy of henry hudson though the adventurers to hudson bay turned to fur trading and won wealth, and discovered an empire while pursuing the little beaver across a continent, the beginning of all this was not the beaver, but a myth--the north-west passage--a short way round the world to bring back the spices and silks and teas of india and japan. it was this quest, not the lure of the beaver, that first brought men into the heart of new world wilds by way of hudson bay. in this search henry hudson led the way when he sent his little high-decked oak craft, the _discovery_, butting through the ice-drive of hudson strait in july of 1610; 'worming a way' through the floes by anchor out to the fore and a pull on the rope from behind. smith, wolstenholme, and digges, the english merchant adventurers who had supplied him with money for his brig and crew, cared for nothing but the short route to those spices and silks of the orient. they thought, since hudson's progress had been blocked the year before in the same search up the bay of chesapeake and up the hudson river, that the only remaining way must lie through these northern straits. so now thought hudson, as the ice jams closed behind him and a clear way opened before him to the west on a great inland sea that rocked to an ocean tide. was that tide from the pacific? how easily does a wish become father to the thought! ice lay north, open water south and west; and so south-west steered hudson, standing by the wheel, though juet, the old mate, raged in open mutiny because not enough provisions remained to warrant further voyaging, much less the wintering of a crew of twenty in an ice-locked world. henry greene, a gutter-snipe picked off the streets of london, as the most of the sailors of that day were, went whispering from man to man of the crew that the master's commands to go on ought not to be obeyed. but we must not forget two things when we sit in judgment on henry hudson's crew. first, nearly all sailors of that period were unwilling men seized forcibly and put on board. secondly, in those days nearly all seamen, masters as well as men, were apt to turn pirate at the sight of an alien sail. the ships of all foreign nations were considered lawful prey to the mariner with the stronger crew or fleeter sail. [illustration: the routes of hudson and munck map by bartholomew.] the waters that we know to-day as the pacific were known to hudson as the south sea. and now the tide rolled south over shelving, sandy shores, past countless islands yellowing to the touch of september frosts, and silent as death but for the cries of gull, tern, bittern, the hooting piebald loon, match-legged phalaropes, and geese and ducks of every hue, collected for the autumnal flight south. it was a yellowish sea under a sky blue as turquoise; and it may be that hudson recalled sailor yarns of china's seas, lying yellow under skies blue as a robin's egg. at any rate he continued to steer south in spite of the old mate's mutterings. men in unwilling service at a few shillings a month do not court death for the sake of glory. the shore line of rocks and pine turned westward. so did hudson, sounding the ship's line as he crept forward one sail up, the others rattling against the bare masts in the autumn wind--doleful music to the thoughts of the coward crew. the shore line at the south end of hudson bay, as the world now knows, is cut sharply by a ridge of swampy land that shoals to muddy flats in what is known as hannah bay. hudson's hopes must have been dimmed if not dashed as he saw the western shore turn north and bar his way. he must suddenly have understood the force of the fear that his provisions would not last him to england if this course did not open towards china. it was now october; and the furious equinoctial gales lashed the shallow sea to mountainous waves that swept clear over the decks of the _discovery_, knocking the sailors from the capstan bars and setting all the lee scuppers spouting. in a rage juet threw down his pole and declared that he would serve no longer. hudson was compelled to arrest his old mate for mutiny and depose him with loss of wages. the trial brought out the fact that the crew had been plotting to break open the lockers and seize firearms. it must be remembered that most of hudson's sailors were ragged, under-fed, under-clothed fellows, ill fitted for the rigorous climate of the north and unmoved by the glorious aims that, like a star of hope, led hudson on. they saw no star of hope, and felt only hunger and cold and that dislike of the hardships of life which is the birthright of the weakling, as well as his nemesis. what with the north wind driving water back up the shallows, and with tamarac swamps on the landward side, hudson deemed it unwise to anchor for the winter in the western corner of the bay, and came back to the waters that, from the description of the hills, may now be identified as rupert bay, in the south-east corner. the furious autumn winds bobbled the little high-decked ship about on the water like a chip in a maelstrom, and finally, with a ripping crash that tore timbers asunder, sent her on the rocks, in the blackness of a november night. the starving crew dashed up the hatchway to decks glassed with ice and wrapped in the gloom of a snow-storm thick as wool. to any who have been on that shore in a storm it is quite unnecessary to explain why it was impossible to seek safety ashore by lowering a boat. shallow seas always beat to wilder turbulence in storm than do the great deeps. even so do shallow natures, and one can guess how the mutinous crew, stung into unwonted fury by cold and despair, railed at hudson with the rage of panic-stricken hysteria. but in daylight and calm, presumably on the morning of november 11, drenched and cold, they reached shore safely, and knocked together, out of the tamarac and pines and rocks, some semblance of winter cabins. of game there was abundance then, as now--rabbit and deer and grouse enough to provision an army; and hudson offered reward for all provisions brought in. but the leaven of rebellion had worked its mischief. the men would not hunt. probably they did not know how. certainly none of them had ever before felt such cold as this--cold that left the naked hand sticking to any metal that it touched, that filled the air with frost fog and mock suns, that set the wet ship's timbers crackling every night like musket shots, that left a lining of hoar-frost and snow on the under side of the berth-beds, that burst the great pines and fir trees ashore in loud nightly explosions, and set the air whipping in lights of unearthly splendour that passed them moving and rustling in curtains of blood and fire.[1] as anyone who has lived in the region knows, the cowardly incompetents should have been up and out hunting and wresting from nature the one means of protection against northern cold--fur clothing. that is the one demand the north makes of man--that he shall fight and strive for mastery; but these whimpering weaklings, convulsed with the poison of self-pity, sat inside shivering over the little pans and braziers of coal, cursing and cursing hudson. in the midst of the smouldering mutiny the ship's gunner died, and probably because the gutter boy, greene, was the most poorly clad of all, hudson gave the dead man's overcoat to the london lad. instantly there was wild outcry from the other men. it was customary to auction a dead seaman's clothes from the mainmast. why had the commander shown favour? in disgust hudson turned the coat over to the new mate--thereby adding fresh fuel to the crew's wrath and making greene a real source of danger. greene was, to be sure, only a youth, but small snakes sometimes secrete deadly venom. how the winter passed there is no record, except that it was 'void of hope'; and one may guess the tension of the sulky atmosphere. the old captain, with his young son, stood his ground against the mutineers, like a bear baited by snapping curs. if they had hunted half as diligently as they snarled and complained, there would have been ample provisions and absolute security; and this statement holds good of more complainants against life than henry hudson's mutinous crew. it holds good of nearly all mutineers against life. spring came, as it always comes in that snow-washed northern land, with a ramp of the ice loosening its grip from the turbulent waters, and a whirr of the birds winging north in long, high, wedge-shaped lines, and a crunching of the icefloes riding turbulently out to sea, and a piping of the odorous spring winds through the resinous balsam-scented woods. hudson and the loyal members of the crew attempted to replenish provisions by fishing. then a brilliant thought penetrated the wooden brains of the idle and incompetent crew--a thought that still works its poison in like brains of to-day--namely, if there were half as many people there would be twice as much provisions for each. ice out, anchor up, the gulls and wild geese winging northward again--all was ready for sail on june 18, 1611. with the tattered canvas and the seams tarred and the mends in the hull caulked, hudson handed out all the bread that was left--a pound to each man. he had failed to find the north-west passage. he was going home a failure, balked, beaten, thrown back by the waves that had been beating the icefloes to the mournful call of the desolate wind all winter. there were tears in the eyes of the old captain as he handed out the last of the bread. any one who has watched what snapping mongrels do when the big dog goes down, need not be told what happened now. there were whisperings that night as the ship slipped before the wind, whisperings and tale-bearings from berth to berth, threats uttered in shrill scared falsetto 'to end it or to mend it; better hang at home for mutiny than starve at sea.' prickett, the agent for the merchant adventurers, pleaded for hudson's life; the mutineers, led by juet and greene, roughly bade him look to his own. prickett was ill in bed with scurvy, and the tremor of self-fear came into his plea. then the mutineers swore on the bible that what they planned was to sacrifice the lives of the few to save the many. when the destroyer profanes the cross with unclean perjury, 'tis well to use the cross for firewood and unsheath a sword. peevish with sickness, prickett punily acquiesced. when hudson stepped from the wheel-house or cabin next morning, they leaped upon him like a pack of wolves. no oaths on scripture and holy cross this break of day! oaths of another sort--oaths and blows and railings--all pretence of clean motives thrown off--malice with its teeth out snapping! somewhere north of rupert, probably off charlton island, hudson, his son, and eight loyal members of the crew were thrown into one of the boats on the davits. the boat was lowered on its pulleys and touched sea. the _discovery_ then spread sail and sped through open water to the wind. the little boat with the marooned crew came climbing after. somebody threw into it some implements and ammunition, and some one cut the painter. the abandoned boat slacked and fell back in the wave wash; and that is all we know of the end of henry hudson, who had discovered a northern sea, the size of a mediterranean, that was to be a future arena of nations warring for an empire, and who had before discovered a river that was to be a path of world commerce. [illustration: the last hours of hudson from the painting by collier] what became of hudson? a famous painting represents him, with his little son and the castaway crew, huddling among the engulfing icebergs. that may have been; but it is improbable that the dauntless old pathfinder would have succumbed so supinely. three traditions, more or less reasonable, exist about his end. when captain james came out twenty years later seeking the north-west passage he found on a little island (danby), south-east from charlton island, a number of sticks standing in the ground, with the chip marks of a steel blade. did the old timbers mark some winter house of hudson and his castaways? when radisson came cruising among these islands fifty years later, he discovered an old house 'all marked and battered with bullets'; and the indians told radisson stories of 'canoes with sails' having come to the bay. had indians, supplied with firearms overland from quebec traders, assailed that house where nine white men, standing at bay between starvation and their enemies, took their last stand? the third tradition is of a later day. a few years ago a resident of fort frances, who had spent the summer at the foot of james bay, and who understood the indian language, wrote that the indians had told him legends of white men who had come to the bay long long ago, before ever 'the big company came,' and who had been cast away by their fellows, and who came ashore and lived among the indians and took indian wives and left red-haired descendants. it is probable that fur traders had told the indians the story of hudson; and this would explain the origin of this tradition. on the other hand, in a race utterly isolated from the outside world, among whom neither printing nor telegraph ever existed, traditions handed down from father to son acquire peculiar value; and in them we can often find a germ of truth. the legends are given for what they are worth. there is no need to relate the fate of the mutineers. the fate of mutineers is the same the world over. they quarrelled among themselves. they lost themselves among the icefloes. when they found their way back through the straits all provisions were exhausted. while they were prisoners in the icefloes, scurvy assailed the crew. landing to gather sorrel grass as an antidote to scurvy, they were attacked by eskimos. only four men were left to man the ship home, and they were reduced to a diet of sea moss and offal before reaching ireland. greene perished miserably among the indians, and his body was thrown into the sea. old juet died of starvation in sight of ireland, raving impotent curses. but however dire nemesis may be, or however deep may be repentance, neither undoes the wrong; and hudson had gone to his unknown grave, sent thither by imbeciles, who would not work that they might eat, nor strive that they might win, but sat crouching, as their prototypes sit, ready to spring at the throat of endeavour. thomas button, afterwards knighted for his effort, came out the very next year at the expense of the merchant adventurers--walstenholme, smith, and digges--to search for hudson. he wintered (1612-13) at port nelson, which he explored and named after his mate, who died there of scurvy; but the sea gave up no secret of its dead. prickett and bylot, of hudson's former crew, were there also with the old ship _discovery_ and a large frigate called _resolution_, an appropriate name. button's crew became infected with scurvy, and port nelson a camp for the dead. then came captain gibbon in 1614; but the ice caught him at labrador and turned him back. the merchant adventurers then fitted out bylot, hudson's second mate, and in 1615-16 he searched the desolate, lonely northern waters. he found no trace of hudson, nor a passage to the south sea; but he gave his mate's name--baffin--to the lonely land that lines the northern side of the straits. novelists are frequently accused of sensationalism and exaggeration, but if, as tradition seems to suggest, hudson were still alive seven hundred miles south at the lower end of the bay, straining vain eyes for a sail at sea, like alexander selkirk of a later day--with a button and a gibbon and a bylot and a baffin searching for him with echoing cannon roll and useless call in the north--then the life and death of the old pathfinder are more like a tale from defoe than a story of real life. the english merchant adventurers then gave up--possibly for the very good reason that they had emptied their purses. this brings us to the year 1617 with no north-west passage discovered, and very little other reward for the toll of life and heroism during seven years. superficially, when we contemplate such failure, it looks like the broken arc of a circle; but when we find the whole circle we see that it is made up very largely of broken endeavour, and that destiny has shaped the wheel to roll to undreamed ends. there was no practicable north-west passage, as we know; but the search for such a passage gave to the world a new empire. chapter iii other explorers on the bay little denmark, whose conquering vikings on their 'sea horses' had scoured the coasts of europe, now comes on the scene. hudson, an englishman, had discovered the bay, but the port of churchill, later to become an important post of the fur trade, was discovered by jens munck, the dane. in the autumn of 1619 munck came across the bay with two vessels--the unicorn, a warship with sea horses on its carved prow, and the lamprey, a companion sloop--scudding before an equinoctial squall. through a hurricane of sleet he saw what appeared to be an inlet between breakers lashing against the rocky west shore. steering the unicorn for the opening, he found himself in a land-locked haven, protected from the tidal bore by a ridge of sunken rock. the lamprey had fallen behind, but fires of driftwood built on the shore guided her into the harbour, and munck constructed an ice-break round the keels of his ships. piles of rocks sunk as a coffer-dam protected the boats from the indrive of tidal ice; and the danes prepared to winter in the new harbour. to-day there are no forests within miles of churchill, but at that time pine woods crowded to the water's edge, and the crews laid up a great store of firewood. with rocks, they built fireplaces on the decks--a paltry protection against the northern cold. later explorers wintering at churchill boarded up their decks completely and against the boarding banked snow, but this method of preparation against an arctic winter was evidently unknown to the danes. by november every glass vessel on the ships had been broken to splinters by the frost. in the lurid mock suns and mock moons of the frost fog the superstitious sailors fancied that they saw the ominous sign of the cross, portending disaster. one of the surgeons died of exposure, and within a month all the crew were prostrate with scurvy. with the exception, perhaps, of bering's voyage a hundred years later, the record of munck's wintering is one of the most lamentable in all american exploration. 'died this day my nephew, eric munck,' wrote the captain on april 1 of 1620, 'and was buried in the same grave as my second mate. great difficulty to get coffins made. may 6--the bodies of the dead lie uncovered because none of us has strength to bury them.' by june the ships had become charnel-houses. two men only, besides munck, had survived the winter. when the ice went out with a rush and a grinding, and the ebb tide left the flats bare, wolves came nightly, sniffing the air and prowling round the ships' exposed keels. 'as i have no more hope of life in this world,' wrote jens munck, 'herewith good-night to all the world and my soul to god.' his two companions had managed to crawl down the ship's ladder and across the flats, where they fell ravenously on the green sprouting sorrel grass and sea nettles. as all northerners know, they could have eaten nothing better for scurvy. forthwith their malady was allayed. in a few days they came back for their commander. by june 26 all three had recovered. the putrid dead were thrown into the river. ballast and cargo were then cast out. it thus happened that when the tide came in, the little sloop _lamprey_ lifted and floated out to sea. munck had drilled holes in the hull of the _unicorn_ and sunk her with all her freight till he could come back with an adequate crew; but he never returned. war broke out in europe, and munck went to his place in the danish navy. meanwhile indians had come down to what they henceforth called the river of the strangers. when the tide went out they mounted the _unicorn_ and plundered her of all the water-soaked cargo. in the cargo were quantities of powder. a fire was kindled to dry the booty. at once a consuming flame shot into the air, followed by a terrific explosion; and when the smoke cleared neither plunder nor plunderers nor ship remained. eighty years afterwards the fur traders dug from these river flats a sunken cannon stamped c 4--christian iv--and thus established the identity of munck's winter quarters as churchill harbour. munck was not the last soldier of fortune to essay passage to china through the ice-bound north sea. captain fox of hull and captain james of bristol came out in 1631 on separate expeditions, 'itching,' as fox expressed it, to find the north-west passage. private individuals had fitted out both expeditions. fox claimed the immediate patronage of the king; james came out under the auspices of the city of bristol. sailing the same week, they did not again meet till they were south of port nelson in the autumn, when fox dined with james and chaffed him about his hopes to 'meet the emperor of japan.' but there was no need of rivalry; both went back disappointed men. james wintered on charlton island, and towards the end of 1632, after a summer's futile cruising, returned to england with a terrible tale of bootless suffering. * * * * * while england sought a short route to china by hudson bay, and the spaniards were still hoping to find a way to the orient by the gulf of mexico and california, new france had been founded, and, as we may learn from other narratives in this series, her explorers had not been idle. in the year 1660 two french pathfinders and fur traders, medard chouart des groseilliers and pierre esprit radisson, men of three rivers, came back from the region west of lake superior telling wondrous tales of a tribe of indians they had met--a cree nation that passed each summer on the salt waters of the sea of the north. the two fur traders were related, radisson's sister having married groseilliers, who was a veteran of one of the jesuit missions on lake huron. radisson himself, although the hero of many exploits, was not yet twenty-six years of age. did that sea of the north of which they had heard find western outlet by the long-sought passage? so ran rumour and conjecture concerning the two explorers in three rivers and quebec; but radisson himself writes: 'we considered whether to reveal what we had learned, for we had not yet been to the bay of the north, knowing only what the crees told us. we wished to discover it ourselves before revealing anything.' in the execution of their bold design to journey to the north sea, radisson and groseilliers had to meet the opposition of the jesuits and the governor--the two most powerful influences in new france. the jesuits were themselves preparing for an expedition overland to hudson bay and had invited radisson to join their company going by way of the saguenay; but he declined, and they left without him. in june 1661 the jesuits--fathers dreuilletes and dablon--ascended the saguenay, but they penetrated no farther than a short distance north of lake st john, where they established a mission. the fur trade of new france was strictly regulated, and severe punishments were meted out to those who traded without a licence. radisson and groseilliers made formal application to the governor for permission to trade on the sea of the north. the governor's answer was that he would give the explorers a licence if they would take with them two of his servants and give them half the profits of the undertaking. the two explorers were not content with this proposal and were forbidden to depart; but in defiance of the governor's orders they slipped out from the gates of three rivers by night and joined a band of indians bound for the northern wilds. the two frenchmen spent the summer and winter of 1661-62 in hunting with the crees west of lake superior, where they met another tribe of indians--the stone boilers, or assiniboines--who also told them of the great salt water, or sea of the north. in the spring of 1662, with some crees of the hinterland, they set out in canoes down one of the rivers--moose or abitibi--leading to hudson bay. radisson had sprained his ankle; and the long portages by the banks of the ice-laden, rain-swollen rivers were terrible. the rocks were slippery as glass with ice and moss. the forests of this region are full of dank heavy windfall that obstructs the streams and causes an endless succession of swamps. in these the paddlers had to wade to mid-waist, 'tracking' their canoes through perilous passage-way, where the rip of an upturned branch might tear the birch from the bottom of the canoe. when the swamps finally narrowed to swift rivers, blankets were hoisted as sails, and the brigade of canoes swept out to the sandy sea of hudson bay. 'we were in danger to perish a thousand times from the ice,' radisson writes, 'but at last we came full sail from a deep bay to the seaside, where we found an old house all demolished and battered with bullets. the crees told us about europeans. we went from isle to isle all that summer in the bay of the north. we passed the summer coasting the seaside.' had radisson found hudson bay? some historians dispute his claims; but even if his assertion that he sailed 'from isle to isle' during the summer of 1662 be challenged, the fact that his companion, groseilliers, knew enough of the bay to enable him six years later to guide a ship round by sea to 'a rendezvous' on the rupert river must be accepted. the only immediate results of the discovery to radisson and groseilliers were condign punishment, disgrace, and almost utter ruin. when they came back to the st lawrence in the summer of 1663 with several hundred indians and a flotilla of canoes swarming over the surface of the river below the heights of quebec, and conveying a great cargo of beaver skins, the avaricious old governor affected furious rage because the two traders had broken the law by going to the woods without his permission. the explorers were heavily fined, and a large quantity of their beaver was seized to satisfy the revenue tax. of the immense cargo brought down, radisson and groseilliers were permitted to keep only a small remainder. groseilliers sailed for france to appeal to the home authorities for redress, but the friends of the governor at the french court proved too strong for him and nothing was done. he then tried to interest merchants of rochelle in an expedition to hudson bay by sea, and from one of them he obtained a vague promise of a ship for the following year. it was agreed that in the following spring radisson and groseilliers should join this ship at isle percã© at the mouth of the st lawrence. so it happened that, in the spring of 1664, the two explorers, having returned to three rivers, secretly took passage in a fishing schooner bound for anticosti, whence they went south to isle percã© to meet the ship they expected from rochelle. but again they were to be disappointed; a jesuit just out from france informed them that no ship would come. what now should the explorers do? they could not go back to three rivers, for their attempt to make another journey without a licence rendered them liable to punishment. they went to cape breton, and from there to the english at port royal in nova scotia. at port royal they found a boston captain, zachariah gillam, who plied in vessels to and fro from the american plantations to england. gillam offered his vessel for a voyage to hudson bay; but the season was late, and when the vessel reached the rocky walls of labrador the captain lost heart and refused to enter the driving straits. the ship returned and landed the explorers in boston. they then clubbed the last of their fortunes together and entered into an agreement with shipowners of boston to take two ships to hudson bay on their own account in the following spring. but, while fishing to obtain provisions for the voyage, one of the vessels was wrecked, and, instead of sailing for the north sea, radisson and groseilliers found themselves in boston involved in a lawsuit for the value of the lost ship. when they emerged from this they were destitute. chapter iv the 'adventurers of england' in boston the commissioners of his majesty king charles ii were reviewing the affairs of the american plantations. one of the commissioners was sir george carteret, and when he sailed for england in august 1665 he was accompanied by the two french explorers. it gives one a curiously graphic insight into the conditions of ocean travel in those days to learn that the royal commissioner's ship was attacked, boarded, and sunk by a dutch filibuster. carteret and his two companions landed penniless in spain, but, by pawning clothes and showing letters of credit, they reached england early in 1666. at this time london was in the ravages of the great plague, and king charles had sought safety from infection at oxford. thither radisson and groseilliers were taken and presented to the king; and we may imagine how their amazing stories of adventure beguiled his weary hours. the jaded king listened and marvelled, and ordered that forty shillings a week should be paid to the two explorers during that year. as soon as it was safe to return to london--some time in the winter of 1667-68--a group of courtiers became interested in the two frenchmen, and forgathered with them frequently at the goldsmiths' hall, or at whitehall, or over a sumptuous feast at the tun tavern or the sun coffee-house. john portman, a goldsmith and alderman, is ordered to pay radisson and groseilliers â£2 to â£4 a month for maintenance from december 1667. when portman is absent the money is paid by sir john robinson, governor of the tower, or sir john kirke--with whose family young radisson seems to have resided and whose daughter mary he married a few years later--or sir robert viner, the lord mayor, or mr young, a fashionable man about town. no formal organization or charter yet exists, but it is evident that the gentlemen are bent on some enterprise, for peter romulus is engaged as surgeon and thomas gorst as secretary. gillam of boston is hired as captain, along with a captain stannard. at a merry dinner of the gay gentlemen at the exchange, captain gillam presents a bill of five shillings for 'a rat-catcher' for the ships. wages of seamen are set down at â£20 per voyage; and his most gracious majesty, king charles, gives a gold chain and medal to the two frenchmen and recommends them to 'the gentlemen adventurers of hudson's bay.' moreover, there is a stock-book dated this year showing amounts paid in by or credited to sundry persons, among whom are: prince rupert, james, duke of york, the duke of albemarle, the earl of craven, the earl of arlington, the earl of shaftesbury, sir john robinson, sir robert viner, sir peter colleton, sir james hayes, sir john kirke, and lady margaret drax. who was the fair and adventurous lady margaret drax? did she sip wines with the gay adventurers over 'the roasted pullets' of the tun tavern, or at the banquet table at whitehall? then his majesty the king writes to his 'trusty and well beloved brother,' james, duke of york, recommending the loan of the admiralty ship, the _eaglet_, to the two frenchmen to search for a north-west passage by way of hudson bay, the ship 'to be rigged and victualled' at the charge of 'dear cousin rupert' and his friends carteret and albemarle and craven _et al_. the 'well beloved brother' passes the order on to prince rupert, 'our dear cousin'; and the 'dear cousin' transmits instructions to sir james hayes, his secretary. sir james badgers the admiralty board, and in due time the _eaglet_ is handed over to captain stannard, acting under radisson. gillam takes his own plantation ship, the _nonsuch_, under orders from groseilliers. the instructions to the captains are signed by prince rupert, craven, hayes, albemarle, carteret, colleton, and portman. these instructions bid the captains convey the vessels to the place where 'the rendezvous was set up as mr gooseberry and mr radisson direct, there to raise fortifications,' having 'in thought the discovery of a passage to the south sea under direction of mr gooseberry and radisson,' and to prosecute trade always under directions of mr gooseberry and mr radisson, and to have 'a particular [_sic_] respect unto them with all manner of civility and courtesy.' dear old company! from its very origin it conformed to the canons of gentlemanly conduct and laid more emphasis on courtesy than on spelling. those curious instructions were indicative of its character in later times. but we quite understand that there was other object in that voyage than the north-west passage. the two ships sailed for hudson bay in the spring of 1668. in mid-ocean they were driven apart by storms. gillam's _nonsuch_ with groseilliers went on, but the _eaglet_ with radisson was disabled and forced to return, and the season was now too late to permit radisson to set sail again until the following spring. during the interval of enforced idleness radisson seems to have diligently courted mary kirke, the daughter of sir john, and to have written the account of his journeys through the wilds of america. it is possible that radisson was inspired to write these journals by pepys, the celebrated diarist, who was at this time chief clerk of the admiralty, and who lived next door to the kirkes on tower hill. at any rate it is clear that the journals fell into pepys' hands, for they were found two hundred years later in the pepys collection at the bodleian library. in the spring of 1669, on the recommendation of the king, the admiralty lent the ship _wavero_ to the adventurers that radisson might sail to hudson bay. in his eagerness radisson set out too early. for a second time he was driven back by storm, but, on coming in to harbour at gravesend, what was his delight to find the _nonsuch_ back from hudson bay with groseilliers and gillam and such a cargo of furs from the rupert river as english merchants had never before dreamed! the _nonsuch_ had reached hudson strait in august of the year before, and the captain, guided by groseilliers, had steered south for 'the rendezvous' at the lower end of the bay, where the two french explorers had set up their marks six years before. there, at the mouth of the river named rupert in honour of their patron prince, the traders cast anchor on september 25. at high tide they beached the ship and piled logs round her to protect her timbers from ice jams. then they built a fort, consisting of two or three log huts for winter quarters, enclosed in a log palisade. this they named fort charles. the winter that followed must have been full of hardship for the englishmen, but a winter on the bay had no terrors for groseilliers. while gillam and the englishmen kept house at the fort, he coursed the woods on snow-shoes, found the indian camps, and persuaded the hunters to bring down their furs to trade with him in the spring. then, when the wild geese darkened the sky and the ice went out with a rush, preparations were made for the homeward voyage. in june the ship sailed out of the bay and, as we have seen, had docked at gravesend on the thames while the _wavero_ with radisson was coming back. the adventurers lost no time. that winter they applied for a charter, and in may 1670 the charter was granted by king charles to '_the governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay_.' the ostensible object was to find the north-west passage; and to defray the cost of that finding a monopoly in trade for all time was given. whereas, declares the old charter, these have at their own great cost and charge undertaken an expedition to hudson bay for the discovery of a new passage to the south sea and for trade, and have humbly besought the king to grant them and their successors the whole trade and commerce of all those seas, straits, bays, rivers, creeks, and sounds in whatever latitude that lie within the entrance of the straits, together with all the lands, countries, and territories upon the coasts and confines of the seas, straits, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks, and sounds not now actually possessed by any other christian state, be it known by these presents that the king has given, granted, ratified, and confirmed the said grant. the adventurers are free to build forts, employ a navy, use firearms, pass and enforce laws, hold power of life and death over their subjects. they are granted, not only the whole, entire, and only liberty of trade to and from the territories aforesaid, but also the whole and entire trade to and from nations adjacent to the said territories, and entrance by water or land in and out of the said territories. the monopoly could hardly have been made more sweeping. if the adventurers found other territory westward, such territory was to be theirs. other traders were forbidden to encroach on the region. people were forbidden to inhabit the countries without the consent of the company. the company was empowered to make war for the benefit of trade. the charter meant, in a word, the establishment of pure feudalism over a vast region in america. but in the light of the company's record it may be questioned whether feudalism was not, after all, the best system for dealing with the indian races. for two centuries under the company's rule the indians were peaceable; while in other parts of america, under a system the opposite of feudalism--the come-who-may-and-take-who-can policy of the united states--every step forward taken by the white race was marked by 'bloody ground.' absolutism, pomp, formality, and, let it be added, a sense of personal responsibility for retainers--all characteristics of feudalism--marked the rule of the hudson's bay company from the beginning. the adventurers were not merely merchants and traders; they were courtiers and princes as well. rupert, a prince of royal blood, was the first governor; james, duke of york, afterwards king, was the second, and lord churchill, afterwards the duke of marlborough, the third. the annual meetings of shareholders in november and the periodic meetings of the governing committee were held at whitehall, or at the tower, or wherever the court chanced to be residing. all shareholders had to take an oath of fidelity and secrecy: _'i doe sweare to bee true and faithful to ye comp'y of adventurers: ye secrets of ye said comp'y i will not disclose, nor trade to ye limitts of ye said comp'y's charter. so help me god.'_ oaths of fidelity and bonds were required from all captains, traders, and servants. presents of 'catt skin counterpanes for his bedd,' 'pairs of beaver stockings for ye king.' 'gold in a faire embroidered purse,' 'silver tankards,' 'a hogshead of claret,' were presented to courtiers and friends who did the company a good turn. servants were treated with a paternal care. did a man lose a toe on some frosty snow-shoe tramp, the governing committee solemnly voted him 'â£4 smart money,' or 'â£1 for a periwig,' or 'â£10 a year pension for life.' no matter to what desperate straits the company was reduced, it never forgot a captain who had saved a cargo from raid, or the hero of a fight, or a wood-runner who had carried trade inland. for those who died in harness, 'funeral by torch-light and linkmen [torchbearers] to st paul's, company and crew marching in procession, cost not to exceed â£20'; and though the cost might run up higher, it was duly paid, as in one instance on record when the good gentlemen at the funeral had '2 pullets and a dozen bottles of sack' over it at the three tuns. [illustration: john churchill, first duke of marlborough from the painting in the national portrait gallery] perhaps the gay gentlemen of the governing committee made merry too long at times, for it appears to have been necessary to impose a fine on all committee men who did not attend 'yt one hour after ye deputy-governor turns up ye hour glass,' the fines to go to the poor box as 'token of gratitude for god's so great a blessing to ye comp'y.' in february the governing committee was always in a great bustle chartering or buying frigates for the year's voyages. then the goods for trade, to be exchanged with the indians for furs, were chosen and stored. in the list for 1672 are found '200 fowling pieces and 400 powder horns and 500 hatchets.' gewgaws, beads, ribbons, and blankets innumerable were taken on the voyages, and always more or less liquor; but the latter, it should be remarked, was not traded to the indians except in times of keen competition, when the company had to fight rivals who used it in trade. secret orders were given to the captains before sailing. these orders contained the harbour signals. ships not displaying these signals were to be fired on by the forts of hudson bay or lured to wreck by false lights. the sailing orders were always signed 'a god speede, a good wind, a faire saile, y'r loving friends'; and the gentlemen of the committee usually went down to the docks at gravesend to search lockers for illicit trade, to shake hands and toss a sovereign and quaff drinks. from the point where a returning ship was 'bespoken' the chief trader would take horse and ride post-haste to london with the bills and journals of the voyage. these would be used to check unlading. next, the sorting of the furs, the payment of the seamen's wages--about â£20 per year to each man; then the public auction of the furs. a pin would be stuck in a lighted candle and bids received till the light burnt below the pin. sack and canary and claret were served freely at the sales. money accruing from sales was kept in an iron box at the goldsmiths' exchange, and later in the warehouse in fenchurch street. trading in the early days was conducted with a ceremony such as kings might have practised in international treaty. dressed in regimentals, with coloured velvet capes lined with silk, swords clanking, buglers and drummers rattling a tattoo, the white trader walked out to meet the indian chief. the indian prostrated himself and presented the kingly white man with priceless furs. the white man kneeled and whiffed pipes and thanked the sun for the privilege of meeting so great warriors, and through his interpreters begged to present the great chief with what would render him invincible among all foes--firearms. then with much parleying the little furs such as rabbit and muskrat were exchanged for the gewgaws. later, the coming of rival traders compelled the company to change its methods and to fix a standard of trade. this standard varied with the supply of furs and the caprice of fashion; but at first in respect to beaver it stood thus: 1/2 lb. beads 1 beaver. 1 kettle 1 " 1 lb. shot 1 " 5 lbs. sugar 1 " 1 lb. tobacco 1 " 1 gal. brandy 4 " 2 awls 1 " 12 buttons 1 " 20 fish-hooks 1 " 20 flints 1 " 1 gun 12 " 1 pistol 4 " 8 balls 1 " a wicket would be opened at the side of the main gate of the fort. up to this wicket the indians would file with their furs and exchange them according to the standard. tally was kept at first with wampum shells or little sticks; then with bits of lead melted from teachests and stamped with the initials of the fort. finally these devices were supplanted by modern money. we may suppose that the red man was amply able to take care of himself in the trade, especially when rivals at other points were bidding for the furs. if the white man's terms were exorbitant and no rival trader was within reach, the indian's remedy was a scalping foray. oftener than not the indian was in debt for provisions advanced before the hunt. if the indian forgot his debt or carried his fur to a competitor, as he often did in whole flotillas, the white man would have his revenge some season when food was scarce; or, if his physical prowess permitted, he would take his revenge on the spot by administering a sound thrashing to the transgressor. it is on record that one trader, in the early days of moose factory, broke an oar while chastising an indian who had failed in his duty. many of the lonely bachelors at the forts contracted marriage with native women. these marriages were entered on the books of the company, and were considered as valid as if bound by clergy. sometimes they led to unhappy results. when men returned from the service, the indian wife, transplanted to england, lived in wretched loneliness; and the children--'les petits,' as they are entered in the books--were still less at home amid english civilization. gradually it became customary to leave the indian women in their native land and to support them with a pension deducted from the wages of the retired husband and father. this pension was assured by the company's system of holding back one-third of its servants' wages for a retiring fund. if a servant had left any 'petits' behind him, a sum of money was withheld from his wages to provide a pension for them, and a record of it was kept on the books. this rule applied even to men who were distinguished in the service. * * * * * in june 1670, one month after the charter was granted, three ships--the _wavero_, the _shaftesbury pink_, and the _prince rupert_--conveying forty men and a cargo of supplies, sailed for hudson bay. gillam commanded the _prince rupert_, radisson went as general superintendent of trade, and charles bayly as governor of the fort at the rupert river. gorst the secretary, romulus the surgeon, and groseilliers accompanied the expedition. the ships duly arrived at fort charles, and, while bayly and his men prepared the fort for residence and groseilliers plied trade with the indians, radisson cruised the west coast of the bay on the _wavero_. he made observations at moose and albany rivers, and passed north to nelson harbour, where button had wintered half a century before. here, on the projection of land between two great rivers--the future site of york factory--radisson erected the arms of the english king. the southern river he named hayes, after sir james hayes, prince rupert's secretary. the mouth of this river was a good place to get furs, for down its broad tide came the canoes of the assiniboines, the 'stone boilers' whom radisson had met near lake superior long ago, and of the crees, who had first told him of the sea of the north. radisson returned to england with gillam on the _prince rupert_, while groseilliers wintered on the bay; and it appears that, during the next three years, radisson spent the winters in london advising the company, and the summers on the bay, cruising and trading on the west coast. in 1672 he married mary kirke. sir james hayes said afterwards that he 'misled her into marrying him,' but there is nothing to show that the wife herself ever thought so. perhaps radisson hoped that his marriage to the daughter of one of the leading directors of the company would strengthen his position. he received â£100 a year for his services, but, although his efforts had turned a visionary search for the north-west passage into a prosperous trading enterprise, he was not a shareholder in the company. chapter v french and english on the bay every year three ships were sailing to the bay and returning to england laden with peltry; but in 1672 it was observed by the traders at the fort that fewer indians than usual came down the river with furs. in the next year there were still fewer. for some reason the trade was falling off. radisson urged bayly to establish new forts on the west coast, and at length the governor consented to go with him on his regular summer cruise to nelson. when they came back to rupert in august they were surprised to find the fort tenanted by a jesuit from quebec, father albanel, who handed letters to radisson and groseilliers, and passports from the governor of new france to bayly. the sudden decrease of trade was explained. french traders coming overland from the st lawrence had been intercepting the indians. but france and england were at peace and bound in closest amity by secret treaty, and bayly was compelled to receive the passports and to welcome the jesuit, as the representative of a friendly nation, to the hospitality of fort charles. what the letters to radisson and groseilliers contained we can only guess, but we do know that their contents, made the french explorers thoroughly dissatisfied with their position in the hudson's bay company. bayly accused the two frenchmen of being in collusion with the company's rivals. a quarrel followed and at this juncture captain gillam arrived on one of the company's ships. the frenchmen were suspected of treachery, and gillam suggested that they should return to england and explain what seemed to need explaining. the admiralty records for 1674 contain mention of captain gillam's arrival from hudson bay on the _shaftesbury pink_ with 'a french jesuit, a little ould man, and an indian, a very lusty man.' this jesuit could not have been albanel, for in the french archives is conclusive proof that albanel returned to quebec. the 'little ould man' must have been another jesuit found by gillam at the bay. the winter of 1673-74 found radisson and groseilliers back in england pressing the directors of the company for better terms. the governing committee first required oaths of fealty. conferences were multiplied and prolonged; but still radisson and groseilliers refused to go back to the bay until something was done. on june 29, 1674, the governing committee unanimously voted that 'there be allowed to mr radisson â£100 per annum in consideration of services, out of which shall be deducted what hath already been paid him; and if it pleases god to bless the company with good success, hereafter that they come to be in a prosperous condition, then they will reassume consideration.' 'prosperous condition!' at this time the shareholders were receiving dividends of fifty and one hundred per cent. now, in radisson's pockets were offers from colbert, the great minister at the french court, for service in the french navy at three times this salary. abruptly, in the fall of 1674, the two frenchmen left london and took service under colbert. but now another difficulty blocked radisson's advance. colbert insisted that radisson's wife should come to france to live. he thought that as long as madame radisson remained in england her husband's loyalty could not be trusted. besides, her father, sir john kirke, was a claimant against france for â£40,000 damages arising out of the capture of quebec in 1629 by his relatives and its restoration to france in 1632 without recognition of the family's rights. if sir john's daughter was residing in paris as the wife of a french naval officer, the minister saw that this dispute might be more easily adjusted; and so he declined to promote the two frenchmen until madame radisson came to france. in 1679, during shore leave from the navy, radisson met one of his old cronies of quebec--aubert de la chesnaye, a fur trader. 'he proposed to me,' radisson says, 'to undertake to establish the beaver trade in the great bay where i had been some years before on account of the english.' it may be supposed that naval discipline ill-suited these wild wood-wanderers, and after this it is not surprising that we find radisson and groseilliers again in new france at a conference of fur traders and explorers, among whom were la salle, jolliet, charles le moyne, the soldier with the famous sons, and la chesnaye. no doubt radisson told those couriers of the wilderness tales of profit on the sea in the north that brought great curses down on the authorities of new france who forbade the people of the colony free access to that rich fur field. la chesnaye had introduced the brothers-in-law to frontenac, the governor of new france, and had laid before him their plans for a trading company to operate on the great bay; but frontenac 'did not approve the business.' he could not give a commission to invade the territory of a friendly power; still, if la chesnaye and his associates chose to assume risks, he could wink at an invasion of rival traders' domains. a bargain was made. la chesnaye would find the capital and equip two ships, and radisson and groseilliers would make the voyage. the brothers-in-law would sail at once for acadia, there to spend the winter, and in the spring they would come with the fishing fleets to isle percã©, where la chesnaye would send their ships. during the winter of 1681-82 la chesnaye persuaded some of his friends to advance money for provisions and ships to go to the north sea. among these friends were jean chouart, groseilliers' son, and a dame sorrel, who, like the english lady drax, was prepared to give solid support to a venture that promised profit. thus was begun the company of the north[2] (_la compagnie du nord_) that was to be a thorn in the side of the 'adventurers of england' for over thirty years. frontenac granted permission for two unseaworthy vessels, the _st anne_ and the _st pierre_, to fish off isle percã©. strange bait for cod lay in the lockers. [2] while there are earlier records referring to the company of the north, this year (1682) is generally given as the date of its founding. similarly 1670 is taken as the date of the founding of the hudson's bay company, although, as we have seen, it was practically begun three years earlier. with profound disappointment radisson and groseilliers saw at isle percã© in july the boats which they were to have. the _st pierre_, outfitted for radisson, was a craft of only fifty tons and boasted a crew of only twelve men. groseilliers' vessel, the _st anne_, which carried his son, jean chouart, was still smaller and had fifteen men. both crews consisted of freshwater sailors who tossed with woe and threatened mutiny when the boats rolled past the tidal bore of belle isle strait and began threading their way in and out of the 'tickles' and fiords of the ribbed, desolate, rocky coast of labrador. indeed, when the ships stopped to take on water at a lonely 'hole in the wall' on the labrador coast, the mutiny would have flamed into open revolt but for the sail of a pirate ship that appeared on the horizon. thereupon radisson's ships crowded sail to the wind and sped on up the coast. what pirate ship this was may be guessed from what happened three weeks later. early in september the two vessels reached the hayes river, which radisson had named twelve years before and where he had set up the arms of the english king. advancing fifteen miles up-stream, they chose a winter harbour. leaving groseilliers to beach the boats and erect cabins, radisson and young jean chouart canoed farther up to the rendezvous of the cree and assiniboine indians. the indians were overjoyed to meet their trader friend of long past years. the white man's coming meant firearms, and firearms ensured invincible might over all foes. 'ho, young men, be not afraid. the sun is favourable to us. our enemies shall fear us. this is the man we have wished for since the days of our fathers,' shouted the chief of the assiniboines as he danced and tossed arrows of thanks to the gods. when the voyageurs glided back down-stream on the glassy current, other sounds than those of indian chants greeted them. the hayes river, as we have seen, is divided from the nelson on the north by a swampy stretch of brushwood. across the swamp boomed and rolled to their astonished ears the reverberation of cannon. was it the pirate ship seen off labrador? or was it the coming of the english company's traders? radisson's canoe slipped past the crude fort that groseilliers had erected and entered the open bay. nothing was visible but the yellow sea, chopped to white caps by the autumn wind. when he returned to the fort he learned that cannonading had been heard from farther inland. evidently the ships had sailed up the nelson river. now, across the marsh between the two rivers lay a creek by which indian canoes from time immemorial had crossed. taking a canoe and three of his best men, radisson paddled and portaged over this route to the nelson. there, on what is now known as seal or gillam island, stood a crude new fort; and anchored by the island lay a stout ship--the _bachelor's delight_--cannons pointing from every porthole. was it the pirate ship seen off labrador? it took very little parleying to ascertain that the ship was a poacher, commanded by young ben gillam of boston, son of the company's captain, come here on illicit trade, with john outlaw and mike grimmington, who later became famed seamen, as first and second mates. radisson took fate by the beard, introduced himself to young gillam, went on board the ship--not, however, without first seeing that two new englanders remained as hostages with his three frenchmen--quaffed drinks, observed that the ship was stout and well manned, advised ben not to risk his men too far from the fort among the indians, and laughed with joyous contempt when ben fired cannon by way of testing the frenchman's courage. [illustration: on the hayes river from a photograph by r. w. brock] there was enough to try radisson's courage the very next day. while gliding leisurely down the current of the nelson, he saw at a bend in the river the hudson's bay company's ship _prince rupert_, commanded by his quondam enemy, captain gillam, sailing straight for the rendezvous already occupied by ben gillam. at any cost the two english ships must be kept apart; and at once! singly, perhaps they could be mastered by the french. together, they would surely overpower radisson. it was nightfall. landing and concealing his comrades, radisson kindled such a bonfire as indians used to signal trade. the ship immediately anchored. there was a comical meeting on the _prince rupert_ the next morning, at which radisson represented to the new governor, john bridgar, who was on the ship with gillam, that each of his three paddlers was a captain of large ambushed forces. charity will, perhaps, excuse radisson for his fabulous tales of a powerful french fort on the nelson and his disinterested observation that this river had a dangerous current higher up. it appears that radisson succeeded completely in deceiving the englishmen. had they known how helpless he was, with only a few rude 'shacks' on the hayes river garrisoned by twenty or thirty mutinous sailors, surely they would have clapped him under hatches. but he was permitted to leave the ship, and bridgar began the preparation of his winter quarters on the shore. some days later radisson came back. his old enemy gillam was suspicious and ordered him away; but radisson came again, and this time he brought with him the captain's son, young ben, dressed as a wood-runner. this was enough to intimidate the old captain, for he knew that if his son was caught poaching on the bay both father and son would be ruined. one day two of bridgar's men who had been ranging for game dashed in with the news that they had seen a strange fort up the nelson a few miles away. this, of course, bridgar thought, was radisson's fort, and captain gillam did not dare to undeceive him. then a calamity befell the english winterers. a storm rose and set the tidal ice driving against the _prince rupert_. the ship was jammed and sunk with loss of provisions and fourteen men, including the captain himself. so perished captain zachariah gillam, whom we first met as master of the _nonsuch_, the pioneer of all the ships that have since sailed into the bay in the service of the hudson's bay company. [illustration: entrance to nelson and hayes rivers map by bartholomew] the wreck of the ship left bridgar helpless in his rude fort without either food or ammunition, and he at once began to console himself for loss of ship and provisions by deep drinking. then radisson knew that he had nothing further to fear from that quarter and he sent food to the starving englishmen. ben gillam was outwitted through defiantly accepting an invitation to visit the french fort. gillam visited his rivals to spy on their weakness, and openly taunted them at the banquet table about their helpless condition. when he tried to depart he was coolly told that he was a prisoner, and that, with the aid of any nine frenchmen ben chose to pick out from 'the helpless french,' radisson purposed capturing the poacher's fort and ship. the young captain had fallen into a trap. radisson had left french hostages at gillam's fort for his safe return, but these had been instructed to place firearms at convenient places and to post themselves so that they could prevent the sudden closing of the gates. such precautions proved unnecessary. radisson walked into the new england poacher's fort and quietly took possession. a few days later bridgar, who had learned too late that the fort on the nelson was not french but english, marched his men up-stream to contrive a junction with young gillam's forces. when the hudson's bay men knocked on the gate of the new englanders' fort for admission, the sentinel opened without question. the gates clapped shut with a slamming of bolts, and the englishmen found themselves quietly and bloodlessly captured by the intrepid radisson. meanwhile groseilliers and his son, jean chouart, had been plying a thriving trade. to be sure, the ice jam of spring in the hayes river had made radisson's two cockle-shell craft look more like staved-in barrels than merchant ships. but in the spring, when the assiniboines and crees came riding down the river flood in vast brigades of birch canoes laden to the waterline with peltry, the frenchmen had in store goods to barter with them and carried on a profitable trade. radisson now had more prisoners than he could conveniently carry to quebec. rigging up the remnants of his rickety ships for a convoy, he placed in them the majority of the hudson's bay company and new england crews and sent them south to rupert and moose. taking possession of ben gillam's ship, the _bachelor's delight_, he loaded it with a cargo of precious furs, and set out for quebec with bridgar and young gillam as prisoners. jean chouart and a dozen frenchmen remained on the hayes river to trade. twenty miles out from port, bridgar and young gillam were caught conspiring to cut the throats of the frenchmen, and henceforth both englishmen were kept under lock and key in their cabins. but once again radisson had to encounter the governing bodies of quebec. the authorities of new france were enraged when they learned that la chesnaye had sent an expedition to the north sea. in the meantime frontenac had been replaced by another governor, la barre. tax collectors beset the ships like rats long before quebec was sighted, and practically confiscated the cargo in fines and charges. la barre no doubt supposed that the treaty of peace existing between england and france gave him an excuse for seizing the cargo of furs. at all events he ordered radisson and groseilliers to report at once to colbert in france. he restored the _bachelor's delight_ forthwith to ben gillam and gave him full clearance papers. he released bridgar, the company's trader. his stroke of statesmanship left the two french explorers literally beggared, and when they reached paris in january 1684 colbert was dead. but, though ben gillam secured his release from the governor of new france, he did not escape the long hand of the hudson's bay company, who had written from london to mr randolph of the american plantations to effect the arrest of ben gillam at any cost. at the same time they sent randolph a â£10 present of silver plate. on reaching boston, ben gillam was duly arrested. he afterwards became a pirate, and his ultimate fate was involved with that of the famous captain kidd. both were sent to england to be tried for crimes on the high seas; and it is supposed that, like kidd, ben suffered execution. bridgar, suddenly freed from all danger, as suddenly regained a sense of his own importance. he made drafts on the company and set out from quebec in such state as befitted his dignity, with secretary and interpreter and valet. he rode hurriedly along the old post-road between boston and new york, filling the countryside with the story of his adventures. then he took ship to england; but there his valour suffered a sudden chill. the company had refused to honour his bills. they repudiated his drafts, reprimanded him severely, and suspended him from service for several years. mike grimmington and outlaw and the others, who had been shipped down from nelson to moose and rupert, promptly took passage home to england on the company's yearly ship. by the time radisson and groseilliers reached paris, europe was ringing with the outrage involved in their exploits. radisson found small comfort in paris. possibly colbert's death had deprived him of a sympathetic protector, and the french court was as reluctant now to interfere with the actions of the colonial authorities at quebec as it had been twenty years before. after petitioning vainly for consideration, groseilliers seems to have given up the contest and retired for the remainder of his life to a small patrimony near three rivers. not so radisson! he was bound to the old world by marriage; and now international complications came to bind him yet more completely. 'it is impossible,' wrote louis xiv to governor la barre, 'to imagine what you mean by releasing gillam's boat and relinquishing claim to the north sea,' at the same time louis was in a quandary. he would not relinquish the french claim to the north sea; but he dared not risk a rupture of his secret treaty with england by openly countenancing radisson's exploit on the nelson river. radisson was secretly ordered to go back to the bay and, unofficially, in his private capacity, restore the nelson river fur posts to the hudson's bay company. the words of the order in part are: 'to put an end to the differences between the two nations touching the settlements made by messrs groseilliers and radisson on hudson's bay, the said groseilliers and radisson shall return and withdraw the french with all effects belonging to them and shall restore to the english company the habitation by them settled to be enjoyed by the english without molestation.' at the very same time that these royal orders sent radisson to restore the forts, a privateering frigate was dispatched from france to quebec with equally secret orders to attack and sink english vessels on the bay. the 'adventurers of england,' too, were involved in a game of international duplicity. while mr young, the fashionable man about town, wrote letters imploring radisson to come back to england, sir james hayes bombarded the french court with demands that the frenchman be punished. 'i am confirmed,' he wrote, 'in our worst fears. m. radisson, who was at the head of the action at port nelson, is arrived in france the 8th of this month and is in all post haste to undermine us on the bay. nothing can mend but to cause ye french king to have exemplary justice done on ye said radisson.' on may 10, 1684, radisson arrived in london. he was met by mr young and sir james hayes and welcomed and forthwith carried to windsor, where he took the oath of fidelity as a british subject. the company, sunk a month before in the depths of despair, were transported with joy and generous rejoicings, and the governing committee voted mr young thanks for bringing mr radisson from france. two days after radisson's arrival, sir james hayes and mr young reported to the company that mr radisson had tendered his services to the company, that they 'have presented him to our governor, his royal highness, who was pleased to advise he should again be received in service, under wage of â£50 per annum and benefit of dividends on â£200 capital stock during life, to receive â£25 to set him out for this present expedition.' on may 21 sir james hayes reported that he had presented mr radisson with 'a silver tankard, charged to the company at â£10 14. 0.' radisson returned to the bay on the _happy return_, sailed by captain bond. on the same ship went the new governor, william phipps, who had been appointed to succeed bridgar, and a boy named henry kelsey, of whom we shall hear more later. outlaw, who had been with ben gillam, had a commission for the company and sailed the _success_. his mate was mike grimmington, also of the old poacher crew. there was a sloop, too, the _adventure_--captain geyer--for inland waters. when radisson arrived at the hayes river and told jean chouart--who, as we have seen, had been left in charge of the french trade there--of the looting of the fur cargoes at quebec and of the order from the french king to transfer everything to the english, the young frenchman's rage may be imagined. he had risked his entire fortune on the expedition from quebec; but what account did this back-stairs trick of courtiers take of his ruin? radisson told him that he had been commissioned to offer him â£100 a year for service under the english, and â£50 each to his underling traders. jean listened in sullen silence. the furs gathered by the frenchmen were transferred to the holds of the english vessels, but jean and his companions evinced no eagerness to go aboard for england. on september 4, just as the sailors were heaving up anchors to the sing-song of a running chant, phipps, the governor, summoned the french to a final council on board the _happy return_. young jean looked out through the ports of the captain's cabin. the sea was slipping past. the _happy return_ had set sail. the frenchmen were trapped and were being carried to england. in an instant, hands were on swords and the ship was in an uproar. radisson besought his countrymen to bethink themselves before striking. what could five men do against an armed english crew? once in england, they could listen to what the company had to offer: meanwhile they were suffering no harm. the frenchmen sullenly put back their swords. the boat reached portsmouth in the last week of october. radisson took horse and rode furiously for london. if the adventurers had been exultant over his return from france, they were doubly jubilant at his victorious return from the bay. he was publicly thanked, presented with a hundred guineas, and became the lion of the hour. the governing committee on november 14, 1684, three weeks after radisson's return, voted that he had 'done extraordinary service to the great liking and satisfaction of the company...the committee are resolved to bestow some mark of respect to the son of mr groseilliers and order 20s. a week paid him beginning october 30.' a present of seven musquash skins was now given mr young for having induced radisson to resume his services. radisson was requested to make terms with the young frenchman, but this was not such an easy matter. some one suggested that jean chouart should follow the example of his uncle and marry an english wife. jean shrugged his shoulders. in a letter to his mother at three rivers he wrote: 'i am offered proposals of marriage to which i will not listen. i would leave, but they hold back my pay, and orders have been given to arrest me in case i try. cause it to be well known that i never intended to follow the english. i have been forced to this by my uncle's subterfuge. assure m. du lhut of my humble services. i will have the honour of seeing him as soon as i can. tell the same to m. pã©rã© and all our good friends.' to m. comporte he writes: 'i will be at the place you desire me to go, or perish.' as m. du lhut had been dispatched by the company of the north with the knowledge of the governor of quebec to intercept indians going down to the english on hudson bay, and m. pã©rã© and m. comporte were suave diplomats and spies in his service, it may be guessed that the french passed secret messages into the hands of young jean chouart in london, and that he passed messages back to them. at all events, from being doggedly resistant to all overtures, he suddenly became complaisant in march of 1685, and took out papers of 'deninization,' or naturalization, in preference to the oath of fidelity, and engaged with the english company at â£100 a year. he was given another â£100 to fit him out, and his four comrades were engaged at from â£45 to â£80 a year. how could the gentlemen of the company guess that young jean was betraying them to the company of the north in canada, where a mine was being laid to blow up their prosperity? the hudson's bay company declared dividends of fifty per cent, and chartered seven vessels for the season of 1685--some from a goldsmith, sir stephen evance; and bespoke my lord churchill as next governor in place of james, duke of york, who had become king james ii. chapter vi the great overland raid the company now had permanent forts at rupert, albany, and moose rivers on james bay, and at the mouth of the hayes river on the west coast. the very year that churchill was appointed governor and took his place at the board of the governing committee, a small sloop had sailed as far north as churchill, or the river of the strangers, to reconnoitre and fix a site for a post. the fleet of trading vessels had increased even faster than the forts. seven ships--four frigates and three sloops--were dispatched for the bay in 1685. radisson, young jean, and the four frenchmen went on the _happy return_ with captain bond bound for nelson. richard lucas commanded the _owner's good will_. captain outlaw, with mike grimmington as mate, took the big ship _success_, destined for albany. captain hume, with smithsend for mate, took his cargo boat, the _merchant perpetuana_. the company did not own any of these vessels. they were chartered from sir stephen evance and others, for sums running from â£400 to â£600 for the voyage, with â£100 extra for the impress money. the large vessels carried crews of twenty men; the smaller, of twelve; and each craft boasted at least six great guns. in march, after violent debate over old bridgar's case, the committee reinstated him at â£100 a year as governor at rupert. phipps went as governor to port nelson. one nixon was already stationed at moose. bluff old henry sargeant, as true a viking as ever rode the north seas, had been at albany for a year with his family--the first white family known to have resided on the bay. radisson had been reappointed superintendent of trade over the entire bay; and he recommended for this year 20,500 extra flints, 500 extra ice-chisels for trapping beaver above the waterfalls, and several thousand extra yards of tobacco--thereby showing the judgment of an experienced trader. this spring the curious oaths of secrecy, already mentioned, were administered to all servants. it may be inferred that the _happy return_ and the _perpetuana_ were the heaviest laden, for they fell behind the rest of the fleet on the way out, and were embayed, along with outlaw's _success_, in the icefields off digges island in july. it was the realm of almost continuous light in summer; but there must have been fogs or thick weather, for candles were lighted in the binnacles and cabins, and the gloom outside was so heavy that it was impossible to see ten feet away from the decks in the woolly night mist. meanwhile the governor at albany, henry sargeant, awaited the coming of the yearly ships. it may be guessed that he waited chuckling. he and nixon, who seem to have been the only governors resident on the bay that summer, must have felt great satisfaction. they had out-tricked the french interlopers. one la martiniã¨re of the company of the north had sailed into the bay with two ships laden with cargo from quebec for the fur trade; and the two hudson's bay traders had manipulated matters so craftily that not an indian could the french find. not a pelt did la martiniã¨re obtain. the french captain then inquired very particularly for his compatriot--m. radisson. m. radisson was safe in england. one can see old sargeant's eyes twinkle beneath his shaggy brows. la martiniã¨re swears softly; a price is on m. radisson's head. the french king had sent orders to m. de denonville, the governor of new france, to arrest radisson and 'to pay fifty pistoles' to anyone who seized him. has his excellency, m. sargeant, seen one jean pã©rã©, or one m. comporte? no, m. sargeant has seen neither 'parry'--as his report has it--nor 'a comporte.' la martiniã¨re sailed away, and old sargeant sent his sentinel to the crow's nest--a sort of loft or lighthouse built on a high hill behind the fort--to hoist the signals for incoming boats and to run up the flag. he had dispatched sandford or 'red cap,' one of his men, a little way up the albany to bring him word of the coming of the indian canoes; but this was not sandford coming back, and these were not indian canoes coming down the albany river from the up-country. this was the long slow dip of white voyageurs, not the quick choppy stroke of the indian; and before sargeant could rub the amazement out of his eyes, three white men, with a blanket for sail, came swirling down the current, beached their canoe, and, doffing caps in a debonair manner, presented themselves before the hudson's bay man dourly sitting on a cannon in the gateway. the nonchalant gentleman who introduced the others was jean pã©rã©, dressed as a wood-runner, voyaging and hunting in this back-of-beyond for pleasure. a long way to come for pleasure, thought sargeant--all the leagues and leagues from french camps on lake superior. but england and france were at peace. the gentlemen bore passports. they were welcomed to a fort breakfast and passed pretty compliments to madame sargeant, and asked blandly after m. radisson's health, and had the honour to express their most affectionate regard for friend jean chouart. now where might jean chouart be? sargeant did not satisfy their curiosity, nor did he urge them to stay overnight. they sailed gaily on down-stream to hunt in the cedar swamps south of albany. that night while they slept the tide carried off their canoe. back they had to come to the fort. but meanwhile some one else had arrived there. with a fluttering of the ensign above the mainmast and a clatter as the big sails came flopping down, captain outlaw had come to anchor on the _success_; and the tale that he told--one can see the anger mount to old sargeant's eyes and the fear to jean pã©rã©'s--was that the _merchant perpetuana_, off digges island, had been boarded and scuttled in the midnight gloom of july 27 by two french ships. hume and smithsend had been overpowered, fettered, and carried off prisoners to quebec. mike grimmington too, who seems to have been on hume's ship, was a prisoner. fourteen of the crew had been bayoneted to death and thrown overboard. outlaw did not know the later details of the raid--how hume was to be sent home to france for ransom, and mike grimmington was to be tortured to betray the secret signals of the bay, and smithsend and the other english seamen to be sold into slavery in martinique. ultimately, all three were ransomed or escaped back to england; but they heard strange threats of raid and overland foray as they lay imprisoned beneath the chã¢teau st louis in quebec. fortunately radisson and the five frenchmen, being on board the _happy return_, had succeeded in escaping from the ice jam and were safe in nelson. what jean pã©rã© remarked on hearing this recital is not known--possibly something not very complimentary about the plans of the french raiders going awry; but the next thing is that mr jan parry--as sargeant persists in describing him--finds himself in 'the butter vat' or prison of albany with fetters on his feet and handcuffs on his wrists. on october 29 he is sent prisoner to england on the home-bound ships of bond and lucas. his two companion spies are marooned for the winter on charlton island. as well try, however, to maroon a bird on the wing as a french wood-runner. the men fished and snared game so diligently that by september they had full store of provisions for escape. then they made themselves a raft or canoe and crossed to the mainland. by christmas they had reached the french camps of michilimackinac. in another month they were in quebec with wild tales of pã©rã©, held prisoner in the dungeons of albany. france and england were at peace; but the chevalier de troyes, a french army officer, and the brothers le moyne, dare-devil young adventurers of new france, asked permission of the governor of quebec to lead a band of wood-runners overland to rescue pã©rã© on the bay, fire the english forts, and massacre the english. rumours of these raids smithsend heard in his dungeon below chã¢teau st louis; and he contrived to send a secret letter to england, warning the company. in england the adventurers had lodged 'parry' in jail on a charge of having 'damnified the company.' smithsend's letter of warning had come; but how could the company reach their forts before the ice cleared? meanwhile they hired twenty extra men for each fort. they presented radisson with a hogshead of claret. at the same time they had him and his wife, 'dwelling at the end of seething lane on tower hill,' sign a bond for â£2000 by way of ensuring fidelity. 'ye two journals of mr radisson's last expedition to ye bay' were delivered into the hands of the company, where they have rested to this day. the ransom demanded for hume was paid by the company at secret sessions of the governing committee, and the captain came post-haste from france with word of la martiniã¨re's raid. my lord churchill being england's champion against 'those varmint' the french, 'my lord churchill was presented with a catt skin counter pane for his bedd' and was asked to bespeak the favour of the king that france should make restitution. my lord churchill brought back word that the king said: 'gentlemen, i understand your business! on my honour, i assure you i will take particular care on it to see that you are righted.' in all, eighty-nine men were on the bay at this time. it proved not easy to charter ships that year. sir stephen evance advanced his price on the _happy return_ from â£400 to â£750. knight, of whom we shall hear anon, and red cap sandford, of whom the minutes do not tell enough to inform us whether the name refers to his hair or his hat, urged the governing committee to send at least eighteen more men to albany, twelve more to moose, six more to rupert, and to open a trading post at severn between nelson and albany. they advised against attempting to go up the rivers while french interlopers were active. radisson bought nine hundred muskets for nelson, and ordered two great guns to be mounted on the walls. when smithsend arrived from imprisonment in quebec, war fever against the french rose to white-heat. but, while all this preparation was in course at home, sixty-six swarthy indians and thirty-three french wood-runners, led by the chevalier de troyes, the le moyne brothers, and la chesnaye, the fur trader, were threading the deeply-forested, wild hinterland between quebec and hudson bay. on june 18, 1686, moose fort had shut all its gates; but the sleepy sentry, lying in his blanket across the entrance, had not troubled to load the cannon. he slept heavily outside the high palisade made of pickets eighteen feet long, secure in the thought that twelve soldiers lay in one of the corner bastions and that three thousand pounds of powder were stored in another. with all lights out and seemingly in absolute security, the chief factor's store and house, built of whitewashed stone, stood in the centre of the inner courtyard. two white men dressed as indians--the young le moyne brothers, not yet twenty-six years of age--slipped noiselessly from the woods behind the fort, careful not to crunch their moccasins on dead branches, took a look at the sleeping sentry and the plugged mouths of the unloaded cannon, and as noiselessly slipped back to their comrades in hiding. each man was armed with musket, sword, dagger, and pistol. he carried no haversack, but a single blanket rolled on his back with dried meat and biscuit enclosed. the raiders slipped off their blankets and coats, and knelt and prayed for blessing on their raid. the next time the le moynes came back to the sentinel sleeping heavily at the fort gate, one quick, sure sabre-stroke cleft the sluggard's head to the collar-bone. a moment later the whole hundred raiders were sweeping over the walls. a gunner sprang up with a shout from his sleep. a single blow on the head, and one of the le moynes had put the fellow to sleep for ever. in less than five minutes the french were masters of moose fort at a cost of only two lives, with booty of twelve cannon and three thousand pounds of powder and with a dozen prisoners. while the old chevalier de troyes paused to rig up a sailing sloop for the voyage across the bottom of james bay to the rupert river, pierre le moyne--known in history as d'iberville--with eight men, set out in canoes on june 27 for the hudson's bay fort on the south-east corner of the inland sea. crossing the first gulf or hannah bay, he portaged with his men across the swampy flats into rupert bay, thus saving a day's detour, and came on poor old bridgar's sloop near the fort at rupert, sails reefed, anchor out, rocking gently to the night tide. d'iberville was up the hull and over the deck with the quiet stealth and quickness of a cat. one sword-blow severed the sleeping sentinel's head from his body. then, with a stamp of his moccasined feet and a ramp of the butt of his musket, d'iberville awakened the sleeping crew below decks. by way of putting the fear of god and of france into english hearts, he sabred the first three sailors who came floundering up the hatches. poor old bridgar came up in his nightshirt, hardly awake, both hands up in surrender--his second surrender in four years. to wake up to bloody decks, with the heads of dead men rolling to the scuppers, was enough to excuse any man's surrender. the noise on the ship had forewarned the fort, and the french had to gain entrance thereto by ladders. with these they ascended to the roofs of the houses and hurled down bombs--hand-grenades--through the chimneys, 'with,' says the historian of the occasion, 'an effect most admirable.' most admirable, indeed! for an englishwoman, hiding in a room closet, fell screaming with a broken hip. the fort surrendered, and the french were masters of rupert with thirty prisoners and a ship to the good. what all this had to do with the rescue of jean pã©rã© would puzzle any one but a raiding fur trader. with prisoners, ship, cannon, and ammunition, but with few provisions for food, the french now set sail westward across the bay for albany, la chesnaye no doubt bearing in mind that a large quantity of beaver stored there would compensate him for his losses at nelson two years before when the furs collected by jean chouart on behalf of the company of the north had been seized by the english. the wind proved perverse. icefloes, driving towards the south end of the bay, delayed the sloops. again pierre le moyne d'iberville could not constrain patience to await the favour of wind and weather. with crews of voyageurs he pushed off from the ship in two canoes. fog fell. the ice proved brashy, soft to each step, and the men slithered through the water up to the armpits as they carried the canoes. d'iberville could keep his men together only by firing guns through the fog and holding hands in a chain as the two crews portaged across the soft ice. by august 1 the french voyageurs were in camp before albany, and a few days later de troyes arrived with the prisoners and the big sloop. before albany, captain outlaw's ship, the _success_, stood anchored; but the ship seemed deserted, and the fort was fast sealed, like an oyster in a shell. indians had evidently carried warning of the raid to sargeant, and captain outlaw had withdrawn his crew inside the fort. the le moynes, acting as scouts, soon discovered that albany boasted forty-three guns. if jean pã©rã© were prisoner here in durance vile, his rescue would be a harder matter than the capture of moose or rupert. if the french had but known it, bedlam reigned inside the fort. while the english had guns, they had very little ammunition. gunners threw down their fuses and refused to stand up behind the cannon till old sargeant drove them back with his sword hilt. men on the walls threw down muskets and declared that while they had signed to serve, they had not signed to fight, 'and if any of us lost a leg, the company could not make it good.' the chevalier de troyes, with banner flying and fifes shrilling, marched forward, and under flag of truce pompously demanded, in the name of the most christian monarch, louis xiv, king of france, the instant release of monsieur jean pã©rã©. old sargeant sent out word that mister parry had long since sailed for france by way of england. this, however, did not abate the demands of the most christian king of france. bombs began to sing overhead. bridgar came under flag of truce to sargeant and told him the french were desperate. it was a matter of life and death. they must take the fort to obtain provisions for the return to quebec. if it were surrendered, mercy would be exercised. if taken forcibly, no power could restrain the indians from massacre. sargeant, as has been explained before, had his family in the fort. just at this moment one of the gunners committed suicide from sheer terror, and captain outlaw came from the powder magazine with the report that there was not another ball to fire. before sargeant could prevent it, an underling had waved a white sheet from one of the upper windows in surrender. the old trader took two bottles of port, opened the fort gates, walked out and sat down on a french cannon while he parleyed with de troyes for the best terms obtainable. the english officers and their families were allowed to retire on one of the small ships to charlton island to await the coming of the company's yearly boats. when the hungry french rushed into the fort, they found small store of food, but an enormous loot of furs. the season was advancing. the chevalier de troyes bade his men disband and find their way as best they could to quebec. only enough english prisoners were retained to carry the loot of furs back overland. the rest were turned adrift in the woods. of fifty prisoners, only twenty survived the winter of 1686-87. some perished while trying to tramp northward to nelson, and some died in the woods, after a vain endeavour to save their miserable lives by cannibalism. the english flag still flew at nelson; but the french were masters of every other post on the bay. chapter vii years of disaster in spite of french raid and foray, the governing committee in london pursued the even tenor of its way. strict measures were enforced to stop illicit and clandestine trading on the part of the company's servants. in a minute of november 2, 1687, the committee 'taking notice that several of the officers and servants have brought home in their coats and other garments severall pieces of furrs to the great prejudice of the co'y, do order that such as have any garments lined with furrs shall forthwith bring the same to the warehouse and there leave all the same furrs, or in default shall forfeit and loose all salary and be liable to such prosecution as the co'y think fitt.' silent anger and resentment grew against radisson; for was it not he who had revealed the secrets of the great bay to marauding frenchmen? sargeant was sued in â£20,000 damages for surrendering albany; but on second thought, the case was settled by arbitration, and the doughty old trader was awarded â£350. jean chouart and the other frenchmen came back to london in 1689, and jean was awarded â£202 for all arrears. also, about this time, the company began trade with north russia in whale blubber, which, like the furs, was auctioned by light of candle. william of orange was welcomed to the throne, in 1688, with an address from the adventurers that would have put henry viii's parliament to the blush: 'that in all yr. undertakings yr. majesty may bee as victorious as caesar, as beloved as titus, and have the glorious long reign and peaceful end of his majesty augustus.' three hundred guineas were presented along with this address in 'a faire embroidered purse by the hon. the deputy gov'r. upon his humble knees.' for pushing claims of damages against france, sir edward dering, the deputy-governor, was voted two hundred guineas. stock forfeited for breaking oaths of secrecy was voted to a fund for the wounded and widows of the service. the company's servants were put on the same pensions as soldiers in the national service. henceforth 'one pipe of brandy' was to go on each vessel for use during war; but, in spite of 'pipes of brandy,' the seamen were now very mutinous about going aboard, and demanded pay in advance, which with 'faire words doth allay anger.' it was a difficult matter now to charter ships. the company had to buy vessels; and it seems there was a scarcity of ready money, for one minute records that 'the tradesmen are very importunate for their bills.' many new shareholders had come into the company, and 'esquire young' had great ado to convince them that radisson had any rightful claim on them at all. radisson, for his part, went to law; and the arrears of dividends were ordered to be paid. but when the war waxed hotter there were no dividends. then esquire young's petitions set forth that 'm. radisson is living in a mean and poor condition.' when the frenchman came asking for consideration, he was not invited into the committee room, but was left cooling his heels in the outer hall. but the years rolled on, and when, during the negotiation of the treaty of ryswick in 1697, the company pressed a claim of â£200,000 damages against france, 'the committee considering mr peter radisson may be very useful at this time, as to affairs between the french and this co'y, the sec. is ordered to take coach and fetch him to the committee'; 'on wh. the committee had discourse with him till dinner.' the discourse--given in full in the minutes--was the setting forth, on affidavit, of that secret royal order from the king of france in 1684 to restore the forts on the bay to england. meanwhile amounts of â£250 were voted widows of captains killed in the war; and the deputy-governor went to hamburg and amsterdam to borrow money; for the governor, sir stephen evance, was wellnigh bankrupt. a treaty of neutrality, in 1686, had provided that the bay should be held in common by france and england, but the fur traders of new france were not content to honour such an ambiguous arrangement. d'iberville came overland again to rupert river in 1687, promptly seized the english sloop there, and sent four men across to charlton island to spy on captain bond, who was wintering on the ship _churchill_. bond clapped the french spies under hatches; but in the spring one was permitted above decks to help the english sailors launch the _churchill_ from her skids. the frenchman waited till six of the english were up the masts. then, seizing an ax, he brained two sailors near by, opened the hatches, called up his comrades, and, keeping the other englishmen up the mast poles at pistol point, steered the vessel across to d'iberville at rupert. the english on their side, like the french, were not disposed to remain inert under the terms of the treaty. captain moon sailed down from nelson, with two strongly-manned ships, to attempt the recapture of albany. at the moment when he had loaded a cargo of furs from the half-abandoned fort on one of his vessels, d'iberville came paddling across the open sea with a force of painted indian warriors. the english dashed for hiding inside the fort, and d'iberville gaily mounted to the decks of the fur-laden ship, raised sail, and steered off for quebec. meeting the incoming fleet of english vessels, he threw them off guard by hoisting an english flag, and sailed on in safety. when france and england were again openly at war, le moyne d'iberville was occupied with raids on new england; and during his absence from the bay, mike grimmington, who had been promoted to a captaincy, came sailing down from nelson to find albany in the possession of four frenchmen under captain le meux. he sacked the fort, clapped le meux and his men in the hold of his english vessel, carried them off to england, and presented them before the governing committee. captain mike was given a tankard valued at â£36 for his services. at the same time captain edgecombe brought home a cargo of 22,000 beavers from nelson, and was rewarded with â£20 worth of silver plate and â£100 in cash. meanwhile our friend jean pã©rã©, who had escaped to france, was writing letters to radisson, trying to tempt him to leave england, or perhaps to involve him in a parley that would undermine his standing with the english. grimmington's successful foray encouraged the 'adventurers of england' to make a desperate effort to recapture all the forts on the bay. james knight, who had started as an apprentice under sargeant, was sent to albany as governor, and three trusted men, walsh, bailey, and kelsey, were sent to nelson, whence came the largest cargoes of furs. but d'iberville was not the man to let his winnings slip. once more he turned his attention to hudson bay, and on september 24, 1694, the french frigates _poli_ and _salamander_ were unloading cannon, under his direction, beneath the ramparts of nelson. for three weeks, without ceasing day or night, bombs were singing over the eighteen-foot palisades of the fort. from within walsh, kelsey, and bailey made a brave defence. they poured scalding water on the heads of the frenchmen and indians who ventured too near the walls. from the sugar-loaf tower roofs of the corner bastions their sharpshooters were able to pick off the french assailants, while keeping in safety themselves. they killed chateauguay, d'iberville's brother, as he tried to force his way into the fort through a rear wall. but the wooden towers could not withstand the bombs, and at length both sides were ready to parley for terms. with the hope that they might save their furs, the english hung out a tablecloth as a flag of truce, and the exhausted fighters seized the opportunity to eat and sleep. the weather had turned bitterly cold. no ship could come from england till spring. under these conditions, walsh made the best bargain he could. it was agreed that the english officers should be lodged in the fort and should share the provisions during the winter. d'iberville took possession; and again, only one post on the bay--albany, in charge of james knight--remained in english hands. on the miseries of the english prisoners that winter there is no time to dwell. d'iberville had departed, leaving la forest, one of his men, in command. the terms of the surrender were ignored. only four officers were maintained in the fort and given provisions. the rest of the english were driven to the woods. those who hung round the fort were treated as slaves. out of the fifty-three only twenty-five survived. no english ship came to nelson in the following summer--1695. the ship that anchored there that summer was a french privateer, and in her hold some of the english survivors were stowed and carried to france for ransom. in august 1696, however, two english warships--the _bonaventure_ and the _seaforth_--commanded by captain allen, anchored before nelson. la forest capitulated almost on demand; and, again, the english with nelson in their hands were virtually in possession of the bay. allen made prisoners of the whole garrison and seized twenty thousand beaver pelts. while the _bonaventure_ and the _seaforth_ lay in front of the fort, two ships of france, in command of serigny, one of d'iberville's brothers, with provisions for la forest, sailed in, and on sight of the english ships sailed out again to the open sea--so hurriedly, indeed, that one of the craft struck an icefloe, split, and sank. as allen's two english vessels, on their return journey, passed into the straits during a fog, a volley of shot poured across the deck and laid the captain dead on the spot. the ship whence this volley came was not seen; there is no further record of the incident, and we can only surmise that the shot came from serigny's remaining ship. what is certain is that allen was killed and that the english ships arrived in england with an immense cargo of furs, which went to the company's warehouse, and with french captives from nelson, who were lodged in prison at portsmouth. the french prisoners were finally set free and made their way to france, where the story of their wrongs aroused great indignation. d'iberville, who was now in newfoundland, carrying havoc from hamlet to hamlet, was the man best fitted to revenge the outrage. five french warships were made ready--the _pelican_, the _palmier_, the _profond_, the _violent_, and the _wasp_. in april 1697 these were dispatched from france to placentia, newfoundland, there to be taken in command by d'iberville, with orders to proceed to hudson bay and leave not a vestige remaining of the english fur trade in the north. meanwhile preparations were being made in england to dispatch a mighty fleet to drive the french for ever from the bay. three frigates were bought and fitted out--the _dering_, captain grimmington; the _hudson's bay_, captain smithsend; and the _hampshire_, captain fletcher--each with guns and sixty fighting men in addition to the regular crew. these ships were to meet the enemy sooner than was expected. in the last week of august 1697 the english fleet lay at the west end of hudson strait, befogged and surrounded by ice. suddenly the fog lifted and revealed to the astonished englishmen d'iberville's fleet of five french warships: the _palmier_ to the rear, back in the straits; the _wasp_ and the _violent_, out in open water to the west; the _pelican_, flying the flag of the admiral, to the fore and free from the ice; and the _profond_, ice-jammed and within easy shooting range. the hudson's bay ships at once opened fire on the _profond_, but this only loosened the ice and let the french ship escape. d'iberville's aim was not to fight a naval battle but to secure the fort at nelson. accordingly, spreading the _pelican's_ sails to the wind, he steered south-west, leaving the other ships to follow his example. ice must have obstructed him, for he did not anchor before nelson till september 3. the place was held by the english and he could find no sign of his other ships. he waited two days, loading cannon, furbishing muskets, drilling his men, of whom a great many were french wood-runners sick with scurvy. on the morning of the 5th the lookout called down 'a sail.' never doubting but that the sail belonged to one of his own ships, d'iberville hoisted anchor and fired cannon in welcome. no answering shot signalled back. there were sails of three ships now, and d'iberville saw three english men-of-war racing over the waves to meet him, while shouts of wild welcome came thundering from the hostile fort to his rear. d'iberville did not swerve in his course, nor waste ammunition by firing shots at targets out of range. forty of his soldiers lay in their berths disabled by scurvy; but he quickly mustered one hundred and fifty able-bodied men and ordered ropes to be stretched, for hand hold, across the slippery decks. the gunners below stripped naked behind the great cannon. men were marshalled ready to board and rush the enemy when the ships locked. the _hampshire_, under captain fletcher, with fifty-two guns and sixty fighting men, first came up within range and sent two roaring cannonades that mowed the masts and wheel-house from the _pelican_ down to bare decks. at the same time grimmington's _dering_ and smithsend's _hudson's bay_ circled to the other side of the french ship and poured forth a pepper of musketry. d'iberville shouted orders to the gunners to fire straight into the _hampshire's_ hull; sharpshooters were to rake the decks of the two off-standing english ships, and the indians were to stand ready to board. two hours passed in sidling and shifting; then the death grapple began. ninety dead and wounded frenchmen rolled on the _pelican's_ blood-stained decks. the fallen sails were blazing. the mast poles were splintered. railings went smashing into the sea. the bridge crumbled. the _pelican's_ prow had been shop away. d'iberville was still shouting to his gunners to fire low, when suddenly the _hampshire_ ceased firing and tilted. d'iberville had barely time to unlock the _pelican_ from the death grapple, when the english frigate lurched and, amid hiss and roar of flame in a wild sea, sank like a stone, engulfing her panic-stricken crew almost before the french could realize what had happened. smithsend at once surrendered the _hudson's bay_, and mike grimmington fled for nelson on the _dering_. a fierce hurricane now rose and the english garrison at nelson had one hope left--that the wild storm might wreck d'iberville's ship and its absent convoys. smashing billows and ice completed the wreck of the _pelican_; nevertheless the french commander succeeded in landing his men. when the storm cleared, his other ships came limping to his aid. nelson stood back four miles from the sea, but by september 11 the french had their cannon placed under the walls. a messenger was sent to demand surrender, and he was conveyed with bandaged eyes into the fort. grimmington,[3] smithsend, bailey, kelsey--all were for holding out; but d'iberville's brother, serigny, came in under flag of truce and bade them think well what would happen if the hundred indians were turned loose on the fort. finally the english surrendered and marched out with the honours of war. grimmington sailed for england with as many of the refugees as his ship, the _dering_, could convey. the rest, led by bailey and smithsend, marched overland south to the fort at albany. [3] grimmington, with the _dering_, had reached the fort in safety. smithsend's captive ship, the _hudson's bay_, had been wrecked with the _pelican_, but he himself had escaped to the fort. the loss of nelson fell heavily on the hudson's bay company. their ships were not paid for; dividends stopped; stock dropped in value. but still they borrowed money to pay â£20 each to the sailors. the treaty of ryswick, which halted the war with france, provided that possession on the bay should remain as at the time of the treaty, and england held only albany. chapter viii expansion and exploration when the house of orange came to the throne, it was deemed necessary that the company's monopoly, originally granted by the stuarts, should be confirmed. nearly all the old shareholders, who had been friends of the stuarts, sold out, and in 1697, the year of the disaster related in the last chapter, the company applied for an extension of its royal charter by act of parliament. the fur buyers of london opposed the application on the grounds that: (1) the charter conferred arbitrary powers to which a private company had no right; (2) the company was a mere stock-jobbing concern of no benefit to the public; (3) beaver was sold at an extortionate advance; bought at 6d. and sold for 6s. (4) the english claim to a monopoly drove the indians to the french; (5) nothing was done to carry out the terms of the charter in finding a north-west passage. all this, however, did not answer the great question: if the company retired from the bay, who or what was to resist the encroachments of the french? this consideration saved the situation for the adventurers. their charter was confirmed. the opposition to the extension of the charter compelled the company to show what it had been doing in the way of exploration; and the journey of henry kelsey, the london apprentice boy, to the country of the assiniboines, was put on file in the company records. kelsey had not at first fitted in very well with the martinet rules of fort life at nelson, and in 1690, after a switching for some breach of discipline, he had jumped over the walls and run away with the indians. where he went on this first trip is not known. some time before the spring of the next year an indian runner brought word back to the fort from kelsey: on condition of pardon he was willing to make a journey of exploration inland. the pardon was readily granted and the youth was supplied with equipment. accordingly, on july 15, 1691, kelsey left the camping-place of the assiniboines--thought to be the modern split lake--and with some indian hunters set off overland on foot. it is difficult to follow his itinerary, for he employs only indian names in his narrative. he travelled five hundred miles west of split lake presumably without touching on the saskatchewan or the churchill, for his journal gives not the remotest hint of these rivers. we are therefore led to believe that he must have traversed the semi-barren country west of lac du brochet, or reindeer lake as it is called on the map. he encountered vast herds of what he called buffalo, though his description reminds us more of the musk ox of the barren lands than of the buffalo. he describes the summer as very dry and game as very scarce, on the first part of the trip; and this also applies to the half-barren lands west of reindeer lake. hairbreadth escapes were not lacking on the trip of the boy explorer. once, completely exhausted from a swift march, kelsey fell asleep on the trail. when he awoke, there was not a sign of the straggling hunters. kelsey waited for nightfall and by the reflection of the fires in the sky found his way back to the camp of his companions. at another time he awoke to find the high dry grass all about him in flames and his musket stock blazing. once he met two grizzly bears at close quarters. the bears had no acquired instinct of danger from powder and stood ground. the indians dashed for trees. kelsey fired twice from behind bunch willows, wounded both brutes, and won for himself the name of honour--little giant. joining the main camp of assiniboines at the end of august, kelsey presented the indian chief with a lace coat, a cap, guns, knives, and powder, and invited the tribe to go down to the bay. the expedition won kelsey instant promotion. our old friend radisson, from the time we last saw him--when 'the committee had discourse with him till dinner'--lived on in london, receiving a quarterly allowance of â£12 10s. from the company; occasional gratuities for his services, and presents of furs to madame radisson are also recorded. the last entry of the payment of his quarterly allowance is dated march 29, 1710. then, on july 12, comes a momentous entry: 'the sec. is ordered to pay mr radisson's widow as charity the sum of â£6.' at some time between march 29 and july 12 the old pathfinder had set out on his last journey. small profit his heirs reaped for his labours. nineteen years later, september 24, 1729, the secretary was again ordered to pay 'the widow of peter radisson â£10 as charity, she being very ill and in great want.' meanwhile hostilities had been resumed between france and england; but the treaty of utrecht in 1713 brought the game of war again to a pause and restored hudson bay to england. the company received back all its forts on the bay; but the treaty did not define the boundaries to be observed between the fur traders of quebec pressing north and the fur traders of the bay pressing south, and this unsettled point proved a source of friction in after years. after the treaty the adventurers deemed it wise to strengthen all their forts. moose, albany, and nelson, and two other forts recently established--henley house and east main--were equipped with stone bastions; and when churchill was built later, where munck the dane had wintered, its walls of solid stone were made stronger than quebec's, and it was mounted with enough large guns to withstand a siege of european fleets of that day. the company now regularly sent ships to russia; and from russia the adventurers must have heard of peter the great's plan to find the north passage. the finding of the passage had been one of the reasons for the granting of the charter, and the fur buyers' petition against the charter had set forth that small effort had been made in that direction. now, at churchill, richard norton and his son moses, servants of the company, had heard strange rumours from the indians of a region of rare metals north-west inland. all these things the governor on the bay, james knight, pondered, as he cruised up and down from albany to churchill. then the gold fever beset the company. they sent for knight. he was commissioned on june 3, 1719, to seek the north-west passage, and, incidentally, to look for rare minerals. four ships were in the fleet that sailed for hudson bay this year. knight went on the _albany_ with captain barlow and fifty men. he waited only long enough at churchill to leave provisions. then, with the _discovery_, captain vaughan, as convoy, he sailed north on the _albany_. on his ship were iron-bound caskets to carry back the precious metals of which he dreamed, and the framework for houses to be erected for wintering on the south sea. with him went iron-forgers to work in the metals, and whalers from dundee to chase the silver-bottoms of the pacific, and a surgeon, to whom was paid the extraordinary salary of â£50 on account of the unusual peril of the voyage. what became of knight? from the time he left churchill, his journal ceases. another threescore lives paid in toll to the insatiable sea! no word came back in the summer of 1720, and the adventurers had begun to look for him to return by way of asia. then three years passed, and no word of knight or his precious metals. kelsey cruised north on the _prosperous_ in 1719, and hancock on the _success_ in 1720; napper and scroggs and crow on other ships on to 1736, but never a trace did they find of the argonauts. norton, whaling in the north in 1726, heard disquieting rumours from the indians, but it was not till hearne went among the eskimos almost fifty years later that knight's fate became known. his ships had been totally wrecked on the east point of marble island, that white block of granite bare as a gravestone. out of the wave-beaten wreckage the eskimos saw a house arise as if by magic. the savages fled in terror from such a mystery, and winter--the terrible, hard, cutting cold of hyperborean storm--raged on the bare, unsheltered island. when the eskimos came back in the summer of 1720, a great many graves had been scooped among the drift sand and boulders. the survivors were plainly starving, for they fell ravenously on the eskimos' putrid whale meat. the next summer only two demented men were alive. they were clad in rabbit and fox skins. their hair and beards had grown unkempt, and they acted like maniacs. again the superstitious eskimos fled in terror. next summer when the savages came down to the coast no white men were alive. the wolves had scraped open a score of graves. it may be stated here that before 1759 the books of the hudson's bay company show â£100,000 spent in bootless searching and voyaging for the mythical north-west passage. nevertheless study-chair explorers who journeyed round the world on a map, continued to accuse the company of purposely refusing to search for the passage, for fear of disturbing its monopoly. so violent did the pamphleteers grow that they forced a parliamentary inquiry in 1749 into the company's charter and the company's record, and what saved the company then, as in 1713, was the fact that the adventurers were the great bulwark against french aggression from quebec. arthur dobbs, a gentleman and a scholar, had roused the admiralty to send two expeditions to search for the north-west passage. it is unnecessary for history to concern itself with the 'tempest in a teapot' that raged round these expeditions. perhaps the company did not behave at all too well when their own captain, middleton, resigned to conduct the first one on the _furnace bomb_ and the _discovery_ to the bay. perhaps wrong signals in the harbours did lead the searchers' ships to bad anchorage. at any rate arthur dobbs announced in hysterical fury that the company had bribed middleton with â£5000 not to find the passage. middleton had come back in 1742 saying bluntly, in sailor fashion, that 'there was no passage and never would be.' at once the dobbs faction went into a frenzy. baseless charges were hurled about with the freedom of bombs in a battle. parliament was roused to offer a reward of â£20,000 for the discovery of the passage, and the indefatigable dobbs organized an opposition trading company--with a capital of â£10,000--and petitioned parliament for the exclusive trade. the _dobbs galley_, captain moon, and the _california_, captain smith, with the _shark_, under middleton, as convoy for part of the way, went out in 1746 with henry ellis, agent for dobbs, aboard. the result of the voyage need not be told. there was the usual struggle with the ice jam in the north off chesterfield inlet, the usual suffering from scurvy. something was accomplished on the exploration of fox channel, but no north-west passage was found, a fact that told in favour of the company when the parliamentary inquiry of 1749 came on. in the end, an influence stronger than the puerile frenzy of arthur dobbs forced the company to unwonted activity in inland exploration. la vã©rendrye, the french canadian, and his sons had come from the st lawrence inland and before 1750 had established trading-posts on the red river, on the assiniboine, and on the saskatchewan. after this fewer furs came down to the bay. it was now clear that if the indians would not come to the adventurers, the adventurers must go to the indians. as a beginning one anthony hendry, a boy outlawed from the isle of wight for smuggling, was permitted to go back with the assiniboines from nelson in june 1754. hendry's itinerary is not difficult to follow. the indian place-names used by him are the indian place-names used to-day by the assiniboines. four hundred paddlers manned the big brigade of canoes which he accompanied inland to the modern oxford lake and from oxford to cross lake. the latter name explains itself. voyageurs could reach the saskatchewan by coming on down westward through playgreen lake to lake winnipeg, or they could save the long detour round the north end of lake winnipeg--a hundred miles at least, and a dangerous stretch because of the rocky nature of the coast and the big waves of the shallow lake--by portaging across to that chain of swamps and nameless lakes, leading down to the expansion of the saskatchewan, known under the modern name of the pas. it is quite plain from hendry's narrative that the second course was followed, for he came to 'the river on which the french have two forts' without touching lake winnipeg; and he gave his distance as five hundred miles from york,[4] which would bring him by way of oxford and cross lakes precisely at the pas. [4] nelson. throughout this narrative nelson, the name of the port and river, is generally used instead of york, the name of the fort or factory. the saskatchewan is here best described as an elongated swamp three hundred miles by seventy, for the current of the river proper loses itself in countless channels through reed-grown swamps and turquoise lakes, where the white pelicans stand motionless as rocks and the wild birds gather together in flocks that darken the sky and have no fear of man. between lake winnipeg and cumberland lake one can literally paddle for a week and barely find a dry spot big enough for a tent among the myriad lakes and swamps and river channels overwashing the dank goose grass. through these swamps runs the limestone cliff known as the pasquia hills--a blue lift of the swampy sky-line in a wooded ridge. on this ridge is the pas fort. all the romance of the most romantic era in the west clings to the banks of the saskatchewan--'kis-sis-kat-chewan sepie'--swift angrily-flowing waters, as the indians call it, with its countless unmapped lakes and its countless unmapped islands. up and down its broad current from time immemorial flitted the war canoes of the cree, like birds of prey, to plunder the blackfeet, or 'horse indians.' between these high, steep banks came the voyageurs of the old fur companies--'ti-aing-ti-aing' in monotonous sing-song day and night, tracking the clumsy york boats up-stream all the way from tide water to within sight of the rocky mountains. up these waters, with rapids so numerous that one loses count of them, came doughty traders of the company with the swiftest paddlers the west has ever known. the gentleman in cocked hat and silk-lined overcape, with knee-buckled breeches and ruffles at wrist and throat, had a habit of tucking his sleeves up and dipping his hand in the water over the gunnels. if the ripple did not rise from knuckles to elbows, he forced speed with a shout of 'up-up, my men! up-up!' and gave orders for the regale to go round, or for the crews to shift, or for the highland piper to set the bagpipes skirling. hither, then, came hendry from the bay, the first englishman to ascend the saskatchewan. 'the mosquitoes are intolerable,' he writes. 'we came to the french house. two frenchmen came to the water side and invited me into their house. one told me his master and men had gone down to montreal with furs and that he must detain me till his return; but little bear, my indian leader, only smiled and said, "they dare not."' somewhere between the north and south branches of the saskatchewan, hendry's assiniboines met indians on horseback, the blackfeet, or 'archithinues,' as he calls them. the blackfeet indians tell us to-day that the assiniboines and crees used to meet the blackfeet to exchange the trade of the bay at wetaskiwin, 'the hills of peace.' this exactly agrees with the itinerary, described by hendry, after they crossed the south branch in september and struck up into the eagle hills. winter was passed in hunting between the points where calgary and edmonton now stand. hendry remarks on the outcropping of coal on the north branch. the same outcroppings can be seen to-day in the high banks below edmonton. it was on october 14 that hendry was conveyed to the main blackfeet camp. the leader's tent was large enough to contain fifty persons. he received us seated on a buffalo skin, attended by twenty elderly men. he made signs for me to sit down on his right hand, which i did. our leaders [the assiniboines] set several great pipes going the rounds and we smoked according to their custom. not one word was spoken. smoking over, boiled buffalo flesh was served in baskets of bent wood. i was presented with ten buffalo tongues. my guide informed the leader i was sent by the grand leader who lives on the great waters to invite his young men down with their furs. they would receive in return powder, shot, guns and cloth. he made little answer; said it was far off, and his people could not paddle. we were then ordered to depart to our tents, which we pitched a quarter of a mile outside their lines. the chief told me his tribe never wanted food, as they followed the buffalo, but he was informed the natives who frequented the settlements often starved on their journey, which was exceedingly true. hendry gave his position for the winter as eight hundred and ten miles west of york, or between the sites of modern edmonton and battleford. everywhere he presented gifts to the indians to induce them to go down to the bay. on the way back to york, the explorers canoed all the way down the saskatchewan, and hendry paused at fort la corne, half-way down to lake winnipeg. the banks were high, high as the hudson river ramparts, and like those of the hudson, heavily wooded. trees and hills were intensest green, and everywhere through the high banks for a hundred miles below what is now edmonton bulged great seams of coal. the river gradually widened until it was as broad as the hudson at new york or the st lawrence at quebec. hawks shrieked from the topmost boughs of black poplars ashore. whole colonies of black eagles nodded and babbled and screamed from the long sand-bars. wolf tracks dotted the soft mud of the shore, and sometimes what looked like a group of dogs came down to the bank, watched the boatmen land, and loped off. these were coyotes of the prairie. again and again as the brigades drew in for nooning to the lee side of some willow-grown island, black-tailed deer leaped out of the brush almost over their heads, and at one bound were in the midst of a tangled thicket that opened a magic way for their flight. from hendry's winter camp to lake winnipeg, a distance of almost a thousand miles, a good hunter could then, as now, keep himself in food summer and winter with but small labour. most people have a mental picture of the plains country as flat prairie, with sluggish, winding rivers. such a picture would not be true of the saskatchewan. from end to end of the river, for only one interval is the course straight enough and are the banks low enough to enable the traveller to see in a line for eight miles. the river is a continual succession of half-circles, hills to the right, with the stream curving into a shadowy lake, or swerving out again in a bend to the low left; or high-walled sandstone bluffs to the left sending the water wandering out to the low silt shore on the right. not river of the thousand islands, like the st lawrence, but river of countless islands, the saskatchewan should be called. more ideal hunting ground could not be found. the hills here are partly wooded and in the valleys nestle lakes literally black with wild-fowl--bittern that rise heavy-winged and furry with a boo-m-m; grey geese holding political caucus with raucous screeching of the honking ganders; black duck and mallard and teal; inland gulls white as snow and fearless of hunters; little match-legged phalaropes fishing gnats from the wet sand. the wildest of the buffalo hunts used to take place along this section of the river, or between what are now known as pitt and battleford. it was a common trick of the eternally warring blackfeet and cree to lie in hiding among the woods here and stampede all horses, or for the blackfeet to set canoes adrift down the river or scuttle the teepees of the frightened cree squaws who waited at this point for their lords' return from the bay. round that three-hundred mile bend in the river known as 'the elbow' the water is wide and shallow, with such numbers of sand-bars and shallows and islands that one is lost trying to keep the main current. shallow water sounds safe and easy for canoeing, but duststorms and wind make the elbow the most trying stretch of water in the whole length of the river. beyond this great bend, still called the elbow, the saskatchewan takes a swing north-east through the true wilderness primeval. the rough waters below the elbow are the first of twenty-two rapids round the same number of sharp turns in the river. some are a mere rippling of the current, more noisy than dangerous; others run swift and strong for sixteen miles. first are the squaw rapids, where the indian women used to wait while the men went on down-stream with the furs. next are the cold rapids, and boats are barely into calm water out of these when a roar gives warning of more to come, and a tall tree stripped of all branches but a tufted crest on top--known among indians as a 'lob-stick,--marks two more rippling rapids. the crooked rapids send canoes twisting round point after point almost to the forks of the south saskatchewan. here, five miles below the modern fur post, at a bend in the river commanding a great sweep of approach, a gay courtier of france built fort la corne. who called the bold sand-walls to the right heart hills? and how comes it that here are cadotte rapids, named after the famous voyageur family of cadottes, whose ancestor gave his life and his name to one section of the ottawa? [illustration: a camp in the swamp country from a photograph] forty miles below la corne is nepawin, the 'looking-out-place' of the indians for the coming trader, where the french had another post. and still the river widens and widens. though the country is flat, the level of the river is ten feet below a crumbling shore worn sheer as a wall, with not the width of a hand for camping-place below. on a spit of the north shore was the camping-place known as devil's point, where no voyageur would ever stay because the long point was inhabited by demons. the bank is steep here, flanked by a swamp of huge spruce trees criss-crossed by the log-jam of centuries. the reason for the ill omen of the place is plain enough--a long point running out with three sides exposed to a bellowing wind. east of devil's point, the saskatchewan breaks from its river bed and is lost for a hundred and fifty miles through a country of pure muskeg, quaking silt soft as sponge, overgrown with reed and goose grass. here are not even low banks; there are no banks at all. canoes are on a level with the land, and reeds sixteen feet high line the aisled water channels. one can stand on prow or stern and far as eye can see is naught but reeds and waterways, waterways and reeds. below the muskeg country lies cumberland lake. at its widest the lake is some forty miles across, but by skirting from island to island boatmen could make a crossing of only twenty-three miles. far to the south is the blue rim of the pas mountain, named from the indian word pasquia, meaning open country. hendry's canoes were literally loaded with peltry when he drew in at the pas. there he learned a bitter lesson on the meaning of a rival's suavity. the french plied his indians with brandy, then picked out a thousand of his best skins, a trick that cost the hudson's bay company some of its profit. on june 1 the canoes once more set out for york. with the rain-swollen current the paddlers easily made fast time and reached york on june 20. james isham, the governor of the fort, realized that his men had brought down a good cargo of furs, but when hendry began to talk of indians on horseback, he was laughed out of the service. who had ever heard of indians on horseback? the company voted hendry â£20 reward, and isham by discrediting hendry's report probably thought to save himself the trouble of going inland. but the unseen destiny of world movement rudely disturbed the lazy trader's indolent dream. in four years french power fell at quebec, and the wildwood rovers of the st lawrence, unrestricted by the new government and soon organized under the leadership of scottish merchants at montreal, invaded the sacred precincts of the company's inmost preserve. in other volumes of this series we shall learn more of the fur lords and explorers in the great west and north of canada; of the fierce warfare between the rival traders; of the opening up of great rivers to commerce, and of the founding of colonies that were to grow into commonwealths. we shall witness the gradual, stubborn, and unwilling retreat of the fur trade before the onmarching settler, until at last the dominion government took over the vast domain known as rupert's land, and the company, founded by the courtiers of king charles and given absolute sway over an empire, fell to the status of an ordinary commercial organization. bibliographical note on the era prior to the cession (1763) very few printed records of the hudson's bay company exist. most books on the later period--in which the conflict with the north-west company took place--have cursory sketches of the early era, founded chiefly on data handed down by word of mouth among the servants and officers of the company. on this early period the documents in hudson's bay house, london, must always be the prime authority. these documents consist in the main of the minute books of some two hundred years, the letter books, the stock books, the memorial books, and the daily journals kept from 1670 onwards by chief traders at every post and forwarded to london. there is also a great mass of unpublished material bearing on the adventurers in the public record office, london. transcripts of a few of these documents are to be found in the canadian archives, ottawa, and in the newberry library, chicago. transcripts of four of the radisson journals--copied from the originals in the bodleian library, oxford--are possessed by the prince society, boston. of modern histories dealing with the early era beckles willson's _the great company_ (1899), george bryce's _remarkable history of the hudson's bay company_ (1900), and laut's _conquest of the great north-west_ (1899) are the only works to be taken seriously. willson's is marred by many errors due to a lack of local knowledge of the west. bryce's work is free of these errors, but, having been issued before the archives of hudson's bay house were open for more than a few weeks at a time, it lacks first-hand data from headquarters; though to bryce must be given the honour of unearthing much of the early history of radisson. laut's _conquest of the great north-west_ contains more of the early period from first-hand sources than the other two works, and, indeed, follows up bryce as pupil to master, but the author perhaps attempted to cover too vast a territory in too brief a space. data on hudson's tragic voyages come from _purchas his pilgrimes_ and the hakluyt society publications for 1860 edited by asher. jens munck's voyage is best related in the hakluyt publications for 1897. laut's _pathfinders of the west_ gives fullest details of radisson's various voyages. the french state papers for 1670-1700 in the canadian archives give full details of the international quarrels over radisson's activities. on the d'iberville raids, the french state papers are again the ultimate authorities, though supplemented by the jesuit relations of those years. the colonial documents of new york state (16 vols.), edited by o'callaghan, give details of french raids on hudson bay. radisson's various petitions will be found in laut's _conquest of the great north-west_. these are taken from the public records, london, and from the hudson's bay company's archives. chouart's letters are found in the documents de la nouvelle france, tome i--1492-1712. father sylvie, a jesuit who accompanied the de troyes expedition, gives the fullest account of the overland raids. these are supplemented by the affidavits of the captured englishmen (state papers, public records, london), by la potherie's _histoire de l'amã©rique_, by jeremie's account in the bernard collection of amsterdam, and by the relations of abbã© belmont and dollier de casson. the reprint of the radisson journals by the prince society of boston deserves commendation as a first effort to draw attention to radisson's achievements; but the work is marred by the errors of an english copyist, who evidently knew nothing of western indian names and places, and very plainly mixed his pages so badly that national events of 1660 are confused with events of 1664, errors ascribed to radisson's inaccuracy. benjamin sulte, the french-canadian historian, in a series of papers for the royal society of canada has untangled this confusion. robson's _hudson's bay_ gives details of the 1754 period; but robson was a dismissed employee of the company, and his relation is so full of bitterness that it is not to be trusted. the events of the search for a north-west passage and the middleton controversy are to be found in ellis's _voyage of the dobbs and california_ (1748) and the parliamentary report of 1749. later works by fur traders on the spot or descendants of fur traders--such as gunn, hargreaves, ross--refer casually to this early era and are valuable for local identification, but quite worthless for authentic data on the period preceding their own lives. this does not impair the value of their records of the time in which they lived. it simply means that they had no data but hearsay on the early period. see also in this series: _the blackrobes; the great intendant; the fighting governor; pathfinders of the great plains; pioneers of the pacific; adventurers of the far north; the red river colony._ index albanel, father, at rupert, 51. albemarle, duke of, member of hudson's bay company, 36. allen, captain, take port nelson from french, 96; killed, 97. arlington, earl of, 36. assiniboines, or stone boilers, tribe of indians, 29, 104, 106, 112, 115. baffin bay, named after mate of bylot's ship, 21. bailey, captain, sent to nelson, 94; defends fort, 95; surrenders, 101-2. bayley, charles, governor of rupert, 48; on cruise with radisson, 51; accuses radisson and groseilliers of duplicity, 52. blackfeet indians, 115, 116. bond, captain, 68; sails for hudson bay, 73; captured by d'iberville, 92. boston, radisson and groseilliers at, 32. bridgar, john, governor of rupert, 60; taken prisoner by radisson, 63; released by la barre, 64; again governor, 74; ship captured by d'iberville, 83-4. button, thomas, sent to search for hudson, 21. bylot, robert, his search for hudson, 21. cadotte rapids, 120. carteret, sir george, commissioner, takes radisson and groseilliers to england, 34. charles ii receives radisson and groseilliers, 34, 36. charlton island, where hudson probably set adrift, 18; captain james winters at, 27; spies marooned, 79. chateauguay, d'iberville's brother, killed at nelson, 95. chesnaye, aubert de la, fur trader, 54; fits out expedition, 55. chouart, jean, helps la chesnaye's expedition, 55; tricked on board 'happy return,' 69; joins hudson's bay company with the intention of betraying it, 70-2. churchill, lord, duke of marlborough, governor of hudson's bay company, 42, 73, 80. churchill, port, discovery of, 23; danes winter at, 24; fur traders at, 26; strength of fort at, 107. colbert, minister of france, 53-4. cold rapids, 120. colleton, sir peter, 36. columbia river, explorers on, 7. company of the north, 55-6, 72. craven, earl of, 36. crooked rapids, 120. dablon, father, ascends the saguenay, 28. danby island, 19. denonville, m. de, governor of new france, 76. dering, sir edward, rewarded for pushing claim against france, 90. digges, english merchant adventurer, 9; finances search for hudson, 21, 22. dobbs, arthur, and the north-west passage, 110-12. drax, lady margaret, 36. drueilletes, father, ascends the saguenay, 28. evance, sir stephen, governor of hudson's bay company, 74, 81, 92. fletcher, captain, 98, 100-1. fort albany, 74, 75, 107; pã©rã© imprisoned in, 79. fort charles, established by groseilliers, 39, 49. fort chipewyan, 6. fort edmonton, 7. fort frances, story of a resident of, 19. fort garry, 1. fort la corne, 120. fort moose, 47, 81, 83, 107. fox, captain, 26, 27. frontenac, governor of new france, 51; meets radisson and groseilliers, 55. geyer, captain, 68. gibbon, captain, 21. gillam, ben, 58; arrested in boston, 64; becomes a pirate and is executed, 64. gillam island, 58. gillam, zachariah, boston sea captain, 32; in the service of the hudson's bay company, 35, 37, 39, 48; at fort charles, 52; perishes, 61. gorst, thomas, secretary of the hudson's bay company, 35; sails for hudson bay, 48. grand rapids, 3, 4; portage, 6. greene, henry, with hudson, 10, 15; mutiny, 17; death, 20. grimmington, mike, with ben gillam, 59; with the hudson's bay company, 68, 73; taken prisoner, 78; re-captures albany, 93; sent to hudson bay, 98, 100; flees to nelson, 101; sails for england with refugees, 102. groseilliers, medard chouart des, french pathfinder, 27; veteran of jesuit missions, 28; goes to hudson bay with radisson, 29, 30; goes to france for redress for seizure of furs, 31; returns to three rivers, 32; goes to anticosti, port royal, and boston, 32; presented to charles ii, 34; receives gold chain and medal, 36; explores hudson bay country, 39; with 1670 expedition, 48; back in england demanding better terms, 53; goes to new france, 54; on fur-trading expedition, 56; returns to quebec and to france, 64, 65; retires to home near three rivers, 66. hannah bay, 12, d'iberville crosses, 83. hayes river, named by radisson, 49, 57. hayes, sir james, secretary to prince rupert, 36, 37; meets radisson, 67. hearne, hears fate of knight's party, 109. hendry, anthony, his inland journey on behalf of the company, 112-22. henley house, 107. hudson, henry, his search for north-west passage, 9-13; shipwrecked, 13; his hard time on shore with mutinous crew, 13-16; cast adrift, 18; traditions as to end, 18, 19. hudson's bay company, dog brigades of, 1-2; extent of empire, 6-7; origin and formation of, 34-50; engages radisson, 67; dividends and vessels of, 72-5, 102; disastrous conflicts with the french, 75-88, 92-102; activities of in council, 89-90; claims damages against france, 91; their charter confirmed, 103-4; forts restored by treaty of utrecht, 107; commissions james knight to find north-west passage, 108-10; parliamentary inquiry into charter and record of, 110. hume, captain, 73; taken prisoner to quebec, 78; ransomed, 80. iberville, pierre le moyne d', his raids in hudson bay, 83-4, 92-3; attacks and takes port nelson, 94-5; in command of five french warships, 97-8; naval battle on hudson bay, 99-101; again takes nelson, 101-2. isham, james, governor of york, 122. james, captain, 18; searches for north-west passage, 26; meets captain fox and winters on charlton island, 27. james, duke of york (james ii), 36, 42. jesuits, their expedition overland to hudson bay, 28. juet, mate of 'discovery,' 10; mutinies, 12, 17; death, 20. kelsey, henry, 68; sent to nelson, 94; defends fort, 95, 101; his journey of exploration, 104-6; searches for knight, 109. kirke, sir john, 35, 36; his claim against france, 54. knight, james, 81; governor of albany, 94; commissioned to find north-west passage, 108; his fate, 109. la barre, governor of new france, 63-4. la chesnaye, fur trader, in attack on hudson bay posts, 81, 84-7. la forest, surrenders at nelson, 96. la martiniã¨re, 75, 76, 80. la vã©rendrye, establishes fur-trading posts on red river, 112. le meux, captain, surrenders at fort albany, 93. le moyne brothers, adventurers of new france, 79, 81-3. see iberville, serigny, and chateauguay. middleton, captain, and the north-west passage, 111. moon, captain, 93, 111. munck, jens, winters with ship at churchill, 23-4; record of voyage, 24-6. nelson, port, button's crew encamped at, 21; fur post, 81; captured, 101; restored, 107. see york factory. nepawin, 121. new france, explorers of, 27; jesuits in, 28; fur trade of, 29. nixon, governor at moose, 74, 75. northern lights, 14 note. north-west passage, 9, 22, 40, 107, 108, 110, 111. norton, moses, 108. norton, richard, 108. outlaw, captain john, 58, 68, 73, 77. pepys, samuel, 38. pã©rã©, jean, taken prisoner, 78, 79, 84; his release demanded, 86. phipps, william, governor of port nelson, 68, 74. portman, john, 35. radisson, pierre esprit, explorer, 8, 19; hears of sea of the north, 27; refused permission to trade, 29; leaves three rivers by night, 29; goes to hudson bay, 29, 30; furs seized by governor at quebec, 31; goes to port royal and boston, 32; presented to charles ii in england, 34; receives gold chain and medal, 36; and the hudson's bay company, 40; made general superintendent of trade, 48; returns to england, 49, marries mary kirke, 49; suspected of treachery at rupert, 51-2; returns to england, 53; joins french navy, 53; goes again to new france, 54; leads french expedition to bay, 55-7; explores hayes river, 57; captures ben gillam's fort, 61; captures bridgar, 62; sets out for quebec with prisoners and booty, 63; la barre strips him of ship and booty 64; returns to paris, 65; ordered by france to return fur posts to hudson's bay company, 66; takes oath of allegiance to england, 67; returns to the bay, 68; returns to england, 70; goes again to hudson bay, 73; reappointed superintendent of trade, 74; price set on his head by france, 76; his claims for services repudiated, 91; assists company in claim for damages, 91-2; death, 106. randolph, mr, of the american plantations, 64. robinson, sir john, 35, 36. romulus, peter, surgeon, 35, 48. rupert, 81; captured by french, 84. rupert, prince, 36, 42. rupert's land, taken over by dominion government, 123. ryswick, treaty of, 91, 102. st john, lake, jesuit mission near, 28. sandford, red cap, 76, 81. sargeant, henry, governor at albany, 74, 75; attacked by french 86; surrenders, 87. saskatchewan river, 2, 7; description, 113-15, 118-21. serigny, d'iberville's brother, 96, 101. shaftsbury, earl of, 36. smithsend, captain, 73; taken prisoner, 78; from a dungeon in quebec sends a letter of warning to england, 79; reaches england, 81; sails for hudson bay, 98, 100; surrenders ship to d'iberville, 101; escapes to nelson, 101 note; goes to albany, 102. sorrel, dame, helps to finance french expedition to hudson bay, 55. squaw rapids, 120. stannard, captain, 37. strangers, river of, 26. three rivers, radisson and groseilliers return to, 27, 28, 66. troyes, chevalier de, 79, 81, 83, 85. utrecht, treaty of, 107. vaughan, captain, 108. viner, sir robert, 35, 36. william of orange, 90. winnipeg, 1. wolstenholme, english merchant, 9; financed search for hudson, 21, 22. york factory, 113 and note 117. see nelson. young, mr, 35, 67, 91. footnotes: [1] the northern lights. printed by t. and a. constable, printers to his majesty at the edinburgh university press * * * * * transcriber's note: the page numbers of illustrations have been changed to reflect their new positions following transcription, and they are now indicated in the illustration list by 'page' instead of 'facing page'. proofreading team. [transcriber's note: because this is a personal narrative, inconsistencies in spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, and italicization have been preserved in cases where it is not clearly an error from the original printing.] [illustration: astoria, as it was in 1813.] narrative of a voyage to the northwest coast of america in the years 1811, 1812, 1813, and 1814 or the first american settlement on the pacific by gabriel franchere translated and edited by j.v. huntington redfield 110 and 112 nassau street, new york 1854. entered, according to act of congress, in the year 1854, by j.s. redfield, in the clerk's office of the district court of the united states, in and for the southern district of new york. preface to the second edition. in 1846, when the boundary question (that of the oregon territory in particular) was at its height, the hon. thomas h. benton delivered in the united states senate a decisive speech, of which the following is an extract:-"now for the proof of all i have said. i happen to have in my possession the book of all others, which gives the fullest and most authentic details on all the points i have mentioned--a book written at a time, and under circumstances, when the author (himself a british subject and familiar on the columbia) had no more idea that the british would lay claim to that river, than mr. harmon, the american writer whom i quoted, ever thought of our claiming new caledonia. it is the work of mr. franchere, a gentleman of montreal, with whom i have the pleasure to be personally acquainted, and one of those employed by mr. astor in founding his colony. he was at the founding of astoria, at its sale to the northwest company, saw the place seized as a british conquest, and continued there after its seizure. he wrote in french: his work has not been done into english, though it well deserves it; and i read from the french text. he gives a brief and true account of the discovery of the columbia." i felt justly proud of this notice of my unpretending work, especially that the latter should have contributed, as it did, to the amicable settlement of the then pending difficulties. i have flattered myself ever since, that it belonged to the historical literature of the great country, which by adoption has become mine. the re-perusal of "astoria" by washington irving (1836) inspired me with an additional motive for giving my book in an english dress. without disparagement to mr. irving's literary, fame, i may venture to say that i found in his work inaccuracies, misstatements (unintentional of course), and a want of chronological order, which struck forcibly one so familiar with the events themselves. i thought i could show--or rather that my simple narration, of itself, plainly discovered--that some of the young men embarked in that expedition (which founded our pacific empire), did not merit the ridicule and contempt which captain thorn attempted to throw upon them, and which perhaps, through the genius of mr. irving, might otherwise remain as a lasting stigma on their characters. but the consideration which, before all others, prompts me to offer this narrative to the american reading public, is my desire to place before them, therein, a simple and connected account (which at this time ought to be interesting), of the early settlement of the oregon territory by one of our adopted citizens, the enterprising merchant john jacob astor. the importance of a vast territory, which at no distant day may add two more bright stars to our national banner, is a guarantee that my humble effort will be appreciated. * * * * * note by the editor. it has been the editor's wish to let mr. franchere speak for himself. to preserve in the translation the defoe-like simplicity of the original narrative of the young french canadian, has been his chief care. having read many narratives of travel and adventure in our northwestern wilderness, he may be permitted to say that he has met with none that gives a more vivid and picturesque description of it, or in which the personal adventures of the narrator, and the varying fortunes of a great enterprise, mingle more happily, and one may say, more dramatically, with the itinerary. the clerkly minuteness of the details is not without its charm either, and their fidelity speaks for itself. take it altogether, it must be regarded as a fragment of our colonial history saved from oblivion; it fills up a vacuity which mr. irving's classic work does not quite supply; it is, in fact, the only account by an eye-witness and a participator in the enterprise, of the first attempt to form a settlement on the pacific under the stars and stripes. the editor has thought it would be interesting to add mr. franchere's preface to the original french edition, which will be found on the next page. baltimore, _february 6, 1854_. preface to the french edition. when i was writing my journal on the vessel which carried me to the northwest coast of north america, or in the wild regions of this continent, i was far from thinking that it would be placed one day before the public eye. i had no other end in writing, but to procure to my family and my friends a more exact and more connected detail of what i had seen or learned in the course of my travels, than it would have been possible for me to give them in a _viva voce_ narration. since my return to my native city, my manuscript has passed into various hands and has been read by different persons: several of my friends immediately advised me to print it; but it is only quite lately that i have allowed myself to be persuaded, that without being a learned naturalist, a skilful geographer, or a profound moralist, a traveller may yet interest by the faithful and succinct account of the situations in which he has found himself, the adventures which have happened to him, and the incidents of which he has been a witness; that if a simple ingenuous narrative, stripped of the merit of science and the graces of diction, must needs be less enjoyed by the man of letters or by the _savant_, it would have, in compensation, the advantage of being at the level of a greater number of readers; in fine, that the desire of affording an entertainment to his countrymen, according to his capacity, and without any mixture of the author's vanity or of pecuniary interest, would be a well-founded title to their indulgence. whether i have done well or ill in yielding to these suggestions, which i am bound to regard as those of friendship, or of good-will, it belongs to the impartial and disinterested reader, to decide. montreal, 1819. contents. chapter i. departure from montreal.--arrival in new york.--description of that city.--names of the persons engaged in the expedition. chapter ii. departure from new york.--reflections of the author.--navigation, falling in with other ships, and various incidents, till the vessel comes in sight of the falkland isles. chapter iii. arrival at the falkland isles.--landing.--perilous situation of the author and some of his companions.--portrait of captain thorn.--cape horn.--navigation to the sandwich islands. chapter iv. accident.--view of the coast.--attempted visit of the natives.--their industry.--bay of karaka-koua.--landing on the island.--john young, governor of owahee. chapter v. bay of ohetity.--tamehameha, king of the island.--his visit to the ship.--his capital.--his naval force.--his authority.--productions of the country.--manners and customs.--reflections. chapter vi. departure from wahoo.--storm.--arrival at the mouth of the columbia.--reckless order of the captain.--difficulty of the entrance.--perilous situation of the ship.--unhappy fate of a part of the crew and people of the expedition. chapter vii. regrets of the author at the loss of his companions.--obsequies of a sandwich-islander.--first steps in the formation of the intended establishment.--new alarm.--encampment. chapter viii. voyage up the river.--description of the country.--meeting with strange indians. chapter ix. departure of the tonquin.--indian messengers.--project of an expedition to the interior.--arrival of mr. daniel thompson.--departure of the expedition.--designs upon us by the natives.--rumors of the destruction of the tonquin.--scarcity of provisions.--narrative of a strange indian.--duplicity and cunning of comcomly. chapter x. occupation at astoria.--return of a portion of the men of the expedition to the interior.--new expedition.--excursion in search of three deserters. chapter xi. departure of mr. r. stuart for the interior.--occupations at astoria.--arrival of messrs. donald m'kenzie and robert m'lellan.--account of their journey.--arrival of mr. wilson p. hunt. chapter xii. arrival of the ship beaver.--unexpected return of messrs. d. stuart, b. stuart, m'lelland, &c.--cause of that return.--ship discharging.--new expeditions.--hostile attitude of the natives.--departure of the beaver.--journeys of the author.--his occupations at the establishment. chapter xiii. uneasiness respecting the "beaver."--news of the declaration of war between great britain and the united states.--consequences of that intelligence.--different occurrences.--arrival of two canoes of the northwest company.--preparations for abandoning the country.--postponement of departure.--arrangement-with mr. j.g. m'tavish. chapter xiv. arrival of the ship "albatross."--reasons for the non-appearance of the beaver at astoria.--fruitless attempt of captain smith on a former occasion.--astonishment and regret of mr. hunt at the resolution of the partners.--his departure.--narrative of the destruction of the tonquin.--causes of that disaster.--reflections. chapter xv. arrival of a number of canoes of the northwest company.--sale of the establishment at astoria to that company.--canadian news.--arrival of the british sloop-of-war "raccoon."--accident on board that vessel.--the captain takes formal possession of astoria.--surprise and discontent of the officers and crew.--departure of the "raccoon." chapter xvi. expeditions to the interior.--return of messrs. john stuart and d. m'kenzie.--theft committed by the natives.--war party against the thieves. chapter xvii. description of tongue point.--a trip to the _willamet_.--arrival of w. hunt in the brig pedlar.--narrative of the loss of the ship lark.--preparations for crossing the continent. chapter xviii. situation of the columbia river.--qualities of its soil.--climate, &c.--vegetable and animal productions of the country. chapter xix. manners, customs, occupations, &c., of the natives on the river columbia. chapter xx. manners and customs of the natives continued.--their wars.--their marriages.--medicine men.--funeral ceremonies.--religious notions.--language. chapter xxi. departure from astoria or fort george.--accident.--passage of the dalles or narrows.--great columbian desert.--aspect of the country.--wallawalla and sha-aptin rivers.--rattlesnakes.--some details regarding the natives of the upper columbia. chapter xxii. meeting with the widow of a hunter.--her narrative.--reflections of the author.--priest's rapid.--river okenakan.--kettle falls.--pine moss.--scarcity of food.--rivers, lakes, &c.--accident.--a rencontre.--first view of the rocky mountains. chapter xxiii. course of the columbian river.--canoe river.--foot-march toward the rocky mountains.--passage of the mountains. chapter xxiv. arrival at the fort of the mountains.--description of this post.--some details in regard to the rocky mountains.--mountain sheep, &c.--continuation of the journey.--unhappy accident.--reflections.--news from canada.--hunter's lodge.--pembina and red deer rivers. chapter xxv. red deer lake.--antoine déjarlais.--beaver river.--n. nadeau.--moose river.--bridge lake.--saskatchawine river.--fort vermilion.--mr. hallet.--trading-houses.--beautiful country.--reflections. chapter xxvi. fort montée.--cumberland house.--lake bourbon.--great winipeg rapids.--lake winipeg.--trading-house.--lake of the woods.--rainy lake house, &c. chapter xxvii. arrival at fort william.--description of that post--news from the river columbia. chapter xxviii. departure from fort william.--navigation on lake superior.--michipicoton bay.--meeting a canoe.--batchawainon bay.--arrival at saut ste. marie.--occurrences there.--departure.--lake huron.--french river.--lake nipissing.--ottawa river.--kettle falls.--rideau river.--long-saut.--arrival in montreal.--conclusion. chapter xxix. present state of the countries visited by the author.--correction of mr. irving's statements respecting st. louis. appendix. mr. seton's adventures.--survivors of the expedition in 1851.--author's protest against some expressions in mr. irving's "astoria."--editor's note. introduction. since the independence of the united states of america, the merchants of that industrious and enterprising nation have carried on an extremely advantageous commerce on the northwest coast of this continent. in the course of their voyages they have made a great number of discoveries which they have not thought proper to make public; no doubt to avoid competition in a lucrative business. in 1792, captain gray, commanding the ship columbia of boston, discovered in latitude 46° 19" north, the entrance of a great bay on the pacific coast. he sailed into it, and having perceived that it was the outlet or estuary of a large river, by the fresh water which he found at a little distance from the entrance, he continued his course upward some eighteen miles, and dropped anchor on the left bank, at the opening of a deep bay. there he made a map or rough sketch of what he had seen of this river (accompanied by a written description of the soundings, bearings, &c.); and having finished his traffic with the natives (the object of his voyage to these parts), he put out to sea, and soon after fell in with captain vancouver, who was cruising by order of the british government, to seek new discoveries. mr. gray acquainted him with the one he had just made, and even gave him a copy of the chart he had drawn up. vancouver, who had just driven off a colony of spaniards established on the coast, under the command of señor quadra (england and spain being then at war), despatched his first-lieutenant broughton, who ascended the river in boats some one hundred and twenty or one hundred and fifty miles, took possession of the country in the name of his britannic majesty, giving the river the name of the _columbia_, and to the bay where the american captain stopped, that of _gray's bay_. since that period the country had been seldom visited (till 1811), and chiefly by american ships. sir alexander mckenzie, in his second overland voyage, tried to reach the western ocean by the columbia river, and thought he had succeeded when he came out six degrees farther north, at the bottom of puget's sound, by another river.[a] in 1805, the american government sent captains lewis and clark, with about thirty men, including some kentucky hunters, on an overland journey to the mouth of the columbia. they ascended the missouri, crossed the mountains at the source of that river, and following the course of the columbia, reached the shores of the pacific, where they were forced to winter. the report which they made of their expedition to the united states government created a lively sensation.[b] [footnote a: mckenzie's travels.] [footnote b: lewis and clark's report.] mr. john jacob astor, a new york merchant, who conducted almost alone the trade in furs south of the great lakes huron and superior, and who had acquired by that commerce a prodigious fortune, thought to augment it by forming on the banks of the columbia an establishment of which the principal or supply factory should be at the mouth of that river. he communicated his views to the agents of the northwest company; he was even desirous of forming the proposed establishment in concert with them; but after some negotiations, the inland or wintering partners of that association of fur-traders having rejected the plan, mr. astor determined to make the attempt alone. he needed for the success of his enterprise, men long versed in the indian trade, and he soon found them. mr. alexander m'kay (the same who had accompanied sir alexander m'kenzie in his travels overland), a bold and enterprising man, left the northwest company to join him; and soon after, messrs duncan m'dougal and donald m'kenzie (also in the service of the company) and messrs. david stuart and robert stuart, all of canada, did the same. at length, in the winter of 1810, a mr. wilson price hunt of st. louis, on the mississippi, having also joined them, they determined that the expedition should be set on foot in the following spring. it was in the course of that winter that one of my friends made me acquainted in confidence with the plan of these gentlemen, under the injunction of strictest secrecy. the desire of seeing strange countries, joined to that of acquiring a fortune, determined me to solicit employment of the new association; on the 20th of may i had an interview with mr. a. m'kay, with whom the preliminaries were arranged; and on the 24th of the same month i signed an agreement as an apprenticed clerk for the term of five years. when the associates had engaged a sufficient number of canadian boatmen, they equipped a bark canoe under charge of messrs. hunt and m'kenzie, with a mr. perrault as clerk, and a crew of fourteen men. these gentlemen were to proceed to mackinaw, and thence to st. louis, hiring on the way as many men as they could to man the canoes, in which, from the last-mentioned port, they were to ascend the missouri to its source, and there diverging from the route followed by lewis and clark, reach the mouth of the columbia to form a junction with another party, who were to go round by way of cape horn. in the course of my narrative i shall have occasion to speak of the success of both these expeditions. narrative of a voyage to the northwest coast of america chapter i. departure from montreal.--arrival in new york.--description of that city.--names of the persons engaged in the expedition. we remained in montreal the rest of the spring and a part of the summer. at last, having completed our arrangements for the journey, we received orders to proceed, and on the 26th of july, accompanied by my father and brothers and a few friends, i repaired to the place of embarkation, where was prepared a birch bark canoe, manned by nine canadians, having mr. a. m'kay as commander, and a mr. a. fisher as passenger. the sentiments which i experienced at that moment would be as difficult for me to describe as they were painful to support; for the first time in my life i quitted the place of my birth, and was separated from beloved parents and intimate friends, having for my whole consolation the faint hope of seeing them again. we embarked at about five, p.m., and arrived at la prairie de la madeleine (on the opposite side of the st. lawrence), toward eight o'clock.[c] we slept at this village, and the next morning, very early, having secured the canoe on a wagon, we got in motion again, and reached st. john's on the river richelieu, a little before noon. here we relaunched our canoe (after having well calked the seams), crossed or rather traversed the length of lake champlain, and arrived at whitehall on the 30th. there we were overtaken by mr. ovid de montigny, and a mr. p.d. jeremie, who were to be of the expedition. [footnote c: this place is famous in the history of canada, and more particularly in the thrilling story of the indian missions.--ed.] having again placed our canoe on a wagon, we pursued our journey, and arrived on the 1st of august at lansingburg, a little village situated on the bank of the river hudson. here we got our canoe once more afloat, passed by troy, and by albany, everywhere hospitably received, our canadian boatmen, having their hats decorated with parti-colored ribands and feathers, being taken by the americans for so many wild indians, and arrived at new york on the 3d, at eleven o'clock in the evening. we had landed at the north end of the city, and the next day, being sunday, we re-embarked, and were obliged to make a course round the city, in order to arrive at our lodgings on long island. we sang as we rowed; which, joined to the unusual sight of a birch bark canoe impelled by nine stout canadians, dark as indians, and as gayly adorned, attracted a crowd upon the wharves to gaze at us as we glided along. we found on long island (in the village of brooklyn) those young gentlemen engaged in the service of the new company, who had left canada in advance of our party. the vessel in which we were to sail not being ready, i should have found myself quite isolated and a stranger in the great city of new york, but for a letter of introduction to mr. g----, given me on my setting out, by madame his sister. i had formed the acquaintance of this gentleman during a stay which he had made at montreal in 1801; but as i was then very young, he would probably have had some difficulty in recognising me without his sister's letter. he introduced me to several of his friends, and i passed in an agreeable manner the five weeks which elapsed between my arrival in new york and the departure of the ship. i shall not undertake to describe new york; i will only say, that the elegance of the buildings, public and private, the cleanliness of the streets, the shade of the poplars which border them, the public walks, the markets always abundantly provided with all sorts of commodities, the activity of its commerce, then in a flourishing condition, the vast number of ships of all nations which crowded the quays; all, in a word, conspired to make me feel the difference between this great maritime city and my native town, of whose steeples i had never lost sight before, and which was by no means at that time what it is now. new york was not then, and indeed is not at this time a fortified town; still there were several batteries and military works, the most considerable of which were seen on the _narrows_, or channel which forms the principal mouth of the hudson. the isles called _governor's island_, and _bedloe_ or _gibbet island_, were also well fortified. on the first, situated to the west of the city and about a mile from it, there were barracks sufficiently capacious for several thousand soldiers, and a moro, or castle, with three tiers of guns, all bomb-proof. these works have been strengthened during the last war. the market-places are eight in number; the most considerable is called _fly-market_. the _park_, the _battery_, and _vauxhall garden_, are the principal promenades. there were, in 1810, thirty-two churches, two of which were devoted to the catholic worship; and the population was estimated at ninety thousand souls, of whom ten thousand were french. it is thought that this population has since been augmented (1819) by some thirty thousand souls. during my sojourn at new york, i lodged in brooklyn, on long island. this island is separated from the city by a sound, or narrow arm of the sea. there is here a pretty village, not far from which is a basin, where some gun-boats were hauled up, and a few war vessels were on the stocks. some barracks had been constructed here, and a guard was maintained. before leaving new york, it is well to observe that during our stay in that city, mr. m'kay thought it the part of prudence to have an interview with the minister plenipotentiary of his britannic majesty, mr. jackson,[d] to inform him of the object of our voyage, and get his views in regard to the line of conduct we ought to follow in case of war breaking out between the two powers; intimating to him that we were all british subjects, and were about to trade under the american flag. after some moments of reflection mr. jackson told him, "that we were going on a very hazardous enterprise; that he saw our object was purely commercial, and that all he could promise us, was, that in case of a war we should be respected as british subjects and traders." [footnote d: this gentleman was really _chargé d'affaires_.] this reply appeared satisfactory, and mr. m'kay thought we had nothing to apprehend on that side. the vessel in which we were to sail was called the _tonquin_, of about 300 tons burden, commanded by captain thorn (a first-lieutenant of the american navy, on furlough for this purpose), with a crew of twenty-one men. the number of passengers was thirty-three. here follow the names of both. passengers. { messrs. alexander m'kay } { " duncan m'dougall, } partners { " david stuart, } all of canada. { " robert stuart, } { james lewis of new york, { russel farnham of massachusetts, { william w. matthews of new york, { alexander boss, } { donald m'gillis, } clerks { ovide de montigny, } { francis b. pillet, } all from canada. { donald m'lennan, } { william wallace, } { thomas mckay, } { gabriel franchere, } { oliver roy lapensée, joseph lapierre, { ignace lapensée, joseph nadeau, boatmen, { basile lapensée, j. b'te. belleau, etc. { jacques lafantaisie, antoine belleau, { benjamin roussel, louis bruslé, { michel laframboise, p.d. jeremie, { giles leclerc, all of canada. johann koaster, ship-carpenter, a russian, george bell, cooper, new york, job aitken, rigger and calker, from scotland, augustus roussil, blacksmith, canada, guilleaume perreault, a boy. these last were all mechanics, &c., destined for the establishment. crew. jonathan thorn, captain, new york state. ebenezer d. fox, 1st mate, of boston. john m. mumford, 2d mate, of massachusetts. james thorn, brother of the captain, new york. john anderson, boatswain, foreigner. egbert vanderhuff, tailor, new york. john weeks, carpenter, " stephen weeks, armorer, " john coles, new york, } john martin, a frenchman, } sailmakers. { john white, new york. { adam fisher, " { peter verbel, " sailors. { edward aymes, " { robert hill, albany, new york. { john adams, " { joseph johnson, englishman, { charles roberts, new york, a colored man as cook, a mulatto steward, and three or four others whose names i have forgotten. chapter ii. departure from new york.--reflections of the author.--navigation, falling in with other ships, and various incidents, till the vessel comes in sight of the falkland isles. all being ready for our departure, we went on board ship, and weighed anchor on the 6th of september, in the morning. the wind soon fell off, and the first day was spent in drifting down to staten island, where we came to anchor for the night. the next day we weighed anchor again; but there came on another dead calm, and we were forced to cast anchor near the lighthouse at sandy hook. on the 8th we weighed anchor for the third time, and by the help of a fresh breeze from the southwest, we succeeded in passing the bar; the pilot quitted us at about eleven o'clock, and soon after we lost sight of the coast. one must have experienced it one's self, to be able to conceive the melancholy which takes possession of the soul of a man of sensibility, at the instant that he leaves his country and the civilized world, to go to inhabit with strangers in wild and unknown lands. i should in vain endeavor to give my readers an idea, even faintly correct, of the painful sinking of heart that i suddenly felt, and of the sad glance which i involuntarily cast toward a future so much the more frightful to me, as it offered nothing but what was perfectly confused and uncertain. a new scene of life was unfolded before me, but how monotonous, and ill suited to diminish the dejection with which my mind was overwhelmed! for the first time in my life, i found myself under way upon the main sea, with nothing to fix my regards and arrest my attention but the frail machine which bore me between the abyss of waters and the immensity of the skies. i remained for a long time with my eyes fixed in the direction of that land which i no longer saw, and almost despaired of ever seeing again; i made serious reflections on the nature and consequences of the enterprise in which i had so rashly embarked; and i confess that if at that moment the offer had been made to release me from my engagement, i should have accepted the proposal with all my heart. it is true that the hopeless confusion and incumberment of the vessel's deck, the great number of strangers among whom i found myself, the brutal style which the captain and his subalterns used toward our young canadians; all, in a word, conspired to make me augur a vexatious and disagreeable voyage. the sequel will show that i did not deceive myself in that. we perceived very soon in the s.w., which was our weather-side, a vessel that bore directly toward us; she made a signal that was understood by our captain; we hove to, and stood on her bow. it turned out to be the american frigate _constitution_. we sent our boat on board of her, and sailed in company till toward five o'clock, when, our papers having been sent back to us, we separated. the wind having increased, the motion of the vessel made us sea-sick, those of us, i mean, who were for the first time at sea. the weather was fine, however; the vessel, which at first sailing was lumbered in such a manner that we could hardly get in or out of our berths, and scarcely work ship, by little and little got into order, so that we soon found ourselves more at ease. on the 14th we commenced to take flying fish. the 24th, we saw a great quantity of dolphins. we prepared lines and took two of the latter, which we cooked. the flesh of this fish appeared to me excellent. after leaving new york, till the 4th of october, we headed southeast. on that day we struck the trade winds, and bore s.s.e.; being, according to our observations, in latitude 17° 43" and longitude 22° 39". on the 5th, in the morning, we came in sight of the cape-verd islands, bearing w.n.w., and distant about eight or nine miles, having the coast of africa to the e.s.e. we should have been very glad to touch at these islands to take in water; but as our vessel was an american bottom, and had on board a number of british subjects, our captain did not think fit to expose himself to meet the english ships-of-war cruising on these coasts, who certainly would not have failed to make a strict search, and to take from us the best part of our crew; which would infallibly have proved disastrous to the object for which we had shipped them. speaking of water, i may mention that the rule was to serve it out in rations of a quart a day; but that we were now reduced to a pint and a half. for the rest, our fare consisted of fourteen ounces of hard bread, a pound and a quarter of salt beef or one of pork, per day, and half a pint of souchong tea, with sugar, per man. the pork and beef were served alternately: rice and beans, each once a week; corn-meal pudding with molasses, ditto; on sundays the steerage passengers were allowed a bottle of teneriffe wine. all except the four partners, mr. lewis, acting as captain's clerk, and mr. t. m'kay, were in the steerage; the cabin containing but six berths, besides the captain's and first-mate's state-rooms. as long as we were near the coast of africa, we had light and variable winds, and extremely hot weather; on the 8th, we had a dead calm, and saw several sharks round the vessel; we took one which we ate. i found the taste to resemble sturgeon. we experienced on that day an excessive heat, the mercury being at 94° of fahrenheit. from the 8th to the 11th we had on board a canary bird, which we treated with the greatest care and kindness, but which nevertheless quitted us, probably for a certain death. the nearer we approached to the equator the more we perceived the heat to increase: on the 16th, in latitude 6°, longitude 22° west from greenwich, the mercury stood at 108°. we discovered on that day a sail bearing down upon us. the next morning she reappeared, and approached within gun-shot. she was a large brig, carrying about twenty guns: we sailed in company all day by a good breeze, all sail spread; but toward evening she dropped astern and altered her course to the s.s.e. on the 18th, at daybreak, the watch alarmed us by announcing that the same brig which had followed us the day before, was under our lee, a cable's length off, and seemed desirous of knowing who we were, without showing her own colors. our captain appeared to be in some alarm; and admitting that she was a better sailer than we, he called all the passengers and crew on deck, the drum beat to quarters, and we feigned to make preparations for combat. it is well to observe that our vessel mounted ten pieces of cannon, and was pierced for twenty; the forward port-holes were adorned with sham guns. whether it was our formidable appearance or no, at about ten a.m. the stranger again changed her course, and we soon lost sight of her entirely. nothing further remarkable occurred to us till the 22d, when we passed the line in longitude 25° 9". according to an ancient custom the crew baptized those of their number who had never before crossed the equator; it was a holyday for them on board. about two o'clock in the afternoon we perceived a sail in the s.s.w. we were not a little alarmed, believing that it was the same brig which we had seen some days before; for it was lying to, as if awaiting our approach. we soon drew near, and to our great joy discovered that she was a portuguese; we hailed her, and learned that she came from some part of south america, and was bound to pernambuco, on the coasts of brazil. very soon after we began to see what navigators call the _clouds of magellan_: they are three little white spots that one perceives in the sky almost as soon as one passes the equator: they were situated in the s.s.w. the 1st november, we began to see great numbers of aquatic birds. toward three o'clock p.m., we discovered a sail on our larboard, but did not approach sufficiently near to speak her. the 3d, we saw two more sails, making to the s.e. we passed the tropic of capricorn on the 4th, with a fine breeze, and in longitude 33° 27". we lost the trade-winds, and as we advanced south the weather became cold and rainy. the 11th, we had a calm, although the swell was heavy. we saw several turtles, and the captain having sent out the small boat, we captured two of them. during the night of the 11th and 12th, the wind changed to the n.e., and raised a terrible tempest, in which the gale, the rain, the lightning, and thunder, seemed to have sworn our destruction; the sea appeared all a-fire, while our little vessel was the sport of winds and waves. we kept the hatches closed, which did not prevent us from passing very uncomfortable nights while the storm lasted; for the great heats that we had experienced between the tropics, had so opened the seams of the deck that every time the waves passed over, the water rushed down in quantities upon our hammocks. the 14th, the wind shifted to the s.s.w., which compelled us to beat to windward. during the night we were struck by a tremendous sea; the helm was seized beyond control, and the man at the wheel was thrown from one side of the ship to the other, breaking two of his ribs, which confined him to his berth for a week. in latitude 35° 19", longitude 40°, the sea appeared to be covered with marine plants, and the change that we observed in the color of the water, as well as the immense number of gulls and other aquatic birds that we saw, proved to us that we were not far from the mouth of the _rio de la plata_. the wind continued to blow furiously till the 21st, when it subsided a little, and the weather cleared up. on the 25th, being in the 46th degree, and 30 minutes of latitude, we saw a penguin. we began to feel sensibly the want of water: since passing the tropic of capricorn the daily allowance had been always diminishing, till we were reduced to three gills a day, a slender modicum considering that we had only salt provisions. we had indeed a still, which we used to render the sea-water drinkable; but we distilled merely what sufficed for the daily use of the kitchen, as to do more would have required a great quantity of wood or coal. as we were not more than one hundred and fifty leagues from the falkland isles, we determined to put in there and endeavor to replenish our casks, and the captain caused the anchors to be got ready. we had contrary winds from the 27th of november to the 3d december. on the evening of that day, we heard one of the officers, who was at the mast head, cry "land! land!" nevertheless, the night coming on, and the barren rocks which we had before us being little elevated above the ocean, we hove to. chapter iii. arrival at the falkland isles.--landing.--perilous situation of the author and some of his companions.--portrait of captain thorn.--cape horn.--navigation to the sandwich islands. on the 4th (dec.) in the morning, i was not the last to mount on deck, to feast my eyes with the sight of land; for it is only those who have been three or four months at sea, who know how to appreciate the pleasure which one then feels even at sight of such barren and bristling rocks as form the falkland isles. we drew near these rocks very soon, and entered between two of the islands, where we anchored on a good ground. the first mate being sent ashore to look for water, several of our gentlemen accompanied him. they returned in the evening with the disappointing intelligence that they had not been able to find fresh water. they brought us, to compensate for this, a number of wild geese and two seals. the weather appearing to threaten, we weighed anchor and put out to sea. the night was tempestuous, and in the morning of the 5th we had lost sight of the first islands. the wind blowing off land, it was necessary to beat up all that day; in the evening we found ourselves sufficiently near the shore, and hove to for the night. the 6th brought us a clear sky, and with a fresh breeze we succeeded in gaining a good anchorage, which we took to be port egmont, and where we found good water. on the 7th, we sent ashore the water casks, as well as the cooper to superintend filling them, and the blacksmiths who were occupied in some repairs required by the ship. for our part, having erected a tent near the springs, we passed the time while they were taking in water, in coursing over the isles: we had a boat for our accommodation, and killed every day a great many wild geese and ducks. these birds differ in plumage from those which are seen in canada. we also killed a great many seals. these animals ordinarily keep upon the rocks. we also saw several foxes of the species called _virginia_ fox: they were shy and yet fierce, barking like dogs and then flying precipitately. penguins are also numerous on the falkland isles. these birds have a fine plumage, and resemble the loon: but they do not fly, having only little stumps of wings which they use to help themselves in waddling along. the rocks were covered with them. it being their sitting season we found them on their nests, from which they would not stir. they are not wild or timid: far from flying at our approach, they attacked us with their bill, which is very sharp, and with their short wings. the flesh of the penguin is black and leathery, with a strong fishy taste, and one must be very hungry to make up one's mind to eat it. we got a great quantity of eggs by dislodging them from their nests. as the french and english had both attempted to form establishments on these rocks, we endeavored to find some vestige of them; the tracks which we met everywhere made us hope to find goats also: but all our researches were vain: all that we discovered was an old fishing cabin, constructed of whale bone, and some seal-skin moccasins; for these rocks offer not a single tree to the view, and are frequented solely by the vessels which pursue the whale fishery in the southern seas. we found, however, two head-boards with inscriptions in english, marking the spot where two men had been interred: as the letters were nearly obliterated, we carved new ones on fresh pieces of board procured from the ship. this pious attention to two dead men nearly proved fatal to a greater number of the living; for all the casks having been filled and sent on board, the captain gave orders to re-embark, and without troubling himself to inquire if this order had been executed or not, caused the anchor to be weighed on the morning of the 11th, while i and some of my companions were engaged in erecting the inscriptions of which i have spoken, others were cutting grass for the hogs, and messrs m'dougall and d. stuart had gone to the south side of the isle to look for game. the roaring of the sea against the rock-bound shore prevented them from hearing the gun, and they did not rejoin us till the vessel was already at sea. we then lost no time, but pushed off, being eight in number, with our little boat, only twenty feet keel. we rowed with all our might, but gained nothing upon the vessel. we were losing sight of the islands at last, and our case seemed desperate. while we paused, and were debating what course to pursue, as we had no compass, we observed the ship tacking and standing toward us. in fine after rowing for three hours and a half, in an excited state of feeling not easily described, we succeeded in regaining the vessel, and were taken on board at about three o'clock p.m. having related this trait of malice on the part of our captain, i shall be permitted to make some remarks on his character. jonathan thorn was brought up in the naval service of his country, and had distinguished himself in a battle fought between the americans and the turks at tripoli, some years before: he held the rank of first lieutenant. he was a strict disciplinarian, of a quick and passionate temper, accustomed to exact obedience, considering nothing but duty, and giving himself no trouble about the murmurs of his crew, taking counsel of nobody, and following mr. astor's instructions to the letter. such was the man who had been selected to command our ship. his haughty manners, his rough and overbearing disposition, had lost him the affection of most of the crew and of all the passengers: he knew it, and in consequence sought every opportunity to mortify us. it is true that the passengers had some reason to reproach themselves; they were not free from blame; but he had been the aggressor; and nothing could excuse the act of cruelty and barbarity of which he was guilty, in intending to leave us upon those barren rocks of the falkland isles, where we must inevitably have perished. this lot was reserved for us, but for the bold interference of mr. b. stuart, whose uncle was of our party, and who, seeing that the captain, far from waiting for us, coolly continued his course, threatened to blow his brains out unless he hove to and took us on board. [illustration: view of the falkland islands _boat and five passengers pulling after ship tonquin._] we pursued our course, bearing s.s.w., and on the 14th, in latitude 54° 1', longitude 64° 18', we found bottom at sixty-five fathoms, and saw a sail to the south. on the 15th, in the morning, we discovered before us the high mountains of _terra del fuego_, which we continued to see till evening: the weather then thickened, and we lost sight of them. we encountered a furious storm which drove us to the 56th degree and 18' of latitude. on the 18th, we were only fifteen leagues from cape horn. a dead calm followed, but the current carried us within sight of the cape, five or six leagues distant. this cape, which forms the southern extremity of the american continent, has always been an object of terror to the navigators who have to pass from one sea to the other; several of whom to avoid doubling it, have exposed themselves to the long and dangerous passage of the straits of magellan, especially when about entering the pacific ocean. when we saw ourselves under the stupendous rocks of the cape, we felt no other desire but to get away from them as soon as possible, so little agreeable were those rocks to the view, even in the case of people who had been some months at sea! and by the help of a land breeze we succeeded in gaining an offing. while becalmed here, we measured the velocity of the current setting east, which we found to be about three miles an hour. the wind soon changed again to the s.s.w., and blew a gale. we had to beat. we passed in sight of the islands of diego ramirez, and saw a large schooner under their lee. the distance that we had run from new york, was about 9,165 miles. we had frightful weather till the 24th, when we found ourselves in 58° 16' of south latitude. although it was the height of summer in that hemisphere, and the days as long as they are at quebec on the 21st of june (we could read on deck at midnight without artificial light), the cold was nevertheless very great and the air very humid: the mercury for several days was but fourteen degrees above freezing point, by fahrenheit's thermometer. if such is the temperature in these latitudes at the end of december, corresponding to our june, what must it be in the shortest days of the year, and where can the patagonians then take refuge, and the inhabitants of the islands so improperly named the land of fire! the wind, which till the 24th had been contrary, hauled round to the south, and we ran westward. the next day being christmas, we had the satisfaction to learn by our noon-day observation that we had weathered the cape, and were, consequently, now in the pacific ocean. up to that date we had but one man attacked with scurvy, a malady to which those who make long voyages are subject, and which is occasioned by the constant use of salt provisions, by the humidity of the vessel, and the inaction. from the 25th of december till the 1st of january, we were favored with a fair wind and ran eighteen degrees to the north in that short space of time. though cold yet, the weather was nevertheless very agreeable. on the 17th, in latitude 10° s., and longitude 110° 50' w., we took several _bonitas_, an excellent fish. we passed the equator on the 23d, in 128° 14' of west longitude. a great many porpoises came round the vessel. on the 25th arose a tempest which lasted till the 28th. the wind then shifted to the e.s.e. and carried us two hundred and twenty-four miles on our course in twenty-four hours. then we had several days of contrary winds; on the 8th of february it hauled to the s.e., and on the 11th we saw the peak of a mountain covered with snow, which the first mate, who was familiar with these seas, told me was the summit of _mona-roah_, a high mountain on the island of _ohehy_, one of those which the circumnavigator cook named the sandwich isles, and where he met his death in 1779. we headed to the land all day, and although we made eight or nine knots an hour, it was not till evening that we were near enough to distinguish the huts of the islanders: which is sufficient to prove the prodigious elevation of _mona roah_ above the level of the sea. chapter iv. accident.--view of the coast.--attempted visit of the natives.--their industry.--bay of karaka-koua.--landing on the island.--john young, governor of owahee. we were ranging along the coast with the aid of a fine breeze, when the boy perrault, who had mounted the fore-rigging to enjoy the scenery, lost his hold, and being to windward where the shrouds were taut, rebounded from them like a ball some twenty feet from the ship's side into the ocean. we perceived his fall and threw over to him chairs, barrels, benches, hen-coops, in a word everything we could lay hands on; then the captain gave the orders to heave to; in the twinkling of an eye the lashings of one of the quarter-boats were cut apart, the boat lowered and manned: by this time the boy was considerably a-stern. he would have been lost undoubtedly but for a wide pair of canvass overalls full of tar and grease, which operated like a life-preserver. his head, however, was under when he was picked up, and he was brought on board lifeless, about a quarter of an hour after he fell into the sea. we succeeded, notwithstanding, in a short time, in bringing him to, and in a few hours he was able to run upon the deck. the coast of the island, viewed from the sea, offers the most picturesque _coup d'oeil_ and the loveliest prospect; from the beach to the mountains the land rises amphitheatrically, all along which is a border of lower country covered with cocoa-trees and bananas, through the thick foliage whereof you perceive the huts of the islanders; the valleys which divide the hills that lie beyond appear well cultivated, and the mountains themselves, though extremely high, are covered with wood to their summits, except those few peaks which glitter with perpetual snow. as we ran along the coast, some canoes left the beach and came alongside, with vegetables and cocoa-nuts; but as we wished to profit by the breeze to gain the anchorage, we did not think fit to stop. we coasted along during a part of the night; but a calm came on which lasted till the morrow. as we were opposite the bay of karaka-koua, the natives came out again, in greater numbers, bringing us cabbages, yams, _taro_, bananas, bread-fruit, water-melons, poultry, &c., for which we traded in the way of exchange. toward evening, by the aid of a sea breeze that rose as day declined, we got inside the harbor where we anchored on a coral bottom in fourteen fathoms water. the next day the islanders visited the vessel in great numbers all day long, bringing, as on the day before, fruits, vegetables, and some pigs, in exchange for which we gave them glass beads, iron rings, needles, cotton cloth, &c. some of our gentlemen went ashore and were astonished to find a native occupied in building a small sloop of about thirty tons: the tools of which he made use consisted of a half worn-out axe, an adze, about two-inch blade, made out of a paring chisel, a saw, and an iron rod which he heated red hot and made it serve the purpose of an auger. it required no little patience and dexterity to achieve anything with such instruments: he was apparently not deficient in these qualities, for his work was tolerably well advanced. our people took him on board with them, and we supplied him with suitable tools, for which he appeared extremely grateful. on the 14th, in the morning, while the ship's carpenter was engaged in replacing one of the cat-heads, two composition sheaves fell into the sea; as we had no others on board, the captain proposed to the islanders, who are excellent swimmers, to dive for them, promising a reward; and immediately two offered themselves. they plunged several times, and each time brought up shells as a proof that they had been to the bottom. we had the curiosity to hold our watches while they dove, and were astonished to find that they remained four minutes under the water. that exertion appeared to me, however, to fatigue them a great deal, to such a degree that the blood streamed from their nostrils and ears. at last one of them brought up the sheaves and received the promised recompense, which consisted of four yards of cotton. karaka-koua bay where we lay, may be three quarters of a mile deep, and a mile and a half wide at the entrance: the latter is formed by two low points of rock which appear to have run down from the mountains in the form of lava, after a volcanic eruption. on each point is situated a village of moderate size; that is to say, a small group of the low huts of the islanders. the bottom of the bay terminates in a bold _escarpment_ of rock, some four hundred feet high, on the top of which is seen a solitary cocoa-tree. on the evening of the 14th, i went ashore with some other passengers, and we landed at the group of cabins on the western point, of those which i have described. the inhabitants entertained us with a dance executed by nineteen young women and one man, all singing together, and in pretty good time. an old man showed us the spot where captain cook was killed, on the 14th of february, 1779, with the cocoa-nut trees pierced by the balls from the boats which the unfortunate navigator commanded. this old man, whether it were feigned or real sensibility, seemed extremely affected and even shed tears, in showing us these objects. as for me, i could not help finding it a little singular to be thus, by mere chance, upon this spot, on the 14th of february, 1811; that is to say, thirty-two years after, on the anniversary of the catastrophe which has rendered it for ever celebrated. i drew no sinister augury from the coincidence, however, and returned to the ship with my companions as gay as i left it. when i say with my companions, i ought to except the boatswain, john anderson, who, having had several altercations with the captain on the passage, now deserted the ship, preferring to live with the natives rather than obey any longer so uncourteous a superior. a sailor also deserted; but the islanders brought him back, at the request of the captain. they offered to bring back anderson, but the captain preferred leaving him behind. we found no good water near karaka-koua bay: what the natives brought us in gourds was brackish. we were also in great want of fresh meat, but could not obtain it: the king of these islands having expressly forbidden his subjects to supply any to the vessels which touched there. one of the chiefs sent a canoe to tohehigh bay, to get from the governor of the island, who resided there, permission to sell us some pigs. the messengers returned the next day, and brought us a letter, in which the governor ordered us to proceed without delay to the isle of wahoo, where the king lives; assuring us that we should there find good water and everything else we needed. we got under way on the 16th and with a light wind coasted the island as far as tohehigh bay. the wind then dropping away entirely, the captain, accompanied by messrs. m'kay and m'dougall, went ashore, to pay a visit to the governor aforesaid. he was not a native, but a scotchman named john young, who came hither some years after the death of captain cook. this man had married a native woman, and had so gained the friendship and confidence of the king, as to be raised to the rank of chief and after the conquest of wahoo by king tamehameha, was made governor of owhyhee (hawaii) the most considerable of the sandwich islands, both by its extent and population. his excellency explained to our gentlemen the reason why the king had interdicted the trade in hogs to the inhabitants of all the islands: this reason being that his majesty wished to reserve to himself the monopoly of that branch of commerce, for the augmentation of his royal revenue by its exclusive profits. the governor also informed them that no rain had fallen on the south part of hawaii for three years; which explained why we found so little fresh water: he added that the north part of the island was more fertile than the south, where we were: but that there was no good anchorage: that part of the coast being defended by sunken rocks which form heavy breakers. in fine, the governor dismissed our gentlemen with a present of four fine fat hogs; and we, in return, sent him some tea, coffee, and chocolate, and a keg of madeira wine. the night was nearly a perfect calm, and on the 17th we found ourselves abreast of _mona-wororayea_ a snow-capped mountain, like _mona-roah_, but which appeared to me less lofty than the latter. a number of islanders came to visit us as before, with some objects of curiosity, and some small fresh fish. the wind rising on the 18th, we soon passed the western extremity of hawaii, and sailed by mowhee and tahooraha, two more islands of this group, and said to be, like the rest, thickly inhabited. the first presents a highly picturesque aspect, being composed of hills rising in the shape of a sugar loaf and completely covered with cocoa-nut and bread-fruit trees. at last, on the 21st, we approached wahoo, and came to anchor opposite the bay of _ohetity_, outside the bar, at a distance of some two miles from the land. chapter v. bay of ohetity.--tamehameha, king of the islands.--his visit to the ship.--his capital.--his naval force.--his authority.--productions of the country.--manners and customs.--reflections. there is no good anchorage in the bay of ohetity, inside the bar or coral reef: the holding-ground is bad: so that, in case of a storm, the safety of the ship would have been endangered. moreover, with a contrary wind, it would have been difficult to get out of the inner harbor; for which reasons, our captain preferred to remain in the road. for the rest, the country surrounding the bay is even more lovely in aspect than that of karaka-koua; the mountains rise to a less elevation in the back-ground, and the soil has an appearance of greater fertility. _tamehameha_, whom all the sandwich isles obeyed when we were there in 1811, was neither the son nor the relative of tierroboo, who reigned in owhyhee (hawaii) in 1779, when captain cook and some of his people were massacred. he was, at that date, but a chief of moderate power; but, being skilful, intriguing, and full of ambition, he succeeded in gaining a numerous party, and finally possessed himself of the sovereignty. as soon as he saw himself master of owhyhee, his native island, he meditated the conquest of the leeward islands, and in a few years he accomplished it. he even passed into _atoudy_, the most remote of all, and vanquished the ruler of it, but contented himself with imposing on him an annual tribute. he had fixed his residence at wahoo, because of all the sandwich isles it was the most fertile, the most picturesque--in a word, the most worthy of the residence of the sovereign. as soon as we arrived, we were visited by a canoe manned by three white men, davis and wadsworth, americans, and manini, a spaniard. the last offered to be our interpreter during our stay; which was agreed to. tamehameha presently sent to us his prime-minister, _kraimoku_, to whom the americans have given the name of _pitt_, on account of his skill in the affairs of government. our captain, accompanied by some of our gentlemen, went ashore immediately, to be presented to tamehameha. about four o'clock, p.m., we saw them returning, accompanied by a double pirogue conveying the king and his suite. we ran up our colors, and received his majesty with a salute of four guns. tamehameha was above the middle height, well made, robust and inclined to corpulency, and had a majestic carriage. he appeared to me from fifty to sixty years old. he was clothed in the european style, and wore a sword. he walked a long time on the deck, asking explanations in regard to those things which he had not seen on other vessels, and which were found on ours. a thing which appeared to surprise him, was to see that we could render the water of the sea fresh, by means of the still attached to our caboose; he could not imagine how that could be done. we invited him into the cabin, and, having regaled him with some glasses of wine, began to talk of business matters: we offered him merchandise in exchange for hogs, but were not able to conclude the bargain that day. his majesty re-embarked in his double pirogue, at about six o'clock in the evening. it was manned by twenty-four men. a great chest, containing firearms, was lashed over the centre of the two canoes forming the pirogue; and it was there that tamehameha sat, with his prime-minister at his side. in the morning, on the 22d, we sent our water-casks ashore and filled them with excellent water. at about noon his sable majesty paid us another visit, accompanied by his three wives and his favorite minister. these females were of an extraordinary corpulence, and of unmeasured size. they were dressed in the fashion of the country, having nothing but a piece of _tapa_, or bark-cloth, about two yards long, passed round the hips and falling to the knees. we resumed the negotiations of the day before, and were more successful. i remarked that when the bargain was concluded, he insisted with great pertinacity that part of the payment should be in spanish dollars. we asked the reason, and he made answer that he wished to buy a frigate of his brother, king george, meaning the king of england. the bargain concluded, we prayed his majesty and his suite to dine with us; they consented, and toward evening retired, apparently well satisfied with their visit and our reception of them. in the meantime, the natives surrounded the ship in great numbers, with hundreds of canoes, offering us their goods, in the shape of eatables and the rude manufactures of the island, in exchange for merchandise; but, as they had also brought intoxicating liquors in gourds, some of the crew got drunk; the captain was, consequently, obliged to suspend the trade, and forbade any one to traffic with the islanders, except through the first-mate, who was intrusted with that business. i landed on the 22d, with messrs. pillet and m'gillis: we passed the night ashore, spending that day and the next morning in rambling over the environs of the bay, followed by a crowd of men, women, and children. ohetity, where tamehameha resides, and which, consequently, may be regarded as the capital of his kingdom, is--or at least was at that time--a moderate-sized city, or rather a large village. besides the private houses, of which there were perhaps two hundred, constructed of poles planted in the ground and covered over with matting, there were the royal palace, which was not magnificent by any means: a public store, of two stories, one of stone and the other of wood; two _morais_, or idol temples, and a wharf. at the latter we found an old vessel, the _lady bird_, which some american navigators had given in exchange for a schooner; it was the only large vessel which king tamehameha possessed; and, besides, was worth nothing. as for schooners he had forty of them, of from twenty to thirty tons burthen: these vessels served to transport the tributes in kind paid by his vassals in the other islands. before the europeans arrived among these savages, the latter had no means of communication between one isle and another, but their canoes, and as some of the islands are not in sight of each other, these voyages must have been dangerous. near the palace i found an indian from bombay, occupied in making a twelve inch cable, for the use of the ship which i have described. tamehameha kept constantly round his house a guard of twenty-four men. these soldiers wore, by way of uniform, a long blue coat with yellow; and each was armed with a musket. in front of the house, on an open square, were placed fourteen four-pounders, mounted on their carriages. the king was absolute, and judged in person the differences between his subjects. we had an opportunity of witnessing a proof of it, the day after our landing. a portuguese having had a quarrel with a native, who was intoxicated, struck him: immediately the friends of the latter, who had been the aggressor after all, gathered in a crowd to beat down the poor foreigner with stones; he fled as fast as he could to the house of the king, followed by a mob of enraged natives, who nevertheless stopped at some distance from the guards, while the portuguese, all breathless, crouched in a corner. we were on the esplanade in front of the palace royal, and curiosity to see the trial led us into the presence of his majesty, who having caused the quarrel to be explained to him, and heard the witnesses on both sides, condemned the native to work four days in the garden of the portuguese and to give him a hog. a young frenchman from bordeaux, preceptor of the king's sons, whom he taught to read, and who understood the language, acted as interpreter to the portuguese, and explained to us the sentence. i can not say whether our presence influenced the decision, or whether, under other circumstances, the portuguese would have been less favorably treated. we were given to understand that tamehameha was pleased to see whites establish themselves in his dominions, but that he esteemed only people with some useful trade, and despised idlers, and especially drunkards. we saw at wahoo about thirty of these white inhabitants, for the most part, people of no character, and who had remained on the islands either from indolence, or from drunkenness and licentiousness. some had taken wives in the country, in which case the king gave them a portion of land to cultivate for themselves. but two of the worst sort had found means to procure a small still, wherewith they manufactured rum and supplied it to the natives. the first navigators found only four sorts of quadrupeds on the sandwich islands:--dogs, swine, lizards, and rats. since then sheep have been carried there, goats, horned cattle, and even horses, and these animals have multiplied. the chief vegetable productions of these isles are the sugar cane, the bread-fruit tree, the banana, the water-melon, the musk-melon, the _taro_, the _ava_, the _pandanus_, the mulberry, &c. the bread-fruit tree is about the size of a large apple-tree; the fruit resembles an apple and is about twelve or fourteen inches in circumference; the rind is thick and rough like a melon: when cut transversely it is found to be full of sacs, like the inside of an orange; the pulp has the consistence of water-melon, and is cooked before it is eaten. we saw orchards of bread-fruit trees and bananas, and fields of sugar-cane, back of ohetity. the _taro_ grows in low situations, and demands a great deal of care. it is not unlike a white turnip,[e] and as it constitutes the principal food of the natives, it is not to be wondered at that they bestow so much attention on its culture. wherever a spring of pure water is found issuing out of the side of a hill, the gardener marks out on the declivity the size of the field he intends to plant. the ground is levelled and surrounded with a mud or stone wall, not exceeding eighteen inches in height, and having a flood gate above and below. into this enclosure the water of the spring is conducted, or is suffered to escape from it, according to the dryness of the season. when the root has acquired a sufficient size it is pulled up for immediate use. this esculent is very bad to eat raw, but boiled it is better than the yam. cut in slices, dried, pounded and reduced to a farina, it forms with bread fruit the principal food of the natives. sometimes they boil it to the consistence of porridge, which they put into gourds and allow to ferment; it will then keep a long time. they also use to mix with it, fish, which they commonly eat raw with the addition of a little salt, obtained by evaporation. [footnote e: bougainville calls it "calf-foot root."] the _ava_ is a plant more injurious than useful to the inhabitants of these isles; since they only make use of it to obtain a dangerous and intoxicating drink, which they also call _ava_. the mode of preparing this beverage is as follows: they chew the root, and spit out the result into a basin; the juice thus expressed is exposed to the sun to undergo fermentation; after which they decant it into a gourd; it is then fit for use, and they drink it on occasions to intoxication. the too frequent use of this disgusting liquor causes loss of sight, and a sort of leprosy, which can only be cured by abstaining from it, and by bathing frequently in the water of the sea. this leprosy turns their skin white: we saw several of the lepers, who were also blind, or nearly so. the natives are also fond of smoking: the tobacco grows in the islands, but i believe it has been introduced from abroad. the bark of the mulberry furnishes the cloth worn by both sexes; of the leaves of the _pandanus_ they make mats. they have also a kind of wax-nut, about the size of a dried plum of which they make candles by running a stick through several of them. lighted at one end, they burn like a wax taper, and are the only light they use in their huts at night. the men are generally well made and tall: they wear for their entire clothing what they call a _maro_; it is a piece of figured or white tapa, two yards long and a foot wide, which they pass round the loins and between the legs, tying the ends in a knot over the left hip. at first sight i thought they were painted red, but soon perceived that it was the natural _color_ of their skin. the women wear a petticoat of the same stuff as the _maro_, but wider and longer, without, however, reaching below the knees. they have sufficiently regular features, and but for the color, may pass, generally speaking, for handsome women. some to heighten their charms, dye their black hair (cut short for the purpose) with quick lime, forming round the head a strip of pure white, which disfigures them monstrously. others among the young wear a more becoming garland of flowers. for other traits, they are very lascivious, and far from observing a modest reserve, especially toward strangers. in regard to articles of mere ornament, i was told that they were not the same in all the island. i did not see them, either, clothed in their war dresses, or habits of ceremony. but i had an opportunity to see them paint or print their _tapa_, or bark cloth, an occupation in which they employ a great deal of care and patience. the pigments they use are derived from vegetable juices, prepared with the oil of the cocoa-nut. their pencils are little reeds or canes of bamboo, at the extremity of which they carve out divers sorts of flowers. first they tinge the cloth they mean to print, yellow, green, or some other color which forms the ground: then they draw upon it perfectly straight lines, without any other guide but the eye; lastly they dip the ends of the bamboo sticks in paint of a different tint from the ground, and apply them between the dark or bright bars thus formed. this cloth resembles a good deal our calicoes and printed cottons; the oils with which it is impregnated renders it impervious to water. it is said that the natives of _atowy_ excel all the other islanders in the art of painting the tapa. the sandwich-islanders live in villages of one or two hundred houses arranged without symmetry, or rather grouped together in complete defiance of it. these houses are constructed (as i have before said) of posts driven in the ground, covered with long dry grass, and walled with matting; the thatched roof gives them a sort of resemblance to our canadian barns or granges. the length of each house varies according to the number of the family which occupies it: they are not smoky like the wigwams of our indians, the fireplace being always outside in the open air, where all the cooking is performed. hence their dwellings are very clean and neat inside. their pirogues or canoes are extremely light and neat: those which are single have an outrigger, consisting of two curved pieces of timber lashed across the bows, and touching the water at the distance of five or six feet from the side; another piece, turned up at each extremity, is tied to the end and drags in the water, on which it acts like a skating iron on the ice, and by its weight keeps the canoe in equilibrium: without that contrivance they would infallibly upset. their paddles are long, with a very broad blade. all these canoes carry a lateen, or sprit-sail, which is made of a mat of grass or leaves, extremely well woven. i did not remain long enough with these people to acquire very extensive and exact notions of their religion: i know that they recognise a supreme being, whom they call _etoway_, and a number of inferior divinities. each village has one or more _morais_. these morais are enclosures which served for cemeteries; in the middle is a temple, where the priests alone have a right to enter: they contain several idols of wood, rudely sculptured. at the feet of these images are deposited, and left to putrify, the offerings of the people, consisting of dogs, pigs, fowls, vegetables, &c. the respect of these savages for their priests extends almost to adoration; they regard their persons as sacred, and feel the greatest scruple in touching the objects, or going near the places, which they have declared _taboo_ or forbidden. the _taboo_ has often been useful to european navigators, by freeing them from the importunities of the crowd. in our rambles we met groups playing at different games. that of draughts appeared the most common. the checker-board is very simple, the squares being marked on the ground with a sharp stick: the men are merely shells or pebbles. the game was different from that played in civilized countries, so that we could not understand it. although nature has done almost everything for the inhabitants of the sandwich islands--though they enjoy a perpetual spring, a clear sky, a salubrious climate, and scarcely any labor is required to produce the necessaries of life--they can not be regarded as generally happy: the artisans and producers, whom they call _tootoos_, are nearly in the same situation as the helots among the lacedemonians, condemned to labor almost incessantly for their lord or _eris_, without hope of bettering their condition, and even restricted in the choice of their daily food.[f] how has it happened that among a people yet barbarous, where knowledge is nearly equally distributed, the class which is beyond comparison the most numerous has voluntarily submitted to such a humiliating and oppressive yoke? the tartars, though infinitely less numerous than the chinese, have subjected them, because the former were warlike and the latter were not. the same thing has happened, no doubt, at remote periods, in poland, and other regions of europe and asia. if moral causes are joined to physical ones, the superiority of one caste and the inferiority of the other will be still more marked; it is known that the natives of hispaniola, when they saw the spaniards arrive on their coast, in vessels of an astonishing size to their apprehensions, and heard them imitate the thunder with their cannon, took them for beings of a superior nature to their own. supposing that this island had been extremely remote from every other country, and that the spaniards, after conquering it, had held no further communication with any civilized land, at the end of a century or two the language and the manners would have assimilated, but there would have been two castes, one of lords, enjoying all the advantages, the other of serfs, charged with all the burdens. this theory seems to have been realized anciently in hindostan; but if we must credit the tradition of the sandwich-islanders, their country was originally peopled by a man and woman, who came to owyhee in a canoe. unless, then, they mean that this man and woman came with their slaves, and that the _eris_ are descended from the first, and the _tootoos_ from the last, they ought to attribute to each other the same origin, and consequently regard each other as equals, and even as brothers, according to the manner of thinking that prevails among savages. the cause of the slavery of women among most barbarous tribes is more easily explained: the men have subjected them by the right of the strongest, if ignorance and superstition have not caused them to be previously regarded as beings of an inferior nature, made to be servants and not companions.[g] [footnote f: the _tootoos_ and all the women, the wives of the king and principal chiefs excepted, are eternally condemned to the use of fruits and vegetables; dogs and pigs being exclusively reserved for the table of the _eris_.] [footnote g: some indian tribes think that women have no souls, but die altogether like the brutes; others assign them a different paradise from that of men, which indeed they might have reason to prefer for themselves, unless their relative condition were to be ameliorated in the next world.] chapter vi. departure from wahoo.--storm.--arrival at the mouth of the columbia.--reckless order of the captain.--difficulty of the entrance.--perilous situation of the ship.--unhappy fate of a part of the crew and people of the expedition. having taken on board a hundred head of live hogs, some goats, two sheep, a quantity of poultry, two boat-loads of sugar-cane, to feed the hogs, as many more of yams, taro, and other vegetables, and all our water-casks being snugly stowed, we weighed anchor on the 28th of february, sixteen days after our arrival at karaka-koua. we left another man (edward aymes) at wahoo. he belonged to a boat's crew which was sent ashore for a load of sugar canes. by the time the boat was loaded by the natives the ebb of the tide had left her aground, and aymes asked leave of the coxswain to take a stroll, engaging to be back for the flood. leave was granted him, but during his absence, the tide haying come in sufficiently to float the boat, james thorn, the coxswain, did not wait for the young sailor, who was thus left behind. the captain immediately missed the man, and, on being informed that he had strolled away from the boat on leave, flew into a violent passion. aymes soon made his appearance alongside, having hired some natives to take him on board; on perceiving him, the captain ordered him to stay in the long-boat, then lashed to the side with its load of sugar-cane. the captain then himself got into the boat, and, taking one of the canes, beat the poor fellow most unmercifully with it; after which, not satisfied with this act of brutality, he seized his victim and threw him overboard! aymes, however, being an excellent swimmer, made for the nearest native canoe, of which there were, as usual, a great number around the ship. the islanders, more humane than our captain, took in the poor fellow, who, in spite of his entreaties to be received on board, could only succeed in getting his clothes, which were thrown into the canoe. at parting, he told captain thorn that he knew enough of the laws of his country, to obtain redress, should they ever meet in the territory of the american union. while we were getting under sail, mr. m'kay pointed out to the captain that there was one water-cask empty, and proposed sending it ashore to be filled, as the great number of live animals we had on board required a large quantity of fresh water. the captain, who feared that some of the men would desert if he sent them ashore, made an observation to that effect in answer to mr. m'kay, who then proposed sending me on a canoe which lay alongside, to fill the cask in question: this was agreed to by the captain, and i took the cask accordingly to the nearest spring. having filled it, not without some difficulty, the islanders seeking to detain me, and i perceiving that they had given me some gourds full of salt water, i was forced also to demand a double pirogue (for the canoe which had brought the empty cask, was found inadequate to carry a full one), the ship being already under full sail and gaining an offing. as the natives would not lend a hand to procure what i wanted, i thought it necessary to have recourse to the king, and in fact did so. for seeing the vessel so far at sea, with what i knew of the captain's disposition, i began to fear that he had formed the plan of leaving me on the island. my fears, nevertheless were ill-founded; the vessel made a tack toward the shore, to my great joy; and a double pirogue was furnished me, through the good offices of our young friend the french schoolmaster, to return on board with my cask. our deck was now as much encumbered as when left new york; for we had been obliged to place our live animals at the gangways, and to board over their pens, on which it was necessary to pass, to work ship. our own numbers were also augmented; for we had taken a dozen islanders for the service of our intended commercial establishment. their term of engagement was three years, during which we were to feed and clothe them, and at its expiration they were to receive a hundred dollars in merchandise. the captain had shipped another dozen as hands on the coasting voyage. these people, who make very good sailors, were eager to be taken into employment, and we might easily have carried off a much greater number. we had contrary winds till the 2d of march, when, having doubled the western extremity of the island, we made northing, and lost sight of these smiling and temperate countries, to enter very soon a colder region and less worthy of being inhabited. the winds were variable, and nothing extraordinary happened to us till the 16th, when, being arrived at the latitude of 35° 11' north, and in 138° 16' of west longitude, the wind shifted all of a sudden to the s.s.w., and blew with such violence, that we were forced to strike top-gallant masts and top-sails, and run before the gale with a double reef in our foresail. the rolling of the vessel was greater than in all the gales we had experienced previously. nevertheless, as we made great headway, and were approaching the continent, the captain by way of precaution, lay to for two nights successively. at last, on the 22d, in the morning, we saw the land. although we had not been able to take any observations for several days, nevertheless, by the appearance of the coast, we perceived that we were near the mouth of the river columbia, and were not more than three miles from land. the breakers formed by the bar at the entrance of that river, and which we could distinguish from the ship, left us no room to doubt that we had arrived at last at the end of our voyage. the wind was blowing in heavy squalls, and the sea ran very high: in spite of that, the captain caused a boat to be lowered, and mr. fox (first mate), basile lapensee, ignace lapensee, jos. nadeau, and john martin, got into her, taking some provisions and firearms, with orders to sound the channel and report themselves on board as soon as possible. the boat was not even supplied with a good sail, or a mast, but one of the partners gave mr. fox a pair of bed sheets to serve for the former. messrs m'kay and m'dougall could not help remonstrating with the captain on the imprudence of sending the boat ashore in such weather; but they could not move his obstinacy. the boat's crew pulled away from the ship; alas! we were never to see her again; and we already had a foreboding of her fate. the next day the wind seemed to moderate, and we approached very near the coast. the entrance of the river, which we plainly distinguished with the naked eye, appeared but a confused and agitated sea: the waves, impelled by a wind from the offing, broke upon the bar, and left no perceptible passage. we got no sign of the boat; and toward evening, for our own safety, we hauled off to sea, with all countenances extremely sad, not excepting the captain's, who appeared to me as much afflicted as the rest, and who had reason to be so. during the night, the wind fell, the clouds dispersed, and the sky became serene. on the morning of the 24th, we found that the current had carried us near the coast again, and we dropped anchor in fourteen fathoms water, north of cape disappointment. the _coup d'oeil_ is not so smiling by a great deal at this anchorage, as at the sandwich islands, the coast offering little to the eye but a continuous range of high mountains covered with snow. [illustration: entrance of the columbia river. _ship tonquin, crossing the bar, 25th march 1811._] although it was calm, the sea continued to break over the reef with violence, between cape disappointment and point adams. we sent mr. mumford (the second mate) to sound a passage; but having found the breakers too heavy, he returned on board about mid-day. messrs. m'kay and d. stuart offered their services to go ashore, to search for the boat's crew who left on the 22d; but they could not find a place to land. they saw indians, who made signs to them to pull round the cape, but they deemed it more prudent to return to the vessel. soon after their return, a gentle breeze sprang up from the westward, we raised anchor, and approached the entrance of the river. mr. aikin was then despatched in the pinnace, accompanied by john coles (sail-maker), stephen weeks (armorer), and two sandwich-islanders; and we followed under easy sail. another boat had been sent out before this one, but the captain judging that she bore too far south, made her a signal to return. mr. aikin not finding less than four fathoms, we followed him and advanced between the breakers, with a favorable wind, so that we passed the boat on our starboard, within pistol-shot. we made signs to her to return on board, but she could not accomplish it; the ebb tide carried her with such rapidity that in a few minutes we had lost sight of her amidst the tremendous breakers that surrounded us. it was near nightfall, the wind began to give way, and the water was so low with the ebb, that we struck six or seven times with violence: the breakers broke over the ship and threatened to submerge her. at last we passed from two and three quarters fathoms of water to seven, where we were obliged to drop anchor, the wind having entirely failed us. we were far, however, from being out of danger, and the darkness came to add to the horror of our situation: our vessel, though at anchor, threatened to be carried away every moment by the tide; the best bower was let go, and it kept two men at the wheel to hold her head in the right direction. however, providence came to our succor: the flood succeeded to the ebb, and the wind rising out of the offing, we weighed both anchors, in spite of the obscurity of the night, and succeeded in gaining a little bay or cove, formed at the entrance of the river by cape disappointment, and called _baker's bay_, where we found a good anchorage. it was about midnight, and all retired to take a little rest: the crew, above all, had great need of it. we were fortunate to be in a place of safety, for the wind rose higher and higher during the rest of the night, and on the morning of the 25th allowed us to see that this ocean is not always pacific. some natives visited us this day, bringing with them beaver-skins; but the inquietude caused in our minds by the loss of two boats' crews, for whom we wished to make search, did not permit us to think of traffic. we tried to make the savages comprehend, by signs, that we had sent a boat ashore three days previous, and that we had no news of her; but they seemed not to understand us. the captain, accompanied by some of our gentlemen, landed, and they set themselves to search for our missing people, in the woods, and along the shore n.w. of the cape. after a few hours we saw the captain return with weeks, one of the crew of the last boat sent out. he was stark naked, and after being clothed, and receiving some nourishment, gave us an account of his almost miraculous escape from the waves on the preceding night, in nearly the following terms:-"after you had passed our boat;" said he, "the breakers caused by the meeting of the wind roll and ebb-tide, became a great deal heavier than when we entered the river with the flood. the boat, for want of a rudder, became very hard to manage, and we let her drift at the mercy of the tide, till, after having escaped several surges, one struck us midship and capsized us. i lost sight of mr. aiken and john coles: but the two islanders were close by me; i saw them stripping off their clothes, and i followed their example; and seeing the pinnace within my reach, keel upward, i seized it; the two natives came to my assistance; we righted her, and by sudden jerks threw out so much of the water that she would hold a man: one of the natives jumped in, and, bailing with his two hands, succeeded in a short time in emptying her. the other native found the oars, and about dark we were all three embarked. the tide having now carried us outside the breakers, i endeavored to persuade my companions in misfortune to row, but they were so benumbed with cold that they absolutely refused. i well knew that without clothing, and exposed to the rigor of the air, i must keep in constant exercise. seeing besides that the night was advancing, and having no resource but the little strength left me, i set to work sculling, and pushed off the bar, but so as not to be carried out too far to sea. about midnight, one of my companions died: the other threw himself upon the body of his comrade, and i could not persuade him to abandon it. daylight appeared at last; and, being near the shore, i headed in for it, and arrived, thank god, safe and sound, through the breakers, on a sandy beach. i helped the islander, who yet gave some signs of life, to get out of the boat, and we both took to the woods; but, seeing that he was not able to follow me, i left him to his bad fortune, and, pursuing a beaten path that i perceived, i found myself, to my great astonishment, in the course of a few hours, near the vessel." the gentlemen who went ashore with the captain divided themselves into three parties, to search for the native whom weeks had left at the entrance of the forest; but, after scouring the woods and the point of the cape all day, they came on board in the evening without having found him. chapter vii. regrets of the author at the loss of his companions.--obsequies of a sandwich islander.--first steps in the formation of the intended establishment.--new alarm.--encampment. the narrative of weeks informed us of the death of three of our companions, and we could not doubt that the five others had met a similar fate. this loss of eight of our number, in two days, before we had set foot on shore, was a bad augury, and was sensibly felt by all of us. in the course of so long a passage, the habit of seeing each other every day, the participation of the same cares and dangers, and confinement to the same narrow limits, had formed between all the passengers a connection that could not be broken, above all in a manner so sad and so unlooked for, without making us feel a void like that which is experienced in a well-regulated and loving family, when it is suddenly deprived by death, of the presence of one of its cherished members. we had left new york, for the most part strangers to one another; but arrived at the river columbia we were all friends, and regarded each other almost as brothers. we regretted especially the two brothers lapensée and joseph nadeau: these young men had been in an especial manner recommended by their respectable parents in canada to the care of mr. m'kay; and had acquired by their good conduct the esteem of the captain, of the crew, and of all the passengers. the brothers lapensée were courageous and willing, never flinching in the hour of danger, and had become as good seamen as any on board. messrs fox and aikin were both highly regarded by all; the loss of mr. fox, above all, who was endeared to every one by his gentlemanly behavior and affability, would have been severely regretted at any time, but it was doubly so in the present conjuncture: this gentleman, who had already made a voyage to the northwest, could have rendered important services to the captain and to the company. the preceding days had been days of apprehension and of uneasiness; this was one of sorrow and mourning. the following day, the same gentlemen who had volunteered their services to seek for the missing islander, resumed their labors, and very soon after they left us, we perceived a great fire kindled at the verge of the woods, over against the ship. i was sent in a boat and arrived at the fire. it was our gentlemen who had kindled it, to restore animation to the poor islander, whom they had at last found under the rocks, half dead with cold and fatigue, his legs swollen and his feet bleeding. we clothed him, and brought him on board, where, by our care, we succeeded in restoring him to life. toward evening, a number of the sandwich-islanders, provided with the necessary utensils, and offerings consisting of biscuit, lard, and tobacco, went ashore, to pay the last duties to their compatriot, who died in mr. aikin's boat, on the night of the 24th. mr. pillet and i went with them, and witnessed the obsequies, which took place in the manner following. arrived at the spot where the body had been hung upon a tree to preserve it from the wolves, the natives dug a grave in the sand; then taking down the body, and stretching it alongside the pit, they placed the biscuit under one of the arms, a piece of pork beneath the other, and the tobacco beneath the chin and the genital parts. thus provided for the journey to the other world, the body was deposited in the grave and covered with sand and stones. all the countrymen of the dead man then knelt on either side of the grave, in a double row, with their faces to the east, except one of them who officiated as priest; the latter went to the margin of the sea, and having filled his hat with water, sprinkled the two rows of islanders, and recited a sort of prayer, to which the others responded, nearly as we do in the litanies. that prayer ended, they rose and returned to the vessel, looking neither to the right hand nor to the left. as every one of them appeared to me familiar with the part he performed, it is more than probable that they observed, as far as circumstances permitted, the ceremonies practised in their country on like occasions. we all returned on board about sundown. the next day, the 27th, desirous of clearing the gangways of the live stock; we sent some men on shore to construct a pen, and soon after landed about fifty hogs, committing them to the care of one of the hands. on the 30th, the long boat was manned, armed and provisioned, and the captain, with messrs. m'kay and d. stuart, and some of the clerks, embarked on it, to ascend the river and choose an eligible spot for our trading establishment. messrs. boss and pillet left at the same time, to run down south, and try to obtain intelligence of mr. fox and his crew. in the meantime, having reached some of the goods most at hand, we commenced, with the natives who came every day to the vessel, a trade for beaver-skins, and sea-otter stones. messrs. ross and pillet returned on board on the 1st of april, without having learned anything respecting mr. fox and his party. they did not even perceive along the beach any vestiges of the boat. the natives who occupy point _adams_, and who are called _clatsops_, received our young gentlemen very amicably and hospitably. the captain and his companions also returned on the 4th, without having decided on a position for the establishment, finding none which appeared to them eligible. it was consequently resolved to explore the south bank, and messrs. m'dougal and d. stuart departed on that expedition the next day, promising to return by the 7th. the 7th came, and these gentlemen did not return. it rained almost all day. the day after, some natives came on board, and reported that messrs. m'dougal and stuart had capsized the evening before in crossing the bay. this news at first alarmed us; and, if it had been verified, would have given the finishing blow to our discouragement. still, as the weather was excessively bad, and we did not repose entire faith in the story of the natives--whom, moreover, we might not have perfectly understood--we remained in suspense till the 10th. on the morning of that day, we were preparing to send some of the people in search of our two gentlemen, when we perceived two large canoes, full of indians, coming toward the vessel: they were of the _chinook_ village, which was situated at the foot of a bluff on the north side of the river, and were bringing back messrs. m'dougal and stuart. we made known to these gentlemen the report we had heard on the 8th from the natives, and they informed us that it had been in fact well founded; that on the 7th, desirous of reaching the ship agreeably to their promise, they had quitted _chinook_ point, in spite of the remonstrances of the chief, _comcomly_, who sought to detain them by pointing out the danger to which they would expose themselves in crossing the bay in such a heavy sea as it was; that they had scarcely made more than a mile and a half before a huge wave broke over their boat and capsized it; that the indians, aware of the danger to which they were exposed, had followed them, and that, but for their assistance, mr. m'dougal, who could not swim, would inevitably have been drowned; that, after the chinooks had kindled a large fire and dried their clothes, they had been conducted by them back to their village, where the principal chief had received them with all imaginable hospitality, regaling them with every delicacy his wigwam afforded; that, in fine, if they had got back safe and sound to the vessel, it was to the timely succor and humane cares of the indians whom we saw before us that they owed it. we liberally rewarded these generous children of the forest, and they returned home well satisfied. this last survey was also fruitless, as messrs. m'dougal and stuart did not find an advantageous site to build upon. but, as the captain wished to take advantage of the fine season to pursue his traffic with the natives along the n.w. coast, it was resolved to establish ourselves on point _george_, situated on the south bank, about fourteen or fifteen miles from our present anchorage. accordingly, we embarked on the 12th, in the long-boat, to the number of twelve, furnished with tools, and with provisions for a week. we landed at the bottom of a small bay, where we formed a sort of encampment. the spring, usually so tardy in this latitude, was already far advanced; the foliage was budding, and the earth was clothing itself with verdure; the weather was superb, and all nature smiled. we imagined ourselves in the garden of eden; the wild forests seemed to us delightful groves, and the leaves transformed to brilliant flowers. no doubt, the pleasure of finding ourselves at the end of our voyage, and liberated from the ship, made things appear to us a great deal more beautiful than they really were. be that as it may, we set ourselves to work with enthusiasm, and cleared, in a few days, a point of land of its under-brush, and of the huge trunks of pine-trees that covered it, which we rolled, half-burnt, down the bank. the vessel came to moor near our encampment, and the trade went on. the natives visited us constantly and in great numbers; some to trade, others to gratify their curiosity, or to purloin some little articles if they found an opportunity. we landed the frame timbers which we had brought, ready cut for the purpose, in the vessel; and by the end of april, with the aid of the ship-carpenters, john weeks and johann koaster, we had laid the keel of a coasting-schooner of about thirty tons. chapter viii. voyage up the river.--description of the country.--meeting with strange indians. the indians having informed us that above certain rapids, there was an establishment of white men, we doubted not that it was a trading post of the northwest company; and to make sure of it, we procured a large canoe and a guide, and set out, on the 2d of may, messrs m'kay, r. stuart, montigny, and i, with a sufficient number of hands. we first passed a lofty head-land, that seemed at a distance to be detached from the main, and to which we gave the name of _tongue point_. here the river gains a width of some nine or ten miles, and keeps it for about twelve miles up. the left bank, which we were coasting, being concealed by little low islands, we encamped for the night on one of them, at the village of _wahkaykum_, to which our guide belonged. we continued our journey on the 3d: the river narrows considerably, at about thirty miles from its mouth, and is obstructed with islands, which are thickly covered with the willow, poplar, alder, and ash. these islands are, without exception, uninhabited and uninhabitable, being nothing but swamps, and entirely overflowed in the months of june and july; as we understood from _coalpo_, our guide, who appeared to be an intelligent man. in proportion as we advanced, we saw the high mountains capped with snow, which form the chief and majestic feature, though a stern one, of the banks of the columbia for some distance from its mouth, recede, and give place to a country of moderate elevation, and rising amphitheatrically from the margin of the stream. the river narrows to a mile or thereabouts; the forest is less dense, and patches of green prairie are seen. we passed a large village on the south bank, called _kreluit_, above which is a fine forest of oaks; and encamped for the night, on a low point, at the foot of an isolated rock, about one hundred and fifty feet high. this rock appeared to me remarkable on account of its situation, reposing in the midst of a low and swampy ground, as if it had been dropped from the clouds, and seeming to have no connection with the neighboring mountains. on a cornice or shelving projection about thirty feet from its base, the natives of the adjacent villages deposite their dead, in canoes; and it is the same rock to which, for this reason, lieutenant broughton gave the name of _mount coffin_. on the 4th, in the morning, we arrived at a large village of the same name as that which we had passed the evening before, _kreluit_, and we landed to obtain information respecting a considerable stream, which here discharges into the columbia, and respecting its resources for the hunter and trader in furs. it comes from the north, and is called _cowlitzk_ by the natives. mr. m'kay embarked with mr. de montigny and two indians, in a small canoe, to examine the course of this river, a certain distance up. on entering the stream, they saw a great number of birds, which they took at first for turkeys, so much they resembled them, but which were only a kind of carrion eagles, vulgarly called _turkey-buzzards_. we were not a little astonished to see mr. de montigny return on foot and alone; he soon informed us of the reason: having ascended the _kowlitzk_ about a mile and a half, on rounding a bend of the stream, they suddenly came in view of about twenty canoes, full of indians, who had made a rush upon them with the most frightful yells; the two natives and the guide who conducted their little canoe, retreated with the utmost precipitancy, but seeing that they would be overtaken, they stopped short, and begged mr. m'kay to fire upon the approaching savages, which he, being well acquainted with the indian character from the time he accompanied sir alexander m'kenzie, and having met with similar occurrences before, would by no means do; but displayed a friendly sign to the astonished natives, and invited them to land for an amicable talk; to which they immediately assented. mr. m'kay had sent mr. de montigny to procure some tobacco and a pipe, in order to strike a peace with these barbarians. the latter then returned to mr. m'kay, with the necessary articles, and in the evening the party came back to our camp, which we had fixed between the villages. we were then informed that the indians whom mr. m'kay had met, were at war with the _kreluits_. it was impossible, consequently, to close our eyes all night; the natives passing and repassing continually from one village to the other, making fearful cries, and coming every minute to solicit us to discharge our firearms; all to frighten their enemies, and let them see that they were on their guard. on the 5th, in the morning, we paid a visit to the hostile camp; and those savages, who had never seen white men, regarded us with curiosity and astonishment, lifting the legs of our trowsers and opening our shirts, to see if the skin of our bodies resembled that of our faces and hands. we remained some time with them, to make proposals of peace; and having ascertained that this warlike demonstration originated in a trifling offence on the part of the _kreluits_, we found them well disposed to arrange matters in an amicable fashion. after having given them, therefore, some looking-glasses, beads, knives, tobacco, and other trifles, we quitted them and pursued our way. having passed a deserted village, and then several islands, we came in sight of a noble mountain on the north, about twenty miles distant, all covered with snow, contrasting remarkably with the dark foliage of the forests at its base, and probably the same which was seen by broughton, and named by him _mount st. helen's_. we pulled against a strong current all this day, and at evening our guide made us enter a little river, on the bank of which we found a good camping place, under a grove of oaks, and in the midst of odoriferous wild flowers, where we passed a night more tranquil than that which had preceded it. on the morning of the 6th we ascended this small stream, and soon arrived at a large village called _thlakalamah_, the chief whereof, who was a young and handsome man, was called _keasseno_, and was a relative of our guide. the situation of this village is the most charming that can be, being built on the little river that we had ascended, and indeed at its navigable head, being here, but a torrent with numerous cascades leaping from rock to rock in their descent to the deep, limpid water, which then flows through a beautiful prairie, enamelled with odorous flowers of all colors, and studded with superb groves of oak. the freshness and beauty of this spot, which nature seemed to have taken pleasure in adorning and enriching with her most precious gifts, contrasted, in a striking manner, with the indigence and uncleanliness of its inhabitants; and i regretted that it had not fallen to the lot of civilized men. i was wrong no doubt: it is just that those should be most favored by their common mother, who are least disposed to pervert her gifts, or to give the preference to advantages which are factitious, and often very frivolous. we quitted with regret this charming spot, and soon came to another large village, which our guide informed us was called _kathlapootle_, and was situated at the confluence of a small stream, that seemed to flow down from the mountain covered with snow, which we had seen the day before: this river is called _cowilkt_. we coasted a pretty island, well timbered, and high enough above the level of the columbia to escape inundation in the freshets, and arrived at two villages called _maltnabah_. we then passed the confluence of the river _wallamat_, or _willamet_, above which the tide ceases to be felt in the columbia. our guide informed us that ascending this river about a day's journey, there was a considerable fall, beyond which the country abounded in deer, elk, bear, beaver, and otter. but here, at the spot where we were, the oaks and poplar which line both banks of the river, the green and flowery prairies discerned through the trees, and the mountains discovered in the distance, offer to the eye of the observer who loves the beauties of simple nature, a prospect the most lovely and enchanting. we encamped for the night on the edge of one of these fine prairies. on the 7th we passed several low islands, and soon discovered _mount hood_, a high mountain, capped with snow, so named by lieutenant broughton; and _mount washington_, another snowy summit, so called by lewis and clarke. the prospect which the former had before his eyes at this place, appeared to him so charming, that landing upon a point, to take possession of the country in the name of king george, he named it _pointe belle vue_. at two o'clock we passed _point vancouver_, the highest reached by broughton. the width of the river diminishes considerably above this point, and we began very soon to encounter shoals of sand and gravel; a sure indication that we were nearing the rapids. we encamped that evening under a ledge of rocks, descending almost to the water's edge. the next day, the 8th, we did not proceed far before we encountered a very rapid current. soon after, we saw a hut of indians engaged in fishing, where we stopped to breakfast. we found here an old blind man, who gave us a cordial reception. our guide said that he was a white man, and that his name was _soto_. we learned from the mouth of the old man himself, that he was the son of a spaniard who had been wrecked at the mouth of the river; that a part of the crew on this occasion got safe ashore, but were all massacred by the clatsops, with the exception of four, who were spared and who married native women; that these four spaniards, of whom his father was one, disgusted with the savage life, attempted to reach a settlement of their own nation toward the south, but had never been heard of since; and that when his father, with his companions, left the country, he himself was yet quite young.[h] these good people having regaled us with fresh salmon, we left them, and arrived very soon at a rapid, opposite an island, named _strawberry island_ by captains lewis and clarke, in 1806. we left our men at a large village, to take care of the canoe and baggage; and following our guide, after walking about two hours, in a beaten path, we came to the foot of the fall, where we amused ourselves for some time with shooting the seals, which were here in abundance, and in watching the indians taking salmon below the cataract, in their scoop-nets, from stages erected for that purpose over the eddies. a chief, a young man of fine person and a good mien, came to us, followed by some twenty others, and invited us to his wigwam: we accompanied him, had roasted salmon for supper, and some mats were spread for our night's repose. [footnote h: these facts, if they were authenticated, would prove that the spaniards were the first who discovered the mouth of the columbia. it is certain that long before the voyages of captains gray and vancouver, they knew at least a part of the course of that river, which was designated in their maps under the name of _oregon_.] the next morning, having ascertained that there was no trading post near the falls, and coalpo absolutely refusing to proceed further, alleging that the natives of the villages beyond were his enemies, and would not fail to kill him if they had him in their power, we decided to return to the encampment. having, therefore, distributed some presents to our host (i mean the young chief with whom we had supped and lodged) and to some of his followers, and procured a supply of fresh salmon for the return voyage, we re-embarked and reached the camp on the 14th, without accidents or incidents worth relating. chapter ix. departure of the tonquin.--indian messengers.--project of an expedition to the interior.--arrival of mr. daniel thompson.--departure of the expedition.--designs upon us by the natives.--rumors of the destruction of the tonquin.--scarcity of provisions.--narrative of a strange indian.--duplicity and cunning of comcomly. having built a warehouse (62 feet by 20) to put under cover the articles we were to receive from the ship, we were busily occupied, from the 16th to the 30th, in stowing away the goods and other effects intended for the establishment. the ship, which had been detained by circumstances, much longer than had been anticipated, left her anchorage at last, on the 1st of june, and dropped down to baker's bay, there to wait for a favorable wind to get out of the river. as she was to coast along the north, and enter all the harbors, in order to procure as many furs as possible, and to touch at the columbia river before she finally left these seas for the united states, it was unanimously resolved among the partners, that mr. m'kay should join the cruise, as well to aid the captain, as to obtain correct information in regard to the commerce with the natives on that coast. mr. m'kay selected messrs. j. lewis and o. de montigny to accompany him; but the latter having represented that the sea made him sick, was excused; and mr. m'kay shipped in his place a young man named louis bruslé, to serve him in the capacity of domestic, being one of the young canadian sailors. i had the good fortune not to be chosen for this disastrous voyage, thanks to my having made myself useful at the establishment. mr. mumford (the second mate) owed the same happiness to the incompatibility of his disposition with that of the captain; he had permission to remain, and engaged with the company in place of mr. aikin as coaster, and in command of the schooner.[i] [footnote i: this schooner was found too small for the purpose. mr. astor had no idea of the dangers to be met at the mouth of the colombia, or he would have ordered the frame of a vessel of at least one hundred tons. the frames shipped in new york were used in the construction of this one only, which was employed solely in the river trade.] on the 5th of june, the ship got out to sea, with a good wind. we continued in the meantime to labor without intermission at the completion of the storehouse, and in the erection of a dwelling for ourselves, and a powder magazine. these buildings were constructed of hewn logs, and, in the absence of boards, tightly covered and roofed with cedar bark. the natives, of both sexes, visited us more frequently, and formed a pretty considerable camp near the establishment. on the 15th, some natives from up the river, brought us two strange indians, a man and a woman. they were not attired like the savages on the river columbia, but wore long robes of dressed deer-skin, with leggings and moccasins in the fashion of the tribes to the east of the rocky mountains. we put questions to them in various indian dialects; but they did not understand us. they showed us a letter addressed to "_mr. john stuart, fort estekatadene, new caledonia_." mr. pillet then addressing them in the _knisteneaux_ language, they answered, although they appeared not to understand it perfectly. notwithstanding, we learned from them that they had been sent by a mr. finnan m'donald, a clerk in the service of the northwest company, and who had a post on a river which they called _spokan_; that having lost their way, they had followed the course of the _tacousah-tesseh_ (the indian name of the columbia), that when they arrived at the falls, the natives made them understand that there were white men at the mouth of the river; and not doubting that the person to whom the letter was addressed would be found there, they had come to deliver it. we kept these messengers for some days, and having drawn from them important information respecting the country in the interior, west of the mountains, we decided to send an expedition thither, under the command of mr. david stuart; and the 15th july was fixed for its departure. all was in fact ready on the appointed day, and we were about to load the canoes, when toward midday, we saw a large canoe, with a flag displayed at her stern, rounding the point which we called _tongue point_. we knew not who it could be; for we did not so soon expect our own party, who (as the reader will remember) were to cross the continent, by the route which captains lewis and clarke had followed, in 1805, and to winter for that purpose somewhere on the missouri. we were soon relieved of our uncertainty by the arrival of the canoe, which touched shore at a little wharf that we had built to facilitate the landing of goods from the vessel. the flag she bore was the british, and her crew was composed of eight canadian boatmen or _voyageurs_. a well-dressed man, who appeared to be the commander, was the first to leap ashore, and addressing us without ceremony, said that his name was david thompson, and that he was one of the partners of the northwest company. we invited him to our quarters, which were at one end of the warehouse, the dwelling-house not being yet completed. after the usual civilities had been extended to our visitor, mr. thompson said that he had crossed the continent during the preceding season; but that the desertion of a portion of his men had compelled him to winter at the base of the rocky mountains, at the head waters of the columbia. in the spring he had built a canoe, the materials for which he had brought with him across the mountains, and had come down the river to our establishment. he added that the wintering partners had resolved to abandon all their trading posts west of the mountains, not to enter into competition with us, provided our company would engage not to encroach upon their commerce on the east side: and to support what he said, produced a letter to that effect, addressed by the wintering partners to the chief of their house in canada, the hon. william m'gillivray. mr. thompson kept a regular journal, and travelled, i thought, more like a geographer than a fur-trader. he was provided with a sextant, chronometer and barometer, and during a week's sojourn which he made at our place, had an opportunity to make several astronomical observations. he recognised the two indians who had brought the letter addressed to mr. j. stuart, and told us that they were two women, one of whom had dressed herself as a man, to travel with more security. the description which he gave us of the interior of the country was not calculated to give us a very favorable idea of it, and did not perfectly accord with that of our two indian guests. we persevered, however, in the resolution we had taken, of sending an expedition thither; and, on the 23d mr. d. stuart set out, accompanied by messrs. pillet, boss, m'clellan and de montigny, with four canadian _voyageurs_, and the two indian women, and in company with mr. thompson and his crew. the wind being favorable, the little flotilla hoisted sail, and was soon out of our sight.[j] [footnote j: mr. thompson had no doubt been sent by the agents of the northwest company, to take possession of an eligible spot at the mouth of the columbia, with a view of forestalling the plan of mr. astor. he would have been there before us, no doubt, but for the desertion of his men. the consequence of this step would have been his taking possession of the country, and displaying the british flag, as an emblem, of that possession and a guarantee of protection hereafter. he found himself too late, however, and the stars and stripes floating over _astoria_. this note is not intended by the author as an after-thought: as the opinion it conveys was that which we all entertained at the time of that gentleman's visit.] the natives, who till then had surrounded us in great numbers, began to withdraw, and very soon we saw no more of them. at first we attributed their absence to the want of furs to trade with; but we soon learned that they acted in that manner from another motive. one of the secondary chiefs who had formed a friendship for mr. r. stuart, informed him, that seeing us reduced in number by the expedition lately sent off, they had formed the design of surprising us, to take our lives and plunder the post. we hastened, therefore, to put ourselves in the best possible state of defence. the dwelling house was raised, parallel to the warehouse; we cut a great quantity of pickets in the forest, and formed a square, with palisades in front and rear, of about 90 feet by 120; the warehouse, built on the edge of a ravine, formed one flank, the dwelling house and shops the other; with a little bastion at each angle north and south, on which were mounted four small cannon. the whole was finished in six days, and had a sufficiently formidable aspect to deter the indians from attacking us; and for greater surety, we organized a guard for day and night. toward the end of the month, a large assemblage of indians from the neighborhood of the straits _juan de fuca_, and _gray's harbor_, formed a great camp on baker's bay, for the ostensible object of fishing for sturgeon. it was bruited among these indians that the tonquin had been destroyed on the coast, and mr. m'kay (or the chief trader, as they called him) and all the crew, massacred by the natives. we did not give credence to this rumor. some days after, other indians from gray's harbor, called _tchikeylis_, confirmed what the first had narrated, and even gave us, as far as we could judge by the little we knew of their language, a very circumstantial detail of the affair, so that without wholly convincing us, it did not fail to make a painful impression on our minds, and keep us in an excited state of feeling as to the truth of the report. the indians of the bay looked fiercer and more warlike than those of our neighborhood; so we redoubled our vigilance, and performed a regular daily drill to accustom ourselves to the use of arms. to the necessity of securing ourselves against an attack on the part of the natives, was joined that of obtaining a stock of provisions for the winter: those which we had received from the vessel were very quickly exhausted, and from the commencement of the month of july we were forced to depend upon fish. not having brought hunters with us, we had to rely for venison, on the precarious hunt of one of the natives who had not abandoned us when the rest of his countrymen retired. this man brought us from time to time, a very lean and very dry doe-elk, for which we had to pay, notwithstanding, very dear. the ordinary price of a stag was a blanket, a knife, some tobacco, powder and ball, besides supplying our hunter with a musket. this dry meat, and smoke-dried fish, constituted our daily food, and that in very insufficient quantity for hardworking men. "we had no bread, and vegetables, of course, were quite out of the question. in a word our fare was not sumptuous. those who accommodated themselves best to our mode of living were the sandwich-islanders: salmon and elk were to them exquisite viands. on the 11th of august a number of chinooks visited us, bringing a strange indian, who had, they said, something interesting to communicate. this savage told us, in fact, that he had been engaged with ten more of his countrymen, by a captain _ayres_, to hunt seals on the islands in _sir francis drake's bay_, where these animals are very numerous, with a promise of being taken home and paid for their services; the captain had left them on the islands, to go southwardly and purchase provisions, he said, of the spaniards of monterey in california; but he had never returned: and they, believing that he had been wrecked, had embarked in a skiff which he had left them, and had reached the main land, from which they were not far distant; but their skiff was shattered to pieces in the surf, and they had saved themselves by swimming. believing that they were not far from the river columbia, they had followed the shore, living, on the way, upon shell-fish and frogs; at last they arrived among strange indians, who, far from receiving them kindly, had killed eight of them and made the rest prisoners; but the _klemooks_, a neighboring tribe to the _clatsops_, hearing that they were captives, had ransomed them. these facts must have occurred in march or april, 1811. the indian who gave us an account of them, appeared to have a great deal of intelligence and knew some words of the english language. he added that he had been at the russian trading post at _chitka_, that he had visited the coast of california, the sandwich islands, and even china. about this time, old comcomly sent to _astoria_ for mr. stuart and me, to come and cure him of a swelled throat, which, he said, afflicted him sorely. as it was late in the day, we postponed till to-morrow going to cure the chief of the chinooks; and it was well we did; for, the same evening, the wife of the indian who had accompanied us in our voyage to the falls, sent us word that comcomly was perfectly well, the pretended _tonsillitis_ being only a pretext to get us in his power. this timely advice kept us at home. chapter x. occupations at astoria.--return of a portion of the men of the expedition to the interior.--new expedition.--excursion in search of three deserters. on the 26th of september our house was finished, and we took possession of it. the mason work had at first caused us some difficulty; but at last, not being able to make lime for want of lime-stones, we employed blue clay as a substitute for mortar. this dwelling-house was sufficiently spacious to hold all our company, and we had distributed it in the most convenient manner that we could. it comprised a sitting, a dining room, some lodging or sleeping rooms, and an apartment for the men and artificers, all under the same roof. we also completed a shop for the blacksmith, who till that time had worked in the open air. the schooner, the construction of which had necessarily languished for want of an adequate force at the ship-yard, was finally launched on the 2d of october, and named the _dolly_, with the formalities usual on such occasions. i was on that day at _young's bay_, where i saw the ruins of the quarters erected by captains lewis and clarke, in 1805-'06: they were but piles of rough, unhewn logs, overgrown with parasite creepers. on the evening of the 5th, messrs. pillet and m'lellan arrived, from the party of mr. david stuart, in a canoe manned by two of his men. they brought, as passengers, mr. régis bruguier, whom i had known in canada as a respectable country merchant, and an iroquois family. mr. bruguier had been a trader among the indians on the saskatchawine river, where he had lost his outfit: he had since turned trapper, and had come into this region to hunt beaver, being provided with traps and other needful implements. the report which these gentlemen gave of the interior was highly satisfactory: they had found the climate salubrious, and had been well received by the natives. the latter possessed a great number of horses, and mr. stuart had purchased several of these animals at a low price. ascending the river they had come to a pretty stream, which the natives called _okenakan_. mr. stuart had resolved to establish his post on the bank of this river, and having erected a log-house, he thought best to send back the above named persons, retaining with him, for the winter, only messrs. ross and de montigny, and two men.[k] [footnote k: one of these men bad been left with him by mr. thompson, in exchange for a sandwich-islander whom that gentleman proposed to take to canada, and thence to england.] meanwhile, the season being come when the indians quit the seashore and the banks of the columbia, to retire into the woods and establish their winter quarters along the small streams and rivers, we began to find ourselves short of provisions, having received no supplies from them for some time. it was therefore determined that mr. r. stuart should set out in the schooner with mr. mumford, for the threefold purpose, of obtaining all the provisions they could, cutting oaken staves for the use of the cooper, and trading with the indians up the river. they left with this design on the 12th. at the end of five days mr. mumford returned in a canoe of indians. this man having wished to assume the command, and to order (in the style of captain thorn) the person who had engaged him to obey, had been sent back in consequence to _astoria_. on the 10th of november we discovered that three of our people had absconded, viz., p.d. jeremie, and the two belleaux. they had leave to go out shooting for two days, and carried off with them firearms and ammunition, and a handsome light indian canoe. as soon as their flight was known, having procured a large canoe of the chinooks, we embarked, mr. matthews and i, with five natives, to pursue them, with orders to proceed as far as the falls, if necessary. on the 11th, having ascended the river to a place called _oak point_, we overtook the schooner lying at anchor, while mr. stuart was taking in a load of staves and hoop-poles. mr. farnham joined our party, as well as one of the hands, and thus reinforced, we pursued our way, journeying day and night, and stopping at every indian village, to make inquiries and offer a reward for the apprehension of our runaways. having reached the falls without finding any trace of them, and our provisions giving out, we retraced our steps, and arrived on the 16th at oak point, which we found mr. stuart ready to quit. meanwhile, the natives of the vicinity informed us that they had seen the marks of shoes imprinted on the sand, at the confluence of a small stream in the neighborhood. we got three small canoes, carrying two persons each, and having ascertained that the information was correct, after searching the environs during a part of the 17th, we ascended the small stream as far as some high lands which are seen from oak point, and which lie about eight or nine miles south of it. the space between these high lands and the ridge crowned with oaks on the bank of the columbia, is a low and swampy land, cut up by an infinity of little channels. toward evening we returned on our path, to regain the schooner; but instead of taking the circuitous way of the river, by which we had come, we made for oak point by the most direct route, through these channels; but night coming on, we lost ourselves. our situation became the most disagreeable that can be imagined. being unable to find a place where we could land, on account of the morass, we were obliged to continue rowing, or rather turning round, in this species of labyrinth, constantly kneeling in our little canoes, which any unlucky movement would infallibly have caused to upset. it rained in torrents and was dark as pitch. at last, after having wandered about during a considerable part of the night, we succeeded in gaining the edge of the mainland. leaving there our canoes, because we could not drag them (as we attempted) through the forest, we crossed the woods in the darkness, tearing ourselves with the brush, and reached the schooner, at about two in the morning, benumbed with cold and exhausted with fatigue. the 18th was spent in getting in the remainder of the lading of the little vessel, and on the morning of the 19th we raised anchor, and dropped down abreast of the kreluit village, where some of the indians offering to aid us in the search after our deserters, mr. stuart put mr. farnham and me on shore to make another attempt. we passed that day in drying our clothes, and the next day embarked in a canoe, with one _kreluit_ man and a squaw, and ascended the river before described as entering the columbia at this place. we soon met a canoe of natives, who informed us that our runaways had been made prisoners by the chief of a tribe which dwells upon the banks of the willamet river, and which they called _cathlanaminim_. we kept on and encamped on a beach of sand opposite _deer island_. there we passed a night almost as disagreeable as that of the 17th-18th. we had lighted a fire, and contrived a shelter of mats; but there came on presently a violent gust of wind, accompanied with a heavy rain: our fire was put out, our mats were carried away, and we could neither rekindle the one nor find the others: so that we had to remain all night exposed to the fury of the storm. as soon as it was day we re-embarked, and set ourselves to paddling with all our might to warm ourselves. in the evening we arrived near the village where our deserters were, and saw one of them on the skirts of it. we proceeded to the hut of the chief, where we found all three, more inclined to follow us than to remain as slaves among these barbarians. we passed the night in the chief's lodge, not without some fear and some precaution; this chief having the reputation of being a wicked man, and capable of violating the rights of parties. he was a man of high stature and a good mien, and proud in proportion, as we discovered by the chilling and haughty manner in which he received us. farnham and i agreed to keep watch alternately, but this arrangement was superfluous, as neither of us could sleep a wink for the infernal thumping and singing made by the medicine men all night long, by a dying native. i had an opportunity of seeing the sick man make his last will and testament: having caused to be brought to him whatever he had that was most precious, his bracelets of copper, his bead necklace, his bow and arrows and quiver, his nets, his lines, his spear, his pipe, &c., he distributed the whole to his most intimate friends, with a promise on their part, to restore them, if he recovered. on the 22d, after a great deal of talk, and infinite quibbling on the part of the chief, we agreed with him for the ransom of our men. i had visited every lodge in the village and found but few of the young men, the greater part having gone on a fishing excursion; knowing, therefore, that the chief could not be supported by his warriors, i was resolved not be imposed upon, and as i knew where the firearms of the fugitives had been deposited, i would have them at all hazards; but we were obliged to give him all our blankets, amounting to eight, a brass kettle, a hatchet, a small pistol, much out of order, a powder-horn, and some rounds of ammunition: with these articles placed in a pile before him, we demanded the men's clothing, the three fowling-pieces, and their canoe, which he had caused to be hidden in the woods. nothing but our firmness compelled him to accept the articles offered in exchange; but at last, with great reluctance, he closed the bargain, and suffered us to depart in the evening with the prisoners and the property. we all five (including the three deserters) embarked in the large canoe, leaving our kreluit and his wife to follow in the other, and proceeded as far as the cowlitzk, where we camped. the next day, we pursued our journey homeward, only stopping at the kreluit village to get some provisions, and soon entered the group of islands which crowd the river above gray's bay. on one of these we stopped to amuse ourselves with shooting some ducks, and meanwhile a smart breeze springing up, we split open a double-rush mat (which had served as a bag), to make a sail, and having cut a forked sapling for a mast, shipped a few boulders to stay the foot of it, and spread our canvass to the wind. we soon arrived in sight of gray's bay, at a distance of fourteen or fifteen miles from our establishment. we had, notwithstanding, a long passage across, the river forming in this place, as i have before observed, a sort of lake, by the recession of its shores on either hand: but the wind was fair. we undertook, then, to cross, and quitted the island, to enter the broad, lake-like expanse, just as the sun was going down, hoping to reach astoria in a couple of hours. we were not long before we repented of our temerity: for in a short time the sky became overcast, the wind increased till it blew with violence, and meeting with the tide, caused the waves to rise prodigiously, which broke over our wretched canoe, and filled it with water. we lightened it as much as we could, by throwing overboard the little baggage we had left, and i set the men to baling with our remaining brass kettle. at last, after having been, for three hours, the sport of the raging billows, and threatened every instant with being swallowed up, we had the unexpected happiness of landing in a cove on the north shore of the river. our first care was to thank the almighty for having delivered us from so imminent a danger. then, when we had secured the canoe, and groped our way to the forest, where we made, with branches of trees, a shelter against the wind--still continuing to blow with violence, and kindled a great fire to warm us and dry our clothes. that did not prevent us from shivering the rest of the night, even in congratulating ourselves on the happiness of setting our foot on shore at the moment when we began quite to despair of saving ourselves at all. the morning of the 24th brought with it a clear sky, but no abatement in the violence of the wind, till toward evening, when we again embarked, and arrived with our deserters at the establishment, where they never expected to see us again. some indians who had followed us in a canoe, up to the moment when we undertook the passage across the evening before, had followed the southern shore, and making the portage of the isthmus of tongue point, had happily arrived at astoria. these natives, not doubting that we were lost, so reported us to mr. m'dougal; accordingly that gentleman was equally overjoyed and astonished at beholding us safely landed, which procured, not only for us, but for the culprits, our companions, a cordial and hearty reception. chapter xi. departure of mr. r. stuart for the interior.--occupations at astoria.--arrival of messrs. donald m'kenzie and robert m'lellan.--account of their journey.--arrival of mr. wilson p. hunt. the natives having given us to understand that beaver was very abundant in the country watered by the willamet, mr. r. stuart procured a guide, and set out, on the 5th of december, accompanied by messrs. pillet and m'gillis and a few of the men, to ascend that river and ascertain whether or no it would be advisable to establish a trading-post on its banks. mr. r. bruguier accompanied them to follow his pursuits as a trapper. the season at which we expected the return of the tonquin was now past, and we began to regard as too probable the report of the indians of gray's harbor. we still flattered ourselves, notwithstanding, with the hope that perhaps that vessel had sailed for the east indies, without touching at astoria; but this was at most a conjecture. the 25th, christmas-day, passed very agreeably: we treated the men, on that day, with the best the establishment afforded. although that was no great affair, they seemed well satisfied; for they had been restricted, during the last few months, to a very meagre diet, living, as one may say, on sun-dried fish. on the 27th, the schooner having returned from her second voyage up the river, we dismantled her, and laid her up for the winter at the entrance of a small creek. the weather, which had been raining, almost without interruption, from the beginning of october, cleared up on the evening of the 31st; and the 1st january, 1812, brought us a clear and serene sky. we proclaimed the new year with a discharge of artillery. a small allowance of spirits was served to the men, and the day passed in gayety, every one amusing himself as well as he could. the festival over, our people resumed their ordinary occupations: while some cut timber for building, and others made charcoal for the blacksmith, the carpenter constructed a barge, and the cooper made barrels for the use of the posts we proposed to establish in the interior. on the 18th, in the evening, two canoes full of white men arrived at the establishment. mr. m'dougal, the resident agent, being confined to his room by sickness, the duty of receiving the strangers devolved on me. my astonishment was not slight, when one of the party called me by name, as he extended his hand, and i recognised mr. donald m'kenzie, the same who had quitted montreal, with mr. w.p. hunt, in the month of july, 1810. he was accompanied by a mr. robert m'lellan, a partner, mr. john reed, a clerk, and eight _voyageurs_, or boatmen. after having reposed themselves a little from their fatigues, these gentlemen recounted to us the history of their journey, of which the following is the substance. messrs. hunt and m'kenzie, quitting canada, proceeded by way of mackinac and st. louis, and ascended the missouri, in the autumn of 1810, to a place on that river called _nadoway_, where they wintered. here they were joined by mr. r. m'lellan, by a mr. crooks, and a mr. müller, traders with the indians of the south, and all having business relations with mr. astor. in the spring of 1811, having procured two large keel-boats, they ascended the missouri to the country of the _arikaras_, or rice indians, where they disposed of their boats and a great part of their luggage, to a spanish trader, by name _manuel lisa_. having purchased of him, and among the indians, 130 horses, they resumed their route, in the beginning of august, to the number of some sixty-five persons, to proceed across the mountains to the river columbia. wishing to avoid the _blackfeet_ indians, a warlike and ferocious tribe, who put to death all the strangers that fall into their hands, they directed their course southwardly, until they arrived at the 40th degree of latitude. thence they turned to the northwest, and arrived, by-and-by, at an old fort, or trading post, on the banks of a little river flowing west. this post, which was then deserted, had been established, as they afterward learned, by a trader named henry. our people, not doubting that this stream would conduct them to the columbia, and finding it navigable, constructed some canoes to descend it. having left some hunters (or trappers) near the old fort, with mr. miller, who, dissatisfied with the expedition, was resolved to return to the united states, the party embarked; but very soon finding the river obstructed with rapids and waterfalls, after having upset some of the canoes, lost one man by drowning, and also a part of their baggage, perceiving that the stream was impracticable, they resolved to abandon their canoes and proceed on foot. the enterprise was one of great difficulty, considering the small stock of provisions they had left. nevertheless, as there was no time to lose in deliberation, after depositing in a _cache_ the superfluous part of their baggage, they divided themselves into four companies, under the command of messrs. m'kenzie, hunt, m'lellan and crooks, and proceeded to follow the course of the stream, which they named _mad river_, on account of the insurmountable difficulties it presented. messrs. m'kenzie and m'lellan took the right bank, and messrs. hunt and crook the left. they counted on arriving very quickly at the columbia; but they followed this mad river for twenty days, finding nothing at all to eat, and suffering horribly from thirst. the rocks between which the river flows being so steep and abrupt as to prevent their descending to quench their thirst (so that even their dogs died of it), they suffered the torments of tantalus, with this difference, that he had the water which he could not reach above his head, while our travellers had it beneath their feet. several, not to die of this raging thirst, drank their own urine: all, to appease the cravings of hunger, ate beaver skins roasted in the evening at the camp-fire. they even were at last constrained to eat their moccasins. those on the or southeast bank, suffered, however, less than the others, because they occasionally fell in with indians, utterly wild indeed, and who fled at their approach, carrying off their horses. according to all appearances these savages had never seen white men. our travellers, when they arrived in sight of the camp of one of these wandering hordes, approached it with as much precaution, and with the same stratagem that they would have used with a troop of wild beasts. having thus surprised them, they would fire upon the horses, some of which would fall; but they took care to leave some trinkets on the spot, to indemnify the owners for what they had taken from them by violence. this resource prevented the party from perishing of hunger. mr. m'kenzie having overtaken mr. m'lellan, their two companies pursued the journey together. very soon after this junction, they had an opportunity of approaching sufficiently near to mr. hunt, who, as i have remarked, was on the other bank, to speak to him, and inform him of their distressed state. mr. hunt caused a canoe to be made of a horse-hide; it was not, as one may suppose, very large; but they succeeded, nevertheless, by that means, in conveying a little horse-flesh to the people on the north bank. it was attempted, even, to pass them across, one by one (for the skiff would not hold any more); several had actually crossed to the south side, when, unhappily, owing to the impetuosity of the current, the canoe capsized, a man was drowned, and the two parties lost all hope of being able to unite. they continued their route, therefore, each on their own side of the river. in a short time those upon the north bank came to a more considerable stream, which they followed down. they also met, very opportunely, some indians, who sold them a number of horses. they also encountered, in these parts, a young american, who was deranged, but who sometimes recovered his reason. this young man told them, in one of his lucid intervals, that he was from connecticut, and was named archibald pelton; that he had come up the missouri with mr. henry; that all the people at the post established by that trader were massacred by the blackfeet; that he alone had escaped, and had been wandering, for three years since, with the _snake_ indians.[l] our people took this young man with them. arriving at the confluence with the columbia, of the river whose banks they were following, they perceived that it was the same which had been called _lewis river_, by the american captain of that name, in 1805. here, then, they exchanged their remaining horses for canoes, and so arrived at the establishment, safe and sound, it is true, but in a pitiable condition to see; their clothes being nothing but fluttering rags. [footnote l: a thoroughly savage and lazy tribe, inhabiting the plains of the columbia, between the 43d and 44th degrees of latitude.] the narrative of these gentlemen interested us very much. they added, that since their separation from messrs. hunt and crooks, they had neither seen nor heard aught of them, and believed it impossible that they should arrive at the establishment before spring. they were mistaken, however, for mr. hunt arrived on the 15th february, with thirty men, one woman, and two children, having left mr. crooks, with five men, among the _snakes_. they might have reached astoria almost as soon as mr. m'kenzie, but they had passed from eight to ten days in the midst of a plain, among some friendly indians, as well to recruit their strength, as to make search for two of the party, who had been lost in the woods. not finding them, they had resumed their journey, and struck the banks of the columbia a little lower down than the mouth of lewis river, where mr. m'kenzie had come out. the arrival of so great a number of persons would have embarrassed us, had it taken place a month sooner. happily, at this time, the natives were bringing in fresh fish in abundance. until the 30th of march, we were occupied in preparing triplicates of letters and other necessary papers, in order to send mr. astor the news of our arrival, and of the reunion of the two expeditions. the letters were intrusted to mr. john reed, who quitted astoria for st. louis, in company with mr. m'lellan--another discontented partner, who wished to disconnect himself with the association,--and mr. r. stuart, who was conveying two canoe-loads of goods for his uncle's post on the _okenakan_. messrs. farnham and m'gillis set out at the same time, with a guide, and were instructed to proceed to the _cache_,[m] where the overland travellers had hidden their goods, near old fort henry, on the mad river. i profited by this opportunity to write to my family in canada. two days after, messrs. m'kenzie and matthews set out, with five or six men, as hunters, to make an excursion up the willamet river. [footnote m: these _caches_ are famous in all the narratives of overland travel, whether for trade or discovery. the manner of making them is described by captains lewis and clarke, as follows: they choose a dry situation, then describing a circle of some twenty inches diameter, remove the sod as gently and carefully as possible. the hole is then sunk a foot deep or more, perpendicularly; it is then worked gradually wider as it descends, till it becomes six or seven feet deep, and shaped like a kettle, or the lower part of a large still. as the earth is dug out, it is handed up in a vessel, and carefully laid upon a skin or cloth, in which it is carried away, and usually thrown into the river, if there be one, or concealed so as to leave no trace of it. a floor of three or four inches thick is then made of dry sticks, on which is thrown hay or a hide perfectly dry. the goods, after being well aired and dried, are laid down, and preserved from contact with the wall by a layer of other dried sticks, till all is stowed away. when the hole is nearly full, a hide is laid on top, and the earth is thrown upon this, and beaten down, until, with the addition of the sod first removed, the whole is on a level with the ground, and there remains not the slightest appearance of an excavation. the first shower effaces every sign of what has been done, and such a cache is safe for years.--ed.] chapter xii arrival of the ship beaver.--unexpected return of messrs. d. stuart, r. stuart, m'lelland, &c.--cause of that return.--ship discharging.--new expeditions.--hostile attitude of the natives.--departure of the beaver.--journeys of the author.--his occupations at the establishment. from the departure of the last outfit under mr. m'kenzie, nothing remarkable took place at astoria, till the 9th of may. on that day we descried, to our great surprise and great joy, a sail in the offing, opposite the mouth of the river. forthwith mr. m'dougal was despatched in a boat to the cape, to make the signals. on the morning of the 10th, the weather being fine and the sea smooth, the boat pushed out and arrived safely alongside. soon after, the wind springing up, the vessel made sail and entered the river, where she dropped anchor, in baker's bay, at about 2 p.m. toward evening the boat returned to the fort, with the following passengers: messrs. john clarke of canada (a wintering partner), alfred seton, george ehnainger, a nephew of mr. astor (clerks), and two men. we learned from these gentlemen that the vessel was the _beaver_, captain _cornelius sowles_, and was consigned to us; that she left new york on the 10th of october, and had touched, in the passage, at _massa fuero_ and the sandwich isles. mr. clarke handed me letters from my father and from several of my friends: i thus learned that death had deprived me of a beloved sister. on the morning of the 11th, we were strangely surprised by the return of messrs. d. stuart, r. stuart, r. m'lelland, crooks, reed, and farnham. this return, as sudden as unlooked for, was owing to an unfortunate adventure which befell the party, in ascending the river. when they reached the falls, where the portage is very long, some natives came with their horses, to offer their aid in transporting the goods. mr. r. stuart, not distrusting them, confided to their care some bales of merchandise, which they packed on their horses: but, in making the transit, they darted up a narrow path among the rocks, and fled at full gallop toward the prairie, without its being possible to overtake them. mr. stuart had several shots fired over their heads, to frighten them, but it had no other effect than to increase their speed. meanwhile our own people continued the transportation of the rest of the goods, and of the canoes; but as there was a great number of natives about, whom the success and impunity of those thieves had emboldened, mr. stuart thought it prudent to keep watch over the goods at the upper end of the portage, while messrs. m'lellan and reed made the rear-guard. the last named gentleman, who carried, strapped to his shoulders, a tin box containing the letters and despatches for new york with which he was charged, happened to be at some distance from the former, and the indians thought it a favorable opportunity to attack him and carry off his box, the brightness of which no doubt had tempted their cupidity. they threw themselves upon him so suddenly that he had no time to place himself on the defensive. after a short resistance, he received a blow on the head from a war club, which felled him to the ground, and the indians seized upon their booty. mr. m'lellan perceiving what was done, fired his carabine at one of the robbers and made him bite the dust; the rest took to flight, but carried off the box notwithstanding. mr. m'lellan immediately ran up to mr. reed; but finding the latter motionless and bathed in blood, he hastened to rejoin mr. stuart, urging him to get away from these robbers and murderers. but mr. stuart, being a self-possessed and fearless man, would not proceed without ascertaining if mr. reed were really dead, or if he were, without carrying off his body; and notwithstanding the remonstrances of mr. m'lellan, taking his way back to the spot where the latter had left his companion, had not gone two hundred paces, when he met him coming toward them, holding his bleeding head with both hands.[n] [footnote n: we were apprized of this unfortunate rencontre by natives from up the river, on the 15th of april, but disbelieved it. [it is curious to observe the want of military sagacity and precaution which characterized the operations of these traders, compared with the exact calculations of danger and the unfailing measures of defence, employed from the very outset by captains lewis and clarke in the same country. there was one very audacious attempt at plunder made upon the latter; but besides that it cost the indians a life or two, the latter lost property of their own far exceeding their booty. it is true that the american officers had a stronger force at their disposal than our merchants had, and that, too, consisting of experienced western hunters and veteran soldiers of the frontier; but it is not less interesting to note the difference, because it is easy to account for it.--j.v.h.]] the object of mr. reed's journey being defeated by the loss of his papers, he repaired, with the other gentlemen, to mr. david stuart's trading post, at okenakan, whence they had all set out, in the beginning of may, to return to astoria. coming down the river, they fell in with mr. r. crooks, and a man named _john day_. it was observed in the preceding chapter that mr. crooks remained with five men among some indians who were there termed _friendly_: but this gentleman and his companion were the only members of that party who ever reached the establishment: and they too arrived in a most pitiable condition, the savages having stripped them of everything, leaving them but some bits of deerskin to cover their nakedness. on the 12th, the schooner, which had been sent down the river to the beaver's anchorage, returned with a cargo (being the stores intended for astoria), and the following passengers: to wit, messrs. b. clapp, j.c. halsey, c.a. nichols, and r. cox, clerks; five canadians, seven americans (all mechanics), and a dozen sandwich-islanders for the service of the establishment. the captain of the beaver sounded the channel diligently for several days; but finding it scarcely deep enough for so large a vessel, he was unwilling to bring her up to astoria. it was necessary, in consequence, to use the schooner as a lighter in discharging the ship, and this tedious operation occupied us during the balance of this month and a part of june. captain sowles and mr. clarke confirmed the report of the destruction of the tonquin; they had learned it at owhyhee, by means of a letter which a certain captain ebbetts, in the employ of mr. astor, had left there. it was nevertheless resolved that mr. hunt should embark upon the "beaver," to carry out the plan of an exact commercial survey of the coast, which mr. m'kay had been sent to accomplish, and in particular to visit for that purpose the russian establishments at chitka sound. the necessary papers having been prepared anew, and being now ready to expedite, were confided to mr. r. stuart, who was to cross the continent in company with messrs. crooks and r. m'lellan, partners dissatisfied with the enterprise, and who had made up their minds to return to the united states. mr. clark, accompanied by messrs. pillet, donald, m'lellan, farnham and cox, was fitted out at the same time, with a considerable assortment of merchandise, to form a new establishment on the _spokan_ or clarke's river. mr. m'kenzie, with mr. seton, was destined for the borders of _lewis_ river: while mr. david stuart, reinforced by messrs. matthews and m'gillis, was to explore the region lying north of his post at okenakan. all these outfits being ready, with the canoes, boatmen, and hunters, the flotilla quitted astoria on the 30th of june, in the afternoon, having on board sixty-two persons. the sequel will show the result of the several expeditions. during the whole month of july, the natives (seeing us weakened no doubt by these outfits), manifested their hostile intentions so openly that we were obliged to be constantly on our guard. we constructed covered ways inside our palisades, and raised our bastions or towers another story. the alarm became so serious toward the latter end of the month that we doubled our sentries day and night, and never allowed more than two or three indians at a time within our gates. the beaver was ready to depart on her coasting voyage at the end of june, and on the 1st of july mr. hunt went on board: but westerly winds prevailing all that month, it was not till the 4th of august that she was able to get out of the river; being due again by the end of october to leave her surplus goods and take in our furs for market. the months of august and september were employed in finishing a house forty-five feet by thirty, shingled and perfectly tight, as a hospital for the sick, and lodging house for the mechanics. experience having taught us that from the beginning of october to the end of january, provisions were brought in by the natives in very small quantity, it was thought expedient that i should proceed in the schooner, accompanied by mr. clapp, on a trading voyage up the river to secure a cargo of dried fish. we left astoria on the 1st of october, with a small assortment of merchandise. the trip was highly successful: we found the game very abundant, killed a great quantity of swans, ducks, foxes, &c., and returned to astoria on the 20th, with a part of our venison, wild fowl, and bear meat, besides seven hundred, and fifty smoked salmon, a quantity of the _wapto_ root (so called by the natives), which is found a good substitute for potatoes, and four hundred and fifty skins of beaver and other animals of the furry tribe. the encouragement derived from this excursion, induced us to try a second, and i set off this time alone, that is, with a crew of five men only, and an indian boy, son of the old chief comcomly. this second voyage proved anything but agreeable. we experienced continual rains, and the game was much less abundant, while the natives had mostly left the river for their wintering grounds. i succeeded, nevertheless, in exchanging my goods for furs and dried fish, and a small supply of dried venison: and returned, on the 15th of november, to astoria, where the want of fresh provisions began to be severely felt, so that several of the men were attacked with scurvy. messrs. halsey and wallace having been sent on the 23d, with fourteen men, to establish a trading post on the willamet, and mr. m'dougal being confined to his room by sickness, mr. clapp and i were left with the entire charge of the post at astoria, and were each other's only resource for society. happily mr. clapp was a man of amiable character, of a gay, lively humor, and agreeable conversation. in the intervals of our daily duties, we amused ourselves with music and reading; having some instruments and a choice library. otherwise we should have passed our time in a state of insufferable ennui, at this rainy season, in the midst of the deep mud which surrounded us, and which interdicted the pleasure of a promenade outside the buildings. chapter xiii. uneasiness respecting the "beaver."--news of the declaration of war between great britain and the united states.--consequences of that intelligence.--different occurrences.--arrival of two canoes of the northwest company.--preparations for abandoning the country.--postponement of departure.--arrangement with mr. j.g. m'tavish. the months of october, november, and december passed away without any news of the "beaver," and we began to fear that there had happened to her, as to the tonquin, some disastrous accident. it will be seen, in the following chapter, why this vessel did not return to astoria in the autumn of 1812. on the 15th of january, mr. m'kenzie arrived from the interior, having abandoned his trading establishment, after securing his stock of goods in a _cache_. before his departure he had paid a visit to mr. clark on the spokan, and while there had learned the news, which he came to announce to us, that hostilities had actually commenced between great britain and the united states. the news had been brought by some gentlemen of the northwest company, who handed to them a copy of the proclamation of the president to that effect. when we learned this news, all of us at astoria who were british subjects and canadians, wished ourselves in canada; but we could not entertain even the thought of transporting ourselves thither, at least immediately: we were separated from our country by an immense space; and the difficulties of the journey at this season were insuperable: besides, mr. astor's interests had to be consulted first. we held, therefore, a sort of council of war, to which the clerks of the factory were invited _pro formâ_, as they had no voice in the deliberations. having maturely weighed our situation; after having seriously considered that being almost to a man british subjects, we were trading, notwithstanding, under the american flag: and foreseeing the improbability, or rather, to cut the matter short, the impossibility that mr. astor could send us further supplies or reinforcements while the war lasted, as most of the ports of the united states would inevitably be blockaded by the british; we concluded to abandon the establishment in the ensuing spring, or at latest, in the beginning of the summer. we did not communicate these resolutions to the men, lest they should in consequence abandon their labor: but we discontinued, from that moment, our trade with the natives, except for provisions; as well because we had no longer a large stock of goods on hand, as for the reason that we had already more furs than we could carry away overland. so long as we expected the return of the vessel, we had served out to the people a regular supply of bread: we found ourselves in consequence, very short of provisions, on the arrival of mr. m'kenzie and his men. this augmentation in the number of mouths to be fed compelled us to reduce the ration of each man to four ounces of flour and half a pound of dried fish _per diem_: and even to send a portion of the hands to pass the rest of the winter with messrs. wallace and halsey on the willamet, where game was plenty. meanwhile, the sturgeon having begun to enter the river, i left, on the 13th of february, to fish for them; and on the 15th sent the first boat-load to the establishment; which proved a very timely succor to the men, who for several days had broken off work from want of sufficient food. i formed a camp near oak point, whence i continued to despatch canoe after canoe of fine fresh fish to astoria, and mr. m'dougal sent to me thither all the men who were sick of scurvy, for the re-establishment of their health. on the 20th of march, messrs. reed and seton, who had led a part of our men to the post on the willamet, to subsist them, returned to astoria, with a supply of dried venison. these gentlemen spoke to us in glowing terms of the country of the willamet as charming, and abounding in beaver, elk, and deer; and informed us that messrs. wallace and halsey had constructed a dwelling and trading house, on a great prairie, about one hundred and fifty miles from the confluence of that river with the columbia. mr. m'kenzie and his party quitted us again on the 31st, to make known the resolutions recently adopted at astoria, to the gentlemen who were wintering in the interior. on the 11th of april two birch-bark canoes, bearing the british flag, arrived at the factory. they were commanded by messrs. j.g. m'tavish and joseph laroque, and manned by nineteen canadian _voyageurs_. they landed on a point of land under the guns of the fort, and formed their camp. we invited these gentlemen to our quarters and learned from them the object of their visit. they had come to await the arrival of the ship _isaac todd_, despatched from canada by the northwest company, in october, 1811, with furs, and from england in march, 1812, with a cargo of suitable merchandise for the indian trade. they had orders to wait at the mouth of the columbia till the month of july, and then to return, if the vessel did not make her appearance by that time. they also informed us that the natives near lewis river had shown them fowling-pieces, gun-flints, lead, and powder; and that they had communicated this news to mr. m'kenzie, presuming that the indians had discovered and plundered his _cache_; which turned out afterward to be the case. the month of may was occupied in preparations for our departure from the columbia. on the 25th, messrs. wallace and halsey returned from their winter quarters with seventeen packs of furs, and thirty-two bales of dried venison. the last article was received with a great deal of pleasure, as it would infallibly be needed for the journey we were about to undertake. messrs. clarke, d. stuart and m'kenzie also arrived, in the beginning of june, with one hundred and forty packs of furs, the fruit of two years' trade at the post on the _okenakan_, and one year on the _spokan_.[o] [footnote o: the profits of the last establishment were slender; because the people engaged at it were obliged to subsist on horse-flesh, and they ate ninety horses during the winter.] the wintering partners (that is to say, messrs. clarke and david stuart) dissenting from the proposal to abandon the country as soon as we intended, the thing being (as they observed) impracticable, from the want of provisions for the journey and horses to transport the goods; the project was deferred, as to its execution, till the following april. so these gentlemen, having taken a new lot of merchandise, set out again for their trading posts on the 7th of july. but mr. m'kenzie, whose goods had been pillaged by the natives (it will be remembered), remained at astoria, and was occupied with the care of collecting as great a quantity as possible of dried salmon from the indians. he made seven or eight voyages up the river for that purpose, while we at the fort were busy in baling the beaver-skins and other furs, in suitable packs for horses to carry. mr. reed, in the meantime, was sent on to the mountain-passes where mr. miller had been left with the trappers, to winter, there, and to procure as many horses as he could from the natives for our use in the contemplated journey. he was furnished for this expedition with three canadians, and a half-breed hunter named _daion_, the latter accompanied by his wife and two children. this man came from the lower missouri with mr. hunt in 1811-'12. our object being to provide ourselves, before quitting the country, with the food and horses necessary for the journey; in order to avoid all opposition on the part of the northwest company, we entered into an arrangement with mr. m'tavish. this gentleman having represented to us that he was destitute of the necessary goods to procure wherewith to subsist his party on their way homeward, we supplied him from our warehouse, payment to be made us in the ensuing spring, either in furs or in bills of exchange on their house in canada. chapter xiv. arrival of the ship "albatross."--reasons for the non-appearance of the beaver at astoria.--fruitless attempt of captain smith on a former occasion.--astonishment and regret of mr. hunt at the resolution of the partners.--his departure.--narrative of the destruction of the tonquin.--causes of that disaster.--reflections. on the 4th of august, contrary to all expectation, we saw a sail at the mouth of the river. one of our gentlemen immediately got into the barge, to ascertain her nationality and object: but before he had fairly crossed the river, we saw her pass the bar and direct her course toward astoria, as if she were commanded by a captain to whom the intricacies of the channel were familiar. i had stayed at the fort with mr. clapp and four men. as soon as we had recognised the american flag, not doubting any longer that it was a ship destined for the factory, we saluted her with three guns. she came to anchor over against the fort, but on the opposite side of the river, and returned our salute. in a short time after, we saw, or rather we heard, the oars of a boat (for it was already night) that came toward us. we expected her approach with impatience, to know who the stranger was, and what news she brought us. soon we were relieved from our uncertainty by the appearance of mr. hunt, who informed us that the ship was called the _albatross_ and was commanded by captain _smith_. it will be remembered that mr. hunt had sailed from astoria on board the "beaver," on the 4th of august of the preceding year, and should have returned with that vessel, in the month of october of the same year. we testified to him our surprise that he had not returned at the time appointed, and expressed the fears which we had entertained in regard to his fate, as well as that of the beaver itself: and in reply he explained to us the reasons why neither he nor captain sowles had been able to fulfil the promise which they had made us. after having got clear of the river columbia, they had scudded to the north, and had repaired to the russian post of chitka, where they had exchanged a part of their goods for furs. they had made with the governor of that establishment, barnoff by name, arrangements to supply him regularly with all the goods of which he had need, and to send him every year a vessel for that purpose, as well as for the transportation of his surplus furs to the east indies. they had then advanced still further to the north, to the coast of _kamskatka_; and being there informed that some kodiak hunters had been left on some adjacent isles, called the islands of st. peter and st. paul, and that these hunters had not been visited for three years, they determined to go thither, and having reached those isles, they opened a brisk trade, and secured no less than eighty thousand skins of the south-sea seal. these operations had consumed a great deal of time; the season was already far advanced; ice was forming around them, and it was not without having incurred considerable dangers that they succeeded in making their way out of those latitudes. having extricated themselves from the frozen seas of the north, but in a shattered condition, they deemed it more prudent to run for the sandwich isles, where they arrived after enduring a succession of severe gales. here mr. hunt disembarked, with the men who had accompanied him, and who did not form a part of the ship's crew; and the vessel, after undergoing the necessary repairs, set sail for canton. mr. hunt had then passed nearly six months at the sandwich islands, expecting the annual ship from new york, and never imagining that war had been declared. but at last, weary of waiting so long to no purpose, he had bought a small schooner of one of the chiefs of the isle of wahoo, and was engaged in getting her ready to sail for the mouth of the columbia, when four sails hove in sight, and presently came to anchor in _ohetity bay_. he immediately, went on board of one of them, and learned that they came from the indies, whence they had sailed precipitately, to avoid the english cruisers. he also learned from the captain of the vessel he boarded, that the beaver had arrived in canton some days before the news of the declaration of war. this captain smith, moreover, had on board some cases of nankeens and other goods shipped by mr. astor's agent at canton for us. mr. hunt then chartered the albatross to take him with his people and the goods to the columbia. that gentleman had not been idle during the time that he sojourned at wahoo: he brought us 35 barrels of salt pork or beef, nine tierces of rice, a great quantity of dried _taro_, and a good supply of salt. as i knew the channel of the river, i went on board the albatross, and piloted her to the old anchorage of the tonquin, under the guns of the fort, in order to facilitate the landing of the goods. captain smith informed us that in 1810, a year before the founding of our establishment, he had entered the river in the same vessel, and ascended it in boats as far as oak point; and that he had attempted to form an establishment there; but the spot which he chose for building, and on which he had even commenced fencing for a garden, being overflowed in the summer freshet, he had been forced to abandon his project and re-embark. we had seen, in fact, at oak point, some traces of this projected establishment. the bold manner in which this captain had entered the river was now accounted for. captain smith had chartered his vessel to a frenchman named _demestre_, who was then a passenger on board of her, to go and take a cargo of sandal wood at the _marquesas_, where that gentleman had left some men to collect it, the year before. he could not, therefore, comply with the request we made him, to remain during the summer with us, in order to transport our goods and people, as soon as they could be got together, to the sandwich islands. mr. hunt was surprised beyond measure, when we informed him of the resolution we had taken of abandoning the country: he blamed us severely for having acted with so much precipitation, pointing out that the success of the late coasting voyage, and the arrangements we had made with the russians, promised a most advantageous trade, which it was a thousand pities to sacrifice, and lose the fruits of the hardships he had endured and the dangers he had braved, at one fell swoop, by this rash measure. nevertheless, seeing the partners were determined to abide by their first resolution, and not being able, by himself alone, to fulfil his engagements to governor barnoff, he consented to embark once more, in order to seek a vessel to transport our heavy goods, and such of us as wished to return by sea. he sailed, in fact, on the albatross, at the end of the month. my friend clapp embarked with him: they were, in the first instance, to run down the coast of california, in the hope of meeting there some of the american vessels which frequently visit that coast to obtain provisions from the spaniards. some days after the departure of mr. hunt, the old one-eyed chief comcomly came to tell us that an indian of _gray's harbor_, who had sailed on the tonquin in 1811, and who was the only soul that had escaped the massacre of the crew of that unfortunate vessel, had returned to his tribe. as the distance from the river columbia to gray's harbor was not great, we sent for this native. at first he made considerable difficulty about following our people, but was finally persuaded. he arrived at astoria, and related to us the circumstances of that sad catastrophe, nearly as follows:[p] "after i had embarked on the tonquin," said he, "that vessel sailed for _nootka_.[q] having arrived opposite a large village called _newity_, we dropped anchor. the natives having invited mr. m'kay to land, he did so, and was received in the most cordial manner: they even kept him several days at their village, and made him lie, every night, on a couch of sea-otter skins. meanwhile the captain was engaged in trading with such of the natives as resorted to his ship: but having had a difficulty with one of the principal chiefs in regard to the price of certain goods, he ended by putting the latter out of the ship, and in the act of so repelling him, struck him on the face with the roll of furs which he had brought to trade. this act was regarded by that chief and his followers as the most grievous insult, and they resolved to take vengeance for it. to arrive more surely at their purpose, they dissembled their resentment, and came, as usual, on board the ship. one day, very early in the morning, a large pirogue, containing about a score of natives, came alongside: every man had in his hand a packet of furs, and held it over his head as a sign that they came to trade. the watch let them come on deck. a little after, arrived a second pirogue, carrying about as many men as the other. the sailors believed that these also came to exchange their furs, and allowed them to mount the ship's side like the first. very soon, the pirogues thus succeeding one another, the crew saw themselves surrounded by a multitude of savages, who came upon the deck from all sides. becoming alarmed at the appearance of things, they went to apprize the captain and mr. m'kay, who hastened to the poop. i was with them," said the narrator, "and fearing, from the great multitude of indians whom i saw already on the deck, and from the movements of those on shore, who were hurrying to embark in their canoes, to approach the vessel, and from the women being left in charge of the canoes of those who had arrived, that some evil design was on foot, i communicated my suspicions to mr. m'kay, who himself spoke to the captain. the latter affected an air of security, and said that with the firearms on board, there was no reason to fear even a greater number of indians. meanwhile these gentlemen had come on deck unarmed, without even their sidearms. the trade, nevertheless, did not advance; the indians offered less than was asked, and pressing with their furs close to the captain, mr. m'kay, and mr. lewis, repeated the word _makoke! makoke!_ "trade! trade!" i urged the gentlemen to put to sea, and the captain, at last, seeing the number of indians increase every moment, allowed himself to be persuaded: he ordered a part of the crew to raise the anchor, and the rest to go aloft and unfurl the sails. at the same time he warned the natives to withdraw, as the ship was going to sea. a fresh breeze was then springing up, and in a few moments more their prey would have escaped them; but immediately on receiving this notice, by a preconcerted signal, the indians, with a terrific yell, drew forth the knives and war-bludgeons they had concealed in their bundles of furs, and rushed upon the crew of the ship. mr. lewis was struck, and fell over a bale of blankets. mr. m'kay, however, was the first victim whom they sacrificed to their fury. two savages, whom, from the crown of the poop, where i was seated, i had seen follow this gentleman step by step, now cast themselves upon him, and having given him a blow on the head with a _potumagan_ (a kind of sabre which is described a little below), felled him to the deck, then took him up and flung him into the sea, where the women left in charge of the canoes, quickly finished him with their paddles. another set flung themselves upon the captain, who defended himself for a long time with his pocket-knife, but, overpowered by numbers, perished also under the blows of these murderers. i next saw (and that was the last occurrence of which i was witness before quitting the ship) the sailors who were aloft, slip down by the rigging, and get below through the steerage hatchway. they were five, i think, in number, and one of them, in descending, received a knife-stab in the back. i then jumped overboard, to escape a similar fate to that of the captain and mr. m'kay: the women in the canoes, to whom i surrendered myself as a slave, took me in, and bade me hide myself under some mats which were in the pirogues; which i did. soon after, i heard the discharge of firearms, immediately upon which the indians fled from the vessel, and pulled for the shore as fast as possible, nor did they venture to go alongside the ship again the whole of that day. the next day, haying seen four men lower a boat, and pull away from the ship, they sent some pirogues in chase: but whether those men were overtaken and murdered, or gained the open sea and perished there, i never could learn. nothing more was seen stirring on board the tonquin; the natives pulled cautiously around her, and some of the more daring went on board; at last, the savages, finding themselves absolute masters of the ship, rushed on board in a crowd to pillage her. but very soon, when there were about four or five hundred either huddled together on deck, or clinging to the sides, all eager for plunder, the ship blew up with a horrible noise. "i was on the shore," said the indian, "when the explosion took place, saw the great volume of smoke burst forth in the spot where the ship had been, and high in the air above, arms, legs, heads and bodies, flying in every direction. the tribe acknowledged a loss of over two hundred of their people on that occasion. as for me i remained their prisoner, and have been their slave for two years. it is but now that i have been ransomed by my friends. i have told you the truth, and hope you will acquit me of having in any way participated in that bloody affair." [footnote p: it being understood, of course, that i render into civilized expressions the language of this barbarian, and represent by words and phrases what he could only convey by gestures or by signs. [the _naïveté_ of those notes, and of the narrative in these passages, is amusing.--ed.]] [footnote q: a great village or encampment of indians, among whom the spaniards had sent missionaries under the conduct of signor quadra; but whence the latter were chased by captain vancouver, in 1792, as mentioned in the introduction.] our indian having finished his discourse, we made him presents proportioned to the melancholy satisfaction he had given us in communicating the true history of the sad fate of our former companions, and to the trouble he had taken in coming to us; so that he returned apparently well satisfied with our liberality. according to the narrative of this indian, captain thorn, by his abrupt manner and passionate temper, was the primary cause of his own death and that of all on board his vessel. what appears certain at least, is, that he was guilty of unpardonable negligence and imprudence, in not causing the boarding netting to be rigged, as is the custom of all the navigators who frequent this coast, and in suffering (contrary to his instructions) too great a number of indians to come on board at once.[r] [footnote r: it is equally evident that even at the time when captain thorn was first notified of the dangerous crowd and threatening appearance of the natives, a display of firearms would have sufficed to prevent an outbreak. had he come on deck with mr. m'kay and mr. lewis, each armed with a musket, and a couple of pistols at the belt, it is plain from the timidity the savages afterward displayed, that he might have cleared the ship, probably without shedding a drop of blood.--ed.] captain smith, of the albatross, who had seen the wreck of the tonquin, in mentioning to us its sad fate, attributed the cause of the disaster to the rash conduct of a captain ayres, of boston. that navigator had taken off, as i have mentioned already, ten or a dozen natives of new-itty, as hunters, with a promise of bringing them back to their country, which promise he inhumanly broke by leaving them on some desert islands in sir francis drake's bay. the countrymen of these unfortunates, indignant at the conduct of the american captain, had sworn to avenge themselves on the first white men who appeared among them. chance willed it that our vessel was the first to enter that bay, and the natives but too well executed on our people their project of vengeance. whatever may, have been the first and principal cause of this misfortune (for doubtless it is necessary to suppose more than one), seventeen white men and twelve sandwich-islanders, were massacred: not one escaped from the butchery, to bring us the news of it, but the indian of _gray's harbor_. the massacre of our people was avenged, it is true, by the destruction of ten times the number of their murderers; but this circumstance, which could perhaps gladden the heart of a savage, was a feeble consolation (if it was any) for civilized men. the death of mr. alexander m'kay was an irreparable loss to the company, which would probably have been dissolved by the remaining partners, but for the arrival of the energetic mr. hunt. interesting as was the recital of the indian of gray's harbor throughout, when he came to the unhappy end of that estimable man, marks of regret were visibly painted on the countenances of all who listened. at the beginning of september, mr. m'kenzie set off, with messrs. wallace and seton, to carry a supply of goods to the gentlemen wintering in the interior, as well as to inform them of the arrangements concluded with mr. hunt, and to enjoin them to send down all their furs, and all the sandwich-islanders, that the former might be shipped for america, and the latter sent back to their country. note. it will never be known how or by whom the _tonquin_ was blown up. some pretend to say that it was the work of james lewis, but that is impossible, for it appears from the narrative of the indian that he was one of the first persons murdered. it will be recollected that five men got between decks from aloft, during the affray, and four only were seen to quit the ship afterward in the boat. the presumption was that the missing man must have done it, and in further conversation with the gray's harbor indian, he inclined to that opinion, and even affirmed that the individual was the ship's armorer, _weeks_. it might also have been accidental. there was a large quantity of powder in the run immediately under the cabin, and it is not impossible that while the indians were intent on plunder, in opening some of the kegs they may have set fire to the contents. or again, the men, before quitting the ship, may have lighted a slow train, which is the most likely supposition of all. chapter xv. arrival of a number of canoes of the northwest company.--sale of the establishment at astoria to that company.--canadian news.--arrival of the british sloop-of-war "raccoon."--accident on board that vessel.--the captain takes formal possession of astoria.--surprise and discontent of the officers and crew.--departure of the "raccoon." a few days after mr. m'kenzie left us, we were greatly surprised by the appearance of two canoes bearing the british flag, with a third between them, carrying the flag of the united states, all rounding tongue point. it was no other than mr. m'kenzie himself, returning with messrs. j.g. m'tavish and angus bethune, of the northwest company. he had met these gentlemen near the first rapids, and had determined to return with them to the establishment, in consequence of information which they gave him. those gentlemen were in _light_ canoes (i.e., without any lading), and formed the vanguard to a flotilla of eight, loaded with furs, under the conduct of messrs. john stuart and m'millan. mr. m'tavish came to our quarters at the factory, and showed mr. m'dougal a letter which had been addressed to the latter by mr. angus shaw, his uncle, and one of the partners of the northwest company. mr. shaw informed his nephew that the ship _isaac todd_ had sailed from london, with letters of _marque_, in the month of march, in company with the frigate _phoebe_, having orders from the government to seize our establishment, which had been represented to the lords of the admiralty as an important colony founded by the american government. the eight canoes left behind, came up meanwhile, and uniting themselves to the others, they formed a camp of about seventy-five men, at the bottom of a little bay or cove, near our factory. as they were destitute of provisions, we supplied them; but messrs. m'dougal and m'kenzie affecting to dread a surprise from this british force under our guns, we kept strictly on our guard; for we were inferior in point of numbers, although our position was exceedingly advantageous. as the season advanced, and their ship did not arrive, our new neighbors found themselves in a very disagreeable situation, without food, or merchandise wherewith to procure it from the natives; viewed by the latter with a distrustful and hostile eye, as being our enemies and therefore exposed to attack and plunder on their part with impunity; supplied with good hunters, indeed, but wanting ammunition to render their skill available. weary, at length, of applying to us incessantly for food (which we furnished them with a sparing hand), unable either to retrace their steps through the wilderness or to remain in their present position, they came to the conclusion of proposing to buy of us the whole establishment. placed, as we were, in the situation of expecting, day by day, the arrival of an english ship-of-war to seize upon all we possessed, we listened to their propositions. several meetings and discussions took place; the negotiations were protracted by the hope of one party that the long-expected armed force would arrive, to render the purchase unnecessary, and were urged forward by the other in order to conclude the affair before that occurrence should intervene; at length the price of the goods and furs in the factory was agreed upon, and the bargain was signed by both parties on the 23d of october. the gentlemen of the northwest company took possession of astoria, agreeing to pay the servants of the pacific fur company (the name which had been chosen by mr. astor), the arrears of their wages, to be deducted from the price of the goods which we delivered, to supply them with provisions, and give a free passage to those who wished to return to canada over land. the american colors were hauled down from the factory, and the british run up, to the no small chagrin and mortification of those who were american citizens. it was thus, that after having passed the seas, and suffered all sorts of fatigues and privations, i lost in a moment all my hopes of fortune. i could not help remarking that we had no right to expect such treatment on the part of the british government, after the assurances we had received from mr. jackson, his majesty's _chargé d'affaires_ previously to our departure from new york. but as i have just intimated, the agents of the northwest company had exaggerated the importance of the factory in the eyes of the british ministry; for if the latter had known what it really was--a mere trading-post--and that nothing but the rivalry of the fur-traders of the northwest company was interested in its destruction, they would never have taken umbrage at it, or at least would never have sent a maritime expedition to destroy it. the sequel will show that i was not mistaken in this opinion. the greater part of the servants of the pacific fur company entered the service of the company of the northwest: the rest preferred to return to their country, and i was of the number of these last. nevertheless, mr. m'tavish, after many ineffectual attempts to persuade me to remain with them, having intimated that the establishment could not dispense with my services, as i was the only person who could assist them in their trade, especially for provisions, of which they would soon be in the greatest need, i agreed with them (without however relinquishing my previous engagement with mr. astor's agents) for five months, that is to say, till the departure of the expedition which was to ascend the columbia in the spring, and reach canada by way of the rocky mountains and the rivers of the interior. messrs. john stuart and m'kenzie set off about the end of this month, for the interior, in order that the latter might make over to the former the posts established on the spokan and okenakan. on the 15th of november, messrs. alexander stuart and alexander henry, both partners of the n.w. company, arrived at the factory, in a couple of bark canoes manned by sixteen _voyageurs_. they had set out from _fort william_, on lake superior, in the month of july. they brought us canadian papers, by which we learned that the british arms so far had been in the ascendant. they confirmed also the news that an english frigate was coming to take possession of our quondam establishment; they were even surprised not to see the _isaac todd_ lying in the road. on the morning of the 30th, we saw a large vessel standing in under _cape disappointment_ (which proved in this instance to deserve its name); and soon after that vessel came to anchor in _baker's bay_. not knowing whether it was a friendly or a hostile sail, we thought it prudent to send on board mr. m'dougal in a canoe, manned by such of the men as had been previously in the service of the pacific fur company, with injunctions to declare themselves americans, if the vessel was american, and englishmen in the contrary case. while this party was on its way, mr. m'tavish caused all the furs which were marked with the initials of the n.w. company to be placed on board the two barges at the fort, and sent them up the river above tongue point, where they were to wait for a concerted signal, that was to inform them whether the new-comers were friends or foes. toward midnight, mr. halsey, who had accompanied mr. m'dougal to the vessel, returned to the fort, and announced to us that she was the british sloop-of-war _raccoon_, of 26 guns, commanded by captain black, with a complement of 120 men, fore and aft. mr. john m'donald, a partner of the n.w. company, was a passenger on the raccoon, with five _voyageurs_, destined for the company's service. he had left england in the frigate _phoebe_, which had sailed in company with the _isaac todd_ as far as rio janeiro; but there falling in with the british squadron, the admiral changed the destination of the frigate, despatching the sloops-of-war _raccoon_ and _cherub_ to convoy the isaac todd, and sent the phoebe to search for the american commodore porter, who was then on the pacific, capturing all the british whalers and other trading vessels he met with. these four vessels then sailed in company as far as cape horn, they parted, after agreeing on the island of _juan fernandez_ as a _rendezvous_. the three ships-of-war met, in fact, at that island; but after having a long time waited in vain for the _isaac todd_, commodore hillier (hillyer?) who commanded this little squadron, hearing of the injury inflicted by commodore porter, on the british commerce, and especially on the whalers who frequent these seas, resolved to go in quest of him in order to give him combat; and retaining the _cherub_ to assist him, detailed the raccoon to go and destroy the american establishment on the river columbia, being assured by mr. m'donald that a single sloop-of-war would be sufficient for that service. mr. m'donald had consequently embarked, with his people, on board the raccoon. this gentleman informed us that they had experienced frightful weather in doubling the cape, and that he entertained serious apprehensions for the safety of the isaac todd, but that if she was safe, we might expect her to arrive in the river in two or three weeks. the signal gun agreed upon, having been fired, for the return of the barges, mr. m'tavish came back to the port with the furs, and was overjoyed to learn the arrival of mr. m'donald. on the 1st of december the raccoon's gig came up to the fort, bringing mr. m'donald (surnamed _bras croche_, or crooked arm), and the first lieutenant, mr. sheriff. both these gentlemen were convalescent from the effects, of an accident which had happened to them in the passage between juan fernandez and the mouth of the columbia. the captain wishing to clean the guns, ordered them to be scaled, that is, fired off: during this exercise one of the guns hung fire; the sparks fell into a cartridge tub, and setting fire to the combustibles, communicated also to some priming horns suspended above; an explosion followed, which reached some twenty persons; eight were killed on the spot, the rest were severely burnt; messrs. m'donald and sheriff had suffered a great deal; it was with difficulty that their clothes had been removed; and when the lieutenant came ashore, he had not recovered the use of his hands. among the killed was an american named _flatt_, who was in the service of the northwest company and whose loss these gentlemen appeared exceedingly to regret. as there were goods destined for the company on board the raccoon, the schooner _dolly_ was sent to baker's bay to bring them up: but the weather was so bad, and the wind so violent that she did not return till the 12th, bringing up, together with the goods, captain black, a lieutenant of marines, four soldiers and as many sailors. we entertained our guests as splendidly as it lay in our power to do. after dinner, the captain caused firearms to be given to the servants of the company, and we all marched under arms to the square or platform, where a flag-staff had been erected. there the captain took a british union jack, which he had brought on shore for the occasion, and caused it to be run up to the top of the staff; then, taking a bottle of madeira wine, he broke it on the flag-staff, declaring in a loud voice, that he took possession of the establishment and of the country in the name of his britannic majesty; and changed the name of astoria to _fort george_. some few indian chiefs had been got together to witness this ceremony, and i explained to them in their own language what it signified. three rounds of artillery and musketry were fired, and the health of the king was drunk by the parties interested, according to the usage on like occasions. the sloop being detained by contrary winds, the captain caused an exact survey to be made of the entrance of the river, as well as of the navigable channel between baker's bay and fort george. the officers visited the fort, turn about, and seemed to me in general very much dissatisfied with their fool's errand, as they called it: they had expected to find a number of american vessels loaded with rich furs, and had calculated in advance their share in the booty of astoria. they had not met a vessel, and their astonishment was at its height when they saw that our establishment had been transferred to the northwest company, and was under the british flag. it will suffice to quote a single expression of captain black's, in order to show how much they were deceived in their expectations. the captain landed after dark; when we showed him the next morning the palisades and log bastions of the factory, he inquired if there was not another fort; on being assured that there was no other, he cried out, with an air of the greatest astonishment:--"what! is this the fort which was represented to me as so formidable! good god! i could batter it down in two hours with a four-pounder!" there were on board the raccoon two young men from canada, who had been impressed at quebec, when that vessel was there some years before her voyage to the columbia: one of them was named _parent_, a blacksmith, and was of quebec: the other was from upper canada, and was named m'donald. these young persons signified to us that they would be glad to remain at fort george: and as there was among our men some who would gladly have shipped, we proposed to the captain an exchange, but he would not consent to it. john little, a boat-builder from new york, who had been on the sick list a long time, was sent on board and placed under the care of the sloop's surgeon, mr. o'brien; the captain engaging to land him at the sandwich islands. p.d. jeremie also shipped himself as under clerk. the vessel hoisted sail, and got out of the river, on the 31st of december. from the account given in this chapter the reader will see with what facility the establishment of the pacific fur company could have escaped capture by the british force. it was only necessary to get rid of the land party of the northwest company--who were completely in our power--then remove our effects up the river upon some small stream, and await the result. the sloop-of-war arrived, it is true; but as, in the case i suppose, she would have found nothing, she would have left, after setting fire to our deserted houses. none of their boats would have dared follow us, even if the indians had betrayed to them our lurking-place. those at the head of affairs had their own fortunes to seek, and thought it more for their interest, doubtless, to act as they did, but that will not clear them in the eyes of the world, and the charge of treason to mr. astor's interests will always be attached to their characters. chapter xvi. expeditions to the interior.--return of messrs. john stuart and d. m'kenzie.--theft committed by the natives.--war party against the thieves. on the 3d of january, 1814, two canoes laden with merchandise for the interior, were despatched under the command of mr. alexander stuart and mr. james keith, with fifteen men under them. two of the latter were charged with letters for the posts (of the northwest company) east of the mountains, containing instructions to the persons in superintendence there, to have in readiness canoes and the requisite provisions for a large party intending to go east the ensuing spring. i took this opportunity of advising my friends in canada of my intention to return home that season. it was the third attempt i had made to send news of my existence to my relatives and friends: the first two had miscarried and this was doomed to meet the same fate. messrs. j. stuart and m'kenzie, who (as was seen in a previous chapter) had been sent to notify the gentlemen in the interior of what had taken place at astoria, and to transfer the wintering posts to the northwest company, returned to fort george on the morning of the 6th. they stated that they had left messrs. clarke and d. stuart behind, with the loaded canoes, and also that the party had been attacked by the natives above the falls. as they were descending the river toward evening, between the first and second portages, they had espied a large number of indians congregated at no great distance in the prairie; which gave them some uneasiness. in fact, some time after they had encamped, and when all the people (_tout le monde_) were asleep, except mr. stuart, who was on guard, these savages had stealthily approached the camp, and discharged some arrows, one of which had penetrated the coverlet of one of the men, who was lying near the baggage, and had pierced the cartilage of his ear; the pain made him utter a sharp cry, which alarmed the whole camp and threw it into an uproar. the natives perceiving it, fled to the woods, howling and yelling like so many demons. in the morning our people picked up eight arrows round the camp: they could yet hear the savages yell and whoop in the woods: but, notwithstanding, the party reached the lower end of the portage unmolested. the audacity which these barbarians had displayed in attacking a party of from forty to forty-five persons, made us suppose that they would, much more probably, attack the party of mr. stuart, which was composed of but seventeen men. consequently, i received orders to get ready forthwith a canoe and firearms, in order to proceed to their relief. the whole was ready in the short space of two hours, and i embarked immediately with a guide and eight men. our instructions were to use all possible diligence to overtake messrs. stewart and keith, and to convey them to the upper end of the last portage; or to return with the goods, if we met too much resistance on the part of the natives. we travelled, then, all that day, and all the night of the 6th, and on the 7th, till evening. finding ourselves then at a little distance from the rapids, i came to a halt, to put the firearms in order, and let the men take some repose. about midnight i caused them to re-embark, and ordered the men to sing as they rowed, that the party whom we wished to overtake might hear us as we passed, if perchance they were encamped on some one of the islands of which the river is full in this part. in fact, we had hardly proceeded five or six miles, when we were hailed by some one apparently in the middle of the stream. we stopped rowing, and answered, and were soon joined by our people of the expedition, who were all descending the river in a canoe. they informed us that they had been attacked the evening before, and that mr. stuart had been wounded. we turned about, and all proceeded in company toward the fort. in the morning, when we stopped to breakfast, mr. keith gave me the particulars of the affair of the day preceding. having arrived at the foot of the rapids, they commenced the portage on the south bank of the river, which is obstructed with boulders, over which it was necessary to pass the effects. after they had hauled over the two canoes, and a part of the goods, the natives approached in great numbers, trying to carry off something unobserved. mr. stuart was at the upper end of the portage (the portage being about six hundred yards in length), and mr. keith accompanied the loaded men. an indian seized a bag containing articles of little value, and fled: mr. stuart, who saw the act, pursued the thief, and after some resistance on the latter's part, succeeded in making him relinquish his booty. immediately he saw a number of indians armed with bows and arrows; approaching him: one of them bent his bow and took aim; mr. stuart, on his part, levelled his gun at the indian, warning the latter not to shoot, and at the same instant received an arrow, which pierced his left shoulder. he then drew the trigger; but as it had rained all day, the gun missed fire, and before he could re-prime, another arrow, better aimed than the first, struck him in the left side and penetrated between two of his ribs, in the region of the heart, and would have proved fatal, no doubt, but for a stone-pipe he had fortunately in his side-pocket, and which was broken by the arrow; at the same moment his gun was discharged, and the indian fell dead. several others then rushed forward to avenge the death of their compatriot; but two of the men came up with their loads and their gun (for these portages were made arms in hand), and seeing what was going forward, one of them threw his pack on the ground, fired on one of the indians and brought him down. he got up again, however, and picked up his weapons, but the other man ran upon him, wrested from him his war-club, and despatched him by repeated blows on the head with it. the other savages, seeing the bulk of our people approaching the scene of combat, retired and crossed the river. in the meantime, mr. stuart extracted the arrows from his body, by the aid of one of the men: the blood flowed in abundance from the wounds, and he saw that it would be impossible for him to pursue his journey; he therefore gave orders for the canoes and goods to be carried back to the lower end of the portage. presently they saw a great number of pirogues full of warriors coming from the opposite side of the river. our people then considered that they could do nothing better than to get away as fast as possible; they contrived to transport over one canoe, on which they all embarked, abandoning the other and the goods, to the natives. while the barbarians were plundering these effects, more precious in their estimation than the apples of gold in the garden of the hesperides, our party retired and got out of sight. the retreat was, notwithstanding, so precipitate, that they left behind an indian from the lake of the two mountains, who was in the service of the company as a hunter. this indian had persisted in concealing himself behind the rocks, meaning, he said, to kill some of those thieves, and did not return in time for the embarkation. mr. keith regretted this brave man's obstinacy, fearing, with good reason, that he would be discovered and murdered by the natives. we rowed all that day and night, and reached the factory on the 9th, at sunrise. our first care, after having announced the misfortune of our people, was to dress the wounds of mr. stuart, which had been merely bound with a wretched piece of cotton cloth. the goods which had been abandoned, were of consequence to the company, inasmuch as they could not be replaced. it was dangerous, besides, to leave the natives in possession of some fifty guns and a considerable quantity of ammunition, which they might use against us.[s] the partners, therefore, decided to fit out an expedition immediately to chastise the robbers, or at least to endeavor to recover the goods. i went, by their order, to find the principal chiefs of the neighboring tribes, to explain to them what had taken place, and invite them to join us, to which they willingly consented. then, having got ready six canoes, we re-embarked on the 10th, to the number of sixty-two men, all armed from head to foot, and provided with a small brass field-piece. [footnote s: however, some cases of guns and kegs of powder were thrown into the falls, before the party retreated.] we soon reached the lower end of the first rapid: but the essential thing was wanting to our little force; it was without provisions; our first care then was to try to procure these. having arrived opposite a village, we perceived on the bank about thirty armed savages, who seemed to await us firmly. as it was not our policy to seem bent on hostilities, we landed on the opposite bank, and i crossed the river with five or six men, to enter into parley with them, and try to obtain provisions. i immediately became aware that the village was abandoned, the women and children having fled to the woods, taking with them all the articles of food. the young men, however, offered us dogs, of which we purchased a score. then we passed to a second village, where they were already informed of our coming. here we bought forty-five dogs and a horse. with this stock we formed an encampment on an island called _strawberry island_. seeing ourselves now provided with food for several days, we informed the natives touching the motives which had brought us, and announced to them that we were determined to put them all to death and burn their villages, if they did not bring back in two days the effects stolen on the 7th. a party was detached to the rapids, where the attack on mr. stuart had taken place. we found the villages all deserted. crossing to the north bank, we found a few natives, of whom we made inquiries respecting the nipissingue indian, who had been left behind, but they assured us that they had seen nothing of him.[t] [footnote t: this indian returned some time after to the factory, but in a pitiable condition. after the departure of the canoe, he had concealed himself behind a rock, and so passed the night. at daybreak, fearing to be discovered, he gained the woods and directed his steps toward the fort, across a mountainous region. he arrived at length at the bank of a little stream, which he was at first unable to cross. hunger, in the meantime, began to urge him; he might have appeased it with game, of which he saw plenty, but unfortunately he had lost the flint of his gun. at last, with a raft of sticks, he crossed the river, and arrived at a village, the inhabitants of which disarmed him, and made him prisoner. our people hearing where he was, sent to seek him, and gave some blankets for his ransom.] not having succeeded in recovering, above the rapids, any part of the lost goods, the inhabitants all protesting that it was not they, but the villages below, which had perpetrated the robbery, we descended the river again, and re-encamped on _strawberry island_. as the intention of the partners was to intimidate the natives, without (if possible) shedding blood, we made a display of our numbers, and from time to time fired off our little field-piece, to let them see that we could reach them from one side of the river to the other. the indian _coalpo_ and his wife, who had accompanied us, advised us to make prisoner one of the chiefs. we succeeded in this design, without incurring any danger. having invited one of the natives to come and smoke with us, he came accordingly: a little after, came another; at last, one of the chiefs, and he one of the most considered among them, also came. being notified secretly of his character by _coalpo_, who was concealed in the tent, we seized him forthwith, tied him to a stake, and placed a guard over him with a naked sword, as if ready to cut his head off on the least attempt being made by his people for his liberation. the other indians were then suffered to depart with the news for his tribe, that unless the goods were brought to us in twenty-four hours, their chief would be put to death. our stratagem succeeded: soon after we heard wailing and lamentation in the village, and they presently brought us part of the guns, some brass kettles, and a variety of smaller articles, protesting that this was all their share of the plunder. keeping our chief as a hostage, we passed to the other village, and succeeded in recovering the rest of the guns, and about a third of the other goods. although they had been the aggressors, yet as they had had two men killed and we had not lost any on our side, we thought it our duty to conform to the usage of the country, and abandon to them the remainder of the stolen effects, to cover, according to their expression, the bodies of their two slain compatriots. besides, we began to find ourselves short of provisions, and it would not have been easy to get at our enemies to punish them, if they had taken refuge in the woods, according to their custom when they feel themselves the weaker party. so we released our prisoner, and gave him a flag, telling him that when he presented it unfurled, we should regard it as a sign of peace and friendship: but if, when we were passing the portage, any one of the natives should have the misfortune to come near the baggage, we would kill him on the spot. we re-embarked on the 19th, and on the 22d reached the fort, where we made a report of our martial expedition. we found mr. stuart very ill of his wounds, especially of the one in the side, which was so much swelled that we had every reason to think the arrow had been poisoned. if we did not do the savages as much harm as we might have done, it was not from timidity but from humanity, and in order not to shed human blood uselessly. for after all, what good would it have done us to have slaughtered some of these barbarians, whose crime was not the effect of depravity and wickedness, but of an ardent and irresistible desire to ameliorate their condition? it must be allowed also that the interest, well-understood, of the partners of the northwest company, was opposed to too strongly marked acts of hostility on their part: it behooved them exceedingly not to make irreconciliable enemies of the populations neighboring on the portages of the columbia, which they would so often be obliged to pass and repass in future. it is also probable that the other natives on the banks, as well as of the river as of the sea, would not have seen with indifference, their countrymen too signally or too rigorously punished by strangers; and that they would have made common cause with the former to resist the latter, and perhaps even to drive them from the country. i must not omit to state that all the firearms surrendered by the indians on this occasion, were found loaded with ball, and primed, with a little piece of cotton laid over the priming to keep the powder dry. this shows how soon they would acquire the use of guns, and how careful traders should be in intercourse with strange indians, not to teach them their use. chapter xvii. description of tongue point.--a trip to the _willamet_.--arrival of w. hunt in the brig pedlar.--narrative of the loss of the ship lark.--preparations for crossing the continent. the new proprietors of our establishment, being dissatisfied with the site we had chosen, came to the determination to change it; after surveying both sides of the river, they found no better place than the head-land which we had named tongue point. this point, or to speak more accurately, perhaps, this cape, extends about a quarter of a mile into the river, being connected with the main-land by a low, narrow neck, over which the indians, in stormy weather, haul their canoes in passing up and down the river; and terminating in an almost perpendicular rock, of about 250 or 300 feet elevation. this bold summit was covered with a dense forest of pine trees; the ascent from the lower neck was gradual and easy; it abounded in springs of the finest water; on either side it had a cove to shelter the boats necessary for a trading establishment. this peninsula had truly the appearance of a huge tongue. astoria had been built nearer the ocean, but the advantages offered by tongue point more than compensated for its greater distance. its soil, in the rainy season, could be drained with little or no trouble; it was a better position to guard against attacks on the part of the natives, and less exposed to that of civilized enemies by sea or land in time of war. all the hands who had returned from the interior, added to those who were already at the fort, consumed, in an incredibly short space of time the small stock of provisions which had been conveyed by the pacific fur company to the company of the northwest. it became a matter of necessity, therefore, to seek some spot where a part, at least, could be sent to subsist. with these views i left the fort on the 7th february with a number of men, belonging to the old concern, and who had refused to enter the service of the new one, to proceed to the establishment on the _willamet_ river, under the charge of mr. alexander henry, who had with him a number of first-rate hunters. leaving the columbia to ascend the _willamet_, i found the banks on either side of that stream well wooded, but low and swampy, until i reached the first falls; having passed which, by making a portage, i commenced ascending a clear but moderately deep channel, against a swift current. the banks on either side were bordered with forest-trees, but behind that narrow belt, diversified with prairie, the landscape was magnificent; the hills were of moderate elevation, and rising in an amphitheatre. deer and elk are found here in great abundance; and the post in charge of mr. henry had been established with a view of keeping constantly there a number of hunters to prepare dried venison for the use of the factory. on our arrival at the columbia, considering the latitude, we had expected severe winter weather, such as is experienced in the same latitudes east; but we were soon undeceived; the mildness of the climate never permitted us to transport fresh provisions from the willamet to astoria. we had not a particle of salt; and the attempts we made to smoke or dry the venison proved abortive. having left the men under my charge with mr. henry, i took leave of that gentleman, and returned. at oak point i found messrs. keith and pillet encamped, to pass there the season of sturgeon-fishing. they informed me that i was to stay with them. accordingly i remained at oak point the rest of the winter, occupied in trading with the indians spread all along the river for some 30 or 40 miles above, in order to supply the factory with provisions. i used to take a boat with four or five men, visit every fishing station, trade for as much fish as would load the boat, and send her down to the fort. the surplus fish traded in the interval between the departure and return of the boat, was cut up, salted and barrelled for future use. the salt had been recently obtained from a quarter to be presently mentioned. about the middle of march messrs. keith and pillet both left me and returned to the fort. being now alone, i began seriously to reflect on my position, and it was in this interval that i positively decided to return to canada. i made inquiries of the men sent up with the boats for fish, concerning the preparations for departure, but whether they had been enjoined secrecy, or were unwilling to communicate, i could learn nothing of what was doing below. at last i heard that on the 28th february a sail had appeared at the mouth of the river. the gentlemen of the n.w. company at first flattered themselves that it was the vessel they had so long expected. they were soon undeceived by a letter from mr. hunt, which was brought to the fort by the indians of _baker's bay_. that gentleman had purchased at the marquesas islands a brig called _the pedlar_: it was on that vessel that he arrived, having for pilot captain northrop, formerly commander of the ship _lark_. the latter vessel had been outfitted by mr. astor, and despatched from new york, in spite of the blockading squadron, with supplies for the _ci-devant_ pacific fur company; but unhappily she had been assailed by a furious tempest and capsized in lat. 16° n., and three or four hundred miles from the sandwich islands. the mate who was sick, was drowned in the cabin, and four of the crew perished at the same time. the captain had the masts and rigging cut away, which caused the vessel to right again, though full of water. one of the hands dived down to the sail-maker's locker, and got out a small sail, which they attached to the bowsprit. he dived a second time, and brought up a box containing a dozen bottles of wine. for thirteen days they had no other sustenance but the flesh of a small shark, which they had the good fortune to take, and which they ate raw, and for drink, a gill of the wine each man _per diem_. at last the trade winds carried them upon the island of _tahouraka_, where the vessel went to pieces on the reef. the islanders saved the crew, and seized all the goods which floated on the water. mr. hunt was then at _wahoo_, and learned through some islanders from _morotoi_, that some americans had been wrecked on the isle of _tahouraka_. he went immediately to take them off, and gave the pilotage of his own vessel to captain northrop. it may be imagined what was the surprise of mr. hunt when he saw astoria under the british flag, and passed into stranger hands. but the misfortune was beyond remedy, and he was obliged to content himself with taking on board all the americans who were at the establishment, and who had not entered the service of the company of the northwest. messrs. halsey, seton, and farnham were among those who embarked. i shall have occasion to inform the reader of the part each of them played, and how they reached their homes. when i heard that mr. hunt was in the river, and knowing that the overland expedition was to set out early in april, i raised camp at oak point, and reached the fort on the 2d of that month. but the brig _pedlar_ had that very day got outside the river, after several fruitless attempts, in one of which she narrowly missed being lost on the bar. i would gladly have gone in her, had i but arrived a day sooner. i found, however, all things prepared for the departure of the canoes, which was to take place on the 4th. i got ready the few articles i possessed, and in spite of the very advantageous offers of the gentlemen of the n.w. company, and their reiterated persuasions, aided by the crafty m'dougal, to induce me to remain, at least one year more, i persisted in my resolution to leave the country. the journey i was about to undertake was a long one: it would be accompanied with great fatigues and many privations, and even by some dangers; but i was used to privations and fatigues; i had braved dangers of more than one sort; and even had it been otherwise, the ardent desire of revisiting my country, my relatives, and my friends, the hope of finding myself, in a few months, in their midst, would have made me overlook every other consideration. i am about, then, to quit the banks of the river columbia, and conduct the reader through the mountain passes, over the plains, the forests, and the lakes of our continent: but i ought first to give him at least an idea of the manners and customs of the inhabitants, as well as of the principal productions of the country that i now quit, after a sojourn of three years. this is what i shall try to do in the following chapters.[u] [footnote u: some of my readers would, no doubt, desire some scientific details on the botany and natural history of this country. that is, in fact, what they ought to expect from a man who had travelled for his pleasure, or to make discoveries: but the object of my travels was not of this description; my occupations had no relation with science; and, as i have said in my preface, i was not, and am not now, either a naturalist or a botanist.] chapter xviii. situation of the columbia river.--qualities of its soil.--climate, &c.--vegetable and animal productions of the country. the mouth of the columbia river is situated in 46° 19' north latitude, and 125° or 126° of longitude west of the meridian of greenwich. the highest tides are very little over nine or ten feet, at its entrance, and are felt up stream for a distance of twenty-five or thirty leagues. during the three years i spent there, the cold never was much below the freezing point; and i do not think the heat ever exceeded 76°. westerly winds prevail from the early part of spring, and during a part of the summer; that wind generally springs up with the flood tide, and tempers the heat of the day. the northwest wind prevails during the latter part of summer and commencement of autumn. this last is succeeded by a southeast wind, which blows almost without intermission from the beginning of october to the end of december, or commencement of january. this interval is the rainy season, the most disagreeable of the year. fogs (so thick that sometimes for days no object is discernible for five or six hundred yards from the beach), are also very prevalent. the surface of the soil consists (in the valleys) of a layer of black vegetable mould, about five or six inches thick at most; under this layer is found another of gray and loose, but extremely cold earth; below which is a bed of coarse sand and gravel, and next to that pebble or hard rock. on the more elevated parts, the same black vegetable mould is found, but much thinner, and under it is the trap rock. we found along the seashore, south of point adams, a bank of earth white as chalk, which we used for white-washing our walls. the natives also brought us several specimens of blue, red and yellow earth or clay, which they said was to be found at a great distance south; and also a sort of shining earth, resembling lead ore.[v] we found no limestone, although we burnt several kilns, but never could get one ounce of lime. [footnote v: plumbago.] we had brought with us from new york a variety of garden seeds, which were put in the ground in the month of may, 1811, on a rich piece of land laid out for the purpose on a sloping ground in front of our establishment. the garden had a fine appearance in the month of august; but although the plants were left in the ground until december, not one of them came to maturity, with the exception of the radishes, the turnips, and the potatoes. the turnips grew to a prodigious size; one of the largest we had the curiosity to weigh and measure; its circumference was thirty-three inches, its weight fifteen and a half pounds. the radishes were in full blossom in the month of december, and were left in the ground to perfect the seeds for the ensuing season, but they were all destroyed by the ground mice, who hid themselves under the stumps which we had not rooted out, and infested our garden. with all the care we could bestow on them during the passage from new york, only twelve potatoes were saved, and even these so shrivelled up, that we despaired of raising any from the few sprouts that still gave signs of life. nevertheless we raised one hundred and ninety potatoes the first season, and after sparing a few plants for our inland traders, we planted about fifty or sixty hills, which produced five bushels the second year; about two of these were planted, and gave us a welcome crop of fifty bushels in the year 1813. it would result from these facts, that the soil on the banks of the river, as far as tide water, or for a distance of fifty or sixty miles, is very little adapted for agriculture; at all events, vegetation is very slow. it may be that the soil is not everywhere so cold as the spot we selected for our garden, and some other positions might have given a better reward for our labor: this supposition is rendered more than probable when we take into consideration the great difference in the indigenous vegetables of the country in different localities. the forest trees most common at the mouth of the river and near our establishment, were cedar, hemlock, white and red spruce, and alder. there were a few dwarf white and gray ashes; and here and there a soft maple. the alder grows also to a very large size; i measured some of twelve to fifteen inches diameter; the wood was used by us in preference, to make charcoal for the blacksmith's forge. but the largest of all the trees that i saw in the country, was a white spruce: this tree, which had lost its top branches, and bore evident marks of having been struck by lightning, was a mere, straight trunk of about eighty to one hundred feet in height; its bark whitened by age, made it very conspicuous among the other trees with their brown bark and dark foliage, like a huge column of white marble. it stood on the slope of a hill immediately in the rear of our palisades. seven of us placed ourselves round its trunk, and we could not embrace it by extending our arms and touching merely the tips of our fingers; we measured it afterward in a more regular manner, and found it forty-two feet in circumference. it kept the same size, or nearly the same, to the very top. we had it in contemplation at one time to construct a circular staircase to its summit, and erect a platform thereon for an observatory, but more necessary and pressing demands on our time made us abandon the project. a short distance above astoria, the oak and ash are plentiful, but neither of these is of much value or beauty. from the middle of june to the middle of october, we had abundance of wild fruit; first, strawberries, almost white, small but very sweet; then raspberries, both red and orange color. these grow on a bush sometimes twelve feet in height: they are not sweet, but of a large size. the months of july and august furnish a small berry of an agreeable, slightly acid flavor; this berry grows on a slender bush of some eight to nine feet high, with small round leaves; they are in size like a wild cherry: some are blue, while others are of a cherry red: the last being smaller; they have no pits, or stones in them, but seeds, such as are to be seen in currants. i noticed in the month of august another berry growing in bunches or grapes like the currant, on a bush very similar to the currant bush: the leaves of this shrub resemble those of the laurel: they are very thick and always green. the fruit is oblong, and disposed in two rows on the stem: the extremity of the berry is open, having a little speck or tuft like that of an apple. it is not of a particularly fine flavor, but it is wholesome, and one may eat a quantity of it, without inconvenience. the natives make great use of it; they prepare it for the winter by bruising and drying it; after which it is moulded into cakes according to fancy, and laid up for use. there is also a great abundance of cranberries, which proved very useful as an antiscorbutic. we found also the whortleberry, chokecherries, gooseberries, and black currants with wild crab-apples: these last grow in clusters, are of small size and very tart. on the upper part of the river are found blackberries, hazel-nuts, acorns, &c. the country also possesses a great variety of nutritive roots: the natives make great use of those which have the virtue of curing or preventing the scurvy. we ate freely of them with the same intention, and with the same success. one of these roots, which much resembles a small onion, serves them, in some sort, in place of cheese. having gathered a sufficient quantity, they bake them with red-hot stones, until the steam ceases to ooze from the layer of grass and earth with which the roots are covered; then they pound them into a paste, and make the paste into loaves, of five or six pounds weight: the taste is not unlike liquorice, but not of so sickly a sweetness. when we made our first voyage up the river the natives gave us square biscuits, very well worked, and printed with different figures. these are made of a white root, pounded, reduced to paste, and dried in the sun. they call it _chapaleel_: it is not very palatable; nor very nutritive. but the principal food of the natives of the columbia is fish. the salmon-fishery begins in july: that fish is here of an exquisite flavor, but it is extremely fat and oily; which renders it unwholesome for those who are not accustomed to it, and who eat too great a quantity: thus several of our people were attacked with diarrhoea in a few days after we began to make this fish our ordinary sustenance; but they found a remedy in the raspberries of the country which have an astringent property. the months of august and september furnish excellent sturgeon. this fish varies exceedingly in size; i have seen some eleven feet long; and we took one that weighed, after the removal of the eggs and intestines, three hundred and ninety pounds. we took out nine gallons of roe. the sturgeon does not enter the river in so great quantities as the salmon. in october and november we had salmon too, but of a quite different species--lean, dry and insipid. it differs from the other sort in form also; having very long teeth, and a hooked nose like the beak of a parrot. our men termed it in derision "seven bark salmon," because it had almost no nutritive substance. february brings a small fish about the size of a sardine. it has an exquisite flavor, and is taken in immense quantities, by means of a scoop net, which the indians, seated in canoes, plunge into the schools: but the season is short, not even lasting two weeks. the principal quadrupeds of the country are the elk, the black and white tailed deer; four species of bear, distinguished chiefly by the color of the fur or _poil_, to wit, the black, brown, white and grisly bear; the grisly bear is extremely ferocious; the white is found on the seashore toward the north; the wolf, the panther, the catamount, the lynx, the raccoon, the ground hog, opossum, mink, fisher, beaver, and the land and sea otter.[w] the sea otter has the handsomest fur that is known; the skin surpasses that of the land variety in size and in the beauty of the _poil_; the most esteemed color is the silver gray, which is highly prized in the indies, and commands a great price. [footnote w: horses are abundant up the river; but they are not indigenous to the country. they will be spoken of in a future chapter.] the most remarkable birds are the eagle, the turkey-buzzard, the hawk, pelican, heron, gull, cormorant, crane, swan, and a great variety of wild ducks and geese. the pigeon, woodcock, and pheasant, are found in the forests as with us. chapter xix. manners, customs, occupations, &c., of the natives on the river columbia. the natives inhabiting on the columbia, from the mouth of that river to the falls, that is to say, on a space extending about 250 miles from east to west, are, generally speaking, of low stature, few of them passing five feet six inches, and many not even five feet. they pluck out the beard, in the manner of the other indians of north america; but a few of the old men only suffer a tuft to grow upon their chins. on arriving among them we were exceedingly surprised to see that they had almost all flattened heads. this configuration is not a natural deformity, but an effect of art, caused by compression of the skull in infancy. it shocks strangers extremely, especially at first sight; nevertheless, among these barbarians it is an indispensable ornament: and when we signified to them how much this mode of flattening the forehead appeared to us to violate nature and good taste, they answered that it was only slaves who had not their heads flattened. the slaves, in fact, have the usual rounded head, and they are not permitted to flatten the foreheads of their children, destined to bear the chains of their sires. the natives of the columbia procure these slaves from the neighboring tribes, and from the interior, in exchange for beads and furs. they treat them with humanity while their services are useful, but as soon as they become incapable of labor, neglect them and suffer them to perish of want. when dead, they throw their bodies, without ceremony, under the stump of an old decayed tree, or drag them to the woods to be devoured by the wolves and vultures. the indians of the columbia are of a light copper color, active in body, and, above all, excellent swimmers. they are addicted to theft, or rather, they make no scruple of laying hands on whatever suits them in the property of strangers, whenever they can find an opportunity. the goods and effects of european manufacture are so precious in the eyes of these barbarians, that they rarely resist the temptation of stealing them. these savages are not addicted to intemperance, unlike, in that respect the other american indians, if we must not also except the patagonians, who, like the flatheads, regard intoxicating drinks as poisons, and drunkenness as disgraceful. i will relate a fact in point: one of the sons of the chief comcomly being at the establishment one day, some of the gentlemen amused themselves with making him drink wine, and he was very soon drunk. he was sick in consequence, and remained in a state of stupor for two days. the old chief came to reproach us, saying that we had degraded his son by exposing him to the ridicule of the slaves, and besought us not to induce him to take strong liquors in future. the men go entirely naked, not concealing any part of their bodies. only in winter they throw over the shoulders a panther's skin, or else a sort of mantle made of the skins of wood-rats sewed together. in rainy weather i have seen them wear a mantle of rush mats, like a roman toga, or the vestment which a priest wears in celebrating mass; thus equipped, and furnished with a conical hat made from fibrous roots and impermeable, they may call themselves rain-proof. the women, in addition to the mantle of skins, wear a petticoat made of the cedar bark, which they attach round the girdle, and which reaches to the middle of the thigh. it is a little longer behind than before, and is fabricated in the following manner: they strip off the fine bark of the cedar, soak it as one soaks hemp, and when it is drawn out into fibres, work it into a fringe; then with a strong cord they bind the fringes together. with so poor a vestment they contrive to satisfy the requirements of modesty; when they stand it drapes them fairly enough; and when they squat down in their manner, it falls between their legs, leaving nothing exposed but the bare knees and thighs. some of the younger women twist the fibres of bark into small cords, knotted at the ends, and so form the petticoat, disposed in a fringe, like the first, but more easily kept clean and of better appearance. cleanliness is not a virtue among these females, who, in that respect, resemble the other indian women of the continent. they anoint the body and dress the hair with fish oil, which does not diffuse an agreeable perfume. their hair (which both sexes wear long) is jet black; it is badly combed, but parted in the middle, as is the custom of the sex everywhere, and kept shining by the fish-oil before-mentioned. sometimes, in imitation of the men, they paint the whole body with a red earth mixed with fish-oil. their ornaments consist of bracelets of brass, which they wear indifferently on the wrists and ankles; of strings of beads of different colors (they give a preference to the blue), and displayed in great profusion around the neck, and on the arms and legs; and of white shells, called _haiqua_, which are their ordinary circulating medium. these shells are found beyond the straits of _juan de fuca_, and are from one to four inches long, and about half an inch in diameter: they are a little curved and naturally perforated: the longest are most valued. the price of all commodities is reckoned in these shells; a fathom string of the largest of them is worth about ten beaver-skins. although a little less slaves than the greater part of the indian women elsewhere, the women on the columbia are, nevertheless, charged with the most painful labors; they fetch water and wood, and carry the goods in their frequent changes of residence; they clean the fish and cut it up for drying; they prepare the food and cook the fruits in their season. among their principal occupations is that of making rush mats, baskets for gathering roots, and hats very ingeniously wrought. as they want little clothing, they do not sew much, and the men have the needle in hand oftener than they. the men are not lazy, especially during the fishing season. not being hunters, and eating, consequently, little flesh-meat (although they are fond of it), fish makes, as i have observed, their principal diet. they profit, therefore, by the season when it is to be had, by taking as much as they can; knowing that the intervals will be periods of famine and abstinence, unless they provide sufficiently beforehand. their canoes are all made of cedar, and of a single trunk: we saw some which were five feet wide at midships, and thirty feet in length; these are the largest, and will carry from 25 to 30 men; the smallest will carry but two or three. the bows terminate in a very elongated point, running out four or five feet from the water line. it constitutes a separate piece, very ingeniously attached, and serves to break the surf in landing, or the wave on a rough sea. in landing they put the canoe round, so as to strike the beach stern on. their oars or paddles are made of ash, and are about five feet long, with a broad blade, in the shape of an inverted crescent, and a cross at the top, like the handle of a crutch. the object of the crescent shape of the blade is to be able to draw it, edge-wise, through the water without making any noise, when they hunt the sea-otter, an animal which can only be caught when it is lying asleep on the rocks, and which has the sense of hearing very acute. all their canoes are painted red, and fancifully decorated. their houses, constructed of cedar, are remarkable for their form and size: some of them are one hundred feet in length by thirty or forty feet in width. they are constructed as follows: an oblong square of the intended size of the building is dug out to the depth of two or three feet; a double row of cedar posts is driven into the earth about ten feet apart; between these the planks are laid, overlapping each other to the requisite height. the roof is formed by a ridge-pole laid on taller posts, notched to receive it, and is constructed with rafters and planks laid clapboard-wise, and secured by cords for want of nails. when the house is designed for several families, there is a door for each, and a separate fireplace; the smoke escapes through an aperture formed by removing one of the boards of the roof. the door is low, of an oval shape, and is provided with a ladder, cut out of a log, to descend into the lodge. the entrance is generally effected stern-foremost. the kitchen utensils consist of plates of ash-wood, bowls of fibrous roots, and a wooden kettle: with these they succeed in cooking their fish and meat in less time than we take with the help of pots and stewpans. see how they do it! having heated a number of stones red-hot, they plunge them, one by one, in the vessel which is to contain the food to be prepared; as soon as the water boils, they put in the fish or meat, with some more heated stones on top, and cover up the whole with small rush mats, to retain the steam. in an incredibly short space of time the article is taken out and placed on a wooden platter, perfectly done and very palatable. the broth is taken out also, with a ladle of wood or horn. it will be asked, no doubt, what instruments these savages use in the construction of their canoes and their houses. to cause their patience and industry to be admired as much as they deserve, it will be sufficient for me to mention that we did not find among them a single hatchet: their only tools consisted of an inch or half-inch chisel, usually made of an old file, and of a mallet, which was nothing but an oblong stone. with these wretched implements, and wedges made of hemlock knots, steeped in oil and hardened by the fire, they would undertake to cut down the largest cedars of the forest, to dig them out and fashion them into canoes, to split them, and get out the boards wherewith to build their houses. such achievements with such means, are a marvel of ingenuity and patience. chapter xx. manners and customs of the natives continued.--their wars.--their marriages.--medicine men.--funeral ceremonies.--religious notions.--language. the politics of the natives of the columbia are a simple affair: each village has its chief, but that chief does not seem to exercise a great authority over his fellow-citizens. nevertheless, at his death, they pay him great honors: they use a kind of mourning, which consists in painting the face with black, in lieu of gay colors; they chant his funeral song or oration for a whole month. the chiefs are considered in proportion to their riches: such a chief has a great many wives, slaves, and strings of beads--he is accounted a great chief. these barbarians approach in that respect to certain civilized nations, among whom the worth of a man is estimated by the quantity of gold he possesses. as all the villages form so many independent sovereignties, differences sometimes arise, whether between the chiefs or the tribes. ordinarily, these terminate by compensations equivalent to the injury. but when the latter is of a grave character, like a murder (which is rare), or the abduction of a woman (which is very common), the parties, having made sure of a number of young braves to aid them, prepare for war. before commencing hostilities, however, they give notice of the day when they will proceed to attack the hostile village; not following in that respect the custom of almost all other american indians, who are wont to burst upon their enemy unawares, and to massacre or carry off men, women, and children; these people, on the contrary, embark in their canoes, which on these occasions are paddled by the women, repair to the hostile village, enter into parley, and do all they can to terminate the affair amicably: sometimes a third party becomes mediator between the first two, and of course observes an exact neutrality. if those who seek justice do not obtain it to their satisfaction, they retire to some distance, and the combat begins, and is continued for some time with fury on both sides; but as soon as one or two men are killed, the party which has lost these, owns itself beaten and the battle ceases. if it is the people of the village attacked who are worsted, the others do not retire without receiving presents. when the conflict is postponed till the next day (for they never fight but in open daylight, as if to render nature witness of their exploits), they keep up frightful cries all night long, and, when they are sufficiently near to understand each other, defy one another by menaces, railleries, and sarcasms, like the heroes of homer and virgil. the women and children are always removed from the village before the action. their combats are almost all maritime: for they fight ordinarily in their pirogues, which they take care to careen, so as to present the broadside to the enemy, and half lying down, avoid the greater part of the arrows let fly at them. but the chief reason of the bloodlessness of their combats is the inefficiency of their offensive weapons, and the excellence of their defensive armor. their offensive arms are merely a bow and arrow, and a kind of double-edged sabre, about two and a half feet long, and six inches wide in the blade: they rarely come to sufficiently close quarters to make use of the last. for defensive armor they wear a cassock or tunic of elk-skin double, descending to the ankles, with holes for the arms. it is impenetrable by their arrows, which can not pierce two thicknesses of leather; and as their heads are also covered with a sort of helmet, the neck is almost the only part in which they can be wounded. they have another kind of corslet, made like the corsets of our ladies, of splinters of hard wood interlaced with nettle twine. the warrior who wears this cuirass does not use the tunic of elk-skin; he is consequently less protected, but a great deal more free; the said tunic being very heavy and very stiff. it is almost useless to observe that, in their military expeditions, they have their bodies and faces daubed with different paints, often of the most extravagant designs. i remember to have seen a war-chief, with one exact half of his face painted white and the other half black. their marriages are conducted with a good deal of ceremony. when a young man seeks a girl in marriage, his parents make the proposals to those of the intended bride, and when it has been agreed upon what presents the future bridegroom is to offer to the parents of the bride, all parties assemble at the house of the latter, whither the neighbors are invited to witness the contract. the presents, which consist of slaves, strings of beads, copper bracelets, _haiqua_ shells, &c., are distributed by the young man, who, on his part receives as many, and sometimes more, according to the means or the munificence of the parents of his betrothed. the latter is then led forward by the old matrons and presented to the young man, who takes her as his wife, and all retire to their quarters. the men are not very scrupulous in their choice, and take small pains to inform themselves what conduct a young girl has observed before her nuptials; and it must be owned that few marriages would take place, if the youth would only espouse maidens without reproach on the score of chastity; for the unmarried girls are by no means scrupulous in that particular, and their parents give them, on that head, full liberty. but once the marriage is contracted, the spouses observe toward each other an inviolable fidelity; adultery is almost unknown among them, and the woman who should be guilty of it would be punished with death. at the same time, the husband may repudiate his wife, and the latter may then unite herself in marriage to another man. polygamy is permitted, indeed is customary; there are some who have as many as four or five wives; and although it often happens that the husband loves one better than the rest, they never show any jealousy, but live, together in the most perfect concord.[x] [footnote x: this appears improbable, and is, no doubt, overstated; but so far as it is true, only shows the degradation of these women, and the absence of moral love on both sides. the indifference to virgin chastity described by mr. f., is a characteristic of barbarous nations in general, and is explained by the principle stated in the next note below; the savage state being essentially one in which the supernatural bond of human fellowship is snapped: it is (as it has been called) the state of _nature_, in which continence is practically impossible; and what men can not have, that they soon cease to prize. the same utter indifference to the past conduct of the girls they marry is mentioned by mayhew as existing among the costermongers and street population of london, whom he well likens to the barbarous tribes lying on the outskirts of more ancient nations.--ed.] there are charlatans everywhere, but they are more numerous among savages than anywhere else, because among these ignorant and superstitious people the trade is at once more profitable and less dangerous. as soon as a native of the columbia is indisposed, no matter what the malady, they send for the medicine man, who treats the patient in the absurd manner usually adopted by these impostors, and with such violence of manipulation, that often a sick man, whom a timely bleeding or purgative would have saved, is carried off by a sudden death. they deposite their dead in canoes, on rocks sufficiently elevated not to be overflowed by the spring freshets. by the side of the dead are laid his bow, his arrows, and some of his fishing implements; if it is a woman, her beads and bracelets: the wives, the relatives and the slaves of the defunct cut their hair in sign of grief, and for several days, at the rising and setting of the sun, go to some distance from the village to chant a funeral song. these people have not, properly speaking, a public worship.[y] i could never perceive, during my residence among them, that they worshipped any idol. they had, nevertheless, some small sculptured figures; but they appeared to hold them in light esteem, offering to barter them for trifles. [footnote y: it is coleridge who observes that _every tribe is barbarous_ which has no recognised public worship or cult, and no regular priesthood as opposed to self-constituted conjurors. it is, in fact, by public worship alone that human society is organized and vivified; and it is impossible to maintain such worship without a sacerdotal order, however it be constituted. _no culture without a cult_, is the result of the study of the races of mankind. hence those who would destroy religion are the enemies of civilization.--ed.] having travelled with one of the sons of the chief of the chinooks (comcomly), an intelligent and communicative young man, i put to him several questions touching their religious belief, and the following is, in substance, what he told me respecting it: men, according to their ideas, were created by a divinity whom they name _etalapass_; but they were imperfect, having a mouth that was not opened, eyes that were fast closed, hands and feet that were not moveable; in a word, they were rather statues of flesh, than living men. a second divinity, whom they call _ecannum_, less powerful, but more benign than the former, having seen men in their state of imperfection, took a sharp stone and laid open their mouths and eyes; he gave agility, also, to their feet, and motion to their hands. this compassionate divinity was not content with conferring these first benefits; he taught men to make canoes, paddles, nets, and, in a word, all the tools and instruments they use. he did still more: he threw great rocks into the river, to obstruct the ascent of the salmon, in order that they might take as many as they wanted. the natives of the columbia further believe, that the men who have been good citizens, good fathers, good husbands, and good fishermen, who have not committed murder, &c., will be perfectly happy after their death, and will go to a country where they will find fish, fruit, &c., in abundance; and that, on the contrary, those who have lived wickedly, will inhabit a country of fasting and want, where they will eat nothing but bitter roots, and have nothing to drink but salt water. if these notions in regard to the origin and future destiny of man are not exactly conformed to sound reason or to divine revelation, it will be allowed that they do not offer the absurdities with which the mythologies of many ancient nations abound.[z] the article which makes skill in fishing a virtue worthy of being compensated in the other world, does not disfigure the salutary and consoling dogma of the immortality of the soul, and that of future rewards and punishments, so much as one is at first tempted to think; for if we reflect a little, we shall discover that the skilful fisherman, in laboring for himself, labors also for society; he is a useful citizen, who contributes, as much as lies in his power, to avert from his fellow-men the scourge of famine; he is a religious man, who honors the divinity by making use of his benefits. surely a great deal of the theology of a future life prevalent among civilized men, does not excel this in profundity. [footnote z: it seems clear that this indian mythology is a form of the primitive tradition obscured by symbol. the creation of man by the supreme divinity, but in an imperfect state ("his eyes not yet opened"), his deliverance from that condition by an inferior but more beneficent deity (the satan of the bible), and the progress of the emancipated and enlightened being, in the arts of industry, are clearly set forth. thus the devil has his cosmogony as well as the almighty, and his tradition in opposition to the divine.--ed.] it is not to be expected that men perfectly ignorant, like these indians, should be free from superstitions: one of the most ridiculous they have, regards the method of preparing and eating fish. in the month of july, 1811, the natives brought us at first a very scanty supply of the fresh salmon, from the fear that we would cut the fish crosswise instead of lengthwise; being persuaded that if we did so, the river would be obstructed, and the fishing ruined. having reproached the chief on that account, they brought us a greater quantity, but all cooked, and which, not to displease them, it was necessary to eat before sunset. re-assured at last by our solemn promises not to cut the fish crosswise, they supplied us abundantly during the remainder of the season. in spite of the vices that may be laid to the charge of the natives of the columbia, i regard them as nearer to a state of civilization than any of the tribes who dwell east of the rocky mountains. they did not appear to me so attached to their customs that they could not easily adopt those of civilized nations: they would dress themselves willingly in the european mode, if they had the means. to encourage this taste, we lent pantaloons to the chiefs who visited us, when they wished to enter our houses, never allowing them to do it in a state of nudity. they possess, in an eminent degree, the qualities opposed to indolence, improvidence, and stupidity: the chiefs, above all, are distinguished for their good sense and intelligence. generally speaking, they have a ready intellect and a tenacious memory. thus old comcomly recognised the mate of the _albatross_ as having visited the country sixteen years before, and recalled to the latter the name of the captain under whom he had sailed at that period. the _chinook_ language is spoken by all the nations from the mouth of the columbia to the falls. it is hard and difficult to pronounce, for strangers; being full of gutturals, like the gaelic. the combinations _thl_, or _tl_, and _lt_, are as frequent in the chinook as in the mexican.[aa] [footnote aa: there can not be a doubt that the existing tribes on the n.w. coast, have reached that country from the _south_, and not from the north. they are the _debris_ of the civilization of central america, expelled by a defecating process that is going on in all human societies, and so have sunk into barbarism.--ed.] chapter xxi. departure from astoria or fort george.--accident.--passage of the dalles or narrows.--great columbian desert.--aspect of the country.--wallawalla and shaptin rivers.--rattlesnakes.--some details regarding the natives of the upper columbia. we quitted fort george (or astoria, if you please) on monday morning, the 4th of april, 1814, in ten canoes, five of which were of bark and five of cedar wood, carrying each seven men as crew, and two passengers, in all ninety persons, and all well armed. messrs. j.g. m'tavish, d. stuart, j. clarke, b. pillet, w. wallace, d. m'gillis, d. m'kenzie, &c., were of the party. nothing remarkable occurred to us as far as the first falls, which we reached on the 10th. the portage was effected immediately, and we encamped on an island for the night. our numbers had caused the greater part of the natives to take to flight, and those who remained in the villages showed the most pacific dispositions. they sold us four horses and thirty dogs, which were immediately slaughtered for food. we resumed our route on the 11th, at an early hour. the wind was favorable, but blew with violence. toward evening, the canoe in which mr. m'tavish was, in doubling a point of rock, was run under by its press of sail, and sunk. happily the river was not deep at this place; no one was drowned; and we succeeded in saving all the goods. this accident compelled us to camp at an early hour. on the 12th, we arrived at a rapid called the _dalles_: this is a channel cut by nature through the rocks, which are here almost perpendicular: the channel is from 150 to 300 feet wide, and about two miles long. the whole body of the river rushes through it, with great violence, and renders navigation impracticable. the portage occupied us till dusk. although we had not seen a single indian in the course of the day, we kept sentinels on duty all night: for it was here that messrs. stuart and reed were attacked by the natives. on the 13th, we made two more portages, and met indians, of whom we purchased horses and wood. we camped early on a sandy plain, where we passed a bad night; the wind, which blew violently, raised clouds of sand, which incommoded us greatly, and spoiled every mouthful of food we took. on the 14th and 15th, we passed what are called the great plains of the columbia. from the top of the first rapid to this point, the aspect of the country becomes more and more _triste_ and disagreeable; one meets at first nothing but bare hills, which scarcely offer a few isolated pines, at a great distance from each other; after that, the earth, stripped of verdure, does not afford you the sight of a single shrub; the little grass which grows in that arid soil, appears burnt by the rigor of the climate. the natives who frequent the banks of the river, for the salmon fishery, have no other wood but that which they take floating down. we passed several rapids, and a small stream called utalah, which flows from the southeast. on the 16th, we found the river narrowed; the banks rose on either side in elevations, without, however, offering a single tree. we reached the river _wallawalla_, which empties into the columbia on the southeast. it is narrow at its confluence, and is not navigable for any great distance. a range of mountains was visible to the s.e., about fifty or sixty miles off. behind these mountains the country becomes again flat and sandy, and is inhabited by a tribe called the _snakes_. we found on the left bank of the _wallawalla_, an encampment of indians, consisting of about twenty lodges. they sold us six dogs and eight horses, the greater part extremely lean. we killed two of the horses immediately: i mounted one of the six that remained; mr. ross took another; and we drove the other four before us. toward the decline of day we passed the river _lewis_, called, in the language of the country, the _sha-ap-tin_. it comes from the s.e., and is the same that lewis and clarke descended in 1805. the _sha-ap-tin_ appeared to me to have little depth, and to be about 300 yards wide, at its confluence. the country through which we were now passing, was a mingling of hills, steep rocks, and valleys covered with wormwood; the stems of which shrub are nearly six inches thick, and might serve for fuel. we killed six rattlesnakes on the 15th, and on the 16th saw a great many more among the rocks. these dangerous reptiles appeared to be very numerous in this part of the country. the plains are also inhabited by a little quadruped, only about eight or nine inches in length, and approaching the dog in form. these animals have the hair, or _poil_, of a reddish brown, and strong fore-paws, armed with long claws which serve them to dig out their holes under the earth. they have a great deal of curiosity: as soon as they hear a noise they come out of their holes and bark. they are not vicious, but, though easily tamed, can not be domesticated. the natives of the upper columbia, beginning at the falls, differ essentially in language, manners, and habits, from those of whom i have spoken in the preceding chapters. they do not dwell in villages, like the latter, but are nomads, like the tartars and the arabs of the desert: their women are more industrious, and the young girls more reserved and chaste than those of the populations lower down. they do not go naked, but both sexes wear habits made of dressed deer-skin, which they take care to rub with chalk, to keep them clean and white. they are almost always seen on horseback, and are in general good riders; they pursue the deer and penetrate even to missouri, to kill buffalo, the flesh of which they dry, and bring it back on their horses, to make their principal food during the winter. these expeditions are not free from danger; for they have a great deal to apprehend from the _black-feet_, who are their enemies. as this last tribe is powerful and ferocious, the _snakes_, the _pierced-noses_ or _sha-ap-tins_, the _flatheads_, &c., make common cause against them, when the former go to hunt east of the mountains. they set out with their families, and the cavalcade often numbers two thousand horses. when they have the good fortune not to encounter the enemy, they return with the spoils of an abundant chase; they load a part of their horses with the hides and beef, and return home to pass the winter in peace. sometimes, on the contrary, they are so harassed by the blackfeet, who surprise them in the night and carry off their horses, that they are forced to return light-handed, and then they have nothing to eat but roots, all the winter. these indians are passionately fond of horseraces: by the bets they make on these occasions they sometimes lose all that they possess. the women ride, as well as the men. for a bridle they use a cord of horse-hair, which they attach round the animal's mouth; with that he is easily checked, and by laying the hand on his neck, is made to wheel to this side or that. the saddle is a cushion of stuffed deer-skin, very suitable for the purpose to which it is destined, rarely hurting the horse, and not fatiguing the rider so much as our european saddles. the stirrups are pieces of hard wood, ingeniously wrought, and of the same shape as those which are used in civilized countries. they are covered with a piece of deer-skin, which is sewed on wet, and in drying stiffens and becomes hard and firm. the saddles for women differ in form, being furnished with the antlers of a deer, so as to resemble the high pommelled saddle of the mexican ladies. they procure their horses from the herds of these animals which are found in a wild state in the country extending between the northern latitudes and the gulf of mexico, and which sometimes count a thousand or fifteen hundred in a troop. these horses come from new mexico, and are of spanish race. we even saw some which had been marked with a hot iron by spaniards. some of our men, who had been at the south, told me that they had seen among the indians, bridles, the bits of which were of silver. the form of the saddles used by the females, proves that they have taken their pattern from the spanish ones destined for the same use. one of the partners of the n.w. company (mr. m'tavish) assured us that he had seen among the _spokans_, an old woman who told him that she had seen men ploughing the earth; she told him that she had also seen churches, which she made him understand by imitating the sound of a bell and the action of pulling a bell-rope; and further to confirm her account, made the sign of the cross. that gentleman concluded that she had been made prisoner and sold to the spaniards on the _del norte_; but i think it more probable it was nearer, in north california, at the mission of _san carlos_ or _san francisco_. as the manner of taking wild horses should not be generally known to my readers, i will relate it here in few words. the indian who wishes to capture some horses, mounts one of his fleetest coursers, being armed with a long cord of horsehair, one end of which is attached to his saddle, and the other is a running noose. arrived at the herd, he dashes into the midst of it, and flinging his cord, or _lasso_, passes it dexterously over the head of the animal he selects; then wheeling his courser, draws the cord after him; the wild horse, finding itself strangling, makes little resistance; the indian then approaches, ties his fore and hind legs together, and leaves him till he has taken in this manner as many as he can. he then drives them home before him, and breaks them in at leisure. chapter xxii. meeting with the widow of a hunter.--her narrative.--reflections of the author.--priest's rapid.--river okenakan.--kettle falls.--pine moss.--scarcity of food.--rivers, lakes, &c.--accident.--a rencontre.--first view of the rocky mountains. on the 17th, the fatigue i had experienced the day before, on horseback, obliged me to re-embark in my canoe. about eight o'clock, we passed a little river flowing from the n.w. we perceived, soon after, three canoes, the persons in which were struggling with their paddles to overtake us. as we were still pursuing our way, we heard a child's voice cry out in french--"_arrêtez donc, arrêtez donc_"--(stop! stop!). we put ashore, and the canoes having joined us, we perceived in one of them the wife and children of a man named _pierre dorion_, a hunter, who had been sent on with a party of eight, under the command of mr. j. reed, among the _snakes_, to join there the hunters left by messrs. hunt and crooks, near fort henry, and to secure horses and provisions for our journey. this woman informed us, to our no small dismay, of the tragical fate of all those who composed that party. she told us that in the month of january, the hunters being dispersed here and there, setting their traps for the beaver, jacob regner, gilles leclerc, and pierre dorion, her husband, had been attacked by the natives. leclerc, having been mortally wounded, reached her tent or hut, where he expired in a few minutes, after having announced to her that her husband had been killed. she immediately took two horses that were near the lodge, mounted her two boys upon them, and fled in all haste to the wintering house of mr. reed, which was about five days' march from the spot where her husband fell. her horror and disappointment were extreme, when she found the house--a log cabin--deserted, and on drawing nearer, was soon convinced, by the traces of blood, that mr. reed also had been murdered. no time was to be lost in lamentations, and she had immediately fled toward the mountains south of the _wallawalla_, where, being impeded by the depth of the snow, she was forced to winter, having killed both the horses to subsist herself and her children. but at last, finding herself out of provisions, and the snow beginning to melt, she had crossed the mountains with her boys, hoping to find some more humane indians, who would let her live among them till the boats from the fort below should be ascending the river in the spring, and so reached the banks of the columbia, by the wallawalla. here, indeed, the natives had received her with much hospitality, and it was the indians of wallawalla who brought her to us. we made them some presents to repay their care and pains, and they returned well satisfied. the persons who lost their lives in this unfortunate wintering party, were mr. john reed, (clerk), jacob regner, john hubbough, pierre dorion (hunters), gilles leclerc, françois landry, j.b. turcotte, andré la chapelle and pierre de launay, (_voyageurs_).[ab] we had no doubt that this massacre was an act of vengeance, on the part of the natives, in retaliation for the death of one of their people, whom mr. john clark had hanged for theft the spring before. this fact, the massacre on the tonquin, the unhappy end of captain cook, and many other similar examples, prove how carefully the europeans, who have relations with a barbarous people, should abstain from acting in regard to them on the footing of too marked an inequality, and especially from punishing their offences according to usages and codes, in which there is too often an enormous disproportion between the crime and the punishment. if these pretended exemplary punishments seem to have a good effect at first sight, they almost always produce terrible consequences in the sequel. [footnote ab: turcotte died of _king's evil_. de launay was a half-breed, of violent temper, who had taken an indian woman to live with him; he left mr. reed in the autumn, and was never heard of again.] on the 18th, we passed _priest's rapid_, so named by mr. stuart and his people, who saw at this spot, in 1811, as they were ascending the river, a number of savages, one of whom was performing on the rest certain aspersions and other ceremonies, which had the air of being coarse imitations of the catholic worship. for our part, we met here some indians of whom we bought two horses. the banks of the river at this place are tolerably high, but the country back of them is flat and uninteresting. on the 20th, we arrived at a place where the bed of the river is extremely contracted, and where we were obliged to make a portage. messrs. j. stuart and clarke left us here, to proceed on horseback to the spokan trading house, to procure there the provisions which would be necessary for us, in order to push on to the mountains. on the 21st, we lightened of their cargoes, three canoes, in which those who were to cross the continent embarked, to get on with greater speed. we passed several rapids, and began to see mountains covered with snow. on the 22d, we began to see some pines on the ridge of the neighboring hills; and at evening we encamped under _trees_, a thing which had not happened to us since the 12th. on the 23d, toward 9, a.m., we reached the trading post established by d. stuart, at the mouth of the river _okenakan_. the spot appeared to us charming, in comparison with the country through which we had journeyed for twelve days past: the two rivers here meeting, and the immense prairies covered with a fine verdure, strike agreeably the eye of the observer; but there is not a tree or a shrub to diversify the scene, and render it a little less naked and less monotonous. we found here messrs. j. m'gillivray and ross, and mr. o. de montigny, who had taken service with the n.w. company, and who charged me with a letter for his brother. toward midday we re-embarked, to continue our journey. after having passed several dangerous rapids without accident, always through a country broken by shelving rocks, diversified with hills and verdant prairies, we arrived, on the 29th, at the portage of the _chaudieres_ or kettle falls. this is a fall where the water precipitates itself over an immense rock of white marble, veined with red and green, that traverses the bed of the river from n.w. to s.e. we effected the portage immediately, and encamped on the edge of a charming prairie. we found at this place some indians who had been fasting, they assured us, for several days. they appeared, in fact, reduced to the most pitiable state, having nothing left but skin and bones, and scarcely able to drag themselves along, so that not without difficulty could they even reach the margin of the river, to get a little water to wet their parched lips. it is a thing that often happens to these poor people, when their chase has not been productive; their principal nourishment consisting, in that case, of the pine moss, which they boil till it is reduced to a sort of glue or black paste, of a sufficient consistence to take the form of biscuit. i had the curiosity to taste this bread, and i thought i had got in my mouth a bit of soap. yet some of our people, who had been reduced to eat this glue, assured me that when fresh made it had a very good taste, seasoned with meat.[ac] we partly relieved these wretched natives from our scanty store. [footnote ac: the process of boiling employed by the indians in this case, extracts from the moss its gelatine, which serves to supply the waste of those tissues into which that principle enters; but as the moss contains little or none of the proximates which constitute the bulk of the living solids and fluids, it will not, of course, by itself, support life or strength.--ed.] on the 30th, while we were yet encamped at kettle falls, messrs. j. stuart and clarke arrived from the post at spokan. the last was mounted on the finest-proportioned gray charger, full seventeen hands high, that i had seen in these parts: mr. stuart had got a fall from his, in trying to urge him, and had hurt himself severely. these gentlemen not having brought us the provisions we expected, because the hunters who had been sent for that purpose among the _flatheads_, had not been able to procure any, it was resolved to divide our party, and that messrs. m'donald, j. stuart, and m'kenzie should go forward to the post situated east of the mountains, in order to send us thence horses and supplies. these gentlemen quitted us on the 1st of may. after their departure we killed two horses and dried the meat; which occupied us the rest of that day and all the next. in the evening of the 2d, mr. a. stuart arrived at our camp. he had recovered from his wounds (received in the conflict with the natives, before related), and was on his way to his old wintering place on _slave lake_, to fetch his family to the columbia. we resumed our route on the morning of the 3d of may, and went to encamp that evening at the upper-end of a rapid, where we began to descry mountains covered with forests, and where the banks of the river themselves were low and thinly timbered. on the 4th, after having passed several considerable rapids, we reached the confluence of _flathead_ river. this stream comes from the s.e., and falls into the columbia in the form of a cascade: it may be one hundred and fifty yards wide at its junction. on the morning of the 5th, we arrived at the confluence of the _coutonais_ river. this stream also flows from the south, and has nearly the same width as the _flathead_. shortly after passing it, we entered a lake or enlargement of the river, which we crossed to encamp at its upper extremity. this lake may be thirty or forty miles, and about four wide at its broadest part: it is surrounded by lofty hills, which for the most part have their base at the water's edge, and rise by gradual and finely-wooded terraces, offering a sufficiently pretty view. on the 6th, after we had run through a narrow strait or channel some fifteen miles long, we entered another lake, of less extent than the former but equally picturesque. when we were nearly in the middle of it, an accident occurred which, if not very disastrous, was sufficiently singular. one of the men, who had been on the sick-list for several days, requested to be landed for an instant. not being more than a mile from the shore, we acceded to his request, and made accordingly for a projecting head-land; but when we were about three hundred or four hundred yards from the point, the canoe struck with force against the trunk of a tree which was planted in the bottom of the lake, and the extremity of which barely reached the surface of the water.[ad] it needed no more to break a hole in so frail a vessel; the canoe was pierced through the bottom and filled in a trice; and despite all our efforts we could not get off the tree, which had penetrated two or three feet within her; perhaps that was our good fortune, for the opening was at least a yard long. one of the men, who was an expert swimmer, stripped, and was about to go ashore with an axe lashed to his back, to make a raft for us, when the other canoe, which had been proceeding up the lake, and was a mile ahead, perceived our signals of distress, and came to our succor. they carried us to land, where it was necessary to encamp forthwith, as well to dry ourselves as to mend the canoe. [footnote ad: a _snag_ of course, of the nature of which the young canadian seems to have been ignorant.] on the 7th, mr. a. stuart, whom we had left behind at kettle falls, came up with us, and we pursued our route in company. toward evening we met natives, camped on the bank of the river: they gave us a letter from which we learned that mr. m'donald and his party had passed there on the 4th. the women at this camp were busy spinning the coarse wool of the mountain sheep: they had blankets or mantles, woven or platted of the same material, with a heavy fringe all round: i would gladly have purchased one of these, but as we were to carry all our baggage on our backs across the mountains, was forced to relinquish the idea. having bought of these savages some pieces of dried venison, we pursued our journey. the country began to be ascending; the stream was very rapid; and we made that day little progress. on the 8th we began to see snow on the shoals or sand-banks of the river: the atmosphere grew very cold. the banks on either side presented only high hills covered to the top with impenetrable forests. while the canoes were working up a considerable rapid, i climbed the hills with mr. m'gillis, and we walked on, following the course of the river, some five or six miles. the snow was very deep in the ravines or narrow gorges which are found between the bases of the hills. the most common trees are the norway pine and the cedar: the last is here, as on the borders of the sea, of a prodigious size. on the 9th and 10th, as we advanced but slowly, the country presented the same aspect as on the 8th. toward evening of the 10th, we perceived a-head of us a chain of high mountains entirely covered with snow. the bed of the river was hardly more than sixty yards wide, and was filled with dry banks composed of coarse gravel and small pebble. chapter xxiii. course of the columbia river.--canoe river.--foot-march toward the rocky mountains.--passage of the mountains. on the 11th, that is to say, one month, day for day, after our departure from the falls, we quitted the columbia, to enter a little stream to which mr. thompson had given, in 1811, the name of _canoe_ river, from the fact that it was on this fork that he constructed the canoes which carried him to the pacific. the columbia, which in the portion above the falls (not taking into consideration some local sinuosities) comes from the n.n.e., takes a bend here so that the stream appears to flow from the s.e.[ae] some boatmen, and particularly mr. regis bruguier, who had ascended that river to its source, informed me that it came out of two small lakes, not far from the chain of the rocky mountains, which, at that place, diverges considerably to the east. according to arrowsmith's map, the course of the _tacoutche tessé_, from its mouth in the pacific ocean, to its source in the rocky mountains, is about twelve hundred english miles, or four hundred french leagues of twenty-five to a degree; that is to say, from two hundred and forty to two hundred and eighty miles from west to east, from its mouth to the first falls: seven hundred and fifty miles nearly from s.s.w. to n.n.e., from the first rapids to the bend at the confluence of _canoe_ river; and one hundred and fifty or one hundred and eighty miles from that confluence to its source. we were not provided with the necessary instruments to determine the latitude, and still less the longitude, of our different stations; but it took us four or five days to go up from the factory at astoria to the falls, and we could not have made less than sixty miles a day: and, as i have just remarked, we occupied an entire month in getting from the falls to canoe river: deducting four or five days, on which we did not travel, there remain twenty-five days march; and it is not possible that we made less than thirty miles a day, one day with another. [footnote ae: mr. franchere uniformly mentions the direction from which a stream appears to flow, not that toward which it runs; a natural method on the part of one who was ascending the current.] we ascended canoe river to the point where it ceases to be navigable, and encamped in the same place where mr. thompson wintered in 1810-'11. we proceeded immediately to secure our canoes, and to divide the baggage among the men, giving each fifty pounds to carry, including his provisions. a sack of _pemican_, or pounded meat, which we found in a _cache_, where it had been left for us, was a great acquisition, as our supplies were nearly exhausted. on the 12th we began our foot march to the mountains, being twenty-four in number, rank and file. mr. a. stuart remained at the portage to bestow in a place of safety the effects which we could not carry, such as boxes, kegs, camp-kettles, &c. we traversed first some swamps, next a dense bit of forest, and then we found ourselves marching up the gravelly banks of the little _canoe_ river. fatigue obliged us to camp early. on the 13th we pursued our journey, and entered into the valleys between the mountains, where there lay not less than four or five feet of snow. we were obliged to ford the river ten or a dozen times in the course of the day, sometimes with the water up to our necks. these frequent fordings were rendered necessary by abrupt and steep rocks or bluffs, which it was impossible to get over without plunging into the wood for a great distance. the stream being very swift, and rushing over a bed of stones, one of the men fell and lost a sack containing our last piece of salt pork, which we were preserving as a most precious treasure. the circumstances in which we found ourselves made us regard this as a most unfortunate accident. we encamped that night at the foot of a steep mountain, and sent on mr. pillet and the guide, m'kay, to hasten a supply of provisions to meet us. on the morning of the 14th we began to climb the mountain which we had before us. we were obliged to stop every moment, to take breath, so stiff was the ascent. happily it had frozen hard the night before, and the crust of the snow was sufficient to bear us. after two or three hours of incredible exertions and fatigues, we arrived at the _plateau_ or summit, and followed the footprints of those who had preceded us. this mountain is placed between two others a great deal more elevated, compared with which it is but a hill, and of which, indeed, it is only, as it were, the valley. our march soon became fatiguing, on account of the depth of the snow, which, softened by the rays of the sun, could no longer bear us as in the morning. we were obliged to follow exactly the traces of those who had preceded us, and to plunge our legs up to the knees in the holes they had made, so that it was as if we had put on and taken off, at every step, a very large pair of boots. at last we arrived at a good hard bottom, and a clear space, which our guide said was a little lake frozen over, and here we stopped for the night. this lake, or rather these lakes (for there are two) are situated in the midst of the valley or _cup_ of the mountains. on either side were immense glaciers, or ice-bound rocks, on which the rays of the setting sun reflected the most beautiful prismatic colors. one of these icy peaks was like a fortress of rock; it rose perpendicularly some fifteen or eighteen hundred feet above the level of the lakes, and had the summit covered with ice. mr. j. henry, who first discovered the pass, gave this extraordinary rock the name of _m'gillivray's rock_, in honor of one of the partners of the n.w. company. the lakes themselves are not much over three or four hundred yards in circuit, and not over two hundred yards apart. canoe river, which, as we have already seen, flows to the west, and falls into the columbia, takes its rise in one of them; while the other gives birth to one of the branches of the _athabasca_, which runs first eastward, then northward, and which, after its junction with the _unjighah_, north of the lake of the mountains, takes the name of _slave_ river, as far the lake of that name, and afterward that of _m'kenzie_ river, till it empties into, or is lost in, the frozen ocean. having cut a large pile of wood, and having, by tedious labor for nearly an hour, got through the ice to the clear water of the lake on which we were encamped, we supped frugally on pounded maize, arranged our bivouac, and passed a pretty good night, though it was bitterly cold. the most common wood of the locality was cedar and stunted pine. the heat of our fire made the snow melt, and by morning the embers had reached the solid ice: the depth from the snow surface was about five feet. on the 15th, we continued our route, and soon began to descend the mountain. at the end of three hours, we reached the banks of a stream--the outlet of the second lake above mentioned--here and there frozen over, and then again tumbling down over rock and pebbly bottom in a thousand fantastic gambols; and very soon we had to ford it. after a tiresome march, by an extremely difficult path in the midst of woods, we encamped in the evening under some cypresses. i had hit my right knee against the branch of a fallen tree on the first day of our march, and now began to suffer acutely with it. it was impossible, however, to flinch, as i must keep up with the party or be left to perish. on the 16th, our path lay through thick swamps and forest; we recrossed the small stream we had forded the day before, and our guide conducted us to the banks of the _athabasca_, which we also forded. as this passage was the last to be made, we dried our clothes, and pursued our journey through a more agreeable country than on the preceding days. in the evening we camped on the margin of a verdant plain, which, the guide informed us, was called _coro prairie_. we had met in the course of the day several buffalo tracks, and a number of the bones of that quadruped bleached by time. our flesh-meat having given out entirely, our supper consisted in some handfuls of corn, which we parched in a pan. we resumed our route very early on the 17th, and after passing a forest of trembling poplar or aspen, we again came in sight of the river which we had left the day before. arriving then at an elevated promontory or cape, our guide made us turn back in order to pass it at its most accessible point. after crossing it, not without difficulty, we soon came upon fresh horse-prints, a sure indication that there were some of those animals in our neighborhood. emerging from the forest, each took the direction which he thought would lead soonest to an encampment. we all presently arrived at an old house which the traders of the n.w. company had once constructed, but which had been abandoned for some four or five years. the site of this trading post is the most charming that can be imagined: suffice to say that it is built on the bank of the beautiful river _athabasca_, and is surrounded by green, and smiling prairies and superb woodlands. pity there is nobody there to enjoy these rural beauties and to praise, while admiring them, the author of nature. we found there mr. pillet, and one of mr. j. m'donald's party, who had his leg broken by the kick of a horse. after regaling ourselves with _pemican_ and some fresh venison, we set out again, leaving two of the party to take care of the lame man, and went on about eight or nine miles farther to encamp. on the 18th, we had rain. i took the lead, and after having walked about ten or twelve miles, on the slope of a mountain denuded of trees, i perceived some smoke issuing from a tuft of trees in the bottom of a valley, and near the river. i descended immediately, and reached a small camp, where i found two men who were coming to meet us with four horses. i made them fire off two guns as a signal to the rest of our people who were coming up in the rear, and presently we heard it repeated on the river, from which we were not far distant. we repaired thither, and found two of the men, who had been left at the last ford, and who, having constructed a bark canoe, were descending the river. i made one of them disembark, and took his place, my knee being so painful that i could walk no further. meanwhile the whole party came up; they loaded the horses, and pursued their route. in the course of the day my companion (an iroquois) and i, shot seven ducks. coming, at last, to a high promontory called _millet's rock_, we found some of our foot-travellers with messrs. stewart and clarke, who were on horseback, all at a stand, doubting whether it would answer to wade round the base of the rock, which dipped in the water. we sounded the stream for them, and found it fordable. so they all passed round, thereby avoiding the inland path, which is excessively fatiguing by reason of the hills, which it is necessary perpetually to mount and descend. we encamped, to the number of seven, at the entrance of what at high water might be a lake, but was then but a flat of blackish sand, with a narrow channel in the centre. here we made an excellent supper on the wild ducks, while those who were behind had nothing to eat. chapter xxiv. arrival at the fort of the mountains.--description of this post.--some details in regard to the rocky mountains.--mountain sheep, &c.--continuation of the journey.--unhappy accident.--reflections.--news from canada.--hunter's lodge.--pembina and red deer rivers. on the 19th we raised our camp and followed the shore of the little dry lake, along a smooth sandy beach, having abandoned our little bark canoe, both because it had become nearly unserviceable, and because we knew ourselves to be very near the rocky mountains house. in fact, we had not gone above five or six miles when we discerned a column of smoke on the opposite side of the stream. we immediately forded across, and arrived at the post, where we found messrs. m'donald, stuart, and m'kenzie, who had preceded us only two days. the post of the rocky mountains, in english, _rocky mountains house_, is situated on the shore of the little lake i have mentioned, in the midst of a wood, and is surrounded, except on the water side, by steep rocks, inhabited only by the mountain sheep and goat. here is seen in the west the chain of the rocky mountains, whose summits are covered with perpetual snow. on the lake side, _millet's rock_, of which i have spoken above, is in full view, of an immense height, and resembles the front of a huge church seen in perspective. the post was under the charge of a mr. decoigne. he does not procure many furs for the company, which has only established the house as a provision depôt, with the view of facilitating the passage of the mountains to those of its _employés_ who are repairing to, or returning from, the columbia. people speak so often of the rocky mountains, and appear to know so little about them, that the reader will naturally desire me to say here a word on that subject. if we are to credit travellers, and the most recent maps, these mountains extend nearly in a straight line, from the 35th or 36th degree of north latitude, to the mouth of the _unjighah_, or _m'kenzie's river_, in the arctic ocean, in latitude 65° or 66° n. this distance of thirty degrees of latitude, or seven hundred and fifty leagues, equivalent to two thousand two hundred and fifty english miles or thereabouts, is, however, only the mean side of a right-angled triangle, the base of which occupies twenty-six degrees of longitude, in latitude 35° or 36°, that is to say, is about sixteen hundred miles long, while the chain of mountains forms the _hypotenuse_; so that the real, and as it were diagonal, length of the chain, across the continent, must be very near three thousand miles from s.e. to n.w. in such a vast extent of mountains, the perpendicular height and width of base must necessarily be very unequal. we were about eight days in crossing them; whence i conclude, from our daily rate of travel, that they may have, at this point, i.e., about latitude 54°, a base of two hundred miles. the geographer pinkerton is assuredly mistaken, when he gives these mountains an elevation of but three thousand feet above the level of the sea; from my own observations i would not hesitate to give them six thousand; we attained, in crossing them, an elevation probably of fifteen hundred feet above the valleys, and were not, perhaps, nearer than half way of their total height, while the valleys themselves must be considerably elevated above the level of the pacific, considering the prodigious number of rapids and falls which are met in the columbia, from the first falls to canoe river. be that as it may, if these mountains yield to the andes in elevation and extent, they very much surpass in both respects the apalachian chain, regarded until recently as the principal mountains of north america: they give rise, accordingly, to an infinity of streams, and to the greatest rivers of the continent.[af] [footnote af: this is interesting, as the rough calculation of an unscientific traveller, unprovided with instruments, and at that date. the real height of the rocky mountains, as now ascertained, averages twelve thousand feet; the highest known peak is about sixteen thousand.--ed.] they offer a vast and unexplored field to natural history: no botanist, no mineralogist, has yet examined them. the first travellers called them the glittering mountains, on account of the infinite number of immense rock crystals, which, they say, cover their surface, and which, when they are not covered with snow, or in the bare places, reflect to an immense distance the rays of the sun. the name of rocky mountains was given them, probably, by later travellers, in consequence of the enormous isolated rocks which they offer here and there to the view. in fact, millet's rock, and _m'gillivray's_ above all, appeared to me wonders of nature. some think that they contain metals, and precious stones. with the exception of the mountain sheep and goat, the animals of the rocky mountains, if these rocky passes support any, are not better known than their vegetable and mineral productions. the mountain sheep resorts generally to steep rocks, where it is impossible for men or even for wolves to reach them: we saw several on the rocks which surround the mountain house. this animal has great curved horns, like those of the domestic ram: its wool is long, but coarse; that on the belly is the finest and whitest. the indians who dwell near the mountains, make blankets of it, similar to ours, which they exchange with the indians of the columbia for fish, and other commodities. the ibex, or mountain goat, frequents, like the sheep, the top and the declivities of the rocks: it differs from the sheep in having hair instead of wool, and straight horns projecting backward, instead of curved ones. the color is also different. the natives soften the horns of these animals by boiling, and make platters, spoons, &c., of them, in a very artistic manner. mr. decoigne had not sufficient food for us, not having expected so many people to arrive at once. his hunters were then absent on _smoke_ river (so called by some travellers who saw in the neighborhood a volcanic mountain belching smoke), in quest of game. we were therefore compelled to kill one of the horses for food. we found no birch bark either to make canoes, and set the men to work in constructing some of wood. for want of better materials, we were obliged to use poplar. on the 22d, the three men whom we had left at the old-house, arrived in a little canoe made of two elk-skins sewed together, and stretched like a drum, on a frame of poles. on the 24th, four canoes being ready, we fastened them together two and two, and embarked, to descend the river to an old post called _hunter's lodge_, where mr. decoigne, who was to return with us to canada, informed us that we should find some bark canoes _en cache_, placed there for the use of the persons who descend the river. the water was not deep, and the stream was rapid; we glided along, so to speak, for ten or a dozen leagues, and encamped, having lost sight of the mountains. in proportion as we advanced, the banks of the river grew less steep, and the country became more agreeable. on the 25th, having only a little _pemican_ left, which we wished to keep, we sent forward a hunter in the little elk-skin canoe, to kill some game. about ten o'clock, we found him waiting for us with two moose that he had killed. he had suspended the hearts from the branch of a tree as a signal. we landed some men to help him in cutting up and shipping the game. we continued to glide safely down. but toward two o'clock, p.m., after doubling a point, we got into a considerable rapid, where, by the maladroitness of those who managed the double pirogue in which i was, we met with a melancholy accident. i had proposed to go ashore, in order to lighten the canoes, which were loaded to the water's edge; but the steersman insisted that we could go down safe, while the bow-man was turning the head of the pirogue toward the beach; by this manoeuvre we were brought athwart the stream, which was carrying us fast toward the falls; just then our frail bark struck upon a sunken rock; the lower canoe broke amid-ships and filled instantly, and the upper one being lighted, rolled over, precipitating us all into the water. two of our men, olivier roy lapensée and andré bélanger, were drowned; and it was not without extreme difficulty that we succeeded in saving messrs. pillet and wallace, as well as a man named _j. hurteau_. the latter was so far gone that we were obliged to have recourse to the usual means for the resuscitation of drowned persons. the men lost all their effects; the others recovered but a part of theirs; and all our provisions went. toward evening, in ascending the river (for i had gone about two miles below, to recover the effects floating down), we found the body of lapensée. we interred it as decently as we could, and planted at his grave a cross, on which i inscribed with the point of my knife, his name and the manner and date of his death. bélanger's body was not found. if anything could console the shades of the departed for a premature and unfortunate end, it would be, no doubt, that the funeral rites have been paid to their remains, and that they themselves have given their names to the places where they perished: it is thus that the shade of palinurus rejoiced in the regions below, at learning from the mouth of the sibyl, that the promontory near which he was drowned would henceforth be called by his name: _gaudet cognomine terra_. the rapid and the point of land where the accident i have described took place, will bear, and bears already, probably, the name of _lapensée_.[ag] [footnote ag: mr. franchere, not having the fear of the _abbé gaume_ before his eyes, so wrote in his journal of 1814; finding consolation in a thought savoring, we confess, more of virgil than of the catechism. it is a classic term that calls to our mind rough captain _thorn's_ sailor-like contempt for his literary passengers so comically described by mr. _irving_. half of the humor as well as of the real interest of mr. franchere's charming narrative, is lost by one who has never read "astoria."] on the 26th, a part of our people embarked in the three canoes which remained, and the others followed the banks of the river on foot. we saw in several places some veins of bituminous coal, on the banks between the surface of the water and that of the plain, say thirty feet below the latter; the veins had a dip of about 25°. we tried some and found it to burn well. we halted in the evening near a small stream, where we constructed some rafts, to carry all our people. on the 27th, i went forward in the little canoe of skins, with the two hunters. we soon killed an elk, which we skinned and suspended the hide, besmeared with blood, from the branch of a tree at the extremity of a point, in order that the people behind, as they came up, might perceive and take in the fruit of our chase. after fortifying ourselves with a little food, we continued to glide down, and encamped for the night near a thick wood where our hunters, from the tracks they observed, had hopes of encountering and capturing some bears. this hope was not realized. on the 28th, a little after quitting camp, we killed a swan. while i was busy cooking it, the hunters having plunged into the wood, i heard a rifle-shot, which seemed to me to proceed from a direction opposite to that which they had taken. they returned very soon running, and were extremely surprised to learn that it was not i who had fired it. nevertheless, the canoes and rafts having overtaken us, we continued to descend the river. very soon we met a bark canoe, containing two men and a woman, who were ascending the river and bringing letters and some goods for the _rocky mountains house_. we learned from these letters addressed to mr. decoigne, several circumstances of the war, and among others the defeat of captain barclay on lake erie. we arrived that evening at _hunter's lodge_, where we found four new birch-bark canoes. we got ready two of them, and resumed our journey down, on the 31st. mr. pillet set out before us with the hunters, at a very early hour. they killed an elk, which they left on a point, and which we took in. the country through which we passed that day is the most charming possible; the river is wide, handsome, and bordered with low outjutting points, covered with birch and poplar. on the 1st of june, in the evening, we encamped at the confluence of the river _pembina_. this stream comes from the south, and takes its rise in one of the spurs of the great chain of the rocky mountains; ascending it for two days, and crossing a neck of land about seventy-five miles, one reaches fort augustus, a trading post on the _saskatchawine_ river. messrs. m'donald and m'kenzie had taken this route, and had left for us half a sack of pemican in a _cache_, at the mouth of the river _pembina_. after landing that evening, mr. stuart and i amused ourselves with angling, but took only five or six small fish. on the 2d, we passed the confluence of _little slave lake_ river. at eight o'clock in the morning, we met a band or family of indians, of the _knisteneaux_ tribe. they had just killed a buffalo, which we bought of them for a small brass-kettle. we could not have had a more seasonable _rencontre_, for our provisions were all consumed. on the 3d, we reached _little red elk_ river, which we began to ascend, quitting the _athabasca_, or _great red elk_. this stream was very narrow in its channel, and obstructed with boulders: we were obliged to take to the shore, while some of the men dragged along the canoes. their method was to lash poles across, and wading themselves, lift the canoes over the rocks--a laborious and infinitely tedious operation. the march along the banks was not less disagreeable: for we had to traverse points of forest where the fire had passed, and which were filled with fallen trees. wallace and i having stopped to quench our thirst at a rill, the rest got in advance of us; and we lost our way in a labyrinth of buffalo tracks which we mistook for the trail, so that we wandered about for three hours before we came up with the party, who began to fear for our safety, and were firing signal-guns to direct us. as the river now grew deeper, we all embarked in the canoes, and about evening overtook our hunters, who had killed a moose and her two calves. we continued our journey on the 4th, sometimes seated in our canoes, sometimes marching along the river on foot, and encamped in the evening, excessively fatigued. chapter xxv. red deer lake.--antoine déjarlais.--beaver river.--n. nadeau.--moose river.--bridge lake.--saskatchawine river.--fort vermilion.--mr. hallet.--trading-houses.--beautiful country.--reflections. the 5th of june brought us to the beautiful sheet of water called _red deer lake_, irregular in shape, dotted with islands, and about forty miles in length by thirty in its greatest width. we met, about the middle of it, a small canoe conducted by two young women. they were searching for gulls' and ducks' eggs on the islands, this being the season of laying for those aquatics. they told us that their father was not far distant from the place where we met them. in fact, we presently saw him appear in a canoe with his two boys, rounding a little isle. we joined him, and learned that his name was antoine déjarlais; that he had been a guide in the service of the northwest company, but had left them since 1805. on being made acquainted with our need of provisions, he offered us a great quantity of eggs, and made one of our men embark with his two daughters in their little canoe, to seek some more substantial supplies at his cabin, on the other side of the lake. he himself accompanied us as far as a portage of about twenty-five yards formed at the outlet of the lake by a beaver dam. having performed the portage, and passed a small pond or marsh, we encamped to await the return of our man. he arrived the next morning, with déjarlais, bringing us about fifty pounds of dried venison and from ten to twelve pounds of tallow. we invited our host to breakfast with us: it was the least we could do after the good offices he had rendered us. this man was married to an indian woman, and lived with his family, on the produce of his chase; he appeared quite contented with his lot. nobody at least disputed with him the sovereignty of red deer lake, of which he had; as it were, taken possession. he begged me to read for him two letters which he had had in his possession for two years, and of which he did not yet know the contents. they were from one of his sisters, and dated at _verchères_, in canada. i even thought that i recognised the handwriting of mr. l.g. labadie, teacher of that parish. at last, having testified to this good man, in suitable terms, our gratitude for the services he had rendered us, we quitted him and prosecuted our journey. after making two portages, we arrived on the banks of beaver river, which was here but a rivulet. it is by this route that the canoes ordinarily pass to reach little slave lake and the athabasca country, from the head of lake superior, via., _cumberland house_, on _english river_. we were obliged by the shallowness of the stream, to drag along our canoes, walking on a bottom or beach of sand, where we began to feel the importunity of the mosquitoes. one of the hunters scoured the woods for game but without success. by-and-by we passed a small canoe turned bottom up and covered with a blanket. soon after we came to a cabin or lodge, where we found an old canadian hunter named _nadeau_. he was reduced to the last stage of weakness, having had nothing to eat for two days. nevertheless, a young man who was married to one of his daughters, came in shortly after, with the good news that he had just killed a buffalo; a circumstance which determined us to encamp there for the night. we sent some of our men to get in the meat. nadeau gave us half of it, and told us that we should find, thirty miles lower down, at the foot of a pine tree, a _cache_, where he had deposited ten swan-skins, and some of martin, with a net, which he prayed us to take to the next trading-post. we quitted this good fellow the next morning, and pursued our way. arriving at the place indicated, we found the _cache_, and took the net, leaving the other articles. a short distance further, we came to moose river, which we had to ascend, in order to reach the lake of that name. the water in this river was so low that we were obliged entirely to unload the canoes, and to lash poles across them, as we had done before, that the men might carry them on their shoulders over the places where they could not be floated. having distributed the baggage to the remainder of the hands, we pursued our way through the woods, under the guidance of mr. decoigne. this gentleman, who had not passed here for nineteen years, soon lost his way, and we got separated into small parties, in the course of the afternoon, some going one way, and some another, in search of moose lake. but as we had outstripped the men who carried the baggage and the small stock of provision that old nadeau had given us, mr. wallace and i thought it prudent to retrace our steps and keep with the rear-guard. we soon met mr. pillet and one of the hunters. the latter, ferreting the woods on both sides of a trail that he had discovered, soon gave a whoop, to signify that we should stop. presently emerging from the underwood, he showed us a horsewhip which he had found, and from which and from other unmistakeable signs, he was confident the trail would lead either to the lake or a navigable part of the river. the men with the baggage then coming up, we entered the thicket single file, and were conducted by this path, in a very short time, to the river, on the banks of which were visible the traces of an old camping ground. the night was coming on; and soon after, the canoes arrived, to our great satisfaction; for we had begun to fear that they had already passed. the splashing of their paddles was a welcome sound, and we who had been wise enough to keep behind, all encamped together. very early on the 8th, i set out accompanied by one of the hunters, in quest of messrs. d. stuart, clarke and decoigne, who had gone on ahead, the night previous. i soon found mm. clarke and m'gillis encamped on the shore of the lake. the canoes presently arrived and we embarked; mm. stuart and decoigne rejoined us shortly after, and informed us that they had bivouacked on the shore of lac _puant_, or stinking lake, a pond situated about twelve miles e.n.e. from the lake we were now entering. finding ourselves thus reunited, we traversed the latter, which is about eighteen miles in circuit, and has very pretty shores. we encamped, very early, on an island, in order to use old nadeau's fishing net. i visited it that evening and brought back three carp and two water-hens. we left it set all night, and the next morning found in it twenty white-fish. leaving camp at an early hour, we gained the entrance of a small stream that descends between some hills of moderate elevation, and there stopped to breakfast. i found the white-fish more delicious in flavor, even than the salmon. we had again to foot it, following the bank of this little stream. it was a painful task, as we were obliged to open a path through thick underbrush, in the midst of a rain that lasted all day and kept us drenched. two men being left in each canoe, conveyed them up the river about thirty miles, as far as long lake--a narrow pond, on the margin of which we spent the night. on the 10th, we got through this lakelet, and entered another small stream, which it was necessary to navigate in the same manner as the preceding, and which conducted us to bridge lake. the latter received its name from a sort of bridge or causeway, formed at its southern extremity, and which is nothing more than a huge beaver dam. we found here a lodge, where were a young man and two women, who had charge of some horses appertaining to one of the hudson's bay trading houses. we borrowed of them half a dozen pack horses, and crossed the bridge with them. after surmounting a considerable hill, we reached an open, level, and dry prairie, which conducted us in about two hours to an ancient trading-post on the banks of the _saskatchawine_. knowing that we were near a factory, we made our toilets as well as we could, before arriving. toward sundown, we reached fort vermilion, which is situated on the bank of a river, at the foot of a superb hill. we found at this post some ninety persons, men, women, and children; these people depend for subsistence on the chase, and fishing with hooks and lines, which is very precarious. mr. hallet, the clerk in charge was absent, and we were dismayed to hear that there were no provisions on the place: a very disagreeable piece of news for people famished as we were. we had been led to suppose that if we could only reach the plains of the saskatchawine, we should be in the land of plenty. mr. hallet, however, was not long in arriving: he had two quarters of buffalo meat brought out, which had been laid in ice, and prepared us supper. mr. hallet was a polite sociable man, loving his ease passably well, and desirous of living in these wild countries, as people do in civilized lands. having testified to him our surprise at seeing in one of the buildings a large _cariole_, like those of canada, he informed us that having horses, he had had this carriage made in order to enjoy a sleigh-ride; but that the workmen having forgot to take the measure of the doors of the building before constructing it, it was found when finished, much too large for them, and could never be got out of the room where it was; and it was like to remain there a long time, as he was not disposed to demolish the house for the pleasure of using the cariole. by the side of the factory of the northwest company, is another belonging to the company of hudson's bay. in general these trading-houses are constructed thus, one close to the other, and surrounded with a common palisade, with a door of communication in the interior for mutual succor, in case of attack on the part of the indians. the latter, in this region, particularly the black-feet, _gros-ventres_, and those of the yellow river, are very ferocious: they live by the chase, but bring few furs to the traders; and the latter maintain these posts principally to procure themselves provisions. on the. 11th, after breakfasting at fort vermilion, we resumed our journey, with six or seven pounds of tallow for our whole stock of food. this slender supply brought us through to the evening of the third day, when we had for supper two ounces of tallow each. on the 14th, in the morning, we killed a wild goose, and toward midday, collected some flag-root and _choux-gras_, a wild herb, which we boiled with the small game: we did not forget to throw into the pot the little tallow we had left, and made a delicious repast. toward the decline of day, we had the good luck to kill a buffalo. on the 15th, mm. clarke and decoigne having landed during our course, to hunt, returned presently with the agreeable intelligence that they had killed three buffaloes. we immediately encamped, and sent the greater part of the men to cut up the meat and jerk it. this operation lasted till the next evening, and we set forward again in the canoes on the 17th, with about six hundred pounds of meat half cured. the same evening we perceived from our camp several herds of buffaloes, but did not give chase, thinking we had enough meat to take us to the next post. the river _saskatchawine_ flows over a bed composed of sand and marl, which contributes not a little to diminish the purity and transparency of its waters, which, like those of the missouri, are turbid and whitish. except for that it is one of the prettiest rivers in the world. the banks are perfectly charming, and offer in many places a scene the fairest, the most smiling, and the best diversified that can be seen or imagined: hills in varied forms, crowned with superb groves; valleys agreeably embrowned, at evening and morning, by the prolonged shadow of the hills, and of the woods which adorn them; herds of light-limbed antelopes, and heavy colossal buffalo--the former bounding along the slopes of the hills, the latter trampling under their heavy feet the verdure of the plains; all these champaign beauties reflected and doubled as it were, by the waters of the river; the melodious and varied song of a thousand birds, perched on the tree-tops; the refreshing breath of the zephyrs; the serenity of the sky; the purity and salubrity of the air; all, in a word, pours contentment and joy into the soul of the enchanted spectator. it is above all in the morning, when the sun is rising, and in the evening when he is setting, that the spectacle is really ravishing. i could not detach my regards from that superb picture, till the nascent obscurity had obliterated its perfection. then, to the sweet pleasure that i had tasted, succeeded a _triste_, not to say, a sombre, melancholy. how comes it to pass, i said to myself, that so beautiful a country is not inhabited by human creatures? the songs, the hymns, the prayers, of the laborer and the artisan, shall they never be heard in these fine plains? wherefore, while in europe, and above all in england, so many thousands of men do not possess as their own an inch of ground, and cultivate the soil of their country for proprietors who scarcely leave them whereon to support existence;--wherefore--do so many millions of acres of apparently fat and fertile land, remain uncultivated and absolutely useless? or, at least, why do they support only herds of wild animals? will men always love better to vegetate all their lives on an ungrateful soil, than to seek afar fertile regions, in order to pass in peace and plenty, at least the last portion of their days? but i deceive myself; it is not so easy as one thinks, for the poor man to better his condition: he has not the means of transporting himself to distant countries, or he has not those of acquiring a property there; for these untilled lands, deserted, abandoned, do not appertain to whoever wishes to establish himself upon them and reduce them to culture; they have owners, and from these must be purchased the right of rendering them productive! besides one ought not to give way to illusions: these countries, at times so delightful, do not enjoy a perpetual spring; they have their winter, and a rigorous one; a piercing cold is then spread through the atmosphere; deep snows cover the surface; the frozen rivers flow only for the fish; the trees are stripped of their leaves and hung with icicles; the verdure of the plains has disappeared; the hills and valleys offer but a uniform whiteness; nature has lost all her beauty; and man has enough to do, to shelter himself from the injuries of the inclement season. chapter xxvi. fort montée--cumberland house.--lake bourbon.--great winipeg rapids.--lake winipeg.--trading-house.--lake of the woods.--rainy lake house, &c. on the 18th of june (a day which its next anniversary was to render for ever celebrated in the annals of the world), we re-embarked at an early hour: and the wind rising, spread sail, a thing we had not done before, since we quitted the river columbia. in the afternoon the clouds gathered thick and black, and we had a gust, accompanied with hail, but of short duration; the weather cleared up again, and about sundown we arrived at _le fort de la montêe_, so called, on account of its being a depôt, where the traders going south, leave their canoes and take pack-horses to reach their several posts. we found here, as at fort vermilion, two trading-houses joined together, to make common cause against the indians; one belonging to the hudson's bay company, the other to the company of the northwest: the hudson's bay house being then under the charge of a mr. prudent, and the n.w. company's under a mr. john m'lean. mr. de roche blave, one of the partners of the last company having the superintendence of this district, where he had wintered, had gone to lake superior to attend the annual meeting of the partners. there were cultivated fields around the house; the barley and peas appeared to promise an abundant harvest. mr. m'lean received us as well as circumstances permitted; but that gentleman having no food to give us, and our buffalo meat beginning to spoil, we set off the next morning, to reach cumberland house as quick as possible. in the course of the day, we passed two old forts, one of which had been built by the french before the conquest of canada. according to our guide, it was the most distant western post that the french traders ever had in the northwestern wilderness. toward evening we shot a moose. the aspect of the country changes considerably since leaving _montée_; the banks of the river rise more boldly, and the country is covered with forests. on the 20th, we saw some elms--a tree that i had not seen hitherto, since my departure from canada. we reached fort cumberland a little before the setting of the sun. this post, called in english _cumberland house_, is situated at the outlet of the _saskatchawine_, where it empties into _english lake_, between the 53d and 54th degrees of north latitude. it is a depot for those traders who are going to slave lake or the athabasca, or are returning thence, as well as for those destined for the rocky mountains. it was under the orders of mr. j.d. campbell, who having gone down to fort william, however, had left it in charge of a mr. harrison. there are two factories, as at vermilion and la montée. at this place the traders who resort every year to fort william, leave their half-breed or indian wives and families, as they can live here at little expense, the lake abounding in fish. messrs. clarke and stuart, who were behind, arrived on the 22d, and in the evening we had a dance. they gave us four sacs of pemican, and we set off again, on the 23d, at eight a.m. we crossed the lake, and entered a small river, and having made some eighty or ninety miles under sail, encamped on a low shore, where the mosquitoes tormented us horribly all night. on the 24th, we passed _muddy_ lake, and entered lake _bourbon_, where we fell in with a canoe from _york_ factory, under the command of a mr. kennedy, clerk of the hudson's bay company. we collected some dozens of gulls' eggs, on the rocky islands of the lake: and stopping on one of the last at night, having a little flour left, mr. decoigne and i amused ourselves in making fritters for the next day's breakfast: an occupation, which despite the small amount of materials, employed us till we were surprised by the daybreak; the night being but brief at this season in that high latitude. at sunrise on the 25th, we were again afloat, passed lake _travers_, or _cross_ lake, which empties into lake winipeg by a succession of rapids; shot down these cascades without accident, and arrived, toward noon, at the great rapid _ouénipic_ or winipeg, which is about four miles long. we disembarked here, and the men worked down the canoes. at the foot of this rapid, which is the inlet of winipeg, we found an old canadian fisherman, who called himself _king of the lake_. he might fairly style himself king of the fish, which are abundant and which he alone enjoyed. having made a boil, and regaled ourselves with excellent sturgeon, we left this old man, and entered the great lake winipeg, which appeared to me like a sea of fresh water. this lake is now too well known to need a particular description: i will content myself with saying that it visibly yields in extent only to lake superior and great slave lake: it has for tributaries several large rivers, and among others the saskatchawine, the winipeg, in the east; and red river in the south; and empties into hudson's bay by the _nelson_, n.n.e., and the _severn_, e.n.e. the shores which it bathes are generally very low; it appears to have little depth, and is dotted with a vast number of islands, lying pretty close to land. we reached one called _egg island_, whence it was necessary to cross to the south to reach the main; but the wind was so violent that it was only at decline of day that we could perform the passage. we profited by the calm, to coast along all day and a part of the night of the 26th; but to pay for it, remained in camp on the 27th, till evening: the wind not suffering us to proceed. the wind having appeared to abate somewhat after sunset, we embarked, but were soon forced to land again. on the 28th, we passed the openings of several deep bays, and the isles of _st. martin_, and camped at the bottom of a little bay, where the mosquitoes did not suffer us to close our eyes all night. we were rejoiced when dawn appeared, and were eager to embark, to free ourselves from these inconvenient guests. a calm permitted us that day to make good progress with our oars, and we camped at _buffalo strait_. we saw that day two indian wigwams. the 30th brought us to winipeg river, which we began to ascend, and about noon reached port _bas de la rivière_. this trading post had more the air of a large and well-cultivated farm, than of a fur traders' factory: a neat and elegant mansion, built on a slight eminence, and surrounded with barns, stables, storehouses, &c., and by fields of barley, peas, oats, and potatoes, reminded us of the civilized countries which we had left so long ago. messrs. crébassa and kennedy, who had this post in charge, received us with all possible hospitality, and supplied us with all the political news which had been learned through the arrival of canoes from canada. they also informed us that messrs m'donald and de rocheblave had passed, a few days before our arrival, having been obliged to go up red river to stop the effusion of blood, which would probably have taken place but for their intervention, in the colony founded on that river by the earl of selkirk. mr. miles m'donnell, the governor of that colony, or rather of the _assiniboyne_ district, had issued a proclamation forbidding all persons whomsoever, to send provisions of any kind out of the district. the hudson's bay traders had conformed to this proclamation, but those of the northwest company paid no attention to it, thinking it illegal, and had sent their servants, as usual to get provisions up the river. mr. m'donnell having heard that several hundred sacks of pemican[ah] were laid up in a storehouse under the care of a mr. pritchard, sent to require their surrender: pritchard refused to deliver them, whereupon mr. m'donnell had them carried off by force. the traders who winter on little slave lake, english river, the athabasca country, &c., learning this, and being aware that they would not find their usual supply at _bas de la rivière_, resolved to go and recover the seized provisions by force, if they were not peaceably given up. things were in this position when messrs, de rocheblave and m'donald arrived. they found the canadian _voyageurs_ in arms, and ready to give battle to the colonists, who persisted in their refusal to surrender the bags of pemican. the two peacemakers visited the governor, and having explained to him the situation in which the traders of the northwest company would find themselves, by the want of necessary provisions to enable them to transport their peltries to fort william, and the exasperation of their men, who saw no other alternative for them, but to get possession of those provisions or to perish of hunger, requested him to surrender the same without delay. mr. m'donnell, on his part, pointed out the misery to which the colonists would be reduced by a failure in the supply of food. in consequence of these mutual representations, it was agreed that one half of the pemican should be restored, and the other half remain for the use of the colonists. thus was arranged, without bloodshed, the first difficulty which occurred between the rival companies of the northwest, and of hudson's bay. [footnote ah: _pemican_, of which i have already spoken several times, is the indian name for the dried and pounded meat which the natives sell to the traders. about fifty pounds of this meat is placed in a trough (_un grand vaisseau fait d'un tronc d'arbre_), and about an equal quantity of tallow is melted and poured over it; it is thoroughly mixed into one mass, and when cold, is put up in bags made of undressed buffalo hide, with the hair outside, and sewed up as tightly as possible. the meat thus impregnated with tallow, hardens, and will keep for years. it is eaten without any other preparation; but sometimes wild pears or dried berries are added, which render the flavor more agreeable.] having spent the 1st of july in repairing our canoes, we re-embarked on the 2d, and continued to ascend winipeg river, called also _white river_, on account of the great number of its cascades, which being very near each other, offer to the sight an almost continuous foam. we made that day twenty-seven portages, all very short. on the 3d, and 4th, we made nine more, and arrived on the 5th, at the _lake of the woods_. this lake takes its name from the great number of woody islands with which it is dotted. our guide pointed out to me one of these isles, telling me that a jesuit father had said mass there, and that it was the most remote spot to which those missionaries had ever penetrated. we encamped on one of the islands. the next day the wind did not allow us to make much progress. on the 7th, we gained the entrance of _rainy lake river_. i do not remember ever to have seen elsewhere so many mosquitoes as on the banks of this river. having landed near a little rapid to lighten the canoes, we had the misfortune, in getting through the brush, to dislodge these insects from under the leaves where they had taken refuge from the rain of the night before; they attached themselves to us, followed us into the canoes, and tormented us all the remainder of the day. on the 8th, at sunset, we reached _rainy lake house_. this fort is situated about a mile from a considerable rapid. we saw here cultivated fields and domestic animals, such as horses, oxen, cows, &c. the port is a depôt for the wintering parties of the athabasca, and others still more remote, who bring to it their peltries and return from it with their outfits of merchandise. mr. john dease, to whose charge the place had been confided, received us in the most friendly manner possible; and after having made an excellent supper, we danced a part of the evening. we took leave of mr. dease on the 10th, well provided for the journey, and passing round rainy lake falls, and then traversing the lake itself, which i estimated to be forty miles long, we encamped at the entrance of a small river. on the next day we pursued our way, now thridding streams impeded with wild rice, which rendered our progress difficult, now traversing little lakes, now passing straits where we scarcely found water to float our canoes. on the 13th, we encamped near _dog portage (portage des chiens_), where, from not having followed the advice of mr. dease, who had counselled us to take along a bag of pemican, we found ourselves absolutely without food. chapter xxvii. arrival at fort william.--description of the fort.--news from the river columbia. starving men are early-risers. we set out on the 14th before day, and effected the portage, which is long and difficult. at the foot of the rapid we found a sort of _restaurant_ or _cabaret_, kept by a man named _boucher_. we treated the men to a little _eau de vie_, and breakfasted on some detestable sausages, poisoned with salt. after this wretched repast, we set out again, and passed toward noon, the _mountain portage_. here the river _kaministiquia_ flings itself over a rock of immense height, and forms a fall scarcely less curious to see than that of niagara. below, the succession of falls and rapids is constant, so that we made no fewer than thirty-six portages in the course of the day. nevertheless we pursued our laborious way with good cheer, and without a murmur from our canadian boatmen, who kept their spirits up by singing their _voyageur_ songs. at last, at about nine o'clock in the evening, we arrived at fort william. fort william is situated on lake superior, at the mouth of the _kaministiquia_ river, about forty-five miles north of old _grand portage_. it was built in 1805, when the two rival canadian companies were united, and was named in honor of mr. (now the honorable) william m'gillivray, principal agent of the northwest company. the proprietors, perceiving that the old fort of _grand portage_ was on the territory claimed by the american government, resolved to demolish it and build another on the british territory. no site appeared more advantageous than the present for the purposes intended; the river is deep, of easy access, and offers a safe harbor for shipping. it is true they had to contend with all the difficulties consequent on a low and swampy soil; but by incredible labor and perseverance they succeeded in draining the marshes and reducing the loose and yielding soil to solidity. fort william has really the appearance of a fort, with its palisade fifteen feet high, and that of a pretty village, from the number of edifices it encloses. in the middle of a spacious square rises a large building elegantly constructed, though of wood, with a long piazza or portico, raised about five feet from the ground, and surmounted by a balcony, extending along the whole front. in the centre is a saloon or hall, sixty feet in length by thirty in width, decorated with several pieces of painting, and some portraits of the leading partners. it is in this hall that the agents, partners, clerks, interpreters, and guides, take their meals together, at different tables. at each extremity of the apartment are two rooms; two of these are destined for the two principal agents; the other two to the steward and his department. the kitchen and servants' rooms are in the basement. on either side of this edifice, is another of the same extent, but of less elevation; they are each divided by a corridor running through its length, and contain each, a dozen pretty bed-rooms. one is destined for the wintering partners, the other for the clerks. on the east of the square is another building similar to the last two, and intended for the same use, and a warehouse where the furs are inspected and repacked for shipment. in the rear of these, are the lodging-house of the guides, another fur-warehouse, and finally, a powder magazine. the last is of stone, and has a roof covered with tin. at the angle is a sort of bastion, or look-out place, commanding a view of the lake. on the west side is seen a range of buildings, some of which serve for stores, and others for workshops; there is one for the equipment of the men, another for the fitting out of the canoes, one for the retail of goods, another where they sell liquors, bread, pork, butter, &c., and where a treat is given to the travellers who arrive. this consists in a white loaf, half a pound of butter, and a gill of rum. the _voyageurs_ give this tavern the name of _cantino salope_. behind all this is another range, where we find the counting-house, a fine square building, and well-lighted; another storehouse of stone, tin-roofed; and a _jail_, not less necessary than the rest. the _voyageurs_ give it the name of _pot au beurre_--the butter-tub. beyond these we discover the shops of the carpenter, the cooper, the tinsmith, the blacksmith, &c.; and spacious yards and sheds for the shelter, reparation, and construction of canoes. near the gate of the fort, which is on the south, are the quarters of the physician, and those of the chief clerk. over the gate is a guard-house. as the river is deep at its entrance, the company has had a wharf constructed, extending the whole length of the fort, for the discharge of the vessels which it keeps on lake superior, whether to transport its furs from fort william to the _saut ste. marie_, or merchandise and provisions from _saut ste. marie_ to fort william. the land behind the fort and on both sides of it, is cleared and under tillage. we saw barley, peas, and oats, which had a very fine appearance. at the end of the clearing is the burying-ground. there are also, on the opposite bank of the river, a certain number of log-houses, all inhabited by old canadian _voyageurs_, worn out in the service of the company, without having enriched themselves. married to women of the country, and incumbered with large families of half-breed children, these men prefer to cultivate a little indian corn and potatoes, and to fish, for a subsistence, rather than return to their native districts, to give their relatives and former acquaintance certain proofs of their misconduct or their imprudence. fort william is the grand depôt of the northwest company for their interior posts, and the general _rendezvous_ of the partners. the agents from montreal and the wintering partners assemble here every summer, to receive the returns of the respective outfits, prepare for the operations of the ensuing season, and discuss the general interests of their association. the greater part of them were assembled at the time of our arrival. the wintering hands who are to return with their employers, pass also a great part of the summer here; they form a great encampment on the west side of the fort, outside the palisades. those who engage at montreal to go no further than fort william or _rainy lake_, and who do not _winter_, occupy yet another space, on the east side. the winterers, or _hivernants_, give to these last the name of _mangeurs de lard_, or pork-eaters. they are also called _comers-and-goers_. one perceives an astonishing difference between these two camps, which are composed sometimes of three or four hundred men each; that of the pork-eaters is always dirty and disorderly, while that of the winterers is clean and neat. to clear its land and improve its property, the company inserts a clause in the engagement of all who enter its service as canoe-men, that they shall work for a certain number of days during their stay at fort william. it is thus that it has cleared and drained the environs of the fort, and has erected so many fine buildings. but when a hand has once worked the stipulated number of days, he is for ever after exempt, even if he remain in the service twenty or thirty years, and should come down to the fort every summer. they received us very courteously at fort william, and i perceived by the reception given to myself in particular, that thanks to the chinook dialect of which i was sufficiently master, they would not have asked better than to give me employment, on advantageous terms. but i felt a great deal more eagerness to arrive in montreal, than desire to return to the river columbia. a few days after we reached fort william, mr. keith made his appearance there from fort george, or astoria, with the news of the arrival of the "isaac todd" in the columbia river. this vessel, which was a dull sailer, had been kept back a long time by contrary winds in doubling cape horn, and had never been able to rejoin the vessels-of-war, her consorts, from which she was then separated. when she reached the _rendezvous_ at the island of juan fernandez, finding that the three ships-of-war had sailed, the captain and passengers, as they were short of provisions, determined to range the coast. entering the harbor of _monterey_,[ai] on the coast of california, in order to obtain provisions, they learned that there was an english vessel-of-war in distress, in the bay of _san francisco_.[aj] they repaired thither accordingly, and found, to their great surprise, that it was the sloop _raccoon_. this vessel, in getting out of the river columbia, had touched on the bar, with such violence, that a part of her false keel was carried away; and she had with difficulty made san francisco, with seven feet of water in the hold, although her crew had been constantly at the pumps. captain black, finding it impossible to repair his ship, had decided to abandon her, and to cross the continent to the gulf of mexico, thence to reach some of the british west india islands. however, on the arrival of the isaac todd, means were found to careen the vessel and repair the damage. the isaac todd then pursued her voyage and entered the columbia on the 17th of april, thirteen months after her departure from england. [footnote ai: a spanish mission or presidency, in about the 36th degree of latitude.] [footnote aj: another spanish presidency, in about the 38th degree of latitude, and the first european establishment to be met with south of the columbia. [these now obsolete notes are interesting as indicative of the period when they were written.--ed.]] chapter xxviii. departure from fort william.--navigation on lake superior.--michipicoton bay.--meeting a canoe.--batchawainon bay.--arrival at saut ste marie.--occurrences there.--departure.--lake huron.--french river.--lake nipissing.--ottawa river.--kettle falls.--rideau river.--long-saut.--arrival in montreal--conclusion. on the 20th of july, in the evening, mr. d. stuart notified me that he should start the next morning for montreal, in a light canoe. i immediately wrote to my relatives: but the next morning mr. stuart told me that i was to be myself the bearer of my letters, by embarking with him. i got ready my effects, and toward evening we quitted fort william, with fourteen stout _voyageurs_ to man our large canoe, and were soon floating on the bosom of the largest body of fresh water on the surface of the globe. we counted six passengers, namely, messrs. d. stuart, d. m'kenzie, j. m'donald, j. clarke, myself, and a little girl of eight or nine years, who came from kildonan, on red river. we passed the first night on one of the islands in _thunder bay_, so named on account of the frequent storms, accompanied with lightning and thunder, which burst over it at certain seasons of the year. on the 22d and 23d, we continued to range the southern coast of lake superior. the navigation of this superb lake would be extremely agreeable but for the thick fogs which reign during a part of the day, and do not permit a rapid progress. on the 24th, we dined at a small trading establishment called _le pic_, where we had excellent fish. on the 26th, we crossed _michipicoton bay_, which, at its entrance, may be nine miles wide, and twenty fathoms deep. as we were nearing the eastern point, we met a small canoe, having on board captain m'cargo, and the crew of one of the schooners owned by the company. mr. m'cargo informed us that he had just escaped from _saut ste. marie_, whither the americans had sent a detachment of one hundred and fifty men; and that having been obliged to abandon his schooner, he had set fire to her. in consequence of this news it was resolved that the canoe on which we were proceeding, should return to fort william. i embarked, with mr. stuart and two men, in captain m'cargo's canoe, while he and his crew took our places. in the haste and confusion of this exchange, which was made on the lake, they gave us a ham, a little tea and sugar, and a bag containing about twenty-five pounds of flour, but forgot entirely a kettle, knives, forks, and so on, all articles which mr. m'cargo had not time to take when he left _saut ste. marie_. we subsisted miserably in consequence for two days and a half that we continued to coast the lake before reaching any post. we moistened in the bag a little flour, and having kneaded it, made cakes, which we baked on flat stones by our camp fire. on the 29th, we reached batchawainon, where we found some women, who prepared us food and received us well. it is a poor little post, situated at the bottom of a sandy cove, which offers nothing agreeable to the eye. mr. frederic goedike, who resided here, was gone to see what had taken place at saut ste. marie. he returned the next day, and told us that the americans had come, with a force of one hundred and fifty men, under the command of major holmes; and that after having pillaged that they all considered worth taking, of the property of the n.w. company and that of a mr. johnston, they had set fire to the houses, warehouses, &c., belonging to the company and to that gentleman, and retired, without molesting any other person.[ak] our canoe arrived from fort william in the evening, with that of mr. m'gillivray; and on the morrow we all repaired to saut ste. marie, where we saw the ruins which the enemy had left. the houses, stores, and saw-mills of the company were still smoking. [footnote ak: the n.w. company having raised a regiment composed of their own servants, and known as the _voyageur corps_, and having also instigated to war, and armed, the indian tribes, over which they had influence, had brought on themselves this act of retaliation. mr. johnston also had engaged actively in the war against the united states.] the schooner was at the foot of the rapids; the americans had run her down, but she grounded on a ledge of rocks, whence they could not dislodge her, and so they had burnt her to the water's edge. _le saut de ste. marie_, or as it is shortly called, _saut ste. marie_, is a rapid at the outlet of lake superior, and may be five hundred or six hundred yards wide; its length may be estimated at three quarters of a mile, and the descent of the water at about twenty feet. at the lower extremity the river widens to about a mile, and here there are a certain number of houses. the north bank belongs to great britain; the southern to the united states. it was on the american side that mr. johnston lived. before the war he was collector of the port for the american government. on the same side resided a mr. nolin, with his family, consisting of three half-breed boys and as many girls, one of whom was passably pretty. he was an old indian trader, and his house and furniture showed signs of his former prosperity. on the british side we found mr. charles ermatinger, who had a pretty establishment: he dwelt temporarily in a house that belonged to nolin, but he was building another of stone, very elegant, and had just finished a grist mill. he thought that the last would lead the inhabitants to sow more grain than they did. these inhabitants are principally old canadian boatmen, married to half-breed or indian women. the fish afford them subsistence during the greater part of the year, and provided they secure potatoes enough to carry them through the remainder, they are content. it is to be regretted that these people are not more industrious, for the land is very fertile. on the 1st of august, an express was sent to _michilimackinac_ (mackinaw) to inform the commandant thereof what had happened at _saut ste. marie_. while expecting the return of the messenger, we put ourselves in a state of defence, in case that by chance the americans should make another irruption. the thing was not improbable, for according to some expressions which fell from one of their number who spoke french, their objects was to capture the furs of the northwest company, which were expected to arrive shortly from the interior. we invited some indians, who were camped on _pine point_, at some distance from the _saut_, to help us in case of need; which they promised to do. meanwhile we had no provisions, as everything had been carried off by the american forces, and were obliged to subsist on such brook trout as we could take with hook and line, and on wild raspberries. on the 4th, the express returned, without having been able to accomplish his mission: he had found the island of mackinaw so completely blockaded by the enemy, that it was impossible to reach it, without running the greatest risk of being made prisoner. on the 12th, we heard distinctly the discharges of artillery which our people were firing off at michilimackinac, although the distance was nearly sixty miles. we thought it was an attempt of the enemy to retake that post, but we afterward learned that it was only a royal salute in honor of the birthday of the prince regent. we learned, however, during our stay at saut ste. marie, that the americans had really made a descent upon the island, but were compelled to retire with a considerable loss. on the 19th, some of the partners arrived from fort william, preceding the flotilla which was coming down richly laden with furs. they sent on mr. decoigne in a light canoe, with letters to montreal, to order provisions to meet this brigade. on the 21st, the canoe on which i was a passenger, was sent to the mouth of _french_ river, to observe the motions of the enemy. the route lay between a range of low islands, and a shelvy beach, very monotonous and dreary. we remained at the entrance of the aforesaid river till the 25th, when the fleet of loaded canoes, forty-seven in number, arrived there. the value of the furs which they carried could not be estimated at less than a million of dollars: an important prize for the americans, if they could have laid their hands upon it. we were three hundred and thirty-five men, all well armed; a large camp was formed, with a breast-work of fur-packs, and we kept watch all night. the next morning we began to ascend french river, and were soon out of reach of the dreaded foe. french river flows from the n.e. and empties into lake huron, about one hundred and twenty miles from saut ste. marie. we reached lake nipissing, of which it is the outlet, the same evening, and encamped. we crossed that lake on the 27th, made a number of portages, and encamped again, not far from _mattawan_. on the 28th we entered, at an early hour, the river _ottawa_, and encamped, in the evening, at the _portage des deux joachims_. this is a grand river, but obstructed by many falls and rapids on its way to join the st. lawrence; which caused us to make many portages, and so we arrived on the 31st at _kettle falls_. the rock which here arrests the course of the _ottawa_, extends from shore to shore, and so completely cuts off the waters, that at the time we passed none was seen falling over, but sinking by subterranean channels, or fissures in the rock, it boiled up below, from seven or eight different openings, not unlike water in a huge caldron, whence the first explorers of the country gave it the name of _chaudière_ or caldron falls. mr. p. wright resided in this place, where he had a fine establishment and a great number of men employed in cultivating the land, and getting out lumber. we left the _chaudières_ a little before sunset, and passed very soon the confluence of the _rideau_ or _curtain river_. this river, which casts itself into the ottawa over a rock twenty-five by thirty feet high, is divided in the middle of the fall by a little island, which parts the waters into two white sheets, resembling a double curtain open in the middle and spreading out below. the _coup d'oeil_ is really picturesque; the rays of the setting sun, which struck the waters obliquely as we passed, heightened exceedingly their beauty, and rendered it worthy of a pencil more skilful than mine. we voyaged till midnight, when we stopped to let our men take a little repose. this rest was only for two hours. at sunrise on the 1st september, we reached _long-saut_, where, having procured guides, we passed that dangerous rapid, and set foot on shore near the dwelling-house of a mr. m'donell, who sent us milk and fruits for our breakfast. toward noon we passed the lake of the two mountains, where i began to see the mountain of my native isle. about two o'clock, we passed the rapids of st. ann.[al] soon after we came opposite _saut st. louis_ and the village of _caughnawago_, passed that last rapid of so many, and landed at montreal, a little before sunset. [footnote al: "far-famed and so well described," adds mr. franchere, in his own translation, but i prefer to leave the expression in its original striking simplicity, as he wrote it before he had heard of moore. every reader remembers:- "soon as the woods on shore grow dim, we'll sing at st. ann's our parting hymn." _canadian boatman's song_.] i hastened to the paternal roof, where the family were not less surprised than overjoyed at beholding me. not having heard of me, since i had sailed from new york, they had believed, in accordance with the common report, that i had been murdered by the savages, with mr. m'kay and the crew of the tonquin: and certainly, it was by the goodness of providence that i found myself thus safe and sound, in the midst of my relations and friends, at the end of a voyage accompanied by so many perils, and in which so many of my companions had met with an untimely death. chapter xxix. present state of the countries visited by the author.--correction of mr. irving's statements respecting st. louis. the last chapter closes the original french narrative of my travels around and across the continent, as published thirty-three years ago. the translation follows that narrative as exactly as possible, varying from it only in the correction of a few not very important errors of fact. it speaks of places and persons as i spoke of them then. i would not willingly lose the verisimilitude of this natural and unadorned description, in order to indulge in any new turns of style or more philosophical reflections. but since that period many changes have occurred in the scenes which i so long ago visited and described. though they are well known, i may be pardoned for alluding to them. the natives of the sandwich islands, who were in a state of paganism at that time, have since adopted a form of christianity, have made considerable progress in imitating the civilization of europe, and even, at this moment, begin to entertain the idea of annexation to the united states. it appears, however, that the real natives are rapidly dwindling away by the effects of their vices, which an exotic and ill-assimilated civilization has rather increased than diminished, and to which religion has not succeeded in applying a remedy. at the mouth of the columbia, whole tribes, and among them, the _clatsops_, have been swept away by disease. here again, licentious habits universally diffused, spread a fatal disorder through the whole nation, and undermining the constitutions of all, left them an easy prey to the first contagion or epidemic sickness. but missionaries of various christian sects have labored among the indians of the columbia also; not to speak of the missions of the catholic church, so well known by the narrative of father de smet and others; and numbers have been taught to cultivate the soil, and thus to provide against the famines to which they were formerly exposed from their dependence on the precarious resources of the chase; while others have received, in the faith of christ, the true principle of national permanence, and a living germ of civilization, which may afterward be developed. emigration has also carried to the oregon the axe of the settler, as well as the canoe and pack of the fur-trader. the fertile valleys and prairies of the willamet--once the resort of the deer, the elk, and the antelope, are now tilled by the industrious husbandman. oregon city, so near old "astoria," whose first log fort i saw and described, is now an archiepiscopal see, and the capital of a territory, which must soon be a state of the union. of the regions east of the mountains described in my itinerary, little can be said in respect to improvement: they remain in the same wild state. the interest of the hudson's bay company, as an association of fur-traders, is opposed to agricultural improvements, whose operation would be to drive off and extinguish the wild animals that furnish their commerce with its object. but on lake superior steamboats have supplanted the birch-bark canoe of the indian and the fur-trader, and at saut ste. marie, especially on the american side, there is now every sign of prosperity. how remote and wild was the region beyond, through which i passed, may be estimated by the fact that in thirty-eight years the onward-rolling wave of our population has but just reached its confines. canada, although it has not kept pace with the united states, has yet wonderfully advanced in forty years. the valley of the ottawa, that great artery of the st. lawrence, where i thought it worth while to notice the residence of an enterprising farmer and lumber merchant, is now a populous district, well cultivated, and sprinkled with villages, towns, and cities. the reader, in perusing my first chapter, found a description of the city of new york in 1810, and of the neighboring village of brooklyn. it would be superfluous to establish a comparison at this day. at that time, it will be observed, the mere breaking out of war between america and england was thought to involve the sacrifice of an american commercial establishment on the pacific, on the ground of its supplies being necessarily cut off (it was supposed), and of the united states government being unable to protect it from hostile attack. at present it suffices to remark that while new york, then so inconsiderable a port, is now perhaps the third city in the world, the united states also, are, undoubtedly, a first-rate power, unassailable at home, and formidable abroad, to the greatest nations. as in my preface i alluded to mr. irving's "astoria," as reflecting, in my opinion, unjustly, upon the young men engaged in the first expedition to the mouth of the columbia, it may suffice here to observe, without entering into particulars, that my narrative, which i think answers for its own fidelity, clearly shows that some of them, at least did not want courage, activity, zeal for the interests of the company, while it existed, and patient endurance of hardship. and although it forms no part of the narrative or my voyage, yet as subsequent visits to the west and an intimate knowledge of st. louis, enable me to correct mr. irving's poetical rather than accurate description of that place, i may well do it here. st. louis now bids fair to rival ere long the "queen of the west;" mr. irving describes her as a small trading place, where trappers, half-breeds, gay, frivolous canadian boatmen, &c., &c., congregated and revelled, with that lightness and buoyancy of spirit inherited from their french forefathers; the indolent creole of st. louis caring for little more than the enjoyment of the present hour; a motley population, half-civilized, half-barbarous, thrown, on his canvas, into one general, confused (i allow highly _picturesque_) mass, without respect of persons: but it is fair to say, with due homage to the talent of the sketcher, who has verged slightly on caricature in the use of that humor-loving pencil admired by all the world, that st. louis even then contained its noble, industrious, and i may say, princely merchants; it could boast its _chouteaus_, _soulands_, _céré_, _chéniers_, _vallées_, and _la croix_, with other kindred spirits, whose descendants prove the worth of their sires by their own, and are now among the leading business men, as their fathers were the pioneers, of the flourishing st. louis. with these remarks, which i make simply as an act of justice in connection with the general subject of the founding of "astoria," but in which i mean to convey no imputation on the intentional fairness of the accomplished author to whom i have alluded, i take a respectful leave of my readers. appendix.[am] in chapter xvii. i promised the reader to give him an account of the fate of some of the persons who left astoria before, and after its sale or transfer to the british. i will now redeem that pledge. [footnote am: we have thought it best to give this appendix, excepting some abbreviations rendered necessary to avoid repetition of what has been stated before, in mr. franchere's own words, particularly as a specimen of his own english style may be justly interesting to the reader.] messrs. ramsay crooks, r. m'lelland, and robert stuart, after enduring all sorts of fatigue, dangers and hair-breadth escapes with their lives--all which have been so graphically described by washington irving in his "astoria," finally reached st. louis and new york. mr. clapp went to the marquesas islands, where he entered into the service of his country in the capacity of midshipman under commodore porter--made his escape from there in company with lieutenant gamble of the marine corps, by directions of the commodore, was captured by the british, landed at buenos ayres, and finally reached new york. d. m'dougall, as a reward for betraying the trust reposed in him by mr. astor, was made a partner of the northwest company, crossed the mountains, and died a miserable death at _bas de la rivière_, winipeg. donald m'kenzie, his coadjutor, went back to the columbia river, where he amassed a considerable fortune, with which he retired, and lived in chautauque county in this state, where he died a few years since unknown and neglected:--he was a very selfish man, who cared for no one but himself. it remains only to speak of messrs. j.c. halsey, russell, farnham, and alfred seton, who, it will be remembered, embarked with mr. hunt on the "pedlar," in feb. 1814. leaving the river about the 1st of april, they proceeded to the russian establishment at sitka, norfolk sound, where they fell in with two or three more american vessels, which had come to trade with the natives or to avoid the british cruisers. while there, a sail under british colors appeared, and mr. hunt sent mr. seton to ascertain who she was. she turned out to be the "forester," captain pigott, a repeating signal ship and letter-of-marque, sent from england in company of a fleet intended for the south seas. on further acquaintance with the captain, mr. seton (from whom i derive these particulars) learned a fact which has never before been published, and which will show the solicitude and perseverance of mr. astor. after despatching the "lark" from new york, fearing that she might be intercepted by the british, he sent orders to his correspondent in england to purchase and fit out a british bottom, and despatch her to the columbia to relieve the establishment. when mr. hunt learned this fact, he determined to leave mr. halsey at sitka, and proceeding himself northward, landed mr. farnham on the coast of _kamskatka_, to go over land with despatches for mr. astor. mr. farnham accomplished the journey, reached hamburg, whence he sailed for the west indies, and finally arrived at new york, having made the entire circuit of the globe. the "pedlar" then sailed to the southeast, and soon reached the coast of california, which she approached to get a supply of provisions. nearing one of the harbors, they descried a vessel at anchor inside, showing american colors. hauling their wind, they soon came close to the stranger, which, to their surprise, turned out to be the spanish corvette "santa barbara," which sent boats alongside the "pedlar," and captured her, and kept possession of the prize for some two months, during which they dropped down to _san blas_. here mr. hunt proposed to mr. seton to cross the continent and reach the united states the best way he could. mr. seton, accordingly, went to the isthmus of darien, where he was detained several months by sickness, but finally reached carthagena, where a british fleet was lying in the roads, to take off the english merchants, who in consequence of the revolutionary movements going on, sought shelter under their own flag. here mr. seton, reduced to the last stage of destitution and squalor, boldly applied to captain bentham, the commander of the squadron, who, finding him to be a gentleman, offered him every needful assistance, gave him a berth in his own cabin, and finally landed him safely on the island of jamaica, whence he, too, found his way to new york. of all those engaged in the expedition there are now but four survivors--ramsay crooks, esq. the late president of the american fur company; alfred seton, esq., vice-president of the sun mutual insurance company; both of new york city; benjamin pillet of canada; and the author, living also in new york. all the rest have paid the debt of nature, but their names are recorded in the foregoing pages. notwithstanding the illiberal remarks made by captain thorn on the persons who were on board the ill-fated tonquin, and reproduced by mr. irving in his "astoria"--these young men who were represented as "bar keepers or billiard markers, most of whom had fled from justice, &c."--i feel it a duty to say that they were for the most part, of good parentage, liberal education and every way were qualified to discharge the duties of their respective stations. the remarks on the general character of the voyageurs employed as boat-men and mechanics, and the attempt to cast ridicule on their "braggart and swaggering manners" come with a bad grace from the author of "astoria," when we consider that in that very work mr. irving is compelled to admit their indomitable energy, their fidelity to their employers, and their cheerfulness under the most trying circumstances in which men can be placed. with respect to captain thorn, i must confess that though a stern commander and an irritable man, he paid the strictest attention to the health of his crew. his complaints of the squalid appearance of the canadians and mechanics who were on board, can be abated of their force by giving a description of the accommodation of these people. the tonquin was a small ship; its forecastle was destined for the crew performing duty before the mast. the room allotted for the accommodation of the twenty men destined for the establishment, was abaft the forecastle; a bulk-head had been let across, and a door led from the forecastle into a dark, unventilated, unwholesome place, where they were all heaped together, without means of locomotion, and consequently deprived of that exercise of the body so necessary to health. add to that, we had no physician on board. in view of these facts, can the complaints of the gallant captain be sustained? of course mr. irving was ignorant of these circumstances, as well as of many others which he might have known, had some one suggested to him to ask a few questions of persons who were within his reach at the time of his publication. i have (i need scarcely say) no personal animosity against the unfortunate captain; he always treated me, individually, as well as i could expect; and if, in the course of my narrative, i have been severe on his actions, i was impelled by a sense of justice to my friends on board, as well as by the circumstance that such explanations of his general deportment were requisite to convey the historical truth to my readers. the idea of a conspiracy against him on board is so absurd that it really does not deserve notice. the threat, or rather the proposal made to him by mr. m'kay, in the following words--"if you say fight, fight it is"--originated in a case where one of the sailors had maltreated a canadian lad, who came to complain to mr. m'kay. the captain would not interpose his authority, and said in my presence, "let them fight out their own battles:"--it was upon that answer that mr. m'kay gave vent to the expression quoted above. i might go on with a long list of inaccuracies, more or less grave or trivial, in the beautifully written work of mr. irving, but it would be tedious to go through the whole of them. the few remarks to which i have given place above, will suffice to prove that the assertion made in the preface was not unwarranted. it is far from my intention to enter the lists with a man of the literary merit and reputation of mr. irving, but as a narrator of events of which i was an eyewitness, i felt bound to tell the truth, although that truth might impugn the historical accuracy of a work which ranks as a classic in the language. at the same time i entirely exonerate mr. irving from any intention of prejudicing the minds of his readers, as he doubtless had only in view to support the character of his friend: that sentiment is worthy of a generous heart, but it should not be gratified, nor would he wish to gratify it, i am sure, at the expense of the character of others. note by the editor. perhaps even contrary to the wish of mr. franchere, i have left the above almost word for word as he wrote it. it is a part of the history of the affairs related as well in mr. irving's astoria as in the present volume, that the reclamations of one of the clerks on that famous and unfortunate voyage of the tonquin, against the disparaging description of himself and his colleagues given in the former work, should be fairly recorded. at the same time, i can not help stating my own impression that a natural susceptibility, roused by those slighting remarks from captain thorn's correspondence, to which mr. irving as an historian gives currency, has somewhat blinded my excellent friend to the tone of banter, so characteristic of the chronicler of the knickerbockers, in which all these particulars are given, more as traits of the character of the stern old sea-captain, with his hearty contempt for land-lubbers and literary clerks, than as a dependable account of the persons on board his ship, some of whom might have been, and as we see by the present work, were, in fact, very meritorious characters, for whose literary turn, and faithful journalizing (which seems to have especially provoked the captain's wrath), now at the end of more than forty years, we have so much reason to be thankful. certainly mr. irving himself, who has drawn frequently on mr. franchere's narrative, could not, from his well-known taste in such matters, be insensible to the defoe-like simplicity thereof, nor to the picturesque descriptions, worthy of a professional pen, with which it is sprinkled. the end. note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustrations. see 16596-h.htm or 16596-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/6/5/9/16596/16596-h/16596-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/6/5/9/16596/16596-h.zip) much of the dialogue is dialect. the few spelling mistakes have been retained, including st. johns for st. john's (newfoundland). every boy's library--boy scout edition ungava bob a winter's tale by dillon wallace author of _the lure of the labrador wild_ illustrated by samuel m. palmer new york grosset & dunlap publishers 1907 third edition [illustration: three of the men hauled, the other with a pole, kept it clear of the rocks (_see page 45_)] _to my sisters annie and jessie_ contents i. how bob got his "trail" 9 ii. off to the bush 26 iii. an adventure with a bear 37 iv. swept away in the rapids 50 v. the trails are reached 56 vi. alone in the wilderness 68 vii. a streak of good luck 76 viii. micmac john's revenge 87 ix. lost in the snow 96 x. the penalty 108 xi. the tragedy of the trail 115 xii. in the hands of the nascaupees 129 xiii. a foreboding of evil 140 xiv. the shadow of death 153 xv. in the wigwam of sishetakushin 171 xvi. one of the tribe 187 xvii. still farther north 199 xviii. a mission of trust 206 xix. at the mercy of the wind 226 xx. prisoners of the sea 240 xxi. adrift on the ice 254 xxii. the maid of the north 269 xxiii. the hand of providence 280 xxiv. the escape 290 xxv. the break-up 304 xxvi. back at wolf bight 315 xxvii. the cruise to st. john's 333 xxviii. in after years 341 list of illustrations facing page three of the men hauled, the other with a pole, kept it clear of the rocks title "bob jumped out with the painter in his hand." 21 chart of the trails. 64 "micmac john knew his end had come." 114 "it was dangerous work." 173 "saw her standing in the bright moonlight." 197 "he held the vessel steadily to her course." 298 ungava bob i how bob got his "trail" it was an evening in early september twenty years ago. the sun was just setting in a radiance of glory behind the dark spruce forest that hid the great unknown, unexplored labrador wilderness which stretched away a thousand miles to the rocky shores of hudson's bay and the bleak desolation of ungava. with their back to the forest and the setting sun, drawn up in martial line stood the eight or ten whitewashed log buildings of the hudson's bay company post, just as they had stood for a hundred years, and just as they stand to-day, looking out upon the wide waters of eskimo bay, which now, reflecting the glow of the setting sun, shone red and sparkling like a sea of rubies. on a clearing to the eastward of the post between the woods and water was an irregular cluster of deerskin wigwams, around which loitered dark-hued indians puffing quietly at their pipes, while indian women bent over kettles steaming at open fires, cooking the evening meal, and little indian boys with bows shot harmless arrows at soaring gulls overhead, and laughed joyously at their sport as each arrow fell short of its mark. big wolf dogs skulked here and there, looking for bits of refuse, snapping and snarling ill-temperedly at each other. a group of stalwart, swarthy-faced men, dressed in the garb of northern hunters--light-coloured moleskin trousers tucked into the tops of long-legged sealskin moccasins, short jackets and peakless caps--stood before the post kitchen or lounged upon the rough board walk which extended the full length of the reservation in front of the servants' quarters and storehouses. they were watching a small sailboat that, half a mile out upon the red flood, was bowling in before a smart breeze, and trying to make out its single occupant. finally some one spoke. "'tis bob gray from wolf bight, for that's sure bob's punt." "yes," said another, "'tis sure bob." their curiosity satisfied, all but two strolled into the kitchen, where supper had been announced. douglas campbell, the older of the two that remained, was a short, stockily built man with a heavy, full, silver-white beard, and skin tanned dark as an indian's by the winds and storms of more than sixty years. a pair of kindly blue eyes beneath shaggy white eyebrows gave his face an appearance at once of strength and gentleness, and an erect bearing and well-poised head stamped him a leader and a man of importance. the other was a tall, wiry, half-breed indian, with high cheek bones and small, black, shifting eyes that were set very close together and imparted to the man a look of craftiness and cunning. he was known as "micmac john," but said his real name was john sharp. he had drifted to the coast a couple of years before on a fishing schooner from newfoundland, whence he had come from nova scotia. from the coast he had made his way the hundred and fifty miles to the head of eskimo bay, and there took up the life of a trapper. rumour had it that he had committed murder at home and had run away to escape the penalty; but this rumour was unverified, and there was no means of learning the truth of it. since his arrival here the hunters had lost, now and again, martens and foxes from their traps, and it was whispered that micmac john was responsible for their disappearance. nevertheless, without any tangible evidence that he had stolen them, he was treated with kindness, though he had made no real friends amongst the natives. when the last of the men had closed the kitchen door behind him, micmac john approached douglas, who had been standing somewhat apart, evidently lost in his thoughts as he watched the approaching boat, and asked: "have ye decided about the big hill trail, sir?" "yes, john." "and am i to hunt it this year, sir?" "no, john, i can't let ye have un. i told bob gray th' day i'd let him hunt un. bob's a smart lad, and i wants t' give he th' chance." micmac john cast a malicious glance at old douglas. then with an assumed indifference, and shrug of his shoulders as he started to walk away, remarked: "all right if you've made yer mind up, but you'll be sorry fer it." douglas turned fiercely upon him. "what mean you, man? be that a threat? speak now!" "i make no threats, but boys can't hunt, and he'll bring ye no fur. ye'll get nothin' fer yer pains. ye'll be sorry fer it." "well," said douglas as micmac john walked away to join the others in the kitchen, "i've promised th' lad, an' what i promises i does, an' i'll stand by it." bob gray, sitting at the tiller of his little punt, _the rover_, was very happy--happy because the world was so beautiful, happy because he lived, and especially happy because of the great good fortune that had come to him this day when douglas campbell granted his request to let him hunt the big hill trail, with its two hundred good marten and fox traps. it had been a year of misfortune for the grays. the previous winter when bob's father started out upon his trapping trail a wolverine persistently and systematically followed him, destroying almost every fox and marten that he had caught. all known methods to catch or kill the animal were resorted to, but with the cunning that its prehistoric ancestors had handed down to it, it avoided every pitfall. the fox is a poor bungler compared with the wolverine. the result of all this was that richard gray had no fur in the spring with which to pay his debt at the trading store. then came the greatest misfortune of all. emily, bob's little sister, ventured too far out upon a cliff one day to pluck a vagrant wild flower that had found lodgment in a crevice, and in reaching for it, slipped to the rocks below. bob heard her scream as she fell, and ran to her assistance. he found her lying there, quite still and white, clutching the precious blossom, and at first he thought she was dead. he took her in his arms and carried her tenderly to the cabin. after a while she opened her eyes and came back to consciousness, but she had never walked since. everything was done for the child that could be done. every man and woman in the bay offered assistance and suggestions, and every one of them tried a remedy; but no relief came. all the time things kept going from bad to worse with richard gray. few seals came in the bay that year and he had no fat to trade at the post. the salmon fishing was a flat failure. as the weeks went on and emily showed no improvement douglas campbell came over to wolf bight with the suggestion, "take th' maid t' th' mail boat doctor. he'll sure fix she up." and then they took her--bob and his mother--ninety miles down the bay to the nearest port of call of the coastal mail boat, while the father remained at home to watch his salmon nets. here they waited until finally the steamer came and the doctor examined emily. "there's nothing i can do for her," he said. "you'll have to send her to st. johns to the hospital. they'll fix her all right there with a little operation." "an' how much will that cost?" asked mrs. gray. "oh," he replied, "not over fifty dollars--fifty dollars will cover it." "an' if she don't go?" "she'll never get well." then, as a dismissal of the subject, the doctor, turning to bob, asked: "well, youngster, what's the outlook for fur next season?" "we hopes there'll be some, sir." "get some silver foxes. good silvers are worth five hundred dollars cash in st. johns." the mail boat steamed away with the doctor, and bob and his mother, with emily made as comfortable as possible in the bottom of the boat, turned homeward. it was hard to realize that emily would never be well again, that she would never romp over the rocks with bob in the summer or ride with him on the sledge when he took the dogs to haul wood in the winter. there would be no more merry laughter as she played about the cabin. this was before the days when the mission doctors with their ships and hospitals came to the labrador to give back life to the sick and dying of the coast. fifty dollars was more money than any man of the bay save douglas campbell had ever seen, and to expect to get such a sum was quite hopeless, for in those days the hunters were always in debt to the company, and all they ever received for their labours were the actual necessities of life, and not always these. emily was the only cheerful one now of the three. when she saw her mother crying, she took her hand and stroked it, and said: "mother, dear, don't be cryin' now. 'tis not so bad. if god wants that i get well he'll make me well. an' i wants to stay home with you an' see you an' father an' bob, an' i'd be _dreadful_ homesick to go off so far." emily and bob had always been great chums and the blow to him seemed almost more than he could bear. his heart lay in his bosom like a stone. at first he could not think, but finally he found himself repeating what the doctor had said about silver foxes,--"five hundred dollars cash." this was more money than he could imagine, but he knew it was a great deal. the company gave sixty dollars _in trade_ for the finest silver foxes. that was supposed a liberal price--but five hundred dollars in _cash_! he looked longingly towards the blue hills that held their heads against the distant sky line. behind those hills was a great wilderness rich in foxes and martens--but no man of the coast had ever dared to venture far within it. it was the land of the dreaded nascaupees, the savage red men of the north, who it was said would torture to a horrible death any who came upon their domain. the mountaineer indians who visited the bay regularly and camped in summer near the post, told many tales of the treachery of their northern neighbours, and warned the trappers that they had already blazed their trails as far inland as it was safe for them to go. any hunter encroaching upon the nascaupee territory, they insisted, would surely be slaughtered. bob had often heard this warning, and did not forget it now; but in spite of it he felt that circumstances demanded risks, and for emily's sake he was willing to take them. if he could only get traps, _he_ would make the venture, with his parents' consent, and blaze a new trail there, for it would be sure to yield a rich reward. but to get traps needed money or credit, and he had neither. then he remembered that douglas campbell had said one day that he would not go to the hills again if he could get a hunter to take the big hill trail to hunt on shares. that was an inspiration. he would ask douglas to let him hunt it on the usual basis--two-thirds of the fur caught to belong to the hunter and one-third to the owner. with this thought bob's spirits rose. "'twill be fine--'twill be a grand chance," said he to himself, "an douglas lets me hunt un, an father lets me go." he decided to speak to douglas first, for if douglas was agreeable to the plan his parents would give their consent more readily. otherwise they might withhold it, for the trail was dangerously close to the forbidden grounds of the nascaupees, and anyway it was a risky undertaking for a boy--one that many of the experienced trappers would shrink from. the more bob considered his plan with all its great possibilities, the more eager he became. he found himself calculating the number of pelts he would secure, and amongst them perhaps a silver fox. he would let the mail boat doctor sell them for him, and then they would be rich, and emily would go to the hospital, and be his merry, laughing little chum again. how happy they would all be! bob was young and an optimist, and no thought of failure entered his head. it was too late the night they reached home to see douglas but the next morning he hurried through his breakfast, which was eaten by candle-light, and at break of day was off for kenemish, where douglas campbell lived. he found the old man at home, and, with some fear of refusal, but still bravely, for he knew the kind-hearted old trapper would grant the request if he thought it were wise, explained his plan. "you're a stalwart lad, bob," said douglas, looking at the boy critically from under his shaggy eyebrows. "an' how old may you be now? i 'most forgets--young folks grows up so fast." "just turned sixteen, sir." "an' that's a young age for a lad to be so far in th' bush alone. but you'll be havin' somethin' happen t' you." "i'll be rare careful, sir, an' you lets me ha' th' trail." "an' what says your father?" "i's said nothin' to he, sir, about it yet." "well, go ask he, an' he says yes, meet me at the post th' evenin' an' i'll speak wi' mr. macdonald t' give ye debt for your grub. micmac john's wantin' th' trail, but i'm not thinkin' t' let he have un." at first bob's parents both opposed the project. the dangers were so great that his mother asserted that if he were to go she would not have an easy hour until she saw her boy again. but he put forth such strong arguments and plead so vigorously, and his disappointment was so manifest, that finally she withdrew her objections and his father said: "well, you may go, my son, an douglas lets you have th' trail." [illustration: "bob jumped out with the painter in his hand"] so bob, scarcely sixteen years of age, was to do a man's work and shoulder a man's burden, and he was glad that god had given him stature beyond his years, that he might do it. he could not remember when he had not driven dogs and cut wood and used a gun. he had done these things always. but now he was to rise to the higher plane of a full-fledged trapper and the spruce forest and the distant hills beyond the post seemed a great empire over which he was to rule. those trackless fastnesses, with their wealth of fur, were to pay tribute to him, and he was happy in the thought that he had found a way to save little emily from the lifelong existence of a poor crippled invalid. his buoyant spirit had stepped out of the old world of darkness and despair into a new world filled with light and love and beauty, in which the present troubles were but a passing cloud. "ho, lad! so your father let ye come. i's glad t' see ye, lad. an' now we're t' make a great hunt," greeted douglas when the punt ground its nose upon the sandy beach, and bob jumped out with the painter in his hand to make it fast. "aye, sir," said bob, "he an' mother says i may go." "well, come, b'y, an' we'll ha' supper an' bide here th' night an' in th' mornin' you'll get your fit out," said douglas when they had pulled the punt up well away from the tide. entering the kitchen they found the others still at table. greetings were exchanged, and a place was made for douglas and bob. it was a good-sized room, furnished in the simple, primitive style of the country: an uncarpeted floor, benches and chests in lieu of chairs, a home-made table, a few shelves for the dishes, two or three bunks like ship bunks built in the end opposite the door to serve the post servant and his family for beds, and a big box stove, capable of taking huge billets of wood, crackling cheerily, for the nights were already frosty. resting upon crosspieces nailed to the rough beams overhead were half a dozen muzzle loading guns, and some dog harness hung on the wall at one side. everything was spotlessly clean. the floor, the table--innocent of a cloth--the shelves, benches and chests were scoured to immaculate whiteness with sand and soap, and, despite its meagre furnishings the room was very snug and cozy and possessed an atmosphere of homeliness and comfort. a single window admitted the fading evening light and a candle was brought, though douglas said to the young girl who placed it in the centre of the table: "so long as there's plenty a' grub, bessie, i thinks we can find a way t' get he t' our mouths without ere a light." the meal was a simple one--boiled fresh trout with pork grease to pour over it for sauce, bread, tea, and molasses for "sweetening." butter and sugar were luxuries to be used only upon rare festal occasions. after the men had eaten they sat on the floor with their backs against the rough board wall and their knees drawn up, and smoked and chatted about the fishing season just closed and the furring season soon to open, while margaret black, wife of tom black, the post servant, their daughter bessie and a couple of young girl visitors of bessie's from down the bay, ate and afterwards cleared the table. then some one proposed a dance, as it was their last gathering before going to their winter trails, which would hold them prisoners for months to come in the interior wilderness. a fiddle was brought out, and dick blake tuned up its squeaky strings, and, keeping time with one foot, struck up the virginia reel. the men discarded their jackets, displaying their rough flannel shirts and belts, in which were carried sheath knives, chose their partners and went at it with a will, to dick's music, while he fiddled and shouted such directions as "sashay down th' middle,--swing yer pardners,--promenade." bob led out bessie, for whom he had always shown a decided preference, and danced like any man of them. douglas did not dance--not because he was too old, for no man is too old to dance in labrador, nor because it was beneath his dignity--but because, as he said: "there's not enough maids for all th' lads, an' i's had my turn a many a time. i'll smoke an' look on." neither did micmac john dance, for he seemed in ill humour, and was silent and morose, nursing his discontent that a mere boy should have been given the big hill trail in preference to him, and he sat moody and silent, taking no apparent interest in the fun. the dance was nearly finished when bob, wheeling around the end, warm with the excitement and pleasure of it all, inadvertently stepped on one of the half-breed's feet. micmac john rose like a flash and struck bob a stinging blow on the face. bob turned upon him full of the quick anger of the moment, then, remembering his surroundings, restrained the hand that was about to return the blow, simply saying: "'twas an accident, john, an' you has no right to strike me." the half-breed, vicious, sinister and alert, stood glowering for a moment, then deliberately hit bob again. the others fell back, bob faced his opponent, and, goaded now beyond the power of self-restraint, struck with all the power of his young arm at micmac john. the latter was on his guard, however, and warded the blow. quick as a flash he drew his knife, and before the others realized what he was about to do, made a vicious lunge at bob's breast. ii off to the bush on the left breast of bob's woollen shirt there was a pocket, and in this pocket was a small metal box of gun caps, which bob always carried there when he was away from home, for he seldom left home without his gun. it was fortunate for him that it was there now, for the point of the knife struck squarely over the place where the box lay. it was driven with such force by the half-breed's strong arm that it passed clear through the metal, which, however, so broke the blow that the steel scarcely scratched the skin beneath. before another plunge could be made with the knife the men sprang in and seized micmac john, who submitted at once without a struggle to the overpowering force, and permitted himself to be disarmed. then he was released and stood back, sullen and defiant. for several moments not a word was spoken. finally dick blake took a threatening step towards the indian, and shaking his fist in the latter's face exclaimed: "ye dirty coward! ye'd do murder, would ye? ye'd kill un, would ye?" "hold on," said douglas, "'bide a bit. 'twill do no good t' beat un, though he's deservin' of it." then to the half-breed: "an' what's ailin' of ye th' evenin', john? 'twas handy t' doin' murder ye were." john saw the angry look in the men's eyes, and the cool judgment of douglas standing between him and bodily harm, and deciding that tact was the better part of valour, changed his attitude of defiance to one of reconciliation. he could not take revenge now for his fancied wrong. his indian cunning told him to wait for a better time. so he extended his hand to bob, who, dazed by the suddenness of the unexpected attack, had not moved. "shake hands, bob, an' call it square. i was hot with anger an' didn't know what i was doin'. we won't quarrel." bob, acting upon the motto his mother had taught him--"be slow to anger and quick to forgive," took the outstretched hand with the remark, "'twere a mighty kick i gave ye, john, an' enough t' anger ye, an' no harm's done." big dick blake would not have it so at first, and invited the half-breed outside to take a "licking" at his hands. but the others soon pacified him, the trouble was forgotten and dancing resumed as though nothing had happened to disturb it. as soon as attention was drawn from him micmac john, unobserved, slipped out of the door and a few moments later placed some things in a canoe that had been turned over on the beach, launched it and paddled away in the ghostly light of the rising moon. the dancing continued until eleven o'clock, then the men lit their pipes, and after a short smoke and chat rolled into their blankets upon the floor, mrs. black and the girls retired to the bunks, and, save for a long, weird howl that now and again came from the wolf dogs outside, and the cheery crackling of the stove within, not a sound disturbed the silence of the night. as has been intimated, douglas campbell was a man of importance in eskimo bay. when a young fellow he had come here from the orkney islands as a servant of the hudson's bay company. a few years later he married a native girl, and then left the company's service to become a hunter. he had been careful of his wages, and as he blazed new hunting trails into the wilderness, used his savings to purchase steel traps with which to stock the trails. other trappers, too poor to buy traps for themselves, were glad to hunt on shares the trails douglas made, and now he was reaping a good income from them. he was in fact the richest man in the bay. he was kind, generous and fatherly. the people of the bay looked up to him and came to him when they were in trouble, for his advice and help. many a poor family had douglas campbell's flour barrel saved from starvation in a bad winter, and god knows bad winters come often enough on the labrador. many an ambitious youngster had he started in life, as he was starting bob gray now. the big hill trail, far up the grand river, was the newest and deepest in the wilderness of all the trails douglas owned--deeper in the wilderness than that of any other hunter. just below it and adjoining it was william campbell's--a son of douglas--a young man of nineteen who had made his first winter's hunt the year before our story begins; below that, dick blake's, and below dick's was ed matheson's. in preparing for the winter hunt it was more convenient for these men to take their supplies to their tilts by boat up the grand river than to haul them in on toboggans on the spring ice, as nearly every other hunter, whose trapping ground was not upon so good a waterway, was compelled to do, and so it was that they were now at the trading post selecting their outfits preparatory to starting inland before the very cold winter should bind the river in its icy shackles. the men were up early in the morning, and douglas went with bob to the office of mr. charles mcdonald, the factor, where it was arranged that bob should be given on credit such provisions and goods as he needed for his winter's hunt, to be paid for with fur when he returned in the spring. douglas gave his verbal promise to assume the debt should bob's catch of fur be insufficient to enable him to pay it, but bob's reputation for energy and honesty was so good that mr. mcdonald said he had no fear as to the payment by the lad himself. the provisions that bob selected in the store, or shop, as they called it, were chiefly flour, a small bag of hardtack, fat pork, tea, molasses, baking soda and a little coarse salt, while powder, shot, bullets, gun caps, matches, a small axe and clothing completed the outfit. he already had a gray cotton wedge-tent. when these things were selected and put aside, douglas bought a pipe and some plugs of black tobacco, and presented them to bob as a gift from himself. "but i never smokes, sir, an' i 'lows he'd be makin' me sick," said bob, as he fingered the pipe. "just a wee bit when you tries t' get acquainted," answered douglas with a chuckle, "just a wee bit; but ye'll come t' he soon enough an' right good company ye'll find he of a long evenin'. take un along, an' there's no harm done if ye don't smoke un--but ye'll be makin' good friends wi' un soon enough." so bob pocketed the pipe and packed the tobacco carefully away with his purchases. after a consultation it was decided that the men should all meet the next evening, which would be sunday, at bob's home at wolf bight, near the mouth of the grand river, and from there make an early start on monday morning for their trapping grounds. "i'll have william over wi' one o' my boats that's big enough for all hands," said douglas. "no use takin' more'n one boat. it's easier workin' one than two over the portages an' up the rapids." when bob's punt was loaded and he was ready to start for home, he ran to the kitchen to say good-bye to mrs. black and the girls, for he was not to see them again for many months. "bide in th' tilt when it storms, bob, an' have a care for the wolves, an' keep clear o' th' nascaupees," warned bessie as she shook bob's hand. "aye," said he. "i'll bide in th' tilt o' stormy days, an' not go handy t' th' nascaupees. i'm not fearful o' th' wolves, for they's always so afraid they never gives un a chance for a shot." "but _do_ have a care, bob. an'--an'--i wants to tell you how glad i is o' your good luck, an' i hopes you'll make a grand hunt--i _knows_ you will. an'--bob, we'll miss you th' winter." "thank you, bessie. an' i'll think o' th' fine time i'm missin' at christmas an' th' new year. good-bye, bessie." "good-bye, bob." the fifteen miles across the bay to wolf bight with a fair wind was soon run. bob ate a late dinner, and then made everything snug for the journey. his flour was put into small, convenient sacks, his cooking utensils consisting of a frying pan, a tin pail in which to make tea, a tin cup and a spoon were placed in a canvas bag by themselves, and in another bag was packed a hudson's bay company four-point blanket, two suits of underwear, a pair of buckskin mittens with a pair of duffel ones inside them, and an extra piece of the duffel for an emergency, six pairs of knit woollen socks, four pairs of duffel socks or slippers (which his mother had made for him out of heavy blanket-like woollen cloth), three pairs of buckskin moccasins for the winter and an extra pair of sealskin boots (long legged moccasins) for wet weather in the spring. he also laid aside, for daily use on the journey, an adikey made of heavy white woollen cloth, with a fur trimmed hood, and a lighter one, to be worn outside of the other, and made of gray cotton. the adikey or "dikey," as bob called it, was a seamless garment to be drawn on over the head and worn instead of a coat. the underclothing and knit socks had been purchased at the trading post, but every other article of clothing, including boots, moccasins and mitts, his mother had made. a pair of snow-shoes, a file for sharpening axes, a "wedge" tent of gray cotton cloth and a sheet iron tent stove about twelve inches square and eighteen inches long with a few lengths of pipe placed inside of it were likewise put in readiness. the stove and pipe bob's father had manufactured. no packing was left to be done sunday, for though there was no church to go to, the grays, and for that matter all of the bay people, were close observers of the sabbath, and left no work to be done on that day that could be done at any other time. early on sunday evening, dick and ed and bill campbell came over in their boat from kenemish, where they had spent the previous night. it had been a short day for bob, the shortest it seemed to him he had ever known, for though he was anxious to be away and try his mettle with the wilderness, these were the last hours for many long weary months that he should have at home with his father and mother and emily. how the child clung to him! she kept him by her side the livelong day, and held his hand as though she were afraid that he would slip away from her. she stroked his cheek and told him how proud she was of her big brother, and warned him over and over again, "now, bob, do be wonderful careful an' not go handy t' th' nascaupees for they be dreadful men, fierce an' murderous." over and over again they planned the great things they would do when he came back with a big lot of fur--as they were both quite sure he would--and how she would go away to the doctor's to be made well and strong again as she used to be and the romps they were to have when that happy time came. "an' bob," said emily, "every night before i goes to sleep when i says my 'now i lay me down to sleep' prayer, i'll say to god 'an' keep bob out o' danger an' bring he home safe.'" "aye, emily," answered bob, "an' i'll say to god, 'make emily fine an' strong again.'" before daybreak on monday morning breakfast was eaten, and the boat loaded for a start at dawn. emily was not yet awake when the time came to say farewell and bob kissed her as she slept. poor mrs. gray could not restrain the tears, and bob felt a great choking in his throat--but he swallowed it bravely. "don't be feelin' bad, mother. i'm t' be rare careful in th' bush, and you'll see me well and hearty wi' a fine hunt, wi' th' open water," said he, as he kissed her. "i knows you'll be careful, an' i'll try not t' worry, but i has a forebodin' o' somethin' t' happen--somethin' that's t' happen t' you, bob--oh, i feels that somethin's t' happen. emily'll be missin' you dreadful, bob. an'--'twill be sore lonesome for your father an' me without our boy." "ready, bob!" shouted dick from the boat. "don't forget your prayers, lad, an' remember that your mother's prayin' for you every mornin' an' every night." "yes, mother, i'll remember all you said." she watched him from the door as he walked down to the shore with his father, and the boat, heavily laden, pushed out into the bay, and she watched still, until it disappeared around the point, above. then she turned back into the room and had a good cry before she went about her work again. if she had known what those distant hills held for her boy--if her intuition had been knowledge--she would never have let him go. iii an adventure with a bear the boat turned out into the broad channel and into goose bay. there was little or no wind, and when the sun broke gloriously over the white-capped peaks of the mealy mountains it shone upon a sea as smooth as a mill pond, with scarcely a ripple to disturb it. the men worked laboriously and silently at their oars. a harbour seal pushed its head above the water, looked at the toiling men curiously for a moment, then disappeared below the surface, leaving an eddy where it had been. gulls soared overhead, their white wings and bodies looking very pure and beautiful in the sunlight. high in the air a flock of ducks passed to the southward. from somewhere in the distance came the honk of a wild goose. the air was laden with the scent of the great forest of spruce and balsam fir, whose dark green barrier came down from the rock-bound, hazy hills in the distance to the very water's edge, where tamarack groves, turned yellow by the early frosts, reflected the sunlight like settings of rich gold. "'tis fine! 'tis grand!" exclaimed bob at last, as he rested a moment on his oars to drink in the scene and breathe deeply the rare, fragrant atmosphere. "'tis sure a fine world we're in." "aye, 'tis fine enough now," remarked ed, stopping to cut pieces from a plug of tobacco, and then cramming them into his pipe. "but," he continued, prophetically, as he struck a match and held it between his hands for the sulphur to burn off, "bide a bit, an' you'll find it ugly enough when th' snows blow t' smother ye, an' yer racquets sink with ye t' yer knees, and th' frost freezes yer face and the ice sticks t' yer very eyelashes until ye can't see--then," continued he, puffing vigorously at his pipe, "then 'tis a sorry world--aye, a sorry an' a hard world for folks t' make a livin' in." it was mid-forenoon when they reached rabbit island--a small wooded island where the passing dog drivers always stop in winter to make tea and snatch a mouthful of hard biscuit while the dogs have a half hour's rest. "an' here we'll boil th' kettle," suggested dick. "i'm fair starved with an early breakfast and the pull at the oars." "we're ready enough for that," assented bill. "th' wind's prickin' up a bit from th' east'rd, an' when we starts i thinks we may hoist the sails." "yes, th' wind's prickin' up an' we'll have a fair breeze t' help us past th' traverspine, i hopes." the landing was made. bob and ed each took an axe to cut into suitable lengths some of the plentiful dead wood lying right to hand, while dick whittled some shavings and started the fire. bill brought a kettle (a tin pail) of water. then he cut a green sapling about five feet in length, sharpened one end of it, and stuck it firmly into the earth, slanting the upper end into position over the fire. on this he hung the kettle of water, so that the blaze shot up around it. in a little while the water boiled, and with a stick for a lifter he set it on the ground and threw in a handful of tea. this they sweetened with molasses and drank out of tin cups while they munched hardtack. bill's prophecy as to the wind proved a true one, and in the half hour while they were at their luncheon so good a breeze had sprang up that when they left rabbit island both sails were hoisted. early in the afternoon they passed the traverspine river, and now with some current to oppose made slower, though with the fair wind, good progress, and when the sun dipped behind the western hills and they halted to make their night camp they were ten miles above the traverspine. to men accustomed to travelling in the bush, camp is quickly made. the country here was well wooded, and the forest beneath covered with a thick carpet of white moss. bob and bill selected two trees between which they stretched the ridge pole of a tent, and a few moments sufficed to cut pegs and pin down the canvas. then spruce boughs were broken and spread over the damp moss and their shelter was ready for occupancy. meanwhile ed had cut fire-wood while dick started the fire, using for kindlings a handful of dry, dead sprigs from the branches of a spruce tree, and by the time bob and bill had the tent pitched it was blazing cheerily, and the appetizing smell of fried pork and hot tea was in the air. when supper was cooked ed threw on some more sticks, for the evening was frosty, and then they sat down to luxuriate in its genial warmth and eat their simple meal. for an hour they chatted, while the fire burned low, casting a narrowing circle of light upon the black wilderness surrounding the little camp. some wild thing of the forest stole noiselessly to the edge of the outer darkness, its eyes shining like two balls of fire, then it quietly slunk away unobserved. above the fir tops the blue dome of heaven seemed very near and the million stars that glittered there almost close enough to pluck from their azure setting. with a weird, uncanny light the aurora flashed its changing colours restlessly across the sky. no sound save the low voices of the men as they talked, disturbed the great silence of the wilderness. many a time had bob camped and hunted with his father near the coast, in the forest to the south of wolf bight, but he had never been far from home and with this his first long journey into the interior, a new world and new life were opening to him. the solitude had never impressed him before as it did now. the smoke of the camp-fire and the perfume of the forest had never smelled so sweet. the romance of the trail was working its way into his soul, and to him the land seemed filled with wonderful things that he was to search out and uncover for himself. the harrowing tales that the men were telling of winter storms and narrow escapes from wild animals had no terror for him. he only looked forward to meeting and conquering these obstacles for himself. young blood loves adventure, and bob's blood was strong and red and active. when the fire died away and only a heap of glowing red coals remained, dick knocked the ashes from his pipe, and rising with a yawn, suggested: "i 'lows it's time t' turn in. we'll have t' be movin' early in th' mornin' an' we makes th' muskrat portage." then they went to the tent and rolled into their blankets and were soon sleeping as only men can sleep who breathe the pure, free air of god's great out-of-doors. before noon the next day they reached the muskrat falls, where the torrent, with a great roar, pours down seventy feet over the solid rocks. an indian portage trail leads around the falls and meets the river again half a mile farther up. at its beginning it ascends a steep incline two hundred feet, then it runs away, comparatively level, to its upper end where it drops abruptly to the water's edge. to pull a heavy boat up this incline and over the half mile to the launching place above, was no small undertaking. everything was unloaded, the craft brought ashore, and ropes which were carried for the purpose attached to the bow. then round sticks of wood, for rollers, were placed under it, and while dick and ed hauled, bob and bill pushed and lifted and kept the rollers straight. in this manner, with infinite labour, it was worked to the top of the hill and step by step hauled over the portage to the place where it was to enter the water again. it was nearly sunset when they completed their task and turned back to bring up their things from below. they had retraced their steps but a few yards when dick, who was ahead, darted off to the left of the trail with the exclamation: "an' here's some fresh meat for supper." it was a porcupine lumbering awkwardly away. he easily killed it with a stick, and picking it up by its tail, was about to turn back into the trail when a fresh axe cutting caught his eye. "now who's been here, lads?" said he, looking at it closely. "none o' th' planters has been inside of th' traverspine, an' no mountaineers has left th' post yet." the others joined him and scrutinized the cutting, then looked for other human signs. near by they found the charred wood of a recent fire and some spruce boughs that had served for a bed within a day or two, which was proved by their freshly broken ends. it had been the couch of a single man. "micmac john, sure!" said ed. "an' what's he doin' here?" asked bill. "he has no traps or huntin' grounds handy t' this." "i'm thinkin' 'tis no good he's after," said dick. "'tis sure he, an' he'll be givin' us trouble, stealin' our fur an' maybe worse. but if _i_ gets hold o' he, he'll be sorry for his meddlin', if meddlin' he's after, an' it's sure all he's here for." they hurried back to pitch camp, and when the fire was made the porcupine was thrown upon the blaze, and allowed to remain there until its quills and hair were scorched to a cinder. then dick, who superintended the cooking, pulled it out, scraped it and dressed it. on either side of the fire he drove a stake and across the tops of these stakes tied a cross pole. from the centre of this pole the porcupine was suspended by a string, so that it hung low and near enough to the fire to roast nicely, while it was twirled around on the string. it was soon sending out a delicious odour, and in an hour was quite done, and ready to be served. a dainty morsel it was to the hungry voyageurs, resembling in some respects roast pig, and every scrap of it they devoured. the next morning all the goods were carried over the portage, and a wearisome fight began against the current of the river, which was so swift above this point as to preclude sailing or even rowing. a rope was tied to the bow of the boat and on this three of the men hauled, while the other stood in the craft and with a pole kept it clear of rocks and other obstructions. for several days this method of travel continued--tracking it is called. sometimes the men were forced along the sides of almost perpendicular banks, often they waded in the water and frequently met obstacles like projecting cliffs, around which they passed with the greatest difficulty. at the porcupine rapids everything was lashed securely into the boat, as a precaution in case of accident, but they overcame the rapid without mishap, and finally they reached gull island lake, a broadening of the river in safety, and were able to resume their oars again. it was a great relief after the long siege of tracking, and ed voiced the feelings of all in the remark: "pullin' at th' oars is hard when ye has nothin' harder t' do, but trackin's so much harder, pullin' seems easy alongside un." "aye," said dick, "th' thing a man's doin's always the hardest work un ever done. 'tis because ye forgets how hard th' things is that ye've done afore." "an' it's just the same in winter. when a frosty spell comes folks thinks 'tis th' frostiest time they ever knew. if '_twere_, th' winters, i 'lows'd be gettin' so cold folks couldn't stand un. i recollects one frosty spell----" "now none o' yer yarns, ed. th' lord'll be strikin' ye dead in his anger _some day_ when ye're tellin' what ain't so." "i tells no yarns as ain't so, an' i can prove un all--leastways i could a proved this un, only it so happens as i were alone. as i was sayin', 'twere so cold one night last winter that when i was boilin' o' my kettle an' left th' door o' th' tilt open for a bit while i steps outside, th' wind blowin' in on th' kettle all th' time hits th' steam at th' spout--an' what does ye think i sees when i comes in?" "ye sees steam, o' course, an' what else could ye see, now?" "'twere so cold--that wind--blowin' right on th' spout where th' steam comes out, when i comes in i looks an' i can't believe what i sees myself. well, now, i sees th' steam froze solid, an' a string o' ice hangin' from th' spout right down t' th' floor o' th' tilt, an' th' kettle boilin' merry all th' time. that's what i sees, an'----" "now stop yer lyin', ed. ye knows no un----" "a bear! a bear!" interrupted bob, excitedly. "see un! see un there comin' straight to that rock!" sure enough, a couple of hundred yards away a big black bear was lumbering right down towards them, and if it kept its course would pass a large boulder standing some fifty yards back from the river bank. the animal had not seen the boat nor scented the men, for the wind was blowing from it towards them. "run her in here," said bob, indicating a bit of bank out of the bear's range of vision, "an' let me ashore t' have a chance at un." the instant the boat touched land he grabbed his gun--a single-barrelled, muzzle loader--bounded noiselessly ashore, and stooping low gained the shelter of the boulder unobserved. the unsuspecting bear came leisurely on, bent, no doubt, upon securing a drink of water to wash down a feast of blueberries of which it had just partaken, and seemingly occupied by the pleasant reveries that follow a good meal and go with a full stomach. bob could hear it coming now, and raised his gun ready to give it the load the moment it passed the rock. then, suddenly, he remembered that he had loaded the gun that morning with shot, when hunting a flock of partridges, and had failed to reload with ball. to kill a bear with a partridge load of shot was out of the question, and to wound the bear at close quarters was dangerous, for a wounded bear with its enemy within reach is pretty sure to retaliate. just at the instant this thought flashed through bob's mind the big black side of the bear appeared not ten feet from the muzzle of his gun, and before the lad realized it he had pulled the trigger. bob did not stop to see the result of the shot, but ran at full speed towards the boat. the bear gave an angry growl, and for a moment bit at the wound in its side, then in a rage took after him. it was not over fifty yards to the boat, and though bob had a few seconds the start, the bear seemed likely to catch him before he could reach it, for clumsy though they are in appearance, they are fast travellers when occasion demands. half the distance was covered in a jiffy, but the bear was almost at his heels. a few more leaps and he would be within reach of safety. he could fairly feel the bear's breath. then his foot caught a projecting branch and he fell at full length directly in front of the infuriated animal. iv swept away in the rapids when bob went ashore dick followed as far as a clump of bushes at the top of the bank below which the boat was concealed, and crouching there witnessed bob's flight from the bear, and was very close to him when he fell. dick had already drawn a bead on the animal's head, and just at the moment bob stumbled fired. the bear made one blind strike with his paw and then fell forward, its momentum sending it upon bob's sprawling legs, dick laughed uproariously at the boy as he extricated himself. "well, now," he roared, "'twere as fine a race as i ever see--as i _ever_ see--an' ye were handy t' winnin' but for th' tumble. a rare fine race." bob was rather shamefaced, for an old hunter would scarcely have forgotten himself to such an extent as to go bear hunting with a partridge load in his gun, and he did not like to be laughed at. "anyhow," said he, "i let un have un first. an' i led un down where you could shoot un. an' he's a good fat un," he commented kicking the carcass. ed and bill had arrived now and all hands went to work at once skinning the bear. "speakin' o' bein' chased by bears," remarked ed as they worked, "onct i were chased pretty hard myself an' that time i come handy t' bein' done for sure enough." "an' how were that?" asked bob. "'twere one winter an' i were tendin' my trail. i stops at noon t' boil th' kettle, an' just has th' fire goin' fine an' th' water over when all t' a sudden i hears a noise behind me and turnin' sees a black bear right handy t' me--th' biggest black bear i ever seen--an' makin' fer me. i jumps up an' grabs my gun an' lets un have it, but wi' th' suddenness on it i misses, an' away i starts an' 'twere lucky i has my racquets on." "were this in _winter_?" asked dick. "it _were_ in winter." "th' bears as _i_ knows don't travel in winter. they sleeps then, leastways all but white bears." "well, this were in winter an' this bear weren't sleepin' much. as i was sayin'----" "an' he took after ye without bein' provoked?" "an' he did an' right smart." "well he _were_ a queer bear--a _queer_ un--th' _queerest_ i ever hear tell about. awake in _winter_ an' takin' after folks without bein' _provoked_. 'tis th' first black bear _i_ ever heard tell about that done that. i knows bears pretty well an' they alus takes tother way about as fast as their legs 'll carry un." "now, if you wants me t' tell about this bear ye'll ha' t' stop interruptin'." "no one said as they wanted ye to." "now i'm goin' t' tell un whatever." "as i were sayin', th' bear he takes after me wi' his best licks an' i takes off an' tries t' load my gun as i runs. i drops in a han'ful o' powder an' then finds i gone an' left my ball pouch at th' fire. it were pretty hard runnin' wi' my racquets sinkin' in th' snow, which were new an' soft an' i were losin' ground an' gettin' winded an' 'twere lookin' like un's goin' t' cotch me sure. all t' onct i see a place where the snow's drifted up three fathoms deep agin a ledge an' even wi' th' top of un. i makes for un an' runs right over th' upper side an' th' bear he comes too, but he has no racquets and th' snow's soft, bein' fresh drift an' down he goes sinkin' most out o' sight an' th' more un wallers th' worse off un is." "an' what does you do?" asks bob. "what does i do? i stops an' laughs at un a bit. then i lashes my sheath knife on th' end o' a pole spear-like, an' sticks th' bear back o' th' fore leg an' kills un, an' then i has bear's meat wi' my tea, an' in th' spring gets four dollars from th' company for the skin." in twenty minutes they had the pelt removed from the bear and dick generously insisted upon bob taking it as the first-fruits of his inland hunt, saying: "ye earned he wi' yer runnin'." the best of the meat was cut from the carcass, and that night thick, luscious steaks were broiled for supper, and the remainder packed for future use on the journey. fine weather had attended the voyageurs thus far but that night the sky clouded heavily and when they emerged from the tent the next morning a thick blanket of snow covered the earth and weighted down the branches of the spruce trees. the storm had spent itself in the night, however, and the day was clear and sparkling. very beautiful the white world looked when the sun came to light it up; but the snow made tracking less easy, and warned the travellers that no time must be lost in reaching their destination, for it was a harbinger of the winter blasts and blizzards soon to blow. early that afternoon they came in view of the rushing waters of the gull island rapids, with their big foam crested waves angrily assailing the rocks that here and there raised their ominous heads above the torrent. the greater length of these rapids can be tracked, with some short portages around the worst places. before entering them everything was lashed securely into the boat, as at the porcupine rapids, and the tracking line fastened a few inches back of the bow leaving enough loose end to run to the stern and this was tied securely there to relieve the unusual strain on the bow fastening. ed took the position of steersman in the boat, while the other three were to haul upon the line. when all was made ready and secure, they started forward, bringing the craft into the heavy water, which opposed its progress so vigorously that it seemed as though the rope must surely snap. stronger and stronger became the strain and harder and harder pulled the men. all of ed's skill was required to keep the boat straight in the treacherous cross current eddies where the water swept down past the half-hidden rocks in the river bed. they were pushing on tediously but surely when suddenly and without warning the fastening at the bow broke loose, the boat swung away into the foam, and in a moment was swallowed up beneath the waves. the rear fastening held however and the boat was thrown in against the bank. but ed had disappeared in the fearful flood of rushing white water. the other three stood appalled. it seemed to them that no power on earth could save him. he must certainly be dashed to death upon the rocks or smothered beneath the onrushing foam. for a moment all were inert, paralyzed. then dick, accustomed to act quickly in every emergency, slung the line around a boulder, took a half hitch to secure it and, without stopping to see whether it would hold or not, ran down stream at top speed with bob and bill at his heels. v the trails are reached ed had been cast away in rapids before, and when he found himself in the water, with the wilderness traveller's quick appreciation of the conditions, he lay limp, without a struggle. if he permitted the current to carry him in its own way on its course, he might be swept past the rocks uninjured to the still water below. if one struggle was made it might throw him out of the current's course against a boulder, where he would be pounded to death or rendered unconscious and surely drowned. he was swept on much more rapidly than his companions could run and quite hidden from them by the big foam-crested waves. it seemed ages to the helpless man before he felt his speed slacken and finally found himself in the eddy where they had begun to track. here he struck out for the river bank only a few yards distant, and, half drowned, succeeded in pulling himself ashore. a few minutes later, when the others came running down, they found him, to their great relief, sitting on the bank quite safe, wringing the water from his clothing, and their fear that he was injured was quickly dispelled by his looking up as they approached and remarking, as though nothing unusual had occurred, "bathin's chilly this time o' year. let's put on a fire an' boil th'kettle." "i don't know as we got a kettle or anythin' else," said dick, laughing at ed's bedraggled appearance and matter-of-fact manner. "we better go back an' see. i hitched th' trackin' line to a rock, but i don't know's she's held." "well, let's look. i'm a bit damp, an' thinkin' _i_ wants a fire, whatever." a cold northwest wind had sprung up in the afternoon and the snow was drifting unpleasantly and before the boat was reached ed's wet garments were frozen stiff as a coat of mail and he was so chilled through that he could scarcely walk. the line had held and they found the boat in an eddy below a high big boulder. it was submerged, but quite safe, with everything, thanks to the careful lashings, in its place, save a shoulder of bear's meat that had loosened and washed away. "i thinks, lads, we'll be makin' camp here. whilst i puts a fire on an' boils th' kettle t' warm ed up, you pitch camp. 'twill be nigh sun-down afore ed gets dried out, an' too late t' go any farther," suggested dick. in a few minutes the fire was roaring and ed thawing out and drinking hot tea as he basked in the blaze, while dick chopped fire-wood and bob and bill unloaded the boat and put up the tent and made it snug for the night. heretofore they had found the outside camp-fire quite sufficient for their needs, and had not gone to the trouble of setting up the stove, but it was yet some time before dark, and as the wet clothing and outfit could be much more easily and quickly dried under the shelter of the heated tent than in the drifting snow by the open fire, it was decided to put the stove in use on this occasion. bob selected a flat stone upon which to rest it, for without this protection the moss beneath, coming into contact with the hot metal, would have dried quickly and taken fire. when everything was brought in and distributed in the best place to dry, bob took some birch bark, thrust it into the stove and lighted it. instantly it flared up as though it had been oil soaked. this made excellent kindling for the wood that was piled on top, and in an incredibly short time the tent was warm and snug as any house. ed left the open fire and joined bob and bill, and in a few minutes dick came in with an armful of wood. "well, un had a good wettin' an' a cold souse," said he, as he piled the wood neatly behind the stove, addressing himself to ed, who, now quite recovered from his chill, stood with his back to the stove, puffing contentedly at his pipe, with the steam pouring out of his wet clothes. "'twere just a fine time wi' th' dip i had ten year ago th' winter comin'," said ed, ruminatively. "'twere _nothin'_ to that un." "an' where were that?" asked dick. "i were out o' tea in march, an' handy to havin' no tobaccy, an' i says t' myself, 'ed, ye can't stay in th' bush till th' break up wi' nary a bit o' tea, and ye'd die wi'out tobaccy. now ye got t' make th' cruise t' th' post.' well, i fixes up my traps, an' packs grub for a week on my flat sled (toboggan) an' off i goes. 'twere fair goin' wi' good hard footin' an' i makes fine time. below th' gull rapids, just above where i come ashore th' day, i takes t' th' ice thinkin' un good, an' 'twere lucky i has my racquets lashed on th' flat sled an' not walkin' wi' un, for i never could a swum wi' un on. two fathoms from th' shore i steps on bad ice an' in i goes, head an' all, an' th' current snatches me off'n my feet an' carries me under th' ice, an' afore i knows un i finds th' water carryin' me along as fast as a deer when he gets th' wind." "an' how did un get out?" asked bob in open-mouthed wonder. "'twere sure a hard fix _under_ th' ice," remarked bill, equally interested. "a wonderful hard fix, a _wonderful_ hard fix, _under_ th' ice, an' i were handy t' stayin' under un," said ed, taking evident delight in keeping his auditors in suspense. "aye, a _wonderful_ hard fix," continued he, while he hacked pieces from his tobacco plug and filled his pipe. "an' where were i?" asked dick, making a quick calculation of past events. "i were huntin' wi' un ten year ago, an' i don't mind ye're gettin' in th' ice." "'twere th' winter un were laid up wi' th' lame leg, an' poor frank morgan were huntin' along wi' me. frank were lost th' same spring in th' bay. does un mind that?" "'twere only _nine_ year ago i were laid up an' frank were huntin' my trail," said dick. "well, maybe 'twere only nine year; 'twere _nine_ or _ten_ year ago," ed continued, with some show of impatience at dick's questioning. "leastways 'twere thereabouts. well, i finds myself away off from th' hole i'd dropped into, an' no way o' findin' he. the river were low an' had settled a foot below th' ice, which were four or five feet thick over my head, an' no way o' cuttin' out. so what does i do?" "an' what does un do?" asked dick. "what does i do? i keeps shallow water near th' shore an' holdin' my head betwixt ice an' water makes down t' th' porcupine rapids. 'twere a long an' wearisome pull, an' thinks i, 'tis too much--un's done for now.' after a time i sees light an' i goes for un. 'twere a place near a rock where th' water swingin' around had kept th' ice thin. i gets t' un an' makes a footin' on th' rock. i gets out my knife an' finds th' ice breaks easy, an' cuts a hole an' crawls out. by th' time i gets on th' ice i were pretty handy t' givin' up wi' th' cold." "'twere a close call," assented dick, as he puffed at his pipe meditatively. "how far did un go under th' ice?" asked bill, who had been much interested in the narrative. "handy t' two mile." for several days after this the men worked very hard from early dawn until the evening darkness drove them into camp. the current was swift and the rapids great surging torrents of angry water that seemed bent upon driving them back. one after another the horseshoe, the ninipi, and finally, after much toil, the mouni rapids were met and conquered. the weather was stormy and disagreeable. nearly every day the air was filled with driving snow or beating cold rain that kept them wet to the skin and would have sapped the courage and broken the spirit of less determined men. but they did not mind it. it was the sort of thing they had been accustomed to all their life. with each morning, bob, full of the wilderness spirit, took up the work with as much enthusiasm as on the day he left wolf bight. at night when he was very tired and just a bit homesick, he would try to picture to himself the little cabin that now seemed far, far away, and he would say to himself, "if i could spend th' night there now, an' be back here in th' mornin', 'twould be fine. but when i _does_ go back, the goin' home'll be fine, an' pay for all th' bein' away. an' the lard lets me, i'll have th' fur t' send emily t' th' doctors an' make she well." one day the clouds grew tired of sending forth snow and rain, and the wind forgot to blow, and the waters became weary of their rushing. the morning broke clear and beautiful, and the sun, in a blaze of red and orange grandeur, displayed the world in all its rugged primeval beauty. the travellers had reached lake wonakapow, a widening of the river, where the waters were smooth and no current opposed their progress. for the first time in many days the sails were hoisted, and, released from the hard work, the men sat back to enjoy the rest, while a fair breeze sent them up the lake. "'tis fine t' have a spell from th' trackin'," remarked ed as he lighted his pipe. "aye, 'tis that," assented dick, "an' we been makin' rare good time wi' this bad weather. we're three days ahead o' my reckonin'." how beautiful it was! the water, deep and dark, leading far away, every rugged hill capped with snow, and the white peaks sparkling in the sunshine. a loon laughed at them as they passed, and an invisible wolf on a mountainside sent forth its long weird cry of defiance. they sailed quietly on for an hour or two. finally ed pointed out to bob a small log shack standing a few yards back from the shore, saying: "an' there's my tilt. here i leaves un." bill campbell was at the tiller, and the boat was headed to a strip of sandy beach near the tilt. presently they landed. ed's things were separated from the others and taken ashore, and all hands helped him carry them up to the tilt. there was no window in the shack and the doorway was not over four feet high. within was a single room about six by eight feet in size, with a rude couch built of saplings, running along two sides, upon which spruce boughs, used the previous year and now dry and dead, were strewn for a bed. the floor was of earth. the tilt contained a sheet iron stove similar to the one bob had brought, but no other furniture save a few cooking utensils. the round logs of which the rough building was constructed, were well chinked between them with moss, making it snug and warm. [illustration] this was where ed kept his base of supplies. his trail began here and ran inland and nearly northward for some distance to a lake whose shores it skirted, and then, taking a swing to the southwest, came back to the river again and ended where dick's began, and the two trappers had a tilt there which they used in common. between these tilts were four others at intervals of twelve to fifteen miles, for night shelters, the distance between them constituting a day's work, the trail from end to end being about seventy miles long. the trails which the other three were to hunt led off, one from the other--dick's, bill's and then the big hill trail, with tilts at the juncture points and along them in a similar manner to the arrangement of ed's, and each trail covering about the same number of miles as his. each man could therefore walk the length of his trail in five days, if the weather were good, and, starting from one end on monday morning have a tilt to sleep in each night and reach his last tilt on the other end friday night. this gave him saturday in which to do odd jobs like mending, and sunday for rest, before taking up the round again on monday. it was yet too early by three weeks to begin the actual trapping, but much in the way of preparation had to be done in the meantime. this was tuesday, and it was agreed that two weeks from the following saturday ed and dick should be at the tilt where their trails met and bill and bob at the junction of their trails, ready to start their work on the next monday. this would bring dick and bill together on the following friday night and bob and ed would each be alone, one at either end of the series of trails and more than a hundred miles from his nearest neighbour. "i hopes your first cruise'll be a good un, an' you'll be doin' fine th' winter, bob. have a care now for th' nascaupees," said ed as they shook hands at parting. "thanks," answered bob, "an' i hopes you'll be havin' a fine hunt too." then they were off, and ed's long winter's work began. the next afternoon dick's first tilt was reached, and a part of his provisions and some of ed's that they had brought on for him, were unloaded there. dick, however, decided to go with the young men to the tilt at the beginning of the big hill trail, to help them haul the boat up and make it snug for the winter, saying, "i'm thinkin' you might find her too heavy, an' i'll go on an' give a hand, an' cut across to my trail, which i can do handy enough in a day, havin' no pack." an hour before dark on friday evening they reached the tilt. dick was the first to enter it, and as he pushed open the door he stopped with the exclamation: "that rascal micmac!" vi alone in the wilderness the stove and stovepipe were gone, and fresh, warm ashes on the floor gave conclusive proof that the theft had been perpetrated that very day. some one had been occupying the tilt, too, as new boughs spread for a bed made evident. "more o' micmac john's work," commented dick as he kicked the ashes. "he's been takin' th' stove an' he'll be takin' th' fur too, an' he gets a chance." "maybe 'twere mountaineers," suggested bill. "no, 'twere no mountaineers--_them_ don't steal. no un ever heard o' a mountaineer takin' things as belongs to _other_ folks. _injuns_ be honest--leastways all but half-breeds." "nascaupees might a been here," offered bob, having in mind the stories he had heard of them, and feeling now that he was almost amongst them. "no, nascaupees 'd have no use for a _stove_. they'd ha' burned th' tilt. 'tis micmac john, an' he be here t' steal fur. 'tis t' steal fur's what _he_ be after. but let me ketch un, an' he won't steal much more fur," insisted dick, worked up to a very wrathful pitch. they looked outside for indications of the course the marauder had taken, and discovered that he had returned to the river, where his canoe had been launched a little way above the tilt, and had either crossed to the opposite side or gone higher up stream. in either case it was useless to attempt to follow him, as, if they caught him at all, it would be after a chase of several days, and they could not well afford the time. there was nothing to do, therefore, but make the best of it. bob's tent stove was set up in place of the one that had been stolen. then everything was stowed away in the tilt. the next morning came cold and gray, with heavy, low-hanging clouds, threatening an early storm. the boat was hauled well up on the shore, and a log protection built over it to prevent the heavy snows that were soon to come from breaking it down. before noon the first flakes of the promised storm fell lazily to the earth and in half an hour it was coming so thickly that the river twenty yards away could not be seen, and the wind was rising. the three cut a supply of dry wood and piled what they could in the tilt, placing the rest within reach of the door. then armfuls of boughs were broken for their bed. all the time the storm was increasing in power and by nightfall a gale was blowing and a veritable blizzard raging. when all was made secure, a good fire was started in the stove, a candle lighted, and some partridges that had been killed in the morning put over with a bit of pork to boil for supper. while these were cooking bill mixed some flour with water, using baking soda for leaven--"risin'" he called it--into a dough which he formed into cakes as large in circumference as the pan would accommodate and a quarter of an inch thick. these cakes he fried in pork grease. this was the sort of bread that they were to eat through the winter. the meal was a cozy one. outside the wind shrieked angrily and swirled the snow in smothering clouds around the tilt, and rattled the stovepipe, threatening to shake it down. it was very pleasant to be out of it all in the snug, warm shack with the stove crackling contentedly and the place filled with the mingled odours of the steaming kettle of partridges and tea and spruce boughs. to the hunters it seemed luxurious after their tedious fight against the swift river. times like this bring ample recompense to the wilderness traveller for the most strenuous hardships that he is called upon to endure. the memory of one such night will make men forget a month of suffering. herein lies one of the secret charms of the wilds. when supper was finished dick and bill filled their pipes, and with coals from the stove lighted them. then they lounged back and puffed with an air of such perfect, speechless bliss that for the first time in his life bob felt a desire to smoke. he drew from his pocket the pipe douglas had given him and filled it from a plug of the tobacco. when he reached for a firebrand to light it dick noticed what he was doing and asked good naturedly,-"think t' smoke with us, eh?" "yes, thinks i'll try un." "an' be gettin' sick before un knows it," volunteered bill. disregarding the suggestion bob fired his pipe and lay back with the air of an old veteran. he soon found that he did not like it very much, and in a little while he felt a queer sensation in his stomach, but it was not in bob's nature to acknowledge himself beaten so easily, and he puffed on doggedly. pretty soon beads of perspiration stood out upon his forehead and he grew white. then he quietly laid aside the pipe and groped his way unsteadily out of doors, for he was very dizzy and faint. when he finally returned he was too sick to pay any attention to the banter of his companions, who unsympathetically made fun of him, and he lay down with the inward belief that smoking was not the pleasure it was said to be, and as for himself he would never touch a pipe again. all day sunday and monday the storm blew with unabated fury and the three were held close prisoners in the tilt. on monday night it cleared, and tuesday morning came clear and rasping cold. long before daylight breakfast was eaten and preparations made for travelling. bob lashed his tent, cooking utensils, some traps and a supply of provisions upon one of two toboggans that leaned against the tilt outside. the other one was for bill when he should need it. dick did up his blanket and a few provisions into a light pack, new slings were adjusted to their snow-shoes and finally they were ready to strike the trails. the steel-gray dawn was just showing when dick shouldered his pack, took his axe and gun and shook hands with the boys. "good-bye bob. have a care o' nasty weather an' don't be losin' yourself. i'll see you in a fortnight, bill. good-bye." with long strides he turned down the river bend and in a few moments the immeasurable white wilderness had swallowed him up. the big hill trail was so called from a high, barren hill around whose base it swung to follow a series of lakes leading to the northwest. of course as bob had never been over the trail he did not know its course, or where to find the traps that douglas had left hanging in the trees or lying on rocks the previous spring at the end of the hunting season. bill was to go with him to the farthest tilt on this first journey to point these out to him and show him the way, then leave him and hurry back to his own path, while bob set the traps and worked his way back to the junction tilt. shortly after dick left them they started, bill going ahead and breaking the trail with his snow-shoes while bob behind hauled the loaded toboggan. on they pushed through trees heavily laden with snow, out upon wide, frozen marshes, skirting lakes deep hidden beneath the ice and snow which covered them like a great white blanket. the only halts were for a moment now and again to note the location of traps as they passed, which bob with his keen memory of the woods could easily find again when he returned to set them. once they came upon some ptarmigans, white as the snow upon which they stood. their "grub bag" received several of the birds, which were very tame and easily shot. a hurried march brought them to the first tilt at noon, where they had dinner, and that night, shortly after dark, they reached the second tilt, thirty miles from their starting point. at midday on thursday they came to the end of the trail. when they had had dinner of fried ptarmigan and tea, bill announced: "i'll be leavin' ye now, bob. in two weeks from friday we'll be meetin' in th' river tilt." "all right, an' i'll be there." "an' don't be gettin' lonesome, now i leaves un." "i'll be no gettin' lonesome. there be some traps t' mend before i starts back an' a chance bit o' other work as'll keep me busy." then bill turned down the trail, and bob for the first time in his life was quite alone in the heart of the great wilderness. vii a streak of good luck when bill was gone bob went to work at once getting some traps that were hanging in the tilt in good working order. he set them and sprang them one after another, testing every one critically. they were practically all new ones, and douglas, after his careful, painstaking manner, had left them in thorough repair. these were some additional traps that no place had been found for on the trail. there were only about twenty of them and bob decided that he would set them along the shores of a lake beyond the tilt, where there were none, and look after them on the saturday mornings that he would be lying up there. the next morning he put them on his toboggan, and shouldering his gun he started out. not far away he saw the first marten track in the edge of the spruce woods near the lake. farther on there were more. this was very satisfactory indeed, and he observed to himself, "the's a wonderful lot o' footin', and 'tis sure a' fine place for martens." he went to work at once, and one after another the traps were set, some of them in a little circular enclosure made by sticking spruce boughs in the snow, to which a narrow entrance was left, and in this entrance the trap placed and carefully concealed under loose snow and the chain fastened to a near-by sapling. in the centre of each of the enclosures a bit of fresh partridge was placed for bait, to reach which the animal would have to pass over the trap. where a tree of sufficient size was found in a promising place he chopped it down, a few feet above the snow, cut a notch in the top, and placed the trap in the notch, and arranged the bait over it in such a way that the animal climbing the stump would be compelled to stand upon the trap to secure the meat. all the marten traps were soon set, but there still remained two fox traps. these he took to a marsh some distance beyond the lake, as the most likely place for foxes to be, for while the marten stays amongst the trees, the fox prefers marshes or barrens. here, in a place where the snow was hard, he carefully cut out a cube, making a hole deep enough for the trap to set below the surface. a square covering of crust was trimmed thin with his sheath knife, and fitted over the trap in such a way as to completely conceal it. the chain was fastened to a stump and also carefully concealed. then over and around the trap pieces of ptarmigan were scattered. this he knew was not good fox bait, but it was the best he had. "now if i were only havin' a bit o' scent 'twould help me," he commented as he surveyed his work. foxes prefer meat or fish that is tainted and smells bad, and the more decomposed it is, the better it suits them. bob had no tainted meat now, so he used what he had, in the hope that it might prove effective. a few drops of perfumery, or "scent," as he called it, would have made the fresh meat that he used more attractive to the animals, but unfortunately he had none of that either. as he left the marsh and crossed from a neck of woods to the lake shore he saw two moving objects far out upon the ice. he dropped behind a clump of bushes. they were caribou. his gun would not reach them at that distance, and he picked up a dried stick and broke it. they heard the noise and looked towards him. he stood up, exposing himself for the fraction of a second, then concealed himself behind the bushes again. caribou are very inquisitive animals, and these walked towards him, for they wanted to ascertain what the strange object was that they had seen. when they had come within easy range he selected the smaller one, a young buck, aimed carefully at a spot behind the shoulders, and fired. the animal fell and its mate stood stupidly still and looked at it, and then advanced and smelled of it. even the report of the gun had not satisfied its curiosity. it would have been an easy matter for bob to shoot this second caribou, but the one he had killed was quite sufficient for his needs, and to kill the other would have been ruthless slaughter, little short of murder, and something that bob, who was a true sportsman, would not stoop to. he therefore stepped out from his cover and revealed himself. then when the animal saw him clearly, a living enemy, it turned and fled. bob removed the skin and quartered the carcass. these he loaded upon his toboggan and hauled to his tilt. the meat was suspended from the limb of a tree outside, where animals could not reach it and where it would freeze and keep sweet until needed. a small piece was taken into the tilt for immediate use, and some portions of the neck placed in the corner of the tilt where they would decompose somewhat and thus be rendered into desirable fox bait. the skin was stretched against the logs of the side of the shack farthest from the stove, to dry. this would make an excellent cover for bob's couch and be warm and comfortable to sleep upon. the sinew, taken from the back of the animal, was scraped and hung from the roof to season, for he would need it later to use as thread with which to repair moccasins. now there was little to do for two or three days, and bob began for the first time to understand the true loneliness of his new life. the wilderness was working its mysterious influence upon him. it seemed a long, long while since bill had left him, and he recalled his last sunday at wolf bight as one recalls an event years after it has happened. sometimes he longed passionately for home and human companionship. at other times he was quite content with his day to day existence, and almost forgot that the world contained any one else. early the next week he visited the traps. in one he found a canada jay that had tried to filch the bait. in another a big white rabbit which had been caught while nibbling the young tops of the spruce boughs with which the trap was enclosed. a single marten rewarded him. the pelt was not prime, as it was yet early in the season, but still it was fairly good and bob was delighted with it. the fox traps had not been disturbed, but a fox had been feeding upon the caribou head and entrails, where they had been left upon the ice, and one of the traps was taken up and reset here. the others he also put in order, and returned to the tilt with the rabbit and marten. the former, boiled with small bits of pork, made a splendid stew, and the skin was hung to dry, for, with others it could be fashioned into warm, light slippers to wear inside his moccasins when the colder weather came. the marten pelt was removed from the body by splitting it down the inside of the hind legs to the trunk, and then pulling it down over the head, turning it inside out in the process. in the tilt were a number of stretching boards, that douglas had provided, tapered down from several inches wide at one end until they were narrow enough at the other end to slip snugly into the nose of the pelt. over one of these, with the flesh side out, the skin was tightly drawn and fastened. then with his knife bob scraped it carefully, removing such fat and flesh as had adhered to it, after which he placed it in a convenient place to dry. bob felt very much elated over this first catch of fur, and was anxious to get at the real trapping. it was only tuesday, and bill would not be at the river tilt until friday of the following week, but he decided to start back the next morning and set all his traps. so on wednesday morning, with a quarter of venison on his flat sled, he turned down over the trail. everything went well. signs of fur were good and bob was brimming over with anticipation when a week later he reached the river. bill did not arrive until after dark the next evening, and when he pushed the tilt door open he found bob frying venison steak and a kettle of tea ready for supper. "ho, bob, back ahead o' me, be un? where'd ye get th' deer's meat?" "knocked un over after you left me. 'tis fine t' be back an' see you, bill. i've been wonderful lonesome, and wantin' t' see you wonderful bad." "an' i was thinkin' ye'd be gettin' lonesome by now. you'll not be mindin' bein' alone when you gets used to un. it's all gettin' used t' un." "an' what's th' signs o' fur? be there much marten signs?" "aye, some. looks like un goin' t' be some. an' be there much signs on th' big hill trail? dick says there's a lot o' footin' his way." "i _has_ one marten," said bob proudly, "an' finds good signs." "un _has_ one a'ready! an' be un a good un?" "not so bad." "well, you be startin' fine, gettin' th' first marten an' th' first deer." bill had taken off his adikey and disposed of his things, and they sat down to eat and enjoy a long evening's chat. with every week the cold grew in intensity, and with every storm the snow grew deeper, hiding the smaller trees entirely and reaching up towards the lower limbs of the larger ones. the little tilts were covered to the roof, and only a hole in the white mass showed where the door was. the sun now described a daily narrowing arc in the heavens, and the hours of light were so few that the hunters found it difficult to cover the distance between their tilts in the little while from dawn to dark. on moonlight mornings bob started long before day, and on starlight evenings finished his day's work after night. his cheeks and nose were frost-bitten and black, but he did not mind that for he was doing well. two weeks before christmas he brought to the river tilt the fur that he had accumulated. there were twenty-eight martens, one mink, two red foxes, one cross fox, a lynx and a wolf. these last two animals he had shot. bill was already in the tilt when he arrived, and complimented him on his good showing. christmas fell on wednesday that year, and bill brought word that dick and ed were coming up to spend the day with him and bob. they would reach the tilt on tuesday night and use the remainder of the week in a caribou hunt, as there were good signs of the animals a little way back in the marshes and they were in need of fresh meat. "an' i'll not try t' be gettin' here on friday," said bill. "i'll be waitin' till tuesday." "i'll be doin' th' same, but i'll be here sure on a tuesday, an' maybe monday," answered bob. so it was arranged that they should have a holiday, and all be together again. it gave bob a thrill of pleasure when he thought of meeting dick and ed and proudly exhibiting his fur to have them examine and criticise the skins and compliment him. it would make a break in the monotonous life. the day after bob left the river tilt on his return round, the great dream with which he had started out from wolf bight became a reality. he caught a silver fox. it was almost evening when he turned into a marsh where the trap was set. he had caught nothing in it before, and he was thinking seriously of taking it up and placing it farther along the trail. but now in the half dusk, as he approached, something moved. "sure 'tis a cross," said he. when he came closer and saw that it was really a silver he could not for a moment believe his good fortune. it was too good to be true. when he had killed it and taken it out of the trap he hurried to the tilt hugging it closely to his breast as though afraid it would get away. in the tilt he lighted a candle and examined it. it was a beauty! it was worth a lot of money! he patted it and turned it over. then--there was no one to see him and question his manhood or jibe at his weakness--he cried--cried for pure joy. "tis th' savin' o' emily an' makin' she well--an' makin' she well!" he had prayed that he would get a silver, but his faith had been weak and he had never really believed he should. now he had it and his cup of joy was full. "sure th' lard be good," he repeated to himself. it was starlight two evenings later when he neared his last tilt. clear and beautiful and intensely cold was the silent white wilderness and bob's heart was as clear and light as the frosty air. when the black spot that marked the roof of the almost hidden shack met his view he stopped. a thin curl of smoke was rising from the stovepipe. some one was in the tilt! he hesitated for only a moment, then hurried forward and pushed the door open. there, smoking his pipe sat micmac john. viii micmac john's revenge "evenin', bob," said micmac. "evenin', john. an' where'd you be comin' from now?" "been huntin' t' th' suth'ard. thought i'd drop in an' see ye." "glad t' see ye, john." after an awkward pause bob asked: "what un do wi' th' stove, john?" "what stove?" "from th' river tilt. ye took un, didn't ye?" "no, i didn't take no stove. i weren't in th' river tilt, an' don't know what yer talkin' about," lied the half-breed. "some one took un an' we was layin' it t' you. now i wonders who 'twere." "well, _i_ wouldn't take it. ye ought t' known _i_ wouldn't do a thing like that," insisted micmac, with an air of injured innocence. "maybe th' mingen injuns took it. there's been some around an' they says they'll take anything they find, an' fur too, if they find any in th' tilts. these are their huntin' grounds an' outsiders has no right on 'em. they gave me right t' hunt down t' th' suth'ard." "who may th' mingen injuns be, now?" "mountaineers as belong mingen way up south, an' hunts between this an' th' straits." "i were thinkin' 'twere th' nascaupees took th' stove if you didn't take un." "th' nascaupees are back here a bit t' th' west'ard. i saw some of 'em one day when i was cruisin' that way an' i made tracks back fer i didn't want t' die so quick. they'll kill anybody they see in here, an' burn th' tilts if they happen over this way an' see 'em. ye have t' be on th' watch fer 'em all th' time." "i'll be watchin' out fer un an' keep clear if i sees their footin'," said bob as he went out to bring in his things. what micmac said about the nascaupees disturbed him not a little. bob was brave, but every man, no matter how brave he may be, fears an unseen danger when he believes that danger is real and is apt to come upon him unexpectedly and at a time when no opportunity will be offered for defense. it was evident that these indians were close at hand, and that he was in daily and imminent danger of being captured, which meant, he was sure, being killed. but he was here for a purpose--to catch all the fur he could--and he must not lose his courage now, before that purpose was accomplished. he must remain on his trail until the hunting season closed. he must be constantly upon his guard, he thought, and perhaps after all would not be discovered. no, he would _not_ let himself be afraid. when he returned to the tilt micmac john asked: "gettin' much fur?" "not so bad," he replied. "i has one silver, an' a fine un, too." the half-breed showed marked interest at once. "let's see him. got him here?" "no, i left un in th' third tilt. that's where i caught un." "where's yer other fur?" "i took un all down t' th' river tilt there's a cross among un an' twenty-eight martens." "um-m." micmac john knew well enough the fur had been taken to some other tilt, for when he arrived here early in the afternoon his first care was to look for it, but not a skin had he found, and he was disappointed, for it was the purpose of his visit. bob, absolutely honest and guileless himself, in spite of dick's constant assertion that micmac was a thief and worse, was easily deceived by the half-breed's bland manner. unfortunately he had not learned that every one else was not as honest and straightforward as himself. micmac's attempt upon his life he had ascribed to a sudden burst of anger, and it was forgiven and forgotten. the selfish enmity, the blackness of heart, the sinister nature that will never overlook and will go to any length to avenge a real or fancied wrong--the characteristics of a half-breed indian--were wholly beyond his comprehension. he had never dissembled himself, and he did not know that the smiling face and smooth tongue are often screens of deception. "we'll be havin' supper now," suggested bob, lifting the boiling kettle off the stove and throwing in some tea. "i'm fair starved." after they had eaten micmac filled his pipe and lounged back, smoking in silence for some time, apparently deep in thought. finally he asked, "when ye goin' back t' th' river, bob?" "i'm not thinkin t' start back till wednesday an' maybe thursday, an' reach un monday or tuesday after. bill won't be gettin' there till tuesday, an' dick an' ed expects t' be there then t' spend christmas an' hunt deer." "hunt deer?" "they're needin' fresh meat, an' deer footin's good in th' meshes." "the's fine signs to th' nuth'ard from th' second lake in, 'bout twenty mile from here. you could get some there. if ye ain't goin' back till wednesday why don't ye try 'em? ye'd get as many as ye wanted," volunteered micmac. "where now be that?" "why just 'cross th' first mesh up here, an' through th' bush straight over ye'll come to a lake. cross that t' where a dead tree hangs out over th' ice. cut in there an' ye'll see my footin'; foller it over t' th' next lake, then turn right t' th' nuth'ard. the's some meshes in there where th' deer's feedin'. i seen fifteen or twenty, but i didn't want 'em so i let 'em be." "an' could i make un now in a day?" "if ye walk sharp an' start early." "i thinks i'll be startin' in th' mornin' an' campin' over there sunday, an' monday i'll be there t' hunt. can't un come 'long, john?" "no, i'd like t' go but i got t' see my traps. i'll have t' be leavin' ye now," said micmac, rising. "not t'-night?" "yes, it's fine moonlight an' i can make it all right." "ye better stay th' night wi' me, john. there'll be no difference in a day." "no. i planned t' be goin' right back i seen ye. good evenin'." "good evenin', john." micmac john started directly south, but when well out of sight of the tilt suddenly swung around to the eastward and, with the long half-running stride of the indian, made a straight line for the tilt where bob had left his silver fox. the moon was full, and the frost that clung to the trees and bushes sparkled like flakes of silver. the aurora faintly searched the northern sky. a rabbit, white and spectre-like, scurried across the half-breed's path, but he did not notice it. hour after hour his never tiring feet swung the wide snow-shoes in and out with a rhythmic chug-chug as he ran on. it was nearly morning when at length he slackened his pace, and with the caution of the lifelong hunter approached the tilt as he would have stalked an animal. he made quite certain that the shack was untenanted, then entered boldly. he struck a match and found a candle, which he lighted. there was the silver fox, where bob had left it. it was dry enough to remove from the board and he loosened it and pulled it off. he examined it critically and gloated over it. "as black an' fine a one as i ever seen!" he exclaimed. "it'll bring a big price at mingen. that boy'll never see it again, an' i'll clean out th' rest o' th' fur too, at th' river. old campbell'll be sorry when i get through with 'em, he let that feller hunt th' path. he's a fool, an' if he gives me th' slip he'll go back an' say th' mingen injuns took his fur. i fixed that wi' my story all right. i'll take th' lot t' mingen an' get cash fer 'em, an' be back t' th' bay with open water with 'nuff martens so's they won't suspect me." he started a fire and slept until shortly after daylight. then had breakfast and started down the trail towards the river at the same rapid pace that he had held before. it was not quite dark when he glimpsed the tilt, and approached it with even more caution than he had observed above. "he don't know enough to lie," said he to himself, referring to bob, "but it's best t' take care, fer one o' th' others might be here." when he was satisfied that the tilt was unoccupied he entered boldly and appropriated every skin of fur he found--not only all of bob's, but also a few martens bill had left there. no time was lost, for any accident might send bill or one of the others here at an unexpected moment. the pelts were packed quickly but carefully into his hunting bag and within twenty minutes after his arrival he was retreating up the trail at a half run. some time after dark he reached the first tilt above the river, where he spent the night. short cuts and fast travelling brought him on sunday night to the tilt at the end of the trail where he had left bob. he made quite certain that the lad had really gone on his caribou hunt, and then went boldly in and made himself as comfortable as he could for the night without a stove, for bob had taken the stove with him, to heat his tent. "if he comes back t'-night and finds me here," he said, "i'll just tell him i changed my mind an' came back t' go on th' deer hunt. i'll lie t' him about what i got in my bag an' he'll never suspicion; he don't know enough." micmac john's work was not yet finished. he had arranged a full and complete revenge. bob's hunt for caribou would carry him far away from the tilt and into a section where no searching party would be likely to go. the half-breed's plan was now to follow and shoot the lad from ambush. if by chance any one ever should find the body--which seemed a quite improbable happening--bob's death would no doubt be laid at the door of the nascaupee indians. micmac john deposited the bag of stolen pelts in a safe place in the tilt, intending to return for them after his bloody mission was accomplished, and several hours before daylight on monday morning started out in the ghostly moonlight to trail bob to his death. ix lost in the snow the trail that bob had made lay open and well-defined in the snow, and hour after hour the half-breed followed it, like a hound follows its prey. early in the morning the sky clouded heavily and towards noon snow began to fall. it was a bitterly cold day. micmac john increased his pace for the trail would soon be hidden and he was not quite sure when he should find the camp. from the lakes the trail turned directly north and for several miles ran through a flat, wooded country. after a while there were wide open marshes, with narrow timbered strips between. an hour after noon he crossed a two mile stretch of this marsh and in a little clump of trees on the farther side of it came so suddenly upon the tent that he almost ran against it. the snow was by this time falling thickly and a rising westerly wind was sweeping the marsh making travelling exceedingly difficult, and completely hiding the trail beyond the trees. the tent flaps were fastened on the outside, and bob was away, as micmac john expected he would be, searching for caribou. "there's no use tryin' t' foller him in this snow," said he to himself, "i'd be sure t' miss him. but i'll take the tent an' outfit away on his flat sled an' if he don't have cover th' cold'll fix him before mornin'. there'll be no livin' in it over night with th' wind blowin' a gale as it's goin' to do with dark. my footin' 'll soon be hid an' he can't foller me. i can shoot him easy enough if he does." it was the work of only a few minutes to strike the tent and pack it and the other things, which included the stove, an axe, blanket and food, on the toboggan. the half-breed was highly elated when he started off with his booty. the storm had come at just the right time. the elements would work a slower but just as sure a revenge as his gun and at the same time cover every trace of his villainy. he laughed as he pictured to himself bob's look of mystification and alarm when he returned and failed to find the tent, and how the lad would think he had made a mistake in the location and the desperate search for the camp that would follow, only to end finally in the snow and cold conquering him, as they were sure to do, and the wolves perhaps scattering his bones. "that's a fine end t' him an' he'll never be takin' trails away from _me_ again," he chuckled. the whole picture as he imagined it was food for his black heart and he forgot his own uncomfortable position in the delight that he felt at the horrible death that he had so cleverly and cruelly arranged for bob. micmac john retraced his steps some eight miles to the wide stretch of timber land. there he halted and pitched camp. the wind shrieked through the tree tops and swept the marshes in its untamed fury, but he was quite warm and contented in the tent. the storm was working his revenge for him, and he was quite satisfied that it would do the work well. the men that bob gray had come in contact with and associated with all his life were the honest, upright people of the bay. he had never known a man that would dishonestly take a farthing's worth of another's property or that would knowingly harm a fellow being. the bay folk were constantly helping their more needy neighbours and lived almost as intimately as brothers. when any one was in trouble the others came to offer sympathy and frequently deprived themselves of the actual necessaries of life that their neighbours might not suffer. sometimes they had their misunderstandings and quarrels, but these were all of a momentary character and quickly forgotten. there was little wonder then that bob had failed to read micmac john's true character, and it could hardly be expected that he would suspect the half-breed of trying to injure him. children of these far-off, thinly populated lands in many respects develop judgment and mature in thought at a much younger age than in more thickly settled and more favoured countries. one reason for this is the constant fight for existence that is being waged and the necessity for them to take up their share of the burden of life early. another reason is doubtless the fact that their isolated homes cut them off from the companionship of children of their own age and their associates are almost wholly men and women grown. this was the case with bob and in courage, thoughtfulness of the comfort of others and physical endurance he was a man, while in guile he was a mere baby. he believed that micmac john was like every other man he knew and was a good neighbour. when men have lived long in the wilderness without fresh meat they have a tremendous longing for it. bob knew that neither dick nor ed had tasted venison since they reached their hunting grounds, for they had not been as fortunate as he, and that some of the fresh-killed meat would be a great treat to them and one they would appreciate. therefore when micmac john told him how easily caribou could be killed a day's journey to the northward, he thought that it would make a nice christmas surprise for his friends if he hauled a toboggan load of venison down to the river tilt with him. true they had planned a hunt, but that would take place after christmas and he wanted to make them happy on that day. so after micmac john left him on friday night he prepared for an early start to the caribou feeding grounds on saturday morning. we have seen the route he took across the lakes and timbered flats and marshes to the place where he pitched his camp in the little clump of diminutive fir trees almost twenty miles from his tilt. it was evening when he reached there and up to this time, to his astonishment, he had seen no signs of caribou. a few miles beyond the marsh he saw a ridge of low hills running east and west and decided that the feeding grounds of the animals must lie the other side of them. he banked the snow around the tent to keep out the wind, broke an abundant supply of green boughs for a bed, and cut a good stock of wood for the day of rest. two logs were placed in a parallel position in the tent upon which to rest the stove that it might not sink in the deep snow with the heat. then it was put up, and a fire started, and he was very comfortably settled for the night. the unfamiliar and unusually bleak character of the country gave him a feeling of restlessness and dissatisfaction when he arose on sunday morning and viewed his surroundings. it was quite different from anything he had ever experienced before and he had a strong desire to go out at once and look for the caribou, and if no signs of them were found to turn back on monday to the tilt. but then he asked himself, would his mother approve of this? he decided that she would not, and, said he: "'twould be huntin' just as much as t' go shootin' and th' lard would be gettin' angry wi' me too." that kept him from going, and he spent the day in the tent drawing mind pictures of the little cabin home that he longed so much to see and the loved ones that were there. the thought of little emily, lying helpless but still so patient, brought tears to his eyes. but all would be well in the end, he told himself, for god was good and had given him the silver fox he had prayed for that emily might go and be cured. what a proud and happy day it would be for him when with his greatest hopes fulfilled, the boat ground her nose again upon the beach below the cabin from which he had started so full of ambition that long ago morning in september. how his father would come down to shake his hand and say: "my stalwart lad has done bravely, an' i'm proud o' un." his mother, all smiles, would run out to meet him and take him in her arms and praise and pet him, and then he would hurry in to see dear, patient little emily on her couch, and her face would light up at sight of him and she would hold out her hands to him in an ecstasy of delight and call: "oh, bob! bob! my fine big brother has come back to me at last!" then he would bring in his furs and proudly exhibit the silver fox and hear their praises, and perhaps he would have another silver fox by that time. after a while douglas campbell would come over and tell him how wonderfully well he had done. with his share of the martens he would pay his debt to the company, and he and douglas would let the mail boat doctor sell the silver fox and other skins for them, and emily would go to the hospital and after a little while come back her old gay little self again, to romp and play and laugh and tease him as she used to do. with fancy making for him these dreams of happiness, the day passed after all much less tediously than he had expected. on monday morning, as soon as it was light enough to see, bob started out to look for the caribou, leaving the tent as micmac john found it. he made the great mistake of not taking with him his axe, for an axe is often a life saver in the northern wilderness, and a hunter should never be without one. he crossed the marsh and then the ridge of low hills to the northward, finally coming out upon a large lake. it was now midday, the snow had commenced falling, and to continue the hunt further was useless. "'tis goin' t' be nasty weather an' i'll have t' be gettin' back t' th' tent," said he regretfully as he realized that a severe storm was upon him. reluctantly he retraced his steps. in a little while his tracks were all covered, and not a landmark that he had noted on his inward journey was visible through the blinding snow. he reached the ridge in safety, however, and crossed it and then took the direction that he believed would carry him to the camp, using the wind, which had been blowing from the westward all day, as his guide. towards dark he came to what he supposed was the clump of trees where he had left his tent in the morning, but no tent was there. "'tis wonderful strange!" he exclaimed as he stood for a moment in uncertainty. he was quite positive it was the right place, and he looked for axe cuttings, where he had chopped down trees for fire-wood, and found them. so, this was the place, but where was the tent? he was mystified. he searched up and down every corner of the grove, but found no clue. could the nascaupees have found his camp and carried his things away? there was no other solution. "'th' nascaupees has took un. the nascaupees has sure took un," he said dejectedly, when he realized that the tent was really gone. his situation was now desperate. he had no axe with which to build a temporary shelter or cut wood for a fire. the nearest cover was his tilt, and to reach it in the blinding, smothering snow-storm seemed hopeless. already the cold was eating to his bones and he knew he must keep moving or freeze to death. with the wind on his right he turned towards the south in the gathering darkness. he could not see two yards ahead. blindly he plodded along hour after hour. as the time dragged on it seemed to him that he had been walking for ages. his motion became mechanical. he was faint from hunger and his mouth parched with thirst. the bitter wind was reaching to his very vitals in spite of the exertion, and at last he did not feel it much. he stumbled and fell now and again and each time it was more difficult to rise. there was always a strong inclination to lie a little where he fell and rest, but his benumbed brain told him that to stop walking meant death, and urged him up again to further action. finally the snow ceased but he did not notice it. with his head held back and staring straight before him at nothing he stalked on throwing his feet ahead like an automaton. the stars came out one after another and looked down pitilessly upon the tragedy that was being enacted before their very eyes. many hours had passed; morning was close at hand. the cold grew more intensely bitter but bob did not know it. he was quite insensible to sensations now. vaguely he imagined himself going home to wolf bight. it was not far--he was almost there. in a little while he would see his father and mother and emily--emily--emily was sick. he had something to make her her well--make her well--a silver fox--that would do it--yes, that would do it--a silver fox would make her well--dear little emily. from the distance there came over the frozen world a wolf's howl, followed by another and another. the wolves were giving the cry of pursuit. there must be many of them and they were after caribou or game of some sort. this was the only impression the sound made upon his numbed senses. daylight was coming. he was very sleepy--very, very sleepy. why not go to sleep? there was no reason for walking when it was so nice and warm here--and he was so weary and sleepy. there were trees all around and a nice white bed spread under them. he stumbled and fell and did not try to get up. why should he? there was plenty of time to go home. it was so comfortable and soft here and he was so sleepy. then he imagined that he was in the warm tilt with the fire crackling in the stove. he cuddled down in the snow, and said the little prayer that he never forgot at night. "now-i-lay-me-down-to-sleep, i-pray-thee-lard-my-soul-to-keep, if-i-should-die-before-i-wake i-pray-thee-lard-my-soul-to-take. an'-god-make-emily-well." the wolves were clamouring in the distance. they had caught the game that they were chasing. he could just hear them as he fell asleep. the sun broke with the glory of a new world over the white wilderness. the wolf howls ceased--and all was still. x the penalty for some reason micmac john could not sleep. a little while he lay awake voluntarily, trying to contrive a plan to follow should he be found out. if, after he returned to the tilt for the pelts, there should not be sufficient snow to cover his trail, for instance, before the searching party came to look for bob--and it surely would come, headed by dick blake--he would be in grave danger of being discovered. why had he not thought of all this before? he was afraid of dick blake, and dick was the one man in the world, perhaps, that he was afraid of. would dick shoot him? he asked himself. probably. if he were found he would have to die. life is sweet to a strong, healthy man brought face to face with the reality of death. in his more than half savage existence micmac john had faced death frequently, and sometimes daily, and had never shrunk from it or felt a tremour of fear. he had held neither his own nor the life of other men as a thing of much value. the fact was that never before had he given one serious thought to what it meant to die. like the foxes and the wolves, he had been an animal of prey and had looked upon life and death with hardly more consideration than they, and with the stoical indifference of his savage indian ancestors. but for some inexplicable reason this night the white half of his nature had been awakened and he found himself thinking of what it meant to die--to cease to be, with the world going on and on afterwards just as though nothing had happened. then the teachings of a missionary whom he had heard preach in nova scotia came to him. he remembered what had been said of eternal happiness or eternal torment--that one or the other state awaited the soul of every one after death. then a great terror took possession of him. if bob gray died, as he certainly must in this storm, _he_ would be responsible for it, and _his_ soul would be consigned to eternal torment--the terrible torment to last forever and forever, depicted by the missionary. he had committed many sins in his life, but they were of the past and forgotten. this was of the present. he could already, in his frenzied imagination see dick blake, the avenger. dick would shoot him. that was certain--and then--eternal torment. the wind moaned outside, and then rose to a shriek. he sprang up and looked wildly about him. it was the shriek of a damned soul! no, he had been dozing and it was only a dream, and he lay back trembling. for a long while he could not go to sleep again. fear had taken absolute and complete possession of him--the fear of the eternal damnation that the missionary had so vividly pictured. it was a picture that had been received at the time without being seen and through all these years had remained in his brain, covered and hidden. this day's work had suddenly and for the first time drawn aside the screen and left it bare before his eyes displaying to him every fearful minute outline. he was a murderer and he would be punished. there was no thought of repentance for sins committed--only fear of a fate that he shrunk from but which confronted him as a reality and a certainty--as great a certainty as his rising in the morning and so near at hand. he got up and looked out. the wind blew clouds of snow into his face. he could not see the tree that he knew was ten feet away. it was an awful night for a man to be out without shelter. micmac john lay down again and after a time the tired brain and body yielded to nature and he slept. the instincts of the half-breed, keen even in slumber, felt rather than heard the diminishing of wind and snow as the storm subsided with the approach of morning, and he arose at once. the rest had quieted his nerves, and he was the stolid, revengeful indian again. after a meagre breakfast of tea and jerked venison he took down the tent and lashed the things securely upon the toboggan and ere the first stars began to glimmer through the cloud rifts he was hurrying away in the stillness of the night. when the sky finally cleared and the moon came out, cold and brilliant, there was something uncanny and weird in its light lying upon earth's white shroud rent here and there by long, dark shadows across the trail. there was an indefinable mystery in the atmosphere. micmac john, accustomed as he was to the wilderness, felt an uneasiness in his soul, the reflex perhaps of the previous night's awakening, that he could not quite throw off--a sense of impending danger--of a calamity about to happen. the trees became mighty men ready to strike at him as he approached and behind every bush crouched a waiting enemy. his guilty conscience was at work. the little spirit that god had placed within his bosom, to tell him when he was doing wrong, was not quite dead. he increased his speed as daylight approached travelling almost at a run. suddenly he stopped to listen. from somewhere in the distance behind him a wolf cry broke the morning silence. in a little while there were more wolf cries, and they were coming nearer and nearer. the animals were doubtless following some quarry. was it bob they were after? a momentary qualm at the thought was quickly replaced by a feeling of satisfaction. that, he tried to argue with himself, would cover every clue to what had happened and was what he had hoped for. he hurried on. all at once a spasm of fear brought him to a halt. could it be himself the wolves were trailing! the old horror of the night came back with all its reality and force. a clammy sweat broke out upon his body. he looked wildly about him for a retreat, but there was none. the wolves were gaining upon him rapidly and were very close now. there was no longer any doubt that _he_ was their quarry. they were trailing _him_. micmac john was in a narrow, open marsh, and the wolves were already at the edge of the woods that skirted it a hundred yards behind. a little distance ahead of him was a big boulder, and he ran for it. at that moment the pack came into view. he stopped and stood paralyzed until they were within thirty yards of him, then he turned mechanically, from force of habit, and fired at the leader, which fell. this held them in check for an instant and roused him to action. he grabbed an axe from the toboggan and had time to gain the rock and take a stand with his back against it. as the animals rushed upon the half breed he swung the axe and split the head of one. this temporarily repulsed them. he held them at bay for a time, swinging his axe at every attempted approach. they formed themselves into a half circle just beyond his reach, snapping and snarling at him and showing their ugly fangs. another big gray creature, bolder than the rest, made a rush, but the swinging axe split its head, just as it had the others. they retreated a few paces, but they were not to be kept back for long. micmac john knew that his end had come. his face was drawn and terrified, and in spite of the fearful cold and biting frost, perspiration stood out upon his forehead. it was broad daylight now. another wolf attacked from the front and fell under the axe. a little longer they parleyed. they were gradually growing more bold and narrowing the circle--coming so close that they were almost within reach of the swinging weapon. finally a wolf on the right, and one on the left, charged at the same time, and in an instant those in front, as though acting upon a prearranged signal, closed in, and the pack became one snarling, fighting, clamouring mass. when the sun broke over the eastern horizon a little later it looked upon a circle of flat-tramped, blood-stained snow, over which were scattered bare picked human bones and pieces of torn clothing. a pack of wolves trotted leisurely away over the marsh. in the woods not a mile distant two indian hunters were following the trail that led to bob's unconscious body. [illustration: "micmac john knew his end had come"] xi the tragedy of the trail a week passed and christmas eve came. the weather continued clear and surpassingly fine. it was ideal weather for trapping, with no new snow to clog the traps and interfere with the hunters in their work. the atmosphere was transparent and crisp, and as it entered the lungs stimulated the body like a tonic, giving new life and buoyancy and action to the limbs. the sun never ventured far from the horizon now and the cold grew steadily more intense and penetrating. the river had long ago been chained by the mighty frost king and over the earth the snow lay fully six feet deep where the wind had not drifted it away. a full hour before sunset dick and ed, in high good humour at the prospect of the holiday they had planned, arrived at the river tilt. they came together expecting to find bob and bill awaiting them there, but the shack was empty. "we'll be havin' th' tilt snug an' warm for th' lads when they comes," said dick, as he went briskly to work to build a fire in the stove "you get some ice t' melt for th' tea, ed. th' lads'll be handy t' gettin' in now, an' when they comes supper'll be pipin' hot for un." ed took an axe and a pail to the river where he chopped out pieces of fine, clear ice with which to fill the kettle. when he came back dick had a roaring fire and was busy preparing partridges to boil. pretty soon bill arrived, and they gave him an uproarious greeting. it was the first time bill and ed had met since they came to their trails in the fall, and the two friends were as glad to see each other as though they had been separated for years. "an' how be un now, bill, an' how's th' fur?" asked ed when they were seated. "fine," replied bill. "fur's been fine th' year. i has more by now 'an i gets all o' last season, an' one silver too." "a silver? an' be he a good un?" "not so bad. he's a little gray on th' rump, but not enough t' hurt un much." "well, now, you be doin' fine. i finds un not so bad, too--about th' best year i ever has, but one. that were twelve year ago, an' i gets a rare lot o' fur that year--a rare lot--but i'm not catchin' all of un myself. i gets most of un from th' injuns." "an' how were un doin' that now?" asked bill. "now don't be tellin' that yarn agin," broke in dick. "sure bill's heard un--leastways he must 'a' heard un." "no, i never heard un," said bill. "an' ain't been missin' much then. 'tis just one o' ed's yarns, an' no truth in un." "'tis no yarn. 'tis true, an' i could prove un by th' injuns. leastways i could if i knew where un were, but none o' that crowd o' injuns comes this way these days." "what were the yarn, now?" asked bill. "i says 'tis no yarn. 'tis what happened t' me," asserted ed, assuming a much injured air. "as i were sayin', 'twere a frosty evenin' twelve year ago. i were comin' t' my lower tilt, an' when i gets handy t' un what does i see but a big band o' mountaineers around th' tilt. th' mountaineers was not always friendly in those times as they be now, an' i makes up my mind for trouble. i comes up t' un an' speaks t' un pleasant, an' goes right in th' tilt t' see if un be takin' things. i finds a whole barrel o' flour missin' an' comes out at un. they owns up t' eatin' th' flour, an' they had eat th' hull barrel t' _one_ meal--now ye mind, _one_ meal. when un eats a _barrel_ o' flour t' _one_ meal there be a big band o' un. they was so many o' un i never counted. they was like t' be ugly at first, but i looks fierce like, an' tells un they must gi' me fur t' pay for un. i was so fierce like i scares un--scares un bad. i were _one_ man alone, an' wi' a bold face i had th' whole band so scared they each gives me a marten, an' i has a flat sled load o' martens from un--handy t' a hundred an' fifty--an' if i hadn't 'a' been bold an' scared un i'd 'a' had none. injuns be easy scared if un knows how t' go about it." bill laughed and remarked, "'tis sure a fine yarn, ed. how does un look t' be fierce an' scare folk?" "a fine yarn! an' i tells un 'tis a gospel truth, an' no yarn," asserted ed, apparently very indignant at the insinuation. "bob's late comin'," remarked dick. "'tis gettin' dark." "he be, now," said bill, "an' he were sayin' he'd be gettin' here th' night an' maybe o' monday night. 'tis strange." they ate supper and the evening wore on, and no bob. bill went out several times to listen for the click of snow-shoes, but always came back to say, "no sign o' un yet." finally it became quite certain that bob was not coming that night. "'tis wonderful queer now, an' he promised," bill remarked, at length. "an' he brought down his fur last trip--a fine lot." "where be un?" asked dick. bill looked for the fur. it was nowhere to be found, and, mystified and astounded, he exclaimed: "sure th' fur be gone! bob's an' mine too!" "gone!" dick and ed both spoke together. "an' where now?" "gone! his an' mine! 'twere here when we leaves th' tilt, an' 'tis gone now!" the three had risen to their feet and stood looking at each other for awhile in silence. finally dick spoke: "'tis what i was fearin'. 'tis some o' micmac john's work. now where be bob? somethin's been happenin' t' th' lad. micmac john's been doin' somethin' wi' un, an' we must find un." "we must find un an' run that devil injun down," exclaimed ed, reaching for his adikey. "we mustn't be losin' time about un, neither." "'twill be no use goin' now," said dick, with better judgment. "th' moon's down an' we'd be missin' th' trail in th' dark, but wi' daylight we must be goin'." ed hung his adikey up again. "i were forgettin' th' moon were down. we'll have t' bide here for daylight," he assented. then he gritted his teeth. "that injun'll have t' suffer for un if he's done foul wi' bob." the remainder of the evening was spent in putting forth conjectures as to what had possibly befallen bob. they were much concerned but tried to reassure themselves with the thought that he might have been delayed one tilt back for the night, and that micmac john had done nothing worse than steal the fur. nevertheless their evening was spoiled--the evening they had looked forward to with so much pleasure and their minds were filled with anxious thoughts when finally they rolled into their blankets for the night. christmas morning came with a dead, searching cold that made the three men shiver as they stepped out of the warm tilt long before dawn and strode off in single file into the silent, dark forest. after a while daylight came, and then the sun, beautiful but cheerless, appeared above the eastern hills to reveal the white splendour of the world and make the frost-hung fir trees and bushes scintillate and sparkle like a gem-hung fairy-land. but the three men saw none of this. before them lay a black, unknown horror that they dreaded, yet hurried on to meet. the air breathed a mystery that they could not fathom. their hearts were weighted with a nameless dread. their pace never once slackened and not a word was spoken until after several hours the first tilt came suddenly into view, when dick said laconically: "no smoke. he's not here." "an' no signs o' his bein' on th' trail since th' storm," added ed. "no footin' t' mark un at all," assented dick. "what's happened has happened before th' last snow." "aye, before th' last snow. 'twas before th' storm it happened." here they took a brief half hour to rest and boil the kettle, and the remainder of that day and all the next day kept up their tireless, silent march. not a track in the unbroken white was there to give them a ray of hope, and every step they took made more certain the tragedy they dreaded. at noon on the third day they reached the last tilt. bill was ahead, and when he pushed the door open he exclaimed: "th' stove's gone!" then they found the bag that micmac john had left there with the fur in it. "now that's micmac john's bag," said ed. "what devilment has th' injun been doin'? now why did he _leave_ th' fur? 'tis strange--wonderful strange." dick noted the evidences of an open fire having been kindled upon the earthen floor. "that fire were made since th' stove were taken," he said. "micmac john left th' fur an' made th' fire. he's been stoppin' here a night after bob left wi' th' stove. but why were bob leavin' wi' th' stove? an' where has he gone? an' why has th' injun been leavin' th' fur here an' not comin' for un again? we'll have t' be findin' out." they started immediately to search for some clue of the missing lad, each taking a different direction and agreeing to meet at night in the tilt. everywhere they looked, but nothing was discovered, and, weary and disheartened, they turned back with dusk. dick returned across the first lake above the tilt. as he strode along one of his snow-shoes pressed upon something hard, and he stopped to kick the snow away from it. it was a deer's antler. he uncovered it farther and found a chain, which he pulled up, disclosing a trap and in it a silver fox, dead and frozen stiff. he straightened up and looked at it. "a christmas present for bob an' he never got un," he said aloud. "th' lad's sure perished not t' be findin' his silver." here was a discovery that meant something. bob had been setting traps in that direction, and might have a string of traps farther on. possibly he had gone to put them in order when the storm came, and had been caught in it farther up, and perished. anyway it was worth investigation. when dick returned with the fox and the trap to the tilt he told the others of his theory and it was decided to concentrate their efforts in that direction in the morning. accordingly the next day they pushed farther to the westward across the second lake, and at a point where a dead tree hung out over the ice found fresh axe cuttings. a little farther on they saw one or two sapling tops chopped off. these were in a line to the northward, and they took that direction. finally they came upon a marsh, and heading in the same northerly course across it, came upon the tracks of a pack of wolves. looking in the direction from which these led, dick stopped and pointed towards a high boulder half a mile to the eastward. "now what be that black on th' snow handy t' th' rock?" he asked. "'tis lookin' t' me like a flat sled," said ed. "we'll have a look at un," suggested dick, who hurried forward with the others at his heels. suddenly he stopped, and pointed at the beaten snow and scattered bones and torn clothing, where micmac john had fought so desperately for his life. the three men stood horror stricken, their faces drawn and tense. this, then, was the solution of the mystery! this was what had happened to bob! pretty soon dick spoke: "th' poor lad! th' poor lad! an' th' wolves got un!" "an' his poor mother," said ed, choking. "'twill break her heart, she were countin' so on bob. an' th' little maid as is sick--'twill kill she." "yes," said bill, "emily'll be mournin' herself t' death wi'out bob." these big, soft-hearted trappers were all crying now like women. no other thought occurred to them than that these ghastly remains were bob's, for the toboggan and things on it were his. after a while they tenderly gathered up the human remains and placed them upon the toboggan. then they picked up the gun and blood spattered axe. "now here be another axe on th' flat sled," said dick. "what were bob havin' two axes for?" "'tis strange," said ed. "he must ha' had one cached in here, an' were bringin' un back," suggested bill, and this seemed a satisfactory explanation. "i'll take some pieces o' th' clothes. his mother'll be wantin' somethin' that he wore when it happened," said dick, as he gathered some of the larger fragments of cloth from the snow. then with bowed heads and heavy hearts they silently retraced their steps to the tilt, hauling the toboggan after them. at the tilt they halted to arrange their future course of action. "now," said dick, "what's t' be done? 'twill only give pain th' sooner t' th' family t' go out an' tell un, an' 'twill do no good. i'm thinkin' 'tis best t' take th' remains t' th' river tilt an' not go out with un till we goes home wi' open water." "no, i'm not thinkin' that way," dissented ed. "bob's mother 'll be wantin' t' know right off. 'tis not right t' keep it from she, an' she'll never be forgivin' us if we're doin' it." "they's trouble enough down there that they _knows_ of," argued dick. "they'll be thinkin' bob safe 'an not expectin' he till th' open water an' we don't tell un, an' between now an' then have so much less t' worry un, and be so much happier 'an if they were knowin'. folks lives only so long anyways an' troubles they has an' don't know about is troubles they don't have, or th' same as not havin' un, an' their lives is that much happier." "i'm still thinkin' they'll be wantin' t' know," insisted ed. "they'll be plannin' th' whole winter for bob's comin' an' when they's expectin' him an' hears he's dead, 'twill be worse'n hearin' before they expects un. leastways, they'll be gettin' over un th' sooner they hears, for trouble always wears off some wi' passin' time. 'tis our duty t' go an' tell un _now_, i'm thinkin'." "what's un think, bill?" asked dick. "i'm thinkin with ed, 'tis best t' go," said bill, positively. "well, maybe 'tis--maybe 'tis," dick finally assented. "now, who'll be goin'? 'twill be a wonderful hard task t' break th' news. i'm thinkin' my heart'd be failin' me when i gets there. ed, would un _mind_ goin'?" ed hesitated a moment, then he said: "i'm fearin' t' tell th' mother, but 'tis for some one t' do. 'tis my duty t' do un--an' i'll be goin'." it was finally arranged that ed should begin his journey the following morning, drawing the remains on a toboggan, and taking otherwise only the tent, a tent stove, and enough food to see him through, leaving the remainder of bob's things to be carried out in the boat in the spring. dick undertook the charge of them as well as bob's fur. ed was to take the short cut to the river tilt and thence follow the river ice while dick and bill sprang bob's traps on the upper end of his path. "but," said bill, after this arrangement was made, "bob's folks be in sore need o' th' fur he'd be gettin' an' when ed comes back, i'm thinkin' 'twould be fine for us not t' be takin' rest o' saturdays but turnin' right back in th' trails. ed can be doin' one tilt o' your trail, dick, an' so shortenin' your trail one tilt so you can do two o' mine an' i'll shorten ed two tilts an' do _three_ o' bob's. i'd be willin' t' work _sundays_ an' i'm thinkin' th' lard wouldn't be findin' fault o' me for doin' un seem' emily's needin' th' fur t' go t' th' doctor. 'tis sure th' lard wouldn't be gettin' angry wi' me for _that_, for he knows how bad off emily is." this generous proposal met with the approval of all, and details were arranged accordingly that evening as to just what each was to do until the furring season closed in the spring. this was saturday, december the twenty-eighth. on sunday morning ed bade good-bye to his companions and began the long and lonely journey to wolf bight with his ghastly charge in tow. xii in the hands of the nascaupees late on the afternoon of the day that bob fell asleep in the snow, he awoke to new and strange surroundings. his first conscious moments brought with them a sense of comfortable security. his mind had thrown off every feeling of responsibility and he knew only that he was warm and snugly tucked into bed and that the odour of spruce forest and wood smoke that he breathed was very pleasant. he lay quiet for a time, with his eyes closed, in a state of blissful, half consciousness, vaguely realizing these things, but not possessing sufficient energy to open his eyes and investigate them or question where he was. slowly his mind awoke from its lethargy and then he began to remember as a dim, uncertain dream, his experience of the night before. gradually it became more real but he recalled his failure to find the tent, the fearful groping in the snow, and his struggle for life against the storm as something that had happened in the long distant past. "but how could all this ha' been happenin' t' me now?" he asked himself, for here he was snug in the tent--or perhaps he had reached the tilt and did not remember. he opened his eyes now for the first time to see and satisfy himself as to whether it was the tent or the tilt he was in, and what he saw astonished and brought him to his senses very quickly. he recognized at once the interior of an indian wigwam. in the centre a fire was burning and an indian woman was leaning over it stirring the contents of a kettle. on the opposite side of the fire from her sat a young indian maiden of about bob's own age netting the babiche in a snow-shoe, her fingers plying deftly in and out. the woman and girl wore deerskin garments of peculiar design. the former was fat and ugly, the latter slender, and very comely, he thought, from her sleek black hair to her feet encased in daintily worked little moccasins. at that moment she glanced towards him and said something to her companion, who turned in his direction also. "where am i?" he asked wonderingly and with some alarm. they both laughed and jabbered then in their indian tongue but he could not understand a word they said. the girl lay aside the snow-shoe and babiche and, taking up a tin cup, dipped some hot broth from the kettle and offered it to him. he accepted it gladly for he was thirsty and felt unaccountably weak. the broth contained no salt or flavouring of any kind, but was very refreshing. when he had finished it he put the cup down and attempted to rise but this movement brought forth a flood of indian expostulations and he was forced to lie quiet again. it was very evident that he was either considered an invalid too ill to move or was held in bondage. he had never heard that indian captives were tucked into soft deerskin robes and fed broth by comely indian maidens, however, and if he were a prisoner it did not promise to be so very disagreeable a captivity. on the whole it was very pleasant and restful lying there on the soft skins of which his bed was composed, for he still felt tired and weak. he took in every detail of his surroundings. the wigwam was circular in form and of good size. it was made of reindeer skins stretched over poles very dingy and black, with an opening at the top to permit the smoke from the fire in the centre to escape. flat stones raised slightly above the ground served as a fireplace, and around it were thickly laid spruce boughs. some strips of jerked venison hung from the poles above, and near his feet he glimpsed his own gun and powder horn. bob could see at once that these indians were much more primitive than those he knew at the bay and, unfamiliar as he was with the indian language, he noticed a marked difference in the intonation and inflection when the woman spoke. "now," said bob to himself, "th' nascaupees must ha' found me an' these be nascaupees. but mountaineers an' every one says nascaupees be savage an' cruel, an' i'm not knowin' what un be. 'tis queer--most wonderful queer." he had no recollection of lying down in the snow. the last he could definitely recall was his fearful battling with the storm. there was a sort of hazy remembrance of something that he could not quite grasp--of having gone to sleep somewhere in a snug, warm bed spread with white sheets. try as he would he could not explain his presence in this indian wigwam, nor could he tell how long he had been here. it seemed to him years since the morning he left the tilt to go on the caribou hunt. so he lay for a good while trying to account for his strange surroundings until at last he became drowsy and was on the point of going to sleep when suddenly the entrance flap of the wigwam opened and two indians entered--the most savage looking men bob had ever seen--and he felt a thrill of fear as he beheld them. they were very tall, slender, sinewy fellows, dressed in snug fitting deerskin coats reaching half way to the knees and decorated with elaborately painted designs in many colours. their heads were covered with hairy hoods, and the ears of the animal from which they were made gave a grotesque and savage appearance to the wearers. light fitting buckskin leggings, fringed on the outer side, encased their legs, and a pair of deerskin mittens dangled from the ends of a string which was slung around the neck. one of the men was past middle age, the other a young fellow of perhaps twenty. the older woman said something to them and they began to jabber in so high a tone of voice that bob would have thought they were quarrelling but for the fact that they laughed good-naturedly all the time and came right over to where he lay to shake his hand. they had a good deal to say to him, but he could not understand one word of their language. after greeting him both men removed their outer coats and hoods, and bob could not but admire the graceful, muscular forms that the buckskin undergarments displayed. their hair was long, black and straight and around their foreheads was tied a thong of buckskin to keep it from falling over their faces. they laughed at bob's inability to understand them, and were much amused when he tried to talk with them. every effort was made to put him at ease. when the men were finally seated, the girl dipped out a cup of broth and a dish of venison stew from the kettle which she handed to bob; then the others helped themselves from what remained. there was no bread nor tea, and nothing to eat but the unflavoured meat. it was quite dark now and the fire cast weird, uncanny shadows on the dimly-lighted interior walls of the wigwam. the indians sitting around it in their peculiar dress seemed like unreal inhabitants of some spirit world. bob's coming to himself in this place and amongst these people appealed to him as miraculous--supernatural. he could not understand it at all. he began to plan an escape. when they were all asleep he could steal quietly out and make his way back to the tilt. but, then, he reasoned, if they wished to detain him they could easily track him in the snow in the morning; and, besides, he did not know where his snow-shoes were and without them he could not go far. neither did he know how far he was from the tilt. after the indians had found him they may have carried him several days' journey to their camp and whether they had gone west or north he had no way of finding out. it was, therefore, he realized, an unquestionably hopeless undertaking for him to attempt to reach his tilt alone, and he finally dismissed the idea as impracticable. perhaps in the morning he could induce them to take him there. that, he concluded, was the only plan for him to follow. so far they had been very kind and he could see no reason why they should wish to detain him against his will. the indians were indeed nascaupee indians, but instead of being the ruthless cut-throats that the mountaineers and the legends of the coast had painted them, they were human and hospitable, as all our eastern indians were before white men taught them to be thieves and drove and goaded them--by the white man's own treachery--to acts of reprisal and revenge. these nascaupees, living as they did in a country inaccessible to the white ravishers, had none but kindly motives in their treatment of bob and had no desire to do him harm. on the morning that bob fell in the snow shish-e-tã¡-ku-shin--loud-voice--and his son moã³-koo-mahn--big knife--had left their wigwam early to hunt. not far away they crossed bob's trail. their practiced eye told them that the traveller was not an indian, for the snow-shoes he wore were not of indian make, and also, from the uncertain, wobbly trail, they decided that he was far spent. so they followed the tracks and within a few minutes after bob had fallen found him. they carried him to the wigwam and rubbed his frosted limbs and face until it was quite safe to wrap him in the deerskins in the warm wigwam. they did not know who he was nor where he came from, but they did know that he needed care and several days of quiet. he was a stranger and they took him in. these poor heathens had never heard of christ or his teachings, but their hearts were human. and so it was that bob found himself amongst friends and was rescued from what seemed certain death. when morning came bob tried in every conceivable way to make them understand that he wished to be taken back, but he found it a quite hopeless task. no signs or pantomime could make them comprehend his meaning, and it appeared that he was doomed to remain with them. the shock of exposure had been so great that he was still very weak and not able to walk, as he quickly realized when he tried to move about, and he was compelled to remain within in the company of the women, in spite of his desire to go out and reconnoitre. ma-ni-ka-wan, the maiden, took it upon herself to be his nurse. she brought him water to bathe his face, which was very sore from frostbite, and gave him the choicest morsels from the kettle, and made him as comfortable as possible. at first he held a faint hope that when bill missed him at the tilt, a search would be made for him and his friends would find the wigwam. but as the days slipped by he realized that he would probably never be discovered. there came a fear that the news of his disappearance would be carried to wolf bight and he dreaded the effect upon his mother and emily. but there was one consolation. emily could go to the hospital now and be cured. bill would find the silver fox skin and his share of that and the other furs would pay not only his own but his father's debts, he felt sure, as well as all the expense of emily's treatment by the doctor--and a good surplus of cash--how much he could not imagine and did not try to calculate--for the doctor had said that silver foxes were worth five hundred dollars in cash. this thought gave him a degree of satisfaction that towered so far above his troubles that he almost forgot them. in a little while he was quite strong and active again. finally a day came when the indians made preparations to move. the wigwam was taken down and with all their belongings packed upon toboggans, and under the cold stars of a january morning, they turned to the northward, and bob had no other course than to go with them even farther from the loved ones and the home that his heart so longed to see. xiii a foreboding of evil never before had bob been away from home for more than a week at a time, and his mother and emily were very lonely after his departure in september. they missed his rough good-natured presence with the noise and confusion that always followed him no less than his little thoughtful attentions. they forgot the pranks that the overflow of his young blood sometimes led him into, remembering only his gentler side. he had helped emily to pass the time less wearily, often sitting for hours at a time by her couch, telling her stories or joking with her, or making plans for the future, and she felt his absence now perhaps more than even his mother. many times during the first week or so after his going she found herself turning wistfully towards the door half expecting to see him enter, at the hours when he used to come back from the fishing, and then she would realize that he was really gone away, and would turn her face to the wall, that her mother might not see her, and cry quietly in her loneliness. without bob's help, richard gray was very busy now. the fishing season was ended, but there was wood to be cut and much to be done in preparation for the long winter close at hand. he went early each morning to his work, and only returned to the cabin with the dusk of evening. this home-coming of the father was the one bright period of the day for emily, and during the dreary hours that preceded it, she looked forward with pleasure and longing to the moment when he should open the door, and call out to her, "an' how's my little maid been th'day? has she been lonesome without her daddy?" and she would always answer, "i's been fine, but dreadful lonesome without daddy." then he would kiss her, and sit down for a little while by her couch, before he ate his supper, to tell her of the trivial happenings out of doors, while he caressed her by stroking her hair gently back from her forehead. after the meal the three would chat for an hour or so while he smoked his pipe and mrs. gray washed the dishes. then before they went to their rest he would laboriously read a selection from the bible, and afterwards, on his knees by emily's couch, thank god for his goodness to them and ask for his protection, always ending with the petition, "an', lard, look after th' lad an' keep he safe from th' nascaupees an' all harm; an' heal th' maid an' make she well, for, lard, you must be knowin' what a good little maid she is." emily never heard this prayer without feeling an absolute confidence that it would be answered literally, for god was very real to her, and she had the complete, unshattered faith of childhood. late in october the father went to his trapping trail, and after that was only home for a couple of days each fortnight. there was no pleasant evening hour now for emily and her mother to look forward to. the men of the bay were all away at their hunting trails, and no callers ever came to break the monotony of their life, save once in a while douglas campbell would tramp over the ice the eight miles from kenemish to spend an afternoon and cheer them up. emily missed bob more than ever, since her father had gone, but she was usually very patient and cheerful. for hours at a time she would think of his home-coming, and thrill with the joy of it. in her fancy she would see him as he would look when he came in after his long absence, and in her imagination picture the days and days of happiness that would follow while he sat by her couch and told her of his adventures in the far off wilderness. once, late in november, she called her mother to her and asked: "mother, how long will it be now an' bob comes home?" "'tis many months till th' open water, but i were hopin', dear, that mayhap he'd be comin' at th' new year." "an' how long may it be to th' new year, mother?" "a bit more than a month, but 'tis not certain he'll be comin' then." "'tis a long while t' wait--a _terrible_ long while t' be waitin'--t' th' new year." "not so long, emily. th' time'll be slippin' by before we knows. but don't be countin' on his comin' th' new year, for 'tis a rare long cruise t' th' big hill trail an' he may be waitin' till th' break-up. but i'm thinkin' my lad'll be wantin' t' see how th' little maid is,--an' see his mother--an' mayhap be takin' th' cruise." "an bob knew how lonesome we were--how _wonderful_ lonesome we were--he'd be comin' at th' new year sure. an' he'll be gettin' lonesome hisself. he must be gettin' _dreadful_ lonesome away off in th' bush this long time! he'll _sure_ be comin' at th' new year!" after this emily began to keep account of the days as they passed. she had her mother reckon for her the actual number until new year's eve, and each morning she would say, "only so many days now an' bob'll be comin' home." her mother warned her that it was not at all certain he would come then--only a hope. but it grew to be a settled fact for emily, and a part of her daily life, to expect and plan for the happy time when she should see him. mrs. gray had not been able to throw off entirely the foreboding of calamity that she had voiced at the time bob left home. every morning she awoke with a heavy heart, like one bearing a great weight of sorrow. before going about her daily duties she would pray for the preservation of her son and the healing of her daughter, and it would relieve her burden somewhat, but never wholly. the strange presence was always with her. one day when douglas campbell came over he found her very despondent, and he asked: "now what's troublin' you, mary? there's some trouble on yer mind. don't be worryin' about th' lad. he's as safe as you be. he'll be comin' home as fine an' hearty as ever you see him, an' with a fine hunt." "i knows the's no call for th' worry," she answered, "but someways i has a forebodin' o' somethin' evil t' happen an' i can't shake un off. i can't tell what an be. mayhap 'tis th' maid. she's no better, an' th' lard's not answerin' my prayer yet t' give back strength t' she an' make she walk." "'twill be all right wi' th' maid, now. th' doctor said they'd be makin' she well at th' hospital." "but the's no money t' send she t' th' hospital--an' if she don't go--th' doctor said she'd never be gettin' well." "now don't be lettin' _that_ worry ye, mary. th' lard'll be findin' a way t' send she t' st. johns when th' mail boat comes back in th' spring, if that be his way o' curin she--i _knows_ he will. th' lard always does things right an' he'll be fixin' it right for th' maid. he'd not be lettin' a pretty maid like emily go all her life wi'out walkin'--he _never_ would do that. i'm thinkin' he'd a' found a way afore _now_ if th' mail boat had been makin' another trip before th' freeze up." "i'm lackin' in faith, i'm fearin'. i'm always forgettin' that th' lard does what's best for us an' don't always do un th' way we wants he to. he's bidin' his own time i'm thinkin', an' answerin' my prayers th' way as is best." this talk with douglas made her feel better, but still there was that burden on her heart--a burden that would not be shaken off. all the bay was frozen now, and white, like the rest of the world, with drifted snow. the great box stove in the cabin was kept well filled with wood night and day to keep out the searching cold. an inch-thick coat of frost covered the inner side of the glass panes of the two windows and shut out the morning sunbeams that used to steal across the floor to brighten the little room. december was fast drawing to a close. richard gray's luck had changed. fur was plentiful--more plentiful than it had been for years--and he was hopeful that by spring he would have enough to pay all his back debt at the company store and be on his feet again. two days before christmas he reached home in high good humour, with the pelts he had caught, and displayed them with satisfaction to mrs. gray and emily--beautiful black otters, martens, minks and beavers with a few lynx and a couple of red foxes. "i'll be stayin' home for a fortnight t' get some more wood cut," he announced. "how'll that suit th' maid?" "oh! tis fine!" cried the child, clapping her hands with delight. "an' bob'll be home for the new year an' we'll all be havin' a fine time together before you an' bob goes away again." "in th' mornin' i'll have t' be goin' t' th' post wi' th' dogs an' komatik t' get some things. is there anything yer wantin', mary?" he asked his wife. "we has plenty o' flour an' molasses an' tea; but," she suggested, "th' next day's christmas, richard." "aye, i'm thinkin' o' un an' i may be seein' santa claus t' tell un what a rare fine maid emily's been an' ask un not t' be forgettin' she. he's been wonderful forgetful not t' be comin' round last christmas an' th' christmas before i'll have t' be remindin' he." emily looked up wistfully. "an' you are thinkin' he'll have _time_ t' come here wi' all th' places t' go to? oh, i'm wishin' he would!" "i'll just make un--i'll just _make_ un," said her father. "i'll not let un pass my maid _every_ time." emily was awake early the next morning--before daybreak. her father was about to start for the post, and the dogs were straining and jumping in the traces. she knew this because she could hear their expectant howls,--and the dogs never howled just like that under any other circumstances. then she heard "hoo-ett--hoo-ett" as he gave them the word to be off and, in the distance, as he turned them down the brook to the right his shouts of "ouk! ouk! ouk!--ouk! ouk! ouk!" it was a day of delightful expectancy. tomorrow would be christmas and perhaps--perhaps--santa claus would come! she chattered all day to her mother about it, wondering if he would really come and what he would bring her. finally, just at nightfall she heard her father shouting at the dogs outside and presently he came in carrying his komatik box, his beard weighted with ice and his clothing white with hoar frost. "well," announced he, as he put down the box and pulled his adikey over his head, "i were seein' santa claus th' day an' givin' he a rare scoldin' for passin' my maid by these two year--a _rare_ scoldin'--an' i'm thinkin' he'll not be passin' un by _this_ christmas. he'll not be wantin' _another_ such scoldin'." "oh!" said emily, "'twere too bad t' scold un. he must be havin' a wonderful lot o' places t' go to an' he's not deservin' t' be scolded now. he's sure doin' th' best he can--i _knows_ he's doin' th' best he can." "he were deservin' of un, an' more. he were passin' my maid _two_ year runnin' an' i can't be havin' that," insisted the father as he hung up his adikey and stooped to open the komatik box, from which he extracted a small package which he handed to emily saying, "somethin' bessie were sendin'." "look! look, mother!" emily cried excitedly as she undid the package and discovered a bit of red ribbon; "a hair ribbon an'--an' a paper with some writin'!" mrs. gray duly examined and admired the gift while emily spelled out the message. [illustration (handwriting): to dear emily wishin mery crismus from bessie] "oh, an' bessie's fine t' be rememberin' me!" said she, adding regretfully, "i'm wishin' i'd been sendin' she somethin' but i hasn't a thing t' send." "aye, bessie's a fine lass," said her father. "she sees me comin' an' runs down t' meet me, an' asks how un be, an' if we're hearin' e'er a word from bob. an' i tells she emily's fine an' we're not hearin' from bob, but are thinkin' un may be comin' home for th' new year. an' then bessie says as she's wantin' t' come over at th' new year t' visit emily." "an' why weren't you askin' she t' come back with un th' day?" asked mrs. gray. "oh, i wish she had!" exclaimed emily. "i were askin' she," he explained, "but she were thinkin' she'd wait till th' new year. her mother's rare busy th' week wi' th' men all in from th' bush, an' needin' bessie's help." "an' how's th' folk findin' th' fur?" asked mrs. gray as she poured the tea. "wonderful fine. wonderful fine with all un as be in." "an' i'm glad t' hear un. 'twill be givin' th' folk a chance t' pay th' debts. th' two bad seasons must ha' put most of un in a bad way for debt." "aye, 'twill that. an' now we're like t' have two fine seasons. 'tis th' way un always runs." "'tis th' lard's way," said mrs. gray reverently. "the's a band o' injuns come th' day," added richard gray, "an' they reports fur rare plenty inside, as 'tis about here. an' i'm thinkin' bob'll be doin' fine his first year in th' bush." "oh, i'm hopin'--i'm hopin' so--for th' lad's sake an' emily's. 'tis how th' lard's makin' a way for th' brave lad t' send emily t' th' doctor--an' he comes back safe." "i were askin' th' mountaineers had they seen nascaupee footin', an' they seen none. they're sayin' th' nascaupees has been keepin' t' th' nuth'ard th' winter, an' we're not t' fear for th' lad." "thank th' lard!" exclaimed mrs. gray. "thank th' lard! an' now that's relievin' my mind wonderful--relievin'--it--wonderful." there was an added earnestness to richard gray's expressions of thanksgiving when he knelt with his wife by their child's couch for family worship that christmas eve, and there was an unwonted happiness in their hearts when they went to their night's rest. xiv the shadow of death the kettle was singing merrily on the stove, and mrs. gray was setting the breakfast table, when emily awoke on christmas morning. her father was just coming in from out-of-doors bringing a breath of the fresh winter air with him. "a merry christmas," he called to her. "a merry christmas t' my maid!" "and did santa claus come?" she asked, looking around expectantly. "santa claus? there now!" he exclaimed, "an' has th' old rascal been forgettin' t' come again? has you seen any signs o' santa claus bein' here?" he asked of mrs. gray, as though thinking of it for the first time. then, turning towards the wall back of the stove, he exclaimed, "ah! ah! an' what's _this_?" emily looked, and there, sitting upon the shelf, was a doll! "oh! oh, th' dear little thing!" she cried. "oh, let me have un!" mrs. gray took it down and handed it to her, and she hugged it to her in an ecstasy of delight. then she held it off and looked at it, and hugged again, and for very joy she wept. it was only a poor little rag doll with face and hair grotesquely painted upon the cloth, and dressed in printed calico--but it was a doll--a _real_ one--the first that emily had ever owned. it had been the dream of her life that some day she might have one, and now the dream was a blessed reality. her happiness was quite beyond expression as she lay there on her bed that christmas morning pressing the doll to her breast and crying. poverty has its seasons of recompense that more than counterbalance all the pleasures that wealth can buy, and this was one of those seasons for the family of richard gray. presently emily stopped crying, and through the tears came laughter, and she held the toy out for her father and mother to take and examine and admire. a little later mrs. gray came from the closet holding a mysterious package in her hand. "now what be _this_? 'twere in th' closet an' looks like somethin' more santa claus were leavin'." "well now!" exclaimed richard, "what may _that_ be? open un an' we'll see." an investigation of its contents revealed a couple of pounds of sugar, some currants, raisins and a small can of butter. "santa claus were wantin' us t' have a plum puddin' _i'm_ thinkin'," said mrs. gray, as she examined each article and showed it to emily. "an' we're t' have sugar for th' tea and butter for th' bread. but th' puddin's not t' get _all_ th' raisins. emily's t' have some t' eat after we has breakfast." dinner was a great success. there were roast ptarmigans stuffed with fine-chopped pork and bread, and the unwonted luxuries of butter and sugar--and then the plum pudding served with molasses for sauce. that was fine, and emily had to have two helpings of it. if bob had been with them their cup of happiness would have been filled quite to the brim, and more than once emily exclaimed: "now if _bob_ was only here!" and several times during the day she said, "i'm just _wishin'_ t' show bob my pretty doll--an' won't he be glad t' see un!" the report from the mountaineer indians that no nascaupees had been seen had set at rest their fears for the lad's safety. the apprehension that he might get into the hands of the nascaupees had been the chief cause of worry, for they felt full confidence in bob's ability to cope with the wilderness itself. the day was so full of surprises and new sensations that when bedtime came emily was quite tired out with the excitement of it all, and was hardly able to keep awake until the family worship was closed. then she went to sleep with the doll in her arms. the week from christmas till new year passed quickly. richard gray was at home, and this was a great treat for mrs. gray and emily, and with several of their neighbours who lived within ten to twenty miles of wolf bight driving over with dogs to spend a few hours--for most of the men were home from their traps for the holidays--the time was pretty well filled up. emily's doll was a never failing source of amusement to her, and she always slept with it in her arms. over at the post it was a busy week for mr. macdonald and his people, for all the bay hunters and indians had trading to do, and most of them remained at least one night to gossip and discuss their various prospects and enjoy the hospitality of the kitchen; and then there was a dance nearly every night, for this was their season of amusement and relaxation in the midst of the months of bitter hardships on the trail. bessie and her mother had not a moment to themselves, with all the extra cooking and cleaning to be done, for it fell upon them to provide for every one; and it became quite evident to bessie that she could not get away for her proposed visit to wolf bight until the last of the hunters was gone. this would not be until the day after new year's, so she postponed her request to her father, to take her over, until new year's day. then she watched for a favourable opportunity when she was alone with him and her mother. finally it came late in the afternoon, when he stepped into the house for something, and she asked him timidly: "father, i'm wantin' t' go on a cruise t' wolf bight--t' see emily--can't you take me over with th dogs an' komatik?" "when you wantin' t' go, lass?" he asked. "i'm wishin' t' be goin' to-morrow." "i'm t' be wonderful busy for a few days. can't un wait a week or two?" "i'm wantin' t' go now, father, if i goes. i'm not wantin' t' wait." "bob's t' be home," suggested mrs. blake. "oh, ho! i see!" he exclaimed. "'tisn't bob instead o' emily you're wantin' so wonderful bad t' see now, is un?" "'tis--emily--i'm wantin'--t'--see," faltered bessie, blushing prettily and fingering the hem of her apron in which she was suddenly very much interested. "bob's a fine lad--a fine lad--an' i'm not wonderin'," said her father teasingly. "now, tom," interceded mrs. black, "don't be tormentin' bessie. o' course 'tis just emily she's wantin' t' see. she's not thinkin' o' th' lads yet." "oh, aye," said he, looking slyly out of the corner of his eye at bessie, who was blushing now to the very roots of her hair, "i'm not blamin' she for likin' bob. i likes he myself." "well, tom, be tellin' th' lass you'll take she over. she's been kept wonderful close th' winter, an' the cruise'll be doin' she good," urged mrs. black. "i wants t' go _so_ much," bessie pleaded. "well, i'll ask mr. macdonald can he spare me th' day. i'm thinkin' 'twill be all right," he finally assented. and it was all right. when the last hunter had disappeared the next morning, the komatik was got ready. a box made for the purpose was lashed on the back end of it, and warm reindeer skins spread upon the bottom for bessie to sit upon. then the nine big dogs were called by shouting "ho! ho! ho!" to them, and were caught and harnessed, after which tom cracked a long walrus-hide whip over their heads, and made them lie quiet until bessie was tucked snugly in the box, and wrapped well in deerskin robes. when at last all was ready the father stepped aside with his whip, and immediately the dogs were up jumping and straining in their harness and giving short impatient howls, over eager to be away. tom grasped the front end of the komatik runners, pulled them sharply to one side to break them loose from the snow to which they were frozen, and instantly the dogs were off at a gallop running like mad over the ice with the trailing komatik in imminent danger of turning over when it struck the ice hummocks that the tide had scattered for some distance out from the shore. presently they calmed down, however, to a jog trot, and tom got off the komatik and ran by its side, guiding the team by calling out "ouk" when he wanted to turn to the right and "rudder" to turn to the left, repeating the words many times in rapid succession as though trying to see how fast he could say them. the head dog, or leader, always turned quickly at the word of command, and the others followed. it was a very cold day--fifty degrees below zero mr. macdonald had said before they started--and bessie's father looked frequently to see that her nose and cheeks were not freezing, for a traveller in the northern country when not exercising violently will often have these parts of the face frozen without knowing it or even feeling cold, and if the wind is blowing in the face is pretty sure to have them frosted anyway. most of the snow had drifted off the ice, and the dogs had a good hard surface to travel upon, and were able to keep up a steady trot. they made such good time that in two hours they turned into wolf bight, and as they approached the grays' cabin broke into a gallop, for dogs always like to begin a journey and end it with a flourish of speed just to show how fast they _can_ go, no matter how slowly they may jog along between places. the dogs at wolf bight were out to howl defiance at them as they approached and to indulge in a free fight with the newcomers when they arrived, until the opposing ones were beaten apart with clubs and whips. it is a part of a husky dog's religion to fight whenever an excuse offers, and often when there is no excuse. richard and mrs. gray came running out to meet tom and bessie, and bessie was hurried into the cabin where emily was waiting in excited expectancy to greet her. mrs. gray bustled about at once and brewed some hot tea for the visitors and set out a luncheon of bread for them. "now set in an' have a hot drink t' warm un up," said she when it was ready. "you must be most froze, bessie, this frosty day." "i were warm wrapped in th' deerskins, an' not so cold," bessie answered. "we were lookin' for bob these three days," remarked mrs. gray as she poured the tea. "we were thinkin' he'd sure be gettin' lonesome by now, an' be makin' a cruise out." "'tis a long cruise from th' big hill trail unless he were needing somethin'," suggested tom, taking his seat at the table. "aye," assented richard, "an' i'm thinkin' th' lad'll not be wantin' t' lose th' time 'twill take t' come out. he'll be biding inside t' make th' most o' th' huntin', an' th' fur be plenty." "that un will," agreed tom, "an' 'twould not be wise for un t' be losin' a good three weeks o' huntin'. bob's a workin' lad, an' i'm not thinkin' you'll see he till open water comes." "oh," broke in emily, "an' don't un _really_ think bob's t' come? i been wishin' _so_ for un, an' 'twould be grand t' have he come while bessie's here." "bessie's thinkin' 'twould too," said tom, who could not let pass an opportunity to tease his daughter. they all looked at bessie, who blushed furiously, but said nothing, realizing that silence was the best means of diverting her father's attention from the subject, and preventing his further remarks. "well i'll have t' be goin'," said tom presently, pushing back from the table. "oh, sit down, man, an' bide a bit. there's nothin' t' take un back so soon. bide here th' night, can't un?" urged richard. "i were sayin' t' mr. macdonald as i'd be back t' th' post th' day, so promisin' i has t' go." "aye, an' un promised, though i were hopin' t' have un bide th' night." "when'll i be comin' for un, bessie?" asked tom. "oh, bessie must be bidin' a _long_ time," plead emily. "i've been wishin' t' have she _so_ much. please be leavin' she a _long_ time." "mother'll be needin' me i'm thinkin' in a week," said bessie, "though i'd like t' bide longer." "your mother'll not be needin' un, now th' men's gone. bide wi' emily a fortnight," her father suggested. "i'll take th' lass over when she's wantin' t' go," said richard. "'tis a rare treat t' emily t' have she here, an' th' change'll be doin' your lass good." so it was agreed, and tom drove away. it was a terrible disappointment to emily and her mother that bob did not come, but bessie's visit served to mitigate it to some extent, and her presence brightened the cabin very much. no one knew whether or not bob's failure to appear was regretted by bessie. that was her secret. however it may have been, she had a splendid visit with mrs. gray and emily, and the days rolled by very pleasantly, and when richard gray left for his trail again on the monday morning following her arrival the thought that bessie was with "th' little maid" gave him a sense of quiet satisfaction and security that he had not felt when he was away from them earlier in the winter. when douglas campbell came over one morning a week after bessie's arrival he found the atmosphere of gloom that he had noticed on his earlier visits had quite disappeared. mrs. gray seemed contented now, and emily was as happy as could be. douglas remained to have dinner with them. they had just finished eating and he had settled back to have a smoke before going home, admiring a new dress that bessie had made for emily's doll, and talking to the child, while mrs. gray and bessie cleared away the dishes, when the door opened and ed matheson appeared on the threshold. ed stood in the open door speechless, his face haggard and drawn, and his tall thin form bent slightly forward like a man carrying a heavy burden upon his shoulders. it was not necessary for ed to speak. the moment mrs. gray saw him she knew that he was the bearer of evil news. she tottered as though she would fall, then recovering herself she extended her arms towards him and cried in agony: "oh, my lad! my lad! what has happened to my lad!" "bob--bob"--faltered ed, "th'--wolves--got--un." he had nerved himself for this moment, and now the spell was broken he sat down upon a bench, and with his elbows upon his knees and his face in his big weather-browned hands, cried like a child. emily lay white and wild-eyed. she could not realize it all or understand it. it seemed for a moment as though mrs. gray would faint, and bessie, pale but self-possessed, supported her to a seat and tried gently to soothe her. douglas, too, did what he could to comfort, though there was little that he could do or say to relieve the mother's grief. at first mrs. gray simply moaned, "my lad--my lad--my lad----" upbraiding herself for ever letting him go away from home; but finally tears--the blessed safety-valve of grief--came and washed away the first effects of the shock. then she became quite calm, and insisted upon hearing every smallest detail of ed's story, and he related what had happened step by step, beginning with the arrival of himself and dick at the river tilt on christmas eve and the discovery that bob's furs had been removed, and passed on to the finding of the remains by the big boulder in the marsh, mrs. gray interrupting now and again to ask a fuller explanation here and there. when ed told of gathering up the fragments of torn clothing, she asked to see them at once. ed hesitated, and douglas suggested that she wait until a later time when her nerves were steadier; but she was determined, and insisted upon seeing them without delay, and there was nothing to do but produce them. contrary to their expectations, she made no scene when they were placed before her, and though her hand trembled a little was quite collected as she took up the blood-stained pieces of cloth and examined them critically one by one. finally she raised her head and announced: "none o' _them_ were ever a part o' bob's clothes." "whose now may un be if not bob's?" asked ed, sceptical of her decision. "none of un were _bob's_. i were makin' all o' bob's clothes, an'--i--_knows_: i _knows_," she insisted. "but th' flat sled were bob's, an' th' tent an' other things," said ed. "th' _clothes_ were not bob's--an' bob were not killed by wolves--my lad is livin'--somewheres--i _feels_ my lad is livin'," she asserted. then ed told of the two axes found--one on the toboggan and the other on the snow--and mrs. gray raised another question. "why," she asked, "had he two axes?" it was explained that he had probably taken one in on a previous trip and cached it. but she argued that if he needed an axe going in on the previous trip he must have needed it coming out too, and it was not likely that he would have cached it. besides, she was quite sure that he had but one axe with him in the bush, as there was no extra axe for him to take when he was leaving home; and douglas said that when he left the trail at the close of the previous season he had left no axe in any of the tilts. "richard 'll know un when he comes," said she. "richard'll know bob's axe." the mother was still more positive now that the remains they had found were not bob's remains, and ed and douglas, though equally positive that she was mistaken, let her hold the hope--or rather belief--that bob still lived. she asserted that he was alive as one states a fact that one knows is beyond question. the circumstantial evidence against her theory was strong, but a woman's intuition stands not for reason, and her conclusions she will hold against the world. "i must be takin' th' word in t' richard though 'tis a sore trial t' do it," said douglas, preparing at once to go. "i'll be findin' un on th' trail. keep courage, mary, until we comes. 'twill be but four days at furthest," he added as he was going out of the door. ed left immediately after for his home, to spend a day or two before returning to his inland trail, and mrs. gray and emily and bessie were left alone again in a gloom of sorrow that approached despair. that night long after the light was out and they had gone to bed, mrs. gray, who was still lying awake with her trouble, heard emily softly speak: "mother." she stole over to emily's couch and kissed the child's cheek. "mother, an' th' wolves killed bob, won't he be an angel now?" "bob's livin'--somewheres--child, an' i'm prayin' th' lard in his mercy t' care of th' lad. th' lard knows where un is, lass, an' th' lard'll sure not be forgettin' he." "but," she insisted, "he's an angel now _if_ th' wolves killed un?" "yes, dear." "an' th' lard lets angels come sometimes t' see th' ones they loves, don't he, mother?" "be quiet now, lass." "but he does?" persisted the child. "aye, he does." "then if bob were killed, mother, he'll sure be comin' t' see us. his angel'd never be restin' easy in heaven wi'out comin' t' see us, for he knows how sore we longs t' see un." the mother drew the child to her heart and sobbed. xv in the wigwam of sishetakushin day after day the indians travelled to the northward, drawing their goods after them on toboggans, over frozen rivers and lakes, or through an ever scantier growth of trees. with every mile they traversed bob's heart grew heavier in his bosom, for he was constantly going farther from home, and the prospect of return was fading away with each sunset. he knew that they were moving northward, for always the north star lay before them when they halted for the night, and always a wilder, more unnatural country surrounded them. finally a westerly turn was taken, and he wondered what their goal might be. cold and bitter was the weather. the great limitless wilderness was frozen into a deathlike silence, and solemn and awful was the vast expanse of white that lay everywhere around them. they, they alone, it seemed, lived in all the dreary world. the icy hand of january had crushed all other creatures into oblivion. no deer, no animals of any kind crossed their trail. their food was going rapidly, and they were now reduced to a scanty ration of jerked venison. at last they halted one day by the side of a brook and pitched their wigwam. then leaving the women to cut wood and put the camp in order, the two indians shouldered their guns and axes, and made signs to bob to follow them, which he gladly did. they ascended the frozen stream for several miles, when suddenly they came upon a beaver dam and the dome-shaped house of the animals themselves, nearly hidden under the deep covering of snow. the house had apparently been located earlier in the season, for now the indians went directly to it as a place they were familiar with. here they began at once to clear away the snow from the ice at one side of the house, using their snow-shoes as shovels. when this was done, a pole was cut, and to the end of the pole a long iron spike was fastened. with this improvised implement sishetakushin began to pick away the ice where the snow had been cleared from it, while mookoomahn cut more poles. [illustration: "it was dangerous work"] though the ice was fully four feet thick sishetakushin soon reached the water. then the other poles that mookoomahn had cut were driven in close to the house. bob understood that this was done to prevent the escape of the animals, and that they were closing the door, which was situated so far down that it would always be below the point where ice would form, so that the beavers could go in and out at will. after these preparations were completed the indians cleared the snow from the top of the beaver house, and then broke an opening into the house itself. into this aperture sishetakushin peered for a moment, then his hand shot down, and like a flash reappeared holding a beaver by the hind legs, and before the animal had recovered sufficiently from its surprise to bring its sharp teeth into action in self-defense, the indian struck it a stinging blow over the head and killed it. then in like manner another animal was captured and killed. it was dangerous work and called for agility and self-possession, for had the indian made a miscalculation or been one second too slow the beaver's teeth, which crush as well as cut, would have severed his wrist or arm. there were two more beavers--a male and a female--in the house, but these were left undisturbed to raise a new family, and the stakes that had closed the door were removed. this method of catching beavers was quite new to bob, who had always seen his father and the other hunters of the bay capture them in steel traps. it was his first lesson in the indian method of hunting. that evening the flesh of the beavers went into the kettle, and their oily tails--the greatest tidbit of all--were fried in a pan. the indians made a feast time of it, and never ceased eating the livelong night. this day of plenty came in cheerful contrast to the cheerless nights with scanty suppers following the weary days of plodding that had preceded. the glowing fire in the centre, the appetizing smell of the kettle and sizzling fat in the pan, and the relaxation and mellow warmth as they reclined upon the boughs brought a sense of real comfort and content. the next day they remained in camp and rested, but the following morning resumed the dreary march to the westward. after many more days of travelling--bob had lost all measure of time--they reached the shores of a great lake that stretched away until in the far distance its smooth white surface and the sky were joined. the indians pointed at the expanse of snow-covered ice, and repeated many times, "petitsikapau--petitsikapau," and bob decided that this must be what they called the lake; but the name was wholly unfamiliar to him. in like manner they had indicated that a river they had travelled upon for some distance farther back, after crossing a smaller lake, was called "ashuanipi," but he had never heard of it before. the wigwam was pitched upon the shores of petitsikapau lake, where there was a thick growth of willows upon the tender tops of which hundreds of ptarmigans--the snow-white grouse of the arctic--were feeding; and rabbits had the snow tramped flat amongst the underbrush, offering an abundance of fresh food to the hunters, a welcome change from the unvaried fare of dried venison. bob drew from the elaborate preparations that were made that they were to stop here for a considerable time. snow was banked high against the skin covering of the wigwam to keep out the wind more effectually, an unusually thick bed of spruce boughs was spread within, and a good supply of wood was cut and neatly piled outside. the women did all the heavy work and drudgery about camp, and it troubled bob not a little to see them working while the men were idle. several times he attempted to help them, but his efforts were met with such a storm of protestations and disapproval, not only from the men, but the women also, that he finally refrained. "'tis strange now th' women isn't wantin' t' be helped," bob remarked to himself. "mother's always likin' t' have me help she." it was quite evident that the men considered this camp work beneath their dignity as hunters, and neither did they wish bob, to whom they had apparently taken a great fancy, to do the work of a squaw. they had, to all appearances, accepted him as one of the family and treated him in all respects as such, and, he noted this with growing apprehension, as though he were always to remain with them. they began now to initiate him into the mysteries of their trapping methods, which were quite different from those with which he was accustomed. instead of the steel trap they used the deadfall--wa-neã©-gan--and the snare--nug-wah-gun--and bob won the quick commendation and plainly shown admiration of the indians by the facility with which he learned to make and use them, and his prompt success in capturing his fair share of martens, which were fairly numerous in the woods back of the lake. but when he took his gun and shot some ptarmigans one day, they gave him to understand that this was a wasteful use of ammunition, and showed him how they killed the birds with bow and arrow. to shoot the arrows straight, however, was an art that he could not acquire readily, and his efforts afforded sishetakushin and mookoomahn much amusement. "the's no shootin' straight wi' them things," bob declared to himself, after several unsuccessful attempts to hit a ptarmigan. "leastways i'm not knowin' how. but th' injuns is shootin' un fine, an' i'm wonderin' now how they does un." with no one that could understand him bob had unconsciously dropped into the habit of talking a great deal to himself. it was not very satisfactory, however, and there were always questions arising that he wished to ask. he had, therefore, devoted himself since his advent amongst the indians to learning their language, and every day he acquired new words and phrases. manikawan would pronounce the names of objects for him and have him repeat them after her until he could speak them correctly, laughing merrily at his blunders. it does not require a large vocabulary to make oneself understood, and in an indescribably short time bob had picked up enough indian to converse brokenly, and one day, shortly after the arrival at petitsikapau he found he was able to explain to sishetakushin where he came from and his desire to return to the big hill trail and the grand river country. "it is not good to dwell on the great river of the evil spirits" (the grand river), said the indian. "be contented in the wigwam of your brothers." bob parleyed and plead with them, and when he finally insisted that they take him back to the place where they had found him, he was met with the objection that it was "many sleeps towards the rising sun," that the deer had left the land as he had seen for himself, and if they turned back their kettle would have no flesh and their stomachs would be empty. "we are going," said sishetakushin, "where the deer shall be found like the trees of the forest, and there our brother shall feast and be happy." so bob's last hope of reaching home vanished. manikawan's kindness towards him grew, and she was most attentive to his comfort. she gave him the first helping of "nab-wi"--stew--from the kettle, and kept his clothing in good repair. his old moccasins she replaced with new ones fancifully decorated with beads, and his much-worn duffel socks with warm ones made of rabbit skins. everything that the wilderness provided he had from her hand. but still he was not happy. there was an always present longing for the loved ones in the little cabin at wolf bight. he never could get out of his mind his mother's sad face on the morning he left her, dear patient little emily on her couch, and his father, who needed his help so much, working alone about the house or on the trail. and sometimes he wondered if bessie ever thought of him, and if she would be sorry when she heard he was lost. "manikawan an' all th' injuns be wonderful kind, but 'tis not like bein' home," he would often say sadly to himself when he lay very lonely at night upon his bed of boughs and skins. at first manikawan's attentions were rather agreeable to bob, but he was not accustomed to being waited upon, and in a little while they began to annoy him and make him feel ill at ease, and finally to escape from them he rarely ever remained in the wigwam during daylight hours. "i'm wishin' she'd not be troublin' wi' me so--i'm not wantin' un," he declared almost petulantly at times when the girl did something for him that he preferred to do himself. mornings he would wander down through the valley attending to his deadfalls and snares, and afternoons tramp over the hills in the hope of seeing caribou. one afternoon two weeks after the arrival at petitsikapau he was skirting a precipitous hill not far from camp, when suddenly the snow gave way under his feet and he slipped over a low ledge. he did not fall far, and struck a soft drift below, and though startled at the unexpected descent was not injured. when he got upon his feet again he noticed what seemed a rather peculiar opening in the rock near the foot of the ledge, where his fall had broken away the snow, and upon examining it found that the crevice extended back some eight or ten feet and then broadened into a sort of cavern. "'tis a strange place t' be in th' rocks," he commented. "i'm thinkin' i'll have a look at un." kicking off his snow-shoes and standing his gun outside he proceeded to crawl in on all fours. when he reached the point of broadening he found the cavern within so dark that he could see nothing of its interior, and he advanced cautiously, extending one arm in front of him that he might not strike his head against protruding rocks. all at once his hand came in contact with something soft and warm. he drew it back with a jerk, and his heart stood still. he had touched the shaggy coat of a bear. he was in a bear's den and within two feet of the sleeping animal. he expected the next moment to be crushed under the paws of the angry beast, and was quite astonished when he found that it had not been aroused. cautiously and noiselessly bob backed quickly out of the dangerous place. the moment he was out and found himself on his feet again with his gun in his hands his courage returned, and he began to make plans for the capture of the animal. "'twould be fine now t' kill un an' 'twould please th' injuns wonderful t' get th' meat," he said. "i'm wonderin' could i get un--if 'tis a bear." he stooped and looked into the cave again, but it was as dark as night in there, and he could see nothing of the bear. then he cut a long pole with his knife and reached in with it until he felt the soft body. a strong prod brought forth a protesting growl. bruin did not like to have his slumbers disturbed. "sure '_tis_ a bear an' that's wakenin' un," he commented. bob prodded harder and the growls grew louder and angrier. "he's not wantin' t' get out o' bed," said bob prodding vigorously. finally there was a movement within the den, and bob sprang back and made ready with his gun. he had barely time to get into position when the head of an enormous black bear appeared in the cave entrance, its eyes flashing fire and showing fight. bob's heart beat excitedly, but he kept his nerve and took a steady aim. the animal was not six feet away from him when he fired. then he turned and ran down the hill, never looking behind until he was fully two hundred yards from the den and realized that there was no sound in the rear. the bear was not in sight and he cautiously retraced his steps until he saw the animal lying where it had fallen. the bullet had taken it squarely between the eyes and killed it instantly. this was the first bear that bob had ever killed unaided and he was highly elated at his success. it was not an easy task to get the carcass out of the rock crevice, but he finally accomplished it and outside quickly skinned the bear and cut the meat into pieces of convenient size to haul away on a toboggan when he should return for it. then, with the skin as a trophy, he triumphantly turned towards camp. night had fallen when he reached the wigwam and sishetakushin and mookoomahn had already arrived after their day's hunt. it was a proud moment for bob when he entered the lodge and threw down the bear skin for their inspection. they spread it out and examined it, and a great deal of talking ensued. bob, in the best indian he could command, explained where he had found the "mushku" and how he had killed it, and his story was listened to with intense interest. when he was through sishetakushin said that the "snow brother," as they called bob, was a great hunter, and should be an indian; for only an indian would have the courage to attack a bear in its den single handed. bob had risen very perceptibly in their estimation. all doubt of his skill and prowess as a hunter had been removed. he had won a new place, and was now to be considered as their equal in the chase. the following morning the two indians assisted bob to haul the bear's meat to camp. no part of it was allowed to waste. in the wigwam it was thawed and then the flesh stripped from the bones, and that not required for immediate use was permitted to freeze again that it might keep sweet until needed. the skull was thoroughly cleaned and fastened to a high branch of a tree as an offering to the manitou. sishetakushin explained to bob that unless this was done the great spirit would punish them by driving all other bears beyond the reach of their guns and traps in future. for several days a storm had been threatening, and that night it broke with all the terrifying fury of the north. the wind shrieked through the forest and shook the wigwam as though it would tear it away. the air was filled with a swirling, blinding mass of snow and any one venturing a dozen paces from the lodge could hardly have found his way back to it again. for three days the storm lasted, and the indians turned these three days into a period of feasting. a big kettle of bear's meat always hung over the fire, and surrounding it pieces of the meat were impaled upon sticks to roast. it seemed to bob as though the indians would never have enough to eat. finally the storm cleared, and then it was discovered that the ptarmigans and rabbits, which had been so plentiful and constituted their chief source of food supply, had disappeared as if by magic. not a ptarmigan fluttered before the hunter, and no rabbit tracks broke the smooth white snow beneath the bushes. the jerked venison was gone and the only food remaining was the bear meat. a hurried consultation was held, and it was decided to push on still farther to the northward in the hope of meeting the invisible herds of caribou that somewhere in those limitless, frozen barrens were wandering unmolested. xvi one of the tribe if bob gray had held any secret hope that the indians would eventually listen to his plea to guide him back to the big hill trail it was mercilessly swept away by the next move, for again they faced steadily towards the north. whenever he thought of home a lump came into his throat, but he always swallowed it bravely and said to himself: "'tis wrong now t' be grievin' when i has so much t' be thankful for. bill'll be takin' th' silver fox an' other fur out, and when father sells un 'twill pay for emily's goin' t' th' doctor. th' lard saved me from freezin', an' i'm well an' th' injuns be wonderful good t' me. maybe some time they'll be goin' back th' big hill way--maybe 'twill be next winter--an' then i'll be gettin' home." in this manner the hope of youth always conquered, and his desperate situation was to some extent forgotten in the pictures he drew for himself of his reunion with the loved ones in the uncertain "sometime" of the future. on and on they travelled through the endless, boundless white, over wind-swept rocky hills so inhospitably barren that even the snow could not find a lodgment on them, or over wide plains where the few trees that grew had been stunted and gnarled into mere shrubs by winter blasts. on every hand the mountains began to raise their ragged austere heads like grim giant sentinels placed there to guard the way. finally they turned into a pass, which brought them, on the other side of the ridge it led through, to a comparatively well-wooded valley down which a wide river wound its way northward. the trees were larger than any bob had seen since leaving the big hill trail, and this new valley seemed almost familiar to him. as they emerged from the pass a wolf cry, long and weird, came from a distant mountainside and broke the wilderness stillness, which had become almost insufferable, and to the lad even this wild cry held a note of companionship that was pleasant to hear after the long and deathlike quiet that had prevailed. they took to the river ice and travelled on it for several miles when, rounding a bend, they suddenly came upon a cluster of half a dozen deerskin wigwams standing in the spruce trees just above the river bank. an indian from one of the lodges discovered their approach, and gave a shout. instantly men, women and children sprang into view and came running out to welcome them. it was a curious, medley crowd. the men were clad in long, decorated deerskin coats such as sishetakushin and mookoomahn wore, and the women in deerskin skirts reaching a little way below the knees, and all wearing the fringed buckskin leggings. the greeting was cordial and noisy, everybody shaking hands with the new arrivals, talking in the high key characteristic of them, and laughing a great deal. two of the men embraced sishetakushin and mookoomahn and shed copious tears of joy over them. these two men it appeared were mookoomahn's brothers. the women were not so demonstrative, but showed their delight in a ceaseless flow of words. when the first greetings were over sishetakushin told the assembled indians how bob had been found sleeping in the snow, and that the great spirit had sent the white snow brother to dwell in their lodges as one of them. after this introduction and a rather magnified description of his accomplishments as a hunter they all shook bob's hand and welcomed him as one of the tribe. a few caribou had been killed, and the travellers received gifts of the frozen meat with a good proportion of fat, and that night a great feast was held in their behalf. with plenty to eat there was no occasion to hunt and the indians were living in idleness during the intensely cold months of january and february, rarely venturing out of the wigwams. this was not only for their comfort, but because the fur bearing animals lie quiet during this cold period of the winter and the hunt would therefore yield small reward for the exposure and suffering it would entail. they had an abundance of tobacco and tea. sishetakushin and his family had been without these luxuries, and it seemed to bob that he had never tasted anything half so delicious as the first cup of tea he drank. his indian friends could not understand at first his refusal of their proffered gifts of "stemmo"--tobacco--but he told them finally that it would make him sick, and then they accepted his excuse and laughed at him good naturedly. manikawan had never ceased her attentions to bob, and the others of her family seemed to have come to an understanding that it was her especial duty to look after his comfort. from the first she had been much troubled that he had only his cloth adikey instead of a deerskin coat such as her father and mookoomahn wore, and she often expressed her regret that there was no deerskin with which to make him one. he insisted at these times that his adikey was quite warm enough, but she always shook her head in dissent, for she could not believe it, and would say, "no, the snow brother is cold. manikawan will make him warm clothes when the deer are found." on the very night of their arrival at the camp she went amongst the wigwams and begged from the women some skins of the fall killing, tanned with the hair on, with the flesh side as fine and white and soft as chamois. in two days she had manufactured these into a coat and had it ready for decoration. it was a very handsome garment, sewn with sinew instead of thread, and having a hood attached to it similar to the hoods worn by sishetakushin and mookoomahn. with brushes made from pointed sticks she painted around the bottom of the coat a foot-wide border in intricate design, introducing red, blue, brown and yellow colours that she had compounded herself the previous summer from fish roe, minerals and oil. other decorations and ornamentations were drawn upon the front and arms of the garment before she considered it quite complete. then she surveyed her work with commendable pride, and with a great show of satisfaction presented it and a pair of the regulation buckskin leggings to bob. she was quite delighted when he put his new clothes on, and made no secret of her admiration of his improved appearance. "now," she said, "the brother is dressed as becomes him and looks very fine and brave." "'tis fine an' warm," bob assented, "an' i'm thinkin' i'm lookin' like an injun sure enough." bob's aversion to manikawan's attentions was wearing off, and he was taking a new interest in her. he very often found himself looking at her and admiring her dark, pretty face and tall, supple form. sometimes she would glance up quickly and catch him at it, and smile, for it pleased her. then he would feel a bit foolish and blush through the tan on his face; for he knew that she read his thoughts. but neither he nor manikawan ever voiced the admiration that they felt for each other. bob was lounging in the wigwam one day a week or so after the arrival at the camp when he heard some one excitedly shouting, "atuk! atuk!" he grabbed his gun and ran outside where he met sishetakushin rushing in from an adjoining wigwam. the indian called to him to leave his gun behind and get a spear and follow. he could see that something of great moment had occurred and he obeyed. the indians from the lodges, all armed with spears, were running towards a knoll just below the camp, and bob and sishetakushin and mookoomahn joined them. when they reached the top of the knoll bob halted for a moment in astonishment. never before had he beheld anything to compare with what he saw below. a herd of caribou containing hundreds--yes thousands--like a great living sea, was moving to the eastward. some of the indians were already running ahead on their snow-shoes to turn the animals into the deep snowdrifts of a ravine, while the other attacked the herd with their spears from the side. the caribou changed their course when they saw their enemies, and plunged into the ravine, those behind crowding those in front, which sank into the drifts until they were quite helpless. from every side the indians rushed upon the deer and the slaughter began. bob was carried away with the excitement of the hunt, and many of the deer fell beneath his spear thrusts. the killing went on blindly, indiscriminately, without regard to the age or sex or number killed, until finally the main herd extricated itself and ran in wild panic over the river ice and out of reach of the pursuers. in the brief interval between the discovery of the deer and the escape of the herd over four hundred animals had fallen under the ruthless spears. when bob realized the extent of the wicked slaughter he was disgusted with himself for having taken part in it. "'twas wicked t' kill so many of un when we're not needin' un, an' i hopes th' lard'll forgive me for helpin'," he said contritely. [illustration: "saw her standing in the bright moonlight"] aside from the inhumanity of the thing, it was a terrible waste of food, for it would only be possible to utilize a comparatively small proportion of the meat of the slaughtered animals. perhaps seventy-five of the carcasses were skinned, after which the flesh was stripped from the bones and hung in thin slabs from the poles inside the wigwams to dry. the tongues were removed from all the slaughtered animals, for they are considered a great delicacy by the indians; and some of the leg bones were taken for the marrow they contained. the great bulk of the meat, however, was left for the wolves and foxes, or to rot in the sun when summer came. the deer killing was followed by a season of feasting, as is always the case amongst the indians after a successful hunt. in every wigwam a kettle of stewing venison was constantly hanging, night and day over the fire, and marrow bones roasting in the coals, and for several days the men did nothing but eat and smoke and drink tea. it was, however, a busy time for the women. besides curing the meat and tongues, they rendered marrow grease from the bones and put it up neatly in bladders for future use; and it fell to their lot, also, to dress and tan the hides into buckskin. the passing deer herds brought in their wake packs of big gray and black timber wolves, and the country was soon infested with these animals. at night their howls were heard, and they came boldly to the scene of the caribou slaughter and fattened upon the discarded carcasses of the animals. now and again one was shot. with plenty to eat, they were, however, comparatively harmless, and never molested the camp. february was drawing to a close when one day sishetakushin, mookoomahn and two other indians packed their toboggans preparatory to going on an excursion. bob noticed the preparations with interest, and inquired the meaning of them. "the tea and tobacco are nearly gone, and we are in need of powder and ball," sishetakushin answered. to get these things bob knew they must go to a trading post, and here, he decided, was a possible opportunity for him to find a means of reaching home. he asked the indians at once for permission to accompany them. there was no objection to this from any of them, though they told him it would be a tiresome journey, that they would travel fast, and be back in a few days. but bob did not propose to let any chance of meeting white men pass him, and he hurriedly got his things together for the expedition. he had no intimation of the name or location of the post they were going to further than that the indians told him they were going to mr. macpherson, who was, he felt sure, a hudson's bay company factor, and he believed that if he could once reach one of the company's forts a way would be shown him to get to eskimo bay. that night was one of excitement and anticipation for bob. manikawan seemed to read his thoughts, for the whole evening she looked troubled, and her eyes were wet when bob said good-bye to her in the morning. as the little party turned down upon the river ice, he looked back once and saw her standing near the wigwam, in the bright moonlight, her slender figure outlined against the snow, and he waved his hand to her. he never knew that for many days afterwards, when the dusk of evening came, she stole alone out of the wigwam and down the trail where he had disappeared to watch for his return, nor how lonely she was and how she brooded over his loss when she knew that she should never see her white brother of the snow again. xvii still farther north bob and the indians travelled in single file, with mookoomahn leading, and kept to the wide, smooth pathway that marked the place where the river lay imprisoned beneath ice a fathom thick. the wind had swept away the loose snow and beaten down that which remained into a hard and compact mass upon the frozen river bed, making snow-shoeing here much easier than in the spruce forest that lay behind the willow brush along the banks. the indians walked with the long rapid stride that is peculiar to them, and which the white man finds hard to simulate, and good traveller though he was bob had to adopt a half run to keep their pace. they drew but two lightly loaded toboggans, and unencumbered by the wigwam and other heavy camp equipment, and with no trailing squaws to hamper their speed, an even, unbroken gait was maintained as mile after mile slipped behind them. not a breath of air was stirring, and the absolute quiet that prevailed was broken only by the moving men and the rhythmic creak, creak of the snow-shoes as they came in contact with the hard packed snow. the very atmosphere seemed frozen, so intense was the cold. the moon like a disk of burnished silver set in a steel blue sky cast a weird, metallic light over the congealed wilderness. the hoar frost that lay upon the bushes along the river bank sparkled like filmy draperies of spun silver, and transformed the bushes into an unearthly multitude of shining spirits that had gathered there from the dark, mysterious forest which lay behind them, to watch the passing strangers. presently the light of dawn began to diffuse itself upon the world, and the spirit creations were replaced by substantial banks of frost-encrusted willows. in a little while the sun peeped timorously over the eastern hills, but, half obscured by a haze of frost flakes which hung suspended in the air, gave out no warmth to the frozen earth. no halt was made until noon. then a fire was built and a kettle of ice was melted and tea brewed. bob was hungry, and the jerked venison, with its delicate nutty flavour, and the hot tea, were delicious. the latter, poured boiling from the kettle, left a sediment of ice in the bottom of the tin cup before it was drained, so great was the cold. after an hour's rest they hit the trail again and never relaxed their speed for a moment until sunset. then they sought the shelter of the spruce woods behind the river bank, and in a convenient spot for a fire cleared a circular space, several feet in circumference, by shovelling the snow back with their snow-shoes, forming a high bank around their bivouac as a protection from the wind, should it rise. at one side a fire was built, and in front of the fire a thick bed of boughs spread. while the others were engaged in these preparations bob and sishetakushin cut a supply of wood for the night. it was quite dark before they all settled themselves around the fire for supper. two frying pans were now produced, and from a haunch of venison, frozen as hard as a block of wood, thin chips were cut with an axe, and with ample pieces of fat were soon sizzling in the pans and filling the air with an appetizing odour, and in spite of the bleak surroundings the place assumed a degree of comfort and hospitality. after supper the indians squatted around the fire on deerskins spread upon the boughs, smoking their pipes and telling stories, while bob reclined upon the soft robes that manikawan had thoughtfully provided him with, watching the light play over their dark faces framed in long black hair, and thought of the indian girl and wondered if he was always to live amongst them, and if he would ever become accustomed to their wild, rude life. finally they lay down close together, with their feet towards the fire, and wrapped their heads and shoulders closely in the skins, leaving their moccasined feet uncovered, to be warmed by the blaze, and the lad was soon lost in dreams of the snug cabin at wolf bight. once during the night he awoke and arose to replenish the fire. the stars were looking down upon them, cold and distant, and the wilderness seemed very solemn and quiet when he resumed his place amongst the sleeping indians. they were on their way again by moonlight the following morning. shortly after daybreak they turned out of the river bed and towards noon came upon some snow-shoe tracks. a little later they passed a steel trap, in which a white arctic fox straggled for freedom. they halted a moment for sishetakushin to press his knee upon its side to kill it and then went on. the fox he left in the trap, however, for the hunter to whom it belonged. this was the first steel trap that bob had seen since coming amongst the indians and he drew from its presence here that they must be approaching a trading station where traps were obtainable and in use by the hunters. in the middle of the afternoon they turned into a komatik track, and bob's heart gave a bound of joy. "sure we're gettin' handy t' th' coast!" he exclaimed. they would soon find white men, he was sure. the track led them on for a mile or so, and then they heard a dog's howl and a moment later came out upon two snow igloos. eskimo men, women, and children emerged on their hands and knees from the low, snow-tunnel entrance of the igloos at their approach, but when they saw that the travellers were a party of indians, gave no invitation to them to enter, and said nothing until bob called "oksunie" to them--a word of greeting that he had learned from the bay folk. then they called to him "oksunie, oksunie," and began to talk amongst themselves. "they're rare wild lookin' huskies," thought bob. as much as bob would have liked to stop, he did not do so, for the indians stalked past at a rapid pace, never by word or look showing that they had seen the igloos or the eskimos. these new people, particularly the women, who wore trousers and carried babies in large hoods hanging on their backs, did not dress like any eskimos that bob had ever seen before. nor had he ever before seen the snow houses, though he had heard of them and knew what they were. the dogs, too, were large, and more like wolves in appearance than those the bay folk used, and the komatik was narrower but much longer and heavier than those he was accustomed to. he was surely in a new and strange land. more igloos were seen during the afternoon, but they were passed as the first had been, and at night the party bivouacked in the open as they had done the night before. on the morning of the third day they passed into a stretch of barren, treeless, rolling country, and before midday turned upon a well-beaten komatik trail, which they followed for a couple of miles, when it swung sharply to the left towards the river, and as they turned around a ledge of rocks at the top of a low ridge a view met bob that made him shout with joy, and hasten his pace. at his feet, in the field of snow, lay a post of the hudson's bay company. xviii a mission of trust as bob looked down upon the whitewashed buildings of the post, his sensation was very much like that of a shipwrecked sailor who has for a long time been drifting hopelessly about upon a trackless sea in a rudderless boat, and suddenly finds himself safe in harbour. the lad had never seen anything in his whole life that looked so comfortable as that little cluster of log buildings with the smoke curling from the chimney tops, and the general air of civilization that surrounded them. he did not know where he was, nor how far from home; but he did know that this was the habitation of white men, and the cloud of utter helplessness that had hung over him for so long was suddenly swept away and his sky was clear and bright again. a man clad in a white adikey and white moleskin trousers emerged from one of the buildings, paused for a moment to gaze at bob and his companions as they approached, and then reentered the building. as they descended the hill the indians turned to an isolated cabin which stood somewhat apart from the main group of buildings and to the eastward of them, but bob ran down to the one into which the man had disappeared. his heart was all aflutter with excitement and expectancy. as he approached the door, it suddenly opened, and there appeared before him a tall, middle-aged man with full, sandy beard and a kindly face. bob felt intuitively that this was the factor of the post, and he said very respectfully, "good day, sir." "good day, good day," said the man. "i thought at first you were an indian. come in." bob entered and found himself in the trader's office. at one side were two tables that served as desks, and on a shelf against the wall behind them rested a row of musty ledgers and account books. benches in lieu of chairs surrounded a large stove in the centre. "take off your skin coat and sit down," invited the trader, who was, indeed, mr. macpherson of whom the indians had told. "thank you, sir," said bob. when he was finally seated mr. mcpherson asked: "that was sishetakushin's crowd you came with, wasn't it?" "yes, sir," bob answered. "where did you hail from? it's something new to see a white man come out of the bush with the indians." "from eskimo bay, sir, an' what place may this be?" "eskimo bay! eskimo bay! why, this is ungava! how in the world did you ever get across the country? what's your name?" "my name's bob gray, sir, an' i lives at wolf bight." then bob went on, prompted now and again by the factor's questions, to tell the story of his adventures. "well," said mr. macpherson, "you've had a wonderful escape from freezing and death and a remarkable experience. you'd better go over to the men's house and they'll put you up there. come back after you've had dinner and we'll talk your case over. the dinner bell is ringing now," he added, as the big bell began to clang. "perhaps i'd better go over with you and show you the way." the men's house, as the servants' quarters were called, was a one-story log house but a few steps from the office. as bob and mr. macpherson entered it, a big man with a bushy red beard, and a tall brawny man with clean shaven face, both perhaps twenty-five or thirty years of age, and both with "scot" written all over their countenances, were in the act of sitting down to an uncovered table, while an ugly old indian hag was dishing up a savory stew of ptarmigan. bob's eye took in a plate heaped high with white bread in the centre of the table and he mentally resolved that it should not be there when he had finished dinner. "here's some company for you," announced the factor. "ungava bob just ran over from eskimo bay to pay us a visit. take care of him. this," continued he by way of introduction, indicating the red-headed man, "is eric the red, our carpenter, and this," turning to the other, "is the duke of wellington, our blacksmith. fill up, ungava bob, and come over to the office and have a talk when you've finished dinner." "sit doon, sit doon," said the red-whiskered man, adding, as mr. macpherson closed the door behind him, "my true name's sandy craig and th' blacksmith here is jamie lunan. th' boss ha' a way o' namin' every mon t' suit hisself. now, what's your true name, lad? 'tis not ungava bob." "bob gray, an' i comes from wolf bight." "now, where can wolf bight be?" asked sandy. "in eskimo bay, sir." "aye, aye, eskimo bay. 'tis a lang way ye are from eskimo bay! th' ship folk tell o' eskimo bay a many hundred miles t' th' suthard. an' jamie an' me be a lang way fra' petherhead. be helpin' yesel' now, lad. ha' some partridge an' ye maun be starvin' for bread, eatin' only th' grub o' th' heathen injuns this lang while," said he, passing the plate, and adding in apology, "'tis na' such bread as we ha' in auld scotland. injun women canna make bread wi' th' scotch lassies an' we ne'er ha' a bit o' oatmeal or oat-cake. 'tis bread, though. an' how could ye live wi' th' injuns? 'tis bad enough t' bide here wi' na' neighbours but th' greasy huskies an' durty injuns comin' now an' again, but we has some civilized grub t' eat--sugar an' molasses an' butter, such as 'tis." sandy and jamie plied bob with all sorts of questions about eskimo bay and his life with the indians, and they did not fail to tell him a good deal about peterhead, their scotland home, and both bewailed loudly the foolish desire for adventure that had induced them to leave it to be exiled in ungava amongst the heathen eskimos and indians in a land where "nine minths o' th' year be winter an' th' ither three remainin' minths infested wi' th' worst plagues o' egypt, referrin' t' th' flies an' nippers (mosquitoes)." strange and new it all was, and while he ate and talked, bob took in his surroundings. the room was not unlike the post kitchen at eskimo bay, though not so spotlessly clean. besides the table there were two benches, four rough, home-made chairs and a big box stove that crackled cheerily. at one side three bunks were built against the wall and were spread with heavy woollen blankets. two chests stood near the bunks and several guns rested upon pegs against the wall. upon ropes stretched above the stove numerous duffel socks and mittens hung to dry. the indian woman passed in and out through a passageway that led from the side of the room opposite the door at which he had entered and her kitchen was evidently on the other side of the passageway. bob did not forget his resolution as to the bread, to which was added the luxury of butter, and more than once the indian woman had to replenish the plate. when they arose from the table jamie pointed out to bob the bunk that he was to occupy. then, while they smoked their pipes, they gossiped about the post doings until the bell warned them that it was time to return to their work. in accordance with mr. macpherson's instructions bob walked over to the factor's office where he found a young man of eighteen or nineteen years of age writing at one of the desks. "sit down," said he, looking up. "mr. macpherson will be in shortly. you're the young fellow just arrived, i suppose?" "yes, sir," said bob. "you've had a long journey, i hear, and must be glad to get out. when did you leave home?" "in september, sir, when i goes t' my trail." "i came here on the _eric_ in september, and if you want to see home as badly as i do you're pretty anxious to get back there. but there isn't any chance of getting away from here till the ship comes. this is the last place god ever made and the loneliest. what did you say your name is?" "bob gray, sir." "well, mr. macpherson will call you something else, but don't mind that. he has a new name for every one. he calls sishetakushin, one of the indians you came in with, abraham lincoln because he's so tall, and one of the stout eskimos is grover cleveland. that's the name of an american president. mr. macpherson gets the papers every year and keeps posted. he received, on the ship, all last year's issues of a new york paper called the _sun_ besides a great packet of scotch and english papers. but this _sun_ he thinks more of than any of them and every morning he picks out the paper for that date the year before and reads it as though it had just been delivered. one year behind, but just as fresh here. he finds a lot of new names in 'em to give the eskimos and indians and the rest of us that way. i'm secretary bayard, whoever he may be. i don't read the american papers much. the chief clerk is lord salisbury, the new premier. you know the conservatives downed the liberals, and gladstone is out. good enough for him, too, for meddling in the irish question. i'm a conservative, or i would be if i was home. we don't have a chance to be anything here. now, i suppose you----" here mr. macpherson entered and the loquacious secretary bayard became suddenly engrossed in his work. the factor opened a door leading into a small room to the right. "come in here, ungava bob," said he, "and we'll have a talk. now," he continued when they were seated, "what do you think you'll do?" "i don't know, sir. i wants t' get home wonderful bad," said bob. "yes, yes, i suppose you do. but you're a long way from home. it looks as though you'll have to stay here till the ship comes next summer. i can send you back with it." "'tis a long while t' be bidin' here, sir, an' i'm fearin' as mother'll be worryin'." "there's no way out of it that i can see, though. i'll give you work to do to pay for your keep, and i'm afraid that's the best we can do unless," continued the factor, thoughtfully "unless you go with the mail. i find i've got to send some letters to fort pelican. how far is that from eskimo bay,--a hundred miles?" "ninety, sir." "do you speak eskimo?" "no, sir." "well, the dog drivers will be eskimos. the men that leave here will go east to the coast. they will meet other eskimos there who will go to pelican. it's a hard and dangerous journey. are you a good traveller?" "not so bad, sir, an' i drives dogs." mr. macpherson was silent for a few moments, then he spoke. "these eskimos are careless scallawags with letters and they lose them sometimes. the letters i am sending are very important ones or i wouldn't be sending them. i think you would take better care of them than they. will you keep them safe if i let you go with the eskimos?" "yes, sir, i'd be rare careful." "well, we'll see. i think i'll let you take the letters. i can't say yet just when i'll have you start but within the month." "thank you, sir." "in the meantime make yourself useful about the place here. there'll be nothing for you to do to-day. look around and get acquainted. you may go now. come to the office in the morning and one of the clerks will tell you what to do." "all right, sir." when bob passed out of doors he was fairly treading upon air. a way was opening up for him to return home and in all probability he should reach there by the time dick and ed and bill came out from the trails in the spring and if they had not, in the meantime, taken the news of his disappearance to wolf bight, the folks at home would know nothing of it until he told them himself and would have no unusual cause for worry in the meantime. he felt a considerable sense of importance, too, at the confidence mr. macpherson reposed in him in suggesting that he might place him in charge of an important mail. and what a tale he would have to tell! bessie would think him quite a hero. after all it had turned out well. he had caught a silver fox and all the other fur--quite enough, he was sure, to send emily to the hospital. god had been very good to him and he cast his eyes to heaven and breathed a little prayer of thanksgiving. sishetakushin and mookoomahn had been quite forgotten by bob in the excitement of the arrival at the fort. now he saw them and the two other indians coming over from the cabin to which they had gone when he left them to meet mr. macpherson, and he hurried down to meet them and tell them that he had found a way to reach home. it was plain that they did not approve of the turn matters had taken, for they only grunted and said nothing. they turned to a building where the door stood open and bob accompanied them and entered with them. this was the post shop, and a young man, whom bob had not seen before, presumably "lord salisbury," the chief clerk of whom the talkative "secretary bayard" had spoken, was behind the counter attending to the wants of an eskimo and his wife, the latter with a black-eyed, round-faced baby which sat contentedly in her hood sucking a stick of black tobacco. the clerk spoke to the indians in their language, said "good day" to bob in english, and then continued his dickering in the eskimo language with his customers, who had deposited before them on the counter a number of arctic fox pelts. when the clerk had finished with the eskimos he turned to the indians in a very businesslike way and asked to see the furs they had brought. they produced some marten skins which, after a great deal of wrangling, were bartered for tobacco, tea, powder, shot, bullets, gun caps, beads, three-cornered needles and a few trinkets. much time was consumed in this, for the indians insisted upon handling and discussing at length each individual article purchased. bob had brought with him the marten skins that he had trapped during his stay with the indians and he exchanged them for a red shawl and a little box of beads for manikawan, a trinket for the old woman, manikawan's mother, and a small gift each for sishetakushin and mookoomahn, besides some much needed clothing for himself. these tokens of his gratitude he presented to the two indians, who had indicated their intention of returning to the interior camp the next morning. they had not fully realized until now that bob was actually going to leave them and attempt to reach home with the eskimos, and they protested vigorously against the plan. sishetakushin told him the eskimos were bad people and would never guide him safely to his friends. indeed, he asserted, they might kill him when they had him alone with them. on the other hand, the indians were kind and true. they had recognized his worth and had adopted him into the tribe. with them he had been happy and with them he would be safe. he could have his own wigwam and take manikawan for his wife; and sometimes, if he wished, he could go to visit his people. the failure of their arguments to impress bob was a great disappointment to the indians, and bob, on his part, felt a keen sense of sorrow when, the following morning, he saw his benefactors go. they had saved his life and had done all they could in their rude, primitive way for his comfort, and he appreciated their kindness and hospitality. ungava bob, as every one at the post called him, made himself generally useful about the fort and was soon quite at home in his new surroundings. he cut wood and helped the eskimo servants feed the dogs, and did any jobs that presented themselves and soon became a general favourite, not only with mr. macpherson but with the clerks and servants also. his quarters with sandy and jamie seemed luxurious in contrast with the rough life of the interior to which he had so long been accustomed, and when the three gathered around the red hot stove those cold evenings after the day's work was done and supper eaten, the scotchmen held him enthralled with stories they told of their native land and the wonderful and magnificent things they had seen there. besides the factor and the two clerks these were the only white people at the fort, and naturally they grew to be close companions. the white men, too, were the only ones of the post folk that could speak english, for the few eskimos and indians that lived on the reservation knew only their respective native tongue. and so the time passed until, at last, the middle of march came, with its lengthening days and stormy weather, and bob was beginning to fear that mr. macpherson had abandoned the project of sending him out with a mail, for nothing further had been said about his going since the conversation on the day of his arrival. for two or three days he had been upon the lookout for a favourable opportunity to ask whether or not he was to go, and was thinking about it one friday morning as he worked at the wood-pile, when "secretary bayard" hailed him: "hey, there, bob! the boss wants you." this was auspicious, and bob hurried over to the factor's inner office, where he found mr. macpherson waiting for him. "well, ungava bob," the factor greeted, "are you getting tired of ungava and anxious to get away?" "i'm likin' un fine, sir, but wantin' t' be goin' home wonderful bad," answered bob. "i suppose you are. i suppose you are. i remember when i was young and first left home, how badly i wanted to go back," he said, reminiscently. "that was a long while ago and there's no one for me to go home to now--they're all dead--all dead--and it's too late." he was silent for a little in meditation, and seemed to have quite forgotten bob. then suddenly bringing himself from the past to the present again, he continued: "yes, yes, you want to go home, and i'm going to start you on monday morning. i'll give you a packet of very important letters that you will deliver to mr. forbes, the factor at fort pelican, and i shall hold you responsible for their safe delivery. akonuk and matuk will go with you as far as kangeva, where they will try to get two other eskimos with a good team of dogs to take you on to rigolet. but it may be they'll have to go farther, to find drivers that know the way, and that will delay you some. you'll have time to reach rigolet, however, before the break-up if you push on. the eskimos will lose some time visiting with their friends when they meet them on the way, and i've allowed for that. now, be ready to start on monday. the clerks will fix you up with what supplies you will need for the journey." "yes, sir. i'll be ready, an' thank you, sir." "hold on," said the factor as bob turned to go. "here's a rifle that i'm going to let you take with you, for you may need it." he picked up a gun that had been leaning against the wall beside him. "it's a 44 repeating winchester that i've used for three or four years, and it's a good one. i've got a heavier one now for seals and white whales, and i'll give you this if you take the letters through safely. is that a bargain?" bob's eyes bulged and his pleasure was manifest. "yes, sir. thank you, sir. i'll not be losin' th' letters." it was the first repeating rifle--the first rifle, in fact, of any kind--that he had ever seen, and as mr. macpherson explained and illustrated to him its manipulation, he thought it the most marvellous piece of mechanism in the world. "now be careful how you handle it," cautioned the factor after the arm had been thoroughly described. "you see that when you throw a cartridge into the barrel by the lever action it cocks the gun, and if you're not going to discharge it again immediately you must let the hammer down. it shoots a good many times farther, too, than your old gun, so be sure there are no eskimos within half a mile of its muzzle or you'll be killing some of them, and i don't want that to happen, for i need them all to hunt. besides, if you killed one of them his friends would be putting you out of the way so you'd kill no more, and then my packet of letters wouldn't be delivered. now look out." "i'll be rare careful of un, sir." "very well, see that you are. be ready to start, now, at daylight, monday." "i'll be ready, sir." bob's delight was little short of ecstatic as he strode out of the office with his rifle. the next day (saturday) "secretary bayard," with voluminous comments and cautions in reference to the undertaking, the eskimos and things in general, helped him and the two eskimos that were to accompany him put in readiness his supplies, which consisted of hardtack, jerked venison, fat pork--the only provisions they had which would not freeze--tea, two kettles, sulphur matches, ammunition, and a reindeer skin sleeping bag. the eskimos possessed sleeping bags of their own. blubber and white whale meat, frozen very hard, were packed for dog food. an axe, a small jack plane and two snow knives were the only tools to be carried. this knife had a blade about two feet in length and resembled a small, broad-bladed sword. it was to be used in the construction of snow igloos. the jack plane was needed to keep the komatik runners smooth. instead of the runners being shod with whale-bone, as in many places in the north, the eskimos of ungava apply a turf--which is stored for the purpose in the short summer season--and mixed with water to the consistency of mud. this is moulded on the runners with the hands in a thick, broad, semicircular shape, and freezes as hard as glass. then its irregularities are planed smooth, and it slips easily over the snow and ice. finally, all the preparations were completed, and bob looked forward in a high state of excited anticipation to the great journey of new experiences and adventures that lay before him to be crowned by the joy of his home-coming. but a thousand miles separated bob from his home and danger and death lurked by the way. human plans and day-dreams are not considered by the providence that moulds man's fortune, and it is a blessed thing that human eyes cannot look into the future. xix at the mercy of the wind in the starlight of monday morning akonuk and matuk harnessed their twelve big dogs. fierce creatures these animals were, scarcely less wild than the wolves that prowled over the hills behind the fort, of which they were the counterpart, and more than once the eskimos had to beat them with the butt end of a whip to stop their fighting and bring them to submission. the load had already been lashed upon the komatik and the mud on the runners rubbed over with lukewarm water which had frozen into a thin glaze of ice that would slip easily over the snow. mr. macpherson gave bob the package of letters, with a final injunction not to lose them when at length the dogs were harnessed and all was ready. good-byes were said and bob and his two eskimo companions were off. the snow was packed hard and firm, so that neither the dogs nor the komatik broke through, and the animals, fresh and eager, started at a fast pace and maintained an even, steady trot throughout the day. occasionally there were hills to climb, and some of these were so steep that it was necessary for bob and the eskimos to haul upon the traces with the dogs, and now and then they had to lift the komatik over rocky places, and on one river that they crossed they were forced to cut in several places a passage around ice hills, where the tide had piled the ice blocks thirty or forty feet high. but for the most part the route lay over a rolling country near the coast. only at long intervals were trees to be seen, and these were very small and stunted, and grew in sheltered hollows. at noon they halted in one of these hollows to build a fire, over which they melted snow in one of the kettles and made tea, with which they washed down some hardtack and jerked venison. that night when they stopped to make their camp, sixty miles lay behind them. the going had been good and they had done a splendid day's work. before unharnessing the dogs, which would have immediately attacked and destroyed the goods upon the sledge had they been released, the eskimos went about building an igloo. a good bank of snow was selected and out of this akonuk cut blocks as large as he could lift and placed them on edge in a circle about seven feet in diameter in the interior. as each block was placed it was trimmed and fitted closely to its neighbour. then while matuk cut more blocks and handed them to akonuk as they were needed, the latter standing in the centre of the structure placed them upon edge upon the other blocks, building them up in spiral form, and narrowing in each upper round until the igloo assumed the form of a dome. when it was nearly as high as his head, the upper tier of blocks was so close together that a single large block was sufficient to close the aperture at the top. this block was like the keystone in an arch, and held the others firmly in place. akonuk now cut a round hole through the side of the igloo close to the bottom, and large enough for him to crawl through on his hands and knees. when the eskimos began building the snow house bob commenced unloading the komatik, but matuk called "chuly, chuly,"--wait a little--to him, and said "tamaany,"--here--a suggestion that he would be more useful in helping to chink up the crevices between the blocks of snow on the igloo after akonuk placed them this he did, and in half an hour from the time they halted the igloo was completed and was so strongly built a man could have stood on its top without fear of breaking it down. the tops of spruce boughs were now cut and spread within, after which they unlashed the komatik, and, covering the bed of boughs with deerskins, stored everything that the dogs would be likely to destroy safely inside the igloo. this done the dogs were unharnessed and fed, the men standing over the animals with stout sticks to prevent their fighting while they ravenously gulped down the chunks of frozen whale meat. this function completed, a fire was made outside the igloo and tea brewed. with the kettle of hot tea the three crawled into the igloo, dragging after them a block of snow which akonuk fitted neatly into the entrance and chinked the edges with loose snow. matuk now brought forth an eskimo lamp into which he squeezed the oil from a piece of seal blubber, first pounding the blubber with the axe head, and with moss to serve the purpose of a wick, the lamp was lighted. this lamp, which was made of stone cut in the shape of a half moon, was about ten inches long, four inches wide and an inch deep. the moss that served as a wick was arranged along the straight side, and gave out a strong, fishy odour as it burned. besides the tea, hardtack and jerked venison, bob ate pieces of the frozen fat pork which had been boiled before starting, and found it very delicious, as fat always is to a traveller in the far north. the eskimos each accepted a small piece of it from him, but when he offered them a second portion they both said "taemet,"--thank you, enough--and instead helped themselves liberally to raw seal blubber, which they ate with an evident relish and gusto along with the jerked venison and hardtack. akonuk, the older of these men, was perhaps thirty-five years of age, nearly six feet in height and well proportioned. matuk was not so tall, but like akonuk was well formed. both were muscular and powerful men physically, and both had round, fat faces that were full of good nature. intense as was the cold out of doors, the stone lamp soon made the igloo so warm within that all were compelled to remove their outer skin garments. the snow, however, was not melted, but remained quite hard and firm. the eskimos talked and smoked for a whole hour after supper, before stretching in their sleeping bags, but bob crawled into his almost immediately, for he was very weary after his long day's travel. his knowledge of their language was not sufficient for him to take part in the conversation, or, indeed, to understand much they said, and the constant talk soon became tiresome to him, though he kept his ears open with a view to adding to his eskimo vocabulary whenever an opportunity offered. "'tis a strange language an' i'm wonderin' how they understands un," he observed as he turned over to go to sleep. very early the next morning he heard akonuk calling to matuk to wake up. then for a little while the two eskimos conversed together and finally the lamp was lighted. over this a snow knife was stuck into the side of the igloo and the kettle hung upon the knife in such a position that it was directly over the flame, and snow, cut from the side of the igloo near the bottom, was melted for tea, and thus the simple breakfast was prepared without going out of doors. when bob came out of his bag to eat he realized that a storm was raging outside, for he could hear the wind roaring around the igloo, and akonuk made him understand that a heavy snow-storm was in progress and a continuation of the journey that day quite out of the question. when daylight finally filtered dimly through the igloo roof, he removed the snow block that closed the entrance, and crawled to the outer world, where he verified akonuk's statement. the air was so filled with snow that it would be quite useless to attempt to move in it. the previous night the dogs had dug holes for themselves in the bank and were now completely covered with the drift, and invisible, and the komatik, too, was quite hidden. the aspect was dreary in the extreme, and he returned to spend the day dozing in his sleeping bag. for two days they were held prisoners by the storm, and when finally the third morning dawned clear and cold, a deep covering of soft snow had spoiled the good going and they found travelling much slower and more difficult than the day they started. akonuk and bob ran ahead on their snow-shoes to break the way for the dogs, which matuk drove, and found it necessary to constantly urge the animals on with shouts of "oo-isht! oo-isht! ok-suit! ok-suit!" and sometimes with stinging cuts of his long whip. this whip was made of braided strands of walrus hide, and tapered from a thickness of two inches at the butt to one long single strand at the tip. its handle was a piece of wood about a foot long and the whole whip was perhaps thirty-five feet in length. when not in use a loop on the handle was dropped over the end of one of the forward crosspieces of the komatik, and its lash trailed behind in the snow. here it could be readily reached and brought into instant service. matuk was an expert in the manipulation of this cruel instrument, and the dogs were in deadly fear of it. when he cracked it over their heads they would plunge madly forward and whine piteously for mercy. when he wished to punish a dog he could cut it with the lash tip even to the extent of breaking the skin, if he desired, and he never missed the animal he aimed at. each dog had an individual trace which was fastened to a long, single thong of sealskin attached to the front of the komatik. these traces were of varying length, the leader, or dog trained to the eskimos' calls, having the longest trace, which permitted it to go well in advance of the others. for several days the journey was monotonous and uneventful. gradually as they advanced the travelling improved again, as the march winds drifted away the soft, loose snow and left the bottom solid and firm for the dogs. ptarmigans were plentiful, as were also arctic hares, and a white fox and one or two white owls were killed. the flesh of all these they ate, and were thus enabled to keep in reserve the provisions they had brought with them. bob was rather disgusted than amused to see the eskimos eat the flesh of animals and birds raw. they appeared to esteem as a particular delicacy the freshly killed ptarmigans, still warm with the life blood, eating even the entrails uncooked. one afternoon they turned the komatik from the land to the far stretching ice of a wide bay directing their course towards a cove on the farther side, where the eskimos said they expected to find igloos. all day a stiff wind had been blowing from the southwest and as the day grew old it increased in velocity. the komatik was taking an almost easterly course and therefore the wind did not seriously hamper their progress, though it was bitter cold and searching and made travelling extremely uncomfortable. less than half-way across the bay, which was some twelve miles wide, a crack in the ice was passed over. presently cracks became numerous, and glancing behind him bob noticed a wide black space along the shore at the point where they had taken to the ice, and could see in the distance farther to the northwest, as it reflected the light, a white streak of foam where the angry sea was assailing the ice barrier. he realized at once that the wind and sea were smashing the ice. they were far from land and in grave peril. the eskimos urged the dogs to renewed efforts, and the poor brutes themselves, seeming to realize the danger, pulled desperately at the traces. after a time the ice beneath them began to undulate, moving up and down in waves and giving an uncertain footing. between them and the cove they were heading for, but a little outside of their course, was a bare, rocky island and the eskimos suddenly turned the dogs towards it. the whole body of ice was now separated from the mainland and this island was the only visible refuge open to them. behind them the sea was booming and thundering in a terrifying manner as it drove gigantic ice blocks like mighty battering rams against the main mass, which crumbled steadily away before the onslaught. it had become a race for life now, and it was a question whether the sea or the men would win. once a crack was reached that they could not cross and they had to make a considerable detour to find a passage around it, and it looked for a little while as though this sealed their fate, but with a desperate effort they presently found themselves within a few yards of the island. here a new danger awaited them. the ice upon the shore was rising and falling and crumbling against the rocks with each incoming and receding sea. to successfully land it would be necessary to make a dash at the very instant that the ice came in contact with the shore. a moment too soon or a moment too late and they would inevitably be crushed to death. it was their only way of escape, however. the howling dogs were held in leash until the proper moment, and all prepared for the run. akonuk gave the word. the dogs leaped forward, the men jumped, and they found themselves ashore. the three grabbed the traces and helped the dogs jerk the komatik clear of the next sea, and all were at last safe. five minutes later a landing would have been impossible, and two hours later the entire bay surrounding their island was swept clear of ice by the gale and outgoing tide. during the whole adventure the eskimos had conducted themselves with the utmost coolness and gave bob confidence and courage. dangers of this kind had no terrors for them for they had met them all their lives. they had landed upon the windward side of the island at a point where they were exposed to the full sweep of the gale. "peungeatuk"--very bad--said akonuk. then he told bob to remain by the dogs while he and matuk looked for a sheltered camping place. in half an hour matuk returned, his face wreathed in smiles, with the information, "innuit, igloo." then he and bob drove the dogs to the lee side of the island, where they found four large snow igloos and several men, women and children, standing outside waiting to see the white traveller. the eskimos received bob kindly, and they asked him inside while some of the men helped akonuk and matuk erect an igloo and fix up their camp. the several igloos were all connected by snow tunnels, which permitted of an easy passage from one to the other without the necessity of going out of doors. a piece of clear ice, like glass, was set into the roof of each to answer for a window. they were all filled with a stench so sickening that bob soon made an excuse to go outside and lend a hand in unpacking and helping akonuk and matuk make their own snow house ready. there were no boughs here for a bed, as the island sustained no growth whatever, and in place of the boughs the dog harness was spread about before the deerskins were put down. in a little while the place was made quite comfortable. it was not until they sat down to supper that bob realized fully the serious position they were in. akonuk and matuk, after much difficulty, for he could understand their eskimo tongue so imperfectly, explained to him that there was no means of reaching the mainland as there were no boats on the island, and that after the food they had was eaten there would be no means of procuring more, as the island had no game upon it. they also told him that no one would be passing the island until summer and that there was therefore no hope of outside rescue. but one chance of escape was possible. if the wind were to shift to the northward and hold there long enough it would probably drive the ice back into the bay and then it would quickly freeze and they could reach the mainland. this their only hope, at this season of the year, for march was nearly spent, was a scant one. xx prisoners of the sea the party of eskimos that bob and his companions found encamped upon the island had come from the kangeva mainland to spear seals through the animals' breathing holes in the ice, which in this part of the bay were more numerous than on the mainland side. in the few days since they had established themselves here they had met with some success, and had accumulated a sufficient store of meat and blubber to keep them and their dogs for a month or so, but further seal hunting, or hunting of any kind, was now out of the question, as no animal life existed on the island itself, and without boats with which to go upon the water the people were quite helpless in this respect. limited as was their supply of provisions, however, they unselfishly offered to share with bob and his two companions the little they had, as is the custom with people who have not learned the harder ways of civilization and therefore live pretty closely to the golden rule. this hospitality was a considerable strain upon their resources, for the twelve dogs in addition to their own would require no small amount of flesh and fat to keep them even half-way fed; and the whale meat that had been brought for the dogs from ungava post was nearly all gone. akonuk had been instructed by mr. macpherson to discover the whereabouts of these very eskimos and arrange with two of them to go on with bob, after which he and matuk were to secure from them food for themselves and their team and return to ungava. a good part of the hardtack, boiled pork and venison still remained, for, as we have seen, the game they had killed on the way had pretty nearly been enough for their wants. it was fortunate for bob that they had these provisions, which required no cooking, for otherwise he would have had to eat the raw seal as the eskimos did. they understood his aversion to doing this, and generously, and at the same time preferably, perhaps, ate the uncooked meat themselves, and left the other for him. march passed into april, and daily the situation grew more desperate, as the provisions diminished with each sunset. bob was worried. it began to look as though he and the eskimos were doomed to perish on this miserable island. he was sorry now that he had not waited at ungava for the ship, and been more patient, for then he would have reached eskimo bay in safety. at first the eskimos were very cheerful and apparently quite unconcerned, and this consoled him somewhat and made him more confident; but finally even they were showing signs of restlessness. every day he was becoming more familiar with their language and could understand more and more of their conversation, and he drew from it and their actions that they considered the situation most critical. back of the igloos was a hill a couple of hundred feet high, and many times each day the men of the camp would climb it and look long and earnestly to the north, where the heaving billows of hudson straits and the sky line met, broken only here and there by huge icebergs that towered like great crystal mountains above the water. they were watching for the ice field that they hoped would drift down with each tide to bridge the sea that separated them from the distant mainland. the early april days were growing long and the sun's rays shining more directly upon the world were gaining power, though not yet enough to bring the temperature up to zero even at high noon, but enough to remind the men that winter was aging, and the ice hourly less likely to come back. one of the eskimos, tuavituk by name, was an angakok, or conjurer, and claimed to possess special powers which permitted him to communicate with torngak, the great spirit who ruled their fortunes just as the manitou rules the fortunes of the indians. tuavituk one day announced to the assembled eskimos that something had been done to displease torngak, and to punish them he had caused the storm to come that had so suddenly carried away the ice and left them marooned upon this desolate island, and here they would all perish eventually of starvation unless torngak were appeased. this announcement occasioned a long discussion as to what the cause of their trouble could have been. one old eskimo suggested that the ice had broken up at the very moment that the kablunok--stranger--arrived, and that his presence was undoubtedly the disturbing influence. white men, he said, showed no respect for torngak, and it was quite reasonable, therefore, that torngak should resent it and wish not only to destroy the white men, but punish the innuit who gave the kablunok shelter or assistance. if this were the case they could only hope for relief after first driving bob from their camp. when once purged of his presence torngak would be satisfied, he would send the ice back into the bay and they would be enabled to return to the mainland and to renew their hunting. a long discussion followed this harangue in which all the men took part with the exception of tuavituk, who as angakok reserved his opinion until it should be called for in a professional way; and all agreed with the first speaker save akonuk and matuk, who, being visitors, spoke last. akonuk asserted that he and matuk had travelled with the kablunok all the way from ungava and had enjoyed during that time not only perfect safety and comfort, but had made an unusually quick and lucky journey, killing all the ptarmigans and small game they wanted, and experiencing with the exception of one snow-storm excellent weather until they approached kangeva. then the ill wind blew upon them and brought disaster as they came to the camp on the island; therefore it seemed quite certain that not the kablunok but some of the innuit in the camp had offended the great torngak, and amongst themselves they must look for the cause of their misfortune. matuk followed this speech with an address in which he bore out akonuk's statements, and, doubtless having in mind bob's plentiful supply of tea, of which beverage matuk was passionately fond and partook freely, he stated it as his opinion that the presence of the kablunok had actually been the source of the good luck they had had previous to their arrival at kangeva. then he wound up with the startling announcement that he believed he knew the cause of torngak's anger: that on the very day of their arrival he had seen chealuk--one of the old women--sewing a netsek--sealskin adikey--_with the sinew of the tukto_--reindeer. every one turned to chealuk for confirmation and she said simply, "it is true." the eskimos were struck dumb with horror. this, then, was the cause of their trouble. for the women to work with any part of the reindeer while the men were hunting seals was one of the greatest affronts that could be offered the great spirit. torngak had been insulted and angered. he must be appeased and mollified at any cost. tuavituk, the angakok, it was decided, must do some conjuring. he must get into immediate communication with torngak and learn the spirit's wishes and demands and what must be done to dispel the evil charm that chealuk had worked by her thoughtlessness. tauvituk was quite willing--indeed anxious--to do this, but he demanded to be well paid for it, and every man had to contribute some valuable pelt or article of clothing. when all preparations for the seance had been made the angakok's head was covered and in a few moments he began to utter untelligible exclamations, which were shortly punctuated by shouts and screams and ravings. he fell to the floor and seemed stricken with a fit, and bob thought the man had gone stark mad. he struck out and grasped those within his reach, and they were glad to escape from his iron clutch. for several minutes this wild frenzy lasted before he said an intelligible word. "the deer! the deer! the deer's sinew! chealuk! chealuk! chealuk! torngak! the evil spirit is in chealuk! she must go! must go! send chealuk away! send her away! send her away! send her away!" finally from sheer exhaustion he quieted down and came out of his trance. he probably thought that he had given them their value's worth and what they had wanted, and that they should be satisfied. it was now decreed that, this being the direct command of torngak, chealuk must be expelled from the camp. some even asserted that she should be killed, but the majority decided that as torngak had said merely that "chealuk must go" that meant only that she must be sent away. if this did not prove sufficient to counteract their ill luck, why she could, after a reasonable time, be sought out and dispatched, if she had not in the meantime perished. the feeble old woman heard it all with outward stoic indifference. it was a part of her religion and she probably thought the punishment quite just, and whatever shrinking of spirit she felt, she hid it heroically from the others. to have been killed immediately would have been more humane than banishment, for the latter only meant a slower but just as sure a death, from exposure and starvation. to bob, who had listened intently and was able to grasp the situation in a general way, it seemed heartless in the extreme; but his protests would not only have been powerless to move the eskimos from their purpose, but in all probability would have worked harm for himself and to no avail. these people that at first had seemed so amiable and hospitable, and almost childlike in their nature, had been by their heathen superstitions suddenly transformed into cruel, unsympathetic savages. "oh," thought bob, "if i had but heeded sishetakushin's warning!" but it was too late now to repent of the course he had taken and he had only to abide by it. it seemed to him that his own life hung by a mere thread and that at any moment some fancy might strike them to sacrifice him too. he had indeed but barely escaped chealuk's fate, and the next time he might not be so fortunate. in this disturbed state of mind he withdrew from the igloos and climbed the hill, where he stood and gazed longingly at the mainland hills to the southward, wondering where, beyond those cold, white ranges, lay wolf bight and his little cabin home, warm and clean and tidy, and whether his mother and father and emily thought him safe or had heard of his disappearance and were mourning him as dead. and here he was far, far away in the north and hopelessly--apparently--stranded upon a desolate island from which he would probably never escape and never see them again. oh, how lonely and disconsolate he felt. every day since he left home he had prayed god to keep the loved ones safe and to take him back to them. "i hopes they're safe an' emily's better, but th' lard's been losin' track o' me," he said to himself with a wavering faith. "but th' lard took me safe t' ungava, an' he must be watchin' me," he exclaimed after further thought. "an' he's been rare good t' me." then like a bulwark to lean against there came to him the words of his mother as they parted that beautiful september morning: "don't forget your prayers, lad, an' remember your mother's prayin' for you every night an' every mornin'." and emily had said, too, that she would ask god every night to keep him safe. this brought him a renewal of his faith and he argued, "th' lard'll sure not be denyin' mother an' emily, an' they askin' he every day t' bring me back. he sure would not be denyin' they for he knows how bad 'twould be makin' they feel if i were not comin' home. an' he wouldn't be wantin' _that_, for they never does nothin' t' make he cross with un." this thought comforted him and he said confidently to himself, "th' lard'll be showin' th' way when th' right time comes an' i'll try t' bide content till then." but there was little in the surroundings to warrant bob's faith. looking about him from the hilltop he could see nothing but open sea around the island with an expanse of desolation beyond--snow, snow everywhere, from the water's edge to where the rugged mountains to the south and east held their cold heads into the gray clouds that hid the sky and sun. the sea was sombre and black. not a breath of air stirred, not a sound broke the silence, and it seemed almost as though nature in anxious suspense watched the outcome of it all. but bob's faith was renewed--the simple, childlike faith of his people--and he felt better and more content with himself and his fortune. it was growing dusk when he returned to the igloos. as he descended the hill a flake of snow struck his face and it was followed by others. a breath of wind like a blast from a bellows swirled the flakes abroad. the elements were awakening. in the igloos akonuk and matuk were brewing tea for supper and the three ate in silence. bob asked once, "what's to be done with chealuk?" "nothing," they answered laconically. this relieved the anxiety he felt for her, and he crawled into his sleeping bag and went to sleep, thinking that after all the judgment of the angakok was a mere form, not to be executed literally. after some hours bob awoke. the wind was blowing a gale outside. he could hear it quite distinctly. from what direction it came he could not tell, and after lying awake for a long while he decided to arise and see. when he removed the block of snow from the igloo entrance and crawled outside he was all but smothered by the swirling snow of a terrific, raging blizzard. he turned his back to the blast, and realized that it came from the north-east. the cold was piercing and awful. the elements which had been held in subjection for so long were unleashed and were venting themselves with all the untamed fury of the north upon the world. as he turned to reã«nter the igloo an apparition brushed past him rushing off into the night. "who is it?" he shouted. but the wind brought back no answer and overcome with a feeling of trepidation and a sense of impending tragedy, half believing that he had seen a ghost, he crawled back to his cover and warm sleeping bag to wonder. there was no cessation in the storm or change in the conditions the next day. in the morning while they were drinking their hot tea bob told akonuk and matuk of the apparition he had seen in the night. "that," they said in awe, "was the spirit of torngak," and bob was duly impressed. upon a visit later to the other igloos he missed chealuk. she had always sat in one corner plying her needle, and had always had a word for him when he came in to pay a visit. her absence was therefore noticeable and bob asked one of the eskimos where she was. "gone," said the eskimo. and this was all he could learn from them. poor old chealuk had been sent away, and it must have been she, then, that he had seen in the darkness. that night bob was aroused again, and he immediately realized that something of moment had occurred. akonuk and matuk were awake and talking excitedly, and through the shrieking of the gale outside came a distinct and unusual sound. it was like the roar of distant thunder, but still it was not thunder. he sat up sharply to learn the meaning of it all. xxi adrift on the ice the unusual sound that bob heard was the pounding of ice driven by the mighty force of wind and tide against the island rocks. this the eskimos verified with many exclamations of delight. the hoped for had happened and release from their imprisonment was at hand. bob thanked god for remembering them. "i were thinkin' th' lard would not be losin' sight o' me now he's been so watchful in all th' other times i were needin' help," said he as he lay down. to the eskimos it was a proof of the efficacy of the appeal to the angakok. during the next day the high wind and snow continued until dusk. then the weather began to calm and before morning the sky was clear and the stars shining cold and brilliant, and the sun rose clear and beautiful. kangeva bay, a solid held of ice again, as it was when bob first saw it, stretched away unbroken and white to the northward. no time was lost in making preparations for their escape. the komatiks were packed at once with the camp goods and the little food that still remained, the dogs were harnessed and a quick march took them safely to the mainland. here the eskimos had an ample cache of seal and walrus meat killed earlier in the season. new igloos were built, as the old ones in use before they transferred to the island were not considered comfortable, the previous occupancy having softened the interior snow, which was now encrusted with a thin glaze of ice and this glaze prevented a free circulation of air. bob wanted to go on without delay but akonuk and matuk had found none of the eskimos willing to proceed with him. it was therefore necessary for them to go with him until another camp was reached, and they insisted upon delaying the start a day in order as they said to give the dogs a good feed and get them in better shape for the journey, as they for some time had been fed only each alternate day instead of every day as was customary, and even then had received but half their usual portion. this seemed quite reasonable, but when bob saw his friends a little later consuming raw seal meat themselves in enormous quantities, he concluded that the dogs were not the only object of their consideration. they were still busily engaged arranging their new quarters when one of the eskimos called the attention of the others to a black object far out upon the ice in the direction from which they had come. slowly it tottered towards them and in a little while it was made out to be old chealuk, who had been in hiding somewhere on the island. the poor old woman, nearly starved and with frozen hands and feet, was barely able to drag herself into camp. some of the men protested against receiving her but she was finally permitted to enter the igloos and take up her old place, though with the understanding that she should leave again immediately at the first indication of torngak's displeasure. it was a great relief to bob to know that she had not perished. the old woman had only been able to keep from freezing to death, as he learned, by hollowing out a place in a snow-bank in which to lie and letting the snow drift thickly over her and remaining there until the storm had spent itself. "sure i'm glad t' see she back again," thought bob, and he voiced the sentiment to matuk. "atsuk"--i don't know--said the eskimo with a shrug of the shoulders. while, as we have seen, none of the eskimos would take the place of akonuk and matuk, they gave them sufficient seal meat and blubber for a two weeks' journey, and early the next morning the march eastward was resumed. bob was now driven to eating seal meat, as all his other provisions were exhausted, though, fortunately, he still had an abundance of tea. he had often eaten seal meat at home and was rather fond of it when it was properly cooked, but now no wood with which to make a fire was to be had. the land was absolutely barren, and even the moss was so deeply hidden beneath the snow it could not be resorted to for this purpose. evenings in the igloo he boiled some meat over the stone lamp--enough to last him through the following day--but at best he could get it but partially cooked. however, he soon learned not to mind this much, for hunger is the best imaginable sauce, and in the cold of the arctic north one can eat with a relish what could not be endured in a milder climate. for several days they traversed mountain passes where they were shut in by towering, rugged peaks which seemed to reach to the very heavens. bleak and desolate as the landscape was it possessed a magnificence and grandeur that demanded admiration and called forth bob's constant wonder. he would gaze up at the mysterious white summits and ejaculate, "'tis grand! 'tis wonderful grand!" such mountains he had never seen before, and like all wilderness dwellers he was a lover of nature's beauties and a close observer of her wonders. it was near the middle of april now and the sun's rays, reflected by the snow, were growing dazzlingly bright and beginning to affect their eyes. goggles should have been worn as a protection against this glare but they had none and did not trouble to make them until one night matuk found that he was overtaken by a slight attack of snow-blindness. this is an extremely painful affliction which does not permit the sufferer to approach the light or, in fact, so much as open his eyes without experiencing agony. the sensation is that of having innumerable splinters driven into the eyeballs with the lids when opened and closed grating over the splinters. while they were waiting for matuk to recover his eyesight akonuk and bob removed one of the wooden cross-bars from the komatik and with their knives cut from it three pieces each long enough to fit over the eyes for a pair of goggles. these were rounded to fit the face and a place whittled out for the nose to fit into. then hollow places were cut large enough to permit the eyelids to open and close in them, and opposite each eye hollow a narrow slit for the wearer to look through. then the interior of the eye places were blackened with smoke from the stone lamp, and a thong of sealskin was fastened to each end of the goggles with which to tie them in place upon the head. thus a pair of goggles was ready for each when, after a three days' rest matuk's eyes were well enough for him to continue the journey, and by constantly wearing them on days when the sun shone, further danger of snow-blindness was averted. two days later, upon emerging from a mountain pass, they suddenly saw stretching far away to the eastward the great ocean ice. the sight sent the blood tingling through bob's veins. nearly half the journey from ungava to eskimo bay had been accomplished! "th' coast! th' coast!" shouted bob. "now i'll be gettin' home inside a month!" he began at once to plan the surprise he had in store for the folk and an early trip that he would make over to the post, when he would tell bessie about his great "cruise" and hear her say that she was glad to see him back again. but fortune does not wait upon human plans and bob's fortitude was yet to be tried as it never had been tried before. that afternoon an eskimo village of snow igloos was reached. the eskimos swarmed out to meet the visitors and gave them a whole-souled welcome, and in an hour they were quite settled for a brief stay in the new quarters. akonuk told bob that now after the dogs, which were very badly spent, had a few days in which to rest, he and matuk would turn back to ungava. they would try to arrange for two more eskimos with a fresh team to go on with him, but as for themselves, even were the dogs in condition to travel, they did not know the trail beyond this point. the eskimos here, like those they had met on the island at kangeva, were engaged in seal hunting, and none of the men seemed to care to leave their work for a long, hard journey south. they did not say, however, that they would not go. when they were asked their answer was: "in a little while--perhaps." this was very unsatisfactory to bob in his anxious frame of mind. but he had learned that eskimos must be left to bide their time, and that no amount of coaxing would hurry them, so he tried to await their moods in patience. he understood the reluctance of the men to go away during one of the best hunting seasons of the year and could not find fault with them for it. the seals were the mainstay of their living and to lose the hunt might mean privation. they were in need of the skins for clothing, kayaks and summer tents, and the flesh and blubber for food for themselves and their dogs, and the oil for their stone lamps. later in the season they would harpoon the animals from their kayaks, but this was the great harvest time when they killed them by spearing through holes in the ice where the seals came at intervals to breathe, for a seal will die unless it can get fresh air occasionally. early in the morning each eskimo would take up his position near one of these breathing holes, and there, with spear poised, not moving so much as a foot, sometimes for hours at a time, await patiently the appearance of a seal, which, having many similar holes, might not chance to come to this particular one the whole day. the spear used had a long, wooden handle, with a barbed point made of metal or ivory, and so arranged that the barbed point came off the handle after it had been driven into the animal. to the point was fastened one end of a long sealskin line, the other end of which the hunter tied about his waist. the moment a seal's nose made its appearance at the breathing hole the watchful eskimo drove the spear into its body. then began a tug of war between man and seal, and sometimes the eskimos had narrow escapes from being pulled into the holes. the seals of labrador, it should be explained, are the hair, and not the fur seals such as are found in the alaskan waters and the south sea. there are five varieties of them, the largest of which is the hood seal and the smallest the doter or harbour seal. the square flipper also grows to a very large size. the other two kinds are the jar and the harp. these all have different names applied to them according to their age. thus a new-born harp is a "puppy," then a "white coat"; when it is old enough to take to the water, which is within a fortnight after birth, it becomes a "paddler," a little later a "bedlamer," then a "young harp" and finally a harp. the handsomest of them all is the "ranger," as the young doter is called. finally, one evening when all the men were assembled in the igloos after their day's hunt, akonuk announced that he and matuk were to return home the next morning. this renewed the discussion as to who should go on with bob, and the upshot of it was that two young fellows--netseksoak and aluktook--with the promise that mr. forbes would reward them for aiding to bring the letters which bob carried, volunteered to make the journey. this settled the matter to bob's satisfaction and it was agreed that, as the season was far advanced, it would be necessary to start at once in order to give the two men time to reach home again before the spring break-up of the ice. long before daylight the next morning the eskimos were lashing the load on the komatik and at dawn the dogs were harnessed and everything ready. bob said good-bye to akonuk and matuk and the two teams took different directions and were soon lost to each other's view. "'twill not be long now," said bob to himself, "an' we gets t' th' bay." the sun at midday was now so warm that it softened the snow, which, freezing towards evening, made a hard ice crust over which the komatik slipped easily and permitted of very fast travelling until the snow began to soften again towards noon. therefore the early part of the day was to be taken advantage of. the new team, containing eleven dogs, was really made up of two small teams, one of six dogs belonging to netseksoak and the other of five dogs the property of aluktook. at first the two sets of dogs were inclined to be quarrelsome and did not work well together. at the very start they had a pitched battle which resulted in the crippling of aluktook's leader to such an extent that for two days it was almost useless. however, with the good going fast time was made. usually they kept to the sea ice, but sometimes took short cuts across necks of land where, as had been the case near ungava, the men had to haul on the traces with the dogs. the new drivers were much younger men than akonuk and matuk and they were in many respects more companionable. but bob missed a sort of fatherly interest that the others had shown in him and did not rely so implicitly upon their judgment. able now as he was to understand very much of their conversation, he took part in the discussion of various routes and expressed his opinion as to them; and the eskimos, who at first had looked upon him as a more or less inexperienced kablunok, soon began to feel that he knew nearly as much about dog and komatik travelling as they did themselves. thus a sort of good fellowship developed at once. one evening after a hard day's travelling as they came over the crest of a hill the first grove of trees that bob had seen since shortly after leaving ungava came in sight. it was the most welcome thing that had met his view in weeks, and when the dogs were turned to its edge and he saw a small shack, he knew that he was nearing again the white man's country. the shack was found to have no occupants, but it contained a sheet iron stove such as he had used in his tilts, and that night he revelled in the warmth of a fire and a feast of boiled ptarmigan and tea. "'tis like gettin' back t' th' bay," said bob, and he asked the eskimos, "will there be igloosoaks (shacks) all the way?" "igloosoaks every night," answered aluktook. the following morning a westerly breeze was blowing and the eskimos were uncertain whether to keep to the land or follow the sea ice along the shore. the former route, they explained to bob, passed over high hills and was much the harder and longer one of the two, but safer. the ice route along the shore was smooth and could be accomplished much more quickly, but at this season of the year was fraught with more or less danger. for many miles the shore rose in precipitous rocks, and should a westerly gale arise while they were passing this point, the ice was likely to break away and no escape could be made to the shore. the wind blowing then from the west was not strong enough yet, they said, to cause any trouble, and they did not think it would rise, but still it was uncertain. "which way should they go?" bob's experience at kangeva made him hesitate for a moment, but his impatience to reach home quickly got the better of his judgment; and, especially as the eskimos seemed inclined to prefer the outside route, he joined them in their preference and answered, "we'll be goin' outside." and the outside route they took. all went well for a time, but hourly the wind increased. the dogs were urged on, but the wind kept blowing them to leeward and they began to show signs of giving out. finally a veritable gale was blowing and the eskimos' faces grew serious. they were now opposite that part of the shore where it rose a perpendicular wall of rock towering a hundred feet above the sea, and offered no place of refuge. so they hurried on as best they could in the hope of rounding the walls and making land before the inevitable break came. presently aluktook shouted, "emuk! emuk!"--the water! the water! bob and netseksoak looked, and a ribbon of black water lay between them and the shore. they lashed the dogs and shouted at them until they were hoarse, in a vain effort to urge them on. the poor brutes lay to the ice and did their best, but it was quite hopeless. in an incredibly short time the ribbon had widened into a gulf a quarter of a mile wide. then it grew to a mile, and presently the shore became a thin black line that was soon lost to view entirely. they were adrift on the wide atlantic! they stopped the dogs when they realized that further effort was useless and sat down on the komatik in impotent dismay. the weather had grown intensely cold and the perspiration that the excitement and exertion had brought out upon their faces was freezing. snow squalls were already beginning and before nightfall a blizzard was raging in all its awful fury and at any moment the ice pack was liable to go to pieces. xxii the maid of the north "the's no profit in this trade any more," said captain sam hanks, as he sat down to supper with his mate, jack simmons, in the little cabin of his schooner, _maid of the north_. "i won't get a seaman's wages out o' th' cruise, an' i'm sick o' workin' fer nothin'. now there was a time before th' free traders done th' business t' death that a man could make good money on th' labrador, but that time's past they pays so much fer th' fur they's spoiled it fer everybody, an' i'm goin' t' quit." "th' free traders don't go north o' th' straits much. why don't ye try it there, sir?" suggested the mate. "ice. too much ice. i've been thinkin' it over. th' trouble is we couldn't get through th' ice in th' spring until after th' hudson's bay people had gobbled up everything. th' natives down that coast is poor as job's turkey, an' they has t' sell their fur soon's th' furrin' season's over. i hears th' company gets th' fur from 'em fer a song. them natives'll give ye a silver fox fer a jackknife an' a barrel o' flour, an' a marten fer a gallon o' molasses. but the's money in it if a feller could get there in time," he added thoughtfully. "what's th' matter with goin' down in th' fall before th' ice blocks th' coast? th' _maid o' th' north_ is sheathed fer ice, an' we could freeze her in, some place down th' coast, an' be on hand t' sail when th' ice clears in th' spring, we could let th' folks know where we were t' freeze up, an' we'd pick up a lot o' fur before th' ice breaks, an' th' natives'd hold th' rest until we calls comin' south. the's a big chanct there," said the mate, conclusively. "i dunno but yer right. i hadn't thought o' goin' down in th' fall t' freeze up. we'd have t' be gettin' t' our anchorage by th' first o' october." "the's plenty o' time t' do that, sir. 'twon't take more'n ten days t' fit out." "then the's th' cost o' shippin' th' crew t' be taken into account, 'n havin' 'em doin' nothin' th' hull winter. i don't know's the'd be much in it after everythin's counted out." "that's easy 'nuff fixed. take a lot o' traps an' let th' crew hunt in th' winter. ye wouldn't have t' pay 'em then when ye wasn't afloat. ye could give 'em their keep an' let 'em hunt with th' traps on shore an' make a little outen 'em. the's always fools 'nuff as thinks they'll get rich if they has a chanct t' try their hand doin' somethin' they ain't been doin' before, an' you kin get a crew o' fellers like that easy 'nuff." "i dunno. maybe i kin an' maybe i can't. sounds like it's worth tryin' an' i'll think about it." every spring for ten years captain hanks--skipper sam he was generally called--had sailed out of halifax harbour with his schooner _maid of the north_ to work his way into the gulf of st. lawrence when the waters were clear of ice, and trade a general cargo of merchandise for furs with the indians and white trappers along the north shore and the straits of belle isle--the southern labrador. at first he found the trade extremely lucrative, and during the first four or five years in which he was engaged in it accumulated a snug sum of money, the income of which would have been quite sufficient to keep him comfortably the remainder of his life in the modest way in which he lived. but skipper sam was much like other people, and the more he had the more he wanted, so he continued in the fur trade. the fact that he had purchased some city real estate for the purpose of speculation became known, and other skippers sailing schooners of their own, with an eye to lucrative, trade, decided that "skipper sam must be havin' a darn good thing on th' labrador," and when the _maid of the north_ made her fifth voyage she had another schooner to keep her company, and another skipper was on hand to compete with skipper sam. each year had brought additions to the trading fleet, and competition had raised the price of fur until now the trappers, with a ready market, were growing quite independent, and skipper sam, instead of paying what he pleased for the pelts, which, when he had a monopoly of the trade, was a merely nominal price as compared with their value, was forced in order to get them at all to pay more nearly their true worth. even now he was making a fair profit, but his mind constantly reverted to the "good old days" when his returns were from five hundred to a thousand per cent. on his investment, and he felt injured and dissatisfied. at the end of every voyage he declared solemnly that he was no longer making more than seamen's wages and would quit the trade, and the mate, who was well aware of the captain's comfortable financial position, always believed he meant it. it should be said to captain hanks' credit that he paid his mate and crew of five men the highest going wages, and treated them well and kindly. so long as they attended strictly to their duties he was their friend. they were provided with the best of food and they appreciated the good treatment and were loyal to captain hanks' interest and very much attached to the _maid of the north_, as seamen are to a good ship that for several voyages has been their home. so it was that the mate made his suggestions so freely. if captain hanks were to quit the trade he knew that it would be many a day before he secured another such berth, and his solicitude was therefore not alone in the captain's interests but was largely a matter of looking out for himself. the voyage just completed had not, in fact, been a very profitable one, for the previous winter had been a poor year for the trappers that they dealt with, just as it had been farther north in eskimo bay, and skipper sam had good reason for feeling discouraged. it was early in august now, and the _maid of the north_ was entering halifax harbour with the expectation of tying up at her berth the next morning. if she were to go north it would be necessary for her to be fitted out for the voyage immediately in order to reach her winter quarters before the ice began to form in the bays. the two men ate their supper and both went on deck to smoke their pipes. skipper sam had no more to say about the proposed undertaking until late in the evening, when he called the mate to his cabin, where he had retired after his smoke, and there the mate found him poring over a chart. "d'ye know anything about this coast?" the skipper asked, without looking up. the mate glanced over his shoulder. "not much, sir. i was down on a fishin' cruise once when i was a lad." "well, how far down ought we t' go, d' ye think, before we lays up?" "i think, sir, we should go north o' indian harbour. th' farther north we gets, th' more fur we'll pick up." "well," said the skipper, standing up, "i'm goin' t' sail just as quick as i can fit out. ship th' crew on th' best terms ye can. we got t' move smart, fer i wants time t' run well down before th' ice catches us." "all right, sir." thus it happened that the _maid of the north_, spick and span, with a new coat of paint on the outside, and a good stock of provisions and articles of trade in her hold, sailed out of halifax harbour and turned her prow to the northward on the first day of september, and was plowing her way to the labrador at the very time that bob gray with his mother and emily were returning so disconsolate to wolf bight after hearing the verdict of the mail boat doctor, and bob was making the plans that carried him into the interior. the _maid of the north_ called at many harbours by the way and the fame of captain hanks spread amongst the livyeres, as the native labradormen are called. he told them what fabulous prices he would pay them for their furs in the spring when he came south, with open water, and they promised him to a man to reserve the bulk of their catch for him, and all had visions of coming wealth. it was decided that they winter in the harbour of god's hope, just north of cape harrigan, and after passing indian harbour the natives were notified that if they wished any supplies during the winter they could bring their furs there and get what they needed. the harbour of god's hope was found to be a deep, narrow inlet, not as well protected from the sea as might be desired, but still comparatively well sheltered, and particularly advantageous from the fact that the shores of the upper end of the inlet were wooded, an essential feature, as it provided an abundance of good fuel, and the supply on board was far from adequate for their needs. the _maid of the north_ was made as snug as possible for the freeze-up, but could not be brought as close to shore as desirable, because of shoals. however, her position was deemed quite safe, and skipper sam experienced a sense of supreme satisfaction at his achievements and the prospects for a profitable trade in the spring. the crew were put at work immediately to build a log shack for shore quarters, which was shortly accomplished. this shack was of ample size and was furnished with a stove brought from halifax for the purpose, some chairs, a table and a kitchen outfit. the skipper, the mate and the cook remained on board at first, but the crew were given permission to go ashore and hunt and trap in the hills back of the harbour, an opportunity of which they promptly took advantage. as the cold weather came on and the ice formed thick and hard around the vessel it seemed unnecessary to keep a watch aboard, and as the shack was much more roomy than the cabin, and therefore more comfortable, all hands finally took up their quarters in it. as the winter wore on livyeres began to pay frequent visits to skipper sam from up and down the coast, and they all brought furs to trade. with the approach of spring the skipper found to his satisfaction that he had already collected more pelts than he had been able to purchase on his previous spring's voyage in the south, and at prices that even to him seemed ridiculously low. these furs were duly stored aboard the _maid of the north_, and by the first of may she had a cargo that could have been disposed of in halifax or montreal for several thousand dollars. it was at this time that the skipper suggested to the mate one evening, "jack, les go caribou huntin' t'-morrer. i'm gettin' stiff hangin' 'round here." "all right, sir," acquiesced the mate, "but," he asked, "th' crew's all away exceptin' th' cook, an' who'll look after things here if we both goes t' once?" "we kin leave the cook alone fer one day i guess. if any o' th' livyeres come he kin keep 'em till we comes back in th' evenin'." the arrangements were therefore made for the hunt, and the following morning bright and early they were off. at sunrise there was a slight westerly breeze blowing, and the skipper suggested, "th' wind might stiffen up a bit an' we better keep an eye to it." they were well back in the hills before the predicted stiffening came to such an extent that they decided it was wise to return to the shack. skipper sam and his mate were not accustomed to land travelling and the hurried retreat soon winded them and they were held down to so slow a walk that the afternoon was half spent and the wind had grown to a gale when they finally came in view of the harbour. skipper sam was ahead, and when he looked towards the place where the _maid of the north_ had been snugly held in the ice in the morning he rubbed his eyes. then he looked again, and exclaimed: "by gum!" the harbour was clear of ice and nowhere on the horizon was the _maid of the north_ to be seen. the gale had swept the ice to sea and carried with it the _maid of the north_ and all her valuable cargo. the cook, asleep in his bunk in the shack, was quite unconscious of the calamity when the skipper roused him to demand explanations. but there were no explanations to be given. the schooner was gone, that was all, and captain sam hanks and his crew were stranded upon the coast of labrador. xxiii the hand of providence bob and his companions were indeed in a most desperate situation, and even they, accustomed and inured as they were to the vicissitudes and rigours of the north, could see no possible way of escape. men of less courage or experience would probably have resigned themselves to their fate at once, without one further effort to preserve their lives, and in an hour or two have succumbed to the bitter cold of the storm. but these men had learned to take events as they came largely as a matter of course, and they did not for a moment lose heart or self-control. the dogs were driven a little farther towards the interior of the ice, for if the pack were to break up the outer edge would be the first to go. here immediate preparations were made to camp. there was no bank from which snow blocks could be cut for an igloo, and the blinding snow so obscured their surroundings that they could not so much as find a friendly ice hummock to take refuge behind. the gale, in fact, was so fierce that they could scarce hold their feet against it, and had they released their hold of the komatik even for an instant, it is doubtful if they could have found it again. the deerskin sleeping bags were unlashed and the sledge turned upon its side. in the lee of this the bags were stretched upon the ice and with their skin clothes on they crawled into them. each called "oksunae"--be strong--have courage--to the others, and then drew his head within the folds of his skin covering. bob wore the long, warm coat that manikawan had made for him, and as he snuggled close into the bag he thought of her kindness to him, and he dreamed that night that he had gone back and found her waiting for him and looking just as she did the morning she waved him farewell, as she stood in the light of the cold winter moon--tall and graceful and comely, with the tears glistening in her eyes. the dogs, still in harness, lay down where they stood, and in a little while the snow, which found lodgment against the komatik, covered men and dogs alike in one big drift and the weary travellers slept warm and well regardless of the fact that at any moment the ice might part and they be swallowed up by the sea. the storm was one of those sudden outbursts of anger that winter in his waning power inflicts upon the world in protest against the coming spring supplanting him, and as a reminder that he still lives and carries with him his withering rod of chastisement and breath of destruction. but he was now so old and feeble that in a single night his strength was spent, and when morning dawned the sun arose with a new warmth and the wind had ceased to blow. the men beneath the snow did not move. it was quite useless for them to get up. there was nothing that they could do, and they might as well be sleeping as wandering aimlessly about the ice field. the dogs, however, thought differently. they had not been fed the previous night, and bright and early they were up, nosing about within the limited area afforded them by the length of their traces. one of them began to dig away the snow around the komatik. he paused, held his nose into the drift a moment and sniffed, then went vigorously to work again with his paws. soon he grabbed something in his fangs. the others joined him, and the snarling and fighting that ensued aroused bob and the sleeping eskimos. aluktook was the first to throw off the snow and look out to see what the trouble was about then he shouted and jumped to his feet, kicking the dogs with all his power. bob and netseksoak sprang to his aid, but they were too late. the dogs had devoured every scrap of food they had, save some tea that bob kept in a small bag in which he carried his few articles of dunnage. this was a terrible condition of affairs, for though they were doubtless doomed to drown with the first wind strong enough to shatter the ice, still the love of living was strong within them, and they must eat to live. separating and going in different directions, the three hunted about in the vain hope that somewhere on the ice there might be seals that they could kill, but nowhere was there to be seen a living thing--nothing but one vast field of ice reaching to the horizon on the north, east and south. to the west the water sparkled in the sunlight, but no land and no life, human or otherwise, was within the range of vision. after a time they returned to their bivouac and then drove the dogs a little farther into the ice pack to a high hummock that aluktook had found, and with an axe and snow knives cut blocks of ice from the hummock and snow from a drift on its lee side, and finally had a fairly substantial igloo built. this they made as comfortable as possible, and settled in it as the last shelter they should ever have in the world, as they all firmly believed it would prove. they were now driven to straits by thirst, but there was not a drop of water, save the salt sea water, to be had. "we'll have to burn the komatik," said aluktook. netseksoak knocked two or three cross-bars from it and built a miniature fire, using the wood with the greatest possible economy, and by this means melted a kettle of ice, and bob brewed some tea. the warm drink was stimulating, and gave them renewed ambition. they separated again in search of game, but again returned, towards evening, empty handed. "too late for seals," the eskimos remarked laconically. all were weak from lack of food, and when they gathered at the igloo it was decided that one of the dogs must be killed. "we'll eat amulik, he's too old to work anyway," suggested netseksoak. amulik, the dog thus chosen for the sacrifice, was a fine old fellow, one of netseksoak's dogs that had braved the storms of many winters. the poor brute seemed to understand the fate in store for him, for he slunk away when he saw netseksoak loading his gun. but his retreat was useless, and in a little while his flesh was stored in the igloo and the eskimos were dining upon it uncooked. though bob was, of course, very hungry, he declined to eat raw dog meat, and to cook it was quite out of the question, for the little wood contained in the komatik he realized must be reserved for melting ice, as otherwise they would have nothing to drink. another day, however, and he was so driven to the extremes of hunger that he was glad to take his share of the raw meat which to his astonishment he found not only most palatable but delicious, for there is a time that comes to every starving man when even the most vile and putrid refuse can be eaten with a relish. the dog meat was carefully divided into daily portions for each man. some of it, of course, had to go to the remaining animals, to keep them alive to be butchered later, if need be, for this was the only source of food the destitute men had. every day bob and the eskimos wandered over the ice, hoping against hope that some means of escape might be found. bob realized that nothing but the hand of providence, by some supernatural means, could save him now. again, he said, "th' lard this time has sure been losin' track o' me. maybe 'tis because when he were showin' me a safe trail over th' hills i were not willin' t' bide his time an' go that way, but were comin' by th' ice after th' warnin' at kangeva." but he always ended his musings with the comfortable recollection of his mother's prayers. which had helped him so much before, and this did more than anything else to keep him courageous and brave. the days came and went, each as empty as its predecessor, and each night brought less probability of escape than the night before. another dog was killed, and a week passed. the komatik wood was nearly gone, although but one small fire was built each day, and the end of their tea was in sight. this was the state of affairs when bob wandered one day farther to the southward over the pack ice than usual, and suddenly saw in the distance a moving object. at first he imagined that it was a bit of moving ice, so near was it to the colour of the field. this was quite impossible, however, and approaching it stealthily, he soon discovered that it was a polar bear. the animal was wandering leisurely to the south. bob carried the rifle that mr. macpherson had given him, as he always did on these occasions, and keeping in the lee of ice hummocks, that he might not be seen by the bear, ran noiselessly forward. finally he was within shooting distance and, raising the gun, took aim and fired. perhaps it was because of weakness through improper food, or possibly as the result of too much eagerness, but the aim was unsteady and the bullet only grazed and slightly wounded the bear. the brute growled and turned to see what it was that had struck him. when it discovered its enemy it rose on its haunches and offered battle. bob was for a moment paralyzed by the immense proportions that the bear displayed, and almost forgot that he had more bullets at his disposal. but he quickly recalled himself and throwing a cartridge into the chamber, aimed the rifle more carefully and fired again. this time the bullet went true to the mark, and the great body fell limp to the ice. as he surveyed the carcass a moment later he patted his rifle, and said; "'tis sure a rare fine gun. i ne'er could ha' killed un wi' my old un.". "now th' lard _must_ be watchin' me or he wouldn't ha' sent th' bear, an' he wouldn't ha' sent un if he weren't wantin' us t' live. th' lard must be hearin' mother's an' emily's prayers now, after all--he must be." the bear was a great windfall. it would give bob and the eskimos food for themselves and oil for their lamp, and the lad was imbued with new hope as he hurried off to summon netseksoak and aluktook to aid him in bringing the carcass to the igloo. the afternoon was well advanced before he found the two eskimos, and when he told them of his good fortune they were very much elated, and all three started back immediately to the scene of the bear hunt. as they approached it aluktook shouted an exclamation and pointed towards the south. bob and netseksoak looked, and there, dimly outlined in the distance but still plainly distinguishable, was the black hull of a vessel with two masts glistening in the sunshine. "tis th' hand o' providence!" exclaimed bob. the three shook hands and laughed and did everything to show their delight short of hugging each other, and then ran towards the vessel, suddenly possessed of a vague fear that it might sail away before they were seen. bob fired several shots out of his rifle as he ran, to attract the attention of the crew, but as they approached they could see no sign of life, and they soon found that it was a schooner frozen tight and fast in the ice pack. when they at last reached it bob read, painted in bold letters, the name, "maid of the north." xxiv the escape they lost no time in climbing on deck, and what was their astonishment when they reached there to find the vessel quite deserted. everything was in spick and span order both in the cabin and above decks. it was now nearly dark and an examination of her hold had to be deferred until the following day. one thing was certain, however. no one had occupied the cabin for some time, and no one had boarded or left the vessel since the last snow-storm, for no footprints were to be found on the ice near her. it was truly a great mystery, and the only solution that occurred to bob was that the ice pack had "pinched" the schooner and opened her up below, and the crew had made a hurried escape in one of the boats. this he knew sometimes occurred on the coast, and if it were the case, and her hull had been crushed below the water line, it was of course only a question of the ice breaking up, which might occur at any time, when she would go to the bottom. there was one small boat on deck, and if an examination in the morning disclosed the unseaworthiness of the craft, this small boat would at least serve them as a means of escape from the ice pack. whatever the condition of the vessel, the night was calm and the ice was hard, and there was no probability of a break-up that would release her from her firm fastenings before morning; and they decided, therefore, to make themselves comfortable aboard. there was a stove in the cabin and another in the forecastle, plenty of blankets were in the berths, and provisions--actual luxuries--down forward. bob was afraid that it was a dream and that he would wake up presently to the realities of the igloo and raw dog meat, and the hopelessness of it all. he and the eskimos lighted the lamps, started a fire in the galley stove, put the kettle over, fried some bacon, and finally sat down to a feast of bacon, tea, ship's biscuit, butter, sugar, and even jam to top off with. it was the best meal, bob declared, that he had ever eaten in all his life. "an' if un turns out t' be a dream, 'twill be th' finest kind o' one," was his emphatic decision. how the three laughed and talked and enjoyed themselves over their supper, and how bob revelled in the soft, warm blankets of captain hanks' berth when he finally, for the first time in weeks, was enabled to undress and crawl into bed, can better be imagined than described. after an early breakfast the next morning the first care was to examine the hold, and very much to their satisfaction, and at the same time mystification, for they could not now understand why the schooner had been abandoned, they found the hull quite sound and the schooner to all appearances perfectly seaworthy. another astonishment awaited bob, too, when he came upon the quantities of fur, and the stock of provisions and other goods that he found below decks. "'tis enough t' stock a company's post!" he exclaimed. but its real intrinsic value was quite beyond his comprehension. when it was settled, beyond doubt, that the _maid of the north_ was entirely worthy of their confidence and in no danger of sinking, the three returned to the igloo and transferred their sleeping bags and few belongings, as well as the dogs, to their new quarters on board of her. after this was done they skinned and dressed the polar bear, which still lay upon the ice where it had been killed, and some of the flesh was fed to the half famished dogs. bob insisted upon giving them an additional allowance, after the two eskimos had fed them, for he said that they, too, should share in the good fortune, though netseksoak expressed the opinion that the dogs ought to have been quite satisfied to escape being eaten. the choicest cuts of the bear's meat the men kept for their own consumption, and bob rescued the liver also, when aluktook was about to throw it to the dogs, for he was very fond of caribou liver and saw no reason why that of the polar bear should not prove just as palatable. he fried some of it for supper, but when he placed it on the table both aluktook and netseksoak refused to touch it, declaring it unfit to eat, and warned bob against it. "there's an evil spirit in it," they said with conviction, "and it makes men sick." this was very amusing to bob, and disregarding their warning he ate heartily of it himself, wondering all the time what heathen superstition it was that prejudiced eskimos against such good food, for, as he had observed, they would usually eat nearly anything in the way of flesh, and a great many things that he would not eat. in a little while bob began to realize that something was wrong. he felt queerly, and was soon attacked with nausea and vomiting. for two or three days he was very sick indeed and the eskimos both told him that it was the effect of the evil spirit in the liver, and that he would surely die, and for a day or so he believed that he really should. whether the bear liver was under the curse of evil spirits or was in itself poisonous were questions that did not interest bob. he knew it had made him sick and that was enough for him, and what remained of the liver went to the dogs, when he was able to be about again. the days passed wearily enough for the men in their floating prison, impatient as they were at their enforced inactivity, but still helpless to do anything to quicken their release. may was dragging to an end and june was at hand, and still the ice pack, firm and unbroken, refused to loose its bands. slowly--imperceptibly to the watchers on board the _maid of the north_--it was drifting to the southward on the bosom of the arctic current. but the sun, constantly gaining more power, was rotting the ice, and it was inevitable that sooner or later the pack must fall to pieces and release the schooner and its occupants from their bondage. then would come another danger. if the wind blew strong and the seas ran high, the heavy pans of ice pounding against the hull might crush it in and send the vessel to the bottom. therefore, while longing for release, there was at the same time an element of anxiety connected with it. finally the looked for happened. one afternoon a heavy bank of clouds, black and ominous, appeared in the western sky. a light puff of wind presaged the blow that was to follow, and in a little while the gale was on. the _maid of the north_, it will be understood, lay in bay ice, and all the ice to the south of her was bay ice. this was much lighter than that coming from more northerly points, and when the open sea which skirted the western edge of the field began to rise and sweep in upon this rotten ice the waves crumbled and crumpled it up before their mighty force like a piece of cardboard. it was a time of the most intense anxiety for the three men. just at dusk, amid the roar of wind and smashing ice, the vessel gave a lurch, and suddenly she was free. fortunately her rudder was not carried away, as they had feared it would be, and when she answered the helm, bob whispered, "thank th' lard." they were at the mercy of the wind during the next few hours, and there was little that could be done to help themselves until towards morning, when the gale subsided. then, with daylight, under short sail they began working the vessel out of the "slob" ice that surrounded it, and before dark that night were in the open sea, with now only a moderate breeze blowing, which fortunately had shifted to the northward. here they found themselves beset by a new peril. icebergs, great, towering, fearsome masses, lay all about them, and to make matters worse a thick gray fog settled over the ocean, obscuring everything ten fathoms distant. they brought the vessel about and lay to in the wind, but even then drifted dangerously near one towering ice mass, and once a berg that could not have been half a mile away turned over with a terrifying roar. it seemed as though a collision was inevitable before daylight, but the night passed without mishap, and when the morning sun lifted the fog the ship was still unharmed. there was no land anywhere to be seen. what position they were in bob did not know, and had no way of finding out. he did know, however, that somewhere to the westward lay the labrador coast, and this they must try to reach. fortunately he could read the compass, and by its aid took as nearly as possible a due westerly course. alutook and netseksoak, expert as they were in the handling of kayaks, had no knowledge of the management of larger craft like the _maid of the north_, and without question accepted bob as commander and followed his directions implicitly and faithfully; and he handled the vessel well, for he was a good sailor, as all lads of the labrador are. they made excellent headway, and were favoured with a season of good weather, and like the barometer bob's spirits rose. but he dared to plan nothing beyond the present action. a hundred times he had planned and pictured the home-coming, but each time fate, or the will of a providence that he could not understand, had intervened, and with the crushing of each new hope and the wiping out of each delightful picture that his imagination drew, he decided to look not into the future, but do his best in the present and trust to providence for the rest, for, as he expressed it, "th' lard's makin' his own plans an' he's not wantin' me t' be meddlin' wi' un, an' so he's not lettin' me do th' way i lays out t' do, an' i'll be makin' no more plans, but takin' things as they comes along." in this frame of mind he held the vessel steadily to her course and kept a constant lookout for land or a sail, and on the morning of the third day after the release from the ice pack was rewarded by a shout from netseksoak announcing land at last. eagerly he looked, and in the distance, dimly, but still there, appeared the shore in low, dark outline against the horizon. towards noon a sail was sighted, and late in the afternoon they passed within hailing distance of a fishing schooner bound down north. he shouted to the fishermen who, at the rail, were curiously watching the _maid of the north_, as she plowed past them. [illustration: "he held the vessel steadily to her course"] "what land may that be?" pointing at a high, rocky head that jutted out into the water two miles away. "th' devil's head," came the reply. "an' what's th' day o' th' month?" "th' fifteenth o' june," rang out the answer. "where un hail from?" "ungava," bob shouted to the astonished skipper, who was now almost out of hearing. the information that the land was the devil's head came as joyful news to bob. he had often heard of the devil's head, and knew that it lay not far from the entrance to eskimo bay, and therefore in a little while he believed he should see some familiar landmarks. bob's hopes were confirmed, and before dark the twin rocks near scrag island were sighted, and as they came into view his heart swelled and his blood tingled. he was almost home! that night they lay behind scrag island, and with the first dawn of the morning were under way again. the wind was fair, and before sunset the _maid of the north_ sailed into fort pelican harbour and anchored. bob's heart beat high as he stepped into the small boat to row ashore, for the whitewashed buildings of the post, the air redolent with the perfume of the forest, and the howling dogs told him that at last the dangers of the trail and sea were all behind him and of the past, and that he would soon be at home again. mr. forbes was at the wharf when bob landed, and when he saw who it was exclaimed in astonishment: "why it's bob gray! where in the world, or what spirit land did you come from? why ed matheson brought your remains out of the bush last winter and i hear they were buried the other day." "i comes from ungava, sir, with some letters mr. macpherson were sendin'," answered bob, as he made the painter fast. "letters from ungava! well, come to the office and we'll see them. i want to hear how you got here from ungava." in the office bob told briefly the story of his adventures, while he ripped the letters from his shirt, where he had sewed them in a sealskin covering for safe keeping. "has un heard, sir, how mother an' emily an' father is?" he asked as he handed over the mail. "mr. macdonald sent his man down the other day, and he told me your mother took it pretty hard, when they buried you last week, although she has stuck to it all along that the remains ed brought out were not yours and you were alive somewhere. emily don't seem to change. your father and nearly every one else in the bay has had a good hunt. go out to the men's kitchen for your supper now and when you've eaten come back again and we'll talk things over." in the kitchen he heard some exaggerated details of ed's journey out, and something of the happenings up the bay during the winter. when he had finished his meal he returned to the office, where mr. forbes was waiting for him. "well, ungava bob, as mr. macpherson calls you in his letter," said mr. forbes, "you've earned the rifle he gave you, and you're to keep it. now tell me more of your adventures since you left ungava." little by little he drew from bob pretty complete details of the journey, and then told him that he had better sail the _maid of the north_ up to kenemish, where douglas campbell and his father would see that he secured the salvage due him for bringing out the schooner. "an' what may salvage be, sir?" asked bob. "why," answered mr. forbes, "you found the schooner a derelict at sea and you brought her into port. when you give her back to the owner he will have to pay you whatever amount the court decides is due you for the service, and it may be as much as one-half the value of the vessel and cargo. you'll get enough out of it to settle you comfortably for life." bob heard this in open-mouthed astonishment. it was too good for him to quite believe at first, but mr. forbes assured him that it was usual and within his rights. they arranged that netseksoak and aluktook should go with him to kenemish and later return to fort pelican to be paid by mr. forbes for their services and to be sent home by him on the company's ship, the _eric_, on its annual voyage north. then bob, after thanking mr. forbes, rowed back to the _maid of the north_, too full of excitement and anticipation to sleep. with the first ray of morning light the anchor was weighed, the sails hoisted and but two days lay between bob and home. as he stood on the deck of the _maid of the north_ and drank in the wild, rugged beauty of the scene around him bob thought of that day, which seemed so long, long ago, when he and his mother, broken hearted and disconsolate were going home with little emily, and how he had looked away at those very hills and the inspiration had come to him that led to the journey from which he was now returning. tears came to his eyes and he said to himself, "sure th' lard be good. 'twere he put un in my head t' go, an' he were watchin' over me an' carin' for me all th' time when i were thinkin' he were losin' track o' me. i'll never doubt th' lard again." xxv the break-up one evening a month after ed matheson started out with his gruesome burden to wolf bight, dick blake was sitting alone in the tilt at the junction of his and ed's trails, smoking his after supper pipe and meditating on the happenings of the preceding weeks. there were some things in connection with the tragedy that he had never been able to quite clear up. why, for instance, he asked himself, did micmac john steal the furs and then leave them in the tilt where they were found? had the half-breed been suddenly smitten by his conscience? that seemed most unlikely, for dick had never discovered any indication that micmac possessed a conscience. no possible solution of the problem presented itself. a hundred times he had probed the question, and always ended by saying, as he did now, "'tis strange--wonderful strange, an' i can't make un out." he arose and knocked the ashes out of his pipe, filled the stove with wood, and then looked out into the night before going to his bunk. it was snowing thick and fast. "'tis well to-morrow's sunday," he remarked. "the's nasty weather comin'." "that they is," said a voice so close to his elbow that he started back in surprise, "why, hello, ed. you were givin' me a rare start, sneakin' in as quiet's a rabbit. how is un?" "fine," said ed, who had just come around the corner of the tilt in time to hear dick's remark in reference to the weather. "who un talkin' to?" "to a sensible man as agrees wi' me," answered dick facetiously. "a feller does get wonderful lonesome seem' no one an' has t' talk t' hisself sometimes." the two entered the tilt and ed threw off his adikey while dick put the kettle over. "well," asked dick, when ed was finally seated, "how'd th' mother take un?" "rare hard on th' start off," said ed. "'twere th' hardest thing i ever done, tellin' she, an' 'twere all i could do t' keep from breakin' down myself. i 'most cried, i were feelin so bad for un. "douglas were there an' bessie were visitin' th' sick maid, which were a blessin', fer richard were away on his trail. "i goes in an' finds un happy an' thinkin' maybe bob'd be comin'. i finds th' bones gettin' weak in my legs, soon's i sees un, an' th' mother, soon's she sees me up an' says she's knowin' somethin' happened t' bob, an' i has t' tell she wi'out waitin' t' try t' make un easy's i'd been plannin' t' do. she 'most faints, but after a while she asks me t' tell she how bob were killed, an' i tells. "then she's wantin' t' see a bit o' the clothes we found, an' when she looks un over she raises her head an' says, '_them_ weren't bob's. i knows bob's clothes, an' them weren't _his_! when i tells 'bout findin' _two_ axes she says bob were havin' only one axe, an' then she's believin' bob wasn't got by th' wolves, an' is livin' somewheres. "douglas goes for richard, an' when richard comes he says th' clothes's bob's an' th' gun _ain't_, an' bob were havin' only one axe. "richard's not doubtin' th' remains was bob's though, an' o' course the's no doubtin' _that_. th' clothes's gettin' so stained up i'm thinkin' th' mother'd not be knowin' un. but richard sure would be knowin' th' gun, an' that's what _i'm_ wonderin' at." "'tis rare strange," assented dick. "an' _i'm_ wonderin' why micmac john were leavin' th' fur in th' 'tilt after stealin' un. that's what _i'm_ wonderin' at." the whole evening was thus spent in discussing the pros and cons of the affair. they both decided that while the gun and axe question were beyond explanation, there was no doubt that bob had been destroyed by wolves and the remains that they found were his. the plan that bill had suggested for hunting the trails without taking sunday rest, thus enabling them to attend to a part of bob's big hill trail, was resorted to, and the winter's work was the hardest, they all agreed, that they had ever put in. january and february were excessively cold months and during that period, when the fur bearing animals keep very close to their lairs, the catch was indifferent. but with the more moderate weather that began with march and continued until may the harvest was a rich one, for it was one of those seasons, after a year of unusual scarcity, as the previous two years had been, when the fur bearing animals come in some inexplicable way in great numbers, and food game also is plentiful. at length the hunting season closed, when the mild weather with daily thaws arrived. the fur that was now caught was deteriorating to such an extent that it was not wise to continue catching it. the traps on the various trails were sprung and hung upon trees or placed upon rocks, where they could be readily found again, and dick and ed joined bill at the river tilt, where the boat had been cached to await the breaking up of the river, and here enjoyed a respite from their labours. ptarmigans in flocks of hundreds fed upon the tender tops of the willows that lined the river banks, and these supplied them with an abundance of fresh meat, varied occasionally by rabbits, two or three porcupines and a lynx that dick shot one day near the tilt. this lynx meat they roasted by an open fire outside the tilt, and considered it a great treat. it may be said that the roasted lynx resembles in flavour and texture prime veal, and it is indeed, when properly cooked, delicious; and the hunter knows how to cook it properly. trout, too, which they caught through the ice, were plentiful. they had brought with them when coming to the trails in the autumn, tackle for the purpose of securing fish at this time. the lines were very stout, thick ones, and the hooks were large. a good-sized piece of lead, melted and moulded around the stem of the hook near the eye, weighted it heavily, and it was baited with a piece of fat pork and a small piece of red cloth or yarn, tied below the lead. the rod was a stout stick three feet in length and an inch thick. with this equipment the hook was dropped into the hole and moved up and down slowly, until a fish took hold, when it was immediately pulled out. the trout were very sluggish at this season of the year and made no fight, and were therefore readily landed. the most of them weighed from two to five pounds each, and indeed any smaller than that were spurned and thrown back into the hole "t' grow up," as ed put it. one evening a rain set in and for four days and nights it never ceased. it poured down as if the gates of the eternal reservoirs of heaven had been opened and the flood let loose to drown the world. the snow became a sea of slush and miniature rivers ran down to join forces with the larger stream. at first the waters overflowed the ice, but at last it gave way to the irresistible force that assailed it, and giving way began to move upon the current in great unwieldly masses. the river rose to its brim and burst its banks. trees were uprooted, and mingling with the ice surged down towards the sea upon the crest of the unleashed, untamed torrent. the break-up that the men were awaiting had come. "'tis sure a fearsome sight," remarked bill one day when the storm was at its height, as he returned from "a look outside" to join dick and ed, who sat smoking their pipes in silence in the tilt. "an' how'd un like t' be ridin' one o' them cakes o' ice out there, an' no way o' reachin' shore?" asked ed. "i wouldn't be ridin' un from choice, an' if i were ridin' un i'm thinkin' 'twould be my last ride," answered bill. "once i were ridin' un, an' ridin' un from choice," said ed, with the air of one who had a story to tell. "no you weren't never ridin' un. what un tell such things for, ed?" broke in dick. "un has dreams an' tells un for happenin's, i'm thinkin'." ed ignored the interruption as though he had not heard it, and proceeded to relate to bill his wonderful adventure. "once," said he,--"'twere five year ago--i were waitin' at my lower tilt for th' break-up t' come, an' has my boat hauled up t' what i thinks is a safe place, when i gets up one mornin' t' find th' water come up extra high in th' night an' th' boat gone wi' th' ice. that leaves me in a rare bad fix, wi' nothin' t' do, seems t' me, but wait for th' water t' settle, an' cruise down th' river afoot. "i'm not fancyin' th' cruise, an' i watches th' ice an' wonders, when i marks chance cakes o' ice driftin' down close t' shore an' touchin' land now an' agin as un goes, could i ride un. th' longer i watches un th' more i thinks 'twould be a fine way t' ride on un, an' at last i makes up my pack an' cuts a good pole, an' watches my chance, which soon comes. a big cake comes rollin' down an' i steps aboard un an' away i goes. "'twere fine for a little while, an' i says, 'ed, now _you_ knows th' thing t' do in a tight place.' "'twere a rare pretty sight watchin' th' shore slippin' past, an' i forgets as 'tis a piece o' ice i'm ridin' till i happens t' look around an' finds th' cake o' ice, likewise myself, in th' middle o' th' river, an' no way o' gettin' ashore. the's nothin' t' do but hang on, an' i hangs. "then i sees th' gull island rapids an' i 'most loses my nerve. 'tis a fearsome torrent at best, as un knows, but now wi' high flood 'tis like ten o' unself at low water. th' waves beats up twenty foot high." ed paused here to light his pipe which had a way of always going out when he reached the most dramatic point in his stories. when it was finally going again, he continued: "lucky 'twere for me th' rocks were all covered. in we goes, me an' th' ice, an' i hangs on an' shuts my eyes. when i opens un we're floatin' peaceful an' steady below th' rapids, an' i feels like breathin' agin. "then we runs th' porcupine rapids, an' i begins t' think i has th' muskrat falls t' run too which would be th' endin' o' me, sure. but i ain't. i uses my pole, an' works up t' shore, an' just as we gets th' rush o' th' water above th' falls, i lands. "that were how i rid th' river on a' ice cake." "where'd ye land, now?" asked dick. "this side o' th' river or t' other?" "this side o' un," answered ed, complacently. "'tis sheer rock this side, an' no holt t' land on," said dick, triumphantly. "'th' water were t' th' top o' th' rock," explained ed. "then," said dick, with the air of one who has trapped another, "th' hull country were flooded an' there were no falls." ed looked at him for a moment disdainfully. "i were on th' ice six days, an' _i knows_." the men were held in waiting for several days after the storm ceased for the river to clear of debris and sink again to something like its normal volume, before it was considered safe for them to begin the voyage out. then on a fair june morning the boat was laden with the outfit and fur. "poor bob," said dick, as bob's things were placed in the boat. "th' poor lad were so hopeful when we were comin' in t' th' trails, an' now un's gone. 'twill be hard t' meet his mother an richard." "aye, 'twill be hard," assented ed. "she'll be takin' un rare hard. our comin' home'll be bringin' his goin' away plain t' she again." "an' emily, too," spoke up bill. "they were thinkin' so much o' each other." then the journey was begun, full of danger and excitement as they shot through rushing rapids and on down the river towards eskimo bay, where great and unexpected tidings awaited them. xxvi back at wolf bight bob's apparent death was a sore shock to richard gray. when douglas found him on the trail and broke the news to him as gently as possible, he seemed at first hardly to comprehend it. he was stunned. he said little, but followed douglas back to the cabin like one in a mesmeric sleep. a few days before he had gone away happy and buoyant, now he shuffled back like an old man. mechanically he looked at the remains and examined the gun and the axe--ed had brought out but one of the axes found by the rock with the remains--and said, "th' gun's not bob's. th' axe were his." "th' gun's not bob's!" exclaimed mrs. gray "th' clothes is not bob's! now i knows 'tis not my boy we've found." "yes, mary," said he broken-heartedly. "tis bob th' wolves got. our poor lad is gone. no one else could ha' had his things." he and douglas made a coffin into which the remains were tenderly placed, and it was put upon a high platform near the house, out of reach of animals, there to rest until the spring, when the snow would be gone and it could be buried. for a whole week after this sad duty was performed the father sat by the cabin stove and brooded, a broken-hearted, dispirited counterpart of what he had been at the christmas time. it was the man's nature to be silent in seasons of misfortune. during the previous year, when luck had been so against him, this characteristic of silent brooding had shown itself markedly, but then he did not remain in the house and neglect his work as he did now. he seemed to have lost all heart and all ambition. he scarcely troubled to feed the dogs, and the few tasks that he did perform were evidently irksome and unpleasant to him, as things that interfered with his reveries. from morning until night richard gray nursed the grief in his bosom, but never referred to the tragedy unless it was first mentioned by another; and at such times he said as little as possible about it, answering questions briefly, offering nothing himself, and plainly showing that he did not wish to converse upon the subject. over and over again he reviewed to himself every phase of bob's life, from the time when, a wee lad, bob climbed on his knee of an evening to beg for stories of bear hunts, and great gray wolves that harried the hunters, and how the animals were captured on the trail; and through the years into which the little lad grew into youth and approached manhood, down to the day that he left home, looking so noble and stalwart, to brave, for the sake of those he loved, the unknown dangers that lurked in the rude, wild wastes beyond the line of blue mysterious hills to the northward. and now the poor remains enclosed in the rough box that rested upon the scaffold outside were all that remained of him. and that was the end of all the plans that he and the mother had made for their son's future, of all their hopes and fine pictures. mrs. gray had never seen her husband in so downcast and despondent a mood, and as the days passed she began to worry about him and finally became alarmed. he had lost all interest in everything, and had a strange, unnatural look in his eyes that she did not like. one evening she sat down by his aide, and, taking his hand, said: "be a brave man, richard, and bear up. th' lard's never let bob die so. that were _not_ bob as th' wolves got. i'm knowin' our lad's somewheres alive. i were dreamin' last night o' seem' he--an'--i feels it--i feels it--an' i can't go agin my feelin'." "no, mary, 'twere bob," he answered. "i feels 'tweren't, but if 'twere 'tis th' lard's will, an' 'tis our duty t' be brave an' bear up. tis hard--rare hard--but bear up, richard--an' bear un like a man. remember, richard, we has th' maid spared to us." and so, heart-broken though she was herself, she comforted and encouraged him, as is the way of women, for in times of great misfortune they are often the braver of the sexes. her husband did not know the hours of wakeful uncertainty and helplessness and despair that mrs. gray spent, as she lay long into the nights thinking and thinking, until sometimes it seemed that she would go mad. bessie, gentle and sympathetic, was the pillar upon which they all leaned during those first days after the dreadful tidings came. it was her presence that made life possible. like a good angel she moved about the house, unobtrusively ministering to them, and mrs. gray more than once said, "i'm not knowin' what we'd do, bessie, if 'twere not for you." after a week of silent despondency the father roused himself to some extent from the lethargy into which he had fallen, and returned to his trail. the work brought back life and energy, and when, a fortnight later, he came back, he had resumed somewhat his old bearing and manner, though not all of the buoyancy. he entered the cabin with the old greeting--"an' how's my maid been wi'out her daddy?" it made the others feel better and happier; and he was almost his natural self again when he left them for another period. the report of bob's death did not appear to affect emily as greatly as her mother feared it would. she was silent, and took less interest in her doll, and seemed to be constantly expecting something to occur. one day after her father had left them she called her mother to her, and, taking her hand to draw her to a seat on the couch, asked: "mother, do angels ever come by day, or be it always by night?" "i'm--i'm--not knowin', dear. they comes both times, i'm thinkin'--but mostly by night--i'm--not knowin'," faltered the mother. "does un think bob's angel ha' been comin' by night while we sleeps, mother? i been watchin', an' he've never come while i wakes--an' i'm wonderin' an' wonderin'." "no--not while we sleeps--no--i'm not knowin'," and then she buried her face in emily's pillow and wept. "bob's knowin', mother, how we longs t' see he," continued emily, as she stroked her mother's hair, "an' he'd sure be comin' if he were killed. he'd sure be doin' that so we could see un. but he's not been comin', an' i'm thinkin' he's livin', just as you were sayin'. bob'll be home wi' th' break-up, mother, i'm thinkin'--wi' th' break-up, mother, for his angel ha' never come, as un sure would if he were dead." on two or three other occasions after this--once in the night--emily called mrs. gray to her to reiterate this belief. she would not accept even the possibility of bob's death without first seeing his angel, which she was so positive would come to visit them if he were really dead; and it was this that kept back the grief that she would have felt had she believed that she was never to see him again. bessie remained with them until the last of february, when her father drove the dogs over to take her home, as many of the trappers were expected in from their trails about the first of march to spend a few days at the post, and her mother needed her help with the additional work that this entailed. emily was loath to part from her, but her father promised that she should return again for a visit as soon as the break-up came and before the fishing commenced. douglas campbell was very good to the grays, and at least once each week, and sometimes oftener, walked over to spend the day and cheer them up. often he brought some little delicacy for emily, and she looked forward to his visits with much pleasure. one day towards the last of may he asked emily: "how'd un like t' go t' st. johns an' have th' doctors make a fine, strong maid of un again? i'm thinkin' th' mother's needin' her maid t' help her now." "oh, i'd like un fine, sir!" exclaimed emily. "i'm thinkin' we'll have t' send un. 'twill be a long while away from home. you won't be gettin' lonesome now?" "i'm fearin' i'll be gettin' lonesome for mother, but i'll stand un t' get well an' walk again." "now does un hear that," said douglas to mrs. gray, who at that moment came in from out of doors. "your little maid's goin' t' st. johns t' have th' doctors make she walk again, so she can be helpin' wi' th' housekeepin'." "the's no money t' send she," said mrs. gray sadly. "'tis troublin' me wonderful, an' i'm not knowin' what t' do--'tis troublin' me so." "i'm thinkin' th' money'll be found t' send she--i'm _knowin'_ 'twill," douglas prophesied convincingly. "ed were sayin' bob had a rare lot o' fur that he'd caught before th'--before th' new year--a fine lot o' martens an' th' silver foxes. them'll pay bob's debt an' pay for th' maid's goin' too. that's what bob were wantin'." "did ed say now as bob were gettin' all that fur?" she asked. "i were feelin' so sore bad over bob's goin' i were never hearin' un--i were not thinkin' about th' lad's fur--i were thinkin' o' he." "aye, ed were sayin' that. emily must be ready t' go on th' cruise t' meet th' first trip o' th' mail boat. th' maid must be leavin' here by th' last o' june," planned douglas. "but we'll not be havin' th' money then--not till th' men comes out, an' then we has t' sell th' fur first t' get th' money," mrs. gray explained. "then--then i hopes th' maid may go. 'tis what bob were goin' t' th' bush for--an' takin' all th' risks for--my poor lad--he were countin' on un so----" "we'll not be waitin'. we'll not be waitin'. _i_ has th' money now an' th' maid must be goin' th' _first_ trip o' th' mail boat," said douglas, in an authoritative manner. "oh, douglas, you be wonderful good--so wonderful good." and mrs. gray began to cry. "now! now!" exclaimed the soft-hearted old trapper, "'tis nothin' t' be cryin' about. what un cryin' for, now?" "i'm--not--knowin'--only you be so good--an' i were wantin' so bad t' have emily go--i were wantin' so wonderful bad--an' 'twill save she--'twill save she!" "'tis no kindness. 'tis no kindness. 'tis bob's fur pays for un--no kindness o' mine," he insisted. emily took douglas' hand and drew him to her until she could reach his face. then with a palm on each cheek she kissed his lips, and with her arms about his neck buried her face for a moment in his white beard. "there! there!" he exclaimed when she had released him. "now what un makin' love t' me for?" richard returned that evening from his last trip over his trail for the season, and he was much pleased with the arrangement as to emily. "your daddy'll be lonesome wi'out un," said he, "but 'twill be fine t' think o' my maid comin' back walkin' again--rare fine." "an' 'twill be rare hard t' be goin'," she said. "i'm 'most wishin' i weren't havin' t' go." "but when you comes back, maid, you'll be well, an' think, now, how happy that'll make un," mrs. gray encouraged. "th' lard's good t' be providin' th' way. 'twill be hard for un an' for us all, but th' lard always pays us for th' hard times an' th' sorrow he brings us, wi' good times an' a rare lot o' happiness after, if we only waits wi' patience an' faith for un." "aye, mother, i knows, an' i _is_ glad--oh, _so_ glad t' know i's t' be well again," said emily very earnestly. "but," she added, "i'm thinkin' 'twould be so fine if you or daddy were goin' wi' me. bob were countin' on un so--i minds how bob were countin' on my goin'--an' he's not here t' know about un--an' i feels wonderful bad when i thinks of un." of course it was quite out of the question for either the father or the mother to go with her, for that would more than double the expense and could not be afforded. there was no certainty as to how much would be coming to them after bob's share of the furs were sold. this could not be estimated even approximately for they had not so much as seen the pelts yet. richard, grown somewhat pessimistic with the years of ill fortune, even doubted if, after bob's debt to mr. macdonald was paid, there would be sufficient left to reimburse douglas for the money he had agreed to advance to meet emily's expenses. "but then," he said, "i suppose 'twill work out somehow." at last the great storm came that opened the rivers and smashed the bay ice into bits, and when the fury of the wind was spent and the rain ceased the sun came out with a new warmth that bespoke the summer close at hand. the tide carried the splintered ice to the open sea, wild geese honked overhead in their northern flight, seals played in the open water, and the loon's weird laugh broke the wilderness silence. the world was awakening from its long slumber, and summer was at hand. tom black kept his word, and when the ice was gone brought bessie over in his boat to stay with emily until she should go to the hospital. it was a beautiful, sunny afternoon when they arrived and bessie brought a good share of the sunshine into the cabin with her. "oh, bessie!" cried emily, as her friend burst into the room. "i were thinkin' you'd not be comin', bessie! oh, 'tis fine t' have you come!" tom remained the night, and he and bessie cheered up the grays, for it had been a lonely, monotonous period since their last visit, and never a caller save douglas had they had. time, the great healer of sorrow, had somewhat mitigated the shock of bob's disappearance, and had reconciled them to some extent to his loss. but now the sore was opened again when, one day, a grave was dug in the spruce woods behind the cabin, and the coffin, which had been resting upon the scaffold since january, was taken down and reverently lowered into the earth by richard and douglas. mrs. gray, though still firm in the intuitive belief that her boy lived, wept piteously when the earth clattered down upon the box and hid it forever from view. "i knows 'tis not bob," she sobbed, "but where is my lad? what has become o' my brave lad?" bessie, with wet eyes, comforted her with soothing words and gentle caresses. richard and douglas did their work silently, both certain beyond a doubt that it was bob they had laid to rest. nothing was said to emily of the burial. that would have done her no good and they did not wish to give her the pain that it would have caused. the days were rapidly lengthening, and the sun coming boldly nearer the earth was tempering and mellowing the atmosphere, and every pleasant afternoon a couch was made for emily out of doors, where she could bask in the sunshine, and breathe the air charged with the perfume of the spruce and balsam forest above, and drink in the wild beauties of the wilderness about her. here she lay, alone, one day late in june while her mother and bessie washed the dinner dishes before bessie came out to join her, and her father and douglas, who had come over to dinner, smoked their pipes and chatted in the house. she was listening to the joyous song of a robin, that had just returned from its far-off southland pilgrimage, and was thinking as she listened of the long, long journey that she was soon to take. her heart was sad, for it was a sore trial to be separated all the summer from her father and mother and never see them once. she looked down the bight out towards the broader waters of the bay, for that was the way she was to go. suddenly as she looked a boat turned the point into the bight. it was a strange boat and she could not see who was in it, but it held her attention as it approached, for a visitor was quite unusual at this time of the year. presently the single occupant stood up in the boat, to get a better view of the cabin. "bob! _bob!_ bob!" shouted emily, quite wild and beside herself. "mother! father! bob is coming! _bob_ is coming!" those in the house rushed out in alarm, for they thought the child had gone quite mad, but when they reached her they, too, seemed to lose their reason. mrs. gray ran wildly to the sandy shore where the boat would land, extending her arms towards it and fairly screaming, "my lad! oh, my lad!" bessie was at her heels and richard and douglas followed. when bob stepped ashore his mother clasped him to her arms and wept over him and fondled him, and he, taller by an inch than when he left her, bronzed and weather-beaten and ragged, drew her close to him and hugged her again and again, and stroked her hair, and cried too, while richard and douglas stood by, blowing their noses on their red bandana handkerchiefs and trying to took very self-composed. when his mother let him go bob greeted the others, forgetting himself so far as to kiss bessie, who blushed and did not resent his boldness. emily simply would not let him go. she held him tight to her, and called him her "big, brave brother," and said many times: "i were knowin' you'd come back to us, bob. i were just _knowin'_ you'd come back." an hour passed in a babble of talk and exchange of explanations almost before they were aware, and then mrs. gray suddenly realized that bob had had no dinner. "now un must be rare hungry, bob," she explained. "richard, carry emily in with un now, an' we'll have a cup o' tea wi' bob, while he has his dinner." "let me carry un," said bob, gathering emily into his arms. in the house they were all so busy talking and laughing, while mrs. gray prepared the meal for bob, that no one noticed a boat pull into the bight and three men land upon the beach below the cabin; and so, just as they were about to sit down to the table, they were taken completely by surprise when the door opened and in walked dick blake, ed matheson and bill campbell. the three stopped short in open-mouthed astonishment. "'tis bob's ghost!" finally exclaimed ed. they were soon convinced, however, that bob's hand grasp was much more real than that of any ghost, and the greetings that followed were uproarious. nearly the whole afternoon they sat around the table while bob told the story of his adventures. a comparison of experiences made it quite certain that the remains they had supposed to have been bob's were the remains of micmac john and the mystery of the half-breed's failure to return to the tilt for the pelts he had stolen was therefore cleared up. "an' th' nascaupees," said bob, "be not fearsome murderous folk as we was thinkin' un, but like other folks, an' un took rare fine care o' me. i'm thinkin' they'd not be hurtin' white folks an' white folk don't hurt _they_." finally the men sat back from the table for a smoke and chat while the dishes were being cleared away by mrs. gray and bessie. "now i were sure thinkin' bob were a ghost," said ed, as he lighted his pipe with a brand from the stove, "and 'twere scarin' me a bit. i never seen but one ghost in my life and that were----" "we're not wantin' t' hear that ghost yarn, ed," broke in dick, and ed forgot his story in the good-natured laughter that followed. the home-coming was all that bob had hoped and desired it to be and the arrival of his three friends from the trail made it complete. his heart was full that evening when he stepped out of doors to watch the setting sun. as he gazed at the spruce-clad hills that hid the great, wild north from which he had so lately come, the afterglow blazed up with all its wondrous colour, glorifying the world and lighting the heavens and the water and the hills beyond with the radiance and beauty of a northern sunset. the spirit of it was in bob's soul, and he said to himself, "'tis wonderful fine t' be livin', an' 'tis a wonderful fine world t' live in, though 'twere seemin' hard sometimes, in the winter. an' th' comin' home has more than paid for th' trouble i were havin' gettin' here." xxvii the cruise to st. johns when bob and the two eskimos sailed the _maid of the north_ up the bay from fort pelican it was found advisable to run the schooner to an anchorage at kenemish where she could lie with less exposure to the wind than at wolf bight. the moment she was made snug and safe bob went ashore to douglas campbell's cabin, where he learned that his old friend had gone to wolf bight early that morning to spend the day. the lad's impatience to reach home would brook no waiting, and so, leaving netseksoak and aluktook in charge of the vessel, he proceeded alone in a small boat, reaching there as we have seen early in the afternoon. what to do with the schooner now that she had brought him safely to his destination was a problem that bob had not been able to solve. the vessel was not his, and it was plainly his duty to find her owner and deliver the schooner to him, but how to go about it he did not know. that evening when the candles were lighted and all were gathered around the stove, he put the question to the others. "i'm not knowin' now who th' schooner belongs to," said he, "an' i'm not knowin' how t' find th' owner, i'm wonderin' what t' do with un." "tis some trader owns un i'm thinkin'," mrs. gray suggested. "'tis sure some trader," agreed bob, "and the's a rare lot o' fur aboard she an' the's enough trader's goods t' stock a post. mr. forbes were tellin' me i should be gettin' salvage for bringin' she t' port safe." "aye," confirmed douglas, "you should be gettin' salvage. 'tis th' law o' th' sea an' but right. we'll ha' t' be lookin' t' th' salvage for un lad." "but how'll we be gettin' un now?" bob asked, much puzzled. "an' how'll we be findin' th' owner?" "th' owner," explained douglas, "will be doin' th' findin' hisself i'm thinkin'. but t' get th' salvage th' schooner'll ha' t' be took t' st. johns. now i'm not knowin' but i could pilot she over. 'tis a many a long year since i were there but i'm thinkin' i could manage un, and we'll make up a crew an' sail she over." "we'll be needin' five t' handle she right," said bob. "'twere wonderful hard gettin' on wi' just me an' th' two huskies. we'll sure need five." "aye, 'twill need five of us," assented douglas, "i'm thinkin' now dick an' ed an' bill would like t' be makin' th' cruise an' seein' st. johns, an' we has th' crew right here." the three men were not only willing to go but delighted with the prospect of the journey. they had never in their lives been outside the bay and the voyage offered them an opportunity to see something of the great world of which they had heard so much. "i'll be wantin' t' go home first," said dick, "an' so will ed, but we'll be t' kenemish an' ready t' start in three days." "'twill be a fine way t' take th' maid t' th' mail boat so th' doctor can take she with un," suggested richard. "an' father an' mother an' bessie can go t' th' mail boat with us," spoke up emily, from her couch. "oh, 'twill be fine t' have you all go t' th' mail boat with me!" and so this arrangement was made and carried out. on the appointed day every one was aboard the _maid of the north_, and with light hearts the voyage was begun. two days later they reached fort pelican, when netseksoak and aluktook went ashore to await the arrival of the ship that was to take them to their far northern home, and bob said good-bye to the two faithful friends with whom he had braved so many dangers and suffered so many hardships. the following morning the mail boat steamed in, and emily was transferred to her in charge of the doctor, who greeted her kindly and promised, "you'll be going home a new girl in the fall, and your father and mother won't know you." nevertheless the parting from her friends was very hard for emily, and the mother and child, and bessie too, shed a good many tears, though the fact that she was to see bob in a little while in st. johns comforted emily somewhat. when the mail boat was finally gone, richard gray, with his wife and bessie, turned homeward in their dory, which had been brought down in tow of the _maid of the north_, and the schooner spread her sails to the breeze and passed to the southward. with some delays caused by bad weather, three weeks elapsed before the _maid of the north_ one day, late in july, sailed through the narrows past the towering cliffs of signal hill, and anchored in the land-locked harbour of st. johns. in the interim the mail boat had made another voyage to the north, and brought back with her captain hanks and his crew, who had worked their way to indian harbour in their open boat to await the steamer there. of course skipper sam had heard that bob was coming with the _maid of the north_, and when the schooner finally reached her anchorage he was on the lookout for her, and at once came aboard with much blustering, to demand her immediate delivery. he believed he had some unsophisticated livyeres to deal with, whom he could easily browbeat out of their rights. what was his surprise, then, when douglas stepped forward, and said very authoritatively: "bide a bit, now, skipper. when 'tis decided how much salvage you pays th' lad, an' after you pays un, you'll be havin' th' schooner an' her cargo, an' not till then." bob's first thought upon going ashore was of emily, and he went immediately to the hospital to see her. the operation had been performed nearly two weeks previously and she was recovering rapidly. when he was admitted to the ward, and she glimpsed him as he entered the door, her delight was almost beyond bounds. "oh! oh!" she exclaimed, when he kissed her. "tis fine t' see un, bob--'tis _so_ fine. an' now i'll be gettin' well wonderful quick." and she did. she was discharged from the hospital quite cured a month later. at first she was a little weak, but youth and a naturally strong constitution were in her favour, and she regained her strength with remarkable rapidity. finally a settlement was arranged with captain hanks. the furs on board the _maid of the north_ were appraised at market value, and when bob received his salvage he found himself possessed of fifteen thousand dollars. he reimbursed douglas the amount advanced for emily's hospital expenses, but the kind old trapper would not accept another cent, though the lad wished to pay him for his services in piloting the vessel to st. johns. "put un in th' bank. you'll be needin' un some day t' start un in life. hold on t' un," was the good advice that douglas gave, and accordingly the money was deposited in the bank. bob's share of the furs that he had trapped himself he very generously insisted upon giving to dick and ed and bill. they were diffident about accepting them at first, saying: "we were doin' nothin' for un." but bob pressed the furs upon them, and finally they accepted them. the silver fox which he wept over that cold december evening sold for four hundred and fifty dollars, and the one dick found frozen in the trap by the deer's antlers for three hundred dollars. neither did bob forget netseksoak and aluktook. money would have been quite useless to the eskimos as he well knew, so he sent them rifles and many things which they could use and would value. laden with gifts for the home folks, and satiated with looking at the shops and great buildings and wonders of st. johns, they were a very happy party when at last the mail boat steamed northward with them. bob gray was very proud of his little chum when, one beautiful september day, his boat ground its prow upon the sands at wolf bight, and with all the strength and vigour of youth she bounded ashore and ran to meet the expectant and happy parents. as, with full hearts, the reunited family of richard gray walked up the path to the cabin, bob said reverently: "th' lard has ways o' doin' things that seem strange an' wonderful hard sometimes when he's doin' un; but he always does un right, an' a rare lot better'n _we_ could plan." xxviii in after years during the twenty years that have elapsed since the incidents transpired that are here recorded, the mission doctors and the mission hospitals have come to the labrador to give back life and health to the unfortunate sick and injured folk of the coast, who in the old days would have been doomed to die or to go through life helpless cripples or invalids for the lack of medical or surgical care, as would have been the case with little emily but for the efforts of her noble brother. new people, too, have come into eskimo bay, though on the whole few changes have taken place and most of the characters met with in the preceding pages still live. douglas campbell in the fullness of years has passed away. but he is not forgotten, and in the spring-time loving hands gather the wild flowers, which grow so sparsely there, and scatter them upon the mossy mound that marks his resting place. ed matheson to this day tells the story of the adventures of ungava bob--as bob gray has thenceforth been called--not forgetting to embellish the tale with flights of fancy; and of course dick blake warns the listeners that these imaginative variations are "just some o' ed's yarns," and bob laughs at them good-naturedly. it may be asked to what use bob put his newly acquired wealth, and the reader's big sister should this book fall into her hands, will surely wish to know whether bob and bessie married, and what became of manikawan. but these are matters that belong to another story that perhaps some day it may seem worth while to tell. for the present, adieu to ungava bob. note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustration (radisson's map). see 18182-h.htm or 18182-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/8/1/8/18182/18182-h/18182-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.net/dirs/1/8/1/8/18182/18182-h.zip) heralds of empire being the story of one ramsay stanhope lieutenant to pierre radisson in the northern fur trade by a. c. laut author of lords of the north toronto, canada william briggs 1902 entered according to act of the parliament of canada in the year 1902 by a. c. laut at the department of agriculture all rights reserved dedicated to the new world nobility ----now i learned how the man must have felt when he set about conquering the elements, subduing land and sea and savagery. and in that lies the homeric greatness of this vast fresh new world of ours. your old world victor takes up the unfinished work left by generations of men. your new world hero begins at the pristine task. i pray you, who are born to the nobility of the new world, forget not the glory of your heritage; for the place which got hath given you in the history of the race is one which men must hold in envy when roman patrician and norman conqueror and robber baron are as forgotten as the kingly lines of old egypt.---contents chapter foreword part i i. what are king-killers? ii. i rescue and am rescued iii. touching witchcraft iv. rebecca and jack battle conspire v. m. radisson again part ii vi. the roaring forties vii. m. de radisson acts viii. m. de radisson comes to his own ix. visitors x. the cause of the firing xi. more of m. radisson's rivals xii. m. radisson begins the game xiii. the white darkness xiv. a challenge xv. the battle not to the strong xvi. we seek the inlanders xvii. a bootless sacrifice xviii. facing the end xix. afterward xx. who the pirates were xxi. how the pirates came xxii. we leave the north sea part iii xxiii. a change of partners xxiv. under the aegis of the court xxv. jack battle again xxvi. at oxford xxvii. home from the bay xxviii. rebecca and i fall out xxix. the king's pleasure illustration radisson's map heralds of empire foreword i see him yet--swarthy, straight as a lance, keen as steel, in his eyes the restless fire that leaps to red when sword cuts sword. i see him yet--beating about the high seas, a lone adventurer, tracking forest wastes where no man else dare go, pitting his wit against the intrigue of king and court and empire. prince of pathfinders, prince of pioneers, prince of gamesters, he played the game for love of the game, caring never a rush for the gold which pawns other men's souls. how much of good was in his ill, how much of ill in his good, let his life declare! he played fast and loose with truth, i know, till all the world played fast and loose with him. he juggled with empires as with puppets, but he died not a groat the richer, which is better record than greater men can boast. of enemies, sieur radisson had a-plenty, for which, methinks, he had that lying tongue of his to thank. old france and new france, old england and new england, would have paid a price for his head; but pierre radisson's head held afar too much cunning for any hang-dog of an assassin to try "fall-back, fall-edge" on him. in spite of all the malice with which his enemies fouled him living and dead, sieur radisson was never the common buccaneer which your cheap pamphleteers have painted him; though, i' faith, buccaneers stood high enough in my day, when prince rupert himself turned robber and pirate of the high seas. pierre radisson held his title of nobility from the king; so did all those young noblemen who went with him to the north, as may be seen from m. colbert's papers in the records _de la marine_. nor was the disembarking of furs at isle percée an attempt to steal m. de la chesnaye's cargo, as slanderers would have us believe, but a way of escape from those vampires sucking the life-blood of new france--the farmers of the revenue. indeed, his most christian majesty himself commanded those robber rulers of quebec to desist from meddling with the northern adventurers. and if some gentleman who has never been farther from city cobblestones than to ride afield with the hounds or take waters at foreign baths, should protest that no maid was ever in so desolate a case as mistress hortense, i answer there are to-day many in the same region keeping themselves pure as pond-lilies in a brackish pool, at the forts of their fathers and husbands in the fur-trading country. [1] and as memory looks back to those far days, there is another--a poor, shambling, mean-spoken, mean-clad fellow, with the scars of convict gyves on his wrists and the dumb love of a faithful spaniel in his eyes. compare these two as i may--pierre radisson, the explorer with fame like a meteor that drops in the dark; jack battle, the wharf-rat--for the life of me i cannot tell which memory grips the more. one played the game, the other paid the pawn. both were misunderstood. one took no thought but of self; the other, no thought of self at all. but where the great man won glory that was a target for envy, the poor sailor lad garnered quiet happiness. [1] in confirmation of which reference may be called to the daughter of governor norton in prince of wales fort, north of nelson. hearne reports that the poor creature died from exposure about the time of her father's death, which was many years after mr. stanhope had written the last words of this record.--_author_. part i chapter i what are king-killers? my father--peace to his soul!--had been of those who thronged london streets with wine tubs to drink the restored king's health on bended knee; but he, poor gentleman, departed this life before his monarch could restore a wasted patrimony. for old tibbie, the nurse, there was nothing left but to pawn the family plate and take me, a spoiled lad in his teens, out to puritan kin of boston town. on the night my father died he had spoken remorsefully of the past to the lord bishop at his bedside. "tush, man, have a heart," cries his lordship. "thou'lt see pasch and yule yet forty year, stanhope. tush, man, 'tis thy liver, or a touch of the gout. take here a smack of port. sleep sound, man, sleep sound." and my father slept so sound he never wakened more. so i came to my uncle kirke, whose virtues were of the acid sort that curdles the milk of human kindness. with him, goodness meant gloom. if the sweet joy of living ever sang to him in his youth, he shut his ears to the sound as to siren temptings, and sternly set himself to the fierce delight of being miserable. for misery he had reason enough. having writ a book in which he called king charles "a man of blood and everlasting abomination"--whatever that might mean--eli kirke got himself star-chambered. when, in the language of those times, he was examined "before torture, in torture, between torture, and after torture"--the torture of the rack and the thumbkins and the boot--he added to his former testimony that the queen was a "babylonish woman, a potiphar, a jezebel, a--" there his mouth was gagged, head and heels roped to the rack, and a wrench given the pulleys at each end that nigh dismembered his poor, torn body. and what words, think you, came quick on top of his first sharp outcry? "wisdom is justified of her children! the wicked shall he pull down and the humble shall he exalt!" and when you come to think of it, charles stuart lost his head on the block five years from that day. when eli kirke left jail to take ship for boston town both ears had been cropped. on his forehead the letters s l--seditious libeler--were branded deep, though not so deep as the bitterness burned into his soul. there comes before me a picture of my landing, showing as clearly as it were threescore years ago that soft, summer night, the harbour waters molten gold in a harvest moon, a waiting group of figures grim above the quay. no firing of muskets and drinking of flagons and ringing of bells to welcome us, for each ship brought out court minions to whip boston into line with the restoration--as hungry a lot of rascals as ever gathered to pick fresh bones. old tibbie had pranked me out in brave finery: the close-cut, black-velvet waistcoat that young royalists then wore; a scarlet doublet, flaming enough to set the turkey yard afire; the silken hose and big shoe-buckles late introduced from france by the king; and a beaver hat with plumes a-nodding like my lady's fan. my curls, i mind, tumbled forward thicker than those foppish french perukes. "there is thy uncle kirke," whispers nurse tibbie. "pay thy best devoirs, master ramsay," and she pushes me to the fore of those crowding up the docks. a thin, pale man with a scarred face silently permitted me to salute four limp fingers. his eyes swept me with chill disapproval. my hat clapped on a deal faster than it had come off, for you must know we unhatted in those days with a grand, slow bow. "thy aunt ruth," says tibbie, nudging me; for had i stood from that day to this, i was bound that cold man should speak first. to my aunt the beaver came off in its grandest flourish. the pressure of a dutiful kiss touched my forehead, and i minded the passion kisses of a dead mother. those errant curls blew out in the wind. "ramsay stanhope," begins my uncle sourly, "what do you with uncropped hair and the foolish trappings of vanity?" as i live, those were the first words he uttered to me. "i perceive silken garters," says he, clearing his throat and lowering his glance down my person. "many a good man hath exchanged silk for hemp, my fine gentleman!" "an the hemp hold like silk, 'twere a fair exchange, sir," i returned; though i knew very well he referred to those men who had died for the cause. "ramsay," says he, pointing one lank fore-finger at me, "ramsay, draw your neck out of that collar; for the vanities of the wicked are a yoke leading captive the foolish!" now, my collar was _point-de-vice_ of prime quality over black velvet. my uncle's welcome was more than a vain lad could stomach; and what youth of his first teens hath not a vanity hidden about him somewhere? "thou shalt not put the horse and the ass under the same yoke, sir," said i, drawing myself up far as ever high heels would lift. he looked dazed for a minute. then he told me that he spake concerning my spiritual blindness, his compassions being moved to show me the error of my way. at that, old nurse must needs take fire. "lord save a lad from the likes o' sich compassions! sure, sir, an the good lord makes pretty hair grow, 'twere casting pearls before swine to shave his head like a cannon-ball"--this with a look at my uncle's crown--"or to dress a proper little gentleman like a ragged flibbergibbet." "tibbie, hold your tongue!" i order. "silence were fitter for fools and children," says eli kirke loftily. there comes a time when every life must choose whether to laugh or weep over trivial pains, and when a cut may be broken on the foil of that glancing mirth which the good creator gave mankind to keep our race from going mad. it came to me on the night of my arrival on the wharves of boston town. we lumbered up through the straggling village in one of those clumsy coaches that had late become the terror of foot-passengers in london crowds. my aunt pointed with a pride that was colonial to the fine light which the towns-people had erected on beacon hill; and told me pretty legends of rattlesnake hill that fired the desire to explore those inland dangers. i noticed that the rubble-faced houses showed lanterns in iron clamps above most of the doorways. my kinsman's house stood on the verge of the wilds-rough stone below, timbered plaster above, with a circle of bay windows midway, like an umbrella. high windows were safer in case of attack from savages, aunt ruth explained; and i mentally set to scaling rope ladders in and out of those windows. we drew up before the front garden and entered by a turnstile with flying arms. many a ride have little rebecca stocking, of the court-house, and ben gillam, the captain's son, and jack battle, the sailor lad, had, perched on that turnstile, while i ran pushing and jumping on, as the arms flew creaking round. the home-coming was not auspicious. yet i thought no resentment against my uncle. i realized too well how the bloody revenge of the royalists was turning the hearts of england to stone. one morning i recall, when my poor father lay a-bed of the gout and there came a roar through london streets as of a burst ocean dike. before tibbie could say no, i had snatched up a cap and was off. god spare me another such sight! in all my wild wanderings have i never seen savages do worse. through the streets of london before the shoutings of a rabble rout was whipped an old, white-haired man. in front of him rumbled a cart; in the cart, the axeman, laving wet hands; at the axeman's feet, the head of a regicide--all to intimidate that old, white-haired man, fearlessly erect, singing a psalm. when they reached the shambles, know you what they did? go read the old court records and learn what that sentence meant when a man's body was cast into fire before his living eyes! all the while, watching from a window were the princes and their shameless ones. ah, yes! god wot, i understood eli kirke's bitterness! but the beginning was not auspicious, and my best intentions presaged worse. for instance, one morning my uncle was sounding my convictions--he was ever sounding other people's convictions--"touching the divine right of kings." thinking to give strength to contempt for that doctrine, i applied to it one forcible word i had oft heard used by gentlemen of the cloth. had i shot a gun across the table, the effect could not have been worse. the serving maid fell all of a heap against the pantry door. old tibbie yelped out with laughter, and then nigh choked. aunt ruth glanced from me to eli kirke with a timid look in her eye; but eli kirke gazed stolidly into my soul as he would read whether i scoffed or no. thereafter he nailed up a little box to receive fines for blasphemy. "to be plucked as a brand from the burning," i hear him say, fetching a mighty sigh. but sweet, calm aunt ruth, stitching at some spotless kerchief, intercedes. "let us be thankful the lad hath come to us." "bound fast in cords of vanity," deplores uncle kirke. "but all things are possible," aunt ruth softly interposes. "all things are possible," concedes eli kirke grudgingly, "but thou knowest, ruth, all things are not probable!" and i, knowing my uncle loved an argument as dearly as merry gentlemen love a glass, slip away leg-bail for the docks, where sits ben gillam among the spars spinning sailor yarns to jack battle, of the great north sea, whither his father goes for the fur trade; or of m. radisson, the half-wild frenchman, who married an english kinswoman of eli kirke's and went where never man went and came back with so many pelts that the quebec governor wanted to build a fortress of beaver fur; [1] or of the english squadron, rocking to the harbour tide, fresh from winning the dutch of manhattan, and ready to subdue malcontents of boston town. then jack battle, the sailor lad from no one knows where, living no one knows how, digs his bare toes into the sand and asks under his breath if we have heard about king-killers. "what are king-killers?" demands young gillam. i discreetly hold my tongue; for a gentleman who supped late with my uncle one night has strangely disappeared, and the rats in the attic have grown boldly loud. "what are king-killers?" asks gillam. "them as sent charles i to his death," explains jack. "they do say," he whispers fearfully, "one o' them is hid hereabouts now! the king's commission hath ordered to have hounds and indians run him down." "pah!" says gillam, making little of what he had not known, "hounds are only for run-aways," this with a sneering look at odd marks round jack's wrists. "i am no slave!" vows jack in crestfallen tones. "who said 'slave'?" laughs gillam triumphantly. "my father saith he is a runaway rat from the barbadoes," adds ben to me. with the fear of a hunted animal under his shaggy brows, little jack tries to read how much is guess. "i am no slave, ben gillam," he flings back at hazard; but his voice is thin from fright. "my father saith some planter hath lost ten pound on thee, little slavie," continues ben. "pah! ten pound for such a scrub! he's not worth six! look at the marks on his arms, ramsay"--catching the sailor roughly by the wrist. "he can say what he likes. he knows chains." little jack jerked free and ran along the sands as hard as his bare feet could carry him. then i turned to ben, who had always bullied us both. dropping the solemn "thou's" which our elders still used, i let him have plain "you's." "you--you--mean coward! i've a mind to knock you into the sea!" "grow bigger first, little billycock," taunts ben. by the next day i was big enough. mistress hortense hillary was down on the beach with m. picot's blackamoor, who dogged her heels wherever she went; and presently comes rebecca stocking to shovel sand too. then ben must show what a big fellow he is by kicking over the little maid's cart-load. "stop that!" commands jack battle, springing of a sudden from the beach. for an instant, ben was taken aback. then the insolence that provokes its own punishment broke forth. "go play with your equals, jack-pudding! jailbirds who ape their betters are strangled up in quebec," and he kicked down rebecca's pile too. rebecca's doll-blue eyes spilled over with tears, but mistress hortense was the high-mettled, high-stepping little dame. she fairly stamped her wrath, and to jack's amaze took him by the hand and marched off with the hauteur of an empress. then ben must call out something about m. picot, the french doctor, not being what he ought, and little hortense having no mother. "ben," said i quietly, "come out on the pier." the pier ran to deep water. at the far end i spoke. "not another word against hortense and jack! promise me!" his back was to the water, mine to the shore. he would have promised readily enough, i think, if the other monkeys had not followed--rebecca with big tear-drops on both cheeks, hortense quivering with wrath, jack flushed, half shy and half shamed to be championed by a girl. "come, ben; 'fore i count three, promise----" but he lugged at me. i dodged. with a splash that doused us four, ben went headlong into the sea. the uplift of the waves caught him. he threw back his arms with a cry. then he sank like lead. the sailor son of the famous captain could not swim. rebecca's eyes nigh jumped from her head with fright. hortense grew white to the lips and shouted for that lout of a blackamoor sound asleep on the sand. before i could get my doublet off to dive, jack battle was cleaving air like a leaping fish, and the waters closed over his heels. bethink you, who are not withered into forgetfulness of your own merry youth, whether our hearts stopped beating then! but up comes that water-dog of a jack gripping ben by the scruff of the neck; and when by our united strength we had hauled them both on the pier, little mistress hortense was the one to roll gillam on his stomach and bid us "quick! stand him on his head and pour the water out!" from that day hortense was jack's slave, jack was mine, and ben was a pampered hero because he never told and took the punishment like a man. but there was never a word more slurring hortense's unknown origin and jack's strange wrist marks. [1] young stanhope's informant had evidently mixed tradition with fact. radisson was fined for going overland to hudson bay without the governor's permission, the fine to build a fort at three rivers. eli kirke's kinswoman was a daughter of sir john kirke, of the hudson's bay fur company.--_author_. chapter ii i rescue and am rescued so the happy childhood days sped on, a swift stream past flowered banks. ben went off to sail the north sea in captain gillam's ship. m. picot, the french doctor, brought a governess from paris for hortense, so that we saw little of our playmate, and jack battle continued to live like a hunted rat at the docks. my uncle and rebecca's father, who were beginning to dabble in the fur trade, had jointly hired a peripatetic dominie to give us youngsters lessons in bible history and the three r's. at noon hour i initiated rebecca into all the thrilling dangers of indian warfare, and many a time have we had wild escapes from imaginary savages by scaling a rope ladder of my own making up to the high nursery window. by-and-bye, when school was in and the dominie dozed, i would lower that timid little whiffet of a puritan maid out through the window to the turnstile. then i would ride her round till our heads whirled. if jack battle came along, rebecca would jump down primly and run in, for jack was unknown in the meeting-house, and the meeting-house was rebecca's measure of the whole world. one day jack lingered. he was carrying something tenderly in a red cambric handkerchief. "where is mistress hortense?" he asked sheepishly. "that silly french woman keeps her caged like a squirrel." little jack began tittering and giggling. "why--that's what i have here," he explained, slipping a bundle of soft fur in my hand. "it's tame! it's for hortense," said he. "why don't you take it to her, jack?" "take it to her?" reiterated he in a daze. "as long as she gets it, what does it matter who takes it?" with that, he was off across the marshy commons, leaving the squirrel in my hand. forgetting lessons, i ran to m. picot's house. that governess answered the knocker. "from jack battle to mistress hortense!" and i proffered the squirrel. though she smirked a world of thanks, she would not take it. then hortense came dancing down the hall. "am i not grown tall?" she asked, mischievously shaking her curls. "no," said i, looking down to her feet cased in those high slippers french ladies then wore, "'tis your heels!" and we all laughed. catching sight of the squirrel, hortense snatched it up with caresses against her neck, and the french governess sputtered out something of which i knew only the word "beau." "jack is no beau, mademoiselle," said i loftily. "pah! he's a wharf lad." i had thought hortense would die in fits. "mademoiselle means the squirrel, ramsay," she said, choking, her handkerchief to her lips. "tell jack thanks, with my love," she called, floating back up the stairs. and the governess set to laughing in the pleasant french way that shakes all over and has no spite. emboldened, i asked why hortense could not play with us any more. hortense, she explained, was become too big to prank on the commons. "faith, mademoiselle," said i ruefully, "an she mayn't play war on the commons, what may she play?" "beau!" teases mademoiselle, perking her lips saucily; and she shut the door in my face. it seemed a silly answer enough, but it put a notion in a lad's head. i would try it on rebecca. when i re-entered the window, the dominie still slept. rebecca, the demure monkey, bent over her lesson book as innocently as though there were no turnstiles. "rebecca," i whispered, leaning across the bench, "you are big enough to have a--what? guess." "go away, ramsay stanhope!" snapped rebecca, grown mighty good of a sudden, with glance fast on her white stomacher. "o-ho! crosspatch," thought i; and from no other motive than transgressing the forbidden, i reached across to distract the attentive goodness of the prim little baggage; but--an iron grip lifted me bodily from the bench. it was eli kirke, wry-faced, tight-lipped. he had seen all! this was the secret of mistress rebecca's new-found diligence. no syllable was uttered, but it was the awfullest silence that ever a lad heard. i was lifted rather than led upstairs and left a prisoner in locked room with naught to do but gnaw my conscience and gaze at the woods skirting the crests of the inland hills. those rats in the attic grew noisier, and presently sounds a mighty hallooing outside, with a blowing of hunting-horns and baying of hounds. what ado was this in boston, where men were only hunters of souls and chasers of devils? the rats fell to sudden quiet, and from the yells of the rabble crowd i could make out only "king-killers! king-killers!" these were no puritans shouting, but the blackguard sailors and hirelings of the english squadron set loose to hunt down the refugees. the shouting became a roar. then in burst eli kirke's front door. the house was suddenly filled with swearings enough to cram his blasphemy box to the brim. there was a trampling of feet on the stairs, followed by the crashing of overturned furniture, and the rabble had rushed up with neither let nor hindrance and were searching every room. who had turned informer on my uncle? was i not the only royalist in the house? would suspicion fall on me? but questions were put to flight by a thunderous rapping on the door. it gave as it had been cardboard, and in tumbled a dozen ruffians with gold-lace doublets, cockades and clanking swords. behind peered eli kirke, pale with fear, his eyes asking mine if i knew. true as eyes can speak, mine told him that i knew as well as he. "body o' me! what-a-deuce? only a little fighting sparrow of a royalist!" cried a swaggering colt of a fellow in officer's uniform. "no one here, lad?" demanded a second. and i saw eli kirke close his eyes as in prayer. "sir," said i, drawing myself up on my heels, "i don't understand you. i--am here." they bellowed a laugh and were tumbling over one another in their haste up the attic stairs. then my blood went cold with fear, for the memory of that poor old man going to the shambles of london flashed back. a window lifted and fell in the attic gable. with a rush i had slammed the door and was craning out full length from the window-sill. against the lattice timber-work of the plastered wall below the attic window clung a figure in geneva cloak, with portmanteau under arm. it was the man who had supped so late with eli kirke. "sir," i whispered, fearing to startle him from perilous footing, "let me hold your portmanteau. jump to the slant roof below." for a second his face went ashy, but he tossed me the bag, gained the shed roof at a leap, snatched back the case, and with a "lord bless thee, child!" was down and away. the spurred boots of the searchers clanked on the stairs. a blowing of horns! they were all to horse and off as fast as the hounds coursed away. the deep, far baying of the dogs, now loud, now low, as the trail ran away or the wind blew clear, told where the chase led inland. if the fugitive but hid till the dogs passed he was safe enough; but of a sudden came the hoarse, furious barkings that signal hot scent. what had happened was plain. the poor wretch had crossed the road and given the hounds clew. the baying came nearer. he had discovered his mistake and was trying to regain the house. balaam stood saddled to carry eli kirke to the docks. 'twas a wan hope, but in a twinkling i was riding like wind for the barking behind the hill. a white-faced man broke from the brush at crazy pace. "god ha' mercy, sir," i cried, leaping off; "to horse and away! ride up the brook bed to throw the hounds off." i saw him in saddle, struck balaam's flank a blow that set pace for a gallop, turned, and--for a second time that day was lifted from the ground. "pardieu! clean done!" says a low voice. "'tis a pretty trick!" and i felt myself set up before a rider. "to save thee from the hounds," says the voice. scarce knowing whether i dreamed, i looked over my shoulder to see one who was neither royalist nor puritan--a thin, swarth man, tall and straight as an indian, bare-shaven and scarred from war, with long, wiry hair and black eyes full of sparks. the pack came on in a whirl to lose scent at the stream, and my rescuer headed our horse away from the rabble, doffing his beaver familiarly to the officers galloping past. "ha!" called one, reining his horse to its haunches, "did that snivelling knave pass this way?" "do you mean this little gentleman?" the officer galloped off. "keep an eye open, radisson," he shouted over his shoulder. "'twere better shut," says m. radisson softly; and at his name my blood pricked to a jump. here was he of whom ben gillam told, the half-wild frenchman, who had married the royalist kinswoman of eli kirke; the hero of spanish fights and turkish wars; the bold explorer of the north sea, who brought back such wealth from an unknown land, governors and merchant princes were spying his heels like pirates a treasure ship. "'tis more sport hunting than being hunted," he remarked, with an air of quiet reminiscence. his suit was fine-tanned, cream buckskin, garnished with gold braid like any courtier's, with a deep collar of otter. unmindful of manners, i would have turned again to stare, but he bade me guide the horse back to my home. "lest the hunters ask questions," he explained. "and what," he demanded, "what doth a little cavalier in a puritan hotbed?" "i am even where god hath been pleased to set me, sir." "'twas a ticklish place he set thee when i came up." "by your leave, sir, 'tis a higher place than i ever thought to know." m. radisson laughed a low, mellow laugh, and, vowing i should be a court gallant, put me down before eli kirke's turnstile. my uncle came stalking forth, his lips pale with rage. he had blazed out ere i could explain one word. "have i put bread in thy mouth, ramsay stanhope, that thou shouldst turn traitor? viper and imp of satan!" he shouted, shaking his clinched fist in my face. "was it not enough that thou wert utterly bound in iniquity without persecuting the lord's anointed?" i took a breath. "where is balaam?" he demanded, seizing me roughly. "sir," said i, "for leaving the room without leave, i pray you to flog me as i deserve. as for the horse, he is safe and i hope far away under the gentleman i helped down from the attic." his face fell a-blank. m. radisson dismounted laughing. "nay, nay, eli kirke, i protest 'twas to the lad's credit. 'twas this way, kinsman," and he told all, with many a strange-sounding, foreign expression that must have put the puritan's nose out of joint, for eli kirke began blowing like a trumpet. then out comes aunt ruth to insist that m. radisson share a haunch of venison at our noonday meal. and how i wish i could tell you of that dinner, and of all that m. radisson talked; of captivity among iroquois and imprisonment in spain and wars in turkey; of his voyage over land and lake to a far north sea, and of the conspiracy among merchant princes of quebec to ruin him. by-and-bye rebecca stocking's father came in, and the three sat talking plans for the northern trade till m. radisson let drop that the english commissioners were keen to join the enterprise. then the two puritans would have naught to do with it. long ago, as you know, we dined at midday; but so swiftly had the hour flown with m. radisson's tales of daring that tibbie was already lighting candles when we rose from the dinner table. "and now," cried m. radisson, lifting a stirrup-cup of home-brewed october, "health to the little gentleman who saved a life to-day! health to mine host! and a cup fathoms deep to his luck when ramsay sails yon sea!" "he might do worse," said eli kirke grimly. and the words come back like the echo of a prophecy. i would have escaped my uncle, but he waylaid me in the dark at the foot of the stairs. "ramsay," said he gently. "sir?" said i, wondering if flint could melt. "'the lord bless thee, and keep thee: the lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace!'" chapter iii touching witchcraft that interrupted lesson with rebecca finished my schooling. i was set to learning the mysteries of accounts in eli kirke's warehouse. "how goes the keeping of accounts, ramsay?" he questioned soon after i had been in tutelage. i had always intended to try my fortune in the english court when i came of age, and the air of the counting-house ill suited a royalist's health. "why, sir," i made answer, picking my words not to trip his displeasure, "i get as much as i can--and i give as little as i can; and those be all the accounts that ever i intend to keep." aunt ruth looked up from her spinning-wheel in a way that had become an alarm signal. eli kirke glanced dubiously to the blasphemy box, as though my words were actionable. there was no sound but the drone of the loom till i slipped from the room. then they both began to talk. soon after came transfer from the counting-house to the fur trade. that took me through the shadowy forests from town to town, and when i returned my old comrades seemed shot of a sudden from youth to manhood. there was ben gillam, a giff-gaffing blade home from the north sea, so topful of spray that salt water spilled over at every word. "split me fore and aft," exclaims ben, "if i sail not a ship of my own next year! i'll take the boat without commission. stocking and my father have made an offer," he hinted darkly. "i'll go without commission!" "and risk being strangled for't, if the french governor catch you." "body o' me!" flouts ben, ripping out a peck of oaths that had cost dear and meant a day in the stocks if the elders heard, "who's going to inform when my father sails the only other ship in the bay? devil sink my soul to the bottom of the sea if i don't take a boat to hudson bay under the french governor's nose!" "a boat of your own," i laughed. "what for, ben?" "for the same as your prince rupert, prince robber, took his. go out light as a cork, come back loaded with spanish gold to the water-line." ben paused to take a pinch of snuff and display his new embroidered waist-coat. "look you at the wealth in the beaver trade," he added. "m. radisson went home with george carteret not worth a curse, formed the fur company, and came back from hudson bay with pelts packed to the quarter-deck. devil sink me! but they say, after the fur sale, the gentlemen adventurers had to haul the gold through london streets with carts! bread o' grace, ramsay, have half an eye for your own purse!" he urged. "there is a life for a man o' spirit! why don't you join the beaver trade, ramsay?" why not, indeed? 'twas that or turn cut-purse and road-lifter for a youth of birth without means in those days. of jack battle i saw less. he shipped with the fishing boats in the summer and cruised with any vagrant craft for the winter. when he came ashore he was as small and eel-like and shy and awkward as ever, with the same dumb fidelity in his eyes. and what a snowy maid had rebecca become! sitting behind her spinning-wheel, with her dainty fingers darting in the sunlight, she seemed the pink and whitest thing that ever grew, with a look on her face of apple-blossoms in june; but the sly wench had grown mighty demure with me. when i laughed over that ending to our last lesson, she must affect an air of injury. 'twas neither her fault nor mine, i declare, coaxing back her good-humour; 'twas the fault of the face. i wanted to see where the white began and the pink ended. then rebecca, with cheeks a-bloom under the hiding of her bonnet, quickens steps to the meeting-house; but as a matter of course we walk home together, for behind march the older folk, staidly discoursing of doctrine. "rebecca," i say, "you did not take your eyes off the preacher for one minute." "how do you know, ramsay?" retorts rebecca, turning her face away with a dimple trembling in her chin, albeit it was the sabbath. "that preacher is too handsome to be sound in his doctrine, rebecca." then she grows so mighty prim she must ask which heading of the sermon pleases me best. "i liked the last," i declare; and with that, we are at the turnstile. hortense became a vision of something lost, a type of what i had known when great ladies came to our country hall. m. picot himself took her on the grand tour of the continent. how much we had been hoping to see more of her i did not realize till she came back and we saw less. once i encountered m. picot and his ward on the wharf. her curls were more wayward than of old and her large eyes more lustrous, full of deep, new lights, dark like the flash of a black diamond. her form appeared slender against the long, flowing mantilla shot with gold like any grand dame's. she wore a white beaver with plumes sweeping down on her curls. indeed, little hortense seemed altogether such a great lady that i held back, though she was looking straight towards me. "give you good-e'en, ramsay," salutes m. picot, a small, thin man with pointed beard, eyebrows of a fierce curlicue, and an expression under half-shut lids like cat's eyes in the dark. "give you good-e'en! can you guess who this is?" as if any one could forget hortense! but i did not say so. instead, i begged leave to welcome her back by saluting the tips of her gloved fingers. she asked me if i minded that drowning of ben long ago. then she wanted to know of jack. "i hear you are fur trading, ramsay?" remarks m. picot with the inflection of a question. i told him somewhat of the trade, and he broke out in almost the same words as ben gillam. 'twas the life for a gentleman of spirit. why didn't i join the beaver trade of hudson bay? and did i know of any secret league between captain zachariah gillam and mr. stocking to trade without commission? "ah, hillary," he sighed, "had we been beaver trading like radisson instead of pounding pestles, we might have had little hortense restored." "restored!" thought i. and m. picot must have seen my surprise, for he drew back to his shell like a pricked snail. observing that the wind was chill, he bade me an icy good-night. i had no desire to pry into m. picot's secrets, but i could not help knowing that he had unbended to me because he was interested in the fur trade. from that 'twas but a step to the guess that he had come to new england to amass wealth to restore mistress hortense. restore her to what? there i pulled up sharp. 'twas none of my affair; and yet, in spite of resolves, it daily became more of my affair. do what i would, spending part of every day with rebecca, that image of lustrous eyes under the white beaver, the plume nodding above the curls, the slender figure outlined against the gold-shot mantilla, became a haunting memory. countless times i blotted out that mental picture with a sweep of common sense. "she was a pert miss, with her head full of french nonsense and a nose held too high in air." then a memory of the eyes under the beaver, and fancy was at it again spinning cobwebs in moonshine. m. picot kept more aloof than formerly, and was as heartily hated for it as the little minds of a little place ever hate those apart. occasionally, in the forest far back from the settlement, i caught a flying glimpse of lincoln green; and hortense went through the woods, hard as her irish hunter could gallop, followed by the blackamoor, churning up and down on a blowing nag. once i had the good luck to restore a dropped gauntlet before the blackamoor could come. with eyes alight she threw me a flashing thanks and was off, a sunbeam through the forest shades; and something was thumping under a velvet waistcoat faster than the greyhound's pace. a moment later, back came the hound in springy stretches, with the riders at full gallop. her whip fell, but this time she did not turn. but when i carried the whip to the doctor's house that night, m. picot received it with scant grace! whispers--gall-midges among evil tongues--were raising a buzz that boded ill for the doctor. france had paid spies among the english, some said. deliverance dobbins, a frumpish, fizgig of a maid, ever complaining of bodily ills though her chuffy cheeks were red as pippins, reported that one day when she had gone for simples she had seen strange, dead things in the jars of m. picot's dispensary. at this i laughed as rebecca told it me, and old tibbie winked behind the little puritan maid's head; for my father, like the princes, had known that love of the new sciences which became a passion among gentlemen. had i not noticed the mole on the french doctor's cheek? rebecca asked. i had: what of it? "the crops have been blighted," says rebecca; though what connection that had with m. picot's mole, i could not see. "deliverance dobbins oft hath racking pains," says rebecca, with that air of injury which became her demure dimples so well. "drat that deliverance dobbins for a low-bred mongrel mischief-maker!" cries old tibbie from the pantry door. "tibbie," i order, "hold your tongue and drop an angel in the blasphemy box." "'twas good coin wasted," the old nurse vowed; but i must needs put some curb on her royalist tongue, which was ever running a-riot in that puritan household. it was an accident, in the end, that threw me across m. picot's path. i had gone to have him bind up a splintered wrist, and he invited me to stay for a round of piquet. i, having only one hand, must beg mistress hortense to sort the cards for me. she sat so near that i could not see her. you may guess i lost every game. "tut! tut! hillary dear, 'tis a poor helper ramsay gained when he asked your hand. pish! pish!" he added, seeing our faces crimson; "come away," and he carried me off to the dispensary, as though his preserved reptiles would be more interesting than hortense. with an indifference a trifle too marked, he brought me round to the fur trade and wanted to know whether i would be willing to risk trading without a license, on shares with a partner. "quick wealth that way, ramsay, an you have courage to go to the north. an it were not for hortense, i'd hire that young rapscallion of a gillam to take me north." i caught his drift, and had to tell him that i meant to try my fortune in the english court. but he paid small heed to what i said, gazing absently at the creatures in the jars. "'twould be devilish dangerous for a girl," he muttered, pulling fiercely at his mustache. "do you mean the court, sir?" i asked. "aye," returned the doctor with a dry laugh that meant the opposite of his words. "an you incline to the court, learn the tricks o' the foils, or rogues will slit both purse and throat." and all the while he was smiling as though my going to the court were an odd notion. "if i could but find a master," i lamented. "come to me of an evening," says m. picot. "i'll teach you, and you can tell me of the fur trade." you may be sure i went as often as ever i could. m. picot took me upstairs to a sort of hunting room. it had a great many ponderous oak pieces carved after the flemish pattern and a few little bandy-legged chairs and gilded tables with courtly scenes painted on top, which he said mistress hortense had brought back as of the latest french fashion. the blackamoor drew close the iron shutters; for, though those in the world must know the ways of the world, worldling practices were a sad offence to new england. shoving the furnishings aside, m. picot picked from the armory rack two slim foils resembling spanish rapiers and prepared to give me my lesson. carte and tierce, low carte and flanconnade, he taught me with many a ringing clash of steel till beads were dripping from our brows like rain-drops. "bravo!" shouted m. picot in a pause. "are you son o' the stanhope that fought on the king's side?" i said that i was. "i knew the rascal that got the estate from the king," says m. picot, with a curious look from hortense to me; and he told me of blood, the freebooter, who stole the king's crown but won royal favour by his bravado and entered court service for the doing of deeds that bore not the light of day. nightly i went to the french doctor's house, and i learned every wicked trick of thrust and parry that m. picot knew. once when i bungled a foul lunge, which m. picot said was a habit of the infamous blood, his weapon touched my chest, and mistress hortense uttered a sharp cry. "what--what--what!" exclaims m. picot, whirling on her. "'twas so real," murmurs hortense, biting her lip. after that she sat still enough. then the steel was exchanged for cards; and when i lost too steadily m. picot broke out: "pish, boy, your luck fails here! hillary, child, go practise thy songs on the spinet." or: "hortense, go mull us a smack o' wine!" or: "ha, ha, little witch! up yet? late hours make old ladies." and hortense must go off, so that i never saw her alone but once. 'twas the night before i was to leave for the trade. the blackamoor appeared to say that deliverance dobbins was "a-goin' in fits" on the dispensary floor. "faith, doctor," said i, "she used to have dumps on our turnstile." "yes," laughed hortense, "small wonder she had dumps on that turnstile! ramsay used to tilt her backward." m. picot hastened away, laughing. hortense was in a great carved high-back chair with clumsy, wooden cupids floundering all about the tall head-rest. her face was alight in soft-hued crimson flaming from an arabian cresset stuck in sockets against the flemish cabinet. "a child's trick," began hortense, catching at the shafts of light. "i often think of those old days on the beach." "so do i," said hortense. "i wish they could come back." "so do i," smiled hortense. then, as if to check more: "i suppose, ramsay, you would want to drown us all--ben and jack and rebecca and me." "and i suppose you would want to stand us all on our heads," i retorted. then we both laughed, and hortense demanded if i had as much skill with the lyre as with the sword. she had heard that i was much given to chanting vain airs and wanton songs, she said. and this is what i sang, with a heart that knocked to the notes of the old madrigal like the precentor's tuning-fork to a meeting-house psalm: "lady, when i behold the roses sprouting, which, clad in damask mantles, deck the arbours, and then behold your lips where sweet love harbours, my eyes perplex me with a double doubting, whether the roses be your lips, or your lips the roses." barely had i finished when mistress hortense seats herself at the spinet, and, changing the words to suit her saucy fancy, trills off that ballad but newly writ by one of our english courtiers: "shall i, wasting in despair, die because--_rebecca's_--fair? or make pale my cheeks with care 'cause _rebecca's_ rosier are?" "hortense!" i protested. "be _he_ fairer than the day or the _june-field coils of hay_; if _he_ be not so to me, what care i how _fine_ he be?" there was such merriment in the dark-lashed eyes, i defy eli kirke himself to have taken offence; and so, like many another youth, i was all too ready to be the pipe on which a dainty lady played her stops. as the song faded to the last tinkling notes of the spinet her fingers took to touching low, tuneless melodies like thoughts creeping into thoughts, or perfume of flowers in the dark. the melting airs slipped into silence, and hortense shut her eyes, "to get the memory of it," she said. i thought she meant some new-fangled tune. "this is memory enough for me," said i. "oh?" asked hortense, and she uncovered all the blaze of the dark lights hid in those eyes. "faith, hortense," i answered, like a moth gone giddy in flame, "your naughty music wakes echoes of what souls must hear in paradise." "then it isn't naughty," said hortense, beginning to play fiercely, striking false notes and discords and things. "hortense," said i. "no--ramsay!" cried hortense, jangling harder than ever. "but--yes!--hortense----" and in bustled m. picot, hastier than need, methought. "what, hillary? not a-bed yet, child? ha!--crow's-feet under eyes to-morrow! bed, little baggage! forget not thy prayers! pish! pish! good-night! good-night!" that is the way an older man takes it. "now, devil fly away with that prying wench of a deliverance dobbins!" ejaculated m. picot, stamping about. "oh, i'll cure her fanciful fits! pish! pish! that frump and her fits! bad blood, ramsay; low-bred, low-bred! 'tis ever the way of her kind to blab of aches and stuffed stomachs that were well if left empty. an she come prying into my chemicals, taking fits when she's caught, i'll mix her a pill o' deliverance!" and m. picot laughed heartily at his own joke. the next morning i was off to the trade. though i hardly acknowledged the reason to myself, any youth can guess why i made excuse to come back soon. as i rode up, rebecca stood at our gate. she had no smile. had i not been thinking of another, i had noticed the sadness of her face; but when she moved back a pace, i flung out some foolishness about a gate being no bar if one had a mind to jump. then she brought me sharp to my senses as i sprang to the ground. "ramsay," she exclaimed, "m. picot and mistress hortense are in jail charged with sorcery! m. picot is like to be hanged! an they do not confess, they may be set in the bilboes and whipped. there is talk of putting mistress hortense to the test." "the test!" 'twas as if a great weight struck away power to think, for the test meant neither more nor less than torture till confession were wrung from agony. the night went black and rebecca's voice came as from some far place. "ramsay, you are hurting--you are crushing my hands!" poor child, she was crying; and the words i would have said stuck fast behind sealed lips. she seemed to understand, for she went on: "deliverance dobbins saw strange things in his house. she went to spy. he hath crazed her intellectuals. she hath dumb fits." now i understood. this trouble was the result of m. picot's threat; but little rebecca's voice was tinkling on like a bell in a dome. "my father hath the key to their ward. my father saith there is like to be trouble if they do not confess--" "confess!" i broke out. "confess what? if they confess the lie they will be burned for witchcraft. and if they refuse to confess, they will be hanged for not telling the lie. pretty justice! and your holy men fined one fellow a hundred pounds for calling their justices a pack of jackasses----" "sentence is to be pronounced to-morrow after communion," said rebecca. "after communion?" i could say no more. on that of all days for tyranny's crime! god forgive me for despairing of mankind that night. i thought freedom had been won in the commonwealth war, but that was only freedom of body. a greater strife was to wage for freedom of soul. chapter iv rebecca and jack battle conspire 'twas cockcrow when i left pacing the shore where we had so often played in childhood; and through the darkness came the howl of m. picot's hound, scratching outside the prison gate. as well reason with maniacs as fanatics, say i, for they hide as much folly under the mask of conscience as ever court fool wore 'neath painted face. there was mr. stocking, as well-meaning a man as trod earth, obdurate beyond persuasion against poor m. picot under his charge. might i not speak to the french doctor through the bars of his window? by no means, mr. stocking assured. if once the great door were unlocked, who could tell what black arts a sorcerer might use? "look you, ramsay lad," says he, "i've had this brass key made against his witchcraft, and i do not trust it to the hands of the jailer." then, i fear, i pleaded too keenly; for, suspecting collusion with m. picot, the warden of the court-house grew frigid and bade me ask eli kirke's opinion on witchcraft. "'thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,'" rasped eli kirke, his stern eyes ablaze from an inner fire. "'a man' also, or woman, that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death.' think you m. picot burns incense to the serpent in his jars for the healing of mankind?" he demanded fiercely. "yes," said i, "'tis for the healing of mankind by experimentation with chemicals. knowledge of god nor chemicals springs full grown from man's head, uncle eli. both must be learned. that is all the meaning of his jars and crucibles. he is only trying to learn what laws god ordained among materials. and when m. picot makes mistakes, it is the same as when the church makes mistakes and learns wisdom by blunders." eli kirke blinked his eyes as though my monstrous pleadings dazed him. "'thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,'" he cried doggedly. "do the scriptures lie, ramsay stanhope? tell me that?" "no," said i. "the scriptures condemn liars, and the man who pretends witchcraft _is_ a liar. there's no such thing. that is why the scriptures command burning." i paused. he made no answer, and i pleaded on. "but m. picot denies witchcraft, and you would burn him for not lying." never think to gain a stubborn antagonist by partial concession. m. radisson used to say if you give an enemy an inch he will claim an ell. 'twas so with eli kirke, for he leaped to his feet in a fine frenzy and bade me cease juggling holy writ. "'thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,'" he shouted. "'tis abomination! it shall utterly be put away from you! because of this hidden iniquity the colony hath fallen on evil days. let it perish root and branch!" but tibbie breaks in upon his declamation by throwing wide the library door, and in marches a line of pale-faced ascetics, rigid of jaw, cold of eye, and exalted with that gloomy fervour which counts burning life's highest joy. among them was the famous witch-hanger of after years, a mere youth then, but about his lips the hard lines of a spiritual zeal scarce differing from pride. "god was awakening the churches by marvellous signs," said one, extending a lank, cold hand to salute eli kirke. "have we not wrestled mightily for signs and wonders?" demanded another with jaw of steel. and one description of the generation seeking signs was all but off the tip of my tongue. "some aver there be no witches--so fearfully hath error gone abroad," lamented young mather, keen to be heard then, as he always was. "brethren, toleration would make a kingdom of chaos, a sodom, a gomorrah, a babylon!" faith, it needed no horoscope to forecast that young divine's dark future! i stood it as long as i could, with palms itching to knock their solemn heads together like so many bowling balls; but when one cadaverous-faced fellow, whose sanctity had gone bilious from lack of sunshine, whined out against "the saucy miss," meaning thereby mistress hortense, and another prayed heaven through his nose that his daughter might "lie in her grave ere she minced her steps with such dissoluteness of hair and unseemly broideries and bright colours, showing the lightness of her mind," and a third averred that "a cucking-stool would teach a maid to walk more shamefacedly," i whirled upon them in a fury that had disinherited me from eli kirke's graces ere i spake ten words. "sirs," said i, "your slatternly wenches may be dead ere they match mistress hortense! as for wearing light colours, the devil himself is painted black. let them who are doing shameful acts to the innocent walk shamefacedly! for shame, sirs, to cloak malice and jealousy of m. picot under religion! new england will remember this blot against you and curse you for it! an you listen to deliverance dobbins's lies, what hinders any lying wench sending good men to the scaffold?" at first they listened agape, but now the hot blood rushed to their faces. "hold thy tongue, lad!" roared eli kirke. then, as if to atone for that violence: "the lord rebuke thee," he added solemnly. and i flung from the house dumb with impotent rage. my thoughts were as the snatched sleep of a sick man's dreams. again the hideous nightmare of the old martyr at the shambles; but now the shambles were in the new world and the martyr was m. picot. something cold touched my hand through the dark, and there crouched m. picot's hound, whining for its master. automatically i followed across the commons to the court-house square. it stopped at the prison gate, sniffing and whining and begging in. poor dog! what could i do? i tried to coax it away, but it lay at the wall like a stone. of the long service in the new-built meeting-house i remember very little. beat of drums, not bells, called to church in those days, and the beat was to me as a funeral march. the pale face of the preacher in the high pulpit overtowering us all was alight with stern zeal. the elders, sitting in a row below the pulpit facing us, listened to the fierce diatribe against the dark arts with looks of approbation that boded ill for m. picot; and at every fresh fusillade of texts to bolster his argument, the line of deacons below the elders glanced back at the preacher approvingly. rebecca sat on that side of the congregation assigned to the women with a dumb look of sympathy on the sweet hooded face. the prisoners were not present. at the end of the service the preacher paused; and there fell a great hush in which men scarce breathed, for sentence was to be pronounced. but the preacher only announced that before handing the case to the civil court of oyer and terminer for judgment, the elders wished to hold it in meditation for another day. the singing of the dismissal psalm began and a smothered cry seemed to break from rebecca's pew. then the preacher had raised his hands above bowed heads. the service was over. the people crowded solemnly out, and i was left alone in the gathering darkness--alone with the ghosts of youth's illusions mocking from the gloom. religion, then, did not always mean right! there were tyrants of souls as well as tyrants of sword. prayers were uttered that were fitter for hearing in hell than in heaven. good men could deceive themselves into crime cloaking spiritual malice, sect jealousy, race hatred with an unctuous text. here, in new england, where men had come for freedom, was tyranny masking in the guise of religion. preachers as jealous of the power slipping from their hands as ever was primate of england! a poor gentleman hounded to his death because he practised the sciences! millions of victims all the world over burned for witchcraft, sacrificed to a moloch of superstition in the name of a christ who came to let in the light of knowledge on all superstition! could i have found a wilderness where was no human face, i think i had fled to it that night. and, indeed, when you come to think of my breaking with eli kirke, 'twas the witch trial that drove me to the wilderness. there was yet a respite. but the church still dominated the civil courts, and a transfer of the case meant that the church would throw the onus of executing sentence on those lay figures who were the puppets of a pharisaical oligarchy. there was no time to appeal to england. there was no chance of sudden rescue. new england had not the stuff of which mobs are made. i thought of appealing to the mercy of the judges; but what mercy had eli kirke received at the hands of royalists that he should be merciful to them? i thought of firing the prison; but the walls were stone, and the night wet, and the outcome doubtful. i thought of the cell window; but if there had been any hope that way, m. picot had worked an escape. bowing my head to think--to pray--to imprecate, i lost all sense of time and place. some one had slipped quietly into the dark of the church. i felt rather than saw a nearing presence. but i paid no heed, for despair blotted out all thought. whoever it was came feeling a way down the dark aisle. then hot tears fell upon my hands. in the gloom there paused a childlike figure. "rebecca!" she panted out a wordless cry. then she came closer and laid a hand on my arm. she was struggling to subdue sobs. the question came in a shivering breath. "is hortense--so dear?" "so dear, rebecca." "she must be wondrous happy, ramsay." a tumult of effort. "if i could only take her place----" "take her place, rebecca?" "my father hath the key--if--if--if i took her place, she might go free." "take her place, child! what folly is this--dear, kind rebecca? would 't be any better to send you to the rope than hortense? no--no--dear child!" at that her agitation abated, and she puzzled as if to say more. "dear rebecca," said i, comforting her as i would a sister, "dear child, run home. forget not little hortense in thy prayers." may the angel of forgiveness spread a broader mantle across our blunders than our sins, but could i have said worse? "i have cooked dainties with my own hands. i have sent her cakes every day," sobbed rebecca. "go home now, rebecca," i begged. but she stood silent. "rebecca--what is it?" "you have not been to see me for a year, ramsay." i could scarce believe my ears. "my father is away to-night. will you not come?" "but, rebecca----" "i have never asked a thing of you before." "but, rebecca----" "will you come for hortense's sake?" she interrupted, with a little sharp, hard, falsetto note in her baby voice. "rebecca," i demanded, "what do you mean?" but she snapped back like the peevish child that she was: "an you come not when i ask you, you may stay!" and she had gone. what was she trying to say with her dark hints and overnice scruples of a puritan conscience? and was not that jack battle greeting her outside in the dark? i tore after rebecca at such speed that i had cannoned into open arms before i saw a hulking form across the way. "fall-back--fall-edge!" roared jack, closing his arms about me. "'tis ramsay himself, with a sword like a butcher's cleaver and a wit like a broadaxe!" "have you not heard, jack?" "heard! ship ahoy!" cried jack. "split me to the chin like a cod! stood i not abaft of you all day long, packed like a herring in a pickle! 'twas a pretty kettle of fish in your noah's ark to-day! 'tis all along o' goodness gone stale from too much salt," says jack. i told him of little rebecca, and asked what he made of it. he said he made of it that fools didn't love in the right place--which was not to the point, whatever jack thought of rebecca. linking his arm through mine, he headed me about. "captain gillam, ben's father, sails for england at sunrise," vouched jack. "what has that to do with mistress hortense?" i returned testily. "'tis a swift ship to sail in." "to sail in, jack battle?"--i caught at the hope. "out with your plan, man!" "and be hanged for it," snaps jack, falling silent. we were opposite the prison. he pointed to a light behind the bars. "they are the only prisoners," he said. "they must be in there." "one could pass a note through those bars with a long pole," i observed, gazing over the yard wall. "or a key," answered jack. he paused before rebecca's house to the left of the prison. "ramsay," inquired jack quizzically, "do you happen to have heard who has the keys?" "rebecca's father is warden." "and rebecca's father is from home to-night," says he, facing me squarely to the lantern above the door. how did he know that? then i remembered the voices outside the church. "jack--what did rebecca mean----" "not to be hanged," interrupts jack. "'tis all along o' having too much conscience, ramsay. they must either lie like a dutchman and be damned, or tell the truth and be hanged. now, ship ahoy," says he, "to the quarterdeck!" and he flung me forcibly up the steps. rebecca, herself, red-eyed and reserved, threw wide the door. she motioned me to a bench seat opposite the fireplace and fastened her gaze above the mantel till mine followed there too. a bunch of keys hung from an iron rack. "what are those, rebecca?" "the largest is for the gate," says she with the panic of conscience running from fire. "the brass one unlocks the great door, and--and--the--m. picot's cell unbolts," she stammered. "may i examine them, rebecca?" "i will even draw you a pint of cider," says rebecca evasively, with great trepidation, "but come back soon," she called, tripping off to the wine-cellar door. snatching the keys, i was down the steps at a leap. "the large one for the gate, jack! the brass one for the big door, and the cell unbolts!" "ease your helm, sonny!" says jack, catching the bunch from my clasp. "fall-back--fall-edge!" he laughed in that awful mockery of the axeman's block. "fall-back--fall-edge! if there's any hacking of necks, mine is thicker than yours! i'll run the risks. do you wait here in shadow." and he darted away. the gate creaked as it gave. then i waited for what seemed eternity. a night-watchman shuffled along with swinging lantern, calling out: "what ho? what ho?" townsfolks rode through the streets with a clatter of the chairmen's feet; but no words were bandied by the fellows, for a sabbath hush lay over the night. a great hackney-coach nigh mired in mud as it lumbered through mid-road. and m. picot's hound came sniffing hungrily to me. a glare of light shot aslant the dark. softly the door of rebecca's house opened. a frail figure was silhouetted against the light. the wick above snuffed out. the figure drew in without a single look, leaving the door ajar. but an hour ago, the iron righteousness of bigots had filled my soul with revolt. now the sight of that little puritan maid brought prayers to my lips and a te deum to my soul. the prison gate swung open again with rusty protest. two hooded figures slipped through the dark. jack battle had locked the gate and the keys were in my hand. "take them back," he gurgled out with school-lad glee. "'twill be a pretty to-do of witchcraft to-morrow when they find a cell empty. go hire passage to england in captain gillam's boat!" "captain gillam's boat?" "yes, or master ben's pirate-ship of the north, if she's there," and he had dashed off in the dark. when rebecca appeared above the cellar-way with a flagon that reamed to a beaded top, the keys were back on the wall. "i was overlong," panted rebecca, with eyes averted as of old to the folds of her white stomacher. "'twas a stubborn bung and hard to draw." "dear little cheat! god bless you!--and bless you!--and bless you, rebecca!" i cried. at which the poor child took fright. "it--it--it was not all a lie, ramsay," she stammered. "the bung was hard--and--and--and i didn't hasten----" "dear comrade--good-bye, forever!" i called from the dark-of the step. "forever?" asked the faint voice of a forlorn figure black in the doorway. dear, snowy, self-sacrificing spirit--'tis my clearest memory of her with the thin, grieved voice coming through the dark. i ran to the wharf hard as ever heels nerved by fear and joy and triumph and love could carry me. the passage i easily engaged from the ship's mate, who dinned into my unlistening ears full account of the north sea, whither captain gillam was to go for the fur company, and whither, too, master ben was keen to sail, "a pirateer, along o' his own risk and gain," explained the mate with a wink, "pirateer or privateer, call 'em what you will, mister; the susan with white sails in boston town, and le bon garçon with sails black as the devil himself up in quebec, ha--ha--and i'll give ye odds on it, mister, the devil himself don't catch master ben! why, bless you, gentlemen, who's to jail 'im here for droppin' spanish gold in his own hold and poachin' furs on the king's preserve o' the north sea, when stocking, the warden, 'imself owns 'alf the susan and cap'en gillam, 'is father, is master o' the king's ship?" "they do say," he babbled on, "now that radisson, the french jack-a-boots, hath given the slip to the king's company, he sails from quebec in ship o' his own. if him and ben and the capiten meet--oh, there'll be times! there'll be times!" and "times" there were sure enough; but of that i had then small care and shook the loquacious rascal off so that he left me in peace. first came the servants, trundling cart-loads of cases, which passed unnoticed; for the town bell had tolled the close of sabbath, and monday shipping had begun. the cusp of a watery moon faded in the gray dawn streaks of a muffled sky, and at last came the chairmen, with jack running alert. from the chairs stepped the blackamoor, painted as white as paste. then a new amsterdam gentleman slipped out from the curtains, followed by his page-boy and servants. "jack," i asked, "where is hortense?" the page glanced from under curls. "dear jack," she whispered, standing high on her heels nigh as tall as the sailor lad. and poor jack battle, not knowing how to play down, stood blushing, cap in hand, till she laughed a queer little laugh and, bidding him good-bye, told him to remember that she had the squirrel stuffed. to me she said no word. her hand touched mine quick farewell. the long lashes lifted. there was a look on her face. i ask no greater joy in paradise than memory of that look. * * * * * * one lone, gray star hung over the masthead. the ship careened across the billows till star and mast-top met. jack fetched a deep sigh. "there be work for sailors in england," he said. in a flash i thought that i knew what he had meant by fools not loving in the right place. "that were folly, jack! she hath her station!" jack battle pointed to the fading steel point above the vanishing masthead. "doth looking hurt yon star?" asks jack. "nay; but looking may strain the eyes; and the arrows of longing come back void." he answered nothing, and we lingered heavy hearted till the sun came up over the pillowed waves turning the tumbling waters to molten gold. between us and the fan-like rays behind the glossy billows--was no ship. hortense was safe! there was an end-all to undared hopes. chapter v m. radisson again "good-bye to you, ramsay," said jack abruptly. "where to, jack?" i asked, bestirring myself. i could no more go back to eli kirke. but little jack battle was squirming his wooden clogs into the sand as he used to dig his toes, and he answered not a word. "'tis early yet for the grand banks, jack. ben gillam's ship keeled mast over hull from being ice-logged last spring. the spars were solid with frozen sleet from the crosstrees to the crow's nest. your dories would be ice-logged for a month yet." "it--it--it aren't the grand banks no more," stammered jack. his manner arrested me. the honest blue eyes were shifting and his toes at work in the sand. "there be gold on the high seas for the taking," vouched jack. "an your fine gentlemen grow rich that way, why mayn't i?" "jack," i warned, thinking of ben gillam's craft rigged with sails of as many colours as joseph's coat, "jack--is it a pirate-ship?" "no," laughed the sailor lad sheepishly, "'tis a pirateer," meaning thereby a privateer, which was the same thing in those days. "have a care of your pirateers--privateers, jack," said i, speaking plain. "a gentleman would be run through the gullet with a clean rapier, but you--you--would be strangled by sentence of court or sold to the barbadoes." "not if the warden o' the court owns half the ship," protested jack, smiling queerly under his shaggy brows. "oh--ho!" said i, thinking of rebecca's father, and beginning to understand who supplied money for ben gillam's ventures. "i'm tired o' being a kick-a-toe and fisticuff to everybody. now, if i'd been rich and had a ship, i might 'a' sailed for m. picot." "or mistress hortense," i added, which brought red spots to the sailor lad's cheeks. off he went unanswering, leaving me at gaze across an unbroken sea with a heart heavy as lead. "poor fellow! he will get over it," said i. "another hath need o' the same medicine," came a voice. i wheeled, expecting arrest. a tall, wiry man, with coal-black hair and deep-set eyes and a scar across his swarth skin, smiled pleasantly down at me. "now that you have them safely off," said he, still smiling, "better begone yourself." "i'll thank you for your advice when i ask it, sir," said i, suspicious of the press-gang infesting that port. involuntarily i caught at my empty sword-belt. "permit me," proffered the gentleman, with a broader smile, handing out his own rapier. "sir," said i, "your pardon, but the press-gang have been busy of late." "and the sheriffs may be busy to-day," he laughed. "black arts don't open stone walls, ramsay." and he sent the blade clanking home to its scabbard. his surtout falling open revealed a waistcoat of buckskin. i searched his face. "m. de radisson!" "my hero of rescues," and he offered his hand. "and my quondam nephew," he added, laughing; for his wife was a kirke of the english branch, and my aunt was married to eli. "eli kirke cannot know you are here, sir--" "eli kirke _need_ not know," emphasized radisson dryly. and remembering bits of rumour about m. radisson deserting the english fur company, i hastened to add: "eli kirke _shall_ not know!" "your wits jump quick enough sometimes," said he. "now tell me, whose is she, and what value do you set on her?" i was speechless with surprise. however wild a life m. radisson led, his title of nobility was from a king who awarded patents to gentlemen only. "we neither call our women '_she_' nor give them market value," i retorted. thereupon m. de radisson falls in such fits of laughter, i had thought he must split his baldrick. "pardieu!" he laughed, wiping the tears away with a tangled lace thing fit for a dandy, "pardieu! 'tis not your girl-page? 'tis the ship o' that hangdog of a new england captain!" the thing came in a jiffy. sieur radisson, having deserted the english fur company, was setting up for himself. he was spying the strength of his rivals for the north sea. "you praised my wit. i have but given you a sample." then i told him all i knew of the ship, and m. de radisson laughed again till he was like to weep. "how is she called?" he asked. "the prince rupert," said i. "ha! then the same crew of gentlemen's scullions and courtiers' valets stuffing the lockers full o' trash to trade on their master's account. a pretty cheat for the company!" the end of it was, m. radisson invited me to join his ships. "a beaver-skin for a needle, ramsay! twenty otter for an awl! wealth for a merchant prince," he urged. but no sooner had i grasped at this easy way out of difficulty than the frenchman interrupts: "hold back, man! do you know the risk?" "no--nor care one rush!" "governor frontenac demands half of the furs for a license to trade, but m. de la barre, who comes to take his place, is a friend of la chesnaye's, and la chesnaye owns our ships----" "and you go without a license?" "and the galleys for life----" "if you're caught," said i. "pardieu!" he laughed, "yes--if we're caught!" "i'd as lief go to the galleys for fur-trading as the scaffold for witchcraft," said i. with that our bargain was sealed. part ii now comes that part of a life which deals with what you will say no one man could do, yet the things were done; with wonders stranger than witchcraft, yet were true. but because you have never lived a sword-length from city pavement, nor seen one man holding his own against a thousand enemies, i pray you deny not these things. each life is a shut-in valley, says the jonglière; but manitou, who strides from peak to peak, knows there is more than one valley, which had been a maxim among the jonglières long before one danish gentleman assured another there were more things in heaven and earth than philosophy dreamed. chapter vi the roaring forties keen as an arrow from twanging bowstring, pierre radisson set sail over the roaring seas for the northern bay. 'twas midsummer before his busy flittings between acadia and quebec brought us to isle percée, at the mouth of the st. lawrence. here chouart groseillers (his brother-in-law) lay with two of the craziest craft that ever rocked anchor. i scarce had time to note the bulging hulls, stout at stem and stern with deep sinking of the waist, before m. radisson had climbed the ship's ladder and scattered quick commands that sent sailors shinning up masts, for all the world like so many monkeys. the st. pierre, our ship was called, in honour of pierre radisson; for admiral and captain and trader, all in one, was sieur radisson, himself. indeed, he could reef a sail as handily as any old tar. i have seen him take the wheel and hurl allemand head-foremost from the pilot-house when that sponge-soaked rascal had imbibed more gin than was safe for the weathering of rocky coasts. call him gamester, liar, cheat--what you will! he had his faults, which dogged him down to poverty and ruin; but deeds are proof of the inner man. and look you that judge pierre radisson whether your own deeds ring as mettle and true. the ironwood capstan bars clanked to that seaman's music of running sailors. a clattering of the pawls--the anchor came away. the st. pierre shook out her bellying sails and the white sheets drew to a full beam wind. long foam lines crisped away from the prow. green shores slipped to haze of distance. with her larboard lipping low and that long break of swishing waters against her ports which is as a croon to the seaman's ear, the st. pierre dipped and rose and sank again to the swell of the billowing sea. behind, crowding every stitch of canvas and staggering not a little as she got under weigh, ploughed the ste. anne. and all about, heaving and falling like the deep breathings of a slumbering monster, were the wide wastes of the sea. and how i wish that i could take you back with me and show you the two miserable old gallipots which m. de radisson rode into the roaring forties! 'twas as if those gods of chance that had held riotous sway over all that watery desolation now first discovered one greater than themselves--a rebel 'mid their warring elements whose will they might harry but could not crush--man, the king undaunted, coming to his own! children oft get closer to the essences of truth than older folk grown foolish with too much learning. as a child i used to think what a wonderful moment that was when man, the master, first appeared on face of earth. how did the beasts and the seas and the winds feel about it, i asked. did they laugh at this fellow, the most helpless of all things, setting out to conquer all things? did the beasts pursue him till he made bow and arrow and the seas defy him till he rafted their waters and the winds blow his house down till he dovetailed his timbers? that was the child's way of asking a very old question--was man the sport of the elements, the plaything of all the cruel, blind gods of chance? now, the position was reversed. now, i learned how the man must have felt when he set about conquering the elements, subduing land and sea and savagery. and in that lies the homeric greatness of this vast, fresh, new world of ours. your old world victor takes up the unfinished work left by generations of men. your new world hero begins at the pristine task. i pray you, who are born to the nobility of the new world, forget not the glory of your heritage; for the place which god hath given you in the history of the race is one which men must hold in envy when roman patrician and norman conqueror and robber baron are as forgotten as the kingly lines of old egypt. fifty ton was our craft, with a crazy pitch to her prow like to take a man's stomach out and the groaning of infernal fiends in her timbers. twelve men, our crew all told, half of them young gentlemen of fortune from quebec, with titles as long as a tilting lance and the fighting blood of a spanish don and the airs of a king's grand chamberlain. their seamanship you may guess. all of them spent the better part of the first weeks at sea full length below deck. of a calm day they lolled disconsolate over the taffrail, with one eye alert for flight down the companionway when the ship began to heave. "what are you doing back there, la chesnaye?" asks m. de radisson, with a quiet wink, not speaking loud enough for fo'castle hands to hear. "cursing myself for ever coming," growls that young gentleman, scarce turning his head. "in that case," smiles sieur radisson, "you might be better occupied learning to take a hand at the helm." "sir," pleads la chesnaye meekly, "'tis all i can do to ballast the ship below stairs." "'tis laziness, la chesnaye," vows radisson. "men are thrown overboard for less!" "a quick death were kindness, sir," groans la chesnaye, scalloping in blind zigzags for the stair. "may i be shot from that cannon, sir, if i ever set foot on ship again!" m. de radisson laughs, and the place of the merchant prince is taken by the marquis with a face the gray shade of old tibbie's linen a-bleaching on the green. the ste. anne, under groseillers--whom we called mr. gooseberry when he wore his airs too mightily--was better manned, having able-bodied seamen, who distinguished themselves by a mutiny. of which you shall hear anon. but the spirits of our young gentlemen took a prodigious leap upward as their bodies became used to the crazy pace of our ship, whose gait i can compare only to the bouncings of loose timber in a heavy sea. north of newfoundland we were blanketed in a dirty fog. that gave our fine gentlemen a chance to right end up. "every man of them a good seaman in calm weather," sieur radisson observed; and he put them through marine drill all that week. la chesnaye so far recovered that he sometimes kept me company at the bowsprit, where we watched the clumsy gambols of the porpoise, racing and leaping and turning somersets in mid-air about the ship. once, i mind the st. pierre gave a tremor as if her keel had grated a reef; and a monster silver-stripe heaved up on our lee. 'twas a finback whale, m. radisson explained; and he protested against the impudence of scratching its back on our keel. as we sailed farther north many a school of rolling finbacks glistened silver in the sun or rose higher than our masthead, when one took the death-leap to escape its leagued foes--swordfish and thrasher and shark. and to give you an idea of the fearful tide breaking through the narrow fiords of that rock-bound coast, i may tell you that la chesnaye and i have often seen those leviathans of the deep swept tail foremost by the driving tide into some land-locked lagoon and there beached high on naked rock. that was the sea m. radisson was navigating with cockle-shell boats unstable of pace as a vagrant with rickets. even forêt, the marquis, forgot his dainty-fingered dignity and took a hand at the fishing of a shark one day. the cook had put out a bait at the end of a chain fastened to the capstan, when comes a mighty tug; and the cook shouts out that he has caught a shark. all hands are hailed to the capstan, and every one of my fine gentlemen grasps an ironwood bar to hoist the monster home. i wish you had seen their faces when the shark's great head with six rows of teeth in its gaping upper jaw came abreast the deck! half the fellows were for throwing down the bars and running, but the other half would not show white feather before the common sailors; and two or three clanking rounds brought the great shark lashing to deck in a way that sent us scuttling up the ratlines. but forêt would not be beaten. he thrust an ironwood bar across the gaping jaws. the shark tore the wood to splinters. there was a rip that snapped the cable with the report of a pistol, and the great fish was over deck and away in the sea. by this, you may know, we had all left our landsmen's fears far south of belle isle and were filled with the spirit of that wild, tempestuous world where the storm never sleeps and the cordage pipes on calmest day and the beam seas break in the long, low, growling wash that warns the coming hurricane. but if you think we were a noah's ark of solemn faces 'mid all that warring desolation, you are much mistaken. i doubt if lamentations ever did as much to lift mankind to victory as the naughty glee of the shrieking fife. and of glee, we had a-plenty on all that voyage north. la chesnaye, son of the merchant prince who owned our ships, played cock-o'-the-walk, took rank next to m. radisson, and called himself deputy-governor. forêt, whose father had a stretch of barren shingle on the labrador, and who had himself received letters patent from his most christian majesty for a marquisate, swore he would be cursed if he gave the _pas_ to la chesnaye, or any other commoner. and m. de radisson was as great a stickler for fine points as any of the new-fledged colonials. when he called a conference, he must needs muster to the quarter-deck by beat of drum, with a tipstaff, having a silver bauble of a stick, leading the way. this office fell to godefroy, the trader, a fellow with the figure of a slat and a scalp tonsured bare as a billiard-ball by indian hunting-knife. spite of many a thwack from the flat of m. de radisson's sword, godefroy would carry the silver mace to the chant of a "diddle-dee-dee," which he was always humming in a sand-papered voice wherever he went. at beat of drum for conference we all came scrambling down the ratlines like tumbling acrobats of a country fair, godefroy grasps his silver stick. "fall in line, there, deputy-governor, diddle-dee-dee!" la chesnaye cuffs the fellow's ears. "diddle-dee-dee! come on, marquis. does your high mightiness give place to a merchant's son? heaven help you, gentlemen! come on! come on! diddle-dee-dee!" and we all march to m. de radisson's cabin and sit down gravely at a long table. "pot o' beer, tipstaff," orders radisson; and godefroy goes off slapping his buckskins with glee. m. radisson no more takes off his hat than a king's ambassador, but he waits for la chesnaye and forêt to uncover. the merchant strums on the table and glares at the marquis, and the marquis looks at the skylight, waiting for the merchant; and the end of it is m. radisson must give godefroy the wink, who knocks both their hats off at once, explaining that a landsman can ill keep his legs on the sea, and the sea is no respecter of persons. once, at the end of his byplay between the two young fire-eaters, the sea lurched in earnest, a mighty pitch that threw tipstaff sprawling across the table. and the beer went full in the face of the marquis. "there's a health to you, forêt!" roared the merchant in whirlwinds of laughter. but the marquis had gone heels over head. he gained his feet as the ship righted, whipped out his rapier, vowed he would dust somebody's jacket, and caught up godefroy on the tip of his sword by the rascal's belt. "forêt, i protest," cried m. radisson, scarce speaking for laughter, "i protest there's nothing spilt but the beer and the dignity! the beer can be mopped. there's plenty o' dignity in the same barrel. save godefroy! we can ill spare a man!" with a quick rip of his own rapier, radisson had cut godefroy's belt and the wretch scuttled up-stairs out of reach. sailors wiped up the beer, and all hands braced chairs 'twixt table and wall to await m. radisson's pleasure. he had dressed with unusual care. gold braid edged his black doublet, and fine old mechlin came back over his sleeves in deep ruffs. and in his eyes the glancing light of steel striking fire. bidding the sailors take themselves off, m. radisson drew his blade from the scabbard and called attention by a sharp rap. quick silence fell, and he laid the naked sword across the table. his right hand played with the jewelled hilt. across his breast were medals and stars of honour given him by many monarchs. i think as we looked at our leader every man of us would have esteemed it honour to sail the seas in a tub if pierre radisson captained the craft. but his left hand was twitching uneasily at his chin, and in his eyes were the restless lights. "gentlemen," says he, as unconcerned as if he were forecasting weather, "gentlemen, i seem to have heard that the crew of my kinsman's ship have mutinied." we were nigh a thousand leagues from rescue or help that day! "mutinied!" shrieks la chesnaye, with his voice all athrill. "mutinied? what will my father have to say?" and he clapped his tilted chair to floor with a thwack that might have echoed to the fo'castle. "shall i lend you a trumpet, la chesnaye, or--or a fife?" asks m. radisson, very quiet. and i assure you there was no more loud talk in the cabin that day; only the long, low wash and pound and break of the seas abeam, with the surly wail that portends storm. i do not believe any of us ever realized what a frail chip was between life and eternity till we heard the wrenching and groaning of the timbers in the silence that followed m. radisson's words. "gentlemen," continues m. radisson, softer-spoken than before, "if any one here is for turning back, i desire him to stand up and say so." the st. pierre shipped a sea with a strain like to tear her asunder, and waters went sizzling through lee scuppers above with the hiss of a cataract. m. radisson inverts a sand-glass and watches the sand trickle through till the last grain drops. then he turns to us. two or three faces had gone white as the driving spray, but never a man opened his lips to counsel return. "gentlemen," says m. radisson, with the fires agleam in his deep-set eyes, "am i to understand that every one here is for going forward at any risk?" "aye--aye, sir!" burst like a clarion from our circle. pierre radisson smiled quietly. "'tis as well," says he, "for i bade the coward stand up so that i could run him through to the hilt," and he clanked the sword back to its scabbard. "as i said before," he went on, "the crew on my kinsman's ship have mutinied. there's another trifle to keep under your caps, gentlemen--the mutineers have been running up pirate signals to the crew of this ship----" "pirate signals!" interrupts la chesnaye, whose temper was ever crackling off like grains of gunpowder. "may i ask, sir, how you know the pirate signals?" m. de radisson's face was a study in masks. "you may ask, la chesnaye," says he, rubbing his chin with a wrinkling smile, "you may ask, but i'm hanged if i answer!" and from lips that had whitened with fear but a moment before came laughter that set the timbers ringing. then forêt found his tongue. "hang a baker's dozen of the mutineers from the yard-arm!" "a baker's dozen is thirteen, forêt," retorted radisson, "and the ste. anne's crew numbers fifteen." "hang 'em in effigy as they do in quebec," persists forêt. pierre radisson only pointed over his shoulder to the port astern. crowding to the glazed window we saw a dozen scarecrows tossing from the crosstrees of groseillers's ship. "what does captain radisson advise?" asks la chesnaye. "la chesnaye," says radisson, "i never advise. i act!" chapter vii m. de radisson acts quick as tongue could trip off the orders, eyes everywhere, thought and act jumping together, pierre radisson had given each one his part, and pledged our obedience, though he bade us walk the plank blindfold to the sea. two men were set to transferring powder and arms from the forehold to our captain's cabin. one went hand over fist up the mainmast and signalled the ste. anne to close up. jackets were torn from the deck-guns and the guns slued round to sweep from stem to stern. with a jarring of cranes and shaking of timbers, the two ships bumped together; and a more surprised looking lot of men than the crew of the ste. anne you never saw. pierre radisson had played the rogues their own game in the matter of signals. they had thought the st. pierre in league, else would they not have come into his trap so readily. before they had time to protest, the ships were together, the two captains conferring face to face across the rails, and our sailors standing at arms ready to shoot down the first rebel. at a word, the st. pierre's crew were scrambling to the ste. anne's decks. a shout through the trumpet of the ste. anne's bo'swain and the mutinous crew of the ste. anne were marched aboard the st. pierre. then m. radisson's plan became plain. the other ship was the better. m. de radisson was determined that at least one crew should reach the bay. besides, as he had half-laughingly insinuated, perhaps he knew better than chouart groseillers of the ste. anne how to manage mutinous pirates. of the st. pierre's crew, three only remained with radisson: allemand, in the pilot-house; young jean groseillers, chouart's son, on guard aft; and myself, armed with a musket, to sweep the fo'castle. and all the time there was such a rolling sea the two ships were like to pound their bulwarks to kindling wood. then the ste. anne eased off, sheered away, and wore ship for open sea. pierre radisson turned. there faced him that grim, mutinous crew. no need to try orders then. 'twas the cat those men wanted. before pierre radisson had said one word the mutineers had discovered the deck cannon pointing amidships. a shout of baffled rage broke from the ragged group. quick words passed from man to man. a noisy, shuffling, indeterminate movement! the crowd swayed forward. there was a sudden rush from the fo'castle to the waist. they had charged to gain possession of the powder cabin--pierre radisson raised his pistol. for an instant they held back. then a barefoot fellow struck at him with a belaying-pin. 'twere better for that man if he had called down the lightnings. quicker than i can tell it, pierre radisson had sprung upon him. the frenchman's left arm had coiled the fellow round the waist. our leader's pistol flashed a circle that drove the rabble back, and the ringleader went hurling head foremost through the main hatch with force like to flatten his skull to a gun-wad. there was a mighty scattering back to the fo'castle then, i promise you. pierre radisson uttered never a syllable. he pointed to the fore scuttle. then he pointed to the men. down they went under hatches--rats in a trap! "tramp--bundle--pack!" says he, as the last man bobbed below. but with a ping that raised the hair from my head, came a pistol-shot from the mainmasts. there, perched astride of the crosstrees, was a rascal mutineer popping at m. radisson bold as you please. our captain took off his beaver, felt the bullet-hole in the brim, looked up coolly, and pointed his musket. "drop that pistol!" said he. the fellow yelped out fear. down clattered his weapon to the deck. "now sit there," ordered radisson, replacing his beaver. "sit there till i give you leave to come down!" allemand, the pilot, had lost his head and was steering a course crooked as a worm fence. young jean groseillers went white as the sails, and scarce had strength to slue the guns back or jacket their muzzles. and, instead of curling forward with the crest of the roll, the spray began to chop off backward in little short waves like a horse's mane--a bad, bad sign, as any seaman will testify. and i, with my musket at guard above the fo'scuttle, had a heart thumping harder than the pounding seas. and what do you think m. radisson said as he wiped the sweat from his brow? "a pretty pickle,[1] indeed, to ground a man's plans on such dashed impudence! hazard o' life! as if a man would turn from his course for them! spiders o' hell! i'll strike my topmast to death himself first--so the devil go with them! the blind gods may crush--they shall not conquer! they may kill--but i snap my fingers in their faces to the death! a pretty pickle, indeed! batten down the hatches, ramsay. lend jean a hand to get the guns under cover. there's a storm!" and "a pretty pickle" it was, with the "porps" floundering bodily from wave-crest to wave-crest, the winds shrieking through the cordage, and the storm-fiends brewing a hurricane like to engulf master and crew! in the forehold were rebels who would sink us all to the bottom of the sea if they could. aft, powder enough to blow us all to eternity! on deck, one brave man, two chittering lads, and a gin-soaked pilot steering a crazy course among the fanged reefs of labrador. the wind backed and veered and came again so that a weather-vane could not have shown which way it blew. at one moment the ship was jumping from wave to wave before the wind with a single tiny storms'l out. at another i had thought we must scud under bare poles for open sea. the coast sheered vertical like a rampart wall, and up--up--up that dripping rock clutched the tossing billows like watery arms of sirens. it needed no seaman to prophecy the fate of a boat caught between that rock and a nor'easter. then the gale would veer, and out raced a tidal billow of waters like to take the st. pierre broadside. "helm hard alee!" shouts radisson in the teeth of the gale. for the fraction of a second we were driving before the oncoming rush. then the sea rose up in a wall on our rear. there was a shattering crash. the billows broke in sheets of whipping spray. the decks swam with a river of waters. one gun wrenched loose, teetered to the roll, and pitched into the seething deep. yard-arms came splintering to the deck. there was a roaring of waters over us, under us, round us--then m. de radisson, jean, and i went slithering forward like water-rats caught in a whirlpool. my feet struck against windlass chains. jean saved himself from washing overboard by cannoning into me; but before the dripping bowsprit rose again to mount the swell, m. de radisson was up, shaking off spray like a water-dog and muttering to himself: "to be snuffed out like a candle--no--no--no, my fine fellows! leap to meet it! leap to meet it!" and he was at the wheel himself. the ship gave a long shudder, staggered back, stern foremost, to the trough of the swell, and lay weltering cataracts from her decks. there was a pause of sudden quiet, the quiet of forces gathering strength for fiercer assault; and in that pause i remembered something had flung over me in the wash of the breaking sea. i looked to the crosstrees. the mutineer was gone. it was the first and last time that i have ever seen a smoking sea. the ocean boiled white. far out in the wake of the tide that had caught us foam smoked on the track of the ploughing waters. waters--did i say? you could not see waters for the spray. then jean bade me look how the stays'l had been torn to flutters, and we both set about righting decks. for all i could see, m. radisson was simply holding the wheel; but the holding of a wheel in stress is mighty fine seamanship. to keep that old gallipot from shipping seas in the tempest of billows was a more ticklish task than rope-walking a whirlpool or sacking a city. presently came two sounds--a swish of seas at our stern and the booming of surf against coast rocks. then m. de radisson did the maddest thing that ever i have seen. both sounds told of the coming tempest. the veering wind settled to a driving nor'easter, and m. de radisson was steering straight as a bullet to the mark for that rock wall. but i did not know that coast. when our ship was but three lengths from destruction the st. pierre answered to the helm. her prow rounded a sharp rock. then the wind caught her, whirling her right about; but in she went, stern foremost, like a fish, between the narrow walls of a fiord to the quiet shelter of a land-locked lagoon. pierre radisson had taken refuge in what the sailors call "a hole in the wall." there we lay close reefed, both anchors out, while the hurricane held high carnival on the outer sea. after we had put the st. pierre ship-shape, m. radisson stationed jean and me fore and aft with muskets levelled, and bade us shoot any man but himself who appeared above the hatch. arming himself with his short, curved hanger--oh, i warrant there would have been a carving below decks had any one resisted him that day!--down he went to the mutineers of the dim-lighted forehold. perhaps the storm had quelled the spirit of rebellion; but up came m. de radisson, followed by the entire crew--one fellow's head in white cotton where it had struck the floor, and every man jumping keen to answer his captain's word. i must not forget a curious thing that happened as we lay at anchor. the storm had scarce abated when a strange ship poked her jib-boom across the entrance to the lagoon, followed by queer-rigged black sails. "a pirate!" said jean. but sieur de radisson only puckered his brows, shifted position so that the st. pierre could give a broadside, and said nothing. then came the strangest part of it. another ship poked her nose across the other side of the entrance. this was white-rigged. "two ships, and they have us cooped!" exclaimed jean. "one sporting different sails," said m. de radisson contemptuously. "what do you think we should do, sir?" asked jean. "think?" demanded radisson. "i have stopped thinking! i act! my thoughts are acts." but all the same his thought at that moment was to let go a broadside that sent the stranger scudding. judging it unwise to keep a half-mutinous crew too near pirate ships, m. radisson ordered anchor up. with a deck-mop fastened in defiance to our prow, the st. pierre slipped out of the harbour through the half-dark of those northern summer nights, and gave the heel to any highwayman waiting to attack as she passed. the rest of the voyage was a ploughing through brash ice in the straits, with an occasional disembarking at the edge of some great ice-field; but one morning we were all awakened from the heavy sleep of hard-worked seamen by the screaming of a multitude of birds. the air was odorous with the crisp smell of woods. when we came on deck, 'twas to see the st. pierre anchored in the cove of a river that raced to meet the bay. the screaming gulls knew not what to make of these strange visitors; for we were at port nelson--fort bourbon, as the french called it. and you must not forget that we were french on _that_ trip! [1] these expressions are m. de radisson's and not words coined by mr. stanhope, as may be seen by reference to the french explorer's account of his own travels, written partly in english, where he repeatedly refers to a "pretty pickle." as for the ships, they seem to have been something between a modern whaler and old-time brigantine.--_author_. chapter viii m. de radisson comes to his own the sea was touched to silver by the rising sun--not the warm, red sun of southern climes, nor yet the gold light of the temperate zones, but the cold, clear steel of that great cold land where all the warring elements challenge man to combat. browned by the early frosts, with a glint of hoar rime on the cobwebs among the grasses, north, south, and west, as far as eye could see, were boundless reaches of hill and valley. and over all lay the rich-toned shadows of early dawn. the broad river raced not to meet the sea more swiftly than our pulses leaped at sight of that unclaimed world. 'twas a kingdom waiting for its king. and its king had come! flush with triumph, sniffing the nutty, autumn air like a war-horse keen for battle, stood m. radisson all impatience for the conquest of new realms. his jewelled sword-hilt glistened in the sun. the fire that always slumbered in the deep-set eyes flashed to life; and, fetching a deep breath, he said a queer thing to jean and me. "'tis good air, lads," says he; "'tis free!" and i, who minded that bloody war in which my father lost his all, knew what the words meant, and drank deep. but for the screaming of the birds there was silence of death. and, indeed, it was death we had come to disenthrone. m. radisson issued orders quick on top of one another, and the sailors swarmed from the hold like bees from a hive. the drum beat a roundelay that set our blood hopping. there were trumpet-calls back and forth from our ship to the ste. anne. then, to a whacking of cables through blocks, the gig-boats touched water, and all hands were racing for the shore. godefroy waved a monster flag--lilies of france, gold-wrought on cloth of silk--and allemand kept beating--and beating--and beating the drum, rumbling out a "vive le roi!" to every stroke. before the keel gravelled on the beach, m. radisson's foot was on the gunwale, and he leaped ashore. godefroy followed, flourishing the french flag and yelling at the top of his voice for the king of france. behind, wading and floundering through the water, came the rest. godefroy planted the flag-staff. the two crews sent up a shout that startled those strange, primeval silences. then, m. radisson stepped forward, hat in hand, whipped out his sword, and held it aloft. "in the name of louis the great, king of france," he shouted, "in the name of his most christian majesty, the king of france, i take possession of all these regions!" at that, chouart groseillers shivered a bottle of wine against the flag-pole. drums beat, fifes shrieked as for battle, and lusty cheers for the king and sieur radisson rang and echoed and re-echoed from our crews. three times did allemand beat his drum and three times did we cheer. then pierre radisson raised his sword. every man dropped to knee. catholics and protestants, calvinists and infidels, and riff-raff adventurers who had no religion but what they swore by, bowed their heads to the solemn thanks which pierre radisson uttered for safe deliverance from perilous voyage. [1] that was my first experience of the fusion which the new world makes of old world divisions. we thought we had taken possession of the land. no, no, 'twas the land had taken possession of us, as the new world ever does, fusing ancient hates and rearing a new race, of which--i wot--no prophet may dare too much! "he who twiddles his thumbs may gnaw his gums," m. radisson was wont to say; and i assure you there was no twiddling of thumbs that morning. bare had m. radisson finished prayers, when he gave sharp command for groseillers, his brother-in-law, to look to the building of the habitation--as the french called their forts--while he himself would go up-stream to seek the indians for trade. jean and godefroy and i were sent to the ship for a birch canoe, which m. radisson had brought from quebec. our leader took the bow; godefroy, the stern; jean and i, the middle. a poise of the steel-shod steering pole, we grasped our paddles, a downward dip, quick followed by godefroy at the stern, and out shot the canoe, swift, light, lithe, alert, like a racer to the bit, with a gurgling of waters below the gunwales, the keel athrob to the swirl of a turbulent current and a trail of eddies dimpling away on each side. a sharp breeze sprang up abeam, and m. radisson ordered a blanket sail hoisted on the steersman's fishing-pole. but if you think that he permitted idle paddles because a wind would do the work, you know not the ways of the great explorer. he bade us ply the faster, till the canoe sped between earth and sky like an arrow shot on the level. the shore-line became a blur. clumps of juniper and pine marched abreast, halted the length of time an eye could rest, and wheeled away. the swift current raced to meet us. the canoe jumped to mount the glossy waves raised by the beam wind. an upward tilt of her prow, and we had skimmed the swell like a winged thing. and all the while m. radisson's eyes were everywhere. chips whirled past. there were beaver, he said. was the water suddenly muddied? deer had flitted at our approach. did a fish rise? m. radisson predicted otter; and where there were otter and beaver and deer, there should be indians. as for the rest of us, it had gone to our heads. we were intoxicated with the wine of the rugged, new, free life. sky above; wild woods where never foot had trod; air that drew through the nostrils in thirst-quenching draughts; blood atingle to the laughing rhythm of the river--what wonder that youth leaped to a fresh life from the mummified existence of little, old peoples in little, old lands? we laughed aloud from fulness of life. jean laid his paddle athwart, ripped off his buckskin, and smiled back. "ramsay feels as if he had room to stretch himself," said he. "feel! i feel as if i could run a thousand miles and jump off the ends of the earth--" "and dive to the bottom of the sea and harness whales and play bowling-balls with the spheres, you young rantipoles," added m. radisson ironically. "the fever of the adventurer," said jean quietly. "my uncle knows it." i laughed again. "i was wondering if eli kirke ever felt this way," i explained. "pardieu," retorted m. de radisson, loosening his coat, "if people moved more and moped less, they'd brew small bile! come, lads! come, lads! we waste time!" and we were paddling again, in quick, light strokes, silent from zest, careless of toil, strenuous from love of it. once we came to a bend in the river where the current was so strong that we had dipped our paddles full five minutes against the mill race without gaining an inch. the canoe squirmed like a hunter balking a hedge, and jean's blade splintered off to the handle. but m. de radisson braced back to lighten the bow; the prow rose, a sweep of the paddles, and on we sped! "hard luck to pull and not gain a boat length," observed jean. "harder luck not to pull, and to be swept back," corrected m. de radisson. we left the main river to thread a labyrinthine chain of waterways, where were portages over brambly shores and slippery rocks, with the pace set at a run by m. de radisson. jean and i followed with the pack straps across our foreheads and the provisions on our backs. godefroy brought up the rear with the bark canoe above his head. at one place, where we disembarked, m. de radisson traced the sand with the muzzle of his musket. "a boot-mark," said he, drawing the faint outlines of a footprint, "and egad, it's not a man's foot either!" "impossible!" cried jean. "we are a thousand miles from any white-man." "there's nothing impossible on this earth," retorted radisson impatiently. "but pardieu, there are neither white women in this wilderness, nor ghosts wearing women's boots! i'd give my right hand to know what left that mark!" after that his haste grew feverish. we snatched our meals by turns between paddles. he seemed to grudge the waste of each night, camping late and launching early; and it was godefroy's complaint that each portage was made so swiftly there was no time for that solace of the common voyageur--the boatman's pipe. for eight days we travelled without seeing a sign of human presence but that one vague footmark in the sand. "if there are no indians, how much farther do we go, sir?" asked godefroy sulkily on the eighth day. "till we find them," answered m. radisson. and we found them that night. a deer broke from the woods edging the sand where we camped and had almost bounded across our fire when an indian darted out a hundred yards behind. mistaking us for his own people, he whistled the hunter's signal to head the game back. then he saw that we were strangers. pulling up of a sudden, he threw back his arms, uttered a cry of surprise, and ran to the hiding of the bush. m. radisson was the first to pursue; but where the sand joined the thicket he paused and began tracing the point of his rapier round the outlines of a mark. "what do you make of it, godefroy?" he demanded of the trader. the trader looked quizzically at sieur de radisson. "the toes of that man's moccasin turn out," says godefroy significantly. "then that man is no indian," retorted m. radisson, "and hang me, if the size is not that of a woman or a boy!" and he led back to the beach. "yon ship was a pirate," began godefroy, "and if buccaneers be about----" "hold your clack, fool," interrupted m. radisson, as if the fellow's prattle had cut into his mental plannings; and he bade us heap such a fire as could be seen by indians for a hundred miles. "if once i can find the indians," meditated he moodily, "i'll drive out a whole regiment of scoundrels with one snap o' my thumb!" black clouds rolled in from the distant bay, boding a stormy night; and godefroy began to complain that black deeds were done in the dark, and we were forty leagues away from the protection of our ships. "a pretty target that fire will make of us in the dark," whined the fellow. m. radisson's eyes glistened sparks. "i'd as lief be a pirate myself, as be shot down by pirates," grumbled the trader, giving a hand to hoist the shed of sheet canvas that was to shield us from the rains now aslant against the seaward horizon. at the words m. radisson turned sharply; but the heedless fellow gabbled on. "where is a man to take cover, an the buccaneers began shooting from the bush behind?" demanded godefroy belligerently. m. radisson reached one arm across the fire. "i'll show you," said he. taking godefroy by the ear, with a prick of the sword he led the lazy knave quick march to the beach, where lay our canoe bottom up. "crawl under!" m. radisson lifted the prow. from very shame--i think it was--godefroy balked; but m. radisson brought a cutting rap across the rascal's heels that made him hop. the canoe clapped down, and godefroy was safe. "pardieu," mutters radisson, "such cowards would turn the marrow o' men's bones to butter!" sitting on a log, with his feet to the fire, he motioned jean and me to come into the shelter of the slant canvas; for the clouds were rolling overhead black as ink and the wind roared up the river-bed with a wall of pelting rain. m. radisson gazed absently into the flame. the steel lights were at play in his eyes, and his lips parted. "storm and cold--man and beast--powers of darkness and devil--knaves and fools and his own sins--he must fight them all, lads," says m. radisson slowly. "who must fight them all?" asks jean. "the victor," answers radisson, and warm red flashed to the surface of the cold steel in his eyes. "jean," he began, looking up quickly towards the gathering darkness of the woods. "sir?" "'tis cold enough for hunters to want a fire." "is the fire not big enough?" "now, where are your wits, lad? if hunters were hiding in that bush, one could see this fire a long way off. the wind is loud. one could go close without being heard. pardieu, i'll wager a good scout could creep up to a log like this"--touching the pine on which we sat---"and hear every word we are saying without a soul being the wiser!" jean turned with a start, half-suspecting a spy. radisson laughed. "must i spell it out? eh, lad, afraid to go?" the taunt bit home. without a word jean and i rose. "keep far enough apart so that one of you will escape back with the news," called radisson, as we plunged into the woods. of the one who might not escape pierre radisson gave small heed, and so did we. jean took the river side and i the inland thicket, feeling our way blindly through the blackness of forest and storm and night. then the rain broke--broke in lashing whip-cords with the crackle of fire. jean whistled and i signalled back; but there was soon such a pounding of rains it drowned every sound. for all the help one could give the other we might have been a thousand miles apart. i looked back. m. radisson's fire threw a dull glare into the cavernous upper darkness. that was guide enough. jean could keep his course by the river. it was plunging into a black nowhere. the trees thinned. i seemed to be running across the open, the rain driving me forward like a wet sail, a roar of wind in my ears and the words of m. radisson ringing their battle-cry--"storm and cold--man and beast--powers of darkness and devil--knaves and fools and his own sins--he must fight them all!"--"who?"--"the victor!" of a sudden the dripping thicket gave back a glint. had i run in a circle and come again on m. radisson's fire? behind, a dim glare still shone against the sky. another glint from the rain drip, and i dropped like a deer hit on the run. not a gunshot away was a hunter's fire. against the fire were three figures. one stood with his face towards me, an indian dressed in buckskin, the man who had pursued the deer. the second was hid by an intervening tree; and as i watched, the third faded into the phaseless dark. who were these night-watchers? i liked not that business of spying--though you may call it scouting, if you will, but i must either report nothing to m. radisson, or find out more. i turned to skirt the group. a pistol-shot rang through the wood. a sword flashed to light. before i had time to think, but not--thanks to m. picot's lessons long ago--not before i had my own rapier out, an assassin blade would have taken me unawares. i was on guard. steel struck fire in red spots as it clashed against steel. one thrust, i know, touched home; for the pistol went whirling out of my adversary's hand, and his sword came through the dark with the hiss of a serpent. again i seemed to be in boston town; but the hunting room had become a northland forest, m. picot, a bearded man with his back to the fire and his face in the dark, and our slim foils, naked swords that pressed and parried and thrust in many a foul such as the french doctor had taught me was a trick of the infamous blood! indeed, i could have sworn that a woman's voice cried out through the dark; but the rain was in my face and a sword striking red against my own. thanks, yes, thanks a thousand times to m. picot's lessons; for again and yet again i foiled that lunge of the unscrupulous swordsman till i heard my adversary swearing, between clinched teeth. he retreated. i followed. by a dexterous spring he put himself under cover of the woods, leaving me in the open. my only practice in swordsmanship had been with m. picot, and it was not till long years after that i minded how those lessons seemed to forestall and counter the moves of that ambushed assassin. but the baffling thing was that my enemy's moves countered mine in the very same way. he had not seen my face, for my back was turned when he came up, and my face in the shade when i whirled. but i stood between the dark and the fire. every motion of mine he could forecast, while i could but parry and retreat, striving in vain to lure him out, to get into the dark, to strike what i could not see, pushed back and back till i felt the rush that aims not to disarm but to slay. our weapons rang with a glint of green lightnings. a piece of steel flew up. my rapier had snapped short at the hilt. a cold point was at my throat pressing me down and back as the foil had caught me that night in m. picot's house. to right, to left, i swerved, the last blind rushes of the fugitive man. . . . "storm and cold--man and beast--powers of darkness and devil--he must fight them all----" the memory of those words spurred like a battle-cry. beaten? not yet! "leap to meet it! leap to meet it!" i caught the blade at my throat with a naked hand. hot floods drenched my face. the earth swam. we were both in the light now, a bearded man pushing his sword through my hand, and i falling down. then my antagonist leaped back with a shivering cry of horror, flung the weapon to the ground and fled into the dark. and when i sat up my right hand held the hilt of a broken rapier, the left was gashed across the palm, and a sword as like my own as two peas lay at my feet. the fire was there. but i was alone. [1] reference to m. radisson's journal corroborates mr. stanhope in this observance, which was never neglected by m. radisson after season of peril. it is to be noted that he made his prayers after not at the season of peril. chapter ix visitors the fire had every appearance of a night bivouac, but there was remnant of neither camp nor hunt. somewhere on my left lay the river. by that the way led back to m. radisson's rendezvous. it was risky enough--that threading of the pathless woods through the pitchy dark; but he who pauses to measure the risk at each tread is ill fitted to pioneer wild lands. who the assassin was and why he had so suddenly desisted, i knew no more than you do! that he had attacked was natural enough; for whoever took first possession of no-man's-land in those days either murdered his rivals or sold them to slavery. but why had he flung his sword down at the moment of victory? the pelting of the rain softened to a leafy patter, the patter to a drip, and a watery moon came glimmering through the clouds. with my enemy's rapier in hand i began cutting a course through the thicket. radisson's fire no longer shone. indeed, i became mighty uncertain which direction to take, for the rush of the river merged with the beating of the wind. the ground sloped precipitously; and i was holding back by the underbrush lest the bank led to water when an indistinct sound, a smothery murmur like the gurgle of a subterranean pool, came from below. the wind fell. the swirl of the flowing river sounded far from the rear. i had become confused and was travelling away from the true course. but what was that sound? i threw a stick forward. it struck hard stone. at the same instant was a sibilant, human--distinctly human--"hss-h," and the sound had ceased. that was no laving of inland pond against pebbles. make of it what you will--there were voices, smothered but talking. "no-no-no" . . . then the warning . . . "hush!" . . . then the wind and the river and . . . "no--no!" with words like oaths. . . . "no--i say, no! having come so far, no!--not if it were my own brother!" . . . then the low "hush!" . . . and pleadings . . . then--"send le borgne!" and an indian had rushed past me in the dark with a pine fagot in his hand. rising, i stole after him. 'twas the fellow who had been at the fire with that unknown assailant. he paused over the smouldering embers, searching the ground, found the hilt of the broken sword, lifted the severed blade, kicked leaves over all traces of conflict, and extinguishing the fire, carried off the broken weapon. an indian can pick his way over known ground without a torch. what was this fellow doing with a torch? had he been sent for me? i drew back in shadow to let him pass. then i ran with all speed to the river. gray dawn came over the trees as i reached the swollen waters, and the sun was high in mid-heaven when i came to the gravel patch where m. de radisson had camped. round a sharp bend in the river a strange sight unfolded. a score of crested savages with painted bodies sat on the ground. in the centre, clad like a king, with purple doublet and plumed hat and velvet waistcoat ablaze with medals of honour--was m. radisson. one hand deftly held his scabbard forward so that the jewelled hilt shone against the velvet, and the other was raised impressively above the savages. how had he made the savages come to him? how are some men born to draw all others as the sea draws the streams? the poor creatures had piled their robes at his feet as offerings to a god. "what did he give for the pelts, godefroy?" i asked. "words!" says godefroy, with a grin, "gab and a drop o' rum diluted in a pot o' water!" "what is he saying to them now?" godefroy shrugged his shoulders. "that the gods have sent him a messenger to them; that the fire he brings "--he was handing a musket to the chief--"will smite the indians' enemy from the earth; that the bullet is magic to outrace the fleetest runner"--this as m. radisson fired a shot into mid-air that sent the indians into ecstasies of childish wonder--"that the bottle in his hands contains death, and if the indians bring their hunt to the white-man, the white-man will never take the cork out except to let death fly at the indians' enemy"--he lifted a little phial of poison as he spoke--"that the indian need never feel cold nor thirst, now that the white-man has brought fire-water!" at this came a harsh laugh from a taciturn indian standing on the outer rim of the crowd. it was the fellow who had run through the forest with the torch. "who is that, godefroy?" "le borgne." "le borgne need not laugh," retorted m. de radisson sharply. "le borgne knows the taste of fire-water! le borgne has been with the white-man at the south, and knows what the white-man says is true." but le borgne only laughed the harder, deep, guttural, contemptuous "huh-huh's!"--a fitting rebuke, methought, for the ignoble deception implied in m. radisson's words. indeed, i would fain suppress this part of m. radisson's record, for he juggled with truth so oft, when he thought the end justified the means, he finally got a knack of juggling so much with truth that the means would never justify any end. i would fain repress the ignoble faults of a noble leader, but i must even set down the facts as they are, so you may see why a man who was the greatest leader and trader and explorer of his times reaped only an aftermath of universal distrust. he lied his way through thick and thin--as we traders used to say--till that lying habit of his sewed him up in a net of his own weaving like a grub in a cocoon. godefroy was giving a hand to bind up my gashed palm when something grunted a "huff-huff" beside us. le borgne was there with a queer look on his inscrutable face. "le borgne, you rascal, you know who gave me this," i began, taking careful scrutiny of the indian. one eye was glazed and sightless, the other yellow like a fox's; but the fellow was straight, supple, and clean-timbered as a fresh-hewn mast. with a "huh-huh," he gabbled back some answer. "what does he say, godefroy?" "he says he doesn't understand the white-man's tongue--which is a lie," added godefroy of his own account. "le borgne was interpreter for the fur company at the south of the bay the year that m. radisson left the english." were my assailants, then, hudson's bay company men come up from the south end of james bay? certainly, the voice had spoken english. i would have drawn godefroy aside to inform him of my adventure, but le borgne stuck to us like a burr. jean was busy helping m. de radisson at the trade, or what was called "trade," when white men gave an awl for forty beaver-skins. "godefroy," i said, "keep an eye on this indian till i speak to m. de radisson." and i turned to the group. 'twas as pretty a bit of colour as i have ever seen. the sea, like silver, on one side; the autumn-tinted woods, brown and yellow and gold, on the other; m. de radisson in his gay dress surrounded by a score of savages with their faces and naked chests painted a gaudy red, headgear of swans' down, eagle quills depending from their backs, and buckskin trousers fringed with the scalp-locks of the slain. drawing m. de radisson aside, i gave him hurried account of the night's adventures. "ha!" says he. "not hudson's bay company men, or you would be in irons, lad! not french, for they spoke english. pardieu! poachers and thieves--we shall see! where is that vagabond cree? these people are southern indians and know nothing of him.--godefroy," he called. godefroy came running up. "le borgne's gone," said godefroy breathlessly. "gone?" repeated radisson. "he left word for master stanhope from one who wishes him well--" "one who wishes him well," repeated m. radisson, looking askance at me. "for master stanhope not to be bitten twice by the same dog!" our amazement you may guess: m. de radisson, suspicious of treachery and private trade and piracy on my part; i as surprised to learn that i had a well-wisher as i had been to discover an unknown foe; and godefroy, all cock-a-whoop with his news, as is the way of the vulgar. "ramsay," said m. radisson, speaking very low and tense, "as you hope to live and without a lie, what--does--this--mean?" "sir, as i hope to live--i--do--not--know!" he continued to search me with doubting looks. i raised my wounded hand. "will you do me the honour to satisfy yourself that wound is genuine?" "pish!" says he. he studied the ground. "there's nothing impossible on this earth. facts are hard dogs to down.--jean," he called, "gather up the pelts! it takes a man to trade well, but any fool can make fools drink! godefroy--give the knaves the rum--but mind yourselves," he warned, "three parts rain-water!" then facing me, "take me to that bank!" he followed without comment. at the place of the camp-fire were marks of the struggle. "the same boot-prints as on the sand! a small man," observed radisson. but when we came to the sloping bank, where the land fell sheer away to a dry, pebbly reach, m. radisson pulled a puzzled brow. "they must have taken shelter from the rain. they must have been under your feet." "but where are their foot-marks?" i asked. "washed out by the rain," said he; but that was one of the untruths with which a man who is ever telling untruths sometimes deceives himself; for if the bank sheltered the intruders from the rain, it also sheltered their foot-marks, and there was not a trace. "all the same," said m. de radisson, "we shall make these indians our friends by taking them back to the fort with us." "ramsay," he remarked on the way, "there's a game to play." "so it seems." "hold yourself in," said he sententiously. i walked on listening. "one plays as your friend, the other as your foe! show neither friend nor foe your hand! let the game tell! 'twas the reined-in horse won king charles's stakes at newmarket last year! hold yourself in, i say!" "in," i repeated, wondering at this homily. "and hold yourself up," he continued. "that coxcomb of a marquis always trailing his dignity in the dust of mid-road to worry with a common dog like la chesnaye--pish! hold your self-respect in the chest of your jacket, man! 'tis the slouching nag that loses the race! hold yourself up!" his words seemed hard sense plain spoken. "and let your feet travel on," he added. "in and up and on!" i repeated. "in and up and on--there's mettle for you, lad!" and with that terse text--which, i think, comprehended the whole of m. radisson's philosophy--we were back at the beach. the indians were not in such a state as i have seen after many a trading bout. they were able to accompany us. in embarking, m. radisson must needs observe all the ceremony of two races. such a whiffing of pipes among the stately, half-drunk indian chiefs you never saw, with a pompous proffering of the stem to the four corners of the compass, which they thought would propitiate the spirits. jean blew a blast on the trumpet. i waved the french flag. godefroy beat a rattling fusillade on the drum, grabbed up his bobbing tipstaff, led the way; and down we filed to the canoes. at all this ostentation i could not but smile; but no man ever had greater need of pomp to hold his own against uneven odds than radisson. as we were leaving came a noise that set us all by the ears--the dull booming reverberations of heavy cannonading. the indians shook as with palsy. jean groseillers cried out that his father's ships were in peril. godefroy implored the saints; but with that lying facility which was his doom, m. de radisson blandly informed the savages that more of his vessels had arrived from france. bidding jean go on to the habitation with the indians, he took the rest of us ashore with one redskin as guide, to spy out the cause of the firing. "'twill be a pretty to-do if the english fur company's ships arrive before we have a french fort ready to welcome them," said he. chapter x the cause of the firing the landing was but a part of the labyrinthine trickery in which our leader delighted to play; for while jean delayed the natives we ran overland through the woods, launched our canoe far ahead of the indian flotilla, and went racing forward to the throbs of the leaping river. "if a man would win, he must run fast as the hour-glass," observed m. radisson, poising his steering-pole. "and now, my brave lads," he began, counting in quick, sharp words that rang with command, "keep time--one--two--three! one--two--three!" and to each word the paddles dipped with the speed of a fly-wheel's spokes. "one--two--three! in and up and on! an you keep yourselves in hand, men, you can win against the devil's own artillery! speed to your strokes, godefroy," he urged. and the canoe answered as a fine-strung racer to the spur. shore-lines blurred to a green streak. the frosty air met our faces in wind. gurgling waters curled from the prow in corrugated runnels. and we were running a swift race with a tumult of waves, mounting the swell, dipping, rising buoyant, forward in bounds, with a roar of the nearing rapids, and spray dashing athwart in drifts. m. radisson braced back. the prow lifted, shot into mid-air, touched water again, and went whirling through the mill-race that boiled below a waterfall. once the canoe aimed straight as an arrow for rocks in mid-current. m. radisson's steel-shod pole flashed in the sun. there was a quick thrust, answered by godefroy's counter-stroke at the stern; and the canoe grazed past the rocks not a hair's-breadth off. "sainte anne ha' mercy!" mumbled godefroy, baling water from the canoe as we breasted a turn in the river to calmer currents, "sainte anne ha' mercy! but the master'd run us over niagara, if he had a mind." "or the river styx, if 'twould gain his end," sharply added radisson. but he ordered our paddles athwart for snatched rest, while he himself kept alert at the bow. with the rash presumption of youth, i offered to take the bow that he might rest; but he threw his head back with a loud laugh, more of scorn than mirth, and bade me nurse a wounded hand. on the evening of the third day we came to the habitation. without disembarking, m. de radisson sent the soldiers on sentinel duty at the river front up to the fort with warning to prepare for instant siege. "'twill put speed in the lazy rascals to finish the fort," he remarked; and the canoe glided out to mid-current again for the far expanse of the bay. by this we were all so used to m. radisson's doings, 'twould not have surprised us when the craft shot out from river-mouth to open sea if he had ordered us to circumnavigate the ocean on a chip. he did what was nigh as venturesome. a quick, unwarned swerve of his pole, which bare gave godefroy time to take the cue, and our prow went scouring across the scud of whipping currents where two rivers and an ocean-tide met. the seething waves lashed to foam with the long, low moan of the world-devouring serpent which, legend says, is ever an-hungering to devour voyageurs on life's sea. and for all the world that reef of combing breakers was not unlike a serpent type of malignant elements bent on man's destruction! then, to the amaze of us all, we had left the lower river. the canoe was cutting up-stream against a new current; and the moan of the pounding surf receded to the rear. clouds blew inland, muffling the moon; and m. radisson ordered us ashore for the night. feet at a smouldering fire too dull for an enemy to see and heads pillowed on logs, we bivouacked with the frosty ground for bed. "bad beds make good risers," was all m. radisson's comfort, when godefroy grumbled out some complaint. a _hard_ master, you say? a wise one, say i, for the forces he fought in that desolate land were as adamant. only the man dauntless as adamant could conquer. and you must remember, while the diamond and the charcoal are of the same family, 'tis the diamond has lustre, because it is _hard_. faults, m. radisson had, which were almost crimes; but look you who judge him--his faults were not the faults of nearly all other men, the faults which _are_ a crime--_the crime of being weak_! the first thing our eyes lighted on when the sun rose in flaming darts through the gray haze of dawn was a half-built fort on an island in mid-river. at the water side lay a queer-rigged brigantine, rocking to the swell of the tide. here, then, was cause of that firing heard across the marsh on the lower river. "'tis the pirate ship we saw on the high sea," muttered godefroy, rubbing his eyes. "she flies no flag! she has no license to trade! she's a poacher! she will make a prize worth the taking," added m. radisson sharply. then, as if to justify that intent--"as _we_ have no license, we must either take or be taken!" the river mist gradually lifted, and there emerged from the fog a stockaded fort with two bastions facing the river and guns protruding from loopholes. "not so easy to take that fort," growled godefroy, who was ever a hanger-back. "all the better," retorted m. de radisson. "easy taking makes soft men! 'twill test your mettle!" "test our mettle!" sulked the trader, a key higher in his obstinacy. "all very well to talk, sir, but how can we take a fort mounted with twenty cannon----" "i'll tell you _the how_ when it's done," interrupted m. de radisson. but godefroy was one of those obstinates who would be silent only when stunned. "i'd like to know, sir, what we're to do," he began. "godefroy, 'twould be waste time to knock sense in your pate! there is only one thing to do always--only one, _the right thing_! do it, fool! an i hear more clack from you till it's done, i'll have your tongue out with the nippers!" godefroy cowered sulkily back, and m. de radisson laughed. "that will quell him," said he. "when godefroy's tongue is out he can't grumble, and grumbling is his bread of life!" stripping off his bright doublet, m. radisson hung it from a tree to attract the fort's notice. then he posted us in ambuscade with orders to capture whatever came. but nothing came. and when the fort guns boomed out the noon hour m. radisson sprang up all impatience. "i'll wait no man's time," he vowed. "losing time is losing the game! launch out!" chittering something about our throats being cut, godefroy shrank back. with a quick stride m. radisson was towering above him. catching godefroy by the scruff of the neck, he threw him face down into the canoe, muttering out it would be small loss if all the cowards in the world had their throats cut. "the pirates come to trade," he explained. "they will not fire at indians. bind your hair back like that indian there!" no sooner were we in the range of the fort than m. radisson uttered the shrill call of a native, bade our indian stand up, and himself enacted the pantomime of a savage, waving his arms, whistling, and hallooing. with cries of welcome, the fort people ran to the shore and left their guns unmanned. reading from a syllable book, they shouted out indian words. it was safe to approach. before they could arm we could escape. but we were two men, one lad, and a neutral indian against an armed garrison in a land where killing was no murder. m. de radisson stood up and called in the indian tongue. they did not understand. "new to it," commented radisson, "not the hudson's bay company!" all the while he was imperceptibly approaching nearer. he shouted in french. they shook their heads. "english highwaymen, blundered in here by chance," said he. tearing off the indian head-band of disguise, he demanded in mighty peremptory tones who they were. "english," they called back doubtfully. "what have you come for?" insisted radisson, with a great swelling of his chest. "the beaver trade," came a faint voice. where had i heard it before? did it rise from the ground in the woods, or from a far memory of children throwing a bully into the sea? "i demand to see your license," boldly challenged radisson. at that the fellows ashore put their heads together. "in the name of the king, i demand to see your license instantly," repeated sieur de radisson, with louder authority. "we have no license," explained one of the men, who was dressed with slashed boots, red doublet, and cocked hat. m. radisson smiled and poled a length closer. "a ship without a license! a prize-for the taking! if the rascals complain--the galleys for life!" and he laughed softly. "this coast is possessed by the king of france," he shouted. "we have a strong garrison! we mistook your firing for more french ships!" shaping his hands trumpet fashion to his mouth, he called this out again, adding that our indian was of a nation in league with the french. the pirates were dumb as if he had tossed a hand grenade among them. "the ship is ours now, lads," said radisson softly, poling nearer. "see, lads, the bottom has tumbled from their courage! we'll not waste a pound o' powder in capturing that prize!" he turned suddenly to me--"as i live by bread, 'tis that bragging young dandy-prat--hop-o'-my-thumb--ben gillam of boston town!" "ben gillam!" i was thinking of my assailant in the woods. "ben was tall. the pirate, who came carving at me, was small." but ben gillam it was, turned pirate or privateer--as you choose to call it--grown to a well-timbered rapscallion with head high in air, jack-boots half-way to his waist, a clanking sword at heel, and a nose too red from rum. as we landed, he sent his men scattering to the fort, and stood twirling his mustaches till the recognition struck him. "by jericho--radisson!" he gasped. then he tossed his chin defiantly in air like an unbroken colt disposed to try odds with a master. "don't be afraid to land," he called down out of sheer impudence. "don't be afraid to have us land," radisson shouted up to him. "we'll not harm you!" ben swore a big oath, fleered a laugh, and kicked the sand with his heels. raising a hand, he signalled the watchers on the ship. "sorry to welcome you in this warlike fashion," said he. "glad to welcome you to the domain of his most christian majesty, the king of france," retorted radisson, leaping ashore. ben blinked to catch the drift of that. "devil take their majesties!" he ejaculated. "he's king who conquers!" "no need to talk of conquering when one is master already," corrected m. de radisson. "shiver my soul," blurts out ben, "i haven't a tongue like an eel, but that's what i mean; and i'm king here, and welcome to you, radisson!" "and that's what i mean," laughed m. radisson, with a bow, quietly motioning us to follow ashore. "no need to conquer where one is master, and welcome to you, captain gillam!" and they embraced each other like spider and fly, each with a free hand to his sword-hilt, and a questioning look on the other's face. says m. radisson: "i've seen that ship before!" ben laughs awkwardly. "we captured her from a dutchman," he begins. "oh!" says sieur radisson. "i meant outside the straits after the storm!" gillam's eyes widen. "were those your ships?" he asks. then both men laugh. "not much to boast in the way of a fleet," taunts ben. "those are the two smallest we have," quickly explains radisson. gillam's face went blank, and m. radisson's eyes closed to the watchful slit of a cat mouse-hunting. "come! come!" exclaims ben, with a sudden flare of friendliness, "i am no baby-eater! put a peg in that! shiver my soul if this is a way to welcome friends! come aboard all of you and test the canary we got in the hold of a fine spanish galleon last week! such a top-heavy ship, with sails like a tinker's tatters, you never saw! and her hold running over with canary and madeira--oh! come aboard! come aboard!" he urged. it was pierre radisson's turn to blink. "and drink to the success of the beaver trade," importunes ben. 'twas as pretty a piece of play as you could see: ben, scheming to get the frenchman captive; m. radisson, with the lightnings under his brows and that dare-devil rashness of his blood tempting him to spy out the lad's strength. "ben was the body of the venture! where was the brain? it was that took me aboard his ship," m. radisson afterward confessed to us. "come! come!" pressed gillam. "i know young stanhope there"--his mighty air brought the laugh to my face--"young stanhope there has a taste for fine canary----" "but, lad," protested radisson, with a condescension that was vinegar to ben's vanity, "we cannot be debtors altogether. let two of your men stay here and whiff pipes with my fellows, while i go aboard!" ben's teeth ground out an assent that sounded precious like an oath; for he knew that he was being asked for hostages of safe-conduct while m. radisson spied out the ship. he signalled, as we thought, for two hostages to come down from the fort; but scarce had he dropped his hand when fort and ship let out such a roar of cannonading as would have lifted the hair from any other head than pierre radisson's. godefroy cut a caper. the indian's eyes bulged with terror, and my own pulse went a-hop; but m. radisson never changed countenance. "pardieu," says he softly, with a pleased smile as the last shot went skipping over the water, "you're devilish fond o' fireworks, to waste good powder so far from home!" ben mumbled out that he had plenty of powder, and that some fools didn't know fireworks from war. m. radisson said he was glad there was plenty of powder, there would doubtless be use found for it, and he knew fools oft mistook fireworks for war. with that a cannon-shot sent the sand spattering to our boots and filled the air with powder-dust; but when the smoke cleared, m. radisson had quietly put himself between ben and the fort. drawing out his sword, the frenchman ran his finger up the edge. "sharp as the next," said he. lowering the point, he scratched a line on the sand between the mark of the last shot and us. "how close can your gunners hit, ben?" asked radisson. "now i'll wager you a bottle of madeira they can't hit that line without hitting you!" ben's hand went up quick enough. the gunners ceased firing and m. radisson sheathed his sword with a laugh. "you'll not take the odds? take advice instead! take a man's advice, and never waste powder! you'll need it all if he's king who conquers! besides," he added, turning suddenly serious, "if my forces learn you are here i'll not promise i've strength to restrain them!" "how many have you?" blurted ben. "plenty to spare! now, if you are afraid of the hudson's bay company ships attacking you, i'd be glad to loan you enough young fire-eaters to garrison the fort here!" "thanks," says ben, twirling his mustaches till they were nigh jerked out, "but how long would they stay?" "till you sent them away," says m. de radisson, with the lights at play under his brows. "hang me if i know how long that would be," laughed gillam, half-puzzled, half-pleased with the frenchman's darting wits. "ben," begins m. radisson, tapping the lace ruffle of gillam's sleeve, "you must not fire those guns!" "no?" questions gillam. "my officers are swashing young blades! what with the marines and the common soldiers and my own guard, 'tis all i can manage to keep the rascals in hand! they must not know you are here!" gillam muttered something of a treaty of truce for the winter. m. radisson shook his head. "i have scarce the support to do as i will," he protests. young gillam swore such coolness was scurvy treatment for an old friend. "old friend," laughed radisson afterward. "did the cub's hangdog of a father not offer a thousand pounds for my head on the end of a pikestaff?" but with ben he played the game out. "the season is too far advanced for you to _escape_," says he with soft emphasis. "'tis why i want a treaty," answers the sailor. "come, then," laughs the frenchman, "now--as to terms----" "name them," says gillam. "if you don't wish to be discovered----" "i don't wish to be discovered!" "if you don't wish to be discovered don't run up a flag!" "one," says gillam. "if you don't wish to be discovered, don't let your people leave the island!" "they haven't," says gillam. "what?" asks m. radisson, glancing sharply at me; for we were both thinking of that night attack. "they haven't left the island," repeats gillam. "ten lies are as cheap as two," says radisson to us. then to gillam, "don't let your people leave the island, or they'll meet my forces." "two," says gillam. "if you don't wish the fur company to discover you, don't fire guns!" "three," says gillam. "that is to keep 'em from connecting with those inlanders," whispered godefroy, who knew the plays of his master's game better than i. "we can beat 'em single; but if ben joins the inlanders and the fur company against us----" godefroy completed his prophecy with an ominous shake of the head. "my men shall not know you are here," m. radisson was promising. "one," counts gillam. "i'll join with you against the english ships!" young gillam laughed derisively. "my father commands the hudson's bay ship," says he. "egad, yes!" retorts m. radisson nonchalantly, "but your father doesn't command the governor of the fur company, who sailed out in his ship." "the governor does not know that i am here," flouts ben. "but he would know if i told him," adds m. de radisson, "and if i told him the company's captain owned half the ship poaching on the company's preserve, the company's captain and the captain's son might go hang for all the furs they'd get! by the lord, youngster, i rather suspect both the captain and the captain's son would be whipped and hanged for the theft!" ben gave a start and looked hard at radisson. 'twas the first time, i think, the cub realized that the pawn in so soft-spoken a game was his own neck. "go on," he said, with haste and fear in his look. "i promised three terms. you will keep your people from knowing i am here and join me against the english--go on! what next?" "i'll defend you against the indians," coolly capped m. radisson. godefroy whispered in my ear that he would not give a pin's purchase for all the furs the new englander would get; and ben gillam looked like a man whose shoe pinches. he hung his head hesitating. "but if you run up a flag, or fire a gun, or let your people leave the island," warned m. radisson, "i may let my men come, or tell the english, or join the indians against you." gillam put out his hand. "it's a treaty," said he. there and then he would have been glad to see the last of us; but m. radisson was not the man to miss the chance of seeing a rival's ship. "how about that canary taken from the foreign ship? a galleon, did you say, tall and slim? did you sink her or sell her? send down your men to my fellows! let us go aboard for the story." chapter xi more of m. radisson's rivals so ben gillam must take m. radisson aboard the susan, or garden, as she was called when she sailed different colours, the young fellow with a wry face, the frenchman, all gaiety. as the two leaders mounted the companion-ladder, hostages came towards the beach to join us. i had scarce noticed them when one tugged at my sleeve, and i turned to look full in the faithful shy face of little jack battle. "jack!" i shouted, but he only wrung and wrung and wrung at my hand, emitting little gurgling laughs. then we linked arms and walked along the beach, where others could not hear. "where did you come from?" i demanded. "master ben fished me up on the grand banks. i was with the fleet. it was after he met you off the straits; and here i be, ramsay." "after he met us off the straits." i was trying to piece some connection between gillam's ship and the inland assailants. "jack, tell me! how many days have you been here?" "three," says jack. "split me fore and aft if we've been a day more!" it was four since that night in the bush. "you could not build a fort in three days!" "'twas half-built when we came." "who did that? is captain gillam stealing the company's furs for ben?" "no-o-o," drawled jack thoughtfully, "it aren't that. it are something else, i can't make out. master ben keeps firing and firing and firing his guns expecting some one to answer." "the indians with the pelts," i suggested. "no-o-o," answered jack. "split me fore and aft if it's indians he wants! he could send up river for them. it's some one as came from his father's ship outside boston when master ben sailed for the north and captain gillam was agoing home to england with mistress hortense in his ship. when no answer comes to our firing, master ben takes to climbing the masthead and yelling like a fog-horn and dropping curses like hail and swearing he'll shoot him as fails to keep appointment as he'd shoot a dog, if he has to track him inland a thousand leagues. split me fore and aft if he don't!" "who shoot what?" i demanded, trying to extract some meaning from the jumbled narrative. "that's what i don't know," says jack. i fetched a sigh of despair. "what's the matter with your hand? does it hurt?" he asked quickly. poor jack! i looked into his faithful blue eyes. there was not a shadow of deception there--only the affection that gives without wishing to comprehend. should i tell him of the adventure? but a loud halloo from godefroy notified me that m. de radisson was on the beach ready to launch. "almost waste work to go on fortifying," he was warning ben. "you forget the danger from your own crews," pleaded young gillam. "pardieu! we can easily arrange that. i promise you never to approach with more than thirty of a guard." (we were twenty-nine all told.) "but remember, don't hoist a flag, don't fire, don't let your people leave the island." then we launched out, and i heard ben muttering under his breath that he was cursed if he had ever known such impudence. in mid-current our leader laid his pole crosswise and laughed long. "'tis a pretty prize. 'twill fetch the price of a thousand beaver-skins! captain gillam reckoned short when he furnished young ben to defraud the company. he would give a thousand pounds for my head--would he? pardieu! he shall give five thousand pounds and leave my head where it is! and egad, if he behaves too badly, he shall pay hush-money, or the governor shall know! when we've taken him, lads, who--think you--dare complain?" and he laughed again; but at a bend in the river he turned suddenly with his eyes snapping--"who a' deuce could that have been playing pranks in the woods the other night? mark my words, stanhope, whoever 'twas will prove the brains and the mainspring and the driving-wheel and the rudder of this cub's venture!" and he began to dip in quick vigorous strokes like the thoughts ferreting through his brain. we had made bare a dozen miles when paddles clapped athwart as if petrified. up the wide river, like a great white bird, came a stately ship. it was the prince rupert of the hudson's bay company, which claimed sole right to trade in all that north land. young gillam, with guns mounted, to the rear! a hostile ship, with fighting men and ordnance, to the fore! an unknown enemy inland! and for our leader a man on whose head england and new england set a price! do you wonder that our hearts stopped almost as suddenly as the paddles? but it was not fear that gave pause to m. radisson. "if those ships get together, the game is lost," says he hurriedly. "may the devil fly away with us, if we haven't wit to stop that ship!" act jumping with thought, he shot the canoe under cover of the wooded shore. in a twinkling we had such a fire roaring as the natives use for signals. between the fire and the river he stationed our indian, as hunters place a decoy. the ruse succeeded. lowering sail, the prince rupert cast anchor opposite our fire; but darkness had gathered, and the english sent no boat ashore till morning. posting us against the woods, m. radisson went forward alone to meet the company of soldiers rowing ashore. the man standing amidships, godefroy said, was captain gillam, ben's father; but the gentleman with gold-laced doublet and ruffled sleeves sitting back in the sheets was governor brigdar, of the hudson's bay fur company, a courtier of prince rupert's choice. the clumsy boat grounded in the shallows, and a soldier got both feet in the water to wade. instantly m. radisson roared out such a stentorian "halt!" you would have thought that he had an army at his back. indeed, that is what the party thought, for the fellow got his feet back in the boat monstrous quick. and there was a vast bandying of words, each asking other who they were, and bidding each other in no very polite terms to mind their own affairs. of a sudden m. radisson wheeled to us standing guard. "officers," he shouted, "first brigade!--forward!" from the manner of him we might have had an army under cover behind that bush. all at once governor brigdar's lace handkerchief was aflutter at the end of a sword, and the representative of king charles begged leave to land and salute the representative of his most christian majesty, the king of france. and land they did, pompously peaceful, though their swords clanked so oft every man must have had a hand ready at his baldrick, pierre radisson receiving them with the lofty air of a gracious monarch, the others bowing and unhatting and bending and crooking their spines supple as courtiers with a king. presently came the soldiers back to us as hostages, while radisson stepped into the boat to go aboard the prince rupert with the captain and governor. godefroy called out against such rashness, and pierre radisson shouted back that threat about the nippers pulling the end off the fellow's tongue. serving under the french flag, i was not supposed to know english; but when one soldier said he had seen "mr. what-d'y-call-'im before," pointing at me, i recognised the mate from whom i had hired passage to england for m. picot on captain gillam's ship. "like enough," says the other, "'tis a land where no man brings his back history." "see here, fellow," said i, whipping out a crown, "here's for you to tell me of the new amsterdam gentleman who sailed from boston last spring!" "no new amsterdam gentleman sailed from boston," answered both in one breath. "i am not paying for lies," and i returned the crown to my pocket. then radisson came back, urging captain gillam against proceeding up the river. "the prince rupert might ground on the shallows," he warned. "that will keep them apart till we trap one or both," he told us, as we set off in our canoe. but we had not gone out of range before we were ordered ashore. picking our way back overland, we spied through the bush for two days, till we saw that governor brigdar was taking radisson's advice, going no farther up-stream, but erecting a fort on the shore where he had anchored. "and now," said radisson, "we must act." while we were spying through the woods, watching the english build their fort, i thought that i saw a figure flitting through the bush to the rear. i dared not fire. one shot would have betrayed us to the english. but i pointed my gun. the thing came gliding noiselessly nearer. i clicked the gun-butt without firing. the thing paused. then i called m. radisson, who said it was le borgne, the wall-eyed indian. godefroy vowed 'twas a spy from ben gillam's fort. the indian mumbled some superstition of a manitou. to me it seemed like a caribou; for it faded to nothing the way those fleet creatures have of skimming into distance. chapter xii m. radisson begins the game m. radisson had reckoned well. his warning to prepare for instant siege set all the young fire-eaters of our habitation working like beavers to complete the french fort. the marquis took a hand at squaring timbers shoulder to shoulder with allemand, the pilot; and la chesnaye, the merchant prince, forgot to strut while digging up earthworks for a parapet. the leaven of the new world was working. honour was for him only whose brawn won the place; and our young fellows of the birth and the pride were keenest to gird for the task. on our return from the upper river to the fort, the palisaded walls were finished, guns were mounted on all bastions, the two ships beached under shelter of cannon, sentinels on parade at the main gate, and a long barracks built mid-way across the courtyard. here we passed many a merry hour of a long winter night, the green timbers cracking like pistol-shots to the tightening frost-grip, and the hearth logs at each end of the long, low-raftered hall sending up a roar that set the red shadows dancing among ceiling joists. after ward-room mess, with fare that kings might have envied--teal and partridge and venison and a steak of beaver's tail, and moose nose as an _entrée_, with a tidbit of buffalo hump that melted in your mouth like flakes--the commonalty, as la chesnaye designated those who sat below the salt, would draw off to the far hearth. here the sailors gathered close, spinning yarns, cracking jokes, popping corn, and toasting wits, a-merrier far that your kitchen cuddies of older lands. at the other hearth sat m. de radisson, feet spread to the fire, a long pipe between his lips, and an audience of young blades eager for his tales. "d'ye mind how we got away from the iroquois, chouart?" radisson asks groseillers, who sits in a chair rough-hewn from a stump on the other side of the fire. chouart groseillers smiles quietly and strokes his black beard. jean stretches across a bear-skin on the floor and shouts out, "tell us! tell us!" "we had been captives six months. the iroquois were beginning to let us wander about alone. chouart there had sewed his thumb up, where an old squaw had hacked at it with a dull shell. the padre's nails, which the indians tore off in torture, had grown well enough for him to handle a gun. one day we were allowed out to hunt. chouart brought down three deer, the padre two moose, and i a couple of bear. that night the warriors came back from a raid on orange with not a thing to eat but one miserable, little, thin, squealing pig. pardieu! men, 'twas our chance; and the chance is always hiding round a corner for the man who goes ahead." radisson paused to whiff his pipe, all the lights in his eyes laughing and his mouth expressionless as steel. "'tis an insult among iroquois to leave food at a feast. there were we with food enough to stuff the tribe torpid as winter toads. the padre was sent round to the lodges with a tom-tom to beat every soul to the feast. chouart and a dutch prisoner and i cooked like kings' scullions for four mortal hours!--" "we wanted to delay the feast till midnight," explains groseillers. "and at midnight in trooped every man, woman, and brat of the encampment. the padre takes a tom-tom and stands at one end of the lodge beating a very knave of a rub-a-dub and shouting at the top of his voice: 'eat, brothers, eat! bulge the eye, swell the coat, loose the belt! eat, brothers, eat!' chouart stands at the boiler ladling out joints faster than an army could gobble. within an hour every brat lay stretched and the women were snoring asleep where they crouched. from the warriors, here a grunt, there a groan! but chouart keeps ladling out the meat. then the dutchman grabs up a drum at the other end of the lodge, and begins to beat and yell: 'stuff, brudders, stuff! vat de gut zperets zend, gast not out! eat, braves, eat!' and the padre cuts the capers of a fiend on coals. still the warriors eat! still the drums beat! still the meat is heaped! then, one brave bowls over asleep with his head on his knees! another warrior tumbles back! guards sit bolt upright sound asleep as a stone!" "what did you put in the meat, pierre?" asked groseillers absently. radisson laughed. "do you mind, chouart," he asked, "how the padre wanted to put poison in the meat, and the dutchman wouldn't let him? then the dutchman wanted to murder them all in their sleep, and the padre wouldn't let him?" both men laughed. "and the end?" asked jean. "we tied the squealing pig at the door for sentinel, broke ice with our muskets, launched the canoe, and never stopped paddling till we reached three rivers." [1] at that comes a loud sally of laughter from the sailors at the far end of the hall. godefroy, the english trader, is singing a rhyme of all souls' day, and allemand, the french pilot, protests. "soul! soul! for a soul-cake! one for peter, two for paul, three for----." but la chesnaye shouts out for the knaves to hold quiet. godefroy bobs his tipstaff, and bawls on: "soul! soul! for an apple or two! if you've got no apples, nuts will do! out with your raisins, down with your gin! give me plenty and i'll begin." m. radisson looks down the hall and laughs. "by the saints," says he softly, "a man loses the christian calendar in this land! 'tis all souls' night! give the men a treat, la chesnaye." but la chesnaye, being governor, must needs show his authority, and vows to flog the knave for impudence. turning over benches in his haste, the merchant falls on godefroy with such largesse of cuffs that the fellow is glad to keep peace. the door blows open, and with a gust of wind a silent figure blows in. 'tis le borgne, the one-eyed, who has taken to joining our men of a merry night, which m. de radisson encourages; for he would have all the indians come freely. "ha!" says radisson, "i thought 'twas the men i sent to spy if the marsh were safe crossing. give le borgne tobacco, la chesnaye. if once the fellow gets drunk," he adds to me in an undertone, "that silent tongue of his may wag on the interlopers. we must be stirring, stirring, ramsay! ten days past! egad, a man might as well be a fish-worm burrowing underground as such a snail! we must stir--stir! see here"--drawing me to the table apart from the others--"here we are on the lower river," and he marked the letter x on a line indicating the flow of our river to the bay. "here is the upper river," and he drew another river meeting ours at a sharp angle. "here is governor brigdar of the hudson's bay company," marking another x on the upper river. "here is ben gillam! we are half-way between them on the south. i sent two men to see if the marsh between the rivers is fit crossing." [illustration: radisson's map.] "fit crossing?" "when 'tis safe, we might plan a surprise. the only doubt is how many of those pirates are there who attacked you in the woods?" and he sat back whiffing his pipe and gazing in space. by this, la chesnaye had distributed so generous a treat that half the sailors were roaring out hilarious mirth. godefroy astride a bench played big drum on the wrong-end-up of the cook's dish-pan. allemand attempted to fiddle a poker across the tongs. voyageurs tried to shoot the big canoe over a waterfall; for when jean tilted one end of the long bench, they landed as cleanly on the floor as if their craft had plunged. but the copper-faced le borgne remained taciturn and tongue-tied. "be curse to that wall-eyed knave," muttered radisson. "he's too deep a man to let go! we must capture him or win him!" "perhaps when he becomes more friendly we may track him back to the inlanders," i suggested. m. de radisson closed one eye and looked at me attentively. "la chesnaye," he called, "treat that fellow like a king!" and the rafters rang so loud with the merriment that we none of us noticed the door flung open, nor saw two figures stamping off the snow till they had thrown a third man bound at m. de radisson's feet. the messengers sent to spy out the marsh had returned with a half-frozen prisoner. "we found him where the ice is soft. he was half dead," explained one scout. silence fell. through the half-dark the indian glided towards the door. the unconscious prisoner lay face down. "turn him over," ordered radisson. as our men rolled him roughly over, the captive uttered a heavy groan. his arms fell away from his face revealing little jack battle, the castaway, in a haven as strange as of old. "search him before he wakes," commanded radisson roughly. "let me," i asked. in the pouches of the caribou coat was only pemmican; but my hand crushed against a softness in the inner waistcoat. i pulled it out--a little, old glove, the colour hortense had dangled the day that ben gillam fell into the sea. "pish!" says radisson. "anything else?" there crumpled out a yellow paper. m. radisson snatched it up. "pish!" says he, "nothing--put it back!" it was a page of my copy-book, when i used to take lessons with rebecca. replacing paper and glove, i closed up the sailor lad's coat. "search his cap and moccasins!" i was mighty thankful, as you may guess, that other hands than mine found the tell-tale missive--a badly writ letter addressed to "captain zechariah gillium." tearing it open, m. radisson read with stormy lights agleam in his eyes. "sir, this sailor lad is an old comrade," i pleaded. "then'a god's name take care of him," he flashed out. but long before i had jack battle thawed back to consciousness in my own quarters, jean came running with orders for me to report to m. radisson. "i'll take care of the sailor for you," proffered jean. and i hastened to the main hall. "get ready," ordered radisson. "we must stir! that young hop-o'-my-thumb suspects his father has arrived. he has sent this fellow with word of me. things will be doing. we must stir--we must stir. read those for news," and he handed me the letter. the letter was addressed to ben's father, of the hudson's bay ship, prince rupert. in writing which was scarcely legible, it ran: i take up my pen to lett you knowe that cutt-throte french viper who deserted you at ye fort of ye bay 10 years ago hath come here for france threatening us. he must be stopped. will i do it? have bin here come six weekes all souls' day and not heard a word of him that went inland to catch ye furs from ye savages before they mett governor b----. if he proves false---there the crushed missive was torn, but the purport was plain. ben gillam and his father were in collusion with the inland pirates to get peltries from the indians before governor brigdar came; and the inlanders, whoever they were, had concealed both themselves and the furs. i handed the paper back to m. radisson. "we must stir, lad--we must stir," he repeated. "but the marsh is soft yet. it is unsafe to cross." "the river is not frozen in mid-current," retorted m. radisson impatiently. "get ready! i am taking different men to impress the young spark with our numbers--you and la chesnaye and the marquis and allemand. but where a' devil is that indian?" le borgne had slipped away. "is he a spy?" i asked. "get ready! why do you ask questions? the thing is--to do!--do!!--do--!!!" but allemand, who had been hauling out the big canoe, came up sullenly. "sir," he complained, "the river's running ice the size of a raft, and the wind's a-blowing a gale." "man," retorted m. de radisson with the quiet precision of steel, "if the river were running live fire and the gale blew from the inferno, i--would--go! stay home and go to bed, allemand." and he chose one of the common sailors instead. and when we walked out to the thick edge of the shore-ice and launched the canoe among a whirling drift of ice-pans, we had small hope of ever seeing fort bourbon again. the ice had not the thickness of the spring jam, but it was sharp enough to cut our canoe, and we poled our way far oftener than we paddled. where the currents of the two rivers joined, the wind had whipped the waters to a maelstrom. the night was moonless. it was well we did not see the white turmoil, else m. radisson had had a mutiny on his hands. when the canoe leaped to the throb of the sucking currents like a cataract to the plunge, la chesnaye clapped his pole athwart and called out a curse on such rashness. m. radisson did not hear or did not heed. an ice-pan pitched against la chesnaye's place, and the merchant must needs thrust out to save himself. the only light was the white glare of ice. the only guide across that heaving traverse, the unerring instinct of that tall figure at the bow, now plunging forward, now bracing back, now shouting out a "steady!" that the wind carried to our ears, thrusting his pole to right, to left in lightning strokes, till the canoe suddenly darted up the roaring current of the north river. here we could no longer stem both wind and tide. m. radisson ordered us ashore for rest. fourteen days were we paddling, portaging, struggling up the north river before we came in range of the hudson's bay fort built by governor brigdar. our proximity was heralded by a low laugh from m. de radisson. "look," said he, "their ship aground in mud a mile from the fort. in case of attack, their forces will be divided. it is well," said m. radisson. the prince rupert lay high on the shallows, fast bound in the freezing sands. hiding our canoe in the woods, we came within hail and called. there was no answer. "drunk or scurvy," commented m. radisson. "an faith, ramsay, 'twould be an easy capture if we had big enough fort to hold them all!" shaping his hands to a trumpet, he shouted, "how are you, there?" as we were turning away a fellow came scrambling up the fo'castle and called back: "a little better, but all asleep." "a good time for us to examine the fort," said m. de radisson. aloud, he answered that he would not disturb the crew, and he wheeled us off through the woods. "see!" he observed, as we emerged in full view of the stockaded fur post, "palisades nailed on from the inside--easily pushed loose from the outside. pish!--low enough for a dog to jump." posting us in ambush, he advanced to the main edifice behind the wide-open gate. i saw him shaking hands with the governor of the hudson's bay company, who seemed on the point of sallying out to hunt. then he signalled for us to come. i had almost concluded he meant to capture governor brigdar on the spot; but pierre radisson ever took friends and foes unawares. "your excellency," says he, with the bow of a courtier, "this is captain gingras of our new ship." before i had gathered my wits, governor brigdar was shaking hands. "and this," continued radisson, motioning forward the common sailor too quick for surprise to betray us, "this, your excellency, is colonel bienville of our marines." colonel bienville, being but a lubberly fellow, nigh choked with amazement at the english governor's warmth; but before we knew our leader's drift, the marquis and la chesnaye were each in turn presented as commanders of our different land forces. "'tis the misfortune of my staff not to speak english," explains pierre radisson suavely with another bow, which effectually shut any of our mouths that might have betrayed him. "doubtless your officers know canary better than english," returns governor brigdar; and he would have us all in to drink healths. "keep your foot in the open door," pierre radisson whispered as we passed into the house. then we drank the health of the king of england, firing our muskets into the roof; and drank to his most christian majesty of france with another volley; and drank to the confusion of our common enemies, with a clanking of gun-butts that might have alarmed the dead. upon which pierre radisson protested that he would not keep governor brigdar from the hunt; and we took our departure. "and now," said he, hastening through the bush, "as no one took fright at all that firing, what's to hinder examining the ship?" "pardieu, ramsay," he remarked, placing us in ambush again, "an we had a big enough fort, with food to keep them alive, we might have bagged them all." from which i hold that m. radisson was not so black a man as he has been painted; for he could have captured the english as they lay weak of the scurvy and done to them, for the saving of fort rations, what rivals did to all foes--shot them in a land which tells no secrets. from our place on the shore we saw him scramble to the deck. a man in red nightcap rushed forward with an oath. "and what might you want, stealing up like a thief in the night?" roared the man. "to offer my services, captain gillam," retorted radisson with a hand to his sword-hilt and both feet planted firm on the deck. "services?" bawled gillam. "services for your crew, captain," interrupted radisson softly. "hm!" retorted captain gillam, pulling fiercely at his grizzled beard. "then you might send a dozen brace o' partridges, some oil, and candles." with that they fell to talking in lower tones; and m. radisson came away with quiet, unspoken mirth in his eyes, leaving captain gillam in better mood. "curse me if he doesn't make those partridges an excuse to go back soon," exclaimed la chesnaye. "the ship would be of some value; but why take the men prisoners? much better shoot them down as they would us, an they had the chance!" "la chesnaye!" uttered a sharp voice. radisson had heard. "there are two things i don't excuse a fool for--not minding his own business and not holding his tongue." and though la chesnaye's money paid for the enterprise, he held his tongue mighty still. indeed, i think if any tongue had wagged twice in radisson's hearing he would have torn the offending member out. doing as we were bid without question, we all filed down to the canoe. less ice cumbered the upper current, and by the next day we were opposite ben gillam's new england fort. "la chesnaye and forêt will shoot partridges," commanded m. de radisson. leaving them on the far side of the river, he bade the sailor and me paddle him across to young gillam's island. what was our surprise to see every bastion mounted with heavy guns and the walls full manned. we took the precaution of landing under shelter of the ship and fired a musket to call out sentinels. down ran ben gillam and a second officer, armed cap-a-pie, with swaggering insolence that they took no pains to conceal. "congratulate you on coming in the nick of time," cried ben. "now what in the old nick does he mean by that?" said radisson. "does the cub think to cower me with his threats?" "i trust your welcome includes my four officers," he responded. "two are with me and two have gone for partridges." ben bellowed a jeering laugh, and his second man took the cue. "your four officers may be forty devils," yelled the lieutenant; "we've finished our fort. come in, monsieur radisson! two can play at the game of big talk! you're welcome in if you leave your forty officers out!" for the space of a second m. radisson's eyes swept the cannon pointing from the bastion embrasures. we were safe enough. the full hull of their own ship was between the guns and us. "young man," said m. radisson, addressing ben, "you may speak less haughtily, as i come in friendship." "friendship!" flouted ben, twirling his mustache and showing both rows of teeth. "pooh, pooh, m. radisson! you are not talking to a stripling!" "i had thought i was--and a very fool of a booby, too," answered m. radisson coolly. "sir!" roared young gillam with a rumbling of oaths, and he fumbled his sword. but his sword had not left the scabbard before m. de radisson sent it spinning through mid-air into the sea. "i must ask your forgiveness for that, boy," said the frenchman to ben, "but a gentleman fights only his equals." ben gillam went white and red by turns, his nose flushing and paling like the wattle of an angry turkey; and he stammered out that he hoped m. de radisson did not take umbrage at the building of a fort. "we must protect ourselves from the english," pleaded ben. "pardieu, yes," agreed m. de radisson, proffering his own sword with a gesture in place of the one that had gone into the sea, "and i had come to offer you twenty men _to hold_ the fort!" ben glanced questioningly to his second officer. "bid that fellow draw off!" ordered m. radisson. dazed like a man struck between the eyes, ben did as he was commanded. "i told you that i came in friendship," began radisson. gillam waited. "have you lost a man, ben?" "no," boldly lied gillam. "has one run away from the island against orders?" "no, devil take me, if i've lost a hand but the supercargo that i killed." "i had thought that was yours," said radisson, with contempt for the ruffian's boast; and he handed out the paper taken from jack. ben staggered back with a great oath, vowing he would have the scalp of the traitor who lost that letter. both stood silent, each contemplating the other. then m. radisson spoke. "ben," said he, never taking his glance from the young fellow's face, "what will you give me if i guide you to your father this afternoon? i have just come from captain gillam. he and his crew are ill of the scurvy. dress as a coureur and i pass you for a frenchman." "my father!" cried ben with his jaws agape and his wits at sea. "pardieu--yes, i said your father!" "what do you want in return?" stammered ben. radisson uttered a laugh that had the sound of sword-play. "egad, 'tis a hot supper i'd like better than anything else just now! if you feed us well and disguise yourself as a coureur, i'll take you at sundown!" and in spite of his second officer's signals, ben gillam hailed us forthwith to the fort, where m. radisson's keen eyes took in every feature of door and gate and sally-port and gun. while the cook was preparing our supper and ben disguising as a french wood-runner, we wandered at will, m. radisson all the while uttering low laughs and words as of thoughts. it was--"caught--neat as a mouse in a trap! don't let him spill the canoe when we're running the traverse, ramsay! may the fiends blast la chesnaye if he opens his foolish mouth in gillam's hearing! where, think you, may we best secure him? are the timbers of your room sound?" or else--"faith, a stout timber would hold those main gates open! egad, now, an a man were standing in this doorway, he might jam a musket in the hinge so the thing would keep open! those guns in the bastions though--think you those cannon are not pushed too far through the windows to be slued round quickly?" and much more to the same purpose, which told why m. radisson stooped to beg supper from rivals. at sundown all was ready for departure. la chesnaye and the marquis had come back with the partridges that were to make pretence for our quick return to the prince rupert. ben gillam had disguised as a bush-runner, and the canoe lay ready to launch. fools and children unconsciously do wise things by mistake, as you know; and 'twas such an unwitting act sprung m. radisson's plans and let the prize out of the trap. "sink me an you didn't promise the loan of twenty men to hold the fort!" exclaimed ben, stepping down. "twenty--and more--and welcome," cried radisson eagerly. "then send ramsay and monsieur la chesnaye back," put in ben quickly. "i like not the fort without one head while i'm away." "willingly," and m. radisson's eyes glinted triumph. "hold a minute!" cried ben before sitting down. "the river is rough. let two of my men take their places in the canoe!" m. radisson's breath drew sharp through his teeth. but the trap was sprung, and he yielded gracefully enough to hide design. "a curse on the blundering cub!" he muttered, drawing apart to give me instructions. "pardieu--you must profit on this, ramsay! keep your eyes open. spoil a door-lock or two! plug the cannon if you can! mix sand with their powder! shift the sentinels! get the devils insubordinate----" "m. radisson!" shouted gillam. "coming!" says radisson; and he went off with his teeth gritting sand. [1] see radisson's own account. chapter xiii the white darkness how much of those instructions we carried out i leave untold. certainly we could not have been less grateful as guests than ben gillam's men were inhospitable as hosts. a more sottish crew of rakes you never saw. 'twas gin in the morning and rum in the afternoon and vile potions of mixed poisons half the night, with a cracking of the cook's head for withholding fresh kegs and a continual scuffle of fighters over cheating at cards. no marvel the second officer flogged and carved at the knaves like an african slaver. the first night the whole crew set on us with drawn swords because we refused to gamble the doublets from our backs. la chesnaye laid about with his sword and i with my rapier, till the cook rushed to our rescue with a kettle of lye. after that we escaped to the deck of the ship and locked ourselves inside ben gillam's cabin. here we heard the weather-vanes of the fort bastions creaking for three days to the shift of fickle winds. shore-ice grew thicker and stretched farther to mid-current. mock suns, or sun-dogs, as we called them, oft hung on each side of the sun. la chesnaye said these boded ill weather. sea-birds caught the first breath of storm and wheeled landward with shrill calls, and once la chesnaye and i made out through the ship's glass a vast herd of caribou running to sniff the gale from the crest of an inland hill. "if radisson comes not back soon we are storm-bound here for the winter. as you live, we are," grumbled the merchant. but prompt as the ring of a bell to the clapper came pierre radisson on the third day, well pleased with what he had done and alert to keep two of us outside the fort in spite of ben's urgings to bring the french in for refreshments. the wind was shifting in a way that portended a nor'easter, and the weather would presently be too inclement for us to remain outside. that hastened m. radisson's departure, though sun-dogs and the long, shrill whistling of contrary winds foretold what was brewing. "sink me, after such kindness, i'll see you part way home! by the lord harry, i will!" swore ben. m. radisson screwed his eyes nigh shut and protested he could not permit young captain gillam to take such trouble. "the young villain," mutters la chesnaye, "he wants to spy which way we go." "come! come!" cries ben. "if you say another word i go all the way with you!" "to spy on our fort," whispers la chesnaye. m. radisson responds that nothing would give greater pleasure. "i've half a mind to do it," hesitates ben, looking doubtfully at us. "to be sure," urges m. radisson, "come along and have a christmas with our merry blades!" "why, then, by the lord, i will!" decides gillam. "that is," he added, "if you'll send the marquis and his man, there, back to my fort as hostages." m. radisson twirled his mustaches thoughtfully, gave the marquis the same instructions in french as he had given us when we were left in the new englander's fort, and turning with a calm face to ben, bade him get into our canoe. but when we launched out m. radisson headed the craft up-stream in the wrong direction, whither we paddled till nightfall. it was cold enough in all conscience to afford ben gillam excuse for tipping a flask from his jacket-pouch to his teeth every minute or two; but when we were rested and ready to launch again, the young captain's brain was so befuddled that he scarce knew whether he were in boston or on hudson bay. this time we headed straight down-stream, ben nodding and dozing from his place in the middle, m. radisson, la chesnaye, and i poling hard to keep the drift-ice off. we avoided the new englander's fort by going on the other side of the island, and when we shot past governor brigdar's stockades with the lights of the prince rupert blinking through the dark, ben was fast asleep. and all the while the winds were piping overhead with a roar as from the wings of the great storm bird which broods over all that northland. then the blore of the trumpeting wind was answered by a counter fugue from the sea, with a roll and pound of breakers across the sand of the traverse. carried by the swift current, we had shot into the bay. it was morning, but the black of night had given place to the white darkness of northern storm. ben gillam jerked up sober and grasped an idle pole to lend a hand. through the whirl of spray m. radisson's figure loomed black at the bow, and above the boom of tumbling waves came the grinding as of an earthquake. "we are lost! we are lost!" shrieked gillam in panic, cowering back to the stern. "the storm's drifted down polar ice from the north and we're caught! we're caught!" he cried. he sprang to his feet as if to leap into that white waste of seething ice foam. 'twas the frenzy of terror, which oft seizes men adrift on ice. in another moment he would have swamped us under the pitching crest of a mountain sea. but m. radisson turned. one blow of his pole and the foolish youth fell senseless to the bottom of the canoe. "look, sir, look!" screamed la chesnaye, "the canoe's getting ice-logged! she's sunk to the gun'ales!" but at the moment when m. radisson turned to save young gillam, the unguided canoe had darted between two rolling seas. walls of ice rose on either side. a white whirl--a mighty rush--a tumult of roaring waters--the ice walls pitched down--the canoe was caught--tossed up--nipped--crushed like a card-box--and we four flung on the drenching ice-pans to a roll of the seas like to sweep us under, with a footing slippery as glass. "keep hold of gillam! lock hands!" came a clarion voice through the storm. "don't fear, men! there is no danger! the gale will drive us ashore! don't fear! hold tight! hold tight! there's no danger if you have no fear!" the ice heaved and flung to the roll of the drift. "hold fast and your wet sleeves will freeze you to the ice! steady!" he called, as the thing fell and rose again. then, with the hiss of the world serpent that pursues man to his doom, we were scudding before a mountain swell. there was the splintering report of a cannon-shot. the ice split. we clung the closer. the rush of waves swept under us, around us, above us. there came a crash. the thing gave from below. the powers of darkness seemed to close over us, the jaws of the world serpent shut upon their prey, the spirit of evil shrieked its triumph. our feet touched bottom. the waves fell back, and we were ashore on the sand-bar of the traverse. "run! run for your lives!" shouted radisson. jerking up gillam, whom the shock had brought to his senses. "lock hands and run!" and run we did, like those spirits in the twilight of the lost, with never a hope of rescue and never a respite from fear, hand gripping hand, the tide and the gale and the driving sleet yelping wolfishly at our heels! twas the old, old story of man leaping undaunted as a warrior to conquer his foes--turned back!--beaten!--pursued by serpent and wolf, spirit of darkness and power of destruction, with the light of life flickering low and the endless frosts creeping close to a heart beating faint! oh, those were giants that we set forth to conquer in that harsh northland--the giants of the warring elements! and giants were needed for the task. think you of that when you hear the slighting scorn of the rough pioneer, because he minceth not his speech, nor weareth ruffs at his wrists, nor bendeth so low at the knee as your old-world hero! the earth fell away from our feet. we all four tumbled forward. the storm whistled past overhead. and we lay at the bottom of a cliff that seemed to shelter a multitude of shadowy forms. we had fallen to a ravine where the vast caribou herds had wandered from the storm. says m. radisson, with a depth of reverence which words cannot tell, "men," says he, "thank god for this deliverance!" * * * * * * so unused to man's presence were the caribou, or perhaps so stupefied by the storm, they let us wander to the centre of the herd, round which the great bucks had formed a cordon with their backs to the wind to protect the does and the young. the heat from the multitude of bodies warmed us back to life, and i make no doubt the finding of that herd was god almighty's provision for our safety. for three days we wandered with nothing to eat but wild birds done to death by the gale. [1] on the third day the storm abated; but it was still snowing too heavily for us to see a man's length away. two or three times the caribou tossed up their heads sniffing the air suspiciously, and la chesnaye fell to cursing lest the wolf-pack should stampede the herd. at this gillam, whose hulking body had wasted from lack of bulky rations, began to whimper-"if the wolf-pack come we are lost!" "man," says radisson sternly, "say thy prayers and thank god we are alive!" the caribou began to rove aimlessly for a time, then they were off with a rush that bare gave us chance to escape the army of clicking hoofs. we were left unprotected in the falling snow. the primal instincts come uppermost at such times, and like the wild creatures of the woods facing a foe, instantaneously we wheeled back to back, alert for the enemy that had frightened the caribou. "hist!" whispers radisson. "look!" ben gillam leaped into the air as if he had been shot, shrieking out: "it's him! it's him! shoot him! the thief! the traitor! it's him!" he dashed forward, followed by the rest of us, hardly sure whether ben were sane. three figures loomed through the snowy darkness, white and silent as the snow itself--vague as phantoms in mist--pointing at us like wraiths of death--spirit hunters incarnate of that vast wilderness riding the riotous storm over land and sea. one swung a weapon aloft. there was the scream as of a woman's cry--and the shrieking wind had swept the snow-clouds about us in a blind fury that blotted all sight. and when the combing billows of drift passed, the apparition had faded. we four stood alone staring in space with strange questionings. "egad!" gasped radisson, "i don't mind when the wind howls like a wolf, but when it takes to the death-scream, with snow like the skirts of a shroud----" "may the lord have mercy on us!" muttered la chesnaye, crossing himself. "it is sign of death! that was a woman's figure. it is sign of death!" "sign of death!" raged ben, stamping his impotent fury, "'tis him--'tis him! the judas iscariot, and he's left us to die so that he may steal the furs!" "hold quiet!" ordered m. radisson. "look, you rantipole--who is that?" 'twas le borgne, the one-eyed, emerging from the gloom of the snow like a ghost. by signs and indian words the fellow offered to guide us back to our habitation. we reached the fort that night, le borgne flitting away like a shadow, as he had come. and the first thing we did was to hold a service of thanks to god almighty for our deliverance. [1] see radisson's account--prince society (1885), boston--bodleian library.--canadian archives, 1895-'96. chapter xiv a challenge filling the air with ghost-shadows, silencing earth, muffling the sea, day after day fell the snow. shore-ice barred out the pounding surf. the river had frozen to adamant. brushwood sank in the deepening drifts like a foundered ship, and all that remained visible of evergreens was an occasional spar or snow mushroom on the crest of a branch. no east, no west, no day, no night; nothing but a white darkness, billowing snow, and a silence as of death. it was the cold, silent, mystic, white world of northern winter. at one moment the fort door flings wide with a rush of frost like smoke clouds, and in stamps godefroy, shaking snow off with boisterous noise and vowing by the saints that the drifts are as high as the st. pierre's deck. m. groseillers orders the rascal to shut the door; but bare has the latch clicked when young jean whisks in, tossing snow from cap and gauntlets like a clipper shaking a reef to the spray, and declares that the snow is already level with the fort walls. "eh, nephew," exclaims radisson sharply, "how are the cannon?" ben gillam, who has lugged himself from bed to the hearth for the first time since his freezing, blurts out a taunting laugh. we had done better to build on the sheltered side of an island, he informs us. "now, the shivers take me!" cries ben, "but where a deuce are all your land forces and marines and jack-tars and forty thousand officers?" he cast a scornful look down our long, low-roofed barracks, counting the men gathered round the hearth and laughing as he counted. m. radisson affected not to hear, telling jean to hoist the cannon and puncture embrasures high to the bastion-roofs like italian towers. "monsieur radisson," impudently mouths ben, who had taken more rum for his health than was good for his head, "i asked you to inform me where your land forces are?" "outside the fort constructing a breastwork of snow." "good!" sneers ben. "and the marines?" "on the ships, where they ought to be." "good!" laughs gillam again. "and the officers?" "superintending the raising of the cannon. and i would have you to know, young man," adds radisson, "that when a guest asks too many questions, a host may not answer." but ben goes on unheeding. "now i'll wager that dog of a runaway slave o' mine, that jack battle who's hiding hereabouts, i'll wager the hangdog slave and pawn my head you haven't a corporal's guard o' marines and land forces all told!" m. radisson never allowed an enemy's taunt to hasten speech or act. he looked at ben with a measuring glance which sized that fellow very small indeed. "then i must decline your wager, ben," says he. "in the first place, jack battle is mine already. in the second, you would lose ten times over. in the third, you have few enough men already. and in the fourth, your head isn't worth pawn for a wager; though i may take you, body and boots, all the same," adds he. with that he goes off, leaving ben blowing curses into the fire like a bellows. the young rake bawled out for more gin, and with head sunk on his chest began muttering to himself. "that black-eyed, false-hearted, slippery french eel!" he mumbles, rapping out an oath. "now the devil fly off with me, an i don't slit him like a dutch herring for a traitor and a knave and a thief and a cheat! by judas, if he doesn't turn up with the furs, i'll do to him as i did to the supercargo last week, and bury him deep in the bastion! very fine, him that was to get the furs hiding inland! him, that didn't add a cent to what kirke and stocking paid; they to supply the money, my father to keep the company from knowing, and me to sail the ship--him, that might 'a' hung in boston but for my father towing him out o' port--him the first to turn knave and steal all the pelts!" "who?" quietly puts in m. groseillers, who had been listening with wide eyes. but ben's head rolled drunkenly and he slid down in sodden sleep. again the fort door opened with the rush of frost clouds, and in the midst of the white vapour hesitated three men. the door softly closed, and le borgne stole forward. "white-man--promise--no--hurt--good indian?" he asked. "the white-man is le borgne's friend," assured groseillers, "but who are these?" he pointed to two figures, more dead than alive, chittering with cold. le borgne's foxy eye took on a stolid look. "white--men--lost--in the snow," said he, "white-man from the big white canoe--come walkee--walkee--one--two--three sleep--watchee good indian--friend--fort!" m. groseillers sprang to his feet muttering of treachery from governor brigdar of the hudson's bay company, and put himself in front of the intruders so that ben could not see. but the poor fellows were so frozen that they could only mumble out something about the prince rupert having foundered, carrying half the crew to the river bottom. hurrying the two englishmen to another part of the fort, m. groseillers bade me run for radisson. i wish that you could have seen the triumphant glint laughing in pierre radisson's eyes when i told him. "fate deals the cards! 'tis we must play them! this time the jade hath trumped her partner's ace! ha, ha, ramsay! we could 'a' captured both father and son with a flip o' the finger! now there's only need to hold the son! governor brigdar must beg passage from us to leave the bay; but who a deuce are those inlanders that ben gillam keeps raving against for hiding the furs?" and he flung the mess-room door open so forcibly that ben gillam waked with a jump. at sight of le borgne the young new englander sprang over the benches with his teeth agleam and murder on his face. but the liquor had gone to his knees. he keeled head over like a top-heavy brig, and when we dragged him up le borgne had bolted. all that night ben swore deliriously that he would do worse to le borgne's master than he had done to the supercargo; but he never by any chance let slip who le borgne's master might be, though m. radisson, chouart groseillers, young jean, and i kept watch by turns lest the drunken knave should run amuck of our frenchmen. i mind once, when m. radisson and i were sitting quiet by the bunk where ben was berthed, the young rake sat up with a fog-horn of a yell and swore he would slice that pirate of a radisson and all his cursed frenchies into meat for the dogs. m. radisson looked through the candle-light and smiled. "if you want to know your character, ramsay," says he, "get your enemy talking in his cups!" "shiver my soul, if i'd ever come to his fort but to find out how strong the liar is!" cries ben. "hm! i thought so," says m. de radisson, pushing the young fellow back to his pillow and fastening the fur robes close lest frost steamed through the ill-chinked logs. by christmas ben gillam and jack battle of the new englanders' fort and the two spies of the hudson's bay company had all recovered enough from their freezing to go about. what with keeping the english and new englanders from knowing of each other's presence, we had as twisted a piece of by-play as you could want. ben gillam and jack we dressed as bushrangers; the hudson's bay spies as french marines. neither suspected the others were english, nor ever crossed words while with us. and whatever enemies say of pierre radisson, i would have you remember that he treated his captives so well that chains would not have dragged them back to their own masters. "how can i handle all the english of both forts unless i win some of them for friends?" he would ask, never laying unction to his soul for the kindness that he practised. by christmas, too, the snow had ceased falling and the frost turned the land to a silent, white, paleocrystic world. sap-frozen timbers cracked with the loud, sharp snapping of pistol-shots--then the white silence! the river ice splintered to the tightening grip of winter with the grinding of an earthquake, and again the white silence! or the heavy night air, lying thick with frost smoke like a pall over earth, would reverberate to the deep bayings of the wolf-pack, and over all would close the white silence! as if to defy the powers of that deathly realm, m. de radisson had the more logs heaped on our hearth and doubled the men's rations. on christmas morning he had us all out to fire a salute, ben gillam and jack and the two fur company spies disguised as usual, and the rest of us muffled to our eyes. jackets and tompions were torn from the cannon. unfrosted priming was distributed. flags were run up on boats and bastions. then the word was given to fire and cheer at the top of our voices. ben gillam was sober enough that morning but in the mood of a ruffian stale from overnight brawls. hardly had the rocking echoes of cannonading died away when the rascal strode boldly forward in front of us all, up with his musket, took quick aim at the main flagstaff and fired. the pole splintered off at the top and the french flag fluttered to the ground. "there's for you--you frenchies!" he shouted. "see the old rag tumble!" 'twas the only time m. radisson gave vent to wrath. "dog!" he ground out, wrenching the gun from gillam's hands. "avast! avast!" cries ben. "he who lives in glass-houses needs not to throw stones! mind that, ye pirate!" "dog!" repeats m. radisson, "dare to show disrespect to the most christian of kings!" "most christian of kings!" flouts ben. "i'll return to my fort! then i'll show you what i'll give the most christian of kings!" la chesnaye rushed up with rash threat; but m. de radisson pushed the merchant aside and stood very still, looking at ben. "young man," he began, as quietly as if he were wishing ben the season's compliments, "i brought you to this fort for the purpose of keeping you in this fort, and it is for me to say when you may leave this fort!" ben rumbled out a string of oaths, and m. radisson motioned the soldiers to encircle him. then all ben's pot-valiant bravery ebbed. "am i a prisoner?" he demanded savagely. "prisoner or guest, according to your conduct," answered radisson lightly. then to the men--"form line-march!" at the word we filed into the guard-room, where the soldiers relieved gillam of pistol and sword. "am i to be shot? am i to be shot?" cried gillam, white with terror at m. radisson's order to load muskets. "am i to be shot?" he whimpered. "not unless you do it yourself, and 'twould be the most graceful act of your life, ben! and now," said m. radisson, dismissing all the men but one sentinel for the door, "and now, ben, a merry christmas to you, and may it be your last in hudson bay!" with that he left ben gillam prisoner; but he ordered special watch to be kept on the fort bastions lest ben's bravado portended attack. the next morning he asked ben to breakfast with our staff. "the compliments of the morning to you. and i trust you rested well!" m. radisson called out. ben wished that he might be cursed if any man could rest well on bare boards rimed with frost like curdled milk. "cheer up, man! cheer up!" encourages radisson. "there's to be a capture to-day!" "a capture!" reiterates ben, glowering black across the table and doffing his cap with bad grace. "aye, i said a capture! egad, lad, one fort and one ship are prize enough for one day!" "sink my soul," flouts gillam, looking insolently down the table to the rows of ragged sailors sitting beyond our officers, "if every man o' your rough-scuff had the nine lives of a cat, their nine lives would be shot down before they reached our palisades!" "is it a wager?" demands m. radisson. "a wager--ship and fort and myself to boot if you win!" "done!" cries la chesnaye. "ah, well," calculates m. radisson, "the ship and the fort are worth something! when we've taken them, ben can go. nine lives for each man, did you say?" "a hundred, if you like," boasts the new englander, letting fly a broadside of oaths at the frenchman's slur. "a hundred men with nine lives, if you like! we've powder for all!" "ben!" m. radisson rose. "two men are in the fort now! pick me out seven more! that will make nine! with those nine i own your fort by nightfall or i set you free!" "done!" shouts ben. "every man here a witness!" "choose!" insists m. radisson. sailors and soldiers were all on their feet gesticulating and laughing; for godefroy was translating into french as fast as the leaders talked. "choose!" urges m. radisson, leaning over to snuff out the great breakfast candle with bare fingers as if his hand were iron. "shiver my soul, then," laughs ben, in high feather, "let the first be that little jack sprat of a half-frozen battle! he's loyal to me!" "good!" smiles m. radisson. "come over here, jack battle." jack battle jumped over the table and stood behind m. radisson as second lieutenant, ben's eyes gaping to see jack's disguise of bushranger like himself. "go on," orders m. radisson, "choose whom you will!" the soldiers broke into ringing cheers. "devil take you, radisson," ejaculates ben familiarly, "such cool impudence would chill the nick!" "that is as it may be," retorts radisson. "choose! we must be off!" again the soldiers cheered. "well, there's that turncoat of a stanhope with his fine airs. i'd rather see him shot next than any one else!" "thank you, ben," said i. "come over here, ramsay," orders radisson. "that's two. go on! five more!" the soldiers fell to laughing and ben to pulling at his mustache. "that money-bag of a la chesnaye next," mutters ben. "he's lady enough to faint at first shot." "there'll be no first shot. come, la chesnaye! three. go on! go on, ben! your wits work slow!" "allemand, the pilot! he is drunk most of the time." "four," counts m. radisson. "come over here, allemand! you're drunk most of the time, like ben. go on!" "godefroy, the english trader--he sulks--he's english--he'll do!" "five," laughs m. radisson. and for the remaining two, ben gillam chose a scullion lad and a wretched little stowaway, who had kept hidden under hatches till we were too far out to send him back. at the last choice our men shouted and clapped and stamped and broke into snatches of song about conquerors. chapter xv the battle not to the strong m. radisson turned the sand-glass up to time our preparations. before the last grain fell we seven were out, led by m. radisson, speeding over the snow-drifted marsh through the thick frosty darkness that lies like a blanket over that northland at dawn. the air hung heavy, gray, gritty to the touch with ice-frost. the hard-packed drifts crisped to our tread with little noises which i can call by no other name than frost-shots. frost pricked the taste to each breath. endless reaches of frost were all that met the sight. frost-crackling the only sound. frost in one's throat like a drink of water, and the tingle of the frost in the blood with a leap that was fulness of life. up drifts with the help of our muskets! down hills with a rush of snow-shoes that set the powdery snow flying! skimming the levels with the silent speed of wings! past the snow mushrooms topping underbrush and the snow cones of the evergreens and the snow billows of under rocks and the snow-wreathed antlers of the naked forest in a world of snow! the morning stars paled to steel pin-pricks through a gray sky. shadows took form in the frost. the slant rays of a southern sun struck through the frost clouds in spears. then the frost smoke rose like mist, and the white glare shone as a sea. in another hour it would be high noon of the short shadow. every coat--beaver and bear and otter and raccoon--hung open, every capote flung back, every runner hot as in midsummer, though frost-rime edged the hair like snow. when the sun lay like a fiery shield half-way across the southern horizon, m. radisson called a halt for nooning. "now, remember, my brave lads," said he, after he had outlined his plans, drawing figures of fort and ship and army of seven on the snow, "now, remember, if you do what i've told you, not a shot will be fired, not a drop of blood spilled, not a grain of powder used, and to every man free tobacco for the winter--" "if we succeed," interjects godefroy sullenly. "_if_," repeats m. radisson; "an i hear that word again there will be a carving!" long before we came to the north river near the hudson's bay company's fort, the sun had wheeled across the horizon and sunk in a sea of snow, but now that the prince rupert had foundered, the capture of these helpless englishmen was no object to us. unless a ship from the south end of the bay came to rescue them they were at our mercy. hastening up the river course we met governor brigdar sledding the ice with a dog-team of huskies. "the compliments of the season to your excellency!" shouted radisson across the snow. "the same to the representative of france," returned governor brigdar, trying to get away before questions could be asked. "i don't see your ship," called radisson. "four leagues down the river," explained the governor. "_under_ the river," retorted radisson, affecting not to hear. "no--down the river," and the governor whisked round a bluff out of call. the gray night shadows gathered against the woods. stars seeded the sky overhead till the whole heavens were aglow. and the northern lights shot their arrowy jets of fire above the pole, rippled in billows of flame, scintillated with the faint rustling of a flag in a gale, or swung midway between heaven and earth like censers to the invisible god of that cold, far, northern world. then the bastions of ben gillam's fort loomed above the wastes like the peak of a ship at sea, and m. radisson issued his last commands. godefroy and i were to approach the main gate. m. radisson and his five men would make a detour to attack from the rear. a black flag waved above the ship to signal those inland pirates whom ben gillam was ever cursing, and the main gates stood wide ajar. half a mile away godefroy hallooed aloud. a dozen new englanders, led by the lieutenant, ran to meet us. "where is master ben?" demanded the leader. "le capitaine," answered godefroy, affecting broken english, "le capitaine, he is fatigue. he is back--voilá--how you for speak it?--avec, monsieur! le capitaine, he has need, he has want for you to go with food." at that, with a deal of unguarded gabbling, they must hail us inside for refreshments, while half a dozen men ran in the direction godefroy pointed with the food for their master. no sooner were their backs turned than godefroy whispers instructions to the marquis and his man, who had been left as hostages. forêt strolled casually across to the guard-room, where the powder was stored. here he posted himself in the doorway with his sword jammed above the hinge. his man made a precipitate rush to heap fires for our refreshment, dropping three logs across the fort gates and two more athwart the door of the house. godefroy and i, on pretext of scanning out the returning travellers, ran one to the nigh bastion, the other to the fore-deck of the ship, where was a swivel cannon that might have done damage. then godefroy whistled. like wolves out of the earth rose m. radisson and his five men from the shore near the gates. they were in possession before the lieutenant and his men had returned. on the instant when the surprised new englanders ran up, radisson bolted the gates. "where is my master?" thundered the lieutenant, beating for admission. "come in." m. radisson cautiously opened the gate, admitting the lieutenant alone. "it is not a question of where your master is, but of mustering your men and calling the roll," said the frenchman to the astounded lieutenant. "you see that my people are in control of your powder-house, your cannon, and your ship. your master is a prisoner in my fort. now summon your men, and be glad ben gillam is not here to kill more of you as he killed your super-cargo!" half an hour from the time we had entered the fort, keys, arms, and ammunition were in m. de radisson's hands without the firing of a shot, and the unarmed new englanders assigned to the main building, where we could lock them if they mutinied. to sound of trumpet and drum, with godefroy bobbing his tipstaff, m. radisson must needs run up the french flag in place of the pirate ensign. then, with the lieutenant and two new englanders to witness capitulation, he marched from the gates to do the same with the ship. allemand and godefroy kept sentinel duty at the gates. la chesnaye, forêt, and jack battle held the bastions, and the rest stood guard in front of the main building. from my place i saw how it happened. the lieutenant stepped back to let m. de radisson pass up the ship's ladder first. the new englanders followed, the lieutenant still waiting at the bottom step; and when m. radisson's back was turned the lieutenant darted down the river bank in the direction of governor brigdar's fort. the flag went up and m. radisson looked back to witness the salute. then he discovered the lieutenant's flight. the new englanders' purpose was easily guessed--to lock forces with governor brigdar, and while our strength was divided attack us here or at the habitation. "one fight at a time," says radisson, summoning to council in the powder-house all hands but our guard at the gate. "you, allemand and godefroy, will cross the marsh to-night, bidding chouart be ready for attack and send back re-enforcements here! you two lads"--pointing to the stowaway and scullion--"will boil down bears' grease and porpoise fat for a half a hundred cressets! cut up all the brooms in the fort! use pine-boughs! split the green wood and slip in oiled rags! have a hundred lights ready by ten of the clock! go--make haste, or i throw you both into the pot! "you, forêt and la chesnaye, transfer all the new englanders to the hold of the ship and batten them under! if there's to be fighting, let the enemies be outside the walls. and you, ramsay, will keep guard at the river bastion all night! and you, jack battle, will gather all the hats and helmets and caps in the fort, and divide them equally between the two front bastions----" "hats and helmets?" interrupts la chesnaye. "la chesnaye," says m. radisson, whirling, "an any one would question me this night he had best pull his tongue out with the tongs! go, all of you!" but godefroy, ever a dour-headed knave, must test the steel of m. de radisson's mood. "d'ye mean me an' the pilot to risk crossing the marsh by night----" but he got no farther. m. de radisson was upon him with a cudgel like a flail on wheat. "an you think it risk to go, i'll make it greater risk to stay! an you fear to obey, i'll make you fear more to disobey! an you shirk the pain of toeing the scratch, i'll make it a deal more painful to lag behind!" "but at night--at night," roared godefroy between blows. "the night--knave," hissed out radisson, "the night is lighter than morning with the north light. the night"--this with a last drive--"the night is same as day to man of spirit! 'tis the sort of encouragement half the world needs to succeed," said m. radisson, throwing down the cudgel. and godefroy, the skulker, was glad to run for the marsh. the rest of us waited no urgings, but were to our posts on the run. i saw m. radisson passing fife, piccolo, trumpet, and drum to the two tatterdemalion lads of our army. "now blow like fiends when i give the word," said he. across the courtyard, single file, marched the new englanders from barracks to boat. la chesnaye leading with drawn sword, the marquis following with pointed musket. forêt and la chesnaye then mounted guard at the gate. the sailor of our company was heaping cannon-balls ready for use. jack battle scoured the fort for odd headgear. m. de radisson was everywhere, seizing papers, burying ammunition, making fast loose stockades, putting extra rivets in hinges, and issuing quick orders that sent jack battle skipping to the word. then jack was set to planting double rows of sticks inside on a level with the wall. the purpose of these i could not guess till m. radisson ordered hat, helmet, or cap clapped atop of each pole. oh, we were a formidable army, i warrant you, seen by any one mounting the drift to spy across our walls! but 'twas no burlesque that night, as you may know when i tell you that governor brigdar's forces played us such a trick they were under shelter of the ship before we had discovered them. forêt and la chesnaye were watching from loopholes at the gates, and i was all alert from my place in the bastion. the northern lights waved overhead in a restless ocean of rose-tinted fire. against the blue, stars were aglint with the twinkle of a million harbour lights. below, lay the frost mist, white as foam, diaphanous as a veil, every floating icy particle aglimmer with star rays like spray in sunlight. through the night air came the far howlings of the running wolf-pack. the little ermine, darting across the level with its black tail-tip marking the snow in dots and dashes, would sit up quickly, listen and dive under, to wriggle forward like a snake; or the black-eyed hare would scurry off to cover of brushwood. of a sudden sounded such a yelling from the new englanders imprisoned in the ship, with a beating of guns on the keel, that i gave quick alarm. forêt and la chesnaye sallied from the gate. pistol-shots rang out as they rounded the ship's prow into shadow. at the same instant, a man flung forward out of the frost cloud beating for admittance. m. de radisson opened. "the indians! the indians! where are the new englanders?" cried the man, pitching headlong in. and when he regained his feet, governor brigdar, of the hudson's bay company, stood face to face with m. de radisson. "a right warm welcome, your excellency," bowed m. de radisson, bolting the gate. "the new englanders are in safe keeping, sir, and so are you!" the bewildered governor gasped at m. radisson's words. then he lost all command of himself. "radisson, man," he stormed, "this is no feint--this is no time for acting! six o' my men shot on the way--four hiding by the ship and the indians not a hundred yards behind! take my sword and pistol," he proffered, m. de radisson still hesitating, "but as you hope for eternal mercy, call in my four men!" after that, all was confusion. forêt and the marquis rushed pell-mell for the fort with four terrified englishmen disarmed. the gates were clapped to. myriad figures darted from the frost mist--figures with war-paint on their faces and bodies clothed in white to disguise approach. english and french, enemies all, crouched to the palisades against the common foe, with sword-thrust for the hands catching at pickets to scale the wall and volleying shots that scattered assailants back. the redskins were now plainly visible through the frost. when they swerved away from shelter of the ship, every bastion let go the roar of a cannon discharge. there was the sudden silence of a drawing off, then the shrill "ah-o-o-o-oh! ah-o-o-o-oh! ah-o-o-o-oh!" of indian war-cry! and m. radisson gave the signal. instantaneously half a hundred lights were aflare. red tongues of fire darted from the loop-holes. two lads were obeying our leader's call to run--run--run, blowing fife, beating drum like an army's band, while streams of boiling grease poured down from bastions and lookout. helmets, hats, and caps sticking round on the poles were lighted up like the heads of a battalion; and oft as any of us showed himself he displayed fresh cap. one indian, i mind, got a stockade off and an arm inside the wall. that arm was never withdrawn, for m. radisson's broadsword came down, and the indian reeled back with a yelping scream. then the smoke cleared, and i saw what will stay with me as long as memory lasts--m. radisson, target for arrows or shot, long hair flying and red doublet alight in the flare of the torches, was standing on top of the pickets with his right arm waving a sword. "whom do you make them out to be, ramsay?" he called. "is not yon le borgne?" i looked to the indians. le borgne it was, thin and straight, like a mast-pole through mist, in conference with another man--a man with a beard, a man who was no indian. "sir!" i shouted back. "those are the inland pirates. they are leading the indians against ben gillam, and not against us at all." at that m. radisson extends a handkerchief on the end of his sword as flag of truce, and the bearded man waves back. down from the wall jumps m. radisson, running forward fearlessly where indians lay wounded, and waving for the enemy to come. but the two only waved back in friendly fashion, wheeled their forces off, and disappeared through the frost. "those were ben gillam's cut-throats trying to do for him! when they saw us on the walls, they knew their mistake," says m. de radisson as he re-entered the gate. "there's only one way to find those pirates out, ramsay. nurse these wounded indians back to life, visit the tribe, and watch! after chouart's re-enforcements come, i'll send you and jack battle, with godefroy for interpreter!" to governor brigdar and his four refugees m. de radisson was all courtesy. "and how comes your excellency to be out so late with ten men?" he asked, as we supped that night. "we heard that you were here. we were coming to visit you," stammered governor brigdar, growing red. "then let us make you so welcome that you will not hasten away! here, jack battle, here, fellow, stack these gentlemen's swords and pistols where they'll come to no harm! ah! no? but i must relieve you, gentlemen! your coming was a miracle. i thank you for it. it has saved us much trouble. a pledge to the pleasure--and the length--of your stay, gentlemen," and they stand to the toast, m. de radisson smiling at the lights in his wine. but we all knew very well what such welcome meant. 'twas radisson's humour to play the host that night, but the runaway lieutenant was a prisoner in our guard-house. chapter xvi we seek the inlanders in the matter of fighting, i find small difference between white-men and red. let the lust of conquest but burn, the justice of the quarrel receives small thought. your fire-eating prophet cares little for the right of the cause, provided the fighter come out conqueror; and many a poet praises only that right which is might over-trampling weakness. i have heard the withered hag of an indian camp chant as spirited war-song as your minstrels of butchery; but the strange thing of it is, that the people, who have taken the sword in a wantonness of conquest, are the races that have been swept from the face of the earth like dead leaves before the winter blast; but the people, who have held immutably by the power of right, which our lord christ set up, the meek and the peace-makers and the children of god, these are they that inherit the earth. where are the tribes with whom godefroy and jack battle and i wandered in nomadic life over the northern wastes? buried in oblivion black as night, but for the lurid memories flashed down to you of later generations. where are the puritan folk, with their cast-iron, narrow creeds damning all creation but themselves, with their foibles of snivelling to attest sanctity, with such a wolfish zeal to hound down devils that they hounded innocents for witchcraft? spreading over the face of the new world, making the desert to bloom and the waste places fruitful gardens? and the reason for it all is simply this: your butchering indian, like your swashing cavalier, founded his _right_ upon _might_; your puritan, grim but faithful, to the outermost bounds of his tragic errors, founded his _might_ upon _right_. we learn our hardest lessons from unlikeliest masters. this one came to me from the indians of the blood-dyed northern snows. * * * * * * "don't show your faces till you have something to report about those pirates, who led the indians," was m. radisson's last command, as we sallied from the new englanders' fort with a firing of cannon and beating of drums. godefroy, the trader, muttered under his breath that m. radisson need never fear eternal torment. "why?" i asked. "because, if he goes _there_," answered godefroy, "he'll get the better o' the nick." i think the fellow was smarting from recent punishment. he and allemand, the drunken pilot, had been draining gin kegs on the sly and replacing what they took with snow water. that last morning at prayers godefroy, who was half-seas over, must yelp out a loud "amen" in the wrong place. without rising from his knees, or as much as changing his tone, m. de radisson brought the drunken knave such a cuff it flattened him to the floor. then prayers went on as before. the indians, whom we had nursed of their wounds, were to lead us to the tribe, one only being held by m. radisson as hostage for safe conduct. in my mind, that trust to the indians' honour was the single mistake m. radisson made in the winter's campaign. in the first place, the indian has no honour. why should he have, when his only standard of right is conquest? in the second place, kindness is regarded as weakness by the indian. why should it not be, when his only god is victory? in the third place, the lust of blood, to kill, to butcher, to mutilate, still surged as hot in their veins as on the night when they had attempted to scale our walls. and again i ask why not, when the law of their life was to kill or to be killed? these questions i put to you because life put them to me. at the time my father died, the gentlemen of king charles's court were already affecting that refinement of philosophy which justifies despotism. from justifying despotism, 'twas but a step to justifying the wicked acts of tyranny; and from that, but another step to thrusting god's laws aside as too obsolete for our clever courtiers. "give your unbroken colt tether enough to pull itself up with one sharp fall," m. radisson used to say, "and it will never run to the end of its line again." the mind of europe spun the tissue of foolish philosophy. the savage of the wilderness went the full tether; and i leave you to judge whether the _might_ that is _right_ or the _right_ that is _might_ be the better creed for a people. but i do not mean to imply that m. radisson did not understand the savages better than any man of us in the fort. he risked three men as pawns in the game he was playing for mastery of the fur trade. gamester of the wilderness as he was, pierre radisson was not the man to court a certain loss. the indians led us to the lodges of the hostiles safely enough; and their return gave us entrance if not welcome to the tepee village. we had entered a ravine and came on a cluster of wigwams to the lee side of a bluff. dusk hid our approach; and the absence of the dogs that usually infest indian camps told us that these fellows were marauders. smoke curled up from the poles crisscrossed at the tepee forks, but we could descry no figures against the tent-walls as in summer, for heavy skins of the chase overlaid the parchment. all was silence but in one wigwam. this was an enormous structure, built on poles long as a mast, with moose-hides scattered so thickly upon it that not a glint of firelight came through except the red glow of smoke at the peak. there was a low hum of suppressed voices, then one voice alone in solemn tones, then guttural grunts of applause. "in council," whispered godefroy, steering straight for the bearskin that hung flapping across the entrance. bidding jack battle stand guard outside, we followed the indians who had led us from the fort. lifting the tent-flap, we found ourselves inside. a withered creature with snaky, tangled hair, toothless gums, eyes that burned like embers, and a haunched, shrivelled figure, stood gesticulating and crooning over a low monotone in the centre of the lodge. as we entered, the draught from the door sent a tongue of flame darting to mid-air from the central fire, and scores of tawny faces with glance intent on the speaker were etched against the dark. these were no camp families, but braves, deep in war council. the elder men sat with crossed feet to the fore of the circle. the young braves were behind, kneeling, standing, and stretched full length. all were smoking their long-stemmed pipes and listening to the medicine-man, or seer, who was crooning his low-toned chant. the air was black with smoke. always audacious, godefroy, the trader, advanced boldly and sat down in the circle. i kept back in shadow, for directly behind the indian wizard was a figure lying face downward, chin resting in hand, which somehow reminded me of le borgne. the fellow rolled lazily over, got to his knees, and stood up. pushing the wizard aside, this indian faced the audience. it was le borgne, his foxy eye yellow as flame, teeth snapping, and a tongue running at such a pace that we could scarce make out a word of his jargon. "what does he say, godefroy?" "sit down," whispered the trader, "you are safe." this was what the indian was saying as godefroy muttered it over to me: "were the indians fools and dogs to throw away two fish for the sake of one? the french were friends of the indians. let the indians find out what the french would give them for killing the english. he, le borgne, the one-eyed, was brave. he would go to the frenchman's fort and spy out how strong they were. if the french gave them muskets for killing the english, after the ships left in the spring the indians could attack the fort and kill the french. the great medicine-man, the white hunter, who lived under the earth, would supply them with muskets----" "he says the white hunter who lives under the earth is giving them muskets to make war," whispered godefroy. "that must be the pirate." "listen!" "let the braves prepare to meet the indians of the land of little white sticks, who were coming with furs for the white men--" le borgne went on. "let the braves send their runners over the hills to the little white sticks sleeping in the sheltered valley. let the braves creep through the mist of the morning like the lynx seeking the ermine. and when the little white sticks were all asleep, the runners would shoot fire arrows into the air and the braves would slay--slay--slay the men, who might fight, the women, who might run to the whites for aid, and the children, who might live to tell tales." "the devils!" says godefroy under his breath. a log broke on the coals with a flare that painted le borgne's evil face fiery red; and the fellow gabbled on, with figure crouching stealthily forward, foxy eye alight with evil, and teeth glistening. "let the braves seize the furs of the little white sticks, trade the furs to the white-man for muskets, massacre the english, then when the great white chief's big canoes left, kill the frenchmen of the fort." "ha," says godefroy. "jack's safe outside! we'll have a care to serve you through the loop-holes, and trade you only broken muskets!" a guttural grunt applauded le borgne's advice, and the crafty scoundrel continued: "the great medicine-man, the white hunter, who lived under the earth, was their friend. was he not here among them? let the braves hear what he advised." the indians grunted their approbation. some one stirred the fire to flame. there was a shuffling movement among the figures in the dark. involuntarily godefroy and i had risen to our feet. emerging from the dusk to the firelight was a white man, gaudily clothed in tunic of scarlet with steel breastplates and gold lace enough for an ambassador. his face was hidden by le borgne's form. godefroy pushed too far forward; for the next thing, a shout of rage rent the tent roof. le borgne was stamping out the fire. a red form with averted face raced round the lodge wall to gain the door. then godefroy and i were standing weapons in hand, with the band of infuriated braves brandishing tomahawks about our heads. le borgne broke through the circle and confronted us with his face agleam. "le borgne, you rascal, is this a way to treat your friends?" i demanded. "what you--come for?" slowly snarled le borgne through set teeth. "to bring back your wounded and for furs, you fool," cried godefroy, "and if you don't call your braves off, you can sell no more pelts to the french." le borgne gabbled out something that drove the braves back. "we have no furs yet," said he. "but you will have them when you raid the little white sticks," raged godefroy, caring nothing for the harm his words might work if he saved his own scalp. le borgne drew off to confer with the braves. then he came back and there was a treacherous smile of welcome on his bronze face. "the indians thought the white-men spies from the little white sticks," he explained in the mellow, rhythmic tones of the redman. "the indians were in war council. the indians are friends of the french." "look out for him, godefroy," said i. "if the french are friends to the indians, let the white-men come to battle against the little white sticks," added le borgne. "tell him no! we'll wait here till they come back!" "he says they are not coming back," answered godefroy, "and hang me, ramsay, an i'd not face an indian massacre before i go back empty-handed to m. radisson. we're in for it," says he, speaking english too quick for le borgne's ear. "if we show the white feather now, they'll finish us. they'll not harm us till they've done for the english and got more muskets. and that red pirate is after these same furs! body o' me, an you hang back, scared o' battle, you'd best not come to the wilderness." "the white-men will go with the indians, but the white-men will not fight with the little sticks," announced godefroy to le borgne, proffering tobacco enough to pacify the tribe. 'twas in vain that i expostulated against the risk of going far inland with hostiles, who had attacked the new england fort and were even now planning the slaughter of white-men. inoffensiveness is the most deadly of offences with savagery, whether the savagery be of white men or red. le borgne had the insolence to ask why the tribe could not as easily kill us where we were as farther inland; and we saw that remonstrances were working the evil that we wished to avoid--increasing the indians' daring. after all, godefroy was right. the man who fears death should neither go to the wilderness nor launch his canoe above a whirlpool unless he is prepared to run the rapids. this new world had never been won from darkness if men had hung back from fear of spilt blood. 'twas but a moment's work for the braves to deck out in war-gear. faces were blackened with red streaks typifying wounds; bodies clad in caribou skins or ermine-pelts white as the snow to be crossed; quivers of barbed and poisonous arrows hanging over their backs in otter and beaver skins; powder in buffalo-horns for those who had muskets; shields of toughened hide on one arm, and such a number of scalp-locks fringing every seam as told their own story of murderous foray. while the land still smoked under morning frost and the stars yet pricked through the gray darkness, the warriors were far afield coasting the snow-billows as on tireless wings. up the swelling drifts water-waved by wind like a rolling sea, down cliffs crumbling over with snowy cornices, across the icy marshes swept glare by the gales, the braves pressed relentlessly on. godefroy, jack battle, and i would have hung to the rear and slipped away if we could; but the fate of an old man was warning enough. muttering against the braves for embroiling themselves in war without cause, he fell away from the marauders as if to leave. le borgne's foxy eye saw the move. turning, he rushed at the old man with a hiss of air through his teeth like a whistling arrow. his musket swung up. it clubbed down. there was a groan; and as we rounded a bluff at a pace that brought the air cutting in our faces, i saw the old man's body lying motionless on the snow. if this was the beginning, what was the end? godefroy vowed that the man was only an indian, and his death was no sin. "the wolves would 'a' picked his bones soon anyway. he wore a score o' scalps at his belt. pah, an we could get furs without any indians, i'd see all their skulls go!" snapped the trader. "if killing's no murder, whose turn comes next?" asked jack. and that gave godefroy pause. chapter xvii a bootless sacrifice for what i now tell i offer no excuse. i would but record what savagery meant. then may you who are descended from the new world pioneers know that your lineage is from men as heroic as those crusaders who rescued our saviour's grave from the pagans; for crusaders of old world and new carried the sword of destruction in one hand, but in the other, a cross that was light in darkness. then may you, my lady-fingered sentimentalist, who go to bed of a winter night with a warming-pan and champion the rights of the savage from your soft place among cushions, realize what a fine hero your redman was, and realize, too, what were the powers that the white-man crushed! for what i do not tell i offer no excuse. it is not permitted to relate _all_ that savage warfare meant. once i marvelled that a just god could order his chosen people to exterminate any race. now i marvel that a just god hath not exterminated many races long ago. we reached the crest of a swelling upland as the first sun-rays came through the frost mist in shafts of fire. a quick halt was called. one white-garbed scout went crawling stealthily down the snow-slope like a mountain-cat. then the frost thinned to the rising sun and vague outlines of tepee lodges could be descried in the clouded valley. an arrow whistled through the air glancing into snow with a soft whirr at our feet. it was the signal. as with one thought, the warriors charged down the hill, leaping from side to side in a frenzy, dancing in a madness of slaughter, shrieking their long, shrill--"ah--oh!--ah--oh!"--yelping, howling, screaming their war-cry--"ah--oh!--ah--oh!--ah--oh!"--like demons incarnate. the medicine-man had stripped himself naked and was tossing his arms with maniacal fury, leaping up and down, yelling the war-cry, beating the tom-tom, rattling the death-gourd. some of the warriors went down on hands and feet, sidling forward through the mist like the stealthy beasts of prey that they were. godefroy, jack battle, and i were carried before the charge helpless as leaves in a hurricane. all slid down the hillside to the bottom of a ravine. with the long bound of a tiger-spring, le borgne plunged through the frost cloud. the lodges of the victims were about us. we had evidently come upon the tribe when all were asleep. then that dark under-world of which men dream in wild delirium became reality. pandemonium broke its bounds. * * * * * * and had i once thought that eli kirke's fanatic faith painted too lurid a hell? god knows if the realm of darkness be half as hideous as the deeds of this life, 'tis blacker than prophet may portray. day or night, after fifty years, do i close my eyes to shut the memory out! but the shafts are still hurtling through the gray gloom. arrows rip against the skin shields. running fugitives fall pierced. men rush from their lodges in the daze of sleep and fight barehanded against musket and battle-axe and lance till the snows are red and scalps steaming from the belts of conquerors. women fall to the feet of the victors, kneeling, crouching, dumbly pleading for mercy; and the mercy is a spear-thrust that pinions the living body to earth. maimed, helpless and living victims are thrown aside to await slow death. children are torn from their mothers' arms--but there--memory revolts and the pen fails! it was in vain for us to flee. turn where we would, pursued and pursuer were there. "don't flinch! don't flinch!" godefroy kept shouting. "they'll take it for fear! they'll kill you by torture!" almost on the words a bowstring twanged to the fore and a young girl stumbled across jack battle's feet with a scream that rings, and rings, and rings in memory like the tocsin of a horrible dream. she was wounded in the shoulder. getting to her knees she threw her arms round jack with such a terrified look of helpless pleading in her great eyes as would have moved stone. "don't touch her! don't touch her! don't touch her!" screamed godefroy, jerking to pull jack free. "it will do no good! don't help her! they'll kill you both--" "great god!" sobbed jack, with shivering horror, "i can't help helping her--" but there leaped from the mist a figure with uplifted spear. may god forgive it, but i struck that man dead! it was a bootless sacrifice at the risk of three lives. but so was christ's a bootless sacrifice at the time, if you measure deeds by gain. and so has every sacrifice worthy of the name been a bootless sacrifice, if you stop to weigh life in a goldsmith's scale! justice is blind; but praise be to god, so is mercy! and, indeed, i have but quoted our lord and saviour, not as an example, but as a precedent. for the act i merited no credit. like jack, i could not have helped helping her. the act was out before the thought. then we were back to back fighting a horde of demons. godefroy fought cursing our souls to all eternity for embroiling him in peril. jack battle fought mumbling feverishly, deliriously, unconscious of how he shot or what he said--"might as well die here as elsewhere! might as well die here as elsewhere! damn that indian! give it to him, ramsay! you shoot while i prime! might as well die here as elsewhere----" and all fought resolute to die hard, when, where, or how the dying came! to that desperate game there was but one possible end. it is only in story-books writ for sentimental maids that the good who are weak defeat the wicked who are strong. we shattered many an assailant before the last stake was dared, but in the end they shattered my sword-arm, which left me helpless as a hull at ebb-tide. then godefroy, the craven rascal, must throw up his arms for surrender, which gave le borgne opening to bring down the butt of his gun on jack's crown. the poor sailor went bundling over the snow like a shot rabbit. when the frost smoke cleared, there was such a scene as i may not paint; for you must know that your indian hero is not content to kill. like the ghoul, he must mutilate. of all the indian band attacked by our forces, not one escaped except the girl, whose form i could descry nowhere on the stained snow. jack battle presently regained his senses and staggered up to have his arms thonged behind his back. the thongs on my arms they tightened with a stick through the loop to extort cry of pain as the sinew cut into the shattered wrist. an the smile had cost my last breath, i would have defied their tortures with a laugh. they got no cry from me. godefroy, the trader, cursed us in one breath and in the next threatened that the indians would keep us for torture. "you are the only man who can speak their language," i retorted. "stop whimpering and warn these brutes what radisson will do if they harm us! he will neither take their furs nor give them muskets! he will arm their enemies to destroy them! tell them that!" but as well talk to tigers. le borgne alone listened, his foxy glance fastened on my face with a strange, watchful look, neither hostile nor friendly. to godefroy's threats the indian answered that "white-man talk--not true--of all," pointing to jack battle, "him no friend great white chief--him captive----" then godefroy burst out with the unworthiest answer that ever passed man's lips. "of course he's a captive," screamed the trader, "then take him and torture him and let us go! 'twas him stopped the indian getting the girl!" "le borgne," i cut in sharply, "le borgne, it was i who stopped the indian killing the girl! you need not torture the little white-man. he is a good man. he is the friend of the great white chief." but le borgne showed no interest. while the others stripped the dead and wreaked their ghoulish work, le borgne gathered up the furs of the little sticks and with two or three young men stole away over the crest of the hill. then the hostiles left the dead and the half-dead for the wolves. prodded forward by lance-thrusts, we began the weary march back to the lodges. the sun sank on the snowy wastes red as a shield of blood; and with the early dusk of the northern night purpling the shadowy fields in mist came a south wind that filled the desolate silence with restless waitings as of lament for eternal wrong, moaning and sighing and rustling past like invisible spirits that find no peace. some of the indians laid hands to thin lips with a low "hs-s-h," and the whole band quickened pace. before twilight had deepened to the dark that precedes the silver glow of the moon and stars and northern lights, we were back where le borgne had killed the old man. the very snow had been picked clean, and through the purple gloom far back prowled vague forms. jack battle and i looked at each other, but the indian fellow, who was our guard, emitted a harsh, rasping laugh. as for godefroy, he was marching abreast of the braves gabbling a mumble-jumble of pleadings and threats, which, i know very well, ignored poor jack. godefroy would make a scapegoat of the weak to save his own neck, and small good his cowardice did him! the moon was high in mid-heaven flooding a white world when we reached the lodges. we three were placed under guards, while the warriors feasted their triumph and danced the scalp-dance to drive away the spirits of the dead. to beat of tom-tom and shriek of gourd-rattles, the whole terrible scene was re-enacted. stripping himself naked, but for his moccasins, the old wizard pranced up and down like a fiend in the midst of the circling dancers. flaming torches smoked from poles in front of the lodges, or were waved and tossed by the braves. flaunting fresh scalps from lance-heads, with tomahawk in the other hand, each warrior went through all the fiendish moves and feints of attack--prowling on knees, uttering the yelping, wolfish yells, crouching for the leap, springing through mid-air, brandishing the battle-axe, stamping upon the imaginary prostrate foe, stooping with a glint of the scalping knife, then up, with a shout of triumph and the scalp waving from the lance, all in time to the dull thum--thum--thum of the tom-tom and the screaming chant of the wizard. still the south wind moaned about the lodges; and the dancers shouted the louder to drown those ghost-cries of the dead. faster and faster beat the drum. swifter and swifter darted the braves, hacking their own flesh in a frenzy of fear till their shrieks out-screamed the wind. then the spirits were deemed appeased. the mad orgy of horrors was over, but the dancers were too exhausted for the torture of prisoners. the older men came to the lodge where we were guarded and godefroy again began his importunings. setting jack battle aside, they bade the trader and me come out. "better one be tortured than three," heartlessly muttered godefroy to jack. "now they'll set us free for fear of m. radisson, and we'll come back for you." but godefroy had miscalculated the effects of his threats. at the door stood a score of warriors who had not been to the massacre. if we hoped to escape torture the wizard bade us follow these men. they led us away with a sinister silence. when we reached the crest of the hill, half-way between the lodges and the massacre, godefroy took alarm. this was not the direction of our fort. the trader shouted out that m. radisson would punish them well if they did us harm. at that one of the taciturn fellows turned. they would take care to do us no harm, he said, with an evil laugh. on the ridge of the hill they paused, as if seeking a mark. two spindly wind-stripped trees stood straight as mast-poles above the snow. the leader went forward to examine the bark for indian signal, motioning godefroy and me closer as he examined the trees. with the whistle of a whip-lash through air the thongs were about us, round and round ankle, neck, and arms, binding us fast. godefroy shouted out a blasphemous oath and struggled till the deer sinew cut his buckskin. i had only succeeded in wheeling to face our treacherous tormentors when the strands tightened. in the struggle the trader had somehow got his face to the bark. the coils circled round him. the thongs drew close. the indians stood back. they had done what they came to do. they would not harm us, they taunted, pointing to the frost-silvered valley, where lay the dead of their morning crime. then with harsh gibes, the warriors ran down the hillside, leaving us bound. chapter xviii facing the end below the hill on one side flickered the moving torches of the hostiles. on the other side, where the cliff fell sheer away, lay the red-dyed snows with misty shapes moving through the frosty valley. a wind of sighs swept across the white wastes. short, sharp barkings rose from the shadowy depth of the ravine. then the silence of desolation . . . then the moaning night-wind . . . then the shivering cry of the wolf-pack scouring on nightly hunt. for a moment neither godefroy nor i spoke. then the sinews, cutting deep, wakened consciousness. "are they gone?" asked godefroy hoarsely. "yes," said i, glancing to the valley. "can't you break through the thongs and get a hand free?" "my back is to the tree. we'll have to face it, godefroy--don't break down, man! we must face it!" "face what?" he shuddered out. "is anything there? face what?" he half screamed. "the end!" he strained at the thongs till he had strength to strain no more. then he broke out in a volley of maledictions at jack battle and me for interfering with the massacre, to which i could answer never a word; for the motives that merit greatest applause when they succeed, win bitterest curses when they fail. the northern lights swung low. once those lights seemed censers of flame to an invisible god. now they shot across the steel sky like fiery serpents, and the rustling of their fire was as the hiss when a fang strikes. a shooting star blazed into light against the blue, then dropped into the eternal darkness. "godefroy," i asked, "how long will this last?" "till the wolves come," said he huskily. "a man must die some time," i called back; but my voice belied the bravery of the words, for something gray loomed from the ravine and stood stealthily motionless in the dusk behind the trader. involuntarily a quick "hist!" went from my lips. "what's that?" shouted godefroy. "is anything there?" "i am cold," said i. and on top of that lie i prayed--prayed with wide-staring eyes on the thing whose head had turned towards us--prayed as i have never prayed before or since! "are you sure there's nothing?" cried the trader. "look on both sides! i'm sure i feel something!" another crouching form emerged from the gloom--then another and another--silent and still as spectres. with a sidling motion they prowled nearer, sniffing the air, shifting watchful look from godefroy to me, from me to godefroy. a green eye gleamed nearer through the mist. then i knew. the wolves had come. godefroy screamed out that he heard something, and again bade me look on both sides of the hill. "keep quiet till i see," said i; but i never took my gaze from the green eyes of a great brute to the fore of the gathering pack. "but i feel them--but i hear them!" shouted godefroy, in an agony of terror. what gain to keep up pretence longer? still holding the beast back with no other power than the power of the man's eye over the brute, i called out the truth to the trader. "don't move! don't speak! don't cry out! perhaps we can stare them back till daylight comes!" godefroy held quiet as death. some subtle power of the man over the brute puzzled the leader of the pack. he shook his great head with angry snarls and slunk from side to side to evade the human eye, every hair of his fur bristling. then he threw up his jaws and uttered a long howl, answered by the far cry of the coming pack. sniffing the ground, he began circling--closing in--closing in---then there was a shout--a groan, a struggle--a rip as of teeth--from godefroy's place! then with naught but a blazing of comets dropping into an everlasting dark, with naught but a ship of fire billowing away to the flame of the northern lights, with naught but the rush of a sea, blinding, deafening, bearing me to the engulfment of the eternal--i lost knowledge of this life! chapter xix afterward a long shudder, and i had awakened in stifling darkness. was i dreaming, or were there voices, english voices, talking about me? "it was too late! he will die!" "draw back the curtain! give him plenty of air!" in the daze of a misty dream, m. picot was there with the foils in his hands; and hortense had cried out as she did that night when the button touched home. a sweet, fresh gust blew across my face with a faint odour of the pungent flames that used to flicker under the crucibles of the dispensary. how came i to be lying in boston town? was m. radisson a myth? was the northland a dream? i tried to rise, but whelming shadows pushed me down; and through the dark shifted phantom faces. now it was m. radisson quelling mutiny, tossed on plunging ice-drift, scouring before the hurricane, leaping through red flame over the fort wall, while wind and sea crooned a chorus like the hum of soldiers singing and marching to battle. "storm and cold, man and beast, powers of darkness and devil--he must fight them all," sang the gale. "who?" asked a voice. in the dark was a lone figure clinging to the spars of a wreck. "the victor," shrieked the wind. then the waves washed over the cast-away, leaving naught but the screaming gale and the pounding seas and the eternal dark. or it was m. picot, fencing in mid-room. of a sudden, foils turn to swords, m. picot to a masked man, and boston to the northland forest. i fall, and when i awaken m. picot is standing, candle in hand, tincturing my wounds. or the dark is filled with a multitude--men and beasts; and the beasts wear a crown of victory and the men are drunk with the blood of the slain. or stealthy, crouching, wolfish forms steal through the frost mist, closer and closer till there comes a shout--a groan--a rip as of teeth--then i am up, struggling with le borgne, the one-eyed, who pushes me back to a couch in the dark. like the faces that hover above battle in soldiers' dreams was a white face framed in curls with lustrous eyes full of lights. always when the darkness thickened and i began slipping--slipping into the folds of bottomless deeps--always the face came from the gloom, like a star of hope; and the hope drew me back. "there is nothing--nothing--nothing at all to fear," says the face. and i laugh at the absurdity of the dream. "to think of dreaming that hortense would be here--would be in the northland--hortense, the little queen, who never would let me tell her----" "tell her what?" asks the face. "hah! what a question! there is only one thing in all this world to tell her!" and i laughed again till i thought there must be some elf scrambling among the rafters of that smothery ceiling. it seemed so absurd to be thrilled with love of hortense with the breath of the wolves yet hot in one's face! "the wolves got godefroy," i would reason, "how didn't they get me? how did i get away? what was that smell of fur--" then some one was throwing fur robes from the couch. the phantom hortense kneeled at the pillow. "there are no wolves--it was only the robe," she says. "and i suppose you will be telling me there are no indians up there among the rafters?" "give me the candle. go away, le borgne! leave me alone with him," says the face in the gloom. "look," says the shadow, "i am hortense!" a torch was in her hand and the light fell on her face. i was as certain that she knelt beside me as i was that i lay helpless to rise. but the trouble was, i was equally certain there were wolves skulking through the dark and indians skipping among the rafters. "ghosts haven't hands," says hortense, touching mine lightly; and the touch brought the memory of those old mocking airs from the spinet. was it flood of memory or a sick man's dream? the presence seemed so real that mustering all strength, i turned--turned to see le borgne, the one-eyed, sitting on a log-end with a stolid, watchful, unreadable look on his crafty face. bluish shafts of light struck athwart the dark. a fire burned against the far wall. the smoke had the pungent bark smell of the flame that used to burn in m. picot's dispensary. this, then, had brought the dreams of hortense, now so far away. skins hung everywhere; but in places the earth showed through. like a gleam of sunlight through dark came the thought--this was a cave, the cave of the pirates whose voices i had heard from the ground that night in the forest, one pleading to save me, the other sending le borgne to trap me. leaning on my elbow, i looked from the indian to a bearskin partition hiding another apartment. le borgne had carried the stolen pelts of the massacred tribe to the inland pirates. the pirates had sent him back for me. and hortense was a dream. ah, well, men in their senses might have done worse than dream of a hortense! but the voice and the hand were real. "le borgne," i ask, "was any one here?" le borgne's cheeks corrugate in wrinkles of bronze that leer an evil laugh, and he pretends not to understand. "le borgne, was any one here with you?" le borgne shifts his spread feet, mutters a guttural grunt, and puffs out his torch; but the shafted flame reveals his shadow. i can still hear him beside me in the dark. "le borgne is the great white chief's friend," i say; "and the white-man is the great white chief's friend. where are we, le borgne?" le borgne grunts out a low huff-huff of a laugh. "here; white-man is here," says le borgne; and he shuffles away to the bearskin partition hiding another apartment. ah well as i said, one might do worse than dream of hortense. but in spite of all your philosophers say about there being no world but the world we spin in our brains, i could not woo my lady back to it. like the wind that bloweth where it listeth was my love. try as i might to call up that pretty deceit of a hortense about me in spirit, my perverse lady came not to the call. then, thoughts would race back to the mutiny on the stormy sea, to the roar of the breakers crashing over decks, to m. radisson leaping up from dripping wreckage, muttering between his teeth--"blind god o' chance, they may crush, but they shall not conquer; they may kill, but i snap my fingers in their faces to the death!" then, uncalled, through the darkness comes her face. "god is love," says she. if i lie there like a log, never moving, she seems to stay; but if i feel out through the darkness for the grip of a living hand, for the substance of a reality on which souls anchor, like the shadow of a dream she is gone. i mind once in the misty region between delirium and consciousness, when the face slipped from me like a fading light, i called out eagerly that love was a phantom; for her god of love had left me to the blind gods that crush, to the storm and the dark and the ravening wolves. like a light flaming from dark, the face shone through the gloom. "love, a phantom," laughs the mocking voice of the imperious hortense i knew long ago; and the thrill of her laugh proves love the realest phantom life can know. then the child hortense becomes of a sudden the grown woman, grave and sweet, with eyes in the dark like stars, and strange, broken thoughts i had not dared to hope shining unspoken on her face. "life, a phantom-substance, the shadow--love, the all," the dream-face seems to be saying. "events are god's thoughts--storms and darkness and prey are his puppets, the blind gods, his slaves-god is love; for you are here! . . . you are here! . . . you are here with me!" when i feel through the dark this time is the grip of a living hand. then we lock arms and sweep through space, the northern lights curtaining overhead, the stars for torches, and the blazing comets heralding a way. "the very stars in their courses fight for us," says hortense. and i, with an earthy intellect groping behind the winged love of the woman, think that she refers to some of m. picot's mystic astrologies. "no--no," says the dream-face, with the love that divines without speech, "do you not understand? the stars fight for us--because--because----" "because god is love," catching the gleam of the thought; and the stars that fight in their courses for mortals sweep to a noonday splendour. and all the while i was but a crazy dreamer lying captive, wounded and weak in a pirate cave. oh, yes, i know very well what my fine gentlemen dabblers in the new sciences will say--the fellow was daft and delirious--he had lost grip on reality and his fevered wits mixed a mumble-jumble of ancient symbolism with his own adventures. but before you reduce all this great universe to the dimensions of a chemist's crucible, i pray you to think twice whether the mind that fashioned the crucible be not greater than the crucible; whether the master-mind that shaped the laws of the universe be not greater than the universe; whether when man's mind loses grip--as you call it--of the little, nagging, insistent realities it may not leap free like the jagged lightnings from peak to peak of a consciousness that overtowers life's commoner levels! spite of our boastings, each knows neither more nor less than life hath taught him. for me, i know what the dream-voice spoke proved true: life, the shadow of a great reality; love, the all; the blind gods of storm and dark and prey, the puppets of the god of gods, working his will; and the god of gods a god of love, realest when love is near. once, i mind, the dark seemed alive with wolfish shades, sniffing, prowling, circling, creeping nearer like that monster wolf of fable set on by the powers of evil to hunt man to his doom. a nightmare of fear bound me down. the death-frosts settled and tightened and closed--but suddenly, hortense took cold hands in her palms, calling and calling and calling me back to life and hope and her. then i waked. though i peopled the mist with many shadows, le borgne alone stood there. chapter xx who the pirates were how long i lay in the pirates' cave i could not tell; for day and night were alike with the pale-blue flame quivering against the earth-wall, gusts of cold air sweeping through the door, low-whispered talks from the inner cave. at last i surprised le borgne mightily by sitting bolt upright and bidding him bring me a meal of buffalo-tongue or teal. with the stolid repartee of the indian he grunted back that i had tongue enough; but he brought the stuff with no ill grace. after that he had much ado to keep me off my feet. finally, i promised by the soul of his grandfather neither to spy nor listen about the doors of the inner cave, and he let me up for an hour at a time to practise walking with the aid of a lance-pole. as he found that i kept my word, he trusted me alone in the cave, sitting crouched on the log-end with a buckskin sling round my shattered sword-arm, which the wolves had not helped that night at the stake. in the food le borgne brought was always a flavour of simples or drugs. one night--at least i supposed it was night from the chill of the air blowing past the bearskin--just as le borgne stooped to serve me, his torch flickered out. before he could relight, i had poured the broth out and handed back an empty bowl. then i lay with eyes tight shut and senses wide awake. the indian sat on the log-end watching. i did not stir. neither did i fall asleep as usual. the indian cautiously passed a candle across my face. i lay motionless as i had been drugged. at that he stalked off. voices began in the other apartment. two or three forms went tip-toeing about the cave. shadows passed athwart the flame. a gust of cold; and with half-closed eyes i saw three men vanish through the outer doorway over fields no longer snow-clad. had spring come? how long had i lain in the cave? before i gained strength to escape, would m. radisson have left for quebec? then came a black wave of memory--thought of jack battle, the sailor lad, awaiting our return to rescue him. from the first jack and i had held together as aliens in boston town. should i lie like a stranded hull while he perished? risking spies on the watch, i struggled up and staggered across the cave to that blue flame quivering so mysteriously. as i neared, the mystery vanished, for it was nothing more than one of those northern beds of combustibles--gas, tar, or coal--set burning by the ingenious pirates. [1] the spirit was willing enough to help jack, but the flesh was weak. presently i sank on the heaped pelts all atremble. i had promised not to spy nor eavesdrop, but that did not prohibit escape. but how could one forage for food with a right arm in bands and a left unsteady as aim of a girl? le borgne had befriended me twice--once in the storm, again on the hill. perhaps he might know of jack. i would wait the indian's return. meanwhile i could practise my strength by walking up and down the cave. the walls were hung with pelts. where the dry clay crumbled, the roof had been timbered. a rivulet of spring water bubbled in one dark corner. at the same end an archway led to inner recesses. behind the skin doorway sounded heavy breathing, as of sleepers. i had promised not to spy. turning, i retraced the way to the outer door. here another pelt swayed heavily in the wind. dank, earthy smells of spring, odours of leaves water-soaked by melting snows, the faint perfume of flowers pushing up through mats of verdure, blew in on the night breeze. pushing aside the flap, i looked out. the spur of a steep declivity cut athwart the cave. now i could guess where i was. this was the hill down which i had stumbled that night the voices had come from the ground. here the masked man had sprung from the thicket. not far off m. radisson had first met the indians. to reach the french habitation i had but to follow the river. that hope set me pacing again for exercise; and the faster i walked the faster raced thoughts over the events of the crowded years. again the prince rupert careened seaward, bearing little hortense to england. once more ben gillam swaggered on the water-front of boston town, boasting all that he would do when he had ship of his own. then jack battle, building his castles of fortune for love of hortense, and all unconsciously letting slip the secret of good boston men deep involved in pirate schemes. the scene shifted to the far north, and a masked man had leaped from the forest dark only to throw down his weapon when the firelight shone on my face. again the white darkness of the storm, the three shadowy figures and le borgne sent to guide us back to the fort. again, to beat of drum and shriek of fife, m. radisson was holding his own against the swarming savages that assailed the new englanders' fort. then i was living over the unspeakable horror of the indian massacre ending in that awful wait on the crest of the hill. the memory brought a chill as of winter cold. with my back to both doors i stood shuddering over the blue fire. whatever logicians may say, we do not reason life's conclusions out. clouds blacken the heavens till there comes the lightning-flash. so do our intuitions leap unwarned from the dark. 'twas thus i seemed to fathom the mystery of those interlopers. ben gillam had been chosen to bring the pirate ship north because his father, of the hudson's bay company, could screen him from english spies. mr. stocking, of boston, was another partner to the venture, who could shield ben from punishment in new england. but the third partner was hiding inland to defraud the others of the furs. that was the meaning of ben's drunken threats. who was the third partner? had not eli kirke planned trading in the north with mr. stocking? were the pirates some agents of my uncle? did that explain why my life had been three times spared? one code of morals for the church and another for the trade is the way of many a man; but would the agents of a puritan deacon murder a rival in the dark of a forest, or lead indians to massacre the crew of partners, or take furs gotten at the price of a tribe's extermination? turning that question over, i heard the inner door-flap lift. there was no time to regain the couch, but a quick swerve took me out of the firelight in the shadow of a great wolfskin against the wall. you will laugh at the old idea of honour, but i had promised not to spy, and i never raised my eyes from the floor. there was no sound but the gurgling of the spring in the dark and the sharp crackle of the flame. thinking the wind had blown the flap, i stepped from hiding. something vague as mist held back in shadow. the lines of a white-clad figure etched themselves against the cave wall. it floated out, paused, moved forward. then i remember clutching at the wolfskin like one clinching a death-grip of reality, praying god not to let go a soul's anchor-hold of reason. for when the figure glided into the slant blue rays of the shafted flame it was hortense--the hortense of the dreams, sweet as the child, grave as the grown woman-hortense with closed eyes and moving lips and hands feeling out in the dark as if playing invisible keys. she was asleep. then came the flash that lighted the clouds of the past. the interloper, the pirate, the leader of indian marauders, the defrauder of his partners, was m. picot, the french doctor, whom boston had outlawed, and who was now outlawing their outlawry. we do not reason out our conclusions, as i said before. at our supremest moments we do not _think_. consciousness leaps from summit to summit like the forked lightnings across the mountain-peaks; and the mysteries of life are illumined as a spread-out scroll. in that moment of joy and fear and horror, as i crouched back to the wall, i did not _think_. i _knew_--knew the meaning of all m. picot's questionings on the fur trade; of that murderous attack in the dark when an antagonist flung down his weapon; of the spying through the frosted woods; of the figures in the white darkness; of the attempt to destroy ben gillam's fort; of the rescue from the crest of the hill; and of all those strange delirious dreams. it was as if the past focused itself to one flaming point, and the flash of that point illumined life, as deity must feel to whom past and present and future are one. and all the while, with temples pounding like surf on rock and the roar of the sea in my ears, i was not _thinking_, only _knowing_ that hortense was standing in the blue-shafted light with tremulous lips and white face and a radiance on her brow not of this life. her hands ran lightly over imaginary keys. the blue flame darted and quivered through the gloom. the hushed purr of the spring broke the stillness in metallic tinklings. a smile flitted across the sleeper's face. her lips parted. the crackle of the flame seemed loud as tick of clock in death-room. "to get the memory of it," she said. and there stole out of the past mocking memories of that last night in the hunting-room, filling the cave with tuneless melodies like thoughts creeping into thoughts or odour of flowers in dark. but what was she saying in her sleep? "blind gods of chance"--the words that had haunted my delirium, then quick-spoken snatches too low for me to hear--"no-no"--then more that was incoherent, and she was gliding back to the cave. she had lifted the curtain door--she was whispering--she paused as if for answer-then with face alight, "the stars fight for us--" she said; and she had disappeared. the flame set the shadows flickering. the rivulet gurgled loud in the dark. and i came from concealment as from a spirit world. then hortense was no dream, and love was no phantom, and god--was what? there i halted. the powers of darkness yet pressed too close for me to see through to the god that was love. i only knew that he who throned the universe was neither the fool that ignorant bigots painted, nor the blind power, making wanton war of storm and dark and cold. for had not the blind forces brought hortense to me, and me to hortense? consciousness was leaping from summit to summit like the forked lightnings, and the light that burned was the light that transfigures life for each soul. the spell of a presence was there. then it came home to me what a desperate game the french doctor had played. that sword-thrust in the dark meant death; so did the attack on ben gillam's fort; and was it not le borgne, m. picot's indian ally, who had counselled the massacre of the sleeping tribe? you must not think that m. picot was worse than other traders of those days! the north is a desolate land, and though blood cry aloud from stones, there is no man to hear. i easily guessed that m. picot would try to keep me with him till m. radisson had sailed. then i must needs lock hands with piracy. hortense and i were pawns in the game. at one moment i upbraided him for bringing hortense to this wilderness of murder and pillage. at another i considered that a banished gentleman could not choose his goings. how could i stay with m. picot and desert m. de radisson? how could i go to m. de radisson and abandon hortense? "straight is the narrow way," eli kirke oft cried out as he expounded holy writ. ah, well, if the narrow way is straight, it has a trick of becoming tangled in a most terrible snarl! wheeling the log-end right about, i sat down to await m. picot. there was stirring in the next apartment. an ebon head poked past the door curtain, looked about, and withdrew without detecting me. the face i remembered at once. it was the wife of m. picot's blackamoor. only three men had passed from the cave. if the blackamoor were one, m. picot and le borgne _must_ be the others. footsteps grated on the pebbles outside. i rose with beating heart to meet m. picot, who held my fate in his hands. then a ringing pistol-shot set my pulse jumping. i ran to the door. something plunged heavily against the curtain. the robe ripped from the hangings. in the flood of moonlight a man pitched face forward to the cave floor. he reeled up with a cry of rage, caught blindly at the air, uttered a groan, fell back. "m. picot!" blanched and faint, the french doctor lay with a crimsoning pool wet under his head. "i am shot! what will become of her?" he groaned. "i am shot! it was gillam! it was gillam!" hortense and the negress came running from the inner cave. le borgne and the blackamoor dashed from the open with staring horror. "lift me up! for god's sake, air!" cried m. picot. we laid him on the pelts in the doorway, le borgne standing guard outside. hortense stooped to stanch the wound, but the doctor motioned her off with a fierce impatience, and bade the negress lead her away. then he lay with closed eyes, hands clutched to the pelts, and shuddering breath. the blackamoor had rushed to the inner cave for liquor, when m. picot opened his eyes with a strange far look fastened upon me. "swear it," he commanded. and i thought his mind wandering. he groaned heavily. "don't you understand? it's hortense. swear you'll restore her--" and his breath came with a hard metallic rattle that warned the end. "doctor picot," said i, "if you have anything to say, say it quickly and make your peace with god!" "swear you'll take her back to her people and treat her as a sister," he cried. "i swear before god that i shall take hortense back to her people, and that i shall treat her like a sister," i repeated, raising my right hand. that seemed to quiet him. he closed his eyes. "sir," said i, "have you nothing more to say? who are her people?" "is . . . is . . . any one listening?" he asked in short, hard breaths. i motioned the others back. "listen"--the words came in quick, rasping breaths. "she is not mine . . . it was at night . . . they brought her . . . ward o' the court . . . lands . . . they wanted me." there was a sharp pause, a shivering whisper. "i didn't poison her"--the dying man caught convulsively at my hands--"i swear i had no thought of harming her. . . . they . . . paid. . . . i fled. . . ." "who paid you to poison hortense? who is hortense?" i demanded; for his life was ebbing and the words portended deep wrong. but his mind was wandering again, for he began talking so fast that i could catch only a few words. "blood! blood! colonel blood!" then "swear it," he cried. that speech sapped his strength. he sank back with shut eyes and faint breathings. we forced a potion between his lips. "don't let gillam," he mumbled, "don't let gillam . . . have the furs." a tremor ran through his stiffening frame. a little shuddering breath--and m. picot had staked his last pawn in life's game. [1] in confirmation of mr. stanhope's record it may be stated that on the western side of the northland in the mackenzie river region are gas and tar veins that are known to have been burning continuously for nearly two centuries. chapter xxi how the pirates came inside our habitation all was the confusion of preparation for leaving the bay. outside, the indians held high carnival; for allemand, the gin-soaked pilot, was busy passing drink through the loopholes to a pandemonium of savages raving outside the stockades. 'tis not a pretty picture, that memory of white-men besotting the indian; but i must even set down the facts as they are, bidding you to remember that the white trader who besotted the indian was the same white trader who befriended all tribes alike when the hunt failed and the famine came. la chesnaye, the merchant prince, it was, who managed this low trafficking. indeed, for the rubbing together of more doubloons in his money-bags i think that la chesnaye's servile nature would have bargained to send souls in job lots blindfold over the gangplank. but, as la chesnaye said when pierre radisson remonstrated against the knavery, the gin was nine parts rain-water. "the more cheat, you, to lay such unction to your conscience," says m. de radisson. "be an honest knave, la chesnaye!" forêt, the marquis, stalked up and down before the gate with two guards at his heels. all day long birch canoes and log dugouts and tubby pirogues and crazy rafts of loose-lashed pine logs drifted to our water-front with bands of squalid indians bringing their pelts. skin tepees rose outside our palisades like an army of mushrooms. naked brats with wisps of hair coarse as a horse's mane crawled over our mounted cannon, or scudded between our feet like pups, or felt our european clothes with impudent wonder. young girls having hair plastered flat with bear's grease stood peeping shyly from tent flaps. old squaws with skin withered to a parchment hung over the campfires, cooking. and at the loopholes pressed the braves and the bucks and the chief men exchanging beaver-skins for old iron, or a silver fox for a drink of gin, or ermine enough to make his majesty's coronation robe for some flashy trinket to trick out a vain squaw. from dawn to dusk ran the patter of moccasined feet, man after man toiling up from river-front to fort gate with bundles of peltries on his back and a carrying strap across his brow. unarmed, among the savages, pacifying drunken hostiles at the water-front, bidding jean and me look after the carriers, in the gateway, helping sieur de groseillers to sort the furs--pierre radisson was everywhere. in the guard-house were more english prisoners than we had crews of french; and in the mess-room sat governor brigdar of the hudson's bay company, who took his captivity mighty ill and grew prodigious pot-valiant over his cups. here, too, lolled ben gillam, the young new englander, rumbling out a drunken vengeance against those inland pirates, who had deprived him of the season's furs. once, i mind, when m. radisson came suddenly on these two worthies, their fuddled heads were close together above the table. "look you," ben was saying in a big, rasping whisper, "i shot him--i shot him with a brass button. the black arts are powerless agen brass. devil sink my soul if i didn't shoot him! the red--spattered over the brush----" m. radisson raised a hand to silence my coming. ben's nose poked across the table, closer to governor brigdar's ear. "but look you, mister what's-y-er-name," says he. "don't you mister me, you young cub!" interrupts the governor with a pompous show of drunken dignity. "a fig for your excellency," cries the young blackguard. "who's who when he's drunk? as i was a-telling, look you, though the red spattered the bushes, when i run up he'd vanished into air with a flash o' powder from my musket! 'twas by the black arts that nigh hanged him in boston town----" at that, governor brigdar claps his hand to the table and swears that he cares nothing for black arts if only the furs can be found. "the furs--aye," husks ben, "if we can only find the furs! an our men hold together, we're two to one agen the frenchies----" "ha," says m. radisson. "give you good-morning, gentlemen, and i hope you find yourselves in health." the two heads flew apart like the halves of a burst cannon-shell. thereafter, radisson kept ben and governor brigdar apart. of godefroy and jack battle we could learn naught. le borgne would never tell what he and m. picot had seen that night they rescued me from the hill. whether le borgne and the hostiles of the massacre lied or no, they both told the same story of jack. while the tribe was still engaged in the scalp-dance, some one had untied jack's bands. when the braves went to torture their captive, he had escaped. but whither had he gone that he had not come back to us? like the sea is the northland, full of nameless graves; and after sending scouts far and wide, we gave up all hope of finding the sailor lad. but in the fort was another whose presence our rough fellows likened to a star flower on the stained ground of some hard-fought battle. after m. radisson had quieted turbulent spirits by a reading of holy lessons, mistress hortense queened it over our table of a sunday at noon. waiting upon her at either hand were the blackamoor and the negress. a soldier in red stood guard behind; and every man, officer, and commoner down the long mess-table tuned his manners to the pure grace of her fair face. what a hushing of voices and cleansing of wits and disusing of oaths was there after my little lady came to our rough habitation! i mind the first sunday m. radisson led her out like a queen to the mess-room table. when our voyageurs went upstream for m. picot's hidden furs, her story had got noised about the fort. officers, soldiers, and sailors had seated themselves at the long benches on either side the table; but m. radisson's place was empty and a sort of throne chair had been extemporized at the head of the table. an angry question went from group to group to know if m. radisson designed such place of honour for the two leaders of our prisoners--under lock in the guard-room. m. de groseillers only laughed and bade the fellows contain their souls and stomachs in patience. a moment later, the door to the quarters where hortense lived was thrown open by a red-coated soldier, and out stepped m. radisson leading hortense by the tips of her dainty fingers, the ebon faces of the two blackamoors grinning delight behind. you could have heard a pin fall among our fellows. then there was a noise of armour clanking to the floor. every man unconsciously took to throwing his pistol under the table, flinging sword-belt down and hiding daggers below benches. of a sudden, the surprise went to their heads. "gentlemen," began m. radisson. but the fellows would have none of his grand speeches. with a cheer that set the rafters ringing, they were on their feet; and to mistress hortense's face came a look that does more for the making of men than all new england's laws or my uncle's blasphemy boxes or king charles's dragoons. you ask what that look was? go to, with your teasings! a lover is not to be asked his whys! i ask you in return why you like the spire of a cathedral pointing up instead of down; or why the muses lift souls heavenward? indeed, of all the fine arts granted the human race to lead men's thoughts above the sordid brutalities of living, methinks woman is the finest; for god's own hand fashioned her, and she was the last crowning piece of all his week's doings. the finest arts are the easiest spoiled, as you know very well; and if you demand how mistress hortense could escape harm amid all the wickedness of that wilderness, i answer it is a thing that your townsfolk cannot know. it is of the wilderness. the wilderness is a foster-mother that teacheth hard, strange paradoxes. the first is _the sin of being weak_; and the second is that _death is the least of life's harms_. wrapped in those furs for which he had staked his life like many a gamester of the wilderness, m. picot lay buried in that sandy stretch outside the cave door. turning to lead hortense away before le borgne and the blackamoor began filling the grave, i found her stonily silent and tearless. but it was she who led me. scrambling up the hillside like a chamois of the mountains, she flitted lightly through the greening to a small open where campers had built night fires. her quick glance ran from tree to tree. some wood-runner had blazed a trail by notching the bark. pausing, she turned with the frank, fearless look of the wilderness woman. she was no longer the elusive hortense of secluded life. a change had come--the change of the hothouse plant set out to the bufferings of the four winds of heaven to perish from weakness or gather strength from hardship. your woman of older lands must hood fair eyes, perforce, lest evil masking under other eyes give wrong intent to candour; but in the wilderness each life stands stripped of pretence, honestly good or evil, bare at what it is; and purity clear as the noonday sun needs no trick of custom to make it plainer. "is not this the place?" she asked. looking closer, from shrub to open, i recognised the ground of that night attack in the woods. "hortense, then it was you that i saw at the fire with the others?" she nodded assent. she had not uttered one word to explain how she came to that wild land; nor had i asked. "it was you who pleaded for my life in the cave below my feet?" "i did not know you had heard! i only sent le borgne to bring you back!" "i hid as he passed." "but i sent a message to the fort----" "not to be bitten by the same dog twice--i thought that meant to keep away?" "what?" asked hortense, passing her hand over her eyes. "was that the message he gave you? then monsieur had bribed him! i sent for you to come to us. oh, that is the reason you never came----" "and that is the reason you have hidden from me all the year and never sent me word?" "i thought--i thought--" she turned away. "ben gillam told monsieur you had left boston on our account----" "and you thought i wanted to avoid you----" "i did not blame you," she said. "indeed, indeed, i was very weak--monsieur must have bribed le borgne--i sent word again and again--but you never answered!" "how could you misunderstand--o hortense, after that night in the hunting-room, how could you believe so poorly of me!" she gave a low laugh. "that's what your good angel used to plead," she said. "good angel, indeed!" said i, memory of the vows to that miscreant adventurer fading. "that good angel was a lazy baggage! she should have compelled you to believe!" "oh--she did," says hortense quickly. "the poor thing kept telling me and telling me to trust you till i--" "till you what, hortense?" she did not answer at once. "monsieur and the blackamoor and i had gone to the upper river watching for the expected boats----" "hortense, were you the white figure behind the bush that night we were spying on the prince rupert!" "yes," she said, "and you pointed your gun at me!" i was too dumfounded for words. then a suspicion flashed to my mind. "who sent le borgne for us in the storm, hortense?" "oh," says hortense, "that was nothing! monsieur pretended that he thought you were caribou. he wanted to shoot. oh," she said, "oh, how i have hated him! to think--to think that he would shoot when you helped us in boston!" "hortense, who sent le borgne and m. picot to save me from the wolves?" "oh," says hortense bravely, with a shudder between the words, "that was--that was nothing--i mean--one would do as much for anybody--for--for--for a poor little stoat, or--or--a caribou if the wolves were after it!" and we laughed with the tears in our eyes. and all the while that vow to the dying adventurer was ringing like a faint death toll to hope. i remember trying to speak a gratitude too deep for words. "can--i ever--ever repay you--hortense?" i was asking. "repay!" she said with a little bitter laugh. "oh! i hate that word repay! i hate all give-and-take and so-much-given-for-so-much-got!" then turning to me with her face aflame: "i am--i am--oh--why can't you understand?" she asked. and then--and then--there was a wordless cry--her arms reached out in mute appeal--there was no need of speech. the forest shone green and gold in the sunlight. the wind rustled past like a springtime presence, a presence that set all the pines swaying and the aspens aquiver with music of flower legend and new birth and the joy of life. there was a long silence; and in that silence the pulsing of the mighty forces that lift mortals to immortality. then a voice which only speaks when love speaks through the voice was saying, "do you remember your dreams?" "what?" stooping to cull some violets that had looked well against the green of her hunting-suit. "'blind gods of chance--blind gods of chance'--you used to say that over and over!" "ah, m. radisson taught me that! god bless the blind gods of chance--hortense teaches me that; for"--giving her back her own words--"you are here--you are here--you are here with me! god bless the gods of chance!" "oh," she cried, "were you not asleep? monsieur let me watch after you had taken the sleeping drug." "the stars fight for us in their courses," said i, handing up the violets. "ramsay," she asked with a sudden look straight through my eyes, "what did he make you promise when--when--he was dying?" the question brought me up like a sail hauled short. and when i told her, she uttered strange reproaches. "why--why did you promise that?" she asked. "it has always been his mad dream. and when i told him i did not want to be restored, that i wanted to be like rebecca and jack and you and the rest, he called me a little fool and bade me understand that he had not poisoned me as he was paid to do because it was to his advantage to keep me alive. courtiers would not assassinate a stray waif, he said; there was wealth for the court's ward somewhere; and when i was restored, i was to remember who had slaved for me. indeed, indeed, i think that he would have married me, but that he feared it would bar him from any property as a king's ward----" "is that all you know?" "that is all. why--why--did you promise?" "what else was there to do, hortense? you can't stay in this wilderness." "oh, yes," says hortense wearily, and she let the violets fall. "what--what else was there to do?" she led the way back to the cave. "you have not asked me how we came here," she began with visible effort. "tell me no more than you wish me to know!" "perhaps you remember a new amsterdam gentleman and a page boy leaving boston on the prince rupert?" "perhaps," said i. "captain gillam of the prince rupert signalled to his son outside the harbour. monsieur had been bargaining with ben all winter. ben took us to the north with le borgne for interpreter----" "does ben know you are here?" "not as hortense! i was dressed as a page. then le borgne told us of this cave and monsieur plotted to lead the indians against ben, capture the fort and ship, and sail away with all the furs for himself. oh, how i have hated him!" she exclaimed with a sudden impetuous stamp. leaving her with the slaves, i took le borgne with me to the habitation. here, i told all to m. radisson. and his quick mind seized this, too, for advantage. "precious pearls," he exclaims, "but 'tis a gift of the gods!" "sir?" "pardieu, chouart; listen to this," and he tells his kinsman, groseillers. "why not?" asks groseillers. "you mean to send her to mary kirke?" mary kirke was pierre radisson's wife, who would not leave the english to go to him when he had deserted england for france. "sir john kirke is director of the english company now. he hath been knighted by king charles. mary and sir john will present this little maid at the english court. an she be not a nine days' wonder there, my name is not pierre radisson. if she's a court ward, some of the crew must take care of her." groseillers smiled. "an the french reward us not well for this winter's work, that little maid may open a door back to england; eh, kinsman?" 'twas the same gamestering spirit carrying them through all hazard that now led them to prepare for fresh partnership, lest france played false. and as history tells, france played very false indeed. chapter xxii we leave the north sea so sieur radisson must fit out a royal flotilla to carry mistress hortense to the french habitation. and gracious acts are like the gift horse: you must not look them in the mouth. for the same flotilla that brought hortense brought all m. picot's hoard of furs. coming down the river, lying languidly back among the peltries of the loaded canoe, hortense, i mind, turned to me with that honest look of hers and asked why sieur radisson sent to fetch her in such royal state. "i am but a poor beggar like your little jack battle," she protested. i told her of m. radisson's plans for entrance to the english court, and the fire that flashed to her eyes was like his own. "must a woman ever be a cat's-paw to man's ambitions?" she asked, with a gleam of the dark lights. "oh, the wilderness is different," says hortense with a sigh. "in the wild land, each is for its own! oh, i love it!" she adds, with a sudden lighting of the depths in her eyes. "love--what?" "the wilderness," says hortense. "it is hard, but it's free and it's pure and it's true and it's strong!" and she sat back among the pillows. when we shot through racing rapids--"sauter les rapides," as our french voyageurs say--she sat up all alert and laughed as the spray splashed athwart. old allemand, the pilot, who was steersman on this canoe, forgot the ill-humour of his gin thirst, and proffered her a paddle. "here, pretty thing," says he, "try a stroke yourself!" and to the old curmudgeon's surprise she took it with a joyous laugh, and paddled half that day. bethink you who know what warm hearts beat inside rough buckskin whether those voyageurs were her slaves or no! the wind was blowing; mistress hortense's hair tossed in a way to make a man swear (vows, not oaths), and allemand said that i paddled worse than any green hand of a first week. at the habitation we disembarked after nightfall to conceal our movements from the english. after her arrival, none of us caught a glimpse of mistress hortense except of a sunday at noon, but of her presence there was proof enough. did voices grow loud in the mess-room? a hand was raised. some one pointed to the far door, and the voices fell. did a fellow's tales slip an oath or two? there was a hush. some one's thumb jerked significantly shoulderwise to the door, and the story-teller leashed his oats for a more convenient season. "oh, lordy," taunts an english prisoner out on parole one day, "any angels from kingdom come that you frenchies keep meek as lambs?" allemand, not being able to explain, knocked the fellow flat. it would scarce have been human nature had not some of the ruffians uttered slurs on the origin of such an one as hortense found in so strange a case. the mind that feedeth on carrion ever goeth with the large mouth, and for the cleansing of such natures i wot there is no better physic than our crew gave those gossips. what the sailors did i say not. enough that broken heads were bound by our chirurgeon for the rest of the week. that same chirurgeon advised a walk outside the fort walls for mistress hillary's health. by the goodness of providence, the duty of escorting her fell to me. attended by the blackamoor and a soldier, with a musket across my shoulder, i led her out of a rear sally-port and so avoided the scenes of drunkenness among the indians at the main gate. we got into hiding of a thicket, but boisterous shouting came from the indian encampment. i glanced at hortense. she was clad in a green hunting-suit, and by the light of the setting sun her face shone radiant. "you are not afraid?" a flush of sheer delight in life flooded her cheeks. "afraid?" she laughed. "hortense! hortense! do you not hear the drunken revel? do you know what it means? this world is full of what a maid must fear. 'tis her fear protects her." "ah?" asks hortense. and she opened the tight-clasped hunting-cloak. a spanish poniard hung against the inner folds. "'tis her courage must protect her. the wilderness teaches that," says hortense, "the wilderness and men like picot." then we clasped hands and ran like children from thicket to rock and rock to the long stretches of shingly shore. behind came the blackamoor and the soldier. the salt spray flew in our faces, the wind through our hair; and in our hearts, a joy untold. where a great obelisk of rock thrust across the way, hortense halted. she stood on the lee side of the rock fanning herself with her hat. "now you are the old hortense!" "i _am_ older, hundreds of years older," laughed hortense. the westering sun and the gold light of the sea and the caress of a spring wind be perilous setting for a fair face. i looked and looked again. "hortense, should an oath to the dead bind the living?" "if it was right to take the oath, yes," said hortense. "hortense, i may never see you alone again. i promised to treat you as i would treat a sister----" "but--" interrupts hortense. footsteps were approaching along the sand. i thought only of the blackamoor and soldier. "i promised to treat you as i would a sister--but what--hortense?" "but--but i didn't promise to treat you as i would a brother----" then a voice from the other side of the rock: "devil sink my soul to the bottom of the sea if that viper frenchman hasn't all our furs packed away in his hold!" then--"a pox on him for a meddlesome--" the voice fell. then ben gillam again: "shiver my soul! let 'im set sail, i say! aren't you and me to be shipped on a raft for the english fort at the foot o' the bay?" "we'll send 'em all to the bottom o' hell first." "an you give the word, all my men will rise!" "capture the fort--risk the ships--butcher the french!" hortense raised her hand and pointed along the shore. our two guards were lumbering up and would presently betray our presence. stealing forward we motioned their silence. i sent both to listen behind the rock, while hortense and i struck into cover of the thicket to regain the fort. "do not fear," said i. "m. radisson has kept the prisoners in hand. he will snuff this pretty conspiracy out before brigdar and ben get their heads apart." she gave that flitting look which laughs at fear and hastened on. we could not go back as we had come without exposing ourselves to the two conspirators, and our course lay nearer the indian revel. about a mile from the fort hortense stopped short. through the underbrush crawled two braves with their eyes leering at us. "hortense," i urged, "run for the rear gate! i'll deal with these two alone. there may be more! run, my dear!" "give me your musket," she said, never taking her eyes from the savages. wondering not a little at the request, i handed her the weapon. "now run," i begged, for a sand crane flapped up where the savages had prowled a pace nearer. quick as it rose hortense aimed. there was a puff of smoke. the bird fell shot at the savages' feet, and the miscreants scudded off in terror. "that was better," said hortense, "_you_ would have killed a man." in vain i urged her to hasten back. she walked. "you know it may be the last time," she laughed, mocking my grave air of the beach. "hortense--hortense--how am i to keep a promise?" but she did not answer a word till we reached the sally-port. there she turned with a brave enough look till her eyes met mine, when all was the confusion that men give their lives to win. "yes--yes--keep your promise. if you had not come, i had died; if i had not come, you had died. let us keep faith with truth, for that's keeping faith with god--and--and--god bless you," she whispered brokenly, and she darted through the gate. * * * * * * and the next morning we embarked, young jean groseillers remaining with ten frenchmen to hold the fort; brigdar and ben aboard our ship instead of going to the english at the foot of the bay; half the prisoners under hatches in m. groseillers's ship; the other half sent south on the raft--a plan which effectually stopped that conspiracy of ben's. not one glimpse of our fair passenger had we on all that voyage south, for what with ben's oaths and governor brigdar's drinking, the cabin was no place for hortense. at isle percée, entering the st. lawrence, lay a messenger from la chesnaye's father with a missive that bore ill news. m. de la barre, the new governor, had ordered our furs confiscated because we had gone north without a license, and la chesnaye had thriftily rigged up this ship to send half our cargo across to france before the farmers of the revenue could get their hands upon it. it was this gave rise to the slander that m. de radisson ran off with half la chesnaye's furs--which the records de la marine will disprove, if you search them. on this ship with her blackamoors sailed mistress hortense, bearing letters to sir john kirke, director of the hudson's bay company and father of m. radisson's wife. "now praise be heaven, that little ward will open the way for us in england, chouart," said m. de radisson, as he moodily listened to news of the trouble abrewing in quebec. and all the way up the st. lawrence, as the rolling tide lapped our keel, i was dreaming of a far, cold paleocrystic sea, mystic in the frost-clouds that lay over it like smoke. then a figure emerged from the white darkness. i was snatched up, with the northern lights for chariot, two blazing comets our steeds, and the north star a charioteer. part iii chapter xxiii a change of partners old folks are wont to repeat themselves, but that is because they would impress those garnered lessons which age no longer has strength to drive home at one blow. royalist and puritan, each had his lesson to learn, as i said before. each marked the pendulum swing to a wrong extreme, and the pendulum was beating time for your younger generations to march by. and so i say to you who are wiser by the follies of your fathers, look not back too scornfully; for he who is ever watching to mock at the tripping of other men's feet is like to fall over a very small stumbling-block himself. already have i told you of holy men who would gouge a man's eye out for the extraction of one small bean, and counted burnings life's highest joy, and held the body accursed as a necessary evil for the tabernacling of the soul. now must i tell you of those who wantoned "in the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eye and the pride of life," who burned their lives out at a shrine of folly, and who held that the soul and all things spiritual had gone out of fashion except for the making of vows and pretty conceits in verse by a lover to his lady. for pierre radisson's fears of france playing false proved true. bare had our keels bumped through that forest of sailing craft, which ever swung to the tide below quebec fort, when a company of young cadets marches down from the castle st. louis to escort us up to m. de la barre, the new governor. "hm," says m. radisson, looking in his half-savage buckskins a wild enough figure among all those young jacks-in-a-box with their gold lace and steel breastplates. "hm--let the governor come to us! an you will not go to a man, a man must come to you!" "i am indisposed," says he to the cadets. "let the governor come to me." and come he did, with a company of troops fresh out from france and a roar of cannon from the ramparts that was more for the frightening than welcoming of us. m. de radisson bade us answer the salute by a firing of muskets in mid-air. then we all let go a cheer for the governor of new france. "i must thank your excellency for the welcome sent down by your cadets," says m. de radisson, meeting the governor half-way across the gang-plank. m. de la barre, an iron-gray man past the prime of life, gave spare smile in answer to that. "i bade my cadets request you to _report_ at the castle," says he, with a hard wrinkling of the lines round his lips. "i bade your fellows report that i was indisposed!" "did the north not agree with sieur radisson?" asks the governor dryly. "pardieu!--yes--better than the air of quebec," retorts m. radisson. by this the eyes of the listeners were agape, m. radisson not budging a pace to go ashore, the governor scarce courting rebuff in sight of his soldiers. "radisson," says m. de la barre, motioning his soldiers back and following to our captain's cabin, "a fellow was haltered and whipped for disrespect to the bishop yesterday!" "fortunately," says m. radisson, touching the hilt of his rapier, "gentlemen settle differences in a simpler way!" they had entered the cabin, where radisson bade me stand guard at the door, and at our leader's bravado m. de la barre saw fit to throw off all disguise. "radisson," he said, "those who trade without license are sent to the galleys----" "and those who go to the galleys get no more furs to divide with the governor of new france, and the governor who gets no furs goes home a poor man." m. de la barre's sallow face wrinkled again in a dry laugh. "la chesnaye has told you?" "la chesnaye's son----" "have the ships a good cargo? they must remain here till our officer examines them." which meant till the governor's minions looted both vessels for his excellency's profit. m. radisson, who knew that the better part of the furs were already crossing the ocean, nodded his assent. "but about these english prisoners, of whom la chesnaye sent word from isle percée?" continued the governor. "the prisoners matter nothing--'tis their ship has value----" "she must go back," interjects m. de la barre. "back?" exclaims m. radisson. "why didn't you sell her to some spanish adventurer before you came here?" "spanish adventurer--your excellency? i am no butcher!" "eh--man!" says the governor, tapping the table with a document he pulled from his greatcoat pocket and shrugging his shoulders with a deprecating gesture of the hands, "if her crew feared sharks, they should have defended her against capture. now--your prize must go back to new england and we lose the profit! here," says he, "are orders from the king and m. colbert that nothing be done to offend the subjects of king charles of england----" "which means that barillon, the french ambassador----?" m. de la barre laid his finger on his lips. "walls have ears! if one king be willing to buy and another to sell himself and his country, loyal subjects have no comment, radisson." [1] "loyal subjects!" sneers m. de radisson. "and that reminds me, m. colbert orders sieur radisson to present himself in paris and report on the state of the fur-trade to the king!" "ramsay," said m. radisson to me, after governor la barre had gone, "this is some new gamestering!" "your court players are too deep for me, sir!" "pish!" says he impatiently, "plain as day--we must sail on the frigate for france, or they imprison us here--in paris we shall be kept dangling by promises, hangers-on and do-nothings till the moneys are all used--then----" "then--sir?" "then, active men are dangerous men, and dangerous men may lie safe and quiet in the sponging-house!" "do we sail in that case?" "egad, yes! why not? keep your colours flying and you may sail into hell, man, and conquer, too! yes--we sail! man or devil, don't swerve, lad! go your gait! go your gait! chouart here will look after the ships! paris is near london, and praise be providence for that little maid of thine! we shall presently have letters from her--and," he added, "from sir john kirke of the hudson's bay company!" and it was even as he foretold. i find, on looking over the tattered pages of a handbook, these notes: _oct. 6._--ben gillam and governor brigdar this day sent back to new england. there will be great complaints against us in the english court before we can reach london. _nov. 11._--sailed for france in the french frigate. _dec. 18._--reach rochelle--hear of m. colbert's death. _jan. 30._--paris--all our furs seized by the french government in order to keep m. radisson powerless--lord preston, the english ambassador, complaining against us on the one hand, and battering our doors down on the other, with spies offering m. radisson safe passage from paris to london. i would that i had time to tell you of that hard winter in paris, m. radisson week by week, like a fort resisting siege, forced to take cheaper and cheaper lodgings, till we were housed between an attic roof and creaking rat-ridden floor in the faubourg st. antoine. but not one jot did m. radisson lose of his kingly bearing, though he went to some fête in versailles with beaded moccasins and frayed plushes and tattered laces and hair that one of the pretty wits declared the birds would be anesting in for hay-coils. in that faubourg st. antoine house, i mind, we took grand apartments on the ground floor, but up and up we went, till m. radisson vowed we'd presently be under the stars--as the french say when they are homeless--unless my lord preston, the english ambassador, came to our terms. that starving of us for surrender was only another trick of the gamestering in which we were enmeshed. had captain godey, lord preston's messenger, succeeded in luring us back to england without terms, what a pretty pickle had ours been! france would have set a price on us. then must we have accepted any kick-of-toe england chose to offer--and thanked our new masters for the same, else back to france they would have sent us. but attic dwellers stave off many a woe with empty stomachs and stout courage. when april came, boats for the fur-trade should have been stirring, and my lord preston changes his tune. one night, when pierre radisson sat spinning his yarns of captivity with iroquois to our attic neighbours, comes a rap at the door, and in walks captain godey of the english embassy. as soon as our neighbours had gone, he counts out one hundred gold pieces on the table. then he hands us a letter signed by the duke of york, king charles's brother, who was governor of the hudson's bay company, granting us all that we asked. thereupon, pierre radisson asks leave of the french court to seek change of air; but the country air we sought was that of england in may, not france, as the court inferred. [1] the reference is evidently to the secret treaty by which king charles of england received annual payment for compliance with king louis's schemes for french aggression. chapter xxiv under the aegis of the court the roar of london was about us. sign-boards creaked and swung to every puff of wind. great hackney-coaches, sunk at the waist like those old gallipot boats of ours, went ploughing past through the mud of mid-road, with bepowdered footmen clinging behind and saucy coachmen perched in front. these flunkeys thought it fine sport to splash us passers-by, or beguiled the time when there was stoppage across the narrow street by lashing rival drivers with their long whips and knocking cock-hats to the gutter. 'prentices stood ringing their bells and shouting their wares at every shop-door. "what d'ye lack? what d'ye lack? what d'ye please to lack, good sirs? walk this way for kerseys, sayes, and perpetuanoes! bands and ruffs and piccadillies! walk this way! walk this way!" "pardieu, lad!" says m. radisson, elbowing a saucy spark from the wall for the tenth time in as many paces. "pardieu, you can't hear yourself think! shut up to you!" he called to a bawling 'prentice dressed in white velvet waistcoat like a showman's dummy to exhibit the fashion. "shut up to you!" and i heard the fellow telling his comrades my strange companion with the tangled hair was a pirate from the barbary states. another saucy vender caught at the chance. "perukes! perukes! newest french periwigs!" he shouts, jangling his bell and putting himself across m. radisson's course. "you'd please to lack a periwig, sir! walk this way! walk this way--" "out of my way!" orders radisson with a hiss of his rapier round the fellow's fat calves. "'tis a milliner's doll the town makes of a man! out of my way!" and the 'prentice went skipping. we were to meet the directors of the hudson's bay company that night, and we had come out to refurbish our scant, wild attire. but bare had we turned the corner for the linen-draper's shops of fleet street when m. radisson's troubles began. idlers eyed us with strange looks. hucksters read our necessitous state and ran at heel shouting their wares. shopmen saw needy customers in us and sent their 'prentices running. chairmen splashed us as they passed; and impudent dandies powdered and patched and laced and bewigged like any fizgig of a girl would have elbowed us from the wall to the gutter for the sport of seeing m. radisson's moccasins slimed. "egad," says m. radisson, "an i spill not some sawdust out o' these dolls, or cut their stay-strings, may the gutter take us for good and all! pardieu! an your wig's the latest fashion, the wits under 't don't matter--" "have a care, sir," i warned, "here comes a fellow!" 'twas a dandy in pink of fashion with a three-cornered hat coming over his face like a waterspout, red-cheeked from carminative and with the high look in his eyes of one who saw common folk from the top of church steeple. his lips were parted enough to show his teeth; and i warrant you my fine spark had posed an hour at the looking-glass ere he got his neck at the angle that brought out the swell of his chest. he was dressed in red plush with silk hose of the same colour and a square-cut, tailed coat out of whose pockets stuck a roll of paper missives. "verse ready writ by some penny-a-liner for any wench with cheap smiles," says m. radisson aloud. but the fellow came on like a strutting peacock with his head in air. behind followed his page with cloak and rapier. in one hand our dandy carried his white gloves, in the other a lace gewgaw heavy with musk, which he fluttered in the face of every shopkeeper's daughter. "give the wall! give the wall!" cries the page. "give the wall to lieutenant blood o' the tower!" "s'blood," says m. radisson insolently, "let us send that snipe sprawling!" at that was a mighty awakening on the part of my fine gentleman. "blood is my name," says he. "step aside!" "an blood is its name," retorts m. radisson, "'tis bad blood; and i've a mind to let some of it, unless the thing gets out of my way!" with which m. radisson whips out his sword, and my grand beau condescends to look at us. "boy," he commands, "call an officer!" "boy," shouts m. radisson, "call a chirurgeon to mend its toes!" and his blade cut a swath across the dandy's shining pumps. at that was a jump! whatever the beaux of king charles's court may have been, they were not cowards! grasping his sword from the page, the fellow made at us. what with the lashing of the coachmen riding post-haste to see the fray, the jostling chairmen calling out "a fight! a fight!" and the 'prentices yelling at the top of their voices for "a watch! a watch!" we had had it hot enough then and there for m. radisson's sport; but above the melee sounded another shrill alarm, the "gardez l'eau! gardy loo!" of some french kitchen wench throwing her breakfast slops to mid-road from the dwelling overhead. [1] only on the instant had i jerked m. radisson back; and down they came--dish-water--and coffee leavings--and porridge scraps full on the crown of my fine young gentleman, drenching his gay attire as it had been soaked in soapsuds of a week old. something burst from his lips a deal stronger than the modish french oaths then in vogue. there was a shout from the rabble. i dragged rather than led m. radisson pell-mell into a shop from front to rear, over a score of garden walls, and out again from rear to front, so that we gave the slip to all those officers now running for the scene of the broil. "egad's life," cried m. de radisson, laughing and laughing, "'tis the narrowest escape i've ever had! pardieu--to escape the north sea and drown in dish-water! lord--to beat devils and be snuffed out by a wench in petticoats! 'tis the martyrdom of heroes! what a tale for the court!" and he laughed and laughed again till i must needs call a chair to get him away from onlookers. in the shop of a draper a thought struck him. "egad, lad, that young blade was blood!" "so he told you." "did he? son of the blood who stole the crown ten years ago, and got your own stanhope lands in reward from the king!" what memories were his words bringing back?--m. picot in the hunting-room telling me of blood, the freebooter and swordsman. and that brings me to the real reason for our plundering the linen-drapers' shops before presenting ourselves at sir john kirke's mansion in drury lane, where gentlemen with one eye cocked on the doings of the nobility in the west and the other keen for city trade were wont to live in those days. for six years m. radisson had not seen mistress mary kirke--as his wife styled herself after he broke from the english--and i had not heard one word of hortense for nigh as many months. say what you will of the dandified dolls who wasted half a day before the looking-glass in the reign of charles stuart, there are times when the bravest of men had best look twice in the glass ere he set himself to the task of conquering fair eyes. we did not drag our linen through a scent bath nor loll all morning in the hands of a man milliner charged with the duty of turning us into showmen's dummies--as was the way of young sparks in that age. but that was how i came to buy yon monstrous wig costing forty guineas and weighing ten pounds and coming half-way to a man's waist. and you may set it down to m. radisson's credit that he went with his wiry hair flying wild as a lion's mane. nothing i could say would make him exchange his indian moccasins for the high-heeled pumps with a buckle at the instep. "i suppose," he had conceded grudgingly, "we must have a brat to carry swords and cloaks for us, or we'll be taken for some o' your cheap-jack hucksters parading latest fashions," and he bade our host of the star and garter have some lad searched out for us by the time we should be coming home from sir john kirke's that night. a mighty personage with fat chops and ruddy cheeks and rounded waistcoat and padded calves received us at the door of sir john kirke's house in drury lane. sir john was not yet back from the exchange, this grand fellow loftily informed us at the entrance to the house. a glance told him that we had neither page-boy nor private carriage; and he half-shut the door in our faces. "now the devil take _this thing_ for a half-baked, back-stairs, second-hand kitchen gentleman," hissed m. radisson, pushing in. "here, my fine fellow," says he with a largesse of vails his purse could ill afford, "here, you sauce-pans, go tell madame radisson her husband is here!" i have always held that the vulgar like insolence nigh as well as silver; and sieur radisson's air sent the feet of the kitchen steward pattering. "confound him!" muttered radisson, as we both went stumbling over footstools into the dark of sir john's great drawing-room, "confound him! an a man treats a man as a man in these stuffed match-boxes o' towns, looking man as a man on the level square in the eye, he only gets himself slapped in the face for it! an there's to be any slapping in the face, be the first to do it, boy! a man's a man by the measure of his stature in the wilderness. here, 'tis by the measure of his clothes----" but a great rustling of flounced petticoats down the hallway broke in on his speech, and a little lady had jumped at me with a cry of "pierre, pierre!" when m. radisson's long arms caught her from her feet. "you don't even remember what your own husband looked like," said he. "ah, mary, mary--don't dear me! i'm only dear when the court takes me up! but, egad," says he, setting her down on her feet, "you may wager these pretty ringlets of yours, i'm mighty dear for the gilded crew this time!" madame radisson said she was glad of it; for when pierre was rich they could take a fine house in the west end like my lord so-and-so; but in the next breath she begged him not to call the royalists a gilded crew. "and who is this?" she asked, turning to me as the servants brought in candles. "egad, and you might have asked that before you tried to kiss him! you always did have a pretty choice, mary! i knew it when you took me! that," says he, pointing to me, "that is the kite's tail!" "but for convenience' sake, perhaps the kite's tail may have a name," retorts madame radisson. "to be sure--to be sure--stanhope, a young royalist kinsman of yours." "royalist?" reiterates mary kirke with a world of meaning to the high-keyed question, "then my welcome was no mistake! welcome waits royalists here," and she gave me her hand to kiss just as an elderly woman with monster white ringlets all about her face and bejewelled fingers and bare shoulders and flowing draperies swept into the room, followed by a serving-maid and a page-boy. with the aid of two men, her daughter, a serving-maid, and the page, it took her all of five minutes by the clock to get herself seated. but when her slippered feet were on a persian rug and the displaced ringlets of her monster wig adjusted by the waiting abigail and smelling-salts put on a marquetry table nearby and the folds of the gown righted by the page-boy, lady kirke extended a hand to receive our compliments. i mind she called radisson her "dear, sweet savage," and bade him have a care not to squeeze the stones of her rings into the flesh of her fingers. "as if any man would want to squeeze such a ragbag o' tawdry finery and milliners' tinsel," said radisson afterward to me. i, being younger, was "a dear, bold fellow," with a tap of her fan to the words and a look over the top of it like to have come from some saucy jade of sixteen. after which the serving-maid must hand the smelling-salts and the page-boy haste to stroke out her train. "egad," says radisson when my lady had informed us that sir john would await sieur radisson's coming at the fur company's offices, "egad, there'll be no getting ramsay away till he sees some one else!" "and who is that?" simpers lady kirke, languishing behind her fan. "who, indeed, but the little maid we sent from the north sea." "la," cries lady kirke with a sudden livening, "an you always do as well for us all, we can forgive you, pierre! the courtiers have cried her up and cried her up, till your pretty savage of the north sea is like to become the first lady of the land! sir john comes home with your letter to me--boy, the smelling-salts!--so!--and i say to him, 'sir john, take the story to his royal highness!' good lack, pierre, no sooner hath the duke of york heard the tale than off he goes with it to king charles! his majesty hath an eye for a pretty baggage. oh, i promise you, pierre, you have done finely for us all!" and the lady must simper and smirk and tap pierre radisson with her fan, with a glimmer of ill-meaning through her winks and nods that might have brought the blush to a woman's cheeks in commonwealth days. "madame," cried pierre radisson with his eyes ablaze, "that sweet child came to no harm or wrong among our wilderness of savages! an she come to harm in a christian court, by heaven, somebody'll answer me for't!" "lackaday! hoighty-toighty, pierre! how you stamp! the black-eyed monkey hath been named maid of honour to queen catherine! how much better could we have done for her?" "maid of honour to the lonely queen?" says radisson. "that is well!" "she is ward of the court till a husband be found for her," continues lady kirke. "there will be plenty willing to be found," says pierre radisson, looking me wondrous straight in the eye. "not so sure--not so sure, pierre! we catch no glimpse of her nowadays; but they say young lieutenant blood o' the tower shadows the court wherever she is----" "a well-dressed young man?" adds radisson, winking at me. "and carries himself with a grand air," amplifies my lady, puffing out her chest, "but then, pierre, when it comes to the point, your pretty wench hath no dower--no property----" "heaven be praised for that!" burst from my lips. at which there was a sudden silence, followed by sudden laughter to my confusion. "and so master stanhope came seeking the bird that had flown," twitted radisson's mother-in-law. "faugh--faugh--to have had the bird in his hand and to let it go! but--ta-ta!" she laughed, tapping my arm with her fan, "some one else is here who keeps asking and asking for master stanhope. boy," she ordered, "tell thy master's guest to come down!" two seconds later entered little rebecca of boston town. blushing pink as apple-blossoms, dressed demurely as of old, with her glances playing a shy hide-and-seek under the downcast lids, she seemed as alien to the artificial grandeur about her as meadow violets to the tawdry splendour of a flower-dyer's shop. "fie, fie, sly ladybird," called out sir john's wife, "here are friends of yours!" at sight of us, she uttered a little gasp of pleasure. "so--so--so joysome to see boston folk," she stammered. "fie, fie!" laughed lady kirke. "doth boston air bring red so quick to all faces?" "if they be not painted too deep," said pierre radisson loud and distinct. and i doubt not the coquettish old dame blushed red, though the depth of paint hid it from our eyes; for she held her tongue long enough for me to lead rebecca to an alcove window. some men are born to jump in sudden-made gaps. such an one was pierre radisson; for he set himself between his wife and lady kirke, where he kept them achattering so fast they had no time to note little rebecca's unmasked confusion. "this is an unexpected pleasure, rebecca!" she glanced up as if to question me. "your fine gallants have so many fine speeches----" "have you been here long?" "a month. my father came to see about the furs that ben gillam lost in the bay," explains rebecca. "oh!" said i, vouching no more. "the ship was sent back," continues rebecca, all innocent of the nature of her father's venture, "and my father hopes that king charles may get the french to return the value of the furs." "oh!" there was a little silence. the other tongues prattled louder. rebecca leaned towards me. "have you seen her?" she asked. "who?" she gave an impetuous little shake of her head. "you know," she said. "well?" i asked. "she hath taken me through all the grand places, ramsay; through whitehall and hampton court and the tower! she hath come to see me every week!" i said nothing. "to-morrow she goes to oxford with the queen. she is not happy, ramsay. she says she feels like a caged bird. ramsay, why did she love that north land where the wicked frenchman took her?" "i don't know, rebecca. she once said it was strong and pure and free." "did you see her oft, ramsay?" "no, rebecca; only at dinner on sundays." "and--and--all the officers were there on the sabbath?" "all the officers were there!" she sat silent, eyes downcast, thinking. "ramsay?" "well?" "hortense will be marrying some grand courtier." "may he be worthy of her." "i think many ask her." "and what does mistress hortense say?" "i think," answers rebecca meditatively, "from the quantity of love-verse writ, she must keep saying--no." then lady kirke turns to bid us all go to the duke's theatre, where the king's suite would appear that night. rebecca, of course, would not go. her father would be expecting her when he came home, she said. so pierre radisson and i escorted lady kirke and her daughter to the play, riding in one of those ponderous coaches, with four belaced footmen clinging behind and postillions before. at the entrance to the playhouse was a great concourse of crowding people, masked ladies, courtiers with pages carrying torches for the return after dark, merchants with linkmen, work folk with lanterns, noblemen elbowing tradesmen from the wall, tradesmen elbowing mechanics; all pushing and jostling and cracking their jokes with a freedom of speech that would have cost dear in boston town. the beaux, i mind, had ready-writ love-verses sticking out of pockets thick as bailiffs' yellow papers; so that a gallant could have stocked his own munitions by picking up the missives dropped at the feet of disdainfuls. of the play, i recall nothing but that some favourite of the king, mary davies, or the famous nell, or some such an one, danced a monstrous bold jig. indeed, our grand people, taking their cue from the courtiers' boxes, affected a mighty contempt for the play, except when a naughty jade on the boards stepped high, or blew a kiss to some dandy among the noted folk. for aught i could make out, they did not come to hear, but to be heard; the ladies chattering and ogling; the gallants stalking from box to box and pit to gallery, waving their scented handkerchiefs, striking a pose where the greater part of the audience could see the flash of beringed fingers, or taking a pinch of snuff with a snap of the lid to call attention to its gold-work and naked goddesses. "drat these tradespeople, kinsman!" says lady kirke, as a fat townsman and his wife pushed past us, "drat these tradespeople!" says she as we were taking our place in one of the boxes, "'tis monstrous gracious of the king to come among them at all!" methought her memory of sir john's career had been suddenly clipped short; but pierre radisson only smiled solemnly. some jokes, like dessert, are best taken cold, not hot. then there was a craning of necks; and the king's party came in, his majesty grown sallow with years but gay and nonchalant as ever, with barillon, the french ambassador, on one side and her grace of portsmouth on the other. behind came the whole court; the duchess of cleveland, whom our wits were beginning to call "a perennial," because she held her power with the king and her lovers increased with age; statesmen hanging upon her for a look or a smile that might lead the way to the king's ear; sir george jeffreys, the judge, whose name was to become england's infamy; queen catherine of braganza, keeping up hollow mirth with those whose presence was insult; the duke of york, soberer than his royal brother, the king, since monmouth's menace to the succession; and a host of hangers-on ready to swear away england's liberties for a licking of the crumbs that fell from royal lips. then the hum of the playhouse seemed as the beating of the north sea; for lady kirke was whispering, "there! there! there she is!" and hortense was entering one of the royal boxes accompanied by a foreign-looking, elderly woman, and that young lieutenant blood, whom we had encountered earlier in the day. "the countess from portugal--her majesty's friend," murmurs lady kirke. "ah, pierre, you have done finely for us all!" and there oozed over my lady kirke's countenance as fine a satisfaction as ever radiated from the face of a sweating cook. "how?" asks pierre radisson, pursing his lips. "sir john hath dined twice with his royal highness----" "the duke is governor of the company, and sir john is a director." "ta-ta, now there you go, pierre!" smirks my lady. "an your pretty baggage had not such a saucy way with the men--why--who can tell----" "madame," interrupted pierre radisson, "god forbid! there be many lords amaking in strange ways, but we of the wilderness only count honour worth when it's won honourably." but lady kirke bare heard the rebuke. she was all eyes for the royal box. "la, now, pierre," she cries, "see! the king hath recognised you!" she lurched forward into fuller view of onlookers as she spoke. "wella-day! good lack! pierre radisson, i do believe!--yes!--see!--his majesty is sending for you!" and a page in royal colours appeared to say that the king commanded pierre radisson to present himself in the royal box. with his wiry hair wild as it had ever been on the north sea, off he went, all unconscious of the contemptuous looks from courtier and dandy at his strange, half-savage dress. and presently pierre radisson is seated in the king's presence, chatting unabashed, the cynosure of all eyes. at the stir, hortense had turned towards us. for a moment the listless hauteur gave place to a scarce hidden start. then the pallid face had looked indifferently away. "the huzzy!" mutters lady kirke. "she might 'a' bowed in sight of the whole house! hoighty-toighty! we shall see, an the little moth so easily blinded by court glare is not singed for its vanity! ungrateful baggage! see how she sits, not deigning to listen one word of all the young lieutenant is saying! mary?" "yes----" "you mind i told her--i warned the saucy miss to give more heed to the men--to remember what it might mean to us----" "yes," adds madame radisson, "and she said she hated the court----" "faugh!" laughs lady kirke, fussing and fuming and shifting her place like a peacock with ruffled plumage, "pride before the fall--i'll warrant, you men spoiled her in the north! very fine, forsooth, when a pauper wench from no one knows where may slight the first ladies of the land!" "madame," said i, "you are missing the play!" "master stanhope," said she, "the play must be marvellous moving! where is your colour of a moment ago?" i had no response to her railing. it was as if that look of hortense had come from across the chasm that separated the old order from the new. in the wilderness she was in distress, i her helper. here she was of the court and i--a common trader. such fools does pride make of us, and so prone are we to doubt another's faith! "one slight was enough," lady kirke was vowing with a toss of her head; and we none of us gave another look to the royal boxes that night, though all about the wits were cracking their jokes against m. radisson's "medusa locks," or "the king's idol, with feet of clay and face of brass," thereby meaning m. radisson's moccasins and swarth skin. at the door we were awaiting m. radisson's return when the royal company came out. i turned suddenly and met hortense's eyes blazing with a hauteur that forbade recognition. beside her in lover-like pose lolled that milliners' dummy whom we had seen humbled in the morning. then, promising to rejoin pierre radisson at the fur company's offices, i made my adieux to the kirkes and flung out among those wild revellers who scoured london streets of a dark night. [1] the old expression which the law compelled before throwing slops in mid-street. chapter xxv jack battle again the higher one's hopes mount the farther they have to fall; and i, who had mounted to stars with hortense, was pushed to the gutter by the king's dragoons making way for the royal equipage. there was a crackling of whips among the king's postillions. a yeoman thrust the crowd back with his pike. the carriages rolled past. the flash of a linkman's torch revealed hortense sitting languid and scornful between the foreign countess and that milliner's dummy of a lieutenant. then the royal carriages were lost in the darkness, and the streets thronged by a rabble of singing, shouting, hilarious revellers. different generations have different ways of taking their pleasure, and the youth of king charles's day were alternately bullies on the street and dandies at the feet of my lady disdainful. at the approach of the shouting, night-watchmen threw down their lanterns and took to their heels. street-sweeps tossed their brooms in mid-road with cries of "the scowerers! the scowerers!" hucksters fled into the dark of side lanes. shopkeepers shot their door-bolts. householders blew out lights. fruit-venders made off without their baskets, and small urchins shrieked the alarm of "baby-eaters! baby-eaters!" one sturdy watch, i mind, stood his guard, laying about with a stout pike in a way that broke our fine revellers' heads like soft pumpkins; but him they stood upon his crown in some goodwife's rain-barrel with his lantern tied to his heels. at the rush of the rabble for shelves of cakes and pies, one shopman levelled his blunderbuss. that brought shouts of "a sweat! a sweat!" in a twinkling the rascals were about him. a sword pricked from behind. the fellow jumped. another prick, and yet another, till the good man was dancing such a jig the sweat rolled from his fat jowls and he roared out promise to feast the whole rout. a peddler of small images had lingered to see the sport, and enough of it he had, i promise you; for they dumped him into his wicker basket and trundled it through the gutter till the peddler and his little white saints were black as chimney-sweeps. nor did our merry blades play their pranks on poor folk alone. at will's coffee house, where sat dryden and other mighty quidnuncs spinning their poetry and politics over full cups, before mine host got his doors barred our fellows had charged in, seized one of the great wits and set him singing gammer gurton's needle, till the gentlemen were glad to put down pennies for the company to drink healths. by this i had enough of your gentleman bully's brawling, and i gave the fellows the slip to meet pierre radisson at the general council of hudson's bay adventurers to be held in john horth's offices in broad street. our gentlemen adventurers were mighty jealous of their secrets in those days. i think they imagined their great game-preserve a kind of spanish gold-mine safer hidden from public ken, and they held their meetings with an air of mystery that pirates might have worn. for my part, i do not believe there were french spies hanging round horth's office for knowledge of the fur company's doings, though the doorkeeper, who gave me a chair in the anteroom, reported that a strange-looking fellow with a wife as from foreign parts had been asking for me all that day, and refused to leave till he had learned the address of my lodgings. "'ave ye taken the hoath of hallegiance, sir?" asked the porter. "i was born in england," said i dryly. "your renegade of a french savage is atakin' the hoath now," confided the porter, jerking his thumb towards the inner door. "they do say as 'ow it is for love of mary kirke and not the english--" "your renegade of a french--who?" i asked sharply, thinking it ill omen to hear a flunkey of the english company speaking lightly of our leader. but at the question the fellow went glum with a tipping and bowing and begging of pardon. then the councillors began to come: arlington and ashley of the court, one of those carterets, who had been on the boston commission long ago and first induced m. radisson to go to england, and at last his royal highness the duke of york, deep in conversation with my kinsman, sir john kirke. "it can do no harm to employ him for one trip," sir john was saying. "he hath taken the oath?" asks his royal highness. "he is taking it to-night; but," laughs sir john, "we thought he was a good englishman once before." "your company used him ill. you must keep him from going over to the french again." "till he undo the evil he has done--till he capture back all that he took from us--then," says sir john cautiously, "then we must consider whether it be politic to keep a gamester in the company." "anyway," adds his highness, "france will not take him back." and the door closed on the councillors while i awaited radisson in the anteroom. a moment later pierre radisson came out with eyes alight and face elate. "i've signed to sail in three days," he announced. "do you go with me or no?" two memories came back: one of a face between a westering sun and a golden sea, and i hesitated; the other, of a cold, pallid, disdainful look from the royal box. "i go." and entering the council chamber, i signed the papers without one glance at the terms. gentlemen sat all about the long table, and at the head was the governor of the company--the duke of york, talking freely with m. de radisson. my lord ashley would know if anything but furs grew in that wild new world. "furs?" says m. radisson. "sir, mark my words, 'tis a world that grows empires--also men," with an emphasis which those court dandies could not understand. but the wise gentlemen only smiled at m. radisson's warmth. "if it grew good soldiers for our wars--" begins one military gentleman. "aye," flashes back m. radisson ironically, "if it grows men for your wars and your butchery and your shambles! mark my words: it is a land that grows men good for more than killing," and he smiles half in bitterness. "'tis a prodigious expensive land in diplomacy when men like you are let loose in it," remarks arlington. his royal highness rose to take his leave. "you will present a full report to his majesty at oxford," he orders m. radisson in parting. then the council dispersed. "oxford," says m. radisson, as we picked our way home through the dark streets; "an i go to meet the king at oxford, you will see a hornets' nest of jealousy about my ears." i did not tell him of the double work implied in sir john's words with the prince, for sir john kirke was pierre radisson's father-in-law. at the door of the star and garter mine host calls out that a strange-looking fellow wearing a grizzled beard and with a wife as from foreign parts had been waiting all afternoon for me in my rooms. "from foreign parts!" repeats m. radisson, getting into a chair to go to sir john's house in drury lane. "if they're french spies, send them right about, ramsay! we've stopped gamestering!" "we have; but perhaps the others haven't." "let them game," laughs m. radisson scornfully, as the chair moved off. not knowing what to expect i ran up-stairs to my room. at the door i paused. that morning i had gone from the house light-hearted. now interest had died from life. i had but one wish, to reach that wilderness of swift conflict, where thought has no time for regret. the door was ajar. a coal fire burned on the hearth. sitting on the floor were two figures with backs towards me, a ragged, bearded man and a woman with a shawl over her head. what fools does hope make of us! i had almost called out hortense's name when the noise of the closing door caught their hearing. i was in the north again; an indian girl was on her knees clinging to my feet, sobbing out incoherent gratitude; a pair of arms were belabouring my shoulders; and a voice was saying with broken gurgles of joy: "ship ahoy, there! ease your helm! don't heave all your ballast overboard!"--a clapping of hands on my back--"port your helm! ease her up! all sheets in the wind and the storms'l aflutter! ha-ha!" with a wringing and a wringing like to wrench my hands off--"anchor out! haul away! home with her . . . !" "jack battle!" it was all i could say. there he was, grizzled and bronzed and weather-worn, laughing with joy and thrashing his arms about as if to belabour me again. "but who is this, jack?" i lifted the indian woman from her knees. it was the girl my blow had saved that morning long ago. "who--what is this?" "my wife," says jack, swinging his arms afresh and proud as a prince. "your wife? . . . where . . . who married you?" "there warn't no parson," says jack, "that is, there warn't no parson nearer nor three thousand leagues and more. and say," adds jack, "i s'pose there was marryin' afore there _could_ be parsons! she saved my life. she hain't no folks. i hain't no folks. she got away that morning o' the massacre--she see them take us captive--she gets a white pelt to hide her agen the snow--she come, she do all them cold miles and lets me loose when the braves ain't watching . . . she risks her life to save my life--she don't belong to nobody. i don't belong to nobody. there waren't no parson, but we're married tight . . . and--and--let not man put asunder," says jack. for full five minutes there was not a word. the east was trying to understand the west! "amen, jack," said i. "god bless you--you are a man!" "we mean to get a parson and have it done straight yet," explained jack, "but i wanted you to stand by me----" "faith, jack, you've done it pretty thorough without any help----" "yes, but folks won't understand," pleaded jack, "and--and--i'd do as much for you--i wanted you to stand by me and tell me where to say 'yes' when the parson reads the words----" "all right--i shall," i promised, laughing. if only hortense could know all this! that is the sorrow of rifted lives--the dark between, on each side the thoughts that yearn. "and--and," jack was stammering on, "i thought, perhaps, mistress rebecca 'd be willing to stand by mizza," nodding to the young squaw, "that is, if you asked rebecca," pleaded jack. "we'll see," said i. for the new england conscience was something to reckon with! "how did you come here?" i asked. "mizza snared rabbits and i stole back my musket when we ran away and did some shooting long as powder lasted----" "and then?" "and then we used bow and arrow. we hid in the bush till the hostiles quit cruisin'; but the spring storms caught us when we started for the coast. i s'pose i'm a better sailor on water than land, for split me for a herring if my eyes didn't go blind from snow! we hove to in the woods again, mizza snaring rabbit and building a lodge and keepin' fire agoin' and carin' for me as if i deserved it. there i lay water-logged, odd's man--blind as a mole till the spring thaws came. then mizza an' me built a raft; for sez i to miz, though she didn't understand: 'miz,' sez i, 'water don't flow uphill! if we rig up a craft, that river'll carry us to the bay!' but she only gets down on the ground the way she did with you and puts my foot on her neck. lordy," laughs jack, "s'pose i don't know what a foot on a neck feels like? i sez: 'miz, if you ever do that again, i'll throw you overboard!' then the backwash came so strong from the bay, we had to wait till the floods settled. while we swung at anchorman, what d'y' think happened? i taught miz english. soon as ever she knew words enough i told her if i was a captain i'd want a mate! she didn't catch the wind o' that, lad, till we were navigating our raft downstream agen the ice-jam. ship ahoy, you know, the ice was like to nip us, and lackin' a life-belt i put me arm round her waist! ease your helm! port--a little! haul away! but she understood--when she saw me save her from the jam before i saved myself." and jack battle stood away arm's length from his indian wife and laughed his pride. "and by the time we'd got to the bay you'd gone, but jean groseillers sent us to the english ship that came out expecting to find governor brigdar at nelson. we shipped with the company boat, and here we be." "and what are you going to do?" "oh, i get work enough on the docks to pay for mizza's lessons--" "lessons?" "yes--she's learning sewin' and readin' from the nuns, and as soon as she's baptized we're going to be married regular." "oh!" a sigh of relief escaped me. "then you'll not need rebecca for six months or so?" "no; but you'll ask her?" pleaded jack. "if i'm here." as they were going out jack slipped back from the hallway to the fireplace, leaving mizza outside. "ramsay?" "yes?" "you think--it's--it's--all right?" "what?" "what i done about a mate?" "right?" i reiterated. "here's my hand to you--blessing on the voyage, captain jack battle!" "ah," smiled jack, "you've been to the wilderness--you understand! other folks don't! that is the way it happens out there!" he lingered as of old when there was more to come. "ramsay?" "sail away, captain!" "have you seen hortense?" he asked, looking straight at me. "um--yes--no--that is--i have and i haven't." "why haven't you?" "because having become a grand lady, her ladyship didn't choose to see me." jack battle turned on his heel and swore a seaman's oath. "that--that's a lie," said he. "very well--it's a lie, but this is what happened," and i told him of the scene in the theatre. jack pulled a puzzled face, looking askance as he listened. "why didn't you go round to her box, the way m. radisson did to the king's?" "you forget i am only a trader!" "pah," says jack, "that is nothing!" "you forget that lieutenant blood might have objected to my visit," and i told him of blood. "but how was mistress hortense to know that?" wounded pride hugs its misery, and i answered nothing. at the door he stopped. "you go along with radisson to oxford," he called. "the court will be there." chapter xxvi at oxford rioting through london streets or playing second in m. radisson's games of empire, it was possible to forget her, but not in oxford with the court retinue all about and the hedgerows abloom and spring-time in the air. m. radisson had gone to present his reports to the king. with a vague belief that chance might work some miracle, i accompanied m. radisson till we encountered the first belaced fellow of the king's guard. 'twas outside the porter's lodge of the grand house where the king had been pleased to breakfast that morning. "and what might this young man want?" demanded the fellow, with lordly belligerence, letting m. radisson pass without question. your colonial hero will face the desperate chance of death; but not the smug arrogance of a beliveried flunkey. "wait here," says m. radisson to me, forgetful of hortense now that his own end was won. and i struck through the copse-wood, telling myself that chance makes grim sport. ah, well, the toughening of the wilderness is not to be undone by fickle fingers, however dainty, nor a strong life blown out by a girl's caprice! riders went clanking past. i did not turn. let those that honoured dishonour doff hats to that company of loose women and dissolute men! hortense was welcome to the womanish men and the mannish women, to her dandified lieutenant and foreign adventuresses and grand ambassadors, who bought english honour with the smiles of evil women. coming to a high stone wall, i saw two riders galloping across the open field for the copse wood. "a very good place to break foolish necks," thought i; for the riders were coming straight towards me, and a deep ditch ran along the other side of the wall. to clear the wall and then the ditch would be easy enough; but to clear the ditch and then the wall required as pretty a piece of foolhardy horsemanship as hunters could find. out of sheer curiosity to see the end i slackened my walk. a woman in green was leading the pace. the man behind was shouting "don't try it! don't try it! ride round the end! wait! wait!" but the woman came on as if her horse had the bit. then all my mighty, cool stoicism began thumping like a smith's forge. the woman was hortense, with that daring look on her face i had seen come to it in the north land; and her escort, young lieutenant blood, with terror as plainly writ on his fan-shaped elbows and pounding gait as if his horse were galloping to perdition. "don't jump! head about, mistress hillary!" cried the lieutenant. but hortense's lips tightened, the rein tightened, there was that lifting bound into air when horse and rider are one--the quick paying-out of the rein--the long, stretching leap--the backward brace--and the wall had been cleared. but blood's horse balked the jump, nigh sending him head over into the moat, and seizing the bit, carried its cursing rider down the slope of the field. in vain the lieutenant beat it about the head and dug the spurs deep. the beast sidled off each time he headed it up, or plunged at the water's edge till mistress hortense cried out: "oh--please! i cannot see you risk yourself on that beast! oh--please won't you ride farther down where i can get back!" "ho--away, then," calls blood, mighty glad of that way out of his predicament, "but don't try the wall here again, mistress hillary! i protest 'tis not safe for you! ho--away, then! i race you to the end of the wall!" and off he gallops, never looking back, keen to clear the wall and meet my lady half-way up. hortense sat erect, reining her horse and smiling at me. "and so you would go away without seeing me," she said, "and i must needs ride you down at the risk of the lieutenant's neck." "'tis the way of the proud with the humble," i laughed back; but the laugh had no mirth. her face went grave. she sat gazing at me with that straight, honest look of the wilderness which neither lies nor seeks a lie. "your horse is champing to be off, hortense!" "yes--and if you looked you might see that i am keeping him from going off." i smiled at the poor jest as a court conceit. "or perhaps, if you tried, you might help me to hold him," says hortense, never taking her search from my face. "and defraud the lieutenant," said i. "ah!" says hortense, looking away. "are you jealous of anything so small?" i took hold of the bit and quieted the horse. hortense laughed. "were you so mighty proud the other night that you could not come to see a humble ward of the court?" she asked. "i am only a poor trader now!" "ah," says hortense, questioning my face again, "i had thought you were only a poor trader before! was that the only reason?" "to be sure, hortense, the lieutenant would not have welcomed me--he might have told his fellow to turn me out and made confusion." and i related m. radisson's morning encounter with lieutenant blood, whereat mistress hortense uttered such merry peals of laughter i had thought the chapel-bells were chiming. "ramsay!" she cried impetuously, "i hate this life--why did you all send me to it?" "hate it! why----?" "why?" reiterated hortense. "why, when a king, who is too busy to sign death-reprieves, may spend the night hunting a single moth from room to room of the palace? why, when ladies of the court dress in men's clothes to run the streets with the scowerers? why, when a duchess must take me every morning to a milliner's shop, where she meets her lover, who is a rope-walker? why, when our sailors starve unpaid and gold enough lies on the basset-table of a sunday night to feed the army? ah, yes!" says hortense, "why do i hate this life? why must you and madame radisson and lady kirke all push me here?" "hortense," i broke in, "you were a ward of the crown! what else was there for us to do?" "ah, yes!" says hortense, "what else? you kept your promise, and a ward of the crown must marry whom the king names--" "marry?" "or--or go to a nunnery abroad." "a nunnery?" "ah, yes!" mocks hortense, "what else is there to do?" and at that comes blood crashing through the brush. "here, fellow, hands off that bridle!" "the horse became restless. this gentleman held him for me till you came." "gad's life!" cries the lieutenant, dismounting. "let's see?" and he examines the girths with a great show of concern. "a nasty tumble," says he, as if hortense had been rolled on. "all sound, mistress hillary! egad! you must not ride such a wild beast! i protest, such risks are too desperate!" and he casts up the whites of his eyes at mistress hortense, laying his hand on his heart. "when did you feel him getting away from you?" "at the wall," says hortense. the lieutenant vaulted to his saddle. "here, fellow!" he had tossed me a gold-piece. they were off. i lifted the coin, balanced it on my thumb, and flipped it ringing against the wall. when i looked up, hortense was laughing back over her shoulder. on may 17th we sailed from gravesend in the happy return, two ships accompanying us for hudson bay, and a convoy of the royal marine coming as far as the north of scotland to stand off dutch highwaymen and spanish pirates. but i made the news of jack battle's marriage the occasion of a letter to one of the queen's maids of honour. chapter xxvii home from the bay 'twas as fair sailing under english colours as you could wish till pierre radisson had undone all the mischief that he had worked against the fur company in hudson bay. pierre radisson sits with a pipe in his mouth and his long legs stretched clear across the cabin-table, spinning yarns of wild doings in savage lands, and governor phipps, of the hudson's bay company, listens with eyes a trifle too sleepily watchful, methinks, for the frenchman's good. a summer sea kept us course all the way to the northern bay, and sometimes pierre radisson would fling out of the cabin, marching up and down the deck muttering, "pah! tis tame adventuring! takes a dish o' spray to salt the freshness out o' men! tis the roaring forties put nerve in a man's marrow! soft days are your delilah's that shave away men's strength! toughen your fighters, captain gazer! toughen your fighters!" and once, when m. radisson had passed beyond hearing, the governor turns with a sleepy laugh to the captain. "a pox on the rantipole!" says he. "may the sharks test the nerve of his marrow after he's captured back the forts!" in the bay great ice-drift stopped our way, and pierre radisson's impatience took fire. "what a deuce, captain gazer!" he cries. "how long do you intend to squat here anchored to an ice-pan?" a spark shot from the governor's sleepy eyes, and captain gazer swallowed words twice before he answered. "till the ice opens a way," says he. "opens a way!" repeats radisson. "man alive, why don't you carve a way?" "carve a way yourself, radisson," says the governor contemptuously. that was let enough for pierre radisson. he had the sailors lowering jolly-boats in a jiffy; and off seven of us went, round the ice-pans, ploughing, cutting, portaging a way till we had crossed the obstruction and were pulling for the french fort with the spars of three company boats far in the offing. i detained the english sailors at the river-front till m. radisson had entered the fort and won young jean groseillers to the change of masters. before the fur company's ships came, the english flag was flying above the fort and fort bourbon had become fort nelson. "i bid you welcome to the french habitation," bows radisson, throwing wide the gates to the english governor. "hm!" returns phipps, "how many beaver-skins are there in store?" m. radisson looked at the governor. "you must ask my tradespeople that," he answers; and he stood aside for them all to pass. "your english mind thinks only of the gain," he said to me. "and your french mind?" i asked. "the game and not the winnings," said he. no sooner were the winnings safe--twenty thousand beaver-skins stowed away in three ships' holds--than pierre radisson's foes unmasked. the morning of our departure governor phipps marched all our frenchmen aboard like captives of war. "sir," expostulated m. de radisson, "before they gave up the fort i promised these men they should remain in the bay." governor phipps's sleepy eyes of a sudden waked wide. "aye," he taunted, "with frenchmen holding our fort, a pretty trick you could play us when the fancy took you!" m. radisson said not a word. he pulled free a gantlet and strode forward, but the doughty governor hastily scuttled down the ship's ladder and put a boat's length of water between him and pierre radisson's challenge. the gig-boat pulled away. our ship had raised anchor. radisson leaned over the deck-rail and laughed. "egad, phipps," he shouted, "a man may not fight cowards, but he can cudgel them! an i have to wait for you on the river styx, i'll punish you for making me break promise to these good fellows!" "promise--and when did promise o' yours hold good, pierre radisson?" the frenchman turned with a bitter laugh. "a giant is big enough to be hit--a giant is easy to fight," says he, "but egad, these pigmies crawl all over you and sting to death before they are visible to the naked eye!" and as the happy return wore ship for open sea he stood moodily silent with eyes towards the shore where governor phipps's gig-boat had moored before fort nelson. then, speaking more to himself than to jean and me, his lips curled with a hard scorn. "the happy return!" says he. "pardieu! 'tis a happy return to beat devils and then have all your own little lies come roosting home like imps that filch the victory! they don't trust me because i won by trickery! egad! is a slaughter better than a game? an a man wins, who a devil gives a rush for the winnings? 'tis the fight and the game--pah!--not the thing won! storm and cold, man and beast, powers o' darkness and devil, knaves and fools and his own sins--aye, that's the scratch!--the man and the beast and the dark and the devil, he can breast 'em all with a bold front! but knaves and fools and his own sins, pah!--death grubs!--hatching and nesting in a man's bosom till they wake to sting him! flesh-worms--vampires--blood-suckers--spun out o' a man's own tissue to sap his life!" he rapped his pistol impatiently against the deck-rail, stalked past us, then turned. "lads," says he, "if you don't want gall in your wine and a grub in your victory, a' god's name keep your own counsel and play the game fair and square and aboveboard." and though his speech worked a pretty enough havoc with fine-spun rhetoric to raise the wig off a pedant's head, jean and i thought we read some sense in his mixed metaphors. on all that voyage home he never once crossed words with the english officers, but took his share of hardship with the french prisoners. "i mayn't go back to france. they think they have me cornered and in their power," he would say, gnawing at his finger-ends and gazing into space. once, after long reverie, he sprang up from a gun-waist where he had been sitting and uttered a scornful laugh. "cornered? hah! we shall see! i snap my fingers in their faces." thereafter his mood brightened perceptibly, and he was the first to put foot ashore when we came to anchor in british port. there were yet four hours before the post-chaise left for london, and the english crew made the most of the time by flocking to the ale-houses. m. radisson drew jean and me apart. "we'll beat our detractors yet," he said. "if news of this capture be carried to the king and the duke of york[1] before the shareholders spread false reports, we are safe. if his royal highness favour us, the company must fall in line or lose their charter!" and he bade us hire three of the fleetest saddle-horses to be found. while the english crew were yet brawling in the taverns, we were to horse and away. our horse's feet rang on the cobblestones with the echo of steel and the sparks flashed from m. radisson's eyes. a wharfmaster rushed into mid-road to stop us, but m. radisson rode him down. a uniformed constable called out to know what we were about. "our business!" shouts m. radisson, and we are off. country franklins got their wains out of our way with mighty confusion, and coaches drew aside for us to pass, and roadside brats scampered off with a scream of freebooters; but m. radisson only laughed. "this is living," said he. "give your nag rein, jean! whip and spur! ramsay! whip and spur! nothing's won but at cost of a sting! throw off those jack-boots, jean! they're a handicap! loose your holsters, lad! an any highwaymen come at us to-day i'll send him a short way to a place where he'll stay! whip up! whip up!" "what have you under your arm?" cries jean breathlessly. "rare furs for the king," calls radisson. then the wind is in our hair, and thatched cots race off in a blur on either side; plodding workmen stand to stare and are gone; open fields give place to forest, forest to village, village to bare heath; and still we race on. * * * * * * midnight found us pounding through the dark of london streets for cheapside, where lived mr. young, a director of the hudson's bay company, who was favourable to pierre radisson. "halloo! halloo!" shouts radisson, beating his pistol-butt on the door. a candle and a nightcap emerge from the upper window. "who's there?" demands a voice. "it's radisson, mr. young!" "radisson! in the name o' the fiends--where from?" "oh, we've just run across the way from hudson bay!" says radisson. and the good man presently appears at the door with a candle in one hand and a bludgeon in the other. "in the name o' the fiends, when did you arrive, man?" exclaims mr. young, hailing us inside. "two minutes ago by the clock," laughs radisson, looking at the timepiece in the hall. "two minutes and a half ago," says he, following our host to the library. "how many beaver-skins?" asks the englishman, setting down his candle. the frenchman smiles. "twenty thousand beaver--skins and as many more of other sorts!" the englishman sits down to pencil out how much that will total at ten shillings each; and pierre radisson winks at us. "the winnings again," says he. "twenty thousand pounds!" cries our host, springing up. "aye," says pierre radisson, "twenty thousand pounds' worth o' fur without a pound of shot or the trade of a nail-head for them. the french had these furs in store ready for us!" mr. young lifts his candle so that the light falls on radisson's bronzed face. he stands staring as if to make sure we are no wraiths. "twenty thousand pounds," says he, slowly extending his right hand to pierre radisson. "radisson, man, welcome!" the frenchman bows with an ironical laugh. "twenty thousand pounds' worth o' welcome, sir!" but the director of the fur company rambles on unheeding. "these be great news for the king and his royal highness," says he. "aye, and as i have some rare furs for them both, why not let us bear the news to them ourselves?" asks radisson. "that you shall," cries mr. young; and he led us up-stairs, where we might refresh ourselves for the honour of presentation to his majesty next day. [1] the duke of york became governor of the hudson's bay company after prince rupert's death, and the company's charter was a royal favour direct from the king. chapter xxviii rebecca and i fall out m. radisson had carried his rare furs to the king, and i was at sir john kirke's door to report the return of her husband to madame radisson. the same grand personage with sleek jowls and padded calves opened the door in the gingerly fashion of his office. this time he ushered me quick enough into the dark reception-room. as i entered, two figures jumped from the shadow of a tapestried alcove with gasps of fright. "ramsay!" it was rebecca, the prim monkey, blushing a deal more than her innocence warranted, with a solemn-countenanced gentleman of the cloth scowling from behind. "when--when--did you come?" she asked, all in a pretty flutter that set her dimples atrembling; and she forgot to give me welcome. "now--exactly on the minute!" "why--why--didn't you give us warning?" stammered rebecca, putting out one shy hand. at that i laughed outright; but it was as much the fashion for gentlemen of the cloth to affect a mighty solemnity in those days as it was for the laity to let out an oath at every other word, and the young divine only frowned sourly at my levity. "if--if--if you'd only given us warning," interrupts rebecca. "faith, rebecca, an you talk of warning, i'll begin to think you needed it----" "to give you welcome," explains rebecca. then recovering herself, she begs, with a pretty bobbing courtesy, to make me known to the reverend adam kittridge. the reverend kittridge shakes hands with an air as he would sound my doctrine on the spot, and rebecca hastens to add that i am "a very--_old--old_ friend." "not so _very_ old, rebecca, not so very long ago since you and i read over the same lesson-books. do you mind the copy-heads on the writing-books? "'_heaven to find. the bible mind. in adam's fall we sinn'ed all. adam lived a lonely life until he got himself a wife._'" but at that last, which was not to be found among the head-lines of boston's old copy-books, little rebecca looked like to drop, and with a frightened gesture begged us to be seated, which we all accomplished with a perceptible stiffening of the young gentleman's joints. "is m. radisson back?" she asks. "he reached england yesterday. he bade me say that he will be here after he meets the shareholders. he goes to present furs to the king this morning." "that will please lady kirke," says the young gentleman. "some one else is back in england," exclaims rebecca, with the air of news. "ben gillam is here." "o-ho! has he seen the company?" "he and governor brigdar have been among m. radisson's enemies. young captain gillam says there's a sailor-lad working on the docks here can give evidence against m. radisson." "can you guess who that sailor-lad is, rebecca?" "it is not--no--it is not jack?" she asks. "jack it is, rebecca. that reminds me, jack sent a message to you!" "a message to me?" "yes--you know he's married--he married last year when he was in the north." "married?" cries rebecca, throwing up her hands and like to faint from surprise. "married in the north? why--who--who married him, ramsay?" "a woman, of course!" "but--" rebecca was blushing furiously, "but--i mean--was there a chaplain? had you a preacher? and--and was not mistress hortense the only woman----?" "no--child--there were thousands of women--native women----" "squaws!" exclaims the prim little puritan maid, with a red spot burning on each cheek. "do you mean that jack battle has married a squaw?" and she rose indignantly. "no--i mean a woman! now, rebecca, will you sit down till i tell you all about it?" "sir," interjects the young gentleman of the cloth, "i protest there are things that a maid ought not to hear!" "then, sir, have a care that you say none of them under cloak of religion! _honi soit qui mal y pense_! the mind that thinketh no evil taketh no evil." then i turned to rebecca, standing with a startled look in her eyes. "rebecca, madame radisson has told you how jack was left to be tortured by the indians?" "hortense has told me." "and how he risked his life to save an indian girl's life?" "yes," says rebecca, with downcast lids. "that indian girl came and untied jack's bonds the night of the massacre. they escaped together. when he went snow-blind, mizza hunted and snared for him and kept him. her people were all dead; she could not go back to her tribe--if jack had left her in the north, the hostiles would have killed her. jack brought her home with him----" "he ought to have put her in a house of correction," snapped rebecca. "rebecca! why would he put her in a house of correction? what had she done that she ought not to have done? she had saved his life. he had saved hers, and he married her." "there was no minister," said rebecca, with a tightening of her childish dimpled mouth and a reddening of her cheeks and a little indignant toss of the chin. "rebecca! how could they get a minister a thousand leagues away from any church? they will get one now----" rebecca rose stiffly, her little lily face all aflame. "my father saith much evil cometh of this--it is sin--he ought not to have married her; and--and--it is very wrong of you to be telling me this--" she stammered angrily, with her little hands clasped tight across the white stomacher. "very unfit," comes from that young gentleman of the cloth. we were all three standing, and i make no doubt my own face went as red as theirs, for the taunt bit home. that inference of evil where no evil was, made an angrier man than was my wont. the two moved towards the door. i put myself across their way. "rebecca, you do yourself wrong! you are measuring other people's deeds with too short a yardstick, little woman, and the wrong is in your own mind, not theirs." "i--i--don't know what you mean!" cried rebecca obstinately, with a break in her voice that ought to have warned; but her next words provoked afresh. "it was wicked!--it was sinful!"--with an angry stamp--"it was shameful of jack battle to marry an indian girl----" there i cut in. "was it?" i asked. "young woman, let me tell you a bald truth! when a white man marries an indian, the union is as honourable as your own would be. it is when the white man does _not_ marry the indian that there is shame; and the shame is to the white man, not the indian----!" sure, one might let an innocent bundle of swans' down and baby cheeks have its foibles without laying rough hands upon them! the next,--little rebecca cries out that i've insulted her, is in floods of tears, and marches off on the young gentleman's arm. comes a clatter of slippered heels on the hall floor and in bustles my lady kirke, bejewelled and befrilled and beflounced till i had thought no mortal might bend in such massive casings of starch. "la," she pants, "good lack!--wellaway! my fine savage! welladay! what a pretty mischief have you been working? proposals are amaking at the foot of the stairs. o--lud! the preacher was akissing that little puritan maid as i came by! good lack, what will sir john say?" and my lady laughs and laughs till i look to see the tears stain the rouge of her cheeks. "o-lud," she laughs, "i'm like to die! he tried to kiss the baggage! and the little saint jumps back so quick that he hit her ear by mistake! la," she laughs, "i'm like to die!" i'd a mind to tell her ladyship that a loosening of her stays might prolong life, but i didn't. instead, i delivered the message from pierre radisson and took myself off a mighty mad man; for youth can be angry, indeed. and the cause of the anger was the same as fretteth the old world and new to-day. rebecca was measuring jack by old standards. i was measuring rebecca by new standards. and the measuring of the old by the new and the new by the old teareth love to tatters. pierre radisson i met at the entrance to the fur company's offices in broad street. his steps were of one on steel springs and his eyes afire with victory. "we've beaten them," he muttered to me. "his majesty favours us! his majesty accepted the furs and would have us at whitehall to-morrow night to give account of our doings. an they try to trick me out of reward i'll have them to the foot o' the throne!" but of pierre radisson's intrigue against his detractors i was not thinking at all. "were the courtiers about?" i asked. "egad! yes; palmer and buckingham and ashley leering at her grace of portsmouth, with cleveland looking daggers at the new favourite, and the french ambassador shaking his sides with laughter to see the women at battle. his royal highness, the duke of york, got us access to present the furs. egad, ramsay, i am a rough man, but it seemed prodigious strange to see a king giving audience in the apartments of the french woman, and great men leering for a smile from that huzzy! the king lolls on a persian couch with a litter of spaniel puppies on one side and the french woman on the other. and what do you think that black-eyed jade asks when i present the furs and tell of our captured frenchmen? to have her own countrymen sold to the barbadoes so that she may have the money for her gaming-table! egad, i spiked that pretty plan by saying the frenchmen were sending her a present of furs, too! to-morrow night we go to whitehall to entertain his majesty with our doings! we need not fear enemies in the company now!" "i'm not so sure of that," said i. "the gillams have been working against you here, and so has brigdar." "hah--let them work!" "did you see _her_?" i asked. "_her_?" questions radisson absently. "pardieu, there are so many _hers_ about the court now with no she-saint among them! which do you mean?" the naming of hortense after such speech was impossible. without more mention of the court, we entered the company's office, where sat the councillors in session around a long table. no one rose to welcome him who had brought such wealth on the happy return; and the reason was not far to seek. the post-chaise had arrived with pierre radisson's detractors, and allied with them were the gillams and governor brigdar. pierre radisson advanced undaunted and sat down. black looks greeted his coming, and the deputy-governor, who was taking the duke of york's place, rose to suggest that "mr. brigdar, wrongfully dispossessed of the fort on the bay by one frenchman known as radisson, be restored as governor of those parts." a grim smile went from face to face at pierre radisson's expense. "better withdraw, man, better withdraw," whispers sir john kirke, his father-in-law. but radisson only laughs. then one rises to ask by what authority the frenchman, radisson, had gone to report matters to the king instead of leaving that to the shareholders. m. de radisson utters another loud laugh. comes a knocking, and there appears at the door colonel blood, father of the young lieutenant, with a message from the king. "gentlemen," announces the freebooter, "his majesty hath bespoke dinner for the fur company at the lion. his royal highness, the duke of york, hath ordered madeira for the councillors' refreshment, and now awaits your coming!" for the third time m. radisson laughs aloud with a triumph of insolence. "come, gentlemen," says he, "i've countered. let us be going. his royal highness awaits us across the way." blood stood twirling his mustaches and tapping his sword-handle impatiently. he was as swarth and straight and dauntless as pierre radisson, with a sinister daring in his eyes that might have put the seal to any act. "egad's life!" he exclaimed, "do fur-traders keep royalty awaiting?" and our irate gentleman must needs haste across to the lion, where awaited the company governor, the duke of york, with all the merry young blades of the court. king charles's reign was a time of license, you have been told. what that meant you would have known if you had seen the fur company at dinner. blood, senior, i mind, had a drinking-match against sir george jeffreys, the judge; and i risk not my word on how much those two rascals put away. the judge it was who went under mahogany first, though colonel blood scarce had wit enough left to count the winnings of his wager. young lieutenant blood stood up on his chair and bawled out some monstrous bad-writ verse to "a fair-dark lady"--whatever that meant--"who was as cold as ice and combustible as gunpowder." healths were drunk to his majesty king charles, to his royal highness the duke of york, to our councillors of the company, to our governors of the fur-posts, and to the captains. then the duke of york himself lifted the cup to pierre radisson's honour; whereat the young courtiers raised such a cheering, the grim silence of pierre radisson's detractors passed unnoticed. after the duke of york had withdrawn, our riotous sparks threw off all restraint. on bended knee they drank to that fair evil woman whom king louis had sent to ensnare king charles. odds were offered on how long her power with the king would last. then followed toasts to a list of second-rate names, dancing girls and french milliners, who kept place of assignation for the dissolute crew, and maids of honour, who were no maids of honour, but adventuresses in the pay of great men to advance their interest with the king, and riffraff women whose names history hath done well to forget. to these toasts colonel blood and pierre radisson and i sat with inverted glasses. while the inn was ringing to the shouts of the revellers, the freebooter leaned across to pierre radisson. "gad's name if they like you," he mumbled drunkenly. "who?" asked radisson. "fur company," explained blood. "they hate you! so they do me! but if the king favours you, they've got to have you," and he laughed to himself. "that's the way with me," he whispered in drunken confidence to m. radisson. "what a deuce?" he asked, turning drowsily to the table. "what's my boy doing?" young lieutenant blood was to his feet holding a reaming glass high as his head. "gentlemen, i give you the sweet savage!" he cried, "the diana of the snows--a thistle like a rose--ice that burns--a pauper that spurns--" "curse me if he doesn't mean that saucy wench late come from your north fort," interrupted the father. my hands were itching to throw a glass in the face of father or son, but pierre radisson restrained me. "more to be done sometimes by doing nothing," he whispered. the young fellows were on their knees draining bumpers; but colonel blood was rambling again. "he gives 'em that saucy brat, does he? gad's me, i'd give her to perdition for twopenny-worth o' rat poison! look you, radisson, 'tis what i did once; but she's come back! curse me, i could 'a' done it neater and cheaper myself--twopenny-worth o' poison would do it, picot said; but gad's me, i paid him a hundred guineas, and here she's come back again!" "blood . . . colonel blood," m. picot had repeated at his death. i had sprung up. again m. radisson held me back. "how long ago was that, colonel blood?" he asked softly. "come twenty year this day s'ennight," mutters the freebooter. "'twas before i entered court service. her father had four o' my fellows gibbeted at charing cross, gad's me, i swore he'd sweat for it! she was osmond's only child--squalling brat coming with nurse over hounslow heath. 'sdeath--i see it yet! postillions yelled like stuck pigs, nurses kicked over in coach dead away. when they waked up, curse me, but the french poisoner had the brat! curse me, i'd done better to finish her myself. picot ran away and wrote letters--letters--letters, till i had to threaten to slit his throat, 'pon my soul, i had! and now she must marry the boy----" "why?" put in radisson, with cold indifference and half-listening air. "gad's life, can't you see?" asked the knave. "osmond's dead, the boy's lands are hers--the french doctor may 'a' told somebody," and colonel blood of his majesty's service slid under the table with the judge. m. radisson rose and led the way out. "you'd like to cudgel him," he said. "come with me to whitehall instead!" chapter xxix the king's pleasure my lady kirke was all agog. pierre radisson was her "dear sweet savage," and "naughty spark," and "bold, bad beau," and "devilish fellow," and "lovely wretch!" "la, pierre," she cries, with a tap of her fan, "anybody can go to the king's _levee_! but, dear heart!" she trills, with a sidelong ogle. "ta!--ta! naughty devil!--to think of our sweet savage going to whitehall of an evening! lud, mary, i'll wager you, her grace of portsmouth hath laid eyes on him----" "the lord forbid!" ejaculates pierre radisson. "hoighty-toighty! now! there you go, my saucy spark! good lack! an the king's women laid eyes on any other man, 'twould turn his head and be his fortune! naughty fellow!" she warns, with a flirt of her fan. "we shall watch you! ta-ta, don't tell me no! oh, we know this _gâité de coeur_! you'll presently be _intime_ o' portsmouth and cleveland and all o' them!" "madame," groans pierre radisson, "swear, if you will! but as you love me, don't abuse the french tongue!" at which she gave him a slap with her fan. "an i were not so young," she simpers, "i'd cuff your ears, you saucy pierre!" "so young!" mutters pierre radisson, with grim looks at her powdered locks. "egad's life, so is the bud on a century plant young," and he turns to his wife. but my lady kirke was blush-proof. "don't forget to pay special compliments to the favourites," she calls, as we set out for whitehall; and she must run to the door in a flutter and ask if pierre radisson has any love-verse ready writ, in case of an _amour_ with one of the court ladies. "no," says radisson, "but here are unpaid tailor bills! 'tis as good as your _billets-doux_! i'll kiss 'em just as hard!" "so!" cries lady kirke, bobbing a courtesy and blowing a kiss from her finger-tips as we rolled away in sir john's coach. "the old flirt-o'-tail," blurted radisson, "you could pack her brains in a hazel-nut; but 'twould turn the stomach of a grub!" * * * * * * 'twas not the whitehall you know to-day, which is but a remnant of the grand old pile that stretched all the way from the river front to the inner park. before the fires, whitehall was a city of palaces reaching far into st. james, with a fleet of royal barges at float below the river stairs. from scotland yard to bridge street the royal ensign blew to the wind above tower and parapet and battlement. i mind under the archway that spanned little whitehall street m. radisson dismissed our coachman. "how shall we bring up the matter of hortense?" i asked. "trust me," said radisson. "the gods of chance!" "will you petition the king direct?" "egad--no! never petition a selfish man direct, or you'll get a no! bring him round to the generous, so that he may take all credit for it himself! do you hold back among the on-lookers till i've told our story o' the north! 'tis not a state occasion! egad, there'll be court wenches aplenty ready to take up with a likely looking man! have a word with hortense if you can! let me but get the king's ear--" and radisson laughed with a confidence, methought, nothing on earth could shake. then we were passed from the sentinel doing duty at the gate to the king's guards, and from the guards to orderlies, and from orderlies to fellows in royal colours, who led us from an ante-room to that glorious gallery of art where it pleased the king to take his pleasure that night. it was not a state occasion, as radisson said; but for a moment i think the glitter in which those jaded voluptuaries burned out their moth-lives blinded even the clear vision of pierre radisson. the great gallery was thronged with graceful courtiers and stately dowagers and gaily attired page-boys and fair ladies with a beauty of youth on their features and the satiety of age in their look. my lord preston, i mind, was costumed in purple velvet with trimming of pearls such as a girl might wear. young blood moved from group to group to show his white velvets sparkling with diamonds. one of the sidneys was there playing at hazard with my lady castlemaine for a monstrous pile of gold on the table, which some onlookers whispered made up three thousand guineas. as i watched my lady lost; but in spite of that, she coiled her bare arm around the gold as if to hold the winnings back. "and indeed," i heard her say, with a pout, "i've a mind to prove your love! i've a mind not to pay!" at which young sidney kisses her finger-tips and bids her pay the debt in favours; for the way to the king was through the influence of castlemaine or portsmouth or other of the dissolute crew. round other tables sat men and women, old and young, playing away estate and fortune and honour at tick-tack or ombre or basset. one noble lord was so old that he could not see to game, and must needs have his valet by to tell him how the dice came up. on the walls hung the works of vandyke and correggio and raphael and rubens; but the pure faces of art's creation looked down on statesmen bending low to the beck of adventuresses, old men pawning a noble name for the leer of a portsmouth, and women vying for the glance of a jaded king. at the far end of the apartment was a page-boy dressed as cupid, singing love-songs. in the group of listeners lolled the languid king. portsmouth sat near, fanning the passion of a poor young fool, who hung about her like a moth; but charles was not a lover to be spurred. as portsmouth played her ruse the more openly a contemptuous smile flitted over the proud, dark face of the king, and he only fondled his lap-dog with indifferent heed for all those flatterers and foot-lickers and curry-favours hovering round royalty. barillon, the french ambassador, pricked up his ears, i can tell you, when chaffinch, the king's man, came back with word that his majesty was ready to hear m. radisson. "now, lad, move about and keep your eyes open and your mouth shut!" whispers m. radisson as he left me. barillon would have followed to the king's group, but his majesty looked up with a quiet insolence that sent the ambassador to another circle. then a page-boy touched my arm. "master stanhope?" he questioned. "yes," said i. "come this way," and he led to a tapestried corner, where sat the queen and her ladies. mistress hortense stood behind the royal chair. queen catherine extended her hand for my salute. "her majesty is pleased to ask what has become of the sailor-lad and his bride," said hortense. "hath the little puritan helped to get them married right?" asked the queen, with the soft trill of a foreign tongue. "your majesty," said i, "the little puritan holds back." "it is as you thought," said queen catherine, looking over her shoulder to hortense. "would another bridesmaid do?" asked the queen. laughing looks passed among the ladies. "if the bridesmaid were mistress hillary, your majesty," i began. "hortense hath been to see them." i might have guessed. it was like hortense to seek the lonely pair. "here is the king. we must ask his advice," said the queen. at the king's entrance all fell back and i managed to whisper to hortense what we had learned the night before. "here are news," smiled his majesty. "your maid of the north is osmond's daughter! the lands young lieutenant blood wants are hers!" at that were more looks among the ladies. "and faith, the lieutenant asks for her as well as the lands," said the king. hortense had turned very white and moved a little forward. "we may not disturb our loyal subject's possession. what does osmond's daughter say?" questioned the king. then hortense took her fate in her hands. "your majesty," she said, "if osmond's daughter did not want the lands, it would not be necessary to disturb the lieutenant." "and who would find a husband for a portionless bride?" asked king charles. "may it please your majesty," began hortense; but the words trembled unspoken on her lips. there was a flutter among the ladies. the queen turned and rose. a half-startled look of comprehension came to her face. and out stepped mistress hortense from the group behind. "your majesties," she stammered, "i do not want the lands----" "nor the lieutenant," laughed the king. "your majesties," she said. she could say no more. but with the swift intuition of the lonely woman's loveless heart, queen catherine read in my face what a poor trader might not speak. she reached her hand to me, and when i would have saluted it like any dutiful subject, she took my hand in hers and placed hortense's hand in mine. then there was a great laughing and hand-shaking and protesting, with the courtiers thronging round. "ha, radisson," barillon was saying, "you not only steal our forts--you must rifle the court and run off with the queen's maid!" "and there will be two marriages at the sailor's wedding," said the queen. it was hortense's caprice that both marriages be deferred till we reached boston town, where she must needs seek out the old puritan divine whom i had helped to escape so many years ago. before i lay down my pen, i would that i could leave with you a picture of m. radisson, the indomitable, the victorious, the dauntless, living in opulence and peace! but my last memory of him, as our ship sheered away for boston town, is of a grave man standing on the quay denouncing princes' promises and gazing into space. m. radisson lived to serve the fur company for many a year as history tells; but his service was as the flight of a great eagle, harried by a multitude of meaner birds. voyages from montreal through the continent of north america to the frozen and pacific oceans in 1789 and 1793 with an account of the rise and state of the fur trade by alexander mackenzie with map in two volumes vol. i. new york a. s. barnes and company 1903 registered at the library of congress, august, 1902 a. s. barnes & company introduction. the exact date of sir alexander mackenzie's birth is not accurately known, although it is supposed he was born at inverness, scotland, about 1755. he came to north america at an early age and obtained employment in the counting-house of messrs. gregory and co., a connexion of the north-west fur company. it was while he was with this company that he obtained the experience and knowledge necessary to his profession of a fur-trader, long before he undertook his arduous and dangerous expeditions to the far north. he was soon to distinguish himself. his firm gave him a small venture to detroit on condition that he penetrate to the back country, which was then almost entirely unexplored, and open up trade with the indians. he carried out his task in his usual thorough manner, but not without a severe struggle with a party of european traders, who had already obtained a foothold on the margin of this district, and who resented any interference with their monopoly by outside parties. however, finally the intruders were permitted to remain and share in the trade with the first comers. for many years after this, mr. mackenzie was occupied in trading and exploring in various parts of the continent, but of these operations we have, unfortunately, little or no record. after the amalgamation of the north-west company with the older hudson's-bay company, mr. mackenzie appears to have resided in canada, where he became a member of the provincial parliament, representing huntingdon county. he married in 1812, and afterwards bought an estate at avoch, ross-shire, scotland, where he resided until his death in march, 1820. it is as an explorer of the vast and lonely wilds of the north that mackenzie's fame chiefly rests. the bravery and hardihood which carried him thousands of miles over the prairie and muskegs of the illimitable plains, down the rapids of great unknown rivers, over the ranges of almost impassable mountains, will always command the admiration of all who care for noble deeds. with a small party of canadian _voyageurs_ and indians, in birch-bark canoes, mr. mackenzie started to explore the unknown regions of the north. skirting the great slave lake, he finally entered the mackenzie river, and then began that long, deep plunge into the wilderness, which lasted many months, until he finally emerged on the shores of the arctic ocean, in latitude 69. north. here he set up a post with his name and date of visit. the return voyage was fraught with many dangers and vicissitudes, but he finally arrived safely at fort chippewayan in september, 1789. mr. mackenzie's next expedition was even more dangerous and difficult than the former. he started from fort chippewayan on the 10th of july, 1792, with the object of reaching the pacific coast, an enterprise never before attempted by a european. after more than nine months of perilous travel he achieved his ambition and reached the great western ocean near cape menzies on the 22nd june, 1793. he is said to have inscribed on the face of a rock the date of his visit, and here it was that he was nearly murdered by the natives before setting out on his return. the results of mr. mackenzie's voyages to the far north have not been meagre. the opening of the territory to the west of the rocky mountains, followed quickly after; and the great hudson's-bay company immediately started to stud the whole northern country with small trading posts, whence have been drawn since incalculable riches in the furs of the north. all this is easy enough to write down, but the tale is still far from being told in full. what of the long days of gloom and loneliness, days of peril and uncertainty, days when hope had almost reached the vanishing point? who shall speak? it is a fascinating record which has placed the name of this indomitable scotchman beside the names of the world's greatest explorers. robert waite. preface. on presenting this volume to my country, it is not necessary to enter into a particular account of those voyages whose journals form the principal part of it, as they will be found, i trust, to explain themselves. it appears, however, to be a duty, which the public have a right to expect from me, to state the reasons which have influenced me in delaying the publication of them. it has been asserted, that a misunderstanding between a person high in office and myself, was the cause of this procrastination. it has also been propagated, that it was occasioned by that precaution which the policy of commerce will sometimes suggest; but they are both equally devoid of foundation. the one is an idle tale; and there could be no solid reason for concealing the circumstances of discoveries, whose arrangements and prosecution were so honourable to my associates and myself, at whose expense they were undertaken. the delay actually arose from the very active and busy mode of life in which i was engaged since the voyages have been completed; and when, at length, the opportunity arrived, the apprehension of presenting myself to the public in the character of an author, for which the courses and occupations of my life have by no means qualified me, made me hesitate in committing my papers to the press; being much better calculated to perform the voyages, arduous as they might be, than to write an account of them. however, they are now offered to the public with the submission that becomes me. i was led, at an early period of life, by commercial views, to the country north-west of lake superior, in north america, and being endowed by nature with an inquisitive mind and enterprising spirit; possessing also a constitution and frame of body equal to the most arduous undertakings, and being familiar with toilsome exertions in the prosecution of mercantile pursuits, i not only contemplated the practicability of penetrating across the continent of america, but was confident in the qualifications, as i was animated by the desire, to undertake the perilous enterprise. the general utility of such a discovery, has been universally acknowledged; while the wishes of my particular friends and commercial associates, that i should proceed in the pursuit of it, contributed to quicken the execution of this favourite project of my own ambition: and as the completion of it extends the boundaries of geographic science, and adds new countries to the realms of british commerce, the dangers i have encountered, and the toils i have suffered, have found their recompence; nor will the many tedious and weary days, or the gloomy and inclement nights which i have passed, have been passed in vain. the first voyage has settled the dubious point of a practicable north-west passage; and i trust it has set that long agitated question at rest, and extinguished the disputes respecting it for ever. an enlarged discussion of that subject will be found to occupy the concluding pages of this volume. in this voyage, i was not only without the necessary books and instruments, but also felt myself deficient in the sciences of astronomy and navigation; i did not hesitate, therefore, to undertake a winter's voyage to this country, in order to procure the one, and acquire the other. these objects being accomplished, i returned, to determine the practicability of a commercial communication through the continent of north america, between the atlantic and pacific oceans, which is proved by my second journal. nor do i hesitate to declare my decided opinion, that very great and essential advantages may be derived by extending our trade from one sea to the other. some account of the fur trade of canada from that country, of the native inhabitants, and of the extensive districts connected with it, forms a preliminary discourse, which will, i trust, prove interesting to a nation, whose general policy is blended with, and whose prosperity is supported by, the pursuits of commerce. it will also qualify the reader to pursue the succeeding voyages with superior intelligence and satisfaction. these voyages will not, i fear, afford the variety that may be expected from them; and that which they offered to the eye, is not of a nature to be effectually transferred to the page. mountains and valleys, the dreary waste, and the wide-spreading forests, the lakes and rivers succeed each other in general description; and, except on the coasts of the pacific ocean, where the villages were permanent, and the inhabitants in a great measure stationary, small bands of wandering indians are the only people whom i shall introduce to the acquaintance of my readers. the beaver and the buffalo, the moose-deer and the elk, which are the principal animals to be found in these countries, are already so familiar to the naturalists of europe, and have been so often as well as correctly described in their works, that the bare mention of them, as they enlivened the landscape, or were hunted for food; with a cursory account of the soil, the course and navigation of lakes and rivers, and their various produce, is all that can be reasonably expected from me. i do not possess the science of the naturalist; and even if the qualifications of that character had been attained by me, its curious spirit would not have been gratified. i could not stop to dig into the earth, over whose surface i was compelled to pass with rapid steps; nor could i turn aside to collect the plants which nature might have scattered on the way, when my thoughts were anxiously employed in making provision for the day that was passing over me. i had to encounter perils by land and perils by water; to watch the savage who was our guide, or to guard against those of his tribe who might meditate our destruction. i had, also, the passions and fears of others to control and subdue. to-day, i had to assuage the rising discontents, and on the morrow, to cheer the fainting spirits of the people who accompanied me. the toil of our navigation was incessant, and oftentimes extreme; and in our progress over land, we had no protection from the severity of the elements, and possessed no accommodations or conveniences but such as could be contained in the burden on our shoulders, which aggravated the toils of our march, and added to the wearisomeness of our way. though the events which compose my journals may have little in themselves to strike the imagination of those who love to be astonished, or to gratify the curiosity of such as are enamoured of romantic adventures; nevertheless, when it is considered, that i explored those waters which had never before borne any other vessel than the canoe of the savage; and traversed those deserts where an european had never before presented himself to the eye of its swarthy natives; when to these considerations are added the important objects which were pursued, with the dangers that were encountered, and the difficulties that were surmounted to attain them, this work will, i flatter myself, be found to excite an interest, and conciliate regard, in the minds of those who peruse it. the general map which illustrates this volume, is reduced by mr. arrowsmith from his three-sheet map of north america, with the latest discoveries, which he is about to republish. his professional abilities are well known, and no encomium of mine will advance the general and merited opinion of them. before i conclude, i must beg leave to inform my readers, that they are not to expect the charms of embellished narrative, or animated description; the approbation due to simplicity and to truth, is all i presume to claim; and i am not without the hope that this claim will be allowed me. i have described whatever i saw with the impressions of the moment which presented it to me. the successive circumstances of my progress are related without exaggeration or display. i have seldom allowed myself to wander into conjecture; and whenever conjecture has been indulged, it will be found, i trust, to be accompanied with the temper of a man who is not disposed to think too highly of himself: and if, at any time, i have delivered myself with confidence, it will appear, i hope, to be on those subjects, which, from the habits and experience of my life, will justify an unreserved communication of my opinions. i am not a candidate for literary fame; at the same time, i cannot but indulge the hope that this volume, with all its imperfections, will not be thought unworthy the attention of the scientific geographer; and that, by unfolding countries hitherto unexplored, and which, i presume, may now be considered as a part of the british dominions, it will be received as a faithful tribute to the prosperity of my country. alexander mackenzie. london, november 30, 1801. table of contents. chapter i. embarked at fort chepewyan, on the lake of the hills, in company with m. le roux. account of the party, provisions, etc. direction of the course. enter one of the branches of the lake. arrive in the peace river. appearance of the land. navigation of the river. arrive at the mouth of the dog river. successive description of several carrying places. a canoe lost in one of the falls. encamp on point de roche. course continued. set the nets, etc. arrive at the slave lake. the weather extremely cold. banks of the river described, with its trees, soil, etc. account of the animal productions, and the fishery of the lake. obliged to wait till the moving of the ice. three families of indians arrive from athabasca, beavers, geese, and swans killed. the nets endangered by ice. re-embark and land on a small island. course continued along the shores, and across the bays of the lake. various successes of the hunters. steer for an island where there was plenty of cranberries and small onions. kill several reindeer. land on an island named isle a la cache. clouds of mosquitoes. chapter ii. landed at some lodges of red-knife indians: procure one of them to assist in navigating the bays conference with the indians. take leave of m. le roux, and continue the voyage. different appearances of the land; its vegetable produce. visit an island where the wood had been felled. further description of the coast. plenty of rein and moose-deer, and white partridges. enter a very deep bay. interrupted by ice. very blowing weather, continue to cross the bay. arrive at the mouth of a river. great numbers of fish and wild-fowl. description of the land on either side. curious appearance of woods that had been burned. came in sight of the horn mountain. continue to kill geese and swans, etc. violent storm. chapter iii. continued our course. the river narrows. lost the lead. passed a small river. violent rain. land on a small island. expect to arrive at the rapid. conceal two bags of pemmican in an island. a view of mountains. pass several encampments of the natives. arrive among the islands. ascend a high hill. violence of the current. ice seen along the banks of the river. land at village of the natives. their conduct and appearance. their fabulous stories. the english chief and indians discontented. obtain a new guide. singular customs of the natives. an account of their dances. description of their persons, dress, ornaments, buildings, arms for war and hunting, canoes, etc. passed on among islands. encamped beneath a hill, and prevented from ascending by the mosquitoes. landed at an encampment. conduct of the inhabitants. they abound in fabulous accounts of dangers. land at other encampments. procure plenty of hares and partridges. our guide anxious to return. land and alarm the natives, called the hare indians, etc. exchange our guide. state of the weather. chapter iv. the new guide makes his escape. compel another to supply his place. land at an encampment of another tribe of indians. account of their manners, dress, weapons, etc. traffic with them. description of a beautiful fish. engage another guide. his curious behaviour. kill a fox and ground-hog. land at an encampment of a tribe called the deguthee denees, or quarrellers. saw flax growing wild. the varying character of the river and its banks. distant mountains. perplexity from the numerous channels of the river. determined to proceed. land where there had been an encampment of the esquimaux. saw large flocks of wild-fowl. view of the sun at midnight. description of a place lately deserted by the indians. houses of the natives described. frequent showers. saw a black fox. the discontents of our hunters renewed, and pacified. face of the country. land at a spot lately inhabited. peculiar circumstances of it. arrive at the entrance of the lake. proceed to an island. some account of it. chapter v. the baggage removed from the rising of the water. one of the nets driven away by the wind and current. whales are seen. go in pursuit of them, but prevented from continuing it by the fog. proceed to take a view of the ice. canoe in danger from the swell. examine the islands. describe one of them. erect a post to perpetuate our visit there. the rising of the water appears to be the tide. successful fishing. uncertain weather. sail among the islands. proceed to a river. temperature of the air improves. land on a small island, which is a place of sepulture. description of it. see a great number of wild fowl. fine view of the river from the high land. the hunters kill reindeer. cranberries, etc., found in great plenty. the appearance and state of the country. our guide deserts. large flight of geese; kill many of them. violent rain. return up the river. leave the channels for the main stream. obliged to tow the canoe. land among the natives. circumstances concerning them. their account of the esquimaux indians. accompany the natives to their huts. account of our provisions. chapter vi. employ the towing line. description of a place where the indians come to collect flint. their shyness and suspicions. current lessons. appearance of the country. abundance of hares. violent storm. land near three lodges. alarm of the indians. supply of fish from them. their fabulous accounts. continue to see indian lodges. treatment of a disease. misunderstanding with the natives. the interpreter harangues them. their accounts similar to those we have already received. their curious conduct. purchase some beaver skins. shoot one of their dogs. the consequence of that act. apprehensions of the women. large quantities of liquorice. swallows' nests seen in the precipices. fall in with a party of the natives killing geese. circumstances concerning them. hurricane. variation of the weather. kill great numbers of geese. abundance of several kinds of berries. state of the river and its bank. chapter vii. voyage continued. suspect the integrity of the interpreter. stars visible. springs of mineral water, and lumps of iron ore. arrive at the river of the bear lake. coal mine in a state of combustion. water of the river diminished, continue to see indian encampments, and kill geese, etc. hunting excursions. a canoe found on the edge of the wood. attempt to ascend a mountain. account of the passage to it. see a few of the natives. kill a beaver and some hares. design of the english chief. kill a wolf. changeable state of the weather. recover the pemmican, which had been hidden in an island. natives fly at our approach. meet with dogs. altercation with the english chief. account of the articles left by the fugitives. shoals of the river covered with saline matter. encamp at the mouth of the river of the mountain. the ground on fire on each side of it. continue to see encampments of the natives. various kinds of berries. kill geese, swans, etc., etc., etc. corroding quality of the water. weather changeable. reach the entrance of the slave lake. dangers encountered on entering it. caught pike and trout. met m. le roux on the lake. further circumstances till our return to fort chepewyan. conclusion of the voyage. chapter viii. leave fort chepewyan. proceed to the peace river. state of the lakes. arrive at peace point. the reason assigned for its name. the weather cold. arrive at the falls. description of the country. land at the fort, called the old establishment. the principal building destroyed by fire. course of the river. arrive at another fort. some account of the natives. depart from thence. course of the river continued, it divides into two branches. proceed along the principal one. land at the place of our winter's residence. account of its circumstances and inhabitants, etc. preparations for erecting a fort, etc., etc. table of the weather. broke the thermometer. frost sets in. description of birds. a general history of the fur trade from canada to the north-west. the fur trade, from the earliest settlement of canada, was considered of the first importance to that colony. the country was then so populous, that, in the vicinity of the establishments, the animals whose skins were precious, in a commercial view, soon became very scarce, if not altogether extinct. they were, it is true, hunted at former periods, but merely for food and clothing. the indians, therefore, to procure the necessary supply, were encouraged, to penetrate into the country, and were generally accompanied by some of the canadians, who found means to induce the remotest tribes of natives to bring the skins which were most in demand, to their settlements, in the way of trade. it is not necessary for me to examine the cause, but experience proves that it requires much less time for a civilized people to deviate into the manners and customs of savage life, than for savages to rise into a state of civilization. such was the event with those who thus accompanied the natives on their hunting and trading excursions; for they became so attached to the indian mode of life, that they lost all relish for their former habits and native homes. hence they derived the title of _coureurs des bois_, became a kind of pedlars, and were extremely useful to the merchants engaged in the fur trade; who gave them the necessary credit to proceed on their commercial undertakings. three or four of these people would join their stock, put their property into a birch-bark canoe, which they worked themselves, and either accompanied the natives in their excursions, or went at once to the country where they knew they were to hunt. at length, these voyages extended to twelve or fifteen months, when they returned with rich cargoes of furs, and followed by great numbers of the natives. during the short time requisite to settle their accounts with the merchants, and procure fresh credit, they generally contrived to squander away all their gains, when they returned to renew their favourite mode of life: their views being answered, and their labour sufficiently rewarded, by indulging themselves in extravagance and dissipation, during the short space of one month in twelve or fifteen. this indifference about amassing property, and the pleasure of living free from all restraint, soon brought on a licentiousness of manners which could not long escape the vigilant observation of the missionaries, who had much reason to complain of their being a disgrace to the christian religion; by not only swerving from its duties themselves, but by thus bringing it into disrepute with those of the natives who had become converts to it; and, consequently, obstructing the great object to which those pious men had devoted their lives. they therefore exerted their influence to procure the suppression of these people, and accordingly, no one was allowed to go up the country to traffic with the indians, without a license from the government. at first these permissions were, of course, granted only to those whose character was such as could give no alarm to the zeal of the missionaries: but they were afterwards bestowed as rewards for services, on officers, and their widows; and they, who were not willing or able to make use of them (which may be supposed to be always the case with those of the latter description), were allowed to sell them to the merchants, who necessarily employed the coureurs des bois, in quality of their agents; and these people, as may be imagined, gave sufficient cause for the renewal of former complaints; so that the remedy proved, in fact, worse than the disease. at length, military posts were established at the confluence of the different large lakes of canada, which, in a great measure checked the evil consequences that followed from the improper conduct of these foresters, and, at the same time, protected the trade. besides, a number of able and respectable men, retired from the army, prosecuted the trade in person, under their respective licences, with great order and regularity, and extended it to such a distance, as, in those days, was considered to be an astonishing effort of commercial enterprize. these persons and the missionaries having combined their views at the same time, secured the respect of the natives, and the obedience of the people necessarily employed in the laborious parts of this undertaking. these gentlemen denominated themselves commanders, and not traders, though they were entitled to both those characters: and, as for the missionaries, if sufferings and hardships in the prosecution of the great work which they had undertaken, deserved applause and admiration, they had an undoubted claim to be admired and applauded: they spared no labour and avoided no danger in the execution of their important office; and it is to be seriously lamented, that their pious endeavours did not meet with the success which they deserved: for there is hardly a trace to be found beyond the cultivated parts, of their meritorious functions. the cause of this failure must be attributed to a want of due consideration in the mode employed by the missionaries, to propagate the religion of which they were the zealous ministers. they habituated themselves to the savage life, and naturalized themselves to the savage manners, and, by thus becoming dependent, as it were, on the natives, they acquired their contempt rather than their veneration. if they had been as well acquainted with human nature, as they were with the articles of their faith, they would have known that the uncultivated mind of an indian must be disposed by much preparatory method and instruction to receive the revealed truths of christianity, to act under its sanctions, and be impelled to good by the hope of its reward, or turned from evil by the fear of its punishments. they should have begun their work by teaching some of those useful arts which are the inlets of knowledge, and lead the mind by degrees to objects of higher comprehension. agriculture, so formed to fix and combine society, and so preparatory to objects of superior consideration, should have been the first thing introduced among a savage people: it attaches the wandering tribe to that spot where it adds so much to their comforts; while it gives them a sense of property, and of lasting possession, instead of the uncertain hopes of the chase, and the fugitive produce of uncultivated wilds. such were the means by which the forests of paraguay were converted into a scene of abundant cultivation, and its savage inhabitants introduced to all the advantages of a civilized life. the canadian missionaries should have been contented to improve the morals of their own countrymen, so that by meliorating their character and conduct, they would have given a striking example of the effect of religion in promoting the comforts of life to the surrounding savages; and might by degrees have extended its benign influence to the remotest regions of that country, which was the object, and intended to be the scene, of their evangelical labours. but by bearing the light of the gospel at once to the distance of two thousand five hundred miles from the civilized part of the colonies, it was soon obscured by the cloud of ignorance that darkened the human mind in those distant regions. the whole of their long route i have often travelled, and the recollection of such a people as the missionaries having been there, was confined to a few superannuated canadians, who had not left that country since the cession to the english, in 1763, and who particularly mentioned the death of some, and the distressing situation of them all. but if these religious men did not attain the objects of their persevering piety, they were, during their mission, of great service to the commanders who engaged in those distant expeditions, and spread the fur trade as far west as the banks of the saskatchiwine river, in 53. north latitude, and longitude 102. west. at an early period of their intercourse with the savages, a custom was introduced of a very excellent tendency, but is now unfortunately discontinued, of not selling any spirituous liquor to the natives. this admirable regulation was for some time observed, with all the respect due to the religion by which it was sanctioned, and whose severest censures followed the violation of it. a painful penance could alone restore the offender to the suspended rites of the sacrament. the casuistry of trade, however, discovered a way to gratify the indians with their favourite cordial without incurring the ecclesiastical penalties, by giving, instead of selling it to them. but notwithstanding all the restrictions with which commerce was oppressed under the french government, the fur trade was extended to the immense distance which has been already stated; and surmounted many most discouraging difficulties, which will be hereafter noticed; while, at the same time, no exertions were made from hudson's bay to obtain even a share of the trade of a country, which according to the charter of that company, belonged to it, and, from its proximity, is so much more accessible to the mercantile adventurer. of these trading commanders, i understood, that two attempted to penetrate to the pacific ocean, but the utmost extent of their journey i could never learn; which may be attributed, indeed, to a failure of the undertaking. for some time after the conquest of canada, this trade was suspended, which must have been very advantageous to the hudson's-bay company, as all the inhabitants to the westward of lake superior were obliged to go to them for such articles as their habitual use had rendered necessary. some of the canadians who had lived long with them, and were become attached to a savage life, accompanied them thither annually, till mercantile adventurers again appeared from their own country, after an interval of several years, owing, as i suppose, to an ignorance of the country in the conquerors, and their want of commercial confidence in the conquered. there were, indeed, other discouragements, such as the immense length of the journey necessary to reach the limits beyond which this commerce must begin; the risk of property; the expenses attending such a long transport; and an ignorance of the language of those who, from their experience, must be necessarily employed as the intermediate agents between them and the natives. but, notwithstanding these difficulties, the trade, by degrees, began to spread over the different parts to which it had been carried by the french, though at a great risk of the lives, as well as the property of their new possessors, for the natives had been taught by their former allies to entertain hostile dispositions towards the english, from their having been in alliance with their natural enemies the iroquois; and there were not wanting a sufficient number of discontented, disappointed people, to keep alive such a notion; so that for a long time they were considered and treated as objects of hostility. to prove this disposition of the indians, we have only to refer to the conduct of pontiac, at detroit, and the surprise and taking of michilimakinac, about this period. hence it arose, that it was so late as the year 1766, before which, the trade i mean to consider, commenced from michilimakinac. the first who attempted it were satisfied to go the length of the river camenistiquia, about thirty miles to the eastward of the grande portage, where the french had a principal establishment, and was the line of their communication with the interior country. it was once destroyed by fire. here they went and returned successful in the following spring to michilimakinac. their success induced them to renew their journey, and incited others to follow their example. some of them remained at camenistiquia, while others proceeded to and beyond the grande portage, which, since that time has become the principal entrepot of that trade, and is situated in a bay, in latitude 48. north, and longitude 90. west. after passing the usual season there, they went back to michilimakinac as before, and encouraged by the trade, returned in increased numbers. one of these, thomas curry, with a spirit of enterprize superior to that of his contemporaries, determined to penetrate to the furthest limits of the french discoveries in that country; or at least till the frost should stop him. for this purpose he procured guides and interpreters, who were acquainted with the country, and with four canoes arrived at fort bourbon, which was one of their posts, at the west end of the cedar lake, on the waters of the saskatchiwine. his risk and toil were well recompensed, for he came back the following spring with his canoes filled with fine furs, with which he proceeded to canada, and was satisfied never again to return to the indian country. from this period, people began to spread over every part of the country, particularly where the french had established settlements. mr. james finlay was the first who followed mr. curry's example, and with the same number of canoes, arrived, in the course of the next season, at nipawee, the last of the french settlements on the bank of the saskatchiwine river, in latitude nearly 43â½. north, and longitude 103. west: he found the good fortune, as he followed, in every respect, the example, of his predecessor. as may be supposed, there were now people enough ready to replace them, and the trade was pursued with such avidity, and irregularity, that in a few years it became the reverse of what it ought to have been. an animated competition prevailed, and the contending parties carried the trade beyond the french limits, though with no benefit to themselves or neighbours, the hudson's-bay company; who in the year 1774, and not till then, thought proper to move from home to the east bank of sturgeon lake, in latitude 53. 56. north, and longitude 102. 15. west, and became more jealous of their fellow subjects; and, perhaps, with more cause, than they had been of those of france. from this period, to the present time, they have been following the canadians to their different establishments, while, on the contrary, there is not a solitary instance that the canadians have followed them; and there are many trading posts which they have not yet attained. this, however, will no longer be a mystery, when the nature and policy of the hudson's-bay company is compared with that, which has been pursued by their rivals in this trade.--but to return to my subject. this competition, which has been already mentioned, gave a fatal blow to the trade from canada, and, with other incidental causes, in my opinion, contributed to its ruin. this trade was carried on in a very distant country, out of the reach of legal restraint, and where there was a free scope given to any ways or means in attaining advantage. the consequence was not only the loss of commercial benefit to the persons engaged in it, but of the good opinion of the natives, and the respect of their men, who were inclined to follow their example; so that with drinking, carousing, and quarrelling with the indians along their route, and among themselves, they seldom reached their winter quarters; and if they did, it was generally by dragging their property upon sledges, as the navigation was closed up by the frost. when at length they were arrived, the object of each was to injure his rival traders in the opinion of the natives as much as was in their power, by misrepresentation and presents, for which the agents employed were peculiarly calculated. they considered the command of their employer as binding on them, and however wrong or irregular the transaction, the responsibility rested with the principal who directed them. this is indian law. thus did they waste their credit and their property with the natives, till the first was past redemption, and the last was nearly exhausted; so that towards the spring in each year, the rival parties found it absolutely necessary to join, and make one common stock of what remained, for the purpose of trading with the natives, who could entertain no respect for persons who had conducted themselves with so much irregularity and deceit. the winter, therefore, was one continued scene of disagreements and quarrels, if any one had the precaution or good sense to keep clear of these proceedings, he derived a proportionable advantage from his good conduct, and frequently proved a peacemaker between the parties. to such an height had they carried this licentious conduct, that they were in a continual state of alarm, and were even frequently stopped to pay tribute on their route into the country; though they had adopted the plan of travelling together in parties of thirty or forty canoes, and keeping their men armed; which sometimes, indeed, proved necessary for their defence. thus was the trade carried on for several years, and consequently becoming worse and worse, so that the partners, who met them at the grande portage, naturally complained of their ill success. but specious reasons were always ready to prove that it arose from circumstances which they could not at that time control; and encouragements were held forth to hope that a change would soon take place, which would make ample amends for past disappointments. it was about this time, that mr. joseph frobisher, one of the gentlemen engaged in the trade, determined to penetrate into the country yet unexplored, to the north and westward, and, in the spring of the year 1775, met the indians from that quarter on their way to fort churchill, at portage de traite, so named from that circumstance, on the banks of the missinipi, or churchill river, latitude 55. 25. north, longitude 103â½. west. it was indeed, with some difficulty that he could induce them to trade with him, but he at length procured as many furs as his canoes could carry. in this perilous expedition he sustained every kind of hardship incident to a journey through a wild and savage country, where his subsistence depended on what the woods and the waters produced. these difficulties, nevertheless, did not discourage him from returning in the following year, when he was equally successful. he then sent his brother to explore the country still further west, who penetrated as far as the lake of isle a la crosse, in latitude 55. 26. north, and longitude 108. west. he, however, never after wintered among the indians, though he retained a large interest in the trade, and a principal share in the direction of it till the year 1798, when he retired to enjoy the fruits of his labours; and, by his hospitality, became known to every respectable stranger who visited canada. the success of this gentleman induced others to follow his example, and in the spring of the year 1778, some of the traders on the saskatchiwine river, finding they had a quantity of goods to spare, agreed to put them into a joint stock, and gave the charge and management of them to mr. peter pond, who, in four canoes, was directed to enter the english river, so called by mr. frobisher, to follow his track, and proceed still further; if possible, to athabasca, a country hitherto unknown but from indian report. in this enterprise he at length succeeded and pitched his tent on the banks of the elk river, by him erroneously called the athabasca river, about forty miles from the lake of the hills, into which it empties itself. here he passed the winter of 1778-9; saw a vast concourse of the knisteneaux and chepewyan tribes, who used to carry their furs annually to churchill; the latter by the barren grounds, where they suffered innumerable hardships, and were sometimes even starved to death. the former followed the course of the lakes and rivers, through a country that abounded in animals, and where there was plenty of fish: but though they did not suffer from want of food, the intolerable fatigue of such a journey could not be easily repaid to an indian: they were, therefore, highly gratified by seeing people come to their country to relieve them from such long, toilsome, and dangerous journeys; and were immediately reconciled to give an advanced price for the articles necessary to their comfort and convenience. mr. pond's reception and success was accordingly beyond his expectation; and he procured twice as many furs as his canoes would carry. they also supplied him with as much provision as he required during his residence among them, and sufficient for his homeward voyage. such of the furs as he could not embark, he secured in one of his winter huts, and they were found the following season, in the same state in which he left them. these, however, were but partial advantages, and could not prevent the people of canada from seeing the improper conduct of some of their associates, which rendered it dangerous to remain any longer among the natives. most of them who passed the winter at the saskatchiwine, got to the eagle hills, where, in the spring of the year 1780, a few days previous to their intended departure, a large band of indians being engaged in drinking about their houses, one of the traders, to ease himself of the troublesome importunities of a native, gave him a dose of laudanum in a glass of grog, which effectually prevented him from giving further trouble to any one, by setting him asleep for ever. this accident produced a fray, in which one of the traders, and several of the men were killed, while the rest had no other means to save themselves but by a precipitate flight, abandoning a considerable quantity of goods, and near half the furs which they had collected during the winter and the spring. about the same time, two of the establishments on the assiniboin river, were attacked with less justice, when several white men, and a great number of indians were killed. in short, it appeared, that the natives had formed a resolution to extirpate the traders; and, without entering into any further reasonings on the subject, it appears to be incontrovertible, that the irregularity pursued in carrying on the trade has brought it into its present forlorn situation; and nothing but the greatest calamity that could have befallen the natives, saved the traders from destruction: this was the small-pox, which spread its destructive and desolating power, as the fire consumes the dry grass of the field. the fatal infection spread around with a baneful rapidity which no flight could escape, and with a fatal effect that nothing could resist. it destroyed with its pestilential breath whole families and tribes; and the horrid scene presented to those who had the melancholy and afflicting opportunity of beholding it, a combination of the dead, the dying, and such as to avoid the horrid fate of their friends around them, prepared to disappoint the plague of its prey, by terminating their own existence. the habits and lives of these devoted people, which provided not to-day for the wants of to-morrow, must have heightened the pains of such an affliction, by leaving them not only without remedy, but even without alleviation. naught was left them but to submit in agony and despair. to aggravate the picture, if aggravation were possible, may be added, the putrid carcases which the wolves, with a furious voracity, dragged forth from the huts, or which were mangled within them by the dogs, whose hunger was satisfied with the disfigured remains of their masters. nor was it uncommon for the father of a family, whom the infection had not reached, to call them around him to represent the cruel sufferings and horrid fate of their relations, from the influence of some evil spirit who was preparing to extirpate their race; and to incite them to baffle death, with all its horrors, by their own poniards. at the same time, if their hearts failed them in this necessary act, he was himself ready to perform the deed of mercy with his own hand, as the last act of his affection, and instantly to follow them to the common place of rest and refuge from human evil. it was never satisfactorily ascertained by what means this malignant disorder was introduced, but it was generally supposed to be from the missisouri, by a war party. the consequence of this melancholy event to the traders must be self-evident; the means of disposing of their goods were cut off; and no furs were obtained, but such as had been gathered from the habitations of the deceased indians, which could not be very considerable: nor did they look from the losses of the present year, with any encouraging expectations to those which were to come. the only fortunate people consisted of a party who had again penetrated to the northward and westward in 1780, at some distance up the missinipi, or english river, to lake la ronge. two unfortunate circumstances, however, happened to them; which are as follow: mr. wadin, a swiss gentleman, of strict probity and known sobriety, had gone there in the year 1779, and remained during the summer of 1780. his partners and others, engaged in an opposite interest, when at the grande portage, agreed to send a quantity of goods on their joint account, which was accepted, and mr. pond was proposed by them to be their representative to act in conjunction with mr. wadin. two men, of more opposite characters, could not, perhaps, have been found. in short, from various causes, their situations became very uncomfortable to each other, and mutual ill-will was the natural consequence: without entering, therefore, into a minute history of these transactions, it will be sufficient to observe, that, about the end of the year 1780, or the beginning of 1781, mr. wadin had received mr. pond and one of his own clerks to dinner; and, in the course of the night, the former was shot through the lower part of the thigh, when it was said that he expired from the loss of blood, and was buried next morning at eight o'clock. mr. pond, and the clerk, were tried for this murder at montreal, and acquitted: nevertheless, their innocence was not so apparent as to extinguish the original suspicion. the other circumstance was this. in the spring of the year, mr. pond sent the abovementioned clerk to meet the indians from the northward, who used to go annually to hudson's bay; when he easily persuaded them to trade with him, and return back, that they might not take the contagion which had depopulated the country to the eastward of them: but most unfortunately they caught it here, and carried it with them, to the destruction of themselves and the neighbouring tribes. the country being thus depopulated, the traders and their friends from canada, who, from various causes already mentioned, were very much reduced in number, became confined to two parties, who began seriously to think of making permanent establishments on the missinipi river, and at athabasca; for which purpose, in 1781-2, they selected their best canoe-men, being ignorant that the small-pox penetrated that way. the most expeditious party got only in time to the portage la loche, or mithy-ouinigam, which divides the waters of the missinipi from those that fall into the elk river, to despatch one canoe strong-handed, and light-loaded, to that country; but, on their arrival there, they found, in every direction, the ravages of the small-pox; so that, from the great diminution of the natives, they returned in the spring with no more than seven packages of beaver. the strong woods and mountainous countries afforded a refuge to those who fled from the contagion of the plains; but they were so alarmed at the surrounding destruction, that they avoided the traders, and were dispirited from hunting, except for their subsistence. the traders, however, who returned into the country in the year 1782-3, found the inhabitants in some sort of tranquillity, and more numerous than they had reason to expect, so that their success was proportionably better. during the winter of 1783-4, the merchants of canada, engaged in this trade, formed a junction of interests, under the name of the north-west company, and divided it into sixteen shares, without depositing any capital; each party furnishing a proportion or quota of such articles as were necessary to carry on the trade: the respective parties agreeing to satisfy the friends they had in the country, who were not provided for, according to this agreement, out of the proportions which they held. the management of the whole was accordingly entrusted to messrs. benjamin and joseph frobisher, and mr. simon m'tavish, two distinct houses, who had the greatest interest and influence in the country, and for which they were to receive a stipulated commission in all transactions. in the spring, two of those gentlemen went to the grande portage with their credentials, which were confirmed and ratified by all the parties having an option, except mr. peter pond, who was not satisfied with the share allotted him. accordingly he, and another gentleman, mr. peter pangman, who had a right to be a partner, but for whom no provision had been made, came to canada, with a determination to return to the country, if they could find any persons to join them, and give their scheme a proper support. the traders in the country, and merchants at montreal, thus entered into a co-partnership, which, by these means, was consolidated and directed by able men, who, from the powers with which they were entrusted, would carry on the trade to the utmost extent it would bear. the traders in the country, therefore, having every reason to expect that their past and future labours would be recompensed, forgot all their former animosities, and engaged with the utmost spirit and activity, to forward the general interest; so that, in the following year, they met their agents at the grande portage, with their canoes laden with rich furs from the different parts of that immense tract of country. but this satisfaction was not to be enjoyed without some interruption; and they were mortified to find that mr. pangman had prevailed on messrs. gregory and macleod to join him, and give him their support in the business, though deserted by mr. pond, who accepted the terms offered by his former associates. in the counting-house of mr. gregory i had been five years; and at this period had left him, with a small adventure of goods, with which he had entrusted me, to seek my fortune at detroit. he, without any solicitation on my part, had procured an insertion in the agreement, that i should be admitted a partner in this business, on condition that i would proceed to the indian country in the following spring, 1785. his partner came to detroit to make me such a proposition. i readily assented to it, and immediately proceeded to the grande portage, where i joined my associates. we now found that independent of the natural difficulties of the undertaking, we should have to encounter every other which they, who were already in possession of the trade of the country, could throw in our way, and which their circumstances enabled them to do. nor did they doubt, from their own superior experience, as well as that of their clerks and men, with their local knowledge of the country and its inhabitants, that they should soon compel us to leave the country to them. the event, however, did not justify their expectations; for, after the severest struggle ever known in that part of the world, and suffering every oppression which a jealous and rival spirit could instigate; after the murder of one of our partners, the laming of another, and the narrow escape of one of our clerks, who received a bullet through his powder horn, in the execution of his duty, they were compelled to allow us a share of the trade. as we had already incurred a loss, this union was, in every respect, a desirable event to us, and was concluded in the month of july, 1787. this commercial establishment was now founded on a more solid basis than any hitherto known in the country; and it not only continued in full force, vigour, and prosperity, in spite of all interference from canada, but maintained at least an equal share of advantage with the hudson's-bay company, notwithstanding the superiority of their local situation. the following account of this self-erected concern will manifest the cause of its success. it assumed the title of the north-west company, and was no more than an association of commercial men, agreeing among themselves to carry on the fur trade, unconnected with any other business, though many of the parties engaged had extensive concerns altogether foreign to it. it may be said to have been supported entirely upon credit; for, whether the capital belonged to the proprietor, or was borrowed, it equally bore interest, for which the association was annually accountable. it consisted of twenty shares, unequally divided among the persons concerned. of these, a certain proportion was held by the people who managed the business in canada, and were styled agents for the company. their duty was to import the necessary goods from england, store them at their own expense at montreal, get them made up into articles suited to the trade, pack and forward them, and supply the cash that might be wanting for the outfits, for which they received, independent of the profit on their shares, a commission on the amount of the accounts, which they were obliged to make out annually, and keep the adventure of each year distinct. two of them went annually to the grande portage, to manage and transact the business there, and on the communication at detroit, michilimakinac, st. mary's, and at montreal, where they received, stored, packed up, and shipped the company's furs for england, on which they had also a small commission. the remaining shares were held by the proprietors, who were obliged to winter and manage the business of the concern with the indians, and their respective clerks, etc. they were not supposed to be under any obligation to furnish capital, or even credit. if they obtained any capital by the trade, it was to remain in the hands of the agents; for which they were allowed interest. some of them, from their long services and influence, held double shares, and were allowed to retire from the business at any period of the existing concern, with one of those shares, naming any young man in the company's service to succeed him in the other. seniority and merit were, however, considered as affording a claim to the succession, which, nevertheless, could not be disposed of without the concurrence of the majority of the concern; who, at the same time, relieved the seceding person from any responsibility respecting the share that he transferred, and accounted for it according to the annual value or rate of the property; so that the seller could have no advantage, but that of getting the share of stock which he retained realised, and receiving for the transferred share what was fairly determined to be the worth of it. the former was also discharged from all duty, and became a dormant partner. thus, all the young men who were not provided for at the beginning of the contract, succeeded in succession to the character and advantages of partners. they entered into the company's service for five or seven years, under such expectations, and their reasonable prospects were seldom disappointed: there were, indeed, instances when they succeeded to shares, before their apprenticeship was expired, and it frequently happened, that they were provided for while they were in a state of articled clerkship. shares were transferable only to the concern at large, as no person could be admitted as a partner who had not served his time to the trade. the dormant partner indeed might dispose of his interest to any one he chose, but if the transaction was not acknowledged by his associates, the purchaser could only be considered as his agent or attorney. every share had a vote, and two-thirds formed a majority. this regular and equitable mode of providing for the clerks of the company, excited a spirit of emulation in the discharge of their various duties, and in fact, made every agent a principal, who perceived his own prosperity to be immediately connected with that of his employers. indeed, without such a spirit, such a trade could not have become so extended and advantageous, as it has been and now is. in 1788, the gross amount of the adventure for the year did not exceed forty thousand pounds,[1] but by the exertion, enterprise, and industry of the proprietors, it was brought, in eleven years, to triple that amount and upwards; yielding proportionate profits, and surpassing, in short, any thing known in america. such, therefore, being the prosperous state of the company, it, very naturally, tempted others to interfere with the concern in a manner by no means beneficial to the company, and commonly ruinous to the undertakers. in 1798 the concern underwent a new form, the shares were increased to forty-six, new partners being admitted, and others retiring. this period was the termination of the company, which was not renewed by all the parties concerned in it, the majority continuing to act upon the old stock, and under the old firm; the others beginning a new one; and it now remains to be decided, whether two parties, under the same regulations and by the same exertions, though unequal in number, can continue to carry on the business to a successful issue. the contrary opinion has been held, which if verified, will make it the interest of the parties again to coalesce; for neither is deficient in capital to support their obstinacy in a losing trade, as it is not to be supposed that either will yield on any other terms than perpetual participation. it will not be superfluous in this place, to explain the general mode of carrying on the fur trade. the agents are obliged to order the necessary goods from england in the month of october, eighteen months before they can leave montreal; that is, they are not shipped from london until the spring following, when they arrive in canada in the summer. in the course of the following winter they are made up into such articles as are required for the savages; they are then packed into parcels of ninety pounds weight each, but cannot be sent from montreal until the may following; so that they do not get to market until the ensuing winter, when they are exchanged for furs, which come to montreal the next fall, and from thence are shipped, chiefly to london, where they are not sold or paid for before the succeeding spring, or even as late as june; which is forty-two months after the goods were ordered in canada; thirty-six after they had been shipped from england, and twenty-four after they had been forwarded from montreal; so that the merchant, allowing that he has twelve months' credit, does not receive a return to pay for those goods, and the necessary expenses attending them, which is about equal to the value of the goods themselves, till two years after they are considered as cash, which makes this a very heavy business. there is even a small proportion of it that requires twelve months longer to bring round the payment, going to, the immense distance it is carried, and from the shortness of the seasons, which prevents the furs, even after they are collected, from coming out of the country for that period.[2] the articles necessary for this trade, are coarse woollen cloths of different kinds; milled blankets of different sizes; arms and ammunition; twist and carrot tobacco; manchester goods; linens, and coarse sheetings; thread, lines, and twine; common hardware; cutlery and ironmongery of several descriptions; kettles of brass and copper, and sheet-iron; silk and cotton handkerchiefs, hats, shoes, and hose; calicoes and printed cottons, etc., etc., etc. spirituous liquors and provisions are purchased in canada. these, and the expense of transport to and from the indian country, including wages to clerks, interpreters, guides, and canoe-men, with the expense of making up the goods for the market, form about half the annual amount against the adventure. this expenditure in canada ultimately tends to the encouragement of british manufactory, for those who are employed in the different branches of this business, are enabled by their gains to purchase such british articles as they must otherwise forego. the produce of the year of which i am now speaking, consisted of the following furs and peltries: 106,000 beaver skins, 6,000 lynx skins, 2,100 bear skins, 600 wolverine skins, 1,500 fox skins, 1,650 fisher skins, 4,000 kitt fox skins 100 rackoon skins, 4,600 otter skins, 8,800 wolf skins, 17,000 musquash skins, 700 elk skins, 32,000 marten skins, 750 deer skins, 1,800 mink skins, 1,200 deer skins dressed, 500 buffalo robes, and quantity of castorum. of these were diverted from the british market, being sent through the united states to china, 13,364 skins, fine beaver, weighing 19,283 pounds; 1,250 fine otters, and 1,724 kitt foxes. they would have found their way to the china market at any rate, but this deviation from the british channel arose from the following circumstance: an adventure of this kind was undertaken by a respectable house in london, half concerned with the north-west company, in the year 1792. the furs were of the best kind, and suitable to the market; and the adventurers continued this connexion for five successive years, to the annual amount of forty thousand pounds. at the winding up of the concern of 1792, 1793, 1794, 1795, in the year 1797 (the adventure of 1796 not being included, as the furs were not sent to china, but disposed of in london), the north-west company experienced a loss of upwards of â£40,000 (their half), which was principally owing to the difficulty of getting home the produce procured in return for the furs from china, in the east india company's ships, together with the duty payable, and the various restrictions of that company. whereas, from america there are no impediments; they get immediately to market, and the produce of them is brought back, and perhaps sold in the course of twelve months. from such advantages, the furs of canada will no doubt find their way to china by america, which would not be the case if british subjects had the same privileges that are allowed to foreigners, as london would then be found the best and safest market. but to return to our principal subject. we shall now proceed to consider the number of men employed in the concern: viz., fifty clerks, seventy-one interpreters and clerks, one thousand one hundred and twenty canoe-men, and thirty-five guides. of these, five clerks, eighteen guides, and three hundred and fifty canoe-men, were employed for the summer season in going from montreal to the grande portage, in canoes, part of whom proceeded from thence to rainy lake, as will be hereafter explained, and are called pork-eaters, or goers and comers. these were hired in canada or montreal, and were absent from the 1st of may till the latter end of september. for this trip the guides had from eight hundred to a thousand livres, and, a suitable equipment; the foreman and steersman from four to six hundred livres; the middle-men from two hundred and fifty to three hundred and fifty livres, with an equipment of one blanket, one shirt, and one pair of trowsers; and were maintained during that period at the expense of their employers. independent of their wages, they were allowed to traffic, and many of them earned to the amount of their wages. about one-third of these went to winter, and had more than double the above wages and equipment. all the winterers were hired by the year, and sometimes for three years; and of the clerks many were apprentices, who were generally engaged for five or seven years, for which they had only one hundred pounds, provision and clothing. such of them who could not be provided for as partners, at the expiration of this time, were allowed from one hundred pounds to three hundred pounds per annum, with all necessaries, till provision was made for them. those who acted in the two-fold capacity of clerk and interpreter, or were so denominated, had no other expectation than the payment of wages to the amount of from one thousand to four thousand livres per annum, with clothing and provisions. the guides, who are a very useful set of men, acted also in the additional capacity of interpreters, and had a stated quantity of goods, considered as sufficient for their wants, their wages being from one to three thousand livres. the canoe-men are of two descriptions, foremen and steersmen, and middlemen. the two first were allowed annually one thousand two hundred, and the latter eight hundred, livres each. the first class had what is called an equipment, consisting of two blankets, two shirts, two pair of trowsers, two handkerchiefs, fourteen pounds of carrot tobacco, and some trifling articles. the latter had ten pounds of tobacco, and all the other articles: those are called north men, or winterers; and to the last class of people were attached upwards of seven hundred indian women and children, victualled at the expence of the company. the first class of people are hired in montreal five months before they set out, and receive their equipments, and one-third of their wages in advance; and an adequate idea of the labour they undergo, may be formed from the following account of the country through which they pass, and their manner of proceeding. the necessary number of canoes being purchased, at about three hundred livres each, the goods formed into packages, and the lakes and rivers free of ice, which they usually are in the beginning of may, they are then despatched from la chine, eight miles above montreal, with eight or ten men in each canoe, and their baggage; and sixty-five packages of goods, six hundred weight of biscuit, two hundred weight of pork, three bushels of pease, for the men's provision; two oil-cloths to cover the goods, a sail, etc., an axe, a towing-line, a kettle, and a sponge to bail out the water, with a quantity of gum, bark, and watape, to repair the vessel. an european on seeing one of these slender vessels thus laden, heaped up, and sunk with her gunwale within six inches of the water, would think his fate inevitable in such a boat, when he reflected on the nature of her voyage; but the canadians are so expert that few accidents happen. leaving la chine, they proceed to st. ann's, within two miles of the western extremity of the island of montreal, the lake of the two mountains being in sight, which may be termed the commencement of the utawas river. at the rapid of st. ann they are obliged to take out part, if not the whole of their lading. it is from this spot that the canadians consider they take their departure, as it possesses the last church on the island, which is dedicated to the tutelar saint of voyages. the lake of the two mountains is about twenty miles long, but not more than three wide, and surrounded by cultivated fields, except the seignory belonging to the clergy, though nominally in possession of the two tribes of iroquois and algonquins, whose village is situated on a delightful point of land under the hills, which, by the title of mountains, give a name to the lake. near the extremity of the point their church is built, which divides the village in two parts, forming a regular angle along the water side. on the east is the station of the algonquins, and on the west, one of the iroquois, consisting in all of about five hundred warriors. each party has its missionary, and divine worship is performed according to the rites of the roman catholic religion, in their respective languages in the same church: and so assiduous have their pastors been, that these people have been instructed in reading and writing in their own language, and are better instructed than the canadian inhabitants of the country of the lower ranks: but notwithstanding these advantages, and though the establishment is nearly coeval with the colonization of the country, they do not advance towards a state of civilization, but retain their ancient habits, language, and customs, and are becoming every day more depraved, indigent, and insignificant. the country around them, though very capable of cultivation, presents only a few miserable patches of ground, sown by the women with maize and vegetables. during the winter season, they leave their habitations, and pious pastors, to follow the chase, according to the custom of their forefathers. such is, indeed, the state of all the villages near the cultivated parts of canada. but we shall now leave them to proceed on our voyage. at the end of the lake the water contracts into the utawas river, which, after a course of fifteen miles, is interrupted by a succession of rapids and cascades for upwards of ten miles, at the foot of which the canadian seignories terminate; and all above them were waste land, till the conclusion of the american war, when they were surveyed by order of government, and granted to the officers and men of the eighty-fourth regiment, when reduced; but principally to the former, and consequently little inhabited, though very capable of cultivation. the voyagers are frequently obliged to unload their canoes, and carry the goods upon their backs, or rather suspended in slings from their heads. each man's ordinary load is two packages, though some carry three. here the canoe is towed by a strong line. there are some places where the ground will not admit of their carrying the whole; they then make two trips, that is, leave half their lading, and go and land it at the distance required; and then return for that which was left. in this distance are three carrying-places, the length of which depends in a great measure upon the state of the water, whether higher or lower; from the last of these the river is about a mile and a half wide, and has a regular current for about sixty miles, when it ends at the first portage de chaudiere, where the body of water falls twenty-five feet, over cragged, excavated rocks, in a most wild, romantic manner. at a small distance below, is the river rideau on the left, falling over a perpendicular rock, near forty feet high, in one sheet, assuming the appearance of a curtain; and from which circumstance it derives its name. to this extent the lands have been surveyed, as before observed, and are very fit for culture. many loyalists are settled upon the river rideau, and have, i am told, thriving plantations. some american families preferring the british territory, have also established themselves along a river on the opposite side, where the soil is excellent. nor do i think the period is far distant, when the lands will become settled from this vicinity to montreal. over this portage, which is six hundred and forty-three paces long, the canoe and all the lading is carried. the rock is so steep and difficult of access, that it requires twelve men to take the canoe out of the water: it is then carried by six men, two at each end on the same side, and two under the opposite gunwale in the middle. from hence to the next is but a short distance, in which they make two trips to the second portage de chaudiere, which is seven hundred paces, to carry the loading alone. from hence to the next and last chaudiere, or portage des chenes, is about six miles, with a very strong current, where the goods are carried seven hundred and forty paces; the canoe being towed up by the line, when the water is not very high. we now enter lac des chaudieres, which is computed to be thirty miles in length. though it is called a lake, there is a strong draught downwards, and its breadth is from two to four miles. at the end of this is the portage des chats, over which the canoe and lading are carried two hundred and seventy-four paces; and very difficult it is for the former. the river is here barred by a ridge of black rock, rising in pinnacles and covered with wood, which, from the small quantity of soil that nourishes it, is low and stinted. the river finds its way over and through these rocks, in numerous channels, falling fifteen feet and upwards. from hence two trips are made through a serpentine channel, formed by the rocks, for several miles, when the current slackens, and is accordingly called the lac des chats. to the channels of the grand calumet, which are computed to be at the distance of eighteen miles, the current recovers its strength, and proceeds to the portage dufort, which is two hundred and forty-five paces long; over which the canoe and baggage are transported. from hence the current becomes more rapid, and requires two trips to the decharge des sables,[3] where the goods are carried one hundred and thirty-five paces, and the canoe towed. then follows the mountain portage, where the canoe and lading are also carried three hundred and eighty-five paces; then to the decharge of the derige, where the goods are carried two hundred and fifty paces; and thence to the grand calumet. this is the longest carrying-place in this river, and is about two thousand and thirty-five paces. it is a high hill or mountain. from the upper part of this portage the current is steady, and is only a branch of the utawas river, which joins the main channel, that keeps a more southern course, at the distance of twelve computed leagues. six leagues further it forms lake coulonge, which is about four leagues in length; from thence it proceeds through the channels of the allumettes to the decharge, where part of the lading is taken out, and carried three hundred and forty-two paces. then succeeds the portage des allumettes, which is but twenty-five paces, over a rock difficult of access, and at a very short distance from decharge. from portage de chenes to this spot, is a fine deer-hunting country, and the land in many places very fit for cultivation. from hence the river spreads wide, and is full of islands, with some current for seven leagues, to the beginning of _riviere creuse_, or deep river, which runs in the form of a canal, about a mile and a half wide, for about thirty-six miles; bounded upon the north by very high rocks, with low land on the south, and sandy; it is intercepted again by falls and cataracts, so that the portages of the two joachins almost join. the first is nine hundred and twenty-six paces, the next seven hundred and twenty, and both very bad roads. from hence is a steady current of nine miles to the river du moine, where there has generally been a trading house; the stream then becomes strong for four leagues, when a rapid succeeds, which requires two trips. a little way onward is the decharge, and close to it, the portage of the roche capitaine, seven hundred and ninety-seven paces in length. from hence two trips are made through a narrow channel of the roche capitaine, made by an island four miles in length. a strong current now succeeds, for about six leagues to the portage of the two rivers, which is about eight hundred and twenty paces; from thence it is three leagues to the decharge of the trou, which is three hundred paces. near adjoining is the rapid of levellier; from whence, including the rapids of matawoen, where there is no carrying-place, it is about thirty-six miles to the forks of the same name; in latitude 46. 45. north, and longitude 78. 45. west, and is at the computed distance of four hundred miles from montreal. at this place the petite riviere falls into the utawas. the latter river comes from a north-westerly direction, forming several lakes in its course. the principal of them is lake temescamang, where there has always been a trading post, which may be said to continue, by a succession of rivers and lakes, upwards of fifty leagues from the forks, passing near the waters of the lake abbitiby, in latitude 48â½, which is received by the moose river, that empties itself into james bay. the petite riviere takes a south-west direction, is full of rapids and cataracts to its source, and is not more than fifteen leagues in length, in the course of which are the following interruptions--the portage of plein champ, three hundred and nineteen paces; the decharge of the rose, one hundred and forty-five paces; the decharge of campion, one hundred and eighty-four paces; the portage of the grosse roche, one hundred and fifty paces; the portage of paresseux, four hundred and two paces; the portage of prairie, two hundred and eighty-seven paces; the portage of la cave, one hundred paces; portage of talon, two hundred and seventy-five paces; which, for its length, is the worst on the communication; portage pin de musique, four hundred and fifty-six paces; next to this, is mauvais de musique, where many men have been crushed to death by the canoes, and others have received irrecoverable injuries. the last in this river is the turtle portage, eighty-three paces, on entering the lake of that name, where, indeed, the river may be said to take its source. at the first vase from whence to the great river, the country has the appearance of having been over-run by fire, and consists, in general, of huge rocky hills. the distance of this portage which is the height of land, between the waters of the st. laurence and the utawas, is one thousand five hundred and thirteen paces to a small canal in a plain, that is just sufficient to carry the loaded canoe about one mile to the next vase, which is seven hundred and twenty-five paces. it would be twice this distance, but the narrow creek is dammed in the beaver fashion, to float the canoes to this barrier, through which they pass, when the river is just sufficient to bear them through a swamp of two miles to the last vase, of one thousand and twenty-four paces in length. though the river is increased in this part, some care is necessary to avoid rocks and stumps of trees. in about six miles is the lake nepisingui, which is computed to be twelve leagues long, though the route of the canoes is something more: it is about fifteen miles wide in the widest part, and bound with rocks. its inhabitants consist of the remainder of a numerous converted tribe, called nepisinguis of the algonquin nation. out of it flows the riviere des franã§ois, over rocks of a considerable height. in a bay to the east of this, the road leads over the portage of the chaudiere des franã§ois, five hundred and forty-four paces, to still water. it must have acquired the name of kettle, from a great number of holes in the solid rock of a cylindrical form, and not unlike that culinary utensil. they are observable in many parts along strong bodies of water, and where, at certain seasons, and distinct periods, it is well known the water inundates; at the bottom of them are generally found a number of small stones and pebbles. this circumstance justifies the conclusion, that at some former period these rocks formed the bed of a branch of the discharge of this lake, although some of them are upwards of ten feet above the present level of the water at its greatest height. they are, indeed, to be seen along every great river throughout this wide extended country. the french river is very irregular, both as to its breadth and form, and is so interspersed with islands, that in the whole course of it the banks are seldom visible. of its various channels, that which is generally followed by the canoes is obstructed by the following portages, viz., des pins, fifty-two paces; feausille, thirty-six paces; parisienne, one hundred paces; recolet, forty-five paces; and the petite feausille, twenty-five paces. in several parts there are guts or channels, where the water flows with great velocity, which are not more than twice the breadth of a canoe. the distance to lake huron is estimated at twenty-five leagues, which this river enters in the latitude 45. 53. north, that is, at the point of land three or four miles within the lake. there is hardly a foot of soil to be seen from one end of the french river to the other, its banks consisting of hills of entire rock. the coast of the lake is the same, but lower, backed at some distance by high lands. the course runs through numerous islands to the north of west to the river tessalon, computed to be about fifty leagues from the french river, and which i found to be in latitude 46. 12. 21. north; and from thence crossing, from island to island, the arm of the lake that receives the water of lake superior (which continues the same course), the route changes to the south of west ten leagues to the detour, passing the end of the island of st. joseph, within six miles of the former place. on that island there has been a military establishment since the upper posts were given up to the americans in the year 1794; and is the westernmost military position which we have in this country. it is a place of no trade, and the greater part, if not the whole of the indians come here for no other purpose but to receive the presents which our government annually allows them. they are from the american territory (except about thirty families, who are the inhabitants of the lake from the french river, and of the algonquin nation) and trade in their peltries, as they used formerly to do at michilimakinac, but principally with british subjects. the americans pay them very little attention, and tell them that they keep possession of their country by right of conquest: that, as their brothers, they will be friends with them while they deserve it; and that their traders will bring them every kind of goods they require, which they may procure by their industry. our commanders treat them in a very different manner, and, under the character of the representative of their father (which parental title the natives give to his present majesty, the common father of all his people) present them with such things as the actual state of their stores will allow. how far this conduct, if continued, may, at a future exigency, keep these people in our interest, if they are even worthy of it, is not an object of my present consideration: at the same time, i cannot avoid expressing my perfect conviction, that it would not be of the least advantage to our present or future commerce in that country, or to the people themselves; as it only tends to keep many of them in a state of idleness about our military establishments. the ammunition which they receive is employed to kill game, in order to procure rum in return, though their families may be in a starving condition: hence it is, that, in consequence of slothful and dissolute lives, their numbers are in a very perceptible state of diminution. from the detour to the island of michilimakinac, at the conference of the lakes huron and michigan, in latitude 45. 54. north is about forty miles. to keep the direct course to lake superior, the north shore from the river tessalon should be followed; crossing to the north-west end of st. joseph, and passing between it and the adjacent islands, which makes a distance of fifty miles to the fall of st. mary, at the foot of which, upon the south shore, there is a village, formerly a place of great resort for the inhabitants of lake superior, and consequently of considerable trade: it is now, however, dwindled to nothing, and reduced to about thirty families, of the algonquin, nation, who are one half of the year starving, and the other half intoxicated, and ten or twelve canadians, who have been in the indian country from an early period of life, and intermarried with the natives, who have brought them families. their inducements to settle there, was the great quantity of white fish that are to be taken in and about the falls, with very little trouble, particularly in the autumn, when that fish leave the lakes, and comes to the running and shallow waters to spawn. these, when salt can be procured, are pickled just as the frost sets in, and prove very good food with potatoes, which they have of late cultivated with success. the natives live chiefly on this fish, which they hang up by the tails, and preserve throughout the winter, or at least as long as they last; for whatever quantity they may have taken, it is never known that their economy is such as to make them last through the winter, which renders their situation very distressing; for if they had activity sufficient to pursue the labours of the chase, the woods are become so barren of game as to afford them no great prospect of relief. in the spring of the year, they and the other inhabitants make a quantity of sugar from the maple tree, which they exchange with the traders for necessary articles, or carry it to michilimakinac, where they expect a better price. one of these traders was agent for the north-west company, receiving, storing, and forwarding such articles as come by the way of the lakes upon their vessels: for it is to be observed, that a quantity of their goods are sent by that route from montreal in boats to kingston, at the entrance of lake ontario, and from thence in vessels to niagara, then over land ten miles to a water communication by boats, to lake erie, where they are again received into vessels, and carried over that lake up the river detroit, through the lake and river sinclair to lake huron, and from thence to the falls of st. mary's, when they are again landed and carried for a mile above the falls, and shipped over lake superior to the grande portage. this is found to be a less expensive method than by canoes, but attended with more risk, and requiring more time, than one short season of this country will admit; for the goods are always sent from montreal the preceding fall; and besides, the company get their provisions from detroit, as flour and indian corn; as also considerable supplies from michilimakinac of maple sugar, tallow, gum, etc., etc. for the purpose of conveying all these things, they have two vessels upon the lakes erie and huron, and one on lake superior, of from fifty to seventy tons burden. this being, therefore, the depot for transports, the montreal canoes, on their arrival, were forwarded over lake superior, with only five men in each; the others were sent to michilimakinac for additional canoes, which were required to prosecute the trade, and then taking a lading there, or at st. mary's, and follow the others. at length they all arrive at the grande portage which is one hundred and sixty leagues from st. mary's, coastways, and situated on a pleasant bay on the north side of the lake, in latitude 48. north, and longitude 90. west from greenwich, where the compass has not above five degrees east variation. at the entrance of the bay is an island which screens the harbour from every wind except the south. the shallowness of the water, however, renders it necessary for the vessel to anchor near a mile from the shore, where there is not more than fourteen feet water. this lake justifies the name that has been given to it; the falls of st. mary, which is its northern extremity, being in latitude 46. 31. north, and in longitude 84. west, where there is no variation of the compass whatever, while its southern extremity, at the river st. louis, is in latitude 46. 45. north, and longitude 92. 10. west: its greatest breadth is one hundred and twenty miles, and its circumference, including its various bays, is not less than one thousand two hundred miles. along its north shore is the safest navigation, as it is a continued mountainous embankment of rock, from three hundred to one thousand five hundred feet in height. there are numerous coves and sandy bays to land, which are frequently sheltered by islands from the swell of the lake. this is particularly the case at the distance of one hundred miles to the eastward of the grande portage, and is called the pays plat. this seems to have been caused by some convulsion of nature, for many of the islands display a composition of lava, intermixed with round stones of the size of a pigeon's egg. the surrounding rock is generally hard, and of a dark blue-grey, though it frequently has the appearance of iron and copper. the south side of the lake, from point shagoimigo east, is almost a continual straight line of sandy beach, interspersed with rocky precipices of lime-stones, sometimes rising to a hundred feet in height, without a bay. the embankments from that point westward are, in general, of strong clay, mixed with stones, which renders the navigation irksome and dangerous. on the same side, at the river tonnagan, is found a quantity of virgin copper. the americans, soon after they got possession of that country, sent an engineer thither; and i should not be surprised to hear of their employing people to work the mine. indeed, it might be well worthy the attention of the british subjects to work the mines on the north coast, though they are not supposed to be so rich as those on the south. lake superior is the largest and most magnificent body of fresh water in the world: it is clear and pellucid, of great depth, and abounding in a great variety of fish, which are the most excellent of their kind. there are trouts of three kinds, weighing from five to fifty pounds, sturgeon, pickerel, pike, red and white carp, black bass, herrings, etc., etc., and the last, and best of all, the ticamang, or white fish, which weighs from four to sixteen pounds, and is of a superior quality in these waters. this lake may be denominated the grand reservoir of the river st. laurence, as no considerable rivers discharge themselves into it. the principal ones are, the st. louis, the nipigon, the pic, and the michipicoten. indeed, the extent of country from which any of them flow, or take their course, in any direction, cannot admit of it, in consequence of the ridge of land that separates them from the rivers that empty themselves into hudson's-bay, the gulf of mexico, and the waters that fall in lake michigan, which afterward become a part of the st. laurence. this vast collection of water is often covered with fog, particularly when the wind is from the east, which, driving against the high barren rocks on the north and west shore, dissolves in torrents of rain. it is very generally said, that the storms on this lake are denoted by a swell on the preceding day; but this circumstance did not appear from my observation to be a regular phenomenon, as the swells more regularly subsided without any subsequent wind. along the surrounding rocks of this immense lake, evident marks appear of the decrease of its water, by the lines observable along them. the space, however, between the highest and the lowest, is not so great as in the smaller lakes, as it does not amount to more than six feet, the former being very faint. the inhabitants that are found along the coast of this water, are all of the algonquin nation, the whole of which do not exceed 150 families.[4] these people live chiefly on fish; indeed, from what has been said of the country, it cannot be expected to abound in animals, as it is totally destitute of that shelter, which is so necessary to them. the rocks appear to have been over-run by fire, and the stinted timber which once grew there, is frequently seen lying along the surface of them: but it is not easy to be reconciled, that anything should grow where there is so little appearance of soil. between the fallen trees there are briars, with hurtleberry and gooseberry bushes, raspberries, etc., which invite the bears in greater or lesser numbers, as they are a favourite food of that animal: beyond these rocky banks are found a few moose and fallow deer. the waters alone are abundantly inhabited. a very curious phenomenon was observed some years ago at the grande portage, for which no obvious cause could be assigned. the water withdrew with great precipitation, leaving the ground dry that had never before been visible, the fall being equal to four perpendicular feet, and rushing back with great velocity above the common mark. it continued thus falling and rising for several hours, gradually decreasing till it stopped at its usual height. there is frequently an irregular influx and deflux, which does not exceed ten inches, and is attributed to the wind. the bottom of the bay, which forms an amphitheatre, is cleared of wood and inclosed; and on the left corner of it, beneath an hill, three or four hundred feet in height, and crowned by others of a still greater altitude, is the fort, picketed in with cedar pallisadoes, and inclosing houses built with wood and covered with shingles. they are calculated for every convenience of trade, as well as to accommodate the proprietors and clerks during their short residence there. the north men live under tents: but the more frugal pork-eater lodges beneath his canoe. the soil immediately bordering on the lake has not proved very propitious, as nothing but potatoes have been found to answer the trouble of cultivation. this circumstance is probably owing to the cold damp fogs of the lake, and the moisture of the ground from the springs that issue from beneath the hills. there are meadows in the vicinity that yield abundance of hay for the cattle; but, as to agriculture, it has not hitherto been an object of serious consideration. i shall now leave these geographical notices, to give some further account of the people from montreal.--when they are arrived at the grande portage, which is near nine miles over, each of them has to carry eight packages of such goods and provisions as are necessary for the interior country. this is a labour which cattle cannot conveniently perform in summer, as both horses and oxen were tried by the company without success. they are only useful for light, bulky articles; or for transporting upon sledges, during the winter, whatever goods may remain there, especially provision, of which it is usual to have a year's stock on hand. having finished this toilsome part of their duty, if more goods are necessary to be transported, they are allowed a spanish dollar for each package: and so inured are they to this kind of labour, that i have known some of them set off with two packages of ninety pounds each, and return with two others of the same weight, in the course of six hours, being a distance of eighteen miles over hills and mountains. this necessary part of the business being over, if the season be early they have some respite, but this depends upon the time the north men begin to arrive from their winter quarters, which they commonly do early in july. at this period, it is necessary to select from the pork-eaters, a number of men, among whom are the recruits, or winterers, sufficient to man the north canoes necessary to carry, to the river of the rainy lake, the goods and provision requisite for the athabasca country; as the people of that country (owing to the shortness of the season and length of the road, can come no further), are equipped there, and exchange ladings with the people of whom we are speaking, and both return from whence they came. this voyage is performed in the course of a month, and they are allowed proportionable wages for their services. the north men being arrived at the grande portage, are regaled with bread, pork, butter, liquor, and tobacco, and such as have not entered into agreements during the winter, which is customary, are contracted with, to return and perform the voyage for one, two, or three years; their accounts are also settled, and such as choose to send any of their earnings to canada, receive drafts to transmit to their relations or friends; and as soon as they can be got ready, which requires no more than a fortnight, they are again despatched to their respective departments. it is, indeed, very creditable to them as servants, that though they are sometimes assembled to the number of twelve hundred men, indulging themselves in the free use of liquor, and quarrelling with each other, they always show the greatest respect to their employers, who are comparatively but few in number, and beyond the aid of any legal power to enforce due obedience. in short, a degree of subordination can only be maintained by the good opinion these men entertain of their employers, which has been uniformly the case, since the trade has been formed and conducted on a regular system. the people being despatched to their respective winter-quarters, the agents from montreal, assisted by their clerks, prepare to return there, by getting the furs across the portage, and re-making them into packages of one hundred pounds weight each, to send them to montreal; where they commonly arrive in the month of september. the mode of living at the grande portage is as follows: the proprietors, clerks, guides, and interpreters, mess together, to the number of sometimes an hundred, at several tables, in one large hall, the provision consisting of bread, salt pork, beef, hams, fish, and venison, butter, peas, indian corn, potatoes, tea, spirits, wine, etc., and plenty of milk, for which purpose several milch cows are constantly kept. the mechanics have rations of such provision, but the canoe-men, both from the north and montreal, have no other allowance here, or in the voyage, than indian corn and melted fat. the corn for this purpose is prepared before it leaves detroit, by boiling it in a strong alkali, which takes off the outer husk: it is then well washed, and carefully dried upon stages, when it is fit for use. one quart of this is boiled for two hours, over a moderate fire, in a gallon of water; to which, when it has boiled a small time, are added two ounces of melted suet; this causes the corn to split, and in the time mentioned makes a pretty thick pudding. if to this is added a little salt, (but not before it is boiled, as it would interrupt the operation) it makes a wholesome, palatable food, and easy of digestion. this quantity is fully sufficient for a man's subsistence during twenty-four hours; though it is not sufficiently heartening to sustain the strength necessary for a state of active labour. the americans call this dish hominy.[5] the trade from the grande portage is, in some particulars, carried on in a different manner with that from montreal. the canoes used in the latter transport are now too large for the former, and some of about half the size are procured from the natives, and are navigated by four, five, or six men, according to the distance which they have to go. they carry a lading of about thirty-five packages, on an average; of these twenty-three are for the purpose of trade, and the rest are employed for provisions, stores, and baggage. in each of these canoes are a foreman and steersman; the one to be always on the look-out, and direct the passage of the vessel, and the other to attend the helm. they also carry her, whenever that office is necessary. the foreman has the command, and the middle-men obey both; the latter earn only two-thirds of the wages which are paid the two former. independent of these, a conductor or pilot is appointed to every four or six of these canoes, whom they are all obliged to obey; and is, or at least is intended to be, a person of superior experience, for which he is proportionably paid. in these canoes, thus loaded, they embark at the north side of the portage, on the river au tourt, which is very inconsiderable; and after about two miles of a westerly course, is obstructed by the partridge portage, six hundred paces long. in the spring this makes a considerable fall, when the water is high, over a perpendicular rock of one hundred and twenty feet. from, thence the river continues to be shallow, and requires great care to prevent the bottom of the canoe from being injured by sharp rocks, for a distance of three miles and an half to the priarie, or meadow, when half the lading is taken out, and carried by part of the crew, while two of them are conducting the canoe among the rocks, with the remainder, to the carreboeuf portage, three miles and a half more, when they unload, and come back two miles, and embark what was left for the other hands to carry, which they also land with the former; all of which is carried six hundred and eighty paces, and the canoe led up against the rapid. from hence the water is better calculated to carry canoes, and leads by a winding course to the north of west three miles to the outard portage, over which the canoe, and every thing in her, is carried for two thousand four hundred paces. at the further end is a very high hill to descend, over which hangs a rock upwards of seven hundred feet high. then succeeds the outard lake, about six miles long, lying in a north-west course, and about two miles wide in the broadest place. after passing a very small rivulet, they come to the elk portage, over which the canoe and lading are again carried one thousand one hundred and twenty paces; when they enter the lake of the same name, which is an handsome piece of water, running north-west about four miles, and not more than one mile and an half wide.[6] they then land at the portage de cerise, over which, and in the face of a considerable hill, the canoe and cargo are again transported for one thousand and fifty paces. this is only separated from the second portage de cerise, by a mud-pond (where there is plenty of water lilies), of a quarter of a mile in length; and this is again separated by a similar pond, from the last portage de cerise, which is four hundred and ten paces. here the same operation is to be performed for three hundred and eighty paces. they next enter on the mountain lake, running north-west by west six miles long, and about two miles in its greatest breadth. in the centre of this lake, and to the right is the old road, by which i never passed, but an adequate notion may be formed of it from the road i am going to describe, and which is universally preferred. this is first, the small new portage over which everything is carried for six hundred and twenty-six paces, over hills and gullies; the whole is then embarked on a narrow line of water, that meanders south-west about two miles and an half. it is necessary to unload here, for the length of the canoe, and then proceed west half a mile, to the new grande portage, which is three thousand one hundred paces in length, and over very rough ground, which requires the utmost exertions of the men, and frequently lames them: from hence they approach the rose lake, the portage of that name being opposite to the junction of the road from the mountain lake. they then embark on the rose lake, about one mile from the east end of it, and steer west by south, in an oblique course, across it two miles, then north-west passing the petite peche to the marten portage three miles. in this part of the lake the bottom is mud and slime, with about three or four feet of water over it; and here i frequently struck a canoe pole of twelve feet long, without meeting any other obstruction than if the whole were water: it has, however, a peculiar suction or attractive power, so that it is difficult to paddle a canoe over it. there is a small space along the south shore, where the water is deep, and this effect is not felt. in proportion to the distance from this part, the suction becomes more powerful: i have, indeed, been told that loaded canoes have been in danger of being swallowed up, and have only owed their preservation to other canoes, which were lighter. i have, myself, found it very difficult to get away from this attractive power, with six men, and great exertion, though we did not appear to be in any danger of sinking. over against this is a very high, rocky ridge, on the south side, called marten portage, which is but twenty paces long, and separated from the perche portage, which is four hundred and eighty paces, by a mud pond, covered with white lilies. from hence the course is on the lake of the same name, west-south-west three miles to the height of land, where the waters of the dove or pigeon river terminate, and which is one of the sources of the great st. laurence in this direction. having carried the canoe and lading over it, six hundred and seventy-nine paces, they embark on the lake of hauteur de terre, which is in the shape of an horseshoe.[7] it is entered near the curve, and left at the extremity of the western limb, through a very shallow channel, where the canoe passes half loaded for thirty paces with the current, which conducts these waters till they discharge themselves, through the succeeding lakes and rivers, and disembogues itself, by the river nelson, into hudson's bay. the first of these is lac de pierres a fusil, running west-south-west seven miles long, and two wide, and making an angle at north-west one mile more, becomes a river for half a mile, tumbling over a rock, and forming a fall and portage, called the escalier, of fifty-five paces; but from hence it is neither lake or river, but possesses the character of both, and runs between large rocks, which cause a current or rapid for about two miles and an half, west-north-west, to the portage of the cheval du bois. here the canoe and contents are carried three hundred and eighty paces, between rocks; and within a quarter of a mile is the portage des gros pins, which is six hundred and forty paces over a high ridge. the opposite side of it is washed by a small lake three mile round; and the course is through the east end or side of it, three quarters of a mile north-east, where there is a rapid. an irregular meandering channel, between rocky banks, then succeeds, for seven miles and an half, to the maraboeuf lake, which extends north four miles, and is three-quarters of a mile wide, terminating by a rapid and decharge of one hundred and eighty paces, the rock of saginaga being in sight, which causes a fall of about seven feet, and a portage of fifty-five paces. lake saginaga takes its name from its numerous islands. its greatest length from east to west is about fourteen miles, with very irregular inlets, is nowhere more than three miles wide, and terminates at the small portage of le roche, of forty-three paces. from thence is a rocky, stony passage of one mile, to priarie portage, which is very improperly named, as there is no ground about it that answers to that description, except a small spot at the embarking place at the west end: to the east is an entire bog; and it is with great difficulty that the lading can be landed upon stages, formed by driving piles into the mud, and spreading branches of trees over them. the portage rises on a stony ridge, over which the canoe and cargo must be carried for six hundred and eleven paces. this is succeeded by an embarkation on a small bay, where the bottom is the same as has been described in the west end of rose lake, and it is with great difficulty that a laden canoe is worked over it, but it does not comprehend more than a distance of two hundred yards. from hence the progress continues through irregular channels, bounded by rocks, in a westerly course for about five miles, to the little portage des couteaux, of one hundred and sixty-five paces, and the lac des couteaux, running about south-west by west twelve miles, and from a quarter to two miles wide. a deep bay runs east three miles from the west end, where it is discharged by a rapid river, and after running two miles west, it again becomes still water. in this river are two carrying-places, the one fifteen, and the other one hundred and ninety paces. from this to the portage des carpes is one mile north-west, leaving a narrow lake on the east that runs parallel with the lac des couteaux, half its length, where there is a carrying-place, which is used when the water in the river last mentioned is too low. the portage des carpes is three hundred and ninety paces, from whence the water spreads irregularly between rocks, five miles north-west and south-east to the portage of lac bois blanc, which is one hundred and eighty paces. then follows the lake of that name, but i think improperly so called, as the natives name it the lac passeau minac sagaigan, or lake of dry berries. before the small-pox ravaged this country, and completed, what the nodowasis, in their warfare, had gone far to accomplish, the destruction of its inhabitants, the population was very numerous: this was also a favourite part, where they made their canoes, etc., the lake abounding in fish, the country round it being plentifully supplied with various kinds of game, and the rocky ridges, that form the boundaries of the water, covered with a variety of berries. when the french were in possession of this country, they had several trading establishments on the islands and banks of this lake. since that period, the few people remaining, who were of the algonquin nation, could hardly find subsistence; game having become so scarce, that they depended principally for food upon fish and wild rice, which grows spontaneously in these parts. this lake is irregular in its form, and its utmost extent from east to west is fifteen miles; a point of land, called point au pin, jutting into it, divides it in two parts: it then makes a second angle at the west end, to the lesser portage de bois blanc, two hundred paces in length. this channel is not wide, and is intercepted by several rapids in the course of a mile: it runs west-north west to the portage des pins, over which the canoe and lading is again carried four hundred paces. from hence the channel is also intercepted by very dangerous rapids, for two miles westerly, to the point of pointe du bois, which is two hundred and eighty paces. then succeeds the portage of la croche, one mile more, where the carrying-place is eighty paces, and is followed by an embarkation on that lake, which takes its name from its figure. it extends eighteen miles, in a meandering form, and in a westerly direction; it is in general very narrow, and at about two-thirds of its length becomes very contracted, with a strong current. within three miles of the last portage is a remarkable rock, with a smooth face, but split and cracked in different parts, which hang over the water. into one of its horizontal chasms a great number of arrows have been shot, which is said to have been done by a war party of the nadowasis or sieux, who had done much mischief in this country, and left these weapons as a warning to the chebois or natives, that, notwithstanding its lakes, rivers, and rocks, it was not inaccessible to their enemies. lake croche is terminated by the portage de rideau, four hundred paces long, and derives its name from the appearance of the water, falling over a rock of upwards of thirty feet. several rapids succeed, with intervals of still water, for about three miles to the flacon portage, which is very difficult, is four hundred paces long, and leads to the lake of la croix, so named from its shape. it runs about north-west eighteen miles to the beaver dam, and then sinks into a deep bay nearly east. the course to the portage is west by north for sixteen miles more from the beaver dam, and into the east bay is a road which was frequented by the french, and followed through lakes and rivers until they came to lake superior by the river caministiquia, thirty miles east of the grande portage. portage la croix is six hundred paces long: to the next portage is a quarter of a mile, and its length is forty paces; the river winding four miles to vermillion lake, which runs six or seven miles north-north-west, and by a narrow strait communicates with lake namaycan, which takes its name from a particular place at the foot of a fall, where the natives spear sturgeon: its course is about north-north-west and south-south-east, with a bay running east, that gives it the form of a triangle: its length is about sixteen miles to the nouvelle portage. the discharge of the lake is from a bay on the left, and the portage one hundred eighty paces, to which succeeds a very small river, from whence there is but a short distance to the next nouvelle portage, three hundred and twenty paces long. it is then necessary to embark on a swamp, or overflowed country, where wild rice grows in great abundance. there is a channel or small river in the centre of this swamp, which is kept with difficulty, and runs south and north one mile and a half. with deepening water, the course continues north-north-west one mile to the chaudiere portage, which is caused by the discharge of the waters running on the left of the road from lake namaycan, which used to be the common route, but that which i have described is the safest as well as shortest. from hence there is some current though the water is wide spread, and its course about north by west three miles and an half to the lac de la pluie, which lies nearly east and west; from thence about fifteen miles is a narrow strait that divides the lake into two unequal parts, from whence to its discharge is a distance of twenty-four miles. there is a deep bay running north-west on the right, that is not included, and is remarkable for furnishing the natives with a kind of soft, red stone, of which they make their pipes; it also affords an excellent fishery both in the summer and winter; and from it is an easy, safe, and short road to the lac du bois, (which i shall mention presently) for the indians to pass in their small canoes, through a small lake and on a small river, whose banks furnish abundance of wild rice. the discharge of this lake is called lac de la pluie river, at whose entrance there is a rapid, below which is a fine bay, where there had been an extensive picketed fort and building when possessed by the french: the site of it is at present a beautiful meadow, surrounded with groves of oaks. from hence there is a strong current for two miles, where the water falls over a rock twenty feet, and, from the consequent turbulence of the water, the carrying-place, which is three hundred and twenty paces long, derives the name of chaudiere. two miles onward is the present trading establishment, situated on an high bank on the north side of the river, in 48. 37. north latitude. here the people from montreal come to meet those who arrive from the athabasca country, as has been already described, and exchange lading with them. this is also the residence of the first chief, or sachem, of all the algonquin tribes, inhabiting the different parts of this country. he is by distinction called nectam, which implies personal preeminence. here also the elders meet in council to treat of peace or war. this is one of the finest rivers in the north-west, and runs a course west and east one hundred and twenty computed miles; but in taking its course and distance minutely i make it only eighty. its banks are covered with a rich soil, particularly to the north, which, in many parts, are clothed with fine open groves of oak, with the maple, the pine, and the cedar. the southern bank is not so elevated, and displays the maple, the white birch, and the cedar, with the spruce, the alder, and various underwood. its waters abound in fish, particularly the sturgeon, which the natives both spear and take with drag-nets. but notwithstanding the promise of this soil, the indians do not attend to its cultivation, though they are not ignorant of the common process, and are fond of the indian corn, when they can get it from us. though the soil at the fort is a stiff clay, there is a garden, which, unassisted as it is by manure, or any particular attention, is tolerably productive. we now proceed to mention the lac du bois, into which this river discharges itself in latitude 49. north, and was formerly famous for the richness of its banks and waters, which abounded with whatever was necessary to a savage life. the french had several settlements in and about it; but it might be almost concluded, that some fatal circumstance had destroyed the game, as war and the small-pox had diminished the inhabitants, it having been very unproductive in animals since the british subjects have been engaged in travelling through it; though it now appears to be recovering its pristine state. the few indians who inhabit it might live very comfortably, if they were not so immoderately fond of spirituous liquors. this lake is also rendered remarkable, in consequence of the americans having named it as the spot, from which a line of boundary, between them and british america, was to run west, until it struck the mississippi: which, however, can never happen, as the north-west part of the lac du bois is in latitude 49. 37. north, and longitude 94.31. west, and the northernmost branch of the source of the mississippi is in latitude 47. 38. north, and longitude 95. 6. west, ascertained by mr. thomson, astronomer to the north-west company, who was sent expressly for that purpose in the spring of 1798. he, in the same year, determined the northern bend of the mississoury to be in latitude 47. 32. north, and longitude 101. 25. west; and, according to the indian accounts, it runs to the south of west, so that if the mississoury were even to be considered as the mississippi, no western line could strike it. it does not appear to me to be clearly determined what course the line is to take, or from what part of lake superior it strikes through the country to the lac du bois: were it to follow the principal waters to their source, it ought to keep through lake superior to the river st. louis, and follow that river to its source; close to which is the source of the waters falling into the river of lac la pluie, which is a common route of the indians to the lac du bois; the st. louis passes within a short distance of a branch of the mississippi, where it becomes navigable for canoes. this will appear more evident from consulting the map: and if the navigation of the mississippi is considered as of any consequence by this country, from that part of the globe, such is the nearest way to get at it. but to return to our narrative. the lac du bois is, as far as i could learn, nearly round, and the canoe course through the centre of it among a cluster of islands, some of which are so extensive that they may be taken for the mainland. the reduced course would be nearly south and north. but following the navigating course, i make the distance seventy-five miles, though in a direct line it would fall very short of that length. at about two-thirds of it there is a small carrying-place, when the water is low. the carrying-place out of the lake is on the island and named portage du rat, in latitude 49. 37. north, and longitude 94. 15. west; it is about fifty paces long. the lake discharges itself at both ends of this island, and forms the river winipic, which is a large body of water, interspersed with numerous islands, causing various channels and interruptions of portages and rapids. in some parts it has the appearance of lakes, with steady currents; i estimate its winding course to the dalles eight miles; to the grand decharge twenty-five miles and an half, which is a long carrying-place for the goods; from thence to the little decharge one mile and an half; to the terre jaune portage two miles and an half; then to its galet seventy yards; two miles and three quarters to the terre blanche, near which is a fall of from four to five feet; three miles and an half to portage de l'isle, where there is a trading-post, and, about eleven miles, on the north shore, a trading establishment, which is the road in boats, to albany river, and from thence to hudson's-bay. there is also a communication with lake superior, through what is called the nipigan country, which enters that lake about thirty-five leagues east of the grande portage. in short, the country is so broken by lakes and rivers, that people may find their way in canoes in any direction they please. it is now four miles to portage de l'isle, which is but short, though several canoes have been lost in attempting to run the rapid. from thence it is twenty-six miles to jacob's falls, which are about fifteen feet high; and six miles and an half to the woody point; forty yards from which is another portage. they both form an high fall, but not perpendicular. from thence to another galet, or rock portage, is about two miles, which is one continual rapid and cascade; and about two miles further is the chute a l'esclave, which is upward of thirty feet. the portage is long, through a point covered with wood: it is six miles and an half more to the barrier, and ten miles to the grand rapid. from thence, on the north side, is a safe road, when the waters are high, through small rivers and lakes, to the lake du bonnet, called the pinnawas, from the man who discovered it: to the white river, so called from its being, for a considerable length, a succession of falls and cataracts, is twelve miles. here are seven portages, in so short a space, that the whole of them are discernible at the same moment. from this to lake du bonnet is fifteen miles more, and four miles across it to the rapid. here the pinnawas road joins, and from thence it is two miles to the galet du lac du bonnet; from this to the galet du bonnet one mile and an half; thence to the portage of the same name is three miles. this portage is near half a league in length, and derives its name from the custom the indians have of crowning stones, laid in a circle on the highest rock in the portage, with wreaths of herbage and branches. there have been examples of men taking seven packages of ninety pounds each, at one end of the portage, and putting them down at the other without stopping. to this another small portage immediately succeeds, over a rock producing a fall. from thence to the fall of terre blanche is two miles and an half; to the first portage des eaux qui remuent is three miles; to the next, of the same name, is but a few yards distant; to the third and last, which is a decharge, is three miles and an half; and from this to the last portage of the river, one mile and an half; and to the establishment, or provision house, is two miles and an half. here also the french had their principal inland depot, and got their canoes made. it is here that the present traders, going to great distances, and where provision is difficult to procure, receive a supply to carry them to the rainy lake, or lake superior. from the establishment to the entrance of lake winipic, is four miles and an half, latitude 50. 37. north. the country, soil, produce, and climate, from lake superior to this place, bear a general resemblance, with a predominance of rock and water: the former is of the granite kind. where there is any soil it is well covered with wood, such as oak, elm, ash of different kinds, maple of two kinds, pines of various descriptions, among which are what i call the cypress, with the hickory, ironwood, laird, poplar, cedar, black and white birch, etc., etc. vast quantities of wild rice are seen throughout the country, which the natives collect in the month of august for their winter stores.[8] to the north of fifty degrees it is hardly known, or at least does not come to maturity. lake winipic is the great reservoir of several large rivers, and discharges itself by the river nelson into hudson's bay. the first in rotation, next to that i have just described, is the assiniboin, or red river, which at the distance of forty miles coastwise, disembogues on the south west side of the lake winipic. it alternately receives those two denominations from its dividing, at the distance of about thirty miles from the lake, into two large branches; the eastern branch, called the red river, runs in a southern direction to near the head waters of the mississippi. on this are two trading establishments. the country on either side is but partially supplied with wood, and consists of plains covered with herds of the buffalo and elk, especially on the western side. on the eastern side are lakes and rivers, and the whole country is well wooded, level, abounding in beaver, bears, moose-deer, fallow deer, etc., etc. the natives, who are of the algonquin tribe, are not very numerous, and are considered as the natives of lake superior. this country being near the mississippi, is also inhabited by the nadowasis, who are the natural enemies of the former; the head of the water being the war-line, they are in a continual state of hostility; and though the algonquins are equally brave, the others generally out-number them; it is very probable, therefore, that if the latter continue to venture out of the woods, which form their only protection, they will soon be extirpated. there is not, perhaps, a finer country in the world for the residence of uncivilised man, than that which occupies the space between this river and lake superior. it abounds in every thing necessary to the wants and comforts of such a people. fish, venison, and fowl, with wild rice, are in great plenty; while, at the same time, their subsistence requires that bodily exercise so necessary to health and vigour. this great extent of country was formerly very populous, but from the information i received, the aggregate of its inhabitants does not exceed three hundred warriors; and, among the few whom i saw, it appeared to me that the widows were more numerous than the men. the raccoon is a native of this country, but is seldom found to the northward of it. the other branch is called after the tribe of the nadowasis, who here go by the name of assiniboins, and are the principal inhabitants of it. it runs from the north-north-west, and in the latitude of 51. 15. west, and longitude 103. 20., rising in the same mountains as the river dauphin, of which i shall speak in due order. they must have separated from their nation at a time beyond our knowledge, and live in peace with the algonquins and knisteneaux. the country between this and the red river, is almost a continual plain to the mississoury. the soil is sand and gravel, with a slight intermixture of earth, and produces a short grass. trees are very rare; nor are there on the banks of the river sufficient, except in particular spots, to build houses and supply fire-wood for the trading establishments, of which there are four principal ones. both these rivers are navigable for canoes to their source, without a fall; though in some parts there are rapids, caused by occasional beds of limestone, and gravel; but in general they have a sandy bottom. the assiniboins, and some of the fall or big-bellied indians, are the principal inhabitants of this country, and border on the river, occupying the centre part of it; that next lake winipic, and about its source, being the station of the algonquins and knisteneaux, who have chosen it in preference to their own country. they do not exceed five hundred families. they are not beaver hunters, which accounts for their allowing the division just mentioned, as the lower and upper parts of this river have those animals, which are not found in the intermediate district. they confine themselves to hunting the buffalo, and trapping wolves, which cover the country. what they do not want of the former for raiment and food, they sometimes make into pemmican, or pounded meat, while they melt the fat, and prepare the skins in their hair, for winter. the wolves they never eat, but produce a tallow from their fat, and prepare their skins; all which they bring to exchange for arms and ammunition, rum, tobacco, knives, and various baubles, with those who go to traffic in their country. the algonquins, and the knisteneaux, on the contrary, attend to the fur-hunting, so that they acquire the additional articles of cloth, blankets, etc., but their passion for rum often puts it out of their power to supply themselves with real necessaries. the next river of magnitude is the river dauphin, which empties itself at the head of st. martin's bay, on the west side of the lake winipic, latitude nearly 52. 15. north, taking its source in the same mountains as the last-mentioned river, as well as the swan and red-deer rivers, the latter passing through the lake of the same name, as well as the former, and both continuing their course through the manitoba lake, which, from thence, runs parallel with lake winipic, to within nine miles of the red river, and by what is called the river dauphin, disembogues its waters, as already described, into that lake. these rivers are very rapid, and interrupted by falls, etc., the bed being generally rocky. all this country, to the south branch of the saskatchiwine, abounds in beaver, moose-deer, fallow-deer, elks, bears, buffaloes, etc. the soil is good, and wherever any attempts have been made to raise the esculent plants, etc., it has been found productive. on these waters are three principal forts for trade. fort dauphin, which was established by the french before the conquest. red-deer river, and swan-river forts, with occasional detached posts from these. the inhabitants are the knisteneaux, from the north of lake winipic; and algonquins from the country between the red river and lake superior; and some from the rainy lake: but as they are not fixed inhabitants, their number cannot be determined: they do not, however, at any time exceed two hundred warriors. in general they are good hunters. there is no other considerable river except the saskatchiwine, which i shall mention presently, that empties itself into the lake winipic. those on the north side are inconsiderable, owing to the comparative vicinity of the high land that separates the waters coming this way, from those discharging into hudson's bay. the course of the lake is about west-north-west and south-south-east, and the east end of it is in 50. 37. north. it contracts at about a quarter of its length to a strait, in latitude 51. 45., and is no more than two miles broad, where the south shore is gained through islands, and crossing various bays to the discharge of the saskatchiwine, in latitude 53. 15. this lake, in common with those of this country, is bounded on the north with banks of black and grey rock, and on the south by a low level country, occasionally interrupted with a ridge or bank of lime-stones, lying in stratas, and rising to the perpendicular height of from twenty to forty feet; these are covered with a small quantity of earth, forming a level surface, which bears timber, but of a moderate growth, and declines to a swamp. where the banks are low, it is evident in many places that the waters are withdrawn, and never rise to those heights which were formerly washed by them. the inhabitants who are found along this lake are of the knisteneaux and algonquin tribes, and but few in number, though game is not scarce, and there is fish in great abundance. the black bass is found there, and no further west; and beyond it no maple trees are seen, either hard or soft. on entering the saskatchiwine, in the course of a few miles, the great rapid interrupts the passage. it is about three miles long. through the greatest part of it the canoe is towed, half or full laden, according to the state of the waters: the canoe and its contents are then carried one thousand one hundred paces. the channel here is near a mile wide, the waters tumbling over ridges of rocks that traverse the river. the south bank is very high, rising upwards of fifty feet, of the same rock as seen on the south side of the lake winipic, and the north is not more than a third of that height. there is an excellent sturgeon-fishery at the foot of this cascade, and vast numbers of pelicans, cormorants, etc., frequent it, where they watch to seize the fish that may be killed or disabled by the force of the waters. about two miles from this portage the navigation is again interrupted by the portage of the roche rouge, which is an hundred yards long; and a mile and an half from thence the river is barred by a range of islands, forming rapids between them; and through these it is the same distance to the rapid of lake travers, which is four miles right across, and eight miles in length. then succeeds the grande decharge, and several rapids, for four miles to the cedar lake, which is entered through a small channel on the left, formed by an island, as going round it would occasion loss of time. in this distance banks of rocks (such as have already been described) appear at intervals on, either side; the rest of the country is low. this is the case along the south bank of the lake and the islands, while the north side, which is very uncommon, is level throughout. this lake runs first west four miles, then as much more west-south-west, across a deep bay on the right, then six miles to the point de lievre, and across another bay again on the right; then north-west eight miles, across a still deeper hay on the right; and seven miles parallel with the north coast, north-north-west through islands, five miles more to fort bourbon,[9] situated on a small island, dividing this from mud lake. the cedar lake is from four to twelve miles wide, exclusive, of the bays. its banks are covered with wood, and abound in game, and its waters produce plenty of fish, particularly the sturgeon. the mud lake, and the neighbourhood of the fort bourbon, abound with geese, ducks, swans, etc., and was formerly remarkable for a vast number of martens, of which it cannot now boast but a very small proportion. the mud lake must have formerly been a part of the cedar lake, but the immense quantity of earth and sand, brought down by the saskatchiwine, has filled up this part of it for a circumference whose diameter is at least fifteen or twenty miles: part of which space is still covered with a few feet of water, but the greatest proportion is shaded with large trees, such as the liard, the swamp-ash, and the willow. this land consists of many islands, which consequently form various channels, several of which are occasionally dry, and bearing young wood. it is, indeed, more than probable that this river will, in the course of time, convert the whole of the cedar lake into a forest. to the north-west the cedar is not to be found. from this lake the saskatchiwine may be considered as navigable to near its source in the rocky mountains, for canoes, and without a carrying-place, making a great bend to cumberland house, on sturgeon lake. from the confluence of its north and south branches its course is westerly; spreading itself, it receives several tributary streams, and encompasses a large tract of country, which is level, particularly along the south branch, but is little known. beaver, and other animals, whose furs are valuable, are amongst the inhabitants of the north-west branch, and the plains are covered with buffaloes, wolves, and small foxes; particularly about the south branch, which, however, has of late claimed some attention, as it is now understood, that where the plains terminate towards the rocky mountain, there is a space of hilly country clothed with wood, and inhabited also by animals of the fur kind. this has been actually determined to be the case towards the head of the north branch, where the trade has been carried to about the latitude 54. north, and longitude 114. 30. west. the bed and banks of the latter, in some few places, discover a stratum of free-stone; but, in general, they are composed of earth and sand. the plains are sand and gravel, covered with fine grass, and mixed with a small quantity of vegetable earth, this is particularly observable along the north branch, the west side of which is covered with wood. there are on this river five principal factories for the convenience of trade with the natives. nepawi house, south-branch house, fort-george house, fort-augustus house, and upper establishment. there have been many others, which, from various causes, have been changed for these, while there are occasionally others depending on each of them. the inhabitants, from the information i could obtain, are as follow: at nepawi and south-branch house, about thirty tents of knisteneaux, or ninety warriors; and sixty tents of stone indians, or assiniboins, who are their neighbours, and are equal to two hundred men: their hunting ground extends upwards to about the eagle hills. next to them are those who trade at forts george and augustus, and are about eighty tents or upwards of knisteneaux: on either side of the river, their number may be two hundred. in the same country are one hundred and forty tents of stone indians: not quite half of them inhabit the west woody country; the others never leave the plains, and their numbers cannot be less than four hundred and fifty men. at the southern head-waters of the north-branch dwells a tribe called sarsees, consisting of about thirty-five tents, or one hundred and twenty men. opposite to those eastward, on the head-waters of the south branch, are the picaneaux, to the number of from twelve to fifteen hundred men. next to them, on the same water, are the blood-indians, of the same nation as the last, to the number of about fifty tents, or two hundred and fifty men. from them downwards extend the black-feet indians, of the same nation as the two last tribes: their number may be eight hundred men. next to them, and who extend to the confluence of the south and north branch, are the fall, or big-bellied indians, who may amount to about six hundred warriors. of all these different tribes, those who inhabit the broken country on the north-west side, and the source of the north branch, are beaver-hunters; the others deal in provisions, wolf, buffalo, and fox skins; and many people on the south branch do not trouble themselves to come near the trading establishments. those who do, choose such establishments as are next to their country. the stone-indians here, are the same people as the stone-indians, or assiniboins, who inhabit the river of that name already described, and both are detached tribes from the nadowasis, who inhabit the western side of the mississippi, and lower part of the missisoury. the fall, or big-bellied indians, are from the south-eastward also, and of a people who inhabit the plains from the north bend of the last mentioned river, latitude 47. 32. north, longitude 101. 25. west, to the south bend of the assiniboin river, to the number of seven hundred men. some of them occasionally come to the latter river to exchange dressed buffalo robes and bad wolf-skins for articles of no great value. the picaneaux, black-feet, and blood-indians, are a distinct people, speak a language of their own, and, i have reason to think, are travelling north-west, as well as the others just mentioned: nor have i heard of any indians with whose language that which they speak has any affinity.--they are the people who deal in horses, and take them upon the war-parties towards mexico; from which, it is evident, that the country to the south-east of them consists of plains, as those animals could not well be conducted through an hilly and woody country, intersected by waters. the sarsees, who are but few in number, appear from their language, to come on the contrary from the north-west, and are of the same people as the rocky-mountain indians described in my second journal, who are a tribe of the chepewyans; and, as for the knisteneaux, there is no question of their having been, and continuing to be, invaders of this country, from the eastward. formerly, they struck terror into all the other tribes whom they met; but now they have lost the respect that was paid them; as those whom they formerly considered as barbarians are now their allies, and consequently become better acquainted with them, and have acquired the use of fire-arms. the former are still proud without power, and affect to consider the others as their inferiors: those consequently are extremely jealous of them, and, depending upon their own superiority in numbers, will not submit tamely to their insults; so that the consequences often prove fatal, and the knisteneaux are thereby decreasing both in power and number; spirituous liquors also tend to their diminution, as they are instigated thereby to engage in quarrels which frequently have the most disastrous termination among themselves. the stone-indians must not be considered in the same point of view respecting the knisteneaux, for they have been generally obliged, from various causes, to court their alliance. they, however, are not without their disagreements, and it is sometimes very difficult to compose their differences. these quarrels occasionally take place with the traders, and sometimes have a tragical conclusion. they generally originate in consequence of stealing women and horses: they have great numbers of the latter throughout their plains, which are brought, as has been observed, from the spanish settlements in mexico; and many of them have been seen even in the back parts of this country, branded with the initials of their original owners' names. those horses are distinctly employed as beasts of burden, and to chase the buffalo. the former are not considered as being of much value, as they may be purchased for a gun, which costs no more than twenty-one shillings in great britain. many of the hunters cannot be purchased with ten, the comparative value of which exceeds the property of any native. of these useful animals no care whatever is taken, as when they are no longer employed, they are turned loose winter and summer to provide for themselves. here, it is to be observed, that the country, in general, on the west and north side of this great river, is broken by the lakes and rivers with small intervening plains, where the soil is good, and the grass grows to some length. to these the male buffaloes resort for the winter, and if it be very severe, the females also are obliged to leave the plains. but to return to the route by which the progress west and north is made through this continent. we leave the saskatchiwine[10] by entering the river which forms the discharge of the sturgeon lake, on whose east bank is situated cumberland house, in latitude 53. 56. north, longitude 102. 15. the distance between the entrance and cumberland house is estimated at twenty miles. it is very evident that the mud which is carried down by the saskatchiwine river, has formed the land that lies between it and the lake, for the distance of upwards of twenty miles in the line of the river, which is inundated during one half of the summer, though covered with wood. this lake forms an irregular horse-shoe, one side of which runs to the north-west, and bears the name of pine-island lake, and the other, known by the name already mentioned, runs to the east of north, and is the largest: its length is about twenty-seven miles, and its greatest breadth about six miles. the north side of the latter is the same kind of rock as that described in lake winipic, on the west shore. in latitude 54. 16. north, the sturgeon-weir river discharges itself into this lake, and its bed appears to be of the same kind of rock, and is almost a continual rapid. its direct course is about west by north, and with its windings, is about thirty miles. it takes its waters into the beaver lake the south-west side of which consists of the same rock lying in thin stratas: the route then proceeds from island to island for about twelve miles, and along the north shore, for four miles more, the whole being a north-west course to the entrance of a river, in latitude 54. 32. north. the lake, for this distance, is about four or five miles wide, and abounds with fish common to the country. the part of it upon the right of that which has been described, appears more considerable. the islands are rocky, and the lake itself surrounded by rocks. the communication from hence to the bouleau lake, alternately narrows into rivers and spreads into small lakes. the interruptions are, the pente portage, which is succeeded by the grand rapid, where there is a decharge, the carp portage, the bouleau portage in latitude 54. 50. north, including a distance, together with the windings, of thirty-four miles, in a westerly direction. the lake de bouleau then follows. this lake might with greater propriety be denominated a canal, as it is not more than a mile in breadth. its course is rather to the east of north for twelve miles to portage de l'isle. from thence there is still water to portage d'epinettes, except an adjoining rapid. the distance is not more than four miles westerly. after crossing this portage, it is not more than two miles to lake miron, which is in latitude 55. 7. north. its length is about twelve miles, and its breadth irregular, from two to ten miles. it is only separated from lake du chitique, or pelican lake, by a short, narrow, and small strait. that lake is not more than seven miles long, and its course about north-west. the lake des bois then succeeds, the passage to which is through small lakes, separated by falls and rapids. the first is a decharge: then follow the three galets, in immediate succession. from hence lake des bois runs about twenty-one miles. its course is south-south-east, and north-north-west, and is full of islands. the passage continues through an intricate, narrow, winding, and shallow channel for eight miles. the interruptions in this distance are frequent, but depend much on the state of the waters. having passed them, it is necessary to cross the portage de traite, or, as it is called by the indians, athiquisipichigan ouinigam, or the portage of the stretched frog skin, to the missinipi. the waters already described discharge themselves into lake winipic, and augment those of the river nelson. these which we are now entering are called the missinipi, or great churchill river. all the country to the south and east of this, within the line of the progress that has been described, is interspersed by lakes, hills, and rivers, and is full or animals, of the fur-kind, as well as the moose-deer. its inhabitants are the knisteneaux indians, who are called by the servants of the hudson's bay company, at york, their home-guards. the traders from canada succeeded for several years in getting the largest proportion of their furs, till the year 1793, when the servants of that company thought proper to send people amongst them, (and why they did not do it before is best known to themselves), for the purpose of trade, and securing their credits, which the indians were apt to forget. from the short distance they had to come, and the quantity of goods they supplied, the trade has, in a great measure, reverted to them, as the merchants from canada could not meet them upon equal terms. what added to the loss of the latter, was the murder of one of their traders by the indians, about this period. of these people not above eighty men have been known to the traders from canada, but they consist of a much greater number. the portage de traite, as has been already hinted, received its name from mr. joseph frobisher, who penetrated into this part of the country from canada, as early as the years 1774 and 1775, where he met with the indians in the spring, on their way to churchill, according to annual custom, with their canoes full of valuable furs. they traded with him for as many of them as his canoes could carry, and in consequence of this transaction, the portage received and has since retained its present appellation. he also denominated these waters the english river. the missinipi is the name which it received from the knisteneaux, when they first came to this country, and either destroyed or drove back the natives, whom they held in great contempt, on many accounts, but particularly for their ignorance in hunting the beaver, as well as in preparing, stretching, and drying the skins of those animals. and as a sign of their derision, they stretched the skin of a frog, and hung it up at the portage. this was, at that time, the utmost extent of their conquest or war-faring progress west, and is in latitude 55. 25. north, and longitude 103. 45. west. the river here, which bears the appearance of a lake, takes its name from the portage, and is full of islands. it runs from east to west about sixteen miles, and is from four to five miles broad. then succeed falls and cascades which form what is called the grand rapid. from thence there is a succession of small lakes and rivers, interrupted by rapids and falls, viz., the portage de bareel, the portage de l'isle, and that of the rapid river. the course is twenty miles from east-south-east to north-north-west. the rapid-river lake then runs west five miles, and is of an oval form. the rapid river is the discharge of lake la ronge, where there has been an establishment for trade from the year 1782. since the small-pox ravaged these parts, there have been but few inhabitants; these are of the knisteneaux tribe, and do not exceed thirty men. the direct navigation continues to be through rivers and canals, interrupted by rapids; and the distance to the first decharge is four miles, in a westerly direction. then follows lake de la montagne, which runs south-south-west three miles and an half, then north six miles, through narrow channels, formed by islands, and continues north-north-west five miles, to the portage of the same name, which is no sooner crossed, than another appears in sight, leading to the otter lake, from whence it is nine miles westerly to the otter portage, in latitude 55. 39. between this and the portage du diable, are several rapids, and the distance three miles and an half. then succeeds the lake of the same name, running from south-east to north-west, five miles, and west four miles and an half. there is then a succession of small lakes, rapids, and falls, producing the portage des ecors, portage du galet, and portage des morts, the whole comprehending a distance of six miles, to the lake of the latter name. on the left side is a point covered with human bones, the relics of the small-pox; which circumstance gave the portage and the lake this melancholy denomination. its course is south-west fifteen miles, while its breadth does not exceed three miles. from thence a rapid river leads to portage de hallier, which is followed by lake de isle d'ours: it is, however, improperly called a lake, as it contains frequent impediments amongst its islands, from rapids. there is a very dangerous one about the centre of it, which is named the rapid qui ne parle point, or that never speaks, from its silent whirlpool-motion. in some of the whirlpools the suction is so powerful, that they are carefully avoided. at some distance from the silent rapid is a narrow strait, where the indians have painted red figures on the face of a rock, and where it was their custom formerly to make an offering of some of the articles which they had with them, in their way to and from churchill. the course of this lake, which is very meandering, may be estimated at thirty-eight miles, and is terminated by the portage du canot tourner, from the danger to which those are subject who venture to run this rapid. from thence a river of one mile and an half north-west course leads to the portage de bouleau, and in about half a mile to portage des epingles, so called from the sharpness of its stones. then follows the lake des souris, the direction across which is amongst islands, north-west by west six miles. in this traverse is an island, which is remarkable for a very large stone, in the form of a bear, on which the natives have painted the head and snout of that animal; and here they also were formerly accustomed to offer sacrifices. this lake is separated only by a narrow strait from the lake du serpent, which runs north-north-west seven miles, to a narrow channel, that connects it with another lake, bearing the same name, and running the same course for eleven miles, when the rapid of the same denomination is entered on the west side of the lake. it is to be remarked here, that for about three or four miles on the north-west side of this lake, there is an high bank of clay and sand, clothed with cypress trees, a circumstance which is not observable on any lakes hitherto mentioned, as they are bounded, particularly on the north, by black and grey rocks. it may also be considered as a most extraordinary circumstance, that the chepewyans go north-west from hence to the barren grounds, which are their own country, without the assistance of canoes; as it is well known that in every other part which has been described, from cumberland house, the country is broken on either side of the direction to a great extent: so that a traveller could not go at right angles with any of the waters already mentioned, without meeting with others in every eight or ten miles. this will also be found to be very much the case in proceeding to portage la loche. the last mentioned rapid is upwards of three miles long, north-west by west; there is, however, no carrying, as the line and poles are sufficient to drag and set the canoes against the current. lake croche is then crossed in a westerly direction of six miles, though its whole length may be twice that distance: after which it contracts to a river that runs westerly for ten miles, when it forms a bend, which is left to the south, and entering a portion of its waters called the grass river, whose meandering course is about six miles, but in a direct line not more than half that length, where it receives its waters from the great river, which then runs westerly eleven miles before it forms the knee lake, whose direction is to the north of west. it is full of islands for eighteen miles, and its greatest apparent breadth is not more than five miles. the portage of the same name is several hundred yards long, and over large stones. its latitude is 55. 50. and longitude 106. 30. two miles further north is the commencement of the croche rapid, which is a succession of cascades for about three miles, making a bend due south to the lake du primeau, whose course is various, and through islands, to the distance of about fifteen miles. the banks of this lake are low, stony, and marshy, whose grass and rushes afford shelter and food to great numbers of wild fowl. at its western extremity is portage la puise, from whence the river takes a meandering course, widening and contracting at intervals, and is much interrupted by rapids. after a westerly course of twenty miles, it reaches portage pellet. from hence, in the course of seven miles, are three rapids, to which succeeds the shagoina lake, which may be eighteen miles in circumference. then shagoina strait and rapid lead into the lake of isle a la crosse, in which the course is south twenty miles, and south-south-west fourteen miles, to the point au sable; opposite to which is the discharge of the beaver-river, bearing south six miles: the lake in the distance run, does not exceed twelve miles in its greatest breadth. it now turns west-south-west, the isle a la crosse being on the south, and the main land on the north; and it clears the one and the other in the distance of three miles, the water presenting an open horizon to right and left; that on the left formed by a deep narrow bay, about ten leagues in depth; and that to the right by what is called la riviere creuse, or deep river, being a canal of still water, which is here four miles wide. on following the last course, isle a la crosse fort appears on a low isthmus, at the distance of five miles, and is in latitude 55. 25. north, and longitude 107. 48. west. this lake and fort take their names from the island just mentioned, which, as has been already observed, received its denomination from the game of the cross, which forms a principal amusement among the natives. the situation of this lake, the abundance of the finest fish in the world to be found in its waters, the richness of its surrounding banks and forests, in moose and fallow deer, with the vast numbers of the smaller tribes of animals, whose skins are precious, and the numerous flocks of wild fowl that frequent it in the spring and fall, make it a most desirable spot for the constant residence of some, and the occasional rendezvous of others of the inhabitants of the country, particularly of the knisteneaux. who the original people were that were driven from it, when conquered by the knisteneaux, is not now known, as not a single vestige remains of them. the latter, and the chepewyans, are the only people that have been known here; and it is evident that the last-mentioned consider themselves as strangers, and seldom remain longer than three or four years, without visiting their relations and friends in the barren grounds, which they term their native country. they were for some time treated by the knisteneaux as enemies; who now allow them to hunt to the north of the track which has been described, from fort du traite upwards, but when they occasionally meet them, they insist on contributions, and frequently punish resistance with their arms. this is sometimes done at the forts, or places of trade, but then it appears to be a voluntary gift. a treat of rum is expected on the occasion, which the chepewyans on no other account ever purchase; and those only who have had frequent intercourse with the knisteneaux have any inclination to drink it. when the europeans first penetrated into this country, in 1777, the people of both tribes were numerous, but the small-pox was fatal to them all, so that there does not exist of the one, at present, more than forty resident families; and the other has been from about thirty to two hundred families. these numbers are applicable to the constant and less ambitious inhabitants, who are satisfied with the quiet possession of a country affording, without risk or much trouble, every thing necessary to their comfort; for since traders have spread themselves over it, it is no more the rendezvous of the errant knisteneaux, part of whom used annually to return thither from the country of the beaver river, which they had explored to its source in their war and hunting excursions, and as far as the saskatchiwine, where they sometimes met people of their own nation, who had prosecuted similar conquests up that river. in that country they found abundance of fish and animals, such as have been already described, with the addition of the buffaloes, who range in the partial patches of meadow scattered along the rivers and lakes. from thence they returned in the spring to their friends whom they had left; and, at the same time met with others who had penetrated with the same designs into the athabasca country, which will be described hereafter. the spring was the period of this joyful meeting, when their time was occupied in feasting, dancing, and other pastimes, which were occasionally suspended for sacrifice, and religious solemnity: while the narratives of their travels, and the history of their wars, amused and animated the festival. the time of rejoicing was but short, and was soon interrupted by the necessary preparations for their annual journey to churchill, to exchange their furs for such european articles as were now become necessary to them. the shortness of the seasons, and the great length of their way requiring the utmost despatch, the most active men of the tribe, with their youngest women, and a few of their children undertook the voyage, under the direction of some of their chiefs, following the waters already described, to their discharge at churchill factory, which are called, as has already been observed, the missinipi, or great waters. there they remained no longer than was sufficient to barter their commodities, with a supernumerary day or two to gratify themselves with the indulgence of spirituous liquors. at the same time the inconsiderable quantity they could purchase to carry away with them, for a regale with their friends, was held sacred, and reserved to heighten the enjoyment of their return home, when the amusements, festivity, and religious solemnities of the spring were repeated. the usual time appropriated to these convivialities being completed, they separated, to pursue their different objects; and if they were determined to go to war, they made the necessary arrangements for their future operations. but we must now renew the progress of the route. it is not more than two miles from isle a la crosse fort, to a point of land which forms a cheek of that part of the lake called the riviere creuse, which preserves the breadth already mentioned for upwards of twenty miles; then contracts to about two, for the distance of ten miles more, when it opens to lake clear, which is very wide, and commands an open horizon, keeping the west shore for six miles. the whole of the distance mentioned is about north-west, when, by a narrow, crooked channel, turning to the south of west, the entry is made into lake du boeuf, which is contracted near the middle, by a projecting sandy point; independent of which it may be described as from six to twelve miles in breadth, thirty-six miles long, and in a north-west direction. at the north-west end, in latitude 56. 8. it receives the waters of the river la loche, which, in the fall of the year, is very shallow, and navigated with difficulty even by half-laden canoes. its water is not sufficient to form strong rapids, though from its rocky bottom the canoes are frequently in considerable danger. including its meanders, the course of this river may be computed at twenty-four miles, and receives its first waters from the lake of the same name, which is about twenty miles long, and six wide; into which a small river flows, sufficient to bear loaded canoes, for about a mile and an half, where the navigation ceases; and the canoes, with their lading, are carried over the portage la loche for thirteen miles. this portage is the ridge that divides the waters which discharge themselves into hudson's bay, from those that flow into the northern ocean, and is in the latitude 56. 20. and longitude 109. 15. west. it runs south-west until it loses its local height between the saskatchiwine and elk rivers; close on the bank of the former, in latitude 53. 36. north, and longitude 113. 45. west, it may be traced in an easterly direction toward latitude 58. 12. north, and longitude 103â½. west, when it appears to take its course due north, and may probably reach the frozen seas. from lake le souris, the banks of the rivers and lakes display a smaller portion of solid rock. the land is low and stony, intermixed with a light, sandy soil, and clothed with wood. that of the beaver river is of a more productive quality: but no part of it has ever been cultivated by the natives or europeans, except a small garden at the isle a la crosse, which well repaid the labour bestowed upon it. the portage la loche is of a level surface, in some parts abounding with stones, but in general it is an entire sand, and covered with the cypress, the pine, the spruce fir, and other trees natural to its soil. within three miles of the north-west termination, there is a small round lake, whose diameter does not exceed a mile, and which affords a trifling respite to the labour of carrying. within a mile of the termination of the portage is a very steep precipice, whose ascent and descent appears to be equally impracticable in any way, as it consists of a succession of eight hills, some of which are almost perpendicular; nevertheless, the canadians contrive to surmount all these difficulties, even with their canoes and lading. this precipice, which rises upwards of a thousand feet above the plain beneath it, commands a most extensive, romantic, and ravishing prospect. from thence the eye looks down on the course of the little river, by some called the swan river, and by others, the clear-water and pelican river, beautifully meandering for upwards of thirty miles. the valley, which is at once refreshed and adorned by it, is about three miles in breadth, and is confined by two lofty ridges of equal height, displaying a most beautiful intermixture of wood and lawn, and stretching on till the blue mist obscures the prospect. some parts of the inclining heights are covered with stately forests, relieved by promontories of the finest verdure, where the elk and buffalo find pasture. these are contrasted by spots where fire has destroyed the woods, and left a dreary void behind it. nor, when i beheld this wonderful display of uncultivated nature, was the moving scenery of human occupation wanting to complete the picture. from this elevated situation, i beheld my people, diminished, as it were, to half their size, employed in pitching their tents in a charming meadow, and among the canoes, which, being turned upon their sides, presented their reddened bottoms in contrast with the surrounding verdure. at the same time, the process of gumming them produced numerous small spires of smoke, which, as they rose, enlivened the scene, and at length blended with the larger columns that ascended from the fires where the suppers were preparing. it was in the month of september when i enjoyed a scene, of which i do not presume to give an adequate description; and as it was the rutting season of the elk, the whistling of that animal was heard in all the variety which the echoes could afford it. this river, which waters and reflects such enchanting scenery, runs, including its windings, upwards of eighty miles, when it discharges itself in the elk river, according to the denomination of the natives, but commonly called by the white people, the athabasca river, in latitude 56. 42. north. at a small distance from portage la loche, several carrying-places interrupt the navigation of the river; about the middle of which are some mineral springs, whose margins are covered with sulphureous incrustations. at the junction or fork, the elk river is about three quarters of a mile in breadth, and runs in a steady current, sometimes contracting, but never increasing its channel, till, after receiving several small streams, it discharges itself into the lake of the hills, in latitude 58. 36. north. at about twenty-four miles from the fork, are some bituminous fountains, into which a pole of twenty feet long may be inserted without the least resistance. the bitumen is in a fluid state, and when mixed with gum, or the resinous substance collected from the spruce fir, serves to gum the canoes. in its heated state it emits a smell like that of sea-coal. the banks of the river, which are there very elevated, discover veins of the same bituminous quality. at a small distance from the fork, houses have been erected for the convenience of trading with a party of the knisteneaux, who visit the adjacent country for the purpose of hunting. at the distance of about forty miles from the lake, is the old establishment, which has been already mentioned, as formed by mr. pond in the year 1778-9, and which was the only one in this part of the world, till the year 1785. in the year 1788 it was transferred to the lake of the hills, and formed on a point on its southern side, at about eight miles from the discharge of the river. it was named fort chepewyan, and is in latitude 58. 38. north, longitude 110. 26. west, and much better situated for trade and fishing as the people here have recourse to water for their support. this being the place which i made my headquarters for eight years, and from whence i took my departure, on both my expeditions, i shall give some account of it, with the manner of carrying on the trade there, and other circumstances connected with it. the laden canoes which leave lake la pluie about the first of august, do not arrive here till the latter end of september, or the beginning of october, when a necessary proportion of them is despatched up the peace river to trade with the beaver and rocky-mountain indians. others are sent to the slave river and lake, or beyond them, and traffic with the inhabitants of that country. a small part of them, if not left at the fork of the elk river, return thither for the knisteneaux, while the rest of the people and merchandise remain here, to carry on trade with the chepewyans. here have i arrived with ninety or an hundred men without any provision for their sustenance; for whatever quantity might have been obtained from the natives during the summer, it could not be more than sufficient for the people despatched to their different posts; and even if there were a casual superfluity, it was absolutely necessary to preserve it untouched, for the demands of the spring. the whole dependence, therefore, of those who remained, was on the lake, and fishing implements for the means of our support. the nets are sixty fathom in length, when set, and contain fifteen meshes of five inches in depth. the manner of using them is as follows: a small stone and wooden buoy are fastened to the side-line opposite to each other, at about the distance of two fathoms; when the net is carefully thrown into the water, the stone sinks it to the bottom, while the buoy keeps it at its full extent, and it is secured in its situation by a stone at either end. the nets are visited every day, and taken out every other day to be cleaned and dried. this is a very ready operation when the waters are not frozen, but when the frost has set in, and the ice has acquired its greatest thickness, which is sometimes as much as five feet, holes are cut in it at the distance of thirty feet from each other, to the full length of the net; one of them is larger than the rest, being generally about four feet square, and is called the basin: by means of them, and poles of a proportionable length, the nets are placed in and drawn out of the water. the setting of hooks and lines is so simple an employment as to render a description unnecessary. the white fish are the principal object of pursuit: they spawn in the fall of the year, and, at about the setting in of the hard frost, crowd in shoals to the shallow water, when as many as possible are taken, in order that a portion of them may be laid by in the frost to provide against the scarcity of winter; as, during that season, the fish of every description decrease in the lakes, if they do not altogether disappear. some have supposed that during this period they are stationary, or assume an inactive state. if there should be any intervals of warm weather during the fall, it is necessary to suspend the fish by the tail, though they are not so good as those which are altogether preserved by the frost. in this state they remain to the beginning of april, when they have been found as sweet as when they were caught.[11] thus do these voyagers live, year after year, entirely upon fish, without even the quickening flavour of salt, or the variety of any farinaceous root or vegetable. salt, however, if their habits had not rendered it unnecessary, might be obtained in this country to the westward of the peace river, where it loses its name in that of the slave river, from the numerous salt-ponds and springs to be found there, which will supply in any quantity, in a state of concretion, and perfectly white and clean. when the indians pass that way they bring a small quantity to the fort, with other articles of traffic. during a short period of the spring and fall, great numbers of wild fowl frequent this country, which prove a very gratifying food after such a long privation of flesh-meat. it is remarkable, however, that the canadians who frequent the peace, saskatchiwine, and assiniboin rivers, and live altogether on venison, have a less healthy appearance than those whose sustenance is obtained from the waters. at the same time the scurvy is wholly unknown among them. in the fall of the year the natives meet the traders at the forts, where they barter the furs or provisions which they may have procured; they then obtain credit, and proceed to hunt the beavers, and do not return till the beginning of the year; when they are again fitted out in the same manner and come back the latter end of march, or the beginning of april; they are now unwilling to repair to the beaver hunt until the waters, are clear of ice, that they may kill them with fire-arms, which the chepewyans are averse to employ. the major part of the latter return to the barren grounds, and live during the summer with their relations and friends in the enjoyment of that plenty which is derived from numerous herds of deer. but those of that tribe who are most partial to these deserts, cannot remain there in winter, and they are obliged, with the deer, to take shelter in the woods during that rigorous season, when they contrive to kill a few beavers, and send them by young men, to exchange for iron utensils and ammunition. till the year 1782, the people of athabasca sent or carried their furs regularly to fort churchill, hudson's bay; and some of them have, since that time, repaired thither, notwithstanding they could have provided themselves with all the necessaries which they required. the difference of the price set on goods here and at the factory, made it an object with the chepewyans to undertake a journey of five or six months, in the course of which they were reduced to the most painful extremities, and often lost their lives from hunger and fatigue, at present, however, this traffic is in a great measure discontinued, as they were obliged to expend in the course of their journey, that very ammunition which was its most alluring object. [1] this might be properly called the stock of the company, as it included, with the expenditure of the year, the amount of the property unexpended, which had been appropriated for the adventure of that year, and was carried on to the account of the following adventure. [2] this will be better illustrated by the following statement:--we will suppose the goods for 1798: the orders for the goods are sent to this country 25th october, 1796; they are shipped from london march, 1797; they arrive in montreal june, 1797; they are made up in the course of that summer and winter; they are sent from montreal may, 1798; they arrive in the indian country, and are exchanged for furs the following winter, 1798-99; which furs come to montreal september, 1799; and are shipped for london; where they are sold in march and april, and paid for in may or june, 1800. [3] the place where the goods alone are carried, is called a _decharge_, and that where goods and canoes are both transported overland, is denominated a _portage_. [4] in the year 1668, when the first missionaries visited the south of this lake, they found the country full of inhabitants. they relate, that about this time a band of the nepisingues, who were converted, emigrated to the nipigon country, which is to the north of lake superior. few of their descendants are now remaining, and not a trace of the religion communicated to them is to be discovered. [5] corn is the cheapest provision that can be procured, though from the expense of transport, the bushel costs about twenty shillings sterling, at the grande portage. a man's daily allowance does not exceed ten-pence. [6] here is a most excellent fishery for white fish, which are exquisite. [7] the route which we have been travelling hitherto, leads along the high rocky land or bank of lake superior on the left. the face of the country offers a wild scene of huge hills and rocks, separated by stony valleys, lakes and ponds. wherever there is the least soil, it is well covered with trees. [8] the fruits are, strawberries, hurtleberries, plums, and cherries, hazelnuts, gooseberries, currents, raspberries, poires, etc. [9] this was also a principal post of the french, who gave it its name. [10] it may be proper to observe, that the french had two settlements upon the saskatchiwine, long before, and at the conquest of canada; the first at the pasquia, near carrot river, and the other at nipawi, where they had agricultural instruments and wheel carriages, marks of both being found about those establishments, where the soil is excellent. [11] this fishery requires the most unremitting attention, as the voyaging canadians are equally indolent, extravagant, and improvident, when left to themselves, and rival the savages in a neglect of the morrow. some account of the knisteneaux indians. these people are spread over a vast extent of country. their language is the same as that of the people who inhabit the coast of british america on the atlantic, with the exception of the esquimaux,[1] and continues along the coast of labrador, and the gulf and banks of st. laurence to montreal. the line then follows the utawas river to its source; and continues from thence nearly west along the highlands which divides the waters that fall into lake superior and hudson's bay. it then proceeds till it strikes the middle part of the river winipic, following that water to the lake winipic, to the discharge of the saskatchiwine into it; from thence it accompanies the latter to fort george, when the line, striking by the head of the beaver river to the elk river, runs along its banks to its discharge in the lake of the hills; from which it may be carried back east, to the isle a la crosse, and so on to churchill by the missinipi, the whole of the tract between this line and hudson's bay and straits (except that of the esquimaux in the latter), may be said to be exclusively the country of the knisteneaux. some of them indeed, have penetrated further west and south to the red river, to the south of lake winipic, and the south branch of the saskatchiwine. they are of a moderate stature, well proportioned, and of great activity. examples of deformity are seldom to be seen among them. their complexion is of a copper colour, and their hair black, which is common to all the natives of north america. it is cut in various forms, according to the fancy of the several tribes, and by some is left in the long, lank, flow of nature. they very generally extract their beards, and both sexes manifest a disposition to pluck the hair from every part of their body and limbs. their eyes are black, keen, and penetrating; their countenance open and agreeable, and it is a principal object of their vanity to give every possible decoration to their persons. a material article in their toilets is vermilion, which they contrast with their native blue, white, and brown earths, to which charcoal is frequently added. their dress is at once simple and commodious. it consists of tight leggins, reaching near the hip: a strip of cloth or leather, called assian, about a foot wide, and five feet long, whose ends are drawn inwards and hang behind and before, over a belt tied round the waist for that purpose: a close vest or shirt reaching down to the former garment, and cinctured with a broad strip of parchment fastened with thongs behind; and a cap for the head, consisting of a piece of fur, or small skin, with the brush of the animal as a suspended ornament: a kind of robe is thrown occasionally over the whole of the dress, and serves both night and day. these articles, with the addition of shoes and mittens, constitute the variety of their apparel. the materials vary according to the season, and consist of dressed moose-skin, beaver prepared with the fur, or european woollens. the leather is neatly painted, and fancifully worked in some parts with porcupine quills, and moose-deer hair: the shirts and leggins are also adorned with fringe and tassels; nor are the shoes and mittens without somewhat of appropriate decoration, and worked with a considerable degree of skill and taste. these habiliments are put on, however, as fancy or convenience suggests; and they will sometimes proceed to the chase in the severest frost, covered only with the slightest of them. their head-dresses are composed of the feathers of the swan, the eagle, and other birds. the teeth, horns, and claws of different animals, are also the occasional ornaments of the head and neck. their hair, however arranged, is always besmeared with grease. the making of every article of dress is a female occupation; and the women, though by no means inattentive to the decoration of their own persons, appear to have a still greater degree of pride in attending to the appearance of the men, whose faces are painted with more care than those of the women. the female dress is formed of the same materials as those of the other sex, but of a different make and arrangement. their shoes are commonly plain, and their leggins gartered beneath the knee. the coat, or body covering, falls down to the middle of the leg, and is fastened over the shoulders with cords, a flap or cape turning down about eight inches, both before and behind, and agreeably ornamented with quill-work and fringe; the bottom is also fringed, and fancifully painted as high as the knee. as it is very loose, it is enclosed round the waist with a stiff belt, decorated with tassels, and fastened behind. the arms are covered to the wrist, with detached sleeves, which are sewed as far as the bend of the arm; from thence they are drawn up to the neck, and the corners of them fall down behind, as low as the waist. the cap, when they wear one, consists of a certain quantity of leather or cloth, sewed at one end, by which means it is kept on the head, and, hanging down the back, is fastened to the belt, as well as under the chin. the upper garment is a robe like that worn by the men. their hair is divided on the crown, and tied behind, or sometimes fastened in large knots over the ears. they are fond of european articles, and prefer them to their own native commodities. their ornaments consist in common with all savages, in bracelets, rings, and similar baubles. some of the women tattoo three perpendicular lines, which are sometimes double: one from the centre of the chin to that of the under lip, and one parallel on either side to the corner of the mouth. of all the nations which i have seen on this continent, the knisteneaux women are the most comely. their figure is generally well proportioned, and the regularity of their features would be acknowledged by the more civilized people of europe. their complexion has less of that dark tinge which is common to those savages who have less cleanly habits. these people are, in general, subject to few disorders. the lues venera, however, is a common complaint, but cured by the application of simples, with whose virtues they appear to be well acquainted. they are also subject to fluxes, and pains in the breast, which some have attributed to the very keen and cold air which they inhale; but i should imagine that these complaints must frequently proceed from their immoderate indulgence in fat meat at their feasts, particularly when they have been preceded by long fasting. they are naturally mild and affable, as well as just in their dealings, not only among themselves, but with strangers.[2] they are also generous and hospitable, and good-natured in the extreme, except when their nature is perverted by the inflammatory influence of spirituous liquors. to their children they are indulgent to a fault. the father, though he assumes no command over them, is ever anxious to instruct them in all the preparatory qualifications for war and hunting; while the mother is equally attentive to her daughters in teaching them every thing that is considered as necessary to their character and situation. it does not appear that the husband makes any distinction between the children of his wife, though they may be the offspring of different fathers. illegitimacy is only attached to those who are born before their mothers have cohabited with any man by the title of husband. it does not appear, that chastity is considered by them as a virtue; or that fidelity is believed to be essential to the happiness of wedded life, though it sometimes happens that the infidelity of a wife is punished by the husband with the loss of her hair, nose, and perhaps life; such severity proceeds from its having been practised without his permission: for a temporary interchange of wives is not uncommon: and the offer of their persons is considered as a necessary part of the hospitality due to strangers. when a man loses his wife, it is considered as a duty to marry her sister, if she has one; or he may, if he pleases, have them both at the same time. it will appear from the fatal consequences i have repeatedly imputed to the use of spirituous liquors that i more particularly consider these people as having been, morally speaking, great sufferers from their communication with the subjects of civilized nations. at the same time they were not, in a state of nature, without their vices, and some of them of a kind which is the most abhorrent to cultivated and reflecting man. i shall only observe, that incest and bestiality are among them. when a young man marries, he immediately goes to live with the father and mother of his wife, who treat him, nevertheless, as a perfect stranger, till after the birth of his first child: he then attaches himself more to them than his own parents; and his wife no longer gives him any other denomination than that of the father of her child. the profession of the men is war and hunting, and the more active scene of their duty is the field of battle, and the chase in the woods. they also spear fish, but the management of the nets is left to the women. the females of this nation are in the same subordinate state with those of all other savage tribes, but the severity of their labour is much diminished by their situation on the banks of lakes and rivers, where they employ canoes. in the winter, when the waters are frozen, they make their journeys, which are never of any great length, with sledges drawn by dogs. they are, at the same time, subject to every kind of domestic drudgery; they dress the leather, make the clothes and shoes, weave the nets, collect wood, erect the tents, fetch water, and perform every culinary service; so that when the duties of maternal care are added, it will appear, that the life of these women is an uninterrupted succession of toil and pain. this, indeed, is the sense they entertain of their own situation; and under the influence of that sentiment, they are sometimes known to destroy their female children, to save them from the miseries which they themselves have suffered. they also have a ready way, by the use of certain simples, of procuring abortions, which they sometimes practise, from their hatred of the father, or to save themselves the trouble which children occasion: and, as i have been credibly informed, this unnatural act is repeated without any injury to the health of the women who perpetrate it. the funeral rites begin, like all other solemn ceremonials, with smoking, and are concluded by a feast. the body is dressed in the best habiliments possessed by the deceased, or his relations, and is then deposited in a grave lined with branches; some domestic utensils are place on it, and a kind of canopy erected over it. during this ceremony, great lamentations are made, and if the departed person is very much regretted, the near relations cut off their hair, pierce the fleshy part of their thighs and arms with arrows, knives, etc, and blacken their faces with charcoal. if they have distinguished themselves in war, they are sometimes laid on a kind of scaffolding; and i have been informed, that women, as in the east, have been known to sacrifice themselves to the manes of their husbands. the whole of the property belonging to the departed person is destroyed, and the relations take in exchange for the wearing apparel, any rags that will cover their nakedness. the feast bestowed on the occasion, which is, or at least used to be, repeated annually, is accompanied with eulogiums on the deceased, and without any acts of ferocity. on the tomb are carved or painted the symbols of his tribe, which are taken from the different animals of the country. many and various are the motives which induce a savage to engage in war. to prove his courage, or to revenge the death of his relations, or some of his tribe, by the massacre of an enemy. if the tribe feel themselves called upon to go to war, the elders convene the people, in order to know the general opinion. if it be for war, the chief publishes his intention to smoke in the sacred stem at a certain period, to which solemnity, meditation and fasting are required as preparatory ceremonials. when the people are thus assembled, and the meeting sanctified by the custom of smoking, the chief enlarges on the causes which have called them together, and the necessity of the measures proposed on the occasion. he then invites those who are willing to follow him, to smoke out of the sacred stem, which is considered as the token of enrolment; and if it should be the general opinion that assistance is necessary, others are invited, with great formality, to join them. every individual who attends these meetings, brings something with him as a token of his warlike intention, or as an object of sacrifice, which, when the assembly dissolves, is suspended from poles near the place of council. they have frequent feasts, and particular circumstances never fail to produce them, such as a tedious illness, long fasting, etc. on these occasions it is usual for the person who means to give the entertainment, to announce his design, on a certain day, of opening the medicine-bag, and smoking out of his sacred stem. this declaration is considered as a sacred vow that cannot be broken. there are also stated periods, such as the spring and autumn, when they engage in very long and solemn ceremonies. on these occasions dogs are offered as sacrifices, and those which are very fat, and milk-white, are preferred. they also make large offerings of their property, whatever it may be. the scene of these ceremonies is in an open inclosure on the bank of a river or lake, and in the most conspicuous situation, in order that such as are passing along or travelling, may be induced to make their offerings. there is also a particular custom among them, that, on these occasions, if any of the tribe, or even a stranger, should be passing by, and be in real want of any thing that is displayed as an offering, he has a right to take it, so that he replaces it with some article he can spare, though it be of far inferior value; but to take or touch any thing wantonly is considered as a sacrilegious act, and highly insulting to the great master of life, to use their own expression, who is the sacred object of their devotion. the scene of private sacrifice is the lodge of the person who performs it, which is prepared for that purpose, by removing every thing out of it, and spreading green branches in every part. the fire and ashes are also taken away. a new hearth is made of fresh, earth, and another fire is lighted. the owner of the dwelling remains alone in it; and he begins the ceremony by spreading a piece of new cloth, or a well-dressed moose-skin neatly painted, on which he opens his medicine-bag and exposes its contents, consisting of various articles. the principal of them is a kind of household god, which is a small carved image about eight inches long. its first covering is of down, over which a piece of birch-bark is closely tied, and the whole is enveloped in several folds of red and blue cloth. this little figure is an object of the most pious regard. the next article is his war-cap, which is decorated with the feathers and plumes of scarce birds, beavers, and eagle's claws, etc. there is also suspended from it a quill or feather for every enemy whom the owner of it has slain in battle. the remaining contents of the bag are, a piece of brazil tobacco, several roots and simples, which are in great estimation for their medicinal qualities, and a pipe. these articles being all exposed, and the stem resting upon two forks, as it must not touch the ground, the master of the lodge sends for the person he most esteems, who sits down opposite to him; the pipe is then filled and fixed to the stem. a pair of wooden pincers is provided to put the fire in the pipe, and a double-pointed pin, to empty it of the remnant of tobacco which is not consumed. this arrangement being made, the men assemble, and sometimes the women are allowed to be humble spectators, while the most religious awe and solemnity pervades the whole. the michiniwais, or assistant, takes up the pipe, lights it, and presents it to the officiating person, who receives it standing and holds it between both his hands. he then turns himself to the east, and draws a few whiffs, which he blows to that point. the same ceremony he observes to the other three quarters, with his eyes directed upwards during the whole of it. he holds the stem about the middle between the three first fingers of both hands, and raising them upon a line with his forehead, he swings it three times round from the east, with the sun, when, after pointing and balancing it in various directions, he reposes it on the forks: he then makes a speech to explain the design of their being called together, which concludes with an acknowledgment for past mercies, and a prayer for the continuance of them, from the master of life. he then sits down, and the whole company declare their approbation and thanks by uttering the word _ho!_ with an emphatic prolongation of the last letter. the michiniwais then takes up the pipe and holds it to the mouth of the officiating person, who, after smoking three whiffs out of it, utters a short prayer, and then goes round with it, taking his course from east to west, to every person present, who individually says something to him on the occasion; and thus the pipe is generally smoked out; when, after turning it three or four times round his head, he drops it downwards, and replaces it in its original situation. he then returns the company thanks for their attendance, and wishes them, as well as the whole tribe, health and long life. these smoking rites precede every matter of great importance with more or less ceremony, but always with equal solemnity. the utility of them will appear from the following relation. if a chief is anxious to know the disposition of his people towards him, or if he wishes to settle any difference between them, he announces his intention of opening his medicine-bag and smoking in his sacred stem; and no man who entertains a grudge against any of the party thus assembled can smoke with the sacred stem; as that ceremony dissipates all differences, and is never violated. no one can avoid attending on these occasions; but a person may attend and be excused from assisting at the ceremonies, by acknowledging that he has not undergone the necessary purification. the having cohabited with his wife, or any other woman, within twenty-four hours preceding the ceremony, renders him unclean, and, consequently, disqualifies him from performing any part of it. if a contract is entered into and solemnised by the ceremony of smoking, it never fails of being faithfully fulfilled. if a person, previous to his going a journey, leaves the sacred stem as a pledge of his return, no consideration whatever will prevent him from executing his engagement.[3] the chief, when he proposes to make a feast, sends quills, or small pieces of wood, as tokens of invitation to such as he wishes to partake of it. at the appointed time the guests arrive, each bringing a dish or platter, and a knife, and take their seats on each side of the chief, who receives them sitting, according to their respective ages. the pipe is then lighted, and he makes an equal division of every thing that is provided. while the company are enjoying their meal, the chief sings, and accompanies his song with the tambourine, or shishiquoi, or rattle. the guest who has first eaten his portion is considered as the most distinguished person. if there should be any who cannot finish the whole of their mess, they endeavour to prevail on some of their friends to eat it for them, who are rewarded for their assistance with ammunition and tobacco. it is proper also to remark, that at these feasts a small quantity of meat or drink is sacrificed, before they begin to eat, by throwing it into the fire, or on the earth. these feasts differ according to circumstances; sometimes each man's allowance is no more than he can despatch in a couple of hours. at other times the quantity is sufficient to supply each of them with food for a week, though it must be devoured in a day. on these occasions it is very difficult to procure substitutes, and the whole must be eaten whatever time it may require. at some of these entertainments there is a more rational arrangement, when the guests are allowed to carry home with them the superfluous part of their portions. great care is always taken that the bones may be burned, as it would be considered a profanation were the dogs permitted to touch them. the public feasts are conducted in the same manner, but with some additional ceremony. several chiefs officiate at them, and procure the necessary provisions, as well as prepare a proper place of reception for the numerous company. here the guests discourse upon public topics, repeat the heroic deeds of their forefathers, and excite the rising generation to follow their example. the entertainments on these occasions consist of dried meats, as it would not be practicable to dress a sufficient quantity of fresh meat for such a large assembly; though the women and children are excluded. similar feasts used to be made at funerals, and annually, in honour of the dead; but they have been, for some time, growing into disuse, and i never had an opportunity of being present at any of them. the women, who are forbidden to enter the places sacred to these festivals, dance and sing around them, and sometimes beat time to the music within them; which forms an agreeable contrast. with respect to their divisions of time, they compute the length of their journeys by the number of nights passed in performing them; and they divide the year by the succession of moons. in this calculation, however, they are not altogether correct, as they cannot account for the odd days. the names which they give to the names are descriptive of the several seasons. may atheiky o pishim frog moon. june oppinu o pishim the moon in which birds begin to lay their eggs. july aupascen o pishim the moon when birds cast their feathers. august aupahou o pishim the moon when the young birds begin to fly. september waskiscon o pishim the moon when the moose deer cast their horns. october wisac o pishim the rutting-moon. november thithigon pewai hoar-frost moon. o pishim kuskatinsyoui ice moon. o pishim december pawatchicananasis whirlwind-moon. o pishim january kushapawasticanum extreme cold o pishim moon. february kichi pishim big moon; some say, old moon. march mickysue pishim eagle moon. april niscaw o pishim goose moon. these people know the medicinal virtues of many herbs and simples, and apply the roots of plants and the bark of trees with success. but the conjurers, who monopolize the medical science, find it necessary to blend mystery with their art, and do not communicate their knowledge. their materia medica they administer in the form of purges and clysters, but the remedies and surgical operations are supposed to derive much of their effect from magic and incantation. when a blister rises in the foot from the frost, the chafing of the shoe, etc., they immediately open it, and apply the heated blade of a knife to the part, which, painful as it may be, is found to be efficacious. a sharp flint serves them as a lancet for letting blood, as well as for scarification in bruises and swellings. for sprains, the dung of an animal just killed is considered as the best remedy. they are very fond of european medicines, though they are ignorant of their application: and those articles form an inconsiderable part of the european traffic with them. among their various superstitions, they believe that the vapour which is seen to hover over moist and swampy places, is the spirit of some person lately dead. they also fancy another spirit which appears, in the shape of a man, upon the trees near the lodge of a person deceased, whose property has not been interred with them. he is represented as bearing a gun in his hand, and it is believed that he does not return to his rest, till the property that has been withheld from the grave has been sacrificed to it. examples of the knisteneaux and algonquin tongues. knisteneaux. algonquin. good spirit ki jai manitou ki jai manitou. evil spirit matchi manitou matchi-manitou. man ethini inini woman esquois ich-quois. male nap hew aquoisi. female non-gense non-gense. infant a' wash ish abi nont-chen. head us ti quoin o'chiti-goine. forehead es caatick o catick. hair wes ty-ky winessis. eyes es kis och oskingick. nose oskiwin o'chengewane. nostrils oo tith ee go mow ni-de-ni-guom. mouth o toune o tonne. my teeth wip pit tah nibit. tongue otaithani o-tai-na-ni. beard michitoune omichitonn. brain with i tip aba-e winikan. ears o tow ee gie o-ta wagane. neck o qui ow o'quoi gan. throat o koot tas gy nigon dagane. arms o nisk o nic. fingers che chee ni nid gines. nails wos kos sia os-kenge. side o's spig gy opikegan. my back no pis quan ni-pi quoini. my belly nattay ni my sat. thighs o povam obouame. my knees no che quoin noh ni gui tick. legs nos ni gatte. heart ok thea othai. my father noo ta wie nossai. my mother nigah wei nigah. my boy (son) negousis nigouisses. my girl (daughter) netanis nidaniss. my brother, elder ni stess nis-a-yen. my sister, elder ne miss nimisain. my grandfather ne moo shum ni-mi-chomiss. my grandmother n'o kum no-co-miss. my uncle n' o'ka miss ni ni michomen. my nephew ne too sim ne do jim. my niece ne too sim esquois ni-do-jim equois my mother-in-law nisigouse ni sigousiss. my brother-in-law nistah nitah. my companion ne wechi wagan ni-wit-chi-wagan. my husband ni nap pem ni na bem. blood mith coo misquoi. old man shi nap aki win se. i am angry ne kis si wash en nis katissiwine. i fear ne goos tow nisest guse. joy ne hea tha tom mamond gikisi. hearing pethom oda wagan. track mis conna pemi ka wois. chief, great ruler haukimah kitchi onodis. thief kismouthesk ke moutiske. excrement meyee moui. buffalo moustouche pichike. ferret sigous shingouss. polecat shicak shi kak. elk moustouche michai woi. rein deer attick atick. fellow deer attick wa wasquesh. beaver amisk amic. wolverine qui qua katch quin quoagki. squirrel ennequachas otchi ta mou. minx sa quasue shaugouch. otter nekick ni guick. wolf mayegan maygan. hare wapouce wapouce. marten wappistan wabichinse. moose mouswah monse. bear masqua macqua. fisher wijask od-jisck. lynx picheu pechou. porcupine cau quah kack. fox mikasew wagouche. musk rat wajask wa-jack. mouse abicushiss wai wa be gou noge. cow buffalo noshi moustouche nochena pichik. meat-flesh wias wi-ass. dog atim ani-mouse. eagle makusue me-guissis. duck sy sip shi-sip. crow, corbeau ca cawkeu ka kak. swan wapiseu wa-pe-sy. turkey mee sei thew mississay. pheasants okes kew ajack. bird pethesew pi-na-sy. outard niscag nic kack. white goose wey wois woi wois. grey goose pestasish pos ta kisk. partridge pithew pen ainse. water hen chiquibish che qui bis. dove omi mee o mi-mis. eggs we wah wa weni. pike or jack kenonge kenonge. carp na may bin na me bine. sturgeon na may na maiu. white fish aticaming aticaming. pickerel oc-chaw oh-ga. fish (in general) kenonge ki-cons. spawn waquon wa quock. fins chi chi kan o nidj-igan. trout nay gouse na men gouse. craw fish a shag gee a cha kens chacque. frog atahick o ma ka ki. wasp ah moo a mon. turtle mikinack mi-ki-nack. snake kinibick ki nai bick. awl oscajick ma-gose. needle saboinigan sha-bo nigan. fire steel appet scoutecgan fire wood mich-tah missane. cradle teckinigan tickina-gan. dagger ta comagau na-ba-ke-gou-man. arrow augusk or atouche mettic ka nouins. fish hook quosquipichican maneton miquiscan. ax shegaygan wagagvette. ear-bob chi-kisebisoun na be chi be soun comb sicahoun pin ack wan. net athabe assap. tree mistick miti-coum. wood mistick mitic. paddle aboi aboui. canoe chiman s-chiman. birch rind wasquoi wig nass. bark wasquoi on-na-guege. touch wood pousagan sa-ga-tagan. leaf nepeshah ni-biche. grass masquosi masquosi. raspberries misqui-meinac misqui meinac. strawberries o'-tai-e minac o'-tai-e minac. ashes pecouch pengoui. fire scou tay scou tay. grapes shomenac shomenac. fog pakishihow a winni. mud asus ki a shiski. currant kisijiwin ki si chi woin. road mescanah mickanan. winter pipoun pipone. island ministick miniss. lake sagayigan sagayigan. sun pisim kijis. moon tibisca pesim dibic kijis (the night sun) day kigigah kigi gatte. night tabisca dibic kawte. snow counah so qui po. rain kimiwoin ki mi woini drift pewan pi-woine. hail shes eagan me qua mensan. ice mesquaming me quam. frost aquatin gas-ga-tin. mist picasyow an-quo-et. water nepec nipei. world messeasky missi achki. (all the earth) mountain wachee watchive. sea kitchi kitchi gaming kitchi kitchi gaming. morning kequishepe ki-ki-jep. mid-day abetah quisheik na ock quoi. portage unygam ouni-gam. spring menouscaming mino ka ming. river sipee sipi. rapid bawastick ba wetick. rivulet sepeesis sipi wes chin. sand thocaw ne gawe. earth askee ach ki. star attack anang. thunder pithuseu ni mi ki. wind thoutin no tine. calm athawostin a-no-a-tine. heat quishipoi aboyce. evening ta kashike o'n-a-guche. north kywoitin ke woitinak. south sawena woon sha-wa-na-wang. east coshawcastak wa-ba-no-no-tine. west paquisimow panguis-chi-mo. tomorrow wabank wa-bang. bone oskann oc-kann. broth michim waboi thaboub. feast ma qua see wi con qui wine. grease or oil pimis pimi-tais. marrow fat oscan pimis oska-pimitais. sinew asstis attiss. lodge wig-waum wi-gui-wam. bed ne pa win ne pai wine. within pendog ke pendig. door squandam scouandam. dish othagan o' na gann. fort wasgaigan wa-kuigan. sledge tabanask otabanac. cincture poquoatehoun ketche pisou, cap astotin pe matinang. socks ashican a chi-gan. shirt papackeweyan pa pa ki weyan. coat papise-co-wagan papise-co-wa-gan blanket wape weyang wape weyan. cloth maneto weguin maneto weguin. thread assabab assabab. garters chi ki-bisoon ni gaske-tase besoun. mittens astissack medjica wine. shoes maskisin makisin. smoking bag kusquepetagan kasquepetagan. portage sling apisan apican, strait on goi ask goi-ack. medicine mas ki kee macki-ki. red mes coh mes-cowa. blue kasqutch (same o-jawes-cowa. as black) white wabisca wabisca. yellow saw waw o-jawa. green chibatiquare o'jawes-cowa. brown o'jawes-cowa. grey, etc. o'jawes-cowa. ugly mache na gouseu mous-counu-gouse. handsome catawassiseu nam bissa. beautiful kissi sawenogan quoi natch. deaf nima petom ka ki be chai. good-natured mithi washin onichishin. pregnant: paawie and-jioko. fat outhineu oui-ni-noe. big mushikitee messha. small or little abisasheu agu-chin. short chemasish tackosi. skin wian wian. long kinwain kiniwa. strong mascawa |mache-cawa. |mas-cawise. coward sagatahaw cha-goutai-ye. weak nitha missew cha-gousi. lean mahta waw ka wa ca tosa. brave nima gustaw son qui taige. young man osquineguish oskinigui. cold kissin kissinan. hot kichatai kicha tai. spring minouscaming minokaming. summer nibin nibiqui. fall tagowagonk tagowag. one peyac pecheik. two nisheu nige. three nishtou nis-wois. four neway ne-au. five ni-annan na-nan. six negoutawoesic ni gouta was-wois. seven nish woisic nigi-was-wois. eight jannanew she was wois. nine shack shang was wois. ten mitatat mit-asswois. eleven peyac osap mitasswois, hachi pecheik. twelve nisheu osap mitasswois, hachi, nige. thirteen nichtou osap mitasswois, hachi, niswois. fourteen neway osap mitasswois, hachi, ne-au. fifteen niannan osap mitasswois, hachi, nanan. sixteen nigoutawoesic osap mitasswois, hachi, negoutawaswois. seventeen nish woesic osap mitasswois, hachi, nigi was-wois. eighteen jannenew osap mitasgwois, hachi, shiwasswois. nineteen shack osap mitasswois, hachi, shang as wois. twenty nisheu mitenah nigeta-nan. twenty-one nishew mitenah nigeta nan, hachi, pechic. peyac osap twenty-two, etc. nisheu mitenah nishew osap thirty nishtou mitenah niswois mitanan. forty neway mitenah neau mitanan. fifty niannan mitenah nanan mitanen. sixty negoutawoisic nigouta was wois mitanan. mitenah seventy nishwoisic mitenah nigi was wois mitanan. eighty jannaeu mitenah she was wois mitanan. ninety shack mitenah shang was wois mitanan. hundred mitana mitenan ningoutwack. two hundred neshew mitena a nige wack. mitenah one thousand mitenah mitena kitchi-wack. mitenah first nican nitam. last squayatch shaquoiyanke. more minah awa-chi min. better athiwack mitha a wachimin o washin nichi shen. best atniwack mitha kitchi o nichi shin. washin i. or me nitha nin. you, or thou kitha kin. they, or them withawaw win na wa. we nithawaw nina wa. my, or mine nitayen nida yam. your's kitayan kitayem. who auoni. whom awoine kegoi nin. what wa his, or her's otayan otayim mis. all kakithau kakenan. some, or some few pey peyac pe-pichic. the same tabescoutch mi ta yoche. all the world missi acki wanque mishiwai asky. all the men kakithaw ethi nyock missi inini wock. more mina mine wa. now and then nannigoutengue. sometimes i as-cow-puco seldom wica-ac-ko. arrive ta couchin ta-gouchin. beat otamaha packit-ais. to burn mistascasoo icha-quiso. to sing nagamoun nagam. to cut kisquishan qui qui jan. to hide catann caso tawe. to cover acquahoun a co na oune. to believe taboitam tai boitam. to sleep nepan ni pann. to dispute ke ko mitowock ki quaidiwine. to dance nemaytow nimic. to give mith mih. to do ogitann o-gitoune. to eat wissinee wissiniwin. to die nepew ni po wen. to forget winnekiskisew woi ni mi kaw. to speak athimetakcouse aninntagousse. to cry (tears) mantow ma wi. to laugh papew pa-pe to set down nematappe na matape win. to walk pimoutais pemoussai. to fall packisin panguishin. to work ah tus kew anokeh. to kill nipahaw nishi-woes. to sell attawoin ata wois. to live pimatise pematis. to see wabam wab. to come astamoteh pitta-si-mouss. enough egothigog mi mi nic. cry (tears) manteau ambai ma wita. it hails shisiagan sai saigaun. there is | there is some | aya wa aya wan. it rains quimiwoin qui mi woin. after to-morrow awis wabank awas webang. to-day anoutch non gum. thereaway netoi awoite. much michett ni bi wa. presently pichisqua pitchinac. make, heart quithipeh wai we be. this morning shebas shai bas. this night tibiscag de bi cong. above espiming o kitchiai. below tabassish ana mai. truly taboiy ne de wache already sashay sha shaye. yet more minah mina wa. yesterday tacoushick pitchinago. far wathow wassa. near quishiwoac paishou. never nima wecatch ka wi ka. no nima ke wine. yes ah in. by-and-bye pa-nima pa-nima. always ka-ki-kee ka qui nick make haste quethepeh niguim. it's long since mewaisha mon wisha. [1] the similarity between their language and that of the algonquins is an unequivocal proof that they are the same people. specimens of their respective tongues will be hereafter given. [2] they have been called thieves, but when that vice can with justice be attributed to them, it may be traced to their connexion with the civilized people who come into their country to traffic. [3] it is, however, to be lamented, that of late there is a relaxation of the duties originally attached to these festivals. some account of the chepewyan indians. they are a numerous people, who consider the country between the parallels of latitude 60. and 65. north, and longitude 100. to 110. west, as their lands or home. they speak a copious language, which is very difficult to be attained, and furnishes dialects to the various emigrant tribes which inhabit the following immense track of country, whose boundary i shall describe.[1] it begins at churchill, and runs along the line of separation between them and the knisteneaux, up the missinipi to the isle a la crosse, passing on through the buffalo lake, river lake, and portage la loche: from thence it proceeds by the elk river to the lake of the hills, and goes directly west to the peace river; and up that river to its source and tributary waters; from whence it proceeds to the waters of the river columbia; and follows that river to latitude 52. 24. north, and longitude 122. 54. west, where the chepewyans have the atnah or chin nation for their neighbours. it then takes a line due west to the seacoast, within which, the country is possessed by a people who speak their language[2] and are consequently descended from them: there can be no doubt, therefore, of their progress being to the eastward. a tribe of them is even known at the upper establishments on the saskatchiwine; and i do not pretend to ascertain how far they may follow the rocky mountains to the east. it is not possible to form any just estimate of their numbers, but it is apparent, nevertheless, that they are by no means proportionate to the vast extent of their territories, which may, in some degree, be attributed to the ravages of the small-pox, which are, more or less, evident throughout this part of the continent. the notion which these people entertain of the creation, is of a very singular nature. they believe that, at the first, the globe was one vast and entire ocean, inhabited by no living creature, except a mighty bird, whose eyes were fire, whose glances were lightning, and the clapping of whose wings were thunder. on his descent to the ocean, and touching it, the earth instantly arose, and remained on the surface of the waters. this omnipotent bird then called forth all the variety of animals from the earth, except the chepewyans, who were produced from a dog; and this circumstance occasions their aversion to the flesh of that animal, as well as the people who eat it. this extraordinary tradition proceeds to relate, that the great bird, having finished his work, made an arrow, which was to be preserved with great care, and to remain untouched; but that the chepewyans were so devoid of understanding, as to carry it away; and the sacrilege so enraged the great bird, that he has never since appeared. they have also a tradition amongst them, that they originally came from another country, inhabited by very wicked people, and had traversed a great lake, which was narrow, shallow, and full of islands, where they had suffered great misery, it being always winter, with ice and deep snow. at the copper-mine river, where they made the first land, the ground was covered with copper, over which a body of earth had since been collected, to the depth of a man's height. they believe, also, that in ancient times their ancestors lived till their feet were worn out with walking, and their throats with eating. they describe a deluge, when the waters spread over the whole earth, except the highest mountains, on the tops of which they preserved themselves. they believe, that immediately after their death, they pass into another world, where they arrive at a large river, on which they embark in a stone canoe, and that a gentle current bears them on to an extensive lake, in the centre of which is a most beautiful island; and that, in the view of this delightful abode, they receive that judgment for their conduct during life, which terminates their final state and unalterable allotment. if their good actions are declared to predominate, they are landed upon the island, where there is to be no end to-their happiness; which, however, according to their notions, consists in an eternal enjoyment of sensual pleasure, and carnal gratification. but if their bad actions weigh down the balance, the stone canoe sinks at once, and leaves them up to their chins in the water, to behold and regret the reward enjoyed by the good, and eternally struggling, but with unavailing endeavours, to reach the blissful island, from which they are excluded for ever. they have some faint notions of the transmigration of the soul; so that if a child be born with teeth, they instantly imagine, from its premature appearance, that it bears a resemblance to some person who had lived to an advanced period, and that he has assumed a renovated life, with these extraordinary tokens of maturity. the chepewyans are sober, timorous, and vagrant, with a selfish disposition that has sometimes created suspicions of their integrity. their stature has nothing remarkable in it; but though they are seldom corpulent, they are sometimes robust. their complexion is swarthy; their features coarse, and their hair lank, but always of a dingy black; nor have they universally the piercing eye, which generally animates the indian countenance. the women have a more agreeable aspect than the men, but their gait is awkward, which proceeds from their being accustomed, nine months in the year, to travel on snow-shoes and drag sledges of a weight from two to four hundred pounds. they are very submissive to their husbands, who have, however, their fits of jealousy; and, for very trifling causes, treat them with such cruelty as sometimes to occasion their death. they are frequently objects of traffic; and the father possesses the right of disposing of his daughter.[3] the men in general extract their beards, though some of them are seen to prefer a bushy black beard, to a smooth chin. they cut their hair in various forms, or leave it in a long, natural flow, according as their caprice or fancy suggests. the women always wear it in great length, and some of them are very attentive to its arrangement. if they at any time appear despoiled of their tresses, it is to be esteemed a proof of the husband's jealousy, and is considered as a severer punishment than manual correction. both sexes have blue or black bars, or from one to four straight lines on their cheeks or forehead, to distinguish the tribe to which they belong. these marks are either tattooed, or made by drawing a thread, dipped in the necessary colour, beneath the skin. there are no people more attentive to the comforts of their dress, or less anxious respecting its exterior appearance. in the winter it is composed of the skins of deer, and their fawns, and dressed as fine as any chamois leather, in the hair. in the summer their apparel is the same, except that it is prepared without the hair. their shoes and leggins are sewed together, the latter reaching upwards to the middle, and being supported by a belt, under which a small piece of leather is drawn to cover the private parts, the ends of which fall down both before and behind. in the shoes they put the hair of the moose or reindeer with additional pieces of leather as socks. the shirt or coat, when girted round the waist, reaches to the middle of the thigh, and the mittens are sewed to the sleeves, or are suspended by strings from the shoulders. a ruff or tippet surrounds the neck, and the skin of the head of the deer forms a curious kind of cap. a robe, made of several deer or fawn skins sewed together, covers the whole. this dress is worn single or double, but always in the winter, with the hair within and without. thus arrayed a chepewyan will lay himself down on the ice in the middle of a lake, and repose in comfort; though he will sometimes find a difficulty in the morning to disencumber himself from the snow drifted on him during the night. if in his passage he should be in want of provision, he cuts a hole in the ice, when he seldom fails of taking some trout or pike, whose eyes he instantly scoops out, and eats as a great delicacy; but if they should not be sufficient to satisfy his appetite, he will, in this necessity make his meal of the fish in its raw state; but, those whom i saw, preferred to dress their victuals when circumstances admitted the necessary preparation. when they are in that part of their country which does not produce a sufficient quantity of wood for fuel, they are reduced to the same exigency, though they generally dry their meat in the sun.[4] the dress of the women differs from that of the men. their leggins are tied below the knee; and their coat or shift is wide, hanging down to the ankle, and is tucked up at pleasure by means of a belt, which is fastened round the waist. those who have children have these garments made very full about the shoulders, as when they are travelling they carry their infants upon their backs, next their skin, in which situation they are perfectly comfortable and in a position convenient to be suckled. nor do they discontinue to give their milk to them till they have another child. childbirth is not the object of that tender care and serious attention among the savages as it is among civilized people. at this period no part of their usual occupation is omitted, and this continual and regular exercise must contribute to the welfare of the mother, both in the progress of parturition and in the moment of delivery. the women have a singular custom of cutting off a small piece of the navel string of the new-born children, and hang it about their necks: they are also curious in the covering they make for it, which they decorate with porcupine's quills and beads. though the women are as much in the power of the men, as other articles of their property, they are always consulted, and possess a very considerable influence in the traffic with europeans, and other important concerns. plurality of wives is common among them, and the ceremony of marriage is of a very simple nature. the girls are betrothed at a very early period to those whom the parents think the best able to support them: nor is the inclination of the women considered. whenever a separation takes place, which sometimes happens, it depends entirely on the will and pleasure of the husband. in common with the other indians of this country, they have a custom respecting the periodical state of a woman, which is rigorously observed: at that time she must seclude herself from society. they are not even allowed in that situation to keep the same path as the men, when travelling: and it is considered a great breach of decency for a woman so circumstanced to touch any utensils of manly occupation. such a circumstance is supposed to defile them, so that their subsequent use would be followed by certain mischief or misfortune. there are particular skins which the women never touch, as of the bear and wolf; and those animals the men are seldom known to kill. they are not remarkable for their activity as hunters, which is owing to the ease with which they snare deer and spear fish: and these occupations are not beyond the strength of their old men, women, and boys: so that they participate in those laborious occupations, which among their neighbours are confined to the women. they make war on the esquimaux, who cannot resist their superior numbers, and put them to death, as it is a principle with them never to make prisoners. at the same time they tamely submit to the knisteneaux, who are not so numerous as themselves, when they treat them as enemies. they do not affect that cold reserve at meeting, either among themselves or strangers, which is common with the knisteneaux, but communicate mutually, and at once, all the information of which they are possessed. nor are they roused like them from an apparent torpor to a state of great activity. they are consequently more uniform in this respect, though they are of a very persevering disposition when their interest is concerned. as these people are not addicted to spirituous liquors, they have a regular and uninterrupted use of their understanding, which is always directed to the advancement of their own interest; and this disposition, as may be readily imagined, sometimes occasions them to be charged with fraudulent habits. they will submit with patience to the severest treatment, when they are conscious that they deserve it, but will never forget or forgive any wanton or unnecessary rigour. a moderate conduct i never found to fail, nor do i hesitate to represent them, altogether, as the most peaceable tribe of indians known in north america. there are conjurers and high-priests, but i was not present at any of their ceremonies; though they certainly operate in an extraordinary manner on the imaginations of the people in the cure of disorders. their principal maladies are, rheumatic pains, the flux and consumption. the venereal complaint is very common; but though its progress is slow, it gradually undermines the constitution, and brings on premature decay. they have recourse to superstition for their cure, and charms are their only remedies, except the bark of the willow, which being burned and reduced to powder, is strewed upon green wounds and ulcers, and places contrived for promoting perspiration. of the use of simples and plants they have no knowledge; nor can it be expected, as their country does not produce them. though they have enjoyed so long an intercourse with europeans, their country is so barren, as not to be capable of producing the ordinary necessaries naturally introduced by such a communication and they continue, in a great measure, their own inconvenient and awkward modes of taking their game and preparing it when taken. sometimes they drive the deer into the small lakes, where they spear them, or force them into inclosures, where the bow and arrow are employed against them. these animals are also taken in snares made of skin. in the former instance the game is divided among those who have been engaged in the pursuit of it. in the latter it is considered as private property; nevertheless, any unsuccessful hunter passing by, may take a deer so caught, leaving the head, skin, and saddle for the owner. thus, though they have no regular government, as every man is lord in his own family, they are influenced, more or less, by certain principles which condone to their general benefit. in their quarrels with each other, they very rarely proceed to a greater degree of violence than is occasioned by blows, wrestling, and pulling of the hair, while their abusive language consists in applying the name of the most offensive animal to the object of their displeasure, and adding the term ugly, and chiay, or still-born.[5] their arms and domestic apparatus, in addition to the articles procured from europeans, are spears, bows, and arrows, fishing nets, and lines made of green deer-skin thongs. they have also nets for taking the beaver as he endeavours to escape from his lodge when it is broken open. it is set in a particular manner for the purpose, and a man is employed to watch the moment when he enters the snare, or he would soon cut his way through it. he is then thrown upon the ice where he remains as if he had no life in him. the snow-shoes are of a very superior workmanship. the inner part of their frame is straight, the outer one is curved, and it is pointed at both ends, with that in front turned up. they are also laced with great neatness with thongs made of deer-skin. the sledges are formed of thin slips of board turned up also in front, and are highly polished with crooked knives, in order to slide along with facility. close-grained wood is, on that account, the best; but theirs are made of the red or swamp spruce-fir tree. the country, which these people claim as their land, has a very small quantity of earth, and produces little or no wood or herbage. its chief vegetable substance is the moss, on which the deer feed; and a kind of rock moss, which, in times of scarcity, preserves the lives of the natives. when boiled in water, it dissolves into a clammy, glutinous substance, that affords a very sufficient nourishment. but, notwithstanding the barren state of their country, with proper care and economy, these people might live in great comfort, for the lakes abound in fish, and the hills are covered with deer. though, of all the indian people of this continent they are considered as the most provident, they suffer severely at certain seasons, and particularly in the dead of winter, when they are under the necessity of retiring to their scanty, stinted woods. to the westward of them the musk-ox may be found, but they have no dependence on it as an article of sustenance. there are also large hares, a few white wolves, peculiar to their country, and several kinds of foxes, with white and grey partridges, etc. the beaver and moose-deer they do not find till they come within 60 degrees north latitude; and the buffalo is still further south. that animal is known to frequent an higher latitude to the westward of their country. these people bring pieces of beautiful variegated marble, which are found on the surface of the earth. it is easily worked, bears a fine polish, and hardens with time; it endures heat, and is manufactured into pipes or calumets, as they are very fond of smoking tobacco; a luxury which the europeans communicated to them. their amusements or recreations are but few. their music is so inharmonious, and their dancing so awkward, that they might be supposed to be ashamed of both, as they very seldom practise either. they also shoot at marks, and play at the games common among them; but in fact they prefer sleeping to either; and the greater part of their time is passed in procuring food, and resting from the toil necessary to obtain it. they are also of a querulous disposition, and are continually making complaints; which they express by a constant repetition of the word eduiy, "it is hard," in a whining and plaintive tone of voice. they are superstitious in the extreme, and almost every action of their lives, however trivial, is more or less influenced by some whimsical notion. i never observed that they had any particular form of religious worship; but as they believe in a good and evil spirit, and a state of future rewards and punishments, they cannot be devoid of religious impressions. at the same time they manifest a decided unwillingness to make any communications on the subject. the chepewyans have been accused of abandoning their aged and infirm people to perish, and of not burying their dead; but these are melancholy necessities, which proceed from their wandering way of life. they are by no means universal, for it is within my knowledge, that a man, rendered helpless by the palsy, was carried about for many years, with the greatest tenderness and attention, till he died a natural death. that they should not bury their dead in their own country, cannot be imputed to them as a custom arising from a savage insensibility, as they inhabit such high latitudes that the ground never thaws; but it is well known, that when they are in the woods, they cover their dead with trees. besides, they manifest no common respect to the memory of their departed friends, by a long period of mourning, cutting off their hair, and never making use of the property of the deceased. nay, they frequently destroy or sacrifice their own, as a token of regret and sorrow. if there be any people who, from the barren state of their country, might be supposed to be cannibals by nature, these people, from the difficulty they, at times, experience in procuring food, might be liable to that imputation. but, in all my knowledge of them, i never was acquainted with one instance of that disposition; nor among all the natives which i met with in a route of five thousand miles, did i see or hear of an example of cannibalism, but such as arose from that irresistible necessity, which has been known to impel even the most civilized people to eat each other. examples of the chepewyan tongue man dinnie. woman chequois. young man quelaquis. young woman quelaquis chequoi. my son zi azay. my daughter zi lengai. my husband zi dinnie. my wife zi zayunai. my brother zi raing. my father zi tah. my mother zi nah. my grandfather zi unai. me, or my see. i ne. you nun. they be. head edthie. hand law. leg edthen. foot cuh. eyes nackhay. teeth goo. side kac-hey. belly bitt. tongue edthu. hair thiegah. back losseh. blood dell. the knee cha-gutt. clothes or blanket etlunay. coat eeh. leggin thell. shoes kinchee. robe or blanket thuth. sleeves bah. mittens geese. cap sah. swan kagouce. duck keth. goose gah. white partridge cass bah. grey partridge deyee. buffalo giddy. moose deer dinyai. rein deer edthun. beaver zah. bear zass. otter gaby-ai. martin thah. wolverine naguiyai. wolf yess (nouhoay). fox naguethey. hare cah. dog sliengh. beaver-skin zah thah. otter skin naby-ai thith. moose-skin deny-ai thith. fat icah. grease thless. meet bid. pike uldiah. white-fish slouey. trout slouey zinai. pickerel g'gah. fish-hook ge-eth. fish-line clulez. one slachy. two naghur. three tagh-y. four dengk-y. five sasoulachee. six alki tar-hy-y. seven eight alki deing-hy. nine cakina hanoth-na. ten ca noth na. twenty na ghur cha noth na. fire coun. water toue. wood dethkin. ice thun. snow yath. rain thinnelsee. lake touey. river tesse. mountain zeth. stone thaih. berries gui-eh. hot edowh. cold edzah. island nouey. gun telkithy, powder telkithy counna. knife bess. axe thynle. sun moon sah. red deli couse. black dell zin. trade, or barter na-houn-ny. good leyzong. not good leyzong houlley. stinking geddey. bad, ugly slieney. long since galladinna. now, today ganneh. tomorrow gambeh. by-and-bye, or presently garehoulleh. house, or lodge cooen. canoe shaluzee. door the o ball. leather-lodge n'abalay. chief buchahudry. mine zidzy. his bedzy. yours nuntzy. large unshaw. small, or little chautah, i love you ba eioinichdinh. i hate you bucnoinichadinh hillay. i am to be pitied est-chounest-hinay. my relation sy lod, innay. give me water too hanniltu. give me meat beds-hanniltu. give me fish sloeeh anneltu. give me meat to eat bid barheether. give me water to drink to barhithen. it is far off netha uzany, is it not far nilduay uzany. it is near nitha-hillai. how many nilduay. what call you him, or that etlaneldey. come here etla houllia pain, or suffering yeu dessay. it's hard i-yah. you lie untzee. what then eldaw-gueh. [1] those of them who come to trade with us, do not exceed eight hundred men, and have a smattering of the knisteneau tongue, in which they carry on their dealings with us. [2] the coast is inhabited on the north-west by the eskimaux, and on the pacific ocean by a people different from both. [3] they do not, however, sell them as slaves, but as companions to those who are supposed to live more comfortably than themselves. [4] the provision called pemmican, on which the chepewyans, as well as the other savages of this country, chiefly subsist in their journeys, is prepared in the following manner: the lean parts of the flesh of the larger animals are cut in thin slices, and are placed on a wooden grate over a slow fire, or exposed to the sun, and sometimes to the frost. these operations dry it, and in that state it is pounded between two stones; it will then keep with care for several years. if, however, it is kept in large quantities, it is disposed to ferment in the spring of the year, when it must be exposed to the air, or it will soon decay. the inside fat, and that of the rump, which is much thicker in these wild than our domestic animals, is melted down and mixed, in a boiling state with the pounded meat, in equal proportions: it is then put in baskets or bags for the convenience of carrying it. thus it becomes a nutritious food, and is eaten, without any further preparation, or the addition of spice, salt, or any vegetable or farinaceous substance. a little time reconciles it to the palate. there is another sort made with the addition of marrow and dried berries, which is of a superior quality. [5] this name is also applicable to the foetus of an animal, when killed, which is considered as one of the greatest delicacies. journal of a voyage, &c. chapter i. june, 1789. _wednesday, 3._--we embarked at nine in the morning, at fort chepewyan, on the south side of the lake of the hills, in latitude 58. 40. north, and longitude 110. 30. west from greenwich, and compass has sixteen degrees variation east, in a canoe made of birch bark. the crew consisted of four canadians, two of whom were attended by their wives, and a german; we were accompanied also by an indian, who had acquired the title of english chief, and his two wives, in a small canoe, with two young indians; his followers in another small canoe. these men were engaged to serve us in the twofold capacity of interpreters and hunters. this chief has been a principal leader of his countrymen who were in the habit of carrying furs to churchill factory, hudson's bay, and till of late very much attached to the interest of that company. these circumstances procured him the appellation of the english chief. we were also accompanied by a canoe that i had equipped for the purpose of trade, and given the charge of it to m. le roux, one of the company's clerks. in this i was obliged to ship part of our provision; which, with the clothing necessary for us on the voyage, a proper assortment of the articles of merchandise as presents, to ensure us a friendly reception among the indians, and the ammunition and arms requisite for defence, as well as a supply for our hunters, were more than our own canoe could carry, but by the time we should part company, there was every reason to suppose that our expenditure would make sufficient room for the whole. we proceeded twenty-one miles to the west, and then took a course of nine miles to north-north-west, when we entered the river, or one of the branches of the lake, of which there are several. we then steered north five miles, when our course changed for two miles to north-north-east, and here at seven in the evening we landed and pitched our tents. one of the hunters killed a goose, and a couple of ducks: at the same time the canoe was taken out of the water, to be gummed, which necessary business was effectually performed. _thursday, 4._--we embarked at four this morning, and proceeded north-north-east half a mile, north one mile and a half, west two miles, north-west two miles, west-north-west one mile and a half, north-north-west half a mile, and west-north-west two miles, when this branch loses itself in the peace river. it is remarkable, that the currents of these various branches of the lake, when the peace river is high, as in may and august, run into the lake, which, in the other months of the year returns its waters to them; whence, to this place, the branch is not more than two hundred yards wide, nor less than an hundred and twenty. the banks are rather low, except in one place, where an huge rock rises above them, the low land is covered with wood, such as white birch, pines of different kinds, with the poplar, three kinds of willow, and the liard. the peace river is upwards of a mile broad at this spot, and its current is stronger than that of the channel which communicates with the lake. it here, indeed, assumes the name of the slave river.[1] the course of this day was as follows:--north-west two miles, north-north-west, through islands, six miles, north four miles and a half, north by east two miles, west by north six miles, north one mile, north-east by east two miles, north one mile. we now descended a rapid, and proceeded north-west seven miles and a half, north-west nine miles, north by west six miles, north-west by west one mile and a half, north-west by north half a mile, north-north-west six miles, north one mile, north-west by west four miles, north-north-east one mile. here we arrived at the mouth of the dog river, where we landed, and unloaded our canoes, at half past seven in the evening, on the east side, and close by the rapids. at this station the river is near two leagues in breadth. _friday, 5._--at three o'clock in the morning we embarked, but unloaded our canoes at the first rapid. when we had reloaded, we entered a small channel, which is formed by the islands, and, in about half an hour, we came to the carrying-place it is three hundred and eighty paces in length, and very commodious, except at the further end of it. we found some difficulty in reloading at this spot, from the large quantity of ice which had not yet thawed. from hence to the next carrying-place, called the _portage d'embarras_, is about six miles, and is occasioned by the drift wood filling up the small channel, which is one thousand and twenty paces in length; from hence to the next is one mile and a half, while the distance to that which succeeds, does not exceed one hundred and fifty yards. it is about the same length as the last; and from hence to the carrying-place called the mountain, is about four miles further; when we entered the great river. the smaller one, or the channel, affords by far the best passage, as it is without hazard of any kind; though i believe a shorter course would be found on the outside of the islands, and without so many carrying-places. that called the mountain is three hundred and thirty-five paces in length; from thence to the next, named the pelican, there is about a mile of dangerous rapids. the landing is very steep, and close to the fall. the length of this carrying-place is eight hundred and twenty paces. the whole of the party were now employed in taking the baggage and the canoe up the hill. one of the indian canoes went down the fall, and was dashed to pieces. the woman who had the management of it, by quitting it in time, preserved her life, though she lost the little property it contained. the course from the place we quitted in the morning is about north-west, and comprehends a distance of fifteen miles. from hence to the next and last carrying-place, is about nine miles; in which distance there are three rapids: course north-west by west. the carrying path is very bad, and five hundred and thirty-five paces in length. our canoes being lightened, passed on the outside of the opposite island, which rendered the carrying of the baggage very short indeed, being not more than the length of a canoe. in the year 1786, five men were drowned, and two canoes and some packages lost, in the rapids on the other side of the river, which occasioned this place to be called the _portage des noyes_. they were proceeding to the slave lake, in the fall of that year, under the direction of mr. cuthbert grant. we proceeded from hence six miles, and encamped on point de roche, at half past five in the afternoon. the men and indians were very much fatigued; but the hunters had provided seven geese, a beaver, and four ducks. _saturday, 6._--we embarked at half past two in the morning, and steered north-west by north twenty-one miles, north-west by west five miles, west-north-west four miles, west six miles, doubled a point north-north-east one mile, east five miles, north two miles, north-west by north one mile and a half, west-north-west three miles, north-east by east two miles; doubled a point one mile and a half, west by north nine miles, north-west by west six miles, north-north-west five miles; here we landed at six o'clock in the evening, unloaded, and encamped. nets were also set in a small adjacent river. we had an head wind during the greater part of the day and the weather was become so cold that the indians were obliged to make use of their mittens. in this day's progress we killed seven geese and six ducks. _sunday, 7._--at half past three we renewed our voyage, and proceeded west-north-west one mile, round an island one mile, north-west two miles and a half, south by west three miles, west-south-west one mile, south-west by south half a mile, north-west three miles, west-north-west three miles and a half, north seven miles and a half, north-west by north four miles, north two miles and a half, north-west by north two miles. the rain, which had prevailed for some time, now came on with such violence, that we were obliged to land and unload, to prevent the goods and baggage from getting wet; the weather, however, soon cleared up, so that we reloaded the canoe, and got under way. we now continued our course north ten miles, west one mile and a half, and north one mile and a half, when the rain came on again, and rendered it absolutely necessary for us to get on shore for the night, at about half past three. we had a strong north-north-east wind throughout the day, which greatly impeded us; m. le roux, however, with his party, passed on in search of a landing place more agreeable to them. the indians killed a couple of geese, and as many ducks. the rain continued through the remaining part of the day. _monday, 8._--the night was very boisterous, and the rain did not cease till two in the afternoon of this day; but as the wind did not abate of its violence, we were prevented from proceeding till the morrow. _tuesday, 9._--we embarked at half past two in the morning, the weather being calm and foggy. soon after our two young men joined us, whom we had not seen for two days; but during their absence they had killed four beavers and ten geese. after a course of one mile north-west by north, we observed an opening on the right, which we took for a fork of the river, but it proved to be a lake. we returned and steered south-west by west one mile and a half, west-south-west one mile and a half, west one mile, when we entered a very small branch of the river on the east bank; at the mouth of which i was informed there had been a carrying-place, owing to the quantity of drift wood, which then filled up the passage, but has since been carried away. the course of this river is meandering, and tends to the north, and in about ten miles falls into the slave lake, where we arrived at nine in the morning, when we found a great change in the weather, as it was become extremely cold. the lake was entirely covered with ice, and did not seem in any degree to have given way, but near the shore. the gnats and mosquitoes, which were very troublesome during our passage along the river, did not venture to accompany us to this colder region. the banks of the river both above and below the rapids, were on both sides covered with the various kinds of wood common to this country, particularly the western side; the land being lower and consisting of a rich black soil. this artificial ground is carried down by the stream, and rests upon drift wood, so as to be eight or ten feet deep. the eastern banks are more elevated, and the soil a yellow clay mixed with gravel; so that the trees are neither so large or numerous as on the opposite shore. the ground was not thawed above fourteen inches in depth; notwithstanding the leaf was at its full growth; while along the lake there was scarcely any appearance of verdure. the indians informed me, that, at a very small distance from either bank of the river, are very extensive plains, frequented by large herds of buffaloes; while the moose and rein-deer keep in the woods that border on it. the beavers, which are in great numbers, build their habitations in the small lakes and rivers, as, in the larger streams, the ice carries every thing along with it, during the spring. the mud-banks in the river are covered with wild fowl; and we this morning killed two swans, ten geese, and one beaver, without suffering the delay of an hour; so that we might have soon filled the canoe with them, if that had been our object. from the small river we steered east, along the inside of a long sand-bank, covered with drift wood and enlivened by a few willows, which stretches on as far as the houses erected by messrs. grant and le roux, in 1786. we often ran aground, as for five successive miles the depth of the water nowhere exceeded three feet. there we found our people, who had arrived early in the morning, and whom we had not seen since the preceding sunday. we now unloaded the canoe, and pitched our tents, as there was every appearance that we should be obliged to remain here for some time. i then ordered the nets to be set, as it was absolutely necessary that the stores provided for our future voyage should remain untouched. the fish we now caught were carp, poisson inconnu, white fish, and trout. _wednesday, 10._--it rained during the greatest part of the preceding night, and the weather did not clear up till the afternoon of this day. this circumstance had very much weakened the ice, and i sent two of the indians on an hunting party to a lake at the distance of nine miles, which, they informed me, was frequented by animals of various kinds. our fishery this day was not so abundant as it had been on the preceding afternoon. _thursday, 11._--the weather was fine and clear with a strong westerly wind. the women were employed in gathering berries of different sorts, of which there are a great plenty; and i accompanied one of my people to a small adjacent island, where we picked up some dozens of swan, geese, and duck-eggs; we also killed a couple of ducks and a goose. in the evening the indians returned, without having seen any of the larger animals. a swan and a grey crane were the only fruits of their expedition. we caught no other fish but a small quantity of pike, which is too common to be a favourite food with the people of the country, the ice moved a little to the eastward. _friday, 12._--the weather continued the same as yesterday, and the mosquitoes began to visit us in great numbers. the ice moved again in the same direction, and i ascended an hill, but could not perceive that it was broken in the middle of the lake. the hunters killed a goose and three ducks. _saturday, 13._--the weather was cloudy, and the wind changeable till about sunset, when it settled in the north. it drove back the ice which was now very much broken along the shore, and covered our nets. one of the hunters who had been at the slave river the preceding evening, returned with three beavers and fourteen geese. he was accompanied by three families of indians, who left athabasca the same day as myself: they did not bring me any fowl; and they pleaded in excuse, that they had travelled with so much expedition, as to prevent them from procuring sufficient provisions for themselves. by a meridian line, i found the variation of the compass to be about twenty degrees east. _sunday, 14._--the weather was clear and the wind remained in the same quarter. the ice was much broken, and driven to the side of the lake, so that we were apprehensive for the loss of our nets, as they could not, at present, be extricated. at sunset there was an appearance of a violent gust of wind from the southward, as the sky became on a sudden, in that quarter, of a very dusky blue colour, and the lightning was very frequent. but instead of wind there came on a very heavy rain, which promised to diminish the quantity of broken ice. _monday, 15._--in the morning, the bay still continued to be so full of ice, that we could not get at our nets. about noon, the wind veered to the westward, and not only uncovered the nets, but cleared a passage to the opposite islands. when we raised the nets we found them very much shattered, and but few fish taken. we now struck our tents, and embarked at sunset, when we made the traverse, which was about eight miles north-east by north, in about two hours. at half-past eleven p. m. we landed on a small island and proceeded to gum the canoe. at this time the atmosphere was sufficiently clear to admit of reading or writing without the aid of artificial light. we had not seen a star since the second day after we left athabasca. about twelve o'clock, the moon made its appearance above the tops of the trees, the lower horn being in a state of eclipse, which continued for about six minutes, in a cloudless sky. i took soundings three times in the course of the traverse, when i found six fathoms water, with a muddy bottom. _tuesday, 16._--we were prevented from embarking this morning by a very strong wind from the north, and the vast quantity of floating ice. some trout were caught with the hook and line, but the net was not so successful. i had an observation which gave 61. 28. north latitude. the wind becoming moderate, we embarked about one, taking a north-west course, through islands of ten miles, in which we took in a considerable quantity of water. after making several traverses, we landed at five p. m., and having pitched our tents, the hooks, lines, and nets were immediately set. during the course of the day there was occasional thunder. _wednesday, 17._--we proceeded, and taking up our nets as we passed, we found no more than seventeen fish, and were stopped within a mile by the ice. the indians, however, brought us back to a point where our fishery was very successful. they proceeded also on a hunting party, as well as to discover a passage among the islands; but at three in the afternoon they returned without having succeeded in either object. we were, however, in expectation, that, as the wind blew very strong, it would force a passage. about sunset, the weather became overcast, with thunder, lightning, and rain. _thursday, 18._--the nets were taken up at four this morning with abundance of fish, and we steered north-west four miles, where the ice again prevented our progress. a south-east wind drove it among the islands, in such a manner as to impede our passage, and we could perceive at some distance ahead, that it was but little broken. we now set our nets in four fathom water. two of our hunters had killed a rein-deer and its fawn. they had met with two indian families, and in the evening, a man belonging to one of them, paid us a visit; he informed me, that the ice had not, stirred on the side of the island opposite to us. these people live entirely on fish, and were waiting to cross the lake as soon as it should be clear of ice. _friday, 19._--this morning our nets were unproductive, as they yielded us no more than six fish, which were of a very bad kind. in the forenoon, the indians proceeded to the large island opposite to us, in search of game. the weather was cloudy, and the wind changeable; at the same time, we were pestered by mosquitoes, though, in a great measure, surrounded with ice. _saturday, 20._--we took up our nets, but without any fish. it rained very hard during the night and this morning: nevertheless, m. le roux and his people went back to the point which we had quitted on the 18th, but i did not think it prudent to move. as i was watching for a passage through the ice, i promised to send for them when i could obtain it. it rained at intervals till about five o'clock; when we loaded our canoe, and steered for the large island, west six miles. when we came to the point of it, we found a great quantity of ice; we, however, set our nets, and soon caught plenty of fish. in our way thither we met our hunters, but they had taken nothing. i took soundings at an hundred yards from the island, when we were in twenty-one fathom water. here we found abundance of cranberries and small spring onions. i now despatched two men for m. le roux, and his people. _sunday, 21._--a southerly wind blew through the night, and drove the ice to the northward. the two men whom i had sent to m. le roux, returned at eight this morning; they parted with him at a small distance from us, but the wind blew so hard, that he was obliged to put to shore. having a glimpse of the sun, when it was twelve by my watch, i found the latitude 61. 34. north latitude. at two in the afternoon, m. le roux and his people arrived. at five, the ice being almost all driven past to the northward, we accordingly embarked, and steered west fifteen miles, through much broken ice, and on the outside of the islands, though it appeared to be very solid to the north-east. i sounded three times in this distance, and found it seventy-five, forty-four, and sixty fathom water. we pitched our tents on one of a cluster of small islands that were within three miles of the main land, which we could not reach in consequence of the ice. we saw some rein-deer on one of these islands, and our hunters went in pursuit of them, when they killed five large and two small ones, which was easily accomplished, as the animals had no shelter to which they could run for protection. they had, without doubt, crossed the ice to this spot, and the thaw coming on had detained them there, and made them an easy prey to the pursuer. this island was accordingly named isle de carreboeuf. i sat up the whole of this night to observe the setting and rising of the sun. that orb was beneath the horizon four hours twenty-two minutes, and rose north 20. east by compass. it, however, froze so hard, that, during the sun's disappearance, the water was covered with ice half a quarter of an inch thick. _monday, 22._--we embarked at half past three in the morning, and rounding the outside of the islands, steered north-west thirteen miles along the ice, edging in for the main land, the wind west, then west two miles; but it blew so hard as to oblige us to land on an island at half past nine, from whence we could just distinguish land to the south-east, at the distance of about twelve leagues; though we could not determine whether it was a continuation of the islands, or the shores of the lake.[2] i took an observation at noon, which gave me 61. 53. north, the variation of the compass being, at the same time, about two points. m. le roux's people having provided two bags of _pemmican_.[3] to be left in the island against their return; it was called _isle a la cache_. the wind being moderated, we proceeded again at half past two in the afternoon, and steering west by north among the islands, made as course of eighteen miles. we encamped at eight o'clock on a small island, and since eight in the morning had not passed any ice. though the weather was far from being warm, we were tormented, and our rest interrupted, by the host of mosquitoes that accompanied us. [1] the slave indians, having been driven from their original country by their enemies, the knisteneaux, along the borders of this part of the river, it received that title, though it by no means involves the idea of servitude, but was given to these fugitives as a term of reproach, that denoted more than common savageness. [2] sometimes the land looms, so that there may be a great deception as to the distance; and i think this was the case at present. [3] flesh dried in the sun, and afterwards pounded for the convenience of carriage. chapter ii. june, 1789. _tuesday, 23._--towards morning, the indians who had not been able to keep up with us the preceding day, now joined us, and brought two swans and a goose. at half past three we re-embarked, and steering west by north a mile and and half, with a northerly wind, we came to the foot of a traverse across a deep bay, west five miles, which receives a considerable river at the bottom of it; the distance about twelve miles. the north-west side of the bay was covered with many small islands that were surrounded with ice; but the wind driving it a little off the land, we had a clear passage on the inside of them. we steered south-west nine miles under sail, then north-west nearly, through the islands, forming a course of sixteen miles. we landed on the main land at half past two in the afternoon at three lodges of red-knife indians, so called from their copper knives. they informed us, that there were many more lodges of their friends at no great distance; and one of the indians set off to fetch them: they also said, that we should see no more of them at present; as the slave and beaver indians, as well as others of the tribe, would not be here till the time that the swans cast their feathers. in the afternoon it rained a torrent. _wednesday, 24._--m. le roux purchased of these indians upwards of eight packs of good beaver and marten skins; and there were not above twelve of them qualified to kill beaver. the english chief got upwards of an hundred skins on the score of debts due to him, of which he had many outstanding in this country. forty of them he gave on account of debts due by him since the winters of 1786 and 1787, at the slave lake; the rest he exchanged for rum and other necessary articles; and i added a small quantity of that liquor as an encouraging present to him and his young men. i had several consultations with these copper indian people, but could obtain no information that was material to our expedition; nor were they acquainted with any part of the river, which was the object of my research, but the mouth of it. in order to save as much time as possible in circumnavigating the bays, i engaged one of the indians to conduct us; and i accordingly equipped him with various articles of clothing, etc. i also purchased a large new canoe, that he might embark with the two young indians in my service. this day, at noon, i took an observation, which gave me 62. 24. north latitude; the variation of the compass being about twenty-six or twenty-seven degrees to the east. in the afternoon i assembled the indians, in order to inform them that i should take my departure on the following day; but that people would remain on the spot till their countrymen, whom they had mentioned, should arrive; and that, if they brought a sufficient quantity of skins to make it answer, the canadians would return for more goods, with a view to winter here, and build a fort,[1] which would be continued as long as they should be found to deserve it. they assured me that it would be a great encouragement to them to have a settlement of ours in their country; and that they should exert themselves to the utmost to kill beaver, as they would then be certain of getting an adequate value for them. hitherto, they said, the chepewyans always pillaged them; or, at most, gave little or nothing for the fruits of their labour, which had greatly discouraged them; and that, in consequence of this treatment, they had no motive to pursue the beaver, but to obtain a sufficient quantity of food and raiment. i now wrote to messrs. macleod and mackenzie, and addressed my papers to the former, at athabasca. _thursday, 25._--we left this place at three this morning, our canoe being deeply laden, as we had embarked some packages that had come in the canoes of m. le roux. we were saluted on our departure with some volleys of small arms, which we returned, and steered south by west straight across the bay, which is here no more than two miles and a half broad, but, from the accounts of the natives, it is fifteen leagues in depth, with a much greater breadth in several parts, and full of islands. i sounded in the course of the traverse and found six fathoms with a sandy bottom. here, the land has a very different appearance from that on which we have been since we entered the lake. till we arrived here there was one continued view of high hills and islands of solid rock, whose surface was occasionally enlivened with moss, shrubs, and a few scattered trees, of a very stinted growth, from an insufficiency of soil to nourish them. but, notwithstanding their barren appearance, almost every part of them produces berries of various kinds, such as cranberries, juniper berries, raspberries, partridge berries, gooseberries, and the pathegomenan, which is something like a raspberry; it grows on a small stalk about a foot and a half high, in wet, mossy spots. these fruits are in great abundance, though they are not to be found in the same places, but in situations and aspects suited to their peculiar natures. the land which borders the lake in this part is loose and sandy, but is well covered with wood, composed of trees of a larger growth: it gradually rises from the shore, and at some distance forms a ridge of high land running along the coast, thick with wood and a rocky summit rising above it. we steered south-south-east nine miles, when we were very much interrupted by drifting ice, and with some difficulty reached an island, where we landed at seven. i immediately proceeded to the further part of it, in order to discover if there was any probability of our being able to get from thence in the course of the day. it is about five miles in circumference, and i was very much surprised to find that the greater part of the wood with which it was formerly covered, had been cut down within twelve or fifteen years, and that the remaining stumps were become altogether rotten. on making inquiry concerning the cause of this extraordinary circumstance, the english chief informed me, that several winters ago, many of the slave indians inhabited the islands that were scattered over the bay, as the surrounding waters abound with fish throughout the year, but that they had been driven away by the knisteneaux, who continually made war upon them. if an establishment is to be made in this country, it must be in the neighbourhood of this place, on account of the wood and fishery. at eleven we ventured to re-embark, as the wind had driven the greatest part of the ice past the island, though we still had to encounter some broken pieces of it, which threatened to damage our canoe. we steered south-east from point to point across five bays, twenty-one miles. we took soundings several times, and found from six to ten fathom water. i observed that the country gradually descended inland, and was still better covered with wood than in the higher parts.--wherever we approached the land, we perceived deserted lodges, the hunters killed two swans and a beaver; and at length we landed at eight o'clock in the evening, when we unloaded and gummed our canoe. _friday, 26._--we continued our route at five o'clock, steering south-east for ten miles across two deep bays; then south-south-east, with islands in sight to the eastward. we then traversed another bay in a course of three miles, then south one mile to a point which we named the detour, and south-south-west four miles and an half, when there was an heavy swell of the lake. here i took an observation, when we were in 61. 40. north latitude we then proceeded south-west four miles, and west-south-west among islands: on one of which our indians killed two rein-deer, but we lost three hours aft wind in going for them: this course was nine miles. about seven in the evening we were obliged to land for the night, as the wind became too strong from the south-east. we thought we could observe land in this direction when the wind was coming on from some distance. on the other side of the detour, the land is low, and the shore is flat and dangerous, there being no safe place to land in bad weather, except in the islands which we had just passed. there seemed to be plenty of moose and rein-deer in this country, as we saw their tracks wherever we landed. there are also great numbers of white partridges, which were at this season of a grey colour, like that of the moor-fowl. there was some floating ice in the lake, and the indians killed a couple of swans. _saturday, 27._--at three this morning we were in the canoe, after having passed a very restless night from the persecution of the mosquitoes the weather was fine and calm, and our course west-south-west nine miles, when we came to the foot of a traverse, the opposite point in sight bearing south-west, distance twelve miles. the bay is at least eight miles deep, and this course two miles more, in all ten miles. it now became very foggy, and as the bays were so numerous, we landed for two hours, when the weather cleared up, and we took the advantage of steering south thirteen miles, and passed several small bays, when we came to the point of a very deep one, whose extremity was not discernible; the land bearing south from us, at the distance of about ten miles. our guide not having been here for eight winters, was at a loss what course to take, though as well as he could recollect, this bay appeared to be the entrance of the river. accordingly, we steered down it, about west-south-west, till we were involved in a field of broken ice. we still could not discover the bottom of the bay, and a fog coming on, made it very difficult for us to get to an island to the south-west, and it was nearly dark when we effected a landing. _sunday, 28._--at a quarter past three we were again on the water, and as we could perceive no current setting into this bay, we made the best of our way to the point that bore south from us yesterday afternoon. we continued our course south three miles more, south by west seven miles, west fifteen miles, when by observation we were in 61 degrees north latitude; we then proceeded west-north-west two miles. here we came to the foot of a traverse, the opposite land bearing south-west, distance fourteen miles, when we steered into a deep bay, about a westerly course; and though we had no land ahead in sight, we indulged the hope of finding a passage, which, according to the indian, would conduct us to the entrance of the river. having a strong wind aft, we lost sight of the indians, nor could we put on shore to wait for them, without risking material damage to the canoe, till we ran to the bottom of the bay, and were forced among the rushes; when we discovered that there was no passage there. in about two or three hours they joined us, but would not approach our fire, as there was no good ground for an encampment: they emptied their canoe of the water which it had taken in, and continued their route, but did not encamp till sunset the english chief was very much irritated against the red-knife indian, and even threatened to murder him, for having undertaken to guide us in a course of which he was ignorant, nor had we any reason to be satisfied with him, though he still continued to encourage us, by declaring that he recollected having passed from the river, through the woods, to the place where he had landed. in the blowing weather to-day, we were obliged to make use of our large kettle, to keep our canoe from filling, although we did not carry above three feet sail. the indians very narrowly escaped. _monday, 29._--we embarked at four this morning, and steered along the south-west side of the bay. at half past five we reached the extremity of the point, which we doubled, and found it to be the branch or passage that was the object of our search, and occasioned by a very long island, which separates it from the main channel of the river. it is about half a mile across, and not more than six feet in depth; the water appeared to abound in fish, and was covered with fowl, such as swans, geese, and several kinds of ducks, particularly black ducks, that were very numerous, but we could not get within gun shot of them. the current, though not very strong, set us south-west by west, and we followed this course fourteen miles, till we passed the point of the long island, where the slave lake discharges itself, and is ten miles in breadth. there is not more than from five to two fathom water, so that when the lake is low, it may be presumed the greatest part of this channel must be dry. the river now turns to the westward, becoming gradually narrower for twenty-four miles, till it is not more than half a mile wide; the current, however, is then much stronger, and the sounding were three fathom and a half. the land on the north shore from the lake is low, and covered with trees; that to the south is much higher, and has also an abundance of wood. the current is very strong, and the banks are of an equal height on both sides, consisting of a yellow clay, mixed with small stones; they are covered with large quantities of burned wood, lying on the ground, and young poplar trees, that have sprung up since the fire that destroyed the larger wood. it is a very curious and extraordinary circumstance, that land covered with spruce pine, and white birch, when laid waste by fire, should subsequently produce nothing but poplars, where none of that species of tree were previously to be found. a stiff breeze from the eastward drove us on at a great rate under sail, in the same course, though obliged to wind among the islands. we kept the north channel for about ten miles, whose current is much stronger than that of the south; so that the latter is consequently the better road to come up. here the river widened, and the wind dying away, we had recourse to our paddles. we kept our course to the north-west, on the north side of the river, which is here much wider, and assumes the form of a small lake; we could not, however, discover an opening in any direction, so that we were at a loss what course to take, as our red-knife indian had never explored beyond our present situation. he at the same time informed us that a river falls in from the north, which takes its rise in the horn mountain, now in sight, which is the country of the beaver indians; and that he and his relations frequently meet on that river. he also added, that there are very extensive plains on both sides of it, which abound in buffaloes and moose deer. by keeping this course, we got into shallows, so that we were forced to steer to the left, till we recovered deep water, which we followed till the channel of the river opened on us to the southward, we now made for the shore, and encamped soon after sunset. our course ought to have been west fifteen miles, since we took to the paddle, the horn mountains bearing from us north-west, and running north-north-east and south-south west. our soundings, which were frequent during the course of the day, were from three to six fathoms water. the hunters killed two geese and a swan: it appeared, indeed, that great numbers of fowls breed in the islands which we had passed. _tuesday, 30._--at four this morning we got under way, the weather being fine and calm. our course was south-west by south thirty-six miles. on the south side of the river is a ridge of low mountains, running east and west by compass. the indians picked up a white goose, which appeared to have been lately shot with an arrow, and was quite fresh. we proceeded south-west by south six miles, and then came to a bay on our left, which is full of small islands, and appeared to be the entrance of a river from the south. here the ridge of mountains terminates. this course was fifteen miles. at six in the afternoon there was an appearance of bad weather; we landed therefore, for the night; but before we could pitch our tents, a violent tempest came on, with thunder, lightning, and rain, which, however, soon ceased, but not before we had suffered the inconvenience of being drenched by it. the indians were very much fatigued, having been employed in running after wild fowl, which had lately cast their feathers; they, however, caught five swans, and the same number of geese. i sounded several times in the course of the day, and found from four to six fathoms water. [1] fort is the name given to any establishment in this country. chapter iii july, 1789. _wednesday, 1._--at half past four in the morning we continued our voyage, and in a short time found the river narrowed to about half a mile. our course was westerly among islands, with a strong current. though the land is high on both sides, the banks are not perpendicular. this course was twenty-one miles; and on sounding we found nine fathoms water. we then proceeded west-north-west nine miles, and passed a river upon the south-east side; we sounded, and found twelve fathoms; and then we went north-west by west three miles. here i lost my lead, which had fastened at the bottom, with part of the line, the current running so strong that we could not clear it with eight paddles, and the strength of the line, which was equal to four paddles. continued north by west five miles, and saw a high mountain, bearing south from us; we then proceeded north-west by north four miles. we now passed a small river on the north side, then doubled a point to west-south-west. at one o'clock there came on lightning and thunder, with wind and rain, which ceased in about half an hour, and left us almost deluged with wet, as we did not land. there were great quantities of ice along the banks of the river. we landed upon a small island, where there were the poles of four lodges standing, which we concluded to have belonged to the knisteneaux, on their war excursions, six or seven years ago. this course was fifteen miles west, to where the river of the mountain falls in from the southward. it appears to be a very large river, whose mouth is half a mile broad. about six miles further a small river flows in the same direction; and our whole course was twenty-four miles. we landed opposite to an island, the mountains to the southward being in sight. as our canoe was deeply laden, and being also in daily expectation of coming to the rapids or fall, which we had been taught to consider with apprehension, we concealed two bags of pemmican in the opposite island, in the hope that they would be of future service to us. the indians were of a different opinion, as they entertained no expectation of returning that season, when the hidden provisions would be spoiled. near us were two indian encampments of the last year. by the manner in which these people cut their wood, it appears that they have no iron tools. the current was very strong during the whole of this day's voyage, and in the article of provisions two swans were all that the hunters were able to procure. _thursday, 2._--the morning was very foggy: but at half past five we embarked; it cleared up, however, at seven, when we discovered that the water, from being very limpid and clear, was become dark and muddy. this alteration must have proceeded from the influx of some river to the southward, but where these streams first blended their waters, the fog had prevented us from observing. at nine we perceived a very high mountain ahead, which appeared, on our nearer approach, to be rather a cluster of mountains, stretching as far as our view could reach to the southward, and whose tops were lost in the clouds. at noon there was lightning, thunder, and rain, and at one, we came abreast of the mountains; their summits appeared to be barren and rocky, but their declivities were covered with wood; they appeared also to be sprinkled with white stones, which glistened in the sun, and were called by the indians manetoe aseniak, or spirit stones. i suspected that they were talc, though they possessed a more brilliant whiteness; on our return, however, these appearances were dissolved, as they were nothing more than patches of snow. our course had been west-south-west thirty miles and we proceeded with great caution, as we continually expected to approach some great rapid or fall. this was such a prevalent idea, that all of us were occasionally persuaded that we heard those sounds which betokened a fall of water. our course changed to west by north, along the mountains, twelve miles, north by west, twenty-one miles, and at eight o'clock in the evening, we went on shore for the night, on the north side of the river. we saw several encampments of the natives, some of which had been erected in the present spring, and others at some former period. the hunters killed only one swan and a beaver; the latter was the first of its kind which we had seen in this river. the indians complained of the perseverance with which we pushed forward, and that they were not accustomed to such severe fatigue as it occasioned. _friday, 3._--the rain was continual through the night, and did not subside till seven this morning, when we embarked and steered north-north-west for twelve miles, the river being enclosed by high mountains on either side. we had a strong head-wind, and the rain was so violent as to compel us to land at ten o' clock. according to my reckoning, since my last observation, we had run two hundred and seventeen miles west, and forty-four miles north. at a quarter past two the rain subsided, and we got again under way, our former course continuing for five miles. here a river fell in from the north, and in a short time the current became strong and rapid, running with great rapidity among rocky islands, which were the first that we had seen in this river, and indicated our near approach to rapids and falls. our present course was north-west by north ten miles, north-west three miles, west-north-west twelve miles, and north-west three miles, when we encamped at eight in the evening, at the foot of an high hill, on the north shore, which in some parts rose perpendicular from the river. i immediately ascended it, accompanied by two men and some indians, and in about an hour and an half, with very hard walking, we gained the summit, when i was very much surprised to find it crowned by an encampment. the indians informed me, that it is the custom of the people who have no arms to choose these elevated spots for the places of their residence, as they can render them inaccessible to their enemies, particularly the knisteneaux, of whom they are in continual dread. the prospect from this height was not so extensive as we expected, as it was terminated by a circular range of hills, of the same elevation as that on which we stood. the intervals between the hills were covered with small lakes, which were inhabited by great numbers of swans. we, saw no trees but the pine and the birch, which were small in size and few in number. we were obliged to shorten our stay here, from the swarms of mosquitoes which attacked us on all sides and were, indeed, the only inhabitants of the place. we saw several encampments of the natives in the course of the day, but none of them were of this year's establishment. since four in the afternoon the current had been so strong, that it was at length, in an actual ebullition, and produced an hissing noise like a kettle of water in a moderate state of boiling. the weather was now become extremely cold, which was the more sensibly felt, as it had been very sultry sometime before and since we had been in the river. _saturday, 4._--at five in the morning, the wind and weather having undergone no alteration from yesterday, we proceeded north-west by west twenty-two miles, north-west six miles, north-west by north four miles and west-north-west five miles; we then passed the mouth of a small river from the north, and after doubling a point, south-west one mile, we passed the influx of an other river from the south. we then continued our course north-north-west, with a mountain ahead, fifteen miles, when the opening of two rivers appeared opposite to each other: we then proceeded west four miles, and north-west thirteen miles. at eight in the evening, we encamped on an island. the current was as strong through the whole of this day as it had been the preceding after-noon; nevertheless, a quantity of ice appeared along the banks of the river. the hunters killed a beaver and a goose, the former of which sunk before they could get to him: beavers, otters, bears, etc., if shot dead at once, remain like a bladder, but if there remains enough of life for them to struggle, they soon fill with water and go to the bottom. _sunday, 5._--the sun set last night at fifty-three minutes past nine, by my watch, and rose at seven minutes before two this morning: we embarked soon after, steering north-north-west, through islands for five miles, and west four miles. the river then increased in breadth, and the current began to slacken in a small degree; after the continuation of our course, we perceived a ridge of high mountains before us, covered with snow. west-south-west ten miles, and at three-quarters past seven o'clock, we saw several smokes on the north shore, which we made every exertion to approach. as we drew nearer, we discovered the natives running about in great apparent confusion; some were making to the woods, and others hurrying to their canoes. our hunters landed before us, and addressed the few that had not escaped, in the chipewyan language, which, so great was their confusion and terror, they did not appear to understand. but when they perceived that it was impossible to avoid us, as we were all landed, they made us signs to keep at a distance, with which we complied, and not only unloaded our canoe, but pitched our tents, before we made any attempt to approach them. during this interval, the english chief and his young men were employed in reconciling them to our arrival; and when they had recovered from their alarm of hostile intention, it appeared that some of them perfectly comprehended the language of our indians; so that they were at length persuaded, though not without evident signs of reluctance and apprehension, to come to us. their reception, however, soon dissipated their fears, and they hastened to call their fugitive companions from their hiding places. there were five families, consisting of twenty-five or thirty persons, and of two different tribes, the slave and dog-rib indians. we made them smoke, though it was evident they did not know the use of tobacco; we likewise supplied them with grog; but i am disposed to think, that they accepted our civilities rather from fear than inclination. we acquired a more effectual influence over them by the distribution of knives, beads, awls, rings, gartering, fire-steels, flints, and hatchets; so that they became more familiar even than we expected, for we could not keep them out of our tents: though i did not observe that they attempted to purloin any-thing. the information which they gave respecting the river, had so much of the fabulous, that i shall not detail it: it will be sufficient just to mention their attempts to persuade us that it would require several winters to get to the sea, and that old age would come upon us before the period of our return: we were also to encounter monsters of such horrid shapes and destructive powers as could only exist in their wild imaginations. they added, besides, that there were two impassable falls in the river, the first of which was about thirty days march from us. though i placed no faith in these strange relations, they had a very different effect upon our indians, who were already tired of the voyage. it was their opinion and anxious wish, that we should not hesitate to return. they said that, according to the information which they had received, there were very few animals in the country beyond us, and that as we proceeded, the scarcity would increase, and we should absolutely perish from hunger, if no other accident befel us. it was with no small trouble that they were convinced of the folly of these reasonings; and by my desire, they induced one of those indians to accompany us, in consideration of a small kettle, an axe, a knife, and some other articles. though it was now three o'clock in the afternoon, the canoe was ordered to be re-loaded, and as we were ready to embark our new recruit was desired to prepare himself for his departure, which he would have declined; but as none of his friends would take his place, we may be said, after the delay of an hour, to have compelled him to embark. previous to his departure a ceremony took place, of which i could not learn the meaning; he cut off a lock of his hair, and having divided it into three parts, he fastened one of them to the hair on the upper part of his wife's head, blowing on it three times with the utmost violence in his power, and uttering certain words. the other two he fastened with the same formalities, on the heads of his two children. during our short stay with these people, they amused us with dancing, which they accompanied with their voices: but neither their song or their dance possessed much variety. the men and women formed a promiscuous ring. the former have a bone dagger or piece of stick between the fingers of the right hand, which they keep extended above the head, in continual motion: the left they seldom raise so high, but work it backwards and forwards in a horizontal direction; while they leap about and throw themselves into various antic postures, to the measure of their music, always bringing their heels close to each other at every pause. the men occasionally howl in imitation of some animal, and he who continues this violent exercise for the longest period, appears to be considered as the best performer. the women suffer their arms to hang as without the power of motion. they are a meagre, ugly, ill-made people, particularly about the legs, which are very clumsy and covered with scabs. the latter circumstance proceeds probably from their habitually roasting them before the fire. many of them appeared to be in a very unhealthy state, which is owing, as i imagine, to their natural filthiness. they are of a moderate stature, and as far as could be discovered, through the coat of dirt and grease that covers them, are of a fairer complexion than the generality of indians who are the natives of warmer climates. some of them have their hair of a great length; while others suffer a long tress to fall behind, and the rest is cut so short as to expose their ears, but no other attention whatever is paid to it. the beards of some of the old men were long, and the rest had them pulled out by the roots so that not a hair could be seen on their chins. the men have two double lines, either black or blue, tattooed upon each cheek, from the ear to the nose. the gristle of the latter is perforated so as to admit a goose-quill or a small piece of wood to be passed through the orifice. their clothing is made of the dressed skins of the rein or moose-deer, though more commonly of the former. these they prepare in the hair for winter, and make shirts of both, which reach to the middle of their thighs. some of them are decorated with an embroidery of very neat workmanship with porcupine quills and the hair of the moose, coloured red, black, yellow, and white. their upper garments are sufficiently large to cover the whole body, with a fringe round the bottom, and are used both sleeping and awake. their leggins come half way up the thigh, and are sewed to their shoes: they are embroidered round the ancle, and upon every seam. the dress of the women is the same as that of the men. the former have no covering on their private parts, except a tassel of leather which dangles from a small cord, as it appears, to keep off the flies, which would otherwise be very troublesome. whether circumcision be practised among them, i cannot pretend to say, but the appearance of it was general among those whom i saw. their ornaments consist of gorgets, bracelets for the arms and wrists, made of wood, horn, or bone, belts, garters, and a kind of band to go round the head, composed of strips of leather of one inch and an half broad, embroidered with porcupine quills, and stuck round with the claws of bears or wild fowl inverted, to which are suspended a few short thongs of the skin of an animal that resembles the ermine, in the form of a tassel. their cinctures and garters are formed of porcupine quills woven with sinews, in a style of peculiar skill and neatness: they have others of different materials, and more ordinary workmanship; and to both they attach a long fringe of strings of leather, worked round with hair of various colours. their mittens are also suspended from the neck in a position convenient for the reception of the hands. their lodges are of a very simple structure: a few poles supported by a fork, and forming a semicircle at the bottom, with some branches or a piece of bark as a covering, constitutes the whole of their native architecture. they build two of these huts facing each other, and make the fire between them. the furniture harmonises with the buildings: they have a few dishes of wood, bark, or horn; the vessels in which they cook their victuals are in the shape of a gourd, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, and of watape,[1] fabricated in such a manner as to hold water, which is made to boil by putting a succession of red-hot stones into it. these vessels contain from two to six gallons. they have a number of small leather bags to hold their embroidered work, lines, and nets. they always keep an large quantity of the fibres of willow bark, which they work into thread on their thighs. their nets are from three to forty fathoms in length, and from thirteen to thirty-six inches in depth. the short deep ones they set in the eddy current of rivers, and the long ones in the lakes. they likewise make lines of the sinews of the rein-deer, and manufacture their hooks from wood, horn, or bone. their arms and weapons for hunting, are bows and arrows, spears, daggers, and pogamagans, or clubs. the bows are about five or six feet in length, and the strings are of sinews or raw skins. the arrows are two feet and an half long, including the barb, which is variously formed of bone, horn, flint, iron, or copper, and are winged with three feathers. the pole of the spears is about six feet in length, and pointed with a barbed bone of ten inches. with this weapon they strike the rein-deer in the water. the daggers are flat and sharp-pointed, about twelve inches long, and made of horn or bone. the pogamagon is made of the horn of the rein-deer, the branches being all cut off, except that which forms the extremity. this instrument is about two feet in length, and is employed to despatch their enemies in battle, and such animals as they catch in snares placed for that purpose. these are about three fathom long, and are made of the green skin of the rein or moose-deer, but in such small strips, that it requires from ten to thirty strands to make this cord, which is not thicker than a cod-line; and strong enough to resist any animal that can be entangled in it. snares or nooses are also made of sinews to take lesser animals, such as hares and white partridges, which are very numerous. their axes are manufactured of a piece of brown or grey stone from six to eight inches long, and two inches thick. the inside is flat, and the outside round and tapering to an edge, an inch wide. they are fastened by the middle with the flat side inwards to a handle two feet long, with a cord of green skin. this is the tool with which they split their wood, and we believe, the only one of its kind among them, they kindle fire, by striking together a piece of white or yellow pyrites and a flint stone, over a piece of touchwood. they are universally provided with a small bag containing these materials, so that they are in a continual state of preparation to produce fire. from the adjoining tribes, the red-knives and chepewyans, they procure, in barter for marten skins and a few beaver, small pieces of iron, of which they manufacture knives, by fixing them at the end of a short stick, and with them and the beaver's teeth, they finish all their work. they keep them in a sheath hanging to their neck, which also contains their awls both of iron and horn. their canoes are small, pointed at both ends, flat-bottomed and covered in the fore part. they are made of the bark of the birch-tree and fir-wood, but of so slight a construction, that the man whom one of these light vessels bears on the water, can, in return, carry it over land without any difficulty. it is very seldom that more than one person embarks in them, nor are they capable of receiving more than two. the paddles are six feet long, one half of which is occupied by a blade of about eight inches wide. these people informed us, that we had passed large bodies of indians who inhabit the mountains on the east side of the river. at four in the afternoon we embarked, and our indian acquaintance promised to remain on the bank of the river till the fall, in case we should return. our course was west-south-west, and we soon passed the great bear lake river, which is of a considerable depth and an hundred yards wide: its water is clear, and has the greenish hue of the sea. we had not proceeded more than six miles when we were obliged to land for the night, in consequence of an heavy gust of wind, accompanied with rain. we encamped beneath a rocky hill, on the top of which, according to the information of our guide, it blew a storm every day throughout the year. he found himself very uncomfortable in his new situation, and pretended that he was very ill, in order that he might be permitted to return to his relations. to prevent his escape, it became necessary to keep a strict watch over him during the night. _monday, 6._--at three o'clock, in a very raw and cloudy morning, we embarked, and steered west-south-west four miles, west four miles, west-north-west five miles, west eight miles, west by south fifteen miles, west twenty-seven miles, south-west nine miles, then west six miles, and encamped at half past seven. we passed through numerous islands, and had a ridge of snowy mountains always in sight. our conductor informed us that great numbers of bears and small white buffaloes, frequent those mountains, which are also inhabited by indians. we encamped in a similar situation to that of the preceding evening, beneath another high rocky hill, which i attempted to ascend, in company with one of the hunters, but before we had got half way to the summit, we were almost suffocated by clouds of mosquitoes, and were obliged to return. i observed, however, that the mountains terminated here, and that a river flowed from the westward: i also discovered a strong rippling current, or rapid, which ran close under a steep precipice of the hill. _tuesday, 7._--we embarked at four in the morning and crossed to the opposite side of the river, in consequence of the rapid; but we might have spared ourselves this trouble, as there would have been no danger in continuing our course, without any circuitous deviation whatever. this circumstance convinced us of the erroneous account given by the natives of the great and approaching dangers of our navigation, as this rapid was stated to be one of them. our course was now north-north-west three miles, west-north-west four miles, north-west ten miles, north two miles, when we came to a river that flowed from the eastward. here we landed at an encampment of four fires, all the inhabitants of which ran off with the utmost speed except and old man and an old woman. our guide called aloud to the fugitives, and entreated them to stay, but without effect the old man, however, did not hesitate to approach us, and represented himself as too far advanced in life, and too indifferent about the short time he had to remain in the world, to be very anxious about escaping from any danger that threatened him; at the same time he pulled his grey hairs from his head by handfuls to distribute among us, and implored our favour for himself and his relations. our guide, however, at length removed his fears, and persuaded him to recall the fugitives, who consisted of eighteen people; whom i reconciled to me on their return with presents of beads, knives, awls, &c., with which they appeared to be greatly delighted. they differed in no respect from those whom we had already seen; nor were they deficient in hospitable attentions; they provided us with fish, which was very well boiled, and cheerfully accepted by us. our guide still sickened after his home, and was so anxious to return thither, that we were under the necessity of forcing him to embark. these people informed us that we were close to another great rapid, and that there were several lodges of their relations in its vicinity. four canoes, with a man in each, followed us, to point out the particular channels we should follow for the secure passage of the rapid. they also abounded in discouraging stories concerning the dangers and difficulties which we were to encounter. from hence our course was north-north-east two miles, when the river appeared to be enclosed, as it were, with lofty, perpendicular, white rocks, which did not afford us a very agreeable prospect. we now went on shore, in order to examine the rapid, but did not perceive any signs of it, though the indians still continued to magnify its dangers: however, as they ventured down it, in their small canoes, our apprehensions were consequently removed, and we followed them at some distance, but did not find any increase in the rapidity of the current; at length the indians informed us that we should find no other rapid but that which was now bearing us along. the river at this place is not above three hundred yards in breadth, but on sounding i found fifty fathoms water. at the two rivulets that offer their tributary streams from either side, we found six families, consisting of about thirty-five persons, who gave us an ample quantity of excellent fish, which were, however, confined to white fish, the poisson inconnu, and another of a round form and greenish colour, which was about fourteen inches in length. we gratified them with a few presents, and continued our voyage. the men, however, followed us in fifteen canoes. this narrow channel is three miles long, and its course north-north-east. we then steered north three miles, and landed at an encampment of three or more families, containing twenty-two persons, which was situated on the bank of a river, of a considerable appearance, which came from the eastward. we obtained hares and partridges from these people, and presented in return such articles as greatly delighted them. they very much regretted that they had no goods or merchandise to exchange with us, as they had left them at a lake, from whence the river issued, and in whose vicinity some of their people were employed in setting snares for rein-deer. they engaged to go for their articles of trade, and would wait our return, which we assumed them would be within two months. there was a youth among them in the capacity of a slave, whom our indians understood much better than any of the natives of this country whom they had yet seen; he was invited to accompany us, but took the first opportunity to conceal himself, and we saw him no more. we now steered west five miles, when we again landed, and found two families, containing seven people, but had reason to believe that there were others hidden in the woods. we received from them two dozen of hares, and they were about to boil two more, which they also gave us. we were not ungrateful for their kindness, and left them. our course was now north-west four miles, and at nine we landed and pitched our tents, when one of our people killed a grey crane. our conductor renewed his complaints, not, as he assured us, from any apprehension of our ill treatment, but of the esquimaux, whom he represented as a very wicked and malignant people; who would put us all to death. he added, also, that it was but two summers since a large party of them came up this river, and killed many of his relations. two indians followed us from the last lodges. _wednesday, 8._--at half past two in the morning we embarked, and steered a westerly course, and soon after put ashore at two lodges of nine indians. we made them a few trifling presents, but without disembarking, and had proceeded but a small distance from thence, when we observed several smokes beneath a hill, on the north shore, and on our approach we perceived the natives climbing the ascent to gain the woods. the indians, however, in the two small canoes which were ahead of us, having assured them of our friendly intentions, they returned to their fires, and we disembarked. several of them were clad in hare-skins, but in every other circumstance they resembled those whom we had already seen. we were, however, informed that they were of a different tribe, called the hare indians, as hares and fish are their principal support, from the scarcity of rein-deer and beaver, which are the only animals of the larger kind that frequent this part of the country. they were twenty-five in number; and among them was a woman who was afflicted with an abscess in the belly, and reduced, in consequence, to a mere skeleton: at the same time several old women were singing and howling around her; but whether these noises were to operate as a charm for her cure, or merely to amuse and console her, i do not pretend to determine. a small quantity of our usual presents were received by them with the greatest satisfaction. here we made an exchange of our guide, who had become so troublesome that we were obliged to watch him night and day, except when he was upon the water. the man, however, who had agreed to go in his place soon repented of his engagement, and endeavoured to persuade us that some of his relations further down the river, would readily accompany us, and were much better acquainted with the river than himself. but, as he had informed us ten minutes before that we should see no more of his tribe, we paid very little attention to his remonstrances, and compelled him to embark. in about three hours a man overtook us in a canoe, and we suspected that his object was to facilitate, in some way or other, the escape of our conductor. about twelve we also observed an indian walking along the north-east shore, when the small canoes paddled towards him. we accordingly followed, and found three men, three women, and two children, who had been on an hunting expedition. they had some flesh of the rein-deer, which they offered to us, but it was so rotten, as well as offensive to the smell, that we excused ourselves from accepting it. they had also their wonderful stories of danger and terror, as well as their countrymen, whom we had already seen; and we were now informed, that behind the opposite island there was a manitoe or spirit, in the river, which swallowed every person that approached it. as it would have employed half a day to have indulged our curiosity in proceeding to examine this phenomenon, we did not deviate from our course, but left these people with the usual presents, and proceeded on our voyage. our course and distance this day were west twenty-eight miles, west-north-west twenty-three miles, west-south-west six miles, west by north five miles, south-west four miles, and encamped at eight o'clock. a fog prevailed the greater part of the day, with frequent showers of small rain. [1] watape is the name given to the divided roots of the spruce fir, which the natives weave into a degree of compactness that renders it capable of containing a fluid. the different parts of the bark canoes are also sewed together with this kind of filament. chapter iv. july, 1789. _thursday, 9._--thunder and rain prevailed during the night, and, in the course of it, our guide deserted; we therefore compelled another of these people, very much against his will, to supply the place of his fugitive countryman. we also took away the paddles of one of them who remained behind, that he might not follow us on any scheme of promoting the escape of his companion, who was not easily pacified. at length, however, we succeeded in the act of conciliation, and at half past three quitted our station. in a short time we saw a smoke on the east shore, and directed our course towards it. our new guide began immediately to call to the people that belonged to it in a particular manner, which we did not comprehend. he informed us that they were not of his tribe, but were a very wicked, malignant people, who would beat us cruelly, pull our hair with great violence from our heads, and maltreat us in various other ways. the men waited our arrival, but the women and children took to the woods. there were but four of these people, and previous to our landing, they all harangued us at the same moment, and apparently with violent anger and resentment. our hunters did not understand them, but no sooner had our guide addressed them, than they were appeased. i presented them with beads, awls, etc., and when the women and children returned from the woods, they were gratified with similar articles. there were fifteen of them; and of a more pleasing appearance than any which we had hitherto seen, as they were healthy, full of flesh, and clean in their persons. their language was somewhat different, but i believe chiefly in the accent, for they and our guide conversed intelligibly with each other; and the english chief clearly comprehended one of them, though he was not himself understood. their arms and utensils differ but little from those which have been described in a former chapter. the only iron they have is in small pieces, which serve them for knives. they obtain this metal from the esquimaux indians. their arrows are made of very light wood, and are winged only with two feathers; their bows differed from any which we had seen, and we understood that they were furnished by the esquimaux, who are their neighbours: they consist of two pieces, with a very strong cord of sinews along the back, which is tied in several places, to preserve its shape; when this cord becomes wet, it requires a strong bow-string, and a powerful arm to draw it. the vessel in which they prepare their food, is made of a thin frame of wood, and of an oblong shape; the bottom is fixed in a groove, in the same manner as a cask. their shirts are not cut square at the bottom, but taper to a point, from the belt downwards as low as the knee, both before and behind, with a border, embellished with a short fringe. they use also another fringe, similar to that which has been already described, with the addition of the stone of a grey farinaceous berry, of the size and shape of a large barley-corn: it is of a brown colour, and fluted, and being bored is run on each string of the fringe; with this they decorate their shirts, by sewing it in a semicircle on the breast and back, and crossing over both shoulders; the sleeves are wide and short, but the mittens supply their deficiency, as they are long enough to reach over a part of the sleeve, and are commodiously suspended by a cord from the neck. if their leggins were made with waistbands, they might with great propriety be denominated trousers: they fasten them with a cord round the middle, so that they appear to have a sense of decency which their neighbours can not boast. their shoes are sewed to their leggins, and decorated on every seam. one of the men was clad in a shirt made of the skins of the musk-rat. the dress of the women is the same as that of the men, except in their shirts, which are longer, and without the finishing of a fringe on their breast. their peculiar mode of tying the hair is as follows:--that which grows on the temples, or the fore part of the skull, is formed into two queues, hanging down before the ears; that of the scalp or crown is fashioned in the same manner to the back of the neck, and is then tied with the rest of the hair, at some distance from the head. a thin cord is employed for these purposes, and very neatly worked with hair, artificially coloured. the women, and, indeed, some of the men, let their hair hang loose on their shoulders, whether it be long or short. we purchased a couple of very large moose skins from them, which were very well dressed; indeed we did not suppose that there were any of those animals in the country; and it appears from the accounts of the natives themselves, that they are very scarce. as for the beaver, the existence of such a creature does not seem to be known by them. our people bought shirts of them, and many curious articles, &c. they presented us with a most delicious fish, which was less than a herring, and very beautifully spotted with black and yellow: its dorsal fin reached from the head to the tail; in its expanded state takes a triangular form, and is variegated with the colours that enliven the scales: the head is very small, and the mouth is armed with sharp-pointed teeth. we prevailed on the native, whose language was most intelligible, to accompany us. he informed us that we should sleep ten nights more before we arrived at the sea; that several of his relations resided in the immediate vicinity of this part of the river, and that in three nights we should meet with the esquimaux, with whom they had formerly made war, but were now in a state of peace and amity. he mentioned the last indians whom we had seen in terms of great derision; describing them as being no better than old women, and as abominable liars; which coincided with the notion we already entertained of them. as we pushed off, some of my men discharged their fowling pieces, that were only loaded with powder, at the report of which the indians were very much alarmed, as they had not before heard the discharge of firearms. this circumstance had such an effect upon our guide, that we had reason to apprehend he would not fulfil his promise. when, however, he was informed that the noise which he had heard was a signal of friendship, he was persuaded to embark in his own small canoe, though he had been offered a seat in ours. two of his companions, whom he represented as his brothers, followed us in their canoes; and they amused us not only with their native songs, but with others, in imitation of the esquimaux; and our new guide was so enlivened by them, that the antics he performed, in keeping time to the singing, alarmed us with continual apprehension that his boat must upset: but he was not long content with his confined situation, and paddling up alongside our canoe, requested us to receive him in it, though but a short time before he had resolutely refused to accept our invitation. no sooner had he entered our canoe, than he began to perform an esquimaux dance, to our no small alarm. he was, however, soon prevailed upon to be more tranquil; when he began to display various indecencies, according to the customs of the esquimaux, of which he boasted an intimate acquaintance. on our putting to shore, in order to leave his canoe, he informed us, that on the opposite hill the esquimaux, three winters before, killed his grandfather. we saw a fox, and a ground-hog on the hill, the latter of which the brother of our guide shot with his bow and arrow. about four in the afternoon we perceived a smoke on the west shore, when we traversed and landed. the natives made a most terrible uproar, talking with great vociferation, and running about as if they were deprived of their senses, while the greater part of the women, with the children, fled away. perceiving the disorder which our appearance occasioned among these people, we had waited some time before we quitted the canoe; and i have no doubt, if we had been without people to introduce us, that they would have attempted some violence against us; for when the indians send away their women and children, it is always with a hostile design. at length we pacified them with the usual presents, but they preferred beads to any of the articles that i offered them; particularly such as were of a blue colour; and one of them even requested to exchange a knife which i had given him for a small quantity of those ornamental baubles. i purchased of them two shirts for my hunters; and at the same time they presented me with some arrows, and dried fish. this party consisted of five families, to the amount, as i suppose, of forty men, women, and children; but i did not see them all, as several were afraid to venture from their hiding-places. they are called _deguthee dinees_, or the _quarrellers_. our guide, like his predecessors, now manifested his wish to leave us, and entertained similar apprehensions that we should not return by this passage. he had his alarms also respecting the esquimaux, who might kill us and take away the women. our indians, however, assured him that we had no fears of any kind, and that he need not be alarmed for himself. they also convinced him that we should return by the way we were going, so that he consented to re-embark without giving us any further trouble; and eight small canoes followed us. our courses this day were south-west by west six miles, south-west by south thirty miles, south-west three miles, west by south twelve miles, west by north two miles, and we encamped at eight in the evening on the eastern bank of the river. the indians whom i found here, informed me, that from the place where i this morning met the first of their tribe, the distance overland, on the east side, to the sea, was not long, and that from hence, by proceeding to the westward, it was still shorter. they also represented the land on both sides as projecting to a point. these people do not appear to harbour any thievish dispositions; at least we did not perceive that they took, or wanted to take, anything from us by stealth or artifice. they enjoyed the amusements of dancing and jumping in common with those we had already seen; and, indeed, these exercises seem to be their favourite diversions. about mid-day the weather was sultry, but in the afternoon it became cold. there was a large quantity of wild flax, the growth of last year, laying on the ground, and the new plants were sprouting up through it. this circumstance i did not observe in any other part. _friday, 10._--at four in the morning we embarked, at a small distance from the place of our encampment; the river, which here becomes narrower, flows between high rocks; and a meandering course took us north-west four miles. at this spot the banks became low; indeed, from the first rapid, the country does not wear a mountainous appearance; but the banks of the river are generally lofty, in some places perfectly naked, and in others well covered with small trees, such as the fir and the birch. we continued our last course for two miles, with mountains before us; whose tops were covered with snow. the land is low on both sides of the river, except these mountains, whose base is distant about ten miles: here the river widens, and runs through various channels, formed by islands, some of which are without a tree, and little more than banks of mud and sand; while others are covered with a kind of spruce fir, and trees of a larger size than we had seen for the last ten days. their banks, which are about six feet above the surface of the water, display a face of solid ice, intermixed with veins of black earth, and as the heat of the sun melts the ice, the trees frequently fall into the river. so various were the channels of the river at this time, that we were at a loss which to take. our guide preferred the easternmost, on account of the esquimaux, but i determined to take the middle channel, as it appeared to be a larger body of water, and running north and south: besides, as there was a greater chance of seeing them i concluded, that we could always go to the eastward, whenever we might prefer it. our course was now west by north six miles, north-west by west, the snowy mountains being west by south from us, and stretching to the northward as far as we could see. according to the information of the indians, they are part of the chain of mountains which we approached on the third of this month. i obtained an observation this day that gave me 67. 47. north latitude, which was farther north than i expected, according to the course i kept: but the difference was owing to the variation of the compass, which was more easterly than i imagined. from hence it was evident that these waters emptied themselves into the hyperborean sea; and though it was probable that, from the want of provision, we could not return to athabasca in the course of the season, i nevertheless, determined to penetrate to the discharge of them. my new conductor being very much discouraged and quite tired of his situation, used his influence to prevent our proceeding. he had never been, he said, at the _benahullo toe_, or white man's lake; and that when he went to the esquimaux lake, which is at no great distance, he passed over land from the place where we found him, and to that part where the esquimaux pass the summer. in short, my hunters also became so disheartened from these accounts, and other circumstances, that i was confident they would have left me, if it had been in their power. i, however, satisfied them in some degree, by the assurance, that i would proceed onwards but seven days more, and if i did not then get to the sea, i would return. indeed, the low state of our provisions, without any other consideration, formed a very sufficient security for the maintenance of my engagement. our last course was thirty-two miles, with a stronger current than could be expected in such a low country. we now proceeded north-north-west four miles, north-west three miles, north-east two miles, north-west by west three miles, and north-east two miles. at half past eight in the evening we landed and pitched our tents, near to where there had been three encampments of the esquimaux, since the breaking up of the ice. the natives, who followed us yesterday, left us at our station this morning. in the course of the day we saw large flocks of wild fowl. _saturday, 11._--i sat up all night to observe the sun. at half past twelve i called up one of the men to view a spectacle which he had never before seen; when, on seeing the sun so high, he thought it was a signal to embark, and began to call the rest of his companions, who would scarcely be persuaded by me, that the sun had not descended nearer to the horizon, and that it was now but a short time past midnight. we reposed, however, till three quarters after three, when we entered the canoe, and steered about north-west, the river taking a very serpentine course. about seven we saw a ridge of high land; at twelve we landed at a spot where we observed that some of the natives had lately been. i counted thirty places where there had been fires; and some of the men who went further, saw as many more. they must have been here for a considerable time, though it does not appear that they had erected any huts. a great number of poles, however, were seen fixed in the river, to which they had attached their nets, and there seemed to be an excellent fishery. one of the fish, of the many which we saw leap out of the water, fell into our canoe; it was about ten inches long, and of a round shape. about the places where they had made their fires, were scattered pieces of whalebone, and thick burned leather, with parts of the frames of three canoes; we could also observe where they had spilled train oil; and there was the singular appearance of a spruce fir, stripped of its branches to the top like an english may-pole. the weather was cloudy, and the air cold and unpleasant. from this place for about five miles, the river widens, it then flows in a variety of narrow, meandering channels, amongst low islands, enlivened with no trees, but a few dwarf willows. at four, we landed, where there were three houses, or rather huts, belonging to the natives. the ground-plot is of an oval form, about fifteen feet long, ten feet wide in the middle, and eight feet at either end; the whole of it is dug about twelve inches below the surface of the ground, and one half of it is covered over with willow branches; which probably serves as a bed for the whole family. a space, in the middle of the other part, of about four feet wide, is deepened twelve inches more, and is the only spot in the house where a grown person can stand upright. one side of it is covered, as has been already described, and the other is the hearth or fireplace, of which, however, they do not make much use. though it was close to the wall, the latter did not appear to be burned. the door or entrance is in the middle of one end of the house, and is about two feet and an half high, and two feet wide, and has a covered way or porch five feet in length; so that it is absolutely necessary to creep on all fours in order to get into, or out of, this curious habitation. there is a hole of about eighteen inches square on the top of it, which serves the threefold purpose of a window, an occasional door, and a chimney. the underground part of the floor is lined with split wood. six or eight stumps of small trees driven into the earth, with the root upwards, on which are laid some cross pieces of timber, support the roof of the building, which is an oblong square of ten feet by six. the whole is made of drift-wood covered with branches and dry grass; over which is laid a foot deep of earth. on each side of these houses are a few square holes in the ground of about two feet in depth, which are covered with split wood and earth, except in the middle. these appeared to be contrived for the preservation of the winter stock of provisions. in and about the houses we found sledge runners and bones, pieces of whalebone, and poplar bark cut in circles, which are used as corks to buoy the nets, and are fixed to them by pieces of whalebone. before each hut a great number of stumps of trees were fixed in the ground, upon which it appeared that they hung their fish to dry. we now continued our voyage, and encamped at eight o'clock. i calculated our course at about north-west, and, allowing for the windings, that we had made fifty-four miles. we expected, throughout the day, to meet with some of the natives. on several of the islands we perceived the print of their feet in the sand, as if they had been there but a few days before, to procure wild fowl. there were frequent showers of rain in the afternoon, and the weather was raw and disagreeable. we saw a black fox; but trees were now become very rare objects, except a few dwarf willows, of not more than three feet in height. the discontents of our hunters were now renewed by the accounts which our guide had been giving of that part of our voyage that was approaching. according to his information, we were to see a larger lake on the morrow. neither he nor his relations, he said, knew any thing about it, except that part which is opposite to, and not far from, their country. the esquimaux alone, he added, inhabit its shores, and kill a large fish that is found in it, which is a principal part of their food; this, we presumed, must; be the whale. he also mentioned white bears, and another large animal which was seen in those parts, but our hunters could not understand the description which he gave of it. he also represented their canoes as being of a large construction, which would commodiously contain four or five families. however, to reconcile the english chief to the necessary continuance in my service, i presented him with one of my capotes or travelling coats; at the same time, to satisfy the guide, and keep him, if possible, in good humour, i gave him a skin of the moose-deer, which, in his opinion, was a valuable present. _sunday, 12._--it rained with violence throughout the night, and till two in the morning; the weather continuing very cold. we proceeded on the same meandering course as yesterday, the wind north-north-west, and the country so naked that scarce a shrub was to be seen. at ten in the morning, we landed where there were four huts, exactly the same as those which have been so lately described. the adjacent land is high and covered with short grass and flowers, though the earth was not thawed above four inches from the surface; beneath which was a solid body of ice. this beautiful appearance, however, was strangely contrasted with the ice and snow that are seen in the valleys. the soil, where there is any, is a yellow clay mixed with stones. these huts appear to have been inhabited during the last winter; and we had reason to think that some of the natives had been lately there, as the beach was covered with the track of their feet. many of the runners and bars of their sledges were laid together, near the houses, in a manner that seemed to denote the return of the proprietors. there were also pieces of netting made of sinews, and some bark of the willow. the thread of the former was plaited, and no ordinary portion of time must have been employed in manufacturing so great a length of cord. a square stone kettle, with a flat bottom, also occupied our attention, which was capable of containing two gallons; and we were puzzled as to the means these people must have employed to have chiselled it out of a solid rock into its present form. to these articles may be added, small pieces of flint fixed into handles of wood, which probably serve as knives; several wooden dishes; the stern and part of a large canoe; pieces of very thick leather, which we conjectured to be the covering of a canoe; several bones of large fish, and two heads; but we could not determine the animal to which they belonged, though we conjectured that it must be the sea-horse. when we had satisfied our curiosity we re-embarked, but we were at a loss what course to steer, as our guide seemed to be as ignorant of this country as ourselves. though the current was very strong, we appeared to have come to the entrance of the lake. the stream set to the west, and we went with it to an high point, at the distance of about eight miles, which we conjectured to be an island; but, on approaching it, we perceived it to be connected with the shore by a low neck of land. i now took an observation which gave 69. 1. north latitude. from the point that has been just mentioned, we continued the same course for the westernmost point of an high island, and the westernmost land in sight, at the distance of fifteen miles. the lake was quite open to us to the westward, and out of the channel of the river there was not more than four feet water, and in some places the depth did not exceed one foot, from the shallowness of the water it was impossible to coast to the westward. at five o'clock we arrived at the island, and during the last fifteen miles, five feet was the deepest water. the lake now appeared to be covered with ice, for about two leagues distance, and no land ahead, so that we were prevented from proceeding in this direction by the ice, and the shallowness of the water along the shore. we landed at the boundary of our voyage in this direction, and as soon as the tents were pitched i ordered the nets to be set, when i proceeded with the english chief to the highest part of the island, from which we discovered the solid ice, extending from the south-west by compass to the eastward. as far as the eye could reach to the south-west-ward, we could dimly perceive a chain of mountains, stretching further to the north than the edge of the ice, at the distance of upwards of twenty leagues. to the eastward we saw many islands, and in our progress we met with a considerable number of white partridges, now become brown. there were also flocks of very beautiful plovers, and i found the nest of one of them with four eggs. white owls, likewise, were among the inhabitants of the place: but the dead, as well as the living, demanded our attention, for we came to the grave of one of the natives, by which lay a bow, a paddle, and a spear., the indians informed me that they landed on a small island, about four leagues from hence, where they had seen the tracks of two men, that were quite fresh; they had also found a secret store of train oil, and several bones of white bears were scattered about the place where it was hid. the wind was now so high that it was impracticable for us to visit the nets. my people could not, at this time, refrain from expressions of real concern, that they were obliged to return without reaching the sea: indeed, the hope of attaining this object encouraged them to bear, without repining, the hardships of our unremitting voyage. for some time past their spirits were animated by the expectation that another day would bring them to the _mer d'ouest:_ and even in our present situation they declared their readiness to follow me wherever i should be pleased to lead them. we saw several large white gulls, and other birds, whose back, and upper feathers of the wing are brown; and whose belly, and under feathers of the wing are white. chapter v. july, 1789. _monday, 13._--we had no sooner retired to rest last night, if i may use that expression, in a country where the sun never sinks beneath the horizon, than some of the people were obliged to rise and remove the baggage, on account of the rising of the water. at eight in the morning the weather was fine and calm, which afforded an opportunity to examine the nets, one of which had been driven from its position by the wind and current. we caught seven poissons inconnus, which were unpalatable; a white fish, that proved delicious; and another about the size of an herring, which none of us had ever seen before, except the english chief, who recognized it as being of a kind that abounds in hudson's bay. about noon the wind blew hard from the westward, when i took an observation, which gave 69. 14. north latitude, and the meridian variation of the compass was thirty-six degrees eastward.[1] this afternoon i re-ascended the hill, but could not discover that the ice had been put in motion by the force of the wind. at the same time i could just distinguish two small islands in the ice, to the north-west by compass. i now thought it necessary to give a new net to my men to mount, in order to obtain as much provision as possible from the water, our stores being reduced to about five hundred weight, which, without any other supply, would not have sufficed for fifteen people above twelve days. one of the young indians, however, was so fortunate as to find the net that had been missing, and which contained three of the poissons inconnus. _tuesday, 14._--it blew very hard from the north-west since the preceding evening. having sat up till three in the morning, i slept longer than usual; but about eight one of my men saw a great many animals in the water, which he at first supposed to be pieces of ice. about nine, however, i was awakened to resolve the doubts which had taken place respecting this extraordinary appearance. i immediately perceived that they were whales; and having ordered the canoe to be prepared, we embarked in pursuit of them. it was, indeed, a very wild and unreflecting enterprise, and it was a very fortunate circumstance that we failed in our attempt to overtake them, as a stroke from the tail of one of these enormous fish would have dashed the canoe to pieces. we may, perhaps, have been indebted to the foggy weather for our safety, as it prevented us from continuing our pursuit. our guide informed us that they are the same kind of fish which are the principal food of the esquimaux, and they were frequently seen as large as our canoe. the part of them which appeared above the water was altogether white, and they were much larger than the largest porpoise. about twelve the fog dispersed, and being curious to take a view of the ice, i gave orders for the canoe to be got in readiness. we accordingly embarked, and the indians followed us. we had not, however, been an hour on the water, when the wind rose on a sudden from the north-east, and obliged us to tack about, and the return of the fog prevented us from ascertaining our distance from the ice; indeed, from this circumstance, the island which we had so lately left was but dimly seen. though the wind was close, we ventured to hoist the sail, and from the violence of the swell it was by great exertions that two men could bale out the water from our canoe. we were in a state of actual danger, and felt every corresponding emotion of pleasure when we reached the land. the indians had fortunately got more to windward, so that the swell in some measure drove them on shore, though their canoes were nearly filled with water: and had they been laden, we should have seen them no more. as i did not propose to satisfy my curiosity at the risk of similar dangers, we continued our course along, the islands, which screened us from the wind. i was now determined to take a more particular examination of the islands, in the hope of meeting with parties of the natives, from whom i might be able to obtain some interesting intelligence, though our conductor discouraged my expectations, by representing them as very shy and inaccessible people. at the same time he informed me, that we should probably find some of them, if we navigated the channel which he had originally recommended us to enter. at eight we encamped on the eastern end of the island, which i had named the whale island. it is about seven leagues in length, east and west by compass; but not more than half a mile in breadth. we saw several red foxes, one of which was killed. there were also five or six very old huts on the point where we had taken our station. the nets were now set, and one of them in five fathom water, the current setting north-east by compass. this morning i ordered a post to be erected close to our tents, on which engraved the latitude of the place, my own name, the number of persons which i had with me, and the time we remained there. _wednesday, 15._--being awakened by some casual circumstance, at four this morning, i was surprised on perceiving that the water had flowed under our baggage. as the wind had not changed, and did not blow with greater violence than when we went to rest, we were all of opinion that this circumstance proceeded from the tide. we had, indeed, observed at the other end of the island, that the water rose and fell; but we then imagined that it must have been occasioned by the wind. the water continued to rise till about six, but i could not ascertain the time with the requisite precision, as the wind then began to blow with great violence; i therefore determined, at all events, to remain here till the next morning, though, as it happened, the state of the wind was such, as to render my stay here an act of necessity. our nets were not very successful, as they presented us with only eight fish. from an observation which i obtained at noon we were in 69. 7. north latitude. as the evening approached, the wind increased, and the weather became cold. two swans were the only provision which the hunters procured for us. _thursday, 16._--the rain did not cease till seven this morning, the weather being at intervals very cold and unpleasant. such was its inconstancy, that i could not make an accurate observation; but the tide appeared to rise sixteen or eighteen inches. we now embarked, and steered under sail among the islands, where i hoped to meet with some of the natives, but my expectation was not gratified. our guide imagined that they were gone to their distant haunts, where they fish for whales and hunt the rein-deer, that are opposite to his country. his relations, he said, see them every year, but he did not encourage us to expect that we should find any of them, unless it were at a small river that falls into the great one, from the eastward, at a considerable distance from our immediate situation. we accordingly made for the river, and stemmed the current. at two in the afternoon the water was quite shallow in every part of our course, and we could always find the bottom with the paddle. at seven we landed, encamped, and set the nets. here the indians killed two geese, two cranes, and a white owl. since we entered the river, we experienced a very agreeable change in the temperature of the air; but this pleasant circumstance was not without its inconvenience, as it subjected us to the persecution of the mosquitoes. _friday, 17._--on taking up the nets, they were found to contain but six fish. we embarked at four in the morning, and passed four encampments; which appeared to have been very lately inhabited. we then landed upon a small round island, close to the eastern shore; which possessed somewhat of a sacred character, as the top of it seemed to be a place of sepulture, from the numerous graves which we observed there. we found the frame of a small canoe, with various dishes, troughs, and other utensils, which had been the living property of those who could now use them no more, and form the ordinary accompaniments of their last abodes. as no part of the skins that must have covered the canoe was remaining, we concluded that it had been eaten by wild animals that inhabit, or occasionally frequent, the island. the frame of the canoe, which was entire, was put together with whale-bone; it was sewed in some parts, and tied in others. the sledges were from four to eight feet long; the length of the bars was upwards of two feet; the runners were two inches thick and nine inches deep; the prow was two feet and an half high, and formed of two pieces, sewed with whalebone, to three other thin spars of wood, which were of the same height; and fixed in the runners by means of mortises, were sewed two thin broad bars lengthways, at a small distance from each other; these frames were fixed together with three or four cross bars, tied fast upon the runners, and on the lower edge of the latter, small pieces of horn were fastened by wooden pegs, that they might slide with greater facility. they are drawn by shafts, which i imagine are applied to any particular sledge as they are wanted as i saw no more than one pair of them. about half past one we came opposite to the first spruce-tree that we had seen for some time: there are but very few of them on the main land, and they are very small: those are larger which are found on the islands, where they grow in patches, and close together. it is, indeed, very extraordinary that there should be any wood whatever in a country where the ground never thaws above five inches from the surface. we landed at seven in the evening. the weather was now very pleasant, and in the course of the day we saw great numbers of wild fowl, with their young ones, but they were so shy that we could not approach them. the indians were not very successful in their foraging party, as they killed only two grey cranes, and a grey goose. two of them were employed on the high land to the eastward, through the greater part of the day, in search of rein-deer, but they could discover nothing more than a few tracks of that animal. i also ascended the high land, from whence i had a delightful view of the river, divided into innumerable streams, meandering through islands, some of which were covered with wood and others with grass. the mountains, that formed the opposite horizon, were at the distance of forty miles. the inland view was neither so extensive nor agreeable, being terminated by a near range of bleak, barren hills, between which are small lakes or ponds, while the surrounding country is covered with tufts of moss, without the shade of a single tree. along the hills is a kind of fence, made with branches, where the natives had set snares to catch white partridges. _saturday, 18._--the nets did not produce a single fish, and at three o'clock in the morning we took our departure. the weather was fine and clear, and we passed several encampments. as the prints of human feet were very fresh in the sand, it could not have been long since the natives had visited the spot. we now proceeded in the hope of meeting with some of them at the river, whither our guide was conducting us with that expectation. we observed a great number of trees, in different places, whose branches had been lopped off to the tops. they denote the immediate abode of the natives, and probably serve for signals to direct each other to their respective winter quarters. our hunters, in the course of the day, killed two rein-deer, which were the only large animals that we had seen since we had been in this river, and proved a very seasonable supply, as our pemmican had become mouldy for some time past; though in that situation we were under the necessity of eating it. in the valleys and low lands near the river, cranberries are found in great abundance, particularly in favourable aspects. it is a singular circumstance, that the fruit of two succeeding years may be gathered at the same time, from the same shrub. here was also another berry, of a very pale yellow colour, that resembles a raspberry, and is of a very agreeable flavour. there is a great variety of other plants and herbs, whose names and properties are unknown to me. the weather became cold towards the afternoon, with the appearance of rain, and we landed for the night at seven in the evening. the indians killed eight geese. during the greater part of the day i walked with the english chief, and found it very disagreeable and fatiguing. though the country is so elevated, it was one continual morass, except on the summits of some barren hills. as i carried my hanger in my hand, i frequently examined if any part of the ground was in a state of thaw, but could never force the blade into it, beyond the depth of six or eight inches. the face of the high land, towards the river, is in some places rocky, and in others a mixture of sand and stone veined with a kind of red earth, with which the natives bedaub themselves. _sunday, 19._--it rained, and blew hard from the north, till eight in the morning, when we discovered that our conductor had escaped. i was, indeed, surprised at his honesty, as he left the moose-skin which i had given him for a covering, and went off in his shirt, though the weather was very cold. i inquired of the indians if they had given him any cause of offence, or had observed any recent disposition in him to desert us, but they assured me that they had not in any instance displeased him: at the same time they recollected that he had expressed his apprehensions of being taken away as a slave; and his alarms were probably increased on the preceding day, when he saw them kill the two rein-deer with so much readiness. in the afternoon the weather became fine and clear, when we saw large flights of geese with their young ones, and the hunters killed twenty-two of them. as they had at this time cast their feathers, they could not fly. they were of a small kind, and much inferior in size to those that frequent the vicinity of athabasca. at eight, we took our station near an indian encampment, and, as we had observed in similar situations, pieces of bone, rein-deer's horn, &c., were scattered about it. it also appeared, that the natives had been employed here in working wood into arms, utensils, &c. _monday, 20._--we embarked at three this morning, when the weather was cloudy, with small rain and aft wind. about twelve the rain became so violent as to compel us to encamp at two in the afternoon. we saw great numbers of fowl, and killed among us fifteen geese and four swans. had the weather been more favourable, we should have added considerably to our booty. we now passed the river, where we expected to meet some of the natives, but discovered no signs of them. the ground close to the river does not rise to any considerable height, and the hills, which are at a small distance, are covered with the spruce fir and small birch trees, to their very summits. _tuesday, 21._--we embarked at half past one this morning, when the weather was cold and unpleasant, and the wind south-west. at ten, we left the channels formed by the islands for the uninterrupted channel of the river, where we found the current so strong, that it was absolutely necessary to tow the canoe with a line. the land on both sides was elevated, and almost perpendicular, and the shore beneath it, which is of no great breadth, was covered with a grey stone that falls from the precipice. we made much greater expedition with the line than we could have done with the paddles. the men in the canoe relieved two of those on shore every two hours, so that it was very hard and fatiguing duty, but it saved a great deal of that time which was so precious to us. at half past eight we landed at the same spot where we had already encamped on the ninth instant. in about an hour after our arrival, we were joined by eleven of the natives, who were stationed farther up the river, and there were some among them whom we had not seen during our former visit to this place. the brother of our late guide, however, was of the party, and was eager in his inquiries after him; but our account did not prove satisfactory. they all gave evident tokens of their suspicion, and each of them made a distinct harangue on the occasion. our indians, indeed, did not understand their eloquence, though they conjectured it to be very unfavourable to our assertions. the brother, nevertheless, proposed to barter his credulity for a small quantity of beads, and promised to believe every thing i should say, if i would gratify him with a few of those baubles; but he did not succeed in his proposition, and i contented myself with giving him the bow and arrows which our conductor had left with us. my people were now necessarily engaged in putting the fire-arms in order, after the violent rain of the preceding day; an employment which very much attracted the curiosity, and appeared in some degree, to awaken the apprehensions of the natives. to their inquiries concerning the motives of our preparation, we answered by showing a piece of meat and a goose, and informing them, that we were preparing our arms to procure similar provisions: at the same time we assured them, though it was our intention to kill any animals we might find, there was no intention to hurt or injure them. they, however, entreated us not to discharge our pieces in their presence. i requested the english chief to ask them some questions, which they either did not or would not understand; so that i failed in obtaining any information from them. all my people went to rest; but i thought it prudent to sit up, in order to watch the motions of the natives. this circumstance was a subject of their inquiry; and their curiosity was still more excited, when they saw me employed in writing. about twelve o'clock i perceived four of their women coming along the shore; and they were no sooner seen by their friends, than they ran hastily to meet them, and persuaded two of them, who, i suppose, were young, to return, while they brought the other two, who were very old, to enjoy the warmth of our fire; but, after staying there for about half an hour, they also retreated. those who remained, immediately kindled a small fire, and laid themselves down to sleep round it, like so many whelps, having neither skins or garments of any kind to cover them, notwithstanding the cold that prevailed. my people having placed their kettle of meat on the fire, i was obliged to guard it from the natives, who made several attempts to possess themselves of its contents; and this was the only instance i had hitherto discovered, of their being influenced by a pilfering disposition. it might, perhaps, be a general opinion, that provisions were a common property. i now saw the sun set for the first time since i had been here before. during the preceding night, the weather was so cloudy, that i could not observe its descent to the horizon. the water had sunk, at this place, upward of three feet since we had passed down the river. _wednesday, 22._--we began our march at half past three this morning, the men being employed to tow the canoe. i walked with the indians to their huts, which were at a greater distance than i had any reason to expect, for it occupied three hours in hard walking to reach them. we passed a narrow, and deep river in our way, at the mouth of which the natives had set their nets. they had hid their effects, and sent their young women into the woods, as we saw but very few of the former, and none of the latter. they had large huts built with drift-wood on the declivity of the beach and in the inside the earth was dug away, so as to form a level floor. at each end was a stout fork, whereon was laid a strong ridge-pole, which formed a support to the whole structure, and at covering of spruce bark preserved it from the rain. various spars of different heights were fixed within the hut, and covered with split fish that hung on them to dry; and fires were made in different parts to accelerate the operation. there were rails also on the outside of the building, which were hung around with fish, but in a fresher state than those within. the spawn is also carefully preserved and dried in the same manner. we obtained as many fish from them as the canoe could conveniently contain, and some strings of beads were the price paid for them, an article which they preferred to every other. iron they held in little or no estimation. during the two hours that i remained here, i employed the english chief in a continual state of inquiry concerning these people. the information that resulted from this conference was as follows: this nation or tribe is very numerous, with whom the esquimaux had been continually at variance, a people who take every advantage of attacking those who are not in a state to defend themselves; and though they had promised friendship, had lately, and in the most treacherous manner, butchered some of their people. as a proof of this circumstance, the relations of the deceased showed us, that they had cut off their hair on the occasion. they also declared their determination to withdraw all confidence in future from the esquimaux, and to collect themselves in a formidable body, that they might be enabled to revenge the death of their friends. from their account, a strong party of esquimaux occasionally ascends this river, in large canoes, in search of flint stones, which they employ to point their spears and arrows. they were now at their lake due east from the spot where we then were, which was at no great distance over land, where they kill the rein-deer, and that they would soon begin to catch big fish for the winter stock. we could not, however, obtain any information respecting the lake in the direction in which we were. to the eastward and westward where they saw it, the ice breaks up, but soon freezes again. the esquimaux informed them that they saw large canoes full of white men to the westward, eight or ten winters ago, from whom they obtained iron in exchange for leather. the lake where they met these canoes, is called by them _belhoullay toe_, or white man's lake. they also represented the esquimaux as dressing like themselves. they wear their hair short, and have two holes perforated, one on each side of the mouth, in a line with the under lip, in which they place long beads that they find in the lake. their bows are somewhat different from those used by the natives we had seen, and they employ slings from whence they throw stones with such dexterity that they prove very formidable weapons in the day of battle. we also learned in addition from the natives, that we should not see any more of their relations, as they had all left the river to go in pursuit of rein-deer for their provisions, and that they themselves should engage in a similar expedition in a few days. rein-deer, bears, wolverines, martens, foxes, hares, and white buffaloes are the only quadrupeds in their country; and that the latter were only to be found in the mountains to the westward. we proceeded with the line throughout the day, except two hours, when we employed the sail. we encamped at eight in the evening. from the place we quitted this morning, the banks of the river are well covered with small wood, spruce, firs, birch, and willow. we found it very warm during the whole of our progress. _thursday, 23._--at five in the morning we proceeded on our voyage, but found it very difficult to travel along the beach. we observed several places where the natives had stationed themselves and set their nets since our passage downwards. we passed a small river, and at five o'clock our indians put to shore in order to encamp, but we proceeded onwards, which displeased them very much, from the fatigue they suffered, and at eight we encamped at our position of the 8th instant. the day was very fine, and we employed the towing line throughout the course of it. at ten, our hunters returned, sullen and dissatisfied. we had not touched any of our provision stores for six days, in which time we had consumed two rein-deer, four swans, forty-five geese, and a considerable quantity of fish: but it is to be considered, that we were ten men, and four women. i have always observed, that the north men possessed very hearty appetites, but they were very much exceeded by those with me since we entered this river. i should really have thought it absolute gluttony in my people, if my own appetite had not increased in a similar proportion. [1] the longitude has since been discovered, by the dead reckoning, to be 135. west. chapter vi. july, 1789. _friday, 24._--at five we continued our course, but, in a very short time, were under the necessity of applying to the aid of the line, the stream being so strong as to render all our attempts unavailing to stem it with the paddles. we passed a small river, on each side of which the natives and esquimaux collect flint. the bank is an high, steep, and soft rock, variegated with red, green, and yellow hues. from the continual dripping of water, parts of it frequently fall and break into small stony flakes like slate, but not so hard. among them are found pieces of _petrolium_, which bears a resemblance to yellow wax, but is more friable. the english chief informed me that rocks of a similar kind are scattered about the country at the back of the slave lake, where the chepewyans collect copper. at ten, we had an aft wind, and the men who had been engaged in towing, re-embarked. at twelve, we observed a lodge on the side of the river, and its inhabitants running about in great confusion, or hurrying to the woods. three men waited our arrival, though they remained at some distance from us, with their bows and arrows ready to be employed; or at least, that appeared to be the idea they wished to convey to us, by continually snapping the strings of the former, and the signs they made to forbid our approach. the english chief, whose language they, in some degree understood, endeavoured to remove their distrust of us; but till i went to them with a present of beads, they refused to have any communication with us. when they first perceived our sail, they took us for the esquimaux indians, who employ a sail in their canoes. they were suspicious of our designs, and questioned us with a view to obtain some knowledge of them. on seeing us in possession of some of the clothes, bows, etc., which must have belonged to some of the deguthee denees, or quarrellers, they imagined that we had killed some of them, and were bearing away the fruits of our victory. they appeared, indeed, to be of the same tribe, though they were afraid of acknowledging it. from their questions, it was evident that they had not received any notice of our being in those parts. they would not acknowledge that they had any women with them, though we had seen them running to the woods; but pretended that they had been left at a considerable distance from the river, with some relations, who were engaged in killing rein-deer. these people had been here but a short time, and their lodge was not yet completed; nor had they any fish in a state of preparation for their provision. i gave them a knife and some beads for an horn-wedge or chisel, with which they split their canoe-wood. one of my indians having broken his paddle, attempted to take one of theirs, which was immediately contested by its owner, and on my interfering to prevent this act of injustice, he manifested his gratitude to me on the occasion. we lost an hour and a half in this conference. the english chief was during the whole of the time in the woods, where some of the hidden property was discovered, but the women contrived to elude the search that was made after them. some of these articles were purloined, but i was ignorant of this circumstance till we had taken our departure, or i should have given an ample remuneration. our chief expressed his displeasure at their running away to conceal themselves, their property, and their young women, in very bitter terms. he said his heart was against those slaves; and complained aloud of his disappointment in coming so far without seeing the natives, and getting something from them. we employed the sail and the paddle since ten this morning, and pitched our tents at seven in the evening. we had no sooner encamped than we were visited by an indian whom we had seen before, and whose family was at a small distance up the river: at nine he left us. the weather was clear and serene. _saturday, 25._--we embarked this morning at a quarter past three, and at seven we passed the lodge of the indian who had visited us the preceding evening. there appeared to have been more than one family, and we naturally concluded that our visitor had made such an unfavourable report of us, as to induce his companions to fly on our approach. their fire was not extinguished, and they had left a considerable quantity of fish scattered about their dwelling. the weather was now very sultry; but the current had relaxed of its force, so that the paddle was sufficient for our progress during the greatest part of the day. the inland part of the country is mountainous and the banks of the river low, but covered with wood, among which is the poplar, but of small growth, and the first which we had seen on our return. a pigeon also flew by us, and hares appeared to be in great plenty. we passed many indian encampments which we did not see in our passage down the river. about seven the sky, to the westward, became of a steel blue colour, with lightning and thunder. we accordingly landed to prepare ourselves against the coming storm; but before we could erect our tents, it came on with such violence that we expected it to carry every thing before it. the ridgepole of my tent was broken in the middle, where it was sound, and nine inches and an half in circumference; and we were obliged to throw ourselves flat on the ground to escape being wounded by the stones that were hurled about in the air like sand. the violence of the storm, however, subsided in a short time, but left the sky overcast with the appearance of rain. _sunday, 26._--it rained from the preceding evening to this morning, when we embarked at four o'clock. at eight we landed at three large indian lodges. their inhabitants, who were asleep, expressed uncommon alarm and agitation when they were awakened by us, though most of them had seen us before. their habitations were crowded with fish, hanging to dry in every part; but as we wanted some for present use, we sent their young men to visit the nets, and they returned with abundance of large white fish, to which the name has been given of _poisson inconnu_; some of a round shape, and green colour; and a few white ones; all which were very agreeable food. some beads, and a few other trifles, were gratefully received in return. these people are very fond of iron work of any kind, and my men purchased several of their articles for small pieces of tin. there were five or six persons whom we had not seen before; and among them was a dog-rib indian, whom some private quarrel had driven from his country. the english chief understood him as well as one of his own nation, and gave the following account of their conversation:-he had been informed by the people with whom he now lives, the hare indians, that there is another river on the other side of the mountains to the south-west, which falls into the _belhoullay teo_, or white-man's lake, in comparison of which that on whose banks we then were, was but a small stream; that the natives were very large, and very wicked, and kill common men with their eyes; that they make canoes larger than ours; that those who inhabit the entrance of it kill a kind of beaver, the skin of which is almost red; and that large canoes often frequent it. as there is no known communication by water with this river, the natives who saw it went over the mountains. as he mentioned that there were some beavers in this part of the country, i told him to hunt it, and desire the others to do the same, as well as the martens, foxes, beaver-eater or wolverine, &c., which they might carry to barter for iron with his own nation, who are supplied with goods by us, near their country. he was anxious to know whether `we should return that way; at the same time he informed us, that we should see but few of the natives along the river, as all the young men were engaged in killing rein-deer, near the esquimaux lake, which, he also said, was at no great distance. the latter he represented as very treacherous, and added, that they had killed one of his people. he told us likewise, that some plan of revenge was meditating, unless the offending party paid a sufficient price for the body of the murdered person. my indians were very anxious to possess themselves of a woman that was with the natives, but as they were not willing to part with her, i interfered, to prevent her being taken by force; indeed, i was obliged to exercise the utmost vigilance, as the indians who accompanied me were ever ready to take what they could from the natives, without making them any return. about twelve, we passed a river of some appearance, flowing from the eastward. one of the natives who followed us, called it the winter road river. we did not find the stream strong to-day, along the shore, as there were many eddy currents; we therefore employed the sail during some hours of it, and went on shore for the night at half past seven. _monday, 27._--the weather was now fine, and we renewed our voyage at half past two. at seven we landed where there were three families, situated close to the rapids. we found but few people; for as the indian who followed us yesterday had arrived here before us, we supposed that the greater part had fled, on the intelligence which he gave of our approach. some of these people we had seen before, when they told us that they had left their property at a lake in the neighbourhood, and had promised to fetch it before our return; but we now found them as unprovided as when we left them. they had plenty of fish, some of which was packed up in birch bark. during the time we remained with them, which was not more than two hours, i endeavoured to obtain some additional intelligence respecting the river which had been mentioned on the preceding day; when they declared their total ignorance of it, but from the reports of others, as they had never been beyond the mountains, on the opposite side of their own river; they had, however, been informed that it was larger than that which washed the banks whereon they lived, and that its course was towards the mid-day sun. they added, that there were people at a small distance up the river, who inhabited the opposite mountains, and had lately descended from them to obtain supplies of fish. these people, they suggested, must be well acquainted with the other river, which was the object of my inquiry. i engaged one of them, by a bribe of some beads, to describe the circumjacent country upon the sand. this singular map he immediately undertook to delineate, and accordingly traced out a very long point of land between the rivers, though without paying the least attention to their courses, which he represented as running into the great lake, at the extremity of which, as he had been told by indians of other nations, there was a belhoullay couin, or white man's fort. this i took to be unalascha fort, and consequently the river to the west to be cook's river; and that the body of water or sea into which this river discharges itself at whale island, communicates with norton sound. i made an advantageous proposition to this man to accompany me across the mountains to the other river, but he refused it. at the same time he recommended me to the people already mentioned, who were fishing in the neighbourhood, as better qualified to assist me in the undertaking which i had proposed. one of this small company of natives was grievously afflicted with ulcers in his back, and the only attention which was paid to his miserable condition, as far at least as we could discover, proceeded from a woman, who carefully employed a bunch of feathers in preventing the flies from settling upon his sores. at ten this morning we landed near the lodges which had already been mentioned to us, and i ordered my people to make preparation for passing the remaining part of the day here, in order to obtain that familiarity with the natives which might induce them to afford me, without reserve, the information that i should require from them. this object, however, was in danger of being altogether frustrated, by a misunderstanding that had taken place between the natives and my young indians, who had already arrived there. before the latter could disembark, the former seized the canoe, and dragged it on shore, and in this act of violence the boat was broken, from the weight of the persons in it. this insult was on the point of being seriously revenged, when i arrived, to prevent the consequences of such a disposition. the variation of the compass was about twenty-nine degrees to the east. at four in the afternoon i ordered my interpreter to harangue the natives, assembled in council; but his long discourse obtained little satisfactory intelligence from them. their account of the river to the westward, was similar to that which he had already received: and their description of the inhabitants of that country was still more absurd and ridiculous. they represented them as being of a gigantic stature, and adorned with wings; which, however, they never employed in flying. that they fed on large birds, which they killed with the greatest ease, though common men would be certain victims of their ferocity if they ventured to approach them. they also described the people that inhabited the mouth of the river as possessing the extraordinary power of killing with their eyes, and devouring a large beaver at a single meal. they added that canoes of very large dimensions visited that place. they did not, however, relate these strange circumstances from their own knowledge, but on the reports of other tribes, as they themselves never ventured to proceed beyond the first mountains, where they went in search of the small white buffaloes, as the inhabitants of the other side endeavour to kill them whenever they meet. they likewise mentioned that the sources of those streams which are tributary to both the great rivers are separated by the mountains. it appeared to us, however, that these people knew more about the country than they chose to communicate, or at least reached me, as the interpreter, who had long been tired of the voyage, might conceal such a part of their communications as, in his opinion, would induce me to follow new routes, or extend my excursions. no sooner was the conference concluded, than they began to dance, which is their favourite, and, except jumping, their only amusement. in this pastime old and young, male and female, continued their exertions, till their strength was exhausted. this exercise was accompanied by loud imitations of the various noises produced by the rein-deer, the bear, and the wolf. when they had finished their antics, i desired the english chief to renew the former subjects; which he did without success. i therefore assumed an angry air, expressed my suspicions that they withheld their information, and concluded with a menace, that if they did not give me all the satisfaction in their power, i would force one of them along with me to-morrow, to point out the other river. on this declaration, they all, at one and the same moment, became sick, and answered in a very faint tone, that they knew no more than they had already communicated, and that they should die if i took any of them away. they began to persuade my interpreter to remain with them, as they loved him as well as they did themselves, and that he would be killed if he continued with me. nor did this proposition, aided as it was by the solicitation of his women, fail of producing a considerable effect upon him, though he endeavoured to conceal it from me. i now found that it would be fruitless for me to expect any accounts of the country, or the other great river, till i got to the river of the bear lake, where i expected to find some of the natives, who promised to wait for us there. these people had actually mentioned this river to me when we passed them, but i then paid no attention to that circumstance, as i imagined it to be either a misunderstanding of my interpreter, or that it was an invention which, with their other lies, might tend to prevent me from proceeding down their river. we were plentifully supplied with fish, as well dry as fresh, by these people; they also gathered as many hurtle-berries as we chose, for which we paid with the usual articles of beads, awls, knives, and tin. i purchased a few beaver-skins of them, which, according to their accounts, are not very numerous in this country; and that they do not abound in moose-deer and buffaloes. they were alarmed for some of their young men, who were killing geese higher up the river, and entreated us to do them no harm. about sunset i was under the necessity of shooting one of their dogs, as we could not keep those animals from our baggage. it was in vain that i had remonstrated on this subject, so that i was obliged to commit the act which has been just mentioned. when these people heard the report of the pistol, and saw the dog dead, they were seized with a very general alarm, and the women took their children on their backs and ran into the woods. i ordered the cause of this act of severity to be explained, with the assurance that no injury would be offered to themselves. the woman, however, to whom the dog belonged, was very much affected, and declared that the loss of five children, during the preceding winter, had not affected her so much as the death of this animal. but her grief was not of very long duration; and a few beads, &c., soon assuaged her sorrow. but as they can without difficulty get rid of their affliction, they can with equal ease assume it, and feign sickness if it be necessary with the same versatility. when we arrived this morning, we found the women in tears, from an apprehension that we were come to take them away. to the eye of an european they certainly were objects of disgust; but there were those among my party who observed some hidden charms in these females which rendered them objects of desire, and means were found, i believe, that very soon dissipated their alarms and subdued their coyness. on the upper part of the beach, liquorice grew in great abundance and it was now in blossom. i pulled up some of the roots, which were large and long; but the natives were ignorant of its qualities, and considered it as a weed of no use or value. _tuesday, 28._--at four this morning i ordered my people to prepare for our departure; and while they were loading the canoe, i went with the english chief to visit the lodges, but the greater part of their inhabitants had quitted them during the night, and those that remained pretended sickness and refused to rise. when, however, they were convinced that we did not mean to take any of them with us, their sickness abandoned them, and when we had embarked, they came forth from their huts, to desire that we would visit their nets, which were at a small distance up the river, and take all the fish we might find in them. we accordingly availed ourselves of this permission, and took as many as were necessary for our own supply. we landed shortly after where there were two more lodges, which were full of fish, but without any inhabitants, who were probably with the natives whom we had just left. my indians, in rummaging these places, found several articles which they proposed to take; i therefore gave beads and awls to be left as the purchase of them; but this act of justice they were not able to comprehend, as the people themselves were not present. i took up a net and left a large knife in the place of it. it was about four fathoms long, and thirty-two meshes in depth; these nets are much more convenient to set in the eddy current than our long ones. this is the place that the indians call a rapid, though we went up it all the way with the paddle; so that the current could not be so strong here, as in many other parts of the river; indeed, if it were so, the difficulty of towing would be almost insuperable, as in many parts, the rocks, which are of a great height, and rather project over the water, leave no shore between them and the stream. these precipices abound in swallows' nests. the weather was now very sultry, and at eleven we were under the necessity of landing to gum our canoe. in about an hour we set forward, and at one in the afternoon, went on shore at a fire, which we supposed to have been kindled by the young men, who, as we had been already informed, were hunting geese. our hunters found their canoe and the fowl they had got, secreted in the woods; and soon after, the people themselves, whom they brought to the water side. out of two hundred geese, we picked thirty-six which were eatable; the rest were putrid, and emitted a horrid stench. they had been killed some time without having been gutted, and in this state of loathsome rottenness, we have every reason to suppose they are eaten by the natives. we paid for those which we had taken, and departed. at seven in the evening, the weather became cloudy and overcast; at eight we encamped; at nine it began to thunder with great violence; a heavy rain succeeded, accompanied with a hurricane, that blew down our tents, and threatened to carry away the canoe, which had been fastened to some trees with a cod-line. the storm lasted two hours, and deluged us with wet. _wednesday, 29._--yesterday the weather was cloudy, and the heat insupportable; and now we could not put on clothes enough to keep us warm. we embarked at a quarter past four with an aft wind, which drove us on at a great rate, though the current is very strong. at ten we came to the other rapid, which we got up with the line on the west side, where we found it much stronger than when we went down; the water had also fallen at least five feet since that time, so that several shoals appeared in the river which we had not seen before, one of my hunters narrowly escaped being drowned in crossing a river that falls in from the westward, and is the most considerable, except the mountain river, that flows in this direction. we had strong northerly and cold wind throughout the whole of the day, and took our station for the night at a quarter past eight. we killed a goose and caught some young ones. _thursday, 30._--we renewed our voyage at four this morning, after a very rainy night. the weather was cloudy, but the cold had moderated, and the wind was north-west. we were enabled to employ the sail during part of the day, and encamped at about seven in the evening. we killed eleven old geese and forty young ones which had just begun to fly. the english chief was very much irritated against one of his young men: that jealousy occasioned this uneasiness, and that it was not without very sufficient cause, was all i could discover. for the last two or three days we had eaten the liquorice root, of which there is a great abundance on the banks of the river. we found it a powerful astringent. _friday, 31._--the rain was continual throughout the night, and did not subside till nine this morning, when we renewed our progress. the wind and weather the same as yesterday. about three in the afternoon it cleared up and the wind died away, when it became warm. at five the wind veered to the east, and brought cold along with it. there were plenty of whortle berries, raspberries, and a berry called _poire_, which grows in the greatest abundance. we were very much impeded in our way by shoals of sand and small stones which render the water shallow at a distance from the shore. in other places the bank of the river is lofty: it is formed of black earth and sand, and, as it is continually falling, displayed to us, in some parts, a face of solid ice, to within a foot of the surface. we finished this day's voyage at a quarter before eight, and in the course of it killed seven geese. we now had recourse to our corn, for we had only consumed three days of our original provision since we began to mount the current. it was my intention to have ascended the river on the south side from the last rapid, to discover if there were any rivers of consequence that flow from the westward; but the sand-banks were so numerous and the current so strong, that i was compelled to traverse to the opposite side, where the eddy currents are very frequent, which gave us an opportunity of setting our nets and making much more headway. chapter vii. august, 1789. _saturday, 1._--we embarked at three this morning, the weather being clear and cold, with the wind at south-east. at three in the afternoon we traversed and landed to take the canoe in tow: here was an encampment of the natives, which we had reason to suppose they had quitted the preceding day. at five we perceived a family, consisting of a man, two women, and as many children, stationed by the side of the water, whom we had not seen before. they informed us, that they had but few fish, and that none of their friends were in the neighbourhood, except the inhabitants of one lodge on the other side of the river, and a man who belonged to them, and who was now occupied in hunting. i now found my interpreter very unwilling to ask such questions as were dictated to him, from the apprehension, as i imagined, that i might obtain such intelligence as would prevent him from seeing athabasca this season. we left him with the indian, and pitched our tents at the same place where we had passed the night on the fifth of last month. the english chief came along with the indian to our fire; and the latter informed us that the native who went down part of the river with us had passed there, and that we should meet with three lodges of his tribe above the river of the bear lake. of the river to the westward he knew nothing, but from the relation of others. this was the first night since our departure from athabasca, when it was sufficiently dark to render the stars visible. _sunday, 2._--we set off at three this morning with the towing-line. i walked with my indians, as they went faster than the canoe, and particularly as i suspected that they wanted to arrive at the huts of the natives before me. in our way, i observed several small springs of mineral water running from the foot of the mountain, and along the beach i saw several lumps of iron ore. when we came to the river of the bear lake, i ordered one of the young indians to wait for my canoe, and i took my place in their small canoe. this river is about two hundred and fifty yards broad at this place, the water clear and of a greenish colour. when i landed on the opposite shore, i discovered that the natives had been there very lately from the print of their feet in the sand. we continued walking till five in the afternoon, when we saw several smokes along the shore. as we naturally concluded, that these were certain indications where we should meet the natives who were the objects of our search we quickened our pace; but, in our progress, experienced a very sulphurous smell, and at length discovered that the whole bank was on fire for a very considerable distance. it proved to be a coal mine, to which the fire had communicated from an old indian encampment. the beach was covered with coals, and the english chief gathered some of the softest he could find, as a black dye; it being the mineral, as he informed me, with which the natives render their quills black. here we waited for the large canoe, which arrived an hour after us. at half past ten we saw several indian marks, which consisted of pieces of bark fixed on poles, and pointing to the woods, opposite to which is an old beaten road, that bore the marks of being lately frequented; the beach also was covered with tracks. at a small distance were the poles of five lodges standing; where we landed and unloaded our canoe. i then despatched one of my men and two young indians to see if they could find any natives within a day's march of us. i wanted the english chief to go, but he pleaded fatigue, and that it would be of no use. this was the first time he had refused to comply with my desire, and jealousy, i believe, was the cause of it in the present instance; though i had taken every precaution that he should not have cause to be jealous of the canadians. there was not, at this time, the least appearance of snow on the opposite mountains, though they were almost covered with it, when we passed before. set two nets, and at eleven o'clock at night the men and indians returned. they had been to their first encampment, where there were four fires, and which had been quitted a short time before; so that they were obliged to make the circuit of several small lakes, which the natives cross with their canoes. this encampment was on the borders of a lake which was too large for them to venture round it, so that they did not proceed any further. they saw several beavers and beaver lodges in those small lakes. they killed one of these animals whose fur began to get long, a sure indication that the fall of the year approaches. they also saw many old tracks of the moose and reindeer. this is the time when the rein-deer leave the plains to come to the woods, as the mosquitoes begin to disappear; i, therefore, apprehended that we should not find a single indian on the river side, as they would be in or about the mountains setting snares to take them. _monday, 3._--we proceeded with a strong westerly wind, at four this morning, the weather being cloudy and cold. at twelve it cleared up and became fine; the current also increased. the water had fallen so much since our passage down the river, that here, as in other places, we discovered many shoals which were not then visible. we killed several geese of a larger size than those which we had generally seen. several indian encampments were seen along the river, and we landed at eight for the night. _tuesday, 4._--at four in the morning we renewed our course, when it was fine and calm. the night had been cold and a very heavy dew had fallen. at nine we were obliged to land in order to gum the canoe, when the weather became extremely warm. numerous tracks of rein-deer appeared on the side of the river. at half past five we took our station for the night, and set the nets. the current was very strong all day, and we found it very difficult to walk along the beach, from the large stones which were scattered over it. _wednesday, 5._--we raised our nets, but had not the good fortune to take a single fish. the water was now become so low that the eddy currents would not admit of setting them. the current had not relaxed its strength; and the difficulty of walking along the beach was continued. the air was now become so cold; that our exercise, violent as it was, scarce kept us warm. we passed several points which we should not have accomplished, if the canoe had been loaded. we were very much fatigued, and at six were glad to conclude our toilsome march. the indians killed two geese. the women, who did not quit the canoe, were continually employed in making shoes of moose-skin, for the men, as a pair did not last more than a day. _thursday, 6._--the rain prevented us from proceeding till half past six, when we had a strong aft wind, which, aided by the paddles, drove us on at a great rate. we encamped at six to wait for our indians, whom we had not seen since the morning; and at half past seven they arrived very much dissatisfied with their day's journey. two days had now elapsed since we had seen the least appearance of indian habitations. _friday, 7._--we embarked at half past three, and soon after perceived two rein-deer on the beach before us. we accordingly checked our course; but our indians, in contending who should be the first to get near these animals, alarmed and lost them. we, however, killed a female rein-deer, and from the wounds in her hind legs, it was supposed that she had been pursued by wolves, who had devoured her young one: her udder was full of milk, and one of the young indians poured it among some boiled corn, which he ate with great delight, esteeming it a very delicious food. at five in the afternoon we saw an animal running along the beach, but could not determine whether it was a grey fox or a dog. in a short time, we went ashore for the night, at the entrance of a small river, as i thought there might be some natives in the vicinity of the place. i ordered my hunters to put their fusees in order, and gave them ammunition to proceed on a hunting party the next day; they were also instructed to discover if there were any natives in the neighbouring mountains. i found a small canoe at the edge of the woods, which contained a paddle and a bow: it had been repaired this spring, and the workmanship of the bark excelled any that i had yet seen. we saw several encampments in the course of the day. the current of the river was very strong, and along the points equal to rapids. _saturday, 8._--the rain was very violent throughout the night, and continued till the afternoon of this day, when the weather began to clear, with a strong, cold, and westerly wind. at three the indians proceeded on the hunting expedition, and at eight they returned without having met with the least success; though they saw numerous tracks of the rein-deer. they came to an old beaten road, which one of them followed for some time; but it did not appear to have been lately frequented. the rain now returned, and continued till the morning. _sunday, 9._--we renewed our voyage at half past three, the weather being cold and cloudy; but at ten it became clear and moderate. we saw another canoe at the outside of the wood, and one of the indians killed a dog, which was in a meagre, emaciated condition. we perceived various places where the natives had made their fires; for these people reside but a short time near the river, and remove from one bank to the other, as it suits their purposes. we saw a path which was connected with another on the opposite side of the river. the water had risen considerably since last night, and there had been a strong current throughout the day. at seven we made to the shore and encamped. _monday, 10._--at three this morning we returned to our canoe; the weather fine and clear, with a light wind from the south-east. the indians were before us in pursuit of game. at ten we landed opposite to the mountains which we had passed on the second of the last month, in order to ascertain the variation of the compass at this place: but this was accomplished in a very imperfect manner, as i could not depend on my watch. one of the hunters joined us here, fatigued and unsuccessful. as these mountains are the last of any considerable magnitude on the south-west side of the river, i ordered my men to cross to that side of it, that i might ascend one of them. it was near four in the afternoon when i landed, and i lost no time in proceeding to the attainment of my object. i was accompanied only by a young indian, as the curiosity of my people was subdued by the fatigue they had undergone; and we soon had reason to believe that we should pay dearly for the indulgence of our own. the wood, which was chiefly of spruce firs, was so thick that it was with great difficulty we made our way through it. when we had walked upwards of an hour, the under-wood decreased, while the white birch and poplar were the largest and tallest of their kind that i had ever seen. the ground now began to rise, and was covered with small pines, and at length we got the first view of the mountains since we had left the canoe; as they appeared to be no nearer to us, though we had been walking for three hours, than when we had seen them from the river, my companion expressed a very great anxiety to return; his shoes and leggins were torn to pieces, and he was alarmed at the idea of passing through such bad roads during the night. i persisted, however, in proceeding, with a determination to pass the night on the mountains and return on the morrow. as we approached them, the ground was quite marshy, and we waded in water and grass up to the knees, till we came within a mile of them, when i suddenly sunk up to my arm-pits, and it was with some difficulty that i extricated myself from this disagreeable situation. i now found it impossible to proceed; to cross this marshy ground in a straight line was impracticable, and it extended so far to the right and left, that i could not attempt to make the circuit; i therefore determined to return to the canoe, and arrived there about midnight, very much fatigued with this fruitless journey. _tuesday, 11._--we observed several tracks along the beach, and an encampment at the edge of the woods, which appeared to be five or six days old. we should have continued our route along this side of the river, but we had not seen our hunters since yesterday morning. we accordingly embarked before three, and at five traversed the river, when we saw two of them coming down in search of us. they had killed no other animals than one beaver, and a few hares. according to their account, the woods were so thick that it was impossible to follow the game through them. they had seen several of the natives' encampments, at no great distance from the river and it was their opinion that they had discovered us in our passage down it, and had taken care to avoid us; which accounted for the small number we had seen on our return. i requested the english chief to return with me to the other side of the river, in order that he might proceed to discover the natives, whose tracks and habitations we had seen there; but he was backward in complying with my desire, and proposed to send the young men; but i could not trust to them, and at the same time was become rather doubtful of him. they were still afraid lest i should obtain such accounts of the other river as would induce me to travel overland to it, and that they should be called upon to accompany me. i was, indeed, informed by one of my own people, that the english chief, his wives and companions, had determined to leave me on this side of the slave lake, in order to go to the country of the beaver indians, and that about the middle of the winter he would return to that lake, where he had appointed to meet some of his relations, who, during the last spring, had been engaged in war. we now traversed the river, and continued to track the indians till past twelve, when we lost all traces of them; in consequence, as we imagined, of their having crossed to the eastern side. we saw several dogs on both shores; and one of the young indians killed a wolf, which the men ate with great satisfaction: we shot, also, fifteen young geese that were now beginning to fly. it was eight when we took our evening station, having lost four hours in making our traverses. there was no interruption of the fine weather during the course of this day. _wednesday, 12._--we proceeded on our voyage at three this morning, and despatched the two young indians across the river, that we might not miss any of the natives that should be on the banks of it. we saw many places where fires had been lately made along the beach, as well as fire running in the woods. at four we arrived at an encampment which had been left this morning. their tracks were observable in several places in the woods, and as it might be presumed that they could not be at any great distance, it was proposed to the chief to accompany me in search of them. we accordingly, though with some hesitation on his part, penetrated several miles into the woods, but without discovering the objects of our research. the fire had spread all over the country, and had burned about three inches of the black, light soil, which covered a body of cold clay, that was so hard as not to receive the least impression of our feet. at ten we returned from our unsuccessful excursion. in the mean time the hunters had killed seven geese. there were several showers of rain, accompanied with gusts of wind and thunder. the nets had been set during our absence. _thursday, 13._--the nets were taken up, but not one fish was found in them; and at half past three we continued our route, with very favourable weather. we passed several places, where fires had been made by the natives, and many tracks were perceptible along the beach. at seven we were opposite the island where our pemmican had been concealed: two of the indians were accordingly despatched in search of it, and it proved very acceptable, as it rendered us more independent of the provisions which were to be obtained by our fowling pieces, and qualified us to get out of the river without that delay which our hunters would otherwise have required. in a short time we perceived a smoke on the shore to the south-west, at the distance of three leagues, which did not appear to proceed from any running fire. the indians, who were a little way ahead of us, did not discover it, being engaged in the pursuit of a flock of geese, at which they fired several shots, when the smoke immediately disappeared; and in a short time we saw several of the natives run along the shore, some of whom entered their canoes. though we were almost opposite to them, we could not cross the river without going further up it, from the strength of the current; i therefore ordered our indians to make every possible exertion, in order to speak with them, and wait our arrival. but as soon as our small canoe struck off, we could perceive the poor affrighted people hasten to the shore, and after drawing their canoes on the beach, hurry into the woods. it was past ten before we landed at the place where they had deserted their canoes, which were four in number. they were so terrified that they had left several articles on the beach. i was very much displeased with my indians, who instead of seeking the natives, were dividing their property. i rebuked the english chief with some severity for his conduct, and immediately ordered him, his young men, and my own people, to go in search of the fugitives, but their fears had made them too nimble for us, and we could not overtake them. we saw several dogs in the woods, and some of them followed us to our canoe. the english chief was very much displeased at my reproaches, and expressed himself to me in person to that effect. this was the very opportunity which i wanted, to make him acquainted with my dissatisfaction for some time past. i stated to him that i had come a great way, and at a very considerable expense, without having completed the object of my wishes, and that i suspected he had concealed from me a principal part of what the natives had told him respecting the country, lest he should be obliged to follow me: that his reason for not killing game, &c., was his jealousy, which likewise prevented him from looking after the natives as he ought; and that we had never given him any cause for any suspicions of us. these suggestions irritated him in a very high degree, and he accused me of speaking ill words to him; he denied the charge of jealousy, and declared that he did not conceal any thing from us; and that as to the ill success of their hunting, it arose from the nature of the country, and the scarcity, which had hitherto appeared, of animals in it. he concluded by informing me that he would not accompany me any further: that though he was without ammunition, he could live in the same manner as the slaves (the name given to the inhabitants of that part of the country), and that he would remain among them. his harangue was succeeded by a loud and bitter lamentation; and his relations assisted the vociferations of his grief; though they said that their tears flowed for their dead friends. i did not interrupt their grief for two hours, but as i could not well do without them, i was at length obliged to soothe it, and induce the chief to change his resolution, which he did, but with great apparent reluctance when we embarked as we had hitherto done. the articles which the fugitives had left behind them, on the present occasion, were bows, arrows, snares for moose and rein-deer, and for hares; to these may be added a few dishes, made of bark, some skins of the marten and the beaver, and old beaver robes, with a small robe made of the skin of the lynx. their canoes were coarsely made of the bark of the spruce-fir, and will carry two or three people. i ordered my men to remove them to the shade, and gave most of the other articles to the young indians. the english chief would not accept of any of them. in the place, and as the purchase of them, i left some cloth, some small knives, a file, two fire-steels, a comb, rings, with beads and awls. i also ordered a marten skin to be placed on a proper mould, and a beaver skin to be stretched on a frame, to which i tied a scraper. the indians were of opinion that all these articles would be lost, as the natives were so much frightened that they would never return. here we lost six hours; and on our quitting the place, three of the dogs which i have already mentioned followed us along the beach. we pitched our tents at half past eight, at the entrance of the river of the mountain; and while the people were unloading the canoe, i took a walk along the beach, and on the shoals, which being uncovered since we passed down, by the sinking of the waters, were now white with a saline substance. i sent for the english chief to sup with me, and a dram or two dispelled all his heart-burning and discontent. he informed me that it was a custom with the chepewyan chiefs to go to war after they had shed tears, in order to wipe away the disgrace attached to such a feminine weakness, and that in the ensuing spring he should not fail to execute his design; at the same time he declared his intention to continue with us as long as i should want him. i took care that he should carry some liquid consolation to his lodge, to prevent the return of his chagrin. the weather was fine, and the indians killed three geese. _friday, 14._--at a quarter before four this morning, we returned to our canoe, and went about two miles up the river of the mountains. fire was in the ground on each side of it. in traversing, i took soundings, and found five, four and an half, and three and an half fathoms water. its stream was very muddy, and formed a cloudy streak along the water of the great river, on the west side to the eastern rapid, where the waters of the two rivers at length blend in one. it was impossible not to consider it as an extraordinary circumstance, that the current of the former river should not incorporate with that of the latter, but flow, as it were, in distinct streams at so great a distance, and till the contracted state of the channel unites them. we passed several encampments of the natives, and a river which flowed in from the north, that had the appearance of being navigable. we concluded our voyage of this day at half past five in the afternoon. there were plenty of berries, which my people called _poires:_ they are of a purple hue, somewhat bigger than a pea, and of a luscious taste; there were also gooseberries, and a few strawberries. _saturday, 15._--we continued our course from three in the morning till half past five in the afternoon. we saw several encampments along the beach, till it became too narrow to admit them; when the banks rose into a considerable degree of elevation, and there were more eddy currents. the indians killed twelve geese, and berries were collected in great abundance. the weather was sultry throughout the day. _sunday, 16._--we continued our voyage at a quarter before four, and in five hours passed the place where we had been stationed on the 13th of june. here the river widened, and its shores became flat. the land on the north side is low, composed of a black soil, mixed with stones, but agreeably covered with the aspen, the poplar, the white birch, the spruce-fir, &c. the current was so moderate, that we proceeded upon it almost as fast as in dead water. at twelve we passed an encampment of three fires, which was the only one we saw in the course of the day. the weather was the same as yesterday. _monday, 17._--we proceeded at half past three; and saw three successive encampments. from the peculiar structure of the huts, we imagined that some of the red-knife indians had been in this part of the country, though it is not usual for them to come this way. i had last night ordered the young indians to precede us, for the purpose of hunting, and at ten we overtook them. they had killed five young swans; and the english chief presented us with an eagle, three cranes, a small beaver, and two geese. we encamped at seven this evening on the same spot which had been our resting-place on the 29th of june. _tuesday, 18._--at four this morning i equipped all the indians for an hunting excursion, and sent them onward, as our stock of provision was nearly exhausted. we followed at half past six, and crossed over to the north shore, where the land is low and scarcely visible in the horizon. it was near twelve when we arrived. i now got an observation, when it was 61. 33. north latitude. we were near five miles to the north of the main channel of the river. the fresh tracks and beds of buffaloes were very perceptible. near this place a river flowed in from the horn mountains, which are at no great distance. we landed at five in the afternoon, and before the canoe was unloaded, the english chief arrived with the tongue of a cow, or female buffalo, when four men and the indians were despatched for the flesh; but they did not return till it was dark. they informed me, that they had seen several human tracks in the sand on the opposite island. the fine weather continued without interruption. _wednesday, 19._--the indians were again sent forward in pursuit of game; and some time being employed in gumming the canoe, we did not embark till half past five, and at nine we landed to wait the return of the hunters. i here found the variation of the compass to be about twenty degrees east. the people made themselves paddles and repaired the canoe. it is an extraordinary circumstance for which i do not pretend to account, that there is some peculiar quality in the water of this river, which corrodes wood, from the destructive effect it had on the paddles. the hunters arrived at a late hour, without having seen any large animals. their booty consisted only of three swans and as many geese. the women were employed in gathering cranberries and crowberries, which were found in great abundance. _thursday, 20._--we embarked at four o'clock, and took the north side of the channel, though the current was on that side much stronger, in order to take a view of the river, which had been mentioned to me in our passage downwards, as flowing from the country of the beaver indians, and which fell in hereabouts. we could not, however, discover it, and it is probable that the account was referable to the river which we had passed on tuesday. the current was very strong, and we crossed over to an island opposite to us; here it was still more impetuous, and assumed the hurry of a rapid. we found an awl and a paddle on the side of the water; the former we knew to belong to the knisteneaux: i supposed it to be the chief merde-d'ours and his party, who went to war last spring, and had taken this route on their return to athabasca. nor is it improbable that they may have been the cause that we saw so few of the natives on the banks of this river. the weather was raw and cloudy, and formed a very unpleasant contrast to the warm, sunny days, which immediately preceded it. we took up our abode for the night at half past seven, on the northern shore, where the adjacent country is both low and flat. the indians killed live young swans, and a beaver. there was an appearance of rain. _friday, 21._--the weather was cold, with a strong easterly wind and frequent showers, so that we were detained in our station. in the afternoon the indians got on the track of a moose-deer, but were not so fortunate as to overtake it. _saturday, 22._--the wind veered round to the westward, and continued to blow strong and cold. we, however, renewed our voyage, and in three hours reached the entrance of the slave lake, under half sail; with the paddle, it would have taken us at least eight hours. the indians did not arrive till four hours after us; but the wind was so violent, that it was not expedient to venture into the lake; we therefore set a net, and encamped for the night. the women gathered large quantities of the fruit already mentioned, called pathagomenan, and cranberries, crowberries, mooseberries, &c. the indians killed two swans and three geese. _sunday, 23._--the net produced but five small pike, and at five we embarked, and entered the lake by the same channel through which we had passed from it. the south-west side would have been the shortest, but we were not certain of there being plenty of fish along the coast, and we were sure of finding abundance of them in the course we preferred. besides, i expected to find my people at the place where i left them, as they had received orders to remain there till the fall. we paddled a long way into a deep bay to get the wind, and having left our mast behind us, we landed to cut another. we then hoisted sail, and were driven on at a great rate. at twelve the wind and swell were augmented to such a degree, that our under yard broke, but luckily the mast thwart resisted, till we had time to fasten down the yard with a pole, without lowering sail. we took in a large quantity of water, and had our mast given way, in all probability, we should have filled and sunk. our course continued to be very dangerous, along a flat lee-shore, without being able to land till three in the afternoon. two men were continually employed in bailing out the water which we took in on all sides. we fortunately doubled a point that screened us from the wind and swell, and encamped for the night, in order to wait for our indians. we then set our nets, made a yard and mast, and gummed the canoe. on visiting the nets, we found six white fish, and two pike. the women gathered cranberries and crowberries in great plenty; and as the night came on, the weather became more moderate. _monday, 24._--our nets this morning produced fourteen white fish, ten pikes, and a couple of trouts. at five we embarked with a light breeze from the south, when we hoisted sail, and proceeded slowly, as our indians had not come up with us. at eleven we went on shore to prepare the kettle, and dry the nets; at one we were again on the water. at four in the afternoon, we perceived a large canoe with a sail, and two small ones ahead; we soon came up with them, when they proved to be m. le roux and an indian, with his family, who were on a hunting party, and had been out twenty-five days. it was his intention to have gone as far as the river, to leave a letter for me, to inform me of his situation. he had seen no more indians where i had left him; but had made a voyage to lac la marte, where he met eighteen small canoes of the slave indians, from whom he obtained five pack of skins, which were principally those of the marten. there were four beaver indians among them, who had bartered the greatest part of the above mentioned articles with them, before his arrival. they informed him that their relations had more skins, but that they were afraid to venture with them, though they had been informed that people were to come with goods to barter for them. he gave these people a pair of ice chisels each, and other articles, and sent them away to conduct their friends to the slave lake, where he was to remain during the succeeding winter. we set three nets and in a short time caught twenty fish of different kinds. in the dusk of the evening, the english chief arrived with a most pitiful account that he had like to have been drowned in trying to follow us; and that the other men had also a very narrow escape. their canoe, he said, had broken on the swell, at some distance from the shore, but as it was flat, they had with his assistance been able to save themselves. he added, that he left them lamenting, lest they should not overtake me, if i did not wait for them; he also expressed his apprehensions that they would not be able to repair their canoe. this evening i gave my men some rum to cheer them after their fatigues. _tuesday, 25._--we rose this morning at a late hour, when we visited the nets, which produced but few fish: my people, indeed, partook of the stores of m. le roux. at eleven, the young indians arrived, and reproached me for having left them so far behind. they had killed two swans, and brought me one of them. the wind was southerly throughout the day, and too strong for us to depart, as we were at the foot of a grand traverse. at noon i had an observation, which gave 61. 29. north latitude. such was the state of the weather, that we could not visit our nets. in the afternoon, the sky darkened, and there was lightning, accompanied with loud claps of thunder. the wind also veered round to the westward, and blew a hurricane. _wednesday, 26._--it rained throughout the night, and till eight in the morning, without any alteration in the wind. the indians went on a hunting excursion, but returned altogether without success in the evening. one of them was so unfortunate as to miss a moose-deer. in the afternoon there were heavy showers, with thunder, &c. _thursday, 27._--we embarked before four, and hoisted sail. at nine we landed to dress victuals, and wait for m. le roux and the indians. at eleven, we proceeded with fine and calm weather. at four in the afternoon, a light breeze sprang up to the southward, to which we spread our sail, and at half past five in the afternoon, went on shore for the night. we then set our nets. the english chief and his people being quite exhausted with fatigue, he this morning expressed his desire to remain behind, in order to proceed to the country of the beaver indians, engaging at the same time, that he would return to athabasca in the course of the winter. _friday, 28._--it blew very hard throughout the night, and this morning, so that we found it a business of some difficulty to get to our nets; our trouble, however, was repaid by a considerable quantity of white fish, trout, &c. towards the afternoon the wind increased. two of the men who had been gathering berries saw two moose-deer, with the tracks of buffaloes and rein-deer. about sunset we heard two shots, and saw a fire on the opposite side of the bay; we accordingly made a large fire also, that our position might be determined. when we were all gone to bed, we heard the report of a gun very near us, and in a very short time the english chief presented himself drenched with wet, and in much apparent confusion informed me that the canoe with his companions was broken to pieces; and that they had lost their fowling pieces, and the flesh of a rein-deer, which they had killed this morning. they were, he said, at a very short distance from us; and at the same time requested that fire might be sent to them, as they were starving with cold. they and his women, however, soon joined us, and were immediately accommodated with dry clothes. _saturday, 29._--i sent the indians on an hunting party, but they returned without success; and they expressed their determination not to follow me any further, from their apprehension of being drowned. _sunday, 30._--we embarked at one this morning, and took from the nets a large trout, and twenty white fish. at sunrise a smart aft breeze sprang up, which wafted us to m. le roux's house by two in the afternoon. it was late before he and our indians arrived; when, according to a promise which i had made the latter, i gave them a plentiful equipment of iron ware, ammunition, tobacco, &c., as a recompense for the toil and inconvenience they had sustained with me. i proposed to the english chief to proceed to the country of the beaver indians, and bring them to dispose of their peltries to m. le roux, whom i intended to leave there the ensuing winter. he had already engaged to be at athabasca, in the month of march next, with plenty of furs. _monday, 31._--i sat up all night to make the necessary arrangements for the embarkation of this morning, and to prepare instructions for m. le roux. we obtained some provisions here, and parted from him at five, with fine calm weather. it soon, however, became necessary to land on a small island, to stop the leakage of the canoe, which had been occasioned by the shot of an arrow under the water mark, by some indian children. while this business was proceeding, we took the opportunity of dressing some fish. at twelve, the wind sprang up from the south-east, which was in the teeth of our direction, so that our progress was greatly impeded. i had an observation, which gave 62. 15. north latitude. we landed at seven in the evening, and pitched our tents. _tuesday, 1._--we continued our voyage at five in the morning, the weather calm and fine, and passed the isle a la cache about twelve, but could not perceive the land, which was seen in our former passage. on passing the carreboeuf islands, at five in the afternoon, we saw land to the south by west, which we thought was the opposite side of the lake, stretching away to a great distance. we landed at half past six in the evening, when there was thunder, and an appearance of change in the weather. _wednesday, 2._--it rained and blew hard the latter part of the night. at half past five the rain subsided, when we made a traverse of twelve miles, and took in a good deal of water. at twelve it became calm, when i had an observation, which gave 61. 36. north latitude. at three in the afternoon, there was a slight breeze from the westward which soon increased, when we hoisted sail, and took a traverse of twenty-four miles, for the point of the old fort, where we arrived at seven, and stopped for the night. this traverse shortened our way three leagues; indeed we did not expect to have cleared the lake in such a short time. _thursday, 3._--it blew with great violence throughout the night, and at four in the morning we embarked, when we did not make more than five miles three hours, without stopping; notwithstanding we were sheltered from the swell by a long bank. we now entered the small river, where the wind could have no effect upon us. there were frequent showers in the course of the day, and we encamped at six in the evening. _friday, 4._--the morning was dark and cloudy, nevertheless we embarked at five; but at ten it cleared up. we saw a few fowl, and at seven in the evening, went on shore for the night. _saturday, 5._--the weather continued to be cloudy. at five we proceeded, and at eight it began to rain very hard. in about half an hour we put to shore, and were detained for the remaining part of the day. _sunday, 6._--it rained throughout the night, with a strong north wind. numerous flocks of wild fowl passed to the southward; at six in the afternoon, the rain, in some measure, subsided, and we embarked, but it soon returned with renewed violence; we, nevertheless took the advantage of an aft wind, though it cost us a complete drenching. the hunters killed seven, geese, and we pitched our tents at half past six in the evening. _monday, 7._--we were on the water at five this morning, with a head wind, accompanied by successive showers. at three in the afternoon, we ran the canoe on a stump, and it filled with water before she could be got to land. two hours were employed in repairing her, and at seven in the evening, we took our station for the night. _tuesday, 8._--we renewed our voyage at half past four in a thick mist which lasted till nine, when it cleared away, and fine weather succeeded. at three in the afternoon we came to the first carrying-place, _portage des noyes_, and encamped at the upper end of it to dry our clothes, some of which were almost rotten. _wednesday, 9._--we embarked at five in the morning, and our canoe was damaged on the men's shoulders, who were bearing it over the carrying-place, called _portage du chetique_. the guide repaired her, however, while the other men were employed in carrying the baggage. the canoe was `gummed at the carrying-place named the _portage de la montagne_. after having passed the carrying-places, we encamped at the dog river, at half past four in the afternoon, in a state of great fatigue. the canoe was again gummed, and paddles were made to replace those that had been broken in ascending the rapids. a swan was the only animal we killed throughout the day. _thursday, 10._--there was rain and violent wind during the night: in the morning the former subsided and the latter increased. at half past five we continued our course with a north-westerly wind. at seven we hoisted sail: in the forenoon there were frequent showers of rain and hail, and in the afternoon two showers of snow: the wind was at this time very strong, and at six in the evening we landed at a lodge of knisteneaux, consisting of three men and five women and children. they were on their return from war, and one of them was very sick: they separated from the rest of their party in the enemy's country, from absolute hunger. after this separation, they met with a family of the hostile tribe, whom they destroyed. they were entirely ignorant of the fate of their friends, but imagined that they had returned to the peace river, or had perished for want of food. i gave medicine to the sick,[1] and a small portion of ammunition to the healthy; which, indeed, they very much wanted, as they had entirely lived for the last six months on the produce of their bows and arrows. they appeared to have been great sufferers by their expedition. _friday, 11._--it froze hard during the night, and was very cold throughout the day, with an appearance of snow. we embarked at half past four in the morning, and continued our course till six in the evening, when we landed for the night at our encampment of the third of june. _saturday, 12._--the weather was cloudy, and also very cold. at eight, we embarked with a north-east wind, and entered the lake of the hills. about ten, the wind veered to the west-ward, and was as strong as we could bear it with the high sail, so that we arrived at chepewyan fort by three o'clock in the afternoon, where we found mr. macleod, with five men busily employed in building a new house. here, then, we concluded this voyage, which had occupied the considerable space of one hundred and two days. [1] this man had conceived an idea, that the people with whom he had been at war, had thrown medicine at him, which had caused his present complaint, and that he despaired of recovery. the natives are so superstitious, that this idea alone was sufficient to kill him. of this weakness i took advantage; and assured him, that if he would never more go to war with such poor defenceless people, i would cure him. to this proposition he readily consented, and on my giving him medicine, which consisted of turlington's balsam, mixed in water, i declared that it would lose its effect, if he was not sincere in the promise that he made me. in short, he actually recovered, was true to his engagements, and on all occasions manifested his gratitude to me. chapter viii. october 10, 1792. having made every necessary preparation, i left fort chepewyan, to proceed up the peace river, i had resolved to go as far as our most distant settlement, which would occupy the remaining part of the season, it being the route by which i proposed to attempt my next discovery, across the mountains from the source of that river; for whatever distance i could reach this fall, would be a proportionate advancement of my voyage. in consequence of this design, i left the establishment of fort chepewyan, in charge of mr. roderic mackenzie, accompanied by two canoes laden with the necessary articles for trade: we accordingly steered west for one of the branches that communicates with the peace river, called the pine river; at the entrance of which we waited for the other canoes, in order to take some supplies from them, as i had reason to apprehend they would not be able to keep up with us. we entered the peace river at seven in the morning of the 12th, taking a westerly course. it is evident, that all the land between it and the lake of the hills, as far as the elk river, is formed by the quantity of earth and mud, which is carried down by the streams of those two great rivers. in this space there are several lakes. the lake clear water, which is the deepest, lake vassieu, and the athabasca lake, which is the largest of the three, and whose denomination in the knisteneaux language implies, a flat, low, swampy country, subject to inundations. the two last lakes are now so shallow, that from the cause just mentioned, there is every reason to expect, that in a few years they will have exchanged their character, and become extensive forests. this country is so level, that, at some seasons, it is entirely overflowed, which accounts for the periodical influx and reflux of the waters between the lake of the hills and the peace river. on the 13th at noon we came to the peace point; from which, according to the report of my interpreter, the river derives its name; it was the spot where the knisteneaux and beaver indians settled their dispute; the real name of the river and point being that of the land which was the object of contention. when this country was formerly invaded by the knisteneaux, they found the beaver indians inhabiting the land about portage la loche; and the adjoining tribe were those whom they called slaves. they drove both these tribes before them; when the latter proceeded down the river from the lake of the hills, in consequence of which that part of it obtained the name of the slave river. the former proceeded up the river; and when the knisteneaux made peace with them, this place was settled to be the boundary. we continued our voyage, and i did not find the current so strong in this river as i had been induced to believe, though this, perhaps, was not the period to form a correct notion of that circumstance, as well as of the breadth, the water being very low; so that the stream has not appeared to me to be in any part that i have seen, more than a quarter of a mile wide. the weather was cold and raw, so as to render our progress unpleasant; at the same time we did not relax in our expedition, and, at three on the afternoon of the 17th we arrived at the falls. the river at this place is about four hundred yards broad, and the fall about twenty feet high: the first carrying place is eight hundred paces in length, and the last, which is about a mile onwards, is something more than two-thirds of that distance. here we found several fires, from which circumstance we concluded, that the canoes destined for this quarter, which left the fort some days before us, could not be far a-head. the weather continued to be very cold, and the snow that fell during the night was several inches deep. on the morning of the 18th, as soon as we got out of the draught of the fall, the wind being at north-east, and strong in our favour, we hoisted sail, which carried us on at a considerable rate against the current, and passed the loon river before twelve o'clock; from thence we soon came along the grande isle, at the upper end of which we encamped for the night. it now froze very hard: indeed, it had so much the appearance of winter, that i began to entertain some alarm lest we might be stopped by the ice: we therefore set off at three o'clock in the morning of the 19th, and about eight we landed at the old establishment. the passage to this place from athabasca having been surveyed by m. vandrieul, formerly in the company's service, i did not think it necessary to give any particular attention to it; i shall, however, just observe, that the course in general from the lake of the hills to the falls, is westerly, and as much to the north as the south of it, from thence it is about west-south-west to this fort. the country in general is low from our entrance of the river to the falls, and with the exception of a few open parts covered with grass, it is clothed with wood. where the banks are very low the soil is good, being composed of the sediment of the river and putrefied leaves and vegetables. where they are more elevated, they display a face of yellowish clay, mixed with small stones. on a line with the falls, and on either side of the river, there are said to be very extensive plains, which afford pasture to numerous herds of buffaloes our people a-head slept here last night, and, from their carelessness, the fire was communicated to and burned down, the large house, and was proceeding fast to the smaller buildings when we arrived to extinguish it. we continued our voyage, the course of the river being south-west by west one mile and a quarter, south by east one mile, south-west by south three miles, west by south one mile, south-south-west two miles, south four miles, south-west seven miles and a half, south by west one mile, north-north-west two miles and a half, south five miles and a quarter, south-west one mile and a half, north-east by east three miles and a half, and south-east by east one mile. we overtook mr. finlay, with his canoes, who was encamped near the fort of which he was going to take the charge, during the ensuing winter, and made every necessary preparative for a becoming appearance on our arrival the following morning. although i had been since the year 1787, in the athabasca country, i had never yet seen a single native of that part of it which we had now reached. at six o'clock in the morning of the 20th, we landed before the house amidst the rejoicing and firing of the people, who were animated with the prospect of again indulging themselves in the luxury of rum, of which they had been deprived since the beginning of may; as it is a practice throughout the north-west neither to sell or give any rum to the natives during the summer. there was at this time only one chief with his people, the other two being hourly expected with their bands; and on the 21st and 22d they all arrived except the war chief and fifteen men. as they very soon expressed their desire of the expected regale, i called them together, to the number of forty-two hunters, or men capable of bearing arms, to offer some advice, which would be equally advantageous to them and to us, and i strengthened my admonition with a nine gallon cask of reduced rum, and a quantity of tobacco. at the same time i observed, that as i should not often visit them, i had instanced a greater degree of liberality than they had been accustomed to. the number of people belonging to this establishment amounts to about three hundred, of which, sixty are hunters. although they appear from their language to be of the same stock as the chepewyans, they differ from them in appearance, manners, and customs, as they have adopted those of their former enemies, the knisteneaux; they speak their language, as well as cut their hair, paint, and dress like them, and possess their immoderate fondness for liquor and tobacco. this description, however, can be applied only to the men, as the women are less adorned even than those of the chepewyan tribes. we could not observe, without some degree of surprize, the contrast between the neat and decent appearance of the men, and the nastiness of the women. i am disposed, however, to think, that this circumstance is generally owing to the extreme submission and abasement of the latter: for i observed, that one of the chiefs allowed two of his wives more liberty and familiarity than were accorded to the others, as well as a more becoming exterior, and their appearance was proportionably pleasing; i shall, however, take a future opportunity to speak more at large on this subject. there were frequent changes of the weather in the course of the day, and it froze rather hard in the night. the thickness of the ice in the morning was a sufficient notice for me to proceed. i accordingly gave the natives such good counsel as might influence their behaviour, communicated my directions to mr. findlay for his future conduct, and took my leave under several vollies of musketry, on the morning of the 23d. i had already dispatched my loaded canoes two days before, with directions to continue their progress without waiting for me. our course was south-south-east one mile and an half, south three quarters; east seven miles and a half, veering gradually to the west four miles and an half, south-east by south three miles, south-east three miles and an half, east-south-east to long point three miles, south-west one mile and a quarter, east by north four miles and three quarters, west three miles and an half, west-south-west one mile, east by south five miles and a half, south three miles and three quarters, south-east by south three miles, east-south-east three miles, east-north-east one mile, when there was a river that flowed in on the right, east two miles and an half, east-south-east half a mile, south-east by south seven miles and an half, south two miles, south-south-east three miles and an half; in the course of which we passed an island south by west, where a rivulet flowed in on the right, one mile, east one mile and an half, south five miles, south-east by south four miles and an half, south-west one mile, south-east by east four miles and an half, west-south-west half a mile, south-west six miles and three quarters, south-east by south one mile and an half, south one mile and an half; south-east by south two miles, south-west three quarters of a mile, south-east by south two miles and an half, east by south one mile and three quarters, south two miles, south-east one mile and an half, south-south-east half a mile, east by south two miles and an half, north-east three miles, south-west by west short distance to the establishment of last year, east-north-east four miles, south-south-east one mile and three quarters, south half a mile, south-east by south three quarters of a mile, north-east by east one mile, south three miles, south-south-east one mile and three quarters, south by east four miles and an half, south-west three miles, south by east two miles, south by west one mile and an half, south-west two miles, south by west four miles and an half, south-west one mile and an half, and south by east three miles. here we arrived at the forks of the river; the eastern branch appearing to be not more than half the size of the western one. we pursued the latter, in a course south-west by west six miles, and landed on the first of november at the place which was designed to be my winter residence: indeed, the weather had been so cold and disagreeable, that i was more than once apprehensive of our being stopped by the ice, and, after all, it required the utmost exertions of which my men were capable to prevent it; so that on their arrival they were quite exhausted. nor were their labours at an end, for there was not a single hut to receive us: it was, however, now in my power to feed and sustain them in a more comfortable manner. we found two men here who had been sent forward last spring, for the purpose of squaring timber for the erection of a house, and cutting pallisades, &c., to surround it. with them was the principal chief of the place, and about seventy men, who had been anxiously waiting for our arrival, and received us with every mark of satisfaction and regard which they could express. if we might judge from the quantity of powder that was wasted on our arrival, they certainly had not been in want of ammunition, at least during the summer. the banks of the river, from the falls, are in general lofty, except at low woody points, accidentally formed in the manner i have already mentioned: they also displayed, in all their broken parts, a face of clay, intermixed with stone; in some places there likewise appeared a black mould. in the summer of 1788, a small spot was cleared at the old establishment, which is situated on a bank thirty feet above the level of the river, and was sown with turnips, carrots, and parsnips. the first grew to a large size, and the others thrived very well. an experiment was also made with potatoes and cabbage, the former of which were successful; but for want of care the latter failed. the next winter the person who had undertaken this cultivation, suffered the potatoes which had been collected for seed, to catch the frost, and none had been since brought to this place. there is not the least doubt but the soil would be very productive, if a proper attention was given to its preparation. in the fall of the year 1787, when i first arrived at athabasca, mr. pond was settled on the banks of the elk river, where he remained for three years, and had formed as fine a kitchen garden as i ever saw in canada. in addition to the wood which flourished below the fall, these banks produce the cypress tree, arrow-wood, and the thorn. on either side of the river, though invisible from it, are extensive plains, which abound in buffaloes, elks, wolves, foxes, and bears. at a considerable distance to the westward, is an immense ridge of high land or mountains, which take an oblique direction from below the falls, and are inhabited by great numbers of deer, which are seldom disturbed, but when the indians go to hunt the beaver in those parts; and, being tired with the flesh of the latter, vary their food with that of the former. this ridge bears the name of the deer mountain. opposite to our present situation, are beautiful meadows, with various animals grazing on them, and groves of poplars irregularly scattered over them. my tent was no sooner pitched, than i summoned the indians together, and gave each of them about four inches of brazil tobacco, a dram of spirits, and lighted the pipe. as they had been very troublesome to my predecessor, i informed them that i had heard of their misconduct, and was come among them to inquire into the truth of it. i added also that it would be an established rule with me to treat them with kindness, if their behaviour should be such as to deserve it; but, at the same time, that i should be equally severe if they failed in those returns which i had a right to expect from them. i then presented them with a quantity of rum, which i recommended to be used with discretion; and added some tobacco, as a token of peace. they, in return, made me the fairest promises; and having expressed the pride they felt on beholding me in their country, took their leave. i now proceeded to examine my situation; and it was with great satisfaction i observed that the two men who had been sent hither some time before us, to cut and square timber for our future operations, had employed the intervening period with activity and skill. they had formed a sufficient quantity of pallisades of eighteen feet long, and seven inches in diameter, to inclose a square spot of an hundred and twenty feet; they had also dug a ditch of three feet deep to receive them; and had prepared timber, planks, &c., for the erection of a house. i was, however, so much occupied in settling matters with the indians, and equipping them for their winter hunting, that i could not give my attention to any other object, till the 7th, when i set all hands at work to construct the fort, build the house, and form store houses. on the preceding day the river began to run with ice, which we call the last of the navigation. on the 11th we had a south-west wind, with snow. on the 16th, the ice stopped in the other fork, which was not above a league from us, across the intervening neck of land. the water in this branch continued to flow till the 22d, when it was arrested also by the frost, so that we had a passage across the river, which would last to the latter end of the succeeding april. this was a fortunate circumstance, as we depended for our support upon what the hunters could provide for us, and they had been prevented by the running of the ice from crossing the river. they now, however, very shortly procured us as much fresh meat as we required, though it was for some time a toilsome business to my people, for as there was not yet a sufficient quantity of snow to run sledges, they were under the necessity of loading themselves with the spoils of the chase. on the 27th the frost was so severe that the axes of the workmen became almost as brittle as glass. the weather was very various until the 2d of december, when my farenheit's thermometer was injured by an accident, which rendered it altogether useless. the table on page 353, therefore, from the 16th of november, to this unfortunate circumstance, is the only correct account of the weather which i can offer. [transcriber's note: the table referenced in the preceding paragraph follows immediately below.] month|date|hours|below|above|wind|weather||hour|below|above|wind|weather||hour|below|above|wind|weather|| and | |a.m. | 0 | 0 | | || | 0 | 0 | | ||p.m.| 0 | | | || year | | | | | | || | | | | || | | | | || --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1792 | | | | | | || | | | | || | | | | || nov. |16 | 8â½ | ... | 10 |....| || 12 | 0 | 14 |....| || 6 | .. | 15 |....|cloudy.|| |17 | 8â½ | ... | 17 |....|clear. || 12 | .. | 20 |... |clear. || 6 | .. | 23 |....|ditto. || |18 | 9 | ... | 19 |ese | || 12 | .. | 21 |ese | || 6 | .. | 14 |ese |clear. || |19 | 8 | ... | 5 |nw | || 12 | .. | 12 |nw | || 6 | .. | 9 |nw |ditto. ||strong wind |20 | 8â½ | ... | 4 |... |ditto. || 12 | .. | 14 |....|ditto. || 6 | .. | 19 |....|cloudy.||at 10 last night 1 below 0 |21 | 8 | ... | 19 |... | || 12 | .. | 25 |....| || 6 | .. | 23 |....|...... ||river stopped. |22 | 9 | ... | 27 |... |cloudy.|| 12 | .. | 29 |....|cloudy.|| 6 | .. | 28 |....|cloudy ||ice drove and water rises. |23 | 8â½ | ... | 2 |n |clear. || 12 | .. | 23 |....|clear. || 6 | .. | 15 |n |...... ||ice drove again. |24 | 8 | 3 | .. |... |ditto. || 12 | 0 | 0 |ne | || 6 | 1 | .. |ne |cloudy.|| |25 | 8 | 14 | .. |... |ditto. || 12 | 4 | .. |....| || 6 | 2 | .. |....|clear. ||snowed last night 2 inches. |26 | 9 | 10 | .. |n |ditto. || 12 | .. | 2 |n | || 6 | 0 | 0 |n |ditto. || |27 | 8 | 2 | .. |... |ditto. || 12 | 3 | 2 |....| || 6 | .. | 1 |sw |ditto. || |28 | 8 | 16 | .. |... |ditto. || 12 | .. | .. |....| || 6 | 7 | .. |s |ditto. ||after dark, overcast. |29 | 7â½ | ... | 4 |... |cloudy.|| 12 | .. | 13 |....| || 6 | .. | 7 |....|ditto. ||ditto, a little wind s. w. |30 | 9 | ... | 4 |s | || 12 | .. | 13 |s |cloudy.|| 6 | .. | 16 |s |cloudy.|| dec.| 1 | 9 | ... | 0 |... | || 12 | | 19 |se | || 5 | .. | 24 |se |ditto. ||fell 3 inches snow last night. | 2 | 9 | ... | 27 |e | || | | | | || 5 | | | | || in this situation, removed from all those ready aids which add so much to the comfort, and, indeed is a principal characteristic of civilized life, i was under the necessity of employing my judgment and experience in accessory circumstances by no means connected with the habits of my life, or the enterprise in which i was immediately engaged. i was now among the people who had no knowledge whatever of remediable application to those disorders and accidents to which man is liable in every part of the globe, in the distant wilderness, as in the peopled city. they had not the least acquaintance with that primitive medicine, which consists in an experience of the healing virtues of herbs and plants, and is frequently found among uncivilised and savage nations. this circumstance now obliged me to be their physician and surgeon, as a woman with a swelled breast, which had been lacerated with flint stones for the cure of it, presented herself to my attention, and by cleanliness, poultices, and healing salve, i succeeded in producing a cure. one of my people, also, who was at work in the woods, was attacked with a sudden pain near the first joint of his thumb, which disabled him from holding an axe. on examining his arm, i was astonished to find a narrow red stripe, about half an inch wide, from his thumb to his shoulder; the pain was violent, and accompanied with chilliness and shivering. this was a case that appeared to be beyond my skill, but it was necessary to do something towards relieving the mind of the patient, though i might be unsuccessful in removing his complaint. i accordingly prepared a kind of volatile liniment of rum and soap, with which i ordered his arm to be rubbed, but with little or no effect. he was in a raving state throughout the night, and the red stripe not only increased, but was also accompanied with the appearance of several blotches on his body, and pains in his stomach; the propriety of taking some blood from him now occurred to and i ventured, from absolute necessity, to perform that operation for the first time, and with an effect that justified the treatment. the following night afforded him rest, and in a short time he regained his former health and activity. i was very much surprised on walking in the woods at such an inclement period of the year, to be saluted with the singing of birds, while they seemed by their vivacity to be actuated by the invigorating power of a more genial season. of these birds the male was something less than the robin; part of his body is of a delicate fawn colour, and his neck, breast, and belly, of a deep scarlet; the wings are black, edged with fawn colour, and two white stripes running across them; the tail is variegated, and the head crowned with a tuft. the female is smaller than the male, and of a fawn colour throughout, except on the neck, which is enlivened by an hue of glossy yellow. i have no doubt but they are constant inhabitants of this climate, as well as some other small birds which we saw, of a grey colour. http://www.fadedpage.net [illustration: with eye and ear alert the man paddles silently on. (_see page 105._)] _the story of the west series_ _edited by ripley hitchcock_ the story of the trapper * * * * * the story of the west series. edited by ripley hitchcock. each illustrated, 12mo, cloth. +the story of the railroad.+ by cy warman, author of "the express messenger." $1.50. +the story of the cowboy.+ by e. hough. illustrated by william l. wells and c. m. russell. $1.50. +the story of the mine.+ illustrated by the great comstock lode of nevada. by charles howard shinn. $1.50. +the story of the indian.+ by george bird grinnell, author of "pawnee hero stories," "blackfoot lodge tales," etc. $1.50. +the story of the soldier.+ by brevet brigadier-general george a. forsyth, u. s. a. (retired). illustrated by r. f. zogbaum. $1.50. +the story of the trapper.+ by a. c. laut, author of "heralds of empire." illustrated by hemment. $1.25 net; postage, 12 cents additional. d. appleton and company, new york. * * * * * the story of the trapper by a. c. laut author of heralds of empire and lords of the north _illustrated by arthur heming and others_ [illustration] new york and london d. appleton and company 1916 copyright, 1902 by d. appleton and company printed in the united states of america * * * * * to all who know the gipsy yearning for the wilds * * * * * editor's preface the picturesque figure of the trapper follows close behind the indian in the unfolding of the panorama of the west. there is the explorer, but the trapper himself preceded the explorers--witness lewis's and clark's meetings with trappers on their journey. the trapper's hard-earned knowledge of the vast empire lying beyond the missouri was utilized by later comers, or in a large part died with him, leaving occasional records in the documents of fur companies, or reports of military expeditions, or here and there in the name of a pass, a stream, a mountain, or a fort. his adventurous warfare upon the wild things of the woods and streams was the expression of a primitive instinct old as the history of mankind. the development of the motives which led the first pioneer trappers afield from the days of the first eastern settlements, the industrial organizations which followed, the commanding commercial results which were evolved from the trafficking of radisson and groseillers in the north, the rise of the great hudson's bay company, and the american enterprise which led, among other results, to the foundation of the astor fortunes, would form no inconsiderable part of a history of north america. the present volume aims simply to show the type-character of the western trapper, and to sketch in a series of pictures the checkered life of this adventurer of the wilderness. the trapper of the early west was a composite figure. from the northeast came a splendid succession of french explorers like la vérendrye, with _coureurs des bois_, and a multitude of daring trappers and traders pushing west and south. from the south the spaniard, illustrated in figures like garces and others, held out hands which rarely grasped the waiting commerce. from the north and northeast there was the steady advance of the sturdy scotch and english, typified in the deeds of the henrys, thompson, mackenzie, and the leaders of the organized fur trade, explorers, traders, captains of industry, carrying the flags of the hudson's bay and north-west fur companies across northern america to the pacific. on the far northwestern coast the russian appeared as fur trader in the middle of the eighteenth century, and the close of the century saw the merchants of boston claiming their share of the fur traffic of that coast. the american trapper becomes a conspicuous figure in the early years of the nineteenth century. the emporium of his traffic was st. louis, and the period of its greatest importance and prosperity began soon after the louisiana purchase and continued for forty years. the complete history of the american fur trade of the far west has been written by captain h. m. chittenden in volumes which will be included among the classics of early western history. although his history is a publication designed for limited circulation, no student or specialist in this field can fail to appreciate the value of his faithful and comprehensive work. in the story of the trapper there is presented for the general reader a vivid picture of an adventurous figure, which is painted with a singleness of purpose and a distinctness impossible of realization in the large and detailed histories of the american fur trade and the hudson's bay and north-west companies, or the various special relations and journals and narratives. the author's wilderness lore and her knowledge of the life, added to her acquaintance with its literature, have borne fruit in a personification of the western and northern trappers who live in her pages. it is the man whom we follow not merely in the evolution of the western fur traffic, but also in the course of his strange life in the wilds, his adventures, and the contest of his craft against the cunning of his quarry. it is a most picturesque figure which is sketched in these pages with the etcher's art that selects essentials while boldly disregarding details. this figure as it is outlined here will be new and strange to the majority of readers, and the relish of its piquant flavour will make its own appeal. a strange chapter in history is outlined for those who would gain an insight into the factors which had to do with the building of the west. woodcraft, exemplified in the calling of its most skilful devotees, is painted in pictures which breathe the very atmosphere of that life of stream and forest which has not lost its appeal even in these days of urban centralization. the flash of the paddle, the crack of the rifle, the stealthy tracking of wild beasts, the fearless contest of man against brute and savage, may be followed throughout a narrative which is constant in its fresh and personal interest. the hudson's bay company still flourishes, and there is still an american fur trade; but the golden days are past, and the heroic age of the american trapper in the west belongs to a bygone time. even more than the cowboy, his is a fading figure, dimly realized by his successors. it is time to tell his story, to show what manner of man he was, and to preserve for a different age the adventurous character of a romany of the wilderness, fascinating in the picturesqueness and daring of his primeval life, and also, judged by more practical standards, a figure of serious historical import in his relations to exploration and commerce, and even affairs of politics and state. if, therefore, we take the trapper as a typical figure in the early exploitation of an empire, his larger significance may be held of far more consequence to us than the excesses and lawlessness so frequent in his life. he was often an adventurer pure and simple. the record of his dealings with the red man and with white competitors is darkened by many stains. his return from his lonely journeys afield brought an outbreak of license like that of the cowboy fresh from the range, but with all this the stern life of the old frontier bred a race of men who did their work. that work was the development of the only natural resources of vast regions in this country and to the northward, which were utilized for long periods. there was also the task of exploration, the breaking the way for others, and as pioneer and as builder of commerce the trapper's part in our early history has a significance which cloaks the frailties characteristic of restraintless life in untrodden wilds. contents chapter page i.--gamesters of the wilderness 1 ii.--three companies in conflict 8 iii.--the nor' westers' coup 22 iv.--the ancient hudson's bay company wakens up 28 v.--mr. astor's company encounters new opponents 38 vi.--the french trapper 50 vii.--the buffalo-runners 65 viii.--the mountaineers 81 ix.--the taking of the beaver 102 x.--the making of the moccasins 117 xi.--the indian trapper 128 xii.--ba'tiste, the bear hunter 144 xiii.--john colter--free trapper 160 xiv.--the greatest fur company of the world 181 xv.--koot and the bob-cat 206 xvi.--other little animals besides wahboos the rabbit 222 xvii.--the rare furs--how the trapper takes them 240 xviii.--under the north star--where fox and ermine run 258 xix.--what the trapper stands for 275 appendix 281 list of illustrations facing page with eye and ear alert the man paddles silently on _frontispiece_ indian _voyageurs_ "packing" over long _portage_ 30 traders running a mackinaw or keel-boat down the rapids 57 the buffalo-hunt 78 they dodge the coming sweep of the uplifted arm 143 carrying goods over long _portage_ with the old-fashioned red river ox-carts 198 fort macpherson, the most northerly post of the hudson's bay company 228 types of fur presses 250 the story of the trapper part i chapter i gamesters of the wilderness fearing nothing, stopping at nothing, knowing no law, ruling his stronghold of the wilds like a despot, checkmating rivals with a deviltry that beggars parallel, wassailing with a shamelessness that might have put rome's worst deeds to the blush, fighting--fighting--fighting, always fighting with a courage that knew no truce but victory, the american trapper must ever stand as a type of the worst and the best in the militant heroes of mankind. each with an army at his back, wolfe and napoleon won victories that upset the geography of earth. the fur traders never at any time exceeded a few thousands in number, faced enemies unbacked by armies and sallied out singly or in pairs; yet they won a continent that has bred a new race. like john colter,[1] whom manuel lisa met coming from the wilds a hundred years ago, the trapper strapped a pack to his back, slung a rifle over his shoulder, and, without any fanfare of trumpets, stepped into the pathless shade of the great forests. or else, like williams of the arkansas, the trapper left the moorings of civilization in a canoe, hunted at night, hid himself by day, evaded hostile indians by sliding down-stream with muffled paddles, slept in mid-current screened by the branches of driftwood, and if a sudden halloo of marauders came from the distance, cut the strap that held his craft to the shore and got away under cover of the floating tree. hunters crossing the cimarron desert set out with pack-horses, and, like captain becknell's party, were often compelled to kill horses and dogs to keep from dying of thirst. frequently their fate was that of rocky mountain smith, killed by the indians as he stooped to scoop out a drinking-hole in the sand. men who brought down their pelts to the mountain _rendezvous_ of pierre's hole, or went over the divide like fraser and thompson of the north-west fur company, had to abandon both horses and canoes, scaling cañon walls where the current was too turbulent for a canoe and the precipice too sheer for a horse, with the aid of their hunting-knives stuck in to the haft.[2] where the difficulties were too great for a few men, the fur traders clubbed together under a master-mind like john jacob astor of the pacific company, or sir alexander mackenzie of the nor' westers. banded together, they thought no more of coasting round the sheeted antarctics, or slipping down the ice-jammed current of the mackenzie river under the midnight sun of the arctic circle, than people to-day think of running from new york to newport. when the conflict of 1812 cut off communication between western fur posts and new york by the overland route, farnham, the green mountain boy, didn't think himself a hero at all for sailing to kamtchatka and crossing the whole width of asia, europe, and the atlantic, to reach mr. astor. the american fur trader knew only one rule of existence--to go ahead without any heroics, whether the going cost his own or some other man's life. that is the way the wilderness was won; and the winning is one of the most thrilling pages in history. * * * * * about the middle of the seventeenth century pierre radisson and chouart groseillers, two french adventurers from three rivers, quebec, followed the chain of waterways from the ottawa and lake superior northwestward to the region of hudson bay.[3] returning with tales of fabulous wealth to be had in the fur trade of the north, they were taken in hand by members of the british commission then in boston, whose influence secured the hudson's bay company charter in 1670; and that ancient and honourable body--as the company was called--reaped enormous profits from the bartering of pelts. but the bartering went on in a prosy, half-alive way, the traders sitting snugly in their forts on rupert and severn rivers, or at york factory (port nelson) and churchill (prince of wales). the french governor down in quebec issued only a limited number of licenses for the fur trade in canada; and the old english company had no fear of rivalry in the north. it never sought inland tribes, but waited with serene apathy for the indians to come down to its fur posts on the bay. young le moyne d'iberville[4] might march overland from quebec to the bay, catch the english company nodding, scale the stockades, capture its forts, batter down a wall or two, and sail off like a pirate with ship-loads of booty for quebec. what did the ancient company care? european treaties restored its forts, and the honourable adventurers presented a bill of damages to their government for lost furs. but came a sudden change. great movements westward began simultaneously in all parts of the east. this resulted from two events--england's victory over france at quebec, and the american colonies' declaration of independence. the downfall of french ascendency in america meant an end to that license system which limited the fur trade to favourites of the governor. that threw an army of some two thousand men--_voyageurs, coureurs des bois, mangeurs de lard_,[5] famous hunters, traders, and trappers--on their own resources. the macdonalds and mackenzies and macgillivrays and frobishers and mactavishes--scotch merchants of quebec and montreal--were quick to seize the opportunity. uniting under the names of north-west fur company and x. y. fur company, they re-engaged the entire retinue of cast-off frenchmen, woodcraftsmen who knew every path and stream from labrador to the rocky mountains. giving higher pay and better fare than the old french traders, the scotch merchants prepared to hold the field against all comers in the canadas. and when the x. y. amalgamated with the larger company before the opening of the nineteenth century, the nor' westers became as famous for their daring success as their unscrupulous ubiquity. but at that stage came the other factor--american independence. locked in conflict with england, what deadlier blow to british power could france deal than to turn over louisiana with its million square miles and ninety thousand inhabitants to the american republic? the lewis and clark exploration up the missouri, over the mountains, and down the columbia to the pacific was a natural sequel to the louisiana purchase, and proved that the united states had gained a world of wealth for its fifteen million dollars. before lewis and clark's feat, vague rumours had come to the new england colonies of the riches to be had in the west. the russian government had organized a strong company to trade for furs with the natives of the pacific coast. captain vancouver's report of the north-west coast was corroborated by captain grey, who had stumbled into the mouth of the columbia; and before 1800 nearly thirty boston vessels yearly sailed to the northern pacific for the fur trade. eager to forestall the hudson's bay company, now beginning to rub its eyes and send explorers westward to bring indians down to the bay,[6] alexander mackenzie of the nor' westers pushed down the great river named after him,[7] and forced his way across the northern rockies to the pacific. flotillas of north-west canoes quickly followed mackenzie's lead north to the arctics, south-west down the columbia. at michilimackinac--one of the most lawless and roaring of the fur posts--was an association known as the mackinaw company, made up of old french hunters under english management, trading westward from the lakes to the mississippi. hudson bay, nor' wester, and mackinaw were daily pressing closer and closer to that vast unoccupied eldorado--the fur country between the missouri and the saskatchewan, bounded eastward by the mississippi, west by the pacific. possession is nine points out of ten. the question was who would get possession first. unfortunately that question presented itself to three alert rivals at the same time and in the same light. and the war began. the mackinaw traders had all they could handle from the lakes to the mississippi. therefore they did little but try to keep other traders out of the western preserve. the hudson's bay remained in its somnolent state till the very extremity of outrage brought such a mighty awakening that it put its rivals to an eternal sleep. but the nor' westers were not asleep. and john jacob astor of new york, who had accumulated what was a gigantic fortune in those days as a purchaser of furs from america and a seller to europe, was not asleep. and manual lisa, a spaniard, of new orleans, engaged at st. louis in fur trade with the osage tribes, was not asleep. footnotes: [footnote 1: whom bradbury and irving and chittenden have all conspired to make immortal.] [footnote 2: while lewis and clark were on the upper missouri, the former had reached a safe footing along a narrow pass, when he heard a voice shout, "good god, captain, what shall i do?" turning, lewis saw windsor had slipped to the verge of a precipice, where he lay with right arm and leg over it, the other arm clinging for dear life to the bluff. with his hunting-knife he cut a hole for his right foot, ripped off his moccasins so that his toes could have the prehensile freedom of a monkey's tail, and thus crawled to safety like a fly on a wall.] [footnote 3: whether they actually reached the shores of the bay on this trip is still a dispute among french-canadian savants.] [footnote 4: 1685-'87; the same le moyne d'iberville who died in havana after spending his strength trying to colonize the mississippi for france--one instance which shows how completely the influence of the fur trade connected every part of america, from the gulf to the pole, as in a network irrespective of flag.] [footnote 5: the men employed in mere rafting and barge work in contradistinction to the trappers and _voyageurs_.] [footnote 6: this was probably the real motive of the hudson's bay company sending hearne to explore the coppermine in 1769-'71. hearne, unfortunately, has never reaped the glory for this, owing to his too-ready surrender of prince of wales fort to the french in la perouse's campaign of 1782.] [footnote 7: to the mouth of the mackenzie river in 1789, across the rockies in 1793, for which feats he was knighted.] chapter ii three companies in conflict if only one company had attempted to take possession of the vast fur country west of the mississippi, the fur trade would not have become international history; but three companies were at strife for possession of territory richer than spanish eldorado, albeit the coin was "beaver"--not gold. each of three companies was determined to use all means fair or foul to exclude its rivals from the field; and a fourth company was drawn into the strife because the conflict menaced its own existence. from their canadian headquarters at fort william on lake superior, the nor' westers had yearly moved farther down the columbia towards the mouth, where lewis and clark had wintered on the pacific. in new york, mr. astor was formulating schemes to add to his fur empire the territory west of the mississippi. at st. louis was manuel lisa, the spanish fur trader, already reaching out for the furs of the missouri. and leagues to the north on the remote waters of hudson bay, the old english company lazily blinked its eyes open to the fact that competition was telling heavily on its returns, and that it would be compelled to take a hand in the merry game of a fur traders' war, though the real awakening had not yet come. lisa was the first to act on the information brought back by lewis and clark. forming a partnership with morrison and menard of kaskaskia, ill., and engaging drouillard, one of lewis and clark's men, as interpreter, he left st. louis with a heavily laden keel-boat in the spring of 1807. against the turbulent current of the missouri in the full flood-tide of spring this unwieldy craft was slowly hauled or "cordelled," twenty men along the shore pulling the clumsy barge by means of a line fastened high enough on the mast to be above brushwood. where the water was shallow the _voyageurs_ poled single file, facing the stern and pushing with full chest strength. in deeper current oars were used. launched for the wilderness, with no certain knowledge but that the wilderness was peopled by hostiles, poor bissonette deserted when they were only at the osage river. lisa issued orders for drouillard to bring the deserter back dead or alive--orders that were filled to the letter, for the poor fellow was brought back shot, to die at st. charles. passing the mouth of the platte, the company descried a solitary white man drifting down-stream in a dugout. when it was discovered that this lone trapper was john colter, who had left lewis and clark on their return trip and remained to hunt on the upper missouri, one can imagine the shouts that welcomed him. having now been in the upper country for three years, he was the one man fitted to guide lisa's party, and was promptly persuaded to turn back with the treasure-seekers. past blackbird's grave, where the great chief of the omahas had been buried astride his war-horse high on the crest of a hill that his spirit might see the canoes of the french _voyageurs_ going up and down the river; past the lonely grave of floyd,[8] whose death, like that of many a new world hero marked another milestone in the westward progress of empire; past the aricaras, with their three hundred warriors gorgeous in vermilion, firing volleys across the keel-boat with fusees got from rival traders;[9] past the mandans, threatening death to the intruders; past five thousand assiniboine hostiles massed on the bank with weapons ready; up the yellowstone to the mouth of the bighorn--went lisa, stopping in the very heart of the crow tribe, those thieves and pirates and marauders of the western wilderness. stockades were hastily stuck in the ground, banked up with a miniature parapet, flanked with the two usual bastions that could send a raking fire along all four walls; and lisa was ready for trade. in 1808 the keel-boat returned to st. louis, loaded to the water-line with furs. the missouri company was formally organized,[10] and yearly expeditions were sent not only to the bighorn, but to the three forks of the missouri, among the ferocious blackfeet. of the two hundred and fifty men employed, fifty were trained riflemen for the defence of the trappers; but this did not prevent more than thirty men losing their lives at the hands of the blackfeet within two years. among the victims was drouillard, struck down wheeling his horse round and round as a shield, literally torn to pieces by the exasperated savages and eaten according to the hideous superstition that the flesh of a brave man imparts bravery. all the plundered clothing, ammunition, and peltries were carried to the nor' westers' trading posts north of the boundary.[11] not if the west were to be baptized in blood would the traders retreat. crippled, but not beaten, the missouri men under andrew henry's leadership moved south-west over the mountains into the region that was to become famous as pierre's hole. * * * * * meanwhile neither the nor' westers nor mr. astor remained idle. the same year that lisa organized his missouri fur company mr. astor obtained a charter from the state of new york for the american fur company. to lessen competition in the great scheme gradually framing itself in his mind, he bought out that half of the mackinaw company's trade[12] which was within the united states, the posts in the british dominions falling into the hands of the all-powerful nor' westers. intimate with the leading partners of the nor' westers, mr. astor proposed to avoid rivalry on the pacific coast by giving the canadians a third interest in his plans for the capture of the pacific trade. lords of their own field, the nor' westers rejected mr. astor's proposal with a scorn born of unshaken confidence, and at once prepared to anticipate american possession of the pacific coast. mr. astor countered by engaging the best of the dissatisfied nor' westers for his pacific fur company. duncan macdougall, a little pepper-box of a scotchman, with a bumptious idea of authority which was always making other eyes smart, was to be mr. astor's proxy on the ship to round the horn and at the headquarters of the company on the pacific. donald mackenzie was a relative of sir alexander of the nor' westers, and must have left the northern traders from some momentary pique; for he soon went back to the canadian companies, became chief factor at fort garry,[13] the headquarters of the hudson's bay company, and was for a time governor of red river. alexander mackay had accompanied sir alexander mackenzie on his famous northern trips, and was one nor' wester who served mr. astor with fidelity to the death. the elder stuart was a rollicking winterer from the labrador, with the hail-fellow-well-met-air of an equal among the mercurial french-canadians. the younger stuart was of the game, independent spirit that made nor' westers famous. of the tonquin's voyage round the horn--with its crew of twenty, and choleric captain thorn, and four[14] partners headed by the fussy little macdougall in mutiny against the captain's discipline, and twelve clerks always getting their landlubber clumsiness in the sailors' way, and thirteen _voyageurs_ ever grumbling at the ocean swell that gave them qualms unknown on inland waters--little need be said. washington irving has told this story; and what washington irving leaves untold, captain chittenden has recently unearthed from the files of the missouri archives. the tonquin sailed from new york, september 6, 1810. the captain had been a naval officer, and cursed the partners for their easy familiarity with the men before the mast, and the note-writing clerks for a lot of scribbling blockheads, and the sea-sick _voyageurs_ for a set of fresh-water braggarts. and the captain's amiable feelings were reciprocated by every nor' wester on board. cape horn was doubled on christmas day, hawaii sighted in february, some thirty sandwich islanders engaged for service in the new company, and the columbia entered at the end of march, 1811. eight lives were lost attempting to run small boats against the turbulent swell of tide and current. the place to land, the site to build, details of the new fort, astoria--all were subjects for the jangling that went on between the fuming little scotchman macdougall and captain thorn, till the tonquin weighed anchor on the 1st of june and sailed away to trade on the north coast, accompanied by only one partner, alexander mackay, and one clerk, james lewis. the obstinacy that had dominated captain thorn continued to dictate a wrong-headed course. in spite of mr. astor's injunction to keep indians off the ship and mackay's warning that the nootka tribes were treacherous, the captain allowed natives to swarm over his decks. once, when mackay was on shore, thorn lost his temper, struck an impertinent chief in the face with a bundle of furs, and expelled the indian from the ship. when mackay came back and learned what had happened, he warned the captain of indian vengeance and urged him to leave the harbour. these warnings the captain scorned, welcoming back the indians, and no doubt exulting to see that they had become almost servile. one morning, when thorn, and mackay were yet asleep, a pirogue with twenty indians approached the ship. the indians were unarmed, and held up furs to trade. they were welcomed on deck. another canoe glided near and another band mounted the ship's ladder. soon the vessel was completely surrounded with canoes, the braves coming aboard with furs, the squaws laughing and chatting and rocking their crafts at the ship's side. this day the indians were neither pertinacious nor impertinent in their trade. matters went swimmingly till some of the tonquin's crew noticed with alarm that all the indians were taking knives and other weapons in exchange for their furs and that groups were casually stationing themselves at positions of wonderful advantage on the deck. mackay and thorn were quickly called. this is probably what the indians were awaiting. mackay grasped the fearful danger of the situation and again warned the captain. again thorn slighted the warning. but anchors were hoisted. the indians thronged closer, as if in the confusion of hasty trade. then the dour-headed thorn understood. with a shout he ordered the decks cleared. his shout was answered by a counter-shout--the wild, shrill shriekings of the indian war-cry! all the newly-bought weapons flashed in the morning sun. lewis, the clerk, fell first, bending over a pile of goods, and rolled down the companion-way with a mortal stab in his back. mackay was knocked from his seat on the taffrail by a war-club and pitched overboard to the canoes, where the squaws received him on their knives. thorn had been roused so suddenly that he had no weapon but his pocket-knife. with this he was trying to fight his way to the firearms of the cabin, when he was driven, faint from loss of blood, to the wheel-house. a tomahawk clubbed down, and he, too, was pitched overboard to the knives of the squaws. while the officers were falling on the quarter-deck, sailors and sandwich islanders were fighting to the death elsewhere. the seven men who had been sent up the ratlins to rig sails came shinning down ropes and masts to gain the cabin. two were instantly killed. a third fell down the main hatch fatally wounded; and the other four got into the cabin, where they broke holes and let fly with musket and rifle. this sent the savages scattering overboard to the waiting canoes. the survivors then fired charge after charge from the deck cannon, which drove the indians to land with tremendous loss of life. all day the indians watched the tonquin's sails flapping to the wind; but none of the ship's crew appeared on the deck. the next morning the tonquin still lay rocking to the tide; but no white men emerged from below. eager to plunder the apparently deserted ship, the indians launched their canoes and cautiously paddled near. a white man--one of those who had fallen down the hatch wounded--staggered up to the deck, waved for the natives to come on board, and dropped below. gluttonous of booty, the savages beset the sides of the tonquin like flocks of carrion-birds. barely were they on deck when sea and air were rent with a terrific explosion as of ten thousand cannon! the ship was blown to atoms, bodies torn asunder, and the sea scattered with bloody remnants of what had been living men but a moment before. the mortally wounded man, thought to be lewis, the clerk,[15] had determined to effect the death of his enemies on his own pyre. unable to escape with the other four refugees under cover of night, he had put a match to four tons of powder in the hold. but the refugees might better have perished with the tonquin; for head-winds drove them ashore, where they were captured and tortured to death with all the prolonged cruelty that savages practise. between twenty and thirty lives were lost in this disaster to the pacific fur company; and macdougall was left at astoria with but a handful of men and a weakly-built fort to wait the coming of the overland traders whom mr. astor was sending by way of the missouri and columbia. indian runners brought vague rumours of thirty white men building a fort on the upper columbia. if these had been the overland party, they would have come on to astoria. who they were, macdougall, who had himself been a nor' wester, could easily guess. as a countercheck, stuart of labrador was preparing to go up-stream and build a fur post for the pacific company; but astoria was suddenly electrified by the apparition of nine white men in a canoe flying a british flag. the north-west company arrived just three months too late! david thompson, the partner at the head of the newcomers, had been delayed in the mountains by the desertion of his guides. much to the disgust of labrador stuart, who might change masters often but was loyal to only one master at a time, macdougall and thompson hailed each other as old friends. every respect is due mr. thompson as an explorer, but to the astorians living under the ruthless code of fur-trading rivalry, he should have been nothing more than a north-west spy, to be guardedly received in a pacific company fort. as a matter of fact, he was welcomed with open arms, saw everything, and set out again with a supply of astoria provisions. history is not permitted to jump at conclusions, but unanswered questions will always cling round thompson's visit. did he bear some message from the nor' westers to macdougall? why was stuart, an honourable, fair-minded man, in such high dudgeon that he shook free of thompson's company on their way back up the columbia? why did macdougall lose his tone of courage with such surprising swiftness? how could the next party of nor' westers take him back into the fold and grant him a partnership _ostensibly_ without the knowledge of the north-west annual council, held in fort william on lake superior? early in august wandering tribes brought news of the tonquin's destruction, and astoria bestirred itself to strengthen pickets, erect bastions, mount four-pounders, and drill for war. macdougall's north-west training now came out, and he entered on a policy of conciliation with the indians that culminated in his marrying comcomly's daughter. he also perpetrated the world-famous threat of letting small-pox out of a bottle exhibited to the chiefs unless they maintained good behaviour. traders established inland posts, the schooner dolly was built, and new year's day of 1812 ushered in with a firing of cannon and festive allowance of rum. on january 18th arrived the forerunners of the overland party, ragged, wasted, starving, with a tale of blundering and mismanagement that must have been gall to mackenzie, the old nor' wester accompanying them. the main body under hunt reached astoria in february, and two other detachments later. the management of the overlanders had been intrusted to wilson price hunt of new jersey, who at once proceeded to montreal with donald mackenzie, the nor' wester. here the fine hand of the north-west company was first felt. rum, threats, promises, and sudden orders whisking them away prevented capable _voyageurs_ from enlisting under the pacific company. only worthless fellows could be engaged, which explains in part why these empty braggarts so often failed mr. hunt. pushing up the ottawa in a birch canoe, hunt and mackenzie crossed the lake to michilimackinac. here the hand of the north-west company was again felt. tattlers went from man to man telling yarns of terror to frighten _engagés_ back. did a man enlist? sudden debts were remembered or manufactured, and the bill presented to hunt. was a _voyageur_ on the point of embarking? a swarm of naked brats with a frouzy indian wife set up a howl of woe. hunt finally got off with thirty men, accompanied by mr. ramsay crooks, a distinguished nor' wester, who afterward became famous as the president of the american fur company. going south by way of green bay and the mississippi, hunt reached st. louis, where the machinations of another rival were put to work. having rejected mr. astor's suggestion to take part in the pacific company, mr. manuel lisa of the missouri traders did not propose to see his field invaded. the same difficulties were encountered at st. louis in engaging men as at montreal, and when hunt was finally ready in march, 1811, to set out with his sixty men up the missouri, lisa resurrected a liquor debt against pierre dorion, hunt's interpreter, with the fluid that cheers a french-canadian charged at ten dollars a quart. pierre slipped lisa's coil by going overland through the woods and meeting hunt's party farther up-stream, beyond the law. whatever his motive, lisa at once organized a search party of twenty picked _voyageurs_ to go up the missouri to the rescue of that andrew henry who had fled from the blackfeet over the mountains to snake river. traders too often secured safe passage through hostile territory in those lawless days by giving the savages muskets enough to blow out the brains of the next comers. lisa himself was charged with this by crooks and maclellan.[16] perhaps that was his reason for pushing ahead at all speed to overtake hunt before either party had reached sioux territory. hunt got wind of the pursuit. the faster lisa came, the harder hunt fled. this curious race lasted for a thousand miles and ended in lisa coming up with the astorians on june 2d. for a second time the spaniard tampered with dorion. had not two english travellers intervened, hunt and lisa would have settled their quarrel with pistols for two. thereafter the rival parties proceeded in friendly fashion, lisa helping to gather horses for hunt's party to cross the mountains. that overland journey was one of the most pitiful, fatuous, mismanaged expeditions in the fur trade. why a party of sixty-four well-armed, well-provisioned men failed in doing what any two _voyageurs_ or trappers were doing every day, can only be explained by comparison to a bronco in a blizzard. give the half-wild prairie creature the bit, and it will carry its rider through any storm. jerk it to right, to left, east, and west till it loses its confidence, and the bronco is as helpless as the rider. so with the _voyageur_. crossing the mountains alone in his own way, he could evade famine and danger and attack by lifting a brother trader's cache--hidden provisions--or tarrying in indian lodges till game crossed his path, or marrying the daughter of a hostile chief, or creeping so quietly through the woods neither game nor indian scout could detect his presence. with a noisy cavalcade of sixty-four all this was impossible. broken into detachments, weak, emaciated, stripped naked, on the verge of dementia and cannibalism, now shouting to each other across a roaring cañon, now sinking in despair before a blind wall, the overlanders finally reached astoria after nearly a year's wanderings. mr. astor's second ship, the beaver, arrived with re-enforcements of men and provisions. more posts were established inland. after several futile attempts, despatches were sent overland to st. louis. under direction of mr. hunt, the beaver sailed for alaska to trade with the russians. word came from the north-west forts on the upper columbia of war with england. mr. astor's third ship, the lark, was wrecked. astoria was now altogether in the hands of men who had been nor' westers. and what was the alert north-west company doing?[17] footnotes: [footnote 8: of the lewis and clark expedition.] [footnote 9: either the nor' westers or the mackinaws, for the h. b. c. were not yet so far south.] [footnote 10: in it were the two original partners, clark, the chouteaus of missouri fame, andrew henry, the first trader to cross the northern continental divide, and others of whom chittenden gives full particulars.] [footnote 11: this on the testimony of a north-west partner, alexander henry, a copy of whose diary is in the parliamentary library, ottawa. both coues and chittenden, the american historians, note the corroborative testimony of henry's journal.] [footnote 12: henceforth known as the south-west company, in distinction to the north-west.] [footnote 13: the modern winnipeg.] [footnote 14: mackay, macdougall, and the two stuarts.] [footnote 15: franchère, one of the scribbling clerks whom thorn so detested, says this man was weekes, who almost lost his life entering the columbia. irving, who drew much of his material from franchère, says lewis, and may have had special information from mr. astor; but all accounts--franchère's, and ross cox's, and alexander ross's--are from the same source, the indian interpreter, who, in the confusion of the massacre, sprang overboard into the canoes of the squaws, who spared him on account of his race. franchère became prominent in montreal, cox in british columbia, and ross in red river settlement of winnipeg, where the story of the fur company conflict became folk-lore to the old settlers. there is scarcely a family but has some ancestor who took part in the contest among the fur companies at the opening of the nineteenth century, and the tale is part of the settlement's traditions.] [footnote 16: a partner in trade with crooks, both of whom lost everything going up the missouri in lisa's wake.] [footnote 17: doings in the north-west camp have only become known of late from the daily journals of two north-west partners--macdonald of garth, whose papers were made public by a descendant of the mackenzies, and alexander henry, whose account is in the ottawa library.] chapter iii the nor' westers' coup "_it had been decided in council at fort william that the company should send the isaac todd to the columbia river, where the americans had established astoria, and that a party should proceed from fort william (overland) to meet the ship on the coast_," wrote macdonald of garth, a north-west partner, for the perusal of his children. this was decided at the north-west council of 1812, held annually on the shores of lake superior. it was just a year from the time that thompson had discovered the american fort in the hands of former nor' westers. at this meeting thompson's report must have been read. the overland party was to be led by the two partners, john george mactavish and alexander henry, the sea expedition on the isaac todd by donald mactavish, who had actually been appointed governor of the american fort in anticipation of victory. on the isaac todd also went macdonald of garth.[18] the overland expedition was to thread that labyrinth of water-ways connecting lake superior and the saskatchewan, thence across the plains to athabasca, over the northern rockies, past jasper house, through yellow head pass, and down half the length of the columbia through kootenay plains to astoria. one has only to recall the roaring cañons of the northern rockies, with their sheer cataracts and bottomless precipices, to realize how much more hazardous this route was than that followed by hunt from st. louis to astoria. hunt had to cross only the plains and the width of the rockies. the nor' westers not only did this, but passed down the middle of the rockies for nearly a thousand miles. before doubling the horn the isaac todd was to sail from quebec to england for convoy of a war-ship. the nor' westers naïve assurance of victory was only exceeded by their utter indifference to danger, difficulty, and distance in the attainment of an end. in view of the terror which the isaac todd was alleged to have inspired in macdougall's mind, it is interesting to know what the nor' westers thought of their ship. "_a twenty-gun letter of marque with a mongrel crew_," writes macdonald of garth, "_a miserable sailor with a miserable commander and a rascally crew_." on the way out macdonald transferred to the british convoy raccoon, leaving the frisky old governor mactavish with his gay barmaid jane[19] drinking pottle deep on the isaac todd, where the rightly disgusted captain was not on speaking terms with his excellency. "_we were nearly six weeks before we could double cape horn, and were driven half-way to the cape of good hope; ... at last doubled the cape under topsails, ... the deck one sheet of ice for six weeks, ... our sails one frozen sheet; ... lost sight of the isaac todd in a gale_," wrote macdonald on the raccoon. it will be remembered that hunt's overlanders arrived at astoria months after the pacific company's ship. such swift coasters of the wilderness were the nor' westers, this overland party came sweeping down the columbia, ten canoes strong, hale, hearty, singing as they paddled, a month before the raccoon had come, six months before their own ship, the isaac todd. and what did macdougall do? threw open his gates in welcome, let an army of eighty rivals camp under shelter of his fort guns, demeaned himself into a pusillanimous, little, running fetch-and-carry at the beck of the nor' westers, instead of keeping sternly inside his fort, starving rivals into surrender, or training his cannon upon them if they did not decamp. alexander henry, the partner at the head of these dauntless nor' westers, says their provisions were "nearly all gone." but, oh! the bragging _voyageurs_ told those quaking astorians terrible things of what the isaac todd would do. there were to be british convoys and captures and prize-money and prisoners of war carried off to sainte anne alone knew where. the american-born scorned these exaggerated yarns, knowing their purpose, but not so macdougall. all his pot-valiant courage sank at the thought of the isaac todd, and when the campers ran up a british flag he forbade the display of american colours above astoria. the end of it was that he sold out mr. astor's interests at forty cents on the dollar, probably salving his conscience with the excuse that he had saved that percentage of property from capture by the raccoon. at the end of november a large ship was sighted standing in over the bar with all sails spread but no ensign out. three shots were fired from astoria. there was no answer. what if this were the long-lost mr. hunt coming back from alaskan trade on the beaver? the doughty nor' westers hastily packed their furs, ninety-two bales in all, and sent their _voyageurs_ scampering up-stream to hide and await a signal. but macdougall was equal to the emergency. he launched out for the ship, prepared to be an american if it were the beaver with mr. hunt, a nor' wester if it were the raccoon with a company partner. it was the raccoon, and the british captain addressed the astorians in words that have become historic: "_is this the fort i've heard so much about? d---me, i could batter it down in two hours with a four-pounder!_" two weeks later the union jack was hoisted above astoria, with traders and marines drawn up under arms to fire a volley. a bottle of madeira was broken against the flagstaff, the country pronounced a british possession by the captain, cheers given, and eleven guns fired from the bastions. at this stage all accounts, particularly american accounts, have rung down the curtain on the catastrophe, leaving the nor' westers intoxicated with success. but another act was to complete the disasters of astoria, for the very excess of intoxication brought swift judgment on the revelling nor' westers. the raccoon left on the last day of 1813. macdougall had been appointed partner in the north-west company, and the other canadians re-engaged under their own flag. when hunt at last arrived in the pedler, which he had chartered after the wreck of mr. astor's third vessel, the lark, it was too late to do more than carry away those americans still loyal to mr. astor. farnham was left at kamtchatka, whence he made his way to europe. the others were captured off california and they afterward scattered to all parts of the world. early in april, 1814, a brigade of nor' westers, led by macdonald of garth and the younger mactavish, set out for the long journey across the mountains and prairie to the company's headquarters at port william. in the flotilla of ten canoes went many of the old astorians. two weeks afterward came the belated isaac todd with the nor' westers' white flag at its foretop and the dissolute old governor mactavish holding a high carnival of riot in the cabin. no darker picture exists than that of astoria--or fort george, as the british called it--under governor mactavish's _régime_. the picture is from the hand of a north-west partner himself. _"not in bed till 2 a. m.; ... the gentlemen and the crew all drunk; ... famous fellows for grog they are; ... diced for articles belonging to mr. m.,"_ alexander henry had written when the raccoon was in port; and now under governor mactavish's vicious example every pretence to decency was discarded. "_avec les loups il faut hurler_" was a common saying among nor' westers, and perhaps that very assimilation to the native races which contributed so much to success also contributed to the trader's undoing. white men and indians vied with each other in mutual debasement. chinook and saxon and frenchmen alike lay on the sand sodden with corruption; and if one died from carousals, companions weighted neck and feet with stones and pushed the corpse into the river. quarrels broke out between the wassailing governor and the other partners. emboldened, the underlings and hangers-on indulged in all sorts of theft. "all the gentlemen were intoxicated," writes one who was present; _seven hours rowing one mile_, innocently states the record of another day, _the tide running seven feet high past the fort_. the spring rains had ceased. mountain peaks emerged from the empurpled horizon in domes of opal above the clouds, and the columbia was running its annual mill-race of spring floods, waters milky from the silt of countless glaciers and turbulent from the rush of a thousand cataracts. governor mactavish[20] and alexander henry had embarked with six _voyageurs_ to cross the river. a blustering wind caught the sail. a tidal wave pitched amidships. the craft filled and sank within sight of the fort. so perished the conquerors of astoria! footnotes: [footnote 18: a son of the english officer of the eighty-fourth regiment in the american war of independence.] [footnote 19: jane barnes, an adventuress from portsmouth, the first white woman on the columbia.] [footnote 20: in justice to the many descendants of the numerous clan mactavish in the service of the fur companies, this mactavish should be distinguished from others of blameless lives.] chapter iv the ancient hudson's bay company wakens up those eighty[21] astorians and nor' westers who set inland with their ten canoes and boats under protection of two swivels encountered as many dangers on the long trip across the continent as they had left at fort george. following the wandering course of the columbia, the traders soon passed the international boundary northward into the arrow lakes with their towering sky-line of rampart walls, on to the great bend of the columbia where the river becomes a tumultuous torrent milky with glacial sediment, now raving through a narrow cañon, now teased into a white whirlpool by obstructing rocks, now tumbling through vast shadowy forests, now foaming round the green icy masses of some great glacier, and always mountain-girt by the tent-like peaks of the eternal snows. "_a plain, unvarnished tale, my dear bellefeuille_," wrote the mighty macdonald of garth in his eighty-sixth year for a son; but the old trader's tale needed no varnish of rhetoric. "_nearing the mountains we got scarce of provisions; ... bought horses for beef.... here_ (at the great bend) _we left canoes and began a mountain pass_ (yellow head pass).... _the river meanders much, ... and we cut across, ... holding by one another's hands, ... wading to the hips in water, dashing in, frozen at one point, thawed at the next, ... frozen before we dashed in, ... our men carrying blankets and provisions on their heads; ... four days' hard work before we got to jasper house at the source of the athabasca, sometimes camping on snow twenty feet deep, so that the fires we made in the evening were fifteen or twenty feet below us in the morning."_ they had now crossed the mountains, and taking to canoes again paddled down-stream to the _portage_ between athabasca river and the saskatchewan. tramping sixty miles, they reached fort augustus (edmonton) on the saskatchewan, where canoes were made on the spot, and the _voyageurs_ launched down-stream a trifling distance of two thousand miles by the windings of the river, past lake winnipeg southward to fort william, the nor' westers' headquarters on lake superior. here the capture of astoria was reported, and bales to the value of a million dollars in modern money sent east in fifty canoes with an armed guard of three hundred men.[22] coasting along the north shore of lake superior, the _voyageurs_ came to the sault and found mr. johnston's establishment a scene of smoking ruins. it was necessary to use the greatest caution not to attract the notice of warring parties on the lakes. "_overhauled a canoe going eastward, ... a mackinaw trader and four indians with a dozen fresh american scalps_," writes macdonald, showing to what a pass things had come. two days later a couple of boats were overtaken and compelled to halt by a shot from macdonald's swivels. the strangers proved to be the escaping crew of a british ship which had been captured by two american schooners, and the british officer bore bad news. the american schooners were now on the lookout for the rich prize of furs being taken east in the north-west canoes. slipping under the nose of these schooners in the dark, the officer hurried to mackinac, leaving the nor' westers hidden in the mouth of french river. william mackay, a nor' west partner, at once sallied out to the defence of the furs. determined to catch the brigade, one schooner was hovering about the sault, the other cruising into the countless recesses of the north shore. against the latter the mackinaw traders directed their forces, boarding her, and, as macdonald tells with brutal frankness, "_pinning the crew with fixed bayonets to the deck_." lying snugly at anchor, the victors awaited the coming of the other unsuspecting schooner, let her cast anchor, bore down upon her, poured in a broadside, and took both schooners to mackinac. freed from all apprehension of capture, the north-west brigade proceeded eastward to the ottawa river, and without further adventure came to montreal, where all was wild confusion from another cause. at the very time when war endangered the entire route of the nor' westers from montreal to the pacific, the hudson's bay company awakened from its long sleep. while mr. astor was pushing his schemes in the united states, lord selkirk was formulating plans for the control of all canada's fur trade. like mr. astor, he too had been the guest at the north-west banquets in the beaver club, montreal, and had heard fabulous things from those magnates of the north about wealth made in the fur trade. returning to england, lord selkirk bought up enough stock of the hudson's bay company to give him full control, and secured from the shareholders an enormous grant of land surrounding the mouths of the red and assiniboine rivers. where the assiniboine joins the northern red were situated fort douglas (later fort garry, now winnipeg), the headquarters of the hudson's bay company, and fort gibraltar, the north-west post whence supplies were sent all the way from the mandans on the missouri to the eskimo in the arctics. not satisfied with this _coup_, lord selkirk engaged colin robertson, an old nor' wester, to gather a brigade of _voyageurs_ two hundred strong at montreal and proceed up the nor' westers' route to athabasca, mackenzie river, and the rockies. this was the noisy, blustering, bragging company of gaily-bedizened fellows that had turned the streets of montreal into a roistering booth when the astorians came to the end of their long eastward journey. poor, fool-happy revellers! eighteen of them died of starvation in the far, cold north, owing to the conflict between fort douglas and gibraltar, which delayed supplies. beginning in 1811, lord selkirk poured a stream of colonists to his newly-acquired territory by way of churchill and york factory on hudson bay. these people were given lands, and in return expected to defend the hudson's bay company from nor' westers. the nor' westers struck back by discouraging the colonists, shipping them free out of the country, and getting possession of their arms. miles macdonell, formerly of the king's royal regiment, new york, governor of the hudson's bay company at fort douglas, at once issued proclamations forbidding indians to trade furs with nor' westers and ordering nor' westers from the country. on the strength of these proclamations two or three outlying north-west forts were destroyed and north-west fur brigades rifled. duncan cameron,[23] the north-west partner at fort gibraltar, countered by letting his _bois-brûlés_, a ragged half-breed army of wild plain rangers under cuthbert grant, canter across the two miles that separated the rival forts, and pour a volley of musketry into the hudson bay houses. to save the post for the hudson's bay company, miles macdonell gave himself up and was shipped out of the country. but the hudson's bay fort was only biding its time till the valiant north-west defenders had scattered to their winter posts. then an armed party seized duncan cameron not far from the north-west fort, and with pistol cocked by one man, publicly horsewhipped the nor' wester. afterward, when semple, the new hudson's bay governor, was absent from fort douglas and could not therefore be held responsible for consequences, the hudson's bay men, led by the same colin robertson who had brought the large brigade from montreal, marched across the prairie to fort gibraltar, captured mr. cameron, plundered all the nor' westers' stores, and burned the fort to the ground. by way of retaliation for macdonell's expulsion, the north-west partner was shipped down to hudson bay, where he might as well have been on devil's island for all the chance of escape. one company at fault as often as the other, similar outrages were perpetrated in all parts of the north fur country, the blood of rival traders being spilt without a qualm of conscience or thought of results. the effect of this conflict among white men on the bloodthirsty red-skins one may guess. the _bois-brûlés_ were clamouring for cuthbert grant's permission to wipe the english--meaning the hudson's bay men--off the earth; and the swampy crees and saulteaux under chief peguis were urging governor semple to let them defend the hudson's bay--meaning kill the nor' westers. the crisis followed sharp on the destruction of fort gibraltar. that post had sent all supplies to north-west forts. if fort douglas of the hudson's bay company, past which north-west canoes must paddle to turn westward to the plains, should intercept the incoming brigade of nor' westers' supplies, what would become of the two thousand north-west traders and _voyageurs_ and _engagés_ inland? whether the hudson's bay had such intentions or not, the nor' westers were determined to prevent the possibility. like the red cross that called ancient clans to arms, scouts went scouring across the plains to rally the _bois-brûlés_ from portage la prairie and souris and qu'appelle.[24] led by cuthbert grant, they skirted north of the hudson's bay post to meet and disembark supplies above fort douglas. it was but natural for the settlers to mistake this armed cavalcade, red with paint and chanting war-songs, for hostiles. rushing to fort douglas, the settlers gave the alarm. ordering a field-piece to follow, governor semple marched out with a little army of twenty-eight hudson's bay men. the nor' westers thought that he meant to obstruct their way till his other forces had captured their coming canoes. the hudson's bay thought that cuthbert grant meant to attack the selkirk settlers. it was in the evening of june 19, 1816. the two parties met at the edge of a swamp beside a cluster of trees, since called seven oaks. nor' westers say that governor semple caught the bridle of their scout and tried to throw him from his horse. the hudson's bay say that the governor had no sooner got within range than the half-breed scout leaped down and fired from the shelter of his horse, breaking semple's thigh. it is well known how the first blood of battle has the same effect on all men of whatever race. the human is eclipsed by that brute savagery which comes down from ages when man was a creature of prey. in a trice twenty-one of the hudson's bay men lay dead. while grant had turned to obtain carriers to bear the wounded governor off the field, poor semple was brutally murdered by one of the deschamps family, who ran from body to body, perpetrating the crimes of ghouls. it was in vain for grant to expostulate. the wild blood of a savage race had been roused. the soft velvet night of the summer prairie, with the winds crooning the sad monotone of a limitless sea, closed over a scene of savages drunk with slaughter, of men gone mad with the madness of murder, of warriors thinking to gain courage by drinking the blood of the slain. grant saved the settlers' lives by sending them down-stream to lake winnipeg, where dwelt the friendly chief peguis. on the river they met the indomitable miles macdonell, posting back to resume authority. he brought news that must have been good cheer. moved by the expelled governor's account of disorders, lord selkirk was hastening north, armed with the authority of a justice of the peace, escorted by soldiers in full regalia as became his station, with cannon mounted on his barges and stores of munition that ill agreed with the professions of a peaceful justice. the time has gone past for quibbling as to the earl's motives in pushing north armed like a lord of war. macdonell hastened back and met him with his army of des meurons[25] at the sault. in august lord selkirk appeared before port william with uniformed soldiers in eleven boats. the justice of the peace set his soldiers digging trenches opposite the nor' westers' fort. as for the nor' westers, they had had enough of blood. they capitulated without one blow. selkirk took full possession. six months later (1817), when ice had closed the rivers, he sent captain d'orsennens overland westward to red river, where fort douglas was captured back one stormy winter night by the soldiers scaling the fort walls during a heavy snowfall. the conflict had been just as ruthless on the saskatchewan. nor' westers were captured as they disembarked to pass grand rapids and shipped down to york factory, where franklin the explorer saw four nor' westers maltreated. one of them was the same john george mactavish who had helped to capture astoria; another, frobisher, a partner, was ultimately done to death by the abuse. the deschamps murderers of seven oaks fled south, where their crimes brought terrible vengeance from american traders. victorious all along the line, the hudson's bay company were in a curious quandary. suits enough were pressing in the courts to ruin both companies; and for the most natural reason in the world, neither hudson bay nor nor' wester could afford to have the truth told and the crimes probed. there was only one way out of the dilemma. in march, 1821, the companies amalgamated under the old title of hudson's bay. in april, 1822, a new fort was built half-way between the sites of gibraltar and fort douglas, and given the new name of fort garry by sir george simpson, the governor, to remove all feeling of resentment. the thousand men thrown out of employment by the union at once crossed the line and enlisted with american traders. the hudson's bay was now strong with the strength that comes from victorious conflict--so strong, indeed, that it not only held the canadian field, but in spite of the american law[26] forbidding british traders in the united states, reached as far south as utah and the missouri, where it once more had a sharp brush with lusty rivals. footnotes: [footnote 21: some say seventy-four.] [footnote 22: the enormous returns made up largely of the astoria capture. the unusually large guard was no doubt owing to the war of 1812.] [footnote 23: an antecedent of the late sir roderick cameron of new york.] [footnote 24: more of the _voyageurs'_ romance; named because of a voice heard calling and calling across the lake as _voyageurs_ entered the valley--said to be the spirit of an indian girl calling her lover, though prosaic sense explains it was the echo of the _voyageurs'_ song among the hills.] [footnote 25: continental soldiers disbanded after the napoleonic wars.] [footnote 26: a law that could not, of course, be enforced, except as to the building of permanent forts, in regions beyond the reach of law's enforcement.] chapter v mr. astor's company encounters new opponents that andrew henry whom lisa had sought when he pursued the astorians up the missouri continued to be dogged by misfortune on the west side of the mountains. game was scarce and his half-starving followers were scattered, some to the british posts in the north, some to the spaniards in the south, and some to the nameless graves of the mountains. henry forced his way back over the divide and met lisa in the aricara country. the british war broke out and the missouri company were compelled to abandon the dangerous territory of the blackfeet, who could purchase arms from the british traders, raid the americans, and scurry back to canada. when lisa died in 1820 more than three hundred missouri men were again in the mountains; but they suffered the same ill luck. jones and immel's party were annihilated by the blackfeet; and pilcher, who succeeded to lisa's position and dauntlessly crossed over to the columbia, had all his supplies stolen, reaching the hudson's bay post, fort colville, almost destitute. the british rivals received him with that hospitality for which they were renowned when trade was not involved, and gave him escort up the columbia, down the athabasca and saskatchewan to red river, thence overland to the mandan country and st. louis. these two disasters marked the wane of the missouri company. but like the shipwrecked sailor, no sooner safe on land than he must to sea again, the indomitable andrew henry linked his fortunes with general ashley of st. louis. gathering to the new standard campbell, bridger, fitzpatrick, beckworth, smith, and the sublettes--men who made the rocky mountain trade famous--ashley and henry led one hundred men to the mountains the first year and two hundred the next. in that time not less than twenty-five lives were lost among aricaras and blackfeet. few pelts were obtained and the expeditions were a loss. but in 1824 came a change. smith met hudson's bay trappers loaded with beaver pelts in the columbia basin, west of the rockies. they had become separated from their leader, alexander ross, an old astorian. details of this bargain will never be known; but when smith came east he had the hudson's bay furs. this was the first brush between rocky mountain men and the hudson's bay, and the mountain trappers scored. henceforth, to save time, the active trappers met their supplies annually at a _rendezvous_ in the mountains, in pierre's hole, a broad valley below the tetons, or jackson's hole, east of the former, or ogden's hole at salt lake. seventeen rocky mountain men had been massacred by the snake indians in the columbia basin; but that did not deter general ashley himself from going up the platte, across the divide to salt lake. here he found peter ogden, a hudson's bay trapper, with an enormous prize of beaver pelts. when the hudson's bay man left salt lake, he had no furs; and when general ashley came away, his packers were laden with a quarter of a million dollars worth of pelts. this was the second brush between rocky mountain and hudson's bay, and again the mountaineers scored. the third encounter was more to the credit of both companies. after three years' wanderings, smith found himself stranded and destitute at the british post of fort vancouver. fifteen of his men had been killed, his horses taken and peltries stolen. the hudson's bay sent a punitive force to recover his property, gave him a $20,000 draft for the full value of the recovered furs, and sent him up the columbia. thenceforth rocky mountain trappers and hudson's bay respected each other's rights in the valley of the columbia, but southward the old code prevailed. fitzpatrick, a rocky mountain trader, came on the same poor peter ogden at salt lake trading with the indians, and at once plied the argument of whisky so actively that the furs destined for red river went over the mountains to st. louis. the trapper probably never heard of a nemesis; but a curious retribution seemed to follow on the heels of outrage. lisa had tried to balk the astorians, and the missouri company went down before indian hostility. the nor' westers jockeyed the astorians out of their possessions and were in league with murderers at the massacre of seven oaks; but the nor' westers were jockeyed out of existence by the hudson's bay under lord selkirk. the hudson's bay had been guilty of rank outrage--particularly on the saskatchewan, where north-west partners were seized, manacled, and sent to a wilderness--and now the hudson's bay were cheated, cajoled, overreached by the rocky mountain trappers. and the rocky mountain trappers, in their turn, met a rival that could outcheat their cheatery. in 1831 the mountains were overrun with trappers from all parts of america. men from every state in the union, those restless spirits who have pioneered every great movement of the race, turned their faces to the wilderness for furs as a later generation was to scramble for gold. in the summer of 1832, when the hunters came down to pierre's hole for their supplies, there were trappers who had never before summered away from detroit and mackinaw and hudson bay.[27] there were half-wild frenchmen from quebec who had married indian wives and cast off civilization as an ill-fitting garment. there were indian hunters with the mellow, rhythmic tones that always betray native blood. there were lank new englanders under wyeth of boston, erect as a mast pole, strong of jaw, angular of motion, taking clumsily to buckskins. there were the rocky mountain men in tattered clothes, with unkempt hair and long beards, and a trick of peering from their bushy brows like an enemy from ambush. there were probably odd detachments from captain bonneville's adventurers on the platte, where a gay army adventurer was trying his luck as fur trader and explorer. and there was a new set of men, not yet weather-worn by the wilderness, alert, watchful, ubiquitous, scattering themselves among all groups where they could hear everything, see all, tell nothing, always shadowing the rocky mountain men who knew every trail of the wilds and should be good pilots to the best hunting-grounds. by the middle of july all business had been completed, and the trappers spent a last night round camp-fires, spinning yarns of the hunt. early in the morning when the rocky mountain men were sallying from the valley, they met a cavalcade of one hundred and fifty blackfeet. each party halted to survey its opponent. in less than ten years the rocky mountain men had lost more than seventy comrades among hostiles. even now the indians were flourishing a flag captured from murdered hudson's bay hunters. the number of whites disconcerted the indians. their warlike advance gave place to friendliness. one chief came forward with the hand of comity extended. the whites were not deceived. many a time had rocky mountain trappers been lured to their death by such overtures. no excuse is offered for the hunters. the code of the wilderness never lays the unction of a hypocritical excuse to conscience. the trappers sent two scouts to parley with the detested enemy. one trapper, with indian blood in his veins and indian thirst for the avengement of a kinsman's death in his heart, grasped the chief's extended hand with the clasp of a steel trap. on the instant the other scout fired. the powerless chief fell dead; and using their horses as a breastwork, the blackfeet hastily threw themselves behind some timber, cast up trenches, and shot from cover. all the trappers at the _rendezvous_ spurred to the fight, priming guns, casting off valuables, making their wills as they rode. the battle lasted all day; and when under cover of night the indians withdrew, twelve men lay dead on the trappers' side, as many more were wounded; and the blackfeet's loss was twice as great. for years this tribe exacted heavy atonement for the death of warriors behind the trenches of pierre's hole. leaving pierre's hole the mountaineers scattered to their rocky fastnesses, but no sooner had they pitched camp on good hunting-grounds than the strangers who had shadowed them at the _rendezvous_ came up. breaking camp, the rocky mountain men would steal away by new and unknown passes to another valley. a day or two later, having followed by tent-poles dragging the ground, or brushwood broken by the passing packers, the pertinacious rivals would reappear. this went on persistently for three months. infuriated by such tactics, the mountaineers planned to lead the spies a dance. plunging into the territory of hostiles they gave their pursuers the slip. neither party probably intended that matters should become serious; but that is always the fault of the white man when he plays the dangerous game of war with indians. the spying party was ambushed, the leader slain, his flesh torn from his body and his skeleton thrown into the river. a few months later the rocky mountain traders paid for this escapade. fitzpatrick, the same trapper who had "lifted" ogden's furs and led this game against the spies, was robbed among indians instigated by white men of the american fur company. this marked the beginning of the end with the rocky mountain trappers. the american fur company, which mr. astor had organized and stuck to through good repute and evil repute, was now officered by ramsay crooks and farnham and robert stuart, who had remained loyal to mr. astor in astoria and been schooled in a discipline that offered no quarter to enemies. the purchase of the mackinaw company gave the american company all those posts between the great lakes and the height of land dividing the mississippi and missouri. when congress excluded foreign traders in 1816, all the nor' westers' posts south of the boundary fell to the american fur company; and sturdy old nor' westers, who had been thrown out by the amalgamation with the hudson's bay, also added to the americans' strength. kenneth mackenzie, with laidlaw, lament, and kipp, had a line of posts from green bay to the missouri held by an american to evade the law, but known as the columbia company. this organization[28] the american fur company bought out, placing mackenzie at the mouth of the yellowstone, where he built fort union and became the pooh-bah of the whole region, living in regal style like his ancestral scottish chiefs. "king of the missouri" white men called him, "big indian me" the blackfeet said; and "big indian me" he was to them, for he was the first trader to win both their friendship and the crows'. here mackenzie entertained prince maximilian of wied and catlin the artist and audubon the naturalist, and had as his constant companion hamilton, an english nobleman living in disguise and working for the fur company. many an unmeant melodrama was enacted under the walls of union in mackenzie's reign. once a free trapper came floating down the missouri with his canoe full of beaver-pelts, which he quickly exchanged for the gay attire to be obtained at fort union. oddly enough, though the fellow was a french-canadian, he had long, flaxen hair, of which he was inordinately vain. strutting about the court-yard, feeling himself a very prince of importance, he saw mackenzie's pretty young indian wife. each paid the other the tribute of adoration that was warmer than it was wise. the _dénouement_ was a vision of the flaxen-haired siegfried sprinting at the top of his speed through the fort gate, with the irate mackenzie flourishing a flail to the rear. the matter did not end here. the outraged frenchman swore to kill mackenzie on sight, and haunted the fort gates with a loaded rifle till mackenzie was obliged to hire a mulatto servant to "wing" the fellow with a shot in the shoulder, when he was brought into the fort, nursed back to health, and sent away. at another time two rocky mountain trappers built an opposition fort just below union and lay in wait for the coming of the blackfeet to trade with the american fur company. mackenzie posted a lookout on his bastion. the moment the indians were descried, out sallied from fort union a band in full regalia, with drum and trumpet and piccolo and fife--wonders that would have lured the astonished indians to perdition. behind the band came gaudy presents for the savages, and what was not supposed to be in the indian country--liquor. when these methods failed to outbuy rivals, mackenzie did not hesitate to pay twelve dollars for a beaver-skin not worth two. the rocky mountain trappers were forced to capitulate, and their post passed over to the american fur company. in the ruins of their post was enacted a fitting _finale_ to the turbulent conflicts of the american traders. the deschamps family, who had perpetrated the worst butcheries on the field of seven oaks, in the fight between hudson's bay and nor' westers, had acted as interpreters for the rocky mountain trappers. boastful of their murderous record in canada, the father, mother, and eight grown children were usually so violent in their carousals that hamilton, the english gentleman, used to quiet their outrage and prevent trouble by dropping laudanum in their cups. once they slept so heavily that the whole fort was in a panic lest their sleep lasted to eternity; but the revellers came to life defiant as ever. at union was a very handsome young half-breed fellow by the name of gardepie, whose life the deschamps harpies attempted to take from sheer jealousy and love of crime. joined by two free trappers, gardepie killed the elder deschamps one morning at breakfast with all the gruesome mutilation of indian custom. he at the same time wounded a younger son. spurred by the hag-like mother and nerved to the deed with alcohol, the deschamps undertook to avenge their father's death by killing all the whites of the fur post. one man had fallen when the alarm was carried to fort union. twice had the deschamps robbed fort union. many trappers had been assassinated by a deschamps. indians had been flogged by them for no other purpose than to inflict torture. beating on the doors of fort union, the wife of their last victim called out that the deschamps were on the war-path. the traders of fort union solemnly raised hands and took an oath to exterminate the murderous clan. the affair had gone beyond mackenzie's control. seizing cannon and ammunition, the traders crossed the prairie to the abandoned fort of the rocky mountain trappers, where the murderers were intrenched. all valuables were removed from the fort. time was given for the family to prepare for death. then the guns were turned on the house. suddenly that old harpy of crime, the mother, rushed out, holding forward the indian pipe of peace and begging for mercy. she got all the mercy that she had ever given, and fell shot through the heart. at last the return firing ceased. who would enter and learn if the deschamps were all dead? treachery was feared. the assailants set fire to the fort. in the light of the flames one man was espied crouching in the bastion. a trader rushed forward exultant to shoot the last of the deschamps; but a shot from the bastion sent him leaping five feet into the air to fall back dead, and a yell of fiendish victory burst from the burning tower.[29] again the assailants fired a volley. no answering shot came from the fort. rushing through the smoke the traders found françois deschamps backed up in a corner like a beast at bay, one wrist broken and all ammunition gone. a dozen rifle-shots cracked sharp. the fellow fell and his body was thrown into the flames. the old mother was buried without shroud or coffin in the clay bank of the river. a young boy mortally wounded was carried from the ruins to die in union. this dark act marked the last important episode in the long conflict among traders. a decline of values followed the civil war. settlers were rushing overland to oregon, and fort union went into the control of the militia. to-day st. louis is still a centre of trade in manufactured furs, and st. paul yet receives raw pelts from trappers who wander through the forests of minnesota and idaho and the mountains. only a year ago the writer employed as guides in the mountains three trappers who have spent their lives ranging the northern wilds and the upper missouri; but outside the mountain and forest wastes, the vast hunting-grounds of the famous old trappers have been chalked off by the fences of settlers. in canada, too, bloodshed marked the last of the conflict--once in the seventies when louis riel, a half-breed demagogue, roused the metis against the surveyors sent to prepare red river for settlement, and again in 1885 when this unhanged rascal incited the half-breeds of the saskatchewan to rebellion over title-deeds to their lands. though the hudson's bay company had nothing to do with either complaint, the conflict waged round their forts. in the first affair the ragged army of rebels took possession of fort garry, and for no other reason than the love of killing that riots in savage blood as in a wolf's, shot down scott outside the fort gates. in the second rebellion riel's allies came down on the far-isolated fort pitt three hundred strong, captured the fort, and took the factor, mr. maclean, and his family to northern wastes, marching them through swamps breast-high with spring floods, where general middleton's troops could not follow. the children of the family had been in the habit of bribing old indian gossips into telling stories by gifts of tobacco; and the friendship now stood the white family in good stead. day and night in all the weeks of captivity the friendly indians never left the side of the trader's family, slipping between the hostiles and the young children, standing guard at the tepee door, giving them weapons of defence till all were safely back among the whites. this time riel was hanged, and the hudson's bay company resumed its sway of all that realm between labrador and the pacific north of the saskatchewan. traders' lives are like a white paper with a black spot. the world looks only at the black spot. in spite of his faults when in conflict with rivals, it has been the trader living alone, unprotected and unfearing, one voice among a thousand, who has restrained the indian tribes from massacres that would have rolled back the progress of the west a quarter of a century. footnotes: [footnote 27: for example, the deschamps of red river.] [footnote 28: chittenden.] [footnote 29: larpenteur, who was there, has given even a more circumstantial account of this terrible tragedy.] chapter vi the french trapper to live hard and die hard, king in the wilderness and pauper in the town, lavish to-day and penniless to-morrow--such was the life of the most picturesque figure in america's history. take a map of america. put your finger on any point between the gulf of mexico and hudson bay, or the great lakes and the rockies. ask who was the first man to blaze a trail into this wilderness; and wherever you may point, the answer is the same--the french trapper. impoverished english noblemen of the seventeenth century took to freebooting, spanish dons to piracy and search for gold; but for the young french _noblesse_ the way to fortune was by the fur trade. freedom from restraint, quick wealth, lavish spending, and adventurous living all appealed to a class that hated the menial and slow industry of the farm. the only capital required for the fur trade was dauntless courage. merchants were keen to supply money enough to stock canoes with provisions for trade in the wilderness. what would be equivalent to $5,000 of modern money was sufficient to stock four trappers with trade enough for two years. at the end of that time the sponsors looked for returns in furs to the value of eight hundred per cent on their capital. the original investment would be deducted, and the enormous profit divided among the trappers and their outfitters. in the heyday of the fur trade, when twenty beaver-skins were got for an axe, it was no unusual thing to see a trapper receive what would be equivalent to $3,000 of our money as his share of two years' trapping. but in the days when the french were only beginning to advance up the missouri from louisiana and across from michilimackinac to the mississippi vastly larger fortunes were made. two partners[30] have brought out as much as $200,000 worth of furs from the great game preserve between lake superior and the head waters of the missouri after eighteen months' absence from st. louis or from montreal. the fur country was to the young french nobility what a treasure-ship was to a pirate. in vain france tried to keep her colonists on the land by forbidding trade without a license. fines, the galleys for life, even death for repeated offence, were the punishments held over the head of the illicit trader. the french trapper evaded all these by staying in the wilds till he amassed fortune enough to buy off punishment, or till he had lost taste for civilized life and remained in the wilderness, _coureur des bois_, _voyageur_, or leader of a band of half-wild retainers whom he ruled like a feudal baron, becoming a curious connecting link between the savagery of the new world and the _noblesse_ of the old. duluth, of the lakes region; la salle, of the mississippi; le moyne d'iberville, ranging from louisiana to hudson bay; la mothe cadillac in michilimackinac, detroit, and louisiana; la vérendrye exploring from lake superior to the rockies; radisson on hudson bay--all won their fame as explorers and discoverers in pursuit of the fur trade. a hundred years before any english mind knew of the missouri, french _voyageurs_ had gone beyond the yellowstone. before the regions now called minnesota, dakota, and wisconsin were known to new englanders, the french were trapping about the head waters of the mississippi; and two centuries ago a company of daring french hunters went to new mexico to spy on spanish trade. east of the mississippi were two neighbours whom the french trapper shunned--the english colonists and the iroquois. north of the st. lawrence was a power that he shunned still more--the french governor, who had legal right to plunder the peltries of all who traded and trapped without license. but between st. louis and mackenzie river was a great unclaimed wilderness, whence came the best furs. naturally, this became the hunting-ground of the french trapper. there were four ways by which he entered his hunting-ground: (1) sailing from quebec to the mouth of the mississippi, he ascended the river in pirogue or dugout, but this route was only possible for a man with means to pay for the ocean voyage. (2) from detroit overland to the illinois, or ohio, which he rafted down to the mississippi, and then taking to canoe turned north. (3) from michilimackinac, which was always a grand _rendezvous_ for the french and indian hunters, to green bay on lake michigan, thence up-stream to fox river, overland to the wisconsin, and down-stream to the mississippi. (4) up the ottawa through "the soo" to lake superior and westward to the hunting-ground. whichever way he went his course was mainly up-stream and north: hence the name _pays d'en haut_ vaguely designated the vast hunting-ground that lay between the missouri and the mackenzie river. * * * * * the french trapper was and is to-day as different from the english as the gamester is from the merchant. of all the fortunes brought from the missouri to st. louis, or from the _pays d'en haut_ to montreal, few escaped the gaming-table and dram-shop. where the english trader saves his returns, pierre lives high and plays high, and lords it about the fur post till he must pawn the gay clothing he has bought for means to exist to the opening of the next hunting season. it is now that he goes back to some birch tree marked by him during the preceding winter's hunt, peels the bark off in a great seamless rind, whittles out ribs for a canoe from cedar, ash, or pine, and shapes the green bark to the curve of a canoe by means of stakes and stones down each side. lying on his back in the sun spinning yarns of the great things he has done and will do, he lets the birch harden and dry to the proper form, when he fits the gunwales to the ragged edge, lines the inside of the keel with thin pine boards, and tars the seams where the bark has crinkled and split at the junction with the gunwale. it is in the idle summer season that he and his squaw--for the pierre adapts, or rather adopts, himself to the native tribes by taking an indian wife--design the wonderfully bizarre costumes in which the french trapper appears: the beaded toque for festive occasions, the gay moccasins, the buckskin suit fringed with horse-hair and leather in lieu of the indian scalp-locks, the white caribou capote with horned head-gear to deceive game on the hunter's approach, the powder-case made of a buffalo-horn, the bullet bag of a young otter-skin, the musk-rat or musquash cap, and great gantlets coming to the elbow. none of these things does the english trader do. if he falls a victim to the temptations awaiting the man from the wilderness in the dram-shop of the trading-post, he takes good care not to spend his all on the spree. he does not affect the hunter's decoy dress, for the simple reason that he prefers to let the indians do the hunting of the difficult game, while he attends to the trapping that is _gain_ rather than _game_. for clothes, he is satisfied with cheap material from the shops. and if, like pierre, the englishman marries an indian wife, he either promptly deserts her when he leaves the fur country for the trading-post or sends her to a convent to be educated up to his own level. with pierre the marriage means that he has cast off the last vestige of civilization and henceforth identifies himself with the life of the savage. after the british conquest of canada and the american declaration of independence came a change in the status of the french trapper. before, he had been lord of the wilderness without a rival. now, powerful english companies poured their agents into his hunting-grounds. before, he had been a partner in the fur trade. now, he must either be pushed out or enlist as servant to the newcomer. he who had once come to montreal and st. louis with a fortune of peltries on his rafts and canoes, now signed with the great english companies for a paltry one, two, and three hundred dollars a year. it was but natural in the new state of things that the french trapper, with all his knowledge of forest and stream, should become _coureur des bois_ and _voyageur_, while the englishman remained the barterer. in the mississippi basin the french trappers mainly enlisted with four companies: the mackinaw company, radiating from michilimackinac to the mississippi; the american company, up the missouri; the missouri company, officered by st. louis merchants, westward to the rockies; and the south-west company, which was john jacob astor's amalgamation of the american and mackinaw. in canada the french sided with the nor' westers and x. y.'s, who had sprung up in opposition to the great english hudson's bay company. * * * * * though he had become a burden-carrier for his quondam enemies, the french trapper still saw life through the glamour of _la gloire_ and _noblesse_, still lived hard and died game, still feasted to-day and starved to-morrow, gambled the clothes off his back and laughed at hardship; courted danger and trolled off one of his _chansons_ brought over to america by ancestors of normandy, uttered an oath in one breath at the whirlpool ahead and in the next crossed himself reverently with a prayer to sainte anne, the _voyageurs'_ saint, just before his canoe took the plunge. your spanish grandee of the missouri company, like manuel lisa of st. louis, might sit in a counting-house or fur post adding up rows of figures, and your scotch merchant chaffer with indians over the value of a beaver-skin. as for pierre, give him a canoe sliding past wooded banks with a throb of the keel to the current and the whistle of wild-fowl overhead; clear sky above with a feathering of wind clouds, clear sky below with a feathering of wind clouds, and the canoe between like a bird at poise. sometimes a fair wind livens the pace; for the _voyageurs_ hoist a blanket sail, and the canoe skims before the breeze like a seagull. where the stream gathers force and whirls forward in sharp eddies and racing leaps each _voyageur_ knows what to expect. no man asks questions. the bowman stands up with his eyes to the fore and steel-shod pole ready. every eye is on that pole. presently comes a roar, and the green banks begin to race. the canoe no longer glides. it vaults--springs--bounds, with a shiver of live waters under the keel and a buoyant rise to her prow that mounts the crest of each wave fast as wave pursues wave. a fanged rock thrusts up in mid-stream. one deft push of the pole. each paddler takes the cue; and the canoe shoots past the danger straight as an arrow, righting herself to a new course by another lightning sweep of the pole and paddles. [illustration: traders running a mackinaw or keel-boat down the rapids of slave river without unloading.] but the waters gather as if to throw themselves forward. the roar becomes a crash. as if moved by one mind the paddlers brace back. the lightened bow lifts. a white dash of spray. she mounts as she plunges; and the _voyageurs_ are whirling down-stream below a small waterfall. not a word is spoken to indicate that it is anything unusual to _sauter les rapides_, as the _voyageurs_ say. the men are soaked. now, perhaps, some one laughs; for jean, or ba'tiste, or the dandy of the crew, got his moccasins wet when the canoe took water. they all settle forward. one paddler pauses to bail out water with his hat. thus the lowest waterfalls are run without a _portage_. coming back this way with canoes loaded to the water-line, there must be a disembarking. if the rapids be short, with water enough to carry the loaded canoe high above rocks that might graze the bark, all hands spring out in the water, but one man who remains to steady the craft; and the canoe is "tracked" up-stream, hauled along by ropes. if the rapids be at all dangerous, each _voyageur_ lands, with pack on his back and pack-straps across his forehead, and runs along the shore. a long _portage_ is measured by the number of pipes the _voyageur_ smokes, each lighting up meaning a brief rest; and a _portage_ of many "pipes" will be taken at a running gait on the hottest days without one word of complaint. nine miles is the length of one famous _portage_ opposite the chaudière falls on the ottawa. in winter the _voyageur_ becomes _coureur des bois_ to his new masters. then for six months endless reaches, white, snow-padded, silent; forests wreathed and bossed with snow; nights in camp on a couch of pines or rolled in robes with a roaring fire to keep the wolves off, melting snow steaming to the heat, meat sputtering at the end of a skewered stick; sometimes to the _marche donc! marche donc!_ of the driver, with crisp tinkling of dog-bells in frosty air, a long journey overland by dog-sled to the trading-post; sometimes that blinding fury which sweeps over the northland, turning earth and air to a white darkness; sometimes a belated traveller cowering under a snow-drift for warmth and wrapping his blanket about him to cross life's last divide. these things were the every-day life of the french trapper. at present there is only one of the great fur companies remaining--the hudson's bay of canada. in the united states there are only two important centres of trade in furs which are not imported--st. paul and st. louis. for both the hudson's bay company and the fur traders of the upper missouri the french trapper still works as his ancestors did for the great companies a hundred years ago. the roadside tramp of to-day is a poor representative of robin hoods and rob roys; and the french trapper of shambling gait and baggy clothes seen at the fur posts of the north to-day is a poor type of the class who used to stalk through the baronial halls[31] of montreal's governor like a lord and set the rafters of fort william's council chamber ringing, and make the wine and the money and the brawls of st. louis a by-word. and yet, with all his degeneracy, the french trapper retains a something of his old traditions. a few years ago i was on a northern river steamer going to one of the hudson's bay trading-posts. a brawl seemed to sound from the steerage passengers. what was the matter? "oh," said the captain, "the french trappers going out north for the winter, drunk as usual!" as he spoke, a voice struck up one of those _chansons populaires_, which have been sung by every generation of _voyageurs_ since frenchmen came to america, _a la claire fontaine_, a song which the french trappers' ancestors brought from normandy hundreds of years ago, about the fickle lady and the faded roses and the vain regrets. then--was it possible?--these grizzled fellows, dressed in tinkers' tatters, were singing--what? a song of the _grand monarque_ which has led armies to battle, but not a song which one would expect to hear in northern wilds- "malbrouck s'on va-t-en guerre mais quand reviendra a-t-il?" three foes assailed the trapper alone in the wilds. the first danger was from the wolf-pack. the second was the indian hostile egged on by rival traders. this danger the french trapper minimized by identifying himself more completely with the savage than any other fur trader succeeded in doing. the third foe was the most perverse and persevering thief known outside the range of human criminals. perhaps the day after the trapper had shot his first deer he discovered fine footprints like a child's hand on the snow around the carcass. he recognises the trail of otter or pekan or mink. it would be useless to bait a deadfall with meat when an unpolluted feast lies on the snow. the man takes one of his small traps and places it across the line of approach. this trap is buried beneath snow or brush. every trace of man-smell is obliterated. the fresh hide of a deer may be dragged across the snow. pomatum or castoreum may be daubed on everything touched. he may even handle the trap with deer-hide. pekan travel in pairs. besides, the dead deer will be likely to attract more than one forager; so the man sets a circle of traps round the carcass. the next morning he comes back with high hope. very little of the deer remains. all the flesh-eaters of the forest, big and little, have been there. why, then, is there no capture? one trap has been pulled up, sprung, and partly broken. another carried a little distance off and dumped into a hollow. a third had caught a pekan; but the prisoner had been worried and torn to atoms. another was tampered with from behind and exposed for very deviltry. some have disappeared altogether. among forest creatures few are mean enough to kill when they have full stomachs, or to eat a trapped brother with untrapped meat a nose-length away. the french trapper rumbles out some maledictions on _le sacré carcajou_. taking a piece of steel like a cheese-tester's instrument, he pokes grains of strychnine into the remaining meat. he might have saved himself the trouble. the next day he finds the poisoned meat mauled and spoiled so that no animal will touch it. there is nothing of the deer but picked bones. so the trapper tries a deadfall for the thief. again he might have spared himself the trouble. his next visit shows the deadfall torn from behind and robbed without danger to the thief. several signs tell the trapper that the marauder is the carcajou or wolverine. all the stealing was done at night; and the wolverine is nocturnal. all the traps had been approached from behind. the wolverine will not cross man's track. the poison in the meat had been scented. whether the wolverine knows poison, he is too wary to experiment on doubtful diet. the exposing of the traps tells of the curiosity which characterizes the wolverine. other creatures would have had too much fear. the tracks run back to cover, and not across country like the badger's or the fox's. fearless, curious, gluttonous, wary, and suspicious, the mischief-maker and the freebooter and the criminal of the animal world, a scavenger to save the northland from pollution of carrion, and a scourge to destroy wounded, weaklings, and laggards--the wolverine has the nose of a fox, with long, uneven, tusk-like teeth that seem to be expressly made for tearing. the eyes are well set back, greenish, alert with almost human intelligence of the type that preys. out of the fulness of his wrath one trapper gave a perfect description of the wolverine. he didn't object, he said, to being outrun by a wolf, or beaten by a respectable indian, but to be outwitted by a little beast the size of a pig with the snout of a fox, the claws of a bear, and the fur of a porcupine's quills, was more than he could stand. in the economy of nature the wolverine seems to have but one design--destruction. beaver-dams two feet thick and frozen like rock yield to the ripping onslaught of its claws. he robs everything: the musk-rats' haycock houses; the gopher burrows; the cached elk and buffalo calves under hiding of some shrub while the mothers go off to the watering-place; the traps of his greatest foe, man; the cached provisions of the forest ranger; the graves of the dead; the very tepees and lodges and houses of indian, half-breed, and white man. while the wolverine is averse to crossing man's track, he will follow it for days, like a shark behind a ship; for he knows as well as the man knows there will be food in the traps when the man is in his lodge, and food in the lodge when the man is at the traps. but the wolverine has two characteristics by which he may be snared--gluttony and curiosity. after the deer has disappeared the trapper finds that the wolverine has been making as regular rounds of the traps as he has himself. it is then a question whether the man or the wolverine is to hold the hunting-ground. a case is on record at moose factory, on james bay, of an indian hunter and his wife who were literally brought to the verge of starvation by a wolverine that nightly destroyed their traps. the contest ended by the starving indians travelling a hundred miles from the haunts of that "bad devil--oh--he--bad devil--carcajou!" remembering the curiosity and gluttony of his enemy, the man sets out his strongest steel-traps. he takes some strong-smelling meat, bacon or fish, and places it where the wolverine tracks run. around this he sets a circle of his traps, tying them securely to poles and saplings and stakes. in all likelihood he has waited his chance for a snowfall which will cover traces of the man-smell. night passes. in the morning the man comes to his traps. the meat has been taken. all else is as before. not a track marks the snow; but in midwinter meat does not walk off by itself. the man warily feels for the hidden traps. then he notices that one of the stakes has been pulled up and carried off. that is a sign. he prods the ground expectantly. it is as he thought. one trap is gone. it had caught the wolverine; but the cunning beast had pulled with all his strength, snapped the attached sapling, and escaped. a fox or beaver would have gnawed the imprisoned limb off. the wolverine picks the trap up in his teeth and hobbles as hard as three legs will carry him to the hiding of a bush, or better still, to the frozen surface of a river, hidden by high banks, with glare ice which will not reveal a trail. but on the river the man finds only a trap wrenched out of all semblance to its proper shape, with the spring opened to release the imprisoned leg. the wolverine had been caught, and had gone to the river to study out the problem of unclinching the spring. one more device remains to the man. it is a gun trick. the loaded weapon is hidden full-cock under leaves or brush. directly opposite the barrel is the bait, attached by a concealed string to the trigger. the first pull will blow the thief's head off. the trap experience would have frightened any other animals a week's run from man's tracks; but the wolverine grows bolder, and the trapper knows he will find his snares robbed until carcajou has been killed. perhaps he has tried the gun trick before, to have the cord gnawed through and the bait stolen. a wolverine is not to be easily tricked; but its gluttony and curiosity bring it within man's reach. the man watches until he knows the part of the woods where the wolverine nightly gallops. he then procures a savoury piece of meat heavy enough to balance a cocked trigger, not heavy enough to send it off. the gun is suspended from some dense evergreen, which will hide the weapon. the bait hangs from the trigger above the wolverine's reach. then a curious game begins. one morning the trapper sees the wolverine tracks round and round the tree as if determined to ferret out the mystery of the meat in mid-air. the next morning the tracks have come to a stand below the meat. if the wolverine could only get up to the bait, one whiff would tell him whether the man-smell was there. he sits studying the puzzle till his mark is deep printed in the snow. the trapper smiles. he has only to wait. the rascal may become so bold in his predatory visits that the man may be tempted to chance a shot without waiting. but if the man waits nemesis hangs at the end of the cord. there comes a night when the wolverine's curiosity is as rampant as his gluttony. a quick clutch of the ripping claws and a blare of fire-smoke blows the robber's head into space. the trapper will hold those hunting-grounds. he has got rid of the most unwelcome visitor a solitary man ever had; but for the consolation of those whose sympathies are keener for the animal than the man, it may be said that in the majority of such contests it is the wolverine and not the man that wins. footnotes: [footnote 30: radisson and groseillers, from regions westward of duluth.] [footnote 31: especially the château de ramezay, where great underground vaults were built for the storing of pelts in case of attack from new englander and iroquois. these vaults may still be seen under château de ramezay.] chapter vii the buffalo-runners if the trapper had a crest like the knights of the wilderness who lived lives of daredoing in olden times, it should represent a canoe, a snow-shoe, a musket, a beaver, and a buffalo. while the beaver was his quest and the coin of the fur-trading realm, the buffalo was the great staple on which the very existence of the trapper depended. bed and blankets and clothing, shields for wartime, sinew for bows, bone for the shaping of rude lance-heads, kettles and bull-boats and saddles, roof and rug and curtain wall for the hunting lodge, and, most important of all, food that could be kept in any climate for any length of time and combined the lightest weight with the greatest nourishment--all these were supplied by the buffalo. from the gulf of mexico to the saskatchewan and from the alleghanies to the rockies the buffalo was to the hunter what wheat is to the farmer. moose and antelope and deer were plentiful in the limited area of a favoured habitat. provided with water and grass the buffalo could thrive in any latitude south of the sixties, with a preference for the open ground of the great central plains except when storms and heat drove the herds to the shelter of woods and valleys. besides, in that keen struggle for existence which goes on in the animal world, the buffalo had strength to defy all enemies. of all the creatures that prey, only the full-grown grisly was a match against the buffalo; and according to old hunting legends, even the grisly held back from attacking a beast in the prime of its power and sneaked in the wake of the roving herds, like the coyotes and timber-wolves, for the chance of hamstringing a calf, or breaking a young cow's neck, or tackling some poor old king worsted in battle and deposed from the leadership of the herd, or snapping up some lost buffalo staggering blind on the trail of a prairie fire. the buffalo, like the range cattle, had a quality that made for the persistence of the species. when attacked by a beast of prey, they would line up for defence, charge upon the assailant, and trample life out. adaptability to environment, strength excelling all foes, wonderful sagacity against attack--these were factors that partly explained the vastness of the buffalo herds once roaming this continent. proofs enough remain to show that the size of the herds simply could not be exaggerated. in two great areas their multitude exceeded anything in the known world. these were: (1) between the arkansas and the missouri, fenced in, as it were, by the mississippi and the rockies; (2) between the missouri and the saskatchewan, bounded by the rockies on the west and on the east, that depression where lie lakes winnipeg, manitoba, and winnipegoosis. in both regions the prairie is scarred by trails where the buffalo have marched single file to their watering-places--trails trampled by such a multitude of hoofs that the groove sinks to the depth of a rider's stirrup or the hub of a wagon-wheel. at fording-places on the qu'appelle and saskatchewan in canada, and on the upper missouri, yellowstone, and arkansas in the western states, carcasses of buffalo have been found where the stampeding herd trampled the weak under foot, virtually building a bridge of the dead over which the vast host rushed. then there were "the fairy rings," ruts like the water trail, only running in a perfect circle, with the hoofprints of countless multitudes in and outside the ring. two explanations were given of these. when the calves were yet little, and the wild animals ravenous with spring hunger, the bucks and old leaders formed a cordon round the mothers and their young. the late colonel bedson of stony mountain, manitoba, who had the finest private collection of buffalo in america until his death ten years ago, when the herd was shipped to texas, observed another occasion when the buffalo formed a circle. of an ordinary winter storm the herd took small notice except to turn backs to the wind; but if to a howling blizzard were added a biting north wind, with the thermometer forty degrees below zero, the buffalo lay down in a crescent as a wind-break to the young. besides the "fairy rings" and the fording-places, evidences of the buffaloes' numbers are found at the salt-licks, alkali depressions on the prairie, soggy as paste in spring, dried hard as rock in midsummer and retaining footprints like a plaster cast; while at the wallows, where the buffalo have been taking mud-baths as a refuge from vermin and summer heat, the ground is scarred and ploughed as if for ramparts. the comparison of the buffalo herds to the northland caribou has become almost commonplace; but it is the sheerest nonsense. from hearne, two hundred years ago, to mr. tyrrel or mr. whitney in the barren lands in 1894-'96, no mention is ever made of a caribou herd exceeding ten thousand. few herds of one thousand have ever been seen. what are the facts regarding the buffalo? in the thirties, when the american fur company was in the heyday of its power, there were sent from st. louis alone in a single year one hundred thousand robes. the company bought only the perfect robes. the hunter usually kept an ample supply for his own needs; so that for every robe bought by the company, three times as many were taken from the plains. st. louis was only one port of shipment. equal quantities of robes were being sent from mackinaw, detroit, montreal, and hudson bay. a million would not cover the number of robes sent east each year in the thirties and forties. in 1868 inman, sheridan, and custer rode continuously for three days through one herd in the arkansas region. in 1869 trains on the kansas pacific were held from nine in the morning till six at night to permit the passage of one herd across the tracks. army officers related that in 1862 a herd moved north from the arkansas to the yellowstone that covered an area of seventy by thirty miles. catlin and inman and army men and employees of the fur companies considered a drove of one hundred thousand buffalo a common sight along the line of the santa fé trail. inman computes that from st. louis alone the bones of thirty-one million buffalo were shipped between 1868 and 1881. northward the testimony is the same. john macdonell, a partner of the north-west company, tells how at the beginning of the last century a herd stampeded across the ice of the qu'appelle valley. in some places the ice broke. when the thaw came, a continuous line of drowned buffalo drifted past the fur post for three days. mr. macdonell counted up to seven thousand three hundred and sixty: there his patience gave out. and the number of the drowned was only a fringe of the travelling herd. to-day where are the buffalo? a few in the public parks of the united states and canada. a few of colonel bedson's old herd on lord strathcona's farm in manitoba and the rest on a ranch in texas. the railway more than the pot-hunter was the power that exterminated the buffalo. the railway brought the settlers; and the settlers fenced in the great ranges where the buffalo could have galloped away from all the pot-hunters of earth combined. without the railway the buffalo could have resisted the hunter as they resisted indian hunters from time immemorial; but when the iron line cut athwart the continent the herds only stampeded from one quarter to rush into the fresh dangers of another. much has been said about man's part in the destruction of the buffalo; and too much could not be said against those monomaniacs of slaughter who went into the buffalo-hunt from sheer love of killing, hiring the indians to drive a herd over an embankment or into soft snow, while the valiant hunters sat in some sheltered spot, picking off the helpless quarry. this was not hunting. it was butchery, which none but hungry savages and white barbarians practised. the plains-man--who is the true type of the buffalo-runner--entered the lists on a fair field with the odds a hundred to one against himself, and the only advantages over brute strength the dexterity of his own aim. man was the least cruel of the buffalo's foes. far crueler havoc was worked by the prairie fire and the fights for supremacy in the leadership of the herd and the sleuths of the trail and the wild stampedes often started by nothing more than the shadow of a cloud on the prairie. natural history tells of nothing sadder than a buffalo herd overtaken by a prairie fire. flee as they might, the fiery hurricane was fleeter; and when the flame swept past, the buffalo were left staggering over blackened wastes, blind from the fire, singed of fur to the raw, and mad with a thirst they were helpless to quench. in the fights for leadership of the herd old age went down before youth. colonel bedson's daughter has often told the writer of her sheer terror as a child when these battles took place among the buffalo. the first intimation of trouble was usually a boldness among the young fellows of maturing strength. on the rove for the first year or two of their existence these youngsters were hooked and butted back into place as a rear-guard; and woe to the fellow whose vanity tempted him within range of the leader's sharp, pruning-hook horns! just as the wolf aimed for the throat or leg sinews of a victim, so the irate buffalo struck at the point most vulnerable to his sharp, curved horn--the soft flank where a quick rip meant torture and death. comes a day when the young fellows refuse to be hooked and hectored to the rear! then one of the boldest braces himself, circling and guarding and wheeling and keeping his lowered horns in line with the head of the older rival. that is the buffalo challenge! and there presently follows a bellowing like the rumbling of distant thunder, each keeping his eye on the other, circling and guarding and countering each other's moves, like fencers with foils. when one charges, the other wheels to meet the charge straight in front; and with a crash the horns are locked. it is then a contest of strength against strength, dexterity against dexterity. not unusually the older brute goes into a fury from sheer amazement at the younger's presumption. his guarded charges become blind rushes, and he soon finds himself on the end of a pair of piercing horns. as soon as the rumbling and pawing began, colonel bedson used to send his herders out on the fleetest buffalo ponies to part the contestants; for, like the king of beasts that he is, the buffalo does not know how to surrender. he fights till he can fight no more; and if he is not killed, is likely to be mangled, a deposed king, whipped and broken-spirited and relegated to the fag-end of the trail, where he drags lamely after the subjects he once ruled. some day the barking of a prairie-dog, the rustle of a leaf, the shadow of a cloud, startles a giddy young cow. she throws up her head and is off. there is a stampede--myriad forms lumbering over the earth till the ground rocks and nothing remains of the buffalo herd but the smoking dust of the far horizon--nothing but the poor, old, deposed king, too weak to keep up the pace, feeble with fear, trembling at his own shadow, leaping in terror at a leaf blown by the wind. after that the end is near, and the old buffalo must realize that fact as plainly as a human being would. has he roamed the plains and guarded the calves from sleuths of the trail and seen the devourers leap on a fallen comrade before death has come, and yet does not know what those vague, gray forms are, always hovering behind him, always sneaking to the crest of a hill when he hides in the valley, always skulking through the prairie grass when he goes to a lookout on the crest of the hill, always stopping when he stops, creeping closer when he lies down, scuttling when he wheels, snapping at his heels when he stoops for a drink? if the buffalo did not know what these creatures meant, he would not have spent his entire life from calfhood guarding against them. but he does know; and therein lies the tragedy of the old king's end. he invariably seeks out some steep background where he can take his last stand against the wolves with a face to the foe. but the end is inevitable. while the main pack baits him to the fore, skulkers dart to the rear; and when, after a struggle that lasts for days, his hind legs sink powerless under him, hamstrung by the snap of some vicious coyote, he still keeps his face to the foe. but in sheer horror of the tragedy the rest is untellable; for the hungry creatures that prey do not wait till death comes to the victim. poor old king! is anything that man has ever done to the buffalo herd half as tragically pitiful as nature's process of deposing a buffalo leader? catlin and inman and every traveller familiar with the great plains region between the arkansas and saskatchewan testify that the quick death of the bullet was, indeed, the mercy stroke compared to nature's end of her wild creatures. in colonel bedson's herd the fighters were always parted before either was disabled; but it was always at the sacrifice of two or three ponies' lives. in the park specimens of buffalo a curious deterioration is apparent. on lord strathcona's farm in manitoba, where the buffalo still have several hundred acres of ranging-ground and are nearer to their wild state than elsewhere, they still retain their leonine splendour of strength in shoulders and head; but at banff only the older ones have this appearance, the younger generation, like those of the various city parks, gradually assuming more dwarfed proportions about the shoulders, with a suggestion of a big, round-headed, clumsy sheep. * * * * * between the arkansas and the saskatchewan buffalo were always plentiful enough for an amateur's hunt; but the trapper of the plains, to whom the hunt meant food and clothing and a roof for the coming year, favoured two seasons: (1) the end of june, when he had brought in his packs to the fur post and the winter's trapping was over and the fort full of idle hunters keen for the excitement of the chase; (2) in midwinter, when that curious lull came over animal life, before the autumn stores had been exhausted and before the spring forage began. in both seasons the buffalo-robes were prime: sleek and glossy in june before the shedding of the fleece, with the fur at its greatest length; fresh and clean and thick in midwinter. but in midwinter the hunters were scattered, the herds broken in small battalions, the climate perilous for a lonely man who might be tempted to track fleeing herds many miles from a known course. south of the yellowstone the individual hunter pursued the buffalo as he pursued deer--by still-hunting; for though the buffalo was keen of scent, he was dull of sight, except sideways on the level, and was not easily disturbed by a noise as long as he did not see its cause. behind the shelter of a mound and to leeward of the herd the trapper might succeed in bringing down what would be a creditable showing in a moose or deer hunt; but the trapper was hunting buffalo for their robes. two or three robes were not enough from a large herd; and before he could get more there was likely to be a stampede. decoy work was too slow for the trapper who was buffalo-hunting. so was tracking on snow-shoes, the way the indians hunted north of the yellowstone. a wounded buffalo at close range was quite as vicious as a wounded grisly; and it did not pay the trapper to risk his life getting a pelt for which the trader would give him only four or five dollars' worth of goods. the indians hunted buffalo by driving them over a precipice where hunters were stationed on each side below, or by luring the herd into a pound or pit by means of an indian decoy masking under a buffalo-hide. but the precipice and pit destroyed too many hides; and if the pound were a sort of _cheval-de-frise_ or corral converging at the inner end, it required more hunters than were ever together except at the incoming of the spring brigades. when there were many hunters and countless buffalo, the white blood of the plains' trapper preferred a fair fight in an open field--not the indiscriminate carnage of the indian hunt; so that the greatest buffalo-runs took place after the opening of spring. the greatest of these were on the upper missouri. this was the mandan country, where hunters of the mackinaw from michilimackinac, of the missouri from st. louis, of the nor' westers from montreal, of the hudson bay from fort douglas (winnipeg), used to congregate before the war of 1812, which barred out canadian traders. at a later date the famous, loud-screeching red river ox-carts were used to transport supplies to the scene of the hunt; but at the opening of the last century all hunters, whites, indians, and squaws, rode to field on cayuse ponies or broncos, with no more supplies than could be stowed away in a saddle-pack, and no other escort than the old-fashioned muskets over each white man's shoulder or attached to his holster. the indians were armed with bow and arrow only. the course usually led north and westward, for the reason that at this season the herds were on their great migrations north, and the course of the rivers headed them westward. from the first day out the hunter best fitted for the captainship was recognised as leader, and such discipline maintained as prevented unruly spirits stampeding the buffalo before the cavalcade had closed near enough for the wild rush. at night the hunters slept under open sky with horses picketed to saddles, saddles as pillows, and musket in hand. when the course led through the country of hostiles, sentinels kept guard; but midnight usually saw all hunters in the deep sleep of outdoor life, bare faces upturned to the stars, a little tenuous stream of uprising smoke where the camp-fire still glowed red, and on the far, shadowy horizon, with the moonlit skyline meeting the billowing prairie in perfect circle, vague, whitish forms--the coyotes keeping watch, stealthy and shunless as death. the northward movement of the buffalo began with the spring. odd scattered herds might have roamed the valleys in the winter; but as the grass grew deeper and lush with spring rains, the reaches of the prairie land became literally covered with the humpback, furry forms of the roving herds. indian legend ascribed their coming directly to the spirits. the more prosaic white man explained that the buffalo were only emerging from winter shelter, and their migration was a search for fresh feeding-ground. be that as it may, northward they came, in straggling herds that covered the prairie like a flock of locusts; in close-formed battalions, with leaders and scouts and flank guards protecting the cows and the young; in long lines, single file, leaving the ground, soft from spring rains, marked with a rut like a ditch; in a mad stampede at a lumbering gallop that roared like an ocean tide up hills and down steep ravines, sure-footed as a mountain-goat, thrashing through the swollen water-course of river and slough, up embankments with long beards and fringed dewlaps dripping--on and on and on--till the tidal wave of life had hulked over the sky-line beyond the heaving horizon. here and there in the brownish-black mass were white and gray forms, light-coloured buffalo, freaks in the animal world. the age of the calves in each year's herd varied. the writer remembers a sturdy little buffalo that arrived on the scene of this troublous life one freezing night in january, with a howling blizzard and the thermometer at forty below--a combination that is sufficient to set the teeth of the most mendacious northerner chattering. the young buffalo spent the first three days of his life in this gale and was none the worse, which seems to prove that climatic apology, "though it is cold, you don't feel it." another spindly-legged, clumsy bundle of fawn and fur in the same herd counted its natal day from a sweltering afternoon in august. * * * * * many signs told the buffalo-runners which way to ride for the herd. there was the trail to the watering-place. there were the salt-licks and the wallows and the crushed grass where two young fellows had been smashing each other's horns in a trial of strength. there were the bones of the poor old deposed king, picked clear by the coyotes, or, perhaps, the lonely outcast himself, standing at bay, feeble and frightened, a picture of dumb woe! to such the hunter's shot was a mercy stroke. or, most interesting of all signs and surest proof that the herd was near--a little bundle of fawn-coloured fur lying out flat as a door-mat under hiding of sage-brush, or against a clay mound, precisely the colour of its own hide. poke it! an ear blinks, or a big ox-like eye opens! it is a buffalo calf left cached by the mother, who has gone to the watering-place or is pasturing with the drove. lift it up! it is inert as a sack of wool. let it go! it drops to earth flat and lifeless as a door-mat. the mother has told it how to escape the coyotes and wolverines; and the little rascal is "playing dead." but if you fondle it and warm it--the indians say, breathe into its face--it forgets all about the mother's warning and follows like a pup. at the first signs of the herd's proximity the squaws parted from the cavalcade and all impedimenta remained behind. the best-equipped man was the man with the best horse, a horse that picked out the largest buffalo from one touch of the rider's hand or foot, that galloped swift as wind in pursuit, that jerked to a stop directly opposite the brute's shoulders and leaped from the sideward sweep of the charging horns. no sound came from the hunters till all were within close range. then the captain gave the signal, dropped a flag, waved his hand, or fired a shot, and the hunters charged. arrows whistled through the air, shots clattered with the fusillade of artillery volleys. bullets fell to earth with the dull ping of an aim glanced aside by the adamant head bones or the heaving shoulder fur of the buffalo. the indians shouted their war-cry of "ah--oh, ah--oh!" here and there french voices screamed "voilà! les boeufs! les boeufs! sacré! tonnerre! tir--tir--tir--donc! by gar!" and missouri traders called out plain and less picturesque but more forcible english. sometimes the suddenness of the attack dazed the herd; but the second volley with the smell of powder and smoke and men started the stampede. then followed such a wild rush as is unknown in the annals of any other kind of hunting, up hills, down embankments, over cliffs, through sloughs, across rivers, hard and fast and far as horses had strength to carry riders in a boundless land! [illustration: the buffalo-hunt. after a contemporary print.] riders were unseated and went down in the _mêlée_; horses caught on the horns of charging bulls and ripped from shoulder to flank; men thrown high in mid-air to alight on the back of a buffalo; indians with dexterous aim bringing down the great brutes with one arrow; unwary hunters trampled to death under a multitude of hoofs; wounded buffalo turning with fury on their assailants till the pursuer became pursued and only the fleetness of the pony saved the hunter's life. a retired officer of the north-west mounted police, who took part in a missouri buffalo-run forty years ago, described the impression at the time as of an earthquake. the galloping horses, the rocking mass of fleeing buffalo, the rumbling and quaking of the ground under the thunderous pounding, were all like a violent earthquake. the same gentleman tells how he once saw a wounded buffalo turn on an indian hunter. the man's horse took fright. instead of darting sideways to give him a chance to send a last finishing shot home, the horse became wildly unmanageable and fled. the buffalo pursued. off they raced, rider and buffalo, the indian craning over his horse's neck, the horse blown and fagged and unable to gain one pace ahead of the buffalo, the great beast covered with foam, his eyes like fire, pounding and pounding--closer and closer to the horse till rider and buffalo disappeared over the horizon. "to this day i have wondered what became of that indian," said the officer, "for the horse was losing and the buffalo gaining when they went over the bluff." the incident illustrates a trait seldom found in wild animals--a persistent vindictiveness. in a word, buffalo-hunting was not all boys' play. after the hunt came the gathering of skins and meat. the tongue was first taken as a delicacy for the great feast that celebrated every buffalo-hunt. to this was sometimes added the fleece fat or hump. white hunters have been accused of waste, because they used only the skin, tongue, and hump of the buffalo. but what the white hunter left the indian took, making pemmican by pounding the meat with tallow, drying thinly-shaved slices into "jerked" meat, getting thread from the buffalo sinews and implements of the chase from the bones. the gathering of the spoils was not the least dangerous part of the buffalo-hunt. many an apparently lifeless buffalo has lunged up in a death-throe that has cost the hunter dear. the mounted police officer of whom mention has been made was once camping with a patrol party along the international line between idaho and canada. among the hunting stories told over the camp-fire was that of the indian pursued by the wounded buffalo. scarcely had the colonel finished his anecdote when a great hulking buffalo rose to the crest of a hillock not a gunshot away. "come on, men! let us all have a shot," cried the colonel, grasping his rifle. the buffalo dropped at the first rifle-crack, and the men scrambled pell-mell up the hill to see whose bullet had struck vital. just as they stooped over the fallen buffalo it lunged up with an angry snort. the story of the pursued indian was still fresh in all minds. the colonel is the only man of the party honest enough to tell what happened next. he declares if breath had not given out every man would have run till he dropped over the horizon, like the indian and the buffalo. and when they plucked up courage to go back, the buffalo was dead as a stone. chapter viii the mountaineers it was in the rocky mountains that american trapping attained its climax of heroism and dauntless daring and knavery that out-herods comparison. the war of 1812 had demoralized the american fur trade. indians from both sides of the international boundary committed every depredation, and evaded punishment by scampering across the line to the protection of another flag. alexander mackenzie of the north-west company had been the first of the canadian traders to cross the rockies, reaching the pacific in 1793. the result was that in less than fifteen years the fur posts of the north-west and hudson's bay companies were dotted like beads on a rosary down the course of the mountain rivers to the boundary. of the american traders, the first to follow up lewis and clark's lead from the missouri to the columbia were manuel lisa the spaniard and major andrew henry, the two leading spirits of the missouri company. john jacob astor sent his astorians of the pacific company across the continent in 1811, and a host of st. louis firms had prepared to send free trappers to the mountains when the war broke out. the end of the war saw astoria captured by the nor' westers, the astorians scattered to all parts of the world, lisa driven down the missouri to council bluffs, andrew henry a fugitive from the blackfeet of the yellowstone, and all the free trappers like an idle army waiting for a captain. their captain came. mr. astor's influence secured the passage of a law barring out british fur traders from the united states. that threw all the old hudson's bay and north-west posts south of the boundary into the hands of mr. astor's american fur company. he had already bought out the american part of the mackinaw company's posts, stretching west from michilimackinac beyond the mississippi towards the head waters of the missouri. and now to his force came a tremendous accession--all those dissatisfied nor' westers thrown out of employment when their company amalgamated with the hudson's bay. if mr. astor alone had held the american fur trade, there would have been none of that rivalry which ended in so much bloodshed. but st. louis, lying like a gateway to the mountain trade, had always been jealous of those fur traders with headquarters in new york. lisa had refused to join mr. astor's pacific company, and doubtless the spaniard chuckled over his own wisdom when that venture failed with a loss of nearly half a million to its founder. when lisa died the st. louis traders still held back from the american fur company. henry and ashley and the sublettes and campbell and fitzpatrick and bridger--subsequently known as the rocky mountain traders--swept up the missouri with brigades of one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred men, and were overrunning the mountains five years before the american company's slowly extending line of forts had reached as far west as the yellowstone. a clash was bound to ensue when these two sets of rivals met on a hunting-field which the rocky mountain men regarded as pre-empted by themselves. the clash came from the peculiarities of the hunting-ground. it was two thousand miles by trappers' trail from the reach of law. it was too remote from the fur posts for trappers to go down annually for supplies. supplies were sent up by the fur companies to a mountain _rendezvous_, to pierre's hole under the tetons, or jackson's hole farther east, or ogden's hole at salt lake, sheltered valleys with plenty of water for men and horses when hunters and traders and indians met at the annual camp. elsewhere the hunter had only to follow the windings of a river to be carried to his hunting-ground. here, streams were too turbulent for canoes; and boats were abandoned for horses; and mountain cañons with sides sheer as a wall drove the trapper back from the river-bed to interminable forests, where windfall and underbrush and rockslide obstructed every foot of progress. the valley might be shut in by a blind wall which cooped the hunter up where was neither game nor food. out of this valley, then, he must find a way for himself and his horses, noting every peak so that he might know this region again, noting especially the peaks with the black rock walls; for where the rock is black snow has not clung, and the mountain face will not change; and where snow cannot stick, a man cannot climb; and the peak is a good one for the trapper to shun. one, two, three seasons have often slipped away before the mountaineers found good hunting-ground. ten years is a short enough time to learn the lie of the land in even a small section of mountains. it was twenty years from the time lewis and clark first crossed the mountains before the traders of st. louis could be sure that the trappers sent into the rockies would find their way out. seventy lives were lost in the first two years of mountain trapping, some at the hands of the hostile blackfeet guarding the entrance to the mountains at the head waters of the missouri, some at the hands of the snakes on the upper columbia, others between the platte and salt lake. time and money and life it cost to learn the hunting-grounds of the rockies; and the mountaineers would not see knowledge won at such a cost wrested away by a spying rival. * * * * * then, too, the mountains had bred a new type of trapper, a new style of trapping. only the most daring hunters would sign contracts for the "up-country," or _pays d'en haut_ as the french called it. the french trappers, for the most part, kept to the river valleys and plains; and if one went to the mountains for a term of years, when he came out he was no longer the smug, indolent, laughing, chattering _voyageur_. the great silences of a life hard as the iron age had worked a change. to begin with, the man had become a horseman, a climber, a scout, a fighter of indians and elements, lank and thin and lithe, silent and dogged and relentless. in other regions hunters could go out safely in pairs or even alone, carrying supplies enough for the season in a canoe, and drifting down-stream with a canoe-load of pelts to the fur post. but the mountains were so distant and inaccessible, great quantities of supplies had to be taken. that meant long cavalcades of pack-horses, which blackfeet were ever on the alert to stampede. armed guards had to accompany the pack-train. out of a party of a hundred trappers sent to the mountains by the rock mountain company, thirty were always crack rifle-shots for the protection of the company's property. one such party, properly officered and kept from crossing the animal's tracks, might not drive game from a valley. two such bands of rival traders keen to pilfer each other's traps would result in ruin to both. that is the way the clash came in the early thirties of the last century. * * * * * all winter bands of rocky mountain trappers under fitzpatrick and bridger and sublette had been sweeping, two hundred strong, like foraging bandits, from the head waters of the missouri, where was one mountain pass to the head waters of the platte, where was a second pass much used by the mountaineers. summer came with the heat that wakens all the mountain silences to a roar of rampant life. summer came with the fresh-loosened rocks clattering down the mountain slopes in a landslide, and the avalanches booming over the precipices in a niagara of snow, and the swollen torrents shouting to each other in a thousand voices till the valleys vibrated to that grandest of all music--the voice of many waters. summer came with the heat that drives the game up to the cool heights of the wind-swept peaks; and the hunters of the game began retracing their way from valley to valley, gathering the furs cached during the winter hunt. then the cavalcade set out for the _rendezvous_: grizzled men in tattered buckskins, with long hair and unkempt beards and bronzed skin, men who rode as if they were part of the saddle, easy and careless but always with eyes alert and one hand near the thing in their holsters; long lines of pack-horses laden with furs climbing the mountains in a zigzag trail like a spiral stair, crawling along the face of cliffs barely wide enough to give a horse footing, skirting the sky-line between lofty peaks in order to avoid the detour round the broadened bases, frequently swimming raging torrents whose force carried them half a mile off their trail; always following the long slopes, for the long slopes were most easily climbed; seldom following a water-course, for mountain torrents take short cuts over precipices; packers scattering to right and left at the fording-places, to be rounded back by the collie-dog and the shouting drivers, and the old bell-mare darting after the bolters with her ears laid flat. not a sign by the way escaped the mountaineer's eye. here the tumbling torrent is clear and sparkling and cold as champagne. he knows that stream comes from snow. a glacial stream would be milky blue or milky green from glacial silts; and while game seeks the cool heights in summer, the animals prefer the snow-line and avoid the chill of the iced masses in a glacier. there will be game coming down from the source of that stream when he passes back this way in the fall. ah! what is that little indurated line running up the side of the cliff--just a displacement of the rock chips here, a hardening of the earth that winds in and out among the devil's-club and painter's-brush and mountain laurel and rock crop and heather? "something has been going up and down here to a drinking-place," says the mountaineer. punky yellow logs lie ripped open and scratched where bruin has been enjoying a dainty morsel of ants' eggs; but the bear did not make that track. it is too dainty, and has been used too regularly. neither has the bighorn made it; for the mountain-sheep seldom stay longer above tree-line, resting in the high, meadowed alpine valleys with the long grasses and sunny reaches and larch shade. presently the belled leader tinkles her way round an elbow of rock where a stream trickles down. this is the drinking-place. in the soft mould is a little cleft footprint like the ace of hearts, the trail of the mountain-goat feeding far up at the snow-line where the stream rises. then the little cleft mark unlocks a world of hunter's yarns: how at such a ledge, where the cataract falls like wind-blown mist, one trapper saw a mother goat teaching her little kid to take the leap, and how when she scented human presence she went jump--jump--jump--up and up and up the rock wall, where the man could not follow, bleating and calling the kid; and how the kid leaped and fell back and leaped, and cried as pitifully as a child, till the man, having no canned milk to bring it up, out of very sympathy went away. then another tells how he tried to shoot a goat running up a gulch, but as fast as he sighted his rifle--"drew the bead"--the thing jumped from side to side, criss-crossing up the gulch till she got above danger and away. and some taciturn oracle comes out with the dictum that "men hadn't ought to try to shoot goat except from above or in front." every pack-horse of the mountains knows the trick of planting legs like stanchions and blowing his sides out in a balloon when the men are tightening cinches. no matter how tight girths may be, before every climb and at the foot of every slope there must be re-tightening. and at every stop the horses come shouldering up for the packs to be righted, or try to scrape the things off under some low-branched tree. night falls swiftly in the mountains, the long, peaked shadows etching themselves across the valleys. shafts of sunlight slant through the mountain gaps gold against the endless reaches of matted forest, red as wine across the snowy heights. with the purpling shadows comes a sudden chill, silencing the roar of mountain torrents to an all-pervading ceaseless prolonged h--u--s--h--! mountaineers take no chances on the ledges after dark. it is dangerous enough work to skirt narrow precipices in daylight; and sunset is often followed by a thick mist rolling across the heights in billows of fog. these are the clouds that one sees across the peaks at nightfall like banners. how does it feel benighted among those clouds? a few years ago i was saving a long detour round the base of a mountain by riding along the saddle of rock between two peaks. the sky-line rounded the convex edge of a sheer precipice for three miles. midway the inner wall rose straight, the outer edge above blackness--seven thousand feet the mountaineer guiding us said it was, though i think it was nearer five. the guide's horse displaced a stone the size of a pail from the path. if a man had slipped in the same way he would have fallen to the depths; but when one foot slips, a horse has three others to regain himself; and with a rear-end flounder the horse got his footing. but down--down--down went the stone, bouncing and knocking and echoing as it struck against the precipice wall--down--down--down till it was no larger than a spool--then out of sight--and silence! the mountaineer looked back over his shoulder. "always throw both your feet over the saddle to the inner side of the trail in a place like this," he directed, with a curious meaning in his words. "what do you do when the clouds catch you on this sort of a ledge?" "get off--knock ahead with your rifle to feel where the edge is--throw bits of rock through the fog so you can tell where you are by the sound." "and when no sound comes back?" "sit still," said he. then to add emphasis, "you bet you sit still! people can say what they like, but when no sound comes back, or when the sound's muffled as if it came from water below, you bet it gives you chills!" so the mountaineers take no chances on the ledges after dark. the moon riding among the peaks rises over pack-horses standing hobbled on the lee side of a roaring camp-fire that will drive the sand-flies and mosquitoes away, on pelts and saddle-trees piled carefully together, on men sleeping with no pillow but a pack, no covering but the sky. if a sharp crash breaks the awful stillness of a mountain night, the trapper is unalarmed. he knows it is only some great rock loosened by the day's thaw rolling down with a landslide. if a shrill, fiendish laugh shrieks through the dark, he pays no heed. it is only the cougar prowling cattishly through the under-brush perhaps still-hunting the hunter. the lonely call overhead is not the prairie-hawk, but the eagle lilting and wheeling in a sort of dreary enjoyment of utter loneliness. long before the sunrise has drawn the tented shadows across the valley the mountaineers are astir, with the pack-horses snatching mouthfuls of bunch-grass as they travel off in a way that sets the old leader's bell tinkling. the mountaineers usually left their hunting-grounds early in may. they seldom reached their _rendezvous_ before july or august. three months travelling a thousand miles! three hundred miles a month! ten miles a day! it is not a record that shows well beside our modern sixty miles an hour--a thousand miles a day. and yet it is a better record; for if our latter-day fliers had to build the road as they went along, they would make slower time than the mountaineers of a century ago. rivers too swift to swim were rafted on pine logs, cut and braced together while the cavalcade waited. muskegs where the industrious little beaver had flooded a valley by damming up the central stream often mired the horses till all hands were called to haul out the unfortunate; and where the mire was very treacherous and the surrounding mountains too steep for foothold, choppers went to work and corduroyed a trail across, throwing the logs on branches that kept them afloat, and overlaying with moss to save the horses' feet. but the greatest cause of delay was the windfall, pines and spruce of enormous girth pitched down by landslide and storm into an impassable _cheval-de-frise_. turn to the right! a matted tangle of underbrush higher than the horses' head bars the way! turn to the left! a muskeg where horses sink through quaking moss to saddle-girths! if the horses could not be driven around the barrier, the mountaineers would try to force a high jump. the high jump failing except at risk of broken legs, there was nothing to do but chop a passage through. and were the men carving a way through the wilderness only the bushwhackers who have pioneered other forest lands? of the prominent men leading mountaineers in 1831, vanderburgh of the american fur company was a son of a fifth new york regiment officer in the revolutionary war, and himself a graduate of west point. one of the rocky mountain leaders was a graduate from a blacksmith-shop. another leader was a descendant of the royal blood of france. all grades of life supplied material for the mountaineer; but it was the mountains that bred the heroism, that created a new type of trapper--the most purely american type, because produced by purely american conditions. green river was the _rendezvous_ for the mountaineers in 1831; and to green river came trappers of the columbia, of the three forks, of the missouri, of the bighorn and yellowstone and platte. from st. louis came the traders to exchange supplies for pelts; and from every habitable valley of the mountains native tribes to barter furs, sell horses for transport, carouse at the merry meeting and spy on what the white hunters were doing. for a month all was the confusion of a gipsy camp or oriental fair. french-canadian _voyageurs_ who had come up to raft the season's cargo down-stream to st. louis jostled shoulders with mountaineers from the spanish settlements to the south and american trappers from the columbia to the north and free trappers who had ranged every forest of america from labrador to mexico.[32] merchants from st. louis, like general ashley, the foremost leader of rocky mountain trappers, descendants from scottish nobility like kenneth mackenzie of fort union, miscellaneous gentlemen of adventure like captain bonneville, or wyeth of boston, or baron stuart--all with retinues of followers like mediæval lords--found themselves hobnobbing at the _rendezvous_ with mighty indian sachems, crows or pend d'oreilles or flat heads, clad in little else than moccasins, a buffalo-skin blanket, and a pompous dignity. among the underlings was a time of wild revel, drinking daylight out and daylight in, decking themselves in tawdry finery for the one dress occasion of the year, and gambling sober or drunk till all the season's earnings, pelts and clothing and horses and traps, were gone. the partners--as the rocky mountain men called themselves in distinction to the _bourgeois_ of the french, the factors of the hudson's bay, the partisans of the american fur company--held confabs over crumpled maps, planning the next season's hunt, drawing in roughly the fresh information brought down each year of new regions, and plotting out all sections of the mountains for the different brigades. this year a new set of faces appeared at the _rendezvous_, from thirty to fifty men with full quota of saddle-horses, pack-mules, and traps. on the traps were letters that afterward became magical in all the up-country--a. f. c.--american fur company. leading these men were vanderburgh, who had already become a successful trader among the aricaras and had to his credit one victory over the blackfeet; and drips, who had been a member of the old missouri fur company and knew the upper platte well. but the rocky mountain men, who knew the cost of life and time and money it had taken to learn the hunting-grounds of the rockies, doubtless smiled at these tenderfeet who thought to trap as successfully in the hills as they had on the plains. two things counselled caution. vanderburgh would stop at nothing. drips had married a native woman of the platte, whose tribe might know the hunting-grounds as well as the mountaineers. hunters fraternize in friendship at holidaying; but they no more tell each other secrets than rival editors at a banquet. mountaineers knowing the field like bridger who had been to the columbia with henry as early as 1822 and had swept over the ranges as far south as the platte, or fitzpatrick[33] who had made the salt lake region his stamping-ground, might smile at the newcomers; but they took good care to give their rivals the slip when hunters left the _rendezvous_ for the hills. when the mountaineers scattered, fitzpatrick led his brigade to the region between the black hills on the east and the bighorn mountains on the west. the first snowfall was powdering the hills. beaver were beginning to house up for the winter. big game was moving down to the valley. the hunters had pitched a central camp on the banks of powder river, gathered in the supply of winter meat, and dispersed in pairs to trap all through the valley. but forest rangers like vanderburgh and drips were not to be so easily foiled. every axe-mark on windfall, every camp-fire, every footprint in the spongy mould, told which way the mountaineers had gone. fitzpatrick's hunters wakened one morning to find traps marked a. f. c. beside their own in the valley. the trick was too plain to be misunderstood. the american fur company might not know the hunting-grounds of the rockies, but they were deliberately dogging the mountaineers to their secret retreats. armed conflict would only bring ruin in lawsuits. gathering his hunters together under cover of snowfall or night, fitzpatrick broke camp, slipped stealthily out of the valley, over the bighorn range, across the bighorn river, now almost impassable in winter, into the pathless foldings of the wind river mountains, with their rampart walls and endless snowfields, westward to snake river valley, three hundred miles away from the spies. instead of trapping from east to west, as he had intended to do so that the return to the _rendezvous_ would lead past the caches, fitzpatrick thought to baffle the spies by trapping from west to east. having wintered on the snake, he moved gradually up-stream. crossing southward over a divide, they unexpectedly came on the very rivals whom they were avoiding, vanderburgh and drips, evidently working northward on the mountaineers' trail. by a quick reverse they swept back north in time for the summer _rendezvous_ at pierre's hole. who had told vanderburgh and drips that the mountaineers were to meet at pierre's hole in 1832? possibly indians and fur trappers who had been notified to come down to pierre's hole by the rocky mountain men; possibly, too, paid spies in the employment of the american fur company. before supplies had come up from st. louis for the mountaineers vanderburgh and drips were at the _rendezvous_. neither of the rivals could flee away to the mountains till the supplies came. could the mountaineers but get away first, vanderburgh and drips could no longer dog a fresh trail. fitzpatrick at once set out with all speed to hasten the coming convoy. four hundred miles eastward he met the supplies, explained the need to hasten provisions, and with one swift horse under him and another swift one as a relay, galloped back to the _rendezvous_. but the blackfeet were ever on guard at the mountain passes like cats at a mouse-hole. fitzpatrick had ridden into a band of hostiles before he knew the danger. vaulting to the saddle of the fresh horse, he fled to the hills, where he lay concealed for three days. then he ventured out. the indians still guarded the passes. they must have come upon him at a night camp when his horse was picketed, for fitzpatrick escaped to the defiles of the mountains with nothing but the clothes on his back and a single ball in his rifle. by creeping from shelter to shelter of rugged declivities where the indian ponies could not follow, he at last got across the divide, living wholly on roots and berries. swimming one of the swollen mountain rivers, he lost his rifle. hatless--for his hat had been cut up to bind his bleeding feet and protect them from the rocks--and starving, he at last fell in with some iroquois hunters also bound for the _rendezvous_. the convoy under sublette had already arrived at pierre's hole. the famous battle between white men and hostile blackfeet at pierre's hole, which is told elsewhere, does not concern the story of rivalry between mountaineers and the american fur company. the rocky mountain men now realized that the magical a. f. c. was a rival to be feared and not to be lightly shaken. some overtures were made by the mountaineers for an equal division of the hunting-ground between the two great companies. these vanderburgh and drips rejected with the scorn of utter confidence. meanwhile provisions had not come for the american fur company. the mountaineers not only captured all trade with the friendly indians, but in spite of the delay from the fight with the blackfeet got away to their hunting-grounds two weeks in advance of the american company. what the rocky mountain men decided when the american company rejected the offer to divide the hunting-ground can only be inferred from what was done. vanderburgh and drips knew that fitzpatrick and bridger had led a picked body of horsemen northward from pierre's hole. if the mountaineers had gone east of the lofty tetons, their hunting-ground would be somewhere between the yellowstone and the bighorn. if they had gone south, one could guess they would round-up somewhere about salt lake where the hudson's bay[34] had been so often "relieved" of their furs by the mountaineers. if they had gone west, their destination must be on the columbia or the snake. if they went north, they would trap on the three forks of the upper missouri. therefore vanderburgh and drips cached all impedimenta that might hamper swift marching, smiled to themselves, and headed their horses for the three forks of the missouri. there were blackfeet, to be sure, in that region; and blackfeet hated vanderburgh with deadly venom because he had once defeated them and slain a great warrior. also, the blackfeet were smarting from the fearful losses of pierre's hole. but if the rocky mountain men could go unscathed among the blackfeet, why, so could the american fur company! and vanderburgh and drips went! rival traders might not commit murder. that led to the fearful ruin of the lawsuits that overtook nor' westers and hudson's bay in canada only fifteen years before. but the mountaineers knew that the blackfeet hated henry vanderburgh! corduroyed muskeg where the mountaineers' long file of pack-horses had passed, fresh-chopped logs to make a way through blockades of fallen pine, the green moss that hangs festooned among the spruce at cloudline broken and swinging free as if a rider had passed that way, grazed bark where the pack-saddle had brushed a tree-trunk, muddy hoof-marks where the young packers had balked at fording an icy stream, scratchings on rotten logs where a mountaineer's pegged boot had stepped--all these told which way fitzpatrick and bridger had led their brigade. oh, it was an easy matter to scent so hot a trail! here the ashes of a camp-fire! there a pile of rock placed a deal too carefully for nature's work--the cached furs of the fleeing rivals! besides, what with cañon and whirlpool, there are so very few ways by which a cavalcade can pass through mountains that the simplest novice could have trailed fitzpatrick and bridger. doubtless between the middle of august when vanderburgh and drips set out on the chase and the middle of september when they ran down the fugitives the american fur company leaders had many a laugh at their own cleverness. they succeeded in overtaking the mountaineers in the valley of the jefferson, splendid hunting-grounds with game enough for two lines of traps, which vanderburgh and drips at once set out. no swift flight by forced marches this time! the mountaineers sat still for almost a week. then they casually moved down the jefferson towards the main missouri. the hunting-ground was still good. weren't the mountaineers leaving a trifle too soon? should the americans follow or stay? vanderburgh remained, moving over into the adjacent valley and spreading his traps along the madison. drips followed the mountaineers. two weeks' chase over utterly gameless ground probably suggested to drips that even an animal will lead off on a false scent to draw the enemy away from the true trail. at the missouri he turned back up the jefferson. wheeling right about, the mountaineers at once turned back too, up the farthest valley, the gallatin, then on the way to the first hunting-ground westward over a divide to the madison, where--ill luck!--they again met their ubiquitous rival, vanderburgh! how vanderburgh laughed at these antics one may guess! post-haste up the madison went the mountaineers! should vanderburgh stay or follow? certainly the enemy had been bound back for the good hunting-grounds when they had turned to retrace their way up the madison. if they meant to try the jefferson, vanderburgh would forestall the move. he crossed over to the valley where he had first found them. sure enough there were camp-fires on the old hunting-grounds, a dead buffalo, from which the hunters had just fled to avoid vanderburgh! if vanderburgh laughed, his laugh was short; for there were signs that the buffalo had been slain by an indian. the trappers refused to hunt where there were blackfeet about. vanderburgh refused to believe there was any danger of blackfeet. calling for volunteers, he rode forward with six men. first they found a fire. the marauders must be very near. then a dead buffalo was seen, then fresh tracks, unmistakably the tracks of indians. but buffalo were pasturing all around undisturbed. there could not be many indians. determined to quiet the fears of his men, vanderburgh pushed on, entered a heavily wooded gulch, paused at the steep bank of a dried torrent, descried nothing, and jumped his horse across the bank, followed by the six volunteers. instantly the valley rang with rifle-shots. a hundred hostiles sprang from ambush. vanderburgh's horse went down. three others cleared the ditch at a bound and fled; but vanderburgh was to his feet, aiming his gun, and coolly calling out: "don't run! don't run!" two men sent their horses back over the ditch to his call, a third was thrown to be slain on the spot, and vanderburgh's first shot had killed the nearest indian, when another volley from the blackfeet exacted deadly vengeance for the warrior vanderburgh had slain years before. panic-stricken riders carried the news to the waiting brigade. refuge was taken in the woods, where sentinels kept guard all night. the next morning, with scouts to the fore, the brigade retreated cautiously towards some of their caches. a second night was passed behind barriers of logs; and the third day a band of friendly indians was encountered, who were sent to bury the dead. the frenchman they buried. vanderburgh had been torn to pieces and his bones thrown into the river. so ended the merry game of spying on the mountaineers. as for the mountaineers, they fell into the meshes of their own snares; for on the way to snake river, when parleying with friendly blackfeet, the accidental discharge of bridger's gun brought a volley of arrows from the indians, one hooked barb lodging in bridger's shoulder-blade, which he carried around for three years as a memento of his own trickery. fitzpatrick fared as badly. instigated by the american fur company, the crows attacked him within a year, stealing everything that he possessed. footnotes: [footnote 32: this is no exaggeration. smith's trappers, who were scattered from fort vancouver to monterey, the astorians, major andrew henry's party--had all been such wide-ranging foresters.] [footnote 33: fitzpatrick was late in reaching the hunting-ground this year, owing to a disaster with smith on the way back from santa fé.] [footnote 34: by law the hudson's bay had no right in this region from the passing of the act forbidding british traders in the united states. but, then, no man had a right to steal half a million of another's furs, which was the record of the rocky mountain men.] part ii chapter ix the taking of the beaver all summer long he had hung about the fur company trading-posts waiting for the signs. and now the signs had come. foliage crimson to the touch of night-frosts. crisp autumn days, spicy with the smell of nuts and dead leaves. birds flying away southward, leaving the woods silent as the snow-padded surface of a frozen pond. hoar-frost heavier every morning; and thin ice edged round stagnant pools like layers of mica. then he knew it was time to go. and through the northern forests moved a new presence--the trapper. of the tawdry, flash clothing in which popular fancy is wont to dress him he has none. bright colours would be a danger-signal to game. if his costume has any colour, it is a waist-belt or neck-scarf, a toque or bright handkerchief round his head to keep distant hunters from mistaking him for a moose. for the rest, his clothes are as ragged as any old, weather-worn garments. sleeping on balsam boughs or cooking over a smoky fire will reduce the newness of blanket coat and buckskin jacket to the dun shades of the grizzled forest. a few days in the open and the trapper has the complexion of a bronzed tree-trunk. like other wild creatures, this foster-child of the forest gradually takes on the appearance and habits of woodland life. nature protects the ermine by turning his russet coat of the grass season to spotless white for midwinter--except the jet tail-tip left to lure hungry enemies and thus, perhaps, to prevent the little stoat degenerating into a sloth. and the forest looks after her foster-child by transforming the smartest suit that ever stepped out of the clothier's bandbox to the dull tints of winter woods. this is the seasoning of the man for the work. but the trapper's training does not stop here. when the birds have gone south the silence of a winter forest on a windless day becomes tense enough to be snapped by either a man's breathing or the breaking of a small twig; and the trapper acquires a habit of moving through the brush with noiseless stealth. he must learn to see better than the caribou can hear or the wolf smell--which means that in keenness and accuracy his sight outdistances the average field-glass. besides, the trapper has learned how to look, how to see, and seeing--discern; which the average man cannot do even through a field-glass. then animals have a trick of deceiving the enemy into mistaking them for inanimate things by suddenly standing stock-still in closest peril, unflinching as stone; and to match himself against them the trapper must also get the knack of instantaneously becoming a statue, though he feel the clutch of bruin's five-inch claws. and these things are only the _a b c_ of the trapper's woodcraft. one of the best hunters in america confessed that the longer he trapped the more he thought every animal different enough from the fellows of its kind to be a species by itself. each day was a fresh page in the book of forest-lore. it is in the month of may-goosey-geezee, the ojibways' trout month, corresponding to the late october and early november of the white man, that the trapper sets out through the illimitable stretches of the forest land and waste prairie south of hudson bay, between labrador and the upper missouri. his birch canoe has been made during the summer. now, splits and seams, where the bark crinkles at the gunwale, must be filled with rosin and pitch. a light sled, with only runners and cross frame, is made to haul the canoe over still water, where the ice first forms. sled, provisions, blanket, and fish-net are put in the canoe, not forgetting the most important part of his kit--the trapper's tools. whether he hunts from point to point all winter, travelling light and taking nothing but absolute necessaries, or builds a central lodge, where he leaves full store and radiates out to the hunting-grounds, at least four things must be in his tool-bag: a woodman's axe; a gimlet to bore holes in his snow-shoe frame; a crooked knife--not the sheathed dagger of fiction, but a blade crooked hook-shape, somewhat like a farrier's knife, at one end--to smooth without splintering, as a carpenter's plane; and a small chisel to use on the snow-shoe frames and wooden contrivances that stretch the pelts. if accompanied by a boy, who carries half the pack, the hunter may take more tools; but the old trapper prefers to travel light. fire-arms, ammunition, a common hunting-knife, steel-traps, a cotton-factory tepee, a large sheet of canvas, locally known as _abuckwan_, for a shed tent, complete the trapper's equipment. his dog is not part of the equipment: it is fellow-hunter and companion. from the moose must come the heavy filling for the snow-shoes; but the snow-shoes will not be needed for a month, and there is no haste about shooting an unfound moose while mink and musk-rat and otter and beaver are waiting to be trapped. with the dog showing his wisdom by sitting motionless as an indian bowman, the trapper steps into his canoe and pushes out. eye and ear alert for sign of game or feeding-place, where traps would be effective, the man paddles silently on. if he travels after nightfall, the chances are his craft will steal unawares close to a black head above a swimming body. with both wind and current meeting the canoe, no suspicion of his presence catches the scent of the sharp-nosed swimmer. otter or beaver, it is shot from the canoe. with a leap over bow or stern--over his master's shoulder if necessary, but never sideways, lest the rebound cause an upset--the dog brings back his quarry. but this is only an aside, the hap-hazard shot of an amateur hunter, not the sort of trapping that fills the company's lofts with fur bales. while ranging the forest the former season the trapper picked out a large birch-tree, free of knots and underbranching, with the full girth to make the body of a canoe from gunwale to gunwale without any gussets and seams. but birch-bark does not peel well in winter. the trapper scratched the trunk with a mark of "first-finder-first-owner," honoured by all hunters; and came back in the summer for the bark. perhaps it was while taking the bark from this tree that he first noticed the traces of beaver. channels, broader than runnels, hardly as wide as a ditch, have been cut connecting pool with pool, marsh with lake. here are runways through the grass, where beaver have dragged young saplings five times their own length to a winter storehouse near the dam. trees lie felled miles away from any chopper. chips are scattered about marked by teeth which the trapper knows--knows, perhaps, from having seen his dog's tail taken off at a nip, or his own finger amputated almost before he felt it. if the bark of a tree has been nibbled around, like the line a chopper might make before cutting, the trapper guesses whether his coming has not interrupted a beaver in the very act. all these are signs which spell out the presence of a beaver-dam within one night's travelling distance; for the timid beaver frequently works at night, and will not go so far away that forage cannot be brought in before daylight. in which of the hundred water-ways in the labyrinth of pond and stream where beavers roam is this particular family to be found? realizing that his own life depends on the life of the game, no true trapper will destroy wild creatures when the mothers are caring for their young. besides, furs are not at their prime when birch-bark is peeled, and the trapper notes the place, so that he may come back when the fall hunt begins. beaver kittens stay under the parental roof for three years, but at the end of the first summer are amply able to look after their own skins. free from nursery duties, the old ones can now use all the ingenuity and craft which nature gave them for self-protection. when cold weather comes the beaver is fair game to the trapper. it is wit against wit. to be sure, the man has superior strength, a gun, and a treacherous thing called a trap. but his eyes are not equal to the beaver's nose. and he hasn't that familiarity with the woods to enable him to pursue, which the beaver has to enable it to escape. and he can't swim long enough under water to throw enemies off the scent, the way the beaver does. now, as he paddles along the network of streams which interlace northern forests, he will hardly be likely to stumble on the beaver-dam of last summer. beavers do not build their houses, where passers-by will stumble upon them. but all the streams have been swollen by fall rains; and the trapper notices the markings on every chip and pole floating down the full current. a chip swirls past white and fresh cut. he knows that the rains have floated it over the beaver-dam. beavers never cut below their houses, but always above, so that the current will carry the poles down-stream to the dam. leaving his canoe-load behind, the trapper guardedly advances within sight of the dam. if any old beaver sentinel be swimming about, he quickly scents the man-smell, upends and dives with a spanking blow of his trowel tail on the water, which heliographs danger to the whole community. he swims with his webbed hind feet, the little fore paws being used as carriers or hanging limply, the flat tail acting the faintest bit in the world like a rudder; but that is a mooted question. the only definitely ascertained function of that bat-shaped appendage is to telegraph danger to comrades. the beaver neither carries things on his tail, nor plasters houses with it; for the simple reason that the joints of his caudal appurtenance admit of only slight sidelong wigglings and a forward sweep between his hind legs, as if he might use it as a tray for food while he sat back spooning up mouthfuls with his fore paws. having found the wattled homes of the beaver, the trapper may proceed in different ways. he may, after the fashion of the indian hunter, stake the stream across above the dam, cut away the obstruction lowering the water, break the conical crowns of the houses on the south side, which is thinnest, and slaughter the beavers indiscriminately as they rush out. but such hunting kills the goose that lays the golden egg; and explains why it was necessary to prohibit the killing of beaver for some years. in the confusion of a wild scramble to escape and a blind clubbing of heads there was bootless destruction. old and young, poor and in prime, suffered the same fate. the house had been destroyed; and if one beaver chanced to escape into some of the bank-holes under water or up the side channels, he could be depended upon to warn all beaver from that country. only the degenerate white man practises bad hunting. the skilled hunter has other methods. if unstripped saplings be yet about the bank of the stream, the beavers have not finished laying up their winter stores in adjacent pools. the trapper gets one of his steel-traps. attaching the ring of this to a loose trunk heavy enough to hold the beaver down and drown him, he places the trap a few inches under water at the end of a runway or in one of the channels. he then takes out a bottle of castoreum. this is a substance from the glands of a beaver which destroys all traces of the man-smell. for it the beavers have a curious infatuation, licking everything touched by it, and said, by some hunters, to be drugged into a crazy stupidity by the very smell. the hunter daubs this on his own foot-tracks. or, if he finds tracks of the beaver in the grass back from the bank, he may build an old-fashioned deadfall, with which the beaver is still taken in labrador. this is the small lean-to, with a roof of branches and bark--usually covered with snow--slanting to the ground on one side, the ends either posts or logs, and the front an opening between two logs wide enough to admit half the animal's body. inside, at the back, on a rectangular stick, one part of which bolsters up the front log, is the bait. all traces of the hunter are smeared over with the elusive castoreum. one tug at the bait usually brings the front log crashing down across the animal's back, killing it instantly. but neither the steel-trap nor the deadfall is wholly satisfactory. when the poor beaver comes sniffing along the castoreum trail to the steel-trap and on the first splash into the water feels a pair of iron jaws close on his feet, he dives below to try and gain the shelter of his house. the log plunges after him, holding him down and back till he drowns; and his whereabouts are revealed by the upend of the tree. but several chances are in the beaver's favour. with the castoreum licks, which tell them of some other beaver, perhaps looking for a mate or lost cub, they may become so exhilarated as to jump clear of the trap. or, instead of diving down with the trap, they may retreat back up the bank and amputate the imprisoned foot with one nip, leaving only a mutilated paw for the hunter. with the deadfall a small beaver may have gone entirely inside the snare before the front log falls; and an animal whose teeth saw through logs eighteen inches in diameter in less than half an hour can easily eat a way of escape from a wooden trap. other things are against the hunter. a wolverine may arrive on the scene before the trapper and eat the finest beaver ever taken; or the trapper may discover that his victim is a poor little beaver with worthless, ragged fur, who should have been left to forage for three or four years. * * * * * all these risks can be avoided by waiting till the ice is thick enough for the trapper to cut trenches. then he returns with a woodman's axe and his dog. by sounding the ice, he can usually find where holes have been hollowed out of the banks. here he drives stakes to prevent the beaver taking refuge in the shore vaults. the runways and channels, where the beaver have dragged trees, may be hidden in snow and iced over; but the man and his dog will presently find them. the beaver always chooses a stream deep enough not to be frozen solid, and shallow enough for it to make a mud foundation for the house without too much work. besides, in a deep, swift stream, rains would carry away any house the beaver could build. a trench across the upper stream or stakes through the ice prevent escape that way. the trapper then cuts a hole in the dam. falling water warns the terrified colony that an enemy is near. it may be their greatest foe, the wolverine, whose claws will rip through the frost-hard wall as easily as a bear delves for gophers; but their land enemies cannot pursue them into water; so the panic-stricken family--the old parents, wise from many such alarms; the young three-year-olds, who were to go out and rear families for themselves in the spring; the two-year-old cubbies, big enough to be saucy, young enough to be silly; and the baby kittens, just able to forage for themselves and know the soft alder rind from the tough old bark unpalatable as mud--pop pell-mell from the high platform of their houses into the water. the water is still falling. they will presently be high and dry. no use trying to escape up-stream. they see that in the first minute's wild scurry through the shallows. besides, what's this across the creek? stakes, not put there by any beaver; for there is no bark on. if they only had time now they might cut a passage through; but no--this wretched enemy, whatever it is, has ditched the ice across. they sniff and listen. a terrible sound comes from above--a low, exultant, devilish whining. the man has left his dog on guard above the dam. at that the little beavers--always trembling, timid fellows--tumble over each other in a panic of fear to escape by way of the flowing water below the dam. but there a new terror assails them. a shadow is above the ice, a wraith of destruction--the figure of a man standing at the dam with his axe and club--waiting. where to go now? they can't find their bank shelters, for the man has staked them up. the little fellows lose their presence of mind and their heads and their courage, and with a blind scramble dash up the remaining open runway. it is a _cul-de-sac_. but what does that matter? they run almost to the end. they can crouch there till the awful shadow goes away. exactly. that is what the man has been counting on. he will come to them afterward. the old beavers make no such mistake. they have tried the hollow-log trick with an enemy pursuing them to the blind end, and have escaped only because some other beaver was eaten. the old ones know that water alone is safety. that is the first and last law of beaver life. they, too, see that phantom destroyer above the ice; but a dash past is the last chance. how many of the beaver escape past the cut in the dam to the water below, depends on the dexterity of the trapper's aim. but certainly, for the most, one blow is the end; and that one blow is less cruel to them than the ravages of the wolf or wolverine in spring, for these begin to eat before they kill. a signal, and the dog ceases to keep guard above the dam. where is the runway in which the others are hiding? the dog scampers round aimlessly, but begins to sniff and run in a line and scratch and whimper. the man sees that the dog is on the trail of sagging snow, and the sag betrays ice settling down where a channel has run dry. the trapper cuts a hole across the river end of the runway and drives down stakes. the young beavers are now prisoners. the human mind can't help wondering why the foolish youngsters didn't crouch below the ice above the dam and lie there in safe hiding till the monster went away. this may be done by the hermit beavers--fellows who have lost their mates and go through life inconsolable; or sick creatures, infested by parasites and turned off to house in the river holes; or fat, selfish ladies, who don't want the trouble of training a family. whatever these solitaries are--naturalists and hunters differ--they have the wit to keep alive; but the poor little beavers rush right into the jaws of death. why do they? for the same reason probably, if they could answer, that people trample each other to death when there is an alarm in a crowd. * * * * * they cower in the terrible pen, knowing nothing at all about their hides being valued all the way from fifty cents to three dollars, according to the quality; nothing about the dignity of being a coin of the realm in the northern wilderness, where one beaver-skin sets the value for mink, otter, marten, bear, and all other skins, one pound of tobacco, one kettle, five pounds of shot, a pint of brandy, and half a yard of cloth; nothing about the rascally indians long ago bartering forty of their hides for a scrap of iron and a great company sending one hundred thousand beaver-skins in a single year to make hats and cloaks for the courtiers of europe; nothing about the laws of man forbidding the killing of beaver till their number increase. all the little beaver remembers is that it opened its eyes to daylight in the time of soft, green grasses; and that as soon as it got strong enough on a milk diet to travel, the mother led the whole family of kittens--usually three or four--down the slanting doorway of their dim house for a swim; and that she taught them how to nibble the dainty, green shrubs along the bank; and then the entire colony went for the most glorious, pell-mell splash up-stream to fresh ponds. no more sleeping in that stifling lodge; but beds in soft grass like a goose-nest all night, and tumbling in the water all day, diving for the roots of the lily-pads. but the old mother is always on guard, for the wolves and bears are ravenous in spring. soon the cubs can cut the hardening bark of alder and willow as well as their two-year-old brothers; and the wonderful thing is--if a tooth breaks, it grows into perfect shape inside of a week. by august the little fellows are great swimmers, and the colony begins the descent of the stream for their winter home. if unmolested, the old dam is chosen; but if the hated man-smell is there, new waterways are sought. burrows and washes and channels and retreats are cleaned out. trees are cut and a great supply of branches laid up for winter store near the lodge, not a chip of edible bark being wasted. just before the frost they begin building or repairing the dam. each night's frost hardens the plastered clay till the conical wattled roof--never more than two feet thick--will support the weight of a moose. all work is done with mouth and fore paws, and not the tail. this has been finally determined by observing the marquis of bute's colony of beavers. if the family--the old parents and three seasons' offspring--be too large for the house, new chambers are added. in height the house is seldom more than five feet from the base, and the width varies. in building a new dam they begin under water, scooping out clay, mixing this with stones and sticks for the walls, and hollowing out the dome as it rises, like a coffer-dam, except that man pumps out water and the beaver scoops out mud. the domed roof is given layer after layer of clay till it is cold-proof. whether the houses have one door or two is disputed; but the door is always at the end of a sloping incline away from the land side, with a shelf running round above, which serves as the living-room. differences in the houses, breaks below water, two doors instead of one, platforms like an oven instead of a shelf, are probably explained by the continual abrasion of the current. by the time the ice forms the beavers have retired to their houses for the winter, only coming out to feed on their winter stores and get an airing. but this terrible thing has happened; and the young beavers huddle together under the ice of the canal, bleating with the cry of a child. they are afraid to run back; for the crunch of feet can be heard. they are afraid to go forward; for the dog is whining with a glee that is fiendish to the little beavers. then a gust of cold air comes from the rear and a pole prods forward. the man has opened a hole to feel where the hiding beavers are, and with little terrified yelps they scuttle to the very end of the runway. by this time the dog is emitting howls of triumph. for hours he has been boxing up his wolfish ferocity, and now he gives vent by scratching with a zeal that would burrow to the middle of earth. the trapper drives in more stakes close to the blind end of the channel, and cuts a hole above the prison of the beaver. he puts down his arm. one by one they are dragged out by the tail; and that finishes the little beaver--sacrificed, like the guinea-pigs and rabbits of bacteriological laboratories, to the necessities of man. only, this death is swifter and less painful. a prolonged death-struggle with the beaver would probably rob the trapper of half his fingers. very often the little beavers with poor fur are let go. if the dog attempts to capture the frightened runaways by catching at the conspicuous appendage to the rear, that dog is likely to emerge from the struggle minus a tail, while the beaver runs off with two. trappers have curious experiences with beaver kittens which they take home as pets. when young they are as easily domesticated as a cat, and become a nuisance with their love of fondling. but to them, as to the hunter, comes what the indians call "the-sickness-of-long-thinking," the gipsy yearning for the wilds. then extraordinary things happen. the beaver are apt to avenge their comrades' death. one old beaver trapper of new brunswick related that by june the beavers became so restless, he feared their escape and put them in cages. they bit their way out with absurd ease. he then tried log pens. they had eaten a hole through in a night. thinking to get wire caging, he took them into his lodge, and they seemed contented enough while he was about; but one morning he wakened to find a hole eaten through the door, and the entire round of birch-bark, which he had staked out ready for the gunwales and ribbing of his canoe--bark for which he had travelled forty miles--chewed into shreds. the beavers had then gone up-stream, which is their habit in spring. chapter x the making of the moccasins it is a grim joke of the animal world that the lazy moose is the moose that gives wings to the feet of the pursuer. when snow comes the trapper must have snow-shoes and moccasins. for both, moose supplies the best material. bees have their drones, beaver their hermits, and moose a ladified epicure who draws off from the feeding-yards of the common herd, picks out the sweetest browse of the forest, and gorges herself till fat as a gouty voluptuary. while getting the filling for his snow-shoes, the trapper also stocks his larder; and if he can find a spinster moose, he will have something better than shredded venison and more delicately flavoured than finest teal. sledding his canoe across shallow lakelets, now frozen like rock, still paddling where there is open way, the trapper continues to guide his course up the waterways. big game, he knows, comes out to drink at sunrise and sunset; and nearly all the small game frequents the banks of streams either to fish or to prey on the fisher. each night he sleeps in the open with his dog on guard; or else puts up the cotton tepee, the dog curling outside the tent flap, one ear awake. and each night a net is set for the white-fish that are to supply breakfast, feed the dog, and provide heads for the traps placed among rocks in mid-stream, or along banks where dainty footprints were in the morning's hoar-frost. brook trout can still be got in the pools below waterfalls; but the trapper seldom takes time now to use the line, depending on his gun and fish-net. during the indian's white-fish month--the white man's november--the weather has become colder and colder; but the trapper never indulges in the big log fire that delights the heart of the amateur hunter. that would drive game a week's tracking from his course. unless he wants to frighten away nocturnal prowlers, a little, chip fire, such as the fishermen of the banks use in their dories, is all the trapper allows himself. first snow silences the rustling leaves. first frost quiets the flow of waters. except for the occasional splitting of a sap-frozen tree, or the far howl of a wolf-pack, there is the stillness of death. and of all quiet things in the quiet forest, the trapper is the quietest. as winter closes in the ice-skim of the large lakes cuts the bark canoe like a knife. the canoe is abandoned for snow-shoes and the cotton tepee for more substantial shelter. if the trapper is a white man he now builds a lodge near the best hunting-ground he has found. around this he sets a wide circle of traps at such distances their circuit requires an entire day, and leads the trapper out in one direction and back in another, without retracing the way. sometimes such lodges run from valley to valley. each cabin is stocked; and the hunter sleeps where night overtakes him. but this plan needs two men; for if the traps are not closely watched, the wolverine will rifle away a priceless fox as readily as he eats a worthless musk-rat. the stone fire-place stands at one end. moss, clay, and snow chink up the logs. parchment across a hole serves as window. poles and brush make the roof, or perhaps the remains of the cotton tent stretched at a steep angle to slide off the accumulating weight of snow. but if the trapper is an indian, or the white man has a messenger to carry the pelts marked with his name to a friendly trading-post, he may not build a lodge; but move from hunt to hunt as the game changes feeding-ground. in this case he uses the _abuckwan_--canvas--for a shed tent, with one side sloping to the ground, banked by brush and snow, the other facing the fire, both tent and fire on such a slope that the smoke drifts out while the heat reflects in. pine and balsam boughs, with the wood end pointing out like sheaves in a stook, the foliage converging to a soft centre, form the trapper's bed. the snow is now too deep to travel without snow-shoes. the frames for these the trapper makes of ash, birch, or best of all, the _mackikwatick_--tamarack--curving the easily bent green wood up at one end, canoe shape, and smoothing the barked wood at the bend, like a sleigh runner, by means of the awkward _couteau croche_, as the french hunter calls his crooked knife. in style, the snow-shoe varies with the hunting-ground. on forested, rocky, hummocky land, the shoe is short to permit short turns without entanglement. oval and broad, rather than long and slim, it makes up in width what it lacks in length to support the hunter's weight above the snow. and the toe curve is slight; for speed is impossible on bad ground. to save the instep from jars, the slip noose may be padded like a cowboy's stirrup. on the prairie, where the snowy reaches are unbroken as air, snow-shoes are wings to the hunter's heels. they are long, and curved, and narrow, and smooth enough on the runners for the hunter to sit on their rear ends and coast downhill as on a toboggan. if a snag is struck midway, the racquets may bounce safely over and glissade to the bottom; or the toe may catch, heels fly over head, and the hunter land with his feet noosed in frames sticking upright higher than his neck. any trapper can read the story of a hunt from snow-shoes. bound and short: east of the great lakes. slim and long: from the prairie. padding for the instep: either rock ground or long runs. filling of hide strips with broad enough interspaces for a small foot to slip through: from the wet, heavily packed, snow region of the atlantic coast, for trapping only, never the chase, small game, not large. lace ties, instead of a noose to hold the foot: the amateur hunter. _atibisc_, a fine filling taken from deer or caribou for the heel and toe; with _askimoneiab_, heavy, closely interlaced, membraneous filling from the moose across the centre to bear the brunt of wear; long enough for speed, short enough to turn short: the trapper knows he is looking at the snow-shoe of the craftsman. this is the sort he must have for himself. the first thing, then--a moose for the heavy filling; preferably a spinster moose; for she is too lazy to run from a hunter who is not yet a mercury; and she will furnish him with a banquet fit for kings. * * * * * neither moose call nor birch horn, of which wonders are told, will avail now. the mating season is well past. even if an old moose responded to the call, the chances are his flesh would be unfit for food. it would be a wasted kill, contrary to the principles of the true trapper. every animal has a sign language as plain as print. the trapper has hardly entered the forest before he begins to read this language. broad hoof-marks are on the muskeg--quaking bog, covered with moss--over which the moose can skim as if on snow-shoes, where a horse would sink to the saddle. park-like glades at the heads of streams, where the moose have spent the summer browsing on twigs and wallowing in water holes to get rid of sand flies, show trampled brush and stripped twigs and rubbed bark. coming suddenly on a grove of quaking aspens, a saucy jay has fluttered up with a noisy call--an alarm note; and something is bounding off to hiding in a thicket on the far side of the grove. the _wis-kat-jan_, or whisky jack, as the white men call it, who always hangs about the moose herds, has seen the trapper and sounded the alarm. in august, when the great, palmated horns, which budded out on the male in july, are yet in the velvet, the trapper finds scraps of furry hair sticking to young saplings. the vain moose has been polishing his antlers, preparatory to mating. later, there is a great whacking of horns among the branches. the moose, spoiling for a fight, in moose language is challenging his rivals to battle. wood-choppers have been interrupted by the apparition of a huge, palmated head through a thicket. mistaking the axe for his rival's defiance, the moose arrives on the scene in a mood of blind rage that sends the chopper up a tree, or back to the shanty for his rifle. but the trapper allows these opportunities to pass. he is not ready for his moose until winter compels the abandoning of the canoe. then the moose herds are yarding up in some sheltered feeding-ground. it is not hard for the trapper to find a moose yard. there is the tell-tale cleft footprint in the snow. there are the cast-off antlers after the battles have been fought--the female moose being without horns and entirely dependent on speed and hearing and smell for protection. there is the stripped, overhead twig, where a moose has reared on hind legs and nibbled a branch above. there is the bent or broken sapling which a moose pulled down with his mouth and then held down with his feet while he browsed. this and more sign language of the woods--too fine for the language of man--lead the trapper close on the haunts of a moose herd. but he does not want an ordinary moose. he is keen for the solitary track of a haughty spinster. and he probably comes on the print when he has almost made up his mind to chance a shot at one of the herd below the hill, where he hides. he knows the trail is that of a spinster. it is unusually heavy; and she is always fat. it drags clumsily over the snow; for she is lazy. and it doesn't travel straight away in a line like that of the roving moose; for she loiters to feed and dawdle out of pure indolence. and now the trapper knows how a hound on a hot scent feels. he may win his prize with the ease of putting out his hand and taking it--sighting his rifle and touching the trigger. or, by the blunder of a hair's breadth, he may daily track twenty weary miles for a week and come back empty at his cartridge-belt, empty below his cartridge-belt, empty of hand, and full, full of rage at himself, though his words curse the moose. he may win his prize in one of two ways: (1) by running the game to earth from sheer exhaustion; (2) or by a still hunt. the straightaway hunt is more dangerous to the man than the moose. even a fat spinster can outdistance a man with no snow-shoes. and if his perseverance lasts longer than her strength--for though a moose swings out in a long-stepping, swift trot, it is easily tired--the exhausted moose is a moose at bay; and a moose at bay rears on her hind legs and does defter things with the flattening blow of her fore feet than an exhausted man can do with a gun. the blow of a cleft hoof means something sharply split, wherever that spreading hoof lands. and if the something wriggles on the snow in death-throes, the moose pounds upon it with all four feet till the thing is still. then she goes on her way with eyes ablaze and every shaggy hair bristling. the contest was even and the moose won. apart from the hazard, there is a barbarism about this straightaway chase, which repels the trapper. it usually succeeds by bogging the moose in crusted snow, or a waterhole--and then, indian fashion, a slaughter; and no trapper kills for the sake of killing, for the simple practical reason that his own life depends on the preservation of game. a slight snowfall and the wind in his face are ideal conditions for a still hunt. one conceals him. the other carries the man-smell from the game. which way does the newly-discovered footprint run? more flakes are in one hole than the other. he follows the trail till he has an idea of the direction the moose is taking; for the moose runs straightaway, not circling and doubling back on cold tracks like the deer, but marching direct to the objective point, where it turns, circles slightly--a loop at the end of a line--and lies down a little off the trail. when the pursuer, following the cold scent, runs past, the moose gets wind and is off in the opposite direction like a vanishing streak. having ascertained the lie of the land, the trapper leaves the line of direct trail and follows in a circling detour. here, he finds the print fresher, not an hour old. the moose had stopped to browse and the markings are moist on a twig. the trapper leaves the trail, advancing always by a detour to leeward. he is sure, now, that it is a spinster. if it had been any other, the moose would not have been alone. the rest would be tracking into the leader's steps; and by the fresh trail he knows for a certainty there is only one. but his very nearness increases the risk. the wind may shift. the snowfall is thinning. this time, when he comes back to the trail, it is fresher still. the hunter now gets his rifle ready. he dare not put his foot down without testing the snow, lest a twig snap. he parts a way through the brush with his hand and replaces every branch. and when next he comes back to the line of the moose's travel, there is no trail. this is what he expected. he takes off his coat; his leggings, if they are loose enough to rub with a leathery swish; his musk-rat fur cap, if it has any conspicuous colour; his boots, if they are noisy and given to crunching. if only he aim true, he will have moccasins soon enough. leaving all impedimenta, he follows back on his own steps to the place where he last saw the trail. perhaps the saucy jay cries with a shrill, scolding shriek that sends cold shivers down the trapper's spine. he wishes he could get his hands on its wretched little neck; and turning himself to a statue, he stands stone-still till the troublesome bird settles down. then he goes on. here is the moose trail! he dare not follow direct. that would lead past her hiding-place and she would bolt. he resorts to artifice; but, for that matter, so has the moose resorted to artifice. the trapper, too, circles forward, cutting the moose's magic guard with transverse zigzags. but he no longer walks. he crouches, or creeps, or glides noiselessly from shelter to shelter, very much the way a cat advances on an unwary mouse. he sinks to his knees and feels forward for snow-pads every pace. then he is on all-fours, still circling. his detour has narrowed and narrowed till he knows she must be in that aspen thicket. the brush is sparser. she has chosen her resting-ground wisely. the man falls forward on his face, closing in, closing in, wiggling and watching till--he makes a horrible discovery. that jay is perched on the topmost bough of the grove; and the man has caught a glimpse of something buff-coloured behind the aspens. it may be a moose, or only a log. the untried hunter would fire. not so the trapper. hap-hazard aim means fighting a wounded moose, or letting the creature drag its agony off to inaccessible haunts. the man worms his way round the thicket, sighting the game with the noiseless circling of a hawk before the drop. an ear blinks. but at that instant the jay perks his head to one side with a curious look at this strange object on the ground. in another second it will be off with a call and the moose up. his rifle is aimed! a blinding swish of aspen leaves and snow and smoke! the jay is off with a noisy whistle. and the trapper has leather for moccasins, and heavy filling for his snow-shoes, and meat for his larder. * * * * * but he must still get the fine filling for heel and toe; and this comes from caribou or deer. the deer, he will still hunt as he has still hunted the moose, with this difference: that the deer runs in circles, jumping back in his own tracks leaving the hunter to follow a cold scent, while it, by a sheer bound--five--eight--twenty feet off at a new angle, makes for the hiding of dense woods. no one but a barbarian would attempt to run down a caribou; for it can only be done by the shameless trick of snaring in crusted snow, or intercepting while swimming, and then--butchery. the caribou doesn't run. it doesn't bound. it floats away into space. one moment a sandy-coloured form, with black nose, black feet, and a glory of white statuary above its head, is seen against the far reaches of snow. the next, the form has shrunk--and shrunk--and shrunk, antlers laid back against its neck, till there is a vanishing speck on the horizon. the caribou has not been standing at all. it has skimmed out of sight; and if there is any clear ice across the marshes, it literally glides beyond vision from very speed. but, provided no man-smell crosses its course, the caribou is vulnerable in its habits. morning and evening, it comes back to the same watering-place; and it returns to the same bed for the night. if the trapper can conceal himself without crossing its trail, he easily obtains the fine filling for his snow-shoes. * * * * * moccasins must now be made. the trapper shears off the coarse hair with a sharp knife. the hide is soaked; and a blunter blade tears away the remaining hairs till the skin is white and clean. the flesh side is similarly cleaned and the skin rubbed with all the soap and grease it will absorb. a process of beating follows till the hide is limber. carelessness at this stage makes buckskin soak up water like a sponge and dry to a shapeless board. the skin must be stretched and pulled till it will stretch no more. frost helps the tanning, drying all moisture out; and the skin becomes as soft as down, without a crease. the smoke of punk from a rotten tree gives the dark yellow colour to the hide and prevents hardening. the skin is now ready for the needle; and all odd bits are hoarded away. equipped with moccasins and snow-shoes, the trapper is now the winged messenger of the tragic fates to the forest world. chapter xi the indian trapper it is dawn when the indian trapper leaves his lodge. in midwinter of the far north, dawn comes late. stars, which shine with a hard, clear, crystal radiance only seen in northern skies, pale in the gray morning gloom; and the sun comes over the horizon dim through mists of frost-smoke. in an hour the frost-mist, lying thick to the touch like clouds of steam, will have cleared; and there will be nothing from sky-line to sky-line but blinding sunlight and snowglare. the indian trapper must be far afield before mid-day. then the sun casts no man-shadow to scare game from his snares. black is the flag of betrayal in northern midwinter. it is by the big liquid eye, glistening on the snow like a black marble, that the trapper detects the white hare; and a jet tail-tip streaking over the white wastes in dots and dashes tells him the little ermine, whose coat must line some emperor's coronation robe, is alternately scudding over the drifts and diving below the snow with the forward wriggling of a snake under cover. but the moving man-shadow is bigger and plainer on the snow than the hare's eye or the ermine's jet tip; so the indian trapper sets out in the gray darkness of morning and must reach his hunting-grounds before high noon. with long snow-shoes, that carry him over the drifts in swift, coasting strides, he swings out in that easy, ambling, indian trot, which gives never a jar to the runner, nor rests long enough for the snows to crunch beneath his tread. the old musket, which he got in trade from the fur post, is over his shoulder, or swinging lightly in one hand. a hunter's knife and short-handled woodman's axe hang through the beaded scarf, belting in his loose, caribou capote. powder-horn and heavy musk-rat gantlets are attached to the cord about his neck; so without losing either he can fight bare-handed, free and in motion, at a moment's notice. and somewhere, in side pockets or hanging down his back, is his _skipertogan_--a skin bag with amulet against evil, matches, touchwood, and a scrap of pemmican. as he grows hot, he throws back his hood, running bareheaded and loose about the chest. each breath clouds to frost against his face till hair and brows and lashes are fringed with frozen moisture. the white man would hugger his face up with scarf and collar the more for this; but the indian knows better. suddenly chilled breath would soak scarf and collar wet to his skin; and his face would be frozen before he could go five paces. but with dry skin and quickened blood, he can defy the keenest cold; so he loosens his coat and runs the faster. as the light grows, dim forms shape themselves in the gray haze. pine groves emerge from the dark, wreathed and festooned in snow. cones and domes and cornices of snow heap the underbrush and spreading larch boughs. evergreens are edged with white. naked trees stand like limned statuary with an antlered crest etched against the white glare. the snow stretches away in a sea of billowed, white drifts that seem to heave and fall to the motions of the runner, mounting and coasting and skimming over the unbroken waste like a bird winging the ocean. and against this endless stretch of drifts billowing away to a boundless circle, of which the man is the centre, his form is dwarfed out of all proportion, till he looks no larger than a bird above the sea. when the sun rises, strange colour effects are caused by the frost haze. every shrub takes fire; for the ice drops are a prism, and the result is the same as if there had been a star shower or rainfall of brilliants. does the indian trapper see all this? the white man with white man arrogance doubts whether his tawny brother of the wilds sees the beauty about him, because the indian has no white man's terms of expression. but ask the bronzed trapper the time of day; and he tells you by the length of shadow the sun casts, or the degree of light on the snow. inquire the season of the year; and he knows by the slant sunlight coming up through the frost smoke of the southern horizon. and get him talking about his happy hunting-grounds; and after he has filled it with the implements and creatures and people of the chase, he will describe it in the metaphor of what he has seen at sunrise and sunset and under the northern lights. he does not _see_ these things with the gabbling exclamatories of a tourist. he sees them because they sink into his nature and become part of his mental furniture. the most brilliant description the writer ever heard of the hereafter was from an old cree squaw, toothless, wrinkled like leather, belted at the waist like a sack of wool, with hands of dried parchment, and moccasins some five months too odoriferous. her version ran that heaven would be full of the music of running waters and south winds; that there would always be warm gold sunlight like a midsummer afternoon, with purple shadows, where tired women could rest; that the trees would be covered with blossoms, and all the pebbles of the shore like dewdrops. pushed from the atlantic seaboard back over the mountains, from the mountains to the mississippi, west to the rockies, north to the great lakes, all that was to be seen of nature in america the indian trapper has seen; though he has not understood. but now he holds only a fringe of hunting-grounds, in the timber lands of the great lakes, in the cañons of the rockies, and across that northern land which converges to hudson bay, reaching west to athabasca, east to labrador. it is in the basin of hudson bay regions that the indian trapper will find his last hunting-grounds. here climate excludes the white man, and game is plentiful. here indian trappers were snaring before columbus opened the doors of the new world to the hordes of the old; and here indian trappers will hunt as long as the race lasts. when there is no more game, the indian's doom is sealed; but that day is far distant for the hudson bay region. * * * * * the indian trapper has set few large traps. it is midwinter; and by december there is a curious lull in the hunting. all the streams are frozen like rock; but the otter and pekan and mink and marten have not yet begun to forage at random across open field. some foolish fish always dilly-dally up-stream till the ice shuts them in. then a strange thing is seen--a kettle of living fish; fish gasping and panting in ice-hemmed water that is gradually lessening as each day's frost freezes another layer to the ice walls of their prison. the banks of such a pond hole are haunted by the otter and his fisher friends. by-and-bye, when the pond is exhausted, these lazy fishers must leave their safe bank and forage across country. meanwhile, they are quiet. the bear, too, is still. after much wandering and fastidious choosing--for in trapper vernacular the bear takes a long time to please himself--bruin found an upturned stump. into the hollow below he clawed grasses. then he curled up with his nose on his toes and went to sleep under a snow blanket of gathering depth. deer, moose, and caribou, too, have gone off to their feeding-grounds. unless they are scattered by a wolf-pack or a hunter's gun, they will not be likely to move till this ground is eaten over. nor are many beaver seen now. they have long since snuggled into their warm houses, where they will stay till their winter store is all used; and their houses are now hidden under great depths of deepening snow. but the fox and the hare and the ermine are at run; and as long as they are astir, so are their rampant enemies, the lynx and the wolverine and the wolf-pack, all ravenous from the scarcity of other game and greedy as spring crows. that thought gives wings to the indian trapper's heels. the pelt of a coyote--or prairie wolf--would scarcely be worth the taking. even the big, gray timber-wolf would hardly be worth the cost of the shot, except for service as a tepee mat. the white arctic wolf would bring better price. the enormous black or brown arctic wolf would be more valuable; but the value would not repay the risk of the hunt. but all these worthless, ravening rascals are watching the traps as keenly as the trapper does; and would eat up a silver fox, that would be the fortune of any hunter. the indian comes to the brush where he has set his rabbit snares across a runway. his dog sniffs the ground, whining. the crust of the snow is broken by a heavy tread. the twigs are all trampled and rabbit fur is fluffed about. the game has been rifled away. the indian notices several things. the rabbit has been devoured on the spot. that is unlike the wolverine. he would have carried snare, rabbit and all off for a guzzle in his own lair. the footprints have the appearance of having been brushed over; so the thief had a bushy tail. it is not the lynx. there is no trail away from the snare. the marauder has come with a long leap and gone with a long leap. the indian and his dog make a circuit of the snare till they come on the trail of the intruder; and its size tells the indian whether his enemy be fox or wolf. he sets no more snares across that runway, for the rabbits have had their alarm. going through the brush he finds a fresh runway and sets a new snare. then his snow-shoes are winging him over the drifts to the next trap. it is a deadfall. nothing is in it. the bait is untouched and the trap left undisturbed. a wolverine would have torn the thing to atoms from very wickedness, chewed the bait in two, and spat it out lest there should be poison. the fox would have gone in and had his back broken by the front log. and there is the same brush work over the trampled snow, as if the visitor had tried to sweep out his own trail; and the same long leap away, clearing obstruction of log and drift, to throw a pursuer off the scent. this time the indian makes two or three circuits; but the snow is so crusted it is impossible to tell whether the scratchings lead out to the open or back to the border of snow-drifted woods. if the animal had followed the line of the traps by running just inside the brush, the indian would know. but the midwinter day is short, and he has no time to explore the border of the thicket. perhaps he has a circle of thirty traps. of that number he hardly expects game in more than a dozen. if six have a prize, he has done well. each time he stops to examine a trap he must pause to cover all trace of the man-smell, daubing his own tracks with castoreum, or pomatum, or bears' grease; sweeping the snow over every spot touched by his hand; dragging the flesh side of a fresh pelt across his own trail. mid-day comes, the time of the short shadow; and the indian trapper has found not a thing in his traps. he only knows that some daring enemy has dogged the circle of his snares. that means he must kill the marauder, or find new hunting-grounds. if he had doubt about swift vengeance for the loss of a rabbit, he has none when he comes to the next trap. he sees what is too much for words: what entails as great loss to the poor indian trapper as an exchange crash to the white man. one of his best steel-traps lies a little distance from the pole to which it was attached. it has been jerked up with a great wrench and pulled as far as the chain would go. the snow is trampled and stained and covered with gray fur as soft and silvery as chinchilla. in the trap is a little paw, fresh cut, scarcely frozen. he had caught a silver fox, the fortune of which hunters dream, as prospectors of gold, and speculators of stocks, and actors of fame. but the wolves, the great, black wolves of the far north, with eyes full of a treacherous green fire and teeth like tusks, had torn the fur to scraps and devoured the fox not an hour before the trapper came. he knows now what his enemy is; for he has come so suddenly on their trail he can count four different footprints, and claw-marks of different length. they have fought about the little fox; and some of the smaller wolves have lost fur over it. then, by the blood-marks, he can tell they have got under cover of the shrub growth to the right. the indian says none of the words which the white man might say; but that is nothing to his credit; for just now no words are adequate. but he takes prompt resolution. after the fashion of the old mosaic law, which somehow is written on the very face of the wilderness as one of its necessities, he decides that only life for life will compensate such loss. the danger of hunting the big, brown wolf--he knows too well to attempt it without help. he will bait his small traps with poison; take out his big, steel wolf traps to-morrow; then with a band of young braves follow the wolf-pack's trail during this lull in the hunting season. but the animal world knows that old trick of drawing a herring scent across the trail of wise intentions; and of all the animal world, none knows it better than the brown arctic wolf. he carries himself with less of a hang-dog air than his brother wolves, with the same pricking forward of sharp, erect ears, the same crouching trot, the same sneaking, watchful green eyes; but his tail, which is bushy enough to brush out every trace of his tracks, has not the skulking droop of the gray wolf's; and in size he is a giant among wolves. * * * * * the trapper shoulders his musket again, and keeping to the open, where he can travel fast on the long snow-shoes, sets out for the next trap. the man-shadow grows longer. it is late in the afternoon. then all the shadows merge into the purple gloom of early evening; but the indian travels on; for the circuit of traps leads back to his lodge. the wolf thief may not be far off; so the man takes his musket from the case. he may chance a shot at the enemy. where there are woods, wolves run under cover, keeping behind a fringe of brush to windward. the wind carries scent of danger from the open, and the brush forms an ambuscade. man tracks, where man's dog might scent the trail of a wolf, the wolf clears at a long bound. he leaps over open spaces, if he can; and if he can't, crouches low till he has passed the exposure. the trapper swings forward in long, straight strides, wasting not an inch of ground, deviating neither to right nor left by as much space as a white man takes to turn on his heels. suddenly the trapper's dog utters a low whine and stops with ears pricked forward towards the brush. at the same moment the indian, who has been keeping his eyes on the woods, sees a form rise out of the earth among the shadows. he is not surprised; for he knows the way the wolf travels, and the fox trap could not have been robbed more than an hour ago. the man thinks he has come on the thieves going to the next trap. that is what the wolf means him to think. and the man, too, dissembles; for as he looks the form fades into the gloom, and he decides to run on parallel to the brushwood, with his gun ready. just ahead is a break in the shrubbery. at the clearing he can see how many wolves there are, and as he is heading home there is little danger. but at the clearing nothing crosses. the dog dashes off to the woods with wild barking, and the trapper scans the long, white stretch leading back between the bushes to a horizon that is already dim in the steel grays of twilight. half a mile down this openway, off the homeward route of his traps, a wolfish figure looms black against the snow--and stands! the dog prances round and round as if he would hold the creature for his master's shot; and the indian calculates--" after all, there is only one." what a chance to approach it under cover, as it has approached his traps! the stars are already pricking the blue darkness in cold, steel points; and the northern lights are swinging through the gloom like mystic censers to an invisible spirit, the spirit of the still, white, wide, northern wastes. it is as clear as day. one thought of his loss at the fox trap sends the indian flitting through the underwoods like a hunted partridge. the sharp barkings of the dog increase in fury, and when the trapper emerges in the open, he finds the wolf has straggled a hundred yards farther. that was the meaning of the dog's alarm. going back to cover, the hunter again advances. but the wolf keeps moving leisurely, and each time the man sights his game it is still out of range for the old-fashioned musket. the man runs faster now, determined to get abreast of the wolf and utterly heedless of the increasing danger, as each step puts greater distance between him and his lodge. he will pass the wolf, come out in front and shoot. but when he comes to the edge of the woods to get his aim, there is no wolf, and the dog is barking furiously at his own moonlit shadow. the wolf, after the fashion of his kind, has apparently disappeared into the ground, just as he always seems to rise from the earth. the trapper thinks of the "loup-garou," but no wolf-demon of native legend devoured the very real substance of that fox. the dog stops barking, gives a whine and skulks to his master's feet, while the trapper becomes suddenly aware of low-crouching forms gliding through the underbrush. eyes look out of the dark in the flash of green lights from a prism. the figures are in hiding, but the moon is shining with a silvery clearness that throws moving wolf shadows on the snow to the trapper's very feet. then the man knows that he has been tricked. the indian knows the wolf-pack too well to attempt flight from these sleuths of the forest. he knows, too, one thing that wolves of forest and prairie hold in deadly fear--fire. two or three shots ring into the darkness followed by a yelping howl, which tells him there is one wolf less, and the others will hold off at a safe distance. contrary to the woodman's traditions of chopping only on a windy day, the indian whips out his axe and chops with all his might till he has wood enough for a roaring fire. that will keep the rascals away till the pack goes off in full cry, or daylight comes. whittling a limber branch from a sapling, the indian hastily makes a bow, and shoots arrow after arrow with the tip in flame to high mid-air, hoping to signal the far-off lodges. but the night is too clear. the sky is silver with stars, and moonlight and reflected snowglare, and the northern lights flicker and wane and fade and flame with a brilliancy that dims the tiny blaze of the arrow signal. the smoke rising from his fire in a straight column falls at the height of the trees, for the frost lies on the land heavy, palpable, impenetrable. and for all the frost is thick to the touch, the night is as clear as burnished steel. that is the peculiarity of northern cold. the air seems to become absolutely compressed with the cold; but that same cold freezes out and precipitates every particle of floating moisture till earth and sky, moon and stars shine with the glistening of polished metal. a curious crackling, like the rustling of a flag in a gale, comes through the tightening silence. the intelligent half-breed says this is from the northern lights. the white man says it is electric activity in compressed air. the indian says it is a spirit, and he may mutter the words of the braves in death chant: "if i die, i die valiant, i go to death fearless. i die a brave man. i go to those heroes who died without fear." hours pass. the trapper gives over shooting fire arrows into the air. he heaps his fire and watches, musket in hand. the light of the moon is white like statuary. the snow is pure as statuary. the snow-edged trees are chiselled clear like statuary; and the silence is of stone. only the snap of the blaze, the crackling of the frosted air, the break of a twig back among the brush, where something has moved, and the little, low, smothered barkings of the dog on guard. * * * * * by-and-bye the rustling through the brush ceases; and the dog at last lowers his ears and lies quiet. the trapper throws a stick into the woods and sends the dog after it. the dog comes back without any barkings of alarm. the man knows that the wolves have drawn off. will he wait out that long northern night? he has had nothing to eat but the piece of pemmican. the heavy frost drowsiness will come presently; and if he falls asleep the fire will go out. an hour's run will carry him home; but to make speed with the snow-shoes he must run in the open, exposed to all watchers. when an indian balances motives, the motive of hunger invariably prevails. pulling up his hood, belting in the caribou coat and kicking up the dog, the trapper strikes out for the open way leading back to the line of his traps, and the hollow where the lodges have been built for shelter against wind. there is another reason for building lodges in a hollow. sound of the hunter will not carry to the game; but neither will sound of the game carry to the hunter. and if the game should turn hunter and the man turn hunted! the trapper speeds down the snowy slope, striding, sliding, coasting, vaulting over hummocks of snow, glissading down the drifts, leaping rather than running. the frosty air acts as a conductor to sound, and the frost films come in stings against the face of the man whose eye, ear, and touch are strained for danger. it is the dog that catches the first breath of peril, uttering a smothered "_woo! woo!_" the trapper tries to persuade himself the alarm was only the far scream of a wolf-hunted lynx; but it comes again, deep and faint, like an echo in a dome. one glance over his shoulder shows him black forms on the snow-crest against the sky. he has been tricked again, and knows how the fox feels before the dogs in full cry. the trapper is no longer a man. he is a hunted thing with terror crazing his blood and the sleuth-hounds of the wilds on his trail. something goes wrong with his snow-shoe. stooping to right the slip-strings, he sees that the dog's feet have been cut by the snow crust and are bleeding. it is life for life now; the old, hard, inexorable mosaic law, that has no new dispensation in the northern wilderness, and demands that a beast's life shall not sacrifice a man's. one blow of his gun and the dog is dead. the far, faint howl has deepened to a loud, exultant bay. the wolf-pack are in full cry. the man has rounded the open alley between the trees and is speeding down the hillside winged with fear. he hears the pack pause where the dog fell. that gives him respite. the moon is behind, and the man-shadow flits before on the snow like an enemy heading him back. the deep bay comes again, hard, metallic, resonant, nearer! he feels the snow-shoe slipping, but dare not pause. a great drift thrusts across his way and the shadow in front runs slower. they are gaining on him. he hardly knows whether the crunch of snow and pantings for breath are his own or his pursuers'. at the crest of the drift he braces himself and goes to the bottom with the swiftness of a sled on a slide. the slant moonlight throws another shadow on the snow at his heels. it is the leader of the pack. the man turns, and tosses up his arms--an indian trick to stop pursuit. then he fires. the ravening hunter of man that has been ambushing him half the day rolls over with a piercing howl. the man is off and away. if he only had the quick rifle, with which white men and a body-guard of guides hunt down a single quarry, he would be safe enough now. but the old musket is slow loading, and speed will serve him better than another shot. then the snow-shoe noose slips completely over his instep to his ankle, throwing the racquet on edge and clogging him back. before he can right it they are upon him. there is nothing for it now but to face and fight to the last breath. his hood falls back, and he wheels with the moonlight full in his eyes and the northern lights waving their mystic flames high overhead. on one side, far away, are the tepee peaks of the lodges; on the other, the solemn, shadowy, snow-wreathed trees, like funeral watchers--watchers of how many brave deaths in a desolate, lonely land where no man raises a cross to him who fought well and died without fear! the wolf-pack attacks in two ways. in front, by burying the red-gummed fangs in the victim's throat; in the rear, by snapping at sinews of the runner's legs--called hamstringing. who taught them this devilish ingenuity of attack? the same hard master who teaches the indian to be as merciless as he is brave--hunger! [illustration: they dodge the coming sweep of the uplifted arm.] catching the muzzle of his gun, he beats back the snapping red mouths with the butt of his weapon; and the foremost beasts roll under. but the wolves are fighting from zest of the chase now, as much as from hunger. leaping over their dead fellows, they dodge the coming sweep of the uplifted arm, and crouch to spring. a great brute is reaching for the forward bound; but a mean, small wolf sneaks to the rear of the hunter's fighting shadow. when the man swings his arm and draws back to strike, this miserable cur, that could not have worried the trapper's dog, makes a quick snap at the bend of his knees. then the trapper's feet give below him. the wolf has bitten the knee sinews to the bone. the pack leap up, and the man goes down. * * * * * and when the spring thaw came, to carry away the heavy snow that fell over the northland that night, the indians travelling to their summer hunting-grounds found the skeleton of a man. around it were the bones of three dead wolves; and farther up the hill were the bleaching remains of a fourth.[35] footnotes: [footnote 35: a death almost similar to that on the shores of hudson bay occurred in the forests of the boundary, west of lake superior, a few years ago. in this case eight wolves were found round the body of the dead trapper, and eight holes were empty in his cartridge-belt--which tells its own story.] chapter xii ba'tiste, the bear hunter the city man, who goes bear-hunting with a body-guard of armed guides in a field where the hunted have been on the run from the hunter for a century, gets a very tame idea of the natural bear in its natural state. bears that have had the fear of man inculcated with longe-range repeaters lose confidence in the prowess of an aggressive onset against invisible foes. the city man comes back from the wilds with a legend of how harmless bears have become. in fact, he doesn't believe a wild animal ever attacks unless it is attacked. he doubts whether the bear would go on its life-long career of rapine and death, if hunger did not compel it, or if repeated assault and battery from other animals did not teach the poor bear the art of self-defence. grisly old trappers coming down to the frontier towns of the western states once a year for provisions, or hanging round the forts of the hudson's bay company in canada for the summer, tell a different tale. their hunting is done in a field where human presence is still so rare that it is unknown and the bear treats mankind precisely as he treats all other living beings from the moose and the musk-ox to mice and ants--as fair game for his own insatiable maw. old hunters may be great spinners of yarns--"liars" the city man calls them--but montagnais, who squats on his heels round the fur company forts on peace river, carries ocular evidence in the artificial ridge of a deformed nose that the bear which he slew was a real one with an epicurean relish for that part of indian anatomy which the indian considers to be the most choice bit of a moose.[36] and the kootenay hunter who was sent through the forests of idaho to follow up the track of a lost brave brought back proof of an actual bear; for he found a dead man lying across a pile of logs with his skull crushed in like an eggshell by something that had risen swift and silent from a lair on the other side of the logs and dealt the climbing brave one quick terrible blow. and little blind ba'tiste, wizened and old, who spent the last twenty years of his life weaving grass mats and carving curious little wooden animals for the children of the chief factor, could convince you that the bears he slew in his young days were very real bears, altogether different from the clumsy bruins that gambol with boys and girls through fairy books. that is, he could convince you if he would; for he usually sat weaving and weaving at the grasses--weaving bitter thoughts into the woof of his mat--without a word. round his white helmet, such as british soldiers wear in hot lands, he always hung a heavy thick linen thing like the frill of a sun-bonnet, coming over the face as well as the neck--"to keep de sun off," he would mumble out if you asked him why. more than that of the mysterious frill worn on dark days as well as sunny, he would never vouch unless some town-bred man patronizingly pooh-poohed the dangers of bear-hunting. then the grass strands would tremble with excitement and the little french hunter's body would quiver and he would begin pouring forth a jumble, half habitant half indian with a mixture of all the oaths from both languages, pointing and pointing at his hidden face and bidding you look what the bear had done to him, but never lifting the thick frill. * * * * * it was somewhere between the tributary waters that flow north to the saskatchewan and the rivers that start near the saskatchewan to flow south to the missouri. ba'tiste and the three trappers who were with him did not know which side of the boundary they were on. by slow travel, stopping one day to trap beaver, pausing on the way to forage for meat, building their canoes where they needed them and abandoning the boats when they made a long overland _portage_, they were three weeks north of the american fur post on the banks of the missouri. the hunters were travelling light-handed. that is, they were carrying only a little salt and tea and tobacco. for the rest, they were depending on their muskets. game had not been plentiful. between the prairie and "the mountains of the setting sun"--as the indians call the rockies--a long line of tortuous, snaky red crawled sinuously over the crests of the foothills; and all game--bird and beast--will shun a prairie fire. there was no wind. it was the dead hazy calm of indian summer in the late autumn with the sun swimming in the purplish smoke like a blood-red shield all day and the serpent line of flame flickering and darting little tongues of vermilion against the deep blue horizon all night, days filled with the crisp smell of withered grasses, nights as clear and cold as the echo of a bell. on a windless plain there is no danger from a prairie fire. one may travel for weeks without nearing or distancing the waving tide of fire against a far sky; and the four trappers, running short of rations, decided to try to flank the fire coming around far enough ahead to intercept the game that must be moving away from the fire line. nearly all hunters, through some dexterity of natural endowment, unconsciously become specialists. one man sees beaver signs where another sees only deer. for ba'tiste, the page of nature spelled _b-e-a-r_! fifteen bear in a winter is a wonderfully good season's work for any trapper. ba'tiste's record for one lucky winter was fifty-four. after that he was known as the bear hunter. such a reputation affects keen hunters differently. the indian grows cautious almost to cowardice. ba'tiste grew rash. he would follow a wounded grisly to cover. he would afterward laugh at the episode as a joke if the wounded brute had treed him. "for sure, good t'ing dat was not de prairie dat tam," he would say, flinging down the pelt of his foe. the other trappers with indian blood in their veins might laugh, but they shook their heads when his back was turned. flanking the fire by some of the great gullies that cut the foothills like trenches, the hunters began to find the signs they had been seeking. for ba'tiste, the many different signs had but one meaning. where some summer rain pool had dried almost to a soft mud hole, the other trappers saw little cleft foot-marks that meant deer, and prints like a baby's fingers that spelled out the visit of some member of the weasel family, and broad splay-hoof impressions that had spread under the weight as some giant moose had gone shambling over the quaking mud bottom. but ba'tiste looked only at a long shuffling foot-mark the length of a man's fore-arm with padded ball-like pressures as of monster toes. the french hunter would at once examine which way that great foot had pointed. were there other impressions dimmer on the dry mud? did the crushed spear-grass tell any tales of what had passed that mud hole? if it did, ba'tiste would be seen wandering apparently aimlessly out on the prairie, carrying his uncased rifle carefully that the sunlight should not glint from the barrel, zigzagging up a foothill where perhaps wild plums or shrub berries hung rotting with frost ripeness. ba'tiste did not stand full height at the top of the hill. he dropped face down, took off his hat, or scarlet "safety" handkerchief, and peered warily over the crest of the hill. if he went on over into the next valley, the other men would say they "guessed he smelt bear." if he came back, they knew he had been on a cold scent that had faded indistinguishably as the grasses thinned. southern slopes of prairie and foothill are often matted tangles of a raspberry patch. here ba'tiste read many things--stories of many bears, of families, of cubs, of old cross fellows wandering alone. great slabs of stone had been clawed up by mighty hands. worms and snails and all the damp clammy things that cling to the cold dark between stone and earth had been gobbled up by some greedy forager. in the trenched ravines crossed by the trappers lay many a hidden forest of cottonwood or poplar or willow. here was refuge, indeed, for the wandering creatures of the treeless prairie that rolled away from the tops of the cliffs. many secrets could be read from the clustered woods of the ravines. the other hunters might look for the fresh nibbled alder bush where a busy beaver had been laying up store for winter, or detect the blink of a russet ear among the seared foliage betraying a deer, or wonder what flesh-eater had caught the poor jack rabbit just outside his shelter of thorny brush. the hawk soaring and dropping--lilting and falling and lifting again--might mean that a little mink was "playing dead" to induce the bird to swoop down so that the vampire beast could suck the hawk's blood, or that the hawk was watching for an unguarded moment to plunge down with his talons in a poor "fool-hen's" feathers. these things might interest the others. they did not interest ba'tiste. ba'tiste's eyes were for lairs of grass crushed so recently that the spear leaves were even now rising; for holes in the black mould where great ripping claws had been tearing up roots; for hollow logs and rotted stumps where a black bear might have crawled to take his afternoon siesta; for punky trees which a grisly might have torn open to gobble ants' eggs; for scratchings down the bole of poplar or cottonwood where some languid bear had been sharpening his claws in midsummer as a cat will scratch chair-legs; for great pits deep in the clay banks, where some silly badger or gopher ran down to the depths of his burrow in sheer terror only to have old bruin come ripping and tearing to the innermost recesses, with scattered fur left that told what had happened. some soft oozy moss-padded lair, deep in the marsh with the reeds of the brittle cat-tails lifting as if a sleeper had just risen, sets ba'tiste's pulse hopping--jumping--marking time in thrills like the lithe bounds of a pouncing mountain-cat. with tread soft as the velvet paw of a panther, he steals through the cane-brake parting the reeds before each pace, brushing aside softly--silently what might crush!--snap!--sound ever so slight an alarm to the little pricked ears of a shaggy head tossing from side to side--jerk--jerk--from right to left--from left to right--always on the listen!--on the listen!--for prey!--for prey! "oh, for sure, that ba'tiste, he was but a fool-hunter," as his comrades afterward said (it is always so very plain afterward); "that ba'tiste, he was a fool! what man else go step--step--into the marsh after a bear!" but the truth was that ba'tiste, the cunning rascal, always succeeded in coming out of the marsh, out of the bush, out of the windfall, sound as a top, safe and unscratched, with a bear-skin over his shoulder, the head swinging pendant to show what sort of fellow he had mastered. "dat wan!--ah!--diable!--he has long sharp nose--he was thin--thin as a barrel all gone but de hoops--ah!--voilà!--he was wan ugly garçon, was dat bear!" where the hunters found tufts of fur on the sage brush, bits of skin on the spined cactus, the others might vow coyotes had worried a badger. ba'tiste would have it that the badger had been slain by a bear. the cached carcass of fawn or doe, of course, meant bear; for the bear is an epicure that would have meat gamey. to that the others would agree. and so the shortening autumn days with the shimmering heat of a crisp noon and the noiseless chill of starry twilights found the trappers canoeing leisurely up-stream from the northern tributaries of the missouri nearing the long overland trail that led to the hunting-fields in canada. one evening they came to a place bounded by high cliff banks with the flats heavily wooded by poplar and willow. ba'tiste had found signs that were hot--oh! so hot! the mould of an uprooted gopher hole was so fresh that it had not yet dried. this was not a region of timber-wolves. what had dug that hole? not the small, skulking coyote--the vagrant of prairie life! oh!--no!--the coyote like other vagrants earns his living without work, by skulking in the wake of the business-like badger; and when the badger goes down in the gopher hole, master coyote stands nearby and gobbles up all the stray gophers that bolt to escape the invading badger.[37] what had dug the hole? ba'tiste thinks that he knows. that was on open prairie. just below the cliff is another kind of hole--a roundish pit dug between moss-covered logs and earth wall, a pit with grass clawed down into it, snug and hidden and sheltered as a bird's nest. if the pit is what ba'tiste thinks, somewhere on the banks of the stream should be a watering-place. he proposes that they beach the canoes and camp here. twilight is not a good time to still hunt an unseen bear. twilight is the time when the bear himself goes still hunting. ba'tiste will go out in the early morning. meantime if he stumbles on what looks like a trail to the watering-place, he will set a trap. camp is not for the regular trapper what it is for the amateur hunter--a time of rest and waiting while others skin the game and prepare supper. one hunter whittles the willow sticks that are to make the camp fire. another gathers moss or boughs for a bed. if fish can be got, some one has out a line. the kettle hisses from the cross-bar between notched sticks above the fire, and the meat sizzling at the end of a forked twig sends up a flavour that whets every appetite. over the upturned canoes bend a couple of men gumming afresh all the splits and seams against to-morrow's voyage. then with a flip-flop that tells of the other side of the flap-jacks being browned, the cook yodels in crescendo that "sup--per!--'s--read--ee!" supper over, a trap or two may be set in likely places. the men may take a plunge; for in spite of their tawny skins, these earth-coloured fellows have closer acquaintance with water than their appearance would indicate. the man-smell is as acute to the beast's nose as the rank fur-animal-smell is to the man's nose; and the first thing that an indian who has had a long run of ill-luck does is to get a native "sweating-bath" and make himself clean. on the ripple of the flowing river are the red bars of the camp fire. among the willows, perhaps, the bole of some birch stands out white and spectral. though there is no wind, the poplars shiver with a fall of wan, faded leaves like snow-flakes on the grave of summer. red bills and whisky-jacks and lonely phoebe-birds came fluttering and pecking at the crumbs. out from the gray thicket bounds a cottontail to jerk up on his hind legs with surprise at the camp fire. a blink of his long ear, and he has bounded back to tell the news to his rabbit family. overhead, with shrill clangour, single file and in long wavering <big>v</big> lines, wing geese migrating southward for the season. the children's hour, has a great poet called a certain time of day? then this is the hour of the wilderness hunter, the hour when "the mountains of the setting sun" are flooded in fiery lights from zone to zenith with the snowy heights overtopping the far rolling prairie like clouds of opal at poise in mid-heaven, the hour when the camp fire lies on the russet autumn-tinged earth like a red jewel, and the far line of the prairie fire billows against the darkening east in a tide of vermilion flame. unless it is raining, the _voyageurs_ do not erect their tent; for they will sleep in the open, feet to the fire, or under the canoes, close to the great earth, into whose very fibre their beings seem to be rooted. and now is the time when the hunters spin their yarns and exchange notes of all they have seen in the long silent day. there was the prairie chicken with a late brood of half-grown clumsy clucking chicks amply able to take care of themselves, but still clinging to the old mother's care. when the hunter came suddenly on them, over the old hen went, flopping broken-winged to decoy the trapper till her children could run for shelter--when--lo!--of a sudden, the broken wing is mended and away she darts on both wings before he has uncased his gun! there are the stories of bear hunters like ba'tiste sitting on the other side of the fire there, who have been caught in their own bear traps and held till they died of starvation and their bones bleached in the rusted steel. that story has such small relish for ba'tiste that he hitches farther away from the others and lies back flat on the ground close to the willow under-tangle with his head on his hand. "for sure," says ba'tiste contemptuously, "nobody doesn't need no tree to climb here! sacré!--cry wolf!--wolf!--and for sure!--diable!--de beeg loup-garou will eat you yet!" down somewhere from those stars overhead drops a call silvery as a flute, clear as a piccolo--some night bird lilting like a mote on the far oceans of air. the trappers look up with a movement that in other men would be a nervous start; for any shrill cry pierces the silence of the prairie in almost a stab. then the men go on with their yarn telling of how the blackfeet murdered some traders on this very ground not long ago till the gloom gathering over willow thicket and encircling cliffs seems peopled with those marauding warriors. one man rises, saying that he is "goin' to turn in" and is taking a step through the dark to his canoe when there is a dull pouncing thud. for an instant the trappers thought that their comrade had stumbled over his boat. but a heavy groan--a low guttural cry--a shout of "help--help--help ba'tiste!" and the man who had risen plunged into the crashing cane-brake, calling out incoherently for them to "help--help ba'tiste!" in the confusion of cries and darkness, it was impossible for the other two trappers to know what had happened. their first thought was of the indians whose crimes they had been telling. their second was for their rifles--and they had both sprung over the fire where they saw the third man striking--striking--striking wildly at something in the dark. a low worrying growl--and they descried the frenchman rolling over and over, clutched by or clutching a huge furry form--hitting--plunging with his knife--struggling--screaming with agony. "it's ba'tiste! it's a bear!" shouted the third man, who was attempting to drive the brute off by raining blows on its head. man and bear were an indistinguishable struggling mass. should they shoot in the half-dark? then the frenchman uttered the scream of one in death-throes: "shoot!--shoot!--shoot quick! she's striking my face!--she's striking my face----" and before the words had died, sharp flashes of light cleft the dark--the great beast rolled over with a coughing growl, and the trappers raised their comrade from the ground. the bear had had him on his back between her teeth by the thick chest piece of his double-breasted buckskin. except for his face, he seemed uninjured; but down that face the great brute had drawn the claws of her fore paw. ba'tiste raised his hands to his face. "mon dieu!" he asked thickly, fumbling with both hands, "what is done to my eyes? is the fire out? i cannot see!" then the man who had fought like a demon armed with only a hunting-knife fainted because of what his hands felt. * * * * * traitors there are among trappers as among all other classes, men like those who deserted glass on the missouri, and scott on the platte, and how many others whose treachery will never be known. but ba'tiste's comrades stayed with him on the banks of the river that flows into the missouri. one cared for the blind man. the other two foraged for game. when the wounded hunter could be moved, they put him in a canoe and hurried down-stream to the fur post before the freezing of the rivers. at the fur post, the doctor did what he could; but a doctor cannot restore what has been torn away. the next spring, ba'tiste was put on a pack horse and sent to his relatives at the canadian fur post. here his sisters made him the curtain to hang round his helmet and set him to weaving grass mats that the days might not drag so wearily. ask ba'tiste whether he agrees with the amateur hunter that bears never attack unless they are attacked, that they would never become ravening creatures of prey unless the assaults of other creatures taught them ferocity, ask ba'tiste this and something resembling the snarl of a baited beast breaks from the lipless face under the veil: "s--s--sz!--" with a quiver of inexpressible rage. "the bear--it is an animal!--the bear!--it is a beast!--toujours!--the bear!--it is a beast!--always--always!" and his hands clinch. then he falls to carving of the little wooden animals and weaving of sad, sad, bitter thoughts into the warp of the indian mat. are such onslaughts common among bears, or are they the mad freaks of the bear's nature? president roosevelt tells of two soldiers bitten to death in the south-west; and m. l'abbé dugast, of st. boniface, manitoba, incidentally relates an experience almost similar to that of ba'tiste which occurred in the north-west. lest ba'tiste's case seem overdrawn, i quote the abbé's words: "at a little distance madame lajimoniere and the other women were preparing the tents for the night, when all at once bouvier gave a cry of distress and called to his companions to help him. at the first shout, each hunter seized his gun and prepared to defend himself against the attack of an enemy; they hurried to the other side of the ditch to see what was the matter with bouvier, and what he was struggling with. they had no idea that a wild animal would come near the fire to attack a man even under cover of night; for fire usually has the effect of frightening wild beasts. however, almost before the four hunters knew what had happened, they saw their unfortunate companion dragged into the woods by a bear followed by her two cubs. she held bouvier in her claws and struck him savagely in the face to stun him. as soon as she saw the four men in pursuit, she redoubled her fury against her prey, tearing his face with her claws. m. lajimoniere, who was an intrepid hunter, baited her with the butt end of his gun to make her let go her hold, as he dared not shoot for fear of killing the man while trying to save him, but bouvier, who felt himself being choked, cried with all his strength: 'shoot; i would rather be shot than eaten alive!' m. lajimoniere pulled the trigger as close to the bear as possible, wounding her mortally. she let go bouvier and before her strength was exhausted made a wild attack upon m. lajimoniere, who expected this and as his gun had only one barrel loaded, he ran towards the canoe, where he had a second gun fully charged. he had hardly seized it before the bear reached the shore and tried to climb into the canoe, but fearing no longer to wound his friend, m. lajimoniere aimed full at her breast and this time she was killed instantly. as soon as the bear was no longer to be feared, madame lajimoniere, who had been trembling with fear during the tumult, went to raise the unfortunate bouvier, who was covered with wounds and nearly dead. the bear had torn the skin from his face with her nails from the roots of his hair to the lower part of his chin. his eyes and nose were gone--in fact his features were indiscernible--but he was not mortally injured. his wounds were dressed as well as the circumstances would permit, and thus crippled he was carried to the fort of the prairies, madame lajimoniere taking care of him all through the journey. in time his wounds were successfully healed, but he was blind and infirm to the end of his life. he dwelt at the fort of the prairies for many years, but when the first missionaries reached red river in 1818, he persuaded his friends to send him to st. boniface to meet the priests and ended his days in m. provencher's house. he employed his time during the last years of his life in making crosses and crucifixes blind as he was, but he never made any _chefs d'oeuvre_." such is bear-hunting and such is the nature of the bear. and these things are not of the past. wherever long-range repeaters have not put the fear of man in the animal heart, the bear is the aggressor. even as i write comes word from a little frontier fur post which i visited in 1901, of a seven-year-old boy being waylaid and devoured by a grisly only four miles back from a transcontinental railway. this is the second death from the unprovoked attacks of bears within a month in that country--and that month, the month of august, 1902, when sentimental ladies and gentlemen many miles away from danger are sagely discussing whether the bear is naturally ferocious or not--whether, in a word, it is altogether _humane to hunt bears_. footnotes: [footnote 36: in further confirmation of montagnais's bear, the chief factor's daughter, who told me the story, was standing in the fort gate when the indian came running back with a grisly pelt over his shoulder. when he saw her his hands went up to conceal the price he had paid for the pelt.] [footnote 37: this phase of prairie life must not be set down to writer's license. it is something that every rider of the plains can see any time he has patience to rein up and sit like a statue within field-glass distance of the gopher burrows about nightfall when the badgers are running.] chapter xiii john colter--free trapper long before sunrise hunters were astir in the mountains. the crows were robbers, the blackfeet murderers; and scouts of both tribes haunted every mountain defile where a white hunter might pass with provisions and peltries which these rascals could plunder. the trappers circumvented their foes by setting the traps after nightfall and lifting the game before daybreak. night in the mountains was full of a mystery that the imagination of the indians peopled with terrors enough to frighten them away. the sudden stilling of mountain torrent and noisy leaping cataract at sundown when the thaw of the upper snows ceased, the smothered roar of rivers under ice, the rush of whirlpools through the blackness of some far cañon, the crashing of rocks thrown down by unknown forces, the shivering echo that multiplied itself a thousandfold and ran "rocketing" from peak to peak startling the silences--these things filled the indian with superstitious fears. the gnomes, called in trapper's vernacular "hoodoos"--great pillars of sandstone higher than a house, left standing in valleys by prehistoric floods--were to the crows and blackfeet petrified giants that only awakened at night to hurl down rocks on intruding mortals. and often the quiver of a shadow in the night wind gave reality to the indian's fears. the purr of streams over rocky bed was whispering, the queer quaking echoes of falling rocks were giants at war, and the mists rising from swaying waterfalls, spirit-forms portending death. morning came more ghostly among the peaks. thick white clouds banked the mountains from peak to base, blotting out every scar and tor as a sponge might wash a slate. valleys lay blanketed in smoking mist. as the sun came gradually up to the horizon far away east behind the mountains, scarp and pinnacle butted through the fog, stood out bodily from the mist, seemed to move like living giants from the cloud banks. "how could they do that if they were not alive?" asked the indian. elsewhere, shadows came from sun, moon, starlight, or camp-fire. but in these valleys were pencilled shadows of peaks upside down, shadows all the colours of the rainbow pointing to the bottom of the green alpine lakes, hours and hours before any sun had risen to cause the shadows. all this meant "bad medicine" to the indian, or, in white man's language, mystery. unless they were foraging in large bands, crows and blackfeet shunned the mountains after nightfall. that gave the white man a chance to trap in safety. early one morning two white men slipped out of their sequestered cabin built in hiding of the hills at the head waters of the missouri. under covert of brushwood lay a long odd-shaped canoe, sharp enough at the prow to cleave the narrowest waters between rocks, so sharp that french _voyageurs_ gave this queer craft the name "_canot à bec d'esturgeon_"--that is, a canoe like the nose of a sturgeon. this american adaptation of the frenchman's craft was not of birch-bark. that would be too frail to essay the rock-ribbed cañons of the mountain streams. it was usually a common dugout, hollowed from a cottonwood or other light timber, with such an angular narrow prow that it could take the sheerest dip and mount the steepest wave-crest where a rounder boat would fill and swamp. dragging this from cover, the two white men pushed out on the jefferson fork, dipping now on this side, now on that, using the reversible double-bladed paddles which only an amphibious boatman can manage. the two men shot out in mid-stream, where the mists would hide them from each shore; a moment later the white fog had enfolded them, and there was no trace of human presence but the trail of dimpling ripples in the wake of the canoe. no talking, no whistling, not a sound to betray them. and there were good reasons why these men did not wish their presence known. one was potts, the other john colter. both had been with the lewis and clark exploring party of 1804-'05, when a blackfoot brave had been slain for horse-thieving by the first white men to cross the upper missouri. besides, the year before coming to the jefferson, colter had been with the missouri company's fur brigade under manuel lisa, and had gone to the crows as an emissary from the fur company. while with the crows, a battle had taken place against the blackfeet, in which they suffered heavy loss owing to colter's prowess. that made the blackfeet sworn enemies to colter. turning off the jefferson, the trappers headed their canoe up a side stream, probably one of those marshy reaches where beavers have formed a swamp by damming up the current of a sluggish stream. such quiet waters are favourite resorts for beaver and mink and marten and pekan. setting their traps only after nightfall, the two men could not possibly have put out more than forty or fifty. thirty traps are a heavy day's work for one man. six prizes out of thirty are considered a wonderful run of luck; but the empty traps must be examined as carefully as the successful ones. many that have been mauled, "scented" by a beaver scout and left, must be replaced. others must have fresh bait; others, again, carried to better grounds where there are more game signs. either this was a very lucky morning and the men were detained taking fresh pelts, or it was a very unlucky morning and the men had decided to trap farther up-stream; for when the mists began to rise, the hunters were still in their canoe. leaving the beaver meadow, they continued paddling up-stream away from the jefferson. a more hidden water-course they could hardly have found. the swampy beaver-runs narrowed, the shores rose higher and higher into rampart walls, and the dark-shadowed waters came leaping down in the lumpy, uneven runnels of a small cañon. you can always tell whether the waters of a cañon are compressed or not, whether they come from broad, swampy meadows or clear snow streams smaller than the cañon. the marsh waters roll down swift and black and turbid, raging against the crowding walls; the snow streams leap clear and foaming as champagne, and are in too great a hurry to stop and quarrel with the rocks. it is altogether likely these men recognised swampy water, and were ascending the cañon in search of a fresh beaver-marsh; or they would not have continued paddling six miles above the jefferson with daylight growing plainer at every mile. first the mist rose like a smoky exhalation from the river; then it flaunted across the rampart walls in banners; then the far mountain peaks took form against the sky, islands in a sea of fog; then the cloud banks were floating in mid-heaven blindingly white from a sun that painted each cañon wall in the depths of the water. how much farther would the cañon lead? should they go higher up or not? was it wooded or clear plain above the walls? the man paused. what was that noise? "like buffalo," said potts. "might be blackfeet," answered colter. no. what would blackfeet be doing, riding at a pace to make such thunder so close to a cañon? it was only a buffalo herd stampeding on the annual southern run. again colter urged that the noise _might_ be from indians. it would be safer for them to retreat at once. at which potts wanted to know if colter were afraid, using a stronger word--"coward." afraid? colter afraid? colter who had remained behind lewis and clark's men to trap alone in the wilds for nearly two years, who had left manuel lisa's brigade to go alone among the thieving crows, whose leadership had helped the crows to defeat the blackfeet? anyway, it would now be as dangerous to go back as forward. they plainly couldn't land here. let them go ahead where the walls seemed to slope down to shore. two or three strokes sent the canoe round an elbow of rock into the narrow course of a creek. instantly out sprang five or six hundred blackfeet warriors with weapons levelled guarding both sides of the stream. an indian scout had discovered the trail of the white men and sent the whole band scouring ahead to intercept them at this narrow pass. the chief stepped forward, and with signals that were a command beckoned the hunters ashore. as is nearly always the case, the rash man was the one to lose his head, the cautious man the one to keep his presence of mind. potts was for an attempt at flight, when every bow on both sides of the river would have let fly a shot. colter was for accepting the situation, trusting to his own wit for subsequent escape. colter, who was acting as steersman, sent the canoe ashore. bottom had not grated before a savage snatched potts's rifle from his hands. springing ashore, colter forcibly wrested the weapon back and coolly handed it to potts. but potts had lost all the rash courage of a moment before, and with one push sent the canoe into mid-stream. colter shouted at him to come back--come back! indians have more effective arguments. a bow-string twanged, and potts screamed out, "colter, i am wounded!" again colter urged him to land. the wound turned pott's momentary fright to a paroxysm of rage. aiming his rifle, he shot his indian assailant dead. if it was torture that he feared, that act assured him at least a quick death; for, in colter's language, man and boat were instantaneously "made a riddle of." no man admires courage more than the indian; and the blackfeet recognised in their captive one who had been ready to defend his comrade against them all, and who had led the crows to victory against their own band. the prisoner surrendered his weapons. he was stripped naked, but neither showed sign of fear nor made a move to escape. evidently the blackfeet could have rare sport with this game white man. his life in the indian country had taught him a few words of the blackfoot language. he heard them conferring as to how he should be tortured to atone for all that the blackfeet had suffered at white men's hands. one warrior suggested that the hunter be set up as a target and shot at. would he then be so brave? but the chief shook his head. that was not game enough sport for blackfeet warriors. that would be letting a man die passively. and how this man could fight if he had an opportunity! how he could resist torture if he had any chance of escaping the torture! but colter stood impassive and listened. doubtless he regretted having left the well-defended brigades of the fur companies to hunt alone in the wilderness. but the fascination of the wild life is as a gambler's vice--the more a man has, the more he wants. had not colter crossed the rockies with lewis and clark and spent two years in the mountain fastnesses? yet when he reached the mandans on the way home, the revulsion against all the trammels of civilization moved him so strongly that he asked permission to return to the wilderness, where he spent two more years. had he not set out for st. louis a second time, met lisa coming up the missouri with a brigade of hunters, and for the third time turned his face to the wilderness? had he not wandered with the crows, fought the blackfeet, gone down to st. louis, and been impelled by that strange impulse of adventure which was to the hunter what the instinct of migration is to bird and fish and buffalo and all wild things--to go yet again to the wilderness? such was the passion for the wilds that ruled the life of all free trappers. * * * * * the free trappers formed a class by themselves. other trappers either hunted on a salary of $200, $300, $400 a year, or on shares, like fishermen of the grand banks outfitted by "planters," or like western prospectors outfitted by companies that supply provisions, boats, and horses, expecting in return the major share of profits. the free trappers fitted themselves out, owed allegiance to no man, hunted where and how they chose, and refused to carry their furs to any fort but the one that paid the highest prices. for the _mangeurs de lard_, as they called the fur company raftsmen, they had a supreme contempt. for the methods of the fur companies, putting rivals to sleep with laudanum or bullet and ever stirring the savages up to warfare, the free trappers had a rough and emphatically expressed loathing. the crime of corrupting natives can never be laid to the free trapper. he carried neither poison, nor what was worse than poison to the indian--whisky--among the native tribes. the free trapper lived on good terms with the indian, because his safety depended on the indian. renegades like bird, the deserter from the hudson's bay company, or rose, who abandoned the astorians, or beckwourth of apocryphal fame, might cast off civilization and become indian chiefs; but, after all, these men were not guilty of half so hideous crimes as the great fur companies of boasted respectability. wyeth of boston, and captain bonneville of the army, whose underlings caused such murderous slaughter among the root diggers, were not free trappers in the true sense of the term. wyeth was an enthusiast who caught the fever of the wilds; and captain bonneville, a gay adventurer, whose men shot down more indians in one trip than all the free trappers of america shot in a century. as for the desperado harvey, whom larpenteur reports shooting indians like dogs, his crimes were committed under the walls of the american fur company's fort. maclellan and crooks and john day--before they joined the astorians--and boone and carson and colter, are names that stand for the true type of free trapper. the free trapper went among the indians with no defence but good behaviour and the keenness of his wit. whatever crimes the free trapper might be guilty of towards white men, he was guilty of few towards the indians. consequently, free trappers were all through minnesota and the region westward of the mississippi forty years before the fur companies dared to venture among the sioux. fisher and fraser and woods knew the upper missouri before 1806; and brugiere had been on the columbia many years before the astorians came in 1811. one crime the free trappers may be charged with--a reckless waste of precious furs. the great companies always encouraged the indians not to hunt more game than they needed for the season's support. and no indian hunter, uncorrupted by white men, would molest game while the mothers were with their young. famine had taught them the punishment that follows reckless hunting. but the free trappers were here to-day and away to-morrow, like a chinaman, to take all they could get regardless of results; and the results were the rapid extinction of fur-bearing game. always there were more free trappers in the united states than in canada. before the union of hudson's bay and nor' wester in canada, all classes of trappers were absorbed by one of the two great companies. after the union, when the monopoly enjoyed by the hudson's bay did not permit it literally to drive a free trapper out, it could always "freeze" him out by withholding supplies in its great white northern wildernesses, or by refusing to give him transport. when the monopoly passed away in 1871, free trappers pressed north from the missouri, where their methods had exterminated game, and carried on the same ruthless warfare on the saskatchewan. north of the saskatchewan, where very remoteness barred strangers out, the hudson's bay company still held undisputed sway; and lord strathcona, the governor of the company, was able to say only two years ago, "the fur trade is quite as large as ever it was." among free hunters, canada had only one commanding figure--john johnston of the soo, who settled at la pointe on lake superior in 1792, formed league with wabogish, "the white fisher," and became the most famous trader of the lakes. his life, too, was almost as eventful as colter's. a member of the irish nobility, some secret which he never chose to reveal drove him to the wilds. wabogish, the "white fisher," had a daughter who refused the wooings of all her tribe's warriors. in vain johnston sued for her hand. old wabogish bade the white man go sell his irish estates and prove his devotion by buying as vast estates in america. johnston took the old chief at his word, and married the haughty princess of the lake. when the war of 1812 set all the tribes by the ears, johnston and his wife had as thrilling adventures as ever colter knew among the blackfeet. many a free trapper, and partner of the fur companies as well, secured his own safety by marrying the daughter of a chief, as johnston had. these were not the lightly-come, lightly-go affairs of the vagrant adventurer. if the husband had not cast off civilization like a garment, the wife had to put it on like a garment; and not an ill-fitting garment either, when one considers that the convents of the quiet nuns dotted the wilderness like oases in a desert almost contemporaneous with the fur trade. if the trapper had not sunk to the level of the savages, the little daughter of the chief was educated by the nuns for her new position. i recall several cases where the child was sent across the atlantic to an english governess so that the equality would be literal and not a sentimental fiction. and yet, on no subject has the western fur trader received more persistent and unjust condemnation. the heroism that culminated in the union of pocahontas with a noted virginian won applause, and almost similar circumstances dictated the union of fur traders with the daughters of indian chiefs; but because the fur trader has not posed as a sentimentalist, he has become more or less of a target for the index finger of the pharisee.[38] north of the boundary the free trapper had small chance against the hudson's bay company. as long as the slow-going mackinaw company, itself chiefly recruited from free trappers, ruled at the junction of the lakes, the free trappers held the hunting-grounds of the mississippi; but after the mackinaw was absorbed by the aggressive american fur company, the free hunters were pushed westward. on the lower missouri competition raged from 1810, so that circumstances drove the free trapper westward to the mountains, where he is hunting in the twentieth century as his prototype hunted two hundred years ago. in canada--of course after 1870--he entered the mountains chiefly by three passes: (1) yellow head pass southward of the athabasca; (2) the narrow gap where the bow emerges to the plains--that is, the river where the indians found the best wood for the making of bows; (3) north of the boundary, through that narrow defile overtowered by the lonely flat-crowned peak called crows nest mountain--that is, where the fugitive crows took refuge from the pursuing blackfeet. in the united states, the free hunters also approached the mountains by three main routes: (1) up the platte; (2) westward from the missouri across the plains; (3) by the three forks of the missouri. for instance, it was coming down the platte that poor scott's canoe was overturned, his powder lost, and his rifles rendered useless. game had retreated to the mountains with spring's advance. berries were not ripe by the time trappers were descending with their winter's hunt. scott and his famishing men could not find edible roots. each day scott weakened. there was no food. finally, scott had strength to go no farther. his men had found tracks of some other hunting party far to the fore. they thought that, in any case, he could not live. what ought they to do? hang back and starve with him, or hasten forward while they had strength, to the party whose track they had espied? on pretence of seeking roots, they deserted the helpless man. perhaps they did not come up with the advance party till they were sure that scott must have died; for they did not go back to his aid. the next spring when these same hunters went up the platte, they found the skeleton of poor scott sixty miles from the place where they had left him. the terror that spurred the emaciated man to drag himself all this weary distance can barely be conceived; but such were the fearful odds taken by every free trapper who went up the platte, across the parched plains, or to the head waters of the missouri. the time for the free trappers to go out was, in indian language, "when the leaves began to fall." if a mighty hunter like colter, the trapper was to the savage "big indian me"; if only an ordinary vagrant of woods and streams, the white man was "big knife you," in distinction to the red man carrying only primitive weapons. very often the free trapper slipped away from the fur post secretly, or at night; for there were questions of licenses which he disregarded, knowing well that the buyer of his furs would not inform for fear of losing the pelts. also and more important in counseling caution, the powerful fur companies had spies on the watch to dog the free trapper to his hunting-grounds; and rival hunters would not hesitate to bribe the natives with a keg of rum for all the peltries which the free trapper had already bought by advancing provisions to indian hunters. indeed, rival hunters have not hesitated to bribe the savages to pillage and murder the free trapper; for there was no law in the fur trading country, and no one to ask what became of the free hunter who went alone into the wilderness and never returned. going out alone, or with only one partner, the free hunter encumbered himself with few provisions. two dollars worth of tobacco would buy a thousand pounds of "jerked" buffalo meat, and a few gaudy trinkets for a squaw all the pemmican white men could use. going by the river routes, four days out from st. louis brought the trapper into regions of danger. indian scouts hung on the watch among the sedge of the river bank. one thin line of upcurling smoke, or a piece of string--_babiche_ (leather cord, called by the indians _assapapish_)--fluttering from a shrub, or little sticks casually dropped on the river bank pointing one way, all were signs that told of marauding bands. some birch tree was notched with an indian cipher--a hunter had passed that way and claimed the bark for his next year's canoe. or the mark might be on a cottonwood--some man wanted this tree for a dugout. perhaps a stake stood with a mark at the entrance to a beaver-marsh--some hunter had found this ground first and warned all other trappers off by the code of wilderness honour. notched tree-trunks told of some runner gone across country, blazing a trail by which he could return. had a piece of fungus been torn from a hemlock log? there were indians near, and the squaw had taken the thing to whiten leather. if a sudden puff of black smoke spread out in a cone above some distant tree, it was an ominous sign to the trapper. the indians had set fire to the inside of a punky trunk and the shooting flames were a rallying call. in the most perilous regions the trapper travelled only after nightfall with muffled paddles--that is, muffled where the handle might strike the gunwale. camp-fires warned him which side of the river to avoid; and often a trapper slipping past under the shadow of one bank saw hobgoblin figures dancing round the flames of the other bank--indians celebrating their scalp dance. in these places the white hunter ate cold meals to avoid lighting a fire; or if he lighted a fire, after cooking his meal he withdrew at once and slept at a distance from the light that might betray him. the greatest risk of travelling after dark during the spring floods arose from what the _voyageurs_ called _embarras_--trees torn from the banks sticking in the soft bottom like derelicts with branches to entangle the trapper's craft; but the _embarras_ often befriended the solitary white man. usually he slept on shore rolled in a buffalo-robe; but if indian signs were fresh, he moored his canoe in mid-current and slept under hiding of the driftwood. friendly indians did not conceal themselves, but came to the river bank waving a buffalo-robe and spreading it out to signal a welcome to the white man; when the trapper would go ashore, whiff pipes with the chiefs and perhaps spend the night listening to the tales of exploits which each notch on the calumet typified. incidents that meant nothing to other men were full of significance to the lone _voyageur_ through hostile lands. always the spring floods drifted down numbers of dead buffalo; and the carrion birds sat on the trees of the shore with their wings spread out to dry in the sun. the sudden flacker of a rising flock betrayed something prowling in ambush on the bank; so did the splash of a snake from overhanging branches into the water. different sorts of dangers beset the free trapper crossing the plains to the mountains. the fur company brigades always had escort of armed guard and provision packers. the free trappers went alone or in pairs, picketing horses to the saddle overlaid with a buffalo-robe for a pillow, cooking meals on chip fires, using a slow-burning wormwood bark for matches, and trusting their horses or dog to give the alarm if the bands of coyotes hovering through the night dusk approached too near. on the high rolling plains, hostiles could be descried at a distance, coming over the horizon head and top first like the peak of a sail, or emerging from the "coolies"--dried sloughs--like wolves from the earth. enemies could be seen soon enough; but where could the trapper hide on bare prairie? he didn't attempt to hide. he simply set fire to the prairie and took refuge on the lee side. that device failing, he was at his enemies' mercy. on the plains, the greatest danger was from lack of water. at one season the trapper might know where to find good camping streams. the next year when he came to those streams they were dry. "after leaving the buffalo meadows a dreadful scarcity of water ensued," wrote charles mackenzie, of the famous mackenzie clan. he was journeying north from the missouri. "we had to alter our course and steer to a distant lake. when we got there we found the lake dry. however, we dug a pit which produced a kind of stinking liquid which we all drank. it was salt and bitter, caused an inflammation of the mouth, left a disagreeable roughness of the throat, and seemed to increase our thirst.... we passed the night under great uneasiness. next day we continued our journey, but not a drop of water was to be found, ... and our distress became insupportable.... all at once our horses became so unruly that we could not manage them. we observed that they showed an inclination towards a hill which was close by. it struck me that they might have scented water.... i ascended to the top, where, to my great joy, i discovered a small pool.... my horse plunged in before i could prevent him, ... and all the horses drank to excess." "_the plains across_"--which was a western expression meaning the end of that part of the trip--there rose on the west rolling foothills and dark peaked profiles against the sky scarcely to be distinguished from gray cloud banks. these were the mountains; and the real hazards of free trapping began. no use to follow the easiest passes to the most frequented valleys. the fur company brigades marched through these, sweeping up game like a forest fire; so the free trappers sought out the hidden, inaccessible valleys, going where neither pack horse nor _canot à bec d'esturgeon_ could follow. how did they do it? very much the way simon fraser's hunters crawled down the river-course named after him. "our shoes," said one trapper, "did not last a single day." "we had to plunge our daggers into the ground, ... otherwise we would slide into the river," wrote fraser. "we cut steps into the declivity, fastened a line to the front of the canoe, with which some of the men ascended in order to haul it up. .. our lives hung, as it were, upon a thread, as the failure of the line or the false step of the man might have hurled us into eternity.... we had to pass where no human being should venture.... steps were formed like a ladder on the shrouds of a ship, by poles hanging to one another and crossed at certain distances with twigs, the whole suspended from the top to the foot of immense precipices, and fastened at both extremities to stones and trees." he speaks of the worst places being where these frail swaying ladders led up to the overhanging ledge of a shelving precipice. * * * * * such were the very real adventures of the trapper's life, a life whose fascinations lured john colter from civilization to the wilds again and again till he came back once too often and found himself stripped, helpless, captive, in the hands of the blackfeet. it would be poor sport torturing a prisoner who showed no more fear than this impassive white man coolly listening and waiting for them to compass his death. so the chief dismissed the suggestion to shoot at their captive as a target. suddenly the blackfoot leader turned to colter. "could the white man run fast?" he asked. in a flash colter guessed what was to be his fate. he, the hunter, was to be hunted. no, he cunningly signalled, he was only a poor runner. bidding his warriors stand still, the chief roughly led colter out three hundred yards. then he set his captive free, and the exultant shriek of the running warriors told what manner of sport this was to be. it was a race for life. the white man shot out with all the power of muscles hard as iron-wood and tense as a bent bow. fear winged the man running for his life to outrace the winged arrows coming from the shouting warriors three hundred yards behind. before him stretched a plain six miles wide, the distance he had so thoughtlessly paddled between the rampart walls of the cañon but a few hours ago. at the jefferson was a thick forest growth where a fugitive might escape. somewhere along the jefferson was his own hidden cabin. across this plain sped colter, pursued by a band of six hundred shrieking demons. not one breath did he waste looking back over his shoulder till he was more than half-way across the plain, and could tell from the fading uproar that he was outdistancing his hunters. perhaps it was the last look of despair; but it spurred the jaded racer to redoubled efforts. all the indians had been left to the rear but one, who was only a hundred yards behind. there was, then, a racing chance of escape! colter let out in a burst of renewed speed that brought blood gushing over his face, while the cactus spines cut his naked feet like knives. the river was in sight. a mile more, he would be in the wood! but the indian behind was gaining at every step. another backward look! the savage was not thirty yards away! he had poised his spear to launch it in colter's back, when the white man turned fagged and beaten, threw up his arms and stopped! this is an indian _ruse_ to arrest the pursuit of a wild beast. by force of habit it stopped the indian too, and disconcerted him so that instead of launching his spear, he fell flat on his face, breaking the shaft in his hand. with a leap, colter had snatched up the broken point and pinned the savage through the body to the earth. that intercepted the foremost of the other warriors, who stopped to rescue their brave and gave colter time to reach the river. in he plunged, fainting and dazed, swimming for an island in mid-current where driftwood had formed a sheltered raft. under this he dived, coming up with his head among branches of trees. * * * * * all that day the blackfeet searched the island for colter, running from log to log of the drift; but the close-grown brushwood hid the white man. at night he swam down-stream like any other hunted animal that wants to throw pursuers off the trail, went ashore and struck across country, seven days' journey for the missouri company's fort on the bighorn river. naked and unarmed, he succeeded in reaching the distant fur post, having subsisted entirely on roots and berries. * * * * * chittenden says that poor colter's adventure only won for him in st. louis the reputation of a colossal liar. but traditions of his escape were current among all hunters and indian tribes on the missouri, so that when bradbury, the english scientist, went west with the astorians in 1811, he sifted the matter, accepted it as truth, and preserved the episode for history in a small-type foot-note to his book published in london in 1817. two other adventures are on record similar to colter's: one of oskononton's escape by diving under a raft, told in ross's fur hunters; the other of a poor indian fleeing up the ottawa from pursuing iroquois of the five nations and diving under the broken bottom of an old beaver-dam, told in the original jesuit relations. and yet when the astorians went up the missouri a few years later, colter could scarcely resist the impulse to go a fourth time to the wilds. but fascinations stronger than the wooings of the wilds had come to his life--he had taken to himself a bride. footnotes: [footnote 38: would not such critics think twice before passing judgment if they recalled that general parker was a full-blood indian; that if johnston had not married wabogish's daughter and if johnston's daughter had not preferred to marry schoolcraft instead of going to her relatives of the irish nobility, longfellow would have written no hiawatha? would they not hesitate before slurring men like premier norquay of manitoba and the famous mackenzies, those princes of fur trade from st. louis to the arctic, and david thompson, the great explorer? do they forget that lord strathcona, one of the foremost peers of britain, is related to the proudest race of plain-rangers that ever scoured the west, the _bois-brûlés_? the writer knows the west from only fifteen years of life and travel there; yet with that imperfect knowledge cannot recall a single fur post without some tradition of an unfamed pocahontas.] chapter xiv the greatest fur company of the world in the history of the world only one corporate company has maintained empire over an area as large as europe. only one corporate company has lived up to its constitution for nearly three centuries. only one corporate company's sway has been so beneficent that its profits have stood in exact proportion to the well-being of its subjects. indeed, few armies can boast a rank and file of men who never once retreated in three hundred years, whose lives, generation after generation, were one long bivouac of hardship, of danger, of ambushed death, of grim purpose, of silent achievement. such was the company of "adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay," as the charter of 1670 designated them.[39] such is the hudson's bay company to-day still trading with savages in the white wilderness of the north as it was when charles ii granted a royal charter for the fur trade to his cousin prince rupert. governors and chief factors have changed with the changing centuries; but the character of the company's personnel has never changed. prince rupert, the first governor, was succeeded by the duke of york (james ii); and the royal governor by a long line of distinguished public men down to lord strathcona, the present governor, and c. c. chipman, the chief commissioner or executive officer. all have been men of noted achievement, often in touch with the crown, always with that passion for executive and mastery of difficulty which exults most when the conflict is keenest. pioneers face the unknown when circumstances push them into it. adventurers rush into the unknown for the zest of conquering it. it has been to the adventuring class that fur traders have belonged. radisson and groseillers, the two frenchmen who first brought back word of the great wealth in furs round the far northern sea, had been gentlemen adventurers--"rascals" their enemies called them. prince rupert, who leagued himself with the frenchmen to obtain a charter for his fur trade, had been an adventurer of the high seas--"pirate" we would say--long before he became first governor of the hudson's bay company. and the duke of marlborough, the company's third governor, was as great an adventurer as he was a general. latterly the word "adventurer" has fallen in such evil repute, it may scarcely be applied to living actors. but using it in the old-time sense of militant hero, what cavalier of gold braid and spurs could be more of an adventurer than young donald smith who traded in the desolate wastes of labrador, spending seventeen years in the hardest field of the fur company, tramping on snow-shoes half the width of a continent, camping where night overtook him under blanketing of snow-drifts, who rose step by step from trader on the east coast to commissioner in the west? and this donald smith became lord strathcona, the governor of the hudson's bay company. men bold in action and conservative in traditions have ruled the company. the governor resident in england is now represented by the chief commissioner, who in turn is represented at each of the many inland forts by a chief factor of the district. nominally, the fur-trader's northern realm is governed by the parliament of canada. virtually, the chief factor rules as autocratically to-day as he did before the canadian government took over the proprietary rights of the fur company. how did these rulers of the wilds, these princes of the fur trade, live in lonely forts and mountain fastnesses? visit one of the northern forts as it exists to-day. the colder the climate, the finer the fur. the farther north the fort, the more typical it is of the fur-trader's realm. for six, seven, eight months of the year, the fur-trader's world is a white wilderness of snow; snow water-waved by winds that sweep from the pole; snow drifted into ramparts round the fort stockades till the highest picket sinks beneath the white flood and the corner bastions are almost submerged and the entrance to the central gate resembles the cutting of a railway tunnel; snow that billows to the unbroken reaches of the circling sky-line like a white sea. east, frost-mist hides the low horizon in clouds of smoke, for the sun which rises from the east in other climes rises from the south-east here; and until the spring equinox, bringing summer with a flood-tide of thaw, gray darkness hangs in the east like a fog. south, the sun moves across the snowy levels in a wheel of fire, for it has scarcely risen full sphered above the sky-line before it sinks again etching drift and tip of half-buried brush in long lonely fading shadows. the west shimmers in warm purplish grays, for the moist chinook winds come over the mountains melting the snow by magic. north, is the cold steel of ice by day; and at night northern lights darting through the polar dark like burnished spears. christmas day is welcomed at the northern fur posts by a firing of cannon from the snow-muffled bastions. before the stars have faded, chapel services begin. frequently on either christmas or new year's day, a grand feast is given the tawny-skinned _habitués_ of the fort, who come shuffling to the main mess-room with no other announcement than the lifting of the latch, and billet themselves on the hospitality of a host that has never turned hungry indians from its doors. for reasons well-known to the woodcraftsman, a sudden lull falls on winter hunting in december, and all the trappers within a week's journey from the fort, all the half-breed guides who add to the instinct of native craft the reasoning of the white, all the indian hunters ranging river-course and mountain have come by snow-shoes and dog train to spend festive days at the fort. a great jangling of bells announces the huskies (dog trains) scampering over the crusted snow-drifts. a babel of barks and curses follows, for the huskies celebrate their arrival by tangling themselves up in their harness and enjoying a free fight. dogs unharnessed, in troop the trappers to the banquet-hall, flinging packs of tightly roped peltries down promiscuously, to be sorted next day. one indian enters just as he has left the hunting-field, clad from head to heel in white caribou with the antlers left on the capote as a decoy. his squaw has togged out for the occasion in a comical medley of brass bracelets and finger-rings, with a bear's claw necklace and ermine ruff which no city connoisseur could possibly mistake for rabbit. if a daughter yet remain unappropriated she will display the gayest attire--red flannel galore, red shawl, red scarf, with perhaps an apron of white fox-skin and moccasins garnished in coloured grasses. the braves outdo even a vain young squaw. whole fox, mink, or otter skins have been braided to the end of their hair, and hang down in two plaits to the floor. whitest of buckskin has been ornamented with brightest of beads, and over all hangs the gaudiest of blankets, it may be a musk-ox-skin with the feats of the warrior set forth in rude drawings on the smooth side. children and old people, too, come to the feast, for the indian's stomach is the magnet that draws his soul. grotesque little figures the children are, with men's trousers shambling past their heels, rabbit-skin coats with the fur turned in, and on top of all some old stovepipe hat or discarded busby coming half-way down to the urchin's neck. the old people have more resemblance to parchment on gnarled sticks than to human beings. they shiver under dirty blankets with every sort of cast-off rag tied about their limbs, hobbling lame from frozen feet or rheumatism, mumbling toothless requests for something to eat or something to wear, for tobacco, the solace of indian woes, or what is next best--tea. among so many guests are many needs. one half-breed from a far wintering outpost, where perhaps a white man and this guide are living in a chinked shack awaiting a hunting party's return, arrives at the fort with frozen feet. little labree's feet must be thawed out, and sometimes little labree dies under the process, leaving as a legacy to the chief factor the death-bed pledge that the corpse be taken to a distant tribal burying-ground. and no matter how inclement the winter, the chief factor keeps his pledge, for the integrity of a promise is the only law in the fur-trader's realm. special attentions, too, must be paid those old retainers who have acted as mentors of the fort in times of trouble. a few years ago it would not have been safe to give this treat inside the fort walls. rations would have been served through loop-holes and the feast held outside the gates; but so faithfully have the indians become bound to the hudson's bay company there are not three forts in the fur territory where indians must be excluded. of the feast little need be said. like the camel, the indian lays up store for the morrow, judging from his capacity for weeks of morrows. his benefactor no more dines with him than a plantation master of the south would have dined with feasting slaves. elsewhere a bell calls the company officers to breakfast at 7.30, dinner at 1, supper at 7. officers dine first, white hunters and trappers second, that difference between master and servant being maintained which is part of the company's almost military discipline. in the large forts are libraries, whither resort the officers for the long winter nights. but over the feast wild hilarity reigns. a french-canadian fiddler strikes up a tuneless jig that sets the indians pounding the floor in figureless dances with moccasined heels till midday glides into midnight and midnight to morning. i remember hearing of one such midday feast in red river settlement that prolonged itself past four of the second morning. against the walls sit old folks spinning yarns of the past. there is a print of sir george simpson behind one _raconteur's_ head. ah! yes, the oldest guides all remember sir george, though half a century has passed since his day. he was the governor who travelled with flags flying from every prow, and cannon firing when he left the forts, and men drawn up in procession like soldiers guarding an emperor when he entered the fur posts with _coureurs_ and all the flourish of royal state. then some story-teller recalls how he has heard the old guides tell of the imperious governor once provoking personal conflict with an equally imperious steersman, who first ducked the governor into a lake they were traversing and then ducked into the lake himself to rescue the governor. and there is a crucifix high on the wall left by père lacomb the last time the famous missionary to the red men of the far north passed this way; and every indian calls up some kindness done, some sacrifice by father lacomb. on the gun-rack are old muskets and indian masks and scalp-locks, bringing back the days when russian traders instigated a massacre at this fort and when white traders flew at each other's throats as nor' westers struggled with hudson's bay for supremacy in the fur trade. "ah, oui, those white men, they were brave fighters, they did not know how to stop. mais, sacré, they were fools, those white men after all! instead of hiding in ambush to catch the foe, those white men measured off paces, stood up face to face and fired blank--oui--fired blank! ugh! of course, one fool he was kill' and the other fool, most like, he was wound'! ugh, by gar! what indian would have so little sense?"[40] of hunting tales, the indian store is exhaustless. that enormous bear-skin stretched to four pegs on the wall brings up montagnais, the noseless one, who still lives on peace river and once slew the largest bear ever killed in the rockies, returning to this very fort with one hand dragging the enormous skin and the other holding the place which his nose no longer graced. "montagnais? ah, bien messieur! montagnais, he brave man! venez ici--bien--so--i tole you 'bout heem," begins some french-canadian trapper with a strong tinge of indian blood in his swarthy skin. "bigosh! he brave man! i tole you 'bout dat happen! montagnais, he go stumble t'rough snow--how you call dat?--hill, steep--steep! oui, by gar! dat vas steep hill! de snow, she go slide, slide, lak' de--de gran' rapeed, see?" emphasizing the snow-slide with illustrative gesture. "bien, donc! mais, montagnais, he stick gun-stock in de snow stop heem fall--so--see? tonnerre! bigosh! for sure she go off wan beeg bang! sacré! she make so much noise she wake wan beeg ol' bear sleep in snow. montagnais, he tumble on hees back! mais, messieur, de bear--diable! 'fore montagnais wink hees eye de bear jump on top lak' wan beeg loup-garou! montagnais, he brave man--he not scare--he say wan leetle prayer, wan han' he cover his eyes! odder han'--sacré--dat grab hees knife out hees belt--sz-sz-sz, messieur. for sure he feel her breat'--diable!--for sure he fin' de place her heart beat--tonnerre! vite! he stick dat knife in straight up hees wrist, into de heart dat bear! dat bes' t'ing do--for sure de leetle prayer dat tole him best t'ing do! de bear she roll over--over--dead's wan stone--c'est vrai! she no mor' jump top montagnais! bien, ma frien'! montagnais, he roll over too--leetle bit scare! mais, hees nose! ah! bigosh! de bear she got dat; dat all nose he ever haf no mor'! c'est vrai messieur, bien!" and with a finishing flourish the story-teller takes to himself all the credit of montagnais's heroism. but in all the feasting, trade has not been forgotten; and as soon as the indians recover from post-prandial torpor bartering begins. in one of the warehouses stands a trader. an indian approaches with a pack of peltries weighing from eighty to a hundred pounds. throwing it down, he spreads out the contents. of otter and mink and pekan there will be plenty, for these fish-eaters are most easily taken before midwinter frost has frozen the streams solid. in recent years there have been few beaver-skins, a closed season of several years giving the little rodents a chance to multiply. by treaty the indian may hunt all creatures of the chase as long as "the sun rises and the rivers flow"; but the fur-trader can enforce a closed season by refusing to barter for the pelts. of musk-rat-skins, hundreds of thousands are carried to the forts every season. the little haycock houses of musk-rats offer the trapper easy prey when frost freezes the sloughs, shutting off retreat below, and heavy snow-fall has not yet hidden the little creatures' winter home. the trading is done in several ways. among the eskimo, whose arithmetical powers seldom exceed a few units, the trader holds up his hand with one, two, three fingers raised, signifying that he offers for the skin before him equivalents in value to one, two, three prime beaver. if satisfied, the indian passes over the furs and the trader gives flannel, beads, powder, knives, tea, or tobacco to the value of the beaver-skins indicated by the raised fingers. if the indian demands more, hunter and trader wrangle in pantomime till compromise is effected. but always beaver-skin is the unit of coin. beaver are the indian's dollars and cents, his shillings and pence, his tokens of currency. south of the arctics, where native intelligence is of higher grade, the beaver values are represented by goose-quills, small sticks, bits of shell, or, most common of all, disks of lead, tea-chests melted down, stamped on one side with the company arms, on the other with the figures 1, 2, 1/2, 1/4, representing so much value in beaver. first of all, then, furs in the pack must be sorted, silver fox worth five hundred dollars separated from cross fox and blue and white worth from ten dollars down, according to quality, and from common red fox worth less. twenty years ago it was no unusual thing for the hudson's bay company to send to england yearly 10,000 cross fox-skins, 7,000 blue, 100,000 red, half a dozen silver. few wolf-skins are in the trapper's pack unless particularly fine specimens of brown arctic and white arctic, bought as a curiosity and not for value as skins. against the wolf, the trapper wages war as against a pest that destroys other game, and not for its skin. next to musk-rat the most plentiful fur taken by the indian, though not highly esteemed by the trader, will be that of the rabbit or varying hare. buffalo was once the staple of the hunter. what the buffalo was the white rabbit is to-day. from it the indian gets clothing, tepee, covers, blankets, thongs, food. from it the white man who is a manufacturer of furs gets gray fox and chinchilla and seal in imitation. except one year in seven, when a rabbit plague spares the land by cutting down their prolific numbers, the varying hare is plentiful enough to sustain the indian. having received so many bits of lead for his furs, the indian goes to the store counter where begins interminable dickering. montagnais's squaw has only fifty "beaver" coin, and her desires are a hundredfold what those will buy. besides, the copper-skinned lady enjoys beating down prices and driving a bargain so well that she would think the clerk a cheat if he asked a fixed price from the first. she expects him to have a sliding scale of prices for his goods as she has for her furs. at the termination of each bargain, so many coins pass across the counter. frequently an indian presents himself at the counter without beaver enough to buy necessaries. what then? i doubt if in all the years of hudson's bay company rule one needy indian has ever been turned away. the trader advances what the indian needs and chalks up so many "beaver" against the trapper's next hunt. long ago, when rival traders strove for the furs, whisky played a disgracefully prominent part in all bartering, the drunk indian being an easier victim than the sober, and the indian mad with thirst for liquor the most easily cajoled of all. but to-day when there is no competition, whisky plays no part whatever. whisky is in the fort, so is pain killer, for which the indian has as keen an appetite, both for the exigencies of hazardous life in an unsparing climate beyond medical aid; but the first thing hudson's bay traders did in 1885, when rebel indians surrounded the saskatchewan forts, was to split the casks and spill all alcohol. the second thing was to bury ammunition--showing which influence they considered the more dangerous. ermine is at its best when the cold is most intense, the tawny weasel coat turning from fawn to yellow, from yellow to cream and snow-white, according to the latitude north and the season. unless it is the pelt of the baby ermine, soft as swan's down, tail-tip jet as onyx, the best ermine is not likely to be in a pack brought to the fort as early as christmas. fox, lynx, mink, marten, otter, and bear, the trapper can take with steel-traps of a size varying with the game, or even with the clumsily constructed deadfall, the log suspended above the bait being heavy or light, according to the hunter's expectation of large or small intruder; but the ermine with fur as easily damaged as finest gauze must be handled differently. going the rounds of his traps, the hunter has noted curious tiny tracks like the dots and dashes of a telegraphic code. here are little prints slurring into one another in a dash; there, a dead stop, where the quick-eared stoat has paused with beady eyes alert for snowbird or rabbit. here, again, a clear blank on the snow where the crafty little forager has dived below the light surface and wriggled forward like a snake to dart up with a plunge of fangs into the heart-blood of the unwary snow-bunting. from the length of the leaps, the trapper judges the age of the ermine; fourteen inches from nose to tail-tip means a full-grown ermine with hair too coarse to be damaged by a snare. the man suspends the noose of a looped twine across the runway from a twig bent down so that the weight of the ermine on the string sends the twig springing back with a jerk that lifts the ermine off the ground, strangling it instantly. perhaps on one side of the twine he has left bait--smeared grease, or a bit of meat. if the tracks are like the prints of a baby's fingers, close and small, the trapper hopes to capture a pelt fit for a throne cloak, the skin for which the louis of france used to pay, in modern money, from a hundred dollars to a hundred and fifty dollars. the full-grown ermines will be worth only some few "beaver" at the fort. perfect fur would be marred by the twine snare, so the trapper devises as cunning a death for the ermine as the ermine devises when it darts up through the snow with its spear-teeth clutched in the throat of a poor rabbit. smearing his hunting-knife with grease, he lays it across the track. the little ermine comes trotting in dots and dashes and gallops and dives to the knife. it smells the grease, and all the curiosity which has been teaching it to forage for food since it was born urges it to put out its tongue and taste. that greasy smell of meat it knows; but that frost-silvered bit of steel is something new. the knife is frosted like ice. ice the ermine has licked, so he licks the knife. but alas for the resemblance between ice and steel! ice turns to water under the warm tongue; steel turns to fire that blisters and holds the foolish little stoat by his inquisitive tongue a hopeless prisoner till the trapper comes. and lest marauding wolverine or lynx should come first and gobble up priceless ermine, the trapper comes soon. and that is the end for the ermine. before settlers invaded the valley of the saskatchewan the furs taken at a leading fort would amount to: bear of all varieties 400 ermine, medium 200 blue fox 4 red fox 91 silver fox 3 marten 2,000 musk-rat 200,000 mink 8,000 otter 500 skunk 6 wolf 100 beaver 5,000 pekan (fisher) 50 cross fox 30 white fox 400 lynx 400 wolverine 200 the value of these furs in "beaver" currency varied with the fashions of the civilized world, with the scarcity or plenty of the furs, with the locality of the fort. before beaver became so scarce, 100 beaver equalled 40 marten or 10 otter or 300 musk-rat; 25 beaver equalled 500 rabbit; 1 beaver equalled 2 white fox; and so on down the scale. but no set table of values can be given other than the prices realized at the annual sale of hudson's bay furs, held publicly in london. to understand the values of these furs to the indian, "beaver" currency must be compared to merchandise, one beaver buying such a red handkerchief as trappers wear around their brows to notify other hunters not to shoot; one beaver buys a hunting-knife, two an axe, from eight to twenty a gun or rifle, according to its quality. and in one old trading list i found--vanity of vanities--"one beaver equals looking-glass." trading over, the trappers disperse to their winter hunting-grounds, which the main body of hunters never leaves from october, when they go on the fall hunt, to june, when the long straggling brigades of canoes and keel boats and pack horses and jolting ox-carts come back to the fort with the harvest of winter furs. signs unnoted by the denizens of city serve to guide the trappers over trackless wastes of illimitable snow. a whitish haze of frost may hide the sun, or continuous snow-fall-blur every land-mark. what heeds the trapper? the slope of the rolling hills, the lie of the frozen river-beds, the branches of underbrush protruding through billowed drifts are hands that point the trapper's compass. for those hunters who have gone westward to the mountains, the task of threading pathless forest stillness is more difficult. at a certain altitude in the mountains, much frequented by game because undisturbed by storms, snow falls--falls--falls, without ceasing, heaping the pines with snow mushrooms, blotting out the sun, cloaking in heavy white flakes the notched bark blazed as a trail, transforming the rustling green forests to a silent spectral world without a mark to direct the hunter. here the woodcraftsman's lore comes to his aid. he looks to the snow-coned tops of the pine trees. the tops of pine trees lean ever so slightly towards the rising sun. with his snow-shoes he digs away the snow at the roots of trees to get down to the moss. moss grows from the roots of trees on the shady side--that is, the north. and simplest of all, demanding only that a wanderer use his eyes--which the white man seldom does--the limbs of the northern trees are most numerous on the south. the trapper may be waylaid by storms, or starved by sudden migration of game from the grounds to which he has come, or run to earth by the ravenous timber-wolves that pursue the dog teams for leagues; but the trapper with indian blood in his veins will not be lost. one imminent danger is of accident beyond aid. a young indian hunter of moose factory set out with his wife and two children for the winter hunting-grounds in the forest south of james bay. to save the daily allowance of a fish for each dog, they did not take the dog teams. when chopping, the hunter injured his leg. the wound proved stubborn. game was scarce, and they had not enough food to remain in the lodge. wrapping her husband in robes on the long toboggan sleigh, the squaw placed the younger child beside him and with the other began tramping through the forest drawing the sleigh behind. the drifts were not deep enough for swift snow-shoeing over underbrush, and their speed was not half so speedy as the hunger that pursues northern hunters like the fenris wolf of norse myth. the woman sank exhausted on the snow and the older boy, nerved with fear, pushed on to moose factory for help. guided by the boy back through the forests, the fort people found the hunter dead in the sleigh, the mother crouched forward unconscious from cold, stripped of the clothing which she had wrapped round the child taken in her arms to warm with her own body. the child was alive and well. the fur traders nursed the woman back to life, though she looked more like a withered creature of eighty than a woman barely in her twenties. she explained with a simple unconsciousness of heroism that the ground had been too hard for her to bury her husband, and she was afraid to leave the body and go on to the fort lest the wolves should molest the dead.[41] the arrival of the mail packet is one of the most welcome breaks in the monotony of life at the fur post. when the mail comes, all white habitants of the fort take a week's holidays to read letters and news of the outside world. railways run from lake superior to the pacific; but off the line of railways mail is carried as of old. in summer-time overland runners, canoe, and company steamers bear the mail to the forts of hudson bay, of the saskatchewan, of the rockies, and the mackenzie. in winter, scampering huskies with a running postman winged with snow-shoes dash across the snowy wastes through silent forests to the lonely forts of the bay, or slide over the prairie drifts with the music of tinkling bells and soft crunch-crunch of sleigh runners through the snow crust to the leagueless world of the far north. forty miles a day, a couch of spruce boughs where the racquets have dug a hole in the snow, sleighs placed on edge as a wind break, dogs crouched on the buffalo-robes snarling over the frozen fish, deep bayings from the running wolf-pack, and before the stars have faded from the frosty sky, the mail-carrier has risen and is coasting away fast as the huskies can gallop. another picturesque feature of the fur trade was the long caravan of ox-carts that used to screech and creak and jolt over the rutted prairie roads between winnipeg and st. paul. more than 1,500 hudson's bay company carts manned by 500 traders with tawny spouses and black-eyed impish children, squatted on top of the load, left canada for st. paul in august and returned in october. the carts were made without a rivet of iron. bent wood formed the tires of the two wheels. hardwood axles told their woes to the world in the scream of shrill bagpipes. wooden racks took the place of cart box. in the shafts trod a staid old ox guided from the horns or with a halter, drawing the load with collar instead of a yoke. the harness was of skin thongs. in place of the ox sometimes was a "shagganippy" pony, raw and unkempt, which the imps lashed without mercy or the slightest inconvenience to the horse. a red flag with the letters h. b. c. in white decorated the leading cart. during the sioux massacres the fur caravans were unmolested, for the indians recognised the flags and wished to remain on good terms with the fur traders. ox-carts still bring furs to hudson's bay company posts, and screech over the corduroyed swamps of the mackenzie; but the railway has replaced the caravan as a carrier of freight. [illustration: carrying goods over long _portage_ in mackenzie river region with the old-fashioned red river ox-carts.] hudson's bay company steamers now ply on the largest of the inland rivers with long lines of fur-laden barges in tow; but the canoe brigades still bring the winter's hunt to the forts in spring. five to eight craft make a brigade, each manned by eight paddlers with an experienced steersman, who is usually also guide. but the one ranking first in importance is the bowman, whose quick eye must detect signs of nearing rapids, whose steel-shod pole gives the cue to the other paddlers and steers the craft past foamy reefs. the bowman it is who leaps out first when there is "tracking"--pulling the craft up-stream by tow-line--who stands waist high in ice water steadying the rocking bark lest a sudden swirl spill furs to the bottom, who hands out the packs to the others when the waters are too turbulent for "tracking" and there must be a "_portage_," and who leads the brigade on a run--half trot, half amble--overland to the calmer currents. "pipes" are the measure of a _portage_--that is, the pipes smoked while the _voyageurs_ are on the run. the bowman it is who can thread a network of water-ways by day or dark, past rapids or whirlpools, with the certainty of an arrow to the mark. on all long trips by dog train or canoe, pemmican made of buffalo meat and marrow put in air-tight bags was the standard food. the pemmican now used is of moose or caribou beef. the only way to get an accurate idea of the size of the kingdom ruled by these monarchs of the lonely wastes is by comparison. take a map of north america. on the east is labrador, a peninsula as vast as germany and holland and belgium and half of france. on the coast and across the unknown interior are the magical letters h. b. c., meaning hudson's bay company fort (past or present), a little whitewashed square with eighteen-foot posts planted picket-wise for a wall, match-box bastions loopholed for musketry, a barracks-like structure across the court-yard with a high lookout of some sort near the gate. here some trader with wife and children and staff of indian servants has held his own against savagery and desolating loneliness. in one of these forts lord strathcona passed his youth. once more to the map. with one prong of a compass in the centre of hudson bay, describe a circle. the northern half embraces the baffling arctics; but on the line of the southern circumference like beads on a string are churchill high on the left, york below in black capitals as befits the importance of the great fur emporium of the bay, severn and albany and moose and rupert and fort george round the south, and to the right, larger and more strongly built forts than in labrador, with the ruins of stone walls at churchill that have a depth of fifteen feet. six-pounders once mounted these bastions. the remnants of galleries for soldiery run round the inside walls. a flag floats over each fort with the letters h. b. c.[42] officers' dwellings occupy the centre of the court-yard. banked against the walls are the men's quarters, fur presses, stables, storerooms. always there is a chapel, at one fort a hospital, at others the relics of stoutly built old powder magazines made to withstand the siege of hand grenades tossed in by french assailants from the bay, who knew that the loot of a fur post was better harvest than a treasure ship. elsewhere two small bastions situated diagonally across from each other were sufficient to protect the fur post by sending a raking fire along the walls; but here there was danger of the french fleet, and the walls were built with bastion and trench and rampart. again to the map. between hudson bay and the rocky mountains stretches an american siberia--the barren lands. here, too, on every important waterway, athabasca and the liard and the mackenzie into the land of winter night and midnight sun, extend hudson's bay company posts. we think of these northern streams as ice-jammed, sluggish currents, with mean log villages on their banks. the fur posts of the sub-arctics are not imposing with picket fences in place of stockades, for no french foe was feared here. but the mackenzie river is one of the longest in the world, with two tributaries each more than 1,000 miles in length. it has a width of a mile, and a succession of rapids that rival the st. lawrence, and palisaded banks higher than the hudson river's, and half a dozen lakes into one of which you could drop two new england states without raising a sand bar. the map again. between the prairie and the pacific ocean is a wilderness of peaks, a switzerland stretched into half the length of a continent. here, too, like eagle nests in rocky fastnesses are fur posts. such is the realm of the hudson's bay company to-day. before 1812 there was no international boundary in the fur trade. but after the war congress barred out canadian companies. the next curtailment of hunting-ground came in 1869-'70, when the company surrendered proprietary rights to the canadian government, retaining only the right to trade in the vast north land. the formation of new canadian provinces took place south of the saskatchewan; but north the company barters pelts undisturbed as of old. yearly the staffs are shifted from post to post as the fortunes of the hunt vary; but the principal posts not including winter quarters for a special hunt have probably not exceeded two hundred in number, nor fallen below one hundred for the last century. of these the greater numbers are of course in the far north. when the hudson's bay company was fighting rivals, nor' westers from montreal, americans from st. louis, it must have employed as traders, packers, _coureurs_, canoe men, hunters, and guides, at least 5,000 men; for its rival employed that number, and "the old lady," as the enemy called it, always held her own. over this wilderness army were from 250 to 300 officers, each with the power of life and death in his hands. to the honour of the company, be it said, this power was seldom abused.[43] occasionally a brutal sea-captain might use lash and triangle and branding along the northern coast; but officers defenceless among savage hordes must of necessity have lived on terms of justice with their men. the canadian government now exercises judicial functions; but where less than 700 mounted police patrol a territory as large as siberia, the company's factor is still the chief representative of the law's power. times without number under the old _régime_ has a hudson's bay officer set out alone and tracked an indian murderer to hidden fastness, there to arrest him or shoot him dead on the spot; because if murder went unpunished that mysterious impulse to kill which is as rife in the savage heart as in the wolf's would work its havoc unchecked. just as surely as "the sun rises and the rivers flow" the savage knows when the hunt fails he will receive help from the hudson's bay officer. but just as surely he knows if he commits any crime that same unbending, fearless white man will pursue--and pursue--and pursue guilt to the death. one case is on record of a trader thrashing an indian within an inch of his life for impudence to officers two or three years before. of course, the vendetta may cut both ways, the indian treasuring vengeance in his heart till he can wreak it. that is an added reason why the white man's justice must be unimpeachable. "_pro pelle cutem_," says the motto of the company arms. without flippancy it might be said "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," as well as "a skin for a skin"--which explains the freedom from crime among northern indians. and who are the subjects living under this mosaic paternalism? stunted eskimo of the far north, creatures as amphibious as the seals whose coats they wear, with the lustreless eyes of dwarfed intelligence and the agility of seal flippers as they whisk double-bladed paddles from side to side of the darting kyacks; wandering montagnais from the domed hills of labrador, lonely and sad and silent as the naked desolation of their rugged land; ojibways soft-voiced as the forest glooms in that vast land of spruce tangle north of the great lakes; crees and sioux from the plains, cunning with the stealth of creatures that have hunted and been hunted on the shelterless prairie; blackfeet and crows, game birds of the foothills that have harried all other tribes for tribute, keen-eyed as the eagles on the mountains behind them, glorying in war as the finest kind of hunting; mountain tribes--stonies, kootenais, shoshonies--splendid types of manhood because only the fittest can survive the hardships of the mountains; coast indians, chinook and chilcoot--low and lazy because the great rivers feed them with salmon and they have no need to work. over these lawless arabs of the new world wilderness the hudson's bay company has ruled for two and a half centuries with smaller loss of life in the aggregate than the railways of the united states cause in a single year. hunters have been lost in the wilds. white trappers have been assassinated by indians. forts have been wiped out of existence. ten, twenty, thirty traders have been massacred at different times. but, then, the loss of life on railways totals up to thousands in a single year. when fighting rivals long ago, it is true that the hudson's bay company recognised neither human nor divine law. grant the charge and weigh it against the benefits of the company's rule. when hearne visited chippewyans two centuries ago he found the indians in a state uncontaminated by the trader; and that state will give the ordinary reader cold shivers of horror at the details of massacre and degradation. every visitor since has reported the same tribe improved in standard of living under hudson's bay rule. recently a well-known canadian governor making an itinerary of the territory round the bay found the indians such devout christians that they put his white retinue to shame. returning to civilization, the governor was observed attending the services of his own denomination with a greater fury than was his wont. asked the reason, he confided to a club friend that he would be _blanked_ if he could allow heathen indians to be better christians than he was. some of the shiftless indians may be hopelessly in debt to the company for advanced provisions, but if the company had not made these advances the indians would have starved, and the debt is never exacted by seizure of the hunt that should go to feed a family. of how many other creditors may that be said? of how many companies that it has cared for the sick, sought the lost, fed the starving, housed the homeless? with all its faults, that is the record of the hudson's bay company. footnotes: [footnote 39: the spelling of the name with an apostrophe in the charter seems to be the only reason for the company's name always having the apostrophe, whereas the waters are now known simply as hudson bay.] [footnote 40: to the indian mind the hand-to-hand duels between white traders were incomprehensible pieces of folly.] [footnote 41: it need hardly be explained that it is the prairie indian and not the forest ojibway who places the body on high scaffolding above the ground; hence the woman's dilemma.] [footnote 42: the flag was hoisted on sundays to notify the indians there would be no trade.] [footnote 43: governor norton will, of course, be recalled as the most conspicuous for his brutality.] chapter xv koot and the bob-cat old whaling ships, that tumble round the world and back again from coast to coast over strange seas, hardly ever suffer any of the terrible disasters that are always overtaking the proud men-of-war and swift liners equipped with all that science can do for them against misfortune. ask an old salt why this is, and he will probably tell you that he _feels_ his way forward or else that he steers by the same chart as _that_--jerking his thumb sideways from the wheel towards some sea gull careening over the billows. a something, that is akin to the instinct of wild creatures warning them when to go north for the summer, when to go south for the winter, when to scud for shelter from coming storm, guides the old whaler across chartless seas. so it is with the trapper. he may be caught in one of his great steel-traps and perish on the prairie. he may run short of water and die of thirst on the desert. he may get his pack horses tangled up in a valley where there is no game and be reduced to the alternative of destroying what will carry him back to safety or starving with a horse still under him, before he can get over the mountains into another valley--but the true trapper will literally never lose himself. lewis and clark rightly merit the fame of having first _explored_ the missouri-columbia route; but years before the louisiana purchase, free trappers were already on the columbia. david thompson of the north-west company was the first canadian to _explore_ the lower columbia; but before thompson had crossed the rockies, french hunters were already ranging the forests of the pacific slope. how did these coasters of the wilds guide themselves over prairies that were a chartless sea and mountains that were a wilderness? how does the wavey know where to find the rush-grown inland pools? who tells the caribou mother to seek refuge on islands where the water will cut off the wolves that would prey on her young? something, which may be the result of generations of accumulated observation, guides the wavey and the caribou. something, which may be the result of unconscious inference from a life-time of observation, guides the man. in the animal we call it instinct, in the man, reason; and in the case of the trapper tracking pathless wilds, the conscious reason of the man seems almost merged in the automatic instinct of the brute. it is not sharp-sightedness--though no man is sharper of sight than the trapper. it is not acuteness of hearing--though the trapper learns to listen with the noiseless stealth of the pencil-eared lynx. it is not touch--in the sense of tactile contact--any more than it is touch that tells a suddenly awakened sleeper of an unexpected noiseless presence in a dark room. it is something deeper than the tabulated five senses, a sixth sense--a sense of _feel_, without contact--a sense on which the whole sensate world writes its records as on a palimpsest. this palimpsest is the trapper's chart, this sense of _feel_, his weapon against the instinct of the brute. what part it plays in the life of every ranger of the wilds can best be illustrated by telling how koot found his way to the fur post after the rabbit-hunt. * * * * * when the midwinter lull falls on the hunt, there is little use in the trapper going far afield. moose have "yarded up." bear have "holed up" and the beaver are housed till dwindling stores compel them to come out from their snow-hidden domes. there are no longer any buffalo for the trapper to hunt during the lull; but what buffalo formerly were to the hunter, rabbit are to-day. shields and tepee covers, moccasins, caps and coats, thongs and meat, the buffalo used to supply. these are now supplied by "wahboos--little white chap," which is the indian name for rabbit. and there is no midwinter lull for "wahboos." while the "little white chap" runs, the long-haired, owlish-eyed lynx of the northern forest runs too. so do all the lynx's feline cousins, the big yellowish cougar of the mountains slouching along with his head down and his tail lashing and a footstep as light and sinuous and silent as the motion of a snake; the short-haired lucifee gorging himself full of "little white chaps" and stretching out to sleep on a limb in a dapple of sunshine and shadow so much like the lucifee's skin not even a wolf would detect the sleeper; the bunchy bob-cat bounding and skimming over the snow for all the world like a bouncing football done up in gray fur--all members of the cat tribe running wherever the "little white chaps" run. so when the lull fell on the hunt and the mink trapping was well over and marten had not yet begun, koot gathered up his traps, and getting a supply of provisions at the fur post, crossed the white wastes of prairie to lonely swamp ground where dwarf alder and willow and cottonwood and poplar and pine grew in a tangle. a few old logs dovetailed into a square made the wall of a cabin. over these he stretched the canvas of his tepee for a roof at a sharp enough angle to let the heavy snow-fall slide off from its own weight. moss chinked up the logs. snow banked out the wind. pine boughs made the floor, two logs with pine boughs, a bed. an odd-shaped stump served as chair or table; and on the logs of the inner walls hung wedge-shaped slabs of cedar to stretch the skins. a caribou curtain or bear-skin across the entrance completed koot's winter quarters for the rabbit-hunt. koot's genealogy was as vague as that of all old trappers hanging round fur posts. part of him--that part which served best when he was on the hunting-field--was ojibway. the other part, which made him improvise logs into chair and table and bed, was white man; and that served him best when he came to bargain with the chief factor over the pelts. at the fur post he attended the catholic mission. on the hunting-field, when suddenly menaced by some great danger, he would cry out in the indian tongue words that meant "o great spirit!" and it is altogether probable that at the mission and on the hunting-field, koot was worshipping the same being. when he swore--strange commentary on civilization--he always used white man's oaths, french _patois_ or straight english. though old hermits may be found hunting alone through the rockies, idaho, washington, and minnesota, trappers do not usually go to the wilds alone; but there was so little danger in rabbit-snaring, that koot had gone out accompanied by only the mongrel dog that had drawn his provisions from the fort on a sort of toboggan sleigh. the snow is a white page on which the wild creatures write their daily record for those who can read. all over the white swamp were little deep tracks; here, holes as if the runner had sunk; there, padded marks as from the bound--bound--bound of something soft; then, again, where the thicket was like a hedge with only one breach through, the footprints had beaten a little hard rut walled by the soft snow. koot's dog might have detected a motionless form under the thicket of spiney shrubs, a form that was gray almost to whiteness and scarcely to be distinguished from the snowy underbrush but for the blink of a prism light--the rabbit's eye. if the dog did catch that one tell-tale glimpse of an eye which a cunning rabbit would have shut, true to the training of his trapper master he would give no sign of the discovery except perhaps the pricking forward of both ears. koot himself preserved as stolid a countenance as the rabbit playing dead or simulating a block of wood. where the footprints ran through the breached hedge, koot stooped down and planted little sticks across the runway till there was barely room for a weasel to pass. across the open he suspended a looped string hung from a twig bent so that the slightest weight in the loop would send it up with a death jerk for anything caught in the tightening twine. all day long, koot goes from hedge to hedge, from runway to runway, choosing always the places where natural barriers compel the rabbit to take this path and no other, travelling if he can in a circle from his cabin so that the last snare set will bring him back with many a zigzag to the first snare made. if rabbits were plentiful--as they always were in the fur country of the north except during one year in seven when an epidemic spared the land from a rabbit pest--koot's circuit of snares would run for miles through the swamp. traps for large game would be set out so that the circuit would require only a day; but where rabbits are numerous, the foragers that prey--wolf and wolverine and lynx and bob-cat--will be numerous, too; and the trapper will not set out more snares than he can visit twice a day. noon--the indian's hour of the short shadow--is the best time for the first visit, nightfall, the time of no shadow at all, for the second. if the trapper has no wooden door to his cabin, and in it--instead of caching in a tree--keeps fish or bacon that may attract marauding wolverine, he will very probably leave his dogs on guard while he makes the round of the snares. finding tracks about the shack when he came back for his noonday meal, koot shouted sundry instructions into the mongrel's ear, emphasized them with a moccasin kick, picked up the sack in which he carried bait, twine, and traps, and set out in the evening to make the round of his snares, unaccompanied by the dog. rabbit after rabbit he found, gray and white, hanging stiff and stark, dead from their own weight, strangled in the twine snares. snares were set anew, the game strung over his shoulder, and koot was walking through the gray gloaming for the cabin when that strange sense of _feel_ told him that he was being followed. what was it? could it be the dog? he whistled--he called it by name. in all the world, there is nothing so ghostly silent, so deathly quiet as the swamp woods, muffled in the snow of midwinter, just at nightfall. by day, the grouse may utter a lonely cluck-cluck, or the snowbuntings chirrup and twitter and flutter from drift to hedge-top, or the saucy jay shriek some scolding impudence. a squirrel may chatter out his noisy protest at some thief for approaching the nuts which lie cached under the rotten leaves at the foot of the tree, or the sun-warmth may set the melting snow showering from the swan's-down branches with a patter like rain. but at nightfall the frost has stilled the drip of thaw. squirrel and bird are wrapped in the utter quiet of a gray darkness. and the marauders that fill midnight with sharp bark, shrill trembling scream, deep baying over the snow are not yet abroad in the woods. all is shadowless--stillness--a quiet that is audible. koot turned sharply and whistled and called his dog. there wasn't a sound. later when the frost began to tighten, sap-frozen twigs would snap. the ice of the swamp, frozen like rock, would by-and-bye crackle with the loud echo of a pistol-shot--crackle--and strike--and break as if artillery were firing a fusillade and infantry shooters answering sharp. by-and-bye, moon and stars and northern lights would set the shadows dancing; and the wail of the cougar would be echoed by the lifting scream of its mate. but now, was not a sound, not a motion, not a shadow, only the noiseless stillness, the shadowless quiet, and the _feel_, the _feel_ of something back where the darkness was gathering like a curtain in the bush. it might, of course, be only a silly long-ears loping under cover parallel to the man, looking with rabbit curiosity at this strange newcomer to the swamp home of the animal world. koot's sense of _feel_ told him that it wasn't a rabbit; but he tried to persuade himself that it was, the way a timid listener persuades herself that creaking floors are burglars. thinking of his many snares, koot smiled and walked on. then it came again, that _feel_ of something coursing behind the underbrush in the gloom of the gathering darkness. koot stopped short--and listened--and listened--listened to a snow-muffled silence, to a desolating solitude that pressed in on the lonely hunter like the waves of a limitless sea round a drowning man. the sense of _feel_ that is akin to brute instinct gave him the impression of a presence. reason that is man's told him what it might be and what to do. was he not carrying the snared rabbits over his shoulder? some hungry flesh-eater, more bloodthirsty than courageous, was still hunting him for the food on his back and only lacked the courage to attack. koot drew a steel-trap from his bag. he did not wish to waste a rabbit-skin, so he baited the spring with a piece of fat bacon, smeared the trap, the snow, everything that he had touched with a rabbit-skin, and walked home through the deepening dark to the little log cabin where a sharp "woof-woof" of welcome awaited him. that night, in addition to the skins across the doorway, koot jammed logs athwart; "to keep the cold out" he told himself. then he kindled a fire on the rough stone hearth built at one end of the cabin and with the little clay pipe beneath his teeth sat down on the stump chair to broil rabbit. the waste of the rabbit he had placed in traps outside the lodge. once his dog sprang alert with pricked ears. man and dog heard the sniff--sniff--sniff of some creature attracted to the cabin by the smell of broiling meat, and now rummaging at its own risk among the traps. and once when koot was stretched out on a bear-skin before the fire puffing at his pipe-stem, drying his moccasins and listening to the fusillade of frost rending ice and earth, a long low piercing wail rose and fell and died away. instantly from the forest of the swamp came the answering scream--a lifting tumbling eldritch shriek. "i should have set two traps," says koot. "they are out in pairs." * * * * * black is the flag of danger to the rabbit world. the antlered shadows of the naked poplar or the tossing arms of the restless pines, the rabbit knows to be harmless shadows unless their dapple of sun and shade conceals a brindled cat. but a shadow that walks and runs means to the rabbit a foe; so the wary trapper prefers to visit his snares at the hour of the short shadow. it did not surprise the trapper after he had heard the lifting wail from the swamp woods the night before that the bacon in the trap lay untouched. the still hunter that had crawled through the underbrush lured by the dead rabbits over koot's shoulder wanted rabbit, not bacon. but at the nearest rabbit snare, where a poor dead prisoner had been torn from the twine, were queer padded prints in the snow, not of the rabbit's making. koot stood looking at the tell-tale mark. the dog's ears were all aprick. so was koot's sense of _feel_, but he couldn't make this thing out. there was no trail of approach or retreat. the padded print of the thief was in the snow as if the animal had dropped from the sky and gone back to the sky. koot measured off ten strides from the rifled snare and made a complete circuit round it. the rabbit runway cut athwart the snow circle, but no mark like that shuffling padded print. "it isn't a wolverine, and it isn't a fisher, and it isn't a coyote," koot told himself. the dog emitted stupid little sharp barks looking everywhere and nowhere as if he felt what he could neither see nor hear. koot measured off ten strides more from this circuit and again walked completely round the snare. not even the rabbit runways cut this circle. the white man grows indignant when baffled, the indian superstitious. the part that was white man in koot sent him back to the scene in quick jerky steps to scatter poisoned rabbit meat over the snow and set a trap in which he readily sacrificed a full-grown bunny. the part that was indian set a world of old memories echoing, memories that were as much koot's nature as the swarth of his skin, memories that koot's mother and his mother's ancestors held of the fabulous man-eating wolf called the loup-garou, and the great white beaver father of all beavers and all indians that glided through the swamp mists at night like a ghost, and the monster grisly that stalked with uncouth gambols through the dark devouring benighted hunters. this time when the mongrel uttered his little sharp barkings that said as plainly as a dog could speak, "something's somewhere! be careful there--oh!--i'll be _on_ to you in just one minute!" koot kicked the dog hard with plain anger; and his anger was at himself because his eyes and his ears failed to localize, to _real_-ize, to visualize what those little pricks and shivers tingling down to his finger-tips meant. then the civilized man came uppermost in koot and he marched off very matter of fact to the next snare. but if koot's vision had been as acute as his sense of _feel_ and he had glanced up to the topmost spreading bough of a pine just above the snare, he might have detected lying in a dapple of sun and shade something with large owl eyes, something whose pencilled ear-tufts caught the first crisp of the man's moccasins over the snow-crust. then the ear-tufts were laid flat back against a furry form hardly differing from the dapple of sun and shade. the big owl eyes closed to a tiny blinking slit that let out never a ray of tell-tale light. the big round body mottled gray and white like the snowy tree widened--stretched---flattened till it was almost a part of the tossing pine bough. only when the man and dog below the tree had passed far beyond did the pencilled ears blink forward and the owl eyes open and the big body bunch out like a cat with elevated haunches ready to spring. but by-and-bye the man's snares began to tell on the rabbits. they grew scarce and timid. and the thing that had rifled the rabbit snares grew hunger-bold. one day when koot and the dog were skimming across the billowy drifts, something black far ahead bounced up, caught a bunting on the wing, and with another bounce disappeared among the trees. koot said one word--"cat!"--and the dog was off full cry. ever since he had heard that wailing call from the swamp woods, he had known that there were rival hunters, the keenest of all still hunters among the rabbits. every day he came upon the trail of their ravages, rifled snares, dead squirrels, torn feathers, even the remains of a fox or a coon. and sometimes he could tell from the printings on the white page that the still hunter had been hunted full cry by coyote or timber-wolf. against these wolfish foes the cat had one sure refuge always--a tree. the hungry coyote might try to starve the bob-cat into surrender; but just as often, the bob-cat could starve the coyote into retreat; for if a foolish rabbit darted past, what hungry coyote could help giving chase? the tree had even defeated both dog and man that first week when koot could not find the cat. but a dog in full chase could follow the trail to a tree, and a man could shoot into the tree. as the rabbits decreased, koot set out many traps for the bob-cats now reckless with hunger, steel-traps and deadfalls and pits and log pens with a live grouse clucking inside. the midwinter lull was a busy season for koot. towards march, the sun-glare has produced a crust on the snow that is almost like glass. for koot on his snow-shoes this had no danger; but for the mongrel that was to draw the pelts back to the fort, the snow crust was more troublesome than glass. where the crust was thick, with koot leading the way snow-shoes and dog and toboggan glided over the drifts as if on steel runners. but in midday the crust was soft and the dog went floundering through as if on thin ice, the sharp edge cutting his feet. koot tied little buckskin sacks round the dog's feet and made a few more rounds of the swamp; but the crust was a sign that warned him it was time to prepare for the marten-hunt. to leave his furs at the fort, he must cross the prairie while it was yet good travelling for the dog. dismantling the little cabin, koot packed the pelts on the toboggan, roped all tightly so there could be no spill from an upset, and putting the mongrel in the traces, led the way for the fort one night when the snow-crust was hard as ice. * * * * * the moon came up over the white fields in a great silver disk. between the running man and the silver moon moved black skulking forms--the foragers on their night hunt. sometimes a fox loped over a drift, or a coyote rose ghostly from the snow, or timber-wolves dashed from wooded ravines and stopped to look till koot fired a shot that sent them galloping. in the dark that precedes daylight, koot camped beside a grove of poplars--that is, he fed the dog a fish, whittled chips to make a fire and boil some tea for himself, then digging a hole in the drift with his snow-shoe, laid the sleigh to windward and cuddled down between bear-skins with the dog across his feet. daylight came in a blinding glare of sunshine and white snow. the way was untrodden. koot led at an ambling run, followed by the dog at a fast trot, so that the trees were presently left far on the offing and the runners were out on the bare white prairie with never a mark, tree or shrub, to break the dazzling reaches of sunshine and snow from horizon to horizon. a man who is breaking the way must keep his eyes on the ground; and the ground was so blindingly bright that koot began to see purple and yellow and red patches dancing wherever he looked on the snow. he drew his capote over his face to shade his eyes; but the pace and the sun grew so hot that he was soon running again unprotected from the blistering light. towards the afternoon, koot knew that something had gone wrong. some distance ahead, he saw a black object against the snow. on the unbroken white, it looked almost as big as a barrel and seemed at least a mile away. lowering his eyes, koot let out a spurt of speed, and the next thing he knew he had tripped his snow-shoe and tumbled. scrambling up, he saw that a stick had caught the web of his snow-shoe; but where was the barrel for which he had been steering? there wasn't any barrel at all--the barrel was this black stick which hadn't been fifty yards away. koot rubbed his eyes and noticed that black and red and purple patches were all over the snow. the drifts were heaving and racing after each other like waves on an angry sea. he did not go much farther that day; for every glint of snow scorched his eyes like a hot iron. he camped at the first bluff and made a poultice of cold tea leaves which he laid across his blistered face for the night. any one who knows the tortures of snow-blindness will understand why koot did not sleep that night. it was a long night to the trapper, such a very long night that the sun had been up for two hours before its heat burned through the layers of his capote into his eyes and roused him from sheer pain. then he sprang up, put up an ungantled hand and knew from the heat of the sun that it was broad day. but when he took the bandage off his eyes, all he saw was a black curtain one moment, rockets and wheels and dancing patches of purple fire the next. koot was no fool to become panicky and feeble from sudden peril. he knew that he was snow-blind on a pathless prairie at least two days away from the fort. to wait until the snow-blindness had healed would risk the few provisions that he had and perhaps expose him to a blizzard. the one rule of the trapper's life is to go ahead, let the going cost what it may; and drawing his capote over his face, koot went on. the heat of the sun told him the directions; and when the sun went down, the crooning west wind, bringing thaw and snow-crust, was his compass. and when the wind fell, the tufts of shrub-growth sticking through the snow pointed to the warm south. now he tied himself to his dog; and when he camped beside trees into which he had gone full crash before he knew they were there, he laid his gun beside the dog and sleigh. going out the full length of his cord, he whittled the chips for his fire and found his way back by the cord. on the second day of his blindness, no sun came up; nor could he guide himself by the feel of the air, for there was no wind. it was one of the dull dead gray days that precedes storms. how would he get his directions to set out? memory of last night's travel might only lead him on the endless circling of the lost. koot dug his snow-shoe to the base of a tree, found moss, felt it growing on only one side of the tree, knew that side must be the shady cold side, and so took his bearings from what he thought was the north. koot said the only time that he knew any fear was on the evening of the last day. the atmosphere boded storm. the fort lay in a valley. somewhere between koot and that valley ran a trail. what if he had crossed the trail? what if the storm came and wiped out the trail before he could reach the fort? all day, whisky-jack and snow-bunting and fox scurried from his presence; but this night in the dusk when he felt forward on his hands and knees for the expected trail, the wild creatures seemed to grow bolder. he imagined that he felt the coyotes closer than on the other nights. and then the fearful thought came that he might have passed the trail unheeding. should he turn back? afraid to go forward or back, koot sank on the ground, unhooded his face and tried to _force_ his eyes to see. the pain brought biting salty tears. it was quite useless. either the night was very dark, or the eyes were very blind. and then white man or indian--who shall say which came uppermost?--koot cried out to the great spirit. in mockery back came the saucy scold of a jay. but that was enough for koot--it was prompt answer to his prayer; for where do the jays quarrel and fight and flutter but on the trail? running eagerly forward, the trapper felt the ground. the rutted marks of a "jumper" sleigh cut the hard crust. with a shout, koot headed down the sloping path to the valley where lay the fur post, the low hanging smoke of whose chimneys his eager nostrils had already sniffed. chapter xvi other little animals besides wahboos the rabbit--being an account of musquash the musk-rat, sikak the skunk, wenusk the badger, and others i _musquash the musk-rat_ every chapter in the trapper's life is not a "stunt." there are the uneventful days when the trapper seems to do nothing but wander aimlessly through the woods over the prairie along the margin of rush-grown marshy ravines where the stagnant waters lap lazily among the flags, though a feathering of ice begins to rim the quiet pools early in autumn. unless he is duck-shooting down there in the hidden slough where is a great "quack-quack" of young teals, the trapper may not uncase his gun. for a whole morning he lies idly in the sunlight beside some river where a roundish black head occasionally bobs up only to dive under when it sees the man. or else he sits by the hour still as a statue on the mossy log of a swamp where a long wriggling--wriggling trail marks the snaky motion of some creature below the amber depths. to the city man whose days are regulated by clockwork and electric trams with the ceaseless iteration of gongs and "step fast there!" such a life seems the type of utter laziness. but the best-learned lessons are those imbibed unconsciously and the keenest pleasures come unsought. perhaps when the great profit-and-loss account of the hereafter is cast up, the trapper may be found to have a greater sum total of happiness, of usefulness, of real knowledge than the multi-millionaire whose life was one buzzing round of drive and worry and grind. usually the busy city man has spent nine or ten of the most precious years of his youth in study and travel to learn other men's thoughts for his own life's work. the trapper spends an idle month or two of each year wandering through a wild world learning the technic of his craft at first hand. and the trapper's learning is all done leisurely, calmly, without bluster or drive, just as nature herself carries on the work of her realm. on one of these idle days when the trapper seems to be slouching so lazily over the prarie comes a whiff of dank growth on the crisp autumn air. like all wild creatures travelling up-wind, the trapper at once heads a windward course. it comes again, just a whiff as if the light green musk-plant were growing somewhere on a dank bank. but ravines are not dank in the clear fall days; and by october the musk-plant has wilted dry. this is a fresh living odour with all the difference between it and dead leaves that there is between june roses and the dried dust of a rose jar. the wind falls. he may not catch the faintest odour of swamp growth again, but he knows there must be stagnant water somewhere in these prairie ravines; and a sense that is part _feel_, part intuition, part inference from what the wind told of the marsh smell, leads his footsteps down the browned hillside to the soggy bottom of a slough. a covey of teals--very young, or they would not be so bold--flackers up, wings about with a clatter, then settles again a space farther ahead when the ducks see that the intruder remains so still. the man parts the flags, sits down on a log motionless as the log itself--and watches! something else had taken alarm from the crunch of the hunter's moccasins through the dry reeds; for a wriggling trail is there, showing where a creature has dived below and is running among the wet under-tangle. not far off on another log deep in the shade of the highest flags solemnly perches a small prairie-owl. it is almost the russet shade of the dead log. it hunches up and blinks stupidly at all this noise in the swamp. "oho," thinks the trapper, "so i've disturbed a still hunt," and he sits if anything stiller than ever, only stooping to lay his gun down and pick up a stone. at first there is nothing but the quacking of the ducks at the far end of the swamp. a lapping of the water against the brittle flags and a water-snake has splashed away to some dark haunt. the whisky-jack calls out officious note from a topmost bough, as much as to say: "it's all right! me--me!--i'm always there!--i've investigated!--it's all right!--he's quite harmless!" and away goes the jay on business of state among the gopher mounds. then the interrupted activity of the swamp is resumed, scolding mother ducks reading the riot act to young teals, old geese coming craning and craning their long necks to drink at the water's edge, lizards and water-snakes splashing down the banks, midgets and gnats sunning themselves in clouds during the warmth of the short autumn days, with a feel in the air as of crisp ripeness, drying fruit, the harvest-home of the year. in all the prairie region north and west of minnesota--the indian land of "sky-coloured water"--the sloughs lie on the prairie under a crystal sky that turns pools to silver. on this almost motionless surface are mirrored as if by an etcher's needle the sky above, feathered wind clouds, flag stems, surrounding cliffs, even the flight of birds on wing. as the mountains stand for majesty, the prairies for infinity, so the marsh lands are types of repose. but it is not a lifeless repose. barely has the trapper settled himself when a little sharp black nose pokes up through the water at the fore end of the wriggling trail. a round rat-shaped head follows this twitching proboscis. then a brownish earth-coloured body swims with a wriggling sidelong movement for the log, where roosts the blinking owlet. a little noiseless leap! and a dripping musk-rat with long flat tail and webbed feet scrabbles up the moss-covered tree towards the stupid bird. another moment, and the owl would have toppled into the water with a pair of sharp teeth clutched to its throat. then the man shies a well-aimed stone! splash! flop! the owl is flapping blindly through the flags to another hiding-place, while the wriggle-wriggle of the waters tells where the marsh-rat has darted away under the tangled growth. from other idle days like these, the trapper has learned that musk-rats are not solitary but always to be found in colonies. now if the musk-rat were as wise as the beaver to whom the indians say he is closely akin, that alarmed marauder would carry the news of the man-intruder to the whole swamp. perhaps if the others remembered from the prod of a spear or the flash of a gun what man's coming meant, that news would cause terrified flight of every musk-rat from the marsh. but musquash--little beaver, as the indians call him--is not so wise, not so timid, not so easily frightened from his home as _amisk_,[44] the beaver. in fact, nature's provision for the musk-rat's protection seems to have emboldened the little rodent almost to the point of stupidity. his skin is of that burnt umber shade hardly to be distinguished from the earth. at one moment his sharp nose cuts the water, at the next he is completely hidden in the soft clay of the under-tangle; and while you are straining for a sight of him through the pool, he has scurried across a mud bank to his burrow. hunt him as they may, men and boys and ragged squaws wading through swamps knee-high, yet after a century of hunting from the chesapeake and the hackensack to the swamps of "sky-coloured water" on the far prairie, little musquash still yields 6,000,000 pelts a year with never a sign of diminishing. a hundred years ago, in 1788, so little was musk-rat held in esteem as a fur, the great north-west company of canada sent out only 17,000 or 20,000 skins a year. so rapidly did musk-rat grow in favour as a lining and imitation fur that in 1888 it was no unusual thing for 200,000 musk-rat-skins to be brought to a single hudson's bay company fort. in canada the climate compels the use of heavier furs than in the united states, so that the all-fur coat is in greater demand than the fur-lined; but in canada, not less than 2,000,000 musk-rat furs are taken every year. in the united states the total is close on 4,000,000. in one city alone, st. paul, 50,000 musk-rat-skins are cured every year. a single stretch of good marsh ground has yielded that number of skins year after year without a sign of the hunt telling on the prolific little musquash. multiply 50,000 by prices varying from 7 cents to 75 cents and the value of the musk-rat-hunt becomes apparent. what is the secret of the musk-rat's survival while the strong creatures of the chase like buffalo and timber-wolf have been almost exterminated? in the first place, settlers can't farm swamps; so the musk-rat thrives just as well in the swamps of new jersey to-day as when the first white hunter set foot in america. then musquash lives as heartily on owls and frogs and snakes as on water mussels and lily-pads. if one sort of food fails, the musk-rat has as omnivorous powers of digestion as the bear and changes his diet. then he can hide as well in water as on land. and most important of all, musk-rat's family is as numerous as a cat's, five to nine rats in a litter, and two or three litters a year. these are the points that make for little musquash's continuance in spite of all that shot and trap can do. having discovered what the dank whiff, half animal, half vegetable, signified, the trapper sets about finding the colony. he knows there is no risk of the little still-hunter carrying alarm to the other musk-rats. if he waits, it is altogether probable that the fleeing musk-rat will come up and swim straight for the colony. on the other hand, the musk-rat may have scurried overland through the rushes. besides, the trapper observed tracks, tiny leaf-like tracks as of little webbed feet, over the soft clay of the marsh bank. these will lead to the colony, so the trapper rises and parting the rushes not too noisily, follows the little footprint along the margin of the swamp. here the track is lost at the narrow ford of an inflowing stream, but across the creek lies a fallen poplar littered with--what? the feathers and bones of a dead owlet. balancing himself--how much better the moccasins cling than boots!--the trapper crosses the log and takes up the trail through the rushes. but here musquash has dived off into the water for the express purpose of throwing a possible pursuer off the scent. but the tracks betrayed which way musquash was travelling; so the trapper goes on, knowing if he does not find the little haycock houses on this side, he can cross to the other. [illustration: fort macpherson, now the most northerly post of the hudson's bay company, beyond tree line; hence the houses are built of imported timber, with thatch roofs.] presently, he almost stumbles over what sent the musk-rat diving just at this place. it is the wreck of a wolverine's ravage--a little wattled dome-shaped house exposed to that arch-destroyer by the shrinking of the swamp. so shallow has the water become, that a wolverine has easily waded and leaped clear across to the roof of the musk-rat's house. a beaver-dam two feet thick cannot resist the onslaught of the wolverine's claws; how much less will this round nest of reeds and grass and mosses cemented together with soft clay? the roof has been torn from the domed house, leaving the inside bare and showing plainly the domestic economy of the musk-rat home, smooth round walls inside, a floor or gallery of sticks and grasses, where the family had lived in an air chamber above the water, rough walls below the water-line and two or three little openings that must have been safely under water before the swamp receded. perhaps a mussel or lily bulb has been left in the deserted larder. from the oozy slime below the mid-floor to the topmost wall will not measure more than two or three feet. if the swamp had not dried here, the stupid little musk-rats that escaped the ravager's claws would probably have come back to the wrecked house, built up the torn roof, and gone on living in danger till another wolverine came. but a water doorway the musk-rat must have. that he has learned by countless assaults on his house-top, so when the marsh retreated the musk-rats abandoned their house. all about the deserted house are runways, tiny channels across oozy peninsulas and islands of the musk-rat's diminutive world such as a very small beaver might make. the trapper jumps across to a dry patch or mound in the midst of the slimy bottom and prods an earth bank with a stick. it is as he thought--hollow; a musk-rat burrow or gallery in the clay wall where the refugees from this house had scuttled from the wolverine. but now all is deserted. the water has shrunk--that was the danger signal to the musk-rat; and there had been a grand moving to a deeper part of the swamp. perhaps, after all, this is a very old house not used since last winter. going back to the bank, the trapper skirts through the crush of brittle rushes round the swamp. coming sharply on deeper water, a dank, stagnant bayou, heavy with the smell of furry life, the trapper pushes aside the flags, peers out and sees what resembles a prairie-dog town on water--such a number of wattled houses that they had shut in the water as with a dam. too many flags and willows lie over the colony for a glimpse of the tell-tale wriggling trail across the water; but from the wet tangle of grass and moss comes an oozy pattering. if it were winter, the trapper could proceed as he would against a beaver colony, staking up the outlet from the swamp, trenching the ice round the different houses, breaking open the roofs and penning up any fugitives in their own bank burrows till he and his dog and a spear could clear out the gallery. but in winter there is more important work than hunting musk-rat. musk-rat-trapping is for odd days before the regular hunt. opening the sack which he usually carries on his back, the trapper draws out three dozen small traps no larger than a rat or mouse trap. some of these he places across the runways without any bait; for the musk-rat must pass this way. some he smears with strong-smelling pomatum. some he baits with carrot or apple. others he does not bait at all, simply laying them on old logs where he knows the owlets roost by day. but each of the traps--bait or no bait--he attaches to a stake driven into the water so that the prisoner will be held under when he plunges to escape till he is drowned. otherwise, he would gnaw his foot free of the trap and disappear in a burrow. if the marsh is large, there will be more than one musk-rat colony. having exhausted his traps on the first, the trapper lies in wait at the second. when the moon comes up over the water, there is a great splashing about the musk-rat nests; for autumn is the time for house-building and the musk-rats work at night. if the trapper is an eastern man, he will wade in as they do in new jersey; but if he is a type of the western hunter, he lies on the log among the rushes, popping a shot at every head that appears in the moonlit water. his dog swims and dives for the quarry. by the time the stupid little musk-rats have taken alarm and hidden, the man has twenty or thirty on the bank. going home, he empties and resets the traps. thirty marten traps that yield six martens do well. thirty musk-rat traps are expected to give thirty musk-rats. add to that the twenty shot, and what does the day's work represent? here are thirty skins of a coarse light reddish hair, such as lines the poor man's overcoat. these will sell for from 7 to 15 cents each. they may go roughly for $3 at the fur post. here are ten of the deeper brown shades, with long soft fur that lines a lady's cloak. they are fine enough to pass for mink with a little dyeing, or imitation seal if they are properly plucked. these will bring 25 or 30 cents--say $2.50 in all. but here are ten skins, deep, silky, almost black, for which a russian officer will pay high prices, skins that will go to england, and from england to paris, and from paris to st. petersburg with accelerating cost mark till the russian grandee is paying $1 or more for each pelt. the trapper will ask 30, 40, 50 cents for these, making perhaps $3.50 in all. then this idle fellow's day has totaled up to $9, not a bad day's work, considering he did not go to the university for ten years to learn his craft, did not know what wear and tear and drive meant as he worked, did not spend more than a few cents' worth of shot. but for his musk-rat-pelts the man will not get $9 in coin unless he lives very near the great fur markets. he will get powder and clothing and food and tobacco whose first cost has been increased a hundredfold by ship rates and railroad rates, by keel-boat freight and pack-horse expenses and _portage_ charges past countless rapids. but he will get all that he needs, all that he wants, all that his labour is worth, this "lazy vagabond" who spends half his time idling in the sun. of how many other men can that be said? but what of the ruthless slaughter among the little musk-rats? does humanity not revolt at the thought? is this trapping not after all brutal butchery? animal kindliness--if such a thing exists among musk-rats--could hardly protest against the slaughter, seeing the musk-rats themselves wage as ruthless a war against water-worm and owlet as man wages against musk-rats. it is the old question, should animal life be sacrificed to preserve human life? to that question there is only one answer. linings for coats are more important life-savers than all the humane societies of the world put together. it is probable that the first thing the prehistoric man did to preserve his own life when he realized himself was to slay some destructive animal and appropriate its coat. footnotes: [footnote 44: _amisk_, the chippewyan, _umisk_, the cree, with much the same sound. a well-known trader told the writer that he considered the variation in indian language more a matter of dialect than difference in meaning, and that while he could speak only ojibway he never had any difficulty in understanding and being understood by cree, chippewyan, and assiniboine. for instance, rabbit, "the little white chap," is _wahboos_ on the upper ottawa, _wapus_ on the saskatchewan, _wapauce_ on the mackenzie.] ii _sikak the skunk_ sikak the skunk it is who supplies the best imitations of sable. but cleanse the fur never so well, on a damp day it still emits the heavy sickening odour that betrays its real nature. that odour is sikak's invincible defence against the white trapper. the hunter may follow the little four-abreast galloping footprints that lead to a hole among stones or to rotten logs, but long before he has reached the nesting-place of his quarry comes a stench against which white blood is powerless. or the trapper may find an unexpected visitor in one of the pens which he has dug for other animals--a little black creature the shape of a squirrel and the size of a cat with white stripings down his back and a bushy tail. it is then a case of a quick deadly shot, or the man will be put to rout by an odour that will pollute the air for miles around and drive him off that section of the hunting-field. the cuttlefish is the only other creature that possesses as powerful means of defence of a similar nature, one drop of the inky fluid which it throws out to hide it from pursuers burning the fisherman's eyes like scalding acid. as far as white trappers are concerned, sikak is only taken by the chance shots of idle days. yet the indian hunts the skunk apparently utterly oblivious of the smell. traps, poison, deadfalls, pens are the indian weapons against the skunk; and a cree will deliberately skin and stretch a pelt in an atmosphere that is blue with what is poison to the white man. the only case i ever knew of white trappers hunting the skunk was of three men on the north saskatchewan. one was an englishman who had been long in the service of the hudson's bay company and knew all the animals of the north. the second was the guide, a french-canadian, and the third a sandy, fresh "frae oot the land o' heather." the men were wakened one night by the noise of some animal scrambling through the window into their cabin and rummaging in the dark among the provisions. the frenchman sprang for a light and sandy got hold of his gun. "losh, mon, it's a wee bit beastie a' strip't black and white wi' a tail like a so'dier's cocade!" that information brought the englishman to his feet howling, "don't shoot it! don't shoot it! leave that thing alone, i tell you!" but sandy being a true son of scotia with a presbyterian love of argument wished to debate the question. "an' what for wu'd a leave it eating a' the oatmeal? i'll no leave it rampagin' th' eatables--i wull be pokin' it oot!--shoo!--shoo!" at that the frenchman flung down the light and bolted for the door, followed by the english trader cursing between set teeth that before "that blundering blockhead had argued the matter" something would happen. something did happen. sandy came through the door with such precipitate haste that the topmost beam brought his head a mighty thwack, roaring out at the top of his voice that the deil was after him for a' the sins that iver he had committed since he was born. iii _wenusk the badger_ badger, too, is one of the furs taken by the trapper on idle days. east of st. paul and winnipeg, the fur is comparatively unknown, or if known, so badly prepared that it is scarcely recognisable for badger. this is probably owing to differences in climate. badger in its perfect state is a long soft fur, resembling wood marten, with deep overhairs almost the length of one's hand and as dark as marten, with underhairs as thick and soft and yielding as swan's-down, shading in colour from fawn to grayish white. east of the mississippi, there is too much damp in the atmosphere for such a long soft fur. consequently specimens of badger seen in the east must either be sheared of the long overhairs or left to mat and tangle on the first rainy day. in new york, quebec, montreal, and toronto--places where the finest furs should be on sale if anywhere--i have again and again asked for badger, only to be shown a dull matted short fawnish fur not much superior to cheap dyed furs. it is not surprising there is no demand for such a fur and eastern dealers have stopped ordering it. in the north-west the most common mist during the winter is a frost mist that is more a snow than a rain, so there is little injury to furs from moisture. here the badger is prime, long, thick, and silky, almost as attractive as ermine if only it were enhanced by as high a price. whether badger will ever grow in favour like musk-rat or 'coon, and play an important part in the returns of the fur exporters, is doubtful. the world takes its fashions from european capitals; and european capitals are too damp for badger to be in fashion with them. certainly, with the private dealers of the north and west, badger is yearly becoming more important. like the musk-rat, badger is prime in the autumn. wherever the hunting-grounds of the animals are, there will the hunting-grounds of the trapper be. badgers run most where gophers sit sunning themselves on the clay mounds, ready to bolt down to their subterranean burrows on the first approach of an enemy. eternal enemies these two are, gopher and badger, though they both live in ground holes, nest their lairs with grasses, run all summer and sleep all winter, and alike prey on the creatures smaller than themselves--mice, moles, and birds. the gopher, or ground squirrel, is smaller than the wood squirrel, while the badger is larger than a manx cat, with a shape that varies according to the exigencies of the situation. normally, he is a flattish, fawn-coloured beast, with a turtle-shaped body, little round head, and small legs with unusually strong claws. ride after the badger across the prairie and he stretches out in long, lithe shape, resembling a baby cougar, turning at every pace or two to snap at your horse, then off again at a hulking scramble of astonishing speed. pour water down his burrow to compel him to come up or down, and he swells out his body, completely filling the passage, so that his head, which is downward, is in dry air, while his hind quarters alone are in the water. in captivity the badger is a business-like little body, with very sharp teeth, of which his keeper must beware, and some of the tricks of the skunk, but inclined, on the whole, to mind his affairs if you will mind yours. once a day regularly every afternoon out of his lair he emerges for the most comical sorts of athletic exercises. hour after hour he will trot diagonally--because that gives him the longest run--from corner to corner of his pen, rearing up on his hind legs as he reaches one corner, rubbing the back of his head, then down again and across to the other corner, where he repeats the performance. there can be no reason for the badger doing this, unless it was his habit in the wilds when he trotted about leaving dumb signs on mud banks and brushwood by which others of his kind might know where to find him at stated times. sunset is the time when he is almost sure to be among the gopher burrows. in vain the saucy jay shrieks out a warning to the gophers. of all the prairie creatures, they are the stupidest, the most beset with curiosity to know what that jay's shriek may mean. sunning themselves in the last rays of daylight, the gophers perch on their hind legs to wait developments of what the jay announced. but the badger's fur and the gopher mounds are almost the same colour. he has pounced on some playful youngsters before the rest see him. then there is a wild scuttling down to the depths of the burrows. that, too, is vain; for the badger begins ripping up the clay bank like a grisly, down--down--in pursuit, two, three, five feet, even twelve. then is seen one of the most curious freaks in all the animal life of the prairie. the underground galleries of the gophers connect and lead up to different exits. as the furious badger comes closer and closer on the cowering gophers, the little cowards lose heart, dart up the galleries to open doors, and try to escape through the grass of the prairie. but no sooner is the badger hard at work than a gray form seems to rise out of the earth, a coyote who had been slinking to the rear all the while; and as the terrified gophers scurry here, scurry there, coyote's white teeth snap!--snap! he is here--there--everywhere--pouncing--jumping--having the fun of his life, gobbling gophers as cats catch mice. down in the bottom of the burrow, the badger may get half a dozen poor cooped huddling prisoners; but the coyote up on the prairie has devoured a whole colony. do these two, badger and coyote, consciously hunt together? some old trappers vow they do--others just as vehemently that they don't. the fact remains that wherever the badger goes gopher-hunting on an unsettled prairie, there the coyote skulks reaping reward of all the badger's work. the coincidence is no stranger than the well-known fact that sword-fish and thrasher--two different fish--always league together to attack the whale. one thing only can save the gopher colony, and that is the gun barrel across yon earth mound where a trapper lies in wait for the coming of the badger. iv _the 'coon_ sir alexander mackenzie reported that in 1798 the north-west company sent out only 100 raccoon from the fur country. last year the city of st. paul alone cured 115,000 'coon-skins. what brought about the change? simply an appreciation of the qualities of 'coon, which combines the greatest warmth with the lightest weight and is especially adapted for a cold climate and constant wear. what was said of badger applies with greater force to 'coon. the 'coon in the east is associated in one's mind with cabbies, in the west with fashionably dressed men and women. and there is just as wide a difference in the quality of the fur as in the quality of the people. the cabbies' 'coon coat is a rough yellow fur with red stripes. the westerner's 'coon is a silky brown fur with black stripes. one represents the fall hunt of men and boys round hollow logs, the other the midwinter hunt of a professional trapper in the far north. a dog usually bays the 'coon out of hiding in the east. tiny tracks, like a child's hand, tell the northern hunter where to set his traps. wahboos the rabbit, musquash the musk-rat, sikak the skunk, wenusk the badger, and the common 'coon--these are the little chaps whose hunt fills the idle days of the trapper's busy life. at night, before the rough stone hearth which he has built in his cabin, he is still busy by fire-light preparing their pelts. each skin must be stretched and cured. turning the skin fur side in, the trapper pushes into the pelt a wedge-shaped slab of spliced cedar. into the splice he shoves another wedge of wood which he hammers in, each blow widening the space and stretching the skin. all pelts are stretched fur in but the fox. tacking the stretched skin on a flat board, the trapper hangs it to dry till he carries all to the fort; unless, indeed, he should need a garment for himself--cap, coat, or gantlets--in which case he takes out a square needle and passes his evenings like a tailor, sewing. chapter xvii the rare furs--how the trapper takes sakwasew the mink, nekik the otter, wuchak the fisher, and wapistan the marten i _sakwasew the mink_ there are other little chaps with more valuable fur than musquash, whose skin seldom attains higher honour than inside linings, and wahboos, whose snowy coat is put to the indignity of imitating ermine with a dotting of black cat for the ermine's jet tip. there are mink and otter and fisher and fox and ermine and sable, all little fellows with pelts worth their weight in coin of the realm. on one of those idle days when the trapper seems to be doing nothing but lying on his back in the sun, he has witnessed a curious, but common, battle in pantomime between bird and beast. a prairie-hawk circles and drops, lifts and wheels again with monotonous silent persistence above the swamp. what quarry does he seek, this lawless forager of the upper airs still hunting a hidden nook of the low prairie? if he were out purely for exercise, like the little badger when it goes rubbing the back of its head from post to post, there would be a buzzing of wings and shrill lonely callings to an unseen mate. but the circling hawk is as silent as the very personification of death. apparently he can't make up his mind for the death-drop on some rat or frog down there in the swamp. the trapper notices that the hawk keeps circling directly above the place where the waters of the swamp tumble from the ravine in a small cataract to join a lower river. he knows, too, from the rich orange of the plumage that the hawk is young. an older fellow would not be advertising his intentions in this fashion. besides, an older hawk would have russet-gray feathering. is the rascally young hawk meditating a clutch of talons round some of the unsuspecting trout that usually frequent the quiet pools below a waterfall. or does he aim at bigger game? a young hawk is bold with the courage that has not yet learned the wisdom of caution. that is why there are so many more of the brilliant young red hawks in our museums than old grizzled gray veterans whose craft circumvents the specimen hunter's cunning. now the trapper comes to have as keen a sense of _feel_ for all the creatures of the wilds as the creatures of the wilds have for man; so he shifts his position that he may find what is attracting the hawk. down on the pebbled beach below the waterfalls lies an auburn bundle of fur, about the size of a very long, slim, short-legged cat, still as a stone--some member of the weasel family gorged torpid with fish, stretched out full length to sleep in the sun. to sleep, ah, yes, and as the danish prince said, "perchance to dream"; for all the little fellows of river and prairie take good care never to sleep where they are exposed to their countless enemies. this sleep of the weasel arouses the man's suspicion. the trapper draws out his field-glass. the sleeper is a mink, and its sleep is a sham with beady, red eyes blinking a deal too lively for real death. why does it lie on its back rigid and straight as if it were dead with all four tiny paws clutched out stiff? the trapper scans the surface of the swamp to see if some foolish musk-rat is swimming dangerously near the sleeping mink. presently the hawk circles lower--lower!--drop, straight as a stone! its talons are almost in the mink's body, when of a sudden the sleeper awakens--awakens--with a leap of the four stiff little feet and a darting spear-thrust of snapping teeth deep in the neck of the hawk! at first the hawk rises tearing furiously at the clinging mink with its claws. the wings sag. down bird and beast fall. over they roll on the sandy beach, hawk and mink, over and over with a thrashing of the hawk's wings to beat the treacherous little vampire off. now the blood-sucker is on top clutching--clutching! now the bird flounders up craning his neck from the death-grip. then the hawk falls on his back. his wings are prone. they cease to flutter. running to the bank the trapper is surprised to see the little blood-sucker making off with the prey instead of deserting it as all creatures akin to the weasel family usually do. that means a family of mink somewhere near, to be given their first lesson in bird-hunting, in mink-hawking by the body of this poor, dead, foolish gyrfalcon. by a red mark here, by a feather there, crushed grass as of something dragged, a little webbed footprint on the wet clay, a tiny marking of double dots where the feet have crossed a dry stone, the trapper slowly takes up the trail of the mink. mink are not prime till the late fall. then the reddish fur assumes the shades of the russet grasses where they run until the white of winter covers the land. then--as if nature were to exact avengement for all the red slaughter the mink has wrought during the rest of the year--his coat becomes dark brown, almost black, the very shade that renders him most conspicuous above snow to all the enemies of the mink world. but while the trapper has no intention of destroying what would be worthless now but will be valuable in the winter, it is not every day that even a trapper has a chance to trail a mink back to its nest and see the young family. but suddenly the trail stops. here is a sandy patch with some tumbled stones under a tangle of grasses and a rivulet not a foot away. ah--there it is--a nest or lair, a tiny hole almost hidden by the rushes! but the nest seems empty. fast as the trapper has come, the mink came faster and hid her family. to one side, the hawk had been dropped among the rushes. the man pokes a stick in the lair but finds nothing. putting in his hand, he is dragging out bones, feathers, skeleton musk-rats, putrid frogs, promiscuous remnants of other quarries brought to the burrow by the mink, when a little cattish _s-p-i-t!_ almost touches his hand. his palm closes over something warm, squirming, smaller than a kitten with very downy fur, on a soft mouse-like skin, eyes that are still blind and a tiny mouth that neither meows nor squeaks, just _spits!--spits!--spits!_--in impotent viperish fury. all the other minklets, the mother had succeeded in hiding under the grasses, but somehow this one had been left. will he take it home and try the experiment of rearing a young mink with a family of kittens? the trapper calls to mind other experiments. there was the little beaver that chewed up his canoe and gnawed a hole of escape through the door. there were the three little bob-cats left in the woods behind his cabin last year when he refrained from setting out traps and tied up his dog to see if he could not catch the whole family, mother and kittens, for an eastern museum. furtively at first, the mother had come to feed her kittens. then the man had put out rugs to keep the kittens warm and lain in wait for the mother; but no sooner did she see her offspring comfortably cared for, than she deserted them entirely, evidently acting on the proverb that the most gracious enemy is the most dangerous, or else deciding that the kits were so well off that she was not needed. adopting the three little wild-cats, the trapper had reared them past blind-eyes, past colic and dumps and all the youthful ills to which live kittens are heirs, when trouble began. the longing for the wilds came. even catnip green and senna tea boiled can't cure that. so keenly did the gipsy longing come to one little bob that he perished escaping to the woods by way of the chimney flue. the second little bob succeeded in escaping through a parchment stop-gap that served the trapper as a window. and the third bobby dealt such an ill-tempered gash to the dog's nose that the combat ended in instant death for the cat. thinking over these experiments, the trapper wisely puts the mink back in the nest with words which it would have been well for that litle ball of down to have understood. he told it he would come back for it next winter and to be sure to have its best black coat on. for the little first-year minks wear dark coats, almost as fine as russian sable. yes--he reflects, poking it back to the hole and retreating quickly so that the mother will return--better leave it till the winter; for wasn't it koot who put a mink among his kittens, only to have the little viper set on them with tooth and claw as soon as its eyes opened? also mink are bad neighbours to a poultry-yard. forty chickens in a single night will the little mink destroy, not for food but--to quote man's words--for the zest of the sport. the mink, you must remember, like other pot-hunters, can boast of a big bag. the trapper did come back next fall. it was when he was ranging all the swamp-lands for beaver-dams. swamp lands often mean beaver-dams; and trappers always note what stops the current of a sluggish stream. frequently it is a beaver colony built across a valley in the mountains, or stopping up the outlet of a slough. the trapper was sleeping under his canoe on the banks of the river where the swamp tumbled out from the ravine. before retiring to what was a boat by day and a bed by night, he had set out a fish net and some loose lines--which the flow of the current would keep in motion--below the waterfall. carelessly, next day, he threw the fish-heads among the stones. the second morning he found such a multitude of little tracks dotting the rime of the hoar frost that he erected a tent back from the waterfalls, and decided to stay trapping there till the winter. the fish-heads were no longer thrown away. they were left among the stones in small steel-traps weighted with other stones, or attached to a loose stick that would impede flight. and if the poor gyrfalcon could have seen the mink held by the jaws of a steel-trap, hissing, snarling, breaking its teeth on the iron, spitting out all the rage of its wicked nature, the bird would have been avenged. and as winter deepened, the quality of minks taken from the traps became darker, silkier, crisper, almost brown black in some of the young, but for light fur on the under lip. the indians say that sakwasew the mink would sell his family for a fish, and as long as fish lay among the stones, the trapper gathered his harvest of fur: reddish mink that would be made into little neck ruffs and collar pieces, reddish brown mink that would be sewed into costly coats and cloaks, rare brownish black mink that would be put into the beautiful flat scarf collars almost as costly as a full coat. and so the mink-hunt went on merrily for the man till the midwinter lull came at christmas. for that year the mink-hunt was over. ii _nekik the otter_ sakwasew was not the only fisher at the pool below the falls. on one of those idle days when the trapper sat lazily by the river side, a round head slightly sunburned from black to russet had hobbled up to the surface of the water, peered sharply at the man sitting so still, paddled little flipper-like feet about, then ducked down again. motionless as the mossed log under him sits the man; and in a moment up comes the little black head again, round as a golf ball, about the size of a very large cat, followed by three other little bobbing heads--a mother otter teaching her babies to dive and swim and duck from the river surface to the burrows below the water along the river bank. perhaps the trapper has found a dead fish along this very bank with only the choice portions of the body eaten--a sure sign that nekik the otter, the little epicure of the water world, has been fishing at this river. with a scarcely perceptible motion, the man turns his head to watch the swimmers. instantly, down they plunge, mother and babies, to come to the surface again higher up-stream, evidently working up-current like the beaver in spring for a glorious frolic in the cold clear waters of the upper sources. at one place on the sandy beach they all wade ashore. the man utters a slight "hiss!" away they scamper, the foolish youngsters, landward instead of to the safe water as the hesitating mother would have them do, all the little feet scrambling over the sand with the funny short steps of a chinese lady in tight boots. maternal care proves stronger than fear. the frightened mother follows the young otter and will no doubt read them a sound lecture on land dangers when she has rounded them back to the safe water higher up-stream. of all wild creatures, none is so crafty in concealing its lairs as the otter. where did this family come from? they had not been swimming up-stream; for the man had been watching on the river bank long before they appeared on the surface. stripping, the trapper dives in mid-stream, then half wades, half swims along the steepest bank, running his arm against the clay cliff to find a burrow. on land he could not do this at the lair of the otter; for the smell of the man-touch would be left on his trail, and the otter, keener of scent and fear than the mink, would take alarm. but for the same reason that the river is the safest refuge for the otter, it is the surest hunting for the man--water does not keep the scent of a trail. so the man runs his arm along the bank. the river is the surest hunting for the man, but not the safest. if an old male were in the bank burrow now, or happened to be emerging from grass-lined subterranean air chambers above the bank gallery, it might be serious enough for the exploring trapper. one bite of nekik the otter has crippled many an indian. knowing from the remnants of half-eaten fish and from the holes in the bank that he has found an otter runway, the man goes home as well satisfied as if he had done a good day's work. and so that winter when he had camped below the swamp for the mink-hunt, the trapper was not surprised one morning to find a half-eaten fish on the river bank. sakwasew the mink takes good care to leave no remnants of his greedy meal. what he cannot eat he caches. even if he has strangled a dozen water-rats in one hunt, they will be dragged in a heap and covered. the half-eaten fish left exposed is not mink's work. otter has been here and otter will come back; for as the frost hardens, only those pools below the falls keep free from ice. no use setting traps with fish-heads as long as fresh fish are to be had for the taking. besides, the man has done nothing to conceal his tracks; and each morning the half-eaten fish lie farther off the line of the man-trail. by-and-bye the man notices that no more half-eaten fish are on his side of the river. little tracks of webbed feet furrowing a deep rut in the soft snow of the frozen river tell that nekik has taken alarm and is fishing from the other side. and when christmas comes with a dwindling of the mink-hunt, the man, too, crosses to the other side. here he finds that the otter tracks have worn a path that is almost a toboggan slide down the crusted snow bank to the iced edge of the pool. by this time nekik's pelt is prime, almost black, and as glossy as floss. by this time, too, the fish are scarce and the epicure has become ravenous as a pauper. one night when the trapper was reconnoitring the fish hole, he had approached the snow bank so noiselessly that he came on a whole colony of otters without their knowledge of his presence. down the snow bank they tumbled, head-first, tail-first, slithering through the snow with their little paws braced, rolling down on their backs like lads upset from a toboggan, otter after otter, till the man learned that the little beasts were not fishing at all, but coasting the snow bank like youngsters on a night frolic. no sooner did one reach the bottom than up he scampered to repeat the fun; and sometimes two or three went down in a rolling bunch mixed up at the foot of a slide as badly as a couple of toboggans that were unpremeditatedly changing their occupants. bears wrestle. the kittens of all the cat tribe play hide and seek. little badger finds it fun to run round rubbing the back of his head on things; and here was nekik the otter at the favourite amusement of his kind--coasting down a snow bank. if the trapper were an indian, he would lie in wait at the landing-place and spear the otter as they came from the water. but the white man's craft is deeper. he does not wish to frighten the otter till the last had been taken. coming to the slide by day, he baits a steel-trap with fish and buries it in the snow just where the otter will be coming down the hill or up from the pool. perhaps he places a dozen such traps around the hole with nothing visible but the frozen fish lying on the surface. if he sets his traps during a snow-fall, so much the better. his own tracks will be obliterated and the otter's nose will discover the fish. then he takes a bag filled with some substance of animal odour, pomatum, fresh meat, pork, or he may use the flesh side of a fresh deer-hide. this he drags over the snow where he has stepped. he may even use a fresh hide to handle the traps, as a waiter uses a serviette to pass plates. there must be no man-smell, no man-track near the otter traps. while the mink-hunt is fairly over by midwinter, otter-trapping lasts from october to may. the value of all rare furs, mink, otter, marten, ermine, varies with two things: (1) the latitude of the hunting-field; (2) the season of the hunt. for instance, ask a trapper of minnesota or lake superior what he thinks of the ermine, and he will tell you that it is a miserable sort of weasel of a dirty drab brown not worth twenty-five cents a skin. ask a trapper of the north saskatchewan what he thinks of ermine; and he will tell you it is a pretty little whitish creature good for fur if trapped late enough in the winter and always useful as a lining. but ask a trapper of the arctic about the ermine, and he describes it as the finest fur that is taken except the silver fox, white and soft as swan's-down, with a tail-tip like black onyx. this difference in the fur of the animal explains the wide variety of prices paid. ermine not worth twenty-five cents in wisconsin might be worth ten times as much on the saskatchewan. [illustration: fur press in use at fort good hope, at the extreme north of hudson's bay company's territory. old wedge press in use at fort resolution, of the sub-arctics. types of fur presses.] so it is with the otter. all trapped between latitude thirty-five and sixty is good fur; and the best is that taken toward the end of winter when scarcely a russet hair should be found in the long over-fur of nekik's coat. iii _wuchak the fisher, or pekan_ wherever the waste of fish or deer is thrown, there will be found lines of double tracks not so large as the wild-cat's, not so small as the otter's, and without the same webbing as the mink's. this is wuchak the fisher, or pekan, commonly called "the black cat"--who, in spite of his fishy name, hates water as cats hate it. and the tracks are double because pekan travel in pairs. he is found along the banks of streams because he preys on fish and fisher, on mink and otter and musk-rat, on frogs and birds and creatures that come to drink. he is, after all, a very greedy fellow, not at all particular about his diet, and, like all gluttons, easily snared. while mink and otter are about, the trapper will waste no steel-traps on pekan. a deadfall will act just as effectively; but there is one point requiring care. pekan has a sharp nose. it is his nose that brings him to all carrion just as surely as hawks come to pick dead bones. but that same nose will tell him of man's presence. so when the trapper has built his pen of logs so that the front log or deadfall will crush down on the back of an intruder tugging at the bait inside, he overlays all with leaves and brush to quiet the pekan's suspicions. besides, the pekan has many tricks akin to the wolverine. he is an inveterate thief. there is a well-known instance of hudson's bay trappers having a line of one hundred and fifty marten traps stretching for fifty miles robbed of their bait by pekan. the men shortened the line to thirty miles and for six times in succession did pekan destroy the traps. then the men set themselves to trap the robber. he will rifle a deadfall from the slanting back roof where there is no danger; so the trapper overlays the back with heavy brush. pekan do not yield a rare fur; but they are always at run where the trapper is hunting the rare furs, and for that reason are usually snared at the same time as mink and otter. iv _wapistan the marten_ when koot went blind on his way home from the rabbit-hunt, he had intended to set out for the pine woods. though blizzards still howl over the prairie, by march the warm sun of midday has set the sap of the forests stirring and all the woodland life awakens from its long winter sleep. cougar and lynx and bear rove through the forest ravenous with spring hunger. otter, too, may be found where the ice mounds of a waterfall are beginning to thaw. but it is not any of these that the trapper seeks. if they cross his path, good--they, too, will swell his account at the fur post. it is another of the little chaps that he seeks, a little, long, low-set animal whose fur is now glistening bright on the deep dark overhairs, soft as down in the thick fawn underhairs, wapistan the marten. when the forest begins to stir with the coming of spring, wapistan stirs too, crawling out from the hollow of some rotten pine log, restless with the same blood-thirst that set the little mink playing his tricks on the hawk. and yet the marten is not such a little viper as the mink. wapistan will eat leaves and nuts and roots if he can get vegetable food, but failing these, that ravenous spring hunger of his must be appeased with something else. and out he goes from his log hole hunger-bold as the biggest of all other spring ravagers. that boldness gives the trapper his chance at the very time when wapistan's fur is best. all winter the trapper may have taken marten; but the end of winter is the time when wapistan wanders freely from cover. thus the trapper's calendar would have months of musk-rat first, then beaver and mink and pekan and bear and fox and ermine and rabbit and lynx and marten, with a long idle midsummer space when he goes to the fort for the year's provisions and gathers the lore of his craft. wapistan is not hard to track. being much longer and heavier than a cat with very short legs and small feet, his body almost drags the ground and his tracks sink deep, clear, and sharp. his feet are smaller than otter's and mink's, but easily distinguishable from those two fishers. the water animal leaves a spreading footprint, the mark of the webbed toes without any fur on the padding of the toe-balls. the land animal of the same size has clear cut, narrower, heavier marks. by march, these dotting foot-tracks thread the snow everywhere. coming on marten tracks at a pine log, the trapper sends in his dog or prods with a stick. finding nothing, he baits a steel-trap with pomatum, covers it deftly with snow, drags the decoy skin about to conceal his own tracks, and goes away in the hope that the marten will come back to this log to guzzle on his prey and sleep. if the track is much frequented, or the forest over-run with marten tracks, the trapper builds deadfalls, many of them running from tree to tree for miles through the forest in a circle whose circuit brings him back to his cabin. remnants of these log traps may be seen through all parts of the rocky mountain forests. thirty to forty traps are considered a day's work for one man, six or ten marten all that he expects to take in one round; but when marten are plentiful, the unused traps of to-day may bring a prize to-morrow. the indian trapper would use still another kind of trap. where the tracks are plainly frequently used runways to watering-places or lair in hollow tree, the indian digs a pit across the marten's trail. on this he spreads brush in such roof fashion that though the marten is a good climber, if once he falls in, it is almost impossible for him to scramble out. if a poor cackling grouse or "fool-hen" be thrust into the pit, the indian is almost sure to find a prisoner. this seems to the white man a barbarous kind of trapping; but the poor "fool-hen," hunted by all the creatures of the forest, never seems to learn wisdom, but invites disaster by popping out of the brush to stare at every living thing that passes. if she did not fall a victim in the pit, she certainly would to her own curiosity above ground. to the steel-trap the hunter attaches a piece of log to entangle the prisoner's flight as he rushes through the underbush. once caught in the steel jaws, little wapistan must wait--wait for what? for the same thing that comes to the poor "fool-hen" when wapistan goes crashing through the brush after her; for the same thing that comes to the baby squirrels when wapistan climbs a tree to rob the squirrel's nest, eat the young, and live in the rifled house; for the same thing that comes to the hoary marmot whistling his spring tune just outside his rocky den when wapistan, who has climbed up, pounces down from above. little death-dealer he has been all his life; and now death comes to him for a nobler cause than the stuffing of a greedy maw--for the clothing of a creature nobler than himself--man. the otter can protect himself by diving, even diving under snow. the mink has craft to hide himself under leaves so that the sharpest eyes cannot detect him. both mink and otter furs have very little of that animal smell which enables the foragers to follow their trail. what gift has wapistan, the marten, to protect himself against all the powers that prey? his strength and his wisdom lie in the little stubby feet. these can climb. a trapper's dog had stumbled on a marten in a stump hole. a snap of the marten's teeth sent the dog back with a jump. wapistan will hang on to the nose of a dog to the death; and trappers' dogs grow cautious. before the dog gathered courage to make another rush, the marten escaped by a rear knot-hole, getting the start of his enemy by fifty yards. off they raced, the dog spending himself in fury, the marten keeping under the thorny brush where his enemy could not follow, then across open snow where the dog gained, then into the pine woods where the trail ended on the snow. where had the fugitive gone? when the man came up, he first searched for log holes. there were none. then he lifted some of the rocks. there was no trace of wapistan. but the dog kept baying a special tree, a blasted trunk, bare as a mast pole and seemingly impossible for any animal but a squirrel to climb. knowing the trick by which creatures like the bob-cat can flatten their body into a resemblance of a tree trunk, the trapper searched carefully all round the bare trunk. it was not till many months afterward when a wind storm had broken the tree that he discovered the upper part had been hollow. into this eerie nook the pursued marten had scrambled and waited in safety till dog and man retired. in one of his traps the man finds a peculiarly short specimen of the marten. in the vernacular of the craft this marten's bushy tail will not reach as far back as his hind legs can stretch. widely different from the mink's scarcely visible ears, this fellow's ears are sharply upright, keenly alert. he is like a fox, where the mink resembles a furred serpent. marten moves, springs, jumps like an animal. mink glides like a snake. marten has the strong neck of an animal fighter. mink has the long, thin, twisting neck which reptiles need to give them striking power for their fangs. mink's under lip has a mere rim of white or yellow. marten's breast is patched sulphur. but this short marten with a tail shorter than other marten differs from his kind as to fur. both mink and marten fur are reddish brown; but this short marten's fur is almost black, of great depth, of great thickness, and of three qualities: (1) there are the long dark overhairs the same as the ordinary marten, only darker, thicker, deeper; (2) there is the soft under fur of the ordinary marten, usually fawn, in this fellow deep brown; (3) there is the skin fur resembling chicken-down, of which this little marten has such a wealth--to use a technical expression--you cannot find his scalp. without going into the old quarrel about species, when a marten has these peculiarities, he is known to the trapper as sable. whether he is the american counterpart to the russia sable is a disputed point. whether his superior qualities are owing to age, climate, species, it is enough for the trapper to know that short, dark marten yields the trade--sable. chapter xviii under the north star--where fox and ermine run i _of foxes, many and various--red, cross, silver, black, prairie, kit or swift, arctic, blue, and gray_ wherever grouse and rabbit abound, there will foxes run and there will the hunter set steel-traps. but however beautiful a fox-skin may be as a specimen, it has value as a fur only when it belongs to one of three varieties--arctic, black, and silver. other foxes--red, cross, prairie, swift, and gray--the trapper will take when they cross his path and sell them in the gross at the fur post, as he used to barter buffalo-hides. but the hunter who traps the fox for its own sake, and not as an uncalculated extra to the mink-hunt or the beaver total, must go to the far north, to the land of winter night and midnight sun, to obtain the best fox-skins. it matters not to the trapper that the little kit fox or swift at run among the hills between the missouri and saskatchewan is the most shapely of all the fox kind, with as finely pointed a nose as a spitz dog, ears alert as a terrier's and a brush, more like a lady's gray feather boa than fur, curled round his dainty toes. little kit's fur is a grizzled gray shading to mottled fawn. the hairs are coarse, horsey, indistinctly marked, and the fur is of small value to the trader; so dainty little swift, who looks as if nature made him for a pet dog instead of a fox, is slighted by the hunter, unless kit persists in tempting a trap. rufus the red fellow, with his grizzled gray head and black ears and whitish throat and flaunting purplish tinges down his sides like a prince royal, may make a handsome mat; but as a fur he is of little worth. his cousin with the black fore feet, the prairie fox, who is the largest and strongest and scientifically finest of all his kind, has more value as a fur. the colour of the prairie fox shades rather to pale ochre and yellow that the nondescript grizzled gray that is of so little value as a fur. of the silver-gray fox little need be said. he lives too far south--california and texas and mexico--to acquire either energy or gloss. he is the one indolent member of the fox tribe, and his fur lacks the sheen that only winter cold can give. the value of the cross fox depends on the markings that give him his name. if the bands, running diagonally over his shoulders in the shape of a cross, shade to grayish blue he is a prize, if to reddish russet, he is only a curiosity. the arctic and black and silver foxes have the pelts that at their worst equal the other rare furs, at their best exceed the value of all other furs by so much that the lucky trapper who takes a silver fox has made his fortune. these, then, are the foxes that the trapper seeks and these are to be found only on the white wastes of the polar zone. that brings up the question--what is a silver fox? strange as it may seem, neither scientist nor hunter can answer that question. nor will study of all the park specimens in the world tell the secret, for the simple reason that only an arctic climate can produce a silver fox; and parks are not established in the arctics yet. it is quite plain that the prairie fox is in a class by himself. the uniformity of his size, his strength, his habits, his appearance, distinguish him from other foxes. it is quite plain that the little kit fox or swift is of a kind distinct from other foxes. his smallness, the shape of his bones, the cast of his face, the trick of sitting rather than lying, that wonderful big bushy soft tail of which a peacock might be vain--all differentiate him from other foxes. the same may be said of the arctic fox with a pelt that is more like white wool than hairs of fur. he is much smaller than the red. his tail is bushier and larger than the swift, and like all arctic creatures, he has the soles of his feet heavily furred. all this is plain and simple classification. but how about mr. blue fox of the same size and habit as the white arctic? is he the arctic fox in summer clothing? yes, say some trappers; and they show their pelts of an arctic fox taken in summer of a rusty white. but no, vow other trappers--that is impossible, for here are blue fox-skins captured in the depths of midwinter with not a white hair among them. look closely at the skins. the ears of one blue fox are long, perfect, unbitten by frost or foe--he was a young fellow; and he is blue. here is another with ears almost worn to stubs by fights and many winters' frosts--he is an old fellow; and he, too, is blue. well, then, the blue fox may sometimes be the white arctic fox in summer dress; but the blue fox who is blue all the year round, varying only in the shades of blue with the seasons, is certainly not the white arctic fox. the same difficulty besets distinction of silver fox from black. the old scientists classified these as one and the same creature. trappers know better. so do the later scientists who almost agree with the unlearned trapper's verdict--there are as many species as there are foxes. black fox is at its best in midwinter, deep, brilliantly glossy, soft as floss, and yet almost impenetrable--the very type of perfection of its kind. but with the coming of the tardy arctic spring comes a change. the snows are barely melted in may when the sheen leaves the fur. by june, the black hairs are streaked with gray; and the black fox is a gray fox. is it at some period of the transition that the black fox becomes a silver fox, with the gray hairs as sheeny as the black and each gray hair delicately tipped with black? that question, too, remains unanswered; for certainly the black fox trapped when in his gray summer coat is not the splendid silver fox of priceless value. black fox turning to a dull gray of midsummer may not be silver fox; but what about gray fox turning to the beautiful glossy black of midwinter? is that what makes silver fox? is silver fox simply a fine specimen of black caught at the very period when he is blooming into his greatest beauty? the distinctive difference between gray fox and silver is that gray fox has gray hairs among hairs of other colour, while silver fox has silver hair tipped with glossiest black on a foundation of downy gray black. even greater confusion surrounds the origin of cross and red and gray. trappers find all these different cubs in one burrow; but as the cubs grow, those pronounced cross turn out to be red, or the red becomes cross; and what they become at maturity, that they remain, varying only with the seasons.[45] it takes many centuries to make one perfect rose. is it the same with the silver fox? is he a freak or a climax or the regular product of yearly climatic changes caught in the nick of time by some lucky trapper? ask the scientist that question, and he theorizes. ask the trapper, and he tells you if he could only catch enough silver foxes to study that question, he would quit trapping. in all the maze of ignorance and speculation, there is one anchored fact. while animals turn a grizzled gray with age, the fine gray coats are not caused by age. young animals of the rarest furs--fox and ermine--are born in ashy colour that turns to gray while they are still in their first nest. to say that silver fox is costly solely because it is rare is sheerest nonsense. it would be just as sensible to say that labradorite, which is rare, should be as costly as diamonds. it is the intrinsic beauty of the fur, as of the diamonds, that constitutes its first value. the facts that the taking of a silver fox is always pure luck, that the luck comes seldom, that the trapper must have travelled countless leagues by snow-shoe and dog train over the white wastes of the north, that trappers in polar regions are exposed to more dangers and hardships than elsewhere and that the fur must have been carried a long distance to market--add to the first high value of silver fox till it is not surprising that little pelts barely two feet long have sold for prices ranging from $500 to $5,000. for the trapper the way to the fortune of a silver fox is the same as the road to fortune for all other men--by the homely trail of every-day work. cheers from the fort gates bid trappers setting out for far northern fields god-speed. long ago there would have been a firing of cannon when the northern hunters left for their distant camping-grounds; but the cannon of churchill lie rusting to-day and the hunters who go to the sub-arctics and the arctics no longer set out from churchill on the bay, but from one of the little inland mackenzie river posts. if the fine powdery snow-drifts are glossed with the ice of unbroken sun-glare, the runners strap iron crampets to their snow-shoes, and with a great jingling of the dog-bells, barking of the huskies, and yelling of the drivers, coast away for the leagueless levels of the desolate north. frozen river-beds are the only path followed, for the high cliffs--almost like ramparts on the lower mackenzie--shut off the drifting east winds that heap barricades of snow in one place and at another sweep the ground so clear that the sleighs pull heavy as stone. does a husky fag? a flourish of whips and off the laggard scampers, keeping pace with the others in the traces, a pace that is set for forty miles a day with only one feeding time, nightfall when the sleighs are piled as a wind-break and the frozen fish are doled out to the ravenous dogs. gun signals herald the hunter's approach to a chance camp; and no matter how small and mean the tepee, the door is always open for whatever visitor, the meat pot set simmering for hungry travellers. when the snow crust cuts the dogs' feet, buckskin shoes are tied on the huskies; and when an occasional dog fags entirely, he is turned adrift from the traces to die. relentless as death is northern cold; and wherever these long midwinter journeys are made, gruesome traditions are current of hunter and husky. i remember hearing of one old husky that fell hopelessly lame during the north trip. often the drivers are utter brutes to their dogs, speaking in curses which they say is the only language a husky can understand, emphasized with the blows of a club. too often, as well, the huskies are vicious curs ready to skulk or snap or bolt or fight, anything but work. but in this case the dog was an old reliable that kept the whole train in line, and the driver had such an affection for the veteran husky that when rheumatism crippled the dog's legs the man had not the heart to shoot such a faithful servant. the dog was turned loose from the traces and hobbled lamely behind the scampering teams. at last he fell behind altogether, but at night limped into camp whining his joy and asking dumbly for the usual fish. in the morning when the other teams set out, the old husky was powerless to follow. but he could still whine and wag his tail. he did both with all his might, so that when the departing driver looked back over his shoulder, he saw a pair of eyes pleading, a head with raised alert ears, shoulders straining to lift legs that refused to follow, and a bushy tail thwacking--thwacking--thwacking the snow! "you ought to shoot him," advised one driver. "you do it--you're a dead sure aim," returned the man who had owned the dog. but the other drivers were already coasting over the white wastes. the owner looked at his sleighs as if wondering whether they would stand an additional burden. then probably reflecting that old age is not desirable for a suffering dog in a bitingly keen frost, he turned towards the husky with his hand in his belt. thwack--thwack went the tail as much as to say: "of course he wouldn't desert me after i've hauled his sleigh all my life! thwack--thwack! i'd get up and jump all around him if i could; there isn't a dog-gone husky in all polar land with half as good a master as i have!" the man stopped. instead of going to the dog he ran back to his sleigh, loaded his arms full of frozen fish and threw them down before the dog. then he put one caribou-skin under the old dog, spread another over him and ran away with his train while the husky was still guzzling. the fish had been poisoned to be thrown out to the wolves that so often pursue northern dog trains. once a party of hunters crossing the northern rockies came on a dog train stark and stiff. where was the master who had bidden them stand while he felt his way blindly through the white whirl of a blizzard for the lost path? in the middle of the last century, one of that famous family of fur traders, a mackenzie, left georgetown to go north to red river in canada. he never went back to georgetown and he never reached red river; but his coat was found fluttering from a tree, a death signal to attract the first passer-by, and the body of the lost trader was discovered not far off in the snow. unless it is the year of the rabbit pest and the rabbit ravagers are bold with hunger, the pursuing wolves seldom give full chase. they skulk far to the rear of the dog trains, licking up the stains of the bleeding feet, or hanging spectrally on the dim frosty horizon all night long. hunger drives them on; but they seem to lack the courage to attack. i know of one case where the wolves followed the dog trains bringing out a trader's family from the north down the river-bed for nearly five hundred miles. what man hunter would follow so far? the farther north the fox hunter goes, the shorter grow the days, till at last the sun, which has rolled across the south in a wheel of fire, dwindles to a disk, the disk to a rim--then no rim at all comes up, and it is midwinter night, night but not darkness. the white of endless unbroken snow, the glint of icy particles filling the air, the starlight brilliant as diamond points, the aurora borealis in curtains and shafts and billows of tenuous impalpable rose-coloured fire--all brighten the polar night so that the sun is unmissed. this is the region chiefly hunted by the eskimo, with a few white men and chippewyan half-breeds. the regular northern hunters do not go as far as the arctics, but choose their hunting-ground somewhere in the region of "little sticks," meaning the land where timber growth is succeeded by dwarf scrubs. the hunting-ground is chosen always from the signs written across the white page of the snow. if there are claw-marks, bird signs of northern grouse or white ptarmigan or snow-bunting, ermine will be plentiful; for the northern birds with their clogged stockings of feet feathers have a habit of floundering under the powdery snow; and up through that powdery snow darts the snaky neck of stoat, the white weasel-hunter of birds. if there are the deep plunges of the white hare, lynx and fox and mink and marten and pekan will be plentiful; for the poor white hare feeds all the creatures of the northern wastes, man and beast. if there are little dainty tracks--oh, such dainty tracks that none but a high-stepping, clear-cut, clean-limbed, little thoroughbred could make them!--tracks of four toes and a thumb claw much shorter than the rest, with a padding of five basal foot-bones behind the toes, tracks that show a fluff on the snow as of furred foot-soles, tracks that go in clean, neat, clear long leaps and bounds--the hunter knows that he has found the signs of the northern fox. here, then, he will camp for the winter. camping in the far north means something different from the hastily pitched tent of the prairie. the north wind blows biting, keen, unbroken in its sweep. the hunter must camp where that wind will not carry scent of his tent to the animal world. for his own sake, he must camp under shelter from that wind, behind a cairn of stones, below a cliff, in a ravine. poles have been brought from the land of trees on the dog sleigh. these are put up, criss-crossed at top, and over them is laid, not the canvas tent, but a tent of skins, caribou, wolf, moose, at a sharp enough angle to let the snow slide off. then snow is banked deep, completely round the tent. for fire, the eskimo depends on whale-oil and animal grease. the white man or half-breed from the south hoards up chips and sticks. but mainly he depends on exercise and animal food for warmth. at night he sleeps in a fur bag. in the morning that bag is frozen stiff as boards by the moisture of his own breath. need one ask why the rarest furs, which can only be produced by the coldest of climates, are so costly? having found the tracks of the fox, the hunter sets out his traps baited with fish or rabbit or a bird-head. if the snow be powdery enough, and the trapper keen in wild lore, he may even know what sort of a fox to expect. in the depths of midwinter, the white arctic fox has a wool fur to his feet like a brahma chicken. this leaves its mark in the fluffy snow. a ravenous fellow he always is, this white fox of the hungry north, bold from ignorance of man, but hard to distinguish from the snow because of his spotless coat. the blue fox being slightly smaller than the full-grown arctic, lopes along with shorter leaps by which the trapper may know the quarry; but the blue fox is just as hard to distinguish from the snow as his white brother. the gray frost haze is almost the same shade as his steel-blue coat; and when spring comes, blue fox is the same colour as the tawny moss growth. colour is blue fox's defence. consequently blue foxes show more signs of age than white--stubby ears frozen low, battle-worn teeth, dulled claws. the chances are that the trapper will see the black fox himself almost as soon as he sees his tracks; for the sheeny coat that is black fox's beauty betrays him above the snow. bushy tail standing straight out, every black hair bristling erect with life, the white tail-tip flaunting a defiance, head up, ears alert, fore feet cleaving the air with the swift ease of some airy bird--on he comes, jump--jump--jump--more of a leap than a lope, galloping like a wolf, altogether different from the skulking run of little foxes, openly exulting in his beauty and his strength and his speed! there is no mistaking black fox. if the trapper does not see the black fox scurrying over the snow, the tell-tale characteristics of the footprints are the length and strength of the leaps. across these leaps the hunter leaves his traps. does he hope for a silver fox? does every prospector expect to find gold nuggets? in the heyday of fur company prosperity, not half a dozen true silver foxes would be sent out in a year. to-day i doubt if more than one good silver fox is sent out in half a dozen years. but good white fox and black and blue are prizes enough in themselves, netting as much to the trapper as mink or beaver or sable. ii _the white ermine_ all that was said of the mystery of fox life applies equally to ermine. why is the ermine of wisconsin and minnesota and dakota a dirty little weasel noted for killing forty chickens in a night, wearing a mahogany-coloured coat with a sulphur strip down his throat, while the ermine of the arctics is as white as snow, noted for his courage, wearing a spotless coat which kings envy, yes, and take from him? for a long time the learned men who study animal life from museums held that the ermine's coat turned white from the same cause as human hair, from senility and debility and the depleting effect of an intensely trying climate. but the trappers told a different story. they told of baby ermine born in arctic burrows, in march, april, may, june, while the mother was still in white coat, babies born in an ashy coat something like a mouse-skin that turned to fleecy white within ten days. they told of ermine shedding his brown coat in autumn to display a fresh layer of iron-gray fur that turned sulphur white within a few days. they told of the youngest and smallest and strongest ermine with the softest and whitest coats. that disposed of the senility theory. all the trapper knows is that the whitest ermine is taken when the cold is most intense and most continuous, that just as the cold slackens the ermine coat assumes the sulphur tinges, deepening to russet and brown, and that the whitest ermine instead of showing senility, always displays the most active and courageous sort of deviltry. summer or winter, the northern trapper is constantly surrounded by ermine and signs of ermine. there are the tiny claw-tracks almost like frost tracery across the snow. there is the rifled nest of a poor grouse--eggs sucked, or chickens murdered, the nest fouled so that it emits the stench of a skunk, or the mother hen lying dead from a wound in her throat. there is the frightened rabbit loping across the fields in the wildest, wobbliest, most woe-begone leaps, trying to shake something off that is clinging to his throat till over he tumbles--the prey of a hunter that is barely the size of rabbit's paw. there is the water-rat flitting across the rocks in blind terror, regardless of the watching trapper, caring only to reach safety--water--water! behind comes the pursuer--this is no still hunt but a straight open chase--a little creature about the length of a man's hand, with a tail almost as long, a body scarcely the thickness of two fingers, a mouth the size of a bird's beak, and claws as small as a sparrow's. it gallops in lithe bounds with its long neck straight up and its beady eyes fastened on the flying water-rat. splash--dive--into the water goes the rat! splash--dive--into the water goes the ermine! there is a great stirring up of the muddy bottom. the water-rat has tried to hide in the under-tangle; and the ermine has not only dived in pursuit but headed the water-rat back from the safe retreat of his house. up comes a black nose to the surface of the water. the rat is foolishly going to try a land race. up comes a long neck like a snake's, the head erect, the beady eyes on the fleeing water-rat--then with a splash they race overland. the water-rat makes for a hole among the rocks. ermine sees and with a spurt of speed is almost abreast when the rat at bay turns with a snap at his pursuer. but quick as flash, the ermine has pirouetted into the air. the long writhing neck strikes like a serpent's fangs and the sharp fore teeth have pierced the brain of the rat. the victim dies without a cry, without a struggle, without a pain. that long neck was not given the ermine for nothing. neither were those muscles massed on either side of his jaws like bulging cheeks. in winter the ermine's murderous depredations are more apparent. now the ermine, too, sets itself to reading the signs of the snow. now the ermine becomes as keen a still hunter as the man. sometimes a whirling snow-fall catches a family of grouse out from furze cover. the trapper, too, is abroad in the snow-storm; for that is the time when he can set his traps undetected. the white whirl confuses the birds. they run here, there, everywhere, circling about, burying themselves in the snow till the storm passes over. the next day when the hunter is going the rounds of these traps, along comes an ermine. it does not see him. it is following a scent, head down, body close to ground, nose here, there, threading the maze which the crazy grouse had run. but stop, thinks the trapper, the snow-fall covered the trail. exactly--that is why the little ermine dives under snow just as it would under water, running along with serpentine wavings of the white powdery surface till up it comes again where the wind has blown the snow-fall clear. along it runs, still intent, quartering back where it loses the scent--along again till suddenly the head lifts--that motion of the snake before it strikes! the trapper looks. tail feathers, head feathers, stupid blinking eyes poke through the fluffy snow-drift. and now the ermine no longer runs openly. there are too many victims this time--it may get all the foolish hidden grouse; so it dives and if the man had not alarmed the stupid grouse, ermine would have darted up through the snow with a finishing stab for each bird. by still hunt and open hunt, by nose and eye, relentless as doom, it follows its victims to the death. does the bird perch on a tree? up goes the ermine, too, on the side away from the bird's head. does the mouse thread a hundred mazes and hide in a hole? the ermine threads every maze, marches into the hidden nest and takes murderous possession. does the rat hide under rock? under the rock goes the ermine. should the trapper follow to see the outcome of the contest, the ermine will probably sit at the mouth of the rat-hole, blinking its beady eyes at him. if he attacks, down it bolts out of reach. if he retires, out it comes looking at this strange big helpless creature with bold contempt. the keen scent, the keen eyes, the keen ears warn it of an enemy's approach. summer and winter, its changing coat conceals it. the furze where it runs protects it from fox and lynx and wolverine. its size admits it to the tiniest of hiding-places. all that the ermine can do to hunt down a victim, it can do to hide from an enemy. these qualities make it almost invincible to other beasts of the chase. two joints in the armour of its defence has the little ermine. its black tail-tip moving across snow betrays it to enemies in winter: the very intentness on prey, its excess of self-confidence, leads it into danger; for instance, little ermine is royally contemptuous of man's tracks. if the man does not molest it, it will follow a scent and quarter and circle under his feet; so the man has no difficulty in taking the little beast whose fur is second only to that of the silver fox. so bold are the little creatures that the man may discover their burrows under brush, in rock, in sand holes, and take the whole litter before the game mother will attempt to escape. indeed, the plucky little ermine will follow the captor of her brood. steel rat traps, tiny deadfalls, frosted bits of iron smeared with grease to tempt the ermine's tongue which the frost will hold like a vice till the trapper comes, and, most common of all, twine snares such as entrap the rabbit, are the means by which the ermine comes to his appointed end at the hands of men. the quality of the pelt shows as wide variety as the skin of the fox; and for as mysterious reasons. why an ermine a year old should have a coat like sulphur and another of the same age a coat like swan's-down, neither trapper nor scientist has yet discovered. the price of the perfect ermine-pelt is higher than any other of the rare furs taken in north america except silver fox; but it no longer commands the fabulous prices that were certainly paid for specimen ermine-skins in the days of the georges in england and the later louis in france. how were those fabulously costly skins prepared? old trappers say no perfectly downy pelt is ever taken from an ermine, that the downy effect is produced by a trick of the trade--scraping the flesh side so deftly that all the coarse hairs will fall out, leaving only the soft under-fur. footnotes: [footnote 45: that is, as far as trappers yet know.] chapter xix what the trapper stands for waging ceaseless war against beaver and moose, types of nature's most harmless creatures, against wolf and wolverine, types of nature's most destructive agents, against traders who were rivals and indians who were hostiles, the trapper would almost seem to be himself a type of nature's arch-destroyer. beautiful as a dream is the silent world of forest and prairie and mountain where the trapper moves with noiseless stealth of the most skilful of all the creatures that prey. in that world, the crack of the trapper's rifle, the snap of the cruel steel jaws in his trap, seem the only harsh discords in the harmony of an existence that riots with a very fulness of life. but such a world is only a dream. the reality is cruel as death. of all the creatures that prey, man is the most merciful. ordinarily, knowledge of animal life is drawn from three sources. there are park specimens, stuffed to the utmost of their eating capacity and penned off from the possibility of harming anything weaker than themselves. there are the private pets fed equally well, pampered and chained safely from harming or being harmed. there are the wild creatures roaming natural haunts, some two or three days' travel from civilization, whose natures have been gradually modified generation by generation from being constantly hunted with long-range repeaters. judging from these sorts of wild animals, it certainly seems that the brute creation has been sadly maligned. the bear cubs lick each other's paws with an amatory singing that is something between the purr of a cat and the grunt of a pig. the old polars wrestle like boys out of school, flounder in grotesque gambols that are laughably clumsy, good-naturedly dance on their hind legs, and even eat from their keeper's hand. and all the deer family can be seen nosing one another with the affection of turtle-doves. surely the worst that can be said of these animals is that they shun the presence of man. perhaps some kindly sentimentalist wonders if things hadn't gone so badly out of gear in a certain historic garden long ago, whether mankind would not be on as friendly relations with the animal world as little boys and girls are with bears and baboons in the fairy books. and the scientist goes a step further, and soberly asks whether these wild things of the woods are not kindred of man after all; for have not man and beast ascended the same scale of life? across the centuries, modern evolution shakes hands with old-fashioned transmigration. to be sure, members of the deer family sometimes kill their mates in fits of blind rage, and the innocent bear cubs fall to mauling their keeper, and the old bears have been known to eat their young. these things are set down as freaks in the animal world, and in nowise allowed to upset the influences drawn from animals living in unnatural surroundings, behind iron bars, or in haunts where long-range rifles have put the fear of man in the animal heart. now the trapper studies animal life where there is neither a pen to keep the animal from doing what it wants to do, nor any rifle but his own to teach wild creatures fear. knowing nothing of science and sentiment, he never clips facts to suit his theory. on the truthfulness of his eyes depends his own life, so that he never blinks his eyes to disagreeable facts. looking out on the life of the wilds clear-visioned as his mountain air, the trapper sees a world beautiful as a dream but cruel as death. he sees a world where to be weak, to be stupid, to be dull, to be slow, to be simple, to be rash are the unpardonable crimes; where the weak must grow strong, keen of eye and ear and instinct, sharp, wary, swift, wise, and cautious; where in a word the weak must grow fit to survive or--perish! the slow worm fills the hungry maw of the gaping bird. into the soft fur of the rabbit that has strayed too far from cover clutch the swooping talons of an eagle. the beaver that exposes himself overland risks bringing lynx or wolverine or wolf on his home colony. bird preys on worm, mink on bird, lynx on mink, wolf on lynx, and bear on all creatures that live from men and moose down to the ant and the embryo life in the ant's egg. but the vision of ravening destruction does not lead the trapper to morbid conclusions on life as it leads so many housed thinkers in the walled cities; for the same world that reveals to him such ravening slaughter shows him that every creature, the weakest and the strongest, has some faculty, some instinct, some endowment of cunning, or dexterity or caution, some gift of concealment, of flight, of semblance, of death--that will defend it from all enemies. the ermine is one of the smallest of all hunters, but it can throw an enemy off the scent by diving under snow. the rabbit is one of the most helpless of all hunted things, but it can take cover from foes of the air under thorny brush, and run fast enough to outwind the breath of a pursuer, and double back quick enough to send a harrying eagle flopping head over heels on the ground, and simulate the stillness of inanimate objects surrounding it so truly that the passer-by can scarcely distinguish the balls of fawn fur from the russet bark of a log. and the rabbit's big eyes and ears are not given it for nothing. poet and trapper alike see the same world, and for the same reason. both seek only to know the truth, to see the world as it is; and the world that they see is red in tooth and claw. but neither grows morbid from his vision; for that same vision shows each that the ravening destruction is only a weeding out of the unfit. there is too much sunlight in the trapper's world, too much fresh air in his lungs, too much red blood in his veins for the morbid miasmas that bring bilious fumes across the mental vision of the housed city man. and what place in the scale of destruction does the trapper occupy? modern sentiment has almost painted him as a red-dyed monster, excusable, perhaps, because necessity compels the hunter to slay, but after all only the most highly developed of the creatures that prey. is this true? arch-destroyer he may be; but it should be remembered that he is the destroyer of destroyers. animals kill young and old, male and female. the true trapper does not kill the young; for that would destroy his next year's hunt. he does not kill the mother while she is with the young. he kills the grown males which--it can be safely said--have killed more of each other than man has killed in all the history of trapping. wherever regions have been hunted by the pot-hunter, whether the sportsman for amusement or the settler supplying his larder, game has been exterminated. this is illustrated by all the stretch of country between the platte and the saskatchewan. wherever regions have been hunted only by the trapper, game is as plentiful as it has ever been. this is illustrated by the forests of the rockies, by the no-man's land south of hudson bay and by the arctics. wherever the trapper has come destroying grisly and coyote and wolverine, the prong horn and mountain-sheep and mountain-goat and wapiti and moose have increased. but the trapper stands for something more than a game warden, something more than the most merciful of destroyers. he destroys _animal_ life--a life which is red in tooth and claw with murder and rapine and cruelty--in order that _human_ life may be preserved, may be rendered independent of the elemental powers that wage war against it. it is a war as old as the human race, this struggle of man against the elements, a struggle alike reflected in viking song of warriors conquering the sea, and in the scandinavian myth of pursuing fenris wolf, and in the finnish epic of the man-hero wresting secrets of life-bread from the earth, and in indian folk-lore of a hiawatha hunting beast and treacherous wind. it is a war in which the trapper stands forth as a conqueror, a creature sprung of earth, trampling all the obstacles that earth can offer to human will under his feet, finding paths through the wilderness for the explorer who was to come after him, opening doors of escape from stifled life in crowded centres of population, preparing a highway for the civilization that was to follow his own wandering trail through the wilds. appendix when in labrador and newfoundland a few years ago, the writer copied the entries of an old half-breed woman trapper's daily journal of her life. it is fragmentary and incoherent, but gives a glimpse of the indian mind. it is written in english. she was seventy-five years old when the diary opened in december, 1893. her name was lydia campbell and she lived at hamilton inlet. having related how she shot a deer, skinning it herself, made her snow-shoes and set her rabbit snares, she closes her first entry with: "well, as i sed, i can't write much at a time now, for i am getting blind and some mist rises up before me if i sew, read or write a little while." lydia campbell's mother was captured by eskimo. she ran away when she had grown up, to quote her own terse diary, "crossed a river on drift sticks, wading in shallows, through woods, meeting bears, sleeping under trees--seventy miles flight--saw a french boat--took off skirt and waved it to them--came--took my mother on board--worked for them--with the sealers--camped on the ice. "as there was no other kind of women to marrie hear, the few english men each took a wife of that sort and they never was sorry that they took them, for they was great workers and so it came to pass that i was one of the youngest of them." [meaning, of course, that she was the daughter of one of these marriages.] * * * * * "our young man pretended to spark the two daughters of tomas. he was a one-armed man, for he had shot away one arm firing at a large bird.... he double-loaded his gun in his fright, so the por man lost one of his armes,... he was so smart with his gun that he could bring down a bird flying past him, or a deer running past he would be the first to bring it down." * * * * * "they was holden me hand and telling me that i must be his mother now as his own mother is dead and she was a great friend of mine although we could not understand each other's language sometimes, still we could make it out with sins and wonders." * * * * * "april 7, 1894.--since i last wrote on this book, i have been what people call cruising about here. i have been visiting some of my friends, though scattered far apart, with my snow-shoes and axe on my shoulders. the nearest house to this place is about five miles up a beautiful river, and then through woods, what the french calls a portage--it is what i call pretty. many is the time that i have been going with dogs and komatick 40 or 50 years ago with my husband and family to n. w. river, to the hon. donald a. smith and family to keep n. year or easter." * * * * * "my dear old sister hannah mishlin who is now going on for 80 years old and she is smart yet, she hunts fresh meat and chops holes in the 3 foot ice this very winter and catches trout with her hook, enough for her household, her husband not able to work, he has a bad complaint." * * * * * "you must please excuse my writing and spelling for i have never been to school, neither had i a spelling book in my young day--me a native of this country, labrador, hamilton's inlet, esquimaux bay--if you wish to know who i am, i am old lydia campbell, formerly lydia brooks, then blake, after blake, now campbell. so you see ups and downs has been my life all through, and now i am what i am--prais the lord." "i have been hunting most every day since easter, and to some of my rabbit snares and still traps, cat traps and mink traps. i caught 7 rabbits and 1 marten and i got a fix and 4 partridges, about 500 trout besides household duties--never leave out morning and evening prayers and cooking and baking and washing for 5 people--3 motherless little children--with so much to make for sale out of seal skin and deer skin shoes, bags and pouches and what not.... you can say well done old half-breed woman in hamilton's inlet. good night, god bless us all and send us prosperity. "yours ever true, "lydia campbell." * * * * * "we are going to have an evening worship, my poor old man is tired, he has been a long way to-day and he shot 2 beautyful white partridges. our boy heer shot once spruce partridge." * * * * * "caplin so plentiful boats were stopped, whales, walrusses and white bears." * * * * * "muligan river, may 24, 1894.--they say that once upon a time the world was drowned and that all the esquimaux were drownded but one family and he took his family and dogs and chattels and his seal-skin boat and kiak and komaticks and went on the highest hill that they could see, and stayed there till the rain was over and when the water dried up they descended down the river and got down to the plains and when they could not see any more people, they took off the bottoms of their boots and took some little white [seal] pups and sent the poor little things off to sea and they drifted to some islands far away and became white people. then they done the same as the others did and the people spread all over the world. such was my poor father's thought.... there is up the main river a large fall, the same that the american and english gentlemen have been up to see. [referring to mr. bryant, of philadelphia, who visited grand falls.] well there is a large whirlpool or hole at the bottom of the fall. the indians that frequent the place say that there is three women--indians--that lives under that place or near to it i am told, and at times they can hear them speaking to each other louder than the roar of the falls." [the indians always think the mist of a waterfall signifies the presence of ghosts.] "i have been the cook of that great sir d. d. smith that is in canada at this time. [in the days when lord strathcona was chief trader at hamilton inlet.] he was then at rigolet post, a chief trader only, now what is he so great! he was seen last winter by one of the women that belong to this bay. she went up to canada ... and he is gray headed and bended, that is sir d. d. smith." * * * * * "august 1, 1894.--my dear friends, you will please excuse my writing and spelling--the paper sweems by me, my eyesight is dim now----" the end voyages from montreal through the continent of north america to the frozen and pacific oceans in 1789 and 1793 with an account of the rise and state of the fur trade by alexander mackenzie with map in two volumes vol. ii. new york a. s. barnes and company 1903 registered at the library of congress, august, 1902 a. s. barnes & company table of contents. chapter i. removed from the tent to the house. build habitations for the people. the hardships they suffer. violent hurricane. singular circumstances attending it. the commencement of the new year. an indian cured of a dangerous wound. state of the weather. curious customs among the indians, on the death of a relation. account of a quarrel. an indian's reasoning on it. murder of one of the indians. the cause of it. some account of the rocky mountain indians. curious circumstance respecting a woman in labour, etc. a dispute between two indians, which arose from gaming. an account of one of their games. indian superstition. mildness of the season. the indians prepare snow shoes. singular customs. further account of their manners. the slavish state of the women. appearance of spring. dispatch canoes with the trade to fort chepewyan. make preparations for the voyage of discovery. chapter ii. proceed on the voyage of discovery. beautiful scenery. the canoe too heavily laden. the country in a state of combustion. meet with a hunting party. state of the river, etc. meet with indians. see the tracks of bears, and one of their dens. sentiment of an indian. junction of the bear river. appearance of the country. state of the river. observe a fall of timber. abundance of animals. see some bears. come in sight of the rocky mountains. the canoe receives an injury and is repaired. navigation dangerous. rapids and falls. succession of difficulties and dangers. chapter iii. continuation of difficulties and dangers. discontents among the people. state of the river and its banks. volcanic chasms in the earth. dispatch various persons to discover ways across the mountain. obstacles present themselves on all sides. preparations made to attempt the mountain. account of the ascent with the canoe and baggage. the trees that are found there. arrive at the river. extraordinary circumstances of it. curious hollows in the rocks. prepare the canoe. renew our progress up the river. the state of it. leave some tokens of amity for the natives. the weather very cold. lost a book of my observations for several days. continue to proceed up the river. send a letter down the current in a rum-keg. came to the forks, and proceed up the eastern branch. circumstances of it. chapter iv. continue our voyage. heavy fog. the water rises. succession of courses. progressive account of this branch. leave the canoe to proceed, and ascend a hill to reconnoitre. climb a tree to extend my view of the country. return to the river. the canoe not arrived. go in search of it. extreme heat, musquitoes, etc. increasing anxiety, respecting the canoe. it at length appears. violent storm. circumstances of our progress. forced to haul the canoe up the stream by the branches of trees. succession of courses. wild parsnips along the river. expect to meet with natives. courses continued. fall in with some natives. our intercourse with them. account of their dress, arms, utensils, and manners, etc. new discouragements and difficulties present themselves. chapter v. continue the voyage. state of the river. succession of courses. sentiment of the guide. conical mountain. continuation of courses. leave the main branch. enter another. description of it. saw beaver. enter a lake. arrive at the upper source of the unjigah, or peace river. land, and cross to a second lake. local circumstances. proceed to a third lake. enter a river. encounter various difficulties. in danger of being lost. the circumstances of that situation described. alarm and dissatisfaction among the people. they are at length composed. the canoe repaired. roads cut through woods. pass morasses. the guide deserts. after a succession of difficulties, dangers, and toilsome marches, we arrive at the great river. chapter vi. rainy night. proceed on the great river. circumstances of it. account of courses. come to rapids. observe several smokes. see a flight of white ducks. pass over a carrying-place with the canoe, etc. the difficulties of that passage. abundance of wild onions. re-embark on the river. see some of the natives. they desert their camp and fly into the woods. courses continued. kill a red deer, etc. circumstances of the river. arrive at an indian habitation. description of it. account of a curious machine to catch fish. land to procure bark for the purpose of constructing a new canoe. conceal a quantity of pemmican for provision on our return. succession of courses. meet with some of the natives. our intercourse with them. their information respecting the river, and the country. description of those people. chapter vii. renew our voyage, accompanied by two of the natives. account of courses. state of the river. arrive at a subterranean house. see several natives. brief description of them. account of our conference with them. saw other natives. description of them. their conduct, etc. the account which they gave of the country. the narrative of a female prisoner. the perplexities of my situation. specimen of the language of two tribes. change the plan of my journey. return up the river. succession of dangers and difficulties. land on an island to build another canoe. chapter viii. make preparations to build a canoe. engage in that important work. it proceeds with great expedition. the guide who had deserted arrives with another indian. he communicates agreeable intelligence. they take an opportunity to quit the island. complete the canoe. leave the island, which was now named the canoe island. obliged to put the people on short allowance. account of the navigation. difficult ascent of a rapid. fresh perplexities. continue our voyage up the river. meet the guide and some of his friends. conceal some pemmican and other articles. make preparations for proceeding over land. endeavour to secure the canoe till our return. proceed on our journey. various circumstances of it. chapter ix. continue our journey. embark on a river. come to a weir. dexterity of the natives in passing it. arrive at a village. alarm occasioned among the natives. the subsequent favourable reception, accompanied with a banquet of ceremony. circumstances of it. description of a village, its houses, and places of devotion. account of the customs, mode of living, and superstition of the inhabitants. description of the chief's canoe. leave the place, and proceed on our voyage. chapter x. renew our voyage. circumstances of the river. land at the house of a chief. entertained by him. carried down the river with great rapidity to another house. received with kindness. occupations of the inhabitants on its banks. leave the canoe at a fall. pass over land to another village. some account of it. obtain a view of an arm of the sea. lose our dog. procure another canoe. arrive at the arm of the sea. circumstances of it. one of our guides returns home. coast along a bay. some description of it. meet with indians. our communication with them. their suspicious conduct towards us. pass onwards. determine the latitude and longitude. return to the river. dangerous encounter with the indians. proceed on our journey. chapter xi. return up the river. slow progress of the canoe, from the strength of the current. the hostile party of the natives precedes us. impetuous conduct of my people. continue our very tedious voyage. come to some houses; received with great kindness. arrive at the principal, or salmon village. our present reception very different from that we experienced on our former visit. continue our journey. circumstances of it. find our dog. arrive at the upper, or friendly village. meet with a very kind reception. some further account of the manners and customs of its inhabitants. brief vocabulary of their language. chapter xii. leave the friendly village. attentions of the natives at our departure. stop to divide our provisions. begin to ascend the mountains. circumstances of the ascent. journey continued. arrive at the place from whence we set out by land. meet with indians there. find the canoe, and all the other articles in a state of perfect security and preservation. means employed to compel the restoration of articles which were afterwards stolen. proceed on our homeward bound voyage. some account of the natives on the river. the canoe is run on a rock, etc. circumstances of the voyage. enter the peace river. statement of courses. continue our route. circumstances of it. proceed onwards in a small canoe, with an indian, to the lower fort, leaving the rest of the people to follow me. arrive at fort chepewyan. the voyage concluded. chapter i. december 23, 1792. i this day removed from the tent into the house which had been erected for me, and set all the men to begin the buildings intended for their own habitation. materials sufficient to erect a range of five houses for them, of about seventeen by twelve feet, were already collected. it would be considered by the inhabitants of a milder climate, as a great evil, to be exposed to the weather at this rigorous season of the year, but these people are inured to it, and it is necessary to describe in some measure the hardships which they undergo without a murmur, in order to convey a general notion of them. the men who were new with me, left this place in the beginning of last may, and went to the rainy lake in canoes, laden with packs of fur, which, from the immense length of the voyage, and other concurring circumstances, is a most severe trial of patience and perseverance: there they do not remain a sufficient time for ordinary repose, when they take a load of goods in exchange, and proceed on their return, in a great measure, day and night. they had been arrived near two months, and, all that time, had been continually engaged in very toilsome labour, with nothing more than a common shed to protect them from the frost and snow. such is the life which these people lead; and is continued with unremitting exertion, till their strength is lost in premature old age. the canadians remarked, that the weather we had on the 25th, 26th, and 27th of this month, denoted such as we might expect in the three succeeding months. on the 29th, the wind being at north-east, and the weather calm and cloudy, a rumbling noise was heard in the air like distant thunder, when the sky cleared away in the south-west; from whence there blew a perfect hurricane, which lasted till eight. soon after it commenced, the atmosphere became so warm that it dissolved all the snow on the ground; even the ice was covered with water, and had the same appearance as when it is breaking up in the spring. from eight to nine the weather became calm, but immediately after a wind arose from the north-east with equal violence, with clouds, rain, and hail, which continued throughout the night till the evening of the next day, when it turned to snow. one of the people who wintered at fort dauphin in the year 1780, when the small pox first appeared there, informed me, that the weather there was of a similar description. _january 1, 1793._--on the first day of january, my people, in conformity to the usual custom, awoke me at the break of day with the discharge of fire-arms, with which they congratulated the appearance of the new year. in return, they were treated with plenty of spirits, and when there is any flour, cakes are always added to their regales, which was the case, on the present occasion. on my arrival here last fall, i found that one of the young indians had lost the use of his right hand by the bursting of a gun, and that his thumb had been maimed in such a manner as to hang only by a small strip of flesh. indeed, when he was brought to me, his wound was in such an offensive state, and emitted such a putrid smell, that it required all the resolution i possessed to examine it. his friends had done every thing in their power to relieve him; but as it consisted only in singing about him, and blowing upon his hand, the wound, as may be well imagined, had got into the deplorable state in which i found it. i was rather alarmed at the difficulty of the case, but as the young man's life was in a state of hazard, i was determined to risk my surgical reputation, and accordingly took him under my care. i immediately formed a poultice of bark, stripped from the roots of the spruce-fir, which i applied to the wound, having first washed it with the juice of the bark: this proved a very painful dressing: in a few days, however, the wound was clean, and the proud flesh around it destroyed. i wished very much in this state of the business to have separated the thumb from the hand, which i well knew must be effected before the cure could be performed; but he would not consent to that operation, till, by the application of vitriol, the flesh by which the thumb was suspended, was shrivelled almost to a thread. when i had succeeded in this object, i perceived that the wound was closing rather faster than i desired. the salve i applied on the occasion was made of the canadian balsam, wax and tallow dropped from a burning candle into water. in short, i was so successful, that about christmas my patient engaged in a hunting party, and brought me the tongue of an elk: nor was he finally ungrateful. when he left me i received the warmest acknowledgments, both from himself and his relations with whom he departed, for my care of him. i certainly did not spare my time or attention on the occasion, as i regularly dressed his wound three times a day, during the course of a month. on the 5th in the morning the weather was calm, clear, and very cold; the wind blew from the south-west, and in the course of the afternoon it began to thaw. i had already observed at athabasca, that this wind never failed to bring us clear mild weather, whereas, when it blew from the opposite quarter, it produced snow. here it is much more perceptible, for if it blows hard south-west for four hours, a thaw is the consequence, and if the wind is at north-east it brings sleet and snow. to this cause it may be attributed, that there is now so little snow in this part of the world. these warm winds come off the pacific ocean, which cannot, in a direct line, be very far from us; the distance being so short, that though they pass over mountains covered with snow, there is not time for them to cool. there being several of the natives at the house at this time, one of them, who had received an account of the death of his father, proceeded in silence to his lodge, and began to fire off his gun. as it was night, and such a noise being so uncommon at such an hour, especially when it was so often repeated, i sent my interpreter to inquire into the cause of it, when he was informed by the man himself, that this was a common custom with them on the death of a near relation, and was a warning to their friends not to approach, or intrude upon them, as they were, in consequence of their loss, become careless of life. the chief, to whom the deceased person was also related, appeared with his war-cap on his head, which is only worn on these solemn occasions, or when preparing for battle, and confirmed to me this singular custom of firing guns, in order to express their grief for the death of relations and friends.[1] the women alone indulge in tears on such occasions; the men considering it as a mark of pusillanimity and a want of fortitude to betray any personal tokens of sensibility or sorrow. the indians informed me, that they had been to hunt at a large lake, called by the knisteneaux, the slave lake, which derived its name from that of its original inhabitants, who were called slaves. they represented it as a large body of water, and that it lies about one hundred and twenty miles due east from this place. it is well known to the knisteneaux, who are among the inhabitants of the plains on the banks of the saskatchiwine river; for formerly, when they used to come to make war in this country, they came in their canoes to that lake, and left them there; from thence, there is a beaten path all the way to the fork, or east branch of this river, which was their war-road. _january 10._--among the people who were now here, there were two rocky mountain indians, who declared, that the people to whom we had given that denomination, are by no means entitled to it, and that their country has ever been in the vicinity of our present situation. they said, in support of their assertion, that these people were entirely ignorant of those parts which are adjacent to the mountain, as well as the navigation of the river; that the beaver indians had greatly encroached upon them, and would soon force them to retire to the foot of these mountains. they represented themselves as the only real natives of that country then with me; and added, that the country, and that part of the river that intervenes between this place and the mountains, bear much the same appearance as that around us; that the former abounds with animals, but that the course of the latter is interrupted, near, and in the mountains, by successive rapids and considerable falls. these men also informed me, that there is another great river towards the midday sun, whose current runs in that direction, and that the distance from it is not great across the mountains. the natives brought me plenty of furs. the small quantity of snow, at this time, was particularly favourable for hunting the beaver, as from this circumstance, those animals could, with greater facility, be traced from their lodges to their lurking-places. on the 12th our hunter arrived, having left his mother-in-law, who was lately become a widow with three small children, and in actual labour of a fourth. her daughter related this circumstance to the women here without the least appearance of concern, though she represented her as in a state of great danger, which probably might proceed from her being abandoned in this unnatural manner. at the same time without any apparent consciousness of her own barbarous negligence, if the poor abandoned woman should die, she would most probably lament her with great outcries, and, perhaps cut off one or two joints of her fingers as tokens of her grief. the indians, indeed, consider the state of a woman in labour as among the most trifling occurrences of corporal pain to which human nature is subject, and they may be, in some measure justified in this apparent insensibility from the circumstances of that situation among themselves. it is by no means uncommon in the hasty removal of their camps from one position to another, for a woman to be taken in labour, to deliver herself in her way, without any assistance or notice from her associates in her journey, and to overtake them before they complete the arrangements of their evening station, with her new-born babe on her back. i was this morning threatened with a very unpleasant event, which, however, i was fortunately able to control. two young indians being engaged in one of their games, a dispute ensued, which rose to such a height, that they drew their knives, and if i had not happened to have appeared, they would i doubt not, have employed them to very bloody purposes. so violent was their rage, that after i had turned them both out of the house, and severely reprimanded them, they stood in the fort for at least half an hour, looking at each other with a most vindictive aspect, and in sullen silence. the game which produced this state of bitter enmity, is called that of the platter, from a principal article of it. the indians play at it in the following manner. the instruments of it consist of a platter, or dish, made of wood or bark, and six round or square but flat pieces of metal, wood, or stone, whose sides or surfaces are of different colours. these are put into the dish, and after being for some time shaken together, are thrown into the air, and received again into the dish with considerable dexterity; when, by the number that are turned up of the same mark or colour, the game is regulated. if there should be equal numbers, the throw is not reckoned; if two or four, the platter changes hands. on the 13th, one of these people came to me, and presented in himself a curious example of indian superstition. he requested me to furnish him with a remedy that might be applied to the joints of his legs and thighs, of which he had, in a great measure lost the use for five winters. this affliction he attributed to his cruelty about that time, when having found a wolf with two whelps in an old beaver lodge, he set fire to it and consumed them. the winter had been so mild, that the swans had but lately left us, and at this advanced period there was very little snow on the ground: it was, however, at this time a foot and a half in depth, in the environs of the establishment below this, which is at the distance of about seventy leagues. on the 28th the indians were now employed in making their snow-shoes, as the snow had not hitherto fallen in sufficient quantity to render them necessary. _february 2._--the weather now became very cold, and it froze so hard in the night that my watch stopped; a circumstance that had never happened to this watch since my residence in the country. there was a lodge of indians here, who were absolutely starving with cold and hunger. they had lately lost a near relation, and had according to custom, thrown away every thing belonging to them, and even exchanged the few articles of raiment which they possessed, in order, as i presume, to get rid of every thing that may bring the deceased to their remembrance. they also destroy every thing belonging to any deceased person, except what they consign to the grave with the late owner of them. we had some difficulty to make them comprehend that the debts of a man who dies should be discharged, if he left any furs behind him: but those who understand this principle of justice, and profess to adhere it, never fail to prevent the appearance of any skins beyond such as may be necessary to satisfy the debts of their dead relation. on the 8th i had an observation for the longitude. in the course of this day one of my men, who had been some time with the indians, came to inform me that one of them had threatened to stab him; and on his preferring a complaint to the man with whom he now lived, and to whom i had given him in charge, he replied, that he had been very imprudent to play and quarrel with the young indians out of his lodge, where no one would dare to come and quarrel with him; but that if he had lost his life where he had been, it would have been the consequence of his own folly. thus, even among these children of nature, it appears that a man's house is his castle, where the protection of hospitality is rigidly maintained. the hard frost which had prevailed from the beginning of february continued to the 16th of march, when the wind blowing from the south-west, the weather became mild. on the 22d a wolf was so bold as to venture among the indian lodges, and was very near carrying off a child. i had another observation of jupiter and his satellites for the longitude. on the 13th some geese were seen, and these birds are always considered as the harbingers of spring. on the first of april my hunters shot five of them. this was a much earlier period than i ever remember to have observed the visits of wild fowl in this part of the world. the weather had been mild for the last fortnight, and there was a promise of its continuance. on the 5th the snow had entirely disappeared. at half past four this morning i was awakened to be informed that an indian had been killed. i accordingly hastened to the camp, where i found two women employed in rolling up the dead body of a man, called the white partridge, in a beaver robe, which i had lent him. he had received four mortal wounds from a dagger, two within the collar bone, one in the left breast, and another in the small of the back, with two cuts across his head. the murderer, who had been my hunter throughout the winter, had fled; and it was pretended that several relations of the deceased were gone in pursuit of him. the history of this unfortunate event is as follows:-these two men had been comrades for four years; the murderer had three wives; and the young man who was killed, becoming enamoured of one of them, the husband consented to yield her to him, with the reserved power of claiming her as his property, when it should be his pleasure. this connection was uninterrupted for near three years, when, whimsical as it may appear, the husband became jealous, and the public amour was suspended. the parties, how ever, made their private assignations, which caused the woman to be so ill treated by her husband, that the paramour was determined to take her away by force; and this project ended in his death. this is a very common practice among the indians, and generally terminates in very serious and fatal quarrels. in consequence of this event all the indians went away in great apparent hurry and confusion, and in the evening not one of them was to be seen about the fort. the beaver and rocky mountain indians, who traded with us in this river, did not exceed an hundred and fifty men, capable of bearing arms; two thirds of whom call themselves beaver indians. the latter differ only from the former, as they have, more or less, imbibed the customs and manners of the knisteneaux. as i have already observed, they are passionately fond of liquor, and in the moments of their festivity will barter any thing they have in their possession for it. though the beaver indians made their peace with the knisteneaux, at peace point, as already mentioned, yet they did not secure a state of amity from others of the same nation, who had driven away the natives of the saskatchiwine and missinipy rivers, and joined at the head water of the latter, called the beaver river: from thence they proceeded west by the slave lake just described, on their war excursions, which they often repeated, even till the beaver indians had procured arms, which was in the year 1782. if it so happened that they missed them, they proceeded westward till they were certain of wreaking their vengeance on those of the rocky mountain, who being without arms, became an easy prey to their blind and savage fury. all the european articles they possessed, previous to the year 1780, were obtained from the knisteneaux and chepewyans, who brought them from fort churchill, and for which they were made to pay an extravagant price. as late as the year 1786, when the first traders from canada arrived on the banks of this river, the natives employed bows and snares, but at present very little use is made of the former, and the latter are no longer known. they still entertain a great dread of their natural enemies, but they are since become so well armed, that the others now call them their allies. the men are in general of a comely appearance, and fond of personal decoration. the women are of a contrary disposition, and the slaves of the men: in common with all the indian tribes polygamy is allowed among them. they are very subject to jealousy, and fatal consequences frequently result from the indulgence of that passion. but notwithstanding the vigilance and severity which is exercised by the husband, it seldom happens that a woman is without her favourite, who, in the absence of the husband, exacts the same submission, and practises the same tyranny. and so premature is the tender passion, that it is sometimes known to invigorate so early a period of life as the age of eleven or twelve years. the women are not very prolific: a circumstance which may be attributed in a great measure, to the hardships that they suffer for except a few small dogs, they alone perform that labour which is allotted to beasts of burthen in other countries. it is not uncommon, while the men carry nothing but a gun, that their wives and daughters follow with such weighty burdens, that if they lay them down they cannot replace them, and that is a kindness which the men will not deign to perform; so that during their journeys they are frequently obliged to lean against a tree for a small portion of temporary relief. when they arrive at the place which their tyrants have chosen for their encampment, they arrange the whole in a few minutes, by forming a curve of poles, meeting at the top, and expanding into circles of twelve or fifteen feet diameter at the bottom, covered with dressed skins of the moose sewed together. during these preparations, the men sit down quietly to the enjoyment of their pipes, if they happen to have any tobacco. but notwithstanding this abject state of slavery and submission, the women have a considerable influence on the opinion of the men in every thing except their own domestic situation. these indians are excellent hunters, and their exercise in that capacity is so violent as to reduce them in general to a very meagre appearance. their religion is of a very contracted nature, and i never witnessed any ceremony of devotion which they had not borrowed from the knisteneaux, their feasts and fasts being in imitation of that people. they are more vicious and warlike than the chepewyans, from whence they sprang, though they do not possess their selfishness, for while they have the means of purchasing their necessaries, they are liberal and generous, but when those are exhausted they become errant beggars: they are, however, remarkable for their honesty, for in the whole tribe there were only two women and a man who had been known to have swerved from that virtue, and they were considered as objects of disregard and reprobation. they are afflicted with but few diseases, and their only remedies consist in binding the temples, procuring perspiration, singing, and blowing on the sick person, or affected part. when death overtakes any of them, their property, as i have before observed, is sacrificed and destroyed; nor is there any failure of lamentation or mourning on such occasion: they who are more nearly related to the departed person, black their faces, and sometimes cut off their hair; they also pierce their arms with knives and arrows. the grief of the females is carried to a still greater excess; they not only cut their hair, and cry and howl, but they will sometimes, with the utmost deliberation, employ some sharp instrument to separate the nail from the finger, and then force back the flesh beyond the first joint, which they immediately amputate. but this extraordinary mark of affliction is only displayed on the death of a favourite son, a husband, or a father. many of the old women have so often repeated this ceremony, that they have not a complete finger remaining on either hand. the women renew their lamentations at the graves of their departed relatives, for a long succession of years. they appear, in common with all the indian tribes, to be very fond of their children, but they are as careless in their mode of swadling them in their infant state, as they are of their own dress: the child is laid down on aboard, of about two feet long, covered with a bed of moss, to which it is fastened by bandages, the moss being changed as often as the occasion requires. the chief of the nation had no less than nine wives, and children in proportion. when traders first appeared among these people, the canadians were treated with the utmost hospitality and attention; but they have, by their subsequent conduct, taught the natives to withdraw that respect from them, and sometimes to treat them with indignity. they differ very much from the chepewyans and knisteneaux, in the abhorrence they profess of any carnal communication between their women and the white people. they carry their love of gaming to excess; they will pursue it for a succession of days and nights, and no apprehension of ruin, nor influence of domestic affection, will restrain them from the indulgence of it. they are a quick, lively, active people, with a keen, penetrating, dark eye; and though they are very susceptible of anger, are as easily appeased. the males eradicate their beards, and the females their hair in every part, except their heads, where it is strong and black, and without a curl. there are many old men among them, but they are in general ignorant of the space in which they have been inhabitants of the earth, though one of them told me that he recollected sixty winters. an indian in some measure explained his age to me, by relating that he remembered the opposite hills and plains, now interspersed with groves of poplars, when they were covered with moss, and without any animal inhabitant but the rein-deer. by degrees, he said, the face of the country changed to its present appearance, when the elk came from the east, and was followed by the buffalo; the rein-deer then retired to the long range of high lands that, at a considerable distance, run parallel, with this river. on the 20th of april i had an observation of jupiter and his satellites, for the longitude, and we were now visited by our summer companions the gnats and musquitoes. on the other side of the river, which was yet covered with ice, the plains were delightful; the trees were budding, and many plants in blossom. mr. mackay brought me a bunch of flowers of a pink colour, and a yellow button, encircled with six leaves of a light purple. the change in the appearance of nature was as sudden as it was pleasing, for a few days only were passed away since the ground was covered with snow. on the 25th the river was cleared of the ice. i new found that the death of the man called the white partridge, had deranged all the plans which i had settled with the indians for the spring hunting. they had assembled at some distance from the fort, and sent an embassy to me, to demand rum to drink, that they might have an opportunity of crying for their deceased brother. it would be considered as an extreme degradation in an indian to weep when sober, but a state of intoxication sanctions all irregularities. on my refusal, they threatened to go to war, which, from motives of interest as well as humanity, we did our utmost to discourage; and as a second message was brought by persons of some weight among these people, and on whom i could depend, i thought it prudent to comply with the demand, on an express condition, that they would continue peaceably at home. the month of april being now past, in the early part of which i was most busily employed in trading with the indians, i ordered our old canoes to be repaired with bark, and added four new ones to them, when, with the furs and provisions i had purchased, six canoes were loaded and dispatched on the 8th of may, for fort chepewyan. i had, however, retained six of the men, who agreed to accompany me on my projected voyage of discovery. i also engaged my hunters, and closed the business of the year for the company by writing my public and private dispatches. having ascertained, by various observations, the latitude of this place to be 56. 9. north, and longitude 117. 35. 15. west: on the 9th day of may, i found, that my achrometer was one hour forty-six minutes slow to apparent time; the mean going of it i had found to be twenty-two seconds slow in twenty-four hours. having settled this point, the canoe was put into the water; her dimensions were twenty-five feet long within, exclusive of the curves of stem and stern, twenty-six inches hold, and four feet nine inches beam. at the same time she was so light, that two men could carry her on a good road three or four miles without resting. in this slender vessel, we shipped provisions, goods for presents, arms, ammunition, and baggage, to the weight of three thousand pounds, and an equipage of ten people; viz. alexander mackay, joseph landry, charles ducette,[2] francois beaulieux, baptist bisson, francois courtois, and jaques beauchamp, with two indians, as hunters and interpreters. one of them, when a boy, used to be so idle, that he obtained the reputable name of cancre, which he still possesses. with these persons i embarked at seven in the evening. my winter interpreter, with another person, whom i left here to take care of the fort, and supply the natives with ammunition during the summer, shed tears on the reflection of those dangers which we might encounter in our expedition, while my own people offered up their prayers that we might return in safety from it. [1] when they are drinking together, they frequently present their guns to each other, when any of the parties have not other means of procuring rum. on such an occasion they always discharge their pieces, as a proof, i imagine, of their being in good order, and to determine the quantity of liquor they may propose to get in exchange for them. [2]joseph landry and charles ducette were with me in my former voyage. chapter ii. may, 1793. _thursday, 9._--we began our voyage with a course south by west against a strong current one mile and three quarters, south-west by south one mile, and landed before eight on an island for the night. _friday, 10._--the weather was clear and pleasant, though there was a keenness in the air; and at a quarter past three in the morning we continued our voyage, steering south-west three quarters of a mile, south-west by south one mile and a quarter, south three quarters of a mile, south-west by south one quarter of a mile, south-west by west one mile, south-west by south three miles, south by west three quarters of a mile, and south-west one mile. the canoe being strained from its having been very heavily laden, became so leaky, that we were obliged to land, unload, and gum it. as this circumstance took place about twelve, i had an opportunity of taking an altitude, which made our latitude 55. 58. 48. when the canoe was repaired we continued our course, steering south-west by west one mile and an half, when i had the misfortune to drop my pocket-compass into the water; west half a mile, west-south-west four miles and an half. here, the banks are steep and hilly, and in some parts undermined by the river. where the earth has given way, the face of the cliffs discovers numerous strata, consisting of reddish earth and small stones, bitumen, and a greyish earth, below which, near the water-edge, is a red stone. water issues from most of the banks, and the ground on which it spreads is covered with a thin white scurf, or particles of a saline substance: there are several of these salt springs. at half past six in the afternoon the young men landed, when they killed an elk and wounded a buffalo. in this spot we formed our encampment for the night. from the place which we quitted this morning, the west side of the river displayed a succession of the most beautiful scenery i had ever beheld. the ground rises at intervals to a considerable height, and stretching inwards to a considerable distance: at every interval or pause in the rise, there is a very gently-ascending space or lawn, which is alternate with abrupt precipices to the summit of the whole, or, at least as far as the eye could distinguish. this magnificent theatre of nature has all the decorations which the trees and animals of the country can afford it: groves of poplars in every shape vary the scene; and their intervals are enlivened with vast herds of elks and buffaloes: the former choosing the steeps and uplands, and the latter preferring the plains. at this time the buffaloes were attended with their young ones who were frisking about them: and it appeared that the elks would soon exhibit the same enlivening circumstance. the whole country displayed an exuberant verdure; the trees that bear a blossom were advancing fast to that delightful appearance, and the velvet rind of their branches reflecting the oblique rays of a rising or setting sun, added a splendid gaiety to the scene, which no expressions of mine are qualified to describe. the east side of the river consists of a range of high land covered with the white spruce and the soft birch, while the banks abound with the alder and the willow. the water continued to rise, and the current being proportionately strong, we made a greater use of setting poles than paddles. _saturday, 11._--the weather was overcast. with a strong wind a-head, we embarked at four in the morning, and left all the fresh meat behind us, but the portion which had been assigned to the kettle; the canoe being already too heavily laden. our course was west-south-west one mile, where a small river flowed in from the east, named _quiscatina sepy_, or river with the high banks; west half a mile, south half a mile, south-west by west three quarters of a mile, west one mile and a quarter, south-west a quarter of a mile, south-south-west half a mile, and west by south a mile and a half. here i took a meridian altitude, which gave 55. 56. 3. north latitude. we then proceeded west three miles and a half, west-south-west, where the whole plain was on fire, one mile, west one mile, and the wind so strong a-head, that it occasioned the canoe to take in water, and otherwise impeded our progress. here we landed to take time, with the mean of three altitudes, which made the watch slow 1. 42. 10. we now proceeded west-south-west one mile and a quarter, where we found a chief of the beaver indians on a hunting party. i remained, however, in my canoe, and though it was getting late, i did not choose to encamp with these people, lest the friends of my hunters might discourage them from proceeding on the voyage. we, therefore, continued our course, but several indians kept company with us, running along the bank, and conversing with my people, who were so attentive to them, that they drove the canoe on a stony flat, so that we were under the necessity of landing to repair the damages, and put up for the night, though very contrary to my wishes. my hunters obtained permission to proceed with some of these people to their lodges, on the promise of being back by the break of day; though i was not without some apprehension respecting them. the chief, however, and another man, as well as several people from the lodges, joined us, before we had completed the repair of the canoe; and they made out a melancholy story, that they had neither ammunition or tobacco sufficient for their necessary supply during the summer. i accordingly referred him to the fort, where plenty of those articles were left in the care of my interpreter, by whom they would be abundantly furnished, if they were active and industrious in pursuing their occupations. i did not fail, on this occasion, to magnify the advantages of the present expedition; observing, at the same time, that its success would depend on the fidelity and conduct of the young men who were retained by me to hunt. the chief also proposed to borrow my canoe, in order to transport himself and family across the river; several plausible reasons, it is true, suggested themselves for resisting his proposition; but when i stated to him, that, as the canoe was intended for a voyage of such consequence, no woman could be permitted to be embarked in it, he acquiesced in the refusal. it was near twelve at night when he took his leave, after i had gratified him with a present of tobacco. _sunday, 12._--some of the indians passed the night with us, and i was informed by them, that according to our mode of proceeding, we should, in ten days, get as far as the rocky mountains. the young men now returned, to my great satisfaction, and with the appearance of contentment; though i was not pleased when they dressed themselves in the clothes which i had given them before we left the fort, as it betrayed some latent design. at four in the morning we proceeded on our voyage, steering west three miles, including one of our course yesterday, north-west by north four miles, west two miles and a half, north-west by west a mile and a half, north by east two miles, north-west by west one mile, and north-north-west three miles. after a continuation of our course to the north for a mile and a half, we landed for the night on an island where several of the indians visited us, but unattended by their women, who remained in their camp, which was at some distance from us. the land on both sides of the river, during the two last days, is very much elevated, but particularly in the latter part of it, and, on the western side, presents in different places, white, steep, and lofty cliffs. our view being confined by these circumstances, we did not see so many animals as on the 10th. between these lofty boundaries, the river becomes narrow and in a great measure free from islands; for we had passed only four: the stream, indeed, was not more than from two hundred to three hundred yards broad; whereas before these cliffs pressed upon it, its breadth was twice that extent and besprinkled with islands. we killed an elk, and fired several shots at animals from the canoe. the greater part of this band being rocky mountain indians, i endeavoured to obtain some intelligence of our intended route, but they all pleaded ignorance, and uniformly declared, that they knew nothing of the country beyond the first mountain: at the same time they were of opinion, that, from the strength of the current and the rapids we should not get there by water; though they did not hesitate to express their surprise at the expedition we had already made. i inquired, with some anxiety, after an old man who had already given me an account of the country beyond the limits of his tribe, and was very much disappointed at being informed, that he had not been seen for upwards of a moon. this man had been at war on another large river beyond the rocky mountain, and described to me a fork of it between the mountains; the southern branch of which he directed me to take; from thence, he said, there was a carrying-place of about a day's march for a young man to get to the river. to prove the truth of his relation, he consented, that his son, who had been with him in those parts, should accompany me; and he accordingly sent him to the fort some days before my departure; but the preceding night he deserted with another young man, whose application to attend me as a hunter, being refused, he persuaded the other to leave me. i now thought it right to repeat to them what i had said to the chief of the first band, respecting the advantages which would be derived from the voyage, that the young men might be encouraged to remain with me; as without them i should not have attempted to proceed. _monday, 13._--the first object that presented itself to me this morning was the young man whom i have already mentioned, as having seduced away my intended guide. at any other time or place, i should have chastised him for his past conduct, but in my situation it was necessary to pass over his offence, lest he should endeavour to exercise the same influence over those who were so essential to my service. of the deserted he gave no satisfactory account, but continued to express his wish to attend me in his place, for which he did not possess any necessary qualifications. the weather was cloudy, with an appearance of rain; and the indians pressed me with great earnestness to pass the day with them, and hoped to prolong my stay among them by assuring me that the winter yet lingered in the rocky mountains; but my object was to lose no time, and having given the chief some tobacco for a small quantity of meat, we embarked at four, when my young men could not conceal their chagrin at parting with their friends, for so long a period as the voyage threatened to occupy. when i had assured them that in three moons we should return to them, we proceeded on our course west-north-west half a mile, west-south-west one mile and a half, west by north three miles, north-west by west two miles and a half, south-west by west half a mile, south-south-west a mile and a half, and south-west a mile and a half. here i had a meridian altitude, which gave 56. 17. 44. north latitude. the last course continued a mile and a half, south by west, three quarters of a mile, south-west by south three miles and a half, and west-south-west two miles and a half. here the land lowered on both sides, with an increase of wood, and displayed great numbers of animals. the river also widened from three to five hundred yards, and was full of islands and flats. having continued our course three miles, we made for the shore at seven, to pass the night. at the place from whence we proceeded this morning, a river falls in from the north; there are also several islands, and many rivulets on either side, which are too small to deserve particular notice. we perceived along the river, tracks of large bears, some of which were nine inches wide, and of a proportionate length. we saw one of their dens, or winter-quarters, called _watee_, in an island, which was ten feet deep, five feet high, and six feet wide; but we had not yet seen one of those animals. the indians entertain great apprehension of this kind of bear, which is called the grisly bear, and they never venture to attack it but in a party of at least three or four. our hunters, though they had been much higher than this part of our voyage, by land, knew nothing of the river. one of them mentioned, that having been engaged in a war expedition, his party on their return made their canoes at some distance below us. the wind was north throughout the day, and at times blew with considerable violence. the apprehensions which i had felt respecting the young men were not altogether groundless, for the eldest of them told me that his uncle had last night addressed him in the following manner:--"my nephew, your departure makes my heart painful. the white people may be said to rob us of you. they are about to conduct you into the midst of our enemies, and you may nevermore return to us. were you not with the chief,[1] i know not what i should do, but he requires your attendance, and you must follow him." _tuesday, 14._--the weather was clear, and the air sharp, when we embarked at half past four. our course was south by west one mile and a half, south-west by south half a mile, south-west. we here found it necessary to unload, and gum the canoe, in which operation we lost an hour; when we proceeded on the last course one mile and a half. i now took a meridian altitude, which gave 56. 1. 19. north latitude, and continued to proceed west-south-west two miles and a half. here the bear river which is of a large appearance, falls in from the east; west three miles and an half, south-south-west one mile and an half, and south-west four miles and an half, when we encamped upon an island about seven in the evening. during the early part of the day, the current was not so strong as we had generally found it, but towards the evening it became very rapid, and was broken by numerous islands. we were gratified as usual, with the sight of animals. the land on the west side is very irregular, but has the appearance of being a good beaver country; indeed we saw some of those animals in the river. wood is in great plenty, and several rivulets added their streams to the main river. a goose was the only article of provision which we procured to-day. smoke was seen, but at a great distance before us. _wednesday, 15._--the rain prevented us from continuing our route till past six in the morning, when our course was south-west by west three quarters of a mile; at which time we passed a river on the left, west by south two miles and a half. the bank was steep, and the current strong. the last course continued one mile and a half, west-south-west two miles, where a river flowed in from the right, west by south one mile and a half, west-north-west one mile, and west by north two miles. here the land takes the form of an high ridge, and cut our course, which was west for three miles, at right angles. we now completed the voyage of this day. in the preceding night the water rose upwards of two inches, and had risen in this proportion since our departure. the wind, which was west-south-west, blew very hard throughout the day, and with the strength of the current, greatly impeded our progress. the river, in this part of it, is full of islands; and the land, on the south or left side, is thick with wood. several rivulets also fall in from that quarter. at the entrance of the last river which we passed, there was a quantity of wood, which had been cut down by axes, and some by the beaver. this fall, however, was not made, in the opinion of my people, by any of the indians with whom we were acquainted. the land to the right is of a very irregular elevation and appearance, composed in some places of clay, and rocky cliffs, and others exhibiting stratas of red, green, and yellow colours. some parts, indeed, offer a beautiful scenery, in some degree similar to that which we passed on the second day of our voyage, and equally enlivened with the elk and the buffalo, who were feeding in great numbers, and unmolested by the hunter. in an island which we passed, there was a large quantity of white birch, whose bark might be employed in the construction of canoes. _thursday, 16._--the weather being clear, we re-embarked at four in the morning, and proceeded west by north three miles. here the land again appeared as if it run across our course, and a considerable river discharged itself by various streams. according to the rocky mountain indian, it is called the sinew river. this spot would be an excellent situation for a fort or factory, as there is plenty of wood, and every reason to believe that the country abounds in beaver. as for the other animals, they are in evident abundance, as in every direction the elk and the buffalo are seen in possession of the hills and the plains. our course continued west-north-west three miles and a half, north-west one mile and a half, south-west by west two miles; (the latitude was by observation 56. 16. 54.) north, west by north half a mile, west-north-west three quarters of a mile; a small river appearing on the right, north-west one mile and a half, west by north half a mile, west by south one mile and a half, west one mile; and at seven we formed our encampment. mr. mackay, and one of the young men, killed two elks, and mortally wounded a buffalo, but we only took a part of the flesh of the former. the land above the spot where we encamped, spreads into an extensive plain, and stretches on to a very high ridge, which, in some parts, presents a face of rock, but is principally covered with verdure, and varied with the poplar and white birch tree. the country is so crowded with animals as to have the appearance, in some places, of a stall-yard, from the state of the ground, and the quantity of dung which is scattered over it. the soil is black and light. we this day saw two grisly and hideous bears. _friday, 17._--it froze during the night, and the air was sharp in the morning, when we continued our course west-north-west three miles and a half, south-west by south two miles and a half, south-west by west one mile and a half, west three quarters of a mile, west-south-west one mile and a quarter, and south-west by south one mile and a half. at two in the afternoon the rocky mountains appeared in sight, with their summits covered with snow, bearing south-west by south: they formed a very agreeable object to every person in the canoe, as we attained the view of them much sooner than we expected. a small river was seen on our right, and we continued our progress south-west by south six miles, when we landed at seven, which was our usual hour of encampment. mr. mackay, who was walking along the side of the river, discharged his piece at a buffalo, when it burst near the muzzle, but without any mischievous consequences. on the high grounds, which were on the opposite side of the river, we saw a buffalo tearing up and down with great fury, but could not discern the cause of his impetuous motions; my hunters conjectured that he had been wounded with on arrow by some of the natives. we ascended several rapids in the course of the day, and saw one bear. _saturday, 18._--it again froze very hard during the night, and at four in the morning we continued our voyage, but we had not proceeded two hundred yards, before an accident happened to the canoe, which did not, however, employ more than three quarters of an hour to complete the repair. we then steered south by west one mile and three quarters, south-west by south three miles, south-west by west one mile and a quarter, west by south three quarters of a mile, south-west half a mile, west by south one mile, south by west one mile and a half, south-south-west, where there is a small run of water from the right, three miles and a half, when the canoe struck on the stump of a tree, and unfortunately where the banks were so steep that there was no place to unload, except a small spot, on which we contrived to dispose the lading in the bow, which lightened the canoe so as to raise the broken part of it above the surface of the water; by which contrivance we reached a convenient situation. it required, however, two hours to complete the repair, when the weather became dark and cloudy, with thunder, lightning, and rain; we, however, continued the last course half a mile, and at six in the evening we were compelled by the rain to land for the night. about noon we had landed on an island where there were eight lodges of last year. the natives had prepared bark here for five canoes, and there is a road along the hills where they had passed. branches were out and broken along it; and they had also stripped off the bark of the trees, to get the interior rind, which forms part of their food. the current was very strong through the whole of the day, and the coming up along some of the banks was rendered very dangerous, from the continual falling of large stones, from the upper parts of them. this place appears to be a particular pass for animals across the river, as there are paths leading to it on both sides, every ten yards. in the course of the day we saw a ground hog, and two cormorants. the earth also appeared in several places to have been turned up by the bears, in search of roots. _sunday, 19._--it rained very hard in the early part of the night, but the weather became clear towards the morning, when we embarked at our usual hour. as the current threatened to be very strong, mr. mackay, the two hunters, and myself, went on shore, in order to lighten the canoe, and ascended the hills, which are covered with cypress, and but little encumbered with underwood. we found a beaten path, and before we had walked a mile, fell in with a herd of buffaloes, with their young ones: but i would not suffer the indians to fire on them, from an apprehension that the report of their fowling pieces would alarm the natives that might be in the neighbourhood; for we were at this time so near the mountains, as to justify our expectation of seeing some of them. we, however, sent our dog after the herd, and a calf was soon secured by him. while the young men were skinning the animal, we heard two reports of fire arms from the canoe, which we answered, as it was a signal for my return; we then heard another, and immediately hastened down the hill, with our veal, through a very close wood. there we met one of the men, who informed us that the canoe was at a small distance below, at the foot of a very strong rapid, and that as several waterfalls appeared up the river, we should be obliged to unload and carry. i accordingly hastened to the canoe, and was greatly displeased that so much time had been lost, as i had given previous directions that the river should be followed as long as it was practicable. the last indians whom we saw had informed us that at the first mountain there was a considerable succession of rapids, cascades, and falls, which they never attempted to ascend; and where they always passed over land the length of a day's march. my men imagined that the carrying place was at a small distance below us, as a path appeared to ascend a hill, where there were several lodges, of the last year's construction. the account which had been given me of the rapids, was perfectly correct: though by crossing to the other side, i must acknowledge with some risk, in such a heavy laden canoe, the river appeared to me to be practicable, as far as we could see: the traverse, therefore, was attempted, and proved successful. we now towed the canoe along an island, and proceeded without any considerable difficulty, till we reached the extremity of it, when the line could be no longer employed; and in endeavouring to clear the point of the island, the canoe was driven with such violence on a stony shore, as to receive considerable injury. we now employed every exertion in our power to repair the breach that had been made, as well as to dry such articles of our loading as more immediately required it: we then transported the whole across the point, when we reloaded, and continued our course about three quarters of a mile. we could now proceed no further on this side of the water, and the traverse was rendered extremely dangerous, not only from the strength of the current, but by the cascades just below us, which, if we had got among them, would have involved us and the canoe in one common destruction. we had no other alternative than to return by the same course we came, or to hazard the traverse, the river on this side being bounded by a range of steep, over-hanging rocks, beneath which the current was driven on with resistless impetuosity from the cascades. here are several islands of solid rock, covered with a small portion of verdure, which have been worn away by the constant force of the current, and occasionally, as i presume, of ice, at the water's edge, so as to be reduced in that part to one fourth the extent of the upper surface; presenting, as it were, so many large tables, each of which was supported by a pedestal of a more circumscribed projection. they are very elevated for such a situation, and afford an asylum for geese, which were at this time breeding on them. by crossing from one to the other of these islands, we came at length to the main traverse, on which we ventured, and were successful in our passage. mr. mackay, and the indians, who observed our manoeuvres from the top of a rock, were in continual alarm for our safety, with which their own, indeed, may be said to have been nearly connected: however, the dangers that we encountered were very much augmented by the heavy loading of the canoe. when we had effected our passage, the current on the west side was almost equally violent with that from whence we had just escaped, but the craggy bank being somewhat lower, we were enabled, with a line of sixty fathoms, to tow the canoe, till we came to the foot of the most rapid cascade we had hitherto seen. here we unloaded, and carried every thing over a rocky point of an hundred and twenty paces. when the canoe was reloaded, i, with those of my people who were not immediately employed, ascended the bank, which was there, and indeed, as far as we could see, composed of clay, stone, and a yellow gravel. my present situation was so elevated, that the men, who were coming up a strong point, could not hear me, though i called to them with the utmost strength of my voice, to lighten the canoe of part of its lading. and here i could not but reflect, with infinite anxiety, on the hazard of my enterprize; one false step of those who were attached to the line, or the breaking of the line itself, would have at once consigned the canoe, and every thing it contained, to instant destruction: it, however, ascended the rapid in perfect security, but new dangers immediately presented themselves, for stones, both small and great, were continually rolling from the bank, so as to render the situation of those who were dragging the canoe beneath it extremely perilous; besides, they were at every step in danger, from the steepness of the ground, of falling into the water: nor was my solicitude diminished by my being necessarily removed at times from the sight of them. in our passage through the woods, we came to an inclosure, which had been formed by the natives for the purpose of setting snares for the elk, and of which we could not discover the extent. after we had travelled for some hours through the forest, which consisted of the spruce, birch, and the largest poplars i had ever seen, we sunk down upon the river where the bank is low, and near the foot of a mountain; between which, and a high ridge, the river flows in a channel of about one hundred yards broad; though, at a small distance below, it rushes on between perpendicular rocks, where it is not much more than half that breadth. here i remained, in great anxiety, expecting the arrival of the canoe, and after some time i sent mr. mackay with one of the indians down the river in search of it, and with the other i went up to it to examine what we might expect in that quarter. in about a mile and a half i came to a part where the river washes the feet of lofty precipices, and presented, in the form of rapids and cascades, a succession of difficulties to our navigation. as the canoe did not come in sight, we returned, and from the place where i had separated with mr. mackay, we saw the men carrying it over a small rocky point. we met them at the entrance of the narrow channel already mentioned; their difficulties had been great indeed, and the canoe had been broken, but they had persevered with success, and having passed the carrying-place, we proceeded with the line as far as i had already been, when we crossed over and encamped on the opposite beach; but there was no wood on this side of the water, as the adjacent country had been entirely over-run by fire. we saw several elks feeding on the edge of the opposite precipice, which was upwards of three hundred feet high. our course to-day was about south-south-west two miles and a half, south-west half a mile, south-west by south one mile and a half, south by west half a mile, south-west half a mile, and west one mile and a half. there was a shower of hail, and some rain from flying clouds. i now dispatched a man with an indian to visit the rapids above, when the latter soon left him to pursue a beaver, which was seen in the shallow water on the inside of a stony island; and though mr. mackay, and the other indian joined him, the animal at length escaped from their pursuit. several others were seen in the course of the day, which i by no means expected, as the banks are almost every where so much elevated above the channel of the river. just as the obscurity of the night drew on, the man returned with an account that it would be impracticable to pass several points, as well as the super-impending promontories. _monday, 20._--the weather was clear with a sharp air, and we renewed our voyage at quarter past four, on a course south-west by west three quarters of a mile. we now, with infinite difficulty passed along the foot of a rock, which, fortunately, was not an hard stone, so that we were enabled to cut steps in it for the distance of twenty feet; from which, at the hazard of my life, i leaped on a small rock below, where i received those who followed me on my shoulders. in this manner four of us passed and dragged up the canoe, in which attempt we broke her. very luckily, a dry tree had fallen from the rock above us, without which we could not have made a fire, as no wood was to be procured within a mile of the place. when the canoe was repaired, we continued towing it along the rocks to the next point, when we embarked, as we could not at present make any further use of the line, but got along the rocks of a round high island of stone, till we came to a small sandy bay. as we had already damaged the canoe, and had every reason to think that she soon would risk much greater injury, it became necessary for us to supply ourselves with bark, as our provision of that material article was almost exhausted two men were accordingly sent to procure it, who soon returned with the necessary store. mr. mackay, and the indians who had been on shore, since we broke the canoe, were prevented from coming to us by the rugged and impassable state of the ground. we, therefore, again resumed our course with the assistance of poles, with which we pushed onwards till we came beneath a precipice, where we could not find any bottom; so that we were again obliged to have recourse to the line, the management of which was rendered not only difficult but dangerous, as the men employed in towing were under the necessity of passing on the outside of trees that grew on the edge of the precipice. we, however, surmounted this difficulty, as we had done many others, and the people who had been walking over land now joined us. they also had met with their obstacles in passing the mountain. it now became necessary for us to make a traverse, where the water was so rapid, that some of the people stripped themselves to their shirts that they might be the better prepared for swimming, in case any accident happened to the canoe, which they seriously apprehended; but we succeeded in our attempt without any other inconvenience, except that of taking in water. we now came to a cascade, when it was thought necessary to take out part of the lading. at noon we stopped to take an altitude, opposite to a small river that flowed in from the left: while i was thus engaged, the men went on shore to fasten the canoe, but as the current was not very strong, they had been negligent in performing this office; it proved, however, sufficiently powerful to sheer her off, and if it had not happened that one of the men, from absolute fatigue had remained and held the end of the line, we should have been deprived of every means of prosecuting our voyage, as well as of present subsistence. but notwithstanding the state of my mind on such an alarming circumstance, and an intervening cloud that interrupted me, the altitude which i took has been since proved to be tolerably correct, and gave 56. north latitude. our last course was south-south-west two miles and a quarter. we now continued our toilsome and perilous progress with the line west by north, and as we proceeded the rapidity of the current increased, so that in the distance of two miles we were obliged to unload four times, and carry every thing but the canoe: indeed, in many places, it was with the utmost difficulty that we could prevent her from being dashed to pieces against the rocks by the violence of the eddies. at five we had proceeded to where the river was one continued rapid. here we again took every thing out of the canoe, in order to tow her up with the line, though the rocks were so shelving as greatly to increase the toil and hazard of that operation. at length, however, the agitation of the water was so great, that a wave striking on the bow of the canoe broke the line, and filled us with inexpressible dismay, as it appeared impossible that the vessel could escape from being dashed to pieces, and those who were in her from perishing. another wave, however, more propitious than the former, drove her out of the tumbling water, so that the men were enabled to bring her ashore, and though she had been carried over rocks by these swells which left them naked a moment after, the canoe had received no material injury. the men were, however, in such a state from their late alarm, that it would not only have been unavailing but imprudent to have proposed any further progress at present, particularly as the river above us, as far as we could see, was one white sheet of foaming water. [1] these people, as well as all the natives on this side of lake winipic, give the mercantile agent that distinguished appellation. chapter iii. may, 1793. that the discouragements, difficulties, and dangers, which had hitherto attended the progress of our enterprise, should have excited a wish in several of those who were engaged in it to discontinue the pursuit, might be naturally expected; and indeed it began to be muttered on all sides that there was no alternative but to return. instead of paying any attention to these murmurs, i desired those who had uttered them to exert themselves in gaining an ascent of the hill, and encamp there for the night. in the mean time i set off with one of the indians, and though i continued my examination of the river almost as long as there was any light to assist me, i could see no end of the rapids and cascades: i was, therefore, perfectly satisfied, that it would be impracticable to proceed any further by water. we returned from this reconnoitring excursion very much fatigued, with our shoes worn out and wounded feet; when i found that, by felling trees on the declivity of the first hill, my people had contrived to ascend it. from the place where i had taken the altitude at noon, to the place where we made our landing, the river is not more than fifty yards wide, and flows between stupendous rocks, from whence huge fragments sometimes tumble down, and falling from such an height, dash into small stones, with sharp points, and form the beach between the rocky projections. along the face of some of these precipices, there appears a stratum of a bitumenous substance which resembles coal; though while some of the pieces of it appeared to be excellent fuel, others resisted, for a considerable time, the action of fire, and did not emit the least flame. the whole of this day's course would have been altogether impracticable, if the water had been higher, which must be the case at certain seasons. we saw also several encampments of the knisteneaux along the river, which must have been formed by them on their war excursions: a decided proof of the savage, blood-thirsty disposition of that people; as nothing less than such a spirit could impel them to encounter the difficulties of this almost inaccessible country, whose natives are equally unoffending and defenceless. mr. mackay informed me, that in passing over the mountains, he observed several chasms in the earth that emitted heat and smoke, which diffused a strong sulphureous stench. i should certainly have visited this phenomenon, if i had been sufficiently qualified as a naturalist, to have offered scientific conjectures or observations thereon. _tuesday, 21._--it rained in the morning, and did not cease till about eight, and as the men had been very fatigued and disheartened, i suffered them to continue their rest till that hour. such was the state of the river, as i have already observed, that no alternative was left us; nor did any means of proceeding present themselves to us, but the passage of the mountain over which we were to carry the canoe as well as the baggage. as this was a very alarming enterprize, i dispatched mr. mackay with three men and the two indians to proceed in a strait course from the top of the mountain, and to keep the line of the river till they should find it navigable. if it should be their opinion, that there was no practicable passage in that direction, two of them were instructed to return in order to make their report; while the others were to go in search of the indian carrying-place. while they were engaged in this excursion, the people who remained with me were employed in gumming the canoe, and making handles for the axes. at noon i got an altitude, which made our latitude 56. 0. 8. at three o'clock had time, when my watch was slow 1. 31. 32. apparent time. at sun-set, mr. mackay returned with one of the men, and in about two hours was followed by the others. they had penetrated thick woods, ascended hills and sunk into vallies, till they got beyond the rapid, which, according to their calculation, was a distance of three leagues. the two parties returned by different routes, but they both agreed, that with all its difficulties, and they were of a very alarming nature, the outward course was that which must be preferred. unpromising, however, as the account of their expedition appeared, it did not sink them into a state of discouragement; and a kettle of wild rice, sweetened with sugar, which had been prepared for their return, with their usual regale of rum, soon renewed that courage which disdained all obstacles that threatened our progress: and they went to rest, with a full determination to surmount them on the morrow. i sat up, in the hope of getting an observation of jupiter and his first satellite, but the cloudy weather prevented my obtaining it. _wednesday, 22._--at break of day we entered on the extraordinary journey which was to occupy the remaining part of it. the men began, without delay, to cut a road up the mountain, and as the trees were but of small growth, i ordered them to fell those which they found convenient, in such a manner, that they might fall parallel with the road, but, at the same time not separate them entirely from the stumps, so that they might form a kind of railing on either side. the baggage was now brought from the water side to our encampment. this was, likewise, from the steep shelving of the rocks, a very perilous undertaking, as one false step of any of the people employed in it, would have been instantly followed by falling headlong into the water. when this important object was attained, the whole of the party proceeded with no small degree of apprehension, to fetch the canoe, which, in a short time, was also brought to the encampment; and, as soon as we had recovered from our fatigue, we advanced with it up the mountain, having the line doubled and fastened successively as we went on to the stumps; while a man at the end of it, hauled it around a tree, holding it on and shifting it as we proceeded; so that we may be said, with strict truth, to have warped the canoe up the mountain; indeed by a general and most laborious exertion, we got every thing to the summit by two in the afternoon. at noon, the latitude was 56. 0. 47. north. at five, i sent the men to cut the road onwards, which they effected for about a mile, when they returned: the weather was cloudy at intervals, with showers and thunder. at about ten, i observed an emersion of jupiter's second satellite; time by the achrometer 8. 32. 20. by which i found the longitude to be 120. 29. 80 west from greenwich. _thursday 23._--the weather was clear at four this morning, when the men began to carry. i joined mr. mackay and the two indians in the labour of cutting a road. the ground continued rising gently till noon, when it began to decline; but though on such an elevated situation, we could see but little, as mountains of a still higher elevation, and covered with snow, were seen far above us in every direction. in the afternoon the ground became very uneven; hills and deep defiles alternately presented themselves to us. our progress, however, exceeded my expectation, and it was not till four in the afternoon that the carriers overtook us. at five, in a state of fatigue that may be more readily conceived than expressed, we encamped near a rivulet or spring that issued from beneath a large mass of ice and snow. our toilsome journey of this day i compute at about three miles; along the first of which the land is covered with plenty of wood, consisting of large trees, encumbered with little underwood, through which it was by no means difficult to open a road, by following a well-beaten elk path: for the two succeeding miles we found the country overspread with the trunks of trees, laid low by fire some years ago; among which large copses had sprung up of a close growth, and intermixed with briars, so as to render the passage through them painful and tedious. the soil in the woods is light and of a dusky colour; that in the burned country is a mixture of sand and clay with small stones. the trees are spruce, red-pine, cypress, poplar, white birch, willow, alder, arrow-wood, red-wood, liard, service-tree, bois-picant, &c. i never saw any of the last kind before. it rises to about nine feet in height, grows in joints without branches, and is tufted at the extremity. the stem is of an equal size from the bottom to the top, and does not exceed an inch in diameter; it is covered with small prickles, which caught our trowsers, and working through them, sometimes found their way to the flesh. the shrubs are, the gooseberry, the currant, and several kinds of briars. _friday, 24._--we continued our very laborious journey, which led us down some steep hills, and through a wood of tall pines. after much toil and trouble in bearing the canoe through the difficult passages which we encountered, at four in the afternoon we arrived at the river, some hundred yards above the rapids or falls, with all our baggage. i compute the distance of this day's progress to be about four miles; indeed i should have measured the whole of the way, if i had not been obliged to engage personally in the labour of making the road. but after all, the indian carrying-way, whatever may be its length, and i think it cannot exceed ten miles, will always be found more safe and expeditious than the passage which our toil and perseverance formed and surmounted. those of my people who visited this place on the 21st, were of opinion that the water had risen very much since that time. about two hundred yards below us, the stream rushed with an astonishing but silent velocity, between perpendicular rocks, which are not more than thirty-five yards asunder: when the water is high, it runs over those rocks, in a channel three times that breadth, where it is bounded by far more elevated precipices. in the former are deep round holes, some of which are full of water, while others are empty, in whose bottom are small round stones, as smooth as marble. some of these natural cylinders would contain two hundred gallons. at a small distance below the first of these rocks, the channel widens in a kind of zig-zag progression; and it was really awful to behold with what infinite force the water drives against the rocks on one side, and with what impetuous strength it is repelled to the other: it then falls back, as it were, into a more strait but rugged passage, over which it is tossed in high, foaming, half-formed billows, as far as the eye could follow it. the young men informed me that this was the place where their relations had told me that i should meet with a fall equal to that of niagara: to exculpate them, however, from their apparent misinformation, they declared that their friends were not accustomed to utter falsehoods, and that the fall had probably been destroyed by the force of the water. it is, however, very evident that those people had not been here, or did not adhere to the truth. by the number of trees which appeared to have been felled with axes, we discovered that the knisteneaux, or some tribes who are known to employ that instrument, had passed this way. we passed through a snare enclosure, but saw no animals, though the country was very much intersected by their tracks. _saturday, 25._---it rained throughout the night, and till twelve this day; while the business of preparing great and small poles, and putting the canoe in order, &c. caused us to remain here till five in the afternoon. i now attached a knife, with a steel, flint, beads, and other trifling articles to a pole, which i erected, and left as a token of amity to the natives. when i was making this arrangement, one of my attendants, whom i have already described under the title of the cancre, added to my assortment, a small round piece of green wood, chewed at one end in the form of a brush, which the indians used to pick the marrow out of bones. this he informed me was an emblem of a country abounding in animals. the water had risen during our stay here one foot and a half perpendicular height. we now embarked, and our course was north-west one mile and three quarters. there were mountains on all sides of us, which were covered with snow; one in particular, on the south side of the river, rose to a great height. we continued to proceed west three quarters of a mile, north-west one mile, and west-south-west a quarter of a mile, when we encamped for the night. the cancre killed a small elk. _sunday, 26._--the weather was clear and sharp, and between three and four in the morning we renewed our voyage, our first course being west by south three miles and a half, when the men complained of the cold in their fingers, as they were obliged to push on the canoe with the poles. here a small river flowed in from the north. we now continued to steer west-south-west a quarter of a mile; west-north-west a mile and a half, and west two miles, when we found ourselves on a parallel with a chain of mountains on both sides of the river, running south and north. the river, both yesterday and the early part of to-day, was from four to eight hundred yards wide, and full of islands, but was at this time diminished to about two hundred yards broad, and free from islands, with a smooth but strong current. our next course was south-west two miles, when we encountered a rapid, and saw an encampment of the knisteneaux. we now proceeded north-west by west one mile, among islands, south-west by west three quarters of a mile, south-south-east one mile, veered to south-west through islands three miles and a half, and south by east half a mile. here a river poured in on the left, which was the most considerable that we had seen since we had passed the mountain. at seven in the evening we landed and encamped. though the sun had shone upon us throughout the day, the air was so cold that the men, though actively employed, could not resist it without the aid of their blanket coats. this circumstance might, in some degree, be expected from the surrounding mountains, which were covered with ice and snow; but as they are not so high as to produce the extreme cold which we suffered, it must be more particularly attributed to the high situation of the country itself, rather than to the local elevation of the mountains, the greatest height of which does not exceed fifteen hundred feet; though in general they do not rise to half that altitude. but as i had not been able to take an exact measurement, i do not presume upon the accuracy of my conjecture. towards the bottom of these heights, which were clear of snow, the trees were putting forth their leaves, while those in their middle region still retained all the characteristics of winter, and on the upper parts there was little or no wood. _monday, 27._[1]--the weather was clear, and we continued our voyage at the usual hour, when we successively found several rapids and points to impede our progress. at noon our latitude was 56. 5. 54. north. the indians killed a stag; and one of the men who went to fetch it was very much endangered by the rolling down of a large stone from the heights above him. _tuesday, 28._--the day was very cloudy. the mountains on both sides of the river seemed to have sunk, in their elevation, during the voyage of yesterday. to-day they resumed their former altitude, and run so close on either side of the channel, that all view was excluded of every thing but themselves. this part of the current was not broken by islands; but in the afternoon we approached some cascades, which obliged us to carry our canoe and its lading for several hundred yards. here we observed an encampment of the natives, though some time had elapsed since it had been inhabited. the greater part of the day was divided between heavy showers and small rain; and we took our station on the shore about six in the evening, about three miles above the last rapid. _wednesday, 29._--the rain was so violent throughout the whole of this day, that we did not venture to proceed. as we had almost expended the contents of a rum-keg, and this being a day which allowed of no active employment, i amused myself with the experiment of enclosing a letter in it, and dispatching it down the stream to take its fate. i accordingly introduced a written account of all our hardships, &c. carefully enclosed in bark, into the small barrel by the bung-hole, which being carefully secured, i consigned this epistolatory cargo to the mercy of the current. _thursday, 30._--we were alarmed this morning at break of day, by the continual barking of our dog, who never ceased from running backwards and forwards in the rear of our situation: when, however, the day advanced, we discovered the cause of our alarm to proceed from a wolf, who was parading a ridge a few yards behind us, and had been most probably allured by the scent of our small portion of fresh meat. the weather was cloudy, but it did not prevent us from renewing our progress at a very early hour. a considerable river appeared from the left, and we continued our course till seven in the evening, when we landed at night where there was an indian encampment. _friday, 31._--the morning was clear and cold, and the current very powerful. on crossing the mouth of a river that flowed in from the right of us, we were very much endangered; indeed all the rivers which i have lately seen, appear to overflow their natural limits, as it may be supposed, from the melting of the mountain snow. the water is almost white, the bed of the river being of limestone. the mountains are one solid mass of the same material, but without the least shade of trees, or decoration of foliage. at nine the men were so cold that we landed, in order to kindle a fire, which was considered as a very uncommon circumstance at this season; a small quantity of rum, however, served as an adequate substitute; and the current being so smooth as to admit of the use of paddles, i encouraged them to proceed without any further delay. in a short time an extensive view opened upon us, displaying a beautiful sheet of water, that was heightened by the calmness of the weather, and a splendid sun. here the mountains which were covered with wood, opened on either side, so that we entertained the hope of soon leaving them behind us. when we had got to the termination of this prospect, the river was barred with rocks, forming cascades and small islands. to proceed onwards, we were under the necessity of clearing a narrow passage of the drift wood, on the left shore. here the view convinced us that our late hopes were without foundation, as there appeared a ridge or chain of mountains, running south and north as far as the eye could reach. on advancing two or three miles, we arrived at the fork, one branch running about west-north-west, and the other south-south-east. if i had been governed by my own judgment, i should have taken the former, as it appeared to me to be the most likely to bring us nearest to the part where i wished to fall on the pacific ocean, but the old man, whom i have already mentioned as having been frequently on war expeditions in this country, had warned me not, on any account, to follow it, as it was soon lost in various branches among the mountains, and that there was no great river that ran in any direction near it; but by following the latter, he said, we should arrive at a carrying-place to another large river, that did not exceed a day's march, where the inhabitants build houses, and live upon islands. there was so much apparent truth in the old man's narrative, that i determined to be governed by it; for i did not entertain the least doubt, if i could get into the other river, that i should reach the ocean. i accordingly ordered my steersman to proceed at once to the east branch, which appeared to be more rapid than the other, though it did not possess an equal breadth. these circumstances disposed my men and indians, the latter in particular being very tired of the voyage, to express their wishes that i should take the western branch, especially when they perceived the difficulty of stemming the current, in the direction on which i had determined. indeed the rush of water was so powerful, that we were the greatest part of the afternoon in getting two or three miles--a very tardy and mortifying progress, and which, with the voyage, was openly execrated by many of those who were engaged in it: and the inexpressible toil these people had endured, as well as the dangers they had encountered, required some degree of consideration; i therefore employed those arguments which were the best calculated to calm their immediate discontents, as well as to encourage their future hopes, though, at the same time, i delivered my sentiments in such a manner as to convince them that i was determined to proceed. on the 1st of june we embarked at sun-rise, and towards noon the current began to slacken; we then put to shore, in order to gum the canoe, when a meridian altitude gave me 55. 42. 16. north latitude. we then continued our course, and towards the evening the current began to recover its former strength. mr. mackay and the indians had already disembarked, to walk and lighten the boat. at sun-set we encamped on a point, being the first dry land which had been found on this side the river, that was fit for our purpose, since our people went on shore. in the morning we passed a large rapid river, that flowed in from the right. in no part of the north-west did i see so much beaver-work, within an equal distance, as in the course of this day. in some places they had cut down several acres of large poplars; and we saw also a great number of these active and sagacious animals. the time which these wonderful creatures allot for their labours, whether in erecting their curious habitations or providing food, is the whole of the interval between the setting and the rising sun. towards the dusky part of the evening we heard several discharges from the fowling pieces of our people, which we answered, to inform them of our situation; and some time after it was dark, they arrived in an equal state of fatigue and alarm; they were also obliged to swim across a channel in order to get to us, as we were situated on an island, though we were ignorant of the circumstance, till they came to inform us. one of the indians was positive that he heard the discharge of fire-arms above our encampment; and on comparing the number of our discharges with theirs, there appeared to be some foundation for his alarm, as we imagined that we had heard two reports more than they acknowledged; and in their turn, they declared that they had heard twice the number of those which we knew had proceeded from us. the indians were therefore certain, that the knisteneaux must be in our vicinity, on a war expedition, and consequently, if they were numerous, we should have had no reason to expect the least mercy from them in this distant country. though i did not believe that circumstance, or that any of the natives could be in possession of fire-arms, i thought it right, at all events, we should be prepared. our fusees were, therefore, primed and loaded, and having extinguished our fire, each of us took his station at the foot of a tree, where we passed an uneasy and restless night. the succeeding morning being clear and pleasant, we proceeded at an early hour against a rapid current, intersected by islands. about eight we passed two large trees, whose roots having been undermined by the current, had recently fallen into the river; and, in my opinion, the crash of their fall had occasioned the noise which caused our late alarm. in this manner the water ravages the islands in these rivers, and by driving down great quantities of wood, forms the foundations of others. the men were so oppressed with fatigue, that it was necessary they should encamp at six in the afternoon. we, therefore, landed on a sandy island, which is a very uncommon object, as the greater part of the islands consist of a bottom of round stones and gravel, covered from three to ten feet with mud and old drift-wood. beaver-work was as frequently seen as on the preceding day. on the 3d of june we renewed our voyage with the rising sun. at noon i obtained a meridian altitude, which gave 55. 22. 3. north latitude. i also took time, and the watch was slow 1. 30. 14. apparent time. according to my calculation, this place is about twenty-five miles south-east of the fork.[2] [1] from this day to the 4th of june the courses of my voyage are omitted, as i lost the book that contained them. i was in the habit of sometimes indulging myself with a short doze in the canoe, and i imagine that the branches of the trees brushed my book from me, when i was in such a situation, which renders the account of these few days less distinct than usual. [2] i shall now proceed with my usual regularity, which, as i have already mentioned, has been, for some days, suspended, from the loss of my book of observation. chapter. iv. june 4, 1793. we embarked this morning at four in a very heavy fog. the water had been continually rising, and, in many places, overflowed its banks. the current also was so strong that our progress was very tedious, and required the most laborious exertions. our course was this day, south-south-east one mile, south-south-west half a mile, south-east three quarters of a mile, north-east by east three quarters of a mile, south-east half a mile, south-east by south one mile, south-south-east one mile and three quarters, south-east by south half a mile, east by south a quarter of a mile, south-east three quarters of a mile, north-east by east half a mile, east by north a quarter of a mile, south-east half a mile, south-east by south a quarter of a mile, south-east by east half a mile, north-east by east half a mile, north-north-east three quarters of a mile to south by east one mile and a half. we could not find a place fit for an encampment, till nine at night, when we landed on a bank of gravel, of which little more appeared above water than the spot we occupied. _wednesday, 5._--this morning we found our canoe and baggage in the water, which had continued rising during the night. we then gummed the canoe, as we arrived at too late an hour to perform that operation on the preceding evening. this necessary business being completed, we traversed to the north shore, where i disembarked with mr. mackay, and the hunters, in order to ascend an adjacent mountain, with the hope of obtaining a view of the interior part of the country. i directed my people to proceed with all possible diligence, and that, if they met with any accident, or found my return necessary, they should fire two guns. they also understood, that when they should hear the same signal from me, they were to answer, and wait for me, if i were behind them. when we had ascended to the summit of the hill, we found that it extended onwards in an even, level country; so that, encumbered as we were, with the thick wood, no distant view could be obtained; i therefore climbed a very lofty tree, from whose top i discerned on the right a ridge of mountains covered with snow, bearing about north-west; from thence another ridge of high land, whereon no snow was visible, stretched towards the south: between which and the snowy hills on the east side, there appeared to be an opening, which we determined to be the course of the river. having obtained all the satisfaction that the nature of the place would admit, we proceeded forward to overtake the canoe, and after a warm walk came down upon the river, when we discharged our pieces twice, but received no answering signal. i was of opinion, that the canoe was before us, while the indians entertained an opposite notion. i, however, crossed another point of land, and came again to the waterside about ten. here we had a long view of the river, which circumstance excited in my mind, some doubts of my former sentiments. we repeated our signals, but without any return; and as every moment now increased my anxiety, i left mr. mackay and one of the indians at this spot to make a large fire, and sent branches adrift down the current as notices of our situation, if the canoe was behind us; and proceeded with the other indian across a very long point, where the river makes a considerable bend, in order that i might be satisfied if the canoe was a-head. having been accustomed, for the last fortnight, to very cold weather, i found the heat of this day almost insupportable, as our way lay over a dry sand, which was relieved by no shade, but such as a few scattered cypresses could afford us. about twelve, we arrived once more at the river, and the discharge of our pieces was as unsuccessful as it had hitherto been. the water rushed before us with uncommon velocity; and we also tried the experiment of sending fresh branches down it. to add to the disagreeableness of our situation, the gnats and mosquitoes appeared in swarms to torment us. when we returned to our companions, we found that they had not been contented with remaining in the position where i had left them, but had been three or four miles down the river, but were come back to their station, without having made any discovery of the people on the water. various very unpleasing conjectures at once perplexed and distressed us: the indians, who are inclined to magnify evils of any and every kind, had at once consigned the canoe and every one on board it to the bottom; and were already settling a plan to return upon a raft, as well as calculating the number of nights that would be required to reach their home. as for myself, it will be easily believed, that my mind was in a state of extreme agitation, and the imprudence of my conduct in leaving the people, in such a situation of danger and toilsome exertion added a very painful mortification to the severe apprehensions i already suffered: it was an act of indiscretion which might have put an end to the voyage that i had so much at heart, and compelled me at length to submit to the scheme which my hunters had already formed for our return. at half past six in the evening, mr. mackay and the cancre set off to proceed down the river, as far as they could before the night came on, and to continue their journey in the morning to the place where we had encamped the preceding evening. i also proposed to make my excursion upwards; and, if we both failed of success in meeting the canoe, it was agreed that we should return to the place where we now separated. in this situation we had wherewithal to drink in plenty, but with solid food we were totally unprovided. we had not seen even a partridge throughout the day, and the tracks of rein-deer that we had discovered, were of an old date. we were, however, preparing to make a bed of the branches of trees, where we should have had no other canopy than that afforded us by the heavens, when we heard a shot, and soon after another, which was the notice agreed upon, if mr. mackay and the indian should see the canoe: that fortunate circumstance was also confirmed by a return of the signal from the people. i was, however, so fatigued from the heat and exercise of the day, as well as incommoded from drinking so much cold water, that i did not wish to remove till the following morning; but the indian made such bitter complaints of the cold and hunger he suffered, that i complied with his solicitations to depart; and it was almost dark when we reached the canoe, barefooted, and drenched with rain. but these inconveniences affected me very little, when i saw myself once more surrounded with my people. they informed me, that the canoe had been broken; and that they had this day experienced much greater toil and hardships than on any former occasion. i thought it prudent to affect a belief of every representation that they made, and even to comfort each of them with a consolatory dram: for, however difficult the passage might have been, it was too short to have occupied the whole day, if they had not relaxed in their exertions. the rain was accompanied with thunder and lightning. it appeared from the various encampments which we had seen, and from several paddles we had found, that the natives frequent this part of the country at the latter end of the summer and the fall. the course to-day was nearly east-south-east two miles and a half, south by west one mile, south-south-east one mile and a half, east two miles, and south-east by south one mile. _thursday, 6._--at half past four this morning we continued our voyage, our courses being south-east by south one mile, east by south three quarters of a mile, south-east by east two miles. the whole of this distance we proceeded by hauling the canoe from branch to branch. the current was so strong, that it was impossible to stem it with the paddles; the depth was too great to receive any assistance from the poles, and the bank of the river was so closely lined with willows and other trees, that it was impossible to employ the line. as it was past twelve before we could find a place that would allow of our landing, i could not get a meridian altitude. we occupied the rest of the day in repairing the canoe, drying our cloaths, and making paddles and poles to replace those which had been broken or lost. _friday, 7._--the morning was clear and calm; and since we had been at this station the water had risen two inches; so that the current became still stronger; and its velocity had already been so great as to justify our despair in getting up it, if we had not been so long accustomed to surmount. i last night observed an emersion of jupiter's first satellite, but inadvertently went to bed, without committing the exact time to writing: if my memory is correct, it was 8. 18. 10. by the timepiece. the canoe, which had been little better than a wreck, being now repaired, we proceeded east two miles and a quarter, south-south-east half a mile, south-east a quarter of a mile, when we landed to take an altitude for time. we continued our route at south-east by east three quarters of a mile, and landed again to determine the latitude, which is 55. 2. 51. to this i add, 2. 45. southing, which will make the place of taking altitude for time 55. 5. 36. with which i find that my time-piece was slow 1. 32. 23. apparent time; and made the longitude obtained 122. 35. 50. west of greenwich. from this place we proceeded east by south four miles and a half, east-south-east one mile and a half, in which space there falls in a small river from the east; east half a mile, south-east a mile and a half, east a quarter of a mile, and encamped at seven o'clock. mr. mackay and the hunters walked the greatest part of the day, and in the course of their excursion killed a porcupine.[1] here we found the bed of a very large bear quite fresh. during the day several indian encampments were seen, which were of a late erection. the current had also lost some of its impetuosity during the greater part of the day. _saturday, 8._--it rained and thundered through the night, and at four in the morning we again encountered the current. our course was east a quarter of a mile, round to south by east along a very high white sandy bank on the east shore, three quarters of a mile, south-south-east a quarter of a mile, south-south-west a quarter of a mile, south-south-east one mile and a quarter, south-east two miles, with a slack current; south-east by east two miles and a quarter, east a quarter of a mile, south-south-east a quarter of a mile, south-east by south four miles and a half, south-east one mile and a half, south-south-west half a mile, east-north-east half a mile, east-south-east a quarter of a mile, south-east by south one mile, south-east by east half a mile, east by south three quarters of a mile, when the mountains were in full view in this direction, and eastward. for the three last days we could only see them at short intervals and long distances; but till then, they were continually in sight on either side, from our entrance into the fork. those to the left were at no great distance from us. for the last two days we had been anxiously looking out for the carrying-place, but could not discover it, and our only hope was in such information as we should be able to procure from the natives. all that remained for us to do, was to push forwards till the river should be no longer navigable: it had now, indeed, overflowed its banks, so that it was eight at night before we could discover a place to encamp. having found plenty of wild parsnips, we gathered the tops, and boiled them with pemmican for our supper. _sunday, 9._--the rain of this morning terminated in a heavy mist at half past five, when we embarked and steered south-east one mile and a half, when it veered north-north-east half a mile, south-east three quarters of a mile, east by south three quarters of a mile, east-south-east a quarter of a mile, south-south-east a quarter of a mile, south-east by east one mile, north-east by east half a mile, south-east by east half a mile, south-east by south three quarters of a mile, south-east three quarters of a mile, east by south half a mile, south-east by east half a mile, east-north-east three quarters of a mile, when it veered to south-south-east half a mile, then back to east (when a blue mountain, clear of snow, appeared a-head) one mile and a half; north-east by east half a mile, east by north one mile, when it veered to south-east half a mile, then on to north-west three quarters of a mile, and back to north-east by east half a mile, south by west a quarter of a mile, north-east by east to north-north-east half a mile, south-south-east a quarter of a mile, and east by north half a mile; here we perceived a smell of fire; and in a short time heard people in the woods, as if in a state of great confusion, which was occasioned, as we afterwards understood, by their discovery of us. at the same time this unexpected circumstance produced some little discomposure among ourselves, as our arms were not in a state of preparation, and we were as yet unable to ascertain the number of the party. i considered, that if there were but few, it would be needless to pursue them, as it would not be probable that we should overtake them in these thick woods; and if they were numerous, it would be an act of great imprudence to make the attempt, at least during their present alarm. i therefore ordered my people to strike off to the opposite side, that we might see if any of them had sufficient courage to remain; but, before we were half over the river, which in this part is not more than a hundred yards wide, two men appeared on a rising ground over against us, brandishing their spears, displaying their bows and arrows, and accompanying their hostile gestures with loud vociferations. my interpreter did not hesitate to assure them, that they might dispel their apprehensions, as we were white people, who meditated no injury, but were, on the contrary, desirous of demonstrating every mark of kindness and friendship. they did not, however, seem disposed to confide in our declarations, and actually threatened, if we came over before they were more fully satisfied of our peaceable intentions, that they would discharge their arrows at us. this was a decided kind of conduct which i did not expect; at the same time i readily complied with their proposition, and after some time had passed in hearing and answering their questions, they consented to our landing, though not without betraying very evident symptoms of fear and distrust. they, however, laid aside their weapons, and when i stepped forward and took each of them by the hand, one of them, but with a very tremulous action, drew his knife from his sleeve, and presented it to me as a mark of his submission to my will and pleasure. on our first hearing the noise of these people in the woods, we displayed our flag, which was now shewn to them as a token of friendship. they examined us, and every thing about us, with a minute and suspicious attention. they had heard, indeed, of white men, but this was the first time that they had ever seen a human being of a complexion different from their own. the party had been here but a few hours; nor had they yet erected their sheds; and, except the two men now with us, they had all fled, leaving their little property behind them. to those which had given us such a proof of their confidence, we paid the most conciliating attentions in our power. one of them i sent to recall his people, and the other, for very obvious reasons, we kept with us. in the mean time the canoe was unloaded, the necessary baggage carried up the hill, and the tents pitched. here i determined to remain till the indians became so familiarized to us, as to give all the intelligence which we imagined might be obtained from them. in fact, it had been my intention to land where i might most probably discover the carrying-place, which was our more immediate object, and undertake marches of two or three days, in different directions, in search of another river. if unsuccessful in this attempt, it was my purpose to continue my progress up the present river, as far as it was navigable, and if we did not meet with natives to instruct us in our further progress, i had determined to return to the fork, and take the other branch, with the hope of better fortune. it was about three in the afternoon when we landed, and at five the whole party of indians were assembled. it consisted only of three men, three women, and seven or eight boys and girls. with their scratched legs, bleeding feet, and dishevelled hair, as in the hurry of their flight they had left their shoes and leggins behind them, they displayed a most wretched appearance: they were consoled, however, with beads, and other trifles, which seemed to please them; they had pemmican also given them to eat, which was not unwelcome, and in our opinion, at least, superior to their own provision, which consisted entirely of dried fish. when i thought that they were sufficiently composed, i sent for the men to my tent, to gain such information respecting the country as i concluded it was in their power to afford me. but my expectations were by no means satisfied: they said that they were not acquainted with any river to the westward, but that there was one from whence they were just arrived, over a carrying-place of eleven days march, which they represented as being a branch only of the river before us. their iron-work they obtained from the people who inhabit the bank of that river, and an adjacent lake, in exchange for beaver skins, and dressed moose skins. they represented the latter as travelling, during a moon, to get to the country of other tribes, who live in houses, with whom they traffic for the same commodities; and that these also extend their journies in the same manner to the sea coast, or, to use their expression, the stinking lake, where they trade with people like us, that come there in vessels as big as islands. they added, that the people to the westward, as they have been told, are very numerous. those who inhabit the other branch they stated as consisting of about forty families, while they themselves did not amount to more than a fourth of that number; and were almost continually compelled to remain in their strong holds, where they sometimes perished with cold and hunger, to secure themselves from their enemies, who never failed to attack them whenever an opportunity presented itself. this account of the country, from a people who i had every reason to suppose were well acquainted with every part of it, threatened to disconcert the project on which my heart was set, and in which my whole mind was occupied. it occurred to me, however, that from fear, or other motives, they might be tardy in their communication; i therefore assured them that, if they would direct me to the river which i described to them, i would come in large vessels, like those that their neighbours had described, to the mouth of it, and bring them arms and ammunition in exchange for the produce of their country; so that they might be able to defend themselves against their enemies, and no longer remain in that abject, distressed, and fugitive state in which they then lived. i added also, that in the mean time, if they would, on my return accompany me below the mountains, to a country which was very abundant in animals, i would furnish them, and their companions, with every thing they might want; and make peace between them and the beaver indians. but all these promises did not appear to advance the object of my inquiries, and they still persisted in their ignorance of any such river as i had mentioned, that discharged itself into the sea. in this state of perplexity and disappointment, various projects presented themselves to my mind, which were no sooner formed than they were discovered to be impracticable, and were consequently abandoned. at one time i thought of leaving the canoe, and every thing it contained, to go over land, and pursue that chain of connexion by which these people obtain their iron-work; but a very brief course of reflection convinced me that it would be impossible for us to carry provisions for our support through any considerable part of such a journey, as well as presents, to secure us a kind reception among the natives, and ammunition for the service of the hunters, and to defend ourselves against any act of hostility. at another time my solicitude for the success of the expedition incited a wish to remain with the natives, and go to the sea by the way they had described; but the accomplishment of such a journey, even if no accident should interpose, would have required a portion of time which it was not in my power to bestow. in my present state of information, to proceed further up the river was considered as a fruitless waste of toilsome exertion; and to return unsuccessful, after all our labour, sufferings, and dangers, was an idea too painful to indulge. besides, i could not yet abandon the hope that the indians might not yet be sufficiently composed and confident, to disclose their real knowledge of the country freely and fully to me. nor was i altogether without my doubts respecting the fidelity of my interpreter, who being very much tired of the voyage, might be induced to withhold those communications which would induce me to continue it. i therefore continued my attentions to the natives, regaled them with such provisions as i had, indulged their children with a taste of sugar, and determined to suspend my conversation with them till the following morning. on my expressing a desire to partake of their fish, they brought me a few dried trout, well cured, that had been taken in the river which they lately left. one of the men also brought me five beaver skins, as a present. _monday, 10._--the solicitude that possessed my mind interrupted my repose; when the dawn appeared i had already quitted my bed, and was waiting with impatience for another conference with the natives. the sun, however, had risen before they left their leafy bowers, whither they had retired with their children, having most hospitably resigned their beds, and the partners of them, to the solicitations of my young men. i now repeated my inquiries, but my perplexity was not removed by any favourable variation in their answers. about nine, however, one of them, still remaining at my fire, in conversation with the interpreters, i understood enough of his language to know that he mentioned something about a great river, at the same time pointing significantly up that which was before us. on my inquiring of the interpreter respecting that expression, i was informed that he knew of a large river, that runs towards the mid-day sun, a branch of which flowed near the source of that which we were now navigating; and that there were only three small lakes, and as many carrying-places, leading to a small river, which discharges itself into the great river, but that the latter did not empty itself into the sea. the inhabitants, he said, built houses, lived on islands, and were a numerous and warlike people. i desired him to describe the road to the other river, by delineating it with a piece of coal, on a strip of bark, which he accomplished to my satisfaction. the opinion that the river did not discharge itself into the sea, i very confidently imputed to his ignorance of the country. my hopes were now renewed, and an object presented itself which awakened my utmost impatience. to facilitate its attainment, one of the indians was induced, by presents, to accompany me as a guide to the first inhabitants, which we might expect to meet on the small lakes in our way. i accordingly resolved to depart with all expedition, and while my people were making every necessary preparation, i employed myself in writing the following description of the natives around me: they are low in stature, not exceeding five feet six or seven inches; and they are of that meagre appearance which might be expected in a people whose life is one secession of difficulties, in procuring subsistence. their faces are round, with high cheek bones; and their eyes, which are small, are of a dark brown colour; the cartilage of their nose is perforated, but without any ornaments suspended from it; their hair is of a dingy black, hanging loose and in disorder over their shoulders, but irregularly cut in the front, so as not to obstruct the sight; their beards are eradicated, with the exception of a few straggling hairs, and their complexion is a swarthy yellow. their dress consists of robes made of the skins of the heaver, the ground-hog and the reindeer, dressed in the hair, and of the moose-skin without it. all of them are ornamented with a fringe, while some of them have tassels hanging down the seams; those of the ground-hog are decorated on the fur side with the tails of the animal, which they do not separate from them. their garments they tie over the shoulders, and fasten them round the middle with a belt of green skin, which is as stiff as horn. their leggins are long, and, if they were topped with a waistband, might be called trowsers: they, as well as their shoes, are made of dressed moose, elk, or rein-deer skin. the organs of generation they leave uncovered. the women differ little in their dress, from the men, except in the addition of an apron, which is fastened round the waist, and hangs down to the knees. they are in general of a more lusty make than the other sex, and taller in proportion, but infinitely their inferiors in cleanliness. a black artificial stripe crosses the face beneath the eye, from ear to ear, which i first took for scabs, from the accumulation of dirt on it. their hair, which is longer than that of the men, is divided from the forehead to the crown, and drawn back in long plaits behind the ears. they have also a few white beads, which they get where they procure their iron: they are from a line to an inch in length, and are worn in their ears, but are not of european manufacture. these, with bracelets made of horn and bone, compose all the ornaments which decorate their persons. necklaces of the grisly or white bear's claws, are worn exclusively by the men. their arms consist of bows made of cedar, six feet in length, with a short iron spike at one end, and serve occasionally as a spear. their arrows are well made, barbed, and pointed with iron, flint, stone, or bone; they are feathered, and from two or two feet and a half in length. they have two kinds of spears, but both are double edged, and of well polished iron; one of them is about twelve inches long, and two wide; the other about half the width, and two thirds of the length; the shafts of the first are eight feet in length, and the latter six. they have also spears made of bone. their knives consist of pieces of iron, shaped and handled by themselves. their axes are something like our adze, and they use them in the same manner as we employ that instrument. they were, indeed, furnished with iron in a manner that i could not have supposed, and plainly proved to me that their communication with those, who communicate with the inhabitants of the sea coast, cannot be very difficult, and from their ample provision of iron weapons, the means of procuring it must be of a more distant origin than i had at first conjectured. they have snares made of green skin, which they cut to the size of sturgeon twine, and twist a certain number of them together; and though when completed they do not exceed the thickness of a cod-line, their strength is sufficient to hold a moose-deer; they are from one and a half to two fathoms in length. their nets and fishing-lines are made of willow-bark and nettles; those made of the latter are finer and smoother than if made with hempen thread. their hooks are small bones, fixed in pieces of wood split for that purpose, and tied round with fine watape, which has been particularly described in the former voyage. their kettles are also made of watape, which is so closely woven that they never leak, and they heat water in them, by putting red-hot stones into it. there is one kind of them, made of spruce-bark, which they hang over the fire, but at such a distance as to receive the heat without being within reach of the blaze; a very tedious operation. they have various dishes of wood and bark; spoons of horn and wood, and buckets; bags of leather and net-work, and baskets of bark, some of which hold their fishing-tackle, while others are contrived to be carried on the back. they have a brown kind of earth in great abundance, with which they rub their clothes, not only for ornament but utility, as it prevents the leather from becoming hard after it has been wetted. they have spruce bark in great plenty, with which they make their canoes, an operation that does not require any great portion of skill or ingenuity, and is managed in the following manner.--the bark is taken off the tree the whole length of the intended canoe, which is commonly about eighteen feet, and is sewed with watape at both ends; two laths are then laid, and fixed along the edge of the bark which forms the gunwale; in these are fixed the bars, and against them bear the ribs or timbers, that are out to the length to which the bark can be stretched; and, to give additional strength, strips of wood are laid between them: to make the whole water-tight, gum is abundantly employed. these vessels carry from two to five people. canoes of a similar construction were used by the beaver indians within these few years, but they now very generally employ those made of the bark of the birch tree, which are by far more durable. their paddles are about six feet long, and about one foot is occupied by the blade, which is in the shape of an heart. previous to our departure, the natives had caught a couple of trout, of about six pounds weight, which they brought me, and i paid them with beads. they likewise gave me a net, made of nettles, the skin of a moose-deer, dressed, and a white horn in the shape of a spoon which resembles the horn of the buffalo of the copper-mine-river; but their description of the animal to which it belongs does not answer to that. my young men also got two quivers of excellent arrows, a collar of white bear's claws, of a great length, horn bracelets, and other articles, for which they received an ample remuneration. [1] we had been obliged to indulge our hunters with sitting idle in the canoe, lest their being compelled to share in the labour of navigating it should disgust and drive them from us. we, therefore, employed them as much as possible on shore, as well to procure provisions, as to lighten the canoe. chapter v. june, 1793. _monday, 10._--at ten we were ready to embark. i then took leave of the indians, but encouraged them to expect us in two moons, and expressed an hope that i should find them on the road with any of their relations whom they might meet. i also returned the beaver skins to the man who had presented them to me, desiring him to take care of them till i came back, when i would purchase them of him. our guide expressed much less concern about the undertaking in which he had engaged, than his companions, who appeared to be affected with great solicitude for his safety. we now pushed off the canoe from the bank, and proceeded east half a mile, when a river flowed in from the left, about half as large as that which we were navigating. we continued the same course three quarters of a mile, when we missed two of our fowling pieces, which had been forgotten, and i sent their owners back for them, who were absent on this errand upwards of an hour. we now proceeded north-east by east half a mile, north-east by north three quarters of a mile, when the current slackened; there was a verdant spot on the left, where, from the remains of some indian timber-work, it appeared, that the natives have frequently encamped. our next course was east one mile, and we saw a ridge of mountains covered with snow to the south-east. the land on our right was low and marshy for three or four miles, when it rose into a range of heights that extended to the mountains. we proceeded east-south-east a mile and a half, south-east by east one mile, east by south three quarters of a mile, south-east by east one mile, east by south half a mile, north-east by east one mile, south-east half a mile, east-north-east a mile and a quarter, south-south-east half a mile, north-north-east a mile and a half: here a river flowed in from the left, which was about one-fourth part as large as that which received its tributary waters. we then continued east by south half a mile, to the foot of the mountain on the south of the above river. the course now veered short, south-west by west three quarters of a mile, east by south a quarter of a mile, south half a mile, south-east by south half a mile, south-west a quarter of a mile, east by south a quarter of a mile, veered to west-north-west a quarter of a mile, south-west one eighth of a mile, east-south-east one quarter of a mile, east one sixth of a mile, south-south-west one twelfth of a mile, east-south-east one eighth of a mile, north-east by east one third of a mile, east by north one twelfth of a mile, north-east by east one third of a mile, east one sixteenth of a mile, south-east one twelfth of a mile, north-east by east one twelfth of a mile, east one eighth of a mile, and east-south-east half a mile, when we landed at seven o'clock and encamped. during the greatest part of the distance we came to-day, the river runs close under the mountains on the left. _tuesday, 11._--the morning was clear and cold. on my interpreter's encouraging the guide to dispel all apprehension, to maintain his fidelity to me, and not to desert in the night, "how is it possible for me," he replied, "to leave the lodge of the great spirit!--when he tells me that he has no further occasion for me, i will then return to my children." as we proceeded, however, he soon lost, and with good reason, his exalted notions of me. [transcriber's note: the date of this journal entry was given as _wednesday, 12._ in this edition. it has been corrected here to be in agreement with context and with other editions.] at four we continued our voyage, steering east by south a mile and a half, east-south-east half a mile. a river appeared on the left, at the foot of a mountain which, from its conical form, my young indian called the beaver lodge mountain. having proceeded south-south-east half a mile, another river appeared from the right. we now came in a line with the beginning of the mountains we saw yesterday: others of the same kind ran parallel with them on the left side of the river, which was reduced to the breadth of fifteen yards, and with a moderate current. we now steered east-north-east one eighth of a mile, south-east by south one eighth of a mile, east-south-east one sixth of a mile, south-west one eighth of a mile, east-south-east one eighth of a mile, south-south-east one sixth of a mile, north-east by east one twelfth of a mile, east-south-east half a mile, south-west by west one third of a mile, south-south-east one eighth of a mile, south-south-west one quarter of a mile, north-east one sixth of a mile, south by west one fourth of a mile, east three quarters of a mile, and north-east one quarter of a mile. here the mountain on the left appeared to be composed of a succession of round hills, covered with wood almost to their summits, which were white with snow, and crowned with withered trees. we now steered east, in a line with the high lands on the right five miles; north one twelfth of a mile, north-east by north one eighth of a mile, south by east one sixteenth of a mile, north-east by north one fourth of a mile, where another river fell in from the right; north-east by east one sixth of a mile, east two miles and a half, south one twelfth of a mile, north-east half a mile, south-east one third of a mile, east one mile and a quarter, south-south-west one sixteenth of a mile, north-east by east half a mile, east one mile and three quarters, south and south-west by west half a mile, north-east half a mile, south one third of a mile, north-east by north one sixth of a mile, east by south one fourth of a mile, south one eighth of a mile, south-east three quarters of a mile. the canoe had taken in so much water, that it was necessary for us to land here, in order to stop the leakage, which occasioned the delay of an hour and a quarter, north-east a quarter of a mile, east-north-east a quarter of a mile, south-east by south a sixteenth of a mile, east by south a twelfth of a mile, north-east one sixth of a mile, east-south-east one sixteenth of a mile, south-west half a mile, north-east a quarter of a mile, east by south half a mile, south-south-east one twelfth of a mile, east half a mile, north-east by north a quarter of a mile, south-south-east a quarter of a mile, north-east by north one twelfth of a mile, where a small river flowed in from the left, south-east by east one twelfth of a mile, south by east a quarter of a mile, south-east one eighth of a mile, east one twelfth of a mile, north-east by north a quarter of a mile, south half a mile, south-east by south one eighth of a mile, north-east one fourth of a mile, south-east by east, and south-east by south one third of a mile, east-south-east, and north-north-east one third of a mile, and south by west, east and east-north-east one eighth of a mile. here we quitted the main branch, which, according to the information of our guide, terminates at a short distance, where it is supplied by the snow which covers the mountains. in the same direction is a valley which appears to be of very great depth, and is full of snow, that rises nearly to the height of the land, and forms a reservoir of itself sufficient to furnish a river, whenever there is a moderate degree of heat. the branch which we left was not, at this time, more than ten yards broad, while that which we entered was still less. here the current was very trifling, and the channel so meandering, that we sometimes found it difficult to work the canoe forward. the straight course from this to the entrance of a small lake or pond, is about east one mile. this entrance by the river into the lake was almost choked up by a quantity of drift-wood, which appeared to me to be an extraordinary circumstance: but i afterwards found that it falls down from the mountains. the water, however, was so high, that the country was entirely overflowed, and we passed with the canoe among the branches of trees. the principal wood along the banks is spruce, intermixed with a few white birch, growing on detached spots, the intervening spaces being covered with willow and elder. we advanced about a mile in the lake, and took up our station for the night at an old indian encampment. here we expected to meet with natives, but were disappointed; but our guide encouraged us with the hope of seeing some on the morrow. we saw beaver in the course of the afternoon, but did not discharge our pieces from the fear of alarming the inhabitants; there were also swans in great numbers, with geese and ducks, which we did not disturb for the same reason. we observed also the tracks of moose-deer that had crossed the river; and wild parsnips grew here in abundance, which have been already mentioned as a grateful vegetable. of birds, we saw bluejays, yellow birds, and one beautiful humming-bird; of the first and last, i had not seen any since i had been in the north-west. _wednesday june 12._--the weather was the same as yesterday, and we proceeded between three and four in the morning. we took up the net which we had set the preceding evening, when it contained a trout, one white fish, one carp, and three jub. the lake is about two miles in length, east by south, and from three to five hundred yards wide. this i consider as the highest and southernmost source of the unjigah, or peace river, latitude, 54. 24. north, longitude 121. west from greenwich, which, after a winding course through a vast extent of country, receiving many large rivers in its progress, and passing through the slave lake, empties itself into the frozen ocean, in 70. north latitude, and about 135. west longitude. [transcriber's note: the date of the current journal entry is located incorrectly in the text of this edition. it is moved here from context and in agreement with other editions.] we landed and unloaded, where we found a beaten path leading over a low ridge of land eight hundred and seventeen paces in length, to another small lake. the distance between the two mountains at this place is about a quarter of a mile, rocky precipices presenting themselves on both sides. a few large spruce trees and liards were scattered over the carrying-place. there were also willows along the side of the water, with plenty of grass and weeds. the natives had left their old canoes here, with baskets hanging on the trees, which contained various articles. from the latter i took a net, some hooks, a goat's-horn, and a kind of wooden trap, in which, as our guide informed me, the ground-hog is taken. i left, however, in exchange, a knife, some fire-steels, beads, awls, &c. here two streams tumble down the rocks from the right, and lose themselves in the lake which we had left; while two others fall from the opposite heights, and glide into the lake which we were approaching; this being the highest point of land dividing these waters, and we are now going with the stream. this lake runs in the same course as the last, but is rather narrower, and not more than half the length. we were obliged to clear away some floating drift-wood to get to the carrying-place, over which is a beaten path of only an hundred and seventy-five paces long. the lake empties itself by a small river, which, if the channel were not interrupted by large trees that had fallen across it, would have admitted of our canoe with all its lading: the impediment, in deed, might have been removed by two axe-men in a few hours. on the edge of the water, we observed a large quantity of thick yellow, scum or froth, of an acrid taste and smell. we embarked on this lake, which is in the same course, and about the same size as that which we had just left, and from whence we passed into a small river, that was so full of fallen wood, as to employ some time, and require some exertion, to force a passage. at the entrance, it afforded no more water than was just sufficient to bear the canoe; but it was soon increased by many small streams which came in broken rills down the rugged sides of the mountains, and were furnished, as i suppose, by the melting of the snow. these accessory streamlets had all the coldness of ice. our course continued to be obstructed by banks of gravel, as well as trees which had fallen across the river. we were obliged to force our way through the one, and to cut through the other, at a great expense of time and trouble. in many places the current was also very rapid and meandering. at four in the afternoon, we stopped to unload and carry, and at five we entered a small round lake of about one third of a mile in diameter. from the last lake to this is, i think, in a straight line, east by south six miles, though it is twice that distance by the winding of the river. we again entered the river, which soon ran with great rapidity, and rushed impetuously over a bed of flat stones. at half past six we were stopped by two large trees that lay across the river, and it was with great difficulty that the canoe was prevented from driving against them. here we unloaded and formed our encampment. the weather was cloudy and raw, and as the circumstances of this day's voyage had compelled us to be frequently in the water, which was cold as ice, we were almost in a benumbed state. some of the people who had gone ashore to lighten the canoe, experienced great difficulty in reaching us, from the rugged state of the country; it was, indeed, almost dark when they arrived. we had no sooner landed than i sent two men down the river to bring me some account of its circumstances, that i might form a judgment of the difficulties which might await us on the morrow; and they brought back a fearful detail of rapid currents, fallen trees, and large stones. at this place our guide manifested evident symptoms of discontent: he had been very much alarmed in going down some of the rapids with us, and expressed an anxiety to return. he shewed us a mountain, at no great distance, which he represented as being on the other side of a river, into which this empties itself. _thursday, 13._--at an early hour of this morning the men began to cut a road, in order to carry the canoe and lading beyond the rapid; and by seven they were ready. that business was soon effected, and the canoe reladen, to proceed with the current which ran with great rapidity. in order to lighten her, it was my intention to walk with some of the people; but those in the boat with great earnestness requested me to embark, declaring, at the same time, that, if they perished, i should perish with them. i did not then imagine in how short a period their apprehension would be justified. we accordingly pushed off, and had proceeded but a very short way when the canoe struck, and notwithstanding all our exertions, the violence of the current was so great as to drive her sideways down the river, and break her by the first bar, when i instantly jumped into the water, and the men followed my example; but before we could set her straight, or stop her, we came to deeper water, so that we were obliged to re-embark with the utmost precipitation. one of the men who was not sufficiently active, was left to get on shore in the best manner in his power. we had hardly regained our situations when we drove against a rock which shattered the stern of the canoe in such a manner, that it held only by the gunwales, so that the steersman could no longer keep his place. the violence of this stroke drove us to the opposite side of the river, which is but narrow, when the bow met with the same fate as the stern. at this moment the foreman seized on some branches of a small tree in the hope of bringing up the canoe, but such was their elasticity that, in a manner not easily described, he was jerked on shore in an instant, and with a degree of violence that threatened his destruction. but we had no time to turn from our own situation to enquire what had befallen him; for, in a few moments, we came across a cascade which broke several large holes in the bottom of the canoe, and started all the bars, except one behind the scooping seat. if this accident, however, had not happened, the vessel must have been irretrievably overset. the wreck becoming flat on the water, we all jumped out, while the steersman, who had been compelled to abandon his place, and had not recovered from his fright, called out to his companions to save themselves. my peremptory commands superseded the effects of his fear, and they all held fast to the wreck; to which fortunate resolution we owed our safety, as we should otherwise have been dashed against the rocks by the force of the water, or driven over the cascades. in this condition we were forced several hundred yards, and every yard on the verge of destruction; but, at length, we most fortunately arrived in shallow water and a small eddy, where we were enabled to make a stand, from the weight of the canoe resting on the stones, rather than from any exertions of our exhausted strength. for though our efforts were short, they were pushed to the utmost, as life or death depended on them. this alarming scene, with all its terrors and dangers, occupied only a few minutes; and in the present suspension of it, we called to the people on shore to come to our assistance, and they immediately obeyed the summons. the foreman, however, was the first with us; he had escaped unhurt from the extraordinary jerk with which he was thrown out of the boat, and just as we were beginning to take our effects out of the water, he appeared to give his assistance. the indians, when they saw our deplorable situation, instead of making the least effort to help us, sat down and gave vent to their tears. i was on the outside of the canoe, where i remained till every thing was got on shore, in a state of great pain from the extreme cold of the water; so that at length, it was with difficulty i could stand, from the benumbed state of my limbs. the loss was considerable and important, for it consisted of our whole stock of balls, and some of our furniture; but these considerations were forgotten in the impressions of our miraculous escape. our first inquiry was after the absent man, whom in the first moment of danger, we had left to get on shore, and in a short time his appearance removed our anxiety. we had, however, sustained no personal injury of consequence, and my bruises seemed to be in the greater proportion. all the different articles were now spread out to dry. the powder had fortunately received no damage, and all my instruments had escaped. indeed, when my people began to recover from their alarm, and to enjoy a sense of safety, some of them, if not all, were by no means sorry for our late misfortune, from the hope that it must put a period to our voyage, particularly as we were without a canoe, and all the bullets sunk in the river. it did not, indeed, seem possible to them that we could proceed under these circumstances. i listened, however, to the observations that were made on the occasion without replying to them, till their panic was dispelled, and they had got themselves warm and comfortable, with an hearty meal, and rum enough to raise their spirits. i then addressed them, by recommending them all to be thankful for their late very narrow escape. i also stated, that the navigation was not impracticable in itself, but from our ignorance of its course; and that our late experience would enable us to pursue our voyage with greater security. i brought to their recollection, that i did not deceive them, and that they were made acquainted with the difficulties and dangers they must expect to encounter, before they engaged to accompany me. i also urged the honour of conquering disasters, and the disgrace that would attend them on their return home, without having attained the object of the expedition. nor did i fail to mention the courage and resolution which was the peculiar boast of the north men; and that i depended on them, at that moment, for the maintenance of their character. i quieted their apprehension as to the loss of the bullets, by bringing to their recollection that we still had shot from which they might be manufactured. i at the same time acknowledged the difficulty of restoring the wreck of the canoe, but confided in our skill and exertion to put it in such a state as would carry us on to where we might procure bark, and build a new one. in short, my harangue produced the desired effect, and a very general assent appeared to go wherever i should lead the way. various opinions were offered in the present posture of affairs, and it was rather a general wish that the wreck should be abandoned, and all the lading carried to the river, which our guide informed us was at no great distance, and in the vicinity of woods where he believed there was plenty of bark. this project seemed not to promise that certainty to which i looked in my present operations; besides, i had my doubts respecting the views of my guide, and consequently could not confide in the representation he made to me. i therefore dispatched two of the men at nine in the morning, with one of the young indians, for i did not venture to trust the guide out of my sight, in search of bark, and to endeavor, if it were possible, in the course of the day, to penetrate to the great river, into which that before us discharges itself in the direction which the guide had communicated. i now joined my people in order to repair, as well as circumstances would admit, our wreck of a canoe, and i began to set them the example. at noon i had an altitude, which gave 54. 23. north latitude. at four in the afternoon i took time, with the hope that in the night i might obtain an observation of jupiter, and his satellites, but i had not a sufficient horizon, from the propinquity of the mountains. the result of my calculation for the time was 1. 32. 28. slow apparent time. it now grew late, and the people who had been sent on the excursion already mentioned, were, not yet returned; about ten o'clock, however, i heard a man halloo, and i very gladly returned the signal. in a short time our young indian arrived with a small roll of indifferent bark: he was oppressed with fatigue and hunger, and his clothes torn to rags: he had parted with the other two men at sunset, who had walked the whole day, in a dreadful country, without procuring any good bark, or being able to get to the large river. his account of the river, on whose banks we were, could not be more unfavourable or discouraging; it had appeared to him to be little more than a succession of falls and rapids, with occasional interruptions of fallen trees. our guide became so dissatisfied and troubled in mind, that we could not obtain from him any regular account of the country before us. all we could collect from him was, that the river into which this empties itself, is but a branch of a large river, the great fork being at no great distance from the confluence of this; and that he knew of no lake, or large body of still water, in the vicinity of these rivers. to this account of the country, he added some strange, fanciful, but terrifying descriptions of the natives, similar to those which were mentioned in the former voyage. we had an escape this day, which i must add to the many instances of good fortune which i experienced in this perilous expedition. the powder had been spread out, to the amount of eighty pounds weight, to receive the air; and, in this situation, one of the men carelessly and composedly walked across it with a lighted pipe in his mouth, but without any ill consequence resulting from such an act of criminal negligence. i need not add that one spark might have put a period to all my anxiety and ambition. i observed several trees and plants on the banks of this river, which i had not seen to the north of the latitude 52. such as the cedar, maple, hemlock, &c. at this time the water rose fast, and passed on with the rapidity of an arrow shot from a bow. _friday 14._--the weather was fine, clear, and warm, and at an early hour of the morning we resumed our repair of the canoe. at half past seven our two men returned hungry and cold, not having tasted food, or enjoyed the least repose for twenty-four hours, with their clothes torn into tatters, and their skin lacerated, in passing through the woods. their account was the same as that brought by the indian, with this exception, that they had reason to think they saw the river, or branch which our guide had mentioned: but they were of opinion that from the frequent obstructions in this river, we should have to carry the whole way to it, through a dreadful country, where much time and labour would be required to open a passage through it. discouraging as these accounts were, they did not, however, interrupt for a moment the task in which we were engaged, of repairing the canoe; and this work we contrived to complete by the conclusion of the day. the bark which was brought by the indian, with some pieces of oil-cloth, and plenty of gum, enabled us to put our shattered vessel in a condition to answer our present purposes. the guide, who has been mentioned as manifesting continual signs of dissatisfaction, now assumed an air of contentment, which i attributed to a smoke that was visible in the direction of the river; as he naturally expected, if we should fall in with any natives, which was now very probable, from such a circumstance, that he should be released from a service which he had found so irksome and full of danger. i had an observation at noon, which made our latitude 54. 23. 48. north. i also took time, and found it slow apparent time 1. 38. 44. _saturday, 15._--the weather continued the same as the preceding day, and according to the directions which i had previously given, my people began at a very early hour to open a road, through which we might carry a part of our lading; as i was fearful of risking the whole of it in the canoe, in its present weak state, and in a part of the river which is full of shoals and rapids. four men were employed to conduct her, lightened as she was of twelve packages. they passed several dangerous places, and met with various obstructions, the current of the river being frequently stopped by rafts of drift wood, and fallen trees, so that after fourteen hours hard labour we had not made more than three miles. our course was south-east by east, and as we had not met with any accident, the men appeared to feel a renewed courage to continue their voyage. in the morning, however, one of the crew, whose name was beauchamp, peremptorily refused to embark in the canoe. this being the first example of absolute disobedience which had yet appeared during the course of our expedition, i should not have passed it over without taking some very severe means to prevent a repetition of it; but as he had the general character of a simple fellow, among his companions, and had been frightened out of what little sense he possessed, by our late dangers, i rather preferred to consider him as unworthy of accompanying us, and to represent him as an object of ridicule and contempt for his pusillanimous behaviour; though, in fact, he was a very useful, active, and laborious man. at the close of the day we assembled round a blazing fire; and the whole party, being enlivened with the usual beverage which i supplied on these occasions, forgot their fatigues and apprehensions; nor did they fail to anticipate the pleasure they should enjoy in getting clear of their present difficulties, and gliding onwards with a strong and steady stream, which our guide had described as the characteristic of the large river we soon expected to enter. _sunday, 16._--the fine weather continued, and we began our work, as we had done the preceding day; some were occupied in opening a road, others were carrying, and the rest employed in conducting the canoe. i was of the first party, and soon discovered that we had encamped about half a mile above several falls, over which we could not attempt to run the canoe, lightened even as she was. this circumstance rendered it necessary that the road should be made sufficiently wide to admit the canoe to pass; a tedious and toilsome work. in running her down a rapid above the falls, a hole was broken in her bottom, which occasioned a considerable delay, as we were destitute of the materials necessary for her effectual reparation. on my being informed of this misfortune, i returned, and ordered mr. mackay, with two indians, to quit their occupation in making the road, and endeavour to penetrate to the great river, according to the direction which the guide had communicated, without paying any attention to the course of the river before us. when the people had repaired the canoe in the best manner they were able, we conducted her to the head of the falls; she was then unloaded and taken out of the water, when we carried her for a considerable distance through a low, swampy country. i appointed four men to this laborious office, which they executed at the peril of their lives, for the canoe was now become so heavy, from the additional quantity of bark and gum necessary to patch her up, that two men could not carry her more than an hundred yards, without being relieved; and as their way lay through deep mud, which was rendered more difficult by the roots and prostrate trunks of trees, they were every moment in danger of falling; and beneath such a weight, one false step might have been attended with fatal consequences. the other two men and myself followed as fast as we could, with the lading. thus did we toil till seven o'clock in the evening, to get to the termination of the road that had been made in the morning. here mr. mackay and the indian joined us, after having been at the river, which they represented as rather large. they had also observed, that the lower part of the river before us was so full of fallen wood, that the attempt to clear a passage through it, would be an unavailing labour. the country through which they had passed was morass, and almost impenetrable wood. in passing over one of the embarras, our dog, which was following them, fell in, and it was with very great difficulty that he was saved, as the current had carried him under the drift. they brought with them two geese, which had been shot in the course of their expedition. to add to our perplexities and embarrassments, we were persecuted by mosquitoes and sand-flies, through the whole of the day. the extent of our journey was not more than two miles south-east; and so much fatigue and pain had been suffered in the course of it, that my people, as might be expected, looked forward to a continuance of it with discouragement and dismay. i was, indeed, informed that murmurs prevailed among them, of which, however, i took no notice. when we were assembled together for the night, i gave each of them a dram, and in a short time they retired to the repose which they so much required. we could discover the termination of the mountains at a considerable distance on either side of us, which, according to my conjecture, marked the course of the great river. on the mountains to the east there were several fires, as their smokes were very visible to us. excessive heat prevailed throughout the day. _monday, 17._--having sat up till twelve last night, which had been my constant practice since we had taken our present guide, i awoke mr. mackay to watch him in turn. i then laid down to rest, and at three i was awakened to be informed that he had deserted. mr. mackay, with whom i was displeased on this occasion, and the cancre, accompanied by the dog, went in search of him, but he had made his escape: a design which he had for some time meditated, though i had done every thing in my power to induce him to remain with me. this misfortune did not produce any relaxation in our exertions. at an early hour of the morning we were all employed in cutting a passage of three quarters of a mile, through which we carried our canoe and cargo, when we put her into the water with her lading, but in a very short time were stopped by the drift-wood, and were obliged to land and carry. in short, we pursued our alternate journeys, by land and water, till noon, when we could proceed no further, from the various small unnavigable channels into which the river branched in every direction; and no other mode of getting forward now remained for us, but by cutting a road across a neck of land. i accordingly dispatched two men to ascertain the exact distance, and we employed the interval of their absence in unloading and getting the canoe out of the water. it was eight in the evening when we arrived at the bank of the great river. this journey was three quarters of a mile east-north-east, through a continued swamp, where, in many places, we waded up to the middle of our thighs. our course in the small river was about south-east by east three miles. at length we enjoyed, after all our toil and anxiety, the inexpressible satisfaction of finding ourselves on the bank of a navigable river, on the west side of the first great range of mountains. chapter vi. june, 1793. _tuesday, 18._--it rained throughout the night and till seven in the morning; nor was i sorry that the weather gave me an excuse for indulging my people with that additional rest, which their fatigues, during the last three days, rendered so comfortable to them. before eight, however, we were on the water, and driven on by a strong current, when we steered east-south-east half a mile, south-west by south half a mile, south-south-east half a mile, south-west half a mile, went round to north-west half a mile, backed south-south-east three quarters of a mile, south-south-west half a mile, south by east a quarter of a mile, and south-west by south three quarters of a mile. here the water had fallen considerably, so that several mud and sand-banks were visible. there was also a hill a-head, west-south-west. the weather was so hazy that we could not see across the river, which is here about two hundred yards wide. we now proceeded south by west one third of a mile, when we saw a considerable quantity of beaver work along the banks, north-north-west half a mile, south-west by west one mile and a half, south-south-west one third of a mile, west by south one third of a mile, south by east half a mile. mountains rose on the left, immediately above the river, whose summits were covered with snow; south-west half a mile, south a quarter of a mile, south-east one third of a mile, south-south-west half a mile. here are several islands; we then veered to west by south a third of a mile, south-south-east a sixth of a mile. on the right, the land is high, rocky, and covered with wood; west-south-west one mile; a small river running in from the south-east; south-west half a mile, south three quarters of a mile, south-west half a mile, south by west half a mile. here a rocky point protrudes from the left, and narrows the river to a hundred yards; south-east half a mile, east by south one eighth of a mile. the current now was very strong, but perfectly safe; south-east by south an eighth of a mile, west by north one third of a mile, south by west a twelfth of a mile, south-west one fourth of a mile. here the high land terminates on one side of the river, while rocks rise to a considerable height immediately above the other, and the channel widens to a hundred and fifty yards, west by south one mile. the river now narrows again between rocks of a moderate height, north-north-east an eighth of a mile, veered to south-west an eighth of a mile, south and south-west half a mile. the country appeared to be low, as far as i could judge of it from the canoe, as the view is confined by woods at the distance of about a hundred yards from the banks. our course continued west by north two miles, north half a mile, north-west a quarter of a mile, south-west two miles, north-west three quarters of a mile; when a ridge of high land appeared in this direction; west one mile. a small river flowed in from the north; south a quarter of a mile, north-west half a mile, south-south-west two miles and a half, south-east three quarters of a mile; a rivulet lost itself in the main stream, west-north-west half a mile. here the current slackened, and we proceeded south-south-west three quarters of a mile, south-west three quarters of a mile, south by east three quarters of a mile, south-east by east one mile, when it veered gradually to west-north-west half a mile; the river being full of islands. we proceeded due north, with little current, the river presenting a beautiful sheet of water for a mile and a half, south-west by west one mile, west-north-west one mile, when it veered round to south-east one mile, west by north one mile, south-east one mile, west by north three quarters of a mile, south one eighth of a mile, when we came to an indian cabin of late erection. here was the great fork, of which our guide had informed us, and it appeared to be the largest branch from the south-east. it is about half a mile in breadth, and assumes the form of a lake. the current was very slack, and we got into the middle of the channel, when we steered west, and sounded in sixteen feet water. a ridge of high land now stretched on, as it were, across our present direction: this course was three miles. we then proceeded west-south-west two miles, and sounded in twenty-four feet water. here the river narrowed and the current increased. we then continued our course north-north-west three quarters of a mile, a small river falling in from the north-east. it now veered to south by west one mile and a quarter, west-south-west four miles and a half, west by north one mile and a quarter, north-west by west one mile, west a mile and a quarter: the land was high on both sides, and the river narrowed to an hundred and fifty, or two hundred yards; north-west three quarters of a mile, south-west by south two miles and a half: here its breadth again increased; south by west one mile, west-south-west half a mile, south-west by south three miles, south-south-east one mile, with a small river running in from the left, south with a strong current one mile, then east three quarters of a mile, south-west one mile, south-south-east a mile and a half; the four last distances being a continual rapid, south-west by west one mile, east-north-east a mile and a half, east-south-east one mile, where a small river flowed in on the right; south-west by south two miles and a half, when another small river appeared from the same quarter; south by east half a mile and south-west by west one mile and a quarter: here we landed for the night. when we had passed the last river we observed smoke rising from it, as if produced by fires that had been fresh lighted; i therefore concluded that there were natives on its banks: but i was unwilling to fatigue my people, by pulling back against the current in order to go in search of them. this river appeared, from its high water-mark, to have fallen no more than one foot, while the smaller branch, from a similar measurement, had sunk two feet and a half. on our entering it, we saw a flock of ducks which were entirely white, except the bill and part of the wings. the weather was cold and raw throughout the day, and the wind south-west. we saw a smoke rising in columns from many parts of the woods, and i should have been more anxious to see the natives, if there had been any person with me who could have introduced me to them; but as that object could not be then attained without considerable loss of time, i determined to pursue the navigation while it continued to be so favourable, and to wait till my return, if no very convenient opportunity offered in the mean time, to engage an intercourse with them. _wednesday, 19._--the morning was foggy, and at three we were on the water. at half past that hour, our course was east by south three quarters of a mile, a small river flowing in from the right. we then proceeded south by east half a mile, and south-south-west a mile and a half. during the last distance, clouds of thick smoke rose from the woods, that darkened the atmosphere, accompanied with a strong odour of the gum of cypress and the spruce-fir. our courses continued to be south-west a mile and a quarter, north-west by west three quarters of a mile, south-south-east a mile and a quarter, east three quarters of a mile, south-west one mile, west by south three quarters of a mile, south-east by south three quarters of a mile, south by west half a mile, west by south three quarters of a mile, south by west two miles and a half. in the last course there was an island, and it appeared to me, that the main channel of the river had formerly been on the other side of it. the banks were here composed of high white cliffs, crowned with pinnacles in very grotesque shapes. we continued to steer south-east by south a mile and a half, south by east half a mile, east one mile and a quarter, south-east by east one mile, south by east three quarters of a mile, south-east by east one mile, south-south-east half a mile, east one mile and a quarter, south by east half a mile, east a mile and half, south-south-east three miles, and south-west three quarters of a mile. in the last course the rocks contracted in such a manner on both sides of the river, as to afford the appearance of the upper part of a fall or cataract. under this apprehension we landed on the left shore, where we found a kind of footpath, imperfectly traced, through which we conjectured that the natives occasionally passed with their canoes and baggage. on examining the course of the river, however, there did not appear to be any fall as we expected; but the rapids were of a considerable length and impassable for a light canoe. we had therefore no alternative but to widen the road so as to admit the passage of our canoe, which was now carried with great difficulty; as from her frequent repairs, and not always of the usual materials, her weight was such, that she cracked and broke on the shoulders of the men who bore her. the labour and fatigue of this undertaking, from eight till twelve, beggars all description, when we at length conquered this afflicting passage, of about half a mile, over a rocky and most rugged hill. our course was south-south-west. here i took a meridian altitude which gave me 53. 42. 20. north latitude. we, however, lost some time to put our canoe in a condition to carry us onwards. our course was south a quarter of a mile to the next carrying-place; which was nothing more than a rocky point about twice the length of the canoe. from the extremity of this point to the rocky and almost perpendicular bank that rose on the opposite shore, is not more than forty or fifty yards. the great body of water, at the same time tumbling in successive cascades along the first carrying-place, rolls through this narrow passage in a very turbid current, and full of whirlpools. on the banks of the river there was great plenty of wild onions, which when mixed up with our pemmican was a great improvement of it; though they produced a physical effect on our appetites, which was rather inconvenient to the state of our provisions. here we embarked, and steered south-east by east three quarters of a mile. we now saw a smoke on the shore; but before we could reach land the natives had deserted their camp, which appeared to be erected for no more than two families. my two indians were instantly dispatched in search of them, and, by following their tracks, they soon overtook them; but their language was mutually unintelligible; and all attempts to produce a friendly communication were fruitless. they no sooner perceived my young men than they prepared their bows and arrows, and made signs for them not to advance; and they thought it prudent to desist from proceeding, though not before the natives had discharged five arrows at them, which, however, they avoided, by means of the trees. when they returned with this account, i very much regretted that i had not accompanied them; and as these people could not be at any very great distance, i took mr. mackay, and one of the indians with me in order to overtake them; but they had got so far it would have been imprudent in me to have followed them. my indians, who, i believe, were terrified at the manner in which these natives received them, informed me, that, besides their bows, arrows, and spears, they were armed with long knives, and that they accompanied their strange antics with menacing actions and loud shoutings. on my return, i found my people indulging their curiosity in examining the bags and baskets which the natives had left behind them. some of them contained their fishing tackle, such as nets, lines, &c., others of a smaller size were filled with a red earth, with which they paint themselves. in several of the bags there were also sundry articles of which we did not know the use. i prevented my men from taking any of them; and for a few articles of mere curiosity, which i took myself, i left such things in exchange as would be much more useful to their owners. at four we left this place, proceeding with the stream south-east three quarters of a mile, east-south-east one mile, south three quarters of a mile, south-south-west one mile, south by east three quarters of a mile, south-south-east one mile, south-south-west two miles, south-south-east three miles and a quarter, east by north one mile, south-south-east one mile and a quarter, with a rapid, south-south-west three quarters of a mile, south one mile and a half, south-east one mile and a quarter, south three quarters of a mile, and south-south-east one mile and a half. at half past seven we landed for the night, where a small river flowed in from the right. the weather was showery, accompanied with several loud claps of thunder. the banks were overshadowed by lofty firs, and wide-spreading cedars. _thursday, 20._--the morning was foggy, and at half past four we proceeded with a south wind, south-east by east two miles, south-south-east two miles and a half, and south-south-west two miles. the fog was so thick, that we could not see the length of our canoe, which rendered our progress dangerous, as we might have come suddenly upon a cascade or violent rapid. our next course was west-north-west two miles and a half, which comprehended a rapid. being close in with the left bank of the river, we perceived two red deer at the very edge of the water: we killed one of them, and wounded the other, which was very small. we now landed, and the indians followed the wounded animal, which they soon caught, and would have shot another in the woods, if our dog, who followed them, had not disturbed it. from the number of their tracks it appeared that they abounded in this country. they are not so large as the elk of the peace river, but are the real red deer, which i never saw in the north, though i have been told that they are to be found in great numbers in the plains along the red, or assiniboin river. the bark had been stripped off many of the spruce trees, and carried away, as i presumed, by the natives, for the purpose of covering their cabins. we now got the venison on board, and continued our voyage south-west one mile, south a mile and a half, and west one mile. here the country changed its appearance; the banks were but of a moderate height, from whence the ground continued gradually rising to a considerable distance, covered with poplars and cypresses, but without any kind of underwood. there are also several low points which the river, that is here about three hundred yards in breadth, sometimes overflows, and are shaded with the liard, the soft birch, the spruce, and the willow. for some distance before we came to this part of the river, our view was confined within very rugged, irregular, and lofty banks, which were varied with the poplar, different kinds of spruce fir, small birch trees, cedars, alders, and several species of the willow. our next course was south-west by west six miles, when we landed at a deserted house, which was the only indian habitation of this kind that i had seen on this side of mechilimakina. it was about thirty feet long and twenty wide, with three doors, three feet high by one foot and an half in breadth. from this and other circumstances, it appears to have been constructed for three families. there were also three fire-places, at equal distances from each other; and the beds were on either side of them. behind the beds was a narrow space, in the form of a manger, and somewhat elevated, which was appropriated to the purpose of keeping fish. the wall of the house, which was five feet in height, was formed of very strait spruce timbers, brought close together, and laid into each other at the corners. the roof was supported by a ridge pole, resting on two upright forks of about ten feet high; that and the wall support a certain number of spars, which are covered with spruce bark; and the whole attached and secured by the fibers of the cedar. one of the gable ends is closed with split boards; the other with poles. large rods are also fixed across the upper part of the building, where fish may hang and dry. to give the walls additional strength, upright posts are fixed in the ground, at equal distances, both within and without, of the same height as the wall, and firmly attached with bark fibres. openings appear also between the logs in the wall, for the purpose, as i conjectured, of discharging their arrows at a besieging enemy; they would be needless for the purpose of giving light, which is sufficiently afforded by fissures between the logs of the building, so that it appeared to be constructed merely for a summer habitation. there was nothing further to attract our attention in or about the house, except a large machine, which must have rendered the taking off the roof absolutely necessary, in order to have introduced it. it was of a cylindrical form, fifteen feet long, and four feet and an half in diameter; one end was square, like the head of a cask, and an conical machine was fixed inwards to the other end, of similar dimensions; at the extremity of which was an opening of about seven inches in diameter. this machine was certainly contrived to set in the river, to catch large fish; and very well adapted to that purpose; as when they are once in, it must be impossible for them to get out, unless they should have strength sufficient to break through it. it was made of long pieces of split wood, rounded to the size of a small finger, and placed at the distance of an inch asunder, on six hoops; to this was added a kind of boot of the same materials, into which it may be supposed that the fish are driven, when they are to be taken out. the house was left in such apparent order as to mark the design of its owners to return thither. it answered in every particular the description given us by our late guide, except that it was not situated on an island. we left this place, and steered south by east one mile and a quarter when we passed where there had been another house, of which the ridge-pole and supporters alone remained: the ice had probably carried away the body of it. the bank was at this time covered with water, and a small river flowed in on the left. on a point we observed an erection that had the appearance of a tomb; it was in an oblong form, covered, and very neatly walled with bark. a pole was fixed near it, to which, at the height of ten or twelve feet, a piece of bark was attached, which was probably a memorial, or symbol of distinction. our next course was south by west two miles and a half, when we saw a house on an island, south-east by east one mile and three quarters, in which we observed another island, with a house upon it. a river also flowed from the right, and the land was high and rocky, and wooded with the epinette. our canoe was now become so crazy that it was a matter of absolute necessity to construct another; and as from the appearance of the country there was reason to expect that bark was to be found, we landed at eight, with the hope of procuring it. i accordingly dispatched four men with that commission, and at twelve they returned with a sufficient quantity to make the bottom of a canoe of five fathom in length, and four feet and a half in height. at noon i had an observation, which gave me 53. 17. 28. north latitude. we now continued our voyage south-east by south one mile and a half, east-south-east one mile, east-north-east half a mile, south-east two miles, south-east by south one mile, south-east six miles, and east-north-east. here the river narrows between steep rocks, and a rapid succeeded, which was so violent that we did not venture to run it. i therefore ordered the loading to be taken out of the canoe, but she was now become so heavy that the men preferred running the rapid to the carrying her overland. though i did not altogether approve of their proposition, i was unwilling to oppose it. four of them undertook this hazardous expedition, and i hastened to the foot of the rapid with great anxiety, to wait the event, which turned out as i expected. the water was so strong, that although they kept clear of the rocks, the canoe filled, and in this state they drove half way down the rapid, but fortunately she did not overset; and having got her into an eddy, they emptied her, and in an half-drowned condition arrived safe on shore. the carrying-place is about half a mile over, with an indian path across it. mr. mackay, and the hunters, saw some deer on an island above the rapid; and had that discovery been made before the departure of the canoe, there is little doubt but we should have added a considerable quantity of venison to our stock of provisions. our vessel was in such a wretched condition, as i have already observed, that it occasioned a delay of three hours to put her in a condition to proceed. at length we continued our former course, east-north-east a mile and a half, when we passed an extensive indian encampment; east-south-east one mile, where a small river appeared on the left; south-east by south one mile and three quarters, east by south half a mile, east by north one mile, and saw another house on an island; south half a mile, west three quarters of a mile, south-west half a mile, where the cliffs of white and red clay appeared like the ruins of ancient castles. our canoe now veered gradually to east-north-east one mile and a half, when we landed in a storm of rain and thunder, where we perceived the remains of indian houses. it was impossible to determine the wind in any part of the day, as it came a-head in all our directions. _friday, 21._--as i was very sensible of the difficulty of procuring provisions in this country, i thought it prudent to guard against any possibility of distress of that kind on our return; i therefore ordered ninety pounds weight of pemmican to be buried in a hole, sufficiently deep to admit of a fire over it without doing any injury to our hidden treasure, and which would, at the same time, secure it from the natives of the country, or the wild animals of the woods. the morning was very cloudy, and at four o'clock we renewed our voyage, steering south by east one mile and a quarter, east-south-east half a mile, south by east one mile and a half, east half a mile, south-east two miles, where a large river flowed in from the left, and a smaller one from the right. we then continued south by west three quarters of a mile, east by south a mile and a half, south three quarters of a mile, south-east by east one mile, south by east half a mile, south-east three quarters of a mile, south-east by south half a mile, south-east by east half a mile, the cliffs of blue and yellow clay, displaying the same grotesque shapes as those which we passed yesterday, south-south-east a mile and a half, south by east two miles. the latitude by observation was 52. 47. 51. north. here we perceived a small new canoe, that had been drawn up to the edge of the woods, and soon after another appeared, with one man in it, which came out of a small river. he no sooner saw us than he gave the whoop to alarm his friends, who immediately appeared on the bank, armed with bows and arrows, and spears. they were thinly habited, and displayed the most outrageous antics. though they were certainly in a state of great apprehension, they manifested by their gestures that they were resolved to attack us, if we should venture to land. i therefore ordered the men to stop the way of the canoe, and even to check her drifting with the current, as it would have been extreme folly to have approached these savages before their fury had in some degree subsided. my interpreters, who understood their language, informed me that they threatened us with instant death if we drew nigh the shore; and they followed the menace by discharging a volley of arrows, some of which fell short of the canoe, and others passed over it, so that they fortunately did us no injury. as we had been carried by the current below the spot where the indians were, i ordered my people to paddle to the opposite side of the river, without the least appearance of confusion, so that they brought me abreast of them. my interpreters, while we were within hearing, had done every thing in their power to pacify them, but in vain. we also observed that they had sent off a canoe with two men, down the river, as we concluded, to communicate their alarm, and procure assistance. this circumstance determined me to leave no means untried that might engage us in a friendly intercourse with them, before they acquired additional security and confidence, by the arrival of their relations and neighbours, to whom their situation would be shortly notified. i therefore formed the following adventurous project, which was happily crowned with success. i left the canoe, and walked by myself along the beach, in order to induce some of the natives to come to me, which i imagined they might be disposed to do, when they saw me alone, without any apparent possibility of receiving assistance from my people, and would consequently imagine that a communication with me was not a service of danger. at the same time, in order to possess the utmost security of which my situation was susceptible, i directed one of the indians to slip into the woods, with my gun and his own, and to conceal himself from their discovery; he also had orders to keep as near me as possible, without being seen; and if any of the natives should venture across, and attempt to shoot me from the water, it was his instructions to lay him low: at the same time he was particularly enjoined not to fire till i had discharged one or both of the pistols that i carried in my belt. if, however, any of them were to land, and approach my person, he was immediately to join me. in the meantime my other interpreter assured them that we entertained the most friendly dispositions, which i confirmed by such signals as i conceived would be comprehended by them. i had not, indeed, been long at my station, and my indian in ambush behind me, when two of the natives came off in a canoe, but stopped when they had got within a hundred yards of me. i made signs for them to land, and as an inducement, displayed looking-glasses, beads, and other alluring trinkets. at length, but with every mark of extreme apprehension, they approached the shore, stern foremost, but would not venture to land. i now made them a present of some beads, with which they were going to push off, when i renewed my entreaties, and, after some time, prevailed on them to come ashore, and sit down by me. my hunter now thought it right to join me, and created some alarm in my new acquaintance. it was, however, soon removed, and i had the satisfaction to find, that he and these people perfectly understood each other. i instructed him to say every thing that might tend to soothe their fears and win their confidence. i expressed my wish to conduct them to our canoe, but they declined my offer; and when they observed some of my people coming towards us, they requested me to let them return; and i was so well satisfied with the progress i had made in my intercourse with them, that i did not hesitate a moment in complying with their desire. during their short stay, they observed us, and every thing about us, with a mixture of admiration and astonishment. we could plainly distinguish that their friends received them with great joy on their return, and that the articles which they carried back with them were examined with a general and eager curiosity; they also appeared to hold a consultation, which lasted about a quarter of an hour, and the result was, an invitation to come over to them, which was cheerfully accepted. nevertheless, on our landing they betrayed evident signs of confusion, which arose probably from the quickness of our movements, as the prospect of a friendly communication had so cheered the spirits of my people, that they paddled across the river with the utmost expedition. the two men, however, who had been with us, appeared, very naturally, to possess the greatest share of courage on the occasion, and were ready to receive us on our landing; but our demeanour soon dispelled all their apprehensions, and the most familiar communication took place between us. when i had secured their confidence, by the distribution of trinkets among them, and treated the children with sugar, i instructed my interpreters to collect every necessary information in their power to afford me. according to their account, this river, whose course is very extensive, runs towards the mid-day sun; and that at its mouth, as they had been informed, white people were building houses. they represented its current to be uniformly strong, and that in three places it was altogether impassable, from the falls and rapids, which poured along between perpendicular rocks that were much higher, and more rugged, than any we had yet seen, and would not admit of any passage over them. but besides the dangers and difficulties of the navigation, they added, that we should have to encounter the inhabitants of the country, who were very numerous. they also represented their immediate neighbours as a very malignant race, who lived in large subterraneous recesses; and when they were made to understand that it was our design to proceed to the sea, they dissuaded us from prosecuting our intention, as we should certainly become a sacrifice to the savage spirit of the natives. these people they described as possessing iron, arms, and utensils, which they procured from their neighbours to the westward, and were obtained by a commercial progress from people like ourselves, who brought them in great canoes. such an account of our situation, exaggerated as it might be in some points, and erroneous in others, was sufficiently alarming, and awakened very painful reflections: nevertheless it did not operate on my mind so as to produce any change in my original determination. my first object, therefore, was to persuade two of these people to accompany me, that they might secure to us a favourable reception from their neighbours. to this proposition they assented, but expressed some degree of dissatisfaction at the immediate departure, for which we were making preparation; but when we were ready to enter the canoe, a small one was seen doubling the point below, with three men in it. we thought it prudent to wait for their arrival, and they proved to be some of their relations, who had received the alarm from the messengers which i have already mentioned as having been sent down the river for that purpose, and who had passed on, as we were afterwards informed, to extend the notice of our arrival. though these people saw us in the midst of their friends, they displayed the most menacing actions, and hostile postures. at length, however, this wild, savage spirit appeared to subside, and they were persuaded to land. one of them, who was a middle aged person, whose agitations had been less frequent than those of his companions, and who was treated with particular respect by them all, inquired who we were, whence we came, whither we were going, and what was the motive of our coming into that country. when his friends had satisfied him as far as they were able, respecting us, he instantly advised us to delay our departure for that night, as their relations below, having been by this time alarmed by the messengers, who had been sent for that purpose, would certainly oppose our passage, notwithstanding i had two of their own people with me. he added, that they would all of them be here by sunset, they would convinced, as he was, that we were good people, and meditated no ill designs against them. such were the reasons which this indian urged in favour of our remaining till the next morning; and they were too well founded for me to hesitate in complying with them; besides, by prolonging my stay till the next morning, it was probable that i might obtain some important intelligence respecting the country through which i was to pass, and the people who inhabited it. i accordingly ordered the canoe to be unloaded, taken out of the water, and gummed. my tent was also pitched, and the natives were now become so familiar, that i was obliged to let them know my wish to be alone and undisturbed. my first application to the native whom i have already particularly mentioned, was to obtain from him such a plan of the river as he should be enabled to give me; and he complied with this request with a degree of readiness and intelligence that evidently proved it was by no means a new business to him. in order to acquire the best information he could communicate, i assured him, if i found his account correct, that i should either return myself, or send others to them, with such articles as they appeared to want: particularly arms and ammunition, with which they would be able to prevent their enemies from invading them. i obtained, however, no addition to what i already knew, but that the country below us, as far as he was acquainted with it, abounded in animals, and that the river produced plenty of fish. our canoe was now become so weak, leaky, and unmanageable, that it became a matter of absolute necessity to construct a new one; and i had been informed, that if we delayed that important work till we got further down the river, we should not be able to procure bark. i therefore dispatched two of my people, with an indian, in search of that necessary material. the weather was so cloudy that i could not get an observation.[1] i passed the rest of the day in conversing with these people: they consisted of seven families, containing eighteen men, they were clad in leather, and handsome beaver and rabbit-skin blankets. they had not been long arrived in this part of the country, where they proposed to pass the summer, to catch fish for their winter provision: for this purpose they were preparing machines similar to that which we found in the first indian house we saw and described. the fish which they take in them are large, and only visit this part of the river at certain seasons. these people differ very little, if at all, either in their appearance, language, or manners, from the rocky-mountain indians. the men whom i sent in search of bark, returned with a certain quantity of it, but of a very indifferent kind. we were not gratified with the arrival of any of the natives whom we expected from a lower part of the river. [1]the observation, already mentioned, i got on my return. chapter vii. june, 1793. _saturday, 22._--at six in the morning we proceeded on our voyage, with two of the indians, one of them in a small pointed canoe, made after the fashion of the esquimaux, and the other in our own. this precaution was necessary in a two-fold point of view, as the small canoe could be sent ahead to speak to any of the natives that might be seen down the river, and, thus divided, would not be easy for them both to make their escape. mr. mackay also embarked with the indian, which seemed to afford him great satisfaction, and he was thereby enabled to keep us company with diminution of labour. our courses were south-south-east a mile and a half, south-east half a mile, south by east four miles and a half, south-east by south half a mile, south by west half a mile, south-east by east one mile, south-south-west a mile and a half, south by east one mile and a quarter. the country, on the right, presented a very beautiful appearance: it rose at first rather abruptly to the height of twenty-five feet, when the precipice was succeeded by an inclined plain to the foot of another steep; which was followed by another extent of gently-rising ground: these objects, which were shaded with groves of fir, presenting themselves alternately to a considerable distance. we now landed near a house, the roof of which alone appeared above ground; but it was deserted by its inhabitants who had been alarmed at our approach. we observed several men in the second steep, who displayed the same postures and menacing actions as those which we have so lately described. our conductors went to them immediately on an embassy of friendship, and, after a very vociferous discourse, one of them was persuaded to come to us, but presented a very ferocious aspect: the rest, who were seven in number, soon followed his example. they held their bows and arrows in their hands, and appeared in their garments, which were fastened round the neck, but left the right arm free for action. a cord fastened a blanket or leather covering under the right armpit, so that it hung upon the left shoulder, and might be occasionally employed as a target, that would turn an arrow which was nearly spent. as soon as they had recovered from their apprehensions, ten women made their appearance, but without any children, whom, i imagine, they had sent to a greater distance, to be out of reach of all possible danger. i distributed a few presents among them, and left my guides to explain to them the object of my journey, and the friendliness of my designs, with which they had themselves been made acquainted; their fears being at length removed, i gave them a specimen of the use to which we applied our firearms: at the same time, i calmed their astonishment, by the assurance, that, though we could at once destroy those who did us injury, we could equally protect those who shewed us kindness. our stay here did not exceed half an hour, and we left these people with favourable impressions of us. from this place we steered east by north half a mile, south by east three quarters of a mile, and south by west a mile and a half, when we landed again on seeing some of the natives on the high ground, whose appearance was more wild and ferocious than any whom we had yet seen. indeed i was under some apprehension that our guides, who went to conciliate them to us, would have fallen a prey to their savage fury. at length, however, they were persuaded to entertain a more favourable opinion of us, and they approached us one after another, to the number of sixteen men, and several women, i shook hands with them all, and desired my interpreters to explain that salutation as a token of friend-ship. as this was not a place where we could remain with the necessary convenience, i proposed to proceed further, in search of a more commodious spot. they immediately invited us to pass the night at their lodges, which were at no great distance, and promised, at the same time, that they would, in the morning, send two young men to introduce us to the next nation, who were very numerous, and ill-disposed towards strangers. as we were pushing from the shore, we were very much surprised at hearing a woman pronounce several words in the knisteneaux language. she proved to be a rocky mountain native, so that my interpreters perfectly understood her. she informed us that her country is at the forks of this river, and that she had been taken prisoner by the knisteneaux, who had carried her across the mountains. after having passed the greatest part of the summer with them, she had contrived to escape, before they had reached their own country, and had re-crossed the mountains, when she expected to meet her own friends: but after suffering all the hardships incident to such a journey, she had been taken by a war-party of the people with whom she then was, who had driven her relations from the river into the mountains. she had since been detained by her present husband, of whom she had no cause to complain; nevertheless she expressed a strong desire to return to her own people. i presented her with several useful articles, and desired her to come to me at the lodges, which she readily engaged to do. we arrived thither before the indians, and landed, as we had promised. it was now near twelve at noon, but on attempting to take an altitude, i found the angle too great for my sextant. the natives whom we had already seen, and several others, soon joined us, with a greater number of women than i had yet seen; but i did not observe the female prisoner among them. there were thirty-five of them, and my remaining store of presents was not sufficient to enable me to be very liberal to so many claimants. among the men i found four of the adjoining nation, and a rocky-mountain indian, who had been with them for some time. as he was understood by my interpreters, and was himself well acquainted with the language of the strangers, i possessed the means of obtaining every information respecting the country, which it might be in their power to afford me. for this purpose i selected an elderly man, from the four strangers, whose countenance had prepossessed me in his favour. i stated to these people, as i had already done to those from whom i had hitherto derived information, the objects of my voyage, and the very great advantages which they would receive from my successful termination of it. they expressed themselves very much satisfied at my communication, and assured me that they would not deceive me respecting the subject of my inquiry. an old man also, who appeared to possess the character of a chief, declared his wish to see me return to his land, and that his two young daughters should then be at my disposal. i now proceeded to request the native, whom i had particularly selected, to commence his information, by drawing a sketch of the country upon a large piece of bark, and he immediately entered on the work, frequently appealing to, and sometimes asking the advice of, those around him. he described the river as running to the east of south, receiving many rivers, and every six or eight leagues encumbered with falls and rapids, some of which were very dangerous, and six of them impracticable. the carrying-places he represented as of great length, and passing over hills and mountains. he depicted the lands of three other tribes, in succession, who spoke different languages. beyond them he knew nothing either of the river or country, only that it was still a long way to the sea; and that, as he had heard, there was a lake, before they reached the water, which the natives did not drink. as far as his knowledge of the river extended, the country on either side was level, in many places without wood and abounding in red deer, and some of a small fallow kind. few of the natives, he said, would come to the banks for some time; but, that at a certain season they would arrive there in great numbers, to fish. they now procured iron, brass, copper, and trinkets, from the westward; but formerly these articles were obtained from the lower parts of the river, though in small quantities. a knife was produced which had been brought from that quarter. the blade was ten inches long, and an inch and a half broad, but with a very blunted edge. the handle was of horn. we understood that this instrument had been obtained from white men, long before they had heard that any came to the westward. one very old man observed, that as long as he could remember, he was told of white people to the southward; and that he had heard, though he did not vouch for the truth of the report, that one of them had made an attempt to come up the river, and was destroyed. these people describe the distance across the country as very short to the western ocean; and, according to my own idea, it cannot be above five or six degrees. if the assertion of mr. mears be correct, it cannot be so far, as the inland sea which he mentions within nootka, must come as far east as 126. west longitude. they assured us that the road was not difficult as they avoided the mountains, keeping along the low lands between them, many parts of which are entirely free from wood. according to their account, this way is so often travelled by them, that their path is visible throughout the whole journey, which lies along small lakes and rivers. it occupied them, they said, no more than six nights, to go to where they meet the people who barter iron, brass, copper, beads, &c., with them, for dressed leather, and beaver, bear, lynx, fox, and marten skins. the iron is about eighteen inches of two-inch bar. to this they give an edge at one end, and fix it to a handle at right angles, which they employ as an axe. when the iron is worn down, they fabricate it into points for their arrows and pikes. before they procured iron they employed bone and horn for those purposes. the copper and brass they convert into collars, arm-buds, bracelets, and other ornaments. they sometimes also point their arrows with those metals. they had been informed by those whom they meet to trade with, that the white people, from whom these articles are obtained, were building houses at the distance of three days, or two nights journey from the place where they met last fall. with this route they all appeared to be well acquainted. i now requested that they would send for the female prisoner whom i saw yesterday; but i received only vague and evasive answers. they probably apprehended, that it was our design to take her from them. i was, however, very much disappointed at being prevented from having an interview with her, as she might have given me a correct account of the country beyond the forks of the river, as well as of the pass, through the mountains, from them. my people had listened with great attention to the relation which had been given me, and it seemed to be their opinion, that it would be absolute madness to attempt a passage through so many savage and barbarous nations. my situation may indeed, be more easily conceived than expressed: i had no more than thirty days provision remaining, exclusive of such supplies as i might obtain from the natives, and the toil of our hunters, which, however, was so precarious as to be matter of little dependence: besides, our ammunition would soon be exhausted, particularly our ball, of which we had not more than a hundred and fifty, and about thirty pound weight of shot, which, indeed, might be converted into bullets, though with great waste. the more i heard of the river, the more i was convinced it could not empty itself into the ocean to the north of what is called the river of the west, so that with its windings, the distance must be very great. such being the discouraging circumstances of my situation, which were now heightened by the discontents of my people, i could not but be alarmed at the idea of attempting to get to the discharge of such a rapid river, especially when i reflected on the tardy progress of my return up it, even if i should meet with no obstruction from the natives; a circumstance not very probable, from the numbers of them which would then be on the river, and whom i could have no opportunity of conciliating in my passage down, for the reasons which have been already mentioned. at all events, i must give up every expectation of returning this season to athabasca. such were my reflections at this period; but instead of continuing to indulge them, i determined to proceed with resolution, and set future events at defiance. at the same time i suffered myself to nourish the hope that i might be able to penetrate with more safety, and in a shorter period, to the ocean by the inland western communication. to carry this project into execution i must have returned a considerable distance up the river, which would necessarily be attended with very, serious inconvenience, if i passed over every other; as in a voyage of this kind, a retrograde motion could not fail to cool the ardour, slacken the zeal and weaken the confidence of those, who have no greater inducement to the undertaking, than to follow the conductor of it. such was the state of my mind at this period, and such the circumstances with which it was distressed and distracted. to the people who had given me the foregoing information i presented some beads, which they preferred to any other articles in my possession, and i recompensed in the same manner two of them who communicated to me the following vocabulary in the language of the nagailer and atnah tribes. the negailer or the atnah, or carrier-indians. chin-indians. eye, nah, thlouatin. hair, thigah, cahowdin. teeth, gough, chliough. nose, nenzeh, pisax. head, thie, scapacay. wood, dekin, shedzay. hand, lah, calietha. leg, kin, squacht. tongue, thoula, dewhasjiak. ear, zach, ithlinah. man, dinay, scuyloch. woman, chiquoi, smosledgenak. beaver, zah, schugh. elk, yezey, ookoy-beh. dog, sleing, scacah. ground-hog, thidnu, squaisquais. iron, thilisitch, soucoumang. fire, coun, teuck. water, tou, shaweliquolih. stone, zeh, ishehoinah. bow, nettuny, isquoinah. arrow, igah, squailai. yes, nesi, amaig. plains, thoughoud, spilela. come here, andezei, thla-elyeh. [transcriber's note: 'negailer', above, appears to be a transcription error in this edition. elsewhere it is rendered as 'nagailer'] the atnah language has no affinity to any with which i am acquainted; but the nagailer differs very little from that spoken by the beaver indians, and is almost the same as that of the chepewyans. we had a thunder-storm with heavy rain; and in the evening when it had subsided, the indians amused us with singing and dancing, in which they were joined by the young women. four men now arrived whom we had not yet seen; they had left their families at some distance in the country, and expressed a desire that we should visit them there. _sunday, 23._--after a restless night, i called the indians together, from whom i yesterday received the intelligence which has been already mentioned, in the hope that i might obtain some additional information. from their former account they did not make the least deviation; but they informed me further, that where they left this river, a small one from the westward falls into it, which was navigable for their canoes during four days, and from thence they slept but two nights, to get to the people with whom they trade, and who have wooden canoes much larger than ours, in which they go down a river to the sea. they continued to inform me, that if i went that way we must leave our own canoe behind us; but they thought it probable that those people would furnish us with another. from thence they stated the distance to be only one day's voyage with the current to the lake whose water is nauseous, and where they had heard that great canoes came two winters ago, and that the people belonging to them, brought great quantities of goods and built houses. at the commencement of this conversation, i was very much surprised by the following question from one of the indians: "what," demanded he, "can be the reason that you are so particular and anxious in your inquiries of us respecting a knowledge of this country: do not you white men know every thing in the world?" this interrogatory was so very unexpected, that it occasioned some hesitation before i could answer it. at length, however, i replied, that we certainly were acquainted with the principal circumstances of every part of the world; that i knew where the sea is, and where i myself then was, but that i did not exactly understand what obstacles might interrupt me in getting to it; with which, he and his relations must be well acquainted, as they had so frequently surmounted them. thus i fortunately preserved the impression in their minds, of the superiority of white people over themselves. it was now, however, absolutely necessary that i should come to a final determination which route to take; and no long interval of reflection was employed, before i preferred to go over land: the comparative shortness and security of such a journey, were alone sufficient to determine me. i accordingly proposed to two of the indians to accompany me, and one of them readily assented to my proposition. i now called those of my people about me, who had not been present at my consultation with the natives; and after passing a warm eulogium on their fortitude, patience, and perseverance, i stated the difficulties that threatened our continuing to navigate the river, the length of time it would require, and the scanty provision we had for such a voyage: i then proceeded for the foregoing reasons to propose a shorter route, by trying the overland road to the sea. at the same time, as i knew from experience, the difficulty of retaining guides, and as many circumstances might occur to prevent our progress in that direction, i declared my resolution not to attempt it, unless they would engage if we could not after all proceed over land, to return with me, and continue our voyage to the discharge of the waters, whatever the distance might be. at all events, i declared, in the most solemn manner, that i would not abandon my design of reaching the sea, if i made the attempt alone, and that i did not despair of returning in safety to my friends. this proposition met with the most zealous return, and they unanimously assured me, that they were as willing now as they had ever been, to abide by my resolutions, whatever they might be, and to follow me wherever i should go. i therefore requested them to prepare for an immediate departure, and at the same time gave notice to the man who had engaged to be our guide, to be in readiness to accompany us. when our determination to return up the river was made known, several of the natives took a very abrupt departure; but to those who remained, i gave a few useful articles, explaining to them at the same time, the advantages that would result to them, if their relations conducted me to the sea, along such a road as they had described. i had already given a moose skin to some of the women for the purpose of making shoes, which were now brought us; they were well sewed but ill-shaped, and a few beads were considered as a sufficient remuneration for the skill employed on them, mr. mackay, by my desire, engraved my name, and the date of the year on a tree. when we were ready to depart, our guide proposed, for the sake of expedition, to go over land to his lodge, that he might get there before us, to make some necessary preparation for his journey. i did not altogether relish his design, but was obliged to consent: i thought it prudent, however, to send mr. mackay, and the two indians along with him. our place of rendezvous, was the subterraneous house which we passed yesterday. at ten in the morning we embarked, and went up the current much faster than i expected with such a crazy vessel as that which carried us. we met our people at the house as had been appointed; but the indian still continued to prefer going on by land, and it would have been needless for me to oppose him. he proceeded, therefore, with his former companions, whom i desired to keep him in good humour by every reasonable gratification. they were also furnished with a few articles that might be of use if they should meet strangers. in a short time after we had left the house, i saw a wooden canoe coming down the river, with three natives in it, who, as soon as they perceived us, made for the shore, and hurried into the woods. on passing their vessel, we discovered it to be one of those which we had seen at the lodges. a severe gust of wind, with rain, came from the south-south-east. this we found to be a very prevalent wind in these parts. we soon passed another wooden canoe drawn stern foremost on the shore; a circumstance which we had not hitherto observed. the men worked very hard, and though i imagined we went a-head very fast, we could not reach the lodges, but landed for the night at nine, close to the encampment of two families of the natives whom we had formerly seen at the lodges. i immediately went and sat down with them, when they gave some roasted fish; two of my men who followed me were gratified also with some of their provisions. the youngest of the two natives now quitted the shed, and did not return during the time i remained there. i endeavoured to explain to the other by signs, the cause of my sudden return, which he appeared to understand. in the mean time my tent was pitched, and on my going to it, i was rather surprised that he did not follow me, as he had been constantly with me during the day and night i had passed with his party on going down. we, however, went to rest in a state of perfect security; nor had we the least apprehension for the safety of our people who were gone by land. we were in our canoe by four this morning, and passed by the indian hut, which appeared in a state of perfect tranquillity. we soon came in sight of the point where we first saw the natives, and at eight were much surprised and disappointed at seeing mr. mackay, and our two indians coming alone from the ruins of a house that had been partly carried away by the ice and water, at a short distance below the place where we had appointed to meet. nor was our surprise and apprehension diminished by the alarm which was painted in their countenances. when we had landed, they informed me that they had taken refuge in that place, with the determination to sell their lives, which they considered in the most imminent danger, as dear as possible. in a very short time after they had left us, they met a party of the indians, whom we had known at this place, and were probably those whom we had seen to land from their canoe. they appeared to be in a state of extreme rage, and had their bows bent, with their arrows across them. the guide stopped to ask them some questions, which my people did not understand, and then set off with his utmost speed. mr. mackay, however, did not leave him till they were both exhausted with running. when the young man came up, he then said, that some treacherous design was meditated against them, as he was induced to believe from the declaration of the natives, who told him that they were going to do mischief, but refused to name the enemy. the guide then conducted them through very bad ways, as fast as they could run; and when he was desired to slacken his pace, he answered that they might follow him in any manner they pleased, but that he was impatient to get to his family, in order to prepare shoes, and other necessaries, for his journey. they did not, however, think it prudent to quit him, and he would not stop till ten at night. on passing a track that was but lately made, they began to be seriously alarmed, and on inquiring of the guide where they were, he pretended not to understand them. they then all laid down, exhausted with fatigue, and without any kind of covering: they were cold, wet, and hungry, but dared not light a fire, from the apprehension of an enemy. this comfortless spot they left at the dawn of the day, and, on their arrival at the lodges, found them deserted; the property of the indians being scattered about, as if abandoned for ever. the guide then made two or three trips into the woods, calling aloud, and bellowing like a madman. at length he set off in the same direction as they came, and had not since appeared. to heighten their misery, as they did not find us at the place appointed, they concluded that we were all destroyed, and had already formed their plan to take to the woods, and cross in as direct a line as they could proceed, to the waters of the peace river, a scheme which could only be suggested by despair. they intended to have waited for us till noon, and if we did not appear by that time, to have entered without further delay on their desperate expedition. this alarm among the natives was a very unexpected as well as perilous event, and my powers of conjecture were exhausted in searching for the cause of it. a general panic seized all around me, and any further prosecution of the voyage was now considered by them as altogether hopeless and impracticable. but without paying the least attention to their opinions or surmises, i ordered them to take every thing out of the canoe, except six packages: when that was done, i left four men to take care of the lading, and returned with the others to our camp of last night, where i hoped to find the two men, with their families, whom we had seen there, and to be able to bring them to lodge with us, when i should wait the issue of this mysterious business. this project, however, was disappointed, for these people had quitted their sheds in the silence of the night, and had not taken a single article of their little property with them. these perplexing circumstances made a deep impression on my mind, not as to our immediate safety, for i entertained not the least apprehension of the indians i had hitherto seen, even if their whole force should have been combined to attack us, but these untoward events seemed to threaten the prosecution of my journey; and i could not reflect on the possibility of such a disappointment but with sensations little short of agony. whatever might have been the wavering disposition of the people on former occasions, they were now decided in their opinions as to the necessity of returning without delay; and when we came back to them, their cry was--"let us re-embark, and be gone." this, however, was not my design, and in a more peremptory tone than i usually employed, they were ordered to unload the canoe, and take her out of the water. on examining our property, several articles appeared to be missing, which the indians must have purloined; and among them were an axe, two knives, and the young men's bag of medicines. we now took a position that was the best calculated for defence, got our arms in complete order, filled each man's flask of powder, and distributed an hundred bullets, which were all that remained, while some were employed in melting down shot to make more. the weather was so cloudy, that i had not an opportunity of taking an observation. while we were employed in making these preparations, we saw an indian in a canoe come down the river, and land at the huts, which he began to examine. on perceiving us he stood still, as if in a state of suspense, when i instantly dispatched one of my indians towards him, but no persuasions could induce him to have confidence in us; he even threatened that he would hasten to join his friends, who would come and kill us. at the conclusion of this menace he disappeared. on the return of my young man, with this account of the interview, i pretended to discredit the whole, and attributed it to his own apprehensions and alarms. this, however, he denied, and asked with a look and tone of resentment, whether he had ever told me a lie? though he was but a young man, he said, he had been on war excursions before he came with me, and that he should no longer consider me as a wise man, which he had hitherto done. to add to our distresses we had not an ounce of gum for the reparation of the canoe, and not one of the men had sufficient courage to venture into the woods to collect it. in this perplexing situation i entertained the hope that in the course of the night some of the natives would return, to take away a part at least of the things which they had left behind them, as they had gone away without the covering necessary to defend them from the weather and the flies. i therefore ordered the canoe to be loaded, and dropped to an old house, one side of which, with its roof, had been carried away by the water; but the three remaining angles were sufficient to shelter us from the woods. i then ordered two strong piquets to be driven into the ground, to which the canoe was fastened, so that if we were hard pressed we had only to step on board and push off. we were under the necessity of making a smoke to keep off the swarms of flies, which would have otherwise tormented us; but we did not venture to excite a blaze, as it would have been a mark for the arrows of the enemy. mr. mackay and myself, with three men kept alternate watch, and allowed the indians to do as they fancied. i took the first watch, and the others laid down in their clothes by us. i also placed a centinel at a small distance, who was relieved every hour. the weather was cloudy, with showers of rain. _tuesday, 25._--at one i called up the other watch, and laid down to a small portion of broken rest. at five i arose, and as the situation which we left yesterday was preferable to that which we then occupied, i determined to return to it. on our arrival mr. mackay informed me that the men had expressed their dissatisfaction to him in a very unreserved manner, and had in very strong terms declared their resolution to follow me no further in my proposed enterprise. i did not appear, however, to have received such communications from him, and continued to employ my whole thoughts in contriving means to bring about a reconciliation with the natives, which alone would enable me to procure guides, without whose assistance it would be impossible for me to proceed, when my darling project would end in disappointment. at twelve we saw a man coming with the stream upon a raft, and he must have discovered us before we perceived him, as he was working very hard to get to the opposite shore, where he soon landed, and instantly fled into the woods. i now had a meridional altitude, which gave 60. 23. natural horizon (the angle being more than the sextant could measure with the artificial horizon) one mile and a half distant; and the eye five feet above the level of the water, gave 62. 47. 51. north latitude. while i was thus employed, the men loaded the canoe, without having received any orders from me, and as this was the first time they had ventured to act in such a decided manner, i naturally concluded that they had preconcerted a plan for their return. i thought it prudent, however, to take no notice of this transaction, and to wait the issue of future circumstances. at this moment our indians perceived a person in the edge of the woods above us, and they were immediately dispatched to discover who it was. after a short absence they returned with a young woman whom we had seen before: her language was not clearly comprehended by us, so that we could not learn from her, at least with any degree of certainty, the cause of this unfortunate alarm that had taken place among the natives. she told us that her errand was to fetch some things which she had left behind her; and one of the dogs whom we found here, appeared to acknowledge her as his mistress. we treated her with great kindness, gave her something to eat, and added a present of such articles as we thought might please her. on her expressing a wish to leave us, we readily consented to her departure, and indulged the hope that her reception would induce the natives to return in peace, and give us an opportunity to convince them, that we had no hostile designs whatever against them. on leaving us, she went up the river, without taking a single article of her own, and the dog followed. the wind was changeable throughout the day, and there were several showers in the course of it. though a very apparent anxiety prevailed among the people for their departure, i appeared to be wholly inattentive to it, and at eight in the evening i ordered four men to step into the canoe, which had been loaded for several hours, and drop down to our guard-house, and my command was immediately obeyed: the rest of us proceeded there by land. when i was yet at a considerable distance from the house, and thought it impossible for an arrow to reach it, having a bow and quiver in my hand, i very imprudently let fly an arrow, when, to my astonishment and infinite alarm, i heard it strike a log of the house. the men who had just landed, imagined that they were attacked by an enemy from the woods. their confusion was in proportion to their imaginary danger, and on my arrival i found that the arrow had passed within a foot of one of the men; though it had no point, the weapon, incredible as it may appear, had entered an hard, dry log of wood upwards of an inch. but this was not all: for the men readily availed themselves of this circumstance, to remark upon the danger of remaining in the power of a people possessed of such means of destruction. mr. mackay having the first watch, i laid myself down in my cloak. _wednesday, 26._--at midnight a rustling noise was heard in the woods which created a general alarm, and i was awakened to be informed of the circumstance, but heard nothing. at one i took my turn of the watch, and our dog continued unceasingly to run backwards and forwards along the skirts of the wood in a state of restless vigilance. at two in the morning the centinel informed me, that he saw something like an human figure creeping along on all-fours about fifty paces above us. after some time had passed in our search, i at length discovered that his information was true, and it appeared to me that a bear had occasioned the alarm; but when day appeared, it proved to be an old, grey-haired, blind man, who had been compelled to leave his hiding-place by extreme hunger, being too infirm to join in the flight of the natives to whom he belonged. when i put my hand on this object of decaying nature, his alarm was so great, that i expected it would have thrown him into convulsions. i immediately led him to our fire which had been just lighted, and gave him something to eat, which he much wanted, as he had not tasted food for two days. when his hunger was satisfied, and he had got warm and composed, i requested him to acquaint me with the cause of that alarm which had taken place respecting us among his relations and friends, whose regard we appeared to have conciliated but a few days past. he replied, that very soon after we had left them, some natives arrived from above, who informed them that we were enemies; and our unexpected return, in direct contradiction to our own declarations, confirmed them in that opinion. they were now, he said, so scattered, that a considerable time would elapse, before they could meet again. we gave him the real history of our return, as well as of the desertion of our guide, and, at the same time, stated the impossibility of our proceeding, unless we procured a native to conduct us. he replied, that if he had not lost his sight, he would with the greatest readiness have accompanied us on our journey. he also confirmed the accounts which we had received of the country, and the route to the westward. i did not neglect to employ every argument in my power, that he might be persuaded of our friendly dispositions to the inhabitants wheresoever we might meet them. at sun-rise we perceived a canoe with one man in it on the opposite side of the river, and at our request, the blind man called to him to come to us, but he returned no answer, and continued his course as fast as he could paddle down the current. he was considered as a spy by my men, and i was confirmed in that opinion, when i saw a wooden canoe drifting with the stream close in to the other shore, where it was more than probable that some of the natives might be concealed. it might, therefore, have been an useless enterprise, or perhaps fatal to the future success of our undertaking, if we had pursued these people, as they might, through fear have employed their arms against us, and provoked us to retaliate. the old man informed me, that some of the natives whom i had seen here were gone up the river, and those whom i saw below had left their late station to gather a root in the plains, which, when dried, forms a considerable article in their winter stock of provisions. he had a woman, he said, with him, who used to see us walking along the small adjoining river, but when he called her he received no answer, so that she had probably fled to join her people. he informed me, also, that he expected a considerable number of his tribe to come on the upper part of the river to catch fish for their present support, and to cure them for their winter store; among whom he had a son and two brothers. in consequence of these communications, i deemed it altogether unnecessary to lose any more time at this place, and i informed the old man that he must accompany me for the purpose of introducing us to his friends and relations, and that if we met with his son or brothers, i depended upon him to persuade them, or some of their party, to attend us as guides in our meditated expedition. he expressed his wishes to be excused from this service, and in other circumstances we should not have insisted on it, but, situated as we were, we could not yield to his request. at seven in the morning we left this place, which i named deserter's river or creek. our blind guide was, however, so averse to continuing with us, that i was under the very disagreeable necessity of ordering the men to carry him into the canoe; and this was the first act during my voyage, that had the semblance of violent dealing. he continued to speak in a very loud tone, while he remained, according to his conjecture, near enough to the camp to be heard, but in a language that our interpreters did not understand. on asking him what he said, and why he did not speak in a language known to us, he replied, that the woman understood him better in that which he spoke, and he requested her, if she heard him, to come for him to the carrying-place, where he expected we should leave him. at length our canoe was become so leaky, that it was absolutely unfit for service; and it was the unremitting employment of one person to keep her clear of water: we, therefore, inquired of the old man where we could conveniently obtain the articles necessary to build a new one; and we understood from him that, at some distance up the river, we should find plenty of bark and cedar. at ten, being at the foot of a rapid, we saw a small canoe coming down with two men in it. we thought it would be impossible for them to escape, and therefore struck off from the shore with a design to intercept them, directing the old man at the same time to address them; but they no sooner perceived us, than they steered into the strength of the current, where i thought that they must inevitably perish; but their attention appeared to be engrossed by the situation of their canoe, and they escaped without making us the least reply. about three in the afternoon we perceived a lodge at the entrance of a considerable river on the right, as well as the tracks of people in the mud at the mouth of a small river on the left. as they appeared to be fresh, we landed, and endeavoured to trace them, but without success. we then crossed over to the lodge, which was deserted, but all the usual furniture of such buildings remained untouched. throughout the whole of this day the men had been in a state of extreme ill-humour, and as they did not choose openly to vent it upon me, they disputed and quarrelled among themselves. about sun-set the canoe struck upon the stump of a tree, which broke a large hole in her bottom; a circumstance that gave them an opportunity to let loose their discontents without reserve. i left them as soon as we had landed, and ascended an elevated bank, in a state of mind which i scarce wish to recollect, and shall not attempt to describe. at this place there was a subterraneous house, where i determined to pass the night. the water had risen since we had passed down, and it was with the utmost exertion that we came up several points in the course of the day. we embarked at half past four, with very favourable weather, and at eight we landed, where there was an appearance of our being able to procure bark; we, however, obtained but a small quantity. at twelve we went on shore again, and collected as much as was necessary for our purpose. it now remained for us to fix on a proper place for building another canoe, as it was impossible to proceed with our old one, which was become an absolute wreck. at five in the afternoon we came to a spot well adapted to the business in which we were about to engage. it was on a small island not much encumbered with wood, though there was plenty of the spruce kind on the opposite land, which was only divided from us by a small channel. we now landed, but before the canoe was unloaded, and the tent pitched, a violent thunder-storm came on, accompanied with rain, which did not subside till the night had closed in upon us. two of our men who had been in the woods for axe-handles, saw a deer, and one of them shot at it, but unluckily missed his aim. a net was also prepared and set in the eddy at the end of the island. chapter viii. june, 1793. _friday, 28._--at a very early hour of the morning every man was employed in making preparations for building another canoe, and different parties went in search of wood, watape, and gum. at two in the afternoon they all returned successful, except the collectors of gum, and of that article it was feared we should not obtain here a sufficient supply for our immediate wants. after a necessary portion of time allotted for refreshment, each began his respective work. i had an altitude at noon, which made us in 53. 2. 32. north latitude. _saturday, 29._--the weather continued to be fine. at five o'clock we renewed our labour, and the canoe was got in a state of considerable forwardness. the conductor of the work, though a good man, was remarkable for the tardiness of his operations, whatever they might be, and more disposed to eat than to be active; i therefore took this opportunity of unfolding my sentiments to him, and thereby discovering to all around me the real state of my mind, and the resolutions i had formed for my future conduct. after reproaching him for his general inactivity, but particularly on the present occasion, when our time was so precious, i mentioned the apparent want of economy, both of himself and his companions, in the article of provisions. i informed him that i was not altogether a stranger to their late conversations, from whence i drew the conclusion that they wished to put an end to the voyage. if that were so, i expressed my wish that they would be explicit, and tell me at once of their determination to follow me no longer. i concluded, however, by assuring him, that whatever plan they had meditated to pursue, it was my fixed and unalterable determination to proceed, in spite of every difficulty that might oppose, or danger that should threaten me. the man was very much mortified at my addressing this remonstrance particularly to him; and replied that he did not deserve my displeasure more than the rest of them. my object being answered, the conversation dropped, and the work went on. about two in the afternoon one of the men perceived a canoe with two natives in it, coming along the inside of the island, but the water being shallow, it turned back, and we imagined that on perceiving us they had taken the alarm; but we were agreeably surprised on seeing them come up the outside of the island, when we recognised our guide, and one of the natives whom we had already seen; the former began immediately to apologize for his conduct, and assured me that since he had left me, his whole time had been employed in searching after his family, who had been seized with the general panic, that had been occasioned by the false reports of the people who had first fled from us. he said it was generally apprehended by the natives, that we had been unfriendly to their relations above, who were expected upon the river in great numbers at this time: and that many of the atnah or chin nation, had come up the river to where we had been, in the hope of seeing us, and were very much displeased with him and his friends for having neglected to give them an early notice of our arrival there. he added, that the two men whom we had seen yesterday, or the day before, were just returned from their rendezvous, with the natives of the sea coast, and had brought a message from his brother-in-law, that he had a new axe for him, and not to forget to bring a moose-skin dressed in exchange, which he actually had in his canoe. he expected to meet him, he said, at the other end of the carrying-place. this was as pleasing intelligence as we had reason to expect, and it is almost superfluous to observe that we stood in great need of it. i had a meridian altitude, which gave 53. 3. 7. north latitude. i also took time in the fore and afternoon, that gave a mean of 1. 37. 42. achrometer slow apparent time, which, with an observed immersion of jupiter's first satellite, made our longitude 122. 48. west of greenwich. the blind old man gave a very favourable account of us to his friends, and they all three were very merry together during the whole of the afternoon. that our guide, however, might not escape from us during the night, i determined to set a watch upon him. _sunday, 30._--our strangers conducted themselves with great good humour throughout the day. according to their information, we should find their friends above and below the carrying-place. they mentioned, also, that some of them were not of their tribe, but are allied to the people of the sea coast, who trade with the white men. i had a meridian altitude, that gave 53. 3. 17. north latitude. july. _monday, 1._--last night i had the first watch, when one of my indians proposed to sit up with me, as he understood, from the old man's conversation, that he intended, in the course of the night, to make his escape. accordingly, at eleven i extinguished my light, and sat quietly in my tent, from whence i could observe the motions of the natives. about twelve, though the night was rather dark, i observed the old man creeping on his hands and knees towards the water-side. we accordingly followed him very quietly to the canoe, and he would have gone away with it, if he had not been interrupted in his design. on upbraiding him for his treacherous conduct, when he had been treated with so much kindness by us, he denied the intention of which we accused him, and declared that his sole object was to assuage his thirst. at length, however, he acknowledged the truth, and when we brought him to the fire, his friends, who now awoke, on being informed of what had passed, reprobated his conduct, and asked him how he could expect that the white people would return to this country, if they experienced such ungrateful treatment. the guide said, for his part, he was not a woman, and would never run away through fear. but notwithstanding this courageous declaration, at once i awakened mr. mackay, related to him what had passed, and requested him not to indulge himself in sleep, till i should rise. it was seven before i awoke, and on quitting my tent i was surprised at not seeing the guide and his companion, and my apprehensions were increased when i observed that the canoe was removed from its late situation. to my inquiries after them, some of the men very composedly answered that they were gone up the river, and had left the old man behind them. mr. mackay also told me, that while he was busily employed on the canoe, they had got to the point before he had observed their departure. the interpreter now informed me that at the dawn of day the guide had expressed his design, as soon as the sun was up, to go and wait for us, where he might find his friends. i hoped this might be true; but that my people should suffer them to depart without giving me notice, was a circumstance that awakened very painful reflections in my breast. the weather was clear in the forenoon. my observation this day gave 53. 8. 82. north latitude. at five in the afternoon our vessel was completed, and ready for service. she proved a stronger and better boat than the old one, though had it not been for the gum obtained from the latter, it would have been a matter of great difficulty to have procured a sufficiency of that article to have prevented her from leaking. the remainder of the day was employed by the people in cleaning and refreshing themselves, as they had enjoyed no relaxation from their labour since we landed on this spot. the old man having manifested for various and probably very fallacious reasons, a very great aversion to accompany us any further, it did not appear that there was any necessity to force his inclination. we now put our arms in order, which was soon accomplished, as they were at all times a general object of attention. _tuesday, 2._--it rained throughout the night, but at half past three we were ready to embark, when i offered to conduct the old man where he had supposed we should meet his friends, but he declined the proposition. i therefore directed a few pounds of pemmican to be left with him, for his immediate support, and took leave of him and the place, which i named canoe island. during our stay there we had been most cruelly tormented by flies, particularly the sand-fly, which i am disposed to consider as the most tormenting insect of its size in nature. i was also compelled to put the people upon short allowance, and confine them to two meals a day, a regulation peculiarly offensive to a canadian voyager. one of these meals was composed of the dried rows of fish, pounded, and boiled in water, thickened with a small quantity of flour, and fattened with a bit of grian. these articles, being brought to the consistency of an hasty pudding, produced a substantial and not unpleasant dish. the natives are very careful of the rows of fish, which they dry, and preserve in baskets made of bark. those we used were found in the huts of the first people who fled from us. during our abode in canoe island, the water sunk three perpendicular feet. i now gave the men a dram each, which could not but be considered, at this time, as a very comfortable treat. they were, indeed, in high spirits, when they perceived the superior excellence of the new vessel, and reflected that it was the work of their own hands. [transcriber's note: the word 'grian' above is printed thus in this, and other, editions.] at eleven we arrived at the rapids, and the foreman, who had not forgotten the fright he suffered on coming down it, proposed that the canoe and lading should be carried over the mountain. i threatened him with taking the office of foreman on myself, and suggested the evident change there was in the appearance of the water since we passed it, which upon examination had sunk four feet and an half. as the water did not seem so strong on the west side, i determined to cross over, having first put mr. mackay, and our two hunters, on shore, to try the woods for game. we accordingly traversed, and got up close along the rocks, to a considerable distance, with the paddles, when we could proceed no further without assistance from the line; and to draw it across a perpendicular rock, for the distance of fifty fathoms, appeared to be an insurmountable obstacle. the general opinion was to return, and carry on the other side; i desired, however, two of the men to take the line, which was seventy fathoms in length, with a small roll of bark, and endeavour to climb up the rocks, from whence they were to descend on the other side of that which opposed our progress; they were then to fasten the end of the line to the roll of bark, which the current would bring to us; this being effected, they would be able to draw us up. this was an enterprise of difficulty and danger, but it was crowned with success; though to get to the water's edge above, the men were obliged to let themselves down with the line, run round a tree, from the summit of the rock. by a repetition of the same operation, we at length cleared the rapid, with the additional trouble of carrying the canoe, and unloading at two cascades. we were not more than two hours getting up this difficult part of the river, including the time employed in repairing an hole which had been broken in the canoe, by the negligence of the steersman. here we expected to meet with the natives, but there was not the least appearance of them, except that the guide, his companion, and two others, had apparently passed the carrying-place. we saw several fish leap out of the water, which appeared to be of the salmon kind. the old man, indeed, had informed us that this was the season when the large fish begin to come up the river. our hunters returned, but had not seen the track of any animal. we now continued our journey; the current was not strong, but we met with frequent impediments from the fallen trees, which lay along the banks. we landed at eight in the evening; and suffered indescribable inconveniences from the flies. _wednesday, 3._--it had rained hard in the night, and there was some small rain in the morning. at four we entered our canoe, and at ten we came to a small river, which answered to the description of that whose course the natives said, they follow in their journies towards the sea coast; we therefore put into it, and endeavoured to discover if our guide had landed here; but there were no traces of him or of any others. my former perplexities were now renewed. if i passed this river, it was probable that i might miss the natives; and i had reason to suspect that my men would not consent to return thither. as for attempting the woods, without a guide, to introduce us to the first inhabitants, such a determination would be little short of absolute madness. at length, after much painful reflection, i resolved to come at once to a full explanation with my people, and i experienced a considerable relief from this resolution. accordingly, after repeating the promise they had so lately made me, on our putting back up the river, i represented to them that this appeared to me to be the spot from which the natives took their departure for the sea coast, and added, withal, that i was determined to try it: for though our guide had left us, it was possible that, while we were making the necessary preparations, he or some others might appear, to relieve us from our present difficulties. i now found, to my great satisfaction, that they had not come to any fixed determination among themselves, as some of them immediately assented to undertake the woods with me. others, however, suggested that it might be better to proceed a few leagues further up the river, in expectation of finding our guide, or procuring another, and that after all we might return hither. this plan i very readily agreed to adopt, but before i left this place, to which i gave the name of the west-road river, i sent some of the men into the woods, in different directions, and went some distance up the river myself, which i found to be navigable only for small canoes. two of the men found a good beaten path, leading up a hill just behind us, which i imagined to be the great road. at four in the afternoon we left this place, proceeding up the river; and had not been upon the water more than three quarters of an hour, when we saw two canoes coming with the stream. no sooner did the people in them perceive us than they landed, and we went on shore at the same place with them. they proved to be our guide, and six of his relations. he was covered with a painted beaver robe, so that we scarcely knew him in his fine habiliment. he instantly desired us to acknowledge that he had not disappointed us, and declared, at the same time, that it was his constant intention to keep his word. i accordingly gave him a jacket, a pair of trowsers, and a handkerchief, as a reward for his honourable conduct. the strangers examined us with the most minute attention, and two of them, as i was now informed, belonged to the people whom we first saw, and who fled with so much alarm from us. they told me, also, that they were so terrified on that occasion, as not to approach their huts for two days; and that when they ventured thither, they found the greater part of their property destroyed, by the fire running in the ground. according to their account, they were of a different tribe, though i found no difference in their language from that of the nagailas or carriers. they are called nascud denee. their lodges were at some distance, on a small lake, where they take fish, and if our guide had not gone for them there, we should not have seen a human being on the river. they informed me that the road by their habitation is the shortest, and they proposed that we should take it. _thursday, 4._--at an early hour this morning, and at the suggestion of our guide, we proceeded to the landing-place that leads to the strangers' lodges. our great difficulty here was to procure a temporary separation from our company, in order to hide some articles we could not carry with us, and which it would have been imprudent to leave in the power of the natives. accordingly mr. mackay, and one of our indians embarked with them, and soon run out of our sight. at our first hiding-place we left a bag of pemmican, weighing ninety pounds, two bags of wild rice, and a gallon keg of gunpowder. previous to our putting these articles in the ground, we rolled them up in oilcloth, and dressed leather. in the second hiding-place, and guarded with the same rollers, we hid two bags of indian corn, or maize, and a bale of different articles of merchandise. when we had completed this important object, we proceeded till half past eight, when we landed at the entrance of a small rivulet, where our friends were waiting for us. here it was necessary that we should leave our canoe, and whatever we could not carry on our backs. in the first place, therefore, we prepared a stage, on which the canoe was placed bottom upwards, and shaded by a covering of small trees and branches, to keep her from the sun. we then built an oblong hollow square, ten feet by five, of green logs, wherein we placed every article it was necessary for us to leave here, and covered the whole with large pieces of timber. while we were eagerly employed in this necessary business, our guide and his companions were so impatient to be gone, that we could not persuade the former to wait till we were prepared for our departure, and we had some difficulty in persuading another of the natives to remain, who had undertook to conduct us where the guide had promised to wait our arrival. at noon we were in a state of preparation to enter the woods, an undertaking of which i shall not here give any preliminary opinion, but leave those who read it to judge for themselves. we carried on our backs four bags and a half of pemmican, weighing from eighty-five to ninety pounds each; a case with my instruments, a parcel of goods for presents, weighing ninety pounds, and a parcel containing ammunition of the same weight. each of the canadians had a burden of about ninety pounds, with a gun, and some ammunition. the indians had about forty-five pounds weight of pemmican to carry, besides their gun, &c., with which they were very much dissatisfied, and if they had dared would have instantly left us. they had hitherto been very much indulged, but the moment was now arrived, when indulgence was no longer practicable. my own load, and that of mr. mackay, consisted of twenty-two pounds of pemmican, some rice, a little sugar, &c., amounting in the whole to about seventy pounds each, besides our arms and ammunition. i had also the tube of my telescope swung across my shoulder, which was a troublesome addition to my burthen. it was determined that we should content ourselves with two meals a day, which were regulated without difficulty, as our provisions did not require the ceremony of cooking. in this state of equipment we began our journey, as i have already mentioned, about twelve at noon, the commencement of which was a steep ascent of about a mile; it lay along a well-beaten path, but the country through which it led was rugged and ridgy, and full of wood. when we were in a state of extreme heat, from the toil of our journey, the rain came on, and continued till evening, and even when it ceased, the underwood continued its drippings upon us. about half past six we arrived at an indian camp of three fires, where we found our guide, and on his recommendation we determined to remain there for the night. the computed distance of this day's journey was about twelve geographical miles; the course about west. at sun-set, an elderly man and three other natives joined us from the westward. the former bore a lance, which very much resembled a serjeant's halberd. he had lately received it, by way of barter, from the natives of the sea-coast, who procured it from the white men. we should meet, he said, with many of his countrymen, who had just returned from thence. according to his report, it did not require more than six days' journey, for people who are not heavily laden, to reach the country of those with whom they bartered their skins for iron, &c., and from thence it is not quite two days' march to the sea. they proposed to send two young men on before us, to notify to the different tribes that we were approaching, that they might not be surprised at our appearance, and be disposed to afford us a friendly reception. this was a measure which i could not but approve, and endeavoured by some small presents to prepossess our couriers in our favour. these people live but poorly at this season, and i could procure no provision from them, but a few small, dried fish, as i think, of the carp kind. they had several european articles; and one of them had a strip of fur, which appeared to me to be of the sea otter. he obtained it from the natives of the coast, and exchanged it with me for some beads and a brass cross. we retired to rest in as much security as if we had been long habituated to a confidence in our present associates: indeed, we had no alternative; for so great were the fatigues of the day in our mode of travelling, that we were in great need of rest at night. _friday, 5._--we had no sooner laid ourselves down to rest last night, than the natives began to sing, in a manner very different from what i had been accustomed to hear among savages. it was not accompanied either with dancing, drum, or rattle; but consisted of soft plaintive tones, and a modulation that was rather agreeable: it had somewhat the air of church music. as the natives had requested me not to quit them at a very early hour in the morning, it was five before i desired that the young men, who were to proceed with us, should depart, when they prepared to set off: but on calling to our guide to conduct us, he said that he did not intend to accompany us any further; as the young men would answer our purpose as well as himself. i knew it would be in vain to remonstrate with him, and therefore submitted to his caprice without a reply. however, i thought proper to inform him, that one of my people had lost his dag or poignard, and requested his assistance in the recovery of it. he asked me what i would give him to conjure it back again; and a knife was agreed to be the price of his necromantic exertions. accordingly, all the dags and knives in the place were gathered together, and the natives formed a circle round them; the conjurer also remaining in the middle. when this part of the ceremony was arranged, he began to sing, the rest joining in the chorus; and after some time he produced the poignard, which was stuck in the ground, and returned it to me. at seven we were ready to depart; when i was surprised to hear our late guide propose, without any solicitation on our part, to resume his office; and he actually conducted us as far as a small lake, where we found an encampment of three families. the young men who had undertaken to conduct us, were not well understood by my interpreters, who continued to be so displeased with their journey, that they performed this part of their duty with great reluctance. i endeavoured to persuade an elderly man of this encampment to accompany us to the next tribe, but no inducement of mine could prevail on him to comply with my wishes. i was, therefore, obliged to content myself with the guides i had already engaged, for whom we were obliged to wait some time, till they had provided shoes for their journey. i exchanged two halfpence here, one of his present majesty, and the other of the state of massachusett's bay, coined in 1787. they hung as ornaments in children's ears. my situation here was rendered rather unpleasant by the treatment which my hunters received from these people. the former, it appeared, were considered as belonging to a tribe who inhabit the mountains, and are the natural enemies of the latter. we had also been told by one of the natives, of a very stern aspect, that he had been stabbed by a relation of theirs, and pointed to a scar as the proof of it. i was, therefore, very glad to proceed on my journey. our guides conducted us along the lake through thick woods, and without any path, for about a mile and a half, when we lost sight of it. this piece of water is about three miles long and one broad. we then crossed a creek and entered upon a beaten track, through an open country, sprinkled with cyprus trees. at twelve the sky became black, and a heavy gust with rain shortly followed, which continued for upwards of an hour. when we perceived the approaching storm, we fixed our thin light oil-cloth to screen us from it. on renewing our march, as the bushes were very wet, i desired our guides, they having no burdens, to walk in front and beat them as they went: this task they chose to decline, and accordingly i undertook it. our road now lay along a lake, and across a creek that ran into it. the guides informed me, that this part of the country abounds in beaver: many traps were seen along the road, which had been set for lynxes and martens. about a quarter of a mile from the place where we had been stopped by the rain, the ground was covered with hail, and as we advanced, the hailstones increased in size, some of them being as big as musket-balls. in this manner was the ground whitened for upwards of two miles. at five in the afternoon we arrived on the banks of another lake, when it again threatened rain; and we had already been sufficiently wetted in the course of the day, to look with complacency towards a repetition of it: we accordingly fixed our shed, the rain continuing with great violence through the remainder of the day: it was therefore determined, that we should stop here for the night. in the course of the day we passed three winter huts; they consisted of low walls, with a ridge pole, covered with the branches of the canadian balsam-tree. one of my men had a violent pain in his knee, and i asked the guides to take a share of his burden, as they had nothing to carry but their beaver robes, and bows and arrows, but they could not be made to understand a word of my request. _saturday, 6._--at four this morning i arose from my bed, such as it was. as we must have been in a most unfortunate predicament, if our guides should have deserted us in the night, by way of security, i proposed to the youngest of them to sleep with me, and he readily consented. these people have no covering but their beaver garments, and that of my companions was a nest of vermin. i, however, spread it under us, and having laid down upon it, we covered ourselves with my camblet cloak. my companion's hair being greased with fish-oil, and his body smeared with red earth, my sense of smelling as well as that of feeling, threatened to interrupt my rest; but these inconveniences yielded to my fatigue, and i passed a night of sound repose. i took the lead in our march, as i had done yesterday, in order to clear the branches of the wet which continued to hang upon them. we proceeded with all possible expedition through a level country with but little underwood; the larger trees were of the fir kind. at half past eight we fell upon the road, which we first intended to have taken from the great river, and must be shorter than that which we had travelled. the west-road river was also in sight, winding through a valley. we had not met with any water since our encampment of last night, and though we were afflicted with violent thirst, the river was at such a distance from us, and the descent to it so long and steep, that we were compelled to be satisfied with casting our longing looks towards it. there appeared to be more water in the river here, than at its discharge. the indian account, that it is navigable for their canoes, is, i believe, perfectly correct. our guides now told us, that as the road was very good and well traced, they would proceed to inform the next tribe that we were coming. this information was of a very unpleasant nature; as it would have been easy for them to turn off the road at an hundred yards from us, and, when we had passed them, to return home. i proposed that one of them should remain with us, while two of my people should leave their loads behind and accompany the other to the lodges. but they would not stay to hear our persuasions, and were soon out of sight. i now desired the cancre to leave his burden, take a small quantity of provision, with his arms and blanket, and follow me. i also told my men to come on as fast as they could, and that i would wait for them as soon as i had formed an acquaintance with the natives of the country before us. we accordingly followed our guides with all the expedition in our power, but did not overtake them till we came to a family of natives, consisting of one man, two women, and six children, with whom we found them. these people betrayed no signs of fear at our appearance, and the man willingly conversed with my interpreter, to whom he made himself more intelligible, than our guides had been able to do. they, however, had informed him of the object of our journey. he pointed out to us one of his wives, who was a native of the sea coast, which was not a very great distance from us. this woman was more inclined to corpulency than any we had yet seen, was of low stature, with an oblong face, grey eyes, and a flattish nose. she was decorated with ornaments of various kinds, such as large blue beads, either pendant from her ears, encircling her neck, or braided in her hair: she also wore bracelets of brass, copper, and horn. her garments consisted of a kind of tunic, which was covered with a robe of matted bark, fringed round the bottom with skin of the sea otter. none of the women whom i had seen since we crossed the mountain wore this kind of tunic; their blankets being merely girt round the waist. she had learned the language of her husband's tribe, and confirmed his account, that we were at no great distance from the sea. they were on their way, she said, to the great river to fish. age seemed to be an object of great veneration among these people, for they carried an old woman by turns on their backs who was quite blind and infirm from the very advanced period of her life. our people having joined us and rested themselves, i requested our guides to proceed, when the elder of them told me that he should not go any further, but that these people would send a boy to accompany his brother, and i began to think myself rather fortunate, that we were not deserted by them all. about noon we parted, and in two hours we came up with two men and their families: when we first saw them they were sitting down, as if to rest themselves; but no sooner did they perceive us than they rose up and seized their arms.--the boys who were behind us immediately ran forwards and spoke to them, when they laid by their arms and received us as friends. they had been eating green berries and dried fish we had, indeed, scarcely joined them, when a woman and a boy came from the river with water, which they very hospitably gave us to drink. the people of this party had a very sickly appearance, which might have been the consequence of disease, or that indolence which is so natural to them, or of both. one of the women had a tattooed line along the chin, of the same length of her mouth. the lads now informed me that they would go no further, but that these men would take their places; and they parted from their families with as little apparent concern, as if they were entire strangers to each other. one of them was very well understood by my interpreter, and had resided among the natives of the sea coast, whom he had left but a short time. according to his information, we were approaching a river, which was neither large nor long, but whose banks were inhabited; and that in the bay which the sea forms at the mouth of it, a great wooden canoe, with white people, arrives about the time when the leaves begin to grow; i presume in the early part of may. after we parted with the last people, we came to an uneven, hilly, swampy country, through which our way was impeded by a considerable number of fallen trees. at five in the afternoon we were overtaken by a heavy shower of rain and hail, and being at the same time very much fatigued, we encamped for the night near a small creek. our course till we came to the river, was about south-west ten miles, and then west, twelve or fourteen miles. i thought it prudent, by way of security, to submit to the same inconveniences i have already described, and shared the beaver robe of one of my guides during the night. _sunday, 7._--i was so busily employed in collecting intelligence from our conductors, that i last night forgot to wind up my timepiece, and it was the only instance of such an act of negligence since i left fort chepewyan on the 11th of last october. at five we quitted our station, and proceeded across two mountains, covered with spruce, poplar, white-birch, and other trees. we then descended into a level country, where we found a good road, through woods of cypress. we then came to two small lakes, at the distance of about fourteen miles. course about west. through them the river passes, and our road kept in a parallel line with it on a range of elevated ground. on observing some people before us, our guides hastened to meet them, and, on their approach, one of them stepped forward with an axe in his hand. this party consisted only of a man, two women, and the same number of children. the eldest of the women, who probably was the man's mother, was engaged, when we joined them, in clearing a circular spot, of about five feet in diameter, of the weeds that infested it; nor did our arrival interrupt her employment, which was sacred to the memory of the dead. the spot to which her pious care was devoted, contained the grave of an husband, and a son, and whenever she passed this way, she always stopped to pay this tribute of affection. as soon as we had taken our morning allowance, we set forwards, and about three we perceived more people before us. after some alarm we came up with them. they consisted of seven men, as many women, and several children. here i was under the necessity of procuring another guide, and we continued our route on the same side of the river, till six in the evening, when we crossed it. it was knee deep, and about an hundred yards over. i wished now to stop for the night, as we were all of us very much fatigued, but our guide recommended us to proceed onwards to a family of his friends, at a small distance from thence, where we arrived at half past seven. he had gone forward, and procured us a welcome and quiet reception. there being a net hanging to dry, i requested the man to prepare and set it in the water, which he did with great expedition, and then presented me with a few small dried fish. our course was south-west about twelve miles, part of which was an extensive swamp, that was seldom less than knee deep. in the course of the afternoon we had several showers of rain: i had attempted to take an altitude, but it was past meridian. the water of the river before the lodge was quite still, and expanded itself the form of a small lake. in many other places, indeed, it had assumed the same form. _monday, 8._--it rained throughout the night, and it was seven in the morning before the weather would allow us to proceed. the guide brought me five small boiled fish, in a platter made of bark; some of them were of the carp kind, and the rest of a species for which i am not qualified to furnish a name. having dried our clothes, we set off on our march about eight, and our guide very cheerfully continued to accompany us; but he was not altogether so intelligible as his predecessors in our service. we learned from him, however, that this lake, through which the river passes, extends to the foot of the mountain, and that he expected to meet nine men, of a tribe which inhabits the north side of the river. in this part of our journey we were surprised with the appearance of several regular basons, some of them furnished with water, and the others empty; their slope from the edge to the bottom formed an angle of about forty-five degrees, and their perpendicular depth was about twelve feet. those that contained water, discovered gravel near their edges, while the empty ones were covered with grass and herbs, among which we discovered mustard, and mint. there were also several places from whence the water appears to have retired, which are covered with the same soil and herbage. we now proceeded along a very uneven country, the upper parts of which were covered with poplars, a little under-wood, and plenty of grass: the intervening vallies were watered with rivulets. from these circumstances, and the general appearance of vegetation, i could not account for the apparent absence of animals of every kind. _tuesday, 9._--at two in the afternoon we arrived at the largest river that we had seen, since we left our canoe, and which forced its way between and over the huge stones that opposed its current. our course was about south-south-west sixteen miles along the river, which might here justify the title of a lake. the road was good, and our next course, which was west by south, brought us onward ten miles, where we encamped, fatigued and wet, it having rained three parts of the day. this river abounds with fish, and must fall into the great river, further down than we had extended our voyage. a heavy and continued rain fell through great part of the night, and as we were in some measure exposed to it, time was required to dry our clothes; so that it was half past seven in the morning before we were ready to set out. as we found the country so destitute of game, and foreseeing the difficulty of procuring provisions for our return, i thought it prudent to conceal half a bag of pemmican: having sent off the indians, and all my people except two, we buried it under the fire-place, as we had done on a former occasion. we soon overtook our party, and continued our route along the river or lake. about twelve i had an altitude, but it was inaccurate from the cloudiness of the weather. we continued our progress till five in the afternoon, when the water began to narrow, and in about half an hour we came to a ferry, where we found a small raft. at this time it began to thunder, and torrents of rain soon followed, which terminated our journey for the day. our course was about south, twenty-one miles from the lake already mentioned. we now discovered the tops of mountains, covered with snow, over very high intermediate land. we killed a whitehead and a grey eagle, and three grey partridges; we also saw two otters in the river, and several beaver lodges along it. when the rain ceased, we caught a few small fish, and repaired the raft for the service of the ensuing day. _wednesday, 10._--at an early hour of this morning we prepared to cross the water. the traverse is about thirty yards, and it required five trips to get us all over. at a short distance below, a small river falls in, that comes from the direction in which we were proceeding. it is a rapid for about three hundred yards, when it expands into a lake, along which our road conducted us, and beneath a range of beautiful hills, covered with verdure. at half past eight we came to the termination of the lake, where there were two houses that occupied a most delightful situation, and as they contained their necessary furniture, it seemed probable that their owners intended shortly to return. near them were several graves or tombs, to which the natives are particularly attentive, and never suffer any herbage to grow upon them. in about half an hour we reached a place where there were two temporary huts, that contained thirteen men, with whom we found our guide who had preceded us, in order to secure a good reception. the buildings were detached from each other, and conveniently placed for fishing in the lake. their inhabitants called themselves sloua-cuss-dinais, which denomination, as far as my interpreter could explain it to me, i understood to mean red-fish men. they were much more cleanly, healthy, and agreeable in their appearance, than any of the natives whom we had passed; nevertheless, i have no doubt that they are the same people, from their name alone, which is of the chepewyan language. my interpreters, however, understood very little of what they said, so that i did not expect much information from them. some of them said it was a journey of four days to the sea, and others were of opinion that it was six; and there were among them who extended it to eight; but they all uniformly declared that they had been to the coast. they did not entertain the smallest apprehension of danger from us, and, when we discharged our pieces, expressed no sensation but that of astonishment, which, as may be supposed, was proportionably increased when one of the hunters shot an eagle, at a considerable distance. at twelve i obtained an altitude, which made our latitude 53. 4. 32. north, being not so far south as i expected. i now went, accompanied by one of my men, an interpreter, and the guide, to visit some huts at the distance of a mile. on our arrival, the inhabitants presented us with a dish of boiled trout, of a small kind. the fish would have been excellent if it had not tasted of the kettle, which was made of the bark of the white spruce, and of the dried grass with which it was boiled. besides this kind of trout, red and white carp and jub, are the only fish i saw as the produce of these waters. these people appeared to live in a state of comparative comfort; they take a greater share in the labour of the women, than is common among the savage tribes, and are, as i was informed, content with one wife. though this circumstance may proceed rather from the difficulty of procuring subsistence, than any habitual aversion to polygamy. my present guide now informed me, that he could not proceed any further, and i accordingly engaged two of these people to succeed him in that office; but when they desired us to proceed on the beaten path without them, as they could not set off till the following day, i determined to stay that night, in order to accommodate myself to their convenience. i distributed some trifles among the wives and children of the men who were to be our future guides, and returned to my people. we came back by a different way, and passed by two buildings, erected between four trees, and about fifteen feet from the ground, which appeared to me to be intended as magazines for winter provisions. at four in the afternoon, we proceeded with considerable expedition, by the side of the lake, till six, when we came to the end of it: we then struck off through a much less beaten track, and at half past seven stopped for the night. our course, was about west-south-west thirteen miles, and west six miles. _thursday, 11._--i passed a most uncomfortable night: the first part of it i was tormented with flies, and in the latter deluged with rain. in the morning the weather cleared, and as soon as our clothes were dried, we proceeded through a morass. this part of the country had been laid waste by fire, and the fallen trees added to the pain and perplexity of our way. a high, rocky ridge stretched along our left. though the rain returned, we continued our progress till noon, when our guide took to some trees for shelter. we then spread our oil-cloth, and, with some difficulty, made a fire. about two the rain ceased, when we continued our journey through the same kind of country which we had hitherto passed. at half past three we came in sight of a lake; the land at the same time gradually rising to a range of mountains whose tops were covered with snow. we soon after observed two fresh tracks, which seemed to surprise our guides, but they supposed them to have been made by the inhabitants of the country, who were come into this part of it to fish. at five in the afternoon we were so wet and cold (for it had at intervals continued to rain) that we were compelled to stop for the night. we passed seven rivulets and a creek in this day's journey, as i had hitherto regulated our course by the sun, i could not form an accurate judgment of this route, as we had not been favoured with a sight of it during the day; but i imagine it to have been nearly in the same direction as that of yesterday. our distance could not have been less than fifteen miles. our conductors now began to complain of our mode of travelling, and mentioned their intention of leaving us; and my interpreters, who were equally dissatisfied, added to our perplexity by their conduct. besides these circumstances, and the apprehension that the distance from the sea might be greater than i had imagined, it became a matter of real necessity that we should begin to diminish the consumption of our provisions, and to subsist upon two-thirds of our allowance; a preposition which was as unwelcome to my people, as it was necessary to put into immediate practice. _friday, 12._--at half past five this morning we proceeded on our journey, with cloudy weather, and when we came to the end of the lake, several tracks were visible that led to the side of the water; from which circumstance i concluded, that some of the natives were fishing along the banks of it. this lake is not more than three miles long, and about one broad. we then passed four smaller lakes, the two first being on our right, and those which preceded, on our left. a small river also flowed across our way from the right, and we passed it over a beaver-dam. a larger lake new appeared on our right, and the mountains on each side of us were covered with snow. we afterwards came to another lake on our right, and soon reached a river, which our guides informed us was the same that we had passed on a raft. they said it was navigable for canoes from the great river, except two rapids, one of which we had seen. at this place it was upwards of twenty yards across, and deep water. one of the guides swam over to fetch a raft which was on the opposite side; and having encreased its dimensions, we crossed at two trips, except four of the men, who preferred swimming. here our conductors renewed their menace of leaving us, and i was obliged to give them several articles, and promise more, in order to induce them to continue till we could procure other natives to succeed them. at four in the afternoon we forded the same river, and being with the guides at some distance before the rest of the people, i sat down to wait for them, and no sooner did they arrive, than the former set off with so much speed, that my attempt to follow them proved unsuccessful. one of my indians, however, who had no load, overtook them, when they excused themselves to him by declaring that their sole motive for leaving us, was to prevent the people, whom they expected to find, from shooting their arrows at us. at seven o'clock, however, were so fatigued, that we encamped without them; the mountains covered with snow now appeared to be directly before us. as we were collecting wood for our fire, we discovered a cross road, where it appeared that people had passed within seven or eight days. in short, our situation was such as to afford a just cause of alarm, and that of the people with me was of a nature to defy immediate alleviation. it was necessary, however, for me to attempt it; and i rested my principles of encouragement on a representation of our past perplexities and unexpected relief, and endeavoured to excite in them the hope of similar good fortune. i stated to them, that we could not be at a great distance from the sea, and that there were but few natives to pass, till we should arrive among those, who being accustomed to visit the sea coast, and, having seen white people, would be disposed to treat us with kindness. such was the general tenor of the reasoning i employed on the occasion, and i was happy to find that it was not offered in vain. the weather had been cloudy till three in the afternoon, when the sun appeared; but surrounded, as we were, with snow-clad mountains; the air became so cold, that the violence of our exercise, was not sufficient to produce a comfortable degree of warmth. our course to-day was from west to south and at least thirty-six miles. the land in general was very barren and stony, and lay in ridges, with cypress trees scattered over them. we passed several swamps, where we saw nothing to console us but a few tracks of deer. _saturday, 13._--the weather this morning was clear but cold, and our scanty covering was not sufficient to protect us from the severity of the night. about five, after we had warmed ourselves at a large fire, we proceeded on our dubious journey. in about an hour we came to the edge of a wood, when we perceived a house, situated on a green spot, and by the side of a small river. the smoke that issued from it informed us that it was inhabited. i immediately pushed forward towards this mansion, while my people were in such a state of alarm, that they followed me with the greatest reluctance. on looking back, i perceived that we were in an indian defile, of fifty yards in length. i, however, was close upon the house before the inhabitants perceived us, when the women and children uttered the most horrid shrieks, and the only man who appeared to be with them, escaped out of a back door, which i reached in time to prevent the women and children from following him. the man fled with all his speed into the wood, and i called in vain on my interpreters to speak to him, but they were so agitated with fear as to have lost the power of utterance. it is impossible to describe the distress and alarm of these poor people, who believing that they were attacked by enemies, expected an immediate massacre, which, among themselves, never fails to follow such an event. our prisoners consisted of three women, and seven children, which apparently composed three families. at length, however, by our demeanor, and our presents, we contrived to dissipate their apprehensions. one of the women then informed us, that their people, with several others had left that place three nights before, on a trading journey to a tribe whom she called annah, which is the name the chepewyans give to the knisteneaux, at the distance of three days. she added also, that from the mountains before us, which were covered with snow, the sea was visible; and accompanied her information with a present of a couple of dried fish. we now expressed our desire that the man might be induced to return, and conduct us in the road to the sea. indeed, it was not long before he discovered himself in the wood, when he was assured, both by the women and our interpreters, that we had no hostile design against him; but these assurances had no effect in quieting his apprehensions. i then attempted to go to him alone, and showed him a knife, beads, &c., to induce him to come to me, but he, in return, made a hostile display of his bow and arrows: and, having for some time exhibited a variety of strange antics, again disappeared. however, he soon presented himself in another quarter, and after a succession of parleys between us, he engaged to come and accompany us. while these negotiations were proceeding, i proposed to visit the fishing machines, to which the women readily consented, and i found in them twenty small fish, such as trout, carp, and jub, for which i gave her a large knife; a present that appeared to be equally unexpected and gratifying to her. another man now came towards us, from a hill, talking aloud from the time he appeared, till he reached us. the purport of his speech was, that he threw himself upon our mercy and we might kill him, if it was our pleasure but that from what he had heard, he looked rather for our friendship than our enmity. he was an elderly person, of a decent appearance, and i gave him some articles to conciliate him to us. the first man now followed with a lad along with him, both of whom were the sons of the old man, and, on his arrival, he gave me several half dried fish, which i considered as a peace-offering. after some conversation with these people, respecting the country, and our future progress through it, we retired to rest, with sensations very different from those with which we had risen in the morning. the weather had been generally cloudy throughout the day, and when the sun was obscured, extremely cold for the season. at noon i obtained a meridian altitude, which gave 52. 58. 58. north latitude. i likewise took time in the after-noon. _sunday, 14._--this morning we had a bright sun, with an east wind. these people examined their fishing machines, when they found in them a great number of small fish, and we dressed as many of them as we could eat. thus was our departure retarded until seven, when we proceeded on our journey, accompanied by the man and his two sons. as i did not want the younger, and should be obliged to feed him, i requested of his father to leave him, for the purpose of fishing for the women. he replied, that they were accustomed to fish for themselves, and that i need not be apprehensive of their encroaching upon my provisions, as they were used to sustain themselves in their journies on herbs, and the inner tegument of the bark of trees, for the stripping of which he had a thin piece of bone, then hanging by his side. the latter is of glutinous quality, of a clammy, sweet taste, and is generally considered by the more interior indians as a delicacy, rather than an article of common food. our guide informed me that there is a short cut across the mountains, but as there was no trace of a road, and it would shorten our journey but one day, he should prefer the beaten way. we accordingly proceeded along a lake, west five miles. we then crossed a small river, and passed through a swamp, about south-west, when we began gradually to ascend for some time till we gained the summit of a hill, where we had an extensive view to the south-east, from which direction a considerable river appeared to flow, at the distance of about three miles: it was represented to me as being navigable for canoes. the descent of this hill was more steep than its ascent, and was succeeded by another, whose top, though not so elevated as the last, afforded a view of the range of mountains, covered with snow, which, according to the intelligence of our guide, terminates in the ocean. we now left a small lake on our left, then crossed a creek running out of it, and at one in the afternoon came to a house, of the same construction and dimensions as have already been mentioned, but the materials were much better prepared and finished. the timber was squared on two sides, and the bark taken off the two others; the ridge pole was also shaped in the same manner, extending about eight or ten feet beyond the gable end, and supporting a shed over the door: the end of it was carved into the similitude of a snake's head. several hieroglyphics and figures of a similar workmanship, and painted with red earth, decorated the interior of the building. the inhabitants had left the house but a short time, and there were several bags or bundles in it, which i did not suffer to be disturbed. near it were two tombs, surrounded in a neat manner with boards, and covered with bark. beside them several poles had been erected, one of which was squared, and all of them painted. from each of them were suspended several rolls or parcels of bark, and our guide gave the following account of them; which, as far as we could judge, from our imperfect knowledge of the language, and the incidental errors of interpretation, appeared to involve two different modes of treating their dead; or it might be one and the same ceremony, which we did not distinctly comprehend: at all events, it is the practice of these people to burn the bodies of their dead, except the larger bones, which are rolled up in bark and suspended from poles, as i have already described. according to the other account, it appeared that they actually bury their dead; and when another of the family dies, the remains of the person who was last interred are taken from the grave and burned, has been already mentioned; so that the members of a family are thus successively buried and burned, to make room for each other; and one tomb proves sufficient for a family through succeeding generations. there is no house in this country without a tomb in its vicinity. our last course extended about ten miles. we continued our journey along the lake before the house, and, crossing a river that flowed out of it, came to a kind of bank, or weir, formed by the natives, for the purpose of placing their fishing machines, many of which of different sizes, were lying on the side of the river. our guide placed one of them, with the certain expectation that on his return he should find plenty of fish in it. we proceeded nine miles further, on a good road, west-south-west, when we came to a small lake: we then crossed a river that ran out of it, and our guides were in continual expectation of meeting with some of the natives. to this place our course was a mile and a half, in the same direction as the last. at nine at night we crossed a river on rafts, our last distance being about four miles south-east, on a winding road, through a swampy country, and along a succession of small lakes. we were now quite exhausted, and it was absolutely necessary for us to stop for the night. the weather being clear throughout the day, we had no reason to complain of the cold. our guides encouraged us with the hope that, in two days of similar exertion, we should arrive among people of the other nation. _monday, 15._--at five this morning we were again in motion, and passing along a river, we at length forded it. this stream was not more than knee deep, about thirty yards over, and with a stony bottom. the old man went onward by himself, in the hope of falling in with the people, whom he expected to meet in the course of the day. at eleven we came up with him, and the natives whom he expected, consisting of five men, and part of their families. they received us with great kindness, and examined us with the most minute attention. they must, however, have been told that we were white, as our faces no longer indicated that distinguishing complexion. they called themselves neguia dinais, and were come in a different direction from us, but were now going the same way, to the anah-yoe tesse or river, and appeared to be very much satisfied with our having joined them. they presented us with some fish which they had just taken in the adjoining lake. here i expected that our guides, like their predecessors, would have quitted us, but, on the contrary, they expressed themselves to be so happy, in our company, and that of their friends, that they voluntarily, and with great cheerfulness proceeded to pass another night with us. our new acquaintance were people of a very pleasing aspect. the hair of the women was tied in large loose knots over the ears, and plaited with great neatness from the division of the head, so as to be included in the knots. some of them had adorned their tresses with beads, with a very pretty effect. the men were clothed in leather, their hair was nicely combed, and their complexion was fairer, or perhaps it may be said, with more propriety, that they were more cleanly, than any of the natives whom we had yet seen. their eyes, though keen and sharp, are not of that dark colour, so generally observable in the various tribes of indians; they were, on the contrary, of a grey hue, with a tinge of red. there was one man amongst them of at least six feet four inches in height; his manners were affable, and he had a more prepossessing appearance than any indian i had met with in my journey; he was about twenty-eight years of age, and was treated with particular respect by his party. every man, woman, and child carried a proportionate burden, consisting of beaver coating, and parchment, as well as skins of the otter, the marten, the bear, the lynx, and dressed moose-skins. the last they procure from the rocky-mountain indians. according to their account, the people of the sea coast prefer them to any other article. several of their relations and friends, they said, were already gone, as well provided as themselves, to barter with the people of the coast; who barter them in their turn, except the dressed leather, with white people, who, as they had been informed, arrive there in large canoes. such an escort was the most fortunate circumstance that could happen in our favour. they told us, that as the women and children could not travel fast, we should be three days in getting to the end of our journey; which must be supposed to have been very agreeable infomation to people in our exhausted condition. in about half an hour after we had joined our new acquaintance, the signal for moving onwards was given by the leader of the party, who vociferated, the words huy, huy, when his people joined him and continued a clamorous conversation. we passed along a winding road, over hills, and through swampy vallies, from south to west. we then crossed a deep, narrow river, which discharges itself into a lake, on whose side we stopped at five in the afternoon, for the night, though we had reposed several times since twelve at noon; so that our mode of travelling had undergone a very agreeable change. i compute the distance of this day's journey at about twenty miles. in the middle of the day the weather was clear and sultry. we all sat down on a very pleasant green spot, and were no sooner seated, than our guide and one of the party prepared to engage in play. they had each a bundle of about fifty small sticks, neatly polished, of the size of a quill, and five inches long: a certain number of these sticks had red lines round them; and as many of these as one of the players might find convenient were curiously rolled up in dry grass, and according to the judgment of his antagonist respecting their number and marks, he lost or won. our friend was apparently the loser, as he parted with his bow and arrows, and several articles which i had given him. _tuesday, 16._--the weather of this morning was the same as yesterday; but our fellow-travellers were in no hurry to proceed, and i was under the necessity of pressing them into greater expedition, by representing the almost exhausted state of our provisions. they, however, assured us, that after the next night's sleep we should arrive at the river where they were going and that we should there get fish in great abundance. my young men, from an act of imprudence, deprived themselves last night of that rest which was so necessary to them. one of the strangers asking them several questions respecting us, and concerning their own country, one of them gave such answers as were not credited by the audience; whereupon he demanded, in a very angry tone, if they thought he was disposed to tell lies, like the rocky mountain indians; and one of that tribe happening to be of the party, a quarrel ensued, which might have been attended with the most serious consequences, if it had not been fortunately prevented by the interference of those who were not interested in the dispute. though our stock of provisions was getting so low, i determined, nevertheless, to hide about twenty pounds of pemmican, by way of providing against our return. i therefore left two of the men behind, with directions to bury it, as usual, under the place where we had made our fire. our course was about west-south-west by the side of the lake, and in about two miles we came to the end of it. here was a general halt, when my men overtook us. i was now informed, that some people of another tribe were sent for, who wished very much to see us, two of whom would accompany us over the mountains; that, as for themselves, they had changed their mind, and intended to follow a small river which issued out of the lake, and went in a direction very different from the line of our journey. this was a disappointment, which, though not uncommon to us, might have been followed by considerable inconveniences. it was my wish to continue with them whatever way they went; but neither my promises or entreaties would avail; these people were not to be turned from their purpose; and when i represented the low state of our provisions, one of them answered, that if we would stay with them all night, he would boil a kettle of fish-roes for us. accordingly, without receiving any answer, he began to make preparation to fulfil his engagement. he took the roes out of a bag, and having bruised them between two stones, put them in water to soak. his wife then took an handful of dry grass in her hand, with which she squeezed them through her fingers; in the mean time her husband was employed in gathering wood to make a fire, for the purpose of heating stones. when she had finished her operation, she filled a water kettle nearly full of water, and poured the roes into it. when the stones were sufficiently heated, some of them were put into the kettle, and others were thrown in from time to time, till the water was in a state of boiling; the woman also continued stirring the contents of the kettle, till they were brought to a thick consistency; the stones were then taken out, and the whole was seasoned with about a pint of strong rancid oil. the smell of this curious dish was sufficient to sicken me without tasting it, but the hunger of my people surmounted the nauseous meal. when unadulterated by the stinking oil, these boiled roes are not unpalatable food. in the mean time four of the people who had been expected, arrived, and, according to the account given of them, were of two tribes whom i had not yet known. after some conversation, they proposed, that i should continue my route by their houses; but the old guide, who was now preparing to leave us, informed me that it would lengthen my journey; and by his advice i proposed to them to conduct us along the road which had already been marked out to us. this they undertook without the least hesitation; and, at the same time, pointed out to me the pass in the mountain, bearing south by east by compass. here i had a meridian altitude, and took time. at four in the afternoon we parted with our late fellow-travellers in a very friendly manner, and immediately forded the river. the wild parsnip, which luxuriates on the borders of the lakes and rivers, is a favourite food of the natives: they roast the tops of this plant, in their tender state, over the fire, and taking off the outer rind, they are then a very palatable food. we now entered the woods, and some time after arrived on the banks of another river that flowed from the mountain, which we also forded. the country soon after we left the river was swampy; and the fire having passed through it, the number of trees, which had fallen, added to the toil of our journey. in a short time we began to ascend, and continued ascending till nine at night. we walked upwards of fourteen miles, according to my computation, in the course of the day, though the strait line of distance might not be more than ten. notwithstanding that we were surrounded by mountains covered with snow, we were very much tormented with musquitoes. _wednesday, 17._--before the sun rose, our guides summoned us to proceed, when we descended into a beautiful valley, watered by a small river. at eight we came to the termination of it, where we saw a great number of moles, and began again to ascend. we now perceived many ground-hogs, and heard them whistle in every direction. the indians went in pursuit of them, and soon joined us with a female and her litter, almost grown to their full size. they stripped off their skins, and gave the carcases to my people. they also pulled up a root, which appeared like a bunch of white berries of the size of a pea; its shape was that of a fig, while it had the colour and taste of a potatoe. we now gained the summit of the mountain, and found ourselves surrounded by snow. but this circumstance is caused rather by the quantity of snow drifted in the pass, than the real height of the spot, as the surrounding mountains rise to a much higher degree of elevation. the snow had become so compact that our feet hardly made a perceptible impression on it. we observed, however, the tracks of an herd of small deer which must have passed a short time before us, and the indians and my hunters went immediately in pursuit of them. our way was now nearly level, without the least snow, and not a tree to be seen in any part of it. the grass is very short, and the soil a reddish clay, intermixed with small stones. the face of the hills, where they are not enlivened with verdure, appears, at a distance, as if fire had passed over them. it now began to hail, snow, and rain, nor could we find any shelter but the leeward side of an huge rock. the wind also rose into a tempest, and the weather was as distressing as any i had ever experienced. after an absence of an hour and a half, our hunters brought a small doe of the rein-deer species, which was all they had killed, though they fired twelve shots at a large herd of them. their ill success they attributed to the weather. i proposed to leave half of the venison in the snow, but the men preferred carrying it, though their strength was very much exhausted. we had been so long shivering with cold in this situation that we were glad to renew our march. here and there were scattered a few crow-berry bushes and stinted willows; the former of which had not yet blossomed. before us appeared a stupendous mountain, whose snow-clad summit was lost in the clouds; between it and our immediate course, flowed the river to which we were going. the indians informed us that it was at no great distance. as soon as we could gather a sufficient quantity of wood, we stopped to dress some of our venison; and it is almost superfluous to add, that we made an heartier meal than we had done for many a day before. to the comfort which i have just mentioned, i added that of taking off my beard, as well as changing my linen, and my people followed the humanising example. we then set forwards, and came to a large pond, on whose bank we found a tomb, but lately made, with a pole, as usual, erected beside it, on which two figures of birds were painted, and by them the guides distinguished the tribe to which the deceased person belonged. one of them, very unceremoniously, opened the bark and shewed us the bones which it contained, while the other threw down the pole, and having possessed himself of the feathers that were tied to it, fixed them on his own head. i therefore conjectured, that these funeral memorials belonged to an individual of a tribe at enmity with them. we continued our route with a considerable degree of expedition, and as we proceeded the mountains appeared to withdraw from us. the country between them soon opened to our view, which apparently added to their awful elevation. we continued to descend till we came to the brink of a precipice, from whence our guides discovered the river to us, and a village on its banks. this precipice, or rather succession of precipices, is covered with large timber, which consists of the pine, the spruce, the hemlock, the birch, and other trees. our conductors informed us, that it abounded in animals, which, from their description, must be wild goats. in about two hours we arrived at the bottom, where there is a conflux of two rivers, that issue from the mountains. we crossed the one which was to the left. they are both very rapid, and continue so till they unite their currents, forming a stream of about twelve yards in breadth. here the timber was also very large; but i could not learn from our conductors why the most considerable hemlock trees were stripped of their bark to the tops of them. i concluded, indeed, at that time that the inhabitants tanned their leather with it. here were also the largest and loftiest elder and cedar trees that i had ever seen. we were now sensible of an entire change in the climate, and the berries were quite ripe. the sun was about to set, when our conductors left us to follow them as well as we could. we were prevented, however, from going far astray, for we were hemmed in on both sides and behind by such a barrier as nature never before presented to my view. our guides had the precaution to mark the road for us, by breaking the branches of trees as they passed. this small river must, at certain seasons, rise to an uncommon height and strength of current most probably on the melting of the snow; as we saw a large quantity of drift wood lying twelve feet above the immediate level of the river. this circumstance impeded our progress, and the protruding rocks frequently forced us to pass through the water. it was now dark, without the least appearance of houses, though it would be impossible to have seen them, if there had been any, at the distance of twenty yards, from the thickness of the woods. my men were anxious to stop for the night; indeed the fatigue they had suffered justified the proposal, and i left them to their choice; but as the anxiety of my mind impelled me forwards, they continued to follow me, till i found myself at the edge of the woods; and, notwithstanding the remonstrances that were made, i proceeded, feeling rather than seeing my way, till i arrived at a house, and soon discovered several fires, in small huts, with people busily employed in cooking their fish. i walked into one of them without the least ceremony, threw down my burden, and, after shaking hands with some of the people, sat down upon it. they received me without the least appearance of surprize, but soon made signs for me to go up to the large house, which was erected, on upright posts, at some distance from the ground. a broad piece of timber with steps cut in it, led to the scaffolding even with the floor, and by this curious kind of ladder i entered the house at one end; and having passed three fires, at equal distances in the middle of the building, i was received by several people, sitting upon a very wide board, at the upper end of it. i shook hands with them, and seated myself beside a man, the dignity of whose countenance induced me to give him that preference. i soon discovered one of my guides seated a little above me, with a neat mat spread before him, which i supposed to be the place of honour, and appropriated to strangers. in a short time my people arrived, and placed themselves near me, when the man, by whom i sat, immediately rose, and fetched, from behind a plank of about four feet wide, a quantity of roasted salmon. he then directed a mat to be placed before me and mr. mackay, who was now sitting by me. when this ceremony was performed, he brought a salmon for each of us, and half an one to each of my men. the same plank also served as a screen for the beds, whither the women and children were already retired; but whether that circumstances took place on our arrival, or was the natural consequence of the late hour of the night, i did not discover. the signs of our protector seemed to denote that we might sleep in the house, but as we did not understand him with a sufficient degree of certainty, i thought it prudent, from the fear of giving offence, to order the men to make a fire without, that we might sleep by it. when he observed our design, he placed boards for us, that we might not take our repose on the bare ground, and ordered a fire to be prepared for us. we had not been long seated round it, when we received a large dish of salmon roes, pounded fine and beat up with water, so as to have the appearance of a cream. nor was it without some kind of seasoning that gave it a bitter taste. another dish soon followed, the principal article of which was also salmon roes, with a large proportion of gooseberries, and an herb that appeared to be sorrel. its acidity rendered it more agreeable to my taste than the former preparation. having been regaled with these delicacies, for such they were considered by that hospitable spirit which provided them, we laid ourselves down to rest, with no other canopy than the sky; but i never enjoyed a more sound and refreshing rest, though i had a board for my bed, and a billet for my pillow. _thursday, 18._--at five this morning i awoke, and found that the natives had lighted a fire for us, and were sitting by it. my hospitable friend immediately brought me some berries and roasted salmon, and his companions soon followed his example. the former, which consisted among many others, of gooseberries, hurtleberries, and raspberries, were of the finest i ever saw or tasted, of their respective kinds. they also brought the dried roes of fish to eat with the berries. salmon is so abundant in this river, that these people have a constant and plentiful supply of that excellent fish. to take them with more facility, they had, with great labour, formed an embankment or weir across the river, for the purpose of placing their fishing machines, which they disposed both above and below it. i expressed my wish to visit this extraordinary work, but these people are so superstitious, that they would not allow me a nearer examination than i could obtain by viewing it from the bank. the river is about fifty yards in breadth, and by observing a man fish with a dipping net, i judged it to be about ten feet deep at the foot of the fall. the weir is a work of great labour, and contrived with considerable ingenuity. it was near four feet above the level of the water, at the time i saw it, and nearly the height of the bank on which i stood to examine it. the stream is stopped nearly two-thirds by it. it is constructed by fixing small trees in the bed of the river, in a slanting position (which could be practicable only when the water is much lower than when i saw it) with the thick part downwards; over these is laid a bed of gravel, on which is placed a range of lesser trees, and so on alternately till the work is brought to its proper height. beneath it the machines are placed, into which the salmon fall when they attempt to leap over. on either side there is a large frame of timber-work, six feet above the level of the upper water, in which passages are left for the salmon leading directly into the machines, which are taken up at pleasure. at the foot of the fall dipping nets are also successfully employed. the water of this river is of the colour of asses' milk, which i attributed in part to the limestone that in many places forms the bed of the river, but principally to the rivulets which fall from mountains of the same material. these people indulge an extreme superstition respecting their fish, as it is apparently their only animal food. flesh they never taste, and one of their dogs having picked and swallowed part of a bone which we had left, was beaten by his master till he disgorged it. one of my people also having thrown a bone of the deer into the river, a native, who had observed the circumstance, immediately dived and brought it up, and, having consigned it to the fire, instantly proceeded to wash his polluted hands. as we were still at some distance from the sea, i made application to my friend to procure us a canoe or two, with people to conduct us thither. after he had made various excuses, i at length comprehended that his only objection was to the embarking venison in a canoe on their river, as the fish would instantly smell it and abandon them, so that he, his friends, and relations, must starve. i soon eased his apprehensions on that point, and desired to know what i must do with the venison that remained, when he told me to give it to one of the strangers whom he pointed out to me, as being of a tribe that eat flesh. i now requested him to furnish me with some fresh salmon in its raw state; but, instead of complying with my wish, he brought me a couple of them roasted, observing at the same time, that the current was very strong, and would bring us to the next village, where our wants would be abundantly supplied, in short, he requested that we would make haste to depart. this was rather unexpected after so much kindness and hospitality, but our ignorance of the language prevented us from being able to discover the cause. at eight this morning, fifteen men armed, the friends and relations of these people, arrived by land, in consequence of notice sent them in the night, immediately after the appearance of our guides. they are more corpulent and of a better appearance than the inhabitants of the interior. their language totally different from any i had heard; the atnah or chin tribe, as far as i can judge from the very little i saw of that people, bear the nearest resemblance to them. they appear to be of a quiet and peaceable character, and never make any hostile incursions into the lands of their neighbours. their dress consists of a single robe tied over the shoulders, falling down behind, to the heels, and before, a little below the knees, with a deep fringe round the bottom. it is generally made of the bark of the cedar tree, which they prepare as fine as hemp; though some of these garments are interwoven with strips of the sea-otter skin, which give them the appearance of a fur on one side. others have stripes of red and yellow threads fancifully introduced toward the borders, which have a very agreeable effect. the men have no other covering than that which i have described, and they unceremoniously lay it aside when they find it convenient. in addition to this robe, the women wear a close fringe hanging down before them about two feet in length, and half as wide. when they sit down they draw this between their thighs. they wear their hair so short, that it requires: little care or combing. the men have their's in plaits, and being smeared with oil and red earth, instead of a comb they have a small stick hanging by a string from one of the locks, which they employ to alleviate any itching or irritation in the head. the colour of the eye is grey with a tinge of red. they have all high cheek-bones, but the women are more remarkable for that feature than the men. their houses, arms, and utensils i shall describe hereafter. i presented my friend with several articles, and also distributed some among others of the natives who had been attentive to us. one of my guides had been very serviceable in procuring canoes for us to proceed on our expedition; he appeared also to be very desirous of giving these people a favourable impression of us; and i was very much concerned that he should leave me as he did, without giving me the least notice of his departure, or receiving the presents which i had prepared for him, and he so well deserved. at noon i had an observation which gave 52. 28. 11. north latitude. chapter ix. july, 1793. at one in the afternoon we embarked, with our small baggage, in two canoes, accompanied by seven of the natives, the stream was rapid, and ran upwards of six miles an hour. we came to a weir, such as i have already described, where the natives landed us, and shot over it without taking a drop of water. they then received us on board again, and we continued our voyage, passing many canoes on the river, some with people in them, and others empty. we proceeded at a very great rate for about two hours and a half, when we were informed that we must land, as the village was only at a short distance. i had imagined that the canadians who accompanied me were the most expert canoe-men in the world, but they are very inferior to these people, as they themselves acknowledged, in conducting those vessels. some of the indians ran before us, to announce our approach, when we took our bundles and followed. we had walked along a well-beaten path, through a kind of coppice, when we were informed of the arrival of our couriers at the houses, by the loud and confused talking of the inhabitants. as we approached the edge of the wood, and were almost in sight of the houses, the indians who were before me made signs for me to take the lead, and that they would follow. the noise and confusion of the natives now seemed to encrease, and when we came in sight of the village, we saw them running from house to house, some armed with bows and arrows, others with spears, and many with axes, as if in a state of great alarm, this very unpleasant and unexpected circumstance, i attributed to our sudden arrival, and the very short notice of it which had been given them. at all events, i had but one line of conduct to pursue, which was to walk resolutely up to them, without manifesting any signs of apprehension at their hostile appearance. this resolution produced the desired effect, for as we approached the houses, the greater part of the people laid down their weapons, and came forward to meet us. i was, however, soon obliged to stop from the number of them that surrounded me. i shook hands, as usual with such as were nearest to me, when an elderly man broke through the crowd, and took me in his arms; another then came, who turned him away without the least ceremony, and paid me the same compliment. the latter was followed by a young man, whom i understood to be his son. these embraces, which at first rather surprised me, i soon found to be marks of regard and friendship. the crowd pressed with so much violence and contention to get a view of us, that we could not move in any direction. an opening was at length made to allow a person to approach me, whom the old man made me understand was another of his sons. i instantly stepped forward to meet him, and presented my hand, whereupon he broke the string of a very handsome robe of sea otter skin, which he had on, and covered me with it. this was as flattering a reception as i could possibly receive, especially as i considered him to be the eldest son of the chief. indeed, it appeared to me that we had been detained here for the purpose of giving him time to bring the robe with which he had presented me. the chief now made signs for us to follow him, and he conducted us through a narrow coppice, for several hundred yards, till we came to a house built on the ground, which was of larger dimensions, and formed of better materials than any i had hitherto seen; it was his residence. we were no sooner arrived there, than he directed mats to be spread before it, on which we were told to take our seats, when the men of the village, who came to indulge their curiosity, were ordered to keep behind us. in our front other mats were placed, where the chief and his counsellors took their seats. in the intervening space, mats, which were very clean, and of a much neater workmanship than those on which we sat, were also spread, and a small roasted salmon placed before each of us. when we had satisfied ourselves with the fish, one of the people who came with us from the last village approached, with a kind of ladle in one hand, containing oil, and in the other something that resembled the inner rind of the cocoa-nut, but of a lighter colour, this he dipped in the oil, and, having eat it, indicated by his gestures how palatable he thought it. he then presented me with a small piece of it, which i chose to taste in its dry state, though the oil was free from any unpleasant smell. a square cake of this was next produced, when a man took it to the water near the house, and having thoroughly soaked it, he returned, and, after he had pulled it to pieces like oakum, put it into a well-made trough, about three feet long, nine inches wide, and five deep; he then plentifully sprinkled it with salmon oil, and manifested by his own example that we were to eat of it. i just tasted it, and found the oil perfectly sweet, without which the other ingredient would have been very insipid. the chief partook of it with great avidity, after it had received an additional quantity of oil. this dish is considered by these people as a great delicacy, and on examination, i discovered it to consist of the inner rind of the hemlock tree, taken off early in summer, and put into a frame, which shapes it into cakes of fifteen inches long, ten broad, and half an inch thick; and in this form i should suppose it may be preserved for a great length of time. this discovery satisfied me respecting the many hemlock trees which i had observed stripped of their bark. in this situation we remained for upwards of three hours, and not one of the curious natives left us during all that time, except a party of ten or twelve of them, whom the chief ordered to go and catch fish, which they did in great abundance, with dipping nets, at the foot of the weir. at length we were relieved from the gazing crowd, and got a lodge erected, and covered in for our reception during the night. i now presented the young chief with a blanket, in return for the robe with which he had favoured me, and several other articles, that appeared to be very gratifying to him. i also presented some to his father, and amongst them was a pair of scissors, whose use i explained to him, for clipping his beard, which was of great length; and to that purpose he immediately applied them. my distribution of similar articles was also extended to others, who had been attentive to us. the communication, however, between us was awkward and inconvenient, for it was carried on entirely by signs, as there was not a person with me who was qualified for the office of an interpreter. we were all of us very desirous to get some fresh salmon, that we might dress them in our own way, but could not by any means obtain that gratification, though there were thousands of that fish strung on cords, which were fastened to stakes in the river. they were even averse to our approaching the spot where they clean and prepare them for their own eating. they had, indeed, taken our kettle from us, lest we should employ it in getting water from the river; and they assigned as the reason for this precaution, that the salmon dislike the smell of iron. at the same time, they supplied us with wooden boxes, which were capable of holding any fluid. two of the men who went to fish, in a canoe capable of containing ten people, returned with a full lading of salmon, that weighed from six to forty pounds, though the far greater part of them were under twenty. they immediately strung the whole of them, as i have already mentioned, in the river. i now made the tour of the village, which consisted of four elevated houses, and seven built on the ground, besides a considerable number of other buildings or sheds, which are used only as kitchens, and places for curing their fish. the former are constructed by fixing a certain number of posts in the earth, on some of which are laid, and to others are fastened, the supporters of the floor, at about twelve feet above the surface of the ground; their length is from a hundred to a hundred and twenty feet, and they are about forty in breadth. along the centre are built three, four, or five hearths, for the two-fold purpose of giving warmth, and dressing their fish. the whole length of the building on either side is divided by cedar planks, into partitions or apartments of seven feet square, in the front of which there are boards, about three feet wide, over which, though they are not immovably fixed, the inmates of these recesses generally pass, when they go to rest. the greater part of them are intended for that purpose, and such are covered with boards, at the height of the wall of the house, which is about seven or eight feet, and rest upon beams that stretch across the building. on those also are placed the chests which contain their provisions, utensils, and whatever they possess. the intermediate space is sufficient for domestic purposes. on poles that run along the beams, hang roasted fish, and the whole building is well covered with boards and bark, except within a few inches of the ridge pole; where open spaces are left on each side to let in light and emit the smoke. at the end of the house that fronts the river, is a narrow scaffolding, which is also ascended by a piece of timber, with steps cut in it; and at each corner of this erection there are openings for the inhabitants to ease nature. as it does not appear to be a custom among them to remove these heaps of excremental filth, it may be supposed that the effluvia does not annoy them. the houses which rest on the ground are built of the same materials, and on the same plan. a sloping stage that rises to a cross piece of timber, supported by two forks, joins also to the main building, for those purposes which need not be repeated. when we were surrounded by the natives on our arrival, i counted sixty-five men, and several of them may be supposed to have been absent; i cannot, therefore, calculate the inhabitants of this village at less than two hundred souls. the people who accompanied us hither, from the other village, had given the chief a very particular account of everything they knew concerning us: i was, therefore, requested to produce my astronomical instruments, nor could i have any objection to afford them this satisfaction, as they would necessarily add to our importance in their opinion. near the house of the chief i observed several oblong squares, of about twenty feet by eight. they were made of thick cedar boards, which were joined with so much neatness, that i at first thought they were one piece. they were painted with hieroglyphics, and figures of different animals, and with a degree of correctness that was not to be expected from such an uncultivated people. i could not learn the use of them, but they appeared to be calculated for occasional acts of devotion or sacrifice, which all these tribes perform at least twice in the year, at the spring and fall. i was confirmed in this opinion by a large building in the middle of the village, which i at first took for the half finished frame of a house. the groundplot of it was fifty feet by forty-five; each end is formed by four stout posts, fixed perpendicularly in the ground. the corner ones are plain, and support a beam of the whole length, having three intermediate props on each side, but of a larger size, and eight or nine feet in height. the two centre posts, at each end, are two feet and a half in diameter, and carved into human figures, supporting two ridge poles on their heads, at twelve feet from the ground. the figures at the upper part of this square represent two persons, with their hands upon their knees, as if they supported the weight with pain and difficulty; the others opposite to them stand at their ease, with their hands resting on their hips. in the area of the building there were the remains of several fires. the posts, poles, and figures, were painted red and black; but the sculpture of these people is superior to their painting. _friday, 19_--soon after i retired to rest last night, the chief paid me a visit to insist on my going to his bed-companion, and taking my place himself; but, notwithstanding his repeated entreaties, i resisted this offering of his hospitality. at an early hour this morning, i was again visited by the chief, in company with his son. the former complained of a pain in his breast; to relieve his suffering, i gave him a few drops of turlington's balsam on a piece of sugar; and i was rather surprised to see him take it without the least hesitation. when he had taken my medicine, he requested me to follow him, and conducted me to a shed, where several people were assembled round a sick man, who was another of his sons. they immediately uncovered him, and showed me a violent ulcer in the small of his back, in the foulest state that can be imagined. one of his knees was also afflicted in the same manner. this unhappy man was reduced to a skeleton, and, from his appearance, was drawing near to an end of his pains. they requested that i would touch him, and his father was very urgent with me to administer medicine; but he was in such a dangerous state, that i thought it prudent to yield no further to the importunities than to give the sick man a few drops of turlington's balsam in some water. i therefore left them, but was soon called back by the loud lamentations of the women, and was rather apprehensive that some inconvenience might result from my compliance with the chief's request. on my return i found the native physicians busy in practising their skill and art on the patient. they blew on him, and then whistled; at times they pressed their extended fingers, with all their strength, on his stomach; they also put their forefingers doubled into his mouth, and spouted water from their own with great violence into his face. to support these operations, the wretched sufferer was held up in a sitting posture; and when they were concluded, he was laid down and covered with a new robe made of the skins of the lynx. i had observed that his belly and breast were covered with scars, and i understood that they were caused by a custom prevalent among them, of applying pieces of lighted touch-wood to their flesh, in order to relieve pain or demonstrate their courage. he was now placed on a broad plank, and carried by six men into the woods, where i was invited to accompany them. i could not conjecture what would be the end of this ceremony, particularly as i saw one man carry fire, another an axe, and a third dry wood. i was indeed, disposed to suspect that, as it was their custom to burn the dead, they intended to relieve the poor man from his pain, and perform the last sad duty of surviving affection. when they advanced a short distance into the woods, they laid him upon a clear spot, and kindled a fire against his back, when the physician began to scarify the ulcer with a very blunt instrument, the cruel pain of which operation the patient bore with incredible resolution. the scene afflicted me, and i left it. on my return to our lodge, i observed before the door of the chief's residence, four heaps of salmon, each of which consisted of between three and four hundred fish. sixteen women were employed in cleaning and preparing them. they first separate the head from the body, the former of which they boil; they then cut the latter down the back on each side of the bone, leaving one third of the fish adhering to it, and afterwards take out the guts. the bone is roasted for immediate use, and the other parts are dressed in the same manner, but with more attention, for future provision. while they are before the fire, troughs are placed under them to receive the oil. the roes are also carefully preserved, and form a favourite article of their food. after i had observed these culinary preparations, i paid a visit to the chief, who presented me with a roasted salmon; he then opened one of his chests, and took out of it a garment of blue cloth, decorated with brass buttons; and another of flowered cotton, which i supposed were spanish; it had been trimmed with leather fringe, after the fashion of their own cloaks. copper and brass are in great estimation among them, and of the former they have great plenty: they point their arrows and spears with it, and work it up into personal ornaments; such as collars, ear-rings, and bracelets, which they wear on their wrists, arms, and legs. i presume they find it the most advantageous articles of trade with the more inland tribes. they also abound in iron. i saw some of their twisted collars of that metal which weighed upwards of twelve pounds. it is generally beat in bars of fourteen inches in length, and one inch three quarters wide. the brass is in thin squares: their copper is in larger pieces, and some of it appeared to be old stills cut up. they have various trinkets; but their manufactured iron consists only of poignards and daggers. some of the former have very neat handles, with a silver coin of a quarter or eighth of a dollar fixed on the end of them.--the blades of the latter are from ten to twelve inches in length, and about four inches broad at the top, from which they gradually lessen to a point. when i produced my instruments to take an altitude, i was desired not to make use of them. i could not then discover the cause of this request, but i experienced the good effect of the apprehension, which they occasioned, as it was very effectual in hastening my departure. i had applied several times to the chief to prepare canoes and people to take me and my party to the sea, but very little attention had been paid to my application till noon; when i was informed that a canoe was properly equipped for my voyage, and that the young chief would accompany me. i now discovered that they had entertained no personal fear of the instruments, but were apprehensive that the operation of them might frighten the salmon from that part of the river. the observation taken in this village gave me 52. 25. 52. north latitude. in compliance with the chief's request i desired my people to take their bundles, and lay them down on the bank of the river. in the mean time i went to take the dimensions of his large canoe, in which, it was signified to me, that about ten winters ago he went a considerable distance toward the mid-day sun, with forty of his people, when he saw two large vessels full of such men as myself, by whom he was kindly received: they were, he said, the first white people he had seen. they were probably the ships commanded by captain cook. this canoe was built of cedar, was forty-five feet long, four feet wide, and three feet and a half in depth. it was painted black and decorated with white figures of fish of different kinds. the gunwale, fore and aft, was inlaid with the teeth of the sea-otter.[1] when i returned to the river, the natives who were to accompany us and my people, were already in the canoe. the latter, however, informed me, that one of our axes was missing. i immediately applied to the chief, and requested its restoration; but he would not understand me till i sat myself down on a stone, with my arms in a state of preparation, and made it appear to him that i should not depart till the stolen article was restored. the village was immediately in a state of uproar, and some danger was apprehended from the confusion that prevailed in it. the axe, however, which had been hidden under the chief's canoe, was soon returned. though this instrument was not, in itself, of sufficient value to justify a dispute with these people, i apprehended that the suffering them to keep it, after we had declared its loss, might have occasioned the loss of every thing we carried with us, and of our lives also. my people were dissatisfied with me at the moment; but i thought myself right then, and, i think now, that the circumstances in which we were involved, justified the measure which i adopted. [1] as captain cook has mentioned, that the people of the sea-coast adorned their canoes with human teeth, i was more particular in my inquiries; the result of which was, the most satisfactory proof that he was mistaken; but his mistake arose from the very great resemblance there is between human teeth and those of the sea-otter. chapter x. july, 1793. _saturday, 18._--at one in the afternoon we renewed our voyage in a large canoe with four of the natives. we found the river almost one continued rapid, and in half an hour we came to a house, where, however, we did not land, though invited by the inhabitants. in about an hour we arrived at two houses, where we were, in some degree, obliged to go on shore, as we were informed that the owner of them was a person of consideration. he indeed received and regaled us in the same manner as at the last village; and to increase his consequence, he produced many european articles, and amongst them were at least forty pounds weight of old copper stills. we made our stay as short as possible, and our host embarked with us. in a very short time we were carried by the rapidity of the current to another house of very large dimensions, which was partitioned into different apartments, and whose doors were on the side. the inhabitants received us with great kindness; but instead of fish, they placed a long, clean, and well made trough before us full of berries. in addition to those which we had already seen, there were some black, that were larger than the hurtleberry, and of a richer flavour; others white, which resembled the blackberry in everything but colour. here we saw a woman with two pieces of copper in her under lip, as described by captain cook. i continued my usual practice of making these people presents in return for their friendly reception and entertainment. [transcriber's note: by context, the date above should read _friday, 19._] the navigation of the river now became more difficult, from the numerous channels into which it was divided, without any sensible diminution in the velocity of its current. we soon reached another house of the common size, where we were well received; but whether our guides had informed them that we were not in want of anything, or that they were deficient in inclination, or perhaps the means, of being hospitable to us, they did not offer us any refreshment. they were in a state of busy preparation. some of the women were employed in beating and preparing the inner rind of the cedar bark, to which they gave the appearance of flax. others were spinning with a distaff and spindle. one of them was weaving a robe of it, intermixed with stripes of the sea-otter skin, on a frame of adequate contrivance that was placed against the side of the house. the men were fishing on the river with drag-nets between two canoes. these nets are forced by poles to the bottom, the current driving them before it; by which means the salmon coming up the river are intercepted, and give notice of their being taken by the struggles they make in the bag or sleeve of the net. there are no weirs in this part of the river, as i suppose, from the numerous channels into which it is divided. the machines, therefore, are placed along the banks, and consequently these people are not so well supplied with fish as the village which has been already described, nor do they appear to possess the same industry. the inhabitants of the last house accompanied us in a large canoe. they recommended us to leave ours here, as the next village was but at a small distance from us, and the water more rapid than that which we had passed. they informed us also, that we were approaching a cascade. i directed them to shoot it, and proceeded myself to the foot thereof, where i re-embarked, and we went on with great velocity, till we came to a fall, where we left our canoe, and carried our luggage along a road through a wood for some hundred yards, when we came to a village, consisting of six very large houses, erected on pallisades, rising twenty-five feet from the ground, which differed in no one circumstance from those already described, but the height of their elevation. they contained only four men and their families. the rest of the inhabitants were with us and in the small houses which we passed higher up the river.[1] these people do not seem to enjoy the abundance of their neighbours, as the men who returned from fishing had no more than five salmon; they refused to sell one of them, but gave me one roasted of a very indifferent kind. in the houses there were several chests or boxes containing different articles that belonged to the people whom we had lately passed. if i were to judge by the heaps of filth beneath these buildings, they must have been erected at a more distant period than any which we had passed. from these houses i could perceive the termination of the river, and its discharge into a narrow arm of the sea. as it was now half past six in the evening, and the weather cloudy, i determined to remain here for the night, and for that purpose we possessed ourselves of one of the unoccupied houses. the remains of our last meal, which we brought with us, served for our supper, as we could not procure a single fish from the natives. the course of the river is about west, and the distance from the great village upwards of thirty-six miles.--there we had lost our dog, a circumstance of no small regret to me. _saturday, 20._--we rose at a very early hour this morning, when i proposed to the indians to run down our canoe, or procure another at this place. to both these proposals they turned a deaf ear, as they imagined that i should be satisfied with having come in sight of the sea. two of them peremptorily refused to proceed; but the other two having consented to continue with us, we obtained a larger canoe than our former one, and though it was in a leaky state we were glad to possess it. at about eight we got out of the river, which discharges itself by various channels into an arm of the sea. the tide was out, and had left a large space covered with sea-weed. the surrounding hills were involved in fog. the wind was at west, which was ahead of us, and very strong; the bay appearing to be from one to three miles in breadth. as we advanced along the land we saw a great number of sea-otters. we fired several shots at them, but without any success from the rapidity with which they plunge under the water. we also saw many small porpoises or divers. the white-headed eagle, which is common in the interior parts; some small gulls, a dark bird which is inferior in size to the gull, and a few small ducks, were all the birds which presented themselves to our view. at two in the afternoon the swell was so high, and the wind, which was against us, so boisterous, that we could not proceed with our leaky vessel, we therefore landed in a small cove on the right side of the bay. opposite to us appeared another small bay, in the mouth of which is an island, and where, according to the information of the indians, a river discharges itself that abounds in salmon. our young indians now discovered a very evident disposition to leave us; and, in the evening, one of them made his escape. mr. mackay, however, with the other, pursued and brought him back; but as it was by no means necessary to detain him, particularly as provisions did not abound with us, i gave him a small portion, with a pair of shoes, which were necessary for his journey, and a silk handkerchief, telling him at the same time, that he might go and inform his friends, that we should also return in three nights. he accordingly left us, and his companion, the young chief, went with him. when we landed, the tide was going out, and at a quarter past four it was ebb, the water having fallen in that short period eleven feet and an half. since we left the river, not a quarter of an hour had passed in which we did not see porpoises and sea-otters. soon after ten it was high water, and rendered it necessary that our baggage should be shifted several times, though not till some of the things had been wetted. we were now reduced to the necessity of looking out for fresh water, with which we were plentifully supplied by the rills that ran down from the mountains. when it was dark the young chief returned to us, bearing a large porcupine on his back. he first cut the animal open, and having disencumbered it of the entrails, threw them into the sea; he then singed its skin, and boiled it in separate pieces, as our kettle was not sufficiently capacious to contain the whole; nor did he go to rest, till with the assistance of two of my people who happened to be awake, every morsel of it was devoured. i had flattered myself with the hope of getting a distance of the moon and stars, but the cloudy weather continually disappointed me, and i began to fear that i should fail in this important object; particularly as our provisions were at a very low ebb, and we had, as yet, no reason to expect any assistance from the natives. our stock was, at this time, reduced to twenty pounds weight of pemmican, fifteen pounds of rice, and six pounds of flour, among ten half-starved men, in a leaky vessel, and on a barbarous coast. our course from the river was about west-south-west, distance ten miles. _sunday, 21._--at forty minutes past four this morning it was low water, which made fifteen feet of perpendicular height below the high-water mark of last night. mr. mackay collected a quantity of small muscles which we boiled. our people did not partake of this regale, as they are wholly unacquainted with sea shell-fish. our young chief being missing, we imagined that he had taken his flight, but, as we were preparing to depart, he fortunately made his appearance from the woods, where he had been to take his rest after his feast of last night. at six we were upon the water, when we cleared the small bay, which we named porcupine cove, and steered west-south-west for seven miles, we then opened a channel about two miles and a half wide at south-south-west, and had a view of ten or twelve miles into it. as i could not ascertain the distance from the open sea, and being uncertain whether we were in a bay or among inlets and channels of islands, i confined my search to a proper place for taking an observation. we steered, therefore, along the land on the left, west-north-west a mile and a half; then north-west one fourth of a mile, and north three miles to an island the land continuing to run north-north-west, then along the island, south-south-west half a mile, west a mile and a half, and from thence directly across to the land on the left, (where i had an altitude,) south-west three miles.[2] from this position a channel, of which the island we left appeared to make a check, bears north by east. under the land we met with three canoes, with fifteen men in them, and laden with their moveables, as if proceeding to a new situation, or returning to a former one. they manifested no kind of mistrust or fear of us, but entered into conversation with our young man, as i supposed, to obtain some information concerning us. it did not appear that they were the same people as those we had lately seen, as they spoke the language of our young chief, with a different accent. they then examined everything we had in our canoe, with an air of indifference and disdain. one of them in particular made me understand, with an air of insolence, that a large canoe had lately been in this bay, with people in her like me, and that one of them, whom he called _macubah_ had fired on him and his friends, and that _bensins_ had struck him on the back, with the flat part of his sword. he also mentioned another name, the articulation of which i could not determine. at the same time he illustrated these circumstances by the assistance of my gun and sword; and i do not doubt but he well deserved the treatment which he described. he also produced several european articles, which could not have been long in his possession. from his conduct and appearance, i wished very much to be rid of him, and flattered myself that he would prosecute his voyage, which appeared to be in an opposite direction to our course. however, when i prepared to part from them, they turned their canoes about, and persuaded my young man to leave me, which i could not prevent. we coasted along the land[3] at about west-south-west for six miles, and met a canoe with two boys in it, who were dispatched to summon the people on that part of the coast to join them. the troublesome fellow now forced himself into my canoe, and pointed out a narrow channel on the opposite shore, that led to his village, and requested us to steer towards it, which i accordingly ordered. his importunities now became very irksome, and he wanted to see everything we had, particularly my instruments, concerning which he must have received information from my young man. he asked for my hat, my handkerchief, and in short, everything that he saw about me. at the same time he frequently repeated the unpleasant intelligence that he had been shot at by people of my colour. at some distance from the land a channel opened to us, at south-west by west, and pointing that way, he made me understand that _macubah_ came there with his large canoe. when we were in mid-channel, i perceived some sheds, or the remains of old buildings on the shore; and as, from that circumstance i thought it probable that some europeans might have been there i directed my steersman to make for that spot. the traverse is upwards of three miles north-west. we landed, and found the ruins of a village, in a situation calculated for defence. the place itself was overgrown with weeds, and in the centre of the houses there was a temple, of the same form and construction as that which i described at the large village. we were soon followed by ten canoes, each of which contained from three to six men. they informed us that we were expected at the village, where we should see many of them. from their general deportment i was very apprehensive that some hostile design was meditated against us, and for the first time i acknowledged my apprehensions to my people. i accordingly desired them to be very much upon their guard, and to be prepared if any violence was offered to defend themselves to the last. we had no sooner landed, than we took possession of a rock, where there was not space for more than twice our number, and, which admitted of our defending ourselves with advantage, in case we should be attacked. the people in the three first canoes, were the most troublesome, but, after doing their utmost to irritate us, they went away. they were, however, no sooner gone, than a hat, a handkerchief, and several other articles, were missing. the rest of our visitors continued their pressing invitations to accompany them to their village, but finding our resolution to decline them was not to be shaken, they, about sun-set relieved us from all further importunities, by their departure. another canoe, however, soon arrived, with seven stout, well-looking men. they brought a box, which contained a very fine sea-otter skin, and a goat skin that was beautifully white. for the former they demanded my hanger, which, as may well be supposed, could not be spared in our present situation, and they actually refused to take a yard and a half of common broad cloth, with some other articles, for the skin, which proves the unreflecting improvidence of our european traders. the goat-skin was so bulky that i did not offer to purchase it. these men also told me that _macubah_ had been there, and left his ship behind a point of land in the channel, south-west from us; from whence he had come to their village in boats, which these people represented by imitating our manner of rowing. when i offered them what they did not choose to accept for the otter-skin, they shook their heads, and very distinctly answered, "no, no." and to mark their refusal of anything we asked from them, they emphatically employed the same british monosyllable. in one of the canoes which had left us, there was a seal, that i wished to purchase, but could not persuade the natives to part with it. they had also a fish, which i now saw for the first time. it was about eighteen inches in length, of the shape and appearance of a trout, with strong sharp teeth. we saw great numbers of the animals which we had taken for sea-otters, but i was new disposed to think that a great part of them, at least, must have been seals. the natives having left us, we made a fire to warm ourselves, and as for supper, there was but little of that, for our whole daily allowance did not amount to what was sufficient for a single meal. the weather was clear throughout the day, which was succeeded by a fine moon-light night. i directed the people to keep watch by two in turn, and laid myself down on my cloak. _monday, 22._---this morning the weather was clear and pleasant; nor had anything occurred to disturb us throughout the night. one solitary indian, indeed, came to us with about half a pound of boiled seal's flesh, and the head of a small salmon, for which he asked a handkerchief, but afterwards accepted a few beads. as this man came alone, i concluded that no general plan had been formed among the natives to annoy us, but this opinion did not altogether calm the apprehensions of my people. soon after eight in the morning, i took five altitudes for time, and the mean of them was 36â° 48' at six in the afternoon, 58. 34. time, by the watch, which makes the achrometer slow apparent time 1h 21m 44s. two canoes now arrived from the same quarter as the rest, with several men, and our young indian along with them. they brought a very few small sea-otter skins, out of season, with some pieces of raw seal's flesh. the former were of no value, but hunger compelled some of my people to take the latter, at an extravagant price. mr. mackay lighted a bit of touch-wood with a burning-glass, in the cover of his tobacco-box, which so surprised the natives, that they exchanged the best of their otter skins for it. the young man was now very anxious to per suede our people to depart, as the natives, he said, were as numerous as musquitoes, and of very malignant character. this information produced some very earnest remonstrances to me to hasten our departure, but as i was determined not to leave this place, except i was absolutely compelled to it, till i had ascertained its situation, these solicitations were not repeated. while i was taking a meridian, two canoes, of a larger size, and well manned, appeared from the main south-west channel. they seemed to be the fore-runners of others, who were coming to co-operate with the people of the village, in consequence of the message sent by the two boys, which has been already mentioned; and our young indian, who understood them, renewed his entreaties for our departure, as they would soon come to shoot their arrows, and hurl their spears at us. in relating our dangers his agitation was so violent, that he foamed at the mouth. though i was not altogether free from apprehensions on the occasion, it was necessary for me disguise them, as my people were panic struck, and some of them asked if it was my determination to remain there to be sacrificed? my reply was the same as their former importunities had received, that i would not stir till i had accomplished my object; at the same time, to humour their fears, i consented that they should put everything into the canoe, that we might be in a state of preparation to depart. the two canoes now approached the shore, and in a short time, five men, with their families, landed very quietly from them. my instruments being exposed, they examined them with much apparent admiration and astonishment. my altitude, by an artificial horizon, gave 52â° 21' 33"; that by the natural horizon was 52â° 20' 48" north latitude.[4] these indians were of a different tribe from those which i had already seen, as our guide did not understand their language. i now mixed up some vermilion in melted grease, and inscribed, in large characters, on the south-east face of the rock on which we had slept last night, this brief memorial--"alexander mackenzie, from canada, by land, the twenty-second of july, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three." as i thought that we were too near the village, i consented to leave this place, and accordingly proceeded north-east three miles, when we landed on a point, in a small cove, where we should not be readily seen, and could not be attacked except in our front. among other articles that had been stolen from us, at our last station, was a sounding-line, which i intended to have employed in this bay, though i should not probably have found the bottom, at any distance from the shore, as the appearance both of the water and land indicated a great depth. the latter displayed a solid rock, rising as it appeared to me, from three to seven hundred feet above high water mark. where any soil was scattered about, there were cedars, spruce-firs, white birch, and other trees of large growth. from its precipices issued streams of fine water, as cold as ice. the two canoes which we had left at our last station, followed us hither, and when they were preparing to depart, our young chief embarked with them. i was determined, however, to prevent his escape, and compelled him, by animal force, to come on shore, for i thought it much better to incur his displeasure than to suffer him to expose himself to any untoward accident among strangers, or to return to his father before us. the men in the canoe made signs for him to go over the hill, and that they would take him on board at the other side of it. as i was necessarily engaged in other matters, i desired my people to take care that he should not run away; but they peremptorily refused to be employed in keeping him against his will. i was, therefore, reduced to the necessity of watching him myself. i took five altitudes, and the mean of them was 29. 23. 48, at 3. 5. 53. in the afternoon, by the watch, which makes it slow apparent time. 1h 22m 38s in the forenoon} 1 21 44 2 44 22 it was } --------- --------- mean of both 1 22 11 difference of nine hours go} 8 ing of the time-piece slow } 1 22 19 i observed an emersion of jupiter's third satellite, which gave 8â° 32' 21. difference of longitude. i then observed an emersion of jupiter's first satellite, which gave 8â° 31' 48. the mean of these observations is 8â° 32' 2. which is equal to 128. 2. west of greenwich. i had now determined my situation, which is the most fortunate circumstance of my long, painful, and perilous journey, as a few cloudy days would have prevented me from ascertaining the final longitude of it.[5] at twelve it was high water, but the tide did not come within a foot and an half of the high water mark of last night. as soon as i had completed my observations, we left this place: it was then ten o'clock in the afternoon. we returned the same way that we came, and though the tide was running out very strong, by keeping close in with the rocks, we proceeded at a considerable rate, as my people were very anxious to get out of the reach of the inhabitants of this coast. _tuesday, 23._--during our course we saw several fires on the land to the southward, and after the day dawned, their smokes were visible. at half past four this morning we arrived at our encampment of the night of the 21st, which had been named porcupine cove. the tide was out, and considerably lower than we found it when we were here before; the high-water mark being above the place where we had made our fire. this fluctuation must be occasioned by the action of the wind upon the water, in those narrow channels. as we continued onwards, towards the river, we saw a canoe, well manned, which at first made from us with great expedition, but afterwards waited, as if to reconnoitre us; however, it kept out of our way, and allowed us to pass. the tide being much lower than when we were here before, we were under the necessity of landing a mile below the village. we observed that stakes were fixed in the ground along the bay, and in some places machines were fastened to them, as i afterwards learned, to intercept the seals and otters. these works are very extensive, and must have been erected with no common labour. the only bird we saw to-day was the white headed eagle.[6] our guide directed us to draw the canoe out of the reach of the tide and to leave it. he would not wait, however, till this operation was performed, and i did not wish to let him go alone. i therefore followed him through a bad road encumbered with under-wood. when we had quitted the wood, and were in sight of the houses, the young man being about fifteen or twenty paces before me, i was surprised to see two men running down towards me from one of the houses, with daggers in their hands and fury in their aspect. from their hostile appearance, i could not doubt of their purpose. i therefore stopped short, threw down my cloak, and put myself in a posture of defence, with my gun presented towards them. fortunately for me, they knew the effect of firearms, and instantly dropped their daggers, which were fastened by a string to their wrists, and had before been held in a menacing attitude. i let my gun also fall into my left hand, and drew my hanger. several others soon joined them, who were armed in the same manner; and among them i recognised the man whom i have already mentioned as being so troublesome to us, and who now repeated the names of macuba and benzins, signifying at the same time by his action, as on a former occasion, that he had been shot at by them. until i saw him my mind was undisturbed; but the moment he appeared, conceiving that he was the cause of my present perilous situation, my resentment predominated, and if he had come within my reach, i verily believe, that i should have terminated his insolence forever. the rest now approached so near, that one of them contrived to get behind me, and grasped me in his arms. i soon disengaged myself from him; and, that he did not avail himself of the opportunity which he had of plunging his dagger into me, i cannot conjecture. they certainly might have overpowered me, and though i should probably have killed one or two of them, i must have fallen at last. one of my people now came out of the wood. on his appearance they instantly took to flight, and with the utmost speed sought shelter in the houses from whence they had issued. it was, however, upwards of ten minutes before all my people joined me; and as they came one after the other, these people might have successively dispatched every one of us. if they had killed me, in the first instance, this consequence would certainly have followed, and not one of us would have returned home to tell the horrid fate of his companions. after having stated the danger i had encountered, i told my people that i was determined to make these natives feel the impropriety of their conduct toward us, and compel them to return my hat and cloak which they had taken in the scuffle, as well as the articles previously purloined from us, for most of the men who were in the three canoes that we first saw, were now in the village. i therefore told my men to prime their pieces afresh, and prepare themselves for an active use of them, if the occasion should require it. we now drew up before the house, and made signs for some one to come down to us. at length our young chief appeared, and told us that the men belonging to the canoes had not only informed his friends, that we had treated him very ill, but that we had killed four of their companions whom he had met in the bay. when i had explained to them as well as it was in my power, the falsehood of such a story, i insisted on the restoration of everything that had been taken from us, as well as a necessary supply of fish, as the conditions of my departure; accordingly the things were restored, and a few dried fish along with them. a reconciliation now took place, but our guide or young chief was so much terrified that he would remain no longer with us, and requested us to follow with his father's canoe, or mischief would follow. i determined, however, before my departure, to take an observation, and at noon got a meridian altitude, making this place, which i named rascal's village, 52. 23. 43. north latitude. on my informing the natives that we wanted something more to eat, they brought us two salmon; and when we signified that we had no poles to set the canoe against the current, they were furnished with equal alacrity, so anxious were they for our departure. i paid, however, for everything which we had received, and did not forget the loan of the canoe. [1] mr. johnstone came to these houses the first day of the preceding month. [2] the cape or point menzies of vancouver. [3] named by vancouver king's island. [4] this i found to be the cheek of vancouver's cascade canal. [5] mr. meares was undoubtedly wrong in the idea, so earnestly insisted on by him, in his voyage, that there was was north-west practicable passage to the southward of sixty-nine degrees and an half of latitude, as i flatter myself has been proved by my former voyage. nor can i refrain from expressing my surprise at his assertion, that there was an inland sea or archipelago of great extent between the islands of nootka and the main, about the latitude where i was at this time. indeed i have been informed that captain grey, who commanded an american vessel, and on whose authority he ventured this opinion, denies that he had given mr. meares any such information. besides, the contrary is indubitably proved by captain vancouver's survey, from which no appeal can be made. [6] this bay was now named mackenzie's outlet. chapter xi. july, 1793. the current of the river was so strong, that i should have complied with the wishes of my people, and gone by land, but one of my indians was so weak, that it was impossible for him to perform the journey. he had been ill some time; and, indeed, we had been all of us more or less afflicted with colds on the sea coast. four of the people therefore set of with the canoe, and it employed them an hour to get half a mile. in the mean time the native, who has been already mentioned as having treated us with so much insolence, and four of his companions, went up the river in a canoe, which they had above the rapid, with as many boxes as men in her. this circumstance was the cause of fresh alarm, as it was generally concluded that they would produce the same mischief and danger in the villages above, as they had in that below. nor was it forgotten that the young chief had left us in a manner which would not be interpreted in our favour by his father and friends. at length the canoe arrived, and the people declared in the most unreserved terms, that they would proceed no further in her; but when they were made acquainted with the circumstances which have just been described, their violence increased, and the greater part of the men announced their determination to attempt the mountains, and endeavour, by passing over them, to gain the road by which we came to the first village. so resolved were they to pursue this plan, that they threw everything which they had into the river, except their blankets. i was all this time sitting patiently on a stone, and indulging the hope that, when their frantic terror had subsided, their returning reason would have disposed them to perceive the rashness of their project; but when i observed that they persisted in it, i no longer remained a silent listener to their passionate declarations, but proceeded to employ such arguments as i trusted would turn them from their senseless and impracticable purpose. after reproving my young indian in very severe terms, for encouraging the rest to follow their mad design of passing the mountains, i addressed myself generally to them, stating the difficulty of ascending the mountains, the eternal snows with which they were covered, our small stock of provisions, which two days would exhaust, and the consequent probability that we should perish with cold and hunger. i urged the folly of being affected by the alarm of danger which might not exist, and if it did, i encouraged them with the means we possessed of surmounting it. nor did i forget to urge the inhumanity and injustice of leaving the poor sick indian to languish and die. i also added, that as my particular object had been accomplished, i had now no other but our common safety; that the sole wish of my heart was to employ the best means in my power, and to pursue the best method which my understanding could suggest, to secure them and myself from every danger that might impede our return. my steersman, who had been with me for five years in that capacity, instantly replied that he was ready to follow me wherever i should go, but that he would never again enter that canoe, as he had solemnly sworn he would not, while he was in the rapid. his example was followed by all the rest, except two, who embarked with mr. mackay,[1] myself, and the sick indian. the current, however, was so strong, that we dragged up the greatest part of the way, by the branches of trees. our progress, as may be imagined, was very tedious, and attended with uncommon labour; the party who went by land being continually obliged to wait for us. mr. mackay's gun was carried out of the canoe and lost, at a time when we appeared to stand in very great need of it, as two canoes, with sixteen or eighteen men, were coming down the stream; and the apprehensions which they occasioned did not subside till they shot by us with great rapidity. at length we came in sight of the house, when we saw our young indian with six others, in a canoe coming to meet us. this was a very encouraging circumstance, as it satisfied us that the natives who had preceded, and whose malignant designs we had every reason to suspect, had not been able to prejudice the people against us. we, therefore, landed at the house, where we were received in a friendly manner, and having procured some fish, we proceeded on our journey. it was almost dark when we arrived at the next house, and the first persons who presented themselves to our observation were the turbulent indian and his four companions. they were not very agreeable objects; but we were nevertheless well received by the inhabitants, who presented us with fish and berries. the indians who had caused us so much alarm, we now discovered to be inhabitants of the islands, and traders in various articles, such as cedar-bark, prepared to be wove into mats, fish-spawn, copper, iron, and beads, the latter of which they get on their own coast. for these they receive in exchange roasted salmon, hemlock bark cakes, and the other kind made of salmon roes, sorrel, and bitter berries. having procured as much fish as would serve us for our supper, and the meals of the next day, all my people went to rest except one, with whom i kept the first watch. _wednesday, 24._--after twelve last night, i called up mr. mackay, and one of the men, to relieve us, but as a general tranquillity appeared to prevail in the place, i recommended them to return to their rest. i was the first awake in the morning, and sent mr. mackay to see if our canoe remained where we left it; but he returned to inform me that the islanders had loaded it with their articles of traffic, and were ready to depart. on this intelligence i hurried to the water side, and seizing the canoe by the stem, i should certainly have overset it, and turned the three men that were in it, with all their merchandise, into the river, had not one of the people of the house, who had been very kind to us, informed me, that this was their own canoe, and that my guide had gone off with ours. at the same moment the other two indians who belonged to the party, jumped nimbly into it, and pushed off with all the haste and hurry that their fears may be supposed to dictate. we now found ourselves once more without a guide or a canoe. we were, however, so fortunate as to engage, without much difficulty, two of these people to accompany us; as, from the strength of the current, it would not have been possible for us to have proceeded by water without their assistance. as the house was upon an island, we ferried over the pedestrian party to the main bank of the river and continued our course till our conductors came to their fishing ground, when they proposed to land us, and our small portion of baggage; but as our companions were on the opposite shore, we could not acquiesce, and after some time persuaded them to proceed further with us. soon after we met the chief who had regaled us in our voyage down the river. he was seining between two canoes, and had taken a considerable quantity of salmon. he took us on board with him, and proceeded upwards with great expedition. these people are surprisingly skilful and active in setting against a strong current. in the roughest part they almost filled the canoe with water, by way of a sportive alarm to us. we landed at the house of the chief, and he immediately placed a fish before me. our people now appeared on the opposite bank, when a canoe was sent for them. as soon as they had made their meal of fish, they proceeded on their route, and we followed them; the chief and one of the natives having undertaken to conduct us. at five in the afternoon we came to two houses, which we had not seen in going down. they were upon an island, and i was obliged to send for the walking party, as our conductors, from the lateness of the hour, refused to proceed any further with us till the next day. one of our men, being at a small distance before the others, had been attacked by a female bear with two cubs, but another of them arrived to his rescue, and shot her. their fears probably prevented them from killing the two young ones. they brought a part of the meat, but it was very indifferent. we were informed, that our former guide, or young chief, had passed this place, at a very early hour of the morning, on foot. these people take plenty of another fish, besides salmon, which weigh from fifteen to forty pounds. this fish is broader than the salmon, of a greyish colour, and with a hunch on its back: the flesh is white, but neither rich nor well flavoured. its jaw and teeth are like those of a dog, and the latter are larger and stronger than any i had ever seen in a fish of equal size: those in front bend inwards, like the claws of a bird of prey. it delights in shallow water, and its native name is dilly. we received as many fish and berries from these people as completely satisfied our appetites. the latter excelled any of the kind that we had seen. i saw also, three kinds of gooseberries, which, as we passed through the woods, we found in great abundance. _thursday, 25._--i arose before the sun, and the weather was very fine. the men who were to accompany us went to visit their machines, and brought back plenty of fish, which they strung on a rope, and left them in the river. we now embarked thirteen in a canoe, and landed my men on the south bank, as it would have been impracticable to have stemmed the tide with such a load. the underwood was so thick that it was with great difficulty they could pass through it. at nine we were under the necessity of waiting to ferry them over a river from the south, which is not fordable. after some time we came to two deserted houses, at the foot of a rapid, beyond which our boatmen absolutely refused to conduct us by water. here was a road which led opposite to the village. we had, however, the curiosity to visit the houses, which were erected upon posts, and we suffered very severely for the indulgence of it; for the doors were covered with fleas, and we were immediately in the same condition, for which we had no remedy but to take to the water. there was not a spot round the houses free from grass, that was not alive, as it were, with this vermin. our guides proposed to conduct us on our way, and we followed them on a well-beaten track. they, however, went so fast, that we could not all of us keep up with them, particularly our sick indian, whose situation was very embarrassing to us, and at length they contrived to escape. i very much wished for these men to have accompanied us to the village, in order to do away any ill impressions which might have arisen from the young chief's report to his father, which we were naturally led to expect would not be in our favour. this road conducted us through the finest wood of cedar trees that i had ever seen. i measured several of them that were twenty-four feet in the girth, and of a proportionate height. the alder trees are also of an uncommon size; several of them were seven feet and an half in circumference, and rose to forty feet without a branch; but my men declared that they had, in their progress, seen much larger of both kinds. the other wood was hemlock; white birch, two species of spruce-firs, willows, &c. many of the large cedars appeared to have been examined, as i suppose by the natives, for the purpose of making canoes, but finding them hollow at heart, they were suffered to stand. there was but little underwood, and the soil was a black rich mould, which would well reward the trouble of cultivation. from the remains of bones on certain spots, it is probable that the natives may have occasionally burned their dead in this wood. as it was uncertain what our reception might be at the village, i examined every man's arms and ammunition, and gave mr. mackay, who had unfortunately lost his gun, one of my pistols. our late conductors had informed us that the man whom we left in a dying state, and to whom i had administered some turlington's balsam, was dead; and it was by no means improbable that i might be suspected of hastening his end. at one in the afternoon we came to the bank of the river, which was opposite to the village, which appeared to be in a state of perfect tranquillity. several of the natives were fishing above and below the weir, and they very readily took us over in their canoes. the people now hurried down to the water side, but i perceived none of the chief's family among them. they made signs to me to go to his house; i signified to them not to crowd about us, and indeed drew a line, beyond which i made them understand they must not pass. i now directed mr. mackay, and the men to remain there, with their arms in readiness, and to keep the natives at a distance, as i was determined to go alone to the chief's house; and if they should hear the report of my pistols, they were ordered to make the best of their way from these people, as it would then be equally fruitless and dangerous to attempt the giving me any assistance, as it would be only in the last extremity, and when i was certain of their intention to destroy me, that i should discharge my pistols. my gun i gave to mr. mackay, when, with my loaded pistols in my belt, and a poignard in my hand, i proceeded to the abode of the chief. i had a wood to pass in my way thither, which was intersected by various paths and i took one that led to the back, instead of the front of the house; and as the whole had been very much altered since i was here before, i concluded that i had lost my way. but i continued to proceed, and soon met with the chief's wife, who informed me, that he was at the next house. on my going round it, i perceived that they had thrown open the gable ends, and added two wings, nearly as long as the body, both of which were hung round with salmon as close as they could be placed. as i could discover none of the men, i sat down upon a large stone near some women who were supping on salmon roes and berries. they invited me to partake of their fare, and i was about to accept their invitation when mr. mackay joined me, as both himself and all my party were alarmed at my being alone. nor was his alarm lessened by an old man whom he met in the wood, and who made use of signs to persuade him to return. as he came without his gun, i gave him one of my pistols. when i saw the women continue their employment without paying the least attention to us, i could not imagine that any hostile design was preparing against us. though the non-appearance of the men awakened some degree of suspicion that i should not be received with the same welcome as on my former visit. at length the chief appeared, and his son, who had been our guide, following him; displeasure was painted in the old man's countenance, and he held in his hand a bead tobacco pouch which belonged to mr. mackay, and the young chief had purloined from him. when he had approached within three or four yards of me, he threw it at me with great indignation, and walked away. i followed him, however, until he had passed his son, whom i took by the hand, but he did not make any very cordial return to my salutation; at the same time he made signs for me to discharge my pistol, and give him my hanger which mr. mackay had brought me, but i did not pay the least attention to either of his demands. we now joined the chief, who explained to me that he was in a state of deep distress for the loss of his son, and made me understand that he had cut off his hair and blackened his face on the melancholy occasion. he also represented the alarm which he had suffered respecting his son who had accompanied us; as he apprehended we had killed him, or had all of us perished together. when he had finished his narrative, i took him and his son by their hands, and requested them to come with me to the place where i had left my people, who were rejoiced to see us return, having been in a state of great anxiety from our long absence. i immediately remunerated the young chief for his company and assistance in our voyage to the sea, as well as his father, for his former attentions. i gave them cloth and knives, and, indeed, a portion of everything which now remained to us. the presents had the desired effect of restoring us to their favour; but these people are of so changeable a nature, that there is no security with them. i procured three robes and two otter-skins, and if i could have given such articles in exchange as they preferred, i should probably have obtained more. i now represented the length of the way which i had to go, and requested some fish to support us on our journey, when he desired us to follow him to the house, where mats were immediately arranged and a fish placed before each of us. we were now informed, that our dog, whom we had lost, had been howling about the village ever since we left it, and that they had reason to believe he left the woods at night to eat the fish he could find about the houses. i immediately dispatched mr. mackay, and a man, in search of the animal, but they returned without him. when i manifested my intention to proceed on my journey, the chief voluntarily sent for ten roasted salmon, and having attended us with his son, and a great number of his people, to the last house in the village, we took our leave. it was then half past three in the afternoon. i directed mr. mackay to take the lead, and the others to follow him in indian files, at a long and steady pace, as i determined to bring up the rear. i adopted this measure from a confusion that was observable among the natives which i did not comprehend. i was not without my suspicions that some mischief was in agitation, and they were increased from the confused noise we heard in the village. at the same time a considerable number came running after us; some of them making signs for us to stop, and others rushing by me. i perceived also, that those who followed us were the strangers who live among these people, and are kept by them in a state of awe and subjection; and one of them made signs to me that we were taking a wrong road. i immediately called out to mr. mackay to stop. this was naturally enough taken for an alarm, and threw my people into great disorder. when, however, i was understood, and we had mustered again, our indian informed us, that the noise we heard was occasioned by a debate among the natives, whether they should stop us or not. when, therefore, we had got into the right road, i made such arrangements as might be necessary for our defence, if we should have an experimental proof that our late and fickle friends were converted into enemies. our way was through a forest of stately cedars, beneath a range of lofty hills, covered with rocks, and without any view of the river. the path was well beaten, but rendered incommodious by the large stones which lay along it. as we were continuing our route, we all felt the sensation of having found a lost friend at the sight of our dog; but he appeared, in a great degree, to have lost his former sagacity. he ran in a wild way backwards and forwards; and though he kept our road, i could not induce him to acknowledge his master. sometimes he seemed disposed to approach as if he knew us; and then, on a sudden, he would turn away, as if alarmed at our appearance. the poor animal was reduced almost to a skeleton, and we occasionally dropped something to support him, and by degrees he recovered his former sagacity. when the night came on we stopped at a small distance from the river, but did not venture to make a fire. every man took his tree, and laid down in his clothes, and with his arms, beneath the shade of its branches. we had removed to a short distance from the path; no sentinel was now appointed, and every one was left to watch for his own safety. _friday, 26._--after a very restless, though undisturbed night, we set forward as soon as day appeared, and walked on with all possible expedition, till we got to the upper, which we now called friendly village, and was the first we visited on our outward journey. it was eight in the morning of a very fine day when we arrived, and found a very material alteration in the place since we left it. five additional houses had been erected and were filled with salmon: the increase of inhabitants was in the same proportion. we were received with great kindness, and a messenger was dispatched to inform the chief, whose name was soocomlick, and who was then at his fishing-weir, of our arrival. he immediately returned to the village to confirm the cordial reception of his people; and having conducted us to his house, entertained us with the most respectful hospitality. in short, he behaved to us with so much attention and kindness, that i did not withhold anything in my power to give, which might afford him satisfaction. i presented him with two yards of blue cloth, an axe, knives, and various other articles. he gave me in return a large shell which resembled the under shell of a guernsey oyster, but somewhat larger. where they procured them i could not discover, but they cut and polish them for bracelets, ear-rings, and other personal ornaments. he regretted that he had no sea-otter skins to give me, but engaged to provide abundance of them whenever either my friends or myself should return by sea; an expectation which i thought it right to encourage among these people. he also earnestly requested me to bring him a gun and ammunition. i might have procured many curious articles at this place, but was prevented by the consideration that we must have carried them on our backs upwards of three hundred miles through a mountainous country. the young chief, to his other acts of kindness, added as large a supply of fish as we choose to take. our visit did not occasion any particular interruption of the ordinary occupation of the people; especially of the women, who were employed in boiling sorrel, and different kinds of berries, with salmon-roes, in large square kettles of cedar wood. this pottage, when it attained a certain consistency, they took out with ladles, and poured it into frames of about twelve inches square and one deep, the bottom being covered with a large leaf, which were then exposed to the sun till their contents became so many dried cakes. the roes that are mixed up with the bitter berries, are prepared in the same way. from the quantity of this kind of provision, it must be a principal article of food, and probably of traffic. these people have also portable chests of cedar, in which they pack them, as well as their salmon, both dried and roasted. it appeared to me that they eat no flesh, except such as the sea may afford them, as that of the sea-otter and the seal. the only instance we observed to the contrary, was in a young indian who accompanied us among the islands, and has been already mentioned as feasting on the flesh of a porcupine; whether this be their custom throughout the year, or only during the season of the salmon fishery; or, whether there were any castes of them, as in india, i cannot pretend to determine. it is certain, however, that they are not hunters, and i have already mentioned the abhorrence they expressed at some venison which we brought to their village. during our former visit to these people, they requested us not to discharge our fire-arms, lest the report should frighten away the salmon, but now they expressed a wish that i should explain the use and management of them. though their demeanour to us was of the most friendly nature, and they appeared without any arms, except a few who accidentally had their daggers, i did not think it altogether prudent to discharge our pieces; i therefore fired one of my pistols at a tree marked for the purpose, when i put four out of five buck shot with which it was loaded, into the circle, to their extreme astonishment and admiration. these people were in general of the middle stature, well set, and better clothed with flesh than any of the natives of the interior country. their faces are round, with high cheek bones, and their complexion between the olive and the copper. they have small grey eyes, with a tinge of red; they have wedge heads, and their hair is of a dark brown colour, inclining to black. some wear it long, keep it well combed, and let it hang loose over their shoulders, while they divide and tie it in knots over the temples. others arrange its plaits, and bedaub it with brown earth, so as to render it impervious to the comb; they, therefore, carry a bodkin about them to ease the frequent irritation, which may be supposed to proceed from such a state of the head. the women are inclined to be fat, wear their hair short, and appear to be very subject to swelled legs, a malady that probably proceeds from the posture in which they are always sitting: as they are chiefly employed in the domestic engagements of spinning, weaving, preparing the fish, and nursing their children, which did not appear to be numerous. their cradle differed from any that i had seen; it consisted of a frame fixed round a board of sufficient length, in which the child, after it has been swathed, is placed on a bed of moss, and a conductor contrived to carry off the urinary discharge. they are slung over one shoulder by means of a cord fastened under the other, so that the infant is always in a position to be readily applied to the breast, when it requires nourishment. i saw several whose heads were inclosed in boards covered with leather, till they attain the form of a wedge. the women wear no clothing but the robe, either loose or tied round the middle with a girdle, as the occasion may require, with the addition of a fringed apron, already mentioned, and a cap, in the form of an inverted bowl or dish. to the robe and cap, the men add, when it rains, a circular mat with an opening in the middle sufficient to admit the head, which extending over the shoulders, throws off the wet. they also occasionally wear shoes of dressed moose-skin, for which they are indebted to their neighbors. those parts, which among all civilized nations are covered from familiar view, are here openly exposed. they are altogether dependent on the sea and rivers for their sustenance, so that they may be considered as a stationary people; hence it is that the men engage in those toilsome employments, which the tribes who support themselves by the chase, leave entirely to the women. polygamy is permitted among them, though, according to my observation, most of the men were satisfied with one wife, with whom, however, chastity is not considered as a necessary virtue. i saw but one woman whose under lip was split and disfigured with an appendant ornament. the men frequently bathe, and the boys are continually in the water. they have nets and lines of various kinds and sizes, which are made of cedar bark, and would not be known from those made of hemp. their hooks consist of two pieces of wood or bone, forming when fixed together, an obtuse angle. their spears or darts are from four to sixteen feet in length; the barb or point being fixed in a socket, which, when the animal is struck, slips from it: thus the barb being fastened by a string to the handle, remains as a buoy; or enables the aquatic hunter to tire and take his prey. they are employed against sea-otters, seals, and large fish. their hatchets are made principally of about fourteen inches of bar-iron, fixed into a wooden handle, as i have already described them; though they have some of bone or horn: with these, a mallet and wooden wedge, they hew their timbers and form their planks. they must also have other tools with which they complete and polish their work, but my stay was so short, my anxiety so great, and my situation so critical, that many circumstances may be supposed to have escaped me. their canoes are made out of the cedar tree, and will carry from eight to fifty persons. their warlike weapons, which, as far as i could judge, they very seldom have occasion to employ, are bows and arrows, spears, and daggers. the arrows are such as have been already described, but rather of a slighter make. the bows are not more than two feet and an half in length; they are formed of a slip of red cedar; the grain being on one side untouched with any tool, while the other is secured with sinews 'attached to it by a kind of glue. though this weapon has a very slender appearance, it throws an arrow with great force, and to a considerable distance. their spears are about ten feet long, and pointed with iron. their daggers are of various kinds, being of british, spanish, and american manufacture. their household furniture consists of boxes, troughs, and dishes formed of wood, with different vessels made of watape. these are employed, according to their several applications, to contain their valuables, and provisions, as well as for culinary purposes, and to carry water. the women make use of muscle-shells to split and clean their fish, and which are very well adapted to that purpose. their ornaments are necklaces, collars, bracelets for the arms, wrists, and legs, with ear-rings, &c. they burn their dead, and display their mourning, by cutting their hair short, and blackening their faces. though i saw several places where bodies had been burned, i was surprised at not seeing any tomb or memorial of the dead, particularly when their neighbours are so superstitiously attentive to the erection and preservation of them. from the number of their canoes, as well as the quantity of their chests and boxes, to contain their moveables, as well as the insufficiency of their houses, to guard against the rigours of a severe winter, and the appearance of the ground around their habitations, it is evident that these people reside here only during the summer or salmon season, which does not probably last more than three months. it may be reasonably inferred, therefore, that they have villages on the sea-coast, which they inhabit during the rest of the year. there it may be supposed they leave the sick, the infirm, and the aged; and thither they may bear the ashes of those who die at the place of their summer residence. of their religion i can say but little, as my means of observation were very contracted. i could discover, however, that they believed in a good and evil spirit: and that they have some forms of worship to conciliate the protection of one, and perhaps to avert the enmity of the other, is apparent from the temples which i have described; and where, at stated periods, it may be presumed they hold the feasts, and perform the sacrifices, which their religion, whatever it may be, has instituted as the ceremonials of their public worship. from the very little i could discover of their government, it is altogether different from any political regulation which had been remarked by me among the savage tribes. it is on this river alone that one man appears to have an exclusive and hereditary right to what was necessary to the existence of those who are associated with him. i allude to the salmon weir, or fishing place, the sole right to which confers on the chief an arbitrary power. those embankments could not have been formed without a very great and associated labour; and, as might be supposed, on the condition that those who assisted in constructing it should enjoy a participating right in the advantages to be derived from it. nevertheless, it evidently appeared to me, that the chief's power over it, and the people, was unlimited, and without control. no one could fish without his permission, or carry home a larger portion of what he had caught, than was set apart for him. no one could build a house without his consent; and all his commands appeared to be followed with implicit obedience. the people at large seemed to be on a perfect equality, while the strangers among them were obliged to obey the commands of the natives in general or quit the village. they appear to be of a friendly disposition, but they are subject to sudden gusts of passion, which are as quickly composed; and the transition is instantaneous, from violent irritation to the most tranquil demeanor. of the many tribes of savage people whom i have seen, these appear to be the most susceptible of civilization. they might soon be brought to cultivate the little ground about them which is capable of it. there is a narrow border of a rich black soil, on either side of the river, over a bed of gravel, which would yield any grain or fruit that are common to similar latitudes in europe. the very few words which i collected of their language, are as follows:- zimilk, salmon. dilly, a fish of the size of a salmon, with canine teeth. sepnas, hair of the head. kietis, an axe. clougus, eyes. itzas, teeth. ma-acza, nose. ich-yeh, leg. shous-shey hand. watts, dog. zla-achle, house. zimnez, bark mat robe. couloun, beaver or otter ditto. dichts, stone. neach, fire. ulkan, water. gits com, a mat. shiggimis, thread. till-kewan, chest or box. thlogatt, cedar bark. achimoul, beads got upon their coast. il-caiette, a bonnet. couny, a clam shell. nochasky, a dish composed of berries and salmon roes. caiffre, what? [1] it is but common justice to him, to mention in this place that i had every reason to be satisfied with his conduct. chapter xii. july, 1793. at eleven in the morning we left this place, which i called friendly village, accompanied by every man belonging to it, who attended us about a mile, when we took a cordial leave of them; and if we might judge from appearances, they parted from us with regret. in a short time we halted to make a division of our fish, and each man had about twenty pounds weight of it, except mr. mackay and myself, who were content with shorter allowance, that we might have less weight to carry. we had also a little flour, and some pemmican. having completed this arrangement with all possible expedition, we proceeded onwards, the ground rising gradually, as we continued our route. when we were clear of the wood, we saw the mountain towering above, and apparently of impracticable ascent. we soon came to the fork of the river, which was at the foot of the precipice, where the ford was three feet deep, and very rapid. our young indian, though much recovered, was still too weak to cross the water, and with some difficulty i carried him over on my back. it was now one in the afternoon, and we had to ascend the summit of the first mountain before night came on, in order to look for water. i left the sick indian, with his companion and one of my men, to follow us, as his strength would permit him. the fatigue of ascending these precipices i shall not attempt to describe, and it was past five when we arrived at a spot where we could get water, and in such an extremity of weariness, that it was with great pain any of us could crawl about to gather wood for the necessary purpose of making a fire. to relieve our anxiety, which began to increase every moment for the situation of the indian, about seven he and his companions arrived; when we consoled ourselves by sitting round a blazing fire, talking of past dangers, and indulging the delightful reflection that we were thus far advanced on our homeward journey. nor was it possible to be in this situation without contemplating the wonders of it. such was the depth of the precipices below, and the height of the mountains above, with the rude and wild magnificence of the scenery around, that i shall not attempt to describe such an astonishing and awful combination of objects; of which, indeed, no description can convey an adequate idea. even at this place, which is only, as it were, the first step towards gaining the summit of the mountains, the climate was very sensibly changed. the air that fanned the village which we left at noon, was mild and cheering; the grass was verdant, and the wild fruits ripe around it. but here the snow was not yet dissolved, the ground was still bound by the frost, the herbage had scarce begun to spring, and the crowberry bushes were just beginning to blossom. _saturday, 27._--so great was our fatigue of yesterday, that it was late before we proceeded to return over the mountains, by the same route which we had followed in our outward journey. there was little or no change in the appearance of the mountains since we passed them, though the weather was very fine. _sunday, 28._--at nine this morning we arrived at the spot, where we slept with the natives on the 16th instant, and found our pemmican in good condition where we had buried it. the latitude of this place, by observation, when i passed, i found to be 52. 46. 32. i now took time, and the distance between sun and moon. i had also an azimuth, to ascertain the variation. we continued our route with fine weather, and without meeting a single person on our way, the natives being all gone, as we supposed, to the great river. we recovered all our hidden stores of provisions, and arrived about two in the afternoon of sunday, august the 4th, at the place which we had left a month before. a considerable number of indians were encamped on the opposite side of the small river, and in consequence of the weather, confined to their lodges: as they must have heard of, if not seen us, and our arms being out of order from the rain, i was not satisfied with our situation; but did not wish to create an alarm. we, therefore, kept in the edge of the wood, and called to them, when they turned out like so many furies, with their arms in their hands, and threatening destruction if we dared to approach their habitations. we remained in our station till their passion and apprehensions had subsided, when our interpreter gave them the necessary information respecting us. they proved to be strangers to us, but were the relations of those whom we had already seen here, and who, as they told us, were upon an island at some distance up the river. a messenger was accordingly sent to inform them of our arrival. _monday, 5._--on examining the canoe, and our property, which we had left behind, we found it in perfect safety, nor was there the print of a foot near the spot. we now pitched our tent, and made a blazing fire, and i treated myself, as well as the people, with a dram; but we had been so long without tasting any spirituous liquor, that we had lost all relish for it. the indians now arrived from above, and were rewarded for the care they had taken of our property with such articles as were acceptable to them. at nine this morning i sent five men in the canoe, for the various articles we had left below, and they soon returned with them, and except some bale goods, which had got wet, they were in good order, particularly the provisions, of which we were now in great need. many of the natives arrived both from the upper and lower parts of the river, each of whom was dressed in a beaver robe. i purchased fifteen of them; and they preferred large knives in exchange. it is an extraordinary circumstance, that these people, who might have taken all the property we left behind us, without the least fear of detection, should leave that untouched, and purloin any of our utensils, which our confidence in their honesty gave them a ready opportunity of taking. in fact, several articles were missing, and as i was very anxious to avoid a quarrel with the natives, in this stage of our journey, i told those who remained near us, without any appearance of anger, that their relations who were gone, had no idea of the mischief that would result to them from taking our property. i gravely added, that the salmon, which was not only their favourite food, but absolutely necessary to their existence, came from the see which belonged to us white men; and that as, at the entrance of the river, we could prevent those fish from coming up it, we possessed the power to starve them and their children. to avert our anger, therefore, they must return all the articles that had been stolen from us. this finesse succeeded. messengers were dispatched to order the restoration of everything that had been taken. we purchased several large salmon of them and enjoyed the delicious meal which they afforded. at noon this day, which i allotted for repose, i got a meridian altitude, which gave 53. 24. 10. i also took time. the weather had been cloudy at intervals. every necessary preparation had been made yesterday for us to continue our route to-day; but before our departure, some of the natives arrived with part of the stolen articles; the rest, they said, had been taken by people down the river, who would be here in the course of the morning, and recommended their children to our commiseration, and themselves to our forgiveness. the morning was cloudy, with small rain, nevertheless i ordered the men to load the canoe, and we proceeded in high spirits on finding ourselves once more so comfortably together in it. we landed at a house on the first island, where we procured a few salmon, and four fine beaver skins. there had been much more rain in these parts than in the country above, as the water was pouring down the hills in torrents. the river consequently rose with great rapidity, and very much impeded our progress. the people on this river are generally of the middle size, though i saw many tall men among them. in the cleanliness of their persons they resemble rather the beaver indians than the chepewyans. they are ignorant of the use of fire arms, and their only weapons are bows and arrows, and spears. they catch the larger animals in snares, but though their country abounds in them, and the rivers and lakes produce plenty of fish, they find a difficulty in supporting themselves, and are never to be seen but in small bands of two or three families. there is no regular government among them; nor do they appear to have a sufficient communication or understanding with each other, to defend themselves against an invading enemy, to whom they fall an easy prey. they have all the animals common on the west side of the mountains, except the buffalo and the wolf; at least we saw none of the latter, and there being none of the former, it is evident that their progress is from the south-east. the same language is spoken, with very little exception from the extent of my travels down this river, and in a direct line from the north-east head of it in the latitude 53. or 54. to hudson's bay; so that a chepewyan, from which tribe they have all sprung, might leave churchill river, and proceeding in every direction to the north-west of this line without knowing any language except his own, would understand them all: i except the natives of the sea coast, who are altogether a different people. as to the people to the eastward of this river, i am not qualified to speak of them. at twelve we ran our canoe upon a rock, so that we were obliged to land in order to repair the injury she had received; and as the rain came on with great violence, we remained here for the night. the salmon were now driving up the current in such large shoals, that the water seemed, as it were, to be covered with the fins of them. _wednesday, 7._--about nine this morning the weather cleared, and we embarked. the shoals of salmon continued as yesterday. there were frequent showers throughout the day, and every brook was deluged into a river. the water had risen at least one foot and an half perpendicular in the last twenty-four hours. in the dusk of the evening we landed for the night. _thursday, 8._--the water continued rising during the night; so that we were disturbed twice in the course of it, to remove our baggage. at six in the morning we were on our way, and proceeded with continual and laborious exertion, from the increased rapidity of the current. after having passed the two carrying places of rocky point, and the long portage, we encamped for the night. _friday, 9._--we set off at five, after a rainy night and in a foggy morning. the water still retained its height. the sun, however, soon beamed upon us; and our clothes and baggage were in such a state that we landed to dry them. after some time we re-embarked and arrived at our first encampment on this river about seven in the evening. the water fell considerably in the course of the day. _saturday, 10._--the weather was cloudy with slight showers, and at five this morning we embarked, the water falling as fast as it had risen. this circumstance arises from the mountainous state of the country on either side of the river, from whence the water rushes down almost as fast as it falls from the heavens, with the addition of the snow it melts in its way. at eight in the evening we stopped for the night. _sunday, 11._--at five this morning we proceeded with clear weather. at ten we came to the foot of the long rapid, which we ascended with poles much easier than we expected. the rapids that were so strong and violent in our passage downwards, were now so reduced, that we could hardly believe them to be the same. at sunset we landed and encamped. _monday, 12._--the weather was the same as yesterday, and we were on the water at a very early hour. at nine we came to a part of the river where there was little or no current. at noon we landed to gum the canoe, when i took a meridian altitude, which gave 54. 11. 36. north latitude. we continued our route nearly east, and at three in the afternoon approached the fork, when i took time, and the distance between the sun and moon. at four in the afternoon we left the main branch. the current was quite slack, as the water had fallen six feet, which must have been in the course of three days. at sunset we landed and took our station for the night. _tuesday, 13._--there was a very heavy rain in the night, and the morning was cloudy; we renewed our voyage, however, at a very early hour, and came to the narrow gut between the mountains of rock, which was a passage of some risk; but fortunately the state of the water was such, that we got up without any difficulty, and had more time to examine these extraordinary rocks than in our outward passage. they are as perpendicular as a wall, and give the idea of a succession of enormous gothic churches. we were now closely hemmed in by the mountains, which had lost much oh their snow since our former passage by them. we encamped at a late hour, cold, wet, and hungry: for such was the state of our provisions, that our necessary allowance did not answer to the active cravings of our appetites. _wednesday, 14._--the weather was cold and raw, with small rain, but our necessities would not suffer us to wait for a favourable change of it, and at half past five we arrived at the swampy carrying-place, between this branch and the small river. at three in the afternoon the cold was extreme, and the men could not keep themselves warm even by their violent exertions which our situation required; and i now gave them the remainder of our rum to fortify and support them. the canoe was so heavy that the lives of two of them were endangered in this horrible carrying-place. at the same time it must be observed, that from the fatiguing circumstances of our journey, and the inadequate state of our provisions, the natural strength of the men had been greatly diminished. we encamped on the banks of the bad river. _thursday, 15._--the weather was now clear, and the sun shone upon us. the water was much lower than in the downward passage, but was cold as ice, and, unfortunately, the men were obliged to be continually in it to drag on the canoe. there were many embarras, through which a passage might have been made, but we were under the necessity of carrying both the canoe and baggage. about sun-set we arrived at our encampment of the 13th of june, where some of us had nearly taken our eternal voyage. the legs and feet of the men were so benumbed, that i was very apprehensive of the consequence. the water being low, we made a search for our bag of ball, but without success. the river was full of salmon, and another fish like the black bass. _friday, 16._--the weather continued to be the same as yesterday, and at two in the afternoon we came to the carrying-place which leads to the first small lake; but it was so filled with drift wood, that a considerable portion of time was employed in making our way through it. we now reached the high land which separates the source of the tacoutche tesse, or columbia river, and unjigah, or peace river: the latter of which, after receiving many tributary streams, passes through the great slave lake, and disembogues itself in the frozen ocean, in latitude 69. 30. north, longitude 135 west from greenwich; while the former, confined by the immense mountains that run nearly parallel with the pacific ocean, and keep it in a southern course, empties itself in 46. 20. north latitude and longitude 124 west from greenwich. if i could have spared the time, and had been able to exert myself, for i was now afflicted with a swelling in my ancles, so that i could not even walk, but with great pain and difficulty, it was my intention to have taken some salmon alive, and colonised them in the peace river, though it is very doubtful whether that fish would live in waters that have not a communication with the sea. some of the inhabitants had been here since we passed; and i apprehend, that on seeing our road through their country, they mistook us for enemies, and had therefore deserted the place, which is a most convenient station; as on one side, there is a great plenty of white fish, and trout, jub, carp, &c., and on the other abundance of salmon, and probably other fish. several things that i had left here in exchange for articles of which i had possessed myself, as objects of curiosity, were taken away. the hurtle-berries were now ripe, and very fine of their kind. _saturday, 17._--the morning was cloudy, and at five we renewed our progress. we were compelled to carry from the lake to the peace river, the passage, from the falling of the water, being wholly obstructed by drift wood. the meadow through which we passed was entirely inundated; and from the state of my foot and ancle, i was obliged, though with great reluctance, to submit to be carried over it. at half past seven we began to glide along with the current of the peace river; and almost at every canoe's length we perceived beaver roads to and from the river. at two in the afternoon, an object attracted our notice at the entrance of a small river, which proved to be the four beaver skins, already mentioned to have been presented to me by a native, and left in his possession to receive them on my return. i imagined, therefore, that being under the necessity of leaving the river, or, perhaps, fearing to meet us again, he had taken this method to restore them to me; and to reward his honesty, i left three times the value of the skins in their place. the snow appeared in patches on the mountains. at four in the afternoon we passed the place where we. found the first natives, and landed for the night at a late hour. in the course of the day, we caught nine outards, or canada geese, but they were as yet without their feathers. _sunday, 18._--as soon as it was light we proceeded on our voyage, and drove on before the current, which was very much diminished in its strength, since we came up it. the water indeed, was so low, that in many parts it exposed a gravelly beach. at eleven we landed at our encampment of the seventh of june, to gum the canoe and dry our clothes: we then re-embarked, and at half past five arrived at the place, where i lost my book of memorandums, on the fourth of june, in which were certain courses and distances between that day end the twenty-sixth of may, which i had now an opportunity to supply. they were as follows: north-north-west half a mile, east by north half a mile, north by east a quarter of a mile, north-west by west a quarter of a mile, west-south-west half a mile, north-west a mile and a quarter, north-north-west three quarters of a mile, north by east half a mile, north-west three quarters of a mile, west half a mile, north-west three quarters of a mile, west-north-west one mile and a quarter, north three quarters of a mile, west by north one quarter of a mile, north-west one mile and an half, west-north-west half a mile, north-north-west three quarters of a mile, west one quarter of a mile, north-north-east half a mile, north-north-west two miles, and north-west four miles. we were seven days in going up that part of the river which we came down to-day; and it now swarmed, as it were, with beavers and wild fowl. there was rain in the afternoon, and about sunset we took our station for the night. _monday, 19._--we had some small rain throughout the night. our course to-day was south-south-west three quarters of a mile, west-north-west half a mile, north half a mile, north-west by west three quarters of a mile, north by west half a mile; a small river to the left, south-west by west three quarters of a mile, west-north-west a mile and an half, north-west by north four miles, a rivulet on the right, west-north-west three quarters of a mile; a considerable river from the left, north-north-west two miles, north half a mile, west-north-west one mile and a half; a rivulet on the right, north-west by west one mile and a quarter, west-north-west one mile, west-south-west a quarter of a mile, north-north-west half a mile, north-west half a mile, west-south-west three quarters of a mile, north-west by west three miles, west-south-west three quarters of a mile, north-west by west one mile; a small river on the right, south-west a quarter of a mile, west-north-west, islands, four miles and a half, a river on the left, north half a mile, west a quarter of a mile, north a quarter of a mile, north-west by west three quarters of a mile, north-north-east three quarters of a mile, north-west by north half a mile, west-north-west a mile and an half, and north-west by north half a mile. the mountains were covered with fresh snow, whose showers had dissolved in rain before they reached us. north-west three quarters of a mile, south-west a quarter of a mile, north a mile and three quarters, west-north-west a mile and a quarter, north-west a mile and a half, north-north-west half a mile, west-north-west a quarter of a mile, north half a mile; here the current was sleek: north-west by north half a mile, north-west by west a quarter of a mile, north-north-west a quarter of a mile, north-west by west one mile and a quarter, north half a mile, north-east by north one mile and three quarters, south-west one mile and a quarter, with an island, north by east one mile, north-west. here the other branch opened to us, at the distance of three quarters of a mile. i expected from the slackness of the current in this branch, that the western one would be high, but i found it equally low. i had every reason to believe that from the upper part of this branch, the distance could not be great to the country through which i passed when i left the great river; but it has since been determined otherwise by mr. j. finlay, who was sent to explore it, and found its navigation soon terminated by falls and rapids. the branches are about two hundred yards in breadth, and the water was six feet lower than on our upward passage. our course, after the junction, was north-north-west one mile, the rapid north-east down it three quarters of a mile, north by west one mile and a quarter, north by east one mile and an half, east by south one mile, north-east two miles and an half, east-north-east a quarter of a mile; a rivulet; east by south one mile and an half, north-east two miles, east-north-east one mile, north-north-east a quarter of a mile, north-east by east-half a mile, east-south-east a quarter of a mile, east-north-east half a mile, north-east two miles, north-east by east two miles and a quarter, south-east by east a quarter of a mile; a rivulet from the left; east by north a mile and an half, east by south one mile, east-north-east one mile and three quarters; a river on the right; north-north-east three quarters of a mile, north-east a mile and a half, north-east by east a mile and a quarter, east-north-east half a mile, and north-east by north half a mile. here we landed at our encampment of the 27th of june, from whence i dispatched a letter in an empty keg, as was mentioned in that period of my journal, which set forth our existing state, progress, and expectation. _tuesday, 20._--though the weather was clear, we could not embark this morning before five, as there was a rapid very near us, which required daylight to run it, that we might not break our canoe on the rocks. the baggage we were obliged to carry. our course was north by east a mile and an half, north-north-east a mile and a half down another rapid on the west side; it requires great care to keep directly between the eddy current, and that which was driving down with so much impetuosity. we then proceeded north-north-west, a river from the right; a mile and a quarter, north-north-east a mile and a half, a river from the left; north one mile and three quarters, north-east two miles, north-east by east two miles and a quarter, east by north one mile, north-east by east four miles, a river from the left, and east by south a mile and a half. here was our encampment on the 26th of may, beyond which it would be altogether superfluous for me to take the courses, as they are inserted in their proper places. as we continued our voyage, our attention was attracted by the appearance of an indian encampment. we accordingly landed, and found there had been five fires, and within that number of days, so that there must have been some inhabitants in the neighbourhood, though we were not so fortunate as to see them. it appeared that they had killed a number of animals, and fled in a state of alarm, as three of their canoes were left carelessly on the beach, and their paddles laying about in disorder. we soon after came to the carrying-place called the portage de la montagne de roche. here i had a meridian altitude, which made the latitude 56. 3. 51. north. the water, as i have already observed, was much lower than when we came up it, though at the same time the current appeared to be stronger from this place to the forks; the navigation, however, would now be attended with greater facility, as there is a stony beach all the way, so that poles, or the towing-line, may be employed with the best effect, where the current overpowers the use of paddles. we were now reduced to a very short allowance; the disappointment, therefore, at not seeing any animals was proportioned to our exigencies, as we did not possess at this time more than was sufficient to serve us for two meals. i now dispatched mr. mackay and the indians to proceed to the foot of the rapids, and endeavour in their way to procure some provisions, while i prepared to employ the utmost expedition in getting there; having determined, notwithstanding the disinclination of my people, from the recollection of what they had suffered in coming that way, to return by the same route. i had observed, indeed, that the water which had fallen fifteen feet perpendicular, at the narrow pass below us, had lost much of its former turbulence. as dispatch was essential in procuring a supply of provisions, we did not delay a moment in making preparation to renew our progress. five of the men began to carry the baggage, while the sixth and myself took the canoe asunder, to cleanse her of the dirt, and expose her lining and timbers to the air, which would render her much lighter. about sun-set mr. mackay and our hunters returned with heavy burdens of the flesh of a buffalo: though not very tender, it was very acceptable, and was the only animal that they had seen, though the country was covered with tracks of them, as well as of the moose-deer and the elk. the former had done rutting, and the latter were beginning to run. our people returned, having left their loads mid-way on the carrying-place. my companion and myself completed our undertaking, and the canoe was ready to be carried in the morning. a hearty meal concluded the day, and every fear of future want was removed. _wednesday, 21._--when the morning dawned we set forwards, but as a fire had passed through the portage, it was with difficulty we could trace our road in many parts; and with all the exertion of which we were capable, we did not arrive at the river till four in the afternoon. we found almost as much difficulty in carrying our canoe down the mountain as we had in getting it up; the men being not so strong as on the former occasion, though they were in better spirits; and i was now enabled to assist them, my ancle being almost well. we could not, however, proceed any further till the following day, as we had the canoe to gum, with several great and small poles to prepare; those we had left here having been carried away by the water, though we had left them in a position from fifteen to twenty feet above the water-mark, at that time. these occupations employed us till a very late hour. _thursday, 22._--the night was cold, and though the morning was fine and clear, it was seven before we were in a state of preparation to leave this place, sometimes driving with the current, and at other times shooting the rapids. the latter had lost much of their former strength; but we, nevertheless, thought it necessary to land very frequently, in order to examine the rapids before we could venture to run them. however, the canoe being light, we very fortunately passed them all, and at noon arrived at the place where i appointed to meet mr. mackay and the hunters: there we found them, with plenty of excellent fat meat, ready roasted, as they had killed two elks within a few hundred yards of the spot where we then were. when the men had satisfied their appetites, i sent them for as much of the meat as they could carry. in coming hither, mr. mackay informed me, that he and the hunters kept along the high land, and did not see or cross the indian path. at the same time, there can be no doubt but the road from this place to the upper part of the rapids is to be preferred to that which we came, both for expedition and safety. after staying here about an hour and a half, we proceeded with the stream, and landed where i had forgotten my pipe-tomahawk and seal, on the eighteenth of may. the former of them i now recovered. on leaving the mountains we saw animals grazing in every direction. in passing along an island, we fired at an elk, and broke its leg; and as it was now time to encamp, we landed; when the hunters pursued the wounded animal, which had crossed over to the main land, but could not get up the bank. we went after it, therefore, in the canoe, and killed it. to give some notion of our appetites, i shall state the elk, or at least the carcase of it, which we brought away, to have weighed two hundred and fifty pounds; and as we had taken a very hearty meal at one o'clock, it might naturally be supposed that we should not be very voracious at supper; nevertheless, a kettle full of the elk flesh was boiled and eaten, and that vessel replenished and put on the fire. all that remained, with the bones, &c. was placed, after the indian fashion, round the fire to roast, and at ten next morning the whole was consumed by ten persons and a large dog, who was allowed his share of the banquet. this is no exaggeration; nor did any inconvenience result from what may be considered as an inordinate indulgence. _friday, 23._--we were on the water before daylight; and when the sun rose, a beautiful country appeared around us, enriched and animated by large herds of wild cattle. the weather was now so warm, that to us, who had not of late been accustomed to heat, it was overwhelming and oppressive. in the course of this day we killed a buffalo and a bear; but we were now in the midst of abundance, and they were not sufficiently fat to satisfy our fastidious appetites, so we left them where they fell. we landed for the night, and prepared ourselves for arriving at the fort on the following day. _saturday, 24._--the weather was the same as yesterday, and the country increasing in beauty; though as we approached the fort, the cattle appeared proportionably to diminish. we now landed at two lodges of indians, who were as astonished to see us, as if we had been the first white men whom they had ever beheld. when we had passed these people, not an animal was to be seen on the borders of the river. at length, as we rounded a point, and came in view of the fort, we threw out a flag, and accompanied it with a general discharge of our fire-arms; while the men were in such spirits, and made such an active use of their paddles, that we arrived before the two men whom we left here in the spring, could recover their senses to answer us. thus we landed at four in the afternoon, at the place which we left on the ninth of may. here my voyages of discovery terminate. their toils and their dangers, their solicitudes and sufferings, have not been exaggerated in my description. on the contrary, in many instances, language has failed me in the attempt to describe them. i received, however, the reward of my labours, for they were crowned with success. as i have now resumed the character of a trader i shall not trouble my readers with any subsequent concern, but content myself with the closing infomation, that after an absence of eleven months, i arrived at fort chepewyan, where i remained, for the purposes of trade, during the succeeding winter. ---the following general, but short, geographical view of the country may not be improper to close this work, as well as some remarks on the probable advantages that may be derived from advancing the trade of it, under proper regulations, and by the spirit of commercial enterprize. by supposing a line from the atlantic, east, to the pacific, west, in the parallel of forty-five degrees of north latitude, it will, i think, nearly describe the british territories in north america. for i am of opinion, that the extent of the country to the south of this line, which we have a right to claim, is equal to that to the north of it, which may be claimed by other powers. the outline of what i shall call the first division, is along that track of country which runs from the head of james-bay, in about latitude 51. north, along the eastern coast, as far north as to, and through hudson's straits, round by labrador; continuing on the atlantic coast, on the outside of the great islands, in the gulf of st. laurence, to the river st. croix, by which it takes its course, to the height of land that divides the waters emptying themselves into the atlantic, from those discharged into the river st. laurence. then following these heights, as the boundary between the british possessions, and those of the american states, it makes an angle westerly until it strikes the discharge of lake champlain, in latitude 45. north, when it keeps a direct west line till it strikes the river st. laurence, above lake st. francis, where it divides the indian village st. rigest; from whence it follows the centre of the waters of the great river st. laurence: it then proceeds through lake ontario, the connection between it and lake erie; through the latter, and its chain of connection, by the river detroit, as far south as latitude 42. north, and then through the lake and river st. clair, as also lake huron, through which it continues to the strait of st. mary, latitude 46. 30. north; from which we will suppose the line to strike to the east of north, to the head of james bay, in the latitude already mentioned. of this great tract, more than half is represented as barren and broken, displaying a surface of rock and fresh water lakes, with a very scattered and scanty proportion of soil. such is the whole coast of labrador, and the land, called east main to the west of the heights, which divide the waters running into the river and gulf of st. laurence, from those flowing into hudson's bay. it is consequently inhabited only by a few savages, whose numbers are proportioned to the scantiness of the soil; nor is it probable, from the same cause, that they will encrease. the fresh and salt waters, with a small quantity of game, which the few, stinted woods afford, supply the wants of nature; from whence, to that of the line of the american boundary, and the atlantic ocean, the soil, wherever cultivation has been attempted, has yielded abundance; particularly on the river st. laurence, from quebec upwards, to the line of boundary already mentioned; but a very inconsiderable proportion of it has been broken by the plough-share. the line of the second division may be traced from that of the first at st. mary's, from which also the line of american boundary runs, and is said to continue through lake superior (and through a lake called the long lake which has no existence), to the lake of the woods, in latitude 49. 37. north, from whence it is also said to run west to the mississippi, which it may do, by giving it a good deal of southing, but not otherwise; as the source of that river does not extend further north than latitude 47. 38. north, where it is no more than a small brook; consequently, if great britain retains the right of entering it along the line of division, it must be in a lower latitude, and wherever that may be, the line must be continued west, till it terminates in the pacific ocean, to the south of the columbia. this division is then bounded by the pacific ocean on the west, the frozen sea and hudson's bay on the north and east. the russians, indeed, may claim with justice, the islands and coast from behring's straits to cook's entry. the whole of this country will long continue in the possession of its present inhabitants, as they will remain contented with the produce of the woods and waters for their support, leaving the earth, from various causes, in its virgin state. the proportion of it that is fit for cultivation, is very small and is still less in the interior parts; it is also very difficult of access; and whilst any land remains uncultivated to the south of it, there will be no temptation to settle it. besides, its climate is not in general sufficiently genial to bring the fruits of the earth to maturity. it will also be an asylum for the descendants of the original inhabitants of the country to the south, who prefer the modes of life of their forefathers, to the improvements of civilization. of this disposition there is a recent instance. a small colony of iroquois emigrated to the banks of the saskatchiwine, in 1799, who had been brought up from their infancy under the romish missionaries, and instructed by them at a village within nine miles of montreal. a further division of this country is marked by a ridge of high land, rising, as it were, from the coast of labrador, and running nearly south-west to the source of the utawas river, dividing the waters going either way to the river and gulf of st. laurence and hudson's bay, as before observed. from thence it stretches to the north of west, to the northward of lake superior, to latitude 50. north, and longitude 98. west, when it forks from the last course at about south-west, and continues the same division of waters until it passes north of the source of the mississippi. the former course runs, as has been observed, in a north-west direction, until it strikes the river nelson, separating the waters that discharge themselves into lake winipic, which forms part of the said river, and those that also empty themselves into hudson's bay, by the albany, severn, and hay's or hill's rivers. from thence it keeps a course of about west-north-west, till it forms the banks of the missinipi or churchill river, at portage de traite, latitude 55. 25. north. it now continues in a western direction, between the saskatchiwine and the source of the missinipi, or beaver river, which it leaves behind, and divides the saskatchiwine from the elk river; when, leaving those also behind, and pursuing the same direction it leads to the high land that lies between the unjigah and tacoutche rivers, from whence it may be supposed to be the same ridge. from the head of the beaver river, on the west, the same kind of high ground runs to the east of north, between the waters of the elk and missinipi river forming the portage la loche, and continuing on to the latitude 57. 15. north, dividing the waters that run to hudson's bay from those going to the north sea: from thence its course is nearly north, when an angle runs from it to the north of the slave lake, till it strikes mackenzie's river. the last, but by no means the least, is the immense ridge, or succession of ridges of stony mountains, whose northern extremity dips in the north sea, in latitude 70. north, and longitude 135. west, running nearly south-east, and begins to be parallel with the coast of the pacific ocean, from cook's entry, and so onwards to the columbia. from thence it appears to quit the coast, but still continuing, with less elevation, to divide the waters of the atlantic from those which run into the pacific. in those snow-clad mountains rises the mississippi, if we admit the missouri to be its source, which flows into the gulph of mexico; the river nelson, which is lost in hudson's bay; mackenzie's river, that discharges itself into the north sea; and the columbia emptying itself into the pacific ocean. the great river st. laurence and churchill river, with many lesser ones, derive their sources far short of these mountains. it is, indeed, the extension of these mountains so far south on the sea coast, that prevents the columbia from finding a more direct course to the sea, as it runs obliquely with the coast upwards of eight degrees of latitude before it mingles with the ocean. it is further to be observed, that these mountains, from cook's entry to the columbia, extend from six to eight degrees in breadth easterly; and that along their eastern skirts is a narrow strip of very marshy, boggy, and uneven ground, the outer edge of which produces coal and bitumen: these i saw on the banks of mackenzie's river, as far north as latitude 66. i also discovered them in my second journey, at the commencement of the rocky mountains in 56. north latitude, and 120. west longitude; and the same was observed by mr. fidler, one of the servants of the hudson's bay company, at the source of the south branch of the saskatchiwine, in about latitude 52 north, and longitude 112. 30. west.[1] next to this narrow belt are immense plains, or meadows, commencing in a point at about the junction of the river of the mountain with mackenzie's river, widening as they continue east and south, till they reach the red river at its confluence with the assiniboin river, from whence they take a more southern direction, along the mississippi towards mexico. adjoining to these plains is a broken country, composed of lakes, rocks, and soil. from the banks of the rivers running through the plains, there appeared to ooze a saline fluid, concreting into a thin, scurf on the grass. near that part of the slave river where it first loses the name of peace river, and along the extreme edge of these plains, are very strong salt springs, which in the summer concrete and crystallize in great quantities. about the lake dauphin, on the south-west side of lake winipic, are also many salt ponds, but it requires a regular process to form salt from them. along the west banks of the former is to be seen, at intervals, and traced in the line of the direction of the plains, a soft rock of lime-stone, in thin and nearly horizontal stratas, particularly on the beaver, cedar, winipic, and superior lakes, as also in the beds of the rivers crossing that line. it is also remarkable that, at the narrowest part of lake winipic, where it is not more than two miles in breadth, the west side is faced with rocks of this stone thirty feet perpendicular; while, on the east side, the rocks are more elevated, and of a dark-grey granite. the latter is to be found throughout the whole extent north of this country, to the coast of hudson's bay, and as i have been informed, along that coast, onwards to the coast of labrador; and it may be further observed, that between these extensive ranges of granite and lime-stone are found all the great lakes of this country. there is another very large district which must not be forgotten; and behind all the others in situation as well as in soil, produce, and climate. this comprehends the tract called the barren grounds, which is to the north of a line drawn from churchill, along the north border of the rein-deer lake, to the north of the lake of the hills and slave lake, and along the north side of the latter to the rocky mountains, which terminate in the north sea, latitude 70. north, and longitude 135. west; in the whole extent of which no trees are visible, except a few stinted ones, scattered along its rivers, and with scarce anything of surface that can be called earth; yet, this inhospitable region is inhabited by a people who are accustomed to the life it requires. nor has bountiful nature withheld the means of subsistence; the rein deer, which supply both food and clothing, are satisfied with the produce of the hills, though they bear nothing but a short curling moss, on a species of which, that grows on the rocks, the people themselves subsist when famine invades them. their small lakes are not furnished with a great variety of fish, but such as they produce are excellent, which, with hares and partridges, form a proportion of their food. the climate must necessarily be severe in such a country as we have described, and which displays so large a surface of fresh water. its severity is extreme on the coast of hudson's bay, and proceeds from its immediate exposure to the north west winds that blow off the frozen ocean. these winds, in crossing directly from the bay over canada and the british dominions on the atlantic, as well as over the eastern states of north america to that ocean, (where they give to those countries a length of winter astonishing to the inhabitants of the same latitudes in europe), continue to retain a great degree of force and cold in their passage, even over the atlantic, particularly at the time when the sun is in its southern declination. the same winds which come from the frozen ocean, over the barren grounds, and across frozen lakes and snowy plains, bounded by the rocky mountains, lose their frigid influence, as they travel in a southern direction, till they get to the atlantic ocean, where they close their progress. is not this a sufficient cause for the difference between the climate in america, and that of the same latitude in europe? it has been frequently advanced, that the clearing away the wood has had an astonishing influence in meliorating the climate in the former: but i am not disposed to assent to that opinion in the extent which it proposes to establish, when i consider the very trifling proportion of the country cleared, compared with the whole. the employment of the axe may have had some inconsiderable effect; but i look to other causes. i myself observed in a country, which was in an absolute state of nature, that the climate is improving; and this circumstance was confirmed to me by the native inhabitants of it. such a change, therefore, must proceed from some predominating operation in the system of the globe which is beyond my conjecture, and, indeed, above my comprehension, and may, probably, in the course, of time, give to america the climate of europe. it is well known, indeed, that the waters are decreasing there, and that many lakes are draining and filling up by the earth which is carried into them from the higher lands by the rivers: and this may have some partial effect. the climate on the west coast of america assimilates much more to that of europe in the same latitudes: i think very little difference will be found, except such as proceed from the vicinity of high mountains covered with snow. this is an additional proof that the difference in the temperature of the air proceeds from the cause already mentioned. much has been said, and much more still remains to be said on the peopling of america.--on this subject i shall confine myself to one or two observations, and leave my readers to draw their inferences from them. the progress of the inhabitants of the country immediately under our observation, which is comprised within the line of latitude 45. north, is as follows: that of the esquimaux, who possess the sea coast from the atlantic through hudson's straits and bay, round to mackenzie's river (and i believe further), is known to be westward; they never quit the coast, and agree in appearance, manners, language, and habits with the inhabitants of greenland. the different tribes whom i describe under the name of algonquins and knisteneaux, but originally the same people, were the inhabitants of the atlantic coast, and the banks of the river st. laurence and adjacent countries: their progress is westerly, and they are even found west and north as far as athabasca. on the contrary, the chepewyans, and the numerous tribes who speak their language, occupy the whole space between the knisteneaux country and that of the esquimaux, stretching behind the natives of the coast of the pacific, to latitude 52. north, on the river columbia. their progress is easterly, and, according to their own traditions, they came from siberia; agreeing in dress and manner with the people now found upon the coast of asia. of the inhabitants of the coast of the pacific ocean we know little more than that they are stationary there. the nadowasis or assiniboins, as well as the different tribes not particularly described, inhabiting the plains on and about the source and banks of the saskatchiwine and assiniboin rivers, are from the southward, and their progress is north-west. ---the discovery of a passage by sea, north-east or north west from the atlantic to the pacific ocean, has for many years excited the attention of governments, and encouraged the enterprising spirit of individuals. the non-existence, however, of any such practical passage being at length determined, the practicability of a passage through the continents of asia and america becomes an object of consideration. the russians, who first discovered, that, along the coasts of asia no useful or regular navigation existed, opened an interior communication by rivers, &c., and through that long and wide-extended continent, to the strait that separates asia from america, over which they passed to the adjacent islands and continent of the latter. our situation, at length, is in some degree similar to theirs: the non-existence of a practicable passage by sea and the existence of one through the continent, are clearly proved; and it requires only the countenance and support of the british government, to increase in a very ample proportion this national advantage, and secure the trade of that country to its subjects. experience, however, has proved, that this trade, from its very nature cannot be carried on by individuals. a very large capital, or credit, or indeed both, is necessary, and consequently an association of men of wealth to direct, with men of enterprise to act, in one common interest, must be formed on such principles, as that in due time the latter may succeed the former, in continual and progressive succession. such was the equitable and successful mode adopted by the merchants from canada, which has been already described. the junction of such a commercial association with the hudson's bay company, is the important measure which i would propose, and the trade might then be carried on with a very superior degree of advantage, both private and public, under the privilege of their charter, and would prove, in fact, the complete fulfilment of the conditions, on which it was first granted. it would be an equal injustice to either party to be excluded from the option of such an undertaking; for if the one has a right by charter, has not the other a right by prior possession, as being successor to the subjects of france, who were exclusively possessed of all the then known parts of this country, before canada was ceded to great britain, except the coast of hudson's bay, and having themselves been the discoverers of a vast extent of country since added to his majesty's territories, even to the hyperborean and the pacific oceans? if, therefore, that company should decline, or be averse to engage in, such an extensive, and perhaps hazardous undertaking, it would not, surely, be an unreasonable proposal to them, from government, to give up a right which they refuse to exercise, on allowing them a just and reasonable indemnification of their stock, regulated by the average dividends of a certain number of years, or the actual price at which they transfer their stock. by enjoying the privilege of the company's charter, though but for a limited period, there are adventurers who would be willing, as they are able, to engage in, and carry on the proposed commercial undertaking, as well as to give the most ample and satisfactory security to government for the fulfilment of its contract with the company. it would, at the same time, be equally necessary to add a similar privilege of trade on the columbia river, and its tributary waters. if, however, it should appear, that the hudson's bay company have an exclusive right to carry on their trade as they think proper, and continue it on the narrow scale, and with so little benefit to the public as they now do; if they should refuse to enter into a co-operative junction with others, what reasonable cause can they assign to government for denying the navigation of the bay to nelson's river: and, by its waters, a passage to and from the interior country, for the use of the adventurers, and for the sole purpose of transport, under the most severe and binding restrictions not to interfere with their trade on the coast, and the country between it and the actual establishments of the canadian traders.[2] by these waters that discharge themselves into hudson's bay at port nelson, it is proposed to carry on the trade to their source, at the head of the saskatchiwine river, which rises in the rocky mountains, not eight degrees of longitude from the pacific ocean. the tacoutche or columbia river flows also from the same mountains, and discharges itself likewise in the pacific, in latitude 46. 20. both of them are capable of receiving ships at their mouths, and are navigable throughout for boats. the distance between these waters is only known from the report of the indians. if, however, this communication should prove inaccessible, the route i pursued, though longer, in consequence of the great angle it makes to the north, will answer every necessary purpose. but whatever course may be taken from the atlantic, the columbia is the line of communication from the pacific ocean, pointed out by nature, as it is the only navigable river in the whole extent of vancouver's minute survey of that coast: its banks also form the first level country in all the southern extent of continental coast from cook's entry, and, consequently, the most northern situation fit for colonization, and suitable to the residence of a civilized people. by opening this intercourse between the atlantic and pacific oceans, and forming regular establishments through the interior, and at both extremes, as well as along the coasts and islands, the entire command of the fur trade of north america might be obtained, from latitude 48. north to the pole, except that portion of it which the russians have in the pacific. to this may be added the fishing in both seas, and the markets of the four quarters of the globe. such would be the field for commercial enterprise, and incalculable would be the produce of it, when supported by the operations of that credit and capital which great britain so pre-eminently possesses. then would this country begin to be remunerated for the expences it has sustained in discovering and surveying the coast of the pacific ocean, which is at present left to american adventurers, who without regularity or capital, or the desire of conciliating future confidence, look altogether to the interest of the moment. they, therefore, collect all the skins they can procure, and in any manner that suits them, and having exchanged them at canton for the produce of china, return to their own country. such adventurers, and many of them, as i have been informed, have been very successful, would instantly disappear from before a well-regulated trade. it would be very unbecoming in me to suppose for a moment, that the east-india company would hesitate to allow those privileges to their fellow-subjects which are permitted to foreigners in a trade, that is so much out of the line of their own commerce, and therefore cannot be injurious to it. many political reasons, which it is not necessary here to enumerate, must present themselves to the mind of every man acquainted with the enlarged system and capacities of british commerce in support of the measure which i have very briefly suggested, as promising the most important advantages to the trade of the united kingdoms. [1] bitumen is also found on the coast of the slave lake, in latitude 60. north, near its discharge by mackenzie's river; and also near the forks of the elk river. [2] independent of the prosecution of this great object, i conceive, that the merchants from canada are entitled to such an indulgence (even if they should be considered as not possessing a rightful claim), in order that they might be enabled to extend their trade beyond their present limits, and have it in their power to supply the natives with a larger quantity of useful articles; the enhanced value of which, and the present difficulty of transporting them, will be fully comprehended, when i relate, that the tract of transport occupies an extent of from three to four thousand miles, through upwards of sixty large fresh water lakes, and numerous rivers; and that the means of transport are slight bark canoes. it must also be observed, that those waters are intercepted by more than two hundred rapids, along which the articles of merchandise are chiefly carried on men's backs, and over a hundred and thirty carrying-places, from twenty-five paces to thirteen miles in length where the canoes and cargoes proceed by the same toilsome and perilous operations. the end _it is to be observed, that the courses throughout the journals are taken by_ compass, _and that the variation must be considered._ online distributed proofreading canada team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net p a p e r s r e l a t i n g t o an a c t of the assembly o f t h e province of _n e w-y o r k_, f o r encouragement of the _indian trade_, &c. and for prohibiting the selling of _indian goods_ to the _french, viz_. of _canada_. i. a petition of the merchants of _london_ to his majesty against the said act. ii. his majesty's order in council, referring the petition to the lords commissioners of _trade_ and _plantation_. iii. extract of the minutes of the said lords, concerning some allegations of the merchants before them. iv. the report of the said lords to his majesty on the merchants petition, and other allegations. v. the report of the committee of council of the province of _new-york_, in answer to the said petition. vi. a memorial concerning the furr-trade of _new-york_, by _c. colden_, esq; t o t h e k i n g's most excellent majesty in council, the humble petition and representation of _samuel baker, samuel storke, john bayeux, richard jeneway, robert hackshaw, joseph low, joseph paice, george streatfield, william parkin_, and _john evered_, merchants of _london_, trading to _new-york_, in behalf of themselves, and the rest of the persons concern'd in the _new-york_ trade. _s h e w e t h_, that by an act passed in _new-york_ the 19th of _november_, 1720, entitled, _an act for encouragement of the_ indian _trade, and rendering it more beneficial to the inhabitants of this province, and for prohibiting the selling of_ indian goods _to the_ french, all trade whatsoever is prohibited in the strictest manner, and under the severest penalties, between the inhabitants of _new-york_ government, and the _french_ of _canada_, or any subjects of the _french king_, or any person whatsoever, for or on the behalf of any such subjects; and which act was to continue in force for three years. that the reasons assigned in the preamble of this act, for the passing thereof, are, for that the _french_ at _canada_, by means of _indian_ goods purchased from the inhabitants of _new-york_, had not only almost wholly engrossed the _indian trade_ to themselves, but had, in great measure, withdrawn the affections of the _five nations_ of _indians_ from the inhabitants of _new-york_, and render'd them wavering in their faith and allegiance to your majesty; and would, if such trade was not prevented, wholly alienate the minds of the said _indians_, which might prove of dangerous consequence to the _english interest_ in _america_. that this act was sent home for your majesty's royal consideration, but your petitioners do not find that your majesty ever signified your allowance or disallowance thereof; from whence, and from the act's being to continue but three years, your petitioners humbly conceive the same was suffered to lie by probationary, to see whether the said act, in its effects, was really advantageous or prejudicial to the _british trade_ and _interest_ in _america_. that your petitioners have received advice, that the government of _new-york_ either have, or are about passing an act, to revive and continue the said act for prohibiting all trade between _new-york_ and _canada_. upon which occasion, your petitioners humbly beg leave to represent to your majesty, that the said act, tho' in the first intention of it, it might be well designed, yet, in its effects, it has proved very pernicious to the _british trade_ in general, and to the interest of _new-york_ in particular: for, besides the nations of _indians_ that are in the _english_ interest, there are very many nations of _indians_, who are, at present, in the interest of the _french_, and who lie between _new-york_, and the nations of _indians_ in the _english interest_; and this act prohibiting all trade between _new-york_ and the _french_ of _canada_, or any of the subjects of _france_, the _french_, and their _indians_, would not permit the _english indians_ to pass over by their forts, so as to carry on a free trade with _new-york_, but prevented their passages, as much as possible, whereby that most considerable and only valuable branch of trade from _new-york_, hath, ever since the passing the said act, very much lessened, from the great difficulties of carrying on any trade with the _english indians_, and the prohibition of all trade with the _french_; and all the _indian goods_ have, by this act, been raised in their price 25_l._ to 30_l._ _per cent_. whereas, on the other hand, this branch of the _new-york_ trade, by the discouragements brought upon it by this act, is almost wholly engrossed by the _french_, who have already, by this act, been encouraged to send proper _european goods_ to _canada_, to carry on this trade; so that should this act be continued, the _new-york_ trade, which is very considerable, must be wholly lost to us, and center in the _french_. and your petitioners further beg leave humbly to represent, that as they conceive nothing can tend more to the with-drawing the affections of the _five nations_ of _indians_ from the _english interest_, than the continuance of the said act, which, in its effects, restrains them from a free commerce with the inhabitants of _new-york_, and may, too probably, estrange them from the _english interest:_ whereas by a freedom of commerce, and an encourag'd intercourse of trade with the _french_, and their _indians_, the _english interest_ might, in time, be greatly improved and strengthened among the _indians_ in general, who, by such latitude of trade, might be link'd to our friendship in the strongest ties of their own interest, as well as inclinations. that therefore, and as the said act was, in its effects, so plainly destructive and prejudicial to the trade and interest of these kingdoms, and so much for the interest of the _french_, and greatly promoted that mischief which it was intended to prevent, your petitioners most humbly pray your majesty, that you would be graciously pleased to give the necessary directions to your governor of _new-york_, not to pass any new act for the reviving or continuing the said act prohibiting trade with the _french_ of _canada_; and that if any such act, or any act of the like tendency, be already passed, that the same may be repealed. _and your petitioners shall ever pray_, &c. _samuel baker_, _rob. hackshaw_, _jo. lloyd_, _sam. storke_, _j. bayeux_, _sam. fitch_, _rich. jeneway_, _jos. lowe_, _asher levy_, _john paine_, _j. bull_, _fra. wilks_, _wm. parkin_, _john gilbert_, _jos. paice_, jun. _rich. mico_, _jo. miranda_, _geo. streatfield_, _john everet_, _thompson hayne_. * * * * * _at the court at_ st. james'_s the 30th day of_ april, 1724. p r e s e n t the k i n g's most excellent majesty in council. upon reading this day at the board the humble petition and representation of _samuel baker, samuel storke_, and several others, merchants of _london_, trading to _new-york_, in behalf of themselves, and the rest of the persons concern'd in the _new-york_ trade, which _petition_ sets forth, that great discouragements have been brought upon the _british trade_, by an act passed in the said colony of _new york_, the 19th of _november_, 1720, entitled, _an act for the encouragement of the_ indian trade, _and rendering of it more beneficial to the inhabitants of this province, and for prohibiting the selling of_ indian goods _to the_ french. and that as the said act was to continue in force only for three years, they are informed the government of _new-york_ either have, or are about passing an act to revive and continue the same: wherefore they humbly pray, that the governor of that colony may be ordered, not to pass any new act for that purpose; and if any such act be already pass'd, that it may be repealed. it is ordered by his majesty in council, that the said petition (a copy whereof is hereunto annexed) be, and it is hereby referred to the lords commissioners for trade and plantations, to examine into the same, and report to his majesty, at this board, what they conceive fit to be done therein. signed, _james vernon_. * * * * * _extract of the minutes of the right honourable the lords commissioners for trade and plantations, the_ 7_th of_ july, 1724. mr. _sharp_ attending, as he had been desired, with several _new-york_ merchants, their lordships took again into consideration the order of council of the 30th of _april_, mentioned in the minutes of the first of _may_ last, referring to the board their petition against the renewing an act passed in _new-york_, in _november_, 1720, entitled, _an act for the encouragement of the_ indian _trade_, _and rendering of it more effectual to the inhabitants of this province, and for prohibiting the selling of_ indian _goods to the_ french. and mr. _sharp_, in behalf of the several merchants, acquainted their lordships, that he conceived this act, tho' its intention of gaining the _indians_ to the _english_ interest might be good, would have quite a contrary effect, because, if the trade with the _french_ was prevented, and the merchants should discontinue that with the _indians_, (as he was informed they would) the _french_ might lay hold of this opportunity to furnish themselves with goods from _europe_, and supply the five nations of _indians_, and thereby gain them to their interest: and this, by reason of their situation, would not be in the power of the _english_ to prevent: that they were two or three hundred leagues distant from _albany_, and that they could not come to trade with the _english_ but by going down the river _st. laurence_, and from thence through a lake, which brought them within eighteen leagues of _albany_. and that the _french_ having made settlements along the said river, it would be in their power, whenever they pleased, to cut off that communication. that this act had been so great a discouragement to the _british trade_, in general, that there had not been, by far, so great a quantity of beaver, and other furs, imported into _great-britain_ since the passing the said act, as there was before; nor half the quantity of _european goods_ exported. that several merchants who had sent over to _new-york_ considerable quantities of _european goods_, had received advice from their correspondents, that should another act of the like nature be passed, they could not find a vent for them, and desired they would send no more. upon the whole, mr. _sharp_ desired, in behalf of the merchants, that mr. _burnet_ might be directed not to pass any act of the like nature for the future. to the k i n g's most excellent majesty. _may it please your majesty_; in obedience to your majesty's commands, signified to us by your order in council of the 30th of _april_ last, referring to us the petition of several merchants of _london_ trading to _new-york_, setting forth "the great discouragements that have been brought upon the _british trade_ by an act passed in _new-york_ the 19th of _november_, 1720, entitled, _an act for the encouragement of the_ indian trade, _and rendering of it more beneficial to the inhabitants of this province, and for prohibiting the selling of_ indian goods _to the_ french. and that as the said act is now expir'd, the said merchants are informed the government of _new-york_ either have, or are about passing an act to revive and continue the same; and therefore pray, that a stop may be put thereto." we humbly take leave to represent to your majesty, that we have been attended by the petitioners, who informed us, that they have found this act, by experience, to be so great a discouragement to the _british trade_, that there has not been, by far, so considerable a quantity of beaver, and other furs, imported into _great-britain_, from _new-york_, since the passing the said act, as heretofore, nor half the quantity of _european goods_ exported thither; in consequence whereof the price of furs is raised _five and twenty_ and _thirty per cent._ to the great prejudice of several _british_ manufactures. they likewise affirmed, that it was impracticable to hinder the _french_ from supplying the _indians_ with _european_ goods: for tho' _new-york_ should not furnish them, the _french_ would find another way to be supplied therewith, either from some other of his majesty's plantations, or, it might be, directly from _europe_. that it was of dangerous consequence to force this trade into a new channel, many of the goods which the _indians_ want being as easy to be had directly from _france_ or _holland_, as from _great-britain_. they further added, that it was not likely the act, in question, should produce the effects expected from it, more particularly that of securing the five _indian_ nations firmly to the _british_ interest; because, if the _french_ should once get a supply of the goods necessary for the _indian_ trade, from any other place, as the five _indian_ nations are settled upon the banks of the river of _st. lawrence_, directly opposite to _quebeck_, two or three hundred leagues distant from the nearest _british_ settlement in _new-york_, the vicinity of the _french_ would furnish them with the means of supplying even the _five nations_ with these goods, and consequently of alienating their affections from the _british_ interest. and that there was no prospect of obtaining a trade with the _french indians_ by this means, because the french would always be able to prevent their passage cross the lakes and river of _st. lawrence_ to our settlements. these were the most material objections made by the merchants against the bill. * * * * * on the other hand, the preamble of the act sets forth, that it was found by experience, that the _french_ of _canada_, by means of _indian_ goods brought from that province, had not only almost wholly engrossed the _indian_ trade, but had in great measure, withdrawn the affections of the _five nations_ of _indians_ from the inhabitants of that province, and rendered them wavering in their allegiance to your majesty; and would, if such trade were not prevented, altogether alienate the minds of the said _indians_, which would prove of dangerous consequence to the _english_ interest in _america_. and mr. _burnet_, your majesty's governor of _new-york_, informs us, that, since the passing of this act, several of the far _indians_ had come to _albany_ to trade; that some of them came above one thousand miles, and are now incorporated with the _five nations_: that he had likewise intelligence of more far _indians_ that design'd to come to _albany_, which he conceives to have been a good effect proceeding from this act: and likewise adds, that he did not doubt but the cheapness of goods in _albany_ would induce the _indians_ to trade there, rather than with the _french_ at _montreal_; and that the traders of _albany_ began to be sensible of their error in sharing a trade with the _french_, which they now perceive they can keep wholly to themselves. * * * * * _upon the whole_, being doubtful of some of the facts alledged by the merchants, and considering how far the _british trade_ may be affected by this act, on the one hand; and how much the security and interest of your majesty's colonies in _america_ may be concerned, on the other, we are humbly of opinion, that no directions should be sent to _new-york_, upon the subject-matter of this act, till mr. _burnet_ shall have been acquainted with the objections of the merchants thereto, and his answers and observations received thereupon. for which end, if your majesty shall be graciously pleased to approve of this our proposal, we shall forthwith send him copies both of the merchants memorial, and of what objections they have made before us to the subject-matter of this bill. which is most humbly submitted. signed, _j. chetwind_, _t. pelham_, _m. bladen_, _r. plummer_, _ed. ashe_. _whitehall_, _july_ 14, 1724. * * * * * _the report of a committee of the council held at_ new-york, november 6, 1724. _may it please your excellency_, in obedience to your excellency's commands in council, the 29th of _october_, referring to us a petition of several merchants in _london_, presented to the king's most excellent majesty, against renewing an act passed in this province, entitled, _an act for encouragement of the_ indian _trade, and rendering it more effectual to the inhabitants of this province, and for prohibiting the selling of_ indian _goods to the_ french; as likewise the several allegations of the said merchants before the right hon. the lords of trade and plantations, we beg leave to make the following remarks. in order to make our observations the more distinct and clear, we shall gather together the several assertions of the said merchants, both in their petition, and delivered verbally before the lords of trade, as to the situation of this province, with respect to the _french_ and _indian nations_, and observe on them, in the first place, they being the foundation on which all their other allegations are grounded. afterwards we shall lay before your excellency, what we think necessary to observe on the other parts of the said petition, in the order they are in the petition, or in the report of the lords of trade. in their geographical accounts they say, "besides the nations of _indians_ that are in the _english_ interest, there are very many nations of _indians_, who are at present in the interest of the _french_, and who lie between _new-york_ and the nations of _indians_ in the _english_ interest.----the _french_ and their _indians_ would not permit the _english indians_ to pass over by their forts." the said act "restrains them (_the five nations_) from a free commerce with the inhabitants of _new-york_. "the _five indian nations_ are settled upon the banks of the river _st. lawrence_, directly opposite to _quebeck_, two or three hundred leagues distant from the nearest _british_ settlements in _new-york_. "they (_the five nations of indians_) were two or three hundred leagues distant from _albany_; and that they could not come to trade with the _english_ but by going down the river _st. lawrence_, and from thence through a lake, which brought them within eighteen leagues of _albany_." these things the merchants have thought it safe for them, and consistent with their duty to his sacred majesty, to say in his majesty's presence, and to repeat them afterwards before the right hon. the lords of trade, though nothing can be more directly contrary to the truth. for there are no nations of _indians_ between _new-york_ and the nations of _indians_ in the _english interest_, who are now six in number, by the addition of the _tuscaroras_. the _mohawks_ (called _annies_ by the _french_) one of the five nations, live on the south-side of a branch of _hudson's-river_, (not on the north-side, as they are placed in the _french_ maps) and but forty miles directly west from _albany_, and within the _english_ settlements, some of the _english_ farms upon the same river being thirty miles further west. the _oneidas_ (the next of the five nations) lie likewise west from _albany_, near the head of the _mohawks-river_, about one hundred miles from _albany_. the _onondagas_ lie about one hundred and thirty miles west from _albany_. and the _tuscaroras_ live partly with the _oneidas_, and partly with the _onondagas_. the _cayugas_ are about one hundred and sixty miles from _albany_. and the _sennekas_ (the furthest of all these nations) are not above two hundred and forty miles from _albany_, as may appear by mr. _de l'isle_'s map of _louisiane_, who lays down the five nations under the name of _iroquois_. and goods are daily carried from this province to the _sennekas_, as well as to those nations that lie nearer, by water all the way, except three miles, (or in the dry seasons, five miles) where the traders carry over land between the _mohawks-river_ and the _wood creek_, which runs into the _oneida-lake_, without going near either _st. lawrence-river_, or any of the _lakes_ upon which the _french_ pass, which are entirely out of their way. the nearest _french_ forts or settlements to _albany_, are _chambly_ and _monreal_, both of them lying about north and by east from _albany_, and are near two hundred miles distant from it. _quebeck_ lies about three hundred and eighty miles north-east from _albany_. so far is it from being true, that the five nations are situated upon the banks of the _river st. lawrence_, opposite to _quebeck_, that _albany_ lies almost directly between _quebeck_ and the _five nations_. and to say that these _indians_ cannot come to trade at _albany_, but by going down the _river st. lawrence_, and then into a _lake_ eighteen leagues from _albany_ (we suppose they mean _lake champlain_) passing by the _french_ forts, is to the same purpose as if they should say, that one cannot go from _london_ to _bristol_, but by way of _edinburgh_. before we go on to observe other particulars, we beg leave further to remark, that it is so far from being true, that the _indians_ in the _french_ interest, lie between _new-york_ and our _five nations of indians_, that some of our nations of _indians_ lie between the _french_ and the _indians_, from whence the _french_ bring the far greatest quantity of their furs: for the _sennekas_ (whom the _french_ call _sonontouons_) are situated between _lake erie_ and _cataraqui lake_, (called by the _french ontario_) near the great fall of _jagara_, by which all the _indians_ that live round _lake erie_, round the lake of the _hurons_, round the lake of the _illenois_, or _michegan_, and round the great _upper lake_, generally pass in their way to _canada_. all the _indians_ situated upon the branches of the _misissippi_, must likewise pass by the same place, if they go to _canada_. and all of them likewise in their way to _canada_, pass by our trading-place upon the _cataraqui lake_, at the mouth of the _onondaga river_. the nearest and safest way of carrying goods upon the _cataraqui lake_ towards _canada_, being along the south-side of that lake, (near where our _indians_ are settled, and our trade of late is fixed) and not by the north-side and _cataraqui_, or _frontinac fort_, where the _french_ are settled. now that we have represented to your excellency, that not one word of the geography of these merchants is true, upon which all their reasoning is founded, it might seem needless to trouble your excellency with any further remarks, were it not to show with what earnestness they are promoting the _french interest_, to the prejudice of all his majesty's colonies in _north america_, and that they are not ashamed of asserting any thing for that end, even in the royal presence. _first_, they say, "that by the act passed in this province, entitled, _an act for encouragement of the_ indian _trade, &c_. all trade whatsoever is prohibited in the strictest manner, and under the severest penalties, between the inhabitants of _new-york_ government, and the _french_ of _canada_." this is not true, for only carrying goods to the _french_, which are proper for the _indian trade_, is prohibited. the trade as to other things, is left in the same state it was before that act was made, as it will appear to any person that shall read it: and there are yearly large quantities of other goods openly carried to _canada_, without any hindrance from the government of _new-york_. whatever may be said of the severity and penalties in that act, they are found insufficient to deter some from carrying goods clandestinely to the _french_; and the legislature of this province are convinced that no penalties can be too severe, to prevent a trade which puts the safety of all his majesty's subjects of _north america_ in the greatest danger. their next assertion is, _all the_ indian _goods have by this act, been raised_ 25 l. _to_ 30 l. _per cent_. this is the only allegation in the whole petition, that there is any ground for. nevertheless, though the common channel of trade cannot be altered without some detriment to it in the beginning, we are assured from the custom-house books, that there has been every year, since the passing of this act, more furs exported from _new-york_, than in the year immediately before the passing of this act. it is not probable, that the greatest difference between the exportation any year before this act, and any year since, could so much alter the price of beaver, as it is found to be this last year. beaver is carried to _britain_ from other parts besides _new-york_, and it is certain that the price of beaver is not so much altered here by the quantity in our market, as by the demand for it in _britain_. but as we cannot be so well informed here, what occasions beaver to be in greater demand in _britain_, we must leave that to be enquired after in _england_. however, we are fully satisfied that it will be found to be for very different reasons from what the merchants alledge. the merchants go on and say, _whereas on the other hand, this branch of the_ new-york _trade, by the discouragements brought upon it by this act, is almost wholly engrossed by the_ french, _who have already by this act, been encouraged to send proper_ european goods _to_ canada, _to carry on this trade, so that should this act be continued, the_ new-york _trade which is very considerable, must be wholly lost to us, and center in the_ french.----_though_ new-york _should not furnish them, the_ french _would find another_ way _to be supplied therewith, either from some other of his majesty's plantations, or it might be directly from europe_.----_many of the goods which the_ indians _want being as easy to be had directly from_ france _or_ holland, _as from_ great-britain. this is easily answered, by informing your excellency, that the principal of the goods proper for the _indian market_ are only of the manufactures of _great-britain_, or of the _british plantations, viz_. strouds, or stroud-waters, and other woollens, and rum. the _french_ must be obliged to buy all their woollens (the strouds especially) in _england_, and thence carry them to _france_, in order to their transportation to _canada_. the voyage to _quebeck_ through the bay of _st. lawrence_, is well known to be the most dangerous of any in the world, and only practicable in the summer months. the _french_ have no commodities in _canada_, by reason of the cold and barrenness of the soil, proper for the _west-india_ markets, and therefore have no rum but by vessels from _france_, that touch at their islands in the _west-indies_. _new-york_ has, by reason of its situation, both as to the sea and the _indians_, every way the advantage of _canada_. the _new-york_ vessels make always two voyages in the year from _england_, one in summer and another in winter, and several voyages in a year to the _west-indies_. it is manifest therefore, that it is not in the power of the _french_ to import any goods near so cheap to _canada_, as they are imported to _new-york_. but to put this out of all controversy, we need only observe to your excellency, that strouds (without which no considerable trade can be carried on with the _indians_) are sold at _albany_ for 10 _l._ a piece: they were sold at _monreal_ before this act took place, at 13 _l._ 2 _s._ 6 _d._ and now they are sold there for 25 _l._ and upwards: which is an evident proof, that the _french_ have not, in these four years time (during the continuance of this act) found out any other way to supply themselves with strouds, and likewise that they cannot trade without them, seeing they buy them at so extravagant a price. it likewise appears, that none of the neighbouring colonies have been able to supply the _french_ with these goods; and those that know the geography of the country, know it is impracticable to do it at any tolerable rate, because they must carry their goods ten times further by land than we need to do. we are likewise assured, that the merchants of _monreal_ lately told mr. _vaudreuil_ their governor, that if the trade from _albany_ be not by some means or other encouraged, they must abandon that settlement. we have reason therefore to suspect, that these merchants (at least some of them) have been practised upon by the _french_ agents in _london_; for no doubt, the _french_ will leave no method untried to defeat the present designs of this government, seeing they are more afraid of the consequences of this trade between _new-york_ and the _indians_, than of all the warlike expeditions that ever were attempted against _canada_. but to return to the petitioners, _they conceive nothing can tend more to the withdrawing the affections of the_ five nations of indians _from the_ english interest, _than the continuance of the said act, which in its effects restrains them from a free commerce with the inhabitants of_ new-york, _and may too probably, estrange them from the_ english interest, _whereas by a freedom of commerce, and an encouraged intercourse of trade with the_ french _and their_ indians, _the_ english _interest might in time, be greatly improved and strengthened_. it seems to us a strange argument to say, that an act, the whole purport of which is to encourage our own people to go among the _indians_, and to draw the far _indians_ through our _indian country_ to _albany_ (and which has truly produced these effects) would on the contrary, restrain them from a free commerce with the inhabitants of _new-york_, and may too probably estrange them from the _english interest_, and therefore that it would be much wiser in us to make use of the _french_, to promote the _english interest_; and for which end, we ought to encourage a free intercourse between them and our _indians_. the reverse of this is exactly true, in the opinion of our _five nations_; who in all their publick treaties with this government, have represented against this trade, as _the building the_ french _forts with_ english _strouds_: that the encouraging a freedom of commerce with our _indians_, and the _indians_ round them, who must pass through their country to _albany_, would certainly increase both the _english interest_ and theirs, among all the nations to the westward of them; and that the carrying the _indian market_ to _monreal_ in _canada_, draws all the far _indians_ thither. the last thing we have to take notice, is what the merchants asserted before the lords of trade, _viz. that there has not been half the quantity of_ european _goods exported since the passing of this act, that used to be_. we are well assured, that this is no better grounded than the other facts they assert with the same positiveness. for it is well known almost to every person in _new-york_, that there has not been a less, but rather a greater quantity of _european goods_ imported into this place, since the passing of this act, than was at any time before it, in the same space of time. as this appears by the manifests in the custom-house here, the same may likewise be easily proved by the custom-house books in _london_. as all the arguments of the merchants run upon the ill effects this act has had upon the trade and the minds of the _indians_, every one of which we have shown to be asserted without the least foundation to support them, there nothing now remains, but to show the good effects this act has produced, which are so notorious in this province, that we know not one person that now opens his mouth against the act. before this act passed, none of the people of this province travelled into the _indian countries_ to trade: we have now above forty young men, who have been several times as far as the lakes a trading, and thereby become well acquainted, not only with the trade of the _indians_, but likewise with their manners and languages; and these have returned with such large quantities of furs, that greater numbers are resolved to follow their example. so that we have good reason to hope, that in a little time the _english_ will draw the whole _indian_ trade of the inland countries to _albany_, and into the country of the _five nations_. this government has built a publick trading-house upon _cataraqui lake_, at _irondequat_ in the _sennekas_ land, and another is to be built next spring, at the mouth or the _onondagas river_. all the far _indians_ pass by these places, in their way to _canada_; and they are not above half so far from the _english_ settlements, as they are from the _french_. so far is it from being true what the merchants say, _that the_ french _forts interrupt all communication between the_ indians _and the_ english, that if these places be well supported, as they easily can be from our settlements, in case of a rupture with the _french_, it will be in the power of this province, to intercept the greatest part of the trade between _canada_ and the _indians_, round the lakes and the branches of the _misissippi_. since this act passed, many nations have come to _albany_ to trade, and settle peace and friendship, whose names had not so much as been heard of among us. in the beginning of _may_ 1723, a nation of _indians_ came to _albany_ singing and dancing, with their calumets before them, as they always do when they come to any place where they have not been before. we do not find that the commissioners of _indian_ affairs, were able to inform themselves what nation this was. towards the end of the same month, eighty men, besides women and children, came to _albany_ in the same manner. these had one of our five nations with them for an interpreter, by whom they informed the commissioners, that they were of a great nation, called _nehkereages_, consisting of six castles and tribes; and that they lived near a place called by the _french missilimakinak_, between the upper lake and the lake of the _hurons_. these _indians_ not only desired a free commerce, but likewise to enter into a strict league of friendship with us and our _six nations_, that they might be accounted the _seventh nation_ in the league; and being received accordingly, they left their calumet as a pledge of their fidelity. in _june_ another nation arrived, but from what part of the continent we have not learned. in _july_ the _twightwies_ arrived, and brought an _indian_ interpreter of our nations with them, who told, that they were called by the _french miamies_, and that they live upon one of the branches of the river _misissippi_. at the same time some of the _tahsagrondie indians_, who live between _lake erie_ and the lake of the _hurons_, near a _french_ settlement, did come and renew their league with the _english_, nor durst the _french_ hinder them. in _july_ this year, another nation came, whose situation and name we know not. and in _august_ and _september_, several parties of the same _indians_ that had been here last year. but the greatest numbers of these far _indians_ have been met this year, in the _indian_ country by our traders, every one of them endeavouring to get before another, in order to reap the profits of so advantageous a trade, which has all this summer long, kept about forty traders constantly employed, in going between our trading-places in our _indian_ country, and _albany_. all these nations of _indians_ who came to _albany_ said, that the _french_ had told them many strange stories of the _english_, and did what they could to hinder their coming to _albany_, but that they had resolved to break through by force. the difference on this score between the _tahsagrondie indians_ and the _french_ (who have a fort and settlement there, called by them _le detroit_) rose to that height this summer, that mr. _tonti_ who commanded there, thought it proper to retire, and return to _canada_ with many of his men. we are for these reasons well assured, that this year there will be more beaver exported for _great-britain_, than ever was from this province in one year; and that if the custom-house books at _london_ be looked into, it will be found, that there will be a far greater quantity of goods for the _indians_, (strouds especially) sent over next spring, than ever was at any one time to this province; for the merchants here tell us, that they have at this time, ordered more of these goods, than ever was done at any one time before. these matters of fact prove beyond contradiction, that this act has been of the greatest service to _new-york_, in making us acquainted with many nations of _indians_, formerly entirely unknown and strangers to us; in withdrawing them from their dependance upon the _french_, and in uniting them to _us_ and _our indians_, by means of trade and mutual offices of friendship. of what great consequence this may be to the _british interest_ in general, as to trade, is apparent to any body. it is no less apparent likewise, that it is of the greatest consequence to the safety of all the _british colonies_ in _north-america_. we feel too sensibly, the ill effects of the _french interest_ in the present war betwixt _new-england_, and only one nation of _indians_ supported by the _french_. of what dismal consequences then might it be, if the _french_ should be able to influence in the same manner, so many and such numerous _nations_, as lie to the westward of _this province, pensylvania_ and _maryland_? on the other hand, if all these _nations_ (who assert their own freedom, and declare themselves friends to those that supply them best with what they want) be brought to have a dependance upon the _english_ (as we have good reason to hope, in a short time they will) the _french_ of _canada_, in case of a war, must be at the mercy of the _english_. to these advantages must be added, that many of our young men having been induced by this act to travel among the _indians_, they learn their manners, their languages, and the situation of all their countries, and become inured to all manner of fatigues and hardships, and a great many more being resolved to follow their example; these young men, in case of a war with the _indians_, will be of ten times the service, that the same number of the common militia can be of. the effects of this act have likewise so much quieted the minds of the people, with respect to the security of the frontiers, that our settlements are now extended above thirty miles further west towards the _indian_ countries, than they were before it passed. the only thing that now remains to answer, is an objection which we suppose may be made, _what can induce the merchants of_ london _to petition against an act, which will be really so much for their interest in the end_? the reason is in all probability, because they only consider their present gain; and that they are not at all concerned for the safety of this country, in encouraging the most necessary undertaking, if they apprehend their profit for two or three years may be lessened by it. this inclination of the merchants has been so notorious, that few nations at war with their neighbours, have been able to restrain them from supplying their enemies with ammunition and arms. the count _d'estrade_, in his letters in 1638 says, that when the _dutch_ were besieging _antwerp_, one _beiland_, who had loaded four fly-boats with arms and powder for _antwerp_, being taken up by the prince of _orange_'s order, and examined at _amsterdam_, said boldly, _that the burghers of_ amsterdam _had a right to trade every where: that he could name a hundred that were factors for the merchants at_ antwerp, _and that he was one. that trade cannot be interrupted, and that for his part he was very free to own, that if to get any thing by trade it were necessary to pass through hell, he would venture to burn his sails_. when this principle so common to merchants, is considered, and that some in this place have got estates by trading many years to _canada_, it is not to be wondered that they have acted as factors for _canada_ in this affair, and that they have transmitted such accounts to their correspondents in _london_, as are consistent with the trust reposed in them by the merchants of _canada_. in the last place, we are humbly of opinion, that it may be proper to print the petition of the merchants of _london_, and their allegations before the lords of trade, together with the answers your committee has made thereto, in vindication of the legislature of this province, of which we have the honour to be a part, if your excellency shall approve of our answers: that what we have said may be exposed to the examination of every one in this place, where the truth of the matters of fact is best known; and that the correspondents of these merchants may have the most publick notice to reply, if they shall think it proper, or to disown in a publick manner, that they are the authors of such groundless informations. all which is unanimously and humbly submitted by _your excellency's_ _most obedient humble servants_, _r. walter_, _rip van dam_, _john barberie_, _fr. harrison_, _cadwallader colden_, _ja. alexander_, _abraham van horn_. * * * * * _a memorial concerning the furr-trade of the province of_ new-york. _presented to his excellency_ william burnet, _esq_; _captain general and governor_, &c. _by_ cadwallader colden, _surveyor general of the said province_, the 10_th of_ november 1724. it has of late been generally believed, that the inhabitants of the province of _new-york_ are so advantageously situated, with respect to the _indian trade_, and enjoy so many advantages as to trade in general, that it is in their power not only to rival the _french_ of _canada_, who have almost entirely engrossed the furr-trade of _america_, but that it is impossible for the _french_ to carry on that trade in competition with the people of this province. the enquiring into the truth of this proposition, may not only be of some consequence, as to the riches and honour of the _british nation_, (for it is well known how valuable the furr-trade of _america_ is) but likewise as to the safety of all the _british colonies_ in _north-america_. _new-france_ (as the _french_ now claim) extends from the mouth of the river _misissippi_, to the mouth of the river _st. lawrence_, by which the _french_ plainly show their intention of enclosing the _british settlements_, and cutting us off from all commerce with the numerous nations of _indians_, that are every where settled over the vast continent of _north-america_. the _english_ in _america_ have too good reason to apprehend such a design, when they see the _french_ king's geographer publish a map, by which he has set bounds to the _british empire_ in _america_, and has taken in many of the _english settlements_ both in _south-carolina_ and _new york_, within these boundaries of _new-france_. and the good services they intend us, with the _indians_, but too plainly appears at this day, by the _indian war_ now carried on against _new-england_. i have therefore for some time past, endeavoured to inform myself, from the writings of the _french_, and from others who have travelled in _canada_, or among the _indians_, how far the people of this province may carry on the _indian trade_, with more advantage than the _french_ can; or what disadvantages they labour under, more than the _french_ do. as all endeavours for the good of ones country are excusable, i do not doubt but my intention in this will be acceptable to your excellency, though i be not capable of treating the subject as it deserves. i shall begin with _canada_, and consider what advantages they have either by their situation, or otherwise. _canada_ is situated upon the river of _st. lawrence_, by which the five great lakes (which may properly be called, _the five inland seas of north-america_) empty themselves into the ocean. the mouth of this great river is in the lat. of 50 degrees, overagainst the body of _newfoundland_. it rises from the _cataracui lake_, (the eastermost of the five great lakes) about the lat. of 44 degrees, and runs from thence about north-east to the ocean, and is about nine hundred miles in length, from that lake to the ocean. the five great lakes which communicate with each other, and with this river, extend about one thousand miles westward, further into the continent. so far the _french_ have already discovered, and their discoveries make it probable, that an inland passage may be found to the _south-sea_, by the rivers which run into these lakes, and rivers which run into the _south-sea_. the method of carrying goods upon the rivers of _north-america_, into all the small branches, and over land, from the branches of one river to the branches of another, was learned from the _indians_, and is the only method practicable through such large forests and deserts as the traders pass thro', in carrying from one nation to another, it is this; the _indians_ make a long narrow boat, made of the bark of the birch-tree, the parts of which they join very neatly. one of these canoes that can carry a dozen men, can itself be easily carried upon two men's shoulders; so that when they have gone as far by water as they can (which is further than is easily to be imagined, because their loaded canoes don't sink six inches into the water) they unload their canoes, and carry both goods and canoes upon their shoulders over land, into the nearest branch of the river they intend to follow. thus, the _french_ have an easy communication with all the countries bordering upon the river of _st. lawrence_, and its branches, with all the countries bordering upon these in-land seas, and the rivers which empty themselves into these seas, and can thereby carry their burdens of merchandize thro' all these large countries, which could not by any other means than water-carriage be carried thro' so vast a tract of land. this, however, but half finishes the view the _french_ have, as to their commerce in _north-america_. many of the branches of the river _misissippi_ come so near to the branches of several of the rivers which empty themselves into the great lakes, that in several places there is but a short land-carriage from the one to the other. as soon as they have got into the river _misissippi_, they open to themselves as large a field for traffick in the southern parts of _north-america_, as was before mentioned with respect to the northern parts. if one considers the length of this river, and its numerous branches, he must say, _that by means of this river, and the lakes, there is opened to his view such a scene of inland navigation as cannot be parallel'd in any other part of the world_. the _french_ have, with much industry, settled small colonies, and built stockaded forts at all the considerable passes between the lakes, except between _cataracui lake_ (called by the _french ontario_) and _lake erie_, one of our five nations of _indians_, whom we call _sennekas_, (and the _french sonontouans_) having hitherto refused them leave to erect any buildings there. the _french_ have been indefatigable in making discoveries, and carrying on their commerce with nations, of whom the _english_ know nothing but what they see in the _french_ maps and books. the barrenness of the soil, and the coldness of the climate of _canada_, obliges the greatest number of the inhabitants to seek their living by travelling among the _indians_, or by trading with those that do travel. the governor, and other officers, have but a scanty allowance from the king, and could not subsist were it not by the perquisites they have from this trade; neither could their priests find any means to satisfy their ambition and luxury without it: so that all heads and hands are employ'd to advance it, and the men of best parts think it the surest way to advance themselves by travelling among the _indians_, and learning their languages; even the bigotry and enthusiasm of some hot heads has not been a little useful in advancing this commerce; for that government having prudently turn'd the edge of the zeal of such hot spirits upon converting the _indians_, many of them have spent their lives under the greatest hardships, in endeavouring to gain the _indians_ to their religion, and to love the _french nation_, while, at the same time, they are no less industrious to represent the _english_ as the _enemies of mankind_. so that the whole policy of that government, both civil and religious, is admirably turn'd to the general advancement of this trade. indeed the art and industry of the _french_, especially that of their religious missions, has so far prevail'd upon all the _indians_ in _north-america_, that they are every where directed by _french councils_. even our own _five nations_, (the _iroquois_) who formerly were mortal enemies of the _french_, and have always liv'd in the strictest amity with the _english_, have, of late, (by the practices of the _french priests_) been so far gain'd, that several of the _mohawks_, who live nearest the _english_, have left their habitations, and are gone to settle near _monreal_ in _canada_; and all the rest discover a dread of the _french power_. that much of this is truly owing to the _priests_, appears from many of the sachems of the _iroquois_ wearing crucifixes when they come to _albany_: and those _mohawk indians_ that are gone to _canada_, are now commonly known, both to the _french_ and _english_, by the name of _the praying indians_, it being customary for them to go through the streets of _monreal_ with their beads, praying and begging alms. but notwithstanding all these advantages, the _french_ labour under difficulties that no art or industry can remove. the mouth of the river of _st. lawrence_, and more especially the bay of _st. lawrence_, lies so far north, and is thereby so often subject to tempestuous weather and thick fogs, that the navigation there is very dangerous, and never attempted but during the summer months. the wideness of this bay, together with the many strong currents that run in it, the many shelves, and sunken rocks that are every where spread over both the bay and river, and the want of places for anchoring in the bay, all increase the danger of this navigation; so that a voyage to _canada_ is justly esteem'd much more dangerous than to any other part of _america_. the many shipwrecks that happen in this navigation, are but too evident proofs of the truth of this, particularly the miscarriage of the last expedition against _canada_. the channel is so difficult, and the tides so strong, that after their shipping get into the river, they never attempt to sail in the night, tho' the wind be fair, and the weather good. these difficulties are so considerable, that the _french_ never attempt above one voyage in a year to _europe_, or the _west-indies_, tho' it be really nearer _europe_ than any of the _english colonies_, where the shipping that constantly use the trade, always make two voyages in the year. the navigation between _quebeck_ and _monreal_ is likewise very dangerous and difficult: the tide rises about 18 or 20 feet at _quebeck_, which occasions so strong a stream, that a boat of six oars cannot make way against it: the river in many places very wide, and the channel at the same time narrow and crooked; there are many shelves and sunken rocks, so that the best pilots have been deceived; for which reason the vessels that carry goods to _monreal_ are always obliged to anchor before night, tho' both wind and tide be fair. the flood goes no further than _trois rivieres_, half way to _monreal_, and about ninety miles from _quebeck_: after they pass this place they have a strong stream always against them, which requires a fair wind and a strong gale to carry the vessels against the stream. and they are obliged in this part of the river, as well as under the _trois rivieres_, to come to an anchor at night, though the wind be good. these difficulties make the common passages take up three or four weeks, and sometimes six weeks; tho' if they have the chance of a wind to continue so long, they may run it in five or six days. after they pass _monreal_ they have a strong stream against them till they come near the lakes; so that in all that, which is about one hundred and fifty miles in length, they force their canoes forward with setting poles, or drag them with ropes along shoar; and at five or six different places in that way the river falls over rocks with such force, that they are obliged to unload their canoes, and carry them upon their shoulders. they never make this voyage from _monreal_ to _cataracui_ in less than twenty days, and frequently, twice that time is necessary. now we are come so far as the lake, my design leads me no further, for at this lake all the far _indians_, that go to _canada_, must pass by our traders. and from thence the road to the _indian countries_ is the same from _albany_ that it is from _monreal_. besides these difficulties in the transportation, the _french_ labour under greater in the purchasing of the principal goods proper for the _indian market_; for the most considerable and most valuable part of their cargo consists in _strouds, duffils, blankets_, and other _woollens_, which are bought at a much cheaper rate in _england_ than in _france_. the _strouds_ (which the _indians_ value more than any other cloathing) are only made in _england_, and must be transported into _france_ before they can be carried to _canada_. _rum_ is another considerable branch of the _indian trade_, which the _french_ have not, by reason they have no commodities in _canada_ fit for the _west india_ market. this they supply with _brandy_, at a much dearer rate than rum can be purchased at _new-york_, tho' of no more value with the _indians_. generally, all the goods used in the _indian trade_, except _gun-powder_, and a few trinkets, are sold at _monreal_ for twice their value at _albany_. to this likewise must be added, the necessity they are under of laying the whole charge of supporting their government on the _indian trade_. i am not particularly informed of their duties or imposts, but i am well assured, that they commonly give six or seven hundred livres for a licence for one canoe, in proportion to her largeness, to go with her loading into the _indian country_ to trade. i shall next consider the advantages the inhabitants of _new-york_ have in carrying on this trade. in the _first_ place, the ships that constantly use the trade to _england_, perform their voyage to and from _london_ twice every year; and those that go to _bristol_ (the port from whence the greatest part of the goods for the _indian trade_ are exported) frequently return in four months. these goods are bought much cheaper in _england_ than in _france_: they are transported in less time, with less charge, and much less risque, as appears by the _premio_ for insurance between _london_ and _new-york_, being only _two per cent_. goods are easily carried from _new-york_ to _albany_, up _hudson's river_, the distance being only 140 miles, the river very strait all the way, and bold, and very free from sandbanks, as well as rocks; so that the vessels always sail as well by night as by day, and have the advantage of the tide upwards as well as downwards, the flood flowing above _albany_. it may therefore be safely concluded, that all sorts of goods can be carried to _albany_ at a cheaper rate than they can be to _quebeck_, which is also three times further from the _indian country_ than _albany_ is. to put the truth of this out of all dispute, i need only observe what is well known both at _new-york_ and _albany, viz_. that almost all the strouds carried by the _french_ into the _indian countries_, as well as large quantities of other goods, for the use of the _french_ themselves, are carried from _albany_ to _monreal_. there has been an account kept of nine hundred pieces of strouds transported thither in one year, besides other commodities of very considerable value. the distance between _albany_ and _monreal_ is about two hundred miles, all by water, except twelve miles between _hudson's river_ and the _wood-creek_, where they carry their bark canoes over land, and about sixteen miles between _chambly_ and _la prairie_, overagainst _monreal_. and tho' the passage be so short and easy, these goods are generally sold at double their value in _albany_. but as this path has been thought extremely prejudicial to the interest of this colony, i shall leave it, and go on to another, that leads directly from _albany_ into the _cataracui_ or _ontario lake_, without going near any of the _french_ settlements. from _albany_ the _indian traders_ commonly carry their goods sixteen miles over land, to the _mohawks river_ at _schenechtady_, the charge of which carriage is _nine shillings new-york_ money, or _five shillings sterling_ each waggon-load. from _schenechtady_ they carry them in canoes up the _mohawks river_, to the carrying-place between the _mohawks river_, and the river which runs into the _oneida lake_; which carrying-place between is only three miles long, except in very dry weather, when they are obliged to carry them two miles further. from thence they go with the current down the _onondaga river_ to the _cataracui lake_. the distance between _albany_ and the _cataracui lake_ (this way) is nearly the same with that between _albany_ and _monreal_; and likewise with that between _monreal_ and the _cataracui lake_, and the passage much easier than the last, because the stream of the _mohawks river_ is not near so strong as the _cataracui river_ between the _lake_ and _monreal_, and there is no fall in the river, save one short one; whereas there are (as i have said) at least five in the _cataracui river_, where the canoes must be unloaded. therefore it plainly follows, that the _indian goods_ may be carried at as cheap a rate from _albany_ to the _cataracui lake_, as from _albany_ to _monreal_. so that the people of _albany_ plainly save all the charge of carrying goods two hundred miles from _monreal_ to that part of the _cataracui lake_, which the _french_ have to carry before they bring them to the same place from _monreal_, besides the advantage which the _english_ have in the price of their goods. i have said, that when we are in the _cataracui lake_, we are upon the level with the _french_, because here we can meet with all the _indians_ that design to go to _monreal_. but besides this passage by the _lakes_, there is a river which comes from the country of the _sennekas_, and falls into the _onondaga river_, by which we have an easy carriage into that country, without going near the _cataracui lake_. the head of this river goes near to _lake erie_, and probably may give a very near passage into that lake, much more advantageous than the way the _french_ are obliged to take by the great fall of _jagara_, because narrow rivers are much safer for canoes than the lakes, where they are obliged to go ashore if there be any wind upon the water. but as this passage depends upon a further discovery, i shall say nothing more of it at this time. whoever then considers these advantages _new-york_ has of _canada_, in the first buying of their goods, and in the safe, speedy, and cheap transportation of them from _britain_ to the _lakes_, free of all manner of duty or imposts, will readily agree with me, that the traders of _new-york_ may sell their goods in the _indian countries_ at half the price the people of _canada_ can, and reap twice the profit they do. this will admit of no dispute with those that know that strouds (the staple _indian commodity_) this year are sold for _ten pounds_ apiece at _albany_, and at _monreal_ for _twenty-five pounds_, notwithstanding the great quantity of strouds said to be brought directly into _quebeck_ from _france_, and the great quantities that have been clandestinely carried from _albany_. it cannot therefore be denied that it is only necessary for the traders of _new-york_ to apply themselves heartily to this trade, in order to bring it wholly into their own hands; for in every thing besides diligence, industry, and enduring fatigues, the _english_ have much the advantage of the _french_. and all the _indians_ will certainly buy, where they can, at the cheapest rate. it must naturally be objected, _that if those things are true, how is it possible that the traders of_ new-york _should neglect so considerable and beneficial trade for so long time?_ in answering this objection, i shall show the difficulties _new-york_ has labour'd under, by giving a short history of the country, so far as it relates to this trade. which method, i think, can be liable to the least objection, and put the whole in the truest light. when this country (the province of _new-york_) came first under the crown of _great-britain_, our _five nations_ of _indians_ were mortal enemies of the _french_ at _canada_, and were in a continual war with them, and all the _nations_ of _indians_ round the lakes; so that then it was not safe for the _english_ to travel further than the countries of the _five nations_; nor would our _indians_ permit the far _indians_ (with whom they had constant war) to pass thro' their countries to _albany_. besides, the _five nations_ of _indians_ were at that time so numerous, (consisting of ten times the number of fighting men they now do) that the trade with them alone was very considerable for so young and small a colony. in the latter end of king _charles_'s reign, when the _duke of york_, and _popish councils_ prevail'd, the governor of _new-york_ (who was likewise a _papist_) had orders to use all his endeavours to make up a peace between our nations (the _iroquois_) and the _french_; and that he should persuade the _five nations_ to admit _french priests_ among them, in order to civilize them. the consequence of which was, that the _french_ thereby obtained a free commerce upon the _lakes_, and obtain'd leave to build _cataraqui fort_ upon the north-side of _cataracui lake_, and have two vessels of force upon the same lake. from this time, during all king _james_'s reign, the _french_, whenever they had any differences with our _five nations_, threaten'd, that the _english_ of _new-york_ would join with them, and destroy the _five nations_; by which, and the practices of the _french priests_, our _five nations_ became very much alienated in their affections from the _english_, and look'd upon them as a people depending upon the _french_. the consequences of this appeared so dangerous to colonel _dungan_, the governor of _new-york_, (though, as i have said, a _papist_) that he again and again complain'd to his master of the ill offices the _french priests_ did the _english_ among _our nations_. when the _english_ had thus procur'd a peace for the _french_, they thought they might justly reap some advantage from it; and it's hardly to be doubted but that they had promises of that kind. they were therefore encouraged to send forty men, with great quantities of goods, into the _lakes_, under the command of major _mcgregory_, to trade with the far _nations_. at this time mr. _denonville_, governor of _canada_, was gathering together all the force of _canada_, and of the _indians_, (enemies of the _five nations_) in order to surprize the _five nations_, and destroy them, at the time they thought themselves secure by the peace so lately made. major _mcgregory_, and his company, were met by a _french_ officer on _lake erie_, coming with a great number of men to the general rendezvous of the _french_, and he, with all the _english_, were made prisoners. they were used with such severity as has never been practis'd between _christian nations_ in open war, tho' the two crowns, at that time, were not only at peace, but under the strictest ties of mutual friendship; for the _french_ used these people as slaves in building _cataraqui fort_, and a poor _frenchman_ that had conducted them, was publickly shot to death, as if he had brought an enemy into their country. such was their apprehensions then of the _english_ getting any footing among the _indians_. the _french_ governor surprized a village of the _five nations_, who, on the _french_ faith, liv'd in great security, but seven or eight leagues from the _french_ fort, and sent these miserable people to the galleys in _france_. he afterwards fell upon the _sennekas_, and burnt their villages, but without any advantage to the _french_, they having lost more men than the _indians_ did. this renew'd the war with greater fury than ever, between the _french_ and _our indians_. for some time afterwards, _our indians_, in a great body, fell upon the island of _monreal_, while mr. _denonville_ was in the town: they burnt and destroy'd all the villages and houses round _monreal_, and kill'd some hundreds of men, women, and children. afterwards they came into the open fields before _monreal_, and there defy'd the _french_ governor, who did not think it proper to fight them. and when they had done all the mischief they could, they retir'd without any loss. about this time the revolution happen'd in _great-britain_, which was succeeded by a war between _great-britain_ and _france_. in _february_, 1689/90, a party of three hundred men, consisting of equal numbers of _french_ and _indians_, surprized _schenechtady_ in the night-time, when the poor people were in their beds, in the greatest security, where they barbarously murdered sixty-three men, women, and children, in cold blood, laid the village in ashes, and then retir'd, without reaping any other advantage besides this cruel revenge on innocent people, for the mischief _our indians_ had done them. this rais'd a cruel war between the two colonies, in which there was much mischief done, and blood shed, without any advantage to either side. in time of this war, the _most christian king's_ governor of _canada_ was so much provoked, that he thought fit to follow the example of our barbarous _indians_, and burn his _indian prisoners_ alive, in the most cruel manner, in sight of all the inhabitants of _quebeck_, and to deliver up the _english prisoners_ to the _french indians_, who indeed had more mercy, for they kill'd none of them. king _william_'s peace put an end to this war; but the peace lasted so short a while, that the people of this province hardly had time to re-settle their farms on the frontiers, which they had deserted in the time of the war, much less to adventure trading in the _indian countries_, so lately the scene of so much cruelty. but both colonies having now an abhorrence of the cruelties of the last war, agreed on a kind of neutrality for the _indians_, during queen _anne_'s war, in which time we lost much ground with our own _indians_: for the _french_ having learn'd, by dear experience, that it was not possible for them to conquer _our five indian nations_, resolv'd to try all means to gain their affections, and in this art the _french_ are always more successful than in that of war; and the _english_ failing in two ill-concerted expeditions against _canada_, the _indians_ lost much of the opinion they had of the _english_ power and valour. in time of this last war, the clandestine trade to _monreal_ began to be carried on by _indians_, from _albany_ to _monreal_. this gave rise to the _kahnuaga_, or _praying indians_, who are entirely made up of deserters from the _mohawks_ and _river indians_, and were either enticed thither by the _french priests_, or by our merchants, in order to carry goods from _albany_ to _monreal_, or run away for some mischief done here. these _indians_ now consist of about eighty fighting men, and live about four leagues above _monreal_: they neither plant nor hunt, but depend chiefly upon this private trade for their subsistence. these _indians_, in time of war, gave the _french_ intelligence of all designs here against them: by them likewise the _french_ engaged our _five nations_ in a war with the _indians_ friends of _virginia_, and from them we might expect the greatest mischief in time of war, seeing every part of the province is as well known to them as to any of the inhabitants. but if this trade was entirely at an end, we have reason to believe, that these _indians_ would return to their own tribes, for they then could not long subsist where they now are. as soon as the peace was proclaim'd, an open trade with _monreal_ was carried on with such earnestness, that _monreal_ was fill'd with _indian goods_, and _albany_ exhausted; by which means _monreal_ became the principal, if not the only _indian market_, and the _indians_ depended entirely on the _french_ for what they wanted. our merchants were fond of the _canada_ trade, because they sold large quantities of goods without any trouble, the _french_ taking them from their doors; whereas the trade with the _indians_ is carried on with a great deal of toil and fatigue; and as to the interest of the country, they either never thought any thing about it, or if they did, had no regard to it. * * * * * now i have brought this account to the time your excellency arriv'd; what has happen'd since, your excellency knows better than i can by any means inform you. from the whole, it seems plain, that any difficulties and disadvantages this province has been under, have only proceeded from the wars, which have continued since the first settling of the province, to the beginning of the last general peace. but now, that not only _this province_, but likewise our _six nations_ of _indians_ are at peace, and in amity, both with the _french_, and all the _indian nations_ with whom we can have any commerce, these difficulties are all remov'd, and we now enjoy the most favourable time, that at any time can be hoped for, in order to extend the _british commerce_ in _north-america_, while the _french_ not only labour under the difficulties which i have shown to be inseparable from the situation of their colony, but likewise under another disadvantage, (not before taken notice of) by the furr-trade of _canada_ being restrain'd to one company. this company is obliged to pay heavy duties in _france_ upon the importation of beaver, or any other furr; for which reason they always fix a price upon beaver, and their other furrs, in _canada_; and the _indian traders_ of _canada_ being restrain'd from selling to any but the company's agents there, they cannot raise the price of _indian goods_ as the price of _european_ rise, or as their profit on the goods they sell to the _indians_ is lessen'd. the merchants of _new-york_ allow our _indian_ traders double the price for beaver, that the _french_ company allow their _indian_ traders, the price established by the company for beaver, in _canada_, being two livres, or _eighteen pence sterling_, the pound-weight; and the current price of beaver in _new-york_ being _five shillings new-york_ money, or _three shillings sterling_ the pound-weight. therefore it plainly follows, that our _indian traders_ could under-sell the _french traders_, tho' they were to give as great a price for _european goods_ as the _french_ do, and did transport them at as great charge, because of the double price they have for their furrs in _new-york_. but as our _indian traders_ not only have a double price for their _indian goods_, but likewise buy the goods they sell to the _indians_, at half the price the _french indian traders_ do, the _french traders_ must be ruin'd by carrying on this trade, in competition with the _english_ of _new-york_. and the _french indian traders_ had been ruin'd before now, if they had not found means to carry their beaver to _albany_, where they got double the price they must have sold for in _canada_. it may be objected, against this argument, _that the_ canada _company as soon as they find that the traders cannot sell at their established price, will allow a greater price_. but if we consider the duties the _french company_ is obliged to pay to the king, they cannot allow so great a price as the _english_ can at _new-york_. and if it should be insisted, _that the_ french company _may obtain a remission of those_, yet if the clandestine trade with _albany_ be entirely stopt, the _french traders_ will be ruin'd before such remission can be obtain'd, and their trade will be at an end. * * * * * my inclination led me to show what advantages not only the _indian trade_ would reap by extending our frontiers as far as the lakes, but likewise the _british trade_ in some other branches, which the parliament of _great britain_ seem to have much at heart, _viz. naval stores_; for the soil on both sides of the _mohawks river_ being as rich as it is possible (i believe) for any land to be, will be found the most proper for raising of hemp, of any part of _america_, and the whole country round it being full of the largest pines, the royal navy is as likely to be well provided with masts there, and at as cheap a rate as any where else. but i have already too far presum'd on your excellency's patience. _cadwallader colden_. * * * * * to this it may not be improper to add the following original letter. _from_ j. a. _esq; to mr_. p. c. _of_ london, _shewing the success of the measures taken at that time_. _new-york_, 1740. _s i r_, if you should be at the pains to read these printed papers, it will be a pleasure to you to hear of the success of the measures taken by governor _burnet_ for redeeming the _indian_ trade out of the hands of the _french_. he has succeeded far above our expectations. governor _burnet_, through his earnest application, and at first chiefly with his money, credit, and risque, erected a trading-house and fortification at the mouth of the _onondagues_ river, called _osneigo_, where the province of _new-york_ supports a garrison of soldiers, consisting of a lieutenant and twenty men, which are yearly relieved. at this place a very great trade is carried on with the remote _indians_, who formerly used to go down to the _french_ at _monreal_, and there buy our _english_ goods, at second hand, at above twice the price they now pay for them at _osneigo_; whilst, at the same time, the _french_ were chiefly supplied by one gentleman at _new-york_, who almost entirely engrossed the _indian_ trade of this province, and thereby acquired a very great estate and influence. but the prudent steps taken by our late worthy governor, to open a free trade, was the cause of the engrosser's losing his.--the probability of doing this, was the principal motive of our applying to the king, which is shown by these printed papers. the _indian_ trade, to the great advantage of this province, is now divided into several hundred hands, and there have been for many years past upwards of one hundred young men of this province, who have gone yearly among the _indians_, to supply them with our goods. by this means, at a modest estimate, i am assured, that the _indian_ trade of this province is now far above five times as much as when governor _burnet_ began to put his scheme in execution. and this is not all the advantages reaped thereby, but a much more considerable one to this, and all the other _english_ colonies is, that not only our own six nations, but also many far and remote _indian_ nations are drawn off from their dependance on the _french_, and made, by trade and intercourse, dependant on the _english_; by this means a great security and protection is acquired by the _english_, in case of a war with _france_; and by this trade our settlements in this province are extended up to the _onondagues_ carrying-place, which is now well attended with waggons, for the more commodious transporting of goods to trade in the lakes. and they are now settling on the branches of _sasquehanah_ river; and from the western branches of this river, there is but a small land-carriage to _allegheny_, a branch of that great river _misissippi_; which branch extending a thousand miles from its mouth, where it enters the said river; and which joins so near to our settlements, as is above taken notice of, opens us a trade to that vast country, called by the _french louisiana_, which they possess on the _misissippi_. i am, s i r, _your humble servant_, j. a. [illustration] t h e =t r e a t y= h e l d w i t h t h e _i n d i a n s_ o f t h e s i x n a t i o n s, a t _p h i l a d e l p h i a_, in _j u l y_, 1742. t h e t r e a t y, &c. the deputies of the six nations having, at their last visit, agreed to release their claim to all the land on both sides of the river _sasquehanah_, as far south as this province extends, and to the northward to those called the _endless mountains_, or _kittochtinny hills_; in consideration whereof, they then received a large quantity of valuable _indian_ goods for the lands situate on the eastern side of the said river, but declined at that time to receive any for those on the western side of the said river, chusing to defer the same till another visit; a large number arrived from these nations at _philadelphia_, on _wednesday_ the 30th of _june_, with deputies duly impowered to receive the said goods; and acquainted the governor, that being weary from the fatigue of their long journey, they should crave three or four days to rest themselves before they proceeded to their business: in the mean time they would wait on the governor to discourse, according to their usual method, about news and other occurrences; which the governor readily agreed to, and ask'd them when they would chuse to pay their first visit; which they desiring might be on _friday_ the 2d of _july_, in the afternoon, the council was accordingly summon'd, and met at mr. _logan_'s house, where were p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _clement plumsted_, } _samuel hasell_, } _abraham taylor_, } esqrs; _samuel preston_, } _thomas lawrence_, } _ralph asheton_, } _robert strettell_, } the chiefs of the _six nations_, with the chiefs of the _shawanese_. _c a n a s s a t e e g o_, the _onondago_ chief, speaker. _c o n r a d w e i s e r_, interpreter. the governor opened the conference as follows. '_b r e t h r e n_, 'the proprietor having purchased certain lands from your nations about six years ago, a moiety of what was agreed to be given in consideration of that purchase was at that time delivered to them, and the other being at their desire left in the proprietor's hands, he pressed you by _shikalamy_ to send last year for it, and would have been glad to have seen you, and taken you by the hand before his departure. but as the design of this meeting is to hear your news, and converse together in a free and friendly manner, i shall say no more about the goods than that they lie ready at the proprietor's house, and will be delivered when you shall have sufficiently rested from the fatigue of your journey.' the chief of the _onondagoes_ spoke. '_b r e t h r e n_, 'we propose to rest four days, and then come to the main business. at present we are at a private conference about news, and have something of this sort to mention to our brother _onas_.' and on the governor's signifying they would be glad to know what it was, the chief proceeded. '_b r e t h r e n_, 'it is our way when we come to our brethren, or any other persons, whom we live in strict friendship with, to remove all obstructions to a good understanding; with this view we are to inform you of a piece of disagreeable news that happen'd in our journey.----some white people living at a place called _conegocheegoe_, whose names we cannot tell, nor whether they belong to this or the neighbouring government, but one of them, as we heard, had his house burnt over his head some years ago, and he was brought down a prisoner and committed to the goal of this city: these people lighting of our young warriors, as they were hunting, made some proposals about the purchasing of land from them, and our young men being indiscreet, and unacquainted with publick business, were foolish enough to hearken to them, and to receive five duffil strowds for two plantations on the river _cohongoronto_. a _conestogoe indian_, and a _french indian_, and some others that were in company, had three duffil strowds, and went away with them; and our young men carried off the other two. as soon as this came to our knowledge, we sent for our warriors, and after examining and rebuking them severely, we took away their two strowds, and publickly censured them for exposing us to our brethren of _pensylvania_, in doing a thing so inconsistent with our engagements to them; "you are, said we aloud, that all our people might hear and take notice, to know and remember, that the six nations have obliged themselves to sell none of the land that falls within the province of _pensylvania_, to any other but out brother _onas_, and that to sell lands to any other is an high breach of the league of friendship." brethren, this rash proceeding of our young men makes us ashamed. we always mean well, and shall perform faithfully what we have promised: and we assure you, this affair was transacted in the manner we have related, without our privity or consent. and that you may be fully convinced of this, and of the sincerity of our intentions, we have brought you these two strowds [_here he presented two red strowds to the governor_] they are the very strowds our foolish young men received; we took them from them, and we give them to you to return to those white people who made the bargain, and desire when the strowds are returned to them, they may be told what we now say, and that we shall not confirm such bargains, nor any other that may interfere with our engagements to our brother _onas_.' the governor then spoke: '_b r e t h r e n_, 'i thank you for this piece of news; you have taken this matter perfectly right. all bargaining for land within this province, is, to be sure, a manifest breach of your contract with the proprietors, and what we know you will not countenance. we have hitherto found the _six nations_ faithful to their engagements, and this is a fresh instance of their punctuality. you could not help these mistakes of your young men; they were not done in your presence: but as several inconveniencies may arise from these kind of clandestine sales, or from any such loose sales of land by your people, we desire you will, on your return home, give publick notice to all your warriors not to bargain for any land; or if they do, that you will not confirm such bargains; and that this very affair, together with what you have done therein, may be particularly reported to all your nation assembled in council.' the _onondago_ chief promised to give such publick notice; and desiring liberty to mend his former speech, he proceeded: '_b r e t h r e n_, 'i forgot one circumstance: our people, who pretended to sell the land, demanded a belt of wampum of the buyers to carry to their chiefs; and on their declaring they had no wampum, our warriors said, they would not answer that their chiefs would confirm this bargain, since they never did any thing of this nature without wampum.' the governor, after a short pause, spoke: '_b r e t h r e n of the six nations_, 'i take this opportunity to relate to you a piece of disagreeable news i received some days ago in a letter from _le tort_, the _indian_ trader, at _allegheny_, who says, "that in _may_ last some _indians_ of the _taway_ nation, supposed by us to be the _twightwees_, in their return from war, called and staid some time with the _shawanese_; who being asked, and denying they had brought either scalps or prisoners, the _shawanese_ suspecting them, had the curiosity to search their bags, and finding two scalps in them, that by the softness of the hair did not feel like _indian_ scalps, they wash'd them clean, and found them to be the scalps of some christians. on this discovery, the _twightwees_ were so much ashamed, that they stole away from their town in the night-time; and coming, as they afterwards understood, to a little village belonging to the _shawanese_, they told our people that their hearts were full of grief; for, as they came along the road, they found it all bloody; and having good cause to believe it was made bloody with the blood of some of the white brethren, they had very sorrowfully swept the road; and desired them to inform the governor of _pensilvania_ of their (the _twightwees_) grief; and how they had swept the road clean." '_le tort_ adds, on behalf of the _shawanese_,' "that they were much grieved at this unfortunate accident; and prayed, as they had no concern in it, more than by being instruments to discover it, their brethren would not blame them, nor suffer a misunderstanding to arise between them on this account: they would sweep the road clean, and wipe all the blood away; and desired their brethren would be satisfied with this, and not weep too much for a misfortune that might not happen again as long as the sun and moon shone." 'the person who delivered me _le tort_'s letter, brought this bundle of skins as a present to me; but i told the messenger, i would not meddle with it; he might leave it if he pleased: the affair appear'd to me in a bad light, and i would represent it to the _six nations_, who were expected in town every day. this is the fact, as i have it from _le tort_: i desire to be inform'd if you know any thing of this matter; and if you do not, that you will make diligent enquiry who committed the murder, and who are the unhappy sufferers, and assist us to obtain satisfaction, if it shall appear to be any, of our fellow-subjects that have been treated in this manner.' _to inforce this request, i present you with this string of wampum_. the _onondago_ chief, in reply, said: '_b r e t h r e n_, 'we take this information kindly at your hands; we will take this string of wampum home with us to our lodgings, and there consult about the most regular and proper steps to be taken by us to answer your expectations, and when we have duly considered the matter, we will return you an answer.' upon this the governor put an end to the conference; and calling for wine, and other liquors, according to the _indian_ custom, after a decent and chearful entertainment, the _indians_ withdrew. * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held at the proprietor's house, _july_ 5, 1742. p r e s e n t the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _clement plumsted_, } esqrs; with several gentlemen of the town. _the chiefs of the six nations_. it being judg'd proper, at this critical time, when we are in daily expectation of a _french_ war, to sound the _indians_, and discover what dependance we might have on them, in case their aid should be wanted, an handsome dinner was provided for their chiefs; and after they had made an hearty meal, and drank his majesty's health, the proprietors, and the health of the _six nations_, the chiefs gave the solemn cry, in testimony of their thanks for the honour done them. and soon after the governor began, in a free way, to enquire for what reason the _senecas_ were not come down, since they had an equal share of the goods with the other nations.----_canassateego_, their speaker, said, 'the _senecas_ were in great distress, on account of a famine that raged in their country, which had reduced them to such want, that a father had been obliged to kill two of his children to preserve his own, and the rest of his family's lives; and they could not now come down, but had given directions about their share of the goods.'----the governor express'd his concern for the unhappy circumstances of their brethren of the _seneca_ nation; and, after a short respite, enquired if any of their deputies were then at _canada_, and whether the _french_ governor was making any warlike preparations. and on their answering _yes_, the governor said, with a smiling, pleasant countenance, 'i suppose, if the _french_ should go to war with us, you will join them.' the _indians_ conferr'd together for some time, and then _canassateego_, in a chearful lively manner, made answer.----'we assure you, the governor of _canada_ pays our nations great court at this time, well knowing of what consequence we are to the _french_ interest: he has already told us, he was uncovering the hatchet, and sharpening it, and hoped, if he should be obliged to lift it up against the _english_, our nations would remain neuter, and assist neither side.----but we will now speak plainly to our brethren: why should we, who are one flesh with you, refuse to help you, whenever you want our assistance?----we have continued a long time in the strictest league of amity and friendship with you, and we shall always be faithful and true to you our old and good allies.----the governor of _canada_ talks a great deal, but ten of his words do not go so far as one of yours.----we do not look towards them; we look towards you; and you may depend on our assistance.' whilst the _onondago_ chief made this open and hearty declaration, all the other _indians_ made frequently that particular kind of noise which is known to be a mark of approbation.----the governor bid the interpreter tell _canassateego_, 'he did not set on foot this enquiry from any suspicion he had of the _six nations_ wanting a due regard for the _english_.--our experience of their honour and faith, said he, would not permit us to think any other of them, than that they would esteem our friends their friends, and our enemies their enemies, agreeable to the strict union which had ever subsisted between us.--as to the governor of _canada_, he told them they need not mind what he said.--the _english_, on equal terms, had beat the _french_, and could beat them again: and were they but to consider the advantages which the _english_ have, by possessing so many large and populous countries, and so many good ports on the continent of _america_, they would soon see who had most reason to fear a war, the _french_ or the _english_.' * * * * * here the conversation dropped; and after another glass of wine, the _indians_ resumed the discourse, by asking whether their brethren had not been for some time engaged in a war with the king of _spain_, and what successes they had met with. the governor told them, the king of _great-britain_ lived in an island, and being surrounded with the sea, his chief strength lay in his ships; in which he was so much superior to his enemies, that they were seldom to be met with on the broad ocean, but sculk'd and hid themselves, only venturing out now and then; and whenever they did, they were almost sure to be taken; and that the king of _great-britain_ had with his ships, beat down, or taken several of the _spaniards_ great forts in _america_.--the _indians_ said, they were pleased to hear their brethren were an over-match for their enemies, and wish'd them good success. the governor then enquired into the state and condition of the nations to the westward of the great lakes, and whether they had any warriors then in those countries? whether they had concluded peace with the southern _indians_? and whether they had heard what their deputies had done at _albany_? they made answer: that they had always abundance of their men out amongst the nations situate to the west of their lakes.--that they had kindled a fire with a vast many nations, some whereof were tributaries, and they had a good understanding with all.--they set out from their own country in company with two sets of deputies, one going to hold a treaty with the southern _indians_, and they believed a peace would be concluded: the other going to meet the governor of _new-york_, at _albany_; but they could not tell what had been done at either place.--on their return, they were to hold a general council, and would inform their brethren of these particulars. then the governor put an end to the conference, by telling the _indians_ the goods would be delivered to them at a council to be held to-morrow afternoon at the meeting-house. * * * * * at a council held in the meeting house, _philadelphia, july_ 6, 1742. p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _clement plumsted_, } _abraham taylor_, } esqrs; _samuel preston_, } _ralph asheton_, } _robert strettell_, } _c a n a s s a t e e g o_, chief of the _onondagoes_, speaker. s h i c a l a m y, and a great number of _indians_, whose names are as follows, _viz_. o n o n t o g o e s. _sawegaty_, } _caxhayion_, } counsellors. _saguyassatha_, _kayadoghratie_, alias _slanaghquasy_, _rotier-uwughton_, _tokaughaah_, _tiorughwaghthe_, _tokano-ungoh_, _aronty-oony_, _tohanohawighton_, _tioghwatoony_, _auughrahysey_. c a i y o q u o s. _sahugh-sowa_, } _tohatgaghthus_, } chiefs. _tokany-esus_, _runho-hihio_, _kanadoghary_, _zior-aghquaty_, _sagu-iughwatha_, alias _cadcaradasey_, _sca-yenties_, _tats-heghteh_, _alligh-waheis_, _tayo-quario_, _hogh degh runtu_, _rotehn haghtyackon_, captain. _sawoalieselhohaa_, _sagughsa-eck_, _uwantakeraa_, _horuhot_, _osoghquaa_, _tuyanoegon_. a n o y i u t s, _or_ o n e i d a s. _saristaquoh_, } ungquaterughiathe, alias _shikelimo_, } chiefs. _tottowakerha_, _taraghkoerus_, _onughkallydawwy_, a noted young chief. _onughnaxqua_, chief. _tawyiakaarat_, _tohathuyongochtha_, _sughnakaarat_, _taghneghdoerus_, _tokanyiadaroeyon_, _sagogughyatha_, _rahehius_, _tokanusoegon_. j e n o n t o w a n o s, _or_ s e n e c a s. _karugh iagh raghquy_, captain. _tahn heentus_, _onontyiack_. t u s c a r r o r o s. _sawontka_, } _ti-ieroes_, } chiefs. _cloghsytowax_, } _tokaryhoegon_, captain. _oghioghseh_, _tieleghweghson_, _tougrotha_, _yorughianego_, _ot-quehig_, _squaghky_, _sayadyio_, _onughsowã»ghton_, _cherigh wã¢stho_, _aghsã»nteries_, _tion ogh scã´ghtha_, _saligh wanaghson_, _ohn-wã¢asey_, _tocar-eher_ [died since at _tulpehokin_.] _tohanatã¢kqua_, _kanyhã¢ag_. s h a w a n o e s. _wehwehlaky_, chief. _aset teywa_, _asoghqua_, _maya minickysy_, _wawyia beeseny_. canestogo _indians that speak the_ onayiut's _language_. _tior haasery_, chief. _tanigh wackerau_, _karha cawyiat_, _kayen quily quo_. c a n o y i a s, _or_ n a n t i k o k e s, _of_ canestogo. _des-seheg_, _ichqua que heck_, _quesamaag_, _ayiok-ius_. d e l a w a r e s _of_ shamokin. _olumapies_, } _lingehanoah_, } chiefs. _kelly macquan_, _quitie-yquont_, _pishquiton_, _nena chy haut_. d e l a w a r e s _from the_ forks. _onutpe_, } _lawye quohwon_, alias _nutimus_, } chiefs. _toweghkappy_. _cornel. spring_, and others. c o n r a d w e i s e r, c o r n e l i u s s p r i n g, _interpreters_. and a great number of the inhabitants of _philadelphia_. the governor having commanded silence, spoke as follows: '_friends and brethren of the six nations_, 'six years ago a number of your chiefs obliged us with a visit, when they agreed on behalf of your nations, to the release of certain lands on both sides the river _sasquehannah_, to the southward of the _endless-mountains_, and within the limits and bounds of the king's grant of this province. in consideration of which, a certain quantity of goods was agreed on, and delivered as a full satisfaction for the said lands, lying on the eastern side of the said river: and for the lands on the western side of the said river, you desired the payment should be deferr'd till another opportunity. these goods, which are exactly the same in quantity, as those you received the last time the chiefs of your nations were here, have been ready a considerable time, and kept in expectation of your coming for them: and now you are come down, fully impowered by your respective councils to receive them, we are well pleased to deliver them; leaving it to you to make a fair and equal division of them amongst yourselves. we are sorry for the absence of our brethren the _senecas_, and much more so, that it should be owing to their distress at home by a famine that rages in their country:--a famine so great, that you tell us a father has been obliged to sacrifice one part of his family, even his own children, for the support and preservation of himself, and the other part.--we heartily commiserate their condition, and do not doubt but you will do them fair and ample justice in the disposal of their part of the goods, in such manner as they have instructed you. you shall now hear the list of the goods read to you.' here, by the governor's order, the list of the goods was read over, _viz_. 500 _pounds of powder_. 600 _pounds of lead_. 45 _guns_. 60 _strowd-matchcoats_. 100 _blankets_. 100 _duffil matchcoats_. 200 _yards half-thick_. 100 _shirts_. 40 _hats_. 40 _pair shoes & buckles_. 40 _pair stockings_. 100 _hatchets_. 500 _knives_. 100 _hoes_. 60 _kettles_. 100 _tobacco-tongs_. 100 _scissars_. 500 _awl-blades_. 120 _combs_. 2000 _needles_. 1000 _flints_. 24 _looking-glasses_. 2 _pounds of vermilion_. 100 _tin-pots_. 1000 _tobacco-pipes_. 200 _pounds of tobacco_. 24 _dozen of gartering_, and 25 _gallons of rum_. then the governor told them that the goods, of which the particulars had been just read to them, were in the meeting-house, and would be sent to whatever place they would direct. the governor then proceeded: '_b r e t h r e n_, 'you have often heard of the care that your great and good friend and brother _william penn_, took at all times to cultivate a perfect good harmony with all the _indians_: of these your nations have ever been fully sensible; but more especially a number of your chiefs, about ten years ago, when on the arrival of a son of your said great friend _william penn_, large and valuable presents were exchanged by us with you; a new road was made and clear'd; a new fire kindled; and the chain of friendship made stronger, so as to last while the sun and moon endure. 'and now we cannot but congratulate ourselves, that your coming should happen at a time, when we are in daily expectation of a war being declared between the king of _england_, and the _french_ king, well knowing that should such a war happen, it must very sensibly affect you, considering your situation in the neighbourhood of _canada_. your coming at this juncture is particularly fortunate, since it gives us an opportunity of mentioning several things that may be necessary to be settled, between people so strictly and closely united as we are.--an union not to be expressed by any thing less, than the affectionate regards which children of the same parents bear for each other, as conceiving ourselves to be one flesh and one people. 'the utmost care therefore ought mutually to be taken by us on both sides, that the road between us be kept perfectly clear and open, and no lets nor the least obstruction be suffered to lie in the way; or if any should by accident be found, that may hinder our free intercourse and correspondence, it must forthwith be removed. _to inforce this, we lay down a string of wampum._ 'in the next place, we, on our part, shall inlarge our fire that burns between us. we shall provide more fewel to increase it, and make it burn brighter and clearer, and give a stronger and more lasting light and warmth. _in evidence of our sincere intentions, we lay down this belt of wampum_. 'in the last place, considering the obligations we are mutually under by our several treaties, "that we should hear with our ears for you, and you hear with your ears for us." we shall at times very willingly give you the earliest and best intelligence, of any designs that may be form'd to your disadvantage.--and if you discover any preparations that can hurt us, we desire you will immediately dispatch some suitable person in whom we can place a confidence, to give us a proper information.' _to inforce this request, as well as to brighten the chain, we lay down this other belt of wampum._ on the governor's concluding the speech, the solemn cry by way of approbation was repeated by the _indians_, as many times as there were nations present; and then _canassateego_ rose up and spoke. '_b r e t h r e n_, 'we thank you for your kind speech: what you have said is very agreeable to us; and to-morrow when we have deliberated on the several matters recommended to us, we will give you our answer. we desire, as our time will be wholly taken up in council, you will order the goods to be carried back to the proprietaries to prevent their being lost, and that they may continue there till we call for them.' * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held in the meeting-house, _july_ 7, 1742. p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _thomas lawrence_, } _abraham taylor_, } esqrs; _samuel preston_, } _samuel hasell_, } _robert strettell_, } _c a n a s s a t e e g o_'s speech on behalf of the _six nations_. '_b r e t h r e n, the governor and council, and all present_, 'according to our promise we now propose to return you an answer to the several things mentioned to us yesterday, and shall beg leave to speak to publick affairs first, tho' they were what you spoke to last. on this head you yesterday put us in mind, first, "of _william penn_'s early and constant care to cultivate friendship with all the _indians_; of the treaty we held with one of his sons, about ten years ago; and of the necessity there is at this time of keeping the roads between us clear and free from all obstructions." we are all very sensible of the kind regard that good man _william penn_ had for all the _indians_, and cannot but be pleased to find that his children have the same. we well remember the treaty you mention held with his son on his arrival here, by which we confirmed our league of friendship, that is to last as long as the sun and moon endure: in consequence of this, we, on our part, shall preserve the road free from all incumbrances; in confirmation whereof we lay down this string of wampum. 'you in the next place said you would enlarge the fire and make it burn brighter, which we are pleased to hear you mention; and assure you, we shall do the same, by adding to it more fewel, that it may still flame out more strongly than ever: in the last place, you were pleased to say that we are bound by the strictest leagues, to watch for each others preservation; that we should hear with our ears for you, and you hear with your ears for us: this is equally agreeable to us; and we shall not fail to give you early intelligence, whenever any thing of consequence comes to our knowledge: and to encourage you to do the same, and to nourish in your hearts what you have spoke to us with your tongues, about the renewal of our amity and the brightening of the chain of friendship; we confirm what we have said with another belt of wampum.' '_b r e t h r e n_, 'we received from the proprietors yesterday, some goods in consideration of our release of the lands on the west-side of _sasquehannah_. it is true, we have the full quantity according to agreement; but if the proprietor had been here himself, we think, in regard of our numbers and poverty, he would have made an addition to them.--if the goods were only to be divided amongst the _indians_ present, a single person would have but a small portion; but if you consider what numbers are left behind, equally entitled with us to a share, there will be extremely little. we therefore desire, if you have the keys of the proprietor's chest, you will open it, and take out a little more for us. 'we know our lands are now become more valuable: the white people think we do not know their value; but we are sensible that the land is everlasting, and the few goods we receive for it are soon worn out and gone. for the future, we will sell no lands but when brother _onas_ is in the country; and we will know beforehand, the quantity of the goods we are to receive. besides, we are not well used with respect to the lands still unsold by us. your people daily settle on these lands, and spoil our hunting.--we must insist on your removing them, as you know they have no right to settle to the northward of _kittochtinny-hills_.--in particular, we renew our complaints against some people who are settled at _juniata_, a branch of _sasquahannah_, and all along the banks of that river, as far as _mahaniay_; and desire they may be forthwith made to go off the land, for they do great damage to our cousins the _delawares_. 'we have further to observe, with respect to the lands lying on the west-side of _sasquahannah_, that though brother _onas_ (meaning the proprietor) has paid us for what his people possess, yet some parts of that country have been taken up by persons, whose place of residence is to the south of this province, from whom we have never received any consideration. this affair was recommended to you by our chiefs at our last treaty; and you then, at our earnest desire, promised to write a letter to that person who has the authority over those people, and to procure us his answer: as we have never heard from you on this head, we want to know what you have done in it. if you have not done any thing, we now renew our request, and desire you will inform the person whose people are seated on our lands, that that country belongs to us, in right of conquest; we having bought it with our blood, and taken it from our enemies in fair war; and we expect, as owners of that land, to receive such a consideration for it as the land is worth. we desire you will press him to send a positive answer: let him say _yes_ or _no_: if he says yes, we will treat with him; if no, we are able to do ourselves justice; and we will do it, by going to take payment ourselves. 'it is customary with us to make a present of skins, whenever we renew our treaties. we are ashamed to offer our brethren so few, but your horses and cows have eat the grass our deer used to feed on. this has made them scarce, and will, we hope, plead in excuse for our not bringing a larger quantity. if we could have spared more, we would have given more; but we are really poor; and desire you'll not consider the quantity, but few as they are, accept them in testimony of our regard.' _here they gave the governor a bundle of skins_. the governor immediately replied. '_b r e t h r e n_, 'we thank you for the many declarations of respect you have given us, in this solemn renewal of our treaties: we receive, and shall keep your string and belts of wampum, as pledges of your sincerity, and desire those we gave you may be carefully preserved, as testimonies of ours. 'in answer to what you say about the proprietaries.--they are all absent, and have taken the keys of their chest with them; so that we cannot, on their behalf, enlarge the quantity of goods: were they here, they might perhaps, be more generous; but we cannot be liberal for them.--the government will, however, take your request into consideration; and in regard to your poverty, may perhaps make you a present. i but just mention this now, intending to refer this part of your speech to be answered at our next meeting. 'the number of guns, as well as every thing else, answers exactly with the particulars specified in your deed of conveyance, which is more than was agreed to be given you. it was your own sentiments, that the lands on the west-side of _sasquahannah_, were not so valuable as those on the east; and an abatement was to be made, proportionable to the difference in value: but the proprietor overlooked this, and ordered the full quantity to be delivered, which you will look on as a favour. 'it is very true, that lands are of late become more valuable; but what raises their value? is it not entirely owing to the industry and labour used by the white people, in their cultivation and improvement? had not they come amongst you, these lands would have been of no use to you, any further than to maintain you. and is there not, now you have sold so much, enough left for all the purposes of living?--what you say of the goods, that they are soon worn out, is applicable to every thing; but you know very well, that they cost a great deal of money; and the value of land is no more, than it is worth in money. 'on your former complaints against people's settling the lands on _juniata_, and from thence all along on the river _sasquahannah_ as far as _mahaniahy_, some magistrates were sent expresly to remove them, and we thought no persons would presume to stay after that.' here they interrupted the governor, and said:- "these persons who were sent did not do their duty: so far from removing the people, they made surveys for themselves, and they are in league with the trespassers. we desire more effectual methods may be used, and honester persons employed." which the governor promised, and then proceeded: '_b r e t h r e n_, 'according to the promise made at our last treaty with you, mr. _logan_, who was at that time president, did write to the governor of _maryland_, that he might make you satisfaction for such of your lands as his people had taken up, but did not receive one word from him upon that head. i will write to him again, and endeavour to procure you a satisfactory answer. we do not doubt but he will do you justice: but we exhort you to be careful not to exercise any acts of violence towards his people, as they likewise are our brethren, and subjects of the same great king; and therefore violence towards them, must be productive of very evil consequences. 'i shall conclude what i have to say at this time, with acknowledgments for your present; which is very agreeable to us, from the expressions of regard used by you in presenting it: gifts of this nature receiving their value from the affection of the giver, and not from the quantity or price of the thing given.' * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held at _philadelphia, july_ 8, 1742. p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _clement plumsted_, } _samuel hasell_, } _abraham taylor_, } _samuel preston_, } esqrs; _thomas lawrence_, } _ralph asheton_, } _robert strettell_, } the board taking into consideration, whether it be proper or not at this time, to make a present to the _indians_ of the six nations now in town, in return for their present to this government at yesterday's treaty; _resolved_, that it is highly fit and proper that a present be made to the said _indians_ at this time. and it is the opinion of this board, that the said present should be of the value of 500 _l._ or at least 300 _l._ and it is recommended to mr. _logan_, mr. _preston_, and mr. _lawrence_, to acquaint mr. _kinsey_, the speaker of the assembly, with the opinion of this board; and that they request him to confer with such other members of assembly as are in town, and report their sentiments thereupon. the board taking into consideration the threats expressed by the _indians_, at the treaty yesterday, against the inhabitants of _maryland_, settled on certain lands on the west-side of _sasquahannah_, which the _indians_ claim, and for which they require satisfaction; and considering, that should those threats, in any sort be put in execution, not only the inhabitants of _maryland_, but of this government, and all his majesty's subjects on the northern continent of _america_, may thereby be involved in much trouble: it is the opinion of this board, that the governor write to the governor of _maryland_ without delay, to inform him of the _indians_ complaints and threats, and to request a satisfactory answer; and that his letter be sent by a special messenger, at the publick expence. * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held _july_ 9, 1742. p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, esq; _clement plumsted_, esq; _samuel hasell_, esq; _robert strettell_, esq; _samuel preston_, esq; _ralph asheton_, esq; _thomas lawrence_, esq; mr. _peters_. the governor informed the board, that the _indian_ chiefs dining with him yesterday, after dinner delivered their answer to two affairs of consequence: the first related to the violent battery committed on _william webb_, in the forks of _delaware_, whereby his jaw-bone was broke, and his life greatly endangered, by an unknown _indian_. _canassatego_ repeating the message delivered to the _six nations_ by _shickcalamy_, in the year 1740, with a string of wampum, said in answer: 'the _six nations_ had made diligent enquiry into the affair, and had found out the _indian_ who had committed the fact; he lived near _asopus_, and had been examined and severely reprov'd: and they hoped, as _william webb_ was recovered, the governor would not expect any further punishment; and therefore they returned the string of wampum received from their brethren, by the hand of _shickcalamy_, in token that they had fully complied with their request.' i thank'd them, said he, for their care; but reminded them, that though the man did not die, yet he lay a long time in extreme misery, and would never recover the free use of his speech, and was rendered less able to get his livelihood; and in such cases the _english_ laws obliged the assailant to make good all damages, besides paying for the pain endured.--but as the _indian_ was, in all probability, poor and unable to make satisfaction, i told them, that for their sake i would forgive him; adding, had _webb_ died, i make no doubt but you would have put the _indian_ to death, just as we did two of our people who had killed an _indian_; we caused them to be hung on a gallows, in the presence of many hundreds of our people, to deter all others from doing the like. _canassatego_ made me this reply: 'the _indians_ know no punishment but death; they have no such thing as pecuniary mulcts; if a man be guilty of a crime, he is either put to death, or the fault is overlook'd. we have often heard of your hanging-up those two persons; but as none of our _indians_ saw the men die, many believe they were not hanged, but transported to some other colony: and it would be satisfactory to the _indians_, if, for the future, some of them be sent for, to be witnesses of such executions.' i assured them, that whoever gave them that information, abused them; for the persons certainly suffered death, and in the presence of all the people. _canassatego_ then proceeded to give an answer to what was said to them the 2d instant, relating to _le tort_'s letter: 'that they had, in council, considered in what manner the matter recommended to them ought to be conducted; and they were of opinion, that as the _shawanese_, not the _twightwys_ (for they knew so much of it, that the people were of the _twightwy_ nation in whose bags the scalps were found) had sent me a present of skins, i should in return, send them a blanket or a kettle, and with it a very sharp message, that tho' they had done well in sweeping the road from blood, yet that was but a small part of their duty; they ought not to have suffered the _twightwys_, after their lye and the discovery of the scalps, to have left them, 'till they had given a full and true account how they came by them, whose scalps they were, and in what place, and for what reason the men were kill'd; and when they had been fully satisfied of all these particulars, then it was their duty to have given information to the government where the white people lived, that the murderers might be complained against, and punished by the nation they belonged to: and as the _shawanese_ had omitted to perform the part of brethren, that i should reprove them for it, and charge them to make amends for their neglect, by using all possible expedition to come at the knowledge of these things, and to aid their brethren the white people in obtaining justice.' the minutes of the preceding council being read, mr. _logan_, in pursuance of the board's direction of yesterday, reported, on behalf of himself, and the other gentlemen to whom it was recommended, that they had confer'd with mr. _kinsey_, and requested him to consult the other members of the assembly concerning the making a present to the _indians_; and that mr. _kinsey_ having collected the sentiments of several members of the assembly in town, whom he had confer'd with on that subject, found them generally of opinion, that a present should at this time be made; but that they had declined nominating any sum: however, that mr. _kinsey_ had given it as his own opinion, that the governor and council might go as far as _three hundred pounds_. and accordingly it is refer'd to mr. _logan_, mr. _preston_, and mr. _lawrence_, to consider of, and prepare a proper list of the goods whereof the present should be composed, to the value of _three hundred pounds_, as aforesaid; advising with the interpreter as to the quantity and quality. * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held at the proprietor's, the 9th of _july_, p. m. 1742. p r e s e n t the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _samuel preston_, } esqrs; _robert strettell_, } _abraham taylor_, } the c h i e f s of the _six nations_. _s a s s o o n a n_, and the _delawares_. _n u t i m u s_, and the _fork-indians_. _c o n r a d w e i s e r_, interpreter. the governor spoke to the chiefs of the _six nations_, as follows: '_b r e t h r e n_, 'the last time the chiefs of the _six nations_ were here, they were informed, that your cousins, a branch of the _delawares_, gave this province some disturbance about the lands the proprietor purchased from them, and for which their ancestors had received a valuable consideration above _fifty-five_ years ago, as appears by a deed now lying on the table.--sometime after this, _conrad weiser_ delivered to your brother _thomas penn_ your letter, wherein you request of him, and _james logan_, that they would not buy land, &c.--this has been shewn to them and interpreted; notwithstanding which they have continued their former disturbances, and have had the insolence to write letters to some of the magistrates of this government, wherein they have abused your good brethren, our worthy proprietaries, and treated them with the utmost rudeness and ill-manners. being loth, from our regard to you, to punish them as they deserve, i sent two messengers to inform them that you were expected here, and should be acquainted with their behaviour.--as you, on all occasions, apply to us to remove all white people that are settled on lands before they are purchased from you, and we do our endeavours to turn such people off; we now expect from you, that you will cause these _indians_ to remove from the lands in the forks of delaware, and not give any further disturbance to the persons who are now in possession.' _to inforce this we lay down a string of wampum_. then were read the several conveyances, the paragraph of the letter wrote by the chiefs of the _six nations_ relating to the _delawares_; the letters of the _fork-indians_ to the governor and mr. _langhorne_, and a draught of the land; these were then delivered to _conrad weiser_, who was desired to interpret them to the chiefs, when they should take this affair into their consideration. * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held _july_ 10, 1742. p r e s e n t the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _clement plumsted_, } _thomas lawrence_, } _abraham taylor_, } esqrs; _samuel preston_, } _samuel hasell_, } _robert strettell_, } the governor laid before the board an extract from the treaty held here the 7th instant with the _indians_ of the _six nations_, so far as it related to the inhabitants of _maryland_; as also a letter he had prepared for the governor of _maryland_ upon that subject; both of which being approved, were ordered to be transcribed fair, in order to be dispatch'd the following morning. the letter was as follows: philadelphia, july 10, 1742. s i r, _the inclosed extract of the speech made by the chiefs of the_ six nations, _before a very numerous audience, in this place, with my answer to it, is of so great importance to all his majesty's colonies in this part of his dominions, and to your government in particular, that i have employ'd a special messenger to deliver it you. i hope you will enable me to send them a satisfactory answer. it would be impertinent in me to say more to one so well informed as you are of those nations, and of their absolute authority over all the_ indians _bordering upon us, or of the advantages of maintaining a strict friendship with them at all times, but more especially at this critical juncture._ i am, yours, &c. an account exhibited by _conrad weiser_ of his expences upon the _indians_, and _indian_ affairs, from _february_ last to _july_ 1, 1742, amounting to 36 _l._ 18 _s._ 3 _d._ was laid before the board, and examin'd, and allow'd to be a just and very moderate account. and the board taking into consideration the many signal services performed by the said _conrad weiser_ to this government, his diligence and labour in the service thereof, and his skill in the _indian_ languages and methods of business, are of opinion, that the said _conrad_ should be allowed, as a reward from the province at this time, the sum of _thirty pounds_, at least, besides payment of his said account. * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held at the great meeting-house, _july_ 10. _p. m._ 1742. p r e s e n t the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _thomas lawrence_, } _abraham taylor_, } esqrs; _samuel preston_, } _samuel hasell_, } _robert strettell_, } _c a n a s s a t e g o_, } _s h i c k c a l a m y_, } and other _indian_ chiefs. _c o n r a d w e i s e r_, interpreter. and a great number of the inhabitants of _philadelphia_. the governor spoke to the _indians_ as follows: '_b r e t h r e n_, 'this meeting will be short: it is in order to make you a present from the governor, the council, the assembly, and all our people. _william penn_ was known to you to be a good and faithful friend to all the _indians_: he made a league of friendship with you, by which we became one people. this league has often since been renew'd by friendly treaties; and as you have declared that the friendship shall always last on your parts, so we would have you believe that it shall remain inviolable on ours while the sun and moon endure. 'i gave you some expectation of a present, and we have it now ready to deliver to you. this present is made you by the governor, council, assembly, and all our people, in consideration of the great miseries and distresses which you our good friends have lately suffered. this will be some relief to you for the present, and it's to be hoped your own industry will soon retrieve your circumstances. 'it has sometimes happened, and may happen again, that idle and untrue stories are carried to you concerning us your brethren; but our desire is, and we expect it from you, that you will give no credit to them; for we are, and always will be, your steady and sincere friends. 'it is a custom when we renew our treaties with our good friends the _indians_, to clear the road, and make our fire burn bright: we have done so upon this occasion; and, in token of our sincerity, we deliver you, as a present from the governor, the council, the assembly, and all the people of _pensylvania_, the following goods, _viz_. 24 _guns_. 600 _pounds of lead_. 600 _pounds of powder_. 25 _strowdes_ } 90 _duffil_ } _match-coats_. 30 _blankets_. 62 _yards of half-thicks_. 60 _ruffled shirts_. 25 _hats_. 1000 _flints_. 50 _hoes_. 50 _hatchets_. 5 _pounds of vermilion_. 10 _dozen of knives_. 8 _dozen of gimblets_. 2 _dozen of tobacco-tongs_. 25 _pair of shoes_. 25 _pair of stockings_. 25 _pair of buckles_. whereupon the chiefs, and all the _indians_, returned their solemn thanks; and _canassatego_ said, 'they had no more to say as to publick business at present; but they had somewhat under deliberation, which, when they had duly considered, they would communicate.' * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held at the proprietor's, _july_ 12, 1742. p r e s e n t the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _thomas lawrence_, } _robert strettell_, } esqrs; _clement plumsted_, } _abraham taylor_, } mr. _richard peters_. _c a n a s s a t e g o_, } and sundry chiefs of the _six nations_. _s h i c k c a l a m y_, } _s a s s o o n a n_, and the _delawares_. _n u t t i m u s_, and the _fork-indians_. _c o n r a d w e i s e r_, interpreter. _pisquetoman_, } _cornelius spring_, } interpreters to the _fork-indians_. _nicholas scull_, } _c a n a s s a t e g o_ said: '_b r e t h r e n, the governor and council_, 'the other day you informed us of the misbehaviour of our cousins the _delawares_, with respect to their continuing to claim, and refusing to remove from some land on the river _delaware_, notwithstanding their ancestors had sold it by a deed under their hands and seals to the proprietaries, for a valuable consideration, upwards of _fifty_ years ago; and notwithstanding that, they themselves had also not many years ago, after a long and full examination, ratified that deed of their ancestors, and given a fresh one under their hands and seals; and then you requested us to remove them, inforcing your request with a string of wampum.--afterwards we laid on the table our own letters by _conrad weiser_; some of our cousins letters, and the several writings to prove the charge against our cousins, with a draught of the land in dispute.--we now tell you, we have perused all these several papers: we see with our own eyes, that they have been a very unruly people, and are altogether in the wrong in their dealings with you.--we have concluded to remove them, and oblige them to go over the river _delaware_, and quit all claim to any lands on this side for the future, since they have received pay for them, and it is gone thro' their guts long ago.--to confirm to you that we will see your request executed, we lay down this string of wampum in return for yours.' then turning to the _delawares_, holding a belt of wampum in his hand, he spoke to them as follows: '_c o u s i n s_, 'let this belt of wampum serve to chastise you. you ought to be taken by the hair of the head and shaked severely, till you recover your senses and become sober. you don't know what ground you stand on, nor what you are doing. our brother _onas_'s cause is very just and plain, and his intentions are to preserve friendship. on the other hand, your cause is bad; your heart far from being upright; and you are maliciously bent to break the chain of friendship with our brother _onas_, and his people. we have seen with our eyes a deed sign'd by nine of your ancestors above _fifty_ years ago for this very land, and a release sign'd, not many years since, by some of yourselves and chiefs now living, to the number of fifteen or upwards.--but how came you to take upon you to sell land at all? we conquered you; we made women of you; you know you are women, and can no more sell land than women; nor is it fit you should have the power of selling lands, since you would abuse it. this land that you claim is gone thro' your guts; you have been furnished with cloaths, meat, and drink, by the goods paid you for it, and now you want it again, like children as you are.--but what makes you sell land in the dark? did you ever tell us that you had sold this land? did we ever receive any part, even the value of a pipe-shank, from you for it? you have told us a blind story, that you sent a messenger to us to inform us of the sale, but he never came amongst us, nor we never heard any thing about it.--this is acting in the dark, and very different from the conduct our _six_ nations observe in the sales of land; on such occasions they give publick notice, and invite all the _indians_ of their united nations, and give them all a share of the present they receive for their lands.--this is the behaviour of the wise united nations.--but we find you are none of our blood: you act a dishonest part, not only in this, but in other matters: your ears are ever open to slanderous reports about our brethren; you receive them with as much greediness as lewd women receive the embraces of bad men. and for all these reasons we charge you to remove instantly; we don't give you the liberty to think about it. you are women. take the advice of a wise man, and remove immediately. you may return to the other side of _delaware_ where you came from: but we do not know whether, considering how you have demean'd yourselves, you will be permitted to live there; or whether you have not swallowed that land down your throats as well as the land on this side. we therefore assign you two places to go, either to _wyomen_ or _shamokin_. you may go to either of these places, and then we shall have you more under our eye, and shall see how you behave. don't deliberate; but remove away, and take this belt of wampum.' this being interpreted by _conrad weiser_ into _english_, and by _cornelius spring_ into the _delaware_ language, _canassatego_ taking a string of wampum, added further. 'after our just reproof, and absolute order to depart from the land, you are now to take notice of what we have further to say to you. this string of wampum serves to forbid you, your children and grand-children, to the latest posterity for ever, meddling in land-affairs; neither you, nor any who shall descend from you, are ever hereafter to presume to sell any land: for which purpose, you are to preserve this string, in memory of what your uncles have this day given you in charge.--we have some other business to transact with our brethren, and therefore depart the council, and consider what has been said to you.' _canassatego_ then spoke to the governor and council: '_b r e t h r e n_, 'we called at our old friend _james logan_'s, in our way to this city, and to our grief we found him hid in the bushes, and retired, thro' infirmities, from publick business. we press'd him to leave his retirement, and prevailed with him to assist once more on our account at your councils. we hope, notwithstanding his age, and the effects of a fit of sickness, which we understand has hurt his constitution, that he may yet continue a long time to assist this province with his counsels. he is a wise man, and a fast friend to the _indians_. and we desire, when his soul goes to g o d, you may chuse in his room just such another person, of the same prudence and ability in counselling, and of the same tender disposition and affection for the _indians_. in testimony of our gratitude for all his services, and because he was so good as to leave his country-house, and follow us to town, and be at the trouble, in this his advanced age, to attend the council, we present him with this bundle of skins.' '_b r e t h r e n_, 'it is always our way, at the conclusion of a treaty, to desire you will use your endeavours with the traders, that they may sell their goods cheaper, and give us a better price for our deer-skins. whenever any particular sort of _indian_ goods is scarce, they constantly make us pay the dearer on that account. we must now use the same argument with them: our deer are killed in such quantities, and our hunting-countries grown less every day by the settlement of white people, that game is now difficult to find, and we must go a great way in quest of it; they therefore ought to give us a better price for our skins; and we desire you would speak to them to do so. we have been stinted in the article of rum in town. we desire you will open the rum-bottle, and give it to us in greater abundance on the road.' _to inforce our request, about the_ indian _traders_, _we present you with this bundle of skins_. '_b r e t h r e n_, 'when we first came to your houses, we found them clean and in order; but we have staid so long as to dirty them; which is to be imputed to our different way of living from the white people: and therefore, as we cannot but have been disagreeable to you on this account, we present you with some skins to make your houses clean, and put them into the same condition they were in when we came amongst you.' '_b r e t h r e n_, 'the business the _five_ nations transact with you is of great consequence, and requires a skilful and honest person to go between us; one in whom both you and we can place a confidence.--we esteem our present interpreter to be such a person, equally faithful in the interpretation of whatever is said to him by either of us, equally allied to both; he is of our nation, and a member of our council, as well as of yours. when we adopted him, we divided him into two equal parts: one we kept for ourselves, and one we left for you. he has had a great deal of trouble with us, wore out his shoes in our messages, and dirty'd his clothes by being amongst us, so that he is become as nasty as an _indian_. 'in return for these services, we recommend him to your generosity; and on our own behalf, we give him _five skins_ to buy him clothes and shoes with.' '_b r e t h r e n_, 'we have still one more favour to ask. our treaty, and all we have to say about publick business, is now over, and to-morrow we design to leave you. we hope, as you have given us plenty of good provision whilst in town, that you will continue your goodness so far as to supply us with a little more to serve us on the road. and we likewise desire you will provide us with waggons, to carry our goods to the place where they are to be conveyed by water.' to these several points the governor made the following reply. '_b r e t h r e n of the six nations_, 'the judgment you have just now pass'd on your cousins the _delawares_, confirms the high opinion we have ever entertained of the justice of the _six nations_. this part of your character, for which you are deservedly famed, made us wave doing ourselves justice, in order to give you another opportunity of convincing the world of your inviolable attachment to your engagements. these unhappy people might have always liv'd easy, having never receiv'd the least injury from us; but we believe some of our own people were bad enough to impose on their credulity, and engage them in these wrong measures, which we wish, for their sakes, they had avoided. 'we hoped, from what we have constantly given in charge to the _indian_ traders, that they would have administred no just cause of complaint: if they do you wrong, it is against our inclinations, and contrary to our express directions. as you have exhibited no particular charge against them, we shall use our best endeavours to persuade them to give you as much for your skins as they can possibly afford; and to take care that their goods which they give in exchange for skins, be of the best sort. we will likewise order you some rum to serve you on your journey home, since you desire it. 'we wish there had been more room and better houses provided for your entertainment; but not expecting so many of you, we did the best we could. 'tis true, there are a great many houses in town, but as they are the property of other people, who have their own families to take care of, it is difficult to procure lodgings for a large number of people, especially if they come unexpectedly. 'we entertain the same sentiments of the abilities and probity of the interpreter as you have express'd. we were induc'd at first to make use of him in this important trust, from his being known to be agreeable to you, and one who had lived amongst you for some years, in good credit and esteem with all your nations; and have ever found him equally faithful to both. we are pleas'd with the notice you have taken of him, and think he richly deserves it at your hands. we shall not be wanting to make him a suitable gratification, for the many good and faithful services he hath done this government. 'we have already given orders for waggons to carry your goods, and for a supply of provisions to serve you on the road in your return home, where we heartily wish you may arrive in good health.' after the governor had concluded, mr. _logan_ return'd an answer to that part of _canassatego_'s speech which related to him, and said, 'that not only upon the account of his lameness, of which the _indians_ themselves were witnesses; but on account of another indisposition, which about three years since had laid him under an incapacity of expressing himself with his former usual freedom, he had been obliged to live retired in the country. but that our first proprietor, the honourable _william penn_, who had ever been a father and true friend to all the _indians_, having above forty years since recommended them to his particular care, he had always, from his own inclination, as well as from that strict charge, endeavoured to convince all the _indians_, that he was their true friend; and was now well pleased, that after a tract of so many years, they were not insensible of it. he thanked them kindly for their present, and heartily joined with them in their desires, that this government may always be furnished with persons of equally good inclinations, and not only with such, but also with better abilities to serve them.' and then _canassatego_ said, he had forgot to mention, that _shickcalamy_ and _caxhayn_ had been employ'd on several messages to this government, and desir'd they might be consider'd on that account. * * * * * at a c o u n c i l held the 12th of _july_, p. m. 1742. p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieutenant-governor. _james logan_, } _clement plumsted_, } _samuel hasell_, } _robert strettell_, } esqrs; _samuel preston_, } _thomas lawrence_, } _abraham taylor_, } mr. _richard peters_. the board taking into consideration the regulation of the necessary expences of the _indians_ travelling down hither, and returning; and upon an estimate made by _conrad weiser_, amounting to about _one hundred pounds_, it appearing that the said sum of 100 _l._ will be necessary to be advanced to _conrad weiser_ to defray those expences, mr. _logan_, on the proprietaries behalf, proposes to advance 40 _l._ and the treasurer declaring he had no publick money in his hands, and that if he had, he would not advance money without the assembly's order; it is recommended to mr. _preston_ and mr. _lawrence_, to confer with mr. _kinsey_, and know whether he, as speaker of the assembly, and trustee of the loan-office, will advance the other 60 _l._ and the _indians_ having requested that they might have a small quantity of rum, to be added to their provisions, to comfort them on the road: the board is of opinion, that there be added to the said estimate for twenty gallons of rum for the aforesaid use. and in return for their present of skins, at requesting that the _indian_ traders be enjoin'd to sell their goods cheaper, the board directs that two strouds be presented. and that _five pounds_ be given to _caxhayn_ on the account of the province, for his services; and to _shickcalamy_ the like sum. _a just copy, compared by_ _p a t r i c k b a i r d_, secr. [illustration] a =t r e a t y= held at the town of _lancaster_, in pensylvania, by the honourable the lieutenant-governor of the province, and the honourable the commissioners for the provinces of virginia _and_ maryland, with the _i n d i a n s_ o f t h e s i x n a t i o n s, in _j u n e_, 1744. a treaty with the _i n d i a n s_ of the six nations. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e in the town of _lancaster_, on _friday_ the twenty-second of _june_, 1744, p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; lieut. governor of the province of _pensylvania_, and counties of _newcastle, kent_ and _sussex_, on _delaware_. the honourable _thomas lee_, esq; } commissioners colonel _william beverly_, } of _virginia_. the honourable _edm. jennings_, esq; } _philip thomas_, esq; } commissioners colonel _robert king_, } of _maryland_. colonel _thomas colville_, } the deputies of the _onandagoes, senecas, cayogoes, oneidas_ and _tuscaroraes_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. the governor and the commissioners took some of the _indian_ chiefs by the hand, and, after they had seated themselves, the governor bid them welcome into the government; and there being wine and punch prepared for them, the governor and the several commissioners drank health to the _six nations_; and _canassatego, tachanoontia_, and some other chiefs, returned the compliments, drinking the healths of _onas_[1], _assaragoa_[2], and the governor of _maryland_. after they were all served with wine, punch, pipes and tobacco, the governor told the _indians_, that as it was customary, and indeed necessary, they should have some time to rest after so long a journey, and as he thought three days would be no more than sufficient for that purpose, he proposed to speak to them on _monday_ next; after which, the honourable commissioners would take their own time to deliver what they had to say. _c a n a s s a t e g o_ answered the governor: we thank you for giving us time to rest; we are come to you, and shall leave it intirely to you to appoint the time when we shall meet you again. we likewise leave it to the governor of _maryland_, by whose invitation we came here, to appoint a time when he will please to mention the reason of his inviting us. as to our brother _assaragoa_, we have at this present time nothing to say to him; not but we have a great deal to say to _assaragoa_, which must be said at one time or another; but not being satisfied whether he or we should begin first, we shall leave it wholly to our brother _onas_ to adjust this between us, and to say which shall begin first. [footnote 1: _onas_, the governor of _pensylvania_.] [footnote 2: _assaragoa_, the governor of _virginia_.] * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, june_ 25, 1744. _a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. the governor spoke as follows. _honourable gentlemen, commissioners for the governments of_ virginia _and_ maryland, _and brethren, sachims, or chiefs of the_ indians _of the_ six nations. at a treaty, held by me two years ago, in behalf of the government of _pensylvania_, with a number of the chiefs of the _indians_ of the _six nations_, i was desired by them to write to the governor of _maryland_ concerning some lands in the back parts of that province, which they claim a right to from their conquests over the ancient possessors, and which have been settled by some of the inhabitants of that government, without their consent, or any purchase made from them. it was at that time understood that the claim was upon _maryland_ only; but it has since appeared, by some letters formerly wrote by mr. president _logan_ to the late governor of _maryland_, that it related likewise to some lands in the back parts of _virginia_. the governors of those colonies soon manifested a truly equitable disposition to come to any reasonable terms with the _six nations_ on account of those lands, and desired, that for that end a time and place might be fixed for a treaty with them; but before this could be effected, an unfortunate skirmish happened in the back parts of _virginia_, between some of the militia there, and a party of the _indian_ warriors of the _six nations_, with some loss on both sides. who were the aggressors is not at this time to be discussed, both parties having agreed to bury that affair in oblivion, and the government of _virginia_ having, in token of the continuance of their friendship, presented the _six nations_, through my hands, with goods to the value of one hundred pounds sterling. to prevent further hostilities, and to heal this breach, i had, before the present was given, made a tender of my good office; which both parties accepted, and consented, on my instances, to lay down their arms: since which the faith pledged to me has been mutually preserved, and a time and place has been agreed upon, through my intervention, for accommodating all differences, and for settling a firm peace, union and friendship, as well between the government of _virginia_ as that of _maryland_, and the _indians_ of the _six nations_[3]. the honourable the commissioners for these two governments, and the deputies of the _six nations_, are now met at the place appointed for the treaty. it only remains therefore for me to say, that if my further good offices shall be thought useful for the accomplishment of this work, you may rely most assuredly upon them. but i hope, honourable gentlemen commissioners, it will not be taken amiss if i go a little further, and briefly represent to you, how especially necessary it is at this juncture, for his majesty's service, and the good of all his colonies in this part of his dominions, that peace and friendship be established between your governments and the _indians_ of the _six nations_. these _indians_, by their situation, are a frontier to some of them; and, from thence, if friends, are capable of defending their settlements; if enemies, of making cruel ravages upon them; if neuters, they may deny the _french_ a passage through their country, and give us timely notice of their designs. these are but some of the motives for cultivating a good understanding with them; but from hence the disadvantages of a rupture are abundantly evident. every advantage you gain over them in war will be a weakening of the barrier of those colonies, and consequently be, in effect, victories over yourselves and your fellow subjects. some allowances for their prejudices and passions, and a present now and then for the relief of their necessities, which have, in some measure, been brought upon them by their intercourse with us, and by our yearly extending our settlements, will probably tie them more closely to the _british_ interest. this has been the method of _new-york_ and _pensylvania_, and will not put you to so much expence in twenty years, as the carrying on a war against them will do in one. the _french_ very well know the importance of these nations to us, and will not fail by presents, and their other usual arts, to take advantage of any misunderstanding we may have with them[4]. but i will detain you, gentlemen, no longer. your own superior knowledge will suggest to you more than i can say on this subject. _friends and brethren, sachems, or chiefs of the_ indians _of the_ six nations: these, your brethren of _virginia_ and _maryland_, are come to enlarge the fire, which was almost gone out, and to make it burn clearer; to brighten the chain which had contracted some rust, and to renew their friendship with you; which it is their desire may last so long as the sun, the moon and the stars, shall give light. their powers are derived from the _great king_ of england, your father; and whatever conclusions they shall come to with you, will be as firm and binding as if the governors of these provinces were themselves here. i am your brother, and, which is more, i am your true friend. as you know, from experience, that i am so, i will now give you a few words of advice. receive these your brethren with open arms; unite yourselves to them in the covenant chain, and be you with them as one body, and one soul. i make no doubt but the governor of _canada_ has been taking pains to widen the breach between these your brethren of _virginia_ and you; but as you cannot have forgot the hatred the _french_ have always borne to your nations, and how kindly, on the contrary, you have been treated, how faithfully you have been protected by the _great king_ of england and his subjects, you will not be at a loss to see into the designs of that governor. he wants to divide you from us, in order the more easily to destroy you, which he will most certainly do, if you suffer yourselves to be deluded by him. as to what relates to the friendship established between the government of _pensylvania_ and your nations, i will take another day to speak to you upon it. _to enforce what had been said, the_ governor _laid down a belt of wampum_; _upon which the_ indians _gave the_ yo-hah[5]. after a short pause, the governor ordered the interpreter to tell the _indians_, that as they had greatly exceeded their appointed time for meeting the commissioners, he recommended to them to use all the expedition possible in giving their answer to what had been said, that they might forthwith proceed to treat with the respective commissioners on the business they came about. then _canassatego_ repeated to the interpreter the substance of what the governor had spoke, in order to know if he had understood him right (a method generally made use of by the _indians_) and when the interpreter told him he had taken the true sense, _canassatego_ proceeded to return the thanks of the _six nations_ for the governor's kind advice, promising to follow it as far as lay in their power; but as it was their custom when a belt was given to return another, they would take time till the afternoon to provide one, and would then give their answer. [footnote 3: this was allowed, at a conference had by the governor with the commissioners, to be a just state of the transactions preceding the treaty.] [footnote 4: the two preceding paragraphs were allowed by the commissioners of _virginia_, whilst they were at _philadelphia_, to be very proper to be spoken by the governor of _pensylvania_ at the opening of the treaty; but taking up an opinion, from what passed at the first friendly interview with the _indians_, that they would not make any claim upon lands within the government of _virginia_, the governor consented to decline speaking them in the presence of the _indians_.] [footnote 5: the _yo-hah_ denotes approbation, being a loud shout or cry, consisting of a few notes pronounced by all the _indians_ in a very musical manner, in the nature of our huzza's.] * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, june_ 25, 1744. _p. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. canassatego's _answer to the governor's speech delivered in the morning_. _brother_ onas, you spoke in the presence of _assaragoa_ and the governor of _maryland_ to us, advising us to receive them as our brethren, and to unite with them in the covenant chain as one body, and one soul. we have always considered them as our brethren, and, as such, shall be willing to brighten the chain of friendship with them; but since there are some disputes between us respecting the lands possessed by them, which formerly belonged to us, we, according to our custom, propose to have those differences first adjusted, and then we shall proceed to confirm the friendship subsisting between us, which will meet with no obstruction after these matters are settled. _here they presented the_ governor _with a belt of wampum, in return for the belt given them in the morning by the_ governor; _and the interpreter was ordered to return the_ yo-hah. _then the_ governor, _in reply, spoke as follows_: i receive your belt with great kindness and affection; and as to what relates to the governments of _virginia_ and _maryland_, the honourable commissioners, now present, are ready to treat with you. i shall only add, that the goods for the hundred pounds sterling, put into my hands by the governor of _virginia_, as a token of his good dispositions to preserve friendship with you, are now in town, and ready to be delivered, in consequence of what was told you by _conrad weiser_ when he was last at onandago. then the governor, turning to the commissioners of _virginia_ and _maryland_, said, gentlemen, i have now finished what was incumbent upon me to say by way of introduction to the _indians_; and as you have a full authority from your respective governments to treat with them, i shall leave the rest intirely to you, and either stay or withdraw, as you shall think most for your service. the commissioners said, they were all of opinion, it would be for their advantage that the governor should stay with them; and therefore they unanimously desired he would favour them with the continuance of his presence whilst they should be in treaty with the _indians_: which his honour said he would at their instance very readily do, believing it might expedite their business, and prevent any jealousy the _indians_ might conceive at his withdrawing. _the commissioners of_ maryland _ordered the interpreter to acquaint the_ indians _that the government of_ maryland _was going to speak to them, and then spoke as follows_: _friends and brethren of the united_ six nations, we, who are deputed from the government of _maryland_ by a commission under the great seal of that province, now in our hands (and which will be interpreted to you) bid you welcome; and in token that we are very glad to see you here as brethren, we give you this string of wampum. _upon which the_ indians _gave the_ yo-hah. when the governor of _maryland_ received the first notice, about seven years ago, of your claim to some lands in that province, he thought our good friends and brethren of the _six nations_ had little reason to complain of any injury from _maryland_, and that they would be so well convinced thereof, on farther deliberation, as he should hear no more of it; but you spoke of that matter again to the governor of _pensylvania_, about two years since, as if you designed to terrify us. it was very inconsiderately said by you, that you would do yourselves justice, by going to take payment yourselves: such an attempt would have intirely dissolved the chain of friendship subsisting, not only between us, but perhaps the other _english_ and you. we assure you, our people, who are numerous, courageous, and have arms ready in their hands, will not suffer themselves to be hurt in their lives and estates. but, however, the old and wise people of _maryland_ immediately met in council, and upon considering very cooly your rash expressions, agreed to invite their brethren, the _six nations_, to this place, that they might learn of them what right they have to the land in _maryland_, and, if they had any, to make them some reasonable compensation for it; therefore the governor of _maryland_ has sent us to meet and treat with you about this affair, and the brightening and strengthening the chain which hath long subsisted between us. and as an earnest of our sincerity and good-will towards you, we present you with this belt of wampum. _on which the_ indians _gave the_ yo-hah. our _great king of_ england, and his subjects, have always possessed the province of _maryland_ free and undisturbed from any claim of the _six nations_ for above one hundred years past, and your not saying any thing to us before, convinces us you thought you had no pretence to any lands in _maryland_; nor can we yet find out to what lands, or under what title you make your claim: for the _sasquahannah indians_, by a treaty above ninety years since (which is on the table, and will be interpreted to you) give, and yield to the _english_ nation, their heirs and assigns for ever, the greatest part (if not all) of the lands we possess, from _patuxent_ river, on the western, as well as from _choptank_ river, on the eastern side of the great bay of _chessapeak_. and, near sixty years ago, you acknowledged to the governor of _new-york_ at _albany_, "that you had given your lands, and submitted yourselves to the king of _england_." we are that great king's subjects, and we possess and enjoy the province of _maryland_ by virtue of his right and sovereignty thereto; why, then, will you stir up any quarrel between you and ourselves, who are as one man, under the protection of that great king? we need not put you in mind of the treaty (which we suppose you have had from your fathers) made with the province of _maryland_ near seventy years ago, and renewed and confirmed twice since that time. by these treaties we became brethren; we have always lived as such, and hope always to continue so. we have this further to say, that altho' we are not satisfied of the justice of your claim to any lands in _maryland_, yet we are desirous of shewing our brotherly kindness and affection, and to prevent (by any reasonable way) every misunderstanding between the province of _maryland_ and you our brethren of the _six nations_. for this purpose we have brought hither a quantity of goods for our brethren the _six nations_, and which will be delivered you as soon as we shall have received your answer, and made so bright and large a fire as may burn pure and clear whilst the sun and moon shall shine. we have now freely and openly laid our bosoms bare to you; and that you may be the better confirmed of the truth of our hearts, we give you this belt of wampum. _which was received with the_ yo-hah. _after a little time_ canassatego _spoke as follows:_ _brother, the governor_ of maryland, we have heard what you have said to us; and, as you have gone back to old times, we cannot give you an answer now, but shall take what you have said into consideration, and, return you our answer some time to morrow. he then sat down, and after some time he spoke again. _brother, the governor of_ maryland, if you have made any enquiry into _indian_ affairs, you will know, that we have always had our guns, hatchets and kettles mended when we came to see our brethren. brother _onas_, and the governor of _york_ always do this for us; and we give you this early notice, that we may not thereby be delayed, being desirous, as well as you, to give all possible dispatch to the business to be transacted between us. the commissioners of _virginia_ and _maryland_ said, since it was customary, they would give orders to have every thing belonging to them mended that should want it. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, june_ 26, 1744, _p. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, _&c._ the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations._ _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _c a n a s s a t e g o spoke as follows:_ _brother, the governor of_ maryland, when you invited us to kindle a council fire with you, _conedogwainet_ was the place agreed upon; but afterwards you, by brother _onas_, upon second thoughts, considering that it would be difficult to get provisions and other accommodations where there were but few houses or inhabitants, desired we would meet our brethren at _lancaster_, and at his instances we very readily agreed to meet you here, and are glad of the change; for we have found plenty of every thing; and as yesterday you bid us welcome, and told us you were glad to see us, we likewise assure you we are as glad to see you; and, in token of our satisfaction, we present you with this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony._ _brother, the governor of_ maryland, you tell us, that when about seven years ago you heard, by our brother _onas_, of our claim to some lands in your province, you took no notice of it, believing, as you say, that when we should come to reconsider that matter, we should find that we had no right to make any complaint of the governor of _maryland_, and would drop our demand. and that when about two years ago we mentioned it again to our brother _onas_, you say we did it in such terms as looked like a design to terrify you; and you tell us further, that we must be beside ourselves, in using such a rash expression as to tell you, we know how to do ourselves justice if you still refuse. it is true we did say so, but without any ill design; for we must inform you, that when we first desired our brother _onas_ to use his influence with you to procure us satisfaction for our lands, we, at the same time, desired him, in case you should disregard our demand, to write to the great king beyond the seas, who would own us for his children as well as you, to compel you to do us justice: and, two years ago, when we found that you had paid no regard to our just demand, nor that brother _onas_ had convey'd our complaint to the great king over the seas, we were resolved to use such expressions as would make the greatest impressions on your minds, and we find it had its effect; for you tell us, "that your wise men held a council together, and agreed to invite us, and to enquire of our right to any of your lands, and if it should be found that we had a right, we were to have a compensation made for them: and likewise you tell us, that our brother, the governor of _maryland_, by the advice of these wise men, has sent you to brighten the chain, and to assure us of his willingness to remove whatever impedes a good understanding between us." this shews that your wise men understood our expressions in their true sense. we had no design to terrify you, but to put you on doing us the justice you had so long delayed. your wise men have done well; and as there is no obstacle to a good understanding between us, except this affair of our land, we, on our parts, do give you the strongest assurances of our good disposition towards you, and that we are as desirous as you to brighten the chain, and to put away all hindrances to a perfect good understanding; and, in token of our sincerity, we give you this belt of wampum. _which was received, and the interpreter ordered to give the_ yo-hah. _brother, the governor of_ maryland, when you mentioned the affair of the land yesterday, you went back to old times, and told us, you had been in possession of the province of _maryland_ above one hundred years; but what is one hundred years in comparison of the length of time since our claim began? since we came out of this ground? for we must tell you, that long before one hundred years our ancestors came out of this very ground, and their children have remained here ever since. you came out of the ground in a country that lies beyond the seas, there you may have a just claim, but here you must allow us to be your elder brethren, and the lands to belong to us long before you knew any thing of them. it is true, that above one hundred years ago the _dutch_ came here in a ship, and brought with them several goods; such as awls, knives, hatchets, guns, and many other particulars, which they gave us; and when they had taught us how to use their things, and we saw what sort of people they were, we were so well pleased with them, that we tied their ship to the bushes on the shore; and afterwards, liking them still better the longer they staid with us, and thinking the bushes too slender, we removed the rope, and tied it to the trees; and as the trees were liable to be blown down by high winds, or to decay of themselves, we, from the affection we bore them, again removed the rope, and tied it to a strong and big rock [_here the interpreter said, they mean the_ oneido _country_] and not content with this, for its further security we removed the rope to the big mountain [_here the interpreter says they mean the_ onandago _country_] and there we tied it very fast, and roll'd wampum about it; and, to make it still more secure, we stood upon the wampum, and sat down upon it, to defend it, and to prevent any hurt coming to it, and did our best endeavours that it might remain uninjured for ever. during all this time the new-comers, the _dutch_, acknowledged our right to the lands, and sollicited us, from time to time, to grant them parts of our country, and to enter into league and covenant with us, and to become one people with us. after this the _english_ came into the country, and, as we were told, became one people with the _dutch_. about two years after the arrival of the _english_, an _english_ governor came to _albany_, and finding what great friendship subsisted between us and the _dutch_, he approved it mightily, and desired to make as strong a league, and to be upon as good terms with us as the _dutch_ were, with whom he was united, and to become one people with us: and by his further care in looking into what had passed between us, he found that the rope which tied the ship to the great mountain was only fastened with wampum, which was liable to break and rot, and to perish in a course of years; he therefore told us, he would give us a silver chain, which would be much stronger, and would last for ever. this we accepted, and fastened the ship with it, and it has lasted ever since. indeed we have had some small differences with the _english_, and, during these misunderstandings, some of their young men would, by way of reproach, be every now and then telling us, that we should have perished if they had not come into the country and furnished us with strowds and hatchets, and guns, and other things necessary for the support of life; but we always gave them to understand that they were mistaken, that we lived before they came amongst us, and as well, or better, if we may believe what our forefathers have told us. we had then room enough, and plenty of deer, which was easily caught; and tho' we had not knives, hatchets, or guns, such as we have now, yet we had knives of stone, and hatchets of stone, and bows and arrows, and those served our uses as well then as the _english_ ones do now. we are now straitened, and sometimes in want of deer, and liable to many other inconveniencies since the _english_ came among us, and particularly from that pen-and-ink work that is going on at the table (_pointing to the secretary_) and we will give you an instance of this. our brother _onas_, a great while ago, came to _albany_ to buy the _sasquahannah_ lands of us, but our brother the governor of _new-york_, who, as we suppose, had not a good understanding with our brother _onas_, advised us not to sell him any land, for he would make an ill use of it; and, pretending to be our good friend, he advised us, in order to prevent _onas_'s, or any other person's imposing upon us, and that we might always have our land when we should want it, to put it into his hands; and told us, he would keep it for our use, and never open his hands, but keep them close shut, and not part with any of it, but at our request. accordingly we trusted him, and put our land into his hands, and charged him to keep it safe for our use; but, some time after, he went to _england_, and carried our land with him, and there sold it to our brother _onas_ for a large sum of money; and when, at the instance of our brother _onas_, we were minded to sell him some lands, he told us we had sold the _sasquahannah_ lands already to the governor of _new-york_, and that he had bought them from him in _england_; tho', when he came to understand how the governor of _new-york_ had deceived us, he very generously paid us for our lands over again. tho' we mention this instance of an imposition put upon us by the governor of _new-york_, yet we must do the _english_ the justice to say, we have had their hearty assistances in our wars with the _french_, who were no sooner arrived amongst us than they began to render us uneasy, and to provoke us to war, and we had several wars with them; during all which we constantly received assistance from the _english_, and, by their means, we have always been able to keep up our heads against their attacks. we now come nearer home. we have had your deeds interpreted to us, and we acknowledge them to be good and valid, and that the _conestogoe_ or _sasquahannah indians_ had a right to sell those lands to you, for they were then theirs; but since that time we have conquered them, and their country now belongs to us, and the lands we demanded satisfaction for are no part of the lands comprized in those deeds; they are the _cohongorontas_[6] lands; those, we are sure, you have not possessed one hundred years, no, nor above ten years, and we made our demands so soon as we knew your people were settled in those parts. these have never been sold, but remain still to be disposed of; and we are well pleased to hear you are provided with goods, and do assure you of our willingness to treat with you for those unpurchased lands; in confirmation whereof, we present you with this belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremonies._ _c a n a s s a t e g o_ added, that as the three governors of _virginia, maryland_, and _pensylvania_, had divided the lands among them, they could not, for this reason, tell how much each had got, nor were they concerned about it, so that they were paid by all the governors for the several parts each possessed, and this they left to their honour and justice. [footnote 6: _cohongorontas_, i. e. _potomack_.] * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, june_ 27, 1744, _a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland._ the deputies of the _six nations._ _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _the commissioners of_ virginia _ordered the interpreter to let the_ indians _know the government of_ virginia _was going to speak to them, and then they spoke as follows:_ _sachems and warriors of the_ six united nations, _our friends and brethren,_ at our desire the governor of _pensylvania_ invited you to this council fire; we have waited a long time for you, but now you are come, you are heartily welcome; we are very glad to see you; we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with their usual approbation._ _brethren,_ in the year 1736, four of your sachems wrote a letter to _james logan_, esq; then president of _pensylvania_, to let the governor of _virginia_ know that you expected some consideration for lands in the occupation of some of the people of _virginia_. upon seeing a copy of this letter, the governor, with the council of _virginia_, took some time to consider of it. they found, on looking into the old treaties, that you had given up your lands to the great king, who has had possession of _virginia_ above one hundred and sixty years, and under that great king the inhabitants of _virginia_ hold their land, so they thought there might be some mistake. wherefore they desired the governor of _new-york_ to enquire of you about it. he sent his interpreter to you in _may,_ 1743, who laid this before you at a council held at _onandago_, to which you answer, "that if you had any demand or pretensions on the governor of _virginia_ any way, you would have made it known to the governor of _new-york_." this corresponds with what you have said to governor _thomas,_ in the treaty made with him at _philadelphia_ in _july_, 1742; for then you only make your claim to lands in the government of _maryland_. we are so well pleased with this good faith of you our brethren of the _six nations_, and your regard to the treaties made with _virginia_, that we are ready to hear you on the subject of your message eight years since. tell us what nations of _indians_ you conquered any lands from in _virginia_, how long it is since, and what possession you have had; and if it does appear, that there is any land on the borders of _virginia_ that the _six nations_ have a right to, we are willing to make you satisfaction. _then laid down a string of wampum, which was accepted with the usual ceremony, and then added,_ we have a chest of new goods, and the key is in our pockets. you are our brethren; the great king is our common father, and we will live with you, as children ought to do, in peace and love. we will brighten the chain, and strengthen the union between us; so that we shall never be divided, but remain friends and brethren as long as the sun gives light; in confirmation whereof, we give you this belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _t a c h a n o o n t i a_ replied: _brother_ assaragoa, you have made a good speech to us, which is very agreeable, and for which we return you our thanks. we shall be able to give you an answer to every part of it some time this afternoon, and we will let you know when we are ready. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, june_ 27, 1744, _p. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _t a c h a n o o n t i a spoke as follows_: _brother_ assaragoa, since you have joined with the governor of _maryland_ and brother _onas_ in kindling this fire, we gladly acknowledge the pleasure we have in seeing you here, and observing your good dispositions as well to confirm the treaties of friendship, as to enter into further contracts about land with us; and, in token of our satisfaction, we present you with this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremonies_. _brother_ assaragoa, in your speech this morning you were pleased to say we had wrote a letter to _james logan_, about seven years ago, to demand a consideration for our lands in the possession of some of the _virginians_; that you held them under the great king for upwards of one hundred and sixty years, and that we had already given up our right; and that therefore you had desired the governor of _new-york_ to send his interpreter to us last year to _onandago_, which he did; and, as you say, we in council at _onandago_ did declare, that we had no demand upon you for lands, and that if we had any pretensions, we should have made them known to the governor of _new-york_; and likewise you desire to know if we have any right to the _virginia_ lands, and that we will make such right appear, and tell you what nations of _indians_ we conquered those lands from. now we answer, we have the right of conquest, a right too dearly purchased, and which cost us too much blood, to give up without any reason at all, as you say we have done at _albany_; but we should be obliged to you, if you would let us see the letter, and inform us who was the interpreter, and whose names are put to that letter; for as the whole transaction cannot be above a year's standing, it must be fresh in every body's memory, and some of our council would easily remember it; but we assure you, and are well able to prove, that neither we, nor any part of us, have ever relinquished our right, or ever gave such an answer as you say is mentioned in your letter. could we, so few years ago, make a formal demand, by _james logan_, and not be sensible of our right? and hath any thing happened since that time to make us less sensible? no; and as this matter can be easily cleared up, we are anxious it should be done; for we are positive no such thing was ever mentioned to us at _onandago_, nor any where else. all the world knows we conquered the several nations living on _sasquahannah_, _cohongoronta_, and on the back of the great mountains in _virginia_; the _conoy-uch-such-roona_, _coch-now-was-roonan, tohoa-irough-roonan_, and _connutskin-ough-roonaw_, feel the effects of our conquests, being now a part of our nations, and their lands at our disposal. we know very well, it hath often been said by the _virginians_, that the _great king_ of england, and the people of that colony, conquered the _indians_ who lived there, but it is not true. we will allow they have conquered the _sachdagughroonaw_, and drove back the _tuscarroraws_, and that they have, on that account, a right to some part of _virginia_; but as to what lies beyond the mountains, we conquered the nations residing there, and that land, if the _virginians_ ever get a good right to it, it must be by us; and in testimony of the truth of our answer to this part of your speech, we give you this string of wampum _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _brother_ assaragoa, we have given you a full answer to the first part of your speech, which we hope will be satisfactory. we are glad to hear you have brought with you a big chest of new goods, and that you have the key in your pockets. we do not doubt but we shall have a good understanding in all points, and come to an agreement with you. we shall open all our hearts to you, that you may know every thing in them; we will hide nothing from you; and we hope, if there be any thing still remaining in your breast that may occasion any dispute between us, you will take the opportunity to unbosom your hearts, and lay them open to us, that henceforth there may be no dirt, nor any other obstacle in the road between us; and in token of our hearty wishes to bring about so good an harmony, we present you with this belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _brother_ assaragoa, we must now tell you what mountains we mean that we say are the boundaries between you and us. you may remember, that about twenty years ago you had a treaty with us at _albany_, when you took a belt of wampum, and made a fence with it on the middle of the hill, and told us, that if any of the warriors of the _six nations_ came on your side of the middle of the hill, you would hang them; and you gave us liberty to do the same with any of your people who should be found on our side of the middle of the hill. this is the hill we mean; and we desire that treaty may be now confirmed. after we left _albany_, we brought our road a great deal more to the west, that we might comply with your proposal; but, tho' it was of your own making, your people never observed it, but came and lived on our side of the hill, which we don't blame you for, as you live at a great distance, near the seas, and cannot be thought to know what your people do in the back-parts: and on their settling, contrary to your own proposal, on our new road, it fell out that our warriors did some hurt to your people's cattle, of which a complaint was made, and transmitted to us by our brother _onas_; and we, at his request, altered the road again, and brought it to the foot of the great mountain, where it now is; and it is impossible for us to remove it any further to the west, those parts of the country being absolutely impassable by either man or beast. we had not been long in the use of this new road before your people came, like flocks of birds, and sat down on both sides of it, and yet we never made a complaint to you, tho' you must be sensible those things must have been done by your people in manifest breach of your own proposal made at _albany_; and therefore, as we are now opening our hearts to you, we cannot avoid complaining, and desire all these affairs may be settled, and that you may be stronger induced to do us justice for what is past, and to come to a thorough settlement for the future, we, in the presence of the governor of _maryland_, and brother onas, present you with this belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _then_ tachanoontia _added_: that he forgot to say, that the affair of the road must be looked upon as a preliminary to be settled before the grant of lands; and, said he, either the _virginia_ people must be obliged to remove more easterly, or, if they are permitted to stay, our warriors, marching that way to the southward, shall go sharers with them in what they plant. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, june_ 28, 1744. _a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. the governor spoke as follows. _friends and brethren of the_ six nations, i am always sorry when any thing happens that may create the least uneasiness between us; but as we are mutually engaged to keep the road between us clear and open, and to remove every obstruction that may lie in the way, i must inform you, that three of the _delaware indians_ lately murdered _john armstrong_, an _indian_ trader, and his two men, in a most barbarous manner, as he was travelling to _allegheny_, and stole his goods of a considerable value. _shickcalamy_, and the _indians_ settled at _shamokin_, did well; they seized two of the murderers, and sent them down to our settlements; but the _indians_, who had the charge of them, afterwards suffered one of them to escape, on a pretence that he was not concerned in the bloody deed; the other is now in _philadelphia_ goal. by our law all the accessaries to a murder are to be tried, and put to death, as well as the person who gave the deadly wound. if they consented to it, encouraged it, or any ways assisted in it, they are to be put to death, and it is just it should be so. if, upon trial, the persons present at the murder are found not to have done any of these things, they are set at liberty. two of our people were, not many years ago, publickly put to death for killing two _indians_; we therefore expect you will take the most effectual measures to seize and deliver up to us the other two _indians_ present at these murders, to be tried with the principal now in custody. if it shall appear, upon their trial, that they were not advising, or any way assisting in this horrid fact, they will be acquitted, and sent home to their towns. and that you may be satisfied no injustice will be done to them, i do now invite you to depute three or four _indians_ to be present at their trials. i do likewise expect that you will order strict search to be made for the remainder of the stolen goods, that they may be restored to the wife and children of the deceased. that what i have said may have its due weight with you, i give you this string of wampum. _which was accepted with the_ yo-hah. the governor afterwards ordered the interpreter to tell them, he expected a very full answer from them, and that they might take their own time to give it; for he did not desire to interfere with the business of _virginia_ and _maryland_. they said they would take it into consideration, and give a full answer. then the commissioners of _virginia_ let them know, by the interpreter, that they would speak to them in the afternoon. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e chamber at _lancaster_, _june_ 28, 1744, _p. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _the commissioners desired the interpreter to tell the_ indians _they were going to speak to them_. _mr._ weiser _acquainted them herewith_. _after which the said commissioners spoke as follows_: _our good friends and brethren, the_ six _united_ nations, we have considered what you said concerning your title to some lands now in our province, and also of the place where they lie. altho' we cannot admit your right, yet we are so resolved to live in brotherly love and affection with the _six nations_, that upon your giving us a release in writing of all your claim to any lands in _maryland_, we shall make you a compensation to the value of three hundred pounds currency, for the payment of part whereof we have brought some goods, and shall make up the rest in what manner you think fit. as we intend to say something to you about our chain of friendship after this affair of the land is settled, we desire you will now examine the goods, and make an end of this matter. we will not omit acquainting our good friends the _six nations_, that notwithstanding we are likely to come to an agreement about your claim of lands, yet your brethren of _maryland_ look on you to be as one soul and one body with themselves; and as a broad road will be made between us, we shall always be desirous of keeping it clear, that we may, from time to time, take care that the links of our friendship be not rusted. in testimony that our words and our hearts agree, we give you this belt of wampum. _on presenting of which the_ indians _gave the usual cry of approbation_. mr. _weiser_ acquainted the _indians_, they might now look over the several goods placed on a table in the chamber for that purpose; and the honourable commissioners bid him tell them, if they disliked any of the goods, or, if they were damaged, the commissioners would put a less price on such as were either disliked or damnified. the _indians_ having viewed and examined the goods, and seeming dissatisfied at the price and worth of them, required time to go down into the court-house, in order for a consultation to be had by the chiefs of them concerning the said goods, and likewise that the interpreter might retire with them, which he did. accordingly they went down into the court-house, and soon after returned again into the chamber. mr. _weiser_ sat down among the _indians_, and discoursed them about the goods, and in some short time after they chose the following from among the others, and the price agreed to be given for them by the _six nations_ was, _viz_. _l. s. d._ four pieces of strowds, at 7 _l._ 28 00 00 two pieces ditto, 5 _l._ 10 00 00 two hundred shirts, 63 12 00 three pieces half-thicks, 11 00 00 three pieces duffle blankets, at 7 _l._ 21 00 00 one piece ditto, 6 10 00 forty seven guns, at 1 _l._ 6 _s._ 61 02 00 one pound of vermillion, 00 18 00 one thousand flints, 00 18 00 four dozen jews harps, 00 14 00 one dozen boxes, 00 1 00 one hundred two quarters bar-lead, 3 00 00 two quarters shot, 1 00 00 two half-barrels of gun-powder, 13 00 00 _________ 220 15 00 _pensylvannia currency_. when the _indians_ had agreed to take these goods at the rates above specified, they informed the interpreter, that they would give an answer to the speech made to them this morning by the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_, but did not express the time when such answer should be made. at 12 o'clock the commissioners departed the chamber. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, june_ 28, 1744. _p. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _the commissioners of_ virginia _desired the interpreter to let the_ indians _know, that their brother_ assaragoa _was now going to give his reply to their answer to his first speech, delivered them the day before in the forenoon_. _sachems and warriors of the united_ six nations, we are now come to answer what you said to us yesterday, since what we said to you before on the part of the great king, our father, has not been satisfactory. you have gone into old times, and so must we. it is true that the great king holds _virginia_ by right of conquest, and the bounds of that conquest to the westward is the great sea. if the _six nations_ have made any conquest over _indians_ that may at any time have lived on the west-side of the great mountains of _virginia_, yet they never possessed any lands there that we have ever heard of. that part was altogether deserted, and free for any people to enter upon, as the people of _virginia_ have done, by order of the great king, very justly, as well by ancient right, as by its being freed from the possession of any other, and from any claim even of you the _six nations_, our brethren, until within these eight years. the first treaty between the great king, in behalf of his subjects of _virginia_, and you, that we can find, was made at _albany_, by colonel _henry coursey_, seventy years since; this was a treaty of friendship, when the first covenant chain was made, when we and you became brethren. the next treaty was also at _albany_, above fifty-eight years ago, by the lord _howard_, governor of _virginia_; then you declared yourselves subjects to the great king, our father, and gave up to him all your lands for his protection. this you own in a treaty made by the governor of _new-york_ with you at the same place in the year 1687, and you express yourself in these words, "brethren, you tell us the king of _england_ is a very great king, and why should not you join with us in a very just cause, when the _french_ join with our enemies in an unjust cause? o brethren, we see the reason of this; for the _french_ would fain kill us all, and when that is done, they would carry all the beaver trade to _canada_, and the _great king of_ england would lose the land likewise; and therefore, o great sachem, beyond the great lakes, awake, and suffer not those poor _indians_, that have given themselves and their lands under your protection, to be destroyed by the _french_ without a cause." the last treaty we shall speak to you about is that made at _albany_ by governor _spotswood_, which you have not recited as it is: for the white people, your brethren of _virginia_, are, in no article of that treaty, prohibited to pass, and settle to the westward of the great mountains. it is the _indians_, tributary to _virginia_, that are restrained, as you and your tributary _indians_ are from passing to the eastward of the same mountains, or to the southward of _cohongorooton_, and you agree to this article in these words; "that the great river of _potowmack_, and the high ridge of mountains, which extend all along the frontiers of _virginia_ to the westward of the present settlements of that colony, shall be for ever the established boundaries between the _indians_ subject to the dominions of _virginia_, and the _indians_ belonging to and depending on the _five nations_; so that neither our _indians_ shall on any pretence whatsoever, pass to northward or westward of the said boundaries, without having to produce a passport under the hand and seal of the governor or commander in chief of _virginia_; nor your _indians_ to pass to the southward or eastward of the said boundaries, without a passport in like manner from the governor or commander in chief of _new-york_." and what right can you have to lands that you have no right to walk upon, but upon certain conditions? it is true, you have not observed this part of the treaty, and your brethren of _virginia_ have not insisted upon it with a due strictness, which has occasioned some mischief. this treaty has been sent to the governor of _virginia_ by order of the great king, and is what we must rely on, and, being in writing, is more certain than your memory. that is the way the white people have of preserving transactions of every kind, and transmitting them down to their childrens children for ever, and all disputes among them are settled by this faithful kind of evidence, and must be the rule between the great king and you. this treaty your sachems and warriors signed some years after the same governor _spotswood_, in the right of the great king, had been, with some people of _virginia_, in possession of these very lands, which you have set up your late claim to. the commissioners for _indian_ affairs at _albany_ gave the account we mentioned to you yesterday to the governor of _new-york_, and he sent it to the governor of _virginia_; their names will be given you by the interpreter. _brethren_, this dispute is not between _virginia_ and you; it is setting up your right against the great king, under whose grants the people you complain of are settled. nothing but a command from the great king can remove them; they are too powerful to be removed by any force of you, our brethren; and the great king, as our common father, will do equal justice to all his children; wherefore we do believe they will be confirmed in their possessions. as to the road you mention, we intended to prevent any occasion for it, by making a peace between you and the southern _indians_, a few years since, at a considerable expence to our great king, which you confirmed at _albany_. it seems, by your being at war with the _catawbas_, that it has not been long kept between you. however, if you desire a road, we will agree to one on the terms of the treaty you made with colonel _spotswood_, and your people, behaving themselves orderly like friends and brethren, shall be used in their passage through _virginia_ with the same kindness as they are when they pass through the lands of your brother _onas_. this we hope, will be agreed to by you our brethren, and we will abide by the promise made to you yesterday. we may proceed to settle what we are to give you for any right you may have, or have had to all the lands to the southward and westward of the lands of your brother the governor of _maryland_, and of your brother onas; tho' we are informed that the southern _indians_ claim these very lands that you do. we are desirous to live with you, our brethren, according to the old chain of friendship, to settle all these matters fairly and honestly; and, as a pledge of our sincerity, we give you this belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e chamber at _lancaster_, _june_ 29, 1744, _a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _mr._ weiser _informed the honourable commissioners_, _that the_ indians _were ready to give their answer to the speech made to them here yesterday morning by the commissioners_; _whereupon_ canassatego _spoke as follows, looking on a deal-board, where were some black lines, describing the courses of_ potowmack _and_ sasquahanna: _brethren_, yesterday you spoke to us concerning the lands on this side _potowmack_ river, and as we have deliberately considered what you said to us on that matter, we are now very ready to settle the bounds of such lands, and release our right and claim thereto. we are willing to renounce all right to lord _baltimore_ of all those lands lying two miles above the uppermost fork of _potowmack_ or _cohongoruton_ river, near which _thomas cressap_ has a hunting or trading cabin, by a north-line, to the bounds of _pensylvania_. but in case such limits shall not include every settlement or inhabitant of _maryland_, then such other lines and courses, from the said two miles above the forks, to the outermost inhabitants or settlements, as shall include every settlement and inhabitant in _maryland_, and from thence, by a north-line, to the bounds of _pensylvannia_, shall be the limits. and further, if any people already have, or shall settle beyond the lands now described and bounded, they shall enjoy the same free from any disturbance whatever, and we do, and shall accept these people for our brethren, and as such always treat them. we earnestly desire to live with you as brethren, and hope you will shew us all brotherly kindness; in token whereof, we present you with a belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. soon after the commissioners and _indians_ departed from the court-house chamber. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e chamber at _lancaster_, _june_ 30, 1744, _a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. gachradodow, _speaker for the_ indians, _in answer to the commissioners speech at the last meeting_, _with a strong voice, and proper action, spoke as follows_: _brother_ assaragoa, the world at the first was made on the other side of the great water different from what it is on this side, as may be known from the different colours of our skin, and of our flesh, and that which you call justice may not be so amongst us; you have your laws and customs, and so have we. the great king might send you over to conquer the _indians_, but it looks to us that god did not approve of it; if he had, he would not have placed the sea where it is, as the limits between us and you. _brother_ assaragoa, tho' great things are well remembered among us, yet we don't remember that we were ever conquered by the great king, or that we have been employed by that great king to conquer others; if it was so, it is beyond our memory. we do remember we were employed by _maryland_ to conquer the _conestogoes_, and that the second time we were at war with them, we carried them all off. _brother_ assaragoa, you charge us with not acting agreeable to our peace with the _catawbas_, we will repeat to you truly what was done. the governor of _new-york_, at _albany_, in behalf of _assaragoa_, gave us several belts of wampum from the _cherikees_ and _catawbas_, and we agreed to a peace, if those nations would send some of their great men to us to confirm it face to face, and that they would trade with us; and desired that they would appoint a time to meet at _albany_ for that purpose, but they never came. _brother_ assaragoa, we then desired a letter might be sent to the _catawbas_ and _cherikees_, to desire them to come and confirm the peace. it was long before an answer came; but we met the _cherikees_, and confirmed the peace, and sent some of our people to take care of them, until they returned to their own country. the _catawbas_ refused to come, and sent us word, that we were but women, that they were men, and double men, that they could make women of us, and would be always at war with us. they are a deceitful people. our brother _assaragoa_ is deceived by them; we don't blame him for it, but are sorry he is so deceived. _brother_ assaragoa, we have confirmed the peace with the _cherikees_, but not with the _catawbas_. they have been treacherous, and know it; so that the war must continue till one of us is destroyed. this we think proper to tell you, that you may not be troubled at what we do to the _catawbas_. _brother_ assaragoa, we will now speak to the point between us. you say you will agree with us as to the road; we desire that may be the road which was last made (the waggon-road.) it is always, a custom among brethren or strangers to use each other kindly; you have some very ill-natured people living up there; so that we desire the persons in power may know that we are to have reasonable victuals when we are in want. you know very well, when the white people came first here they were poor; but now they have got our lands, and are by them become rich, and we are now poor; what little we have had for the land goes soon away, but the land lasts for ever. you told us you had brought with you a chest of goods, and that you have the key in your pockets; but we have never seen the chest, nor the goods that are said to be in it; it may be small, and the goods few; we want to see them, and are desirous to come to some conclusion. we have been sleeping here these ten days past, and have not done any thing to the purpose. the commissioners told them they should see the goods on _monday_. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, june_ 30, 1744, _p. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, &c. the honourable commissioner of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. the three governments entertained the _indians_, and all the gentlemen in town, with a handsome dinner. the _six nations_, in their order, having returned thanks with the usual solemnity of _yo-ha-han_, the interpreter informed the governor and the commissioners, that as the lord proprietor and governor of _maryland_ was not known to the _indians_ by any particular name, they had agreed, in council, to take the first opportunity of a large company to present him with one; and as this with them is deemed a matter of great consequence, and attended with abundance of form, the several nations had drawn lots for the performance of the ceremony, and the lot falling on the _cayogo_ nation, they had chosen _gachradodow_, one of their chiefs, to be their speaker, and he desired leave to begin; which being given, he, on an elevated part of the court-house, with all the dignity of a warrior, the gesture of an orator, and in a very graceful posture, said that: "as the governor of _maryland_ had invited them here to treat about their lands, and brighten the chain of friendship, the united nations thought themselves so much obliged to them, that they had come to a resolution in council to give to the great man, who is proprietor of _maryland_, a particular name, by which they might hereafter correspond with him; and as it had fallen to the _cayogoes_ lot in council to consider of a proper name for that chief man, they had agreed to give him the name of _tocarry-hogan_, denoting precedency, excellency, or living in the middle or honourable place betwixt _assaragoa_ and their brother _onas_, by whom their treaties might be better carried on." and then, addressing himself to his honour the governor of _pensylvania_, the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_ and _maryland_, and to the gentlemen then present, he proceeded: "as there is a company of great men now assembled, we take this time and opportunity to publish this matter, that it may be known _tocarry-hogan_ is our friend, and that we are ready to honour him, and that by such name he may be always called and known among us. and we hope he will ever act towards us according to the excellency of the name we have now given him, and enjoy a long and happy life." the honourable the governor and commissioners, and all the company present, returned the compliment with three huzza's, and, after drinking healths to our gracious king and the _six nations_, the commissioners of _maryland_ proceeded to business in the court-house chamber with the _indians_, where _conrad weiser_, the interpreter, was present. the honourable the commissioners ordered mr. _weiser_ to tell the _indians_, that a deed, releasing all their claim and title to certain lands lying in the province of _maryland_, which by them was agreed to be given and executed for the use of the lord baron of _baltimore_, lord proprietary of that province, was now on the table, and seals ready fixed thereto. the interpreter acquainted them therewith as desired, and then gave the deed to _canassatego_, the speaker, who made his mark, and put his seal, and delivered it; after which, thirteen other chiefs or sachems of the _six nations_ executed it in the same manner, in the presence of the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_, and divers other gentlemen of that colony, and of the provinces of _pensylvania_ and _maryland_. * * * * * at the house of mr. _george sanderson_ in _lancaster_, _july_ 2, 1744, _a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. the several chiefs of the _indians_ of the _six nations_, who had not signed the deed of release of their claim to some lands in _maryland_, tendered to them on _saturday_ last, in the chamber of the court-house in this town, did now readily execute the same, and caused mr. _weiser_ likewise to sign it, as well with his _indian_, as with his own proper name of _weiser_, as a witness and interpreter. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, july_ 2, 1744, _a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_ esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _c a n a s s a t e g o spoke as follows_: _brother_ onas, the other day you was pleased to tell us, you were always concerned whenever any thing happened that might give you or us uneasiness, and that we were mutually engaged to preserve the road open and clear between us; and you informed us of the murder of _john armstrong_, and his two men, by some of the _delaware indians_, and of their stealing his goods to a considerable value. the _delaware indians_, as you suppose, are under our power. we join with you in your concern for such a vile proceeding; and, to testify that we have the same inclinations with you to keep the road clear, free and open, we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _brother_ onas, these things happen frequently, and we desire you will consider them well, and not be too much concerned. three _indians_ have been killed at different times at _ohio_, and we never mentioned any of them to you, imagining it might have been occasioned by some unfortunate quarrels, and being unwilling to create a disturbance. we therefore desire you will consider these things well, and, to take the grief from your heart, we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremonies_. _brother_ onas, we have heard of the murder of _john armstrong_, and, in our journey here, we had conference with our cousins the _delawares_ about it, and reproved them severely for it, and charged them to go down to our brother _onas_, and make him satisfaction, both for the men that were killed, and for the goods. we understood, by them, that the principal actor in these murders is in your prison, and that he had done all the mischief himself; but that besides him, you had required and demanded two others who were in his company when the murders were committed. we promise faithfully, in our return, to renew our reproofs, and to charge the _delawares_ to send down some of their chiefs with these two young men (but not as prisoners) to be examined by you; and as we think, upon examination, you will not find them guilty, we rely on your justice not to do them any harm, but to permit them to return home in safety. we likewise understand, that search has been made for the goods belonging to the deceased, and that some have been already returned to your people, but that some are still missing. you may depend upon our giving the strictest charge to the _delawares_ to search again with more diligence for the goods, and to return them, or the value of them, in skins. and, to confirm what we have said, we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremonies_. _brother_ onas, the _conoy indians_ have informed us, that they sent you a message, some time ago, to advise you, that they were ill used by the white people in the place where they had lived, and that they had come to a resolution of removing to _shamokin_, and requested some small satisfaction for their land; and as they never have received any answer from you, they have desired us to speak for them; we heartily recommend their case to your generosity. and, to give weight to our recommendation, we present you with this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _the governor having conferred a little time with the honourable commissioners of_ virginia _and_ maryland, _made the following reply_: _brethren_, i am glad to find that you agree with me in the necessity of keeping the road between us clear and open, and the concern you have expressed on account of the barbarous murders mentioned to you, is a proof of your brotherly affection for us. if crimes of this nature be not strictly enquired into, and the criminals severely punished, there will be an end of all commerce between us and the _indians_, and then you will be altogether in the power of the _french_. they will set what price they please on their own goods, and give you what they think fit for your skins; so it is for your own interest that our traders should be safe in their persons and goods when they travel to your towns. _brethren_, i considered this matter well before i came from _philadelphia_, and i advised with the council there upon it, as i have done here with the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_ and _maryland_. i never heard before of the murder of the three _indians_ at _ohio_; had complaint been made to me of it, and it had appeared to have been committed by any of the people under my government, they should have been put to death, as two of them were, some years ago, for killing two _indians_. you are not to take your own satisfaction, but to apply to me, and i will see that justice be done you; and should any of the _indians_ rob or murder any of our people, i do expect that you will deliver them up to be tried and punished in the same manner as white people are. this is the way to preserve friendship between us, and will be for your benefit as well as ours. i am well pleased with the steps you have already taken, and the reproofs you have given to your cousins the _delawares_, and do expect you will lay your commands upon some of their chiefs to bring down the two young men that were present at the murders; if they are not brought down, i shall look upon it as a proof of their guilt. if, upon examination, they shall be found not to have been concerned in the bloody action, they shall be well used, and sent home in safety: i will take it upon myself to see that they have no injustice done them. an inventory is taken of the goods already restored, and i expect satisfaction will be made for such as cannot be found, in skins, according to promise. i well remember the coming down of one of the _conoy indians_ with a paper, setting forth, that the _conoys_ had come to a resolution to leave the land reserved for them by the proprietors, but he made no complaint to me of ill usage from the white people. the reason he gave for their removal was, that the settling of the white people all round them had made deer scarce, and that therefore they chose to remove to _juniata_ for the benefit of hunting. i ordered what they said to be entered in the council-book. the old man's expences were born, and a blanket given him at his return home. i have not yet heard from the proprietors on this head; but you may be assured, from the favour and justice they have always shewn to the _indians_, that they will do every thing that may be reasonably expected of them in this case. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e chamber at _lancaster_, _july_ 2, 1744, _p. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _the_ indians _being told, by the interpreter, that their brother_ assaragoa _was going to speak to them, the commissioners spoke as follows_: _sachems and warriors, our friends and brethren_, as we have already said enough to you on the subject of the title to the lands you claim from _virginia_, we have no occasion to say any thing more to you on that head, but come directly to the point. we have opened the chest, and the goods are now here before you; they cost two hundred pounds _pensylvania_ money, and were bought by a person recommended to us by the governor of _pensylvania_ with ready cash. we ordered them to be good in their kinds, and we believe they are so. these goods, and two hundred pounds in gold, which lie on the table, we will give you, our brethren of the _six nations_, upon condition that you immediately make a deed recognizing the king's right to all the lands that are, or shall be, by his majesty's appointment in the colony of _virginia_. as to the road, we agree you shall have one, and the regulation is in paper, which the interpreter now has in his custody to shew you. the people of _virginia_ shall perform their part, if you and your _indians_ perform theirs; we are your brethren, and will do no hardships to you, but, on the contrary, all the kindness we can. the _indians_ agreed to what was said, and _canassatego_ desired they would represent their case to the king, in order to have a further consideration when the settlement increased much further back. to which the commissioners agreed, and promised they would make such a representation faithfully and honestly; and, for their further security that they would do so, they would give them a writing, under their hands and seals, to that purpose. they desired that some rum might be given them to drink on their way home, which the commissioners agreed to, and paid them in gold for that purpose, and the carriage of their goods from _philadelphia_, nine pounds thirteen shillings, and three-pence, _pensylvania_ money. _canassatego_ further said, that as their brother _tocarry-hogan_ sent them provision on the road here, which kept them from starving, he hoped their brother _assaragoa_ would do the same for them back, and have the goods he gave them carried to the usual place; which the commissioners agreed to, and ordered provisions and carriages to be provided accordingly. after this conference the deed was produced, and the interpreter explained it to them; and they, according to their rank and quality, put their marks and seals to it in the presence of several gentlemen of _maryland, pensylvania_ and _virginia_; and when they delivered the deed, _canassatego_ delivered it for the use of their father, the great king, and hoped he would consider them; on which the gentlemen and _indians_ then present gave three shouts. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, tuesday_, _july_ 3, 1744, _a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_, esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _the_ governor _spoke as follows_: _friends and brethren of the_ six nations, at a treaty held with many of the chiefs of your nations two years ago, the road between us was made clearer and wider; our fire was enlarged, and our friendship confirmed by an exchange of presents, and many other mutual good offices. we think ourselves happy in having been instrumental to your meeting with our brethren of _virginia_ and _maryland_; and we persuade ourselves, that you, on your parts, will always remember it as an instance of our good-will and affection for you. this has given us an opportunity of seeing you sooner than perhaps we should otherwise have done; and, as we are under mutual obligations by treaties, we to hear with our ears for you, and you to hear with your ears for us, we take this opportunity to inform you of what very nearly concerns us both. the _great king of_ england and the _french_ king have declared war against each other. two battles have been fought, one by land, and the other by sea. the _great king of_ england commanded the land-army in person, and gained a compleat victory. numbers of the _french_ were killed and taken prisoners, and the rest were forced to pass a river with precipitation to save their lives. the great god covered the king's head in that battle, so that he did not receive the least hurt; for which you, as well as we, have reason to be very thankful. the engagement at sea was likewise to the advantage of the _english_. the _french_ and _spaniards_ joined their ships together, and came out to fight us. the brave _english_ admiral burnt one of their largest ships, and many others were so shattered, that they were glad to take the opportunity of a very high wind, and a dark night, to run away, and to hide themselves again in their own harbours. had the weather proved fair, he would, in all probability, have taken or destroyed them all. i need not put you in mind how much _william penn_ and his sons have been your friends, and the friends of all the _indians_. you have long and often experienced their friendship for you; nor need i repeat to you how kindly you were treated, and what valuable presents were made to you two years ago by the governor, the council, and the assembly of _pensylvania_. the sons of _william penn_ are all now in _england_, and have left me in their place, well knowing how much i regard you and all the _indians_. as a fresh proof of this, i have left my house, and am come thus far to see you, to renew our treaties, to brighten the covenant-chain, and to confirm our friendship with you. in testimony whereof, i present you with this belt of wampum. _which was received with the_ yo-hah. as your nations have engaged themselves by treaty to assist us, your brethren of _pensylvania_, in case of a war with the _french_, we do not doubt but you will punctually perform an engagement so solemnly entered into. a war is now declared, and we expect that you will not suffer the _french_, or any of the _indians_ in alliance with them, to march through your country to disturb any of our settlements; and that you will give us the earliest and best intelligence of any designs that may be formed by them to our disadvantage, as we promise to do of any that may be to yours. to enforce what i have now said to you in the strongest manner, i present you with this belt of wampum. _which was received with the_ yo-hah. _after a little pause his honour, the_ governor, _spoke again_: _friends and brethren of the_ six nations, what i have now said to you is in conformity to treaties subsisting between the province of which i am governor and your nations. i now proceed, with the consent of the honourable commissioners for _virginia_ and _maryland_, to tell you, that all differences having been adjusted, and the roads between us and you made quite clear and open, we are ready to confirm our treaties with your nations, and establish a friendship that is not to end, but with the world itself. and, in behalf of the province of _pensylvania_, i do, by this fine belt of wampum, and a present of goods, to the value of three hundred pounds, confirm and establish the said treaties of peace, union and friendship, you on your parts doing the same. _which was received with a loud_ yo-hah. the governor further added, the goods bought with the one hundred pounds sterling, put into my hands by the governor of _virginia_, are ready to be delivered when you please. the goods bought and sent up by the people of the province of _pensylvania_, according to the list which the interpreter will explain, are laid by themselves, and are likewise ready to be delivered to you at your own time. _after a little pause the commissioners of_ virginia _spoke as follows_: _sachems and warriors of the_ six nations, the way between us being made smooth by what passed yesterday, we desire now to confirm all former treaties made between _virginia_ and you, our brethren of the _six nations_, and to make our chain of union and friendship as bright as the sun, that it may not contract any more rust for ever; that our childrens children may rejoice at, and confirm what we have done; and that you and your children may not forget it, we give you one hundred pounds in gold, and this belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _friends and brethren_, altho' we have been disappointed in our endeavours to bring about a peace between you and the _catawbas_, yet we desire to speak to you something more about them. we believe they have been unfaithful to you, and spoke of you with a foolish contempt; but this may be only the rashness of some of their young men. in this time of war with our common enemies the _french_ and _spaniards_, it will be the wisest way to be at peace among ourselves. they, the _catawbas_, are also children of the great king, and therefore we desire you will agree, that we may endeavour to make a peace between you and them, that we may be all united by one common chain of friendship. we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _brethren_, our friend, _conrad weiser_, when he is old, will go into the other world, as our fathers have done, our children will then want such a friend to go between them and your children, to reconcile any differences that may happen to arise between them, that, like him, may have the ears and tongues of our children and yours. the way to have such a friend, is for you to send three or four of your boys to _virginia_, where we have a fine house for them to live in, and a man on purpose to teach the children of you, our friends, the religion, language and customs of the white people. to this place we kindly invite you to send some of your children; and we promise you they shall have the same care taken of them, and be instructed in the same manner as our own children, and be returned to you again when you please; and, to confirm this, we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _then the commissioners of_ maryland _spoke as follows_: _friends and brethren, the chiefs or sachems of the_ six _united_ nations, the governor of _maryland_ invited you hither, we have treated you as friends, and agreed with you as brethren. as the treaty now made concerning the lands in _maryland_ will, we hope, prevent effectually every future misunderstanding between us on that account, we will now bind faster the links of our chain of friendship, by a renewal of all our former treaties; and that they may still be the better secured, we shall present you with one hundred pounds in gold. what we have further to say to you is, let not our chain contract any rust; whenever you perceive the least speck, tell us of it, and we will make it clean. this we also expect of you, that it may always continue so bright as our generations may see their faces in it; and, in pledge of the truth of what we have now spoken, and our affection to you, we give you this belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony._ _c a n a s s a t e g o, in return, spoke as follows_: _brother_ onas, assaragoa, _and_ tocarry-hogan, we return you thanks for your several speeches, which are very agreeable to us. they contain matters of such great moment, that we propose to give them a very serious consideration, and to answer them suitably to their worth and excellence; and this will take till to-morrow morning, and when we are ready we will give you due notice. you tell us you beat the _french_; if so, you must have taken a great deal of rum from them, and can the better spare us some of that liquor to make us rejoice with you in the victory. the governor and commissioners ordered a dram of rum to be given to each in a small glass, calling it, _a french glass_. * * * * * in the c o u r t-h o u s e at _lancaster, july 4, 1744, a. m._ p r e s e n t, the honourable _g e o r g e t h o m a s_ esq; governor, &c. the honourable the commissioners of _virginia_. the honourable the commissioners of _maryland_. the deputies of the _six nations_. _conrad weiser_, interpreter. _c a n a s s a t e g o speaker._ _brother_ onas, yesterday you expressed your satisfaction in having been instrumental to our meeting with our brethren of _virginia_ and _maryland_, we, in return, assure you, that we have great pleasure in this meeting, and thank you for the part you have had in bringing us together, in order to create a good understanding, and to clear the road; and, in token of our gratitude, we present you with this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony._ _brother_ onas, you was pleased yesterday to inform us, "that war had been declared between _the great king of_ england and the _french_ king; that two great battles had been fought, one by land, and the other at sea; with many other particulars." we are glad to hear the arms of the king of _england_ were successful, and take part with you in your joy on this occasion. you then came nearer home, and told us, "you had left your house, and were come thus far on behalf of the whole people of _pensylvania_ to see us; to renew your treaties, to brighten the covenant-chain, and to confirm your friendship with us." we approve this proposition, we thank you for it. we own, with pleasure, that the covenant-chain between us and _pensylvania_ is of old standing, and has never contracted any rust; we wish it may always continue as bright as it has done hitherto; and, in token of the sincerity of our wishes, we present you with this belt of wampum. _which was received with the_ yo-hah. _brother onas_, you was pleased yesterday to remind us of our mutual obligation to assist each other in case of a war with the _french_, and to repeat the substance of what we ought to do by our treaties with you; and that as a war had been already entered into with the _french_, you called upon us to assist you, and not to suffer the _french_ to march through our country to disturb any of your settlements. in answer, we assure you we have all these particulars in our hearts, they are fresh in our memory. we shall never forget that you and we have but one heart, one head, one eye, one ear, and one hand. we shall have all your country under our eye, and take all the care we can to prevent any enemy from coming into it; and, in proof of our care, we must inform you, that before we came here, we told _onandio_[7], our father, as he is called, that neither he, nor any of his people, should come through our country, to hurt our brethren the _english_, or any of the settlements belonging to them; there was room enough at sea to fight, there he might do what he pleased, but he should not come upon our land to do any damage to our brethren. and you may depend upon our using our utmost care to see this effectually done; and, in token of our sincerity, we present you with this belt of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony._ _after some little time the interpreter said_, canassatego _had forgot something material, and desired to mend his speech, and to do so as often as he should omit any thing of moment, and thereupon he added:_ the _six nations_ have a great authority and influence over sundry tribes of _indians_ in alliance with the _french_, and particularly over the _praying indians_, formerly a part with ourselves, who stand in the very gates of the _french_; and, to shew our further care, we have engaged these very _indians_, and other _indian_ allies of the _french_ for you. they will not join the _french_ against you. they have agreed with us before we set out. we have put the spirit of antipathy against the _french_ in those people. our interest is very considerable with them, and many other nations, and as far as ever it extends, we shall use it for your service. the governor said, _canassatego_ did well to mend his speech; he might always do it whenever his memory should fail him in any point of consequence, and he thanked him for the very agreeable addition. _brother_ assaragoa, you told us yesterday, that all disputes with you being now at an end, you desired to confirm all former treaties between _virginia_ and us, and to make our chain of union as bright as the sun. we agree very heartily with you in these propositions; we thank you for your good inclinations; we desire you will pay no regard to any idle stories that may be told to our prejudice. and, as the dispute about the land is now intirely over, and we perfectly reconciled, we hope, for the future, we shall not act towards each other but as becomes brethren and hearty friends. we are very willing to renew the friendship with you, and to make it as firm as possible, for us and our children with you and your children to the latest generation, and we desire you will imprint these engagements on your hearts in the strongest manner; and, in confirmation that we shall do the same, we give you this belt of wampum. _which was received with_ yo-hah _from the interpreter, and all the nations_. _brother_ assaragoa, you did let us know yesterday, that tho' you had been disappointed in your endeavours to bring about a peace between us and the _catawbas_, yet you would still do the best to bring such a thing about. we are well pleased with your design, and the more so, as we hear you know what sort of people the _catawbas_ are, that they are spiteful and offensive, and have treated us contemptuously. we are glad you know these things of the _catawbas_; we believe what you say to be true, that there are, notwithstanding, some amongst them who are wiser and better; and, as you say, they are your brethren, and belong to the great king over the water, we shall not be against a peace on reasonable terms, provided they will come to the northward to treat about it. in confirmation of what we say, and to encourage you in your undertaking, we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremonies_. _brother_ assaragoa, you told us likewise, you had a great house provided for the education of youth, and that there were several white people and _indians_ children there to learn languages, and to write and read, and invited us to send some of our children amongst you, &c. we must let you know we love our children too well to send them so great a way, and the _indians_ are not inclined to give their children learning. we allow it to be good, and we thank you for your invitation; but our customs differing from yours, you will be so good as to excuse us. we hope _tarachawagon_[8] will be preserved by the good spirit to a good old age; when he is gone under ground, it will be then time enough to look out for another; and no doubt but amongst so many thousands as there are in the world, one such man may be found, who will serve both parties with the same fidelity as _tarachawagon_ does; while he lives there is no room to complain. in token of our thankfulness for your invitation, we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual ceremony_. _brother_ tocarry-hogan, you told us yesterday, that since there was now nothing in controversy between us, and the affair of the land was settled to your satisfaction, you would now brighten the chain of friendship which hath subsisted between you and us ever since we became brethren; we are well pleased with the proposition, and we thank you for it; we also are inclined to renew all treaties, and keep a good correspondence with you. you told us further, if ever we should perceive the chain had contracted any rust, to let you know, and you would take care to take the rust out, and preserve it bright. we agree with you in this, and shall, on our parts, do every thing to preserve a good understanding, and to live in the same friendship with you as with our brother _onas_ and _assaragoa_; in confirmation whereof we give you this belt of wampum. _on which the usual cry of_ yo-hah _was given_. _brethren_, we have now finished our answer to what you said to us yesterday, and shall now proceed to _indian_ affairs, that are not of so general a concern. _brother_ assaragoa, there lives a nation of _indians_ on the other side of your country, the _tuscaroraes_, who are our friends, and with whom we hold correspondence; but the road between us and them has been stopped for some time, on account of the misbehaviour of some of our warriors. we have opened a new road for our warriors, and they shall keep to that; but as that would be inconvenient for messengers going to the _tuscaroraes_, we desire they may go the old road. we frequently send messengers to one another, and shall have more occasion to do so now that we have concluded a peace with the _cherikees_. to enforce our request, we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual cry of approbation_. _brother_ assaragoa, among these _tuscaroraes_ there live a few families of the _conoy indians_, who are desirous to leave them, and to remove to the rest of their nation among us, and the strait road from them to us lies through the middle of your country. we desire you will give them free passage through _virginia_, and furnish them with passes; and, to enforce our request, we give you this string of wampum. _which was received with the usual cry of approbation_. _brother_ onas, assaragoa, _and_ tocarry-hogan, at the close of your respective speeches yesterday, you made us very handsome presents, and we should return you something suitable to your generosity; but, alas! we are poor, and shall ever remain so, as long as there are so many _indian_ traders among us. theirs and the white peoples cattle have eat up all the grass, and make deer scarce. however, we have provided a small present for you, and though some of you gave us more than others, yet, as you are all equally our brethren, we shall leave it to you to divide it as you please.--and then presented three bundles of skins, which were received with the usual ceremony from the three governments. we have one thing further to say; and that is, we heartily recommend union and a good agreement between you our brethren. never disagree, but preserve a strict friendship for one another, and thereby you, as well as we, will become the stronger. our wise forefathers established union and amity between the _five nations_; this has made us formidable; this has given us great weight and authority with our neighbouring nations. we are a powerful confederacy; and, by your observing the same methods our wise forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh strength and power; therefore whatever befals you, never fall out one with another. the governor replied: the honourable commissioners of _virginia_ and _maryland_ have desired me to speak for them; therefore i, in behalf of those governments, as well as of the province of _pensylvania_, return you thanks for the many proofs you have given in your speeches of your zeal for the service of your brethren the _english_, and in particular for your having so early engaged in a neutrality the several tribes of _indians_ in the _french_ alliance. we do not doubt but you will faithfully discharge your promises. as to your presents, we never estimate these things by their real worth, but by the disposition of the giver. in this light we accept them with great pleasure, and put a high value upon them. we are obliged to you for recommending peace and good agreement amongst ourselves. we are all subjects, as well as you, of the great king beyond the water; and, in duty to his majesty, and from the good affection we bear to each other, as well as from a regard to our own interest, we shall always be inclined to live in friendship. then the commissioners of _virginia_ presented the hundred pounds in gold, together with a paper, containing a promise to recommend the _six nations_ for further favour to the king; which they received with _yo-hah_, and the paper was given by them to _conrad weiser_ to keep for them. the commissioners likewise promised that their publick messengers should not be molested in their passage through _virginia_, and that they would prepare passes for such of the _conoy indians_ as were willing to remove to the northward. then the commissioners of _maryland_ presented their hundred pounds in gold, which was likewise received with the _yo-hah_. _canassatego_ said, we mentioned to you yesterday the booty you had taken from the _french_, and asked you for some of the rum which we supposed to be part of it, and you gave us some; but it turned out unfortunately that you gave it in _french_ glasses, we now desire you will give us some in _english_ glasses. the governor made answer, we are glad to hear you have such a dislike for what is _french_. they cheat you in your glasses, as well as in every thing else. you must consider we are at a distance from _williamsburg, annapolis_, and _philadelphia_, where our rum stores are, and that although we brought up a good quantity with us, you have almost drunk it out; but, notwithstanding this, we have enough left to fill our _english_ glasses, and will shew the difference between the narrowness of the _french_, and the generosity of your brethren the _english_ towards you. the _indians_ gave, in their order, five _yo-hahs_; and the honourable governor and commissioners calling for some rum, and some middle-sized wine-glasses, drank health to the _great king of_ england, and the _six nations_, and put an end to the treaty by three loud huzza's, in which all the company joined. in the evening the governor went to take his leave of the _indians_, and, presenting them with a string of wampum, he told them, that was in return for one he had received of them, with a message to desire the governor of _virginia_ to suffer their warriors to go through _virginia_ unmolested, which was rendered unnecessary by the present treaty. then, presenting them with another string of wampum, he told them, that was in return for theirs, praying him, that as they had taken away one part of _conrad weiser_'s beard, which frightened their children, he would please to take away the other, which he had ordered to be done. _the_ indians _received these two strings of wampum with the usual yo-hah_. the governor then asked them, what was the reason that more of the _shawanaes_, from their town on _hohio_, were not at the treaty? but seeing that it would require a council in form, and perhaps another day to give an answer, he desired they would give an answer to _conrad weiser_ upon the road on their return home, for he was to set out for _philadelphia_ the next morning. _c a n a s s a t e g o in conclusion spoke at follows:_ we have been hindered, by a great deal of business, from waiting on you, to have some private conversation with you, chiefly to enquire after the healths of _onas_ beyond the water; we desire you will tell them, we have a grateful sense of all their kindnesses for the _indians_. brother _onas_ told us, when he went away, he would not stay long from us; we think it is a great while, and want to know when we may expect him, and desire, when you write, you will recommend us heartily to him; which the governor promised to do, and then took his leave of them. the commissioners of _virginia_ gave _canassatego_ a scarlet camblet coat, and took their leave of them in form, and at the same time delivered the passes to them, according to their request. the commissioners of _maryland_ presented _gachradodow_ with a broad gold-laced hat, and took their leave of them in the same manner. _a true copy, compared by_ richard peters, secr. [illustration] [footnote 7: onandio, the governor of _canada_.] [footnote 8: _tarachawagon, conrad weiser_.] a =t r e a t y= between h i s e x c e l l e n c y the honourable george clinton, captain-general and governor in chief of the province of _new-york_, and the territories thereon depending in america, vice-admiral of the same, and vice-admiral of the red squadron of his majesty's fleet. a n d the six united _indian_ nations, and other _indian_ nations, depending on the province of _n e w-y o r k_. held at _a l b a n y_ in the months of _august_ and _september_, 1746. _a_ t r e a t y _between his excellency the governor of the province of_ new-york, _and the_ six nations, _and other_ indian _nations, depending on said province._ it is well known in the province of _new-york_, that the _six nations_ of _indians_ depending on this province, (called _iroquois_ by the _french_) had lately on several occasions, appear'd dissatisfied and wavering in their fidelity to the _british_ crown. no doubt, this was principally occasion'd by the artifices of the _french_ of _canada_, who had constantly emissaries among them: but at the same time there is reason to think, the suspicious behaviour of these nations, in favour of their once inveterate enemy the _french_, could not have arriv'd to the pitch it did, otherwise than by some neglects or misconduct of those who were entrusted by the government of _new-york_ with the management of the _indian_ affairs. his excellency the governor of _new-york_, having received his majesty's commands, to engage the _indian_ nations depending on his government, to join in the expedition then intended against _canada_, and to make them the usual presents on that occasion; and being sensible of the great use these _nations_ might be to the success of this enterprize, and likewise of the difficulties that probably might attend his endeavours at this time, was desirous to have had the assistance of as many of the members of his majesty's council as the circumstances of affairs would permit; but they all declined to give their attendance, except mr. _colden_ and mr. _livingston_. his excellency was therefore obliged to act with the smallest number of members, which by his majesty's commission can form a council, _viz_. three; the above two gentlemen and capt. _rutherford_, who was then at his post in _albany_. as soon as his excellency received his majesty's commands, he dispatched from _albany_ such persons as, by the best information he could receive, had influence among the _six nations_, to invite them severally to meet him at _albany_, on the 20th of _july_. his excellency arriv'd at _albany_ the 21st of _july_, where having heard, that, besides the small-pox, (which his excellency never had) many were sick of a contagious malignant fever, he continued on board the sloop which carried him up, to consider where to lodge with the least danger to his person from the infection of these distempers; and the next morning resolved to go into the fort. he was received at his landing with the usual marks of respect from the corporation, the independent companies of regular troops then in the place, and the militia, under a discharge of the cannon of the fort and town. in the afternoon of the same day on which his excellency came on shore, three _indians, viz_. two _onandagos_ and an _oneydo_, brought two _french_ scalps and presented to his excellency: at which time the leader of the party made a formal speech to the following purpose: 'that having had repeated accounts of the mischiefs done by the _french_, and of the frequent murders committed by them, and that the _mohawks_, notwithstanding their professions of friendship, suffered this bloodshed to remain unrevenged, his heart could bear it no longer; he thereupon resolved to open for his brethren the path to revenge: that these two scalps which he now presented were taken at noonday in sight of the _french_ fort at _crown point_.' his excellency told him how well he took this special mark of his fidelity, and assured him, that he would not only now reward him and his companions, by particular presents, but would always remember this act of friendship. they had already received the reward given by the act of assembly. his excellency gave each of them four _spanish_ dollars; to the leader a fine laced coat and hat, and a silver breast-plate; and to each of the others a stroud blanket and lac'd hat. these _indians_ told us, that they lay several days among the bushes, from whence they could see every man that came out of the fort-gate. they endeavoured for some time to take a prisoner, but observing that none went to such a distance from the fort that they could hope to carry him off, they resolved to take the first opportunity for a scalp: two soldiers coming out of the fort, after the chapel bell had rung about noon, one of the _indians_, by their leader's order, fired with swan shot upon them while they were near to each other. it is a constant rule among these sculking parties, never to fire without orders from their leader. one of the _french_ men was killed upon the spot, the other wounded, and fled immediately towards the fort gate, the _indian_ who had fired, pursu'd, and with his hatchet brought him down within a hundred steps of the fort gate; and, though the _french_ in the fort rushed out at the gate, he took his scalp off; the others had scalped the man that was first killed, and then they all fled. the _french_ in their hurry had run out without their arms, and upon recollecting themselves return'd to arm, which facilitated the escape of the _indians_. his excellency being informed, that the leader of this party was desirous to be distinguished by his excellency's giving him a new name, and that a name, which in the language of the _six nations_ signified the _path-opener_, would be most acceptable to him; his excellency honour'd him with that title; which he accepted very thankfully, and seem'd exceedingly pleased with it: whereupon he said, that the other two _indians_ having associated with a _mehikander_, or _river indian_, were resolved to go out against the enemy: but as he thought he might be more useful by staying, to assist at the ensuing treaty, he was resolved to remain here. he added, that in case the interpreter, and others sent to invite the _six nations_ to meet here, fail'd in any part, he would go among the _six nations_, and doubted not to bring many by his influence, who otherwise might stay. in a day or two after, six of seven _indians_, who had been sent out by the commissioners for _indian_ affairs to _crown-point_, to take prisoners, and gain intelligence, returned and said, that they had gone to that place, and that in sight of it they had separated, with, design thereby to surprize any stragler that might have come out of the fort: that while they were thus separated, two of their number were suddenly surrounded and taken by the enemy: one of these two, after having been detained three or four days, join'd the others at _saraghtoga_. he said, that he had been threatened with death by the _adirondacks_[9]; but that the _cahnuagas_[10] interpos'd, and by their intercession he was set at liberty; and some of the _cahnuagas_ conducted him through _lac sacrement_. he reported, that there was a great number of men, _french_ and _indians_, at _crown-point._ the other prisoner, an _onondaga_, consented to remain with the _french_, and was sent to _canada_. soon after this, sixteen _mohawk indians_ came to the town, who had been sent out from the lower _mohawk_ castle by mr. _johnson_, to gain intelligence near _crown-point_, and to take prisoners. they reported that they had discovered so great a number of _french_ and _indians_ at _crown-point_, that they had no hopes of being able to bring off any prisoners, and thought it adviseable to return speedily and inform of the great danger they thought this place was in. his excellency invited them to go thither again, in order to descry the motions of the enemy: and as a farther encouragement to them, to either scalp or take prisoners, he offered every person of said party that should take a scalp or prisoner, a piece of stroud, and a suit of laced clothes, besides the bounty; but they, being frightened with the apprehensions of danger, declined going back, and said, they must return home and acquaint their friends and relations with what they had heard and seen. several other _indians_ likewise alarmed the _mohawks_, by telling them that the _french_ had a great force at _crown-point_, and that they would certainly attack either _albany_ or _schenectade_, or the settlements on the _mohawks_ river, or perhaps several places at the same time. mr. _johnson_, and the commanding officer of the garrison of regular troops in the _mohawks_ country, by their letters to his excellency, confirm'd these reports; and added, the _mohawks_ had entertain'd apprehensions of the _french_ force at _crown-point_, which was like to have a bad effect. on this his excellency wrote to mr. _johnson_, that all these stories of the _french_ force at _crown-point_ were only artifices of the _french_ to intimidate the _indians_, or to amuse them, with design to frustrate the treaty which he intended to have with them; and that he was to assure the _indians_, that they could be in no danger from the _french:_ however, that they might see that he would omit nothing which they might think necessary for their security, he had ordered a lieutenant of militia, with thirty men, to reinforce the lower castle, and had likewise ordered the captain of militia near the upper castle, to assist the _indians_ there in fortifying their castle, and to hold himself in readiness to support them on any emergency. one _john colan_, a _frenchman_, who some years since had removed from _canada_, and settled and married at _schenectade_, and who has since that time lived in good reputation there, was sent by major _glen_ to inform his excellency, that one _aaron_, a noted _mohawk_ sachem, who with several others of the _six nations_, had been last spring in _canada_ to treat with the governor there, did then entertain two _cahnuaga indians_. this man, _john colan_, acquainted his excellency, that having discovered the _cahnuaga indians_, he told them he was a _frenchman_, and was desirous of returning to his own country, on which they began presently to propose to him methods for his escape; at which time, this _aaron_ coming near them, he express'd his fears of being discovered by him. they answered, that he need not fear _aaron_, for he was their friend, and designed to go with them. as they proposed to him to escape privately by himself, and to meet them at a place they named, he told them of his fears, in that case, of meeting with the _french indians_ while he was alone. they answered, that if he dress'd himself like an _indian_, the _french indians_ would do him no hurt, without first calling to him; upon which, if he stopp'd and call'd out _maria_, the _french indians_ would be so far from hurting him, that they would immediately come up to him and take him by the hand. from this, and several other incidents, which it would be tedious to relate, his excellency was convinced of some secret understanding between the _six nations_ and the _cahnuagas_, or _french indians:_ and that, however any party of our _indians_ might be induced to fall upon the _french_, they would not at that time molest the _french indians_, nor prevent the mischiefs which the inhabitants received from their sculking parties. for this reason, his excellency endeavoured to send out again the company of rangers, which had formerly been employed against the sculking _indians:_ but, as the assembly had made no provision for this expence, they refused to go, unless he gave his personal bond for their pay, at _three shillings_ a day for each private man, besides their provision; and would not be satisfied with the promises that he, by the advice of the council, made them of recommending their service to the general assembly, and the assurances he gave them of their being rewarded as they desired. on their continuing obstinate, his excellency was of opinion, that no considerable service could be expected from men, who were moved by no other principle but that of excessive wages: and he had reason afterwards to be confirmed in this opinion, when captain _langdon_, and afterwards captain _thebout_, voluntarily went with their companies of the new-levied troops to scour the woods, and took some of these _albany_ men with them as guides, who whenever they apprehended themselves in danger, by the discovery of recent tracts, some one or other of them could not be kept from firing their guns, or making some noise, by which the _french indians_, if any were near them, must know how to avoid them. some _indians_, who were likewise sent out in company with these men, complained in like manner. the publick interpreter, whom the governor (as before observed) had sent with others, to invite the _six nations_ to meet him at _albany_, wrote to the commissioners for _indian_ affairs, that they met with great difficulties and obstructions from the _sachems_, who had been lately at _canada:_ that the _oneydoes_ refused to give any answer, tho' they had staid there thirteen days endeavouring to persuade them; and that the _cayugas_ had absolutely refused to meet the governor. on which his excellency desired to be informed by the commissioners of _indian_ affairs, whether they knew of any person of influence or interest with the _indians_, and fit to be sent among them on this occasion. they answered, that they knew of none; and that the _indians_ were in a very bad disposition, and much under the influence of the _french_. about this time his excellency being informed, that the interpreter, and others sent with him, had neglected to send proper invitations to the _indians_ living on the branches of _susquehannah_ river; and that captain _vroman_, of _scohary_, was a proper person to be sent to those _indians_; he sent him, in company with captain _staats_, with a belt of _wampum_ to invite them. while the _indian_ affairs appear'd in this discouraging state, an account came to town, that about twenty young _chickesaws_ were come to the _senekas_, to desire them to shew them the way to _canada_. the _chickesaws_ had always been enemies to the _french:_ a party of about five hundred men had, four years before, been sent out against them from _canada_, who were so entirely routed by the _chickesaws_, that few returned. these young _chickesaws_ told the _senekas_, that the _french_ of _canada_ had, about four years since, made them a visit, and were so kind to leave them four hundred guns, which were now wore out; and, since the _french_ had not thought fit to bring them any more guns, they were resolved to go to _canada_ to fetch new ones; and promised, that if the _senekas_ would shew them the way, they would go home and return with four hundred stout fellows. some other _indian_ nations who lived to the westward, discovering their aversion to the _french_ at the same time, these incidents assisted the governor's messengers in bringing more _indians_ to _albany_ than they expected, when they wrote to the commissioners for _indian_ affairs. while the interpreter was at the more distant _indian_ castles, mr. _william johnson_ was indefatigable among the _mohawks_; he dressed himself after the _indian_ manner, made frequent dances, according to their custom when they excite to war, and used all the means he could think of, at a considerable expence, (which his excellency had promised to repay him) in order to engage them heartily in the war against _canada_. tho' he succeeded, beyond what any man in _albany_ thought could be done, yet several of the _sachems_ (in the _conajohary_, or upper _mohawk_ castle, chiefly) refused to engage in the war; but insisted, that as this war was entered into between the _english_ and _french_, in which they had no interest, they ought to remain neuter. the _english_ and _french_, they said, could at any time make peace; but if they should enter into the war, _indians_ could not make up the quarrel among themselves, otherwise than by the destruction of one or the other. the _french_ could have no hopes of engaging the _six nations_ on their side against the _english_, and therefore wisely play'd this game of endeavouring to make them stand neuter, which they could enforce by strong political arguments, of which the _indians_ were sensible enough. _it is your interest_, the _french_ emissaries said, _not to suffer either the_ french _or the_ english _to be absolute masters_; _for in that case you must become slaves to the one or the other_. from this politic view chiefly, the interpreter met with so much opposition everywhere: tho' it is not to be doubted, but that at the same time the _french_ had gain'd some particular _sachems_ entirely into their interest; however, many were prevailed on to come to _albany_, to hear what the governor of _new-york_ had to say to them; tho' several sachems staid behind. when they of the more distant nations came along with the interpreter to the lower _mohawk_ castle, and found that mr. _johnson_ had already engaged many of the young men there to join the army against _canada_, the others blamed the _mohawks_; telling them with some warmth, that they had been very rash in engaging so far. 'they ought, _the others said_, to have considered that they, the _mohawks_, were the smallest in number of any of the _six nations_, and ought not to have proceeded to so great a length, without the previous consent of the others.' to this the _mohawks_ answered, _it is true, we are less considerable as to number, than any of the other nations; but our hearts are truly_ english, _and all of us are men[11]; so that, if our force be put to the trial, perhaps it will be found greater than you imagine._ these disputes, however, continued so far, that the _mohawks_, and the other _five nations_, could not go in company to _albany_; the _mohawks_ marched on one side of the river, while the other nations went on the other side. [_there are two roads from the_ mohawks _castle to_ schenectada, _one on each side of the_ mohawks _river_.] when the _indians_ came near the town of _albany_, on the 8th of _august_, mr. _johnson_ put himself at the head of the _mohawks_, dressed and painted after the manner of an _indian_ war-captain; and the _indians_ who followed him, were likewise dressed and painted, as is usual with them when they set out in war. the _indians_ saluted the governor as they passed the fort, by a running fire; which his excellency ordered to be answered by a discharge of some cannon from the fort: he afterwards received the sachems in the fort-hall, bid them welcome, and treated them with a glass of wine. as, by all accounts, the disposition of the _six nations_ seemed at this time less in favour of the _british_ interest than was to be wished, his excellency thought it necessary to have frequent conferences, in private, with the principal sachems of each _nation_; sometimes separately and singly, at other times with some of each nation jointly. there were only two of the _mohawks_ sachems (besides _aaron_ before mentioned, who left the castle at this time) that could not be prevailed on by mr. _johnson_ to declare themselves for entering into the war against _canada_: they were both of the _conajohary_ or upper-castle, and one of them the head of the tribe called the _tortoise_; (which, tho' not so numerous as that of the _bear_, yet is looked on as the first in rank or dignity;) and, as he had been with the governor of _canada_ last spring, it was thought to be of some consequence to gain him. mr. _colden_, above twenty years since, had the complement of being received into that castle; and, about seven years since (the last time he had been with the _mohawks_) had contracted some more particular acquaintance with these two sachems: he invited them to a private conference, at which the reverend mr. _barclay_ assisted as interpreter; they met him, and brought five more with them: after this conference these sachems appear'd as hearty as any of the others. he that was head of the tribe call'd the _tortoise_, said, 'his uncle had been the chief war-captain among the _mohawks_: that his uncle had particularly distinguished himself in their wars against the _french_, and he was resolved to shew himself not unworthy of his ancestors, nor of his uncle's name, which he had obtained after his death.' after the principal sachems had, at these conferences, been brought to a good disposition, his excellency advised with the gentlemen of the council, and the commissioners from the _massachusets bay_, on what might be proper to be said to the _six nations_ in the publick speech, which he now proposed to make to them. col. _wendell_ and mr. _wells_ had arrived from _boston_ about the end of _july_, and soon after they came to town, his excellency ordered the gentlemen of the council to communicate to them all the information which had been received, with respect to the _indian_ affairs: and they had frequent conferences together from time to time, as occasion required: it was likewise thought proper to communicate, what his excellency intended to say to some of the sachems of each nation, who were thought most hearty in the _british_ interest; who said, that it was well conceiv'd as could have been done, had they themselves advised upon the subject; only as it had been advised to observe in the first draught, that some of his majesty's subjects had been instigated by the _french_ to rise in rebellion against the king; that they had been defeated by one of the king's sons; that these poor people were now utterly ruined, and had nothing left but to bewail their folly in the misery that was brought upon them, by suffering themselves to be deluded by the promises of the _french_; they said, that they did not understand the affairs on the other side of the sea, nor did they trouble their heads about them; and as they had no method of retaining what is spoke to them but by their memories, they were afraid that this might perplex their memories, and make them less attentive to what was properly their business; and advised, that it should be left out; which accordingly was done. another difficulty remained; the publick interpreter had been taken dangerously ill in his return to _albany_, and was at this time confined to his bed. tho' several were employed, who had knowledge sufficient in the language of the _six nations_, to make themselves be understood, and to understand what was spoke to them; yet none of them were so much masters of the language, as to speak with that propriety and distinctness that is expected, and usual on so solemn an occasion. it was thought therefore proper, to make one of the sachems understand the speech, by the assistance of the common interpreters, that he might be able to deliver it paragraph by paragraph, as it should be spoke. at first a _mohawk_ sachem was pitched upon; but the sachems themselves told us, that for some time past a kind of party-division among the _six nations_ had subsisted: that the _mohawks_, _onandagas_, and _senekas_, form'd one party; and the _oneydoes, tuscaroras_, and _cayugas_, the other: that, as the _mohawks_ might be suspected to be more partial to the _english_, it would be of more use to employ one of the other party; and an _oneydo_ sachem was proposed for that purpose. this man was easily enough made to understand the speech, and he repeated it several times over in private, and was instructed where to make the proper stops. after the speech was delivered, some of the commissioners for _indian_ affairs, and other persons present at the delivery, who understood both languages, acknowledged, that this _indian_ had acquitted himself of his trust faithfully, and had delivered the sense of the speech clearly and distinctly. while these last preparations were making, his excellency was taken ill of a fever, which occasioned some further delay; and as his excellency did not recover so soon as was wished, the sachems were told, that his excellency being unwilling to detain them without necessity, would, if they desired it, direct mr. _colden_ to speak to them in his name, what he designed to say. they answered, that they would be well pleased to hear it from mr. _colden_'s mouth. [footnote 9: a nation of _indians_ living in _canada_, who have always been firm friends to the _french_, and formerly were at war with the _six nations_.] [footnote 10: a number of _indians_ originally of the _five nations_, and deserters from them, now settled near _montreal_, by whom the illicit trade between _albany_ and _montreal_ was carried on: they are well acquainted with the country about _albany_.] [footnote 11: the _six nations_ reckon all other _indian_ nations women, in comparison to themselves.] * * * * * at _a l b a n y_ the nineteenth of _august_, 1746. p r e s e n t, the { cadwallader colden, } esqrs; of his majesty's honourable { philip livingston, } council for the province { john rutherford, } of _new-york_. the commissioners from the government of the _massachusets-bay_. the commissioners of the province of _new-york_ for _indian_ affairs. the mayor and corporation of _albany_. the officers of the independent companies, and of the new levies then at _albany_. several gentlemen of the province of _new-york_: and strangers. _mr._ colden _introduced the speech as follows_: his excellency our governor having been taken ill, and as yet not so well recovered as that he can safely come abroad; has ordered me (being the next person to him in the administration) to speak to you in his name, which i shall do in the same words which he designed to have spoke, had he not been prevented by sickness. "_brethren_, "i am glad to see so many of our ancient friends here, and heartily bid you welcome. [_gave three strings of wampum_.] "i have call'd you to this place for two great ends, in which the province of the _massachusets-bay_ have sent commissioners to concur with me, who are here present. "the _first_ is, to renew the covenant-chain with you; and i now by this belt, in your father the king of _great-britain_'s name, in behalf of his majesty's subjects in _north-america_, renew and confirm the covenant-chain, and all former treaties and engagements entered into with you. this chain has from the beginning, remained so firm and strong, that it has never once broke or slipt since it was first made; and we, on our parts, shall endeavour that it remain so, unshaken, as long as the sun and moon shall endure. [_gave a belt_.] "_brethren_, last fall i told you, that his majesty's subjects in this country had, the summer before, lain still, without attempting any thing against the _french_ settlements: but that the _french_ had by surprize, attacked and destroyed a small place near _cape-breton_, belonging to us. "that they afterwards laid siege to _annapolis-royal_, and were beat off. "i likewise told you, that the governor of the _massachusets-bay_, in conjunction with _connecticut_ and _new-hampshire_, had, in revenge to these injuries, sent an army against _louisburg_, on the island of _cape-breton_; that the army was joined by a number of his majesty's ships of war, under the command of your friend admiral _warren_. "i told you, that the town of _louisburg_, which is the strongest the _french_ have in _america_, was reduced by this force; and that the _french_ there had surrendered themselves and their country to the _english_. "i likewise told you, how we, in this part of the country, had lain still, hoping that the _french_ in _canada_, would either be quiet, or carry on the war in a manly manner, and after the manner of christians. and to induce them thereto, a message had been sent from this place to the governor of _canada_, to tell him, that if he should revive the inhuman custom of murdering private people, by sculking _indians_, that the several governors of his majesty's colonies, together with you our brethren of the _six nations_, would join and make reprisals on them in the like manner; at which time you publickly declared, that if any of his majesty's subjects, in any part of his governments, should be killed by any _indians_, you would immediately join in the war against them, and the _french_. "and last fall, when i delivered the hatchet into your hands, you told me, and confirm'd it with a belt, that you would send some of your people (who were then ready) to _canada_, to demand satisfaction; and that if satisfaction was refused, you would use the hatchet against them, whenever i should order it. "and you further promised, that if the enemy should commit any further hostilities, you would then (upon my commands) immediately make use of the hatchet. "i need not tell you, how far the _french_ have been from giving satisfaction; on the contrary, you are well acquainted with the cruel and barbarous murders that have been committed, since that time, by the _french indians_ at _saraghtoga_, and in the neighbourhoods of this place, and on the frontiers of _new-england_; as you have not hitherto fulfilled your promises, i suspect that they did not come from your hearts: i therefore, by this belt, demand an immediate performance of your promises, to shew that they come from the bottom of your hearts; as all the promises i make come from mine, and ever shall. [_gave a belt_.] "_brethren_, i now come to the _second_ and principal design of our present meeting, in which i hope and expect to find you hearty, and united in your councils and opinions. [_gave a belt_.] "the king your father, having been informed of the unmanly murders committed on the frontiers of _new england_, and of this province, is resolved to subdue the country of _canada_, and thereby put an end to all the mischievous designs of the _french_ in these parts. and for this purpose, he has ordered his governors of _virginia, maryland, pensylvania_, and _new-jersey_, to join their forces to the forces of this province, to attack _canada_ by land: they are all now upon their march, and you will soon see them here. "at the same time the forces of the _massachusets-bay, connecticut, rhode-island_, and _new-hampshire_, are to go in ships to _cape-breton_, and there join with his majesty's ships of war, and a great army of experienc'd soldiers from _great-britain_. "many ships of war are already arrived there, and some thousand of soldiers; many more ships and soldiers are following; and i expect every hour to hear of their arrival; after which the attack upon _canada_ will be made on all sides, both by sea and land. "you may perceive the king has ordered a strength sufficient to subdue _canada_; but at the same time, the king your father expects and orders you his children, to join with your whole force in this enterprize; and thereby gives the _six nations_ a glorious opportunity of establishing their fame and renown over all the _indian_ nations in _america_, in the conquest of your inveterate enemies the _french_; who, however they may dissemble and profess friendship, can never forget the slaughter which your fathers made of them; and for that purpose, caress those nations who have always been your inveterate enemies, and who desire nothing so much as to see the name of the _six nations_ become obliterate, and forgot for ever. [_gave a belt_.] "_brethren_, the _french_, on all occasions, shew, that they act against your brethren the _english_, like men that know they dare not look them in the face in day-light; and therefore, like thieves, steal upon poor people, who do not expect them in the night, and consequently are not prepared for them: your brethren in their revenge have acted like men of courage; they do not attack poor farmers at their labour, but boldly attempted the reduction of _louisburg_, the strongest town the _french_ had in _america_, in the fortifying of which they had spent above twenty years: it was surrounded with strong walls and forts, in which they had planted their largest cannon in every place, where they thought the _english_ could come near them; notwithstanding of all these precautions and advantages, they were forced to submit to the _english_ valour. "you must have heard from your fathers, and i doubt not several of your old men still remember what the _french_ did at _onondaga_; how they surprised your countrymen at _cadarackui_; how they invaded the _senekas_, and what mischiefs they did to the _mohawks_; how many of your countrymen suffered by the fire at _montreal_. before they entered upon these cruel and mischievous designs, they sent priests among you to delude you, and lull you asleep, while they were preparing to knock you on the head; and i hear they are attempting to do the same now. [_gave a belt_.] "i need not put you in mind what revenge your fathers took for these injuries, when they put all the island of _montreal_, and a great part of _canada_, to fire and sword; can you think that the _french_ forget this? no, they have the ax privately in their hands against you, and use these deceitful arts, by which only they have been able to gain advantage over you, that by your trusting to them, they may at some time or other, at one blow, remove from the face of the earth, the remembrance of a people that have so often put them to shame and flight. "if your fathers could now rise out of their graves, how would their hearts leap with joy to see this day; when so glorious an opportunity is put into their hands to revenge all the injuries their country has received from the _french_, and be never more exposed to their treachery and deceit. i make no doubt you are the true sons of such renowned and brave ancestors, animated with the same spirit for your country's glory, and in revenge of the injuries your fathers received, uncapable of being deluded by the flattering speeches of them, who always have been, and always must be, in their hearts, your enemies, and who desire nothing more, than the destruction of your nations. "i therefore invite you, _brethren_, by this belt, to join with us, and to share with us, in the honour of the conquest of our, and your deceitful enemies; and that you not only join all the force of the _six nations_ with us, but likewise invite all the nations depending on you, to take a share in this glorious enterprize: and i will furnish your fighting men with arms, ammunition, cloathing, provisions, and every thing necessary for the war; and in their absence, take care of their wives and children. [_gave the war-belt_.] "_brethren_, you have seen how daring and insulting on you, as well as us, the _french indians_ have been, in cruelly murdering several of our people, since you have come to this place; and therefore, for the many reasons now laid before you, i make no doubt but your answer will clearly manifest your duty to the king your father, and your love to your brethren; and by this belt i do assure you, that our intent is, to live and die together." [_gave a belt of friendship_.] at every stop where a belt was given, one of the sachems call'd out _yo-hay_, to which all the rest answered in a sound which cannot be expressed in our letters, but seem'd to consist of two words remarkably distinguished in the cadence; it seem'd to this purpose; the sachem calls, _do your hear?_ the answer is, we attend and remember, or understand; or else it is a kind of plaudit our interpreters could not explain. at the close of the speech, one sachem of each nation call'd out severally the _yo-hay_, to which the others of the same nation answer'd severally: but when the war-belt was thrown down, they gave the war-shout. we expected but six of these plaudits, according to the number of the _six nations_, but eight were distinctly delivered; by which we understood some other nations were united with them on this occasion. after the speech was delivered, the sachems of the several nations had conferences together; and some time being spent in deliberating, they acquainted his excellency, 'that they had agreed upon their answer, which they were ready to give whenever he would appoint a time to receive it;' and he named the next day. accordingly on the 23d of _august_, his excellency being present; the gentlemen of the council; the commissioners from _boston_; the commissioners for _indian_ affairs; the corporation of _albany_; and many gentlemen, as at the time when his excellency's speech was delivered, an _onondaga_ sachem, who had formerly been speaker for the _six nations_ on several publick occasions, rose up and spoke: what he said was publickly interpreted, in the hearing of several who understood the _indian_ language well, as follows: brethren of _new-york_, and of the _massachusets-bay_, _we the_ six nations _are now assembled together as one man, and we take in the_ messesagues _for the seventh nation; and what is now to be spoken by one mouth, are the joint and sincere thoughts of every heart._ _we are pleas'd that you follow the steps of our fore-fathers, in wiping off the sorrowful tears from our eyes, by which the stoppage of our throats are opened, and the bloody bed wash'd clean._ [gave three strings of wampum.] brethren, _the first time we met together, we only saluted each other by shaking of hands; we afterwards made a covenant chain of silver, which we mutually have held fast to this day; should it now slip from either of our hands, it would prove destruction to both sides, since our enemies have drawn the sword._ [gave a belt.] brother of _new-york_; _last year you gave us the hatchet to be made use of against your enemies, the_ french, _which we accepted and promised to make use of it if they should commit any farther hostilities upon the_ english, _which they have now done by destroying_ saraghtoga, _and shedding a great deal of blood: hitherto we have made no use of the hatchet; but as you now call upon us, we are ready, and do declare from the bottom of our hearts, that we will from this day, make use of it against the_ french, _and their children_, (meaning their _indians_.) [n. b. the question was asked them by his excellency, whether by the words _their children_, they meant all the _indians_ in alliance with the _french_? to which they answered, _yes_.] [at the end of the foregoing paragraph, the speaker threw down a war-belt of wampum on the ground, it being the _indian_ custom to deliver war-belts, or make declaration of war in this manner: this he did with a remarkable shew of indignation, intending thereby to express their resentment against the _french_ and their allies, and their zeal for the _english_.] [_gave a belt_.] brother of _new-york; according to your exhortation in your speech to us, we are firmly united together from this time, to act as having one heart; the_ messesagues _are in the same manner joined and united with us, likewise the southern nations bordering upon us; and we hope that you, and the other governors on the continent, will be in the same manner joined and united together._ [gave a belt.] [they repeated over his excellency's speech in relation to the conquest of _cape-breton_; and added, _we hope that our fleet and army will be also victorious in the present expedition against_ canada; _for the_ french _are a mischievous people_.] [gave a belt.] _as to your suspicions of our admitting_ french _priests among us, they are become groundless, since we have now declared war against them: the admitting of priests, would only tend to lull us asleep to our destruction; should any now dare to come, we know no use for them but to roast them. the thoughts of the treatment we formerly received from the_ french, _thro' the means of their priests, and which you now seasonably have brought to our remembrance, makes our blood to boil._ brother of _new-york; this is the second time you have put the hatchet into our hands, which we accept, and are ready to go upon service. you may see that we have but a handful of fighting men here at present; however, some of them from each nation shall be left behind us to follow your orders._ _when we return to our respective castles, we shall send down a great number of our warriors, and of those of the nations in alliance with us, as soon as possible._ _this we assure you of from the truth and sincerity of our hearts; and we receive, and shall preserve this large belt_, [holding it up at the same time] _which you have now given us, as a war-hatchet_. brethren, _this is the belt of union with which we are to go hand in hand to the gate of our enemies, and by it we declare our intention to conquer or die in the common cause_. _there is a nation call'd the_ messesagues, _whose delegates are here present: they consist of five castles, containing eight hundred men, who are all determined, and do agree to join us, in this common cause, against our enemies the_ french, _and their_ indians; _and we hope you, and the commissioners from_ boston, _will use them in such a manner that they will go home content and satisfied._ [gave a belt of union, in which the figures of several persons join'd hand in hand, was wrought.] the person who interpreted, returned the _yo-hah_ at the end of every paragraph, and having done the same at the time they declared war, it occasioned laughter among them; upon which, observing his mistake, he began the war-shout, in which all the _indians_ joined. the _messesagues_ are a nation of _indians_, living near the place called _de troit_ by the _french_, and situate between lake _erie_ and the _huron_ lake. after the speaker had finished, his excellency told them by the interpreter, that the king their father had ordered him to make them a present on this occasion; and that the government of _virginia_ had on the same occasion, sent them a present. the commissioners from _boston_ at the same time told them, that they had a present from their government; and as they were soon to return home, desired the _six nations_ to come to their lodgings to receive it; on which the _indians_ desired his excellency to delay his present to next day, and they immediately went to receive their presents from the commissioners of the _massachusets-bay_. the next day, the presents from the king being exposed on one part, and those from _virginia_ separately near them, it was agreed by the people of _albany_, who had seen many publick presents given to the _six nations_ on treaties with them, that this was the most valuable ever given. his excellency on giving the presents, said; "_brethren_, "you here see a token of the regard the king your father has for you; and there is a token of the friendship of the government of _virginia_: but on this occasion i cannot forbear taking notice to you, that some of your people being at _canada_, when the news of the reduction of _cape-breton_ came there, and when the _french_ expected that _quebec_ would be immediately attacked in consequence of it, several of them joined with the _french_, and promised them assistance. this occasioned some uneasiness to your brethren, being contrary to the faith of your nations, as well as to your brethren's expectations; however, you may now, by performing the promises you yesterday made in the most solemn manner, remove all suspicions; and for ever secure the friendship of your brethren, which hitherto has from the beginning, remained unviolated on their parts. the goods now before you, are presents to the _six nations_; and, as we have received the _messesagues_ into the covenant between you and us, i expect that they shall share with you. besides these general presents now made to your nations, i have prepared proper cloathing for your war-captains, and the warriors who shall go under their command; together with arms, ammunition and provisions, which shall be delivered to the several parties at the time they shall go out on service." what his excellency said having been interpreted by a _mohawk_ sachem, the sachem added of his own head, _you now see how you are here treated, really like brethren; the governor of_ canada _does not treat his_ indians _so; they are set on like his dogs, and they run on without thought or consideration: you see what a noble present is made to you; if the governor of_ canada _should seize all the goods in that country, it would not be in his power to make such a present._ the _onondaga_ sachem, speaker of the _six nations_, immediately replied, brethren of _new-york, new-england_, and _virginia_; _we heard, and observe well, what you now and formerly spoke to us; and we beg no mention may hereafter be made of what passed last fall, since we are now heartily enter'd into the war with you, and have promised as many fighting men from each castle as can be spared; and likewise to engage as great numbers of every nation in alliance with us, as we can, to join immediately with us in the war against the_ french, _and the nations who adhere to them._ brethren of _new-york, new-england_, and _virginia_, _you must not suspect that it proceeds from any backwardness in us, that a greater number of our people do not at this instant join with you; the reason is, our castles have but few fighting men in them, many are now abroad, some hunting and trading with far distant nations, and others out fighting against our enemies; all these we shall recall home as soon as possible, in order to enter with all our force, into the war against your and our common enemy._ brother, _we have no more to say at this time, but only to tell you, we are sorry that we can so little shew our hearts by the presents we now offer; our hunting has been so very poor, that we cannot make you presents suitable to our inclinations._ the _mohawks_ added separately: _we have been employed all summer in your service as out-scouts, to gain intelligence, or in some manner or other, and thereby kept from hunting: we have no furrs to offer you, but we here present our persons, to serve you wherever you shall command._ that day was spent in dividing the presents among themselves. we were told, that these presents were divided into eight equal parts, of which they gave two to the _messesague_ deputies. the next day the war-kettle was set over the fire, and towards evening the _indians_ in his excellency's presence, where many gentlemen attended him, began the war-dance, and continued it till late in the night: they were painted as when they go to war. the dance is a slow and solemn motion, accompanied with a pathetick song. the _indians_ in their turns perform this singly, but it is not easy to describe the particularities of it. his excellency call'd several of the chief sachems who had been useful in the treaty, to him in private, and gave them presents severally; neither did he forget the _messesague_ deputies: he had a particular conference with one of them in private, the other was sick of the small-pox. at this conference, this deputy assured his excellency of the good inclinations of his nation to the _english_, and their aversion to the _french_; he said, 'that many of the nations to the westward of them, disliked the _french_;' and as an instance of it, he told, 'that the _french_ lately having pressed a neighbouring nation to take up the hatchet against the _english_, they received it; but made use of it against the _french_ themselves, and kill'd all the _french_ then with them, being sixty in number, with the loss of only one man of their own nation.' his excellency made him handsome presents, and gave him a belt to carry to his nation, with an invitation to join in the war against the _french_; the _messesague_ received them with a profession of the most sincere and hearty friendship; and that he made no doubt of bringing two, three, or four hundred men of his nation, to serve this fall against the _french_. he added, 'that he and several of his relations would immediately use their best endeavours, with several other nations to the westward of them, who were numerous, to join against the _french_; in which, _he said_, he had great hopes of success, because they were dissatisfied with the _french_.' his excellency took all possible care of the sick _messesague_, had him brought into a house, and ordered him, to be attended by two physicians; but the poor man had the misfortune to die, after he had been above a fortnight ill. when he found himself near his end, he sent to the governor, to desire him as his last request, that his excellency would send the first _french_ scalp that should be taken, to his mother; and when he was told that his excellency had promised it, he shewed a contentedness and resignation to death. this misfortune was increased by the death of the other _messesague_ deputy likewise, who was taken ill in his way home, and died. the _six nations_ took care of their wives and children, who had come with them; and it was not doubted but that they, and all the presents given them, would be safely conveyed to their own homes. having so far given an account of what passed with the _six nations_, it may be proper next to relate the treaty with the _mehikanders_, or _river indians_, _viz._ the several tribes of _indians_ living at several places on each side of _hudson_'s river. on his excellency's arrival at _albany_, having found that there had been a neglect in sending for the _esopus_ and _minissink indians_, he sent orders for them to be invited. the _mehikanders_ being conveened the 21st, his excellency directed mr. _colden_ to speak to them in his name and words; which mr. _colden_ did; the other gentlemen of the council, the commissioners from _boston_, the commissioners for _indian_ affairs, and several other gentlemen being present, in the words following: "_children_, "i am glad to meet you at this time, as are likewise the commissioners from the _massachusets-bay_, who are now come hither to concur with me upon the present occasion; and i take this opportunity to renew the ancient covenant chain with you, in behalf of this and all his majesty's governments in _america_, which you know has always been kept bright and clean, without any of the least stain or rust, and which by this belt i strengthen. [_gave a belt_.] "_children_, my meeting you here, besides renewing the covenant chain, is with intention that you should join your force with ours, by taking up the hatchet against our and your common enemies the _french_, and their _indians_; who have in a very unmanly manner, by sculking parties, murdered in cold blood, many of your brethren in this and the province of the _massachusets-bay_. "this behaviour lays us under a necessity of making reprisals on them in like manner, in which i make no doubt of your assistance; and we are resolved to take a thorough revenge of our and your perpetual enemies, by reducing the country of _canada_, that it may not be in the power of these perfidious, deceitful, and cruel people, to do you or us any injury for the future: for which purpose all the neighbouring colonies, together with many ships of war and soldiers from _great-britain_, are resolved to unite their force, and to attack _canada_ in all parts, both by sea and land; and i make no doubt, you will on this occasion shew yourselves dutiful children, in joining heartily with us and the _six nations_, in this glorious enterprize; by which you will not only gain honour and renown, but also safety and prosperity to yourselves, your wives, and children for ever afterwards: and for which end i will furnish your fighting men with arms, ammunition, cloathing, provisions, and every thing necessary for the war." [_gave a war-belt_.] on the 26th they gave their answer, which was interpreted in the following words; (the same persons being present, that were when the governor's speech was delivered to them.) father, _we are glad to see you; and we are come to renew the covenant chain, and make it fast and bright as ever, and free from rust, and as a token thereof we give you this belt._ [gave a belt.] father, _you have told us what mischief the_ french _have done, and what murders upon the christians they have committed; therefore we declare from our hearts, and not from our lips only, that as you have ordered us to shed the enemies' blood in return for what they have done, we are resolved to live and die with you in the common cause._ _when you christians are at war, you make peace with one another, but it is not so with us, therefore we depend upon you to take care of us; in confidence of which, we now take up the hatchet, and will make use of it against the_ french, _and their_ indians. [gave a belt with a hatchet.] after their answer they began the war-dance, and his excellency ordered a considerable present in goods to be publickly given them. none of these are suspected to be under _french_ influence. as there was no advice of the arrival of the fleet, and no plan of operations agreed on in case the fleet did not arrive, the supporting of about seven hundred _indians_ was a great expence to his excellency, for which he had no allowance from the province of _new-york_, or for any other charge attending this treaty: and as many of the _indians_, (above twenty) had got the small-pox, it being impracticable to prevent their going into town, or conversing with the town's people, and the _indians_ becoming uneasy by reason of the sickness of many, and death of some; his excellency thought it most prudent to dismiss them as soon as possible from this place, and to give orders to mr. _johnson_, to send out several parties from _schenectade_, or his own settlement near the lower _mohawk_ castle, to harrass the _french_ settlements in _canada_; and for that purpose delivered to him cloathing, arms and ammunition, to be given to the fighting men, as his excellency had promised them whenever they entered on service, and impowered him to furnish them with provisions, and whatever necessaries they should want. before they went, his excellency sent to them, to desire them to leave their sick, with a promise to take all care possible of them, and that he would order physicians to attend them. they were very sensible of this kindness, and acknowledged it; but not above two or three could be prevailed to stay, who were so ill that they could not be removed: all possible care was taken of the other sick, in the waggons which carried them to _schenectade_. on the 26th of _september_, the captains _staats_ and _vromen_, brought the _indians_ living on the branches of the _susquehannah_ river; they came in the _indian_ order, marching in a single line one after the other, and as they passed the fort, saluted by a running fire along the line; which salute the governor ordered to be returned, by a discharge of some cannon from the fort. on _monday_ the 8th of the same month his excellency spoke to them, telling them the substance of what he had ordered to be said to the _six nations_, and their answer; and as this has been set forth at length before, it is needless to repeat what was then said. the reason of his excellency's speaking to them in this manner was, because these nations living on the _susquehannah_ river and its branches, are known to be dependents on the _six nations_. the next day they gave their answer; the gentlemen of the council, the commissioners for _indian_ affairs, the corporation of _albany_, the officers of the four independent companies, and several officers of the new levies, and other gentlemen being present, as they were when his excellency spoke to the _indians_: their answer was publickly interpreted as follows; brother of _new-york_, _we live at_ ohguago; _what news you send to the_ six nations _is not truly reported to us, nor what the governor of_ canada _sends to them; we have not been properly taken notice of, nor timely acquainted with your design to treat with the_ six nations, _till near the time that your interview with them was over; otherwise we should have readily come along with them, to hear what our brother had to propose to us; and if we had received earlier notice, a much larger number of our fighting men would have come along with us: our settlements are scattering, and some of them at a great distance from others, and many of our men are from home a hunting; we have, however, sent the belt of invitation forward to those who live at a greater distance, that they may be able at the time appointed, to come and join us in the war, as by your belt we were desired._ brother, _you yesterday informed us of what you had said to the_ six nations, _and their answer; we are grieved that the_ six nations _have not already made use of the hatchet, but have hitherto kept it by them, and have not sent out their young men to revenge the murders which have been committed by the enemy._ _we are resolved to make use of the hatchet against the_ french, _to revenge the injuries done to you and your people, our brethren._ _we have received at times very different kind of news from the_ six nations, _sometimes it seemed as if the_ french _would be masters; but it cannot be so, they are a deceitful people, and cannot be trusted; they make fair promises, and have no intention to perform them; they flatter themselves with hopes to be masters, but they shall be disappointed; for we shall keep the hatchet firmly in our hands, and are resolved to make use of it._ _we know several roads that lead to_ canada, _we want to see the hatchet, that we may take it up._ upon which his excellency threw down a hanger, which the speaker took up and began the war-dance, and several others danced the same after him. after which they desired his excellency to take care of them, as he had promised. his excellency returned them thanks for their so readily taking up the hatchet; he said, that he would presently set the war-kettle over the fire, and provide them with every thing necessary for the war. his excellency gave them a handsome present in publick for their nations in general, and private presents to their principal sachems; one of which promised, that after his return home, he would go round all the _indian_ settlements, to invite them into the war against the _french_, and their _indians_; and that he did not doubt to be able to bring six hundred men from the _indian_ settlements on the _susquehannah_ river and its branches, to march at any time, and to any place, his excellency should appoint, in order to join the forces intended against _canada_; in the mean time they would cause a party of their men to go out with his men to scour the woods, and clear them of the _french_ sculking _indians_. about this time, a serjeant of capt. _livingston_'s company was surprized and killed by a sculking party of _french indians_: in a few minutes after the account of this came to his excellency, who happened to be dining at that time in capt. _wrexall's_ tent, fourteen of the _susquehannah indians_ were observed running past the tent, in order to cross the river, and meet the _french indians_; which his excellency observing, and being apprehensive that they might meet with some of the parties of the new levies that were gone out for the same purpose, and that they might be in danger of being attacked through mistake; he ask'd if any of the guard which then attended, would voluntarily go along with the _indians_? two men offered themselves, who went with one who understood the _indian_ language, in order to prevent mistakes. happy it was that this precaution was taken; for capt. _fanning_ with a great part of his company, having gone out with the same intention of intercepting the _french indians_, he discovered this party of our _indians_, and taking them to be _french indians_, he kept his men under the cover of some bushes, with their arms ready to fire, expecting the nearer approach of the _indians_; when one of the christians who were with them, observing capt. _fanning_'s men, called out, and came up to capt. _fanning_ when his men were ready to fire. none of the parties that went out were able to discover any of the enemy. his excellency afterwards sent out sixteen of these _indians_, and cloathed them for that purpose, together with about sixty men detached from the companies levied in the county of _albany_, in order to scour the woods, and to advance as far as the lakes to gain intelligence, by taking prisoners or otherwise. while this party was out, some of the _indians_ fell sick, and the others being apprehensive of the same misfortune, they return'd, after having been but a few days in the woods. his excellency then perceiving the uneasiness the _indians_ were under from the apprehensions of sickness, found it necessary to dismiss them all, on their promise to return, whenever his excellency should order, with all the force they shall be able to collect; and which, they said, as before observed, might amount to six hundred men. the number of _indians_ that came at this time from the _susquehannah_ river, consisted only of about sixty fighting men, besides old men, women, and children: more had come near to _albany_, but having there heard of the small-pox and sickness that was at _albany_, and that many of the _six nations_ had catched the infection, and several of them were dead, they returned back. after the _six nations_ left _albany_, many of them were taken sick on their way home, before they reached the _mohawk_ castles, and a considerable number of the briskest young men of the _mohawks_ died. this retarded the execution of the order given to mr. _johnson_, to send out parties to harrass the _french_ settlements in _canada_, though he used all the means in his power to effect it. while he was pressing them to this purpose, one of the sachems who had promised to head a party from the _canajohary_ castle, said, _you seem to think that we are brutes, that we have no sense of the loss of our dearest relations, and some of them the bravest men we had in our nation: you must allow us time to bewail our misfortune_. about ten days before his excellency left _albany_, a party of upwards of seventy men, consisting of some of each nation, went against _canada_: some christians were of the party to assist and direct, and to be witnesses of the behaviour of the _indians_. they were to avoid all the lakes, and the usual roads and passes to _canada_, and were to go thro' the woods over mountains, that are seldom passed, to prevent the enemies discovering them: but after these had been out, capt. _butler_'s son, to whom the chief direction of this party was committed, was taken ill of the small-pox, and five of the _indians_ were obliged to return to carry him home. another small party was sent out to take prisoners, and gain intelligence at _crown-point_. at the writing of this, it is not known what success they have had. when the _six nations_ had come as far as the lower _mohawk_ castle, in their return home, they were met by about six men of their own nations, who delivered a message from _canada_, which had been brought by the _indian_ who was taken by the _french_ at _crown point_, and carried to _canada_. the message was interpreted in the following words: "the governor of _canada_ had called the _cahnuaga indians_ to him, and then complained to them, that some of the _six nations_, his children, had killed some of his people: you all know, _he said_, that i am not hasty or passionate, but will rather bear a great deal than shew resentment, wherefore i am resolved to pass this over; but in the mean time i must desire you to go among the _six nations_, to find out the reason of this proceeding, and to tell them, that is any thing like it happen again, i will make them smart: you may nevertheless assure my children[12] of the _six nations_, that i love and esteem them equally with the _cahnuagas_, or _shawendadies_[13], being of the same blood. and to convince them of my love, i now send back to them one of their people that was taken at _crown point_, without eating his flesh. and now _cahnuagas_, my children, i would not have you spill any more blood from _albany_ upwards, for i begin to pity their weakness; but turn your arms towards _new-england_, against your most inveterate enemies, there is the place for you to gain honour now." the _cahnuagas_ gave the following answer to the governor of _canada_: father, _you are in the wrong, to desire us to go among the_ six nations _for intelligence, or with menaces; for such will only stir them up, and bring them and all their allies (who are very numerous) upon you, to destroy you at once. we know they are not to be bullied by your words or ours, wherefore,_ father, _we must leave you to go through this work by yourself._ after having as above, related what had passed between them and the governor of _canada_, they sent the following message from themselves. _brethren of the six nations_, "we hear the governor of _new-york_ has invited you to meet him; we intreat you not to mind any thing he shall say, in order to set you against us; for if you do, you, as well as we, must all die. wherefore, _brethren_, we conjure you by all the ties of friendship subsisting between us, to inform us of any design that is plotting against us; and that when any such thing shall be discovered, you will send an express to _cadarackui_[14], where our fire always burns. "_brethren_, we shall be glad to see you next spring at _cahnuaga_, to hold a council together, where you shall be as safe and welcome as ever. "_brethren_, the governor our father, being informed, that your governor is raising men to come against _canada_, desires us to tell you, that he has _one thousand eight hundred_ men at _crown point_, ready to give them battle; in which number, the men of eight castles of the _utawawas_ are included. "_brethren_, be not angry at our destroying _saraghtoga_ last fall; col. _schuyler_ dar'd us to it, by saying he wished to see a _french_ army there: we gratified him in his wish." a _cahnuaga indian_ was sent along with the prisoner that was restored; but when he came near the settlements of the _six nations_, his heart fail'd him, and he sent the prisoner forward by himself with the message. the readiness with which the _six nations_ communicated this message, and the flight they in all appearance put upon it, is some proof of their sincerity in the promises they made to his excellency; neither from any thing which has happened can it be shewn, that they were not sincere. on the contrary, it appears by mr. _johnson_'s letter to his excellency of the 21st of _october_, that several parties are now out against the _french_; and that mr. _johnson_ having received orders from col. _roberts_, to send as many _indians_ as possible to join the army, all the _mohawks_, even their oldest men, were fitted out and ready; and having sent to the upper castles at the same time, they appeared so hearty, that there would not have remained above three old men in any of the next castles: and that col. _roberts_ afterwards contradicting these orders, they had appeared very uneasy on their being stopt. it was not expected that they would enter into the war without us, or by themselves, neither are they a people of so little thought, as to give any reason to expect it from them. when the companies raised in _pensylvania_ arrived at _albany_, his excellency was informed by their captains, that mr. _thomas_ governor of that province, had sent _conrad weiser_ their publick interpreter, among the _susquehannah indians_; and that they expected his arrival at this place in a little time, with at least three hundred _indians_. the treaties with the _indians_, which mr. _thomas_ has published, gave great hopes of the success that interpreter would have; and thereby increased the disappointment, when mr. _weiser_ arrived a few days before his excellency left _albany_, and did not bring one _indian_ with him. his excellency governor _clinton_, had perhaps more difficulties to struggle with on this occasion, than any governor of _new-york_ had at any time: the _six nations_ had on several occasions given grounds of mistrust; the governor of _canada_ was attempting all the means in his power to divert their affections from us; the people of the county of _albany_ had for some time past, entertained a dissatisfaction in the conduct of the commissioners for _indian_ affairs; the commissioners themselves were divided in their sentiments, and several of them refused to attend their meetings; and they confessed to his excellency, that they had lost all influence on the _indians_; mr. _gooch_ having declined the command of the forces at _albany_, his excellency was forced likewise to undertake a new and great care, which he in no manner expected when he left the city of _new york_, and which from many incidents, was attended with many difficulties. if these things be duly considered, and the dangers his person was in from the infection of two different diseases, which at that time raged in the city of _albany_, of which great numbers died during his residence there of near three months; none can doubt of his hearty zeal for the success of an affair, in which the safety and prosperity of all the colonies in north _america_, were immediately concerned. but as every one may not be sufficiently apprized of what consequence the _six nations_ being hearty, is to the interest of _great-britain_, it may be proper to observe, that though a number of _indians_ to march with the army, which was intended to attack _canada_, would be of great use in discovering and defeating the ambushes of the enemy's _indians_, while they were every day to be guarded against by the forces which were to march by land, and would by their incursions into the enemy's country, terribly harass them, and keep them from joining their forces into any great body to oppose the design; these are not the most considerable advantages might be gained from the affection of the _six nations_ at this time, or any time of war; for if the inland extent of the colonies from _nova scotia_ to _georgia_ be considered, and at the same time the numerous _indian_ nations on the continent of _america_, who may by the artifices of the _french_ be induced to make incursions every where; and the cruel methods by which the _indians_ make incursions in small parties, from the vast forest which every where covers the continent, and which in many places is impenetrable; it must evidently appear, that though the _english_ colonies be of much superior force in numbers of men, yet their number would not be sufficient to protect their frontiers from the incursions of the _indians_ in every place: and, that while their forces must in this case be divided and scattered all over their frontiers, it may be in the power of the _french_ in _canada_, to invade with success any part of the _english_ colonies. on the other hand, if a proper attempt were to be made by the northern colonies alone, without the assistance of their mother country, but with the assistance of the _indians_, it would in all appearance be sufficient to reduce _canada_; for if the _indian_ nations can be persuaded to join heartily, (as from what is above related it seems probable they may) it will be impossible for the inhabitants of _canada_ to defend themselves from the incursions of these numerous _indian_ nations, and from a body of regular troops at the same time. as the _french_ are very sensible of these advantages to be gain'd from the friendship of the _indian_ nations, they neglect no means in their power to procure them: and it is to be hoped, that the northern colonies will be no less assiduous in a matter on which their well-being at least depends. some people wish that the _indians_ may remain neuter, and think it adviseable to pursue measures for that purpose, by which many horrid barbarities would be prevented. no doubt this is to be wished; but can the _english_ colonies by any means be assured, that the _french_ will be sincere in preserving such a neutrality? and if they be not sincere, we shall more certainly expose ourselves to all these calamities, than we are now by _indians_ being engaged on both sides. the _six nations_ are by their natural inclinations, disposed to war-like enterprizes: they never have been at peace with all their neighbours, since they were known to christians. the reputation they have gained among all the _indian_ nations in north _america_, gives them an influence in the councils of every nation. it may then be easy for the _french_ to turn this disposition to war in the _six nations_, against us, and by their influence draw all the _indian_ nations in north _america_ upon us. the genius of the _six nations_ will not suffer them to remain inactive, while their neighbours are at war. in the last place, it may not be improper to observe at this time, that though the colonies to the southward (and the inhabitants of the parts of the northern colonies, which are less exposed to the incursions of _indians_) think themselves little concerned in interest, or in the consequences of the present war; yet if they would consider that the northern colonies are really their frontiers, and that they defend the others from all the calamities of a most barbarous war; the southern colonies must think that any contribution of men and money, which is expected from them, is an easy purchase of the freedom from such calamities, to which their brethren are subjected; and that while they can follow their occupations at ease, they are much better enabled to support the expence of a war than the northern colonies are, where the inhabitants are every day in danger of their lives from a cruel enemy, while at their daily and innocent labours. if the southern colonies neglect to keep the war at a distance from them, they may at an improper time, become sensible of the evils their brethren suffer, and of their own folly at the same time. _new-york, dec._ 2, 1746. the party of seventy _indians_ and whites mentioned in this treaty, did not go out together as was at first intended, sickness and other incidents made it necessary to alter the measures at first proposed. one party of thirty _indians_ and ten whites went by themselves. these fell upon a _french_ settlement on the north-side of _st. lawrence_ river, about 10 leagues above _montreal_, and brought away eight _french_ prisoners, one of them a captain of militia, and four scalps. another party of nine _indians_ went to the _cahnuagas_, under pretence of continuing the neutrality with them, they were introduced to the governor of _montreal_ under the same pretence, who made them presents: their design was to gain what intelligence they could, and after they had done this, they acted their part so well, that they received several letters, one from the governor of _montreal_, and others from considerable persons to the commandant of fort _st. frederic_ at _crown point_. in their way thither, by which they were to return home, they surprized some _french_ in a small fort, killed five, and brought away one prisoner and one scalp. they brought the _french_ prisoner and the letters to the commanding officer at _albany_, and informed him of what they had seen and heard at _montreal_. [illustration] [footnote 12: the governor of _canada_ calls the _six nations_ (and all the _indian_ nations depending on him) _children_, as the governor of _new-york_ calls them _brethren_.] [footnote 13: another settlement of deserters from the _six nations_, and dwelling near _montreal_.] [footnote 14: a _french_ fort opposite to _oswego_, and the east end of _cadarackui_ lake, or lake _frontenac_.] a c o l l e c t i o n o f c h a r t e r s a n d o t h e r p u b l i c k a c t s, r e l a t i n g t o t h e province of _pensylvania_, _v i z_. i. the r o y a l c h a r t e r to _w i l l i a m p e n n_, esq; ii. the first f r a m e of government, granted in _england_, in 1682. iii. l a w s agreed upon in _england_. iv. certain c o n d i t i o n s or c o n c e s s i o n s. v. the a c t of s e t t l e m e n t, made at _chester_, 1682. vi. the second f r a m e of government, granted 1683. vii. the c h a r t e r of the c i t y of _p h i l a d e l p h i a_, granted _october_ 25, 1701. viii. the new c h a r t e r of p r i v i l e g e s to the province, granted _october_ 28, 1701. _the_ c h a r t e r of charles ii. _of_ england, scotland, france, _and_ ireland, k i n g, _defender of the faith_, &c. _unto_ william penn, _proprietary and governor of the province of_ pensylvania. _charles_, by the grace of g o d, king of _england, scotland, france_, and _ireland_, defender of the faith, &c. to all to whom these presents shall come, _greeting_. w h e r e a s our trusty and well-beloved subject _william penn_, esq; son and heir of sir _william penn_ deceased, (out of a commendable desire to enlarge our _english_ empire, and promote such useful commodities as may be of benefit to us and our dominions, as also to reduce the savage natives by gentle and just manners, to the love of civil society and the christian religion) hath humbly besought leave of us, to transport an ample colony unto a certain country herein after described, in the parts of _america_, not yet cultivated and planted; and hath likewise so humbly besought our royal majesty to give, grant, and confirm all the said country, with certain privileges and jurisdictions, requisite for the good government and safety of the said country and colony, to him and his heirs for ever. s e c t. i. k n o w y e t h e r e f o r e, that we (favouring the petition and good purpose of the said _william penn_, and having regard to the memory and merits of his late father in divers services, and particularly to his conduct, courage, and discretion under our dearest brother _j a m e s_ duke of _york_, in that signal battle and victory fought and obtained against the _dutch_ fleet, commanded by the heer _van opdam_, in the year 1665: in consideration thereof, of our special grace, certain knowledge, and meer motion) have given and granted, and by this our present charter, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, all that tract or part of land in _america_, with the islands therein contained, as the same is bounded on the east by _delawar_ river, from twelve miles distance northwards of _newcastle_ town unto the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, if the said river doth extend so far northward: but if the said river shall not extend so far northward, then by the said river so far as it doth extend, and from the head of the said river the eastern bounds are to be determined by a meridian line, to be drawn from the head of the said river, unto the said forty-third degree. the said land to extend westward five degrees in longitude, to be computed from the said eastern bounds; and the said lands to be bounded on the north by the beginning of the three and fortieth degree of northern latitude, and on the south by a circle drawn at twelve miles distance from _newcastle_ northward, and westward unto the beginning of the fortieth degree of northern latitude, and then by a strait line westwards to the limits of longitude above-mentioned. s e c t. ii. w e do also give and grant unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, the free and undisturbed use and continuance in, and passage unto, and out of all and singular ports, harbours, bays, waters, rivers, isles, and inlets, belonging unto, or leading to and from the country or islands aforesaid, and all the soils, lands, fields, woods, underwoods, mountains, hills, fenns, isles, lakes, rivers, waters, rivulets, bays, and inlets, situated or being within, or belonging to the limits or bounds aforesaid, together with the fishing of all sorts of fish, whales, sturgeon, and all royal and other fishes, in the seas, bays, inlets, waters, or rivers within the premisses, and all the fish therein taken; and also all veins, mines, minerals, and quarries, as well discovered as not discovered, of gold, silver, gemms, and precious stones, and all other whatsoever, be it stones, metals, or of any other thing or matter whatsoever, found or to be found within the country, isles, or limits aforesaid. s e c t. iii. a n d him, the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, we do by this our royal charter, for us, our heirs and successors, make, create, and constitute, the true and absolute proprietary of the country aforesaid, and of all other the premisses: saving always to us, our heirs and successors, the faith and allegiance of the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, and of all other proprietaries, tenants, and inhabitants, that are or shall be within the territories and precincts aforesaid; and saving also, unto us, our heirs and successors, the sovereignty of the aforesaid country, to have, hold, possess, and enjoy the said tract of land, country, isles, inlets, and other the premisses, unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, to the only proper use and behoof of the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, for ever, to be holden of us, our heirs and successors, kings of _england_, as of our castle of _windsor_ in our county of _berks_, in free and common soccage, by fealty only for all services, and not in capite or by knights service: yielding and paying therefore to us, our heirs and successors, two beaver-skins, to be delivered at our castle of _windsor_ on the first day of _january_ in every year; and also the fifth part of all gold and silver oar, which shall from time to time happen to be found within the limits aforesaid, clear of all charges. and of our further grace, certain knowledge, and meer motion, we have thought fit to erect, and we do hereby erect the aforesaid country and islands into a province and seignorie, and do call it p e n s y l v a n i a, and so from henceforth will have it called. s e c t. iv. a n d forasmuch as we have hereby made and ordained the aforesaid _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, the true and absolute proprietaries of all the lands and dominions aforesaid, k n o w y e t h e r e f o r e, that we (reposing special trust and confidence in the fidelity, wisdom, justice, and provident circumspection of the said _william penn_) for us, our heirs and successors, do grant free, full, and absolute power (by virtue of these presents) to him and his heirs, to his and their deputies, and lieutenants for the good and happy government of the said country, to ordain, make, and enact, and under his and their seals to publish any laws whatsoever, for the raising of money for publick uses of the said province, or for any other end, appertaining either unto the publick state, peace, or safety of the said country, or unto the private utility of particular persons, according unto their best discretion, by and with the advice, assent, and approbation of the freemen of the said country, or the greater part of them, or of their delegates or deputies, whom for the enacting of the said laws, when, and as often as need shall require, we will that the said _william penn_ and his heirs, shall assemble in such sort and form, as to him and them shall seem best, and the same laws duly to execute, unto and upon all people within the said country and limits thereof. s e c t. v. a n d we do likewise give and grant unto the said _william penn_, and to his heirs, and their deputies and lieutenants, full power and authority, to appoint and establish any judges and justices, magistrates and other officers whatsoever, for what causes soever, (for the probates of wills, and for the granting of administrations within the precincts aforesaid) and with what power soever, and in such form, as to the said _william penn_ or his heirs, shall seem most convenient: also to remit, release, pardon, and abolish (whether before judgment or after) all crimes and offences whatsoever, committed within the said country, against the said laws, (treason and wilful and malicious murder only excepted, and in those cases to grant reprieves, until our pleasure may be known therein) and to do all and every other thing and things, which unto the compleat establishment of justice unto courts and tribunals, forms of judicature, and manner of proceedings do belong, although in these presents express mention be not made thereof; and by judges by them delegated, to award process, hold pleas, and determine in all the said courts and tribunals all actions, suits, and causes whatsoever, as well criminal as civil, personal, real, and mixt; which laws so, as aforesaid, to be published, our pleasure is, and so we enjoin, require, and command, shall be most absolute and available in law; and that all the liege people and subjects of us, our heirs and successors, do observe and keep the same inviolably in those parts, so far as they concern them, under the pain therein expressed, or to be expressed. p r o v i d e d nevertheless, that the same laws be consonant to reason, and not repugnant or contrary, but (as near as conveniently may be) agreeable to the laws and statutes, and rights of this our kingdom of _england_, and saving and reserving to us, our heirs and successors, the receiving, hearing, and determining of the appeal and appeals of all or any person or persons, of, in, or belonging to the territories aforesaid, or touching any judgment to be there made or given. s e c t. vi. a n d forasmuch as in the government of so great a country, sudden accidents do often happen, whereunto it will be necessary to apply remedy before the freeholders of the said province, or their delegates or deputies can be assembled to the making of laws; neither will it be convenient that instantly upon every such emergent occasion, so great a multitude should be called together: therefore (for the better government of the said country) we will, and ordain, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant unto the said _william penn_ and his heirs, by themselves, or by their magistrates and officers, in that behalf duly to be ordained as aforesaid, to make and constitute fit and wholesome ordinances, from time to time, within the said country to be kept and observed, as well for the preservation of the peace, as for the better government of the people there inhabiting; and publickly to notify the same to all persons, whom the same doth or may any ways concern. which ordinances our will and pleasure is, shall be observed inviolably within the said province, under the pains therein to be expressed, so as the said ordinances be consonant to reason, and be not repugnant nor contrary, but (so far as conveniently may be) agreeable with the laws of our kingdom of _england_, and so as the said ordinances be not extended in any sort to bind, change, or take away the right or interest of any person or persons, for or in their life, members, freehold, goods, or chattles. and our farther will and pleasure is, that the laws for regulating and governing of property within the said province, as well for the descent and enjoyment of lands, as likewise for the enjoyment and succession of goods and chattles, and likewise as to felonies, shall be and continue the same, as they shall be for the time being, by the general course of the law in our kingdom of _england_, until the said laws shall be altered by the said _william penn_, his heirs or assigns, and by the freemen of the said province, their delegates or deputies, or the greater part of them. s e c t. vii. a n d to the end that the said _william penn_, or his heirs, or other the planters, owners, or inhabitants of the said province, may not at any time hereafter (by misconstruction of the power aforesaid) through inadvertency or design, depart from that faith and due allegiance, which by the laws of this our realm of _england_, they and all our subjects, in our dominions and territories, always owe to us, our heirs and successors, by colour of any extent or largeness of powers hereby given, or pretended to be given, or by force or colour of any laws hereafter to be made in the said province, by virtue of any such powers; o u r farther will and pleasure is, that a transcript or duplicate of all laws, which shall be so as aforesaid made and published within the said province, shall within five years after the making thereof, be transmitted, and delivered to the privy council, for the time being of us, our heirs and successors: and if any of the said laws within the space of six months after that they shall be so transmitted and delivered, be declared by us, our heirs and successors, in our or their privy council, inconsistent with the sovereignty, or lawful prerogative of us, our heirs or successors, or contrary to the faith and allegiance due to the legal government of this realm, from the said _william penn_, or his heirs, or of the planters and inhabitants of the said province, and that thereupon any of the said laws shall be adjudged and declared to be void by us, our heirs and successors, under our or their privy seal, that then and from thenceforth, such laws, concerning which such judgment and declaration shall be made, shall become void: otherwise the said laws so transmitted, shall remain, and stand in full force, according to the true intent and meaning thereof. s e c t. viii. f u r t h e r m o r e, that this new colony may the more happily increase, by the multitude of people resorting thither; therefore we, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant by these presents, power, licence, and liberty unto all the liege people and subjects, both present and future, of us, our heirs and successors, (excepting those who shall be especially forbidden) to transport themselves and families unto the said country, with such convenient shipping as by the laws of this our kingdom of _england_ they ought to use, and with fitting provision, paying only the customs therefore due, and there to settle themselves, dwell and inhabit, and plant, for the publick, and their own private advantage. s e c t. ix. a n d f u r t h e r m o r e, that our subjects may be the rather encouraged to undertake this expedition with ready and chearful minds, k n o w y e, that we, of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, do give and grant by virtue of these presents, as well unto the said _william penn_, and his heirs, as to all others, who shall from time to time repair unto the said country, with a purpose to inhabit or trade with the natives of the said country, full licence to lade and freight in any ports whatsoever, of us, our heirs and successors, according to the laws made, or to be made within our kingdom of _england_, and unto the said country, by them, their servants or assigns, to transport all and singular their goods, wares and merchandizes, as likewise all sorts of grain whatsoever, and all other things whatsoever, necessary for food or clothing, not prohibited by the laws and statutes of our kingdom and dominions to be carried out of the said kingdom, without any let or molestation of us, our heirs or successors, or of any of the officers of us, our heirs or successors; saving always to us, our heirs and successors, the legal impositions, customs, or other duties and payments, for the said wares and merchandizes, by any law or statute due, or to be due to us, our heirs and successors. s e c t. x. a n d we do further, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, free and absolute power, to divide the said country and islands into towns, hundreds and counties, and to erect and incorporate towns into boroughs, and boroughs into cities, and to make and constitute fairs and markets therein, with all other convenient privileges and immunities, according to the merits of the inhabitants, and the fitness of the places, and to do all and every other thing and things touching the premises, which to him or them shall seem meet and requisite; albeit they be such, as of their own nature might otherwise require a more special commandment and warrant, than in these presents is expressed. s e c t. xi. w e will also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do give and grant licence by this our charter, unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, and to all the inhabitants and dwellers in the province aforesaid, both present and to come, to import or unlade, by themselves or their servants, factors, or assigns, all merchandizes and goods whatsoever, that shall arise of the fruits and commodities of the said province, either by land or sea, into any of the ports of us, our heirs or successors, in our kingdom of _england_, and not into any other country whatsoever: and we give him full power to dispose of the said goods, in the said ports; and if need be, within one year next after the unlading of the same, to lade the said merchandize and goods again into the same or other ships, and to transport the same into any other countries, either of our dominions or foreign, according to law; provided always, that they pay such customs and impositions, subsidies and duties for the same, to us, our heirs and successors, as the rest of our subjects of our kingdom of _england_, for the time being, shall be bound to pay, and do observe the acts of navigation, and other laws in that behalf made. s e c t. xii. a n d f u r t h e r m o r e, of our ample and special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, we do, for us, our heirs and successors, grant unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, full and absolute power and authority, to make, erect, and constitute, within the said province, and the isles and inlets aforesaid, such and so many sea-ports, harbours, creeks, havens, keys, and other places, for discharging and unlading of goods and merchandizes out of the ships, boats, and other vessels, and landing them unto such and so many places; and with such rights, jurisdictions, liberties and privileges unto the said ports belonging, as to him and them shall seem most expedient; and that all and singular the ships, boats, and other vessels, which shall come for merchandize and trade into the said province, or out of the same, shall be laden or unladen only at such ports as shall be created and constituted by the said _william penn_, his heirs or assigns, (any use, custom, or thing to the contrary notwithstanding.) provided, that the said _william penn_, and his heirs, and the lieutenants and governors for the time being, shall admit and receive in, and about all such havens, ports, creeks and keys, all officers and their deputies, who shall from time to time be appointed for that purpose by the farmers or commissioners of our customs for the time being. s e c t. xiii. a n d we do further appoint and ordain, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, that he, the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, may from time to time for ever, have and enjoy the customs and subsidies, in the ports, harbours, and other creeks and places aforesaid, within the province aforesaid, payable or due for merchandize and wares there to be laded and unladed, the said customs and subsidies to be reasonably assessed upon any occasion, by themselves and the people there as aforesaid to be assembled, to whom we give power by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, upon just cause and due proportion to assess and impose the same; saving unto us, our heirs and successors, such impositions and customs, as by act of parliament are and shall be appointed. s e c t. xiv. a n d it is our farther will and pleasure, that the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, shall from time to time constitute and appoint an attorney or agent, to reside in or near our city of _london_, who shall make known the place where he shall dwell, or may be found, unto the clerks of our privy-council for the time being, or one of them, and shall be ready to appear in any of our courts at _westminster_, to answer for any misdemeanor that shall be committed, or by any wilful default or neglect permitted by the said _william penn_, his heirs or assigns, against the laws of trade and navigation; and after it shall be ascertained in any of our said courts, what damages we or our heirs or successors shall have sustained by such default or neglect, the said _william penn_, his heirs or assigns, shall pay the same within one year after such taxation, and demand thereof, from such attorney; or in case there shall be no such attorney by the space of one year, or such attorney shall not make payment of such damages within the space of a year, and answer such other forfeitures and penalties within the said time, as by the acts of parliament in _england_ are and shall be provided, according to the true intent and meaning of these presents; then it shall be lawful for us, our heirs and successors, to seize and resume the government of the said province or country, and the same to retain until payment shall be made thereof: but notwithstanding any such seizure or resumption of the government, nothing concerning the propriety or ownership of any lands, tenements, or other hereditaments, or goods or chattles, of any of the adventurers, planters, or owners, other than the respective offenders there, shall any ways be affected or molested thereby. s e c t. xv. p r o v i d e d always, and our will and pleasure is, that neither the said _william penn_, nor his heirs, or any other the inhabitants of the said province, shall at any time hereafter have or maintain any correspondence with any other king, prince, or state, or with any of their subjects, who shall then be in war against us, our heirs and successors; nor shall the said _william penn_, or his heirs, or any other inhabitants of the said province, make war, or do any act of hostility against any other king, prince, or state, or any of their subjects, who shall then be in league or amity with us, our heirs and successors. s e c t. xvi. a n d, because in so remote a country, and situate near many barbarous nations, the incursions as well of the savages themselves, as of other enemies, pirates and robbers, may probably be feared; therefore we have given, and for us, our heirs and successors, do give power by these presents to the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, by themselves or their captains, or other their officers, to levy, muster and train all sorts of men, of what condition soever, or wheresoever born, in the said province of _pensilvania_ for the time being, and to make war, and to pursue the enemies and robbers aforesaid, as well by sea as by land, even without the limits of the said province, and by god's assistance to vanquish and take them, and being taken to put them to death by the law of war, or to save them at their pleasure, and to do all and every other thing which unto the charge and office of a captain-general of an army belongeth, or hath accustomed to belong, as fully and freely as any captain-general of an army hath ever had the same. s e c t. xvii. a n d f u r t h e r m o r e, of our special grace, and of our certain knowledge and mere motion, we have given and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, full and absolute power, licence and authority, that he, the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, from time to time hereafter for ever, at his or their own will and pleasure may assign, alien, grant, demise, or enfeoff of the premisses so many and such parts and parcels to him that shall be willing to purchase the same, as they shall think fit, to have and to hold to them the said person and persons willing to take and purchase, their heirs and assigns, in fee-simple or fee-tail, or for the term of life, lives or years, to be held of the said _william penn_, his heirs or assigns, as of the said seigniory of _windsor_, by such services, customs, or rents, as shall seem meet to the said _william penn_, his heirs or assigns, and not immediately of us, our heirs or successors. s e c t. xviii. a n d to the same person or persons, and to all and every of them, we do give and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, licence, authority and power, that such person or persons may take the premisses, or any parcel thereof, of the aforesaid _william penn_, his heirs or assigns, and the same hold to themselves, their heirs and assigns, in what estate of inheritance soever, in fee-simple or in fee-tail, or otherwise, as to him, the said _william penn_, his heirs or assigns, shall seem expedient: the statute made in the parliament of _e d w a r d_, son of king _h e n r y_, late king of _england_, our predecessor, (commonly called _the statute_ quia emptores terrarum, lately published in our kingdom of _england_) in any wise notwithstanding. s e c t. xix. a n d by these presents we give and grant licence unto the said _william penn_, and his heirs, and likewise to all and every such person or persons to whom the said _william penn_, or his heirs, shall at any time hereafter grant any estate or inheritance as aforesaid, to erect any parcels of land within the province aforesaid into manors, by and with the licence to be first had and obtained for that purpose, under the hand and seal of the said _william penn_, or his heirs; and in every of the said manors to have and to hold a court-baron, with all things whatsoever which to a court-baron do belong, and to have and to hold view of frank-pledge for the conservation of the peace, and the better government of those parts, by themselves or their stewards, or by the lords for the time being of the manors to be deputed when they shall be erected, and in the same to use all things belonging to the view of frank-pledge. a n d we do further grant licence and authority, that every such person or persons who shall erect any such manor or manors, as aforesaid, shall or may grant all or any part of his said land to any person or persons, in fee-simple, or any other estate of inheritance to be held of the said manors respectively, so as no farther tenure shall be created, but that upon all further or other alienations thereafter to be made, the said lands so aliened shall be held of the same lord and his heirs, of whom the aliener did then before hold, and by the like rents and services which were before due and accustomed. s e c t. xx. a n d f u r t h e r our pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do covenant and grant to and with the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns, that we, our heirs and successors, shall at no time hereafter set or make, or cause to be set or made, any imposition, custom, or other taxation, rate or contribution whatsoever, in and upon the dwellers and inhabitants of the aforesaid province, for their lands, tenements, goods or chattles within the said province, or in and upon any goods or merchandizes within the province, or to be laden or unladen within the ports or harbours of the said province, unless the same be with the consent of the proprietary, or chief governor, or assembly, or by act of parliament in _england_. s e c t. xxi. a n d our pleasure is, and for us, our heirs and successors, we charge and command, that this our declaration shall from henceforth from time to time be received and allowed in all our courts, and before all the judges of us, our heirs and successors, for a sufficient lawful discharge, payment and acquittance; commanding all the officers and ministers of us, our heirs and successors, and enjoining them upon pain of our highest displeasure, that they do not presume at any time to attempt any thing to the contrary of the premisses, or that do in any sort withstand the same, but that they be at all times aiding and assisting, as is fitting to the said _william penn_, and his heirs, and unto the inhabitants and merchants of the province aforesaid, their servants, ministers, factors, and assigns, in the full use and fruition of the benefit of this our charter. s e c t. xxii. a n d our farther pleasure is, and we do hereby, for us, our heirs and successors, charge and require, that if any of the inhabitants of the said province, to the number of twenty, shall at any time hereafter be desirous, and shall by any writing, or by any person deputed by them, signify such their desire to the bishop of _london_ for the time being, that any preacher or preachers, to be approved of by the said bishop, may be sent unto them for their instruction; that then such preacher or preachers shall and may reside within the said province, without any denial or molestation whatsoever. s e c t. xxiii. a n d if perchance hereafter any doubt or question should arise, concerning the true sense and meaning of any word, clause, or sentence contained in this our present charter, we will, ordain, and command, that at all times, and in all things, such interpretation be made thereof, and allowed in any of our courts whatsoever, as shall be adjudged most advantageous and favourable unto the said _william penn_, his heirs and assigns: provided always no interpretation be admitted thereof, by which the allegiance due unto us, our heirs and successors, may suffer any prejudice or diminution; although express mention be not made in these presents of the true yearly value, or certainty of the premisses, or any part thereof, or of other gifts and grants made by us and our progenitors or predecessors unto the said _william penn_: any statute, act, ordinance, provision, proclamation, or restraint heretofore had, made, published, ordained, or provided, or any other thing, cause or matter whatsoever, to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. i n w i t n e s s whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent: witness o u r s e l f, at _westminster_, the _fourth_ day of _march_, in the _three and thirtieth_ year of our reign. _annoque domini one thousand six hundred and eighty-one_. _by writ of privy seal_, p i g o t t. * * * * * the f r a m e of the government of the province of _pensilvania_ in _america_: together with certain l a w s agreed upon in _england_. by the governor and divers freemen of the aforesaid province. to be further explained and continued there, by the first provincial council that shall he held, if they see meet. the p r e f a c e. _w h e n the great and wise g o d had made the world, of all his creatures it pleased him to chuse man his deputy to rule it; and to fit him for so great a charge and trust, he did not only qualify him with skill and power, but with integrity to use them justly. this native goodness was equally his honour and his happiness; and whilst he stood here, all went well; there was no need of coercive or compulsive means; the precept of divine love and truth in his bosom was the guide and keeper of his innocency. but lust prevailing against duty, made a lamentable breach upon it; and the law, that had before no power over him, took place upon him and his disobedient posterity, that such as would not live conformable to the holy law within, should fall under the reproof and correction of the just law without, in a judicial administration._ _t h i s the apostle teaches in divers of his epistles:_ the law (_says he_) was added because of transgression: _in another place_, knowing that the law was not made for the righteous man; but for the disobedient and ungodly, for sinners, for unholy and prophane, for murderers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, and for men-stealers, for liars, for perjured persons, &c. _but this is not all, he opens and carries the matter of government a little further:_ let every soul be subject to the higher powers; for there is no power but of g o d. the powers that be are ordained of g o d: whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of g o d. for rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil: wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same.--he is the minister of g o d to thee for good.--wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but for conscience sake. _t h i s settles the divine right of government beyond exception, and that for two ends: first to terrify evil doers; secondly to cherish those that do well; which gives government a life beyond corruption, and makes it as durable in the word, as good men shall be. so that government seems to me a part of religion itself, a thing sacred in its institution and end. for if it does not directly remove the cause, it crushes the effects of evil, and is as such (though a lower yet) an emanation of the same divine power, that is both author and object of pure religion; the difference lying here, that the one is more free and mental, the other more corporal and compulsive in its operations: but that is only to evil doers; government itself being otherwise as capable of kindness, goodness, and charity, as a more private society. they weakly err, that think there is no other use of government than correction, which is the coarsest part of it: daily experience tells us, that the care and regulation of many other affairs, more soft and daily necessary, make up much the greatest part of government; and which must have followed the peopling of the world, had_ adam _never fell, and will continue among men on earth under the highest attainments they may arrive at, by the coming of the blessed_ second adam, _the l o r d from heaven. thus much of government in general, as to its rise and end._ _f o r particular_ frames _and_ models, _it will become me to say little; and comparatively i will say nothing. my reasons are:_ first, _that the age is too nice and difficult for it; there being nothing the wits of men are more busy and divided upon. 'tis true, they seem to agree in the end,_ to wit, _happiness; but in the means they differ, as to divine, so to this human felicity; and the cause is much the same, not always want of light and knowledge, but want of using them rightly. men side with their passions against their reason, and their sinister interests have so strong a biass upon their minds, that they lean to them against the good of the things they know._ secondly, _i do not find a model in the world, that time, place, and some singular emergencies have not necessarily altered; nor is it easy to frame a civil government, that shall serve all places alike._ thirdly, _i know what is said by the several admirers of_ monarchy, aristocracy, _and_ democracy, _which are the rule of one, a few, and many, and are the three common ideas of government, when men discourse on that subject. but i chuse to solve the controversy with this small distinction, and it belongs to all three:_ any government is free to the people under it (_whatever be the frame_) where the laws rule, and the people are a party to those laws; _and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy, or confusion_. _but_ lastly, _when all is said, there is hardly one frame of government in the world so ill designed by its first founders, that in good hands would not do well enough; and story tells us, the best in ill ones can do nothing that is great or good; witness the_ jewish _and_ roman _states. governments, like clocks, go from the motion men give them; and as governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. wherefore governments rather depend upon men, than men upon governments. let men be good, and the government can't be bad; if it be ill, they will cure it. but if men be bad, let the government be never so good, they will endeavour to warp and spoil it to their turn._ _i know some say, let us have good laws, and no matter for the men that execute them: but let them consider, that though good laws do well, good men do better: for good laws may want good men, and be abolished or evaded by ill men; but good men will never want good laws, nor suffer ill ones. 'tis true, good laws have some awe upon ill ministers, but that is where they have no power to escape or abolish them, and the people are generally wise and good: but a loose and depraved people (which is to the question) love laws and an administration like themselves. that therefore which makes a good constitution, must keep it,_ viz. _men of wisdom and virtue, qualities, that because they descend not with worldly inheritances, must be carefully propagated by a virtuous education of youth; for which after-ages will owe more to the care and prudence of founders and the successive magistracy, than to their parents for their private patrimonies._ _these considerations of the weight of government, and the nice and various opinions about it, made it uneasy to me to think of publishing the ensuing frame and conditional laws, foreseeing, both the censures they will meet with from men of differing humours and engagements, and the occasion they may give of discourse beyond my design._ _but next to the power of necessity, (which is a solicitor that will take no denial) this induced me to a compliance, that we have (with reverence to g o d and good conscience to men) to the best of our skill, contrived and composed the_ f r a m e and l a w s of this government, _to the great end of all government_, viz. to support power in reverence with the people, and to secure the people from the abuse of power; _that they may be free by their just obedience, and the magistrates honourable for their just administration: for liberty without obedience is confusion, and obedience without liberty is slavery. to carry this evenness is partly owing to the constitution, and partly to the magistracy: where either of these fail, government will be subject to convulsions; but where both are wanting, it must be totally subverted: then where both meet, the government is like to endure. which i humbly pray, and hope_ g o d _will please to make the lot of this of_ pensilvania. _amen._ william penn. * * * * * _the_ f r a m e, &c. t o a l l p e o p l e, to whom these presents shall come. w h e r e a s king _c h a r l e s the second_, by his letters patents, under the great seal of _england_, for the consideration therein mentioned, hath been graciously pleased to give and grant unto me _william penn_ (by the name of _william penn_, esq; son and heir of sir _william penn_ deceased) and to my heirs and assigns for ever, all that tract of land, or province called _pensilvania_, in _america_, with divers great powers, preheminences, royalties. jurisdictions, and authorities, necessary for the well-being and government thereof: n o w k n o w y e, that for the well-being and government of the said province, and for the encouragement of all the freemen and planters that may be therein concerned, in pursuance of the powers afore-mentioned, i the said _william penn_ have declared, granted and confirmed, and by these presents, for me, my heirs and assigns, do declare, grant and confirm unto all the freemen, planters and adventurers, of, in and to the said province, these liberties, franchises, and properties, to be held, enjoyed and kept by the freemen, planters and inhabitants of the said province of _pensilvania_ for ever. i m p r i m i s. t h a t the government of this province shall, according the powers of the patent, consist of the governor and freemen of the said province, in form of a provincial council and general assembly, by whom all laws shall be made, officers chosen, and publick affairs transacted, as is hereafter respectively declared. _that is to say_, ii. t h a t the freemen of the said province shall on the twentieth day of the twelfth month, which shall be in this present year _one thousand six hundred eighty and two_, meet and assemble in some fit place, of which timely notice shall be beforehand given by the governor or his deputy, and then and there shall chuse out of themselves seventy-two persons of most note for their wisdom, virtue and ability, who shall meet on the tenth day of the first month next ensuing, and always be called and act as the provincial council of the said province. iii. t h a t at the first choice of such provincial council, one third part of the said provincial council shall be chosen to serve for three years then next ensuing, one third part for two years then next ensuing, and one third part for one year then next following such election, and no longer; and that the said third part shall go out accordingly: and on the twentieth day of the twelfth month as aforesaid, yearly for ever afterward, the freemen of the said province shall in like manner meet and assemble together, and then chuse twenty-four persons, being one third of the said number, to serve in provincial council for three years: it being intended, that one third part of the whole provincial council (always consisting, and to consist of seventy-two persons, as aforesaid) falling off yearly, it shall be yearly supplied by such new yearly elections, as aforesaid; and that no one person shall continue therein longer than three years: and in case any member shall decease before the last election during his time, that then at the next election ensuing his decease, another shall be chosen to supply his place for the remaining time he was to have served, and no longer. iv. t h a t after the first seven years, every one of the said third parts that goeth yearly off, shall be uncapable of being chosen again for one whole year following: that so all may be fitted for government, and have experience of the care and burden of it. v. t h a t the provincial council in all cases and matters of moment, as their arguing upon bills to be past into laws, erecting courts of justice, giving judgment upon criminals impeached, and choice of officers, in such manner as is herein after-mentioned; not less than two-thirds of the whole provincial council shall make a _quorum_; and that the consent not approbation of two-thirds of such _quorum_ shall be had in all such cases and matters of moment. and moreover, that in all cases and matters of lesser moment, twenty-four members of the said provincial council shall make a _quorum_, the majority of which twenty-four shall and may always determine in such cases and causes of lesser moment. vi. t h a t in this provincial council the governor, or his deputy, shall or may always preside, and have a treble voice; and the said provincial council shall always continue, and sit upon its own adjournments and committees. vii. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall prepare and propose to the general assembly hereafter mentioned, all bills, which they shall at any time think fit to be passed into laws within the said province; which bills shall be published and affixed to the most noted places in the inhabited parts thereof, thirty days before the meeting of the general assembly, in order to the passing them into laws, or rejecting of them, as the general assembly shall see meet. viii. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall take care, that all laws, statutes and ordinances, which shall at any time be made within the said province, be duly and diligently executed. ix. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall at all times have the care of the peace and safety of the province, and that nothing be by any person attempted to the subversion of this frame of government. x. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall at all times settle and order the situation of all cities, ports, and market-towns in every county, modelling therein all publick buildings, streets, and market-places, and shall appoint all necessary roads and highways in the province. xi. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall at all times have power to inspect the management of the publick treasury, and punish those who shall convert any part thereof to any other use, than what hath been agreed upon by the governor, provincial council, and general assembly. xii. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall erect and order all publick schools, and encourage and reward the authors of useful sciences and laudable inventions in the said province. xiii. t h a t for the better management of the powers and trust aforesaid, the provincial council shall from time to time divide itself into four distinct and proper committees, for the more easy administration of the affairs of the province, which divides the seventy-two into four eighteens, every one of which eighteens shall consist of six out of each of the three orders or yearly elections, each of which shall have a distinct portion of business, as followeth: _first_, a committee of plantations, to situate and settle cities, ports, and market-towns, and highways, and to hear and decide all suits and controversies relating to plantations. _secondly_, a committee of justice and safety, to secure the peace of the province, and punish the male-administration of those who subvert justice to the prejudice of the publick or private interest. _thirdly_, a committee of trade and treasury, who shall regulate all trade and commerce according to law, encourage manufacture and country-growth, and defray the publick charge of the province. and _fourthly_, a committee of manners, education, and arts, that all wicked and scandalous living may be prevented, and that youth may be successively trained up in virtue and useful knowledge and arts: the _quorum_ of each of which committees being six, _that is_, two out of each of the three orders or yearly elections, as aforesaid, make a constant and standing council of twenty-four, which will have the power of the provincial council, being the _quorum_ of it, in all cases not excepted in the fifth article; and in the said committees and standing council of the province, the governor or his deputy shall or may preside, as aforesaid; and in the absence of the governor or his deputy, if no one is by either of them appointed, the said committees or council shall appoint a president for that time, and not otherwise; and what shall be resolved at such committees, shall be reported to the said council of the province, and shall be by them resolved and confirmed before the same shall be put in execution; and that these respective committees shall not sit at one and the same time, except in cases of necessity. xiv. a n d, to the end that all laws prepared by the governor and provincial council aforesaid, may yet have the more full concurrence of the freemen of the province, it is declared, granted, and confirmed, that at the time and place or places for the choice of a provincial council as aforesaid, the said freemen shall yearly chuse members to serve in a general assembly as their representatives, not exceeding two hundred persons, who shall yearly meet from the twentieth day of the second month, which shall be in the year _one thousand six hundred eighty and three_ following, in the capital town or city of the said province, where during eight days the several members may freely confer with one another; and, if any of them see meet, with a committee of the provincial council (consisting of three out of each of the four committees aforesaid, being twelve in all) which shall be at that time, purposely appointed to receive from any of them proposals for the alterations or amendment of any of the said proposed and promulgated bills: and on the ninth day from their so meeting, the said general assembly, after reading over the proposed bills by the clerk of the provincial council, and the occasions and motives for them being opened by the governor or his deputy, shall give their affirmative or negative, which to them seemeth best, in such manner as herein after is express'd. but not less than two-thirds shall make a _quorum_ in the passing of laws, and choice of such officers as are by them to be chosen. xv. t h a t the laws so prepared and proposed as aforesaid, that are assented to by the general assembly, shall be enrolled as laws of the province, with this stile: _by the governor, with the assent and approbation of the freemen in provincial council and general assembly._ xvi. t h a t, for the better establishment of the government and laws of this province, and to the end there may be an universal satisfaction in the laying of the fundamentals thereof; the general assembly shall, or may for the first year, consist of all the freemen of and in the said province, and ever after it shall be yearly chosen as aforesaid; which number of two hundred shall be enlarged as the country shall encrease in people, so as it do not exceed five hundred at any time: the appointment and proportioning or which, as also the laying and methodizing of the choice of the provincial council and general assembly in future times, most equally to the divisions of the hundreds and counties, which the country shall hereafter be divided into, shall be in the power of the provincial council to propose, and the general assembly to resolve. xvii. t h a t the governor and the provincial council shall erect from time to time standing courts of justice, in such places and number as they shall judge convenient for the good government of the said province. and that the provincial council shall on the thirteenth day of the first month yearly, elect and present to the governor or his deputy, a double number of persons, to serve for judges, treasurers, masters of rolls, within the said province for the year next ensuing; and the freemen of the said province in the county-courts, when they shall be erected, and till then in the general assembly, shall on the three and twentieth day of the second month yearly, elect and present to the governor or his deputy, a double number of persons to serve for sheriffs, justices of the peace, and coroners, for the year next ensuing; out of which respective elections and presentments, the governor or his deputy shall nominate and commissionate the proper number for each office the third day after the said presentments; or else the first named in such presentment for each office, shall stand and serve for that office the year ensuing. xviii. b u t forasmuch as the present condition of the province requires some immediate settlement, and admits not of so quick a revolution of officers; and to the end the said province may, with all convenient speed, be well ordered and settled, i _william penn_ do therefore think fit to nominate and appoint such persons for judges, treasurers, masters of the rolls, sheriffs, justices of the peace, and coroners, as are most fitly qualified for those employments; to whom i shall make and grant commissions for the said officers, respectively, to hold to them to whom the same shall be granted, for so long time as every such person shall well behave himself in the office or place to him respectively granted, and no longer. and upon the decease or displacing of any of the said officers, the succeeding officer or officers shall be chosen as aforesaid. xix. t h a t the general assembly shall continue so long as may be needful to impeach criminals fit to be there impeached, to pass bills into laws that they shall think fit to pass into laws, and till such time as the governor and provincial council shall declare that they have nothing further to propose unto them for their assent and approbation: and that declaration shall be a dismiss to the general assembly for that time; which general assembly shall be notwithstanding capable of assembling together upon the summons of the provincial council, at any time during that year, if the said provincial council shall see occasion for their so assembling. xx. t h a t all the elections of members or representatives of the people to serve in provincial council and general assembly, and all questions to be determined by both or either of them, that relate to passing of bills into laws, to the choice of officers, to impeachments made by the general assembly, and judgment of criminals upon such impeachments by the provincial council, and to all other cases by them respectively judged of importance, shall be resolved and determined by the ballot; and unless on sudden and indispensible occasions, no business in provincial council, or its respective committees, shall be finally determined the same day that it is moved. xxi. t h a t at all times, when, and so often as it shall happen that the governor shall or may be an infant under the age of one and twenty years, and no guardians or commissioners are appointed in writing by the father of the said infant, or that such guardians or commissioners shall be deceased; that during such minority, the provincial council shall from time to time, as they shall see meet, constitute and appoint guardians or commissioners, not exceeding three; one of which three shall preside as deputy and chief guardian, during such minority, and shall have, and execute, with the consent of the other two, all the power of a governor, in all the publick affairs and concerns of the said province. xxii. t h a t as often as any day of the month mentioned in any article of this charter, shall fall upon the first day of the week, commonly called _the lord's day_, the business appointed for that day shall be deferred till the next day, unless in case of emergency. xxiii. t h a t no act, law, or ordinance whatsoever, shall at any time hereafter be made or done by the governor of this province, his heirs or assigns, or by the freemen in the provincial council, or the general assembly, to alter, change or diminish the form or effect of this charter, or any part or clause thereof, or contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof, without the consent of the governor, his heirs or assigns, and six parts of seven of the said freemen in provincial council and general assembly. xxiv. a n d l a s t l y, that i the said _william penn_, for myself, my heirs and assigns, have solemnly declared, granted, and confirmed, and do hereby solemnly declare, grant, and confirm, that neither i, my heirs nor assigns, shall procure or do any thing or things, whereby the liberties in this charter contained and expressed shall be infringed or broken; and if any thing be procured by any person or persons contrary to these premisses, it shall be held of no force or effect. i n w i t n e s s whereof, i the said _william penn_ have unto this present charter of liberties set my hand and broad seal, this _five and twentieth_ day of the second month, vulgarly called _april_, in the year of our l o r d _one thousand six hundred and eighty-two_. william penn. * * * * * l a w s _agreed upon in england_, &c. i. t h a t the charter of liberties, declared, granted, and confirmed the _five and twentieth_ day of the second month, called _april_, 1682, before divers witnesses, by _william penn_, governor and chief proprietor of _pensilvania_, to all the freemen and planters of the said province; is hereby declared and approved, and shall be for ever held for fundamental in the government thereof, according to the limitations mentioned in the said charter. ii. t h a t every inhabitant in the said province, that is or shall be a purchaser of one hundred acres of land, or upwards, his heirs and assigns, and every person who shall have paid his passage, and taken up one hundred acres of land at one penny an acre, and have cultivated ten acres thereof; and every person that hath been a servant or bondsman, and is free by his service, that shall have taken up his fifty acres of land, and cultivated twenty thereof; and every inhabitant, artificer, or other resident in the said province, that pays scot and lot to the governments shall be deemed and accounted a freeman of the said province: and every such person shall and may be capable of electing, or being elected representatives of the people in provincial council or general assembly in the said province. iii. t h a t all elections of members, or representatives of the people and freemen of the province of _pensilvania_, to serve in provincial council or general assembly to be held within the said province, shall be free and voluntary: and that the elector, that shall receive any reward or gift, in meat, drink, monies, or otherwise, shall forfeit his right to elect; and such person as shall directly or indirectly give, promise, or bestow any such reward as aforesaid, to be elected, shall forfeit his election, and be thereby incapable to serve as aforesaid: and the provincial council and general assembly shall be the sole judges of the regularity or irregularity of the elections of their own respective members. iv. t h a t no money or goods shall be raised upon, or paid by any of the people of this province by way of publick tax, custom, or contribution, but by a law for that purpose made; and whosoever shall levy, collect, or pay any money or goods contrary thereunto, shall be held a publick enemy to the province, and a betrayer of the liberties of the people thereof. v. t h a t all courts shall be open, and justice shall neither be sold, denied, nor delayed. vi. t h a t in all courts, all persons of all persuasions may freely appear in their own way, and according to their own manner, and there personally plead their own cause themselves; or if unable, by their friend: and the first process shall be the exhibition of the complaint in court, fourteen days before the trial; and that the party complained against may be fitted for the same, he or she shall be summoned, no less than ten days before, and a copy of the complaint delivered him or her, at his or her dwelling-house. but before the complaint of any person be received, he shall solemnly declare in court, that he believes in his conscience his cause is just. vii. t h a t all pleadings, processes, and records in court shall be short, and in _english_, and in an ordinary and plain character, that they may be understood, and justice speedily administred. viii. t h a t all trials shall be by twelve men, and as near as may be, peers or equals, and of the neighbourhood, and men without just exception in cases of life, there shall be first twenty-four returned by the sheriffs for a grand inquest, of whom twelve at least shall find the complaint to be true; and then the twelve men, or peers, to be likewise returned by the sheriff, shall have the final judgment. but reasonable challenges shall be always admitted against the said twelve men, or any of them. ix. t h a t all fees in all cases shall be moderate, and settled by the provincial council and general assembly, and be hung up in a table in every respective court; and whosoever shall be convicted of taking more, shall pay two-fold, and be dismissed his employment, one moiety of which shall go to the party wronged. x. t h a t all prisons shall be work-houses for felons, vagrants, and loose and idle persons; whereof one shall be in every county. xi. t h a t all prisoners shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offences, where the proof is evident, or the presumption great. xii. t h a t all persons wrongfully imprisoned or prosecuted at law, shall have double damages against the informer or prosecutor. xiii. t h a t all prisons shall be free as to fees, food, and lodging. xiv. t h a t all lands and goods shall be liable to pay debts, except where there is legal issue, and then all the goods, and one third of the land only. xv. t h a t all wills in writing attested by two witnesses, shall be of the same force, as to lands, as other conveyances, being legally proved within forty days, either within or without the said province. xvi. t h a t seven years quiet possession shall give an unquestionable right, except in cases of infants, lunaticks, married women, or persons beyond the seas. xvii. t h a t all briberies and extortions whatsoever, shall be severely punished. xviii. t h a t all fines shall be moderate, and saving mens contenements, merchandize, or wainage. xix. t h a t all marriages (not forbidden by the law of god, as to nearness of blood and affinity by marriage) shall be encouraged; but the parents or guardians shall be first consulted, and the marriage shall be published before it be solemnized; and it shall be solemnized by taking one another as husband and wife, before credible witnesses, and a certificate of the whole, under the hands of parties and witnesses, shall be brought to the proper register of that county, and shall be registred in his office. xx. a n d to prevent frauds and vexatious suits within the said province, that all charters, gifts, grants, and conveyances of land, (except leases for a year or under) and all bills, bonds, and specialties above _five pounds_, and not under three months, made in the said province, shall be enrolled or registred in the publick enrolment-office of the said province, within the space of two months next after the making thereof, else to be void in law. and all deeds, grants, and conveyances of land (except as aforesaid) within the said province, and made out of the said province, shall be enrolled or registred as aforesaid, within six months next after the making thereof, and settling and constituting an enrolment-office or registry within the said province, else to be void in law against all persons whatsoever. xxi. t h a t all defacers or corrupters of charters, gifts, grants, bonds, bills, wills, contracts, and conveyances, or that shall deface or falsify any enrolment, registry or record within this province, shall make double satisfaction for the same; half whereof shall go to the party wronged, and they shall be dismissed of all places of trust, and be publickly disgraced as false men. xxii. t h a t there shall be a register for births, marriages, burials, wills, and letters of administration, distinct from the other registry. xxiii. t h a t there shall be a register for all servants, where their names, time, wages, and days of payment shall be registred. xxiv. t h a t all lands and goods of felons shall be liable to make satisfaction to the party wronged twice the value; and for want of lands or goods, the felons shall be bondmen to work in the common prison or work-house, or otherwise, till the party injured be satisfied. xxv. t h a t the estates of capital offenders, as traitors and murderers, shall go one third to the next of kin to the sufferer, and the remainder to the next of kin to the criminal. xxvi. t h a t all witnesses, coming or called to testify their knowledge in or to any matter or thing in any court, or before any lawful authority within the said province, shall there give or deliver in their evidence or testimony by solemnly promising to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, to the matter or thing in question. and in case any person so called to evidence, shall be convicted of wilful falshood, such person shall suffer and undergo such damage or penalty, as the person or persons against whom he or she bore false witness, did or should undergo; and shall also make satisfaction to the party wronged, and be publickly exposed as a false witness, never to be credited in any court, or before any magistrate in the said province. xxvii. a n d to the end that all officers chosen to serve within this province, may with more care and diligence answer the trust reposed in them, it is agreed, that no such person shall enjoy more than one publick office at one time. xxviii. t h a t all children within this province of the age of twelve years, shall be taught some useful trade or skill, to the end none may be idle, but the poor may work to live, and the rich, if they become poor, may not want. xxix. t h a t servants be not kept longer than their time, and such as are careful, be both justly and kindly used in their service, and put in fitting equipage at the expiration thereof, according to custom. xxx. t h a t all scandalous and malicious reporters, backbiters, defamers, and spreaders of false news, whether against magistrates or private persons, shall be accordingly severely punished, as enemies to the peace and concord of this province. xxxi. t h a t for the encouragement of the planters and traders in this province, who are incorporated into a society, the patent granted to them by _william penn_, governor of the said province, is hereby ratified and confirmed. xxxii. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- xxxiii. t h a t all factors or correspondents in the said province, wronging their employers, shall make satisfaction and one third over, to their said employers: and in case of the death of any such factor or correspondent, the committee of trade shall take care to secure so much of the deceased party's estate, as belongs to his said respective employers. xxxiv. t h a t all treasurers, judges, masters of the rolls, sheriffs, justices of the peace, and other officers and persons whatsoever, relating to courts or trials of causes, or any other service in the government; and all members elected to serve in provincial council and general assembly, and all that have right to elect such members, shall be such as profess faith in jesus christ, and that are not convicted of ill fame, or unsober and dishonest conversation, and that are of _twenty-one_ years of age at least; and that all such so qualified, shall be capable of the said several employments and privileges as aforesaid. xxxv. t h a t all persons living in this province, who confess and acknowledge the one almighty and eternal god, to be the creator, upholder and ruler of the world; and that hold themselves obliged in conscience to live peaceably and justly in civil society, shall in no ways be molested or prejudiced for their religious persuasion or practice in matters of faith and worship, nor shall they be compell'd at any time to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry whatever. xxxvi. t h a t according to the good example of the primitive christians, and the ease of the creation, every _first_ day of the week, called the lord's day, people shall abstain from their common daily labour, that they may the better dispose themselves to worship god according to their understandings. xxxvii. t h a t as a careless and corrupt administration of justice draws the wrath of god upon magistrates, so the wildness and looseness of the people provoke the indignation of god against a country: therefore, that all such offences against god, as swearing, cursing, lying, prophane talking, drunkenness, drinking of healths, obscene words, incest, sodomy, rapes, whoredom, fornication, and other uncleanness (not to be repeated) all treasons, misprisions, murders, duels, felony, sedition, maims, forcible entries, and other violences, to the persons and estates of the inhabitants within this province. all prizes, stage-plays, cards, dice, maygames, gamesters, masques, revels, bull-baitings, cock-fightings, bear-baitings, and the like, which excite the people to rudeness, cruelty, looseness, and irreligion, shall be respectively discouraged and severely punish'd, according to the appointment of the governor and freemen in provincial council and general assembly; as also all proceedings contrary to these laws, that are not here made expresly penal. xxxviii. t h a t a copy of these laws shall be hung up in the provincial council, and in publick courts of justice: and that they shall be read yearly at the opening of every provincial council and general assembly, and court of justice; and their assent shall be testified, by their standing up after the reading thereof. xxxix. t h a t there shall be at no time any alteration of any of these laws, without the consent of the governor, his heirs or assigns, and six parts of seven of the freemen, met in provincial council and general assembly. xl. t h a t all other matters and things not herein provided for, which shall and may concern the publick justice, peace or safety of the said province; and the raising and imposing taxes, customs, duties, or other charges whatsoever, shall be and are hereby referred to the order, prudence and determination of the governor and freemen in provincial council and general assembly, to be held from time to time in the said province. _signed and sealed by the governor and freemen aforesaid, the_ fifth _day of the_ third _month, called_ may, _one thousand six hundred and eighty-two._ * * * * * _certain_ conditions or concessions _agreed upon by_ william penn, _proprietor and governor of the province of_ pensilvania, _and those who are the adventurers and purchasers in the same province, the_ eleventh _of_ july, _one thousand six hundred and eighty-one._ f i r s t. t h a t so soon as it pleaseth god, that the abovesaid persons arrive there, a certain quantity of land or ground plat, shall be laid out for a large town or city, in the most convenient place upon the river for health and navigation; and every purchaser and adventurer, shall by lot have so much land therein as will answer to the proportion which he hath bought or taken up upon rent: but it is to be noted, that the surveyors shall consider what roads or highways will be necessary to the cities, towns, or thro' the lands. great roads from city to city shall not contain less than _forty_ foot in breadth, and shall be first laid out and declared to be for highways, before the dividend of acres be laid out for the purchaser; and the like observation to be had for the streets in the towns and cities, that there may be convenient roads and streets preserved, not to be incroached upon by any planter or builder, that none may build irregularly to the damage of another. _in this, custom governs_. ii. t h a t the land in the town be laid out together after the proportion of _ten thousand_ acres of the whole country, that is, _two hundred_ acres if the place will bear it: however, that the proportion be by lot, and entire, so as those that desire to be together, especially those that are by the catalogue laid together, may be so laid together both in the town and country. iii. t h a t when the country-lots are laid out, every purchaser, from _one thousand_ to _ten thousand_ acres, or more, not to have above _one thousand_ acres together, unless in _three_ years they plant a family upon every _thousand_ acres; but that all such as purchase together, lie together; and is as many as comply with this condition, that the whole be laid out together. iv. t h a t where any number of purchasers, more or less, whose number of acres amounts to _five_ or _ten thousand_ acres, desire to sit together in a lot or township, they shall have their lot or township cast together, in such places as have convenient harbours or navigable rivers attending it, if such can be found; and in case any one or more purchasers plant not according to agreement in this concession, to the prejudice of others of the same township, upon complaint thereof made to the governor or his deputy, with assistance, they may award (if they see cause) that the complaining purchaser may, paying the survey-money, and purchase-money, and interest thereof, be entitled, inrolled and lawfully invested in the lands so not seated. v. t h a t the proportion of lands that shall be laid out in the first great town or city, for every purchaser, shall be after the proportion of _ten_ acres for every _five hundred_ acres purchased, if the place will allow it. vi. t h a t notwithstanding there be no mention made, in the several deeds made to the purchasers, yet the said _william penn_ does accord and declare, that all rivers, rivulets, woods and underwoods, waters, water-courses, quarries, mines and minerals (except mines royal) shall be freely and fully enjoyed, and wholly by the purchasers, into whose lot they fall. vii. t h a t for every _fifty_ acres that shall be allotted to a servant at the end of his service, his quit-rent shall be _two shillings per annum_, and the master or owner of the servant, when he shall take up the other _fifty_ acres, his quit-rent shall be _four shillings_ by the year, or if the master of the servant (by reason in the indentures he is so obliged to do) allot out to the servant _fifty_ acres in his own division, the said master shall have on demand allotted him, from the governor, the _one hundred_ acres at the chief rent of _six shillings per annum_. viii. a n d for the encouragement of such as are ingenious and willing to search out gold and silver mines in this province, it is hereby agreed, that they have liberty to bore and dig in any man's property, fully paying the damage done; and in case a discovery should be made, that the discoverer have one _fifth_, the owner of the soil (if not the discoverer) a _tenth_ part, the governor _two fifths_, and the rest to the publick treasury, saving to the king the share reserved by patent. ix. i n every _hundred thousand_ acres, the governor and proprietary, by lot, reserveth _ten_ to himself, what shall lie but in one place. x. t h a t every man shall be bound to plant or man so much of his share of land as shall be set out and surveyed, within _three_ years after it is so set out and surveyed, or else it shall be lawful for new comers to be settled thereupon, paying to them their survey-money, and they go up higher for their shares. xi. t h e r e shall be no buying and selling, be it with an _indian_, or one among another, of any goods to be exported, but what shall be performed in publick market, when such places shall be set apart or erected, where they shall pass the publick stamp or mark. if bad ware, and prized as good, or deceitful in proportion or weight, to forfeit the value as if good and full weight and proportion, to the publick treasury of the province, whether it be the merchandize of the _indian_, or that of the planters. xii. a n d f o r a s m u c h as it is usual with the planters, to over-reach the poor natives of the country in trade, by goods not being good of the kind, or debased with mixtures, with which they are sensibly aggrieved, it is agreed, whatever is sold to the _indians_, in consideration of their furs, shall be sold in the market-place, and there suffer the test, whether good or bad; if good, to pass; if not good, not to be sold for good, that the natives may not be abused nor provoked. xiii. t h a t no man shall by any ways or means, in word or deed, affront or wrong any _indian_, but he shall incur the same penalty of the law, as if he had committed it against his fellow-planter; and if any _indian_ shall abuse, in word or deed, any planter of this province, that he shall not be his own judge upon the _indian_, but he shall make his complaint to the governor of the province, or his lieutenant or deputy, or some inferior magistrate near him, who shall, to the utmost of his power, take care with the king of the said _indian_, that all reasonable satisfaction be made to the said injured planter. xiv. t h a t all differences between the planters and the natives, shall also be ended by _twelve_ men, that is, by _six_ planters and _six_ natives, that so we may live friendly together as much as in us lieth, preventing all occasions of heart-burnings and mischief. xv. t h a t the _indians_ shall have liberty to do all things relating to the improvement of their ground, and providing sustenance for their families, that any of the planters shall enjoy. xvi. t h a t the laws as to slanders, drunkenness, swearing, cursing, pride in apparel, trespasses, distresses, replevins, weights and measures, shall be the same as in _england_, till altered by law in this province. xvii. t h a t all shall mark their hogs, sheep and other cattle, and what are not marked within _three_ months after it is in their possession, be it young or old, it shall be forfeited to the governor, that so people may be compelled to avoid the occasions of much strife between planters. xviii. t h a t in clearing the ground, care be taken to leave one acre of trees for every _five_ acres clear'd, especially to preserve oak and mulberries for silk and shipping. xix. t h a t all ship-masters shall give an account of their countries, names, ships, owners, freights and passengers, to an officer to be appointed for that purpose, which shall be registred within _two_ days after their arrival; and if they shall refuse so to do, that then none presume to trade with them, upon forfeiture thereof; and that such masters be looked upon, as having an evil intention to the province. xx. t h a t no person leave the province, without publication being made thereof, in the market-place, _three_ weeks before, and a certificate from some justice of the peace, of his clearness with his neighbours, and those he hath dealt withal, so far as such an assurance can be attained and given: and if any master of a ship shall, contrary hereunto, receive and carry away any person, that hath not given that publick notice, the said master shall be liable to all debts owing by the said person, so secretly transported from the province. _lastly_, that these are to be added to, or corrected, by and with the consent of the parties hereunto subscribed. william penn; _sealed and delivered in the presence of_ william boelham, harbert springet, thomas prudyard. _sealed and delivered in the presence of all the proprietors who have hereunto subscribed, except_ thomas farrinborrough _and_ john goodson, _in the presence of_ hugh chamberlen, r. murray, harbert springet, humphry south, thomas barker, samuel jobson, john-joseph moore, william powel, richard davie, griffith jones, hugh lambe, thomas farrinborrough, john goodson. * * * * * _an_ a c t _of_ settlement, _made at_ chester, 1682. w h e r e a s william penn, proprietary and governor of the province of _pensylvania_, and territories thereunto belonging, hath, out of his great kindness and goodness to the inhabitants thereof, been favourably pleased to give and grant unto them a charter of liberties and privileges, dated the _twenty-fifth_ day of the _second_ month, _one thousand six hundred and eighty-two_: by which charter it is said, the government shall consist of the governor and freemen of the said province, in the form of a provincial council and general assembly; and that the provincial council shall consist of _seventy-two_ members, to be chosen by the freemen; and that the general assembly may, the _first_ year, consist of the whole body of the freeholders, and ever after of an elected number, not exceeding _two hundred_ persons, without the consent of the provincial council and general assembly: and such assembly to sit yearly on the _twentieth_ day of the _third_ month, as in the _first, second, third, sixth, fourteenth_ and _sixteenth_ articles of the charter, reference being thereunto had, doth more at large appear. a n d f o r a s m u c h as this charter was the _first_ of those probationary laws, that were agreed to and made by and between the proprietary, and governor, and freemen in _england_, that were purchasers in this province, which said laws, in the whole and in every part thereof, were to be submitted to the explanation and confirmation of the _first_ provincial council and general assembly that was to be held in this province, as by the title and _first_ law of the said agreement, doth plainly appear. a n d w h e r e a s, the proprietary and governor hath, according to that charter, issued out writs to the respective sheriffs of the _six_ counties of this province, to summon the freemen thereof, to chuse in each county _twelve_ persons of most note for their sobriety, wisdom, and integrity, to serve in provincial council; and also to inform the freemen that they might come, for this time, in their own persons, to make up a general assembly, according to charter. and that the said respective sheriffs by their returns, and the freemen by their petitions to the proprietary and governor, have plainly declared, that the fewness of the people, their inability in estate, and unskilfulness in matters of government, will not permit them to serve in so large a council and assembly, as by the charter is expressed; and therefore do desire, that the members now chosen to be their deputies and representatives, may serve both for provincial council and general assembly; that is to say, _three_ out of each county for the provincial council, and the remaining _nine_ for the general assembly, according to act, as fully and amply as if the said provincial council and general assembly had consisted of the said numbers of members mentioned in the charter of liberties, upon consideration of the premises; and that the proprietary and governor may testify his great willingness to comply with that which may be most easy and pleasing, he is willing that it be enacted. a n d b e i t e n a c t e d by the proprietary and governor, by and with the unanimous advice and consent of the freemen of this province, and territories thereunto belonging, in provincial council and general assembly met, that the numbers desired by the inhabitants in their several petitions, and express'd to be their desires by the sheriffs returns to the proprietary and governor, to serve as the provincial council and general assembly, be allowed and taken, to all intents and purposes, to be the provincial council and general assembly of this province: and that the _quorum_ shall be proportionably settled, according to the method express'd in the _fifth_ article; that is to say, _two thirds_ to make a _quorum_ in extraordinary cases, and _one third_ in ordinary cases, as is provided in the said _fifth_ article: which said provincial council and general assembly, so already chosen, are and shall be held and reputed the legal provincial council and general assembly of the province and territories thereof, for this present year; and that from and after the expiration of this present year, the provincial council shall consist of _three_ persons out of each county, as aforesaid; and the assembly shall consist of _six_ persons out of each county, which said provincial council and general assembly may be hereafter enlarged, as the governor, and provincial council and assembly shall see cause, so as the said number do not, at any time, exceed the limitations express'd in the _third_ and _sixteenth_ article of the charter, any thing in this act, or any other act, charter or law, to the contrary in any wise notwithstanding. a n d because the freemen of this province and territories thereof, are deeply sensible of the kind and good intentions of the proprietary and governor in this charter, and of the singular benefit that redounds to them thereby, and are desirous that it may in all things best answer the design of the publick good, the freemen of the said provincial council and general assembly met, having unanimously requested some variations, explanations and additions, in and to the said charter, he the proprietary and governor, hath therefore yielded that it be enacted: a n d it is hereby e n a c t e d, that the time for the meeting of the freemen of this province and territories thereof, to chuse their deputies to represent and serve them, in provincial council and general assembly, shall be yearly hereafter, on the _tenth_ day of the _first_ month, which members so chosen for the provincial council, shall make their appearance, and give their attendance, in provincial council, within _twenty_ days after their election; and the said members elected to serve in general assembly, shall yearly meet and assemble, on the _tenth_ day of the said _third_ month, to the end and purposes declared in the charter, at and in such place as is limited in the said charter, unless the governor and provincial council shall, at any time, see cause to the contrary. a n d w h e r e a s it is express'd in the said charter, that the governor and provincial council shall prepare and propose to the general assembly, all bills which they shall think fit to pass into laws, within the said province: b e i t e n a c t e d by the authority aforesaid, that the governor and provincial council, shall have the power of preparing and proposing to the general assembly, all bills that they shall jointly assent to and think fit to have pass'd into laws, in the said province and territories thereof, that are not inconsistent with, but according to the powers granted by the king's letters patents to the proprietary and governor aforesaid; which bills shall be published in the most noted towns and places in the said province and territories thereof, _twenty_ days before the meeting of the general assembly aforesaid. a n d for the better decision and determination of all matters and questions upon elections of representatives, and debates in provincial council and general assembly, it is hereby declared and e n a c t e d, &c. that all questions upon elections of representatives, and debates in provincial council and general assembly, in personal matters, shall be decided by the ballot; and all questions about preparing and enacting laws, shall be determined by the vote. a n d that so united an interest may have an united term and stile to be express'd by, it is hereby declared and e n a c t e d, that the general assembly shall be henceforth termed or called the assembly; and the meeting of the governor, provincial council, and assembly, and their acts and proceedings, shall be stiled and called the meetings, sessions, acts _or_ proceedings _of the_ general assembly _of the province of_ pensilvania, _and the territories thereunto belonging_. and that the freemen of this province, and the territories thereof, may not on their part, seem unmindful or ungrateful to their proprietary and governor, for the testimony he hath been pleased to give, of his great good-will towards them and theirs, nor be wanting of that duty they owe to him and themselves, they have prayed leave hereby to declare their most hearty acceptance of the said charter, and their humble acknowledgments for the same, solemnly promising, that they will inviolably observe and keep the same, except as is therein excepted, and will neither directly nor indirectly contrive, propose, enact, or do any thing or things whatsoever, by virtue of the power thereby granted unto them, that shall or may redound to the prejudice or disadvantage of the proprietary and governor, his heirs and successors, in their just rights, properties and privileges, granted to him and them by the king's letters patents, and deeds of release and feoffment made to him by _j a m e s duke of_ york _and_ albany, &c. and whom they desire may be hereby acknowledged and recognized the true and rightful proprietaries and governors of the province of _pensylvania_, and territories annexed, according to the king's letters patents, and deeds of release and feoffment from _james_, duke of _york_ and _albany_, unto the said proprietary and governor, his heirs and successors; any thing in this act, or any other act, grant, charter, or law, to the contrary of these things herein and hereby explained, altered, limited, promised, declared, and enacted, in any wise notwithstanding. * * * * * _the f r a m e of the government of the province of_ pensylvania, _and territories thereunto annexed in_ america. t o a l l p e r s o n s, to whom these presents may come. w h e r e a s king _c h a r l e s the second_, by his letters patents, under the great seal of _england_, bearing date the _fourth_ day of _march_, in the _thirty and third_ year of the king, for divers considerations therein mentioned, hath been graciously pleased to give and grant unto me _william penn_ (by the name of _william penn_, esq; son and heir of sir _william penn_ deceased) and to my heirs and assigns for ever, all that tract of land, or province called _pensylvania_, in _america_, with divers great powers, preheminences, royalties, jurisdictions, and authorities, necessary for the well-being and government thereof. a n d w h e r e a s the king's dearest brother, _james_ duke of _york_ and _albany_, &c. by his deeds of feoffment, under his hand and seal, duly perfected, bearing date the _four and twentieth_ day of _august, one thousand six hundred eighty and two_, did grant unto me, my heirs and assigns, all that tract of land, lying and being from _twelve_ miles northward of _newcastle_ upon _delaware_ river, in _america_, to _cape hinlopen_, upon the said river and bay of _delaware_ southward, together with all royalties, franchises, duties, jurisdictions, liberties and privileges thereunto belonging. n o w k n o w y e, that for the well-being and good government of the said province and territories thereunto annexed, and for the encouragement of all the freemen and planters, that may be therein concerned, in pursuance of the rights and powers afore-mentioned, i the said _william penn_ have declared, granted and confirmed, and by these presents, for me, my heirs and assigns, do declare, grant and confirm unto all the freemen, planters and adventurers of, in and to the said province and territories thereof, these liberties, franchises and properties, so far as in me lieth, to be held, enjoyed and kept by the freemen, planters and adventurers of and in the said province of _pensylvania_ and territories thereunto annexed, for ever. i m p r i m i s. t h a t the government of this province and territories thereof shall, from time to time, according to the powers of the patent and deeds of feoffment aforesaid, consist of the proprietary and governor, and freemen of the said province and territories thereof, in form of provincial council and assembly, which provincial council shall consist of _eighteen_ persons, being _three_ out of each county, and which assembly shall consist of _thirty-six_ persons, being _six_ out of each county, men of most note for their virtue, wisdom and ability, by whom all laws shall be made, officers chosen, and publick affairs transacted, as is hereafter limited and declared. ii. t h e r e being _three_ persons already chosen for every respective county of this province and territories thereof, to serve in the provincial council, _one_ of them for _three_ years, _one_ for _two_ years, and _one_ for _one_ year; and _one_ of them being to go off yearly in every county; that on the _tenth_ day of the _first_ month yearly, for ever after, the freemen of the said province and territories thereof shall meet together in the most convenient place in every county of this province and territories thereof, then and there to chuse _one_ person, qualified as aforesaid, in every county, being _one third_ of the number to serve in provincial council, for _three_ years; it being intended, that _one third_ of the whole provincial council, consisting and to consist of _eighteen_ persons, falling off yearly, it shall be yearly supplied with such yearly elections, as aforesaid; and that _one_ person shall not continue in longer than _three_ years; and in case any member shall decease before the last election, during his time, that then at the next election ensuing his decease, another shall be chosen to supply his place for the remaining time he was to have served, and no longer. iii. t h a t after the _first seven_ years, every one of the said _third_ parts that goeth yearly off, shall be incapable of being chosen again for one whole year following, that so all that are capable and qualified as aforesaid, may be fitted for government, and have a share of the care and burthen of it. iv. t h a t the provincial council in all cases and matters of moment, as their arguing upon bills to be passed into laws, or proceedings about erecting of courts of justice, sitting in judgment upon criminals impeached, and choice of officers in such manner as is herein after expressed, not less than _two thirds_ of the whole shall make a _quorum_; and that the consent and approbation of _two thirds_ of that _quorum_ shall be had in all such cases or matters of moment: and that in all cases and matters of lesser moment, _one third_ of the whole shall make a _quorum_, the majority of which shall and may always determine in such cases and causes of lesser moment. v. t h a t the governor and provincial council, shall have the power of preparing and proposing to the assembly hereafter mentioned, all bills which they shall see needful, and that shall at any time be past into laws within the said province and territories thereof, which bills shall be published and affixed to the most noted place in every county of this province and territories thereof, _twenty_ days before the meeting of the assembly, in order to passing them into laws. vi. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall take care, that all laws, statutes, and ordinances, which shall at any time be made within the said province and territories, be duly and diligently executed. vii. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall, at all times, have the care of the peace and safety of this province and territories thereof; and that nothing be by any person attempted to the subversion of this frame of government. viii. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall, at all times, settle and order the situation of all cities and market-towns in every county, modelling therein all publick buildings, streets, and market-places; and shall appoint all necessary roads and highways in this province and territories thereof. ix. t h a t the governor and provincial council shall, at all times, have power to inspect the management of the publick treasury, and punish those who shall convert any part thereof to any other use, than what hath been agreed upon by the governor, provincial council, and assembly. x. t h a t the governor and provincial council, shall erect and order all publick schools, and encourage and reward the authors of useful sciences and laudable inventions, in the said province and territories thereof. xi. t h a t _one third_ of the provincial council residing with the governor, shall with the governor, from time to time, have the care of the management of all publick affairs, relating to the peace, justice, treasury, and improvement of the province and territories, and to the good education of youth, and sobriety of the manners of the inhabitants therein, as aforesaid. xii. t h a t the governor or his deputy, shall always preside in the provincial council, and that he shall at no time therein perform any publick act of state whatsoever, that shall or may relate unto the justice, trade, treasury, or safety of the province and territories aforesaid, but by and with the advice and consent of the provincial council thereof. xiii. a n d to the end that all bills prepared and agreed by the governor and provincial council, as aforesaid, may yet have the more full concurrence of the freemen of the province and territories thereof, it is declared, granted and confirmed, that at the time and place in every county, for the choice of _one_ person to serve in provincial council, as aforesaid, the respective members thereof, at their said meeting, shall yearly chuse out of themselves _six_ persons of most note, for virtue, wisdom, and ability, to serve in assembly, as their representatives, who shall yearly meet on the _tenth_ day of the _third_ month, in the capital town or city of the said province, unless the governor and provincial council shall think fit to appoint another place to meet in, where, during _eight_ days, the several members may confer freely with one another; and if any of them see meet, with a committe of the provincial council, which shall be at that time purposely appointed, to receive from any of them, proposals for the alterations or amendment of any of the said proposed and promulgated bills; and on the _ninth_ day from their so meeting, the said assembly, after their reading over of the proposed bills, by the clerk of the provincial council, and the occasions and motives for them being opened by the governor or his deputy, shall, upon the question by him put, give their affirmative or negative, which to them seemeth best, in such manner as is hereafter expressed: but not less than _two thirds_ shall make a _quorum_ in the passing of all bills into laws, and choice of such officers as are by them to be chosen. xiv. t h a t the laws so prepared and proposed as aforesaid, that are assented to by the assembly, shall be enrolled as laws of this province and territories thereof, with this stile, _by the governor, with the assent and approbation of the freemen in provincial council and assembly met_; and from henceforth, the meetings, sessions, acts, and proceedings of the governor, provincial council and assembly, shall be stiled and called, _the meeting, sessions, and proceedings, of the general assembly of the province of_ pensylvania, _and the territories thereunto belonging_. xv. a n d that the representatives of the people in provincial council and assembly, may in after ages bear some proportion with the increase and multiplying of the people, the number of such representatives of the people, may be from time to time increased and enlarged, so as at no time the number exceed _seventy-two_ for the provincial council, and _two hundred_ for the assembly; the appointment and proportion of which number, as also the laying and methodizing of the choice of such representatives in future time, most equally to the division of the country, or number of the inhabitants, is left to the governor and provincial council to propose, and the assembly to resolve, so that the order of proportion be strictly observed, both in the choice of the council and the respective committees thereof, _viz. one third_ to go off and come in yearly. xvi. t h a t from and after the death of this present governor, the provincial council shall, together with the succeeding governor, erect from time to time, standing courts of justice, in such places and number, as they shall judge convenient for the good government of the said province and territories thereof; and that the provincial council shall, on the _thirteenth_ day of the _second_ month then next ensuing, elect and present to the governor or his deputy, a double number of persons, to serve for judges, treasurers, and masters of the rolls, within the said province and territories, to continue so long as they shall well behave themselves in those capacities respectively; and the freemen of the said province, in an assembly met on the _thirteenth_ day of the _third_ month, yearly, shall elect and then present to the governor or his deputy, a double number of persons to serve for sheriffs, justices of the peace and coroners, for the year next ensuing; out of which respective elections and presentments, the governor or his deputy, shall nominate and commissionate the proper number for each office, the _third_ day after the said respective presentments; or else the _first_ named in such presentment for each office as aforesaid, shall stand and serve in that office, the time before respectively limited; and in case of death or default, such vacancy shall be supplied by the governor and provincial council in manner aforesaid. xvii. t h a t the assembly shall continue so long as may be needful, to impeach criminals fit to be there impeached, to pass such bills into laws as are proposed to them, which they shall think fit to pass into laws; and till such time as the governor and provincial council shall declare, _that they have nothing further to propose unto them for their assent and approbation_; and that declaration shall be a dismiss to the assembly for that time; which assembly shall be notwithstanding, capable of assembling together, upon the summons of the governor and provincial council, at any time during that year, if the governor and provincial council shall see occasion for their so assembling. xviii. t h a t all the elections of members or representatives of the people to serve in provincial council and assembly, and all questions to be determined by both or either of them, that relate to choice of officers, and all or any other personal matters, shall be resolved or determined by the _ballot_; and all things relating to the preparing and passing of bills into laws, shall be openly declared and resolved by the _vote_. xix. t h a t at all times when the proprietary and governor shall happen to be an infant, and under the age of _one and twenty_ years, and no guardians or commissioners are appointed in writing, by the father of the said infant, or that such guardian shall be deceased, that during such minority, the provincial council shall, from time to time, as they shall see meet, constitute and appoint guardians and commissioners not exceeding _three_, one of which shall preside as deputy and chief guardian during such minority, and shall have and execute, with the consent of one of the other two, all the power of a governor in all publick affairs and concerns of the said province and territories thereof, according to charter; which said guardian so appointed, shall also have the care and oversight of the estate of the said minor, and be yearly accountable and responsible for the same to the provincial council, and the provincial council to the minor, when of age, or to the next heir, in case of the minor's death, for the trust before expressed. xx. t h a t as often as any days of the month mentioned in any article of this charter, shall fall upon the _first_ day of the week, commonly called the _lord's-day_, the business appointed for that day, shall be deferred until the next day, unless in cases of emergency. xxi. a n d for the satisfaction and encouragement of all aliens, i do give and grant, that if any alien, who is or shall be a purchaser, or who doth or shall inhabit in this province or territories thereof, shall decease at any time before he can well be naturalized, his right and interest therein, shall notwithstanding descend to his wife and children, or other his relations, be he testate or intestate, according to the laws of this province and territories thereof in such cases provided, in as free and ample manner, to all intents and purposes, as if the said alien had been naturalized. xxii. a n d that the inhabitants of this province and territories thereof, may be accommodated with such food and sustenance, as god in his providence hath freely afforded, i do also further grant to the inhabitants of this province and territories thereof, liberty to fowl and hunt upon the lands they hold, and all other lands therein not enclosed; and to fish in all waters in the said lands, and in all rivers and rivulets in and belonging to this province and territories thereof, with liberty to draw his or their fish on shore on any man's lands, so as it be not to the detriment or annoyance of the owner thereof, except such lands as do lie upon inland rivulets that are not boatable, or which are or may be hereafter erected into manors. xxiii. a n d that all the inhabitants of this province and territories thereof, whether purchasers or others, may have the last worldly pledge of my good and kind intentions to them and theirs, i do give, grant, and confirm to all, and every one of them, full and quiet possession of their respective lands, to which they have any lawful or equitable claim, saving only such rents and services for the same as are or customarily ought to be reserved to me, my heirs or assigns. xxiv. t h a t no act, law or ordinance whatsoever, shall at any time hereafter be made or done by the proprietary and governor of this province and territories thereunto belonging, his heirs or assigns, or by the freemen in provincial council or assembly, to alter, change, or diminish, the form or effect of this charter, or any part or clause thereof, contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof, without the consent of the proprietary and governor, his heirs or assigns, and _six_ parts of _seven_ of the said freemen in provincial council and assembly met. xxv. a n d l a s t l y, i the said _william penn_, proprietary and governor of the province of _pensylvania_ and territories thereunto belonging, for me, my heirs and assigns, have solemnly declared, granted and confirmed, and do hereby solemnly declare, grant and confirm, that neither i, nor my heirs nor assigns, shall procure or do any thing or things, whereby the liberties in this charter contained and expressed, shall be infringed or broken: and if any thing be procured by any person or persons, contrary to these premises, it shall be held of no force or effect. i n w i t n e s s whereof, i the said _william penn_, at _philadelphia_ in _pensylvania_, have unto this present charter of liberties set my hand and broad seal, this _second_ day of the _second_ month, in the year of our lord _one thousand six hundred eighty and three_, being the _five and thirtieth_ year of the king, and the _third_ year of my government. _w i l l i a m p e n n_. _t h i s within_ c h a r t e r, _which we have distinctly heard read and thankfully received_, _shall be by us inviolably kept_; _at_ philadelphia, _the_ second day _of the_ second _month_, one thousand six hundred eighty and three. the members of the provincial council present. _william markham_, _john moll_, _william haige_, _christopher taylor_, _john simcock_, _william clayton_, _francis whittwel_, _thomas holme_, _william clark_, _william biles_, _james harrison_, _john richardson_, _philip-thomas lenman_, secr. gov. _richard ingelo,_ cl. coun. the members of the assembly present. _casparus harman_, _john darby_, _benjamin williams_, _william guest_, _valentine hollingsworth_, _james boyden_, _bennony bishop_, _john beazor_, _john harding_, _andrews bringston_, _simon irons_, _john wood_, _john curtis_, _daniel brown_, _william futcher_, _john kipshaven_, _alexander molestine_, _robert bracy_, sen. _thomas bracy_, _william yardly_, _john hastings_, _robert wade_, _thomas hassald_, _john hart_, _robert hall_, _robert bedwell_, _william simsmore_, _samuel darke_, _robert lucas_, _james williams_, _john blunston_, _john songhurst_, _john hill_, _nicholas waln_, _thomas fitzwater_, _john clows_, _luke watson_, _joseph phipps_, _dennis rotchford_, _john brinklair_, _henry bowman_, _cornelius verhoofe_, _john southworth_, cl. of the synod. some of the inhabitants of philadelphia present. _william howel_, _edmund warner_, _henry lewis_, _samuel miles_. * * * * * _the_ c h a r t e r _of the city of_ p h i l a d e l p h i a. _w i l l i a m p e n n_, proprietary and governor of the province of _pensylvania_, &c. to all to whom these presents shall come, sends greeting. k n o w y e, that at the humble request of the inhabitants and settlers of this town of _philadelphia_, being some of the first adventurers and purchasers within this province, for their encouragement, and for the more immediate and entire government of the said town, and better regulation of trade therein: i have by virtue of the king's letters patent, under the great seal of _england_, erected the said town into a borough, and by these presents do erect the said town and borough of _philadelphia_ into a c i t y; which said city shall extend the limits and bounds, as it is laid out between _delaware_ and _skuylkill_. a n d i do for me, my heirs and assigns, grant and ordain, that the streets of the said city, shall for ever continue as they are now laid out and regulated; and that the end of each street extending into the river _delaware_, shall be and continue free for the use and service of the said city, and the inhabitants thereof, who may improve the same for the best advantage of the city, and build wharfs so far out into the river there, as the mayor, aldermen, and common-council, herein after mentioned, shall see meet. a n d i do nominate _edward shippen_ to be the present mayor, who shall so continue until another be chosen, as is herein after directed. a n d i do hereby assign and name _thomas story_ to be present recorder, to do and execute all things which unto the office of recorder of the said city doth or may belong. a n d i do appoint _thomas farmer_ to be the present sheriff, and _robert assheton_ to be the present town-clerk, and clerk of the peace, and clerk of the court and courts. a n d i do hereby name, constitute, and appoint, _joshua carpenter, griffith jones, anthony morris, joseph wilcox, nathan stanbury, charles read, thomas masters_, and _william carter_, citizens and inhabitants of the said city, to be the present aldermen of the said city of _philadelphia_. a n d i do also nominate and appoint _john parsons, william hudson, william lee, nehemiah allen, thomas paschal, john bud_, jun., _edward smout, samuel buckley, james atkinson, pentecost teague, francis cook_, and _henry badcocke_, to be the _twelve_ present common-council men of the said city. a n d i do by these presents, for me, my heirs and successors, give, grant and declare, that the said mayor, recorder, aldermen, and common-council men for the time being, and they which hereafter shall be mayor, recorder, aldermen and common-council men within the said city, and their successors, for ever hereafter be and shall be, by virtue of these presents, one body corporate and politick in deed, and by the name of the mayor and commonalty of the city of _philadelphia_, in the province of _pensylvania_: and them by the name of mayor and commonalty of the city of _philadelphia_, one body politick and corporate in deed and in name, i do for me, my heirs and successors, fully create, constitute and confirm, by these presents; and that by the same name of mayor and commonalty of the city of _philadelphia_, they may have perpetual succession; and that they and their successors, by the name of mayor and commonalty of the city of _philadelphia_, be and at all times hereafter shall be persons able and capable in law, to have, get, receive, and possess, lands and tenements, rents, liberties, jurisdictions, franchises and hereditaments, to them and their successors in fee-simple, or for term of life, lives, years, or otherwise; and also goods, chattels, and other things, of what nature, kind, or quality soever. a n d also to give, grant, let, sell and assign the same lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels, and to do and execute all other things about the same, by the name aforesaid; and also that they be and shall be for ever hereafter persons able and capable in law, to sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered unto, defend and be defended, in all or any the courts and other places, and before any judges, justices, and other persons whatsoever within the said province, in all manner of actions, suits, complaints, pleas, causes and matters whatsoever, and of what nature or kind soever. a n d that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said mayor and commonalty of the said city of _philadelphia_, and their successors, for ever hereafter, to have and use one common seal for the sealing of all businesses touching the said corporation, and the same from time to time at their will and pleasure to change or alter. a n d i do for me, my heirs and successors, give, and by these presents, grant full power and authority unto the mayor, recorder and common-council of the said city of _philadelphia_, or any _five_ or more of the aldermen, and _nine_ or more of the common-council men, the mayor and recorder for the time being, or either of them, being present, on the _first third_ day of the week, in the _eighth_ month yearly for ever hereafter, publickly to meet at a convenient room or place within the said city, to be by them appointed for that purpose, and then and there nominate, elect and chuse one of the aldermen to be mayor for that ensuing year. a n d also to add to the number of aldermen and common-council men, such and so many of those, that by virtue of these presents shall be admitted freemen of the said city from time to time, as they the said mayor, aldermen and common-council shall see occasion. a n d that such person who shall be so elected mayor aforesaid, shall within _three_ days next after such election, be presented before the governor of this province, or his deputy for the time being, and there shall subscribe the declarations and profession of his christian belief, according to the late act of parliament made in the _first_ year of king _william_'s reign, entitled, _an act for exempting their majesties subjects dissenting from the church of_ england, _from the penalties of certain laws_; and then and there the mayor so presented, shall make his solemn affirmation and engagement for the due execution of his office. a n d that the recorder, sheriff, aldermen, and common-council men, and all other officers of the said city, before they or any of them shall be admitted to execute their respective offices, shall make and subscribe the said declarations and profession aforesaid, before the mayor for the time being, and at the same time shall be attested for the due execution of their offices respectively; which declarations, promises and attestations, the mayor of the said city for the time being, is hereby impowered to take and administer accordingly. a n d that the mayor, recorder and aldermen of the said city, for the time being, shall be justices of the peace and justices of oyer and terminer; and are hereby impowered to act within the said city and liberties thereof accordingly, as fully and amply as any justice or justices of the peace or oyer and terminer, can or may do within the said province. a n d that they or any _four_ or more of them (whereof the mayor and recorder of the said city for the time being, shall be _two_) shall and may for ever hereafter have power and authority, by virtue of these presents, to hear and enquire into all and all manner of treasons, murthers, manslaughters, and all manner of felonies and other crimes and offences, capital and criminal, whatsoever, according to the laws of this province and of the kingdom of _england_, with power also to hear and determine all petty larcenies, routs, riots, unlawful assemblies; and to try and punish all persons that shall be convicted for drunkenness, swearing, scolding, breaking the peace, or such like offences, which are by the laws of this province to be punished by fine, imprisonment or whipping; with power also to award process against all rioters and breakers of the peace, and to bind them, and all other offenders and persons of evil fame, to the peace or good behaviour, as any justice or justices of the peace can do, without being accountable to me or my heirs, for any fines or amerciaments to be imposed for the said offences or any of them. a n d i do hereby impower them or any _four_ of them (whereof the mayor and recorder for the time being, shall be _two_) with the city sheriff and town-clerk, to hold and keep a court of record, quarterly, or oftener, if they see occasion, for the enquiring, hearing and determining of the pleas and matters aforesaid; and upon their own view, or after a legal procedure in some of those courts, to cause all nuisances and encroachments in the streets of the said city to be removed, and punish the parties concerned, as the law and usage in such cases shall require. a n d i do by these presents assign and appoint, that the present mayor, recorder, and aldermen herein before-mentioned, be the present justices of the peace, and oyer and terminer, within the said city; and that they and all others that shall be mayors, recorders and aldermen of the said city for the time being, shall have full power and authority, and are hereby impowered and authorized, without any further or other commission, to be justices of the peace, and of oyer and terminer, within the said city for ever; and shall also be justices of the peace, and the mayor and recorder shall be of the _quorum_ of the justices of the county courts, quarter-sessions, oyer and terminer, and goal delivery, in the said county of _philadelphia_; and shall have full power to award process, bind to the peace or behaviour, or commit to prison, for any matter or cause, arising without the said city and within the body of the aforesaid county, as occasion shall require; and to cause kalendars to be made of such prisoners, which, together with all recognizances and examinations taken before them, for or concerning any matter or cause not determinable by them, shall be duly returned to the judges or justices of the said county, in their respective courts where the same shall be cognizable. a n d that it may be lawful to and for the said mayor and commonalty and their successors, when they see occasion, to erect a goal or prison and court-house within the said city. a n d that the mayor and recorder for the time being, shall have, and by these presents have power to take recognizance of debts there, according to the statute of merchants, and of action burnel; and to use and affix the common seal thereupon, and to all certificates concerning the same. a n d that it may be lawful to and for the mayor of the said city, for the time being, for ever hereafter to nominate, and from time to time appoint the clerk of the market, who shall have assize of bread, wine, beer, wood, and other things; and to do, execute and perform all things belonging to the clerk of the market within the said city. a n d i will that the coroners to be chosen by the county of _philadelphia_ for the time being, shall be coroners of the said city and liberties thereof; but that the freemen and inhabitants of the said city shall from time to time, as often as occasion be, have equal liberty with the inhabitants of the said county, to recommend or chuse persons to serve in the respective capacities of coroners and sheriffs for the county of _philadelphia_, who shall reside within the said city. a n d that the sheriff of the said city and county for the time being, shall be the water-bailiff, who shall and may execute and perform all things belonging to the officer of water-bailiff, upon _delaware_ river, and all other navigable rivers and creeks within the said province. a n d in case the mayor of the said city for the time being, shall, during the time of his mayoralty, misbehave himself or misgovern in that office, i do hereby impower the recorder, aldermen and common-council men, or _five_ of the aldermen and _nine_ of the common-council men of the said city of _philadelphia_, for the time being, to remove such mayor from his office of mayoralty; and in such case, or in case of the death of the said mayor for the time being, that then another fit person shall, within _four_ days next after such death or removal, be chosen in manner as is above directed for electing of mayors, in the place of him so dead or removed. a n d lest there should be a failure of justice or government in the said city, in such interval, i do hereby appoint, that the eldest alderman for the time being, shall take upon him the office of a mayor there, and shall exercise the same till another mayor be chosen as aforesaid; and in case of the disability of such eldest alderman, then the next in seniority, shall take upon him the said office of mayor, to exercise the same as aforesaid. a n d in case the recorder, or any of the aldermen or common-council men of or belonging to the said city, for the time being, shall misbehave him or themselves in their respective offices and places, they shall be removed and others chosen in their stead, in manner following, _that is to say_, the recorder for the time being, may be removed (for his misbehaviour) by the mayor, and _two thirds_ of the aldermen and common-council men respectively; and in case of such removal or of the death of the recorder, then to chuse another fit person skilled in the law, to be the recorder there, and so to continue during pleasure as aforesaid. a n d the alderman so misbehaving himself, may be removed by the mayor, recorder and _nine_ of the aldermen and common-council men; and in case of such removal or death, then within _four_ days after, to chuse a fit person or persons to supply such vacancies; and the common-council men, constables, and clerk of the market, for misbehaviour, shall be removed and others chosen, as is directed in the case of aldermen. a n d i do also, for me and my successors, by these presents, grant to the said mayor and commonalty, and their successors, that if any of the citizens of the said city, shall be hereafter nominated, elected, and chosen to the office of mayor, aldermen and common-council men as aforesaid, and having notice of his or their election, shall refuse to undertake and execute that office to which he is so chosen, that then, and so often it shall and may be lawful for the mayor and recorder, aldermen and common-council men, or the major part of the aldermen and common-council men for the time being, according to their discretion, to impose such moderate fines upon such refusers, so as the mayor's fine exceed not _forty pounds_, the alderman's _five and thirty pounds_, and common-council men twenty pounds, and other officers proportionably, to be levied by distress and sale, by warrant under the common seal, or by other lawful ways, to the use of the said corporation. a n d in such cases it shall be lawful to chuse others to supply the defects of such refusers, in manner as is as above directed for elections. a n d that it shall and may be lawful to and for the mayor, recorder, and at least _three_ aldermen for the time being, from time to time, so often as they shall find occasion, to summon a common-council of the said city. a n d that no assembly or meeting of the said citizens, shall be deemed or accounted a common-council, unless the said mayor and recorder, and, at least _three_ of the aldermen for the time being, and _nine_ of the common-council men be present. a n d also that the said mayor, recorder, aldermen and common-council men for the time being, from time to time, at their common-council, shall have power to admit such and so many freemen into their corporation and society as they shall think fit. a n d to make (and they may make, ordain, constitute and establish) such and so many good and reasonable laws, ordinances and constitutions (not repugnant to the laws of _england_ and this government) as to the greater part of them at such common-council assembled (where the mayor and recorder for the time being, are to be always present) shall seem necessary and convenient for the government of the said city. a n d the same laws, ordinances, orders and constitutions so to be made, to put in use and execution accordingly, by the proper officers of the said city; and at their pleasure to revoke, alter, and make anew, as occasion shall require. a n d also impose such mulcts and amerciaments upon the breakers of such laws and ordinances, as to them in their discretion shall be thought reasonable; which mulcts, as also all other fines and amerciaments to be set or imposed by virtue of the powers granted, shall be levied as above is directed in case of fines, to the use of the said corporation, without rendering any account thereof to me, my heirs and successors; with power to the common-council aforesaid, to mitigate, remit, or release such fines and mulcts, upon the submission of the parties. _provided always_, that no person or persons hereafter, shall have right of electing or being elected, by virtue of these presents, to any office or place judicial or ministerial, nor shall be admitted freemen of the said city, unless they be free denizens of this province, and are of the age of _twenty-one_ years or upwards, and are inhabitants of the said city, and have an estate of inheritance or freehold therein, or are worth _fifty pounds_ in money, or other stock, and have been resident in the said city for the space of _two_ years, or shall purchase their freedom of the mayor and commonalty aforesaid. a n d i do further grant to the said mayor and commonalty of the city of _philadelphia_, that they and their successors, shall and may for ever hereafter hold and keep within the said city, in every week of the year, _two_ market-days, the one upon the _fourth_ day of the week, and the other upon the _seventh_ day of the week, in such place or places as is, shall, or may be appointed for that purpose, by the said commonalty or their successors, from time to time. a n d also _two_ fairs therein every year, the one of them to begin on the _sixteenth_ day of the _third_ month, called _may_, yearly, and so to be held in and about the market-place, and continue for that day and _two_ days next following; and the other of the said fairs to be held in the aforesaid place on the _sixteenth_ day of the _ninth_ month yearly, and for _two_ days next after. a n d i do for me, my heirs and assigns, by virtue of the king's letters patent, make, erect and constitute the said city of _philadelphia_, to be a port or harbour for discharging and unlading of goods and merchandize out of ships, boats, and other vessels; and for landing and shipping them in or upon such and so many places, keys and wharfs there, as by the mayor, aldermen, and common-council of the said city, shall from time to time be thought most expedient for the accommodation and service of the officers of the customs, in the management of the king's affairs and preservation of his duties, as well as for conveniency of trade. a n d i do ordain and declare, that the said port or harbour shall be called the port of _philadelphia_, and shall extend and be accounted to extend into all such creeks, rivers, and places within this province, and shall have so many wharfs, keys, landing-places and members belonging thereto, for landing and shipping of goods, as the said mayor, aldermen, and common-council for the time being, with the approbation of the chief officer or officers of the king's customs, shall from time to time think fit to appoint. a n d i do also ordain, that the landing-places now and heretofore used at the _penny-pot-house_ and _blue-anchor_, saving to all persons their just and legal right and properties in the lands so to be open; as also the swamp between _bud_'s buildings and the _society-hill_, shall be left open and common for the use and service of the said city and all others, with liberty to dig docks and make harbours for ships and vessels, in all or any part of the said swamp. a n d i do hereby grant, that all the vacant land within the bounds and limits of the said city, shall remain open as a free common of pasture, for the use of the inhabitants of the said city, until the same shall be gradually taken in, in order to build or improve thereon, and not otherwise. _provided always_, that nothing herein contained, shall debar me or my heirs in time to come, from fencing in all the vacant lands that lie between the _center_ meeting-house and the _schuylkil_, which i intend shall be divided from the land by me allotted for _delaware_ side, by a strait line along the _broad-street_ from _edward shippen_'s land through the _center_ square by _daniel pegg_'s land; nor shall the fencing or taking in any of the streets, happening to be within that inclosure on _skuylkil_, be deemed or adjudged to be an incroachment, where it shall not interfere or stop any of the streets or passages leading to any of the houses built or to be built on that side, any thing herein contained to the contrary notwithstanding. a n d i do grant, that this present charter, shall, in all courts of law and equity, be construed and taken most favourably and beneficially, for the said corporation. i n w i t n e s s whereof, i have hereunto set my hand, and caused my great seal to be affixed. dated at _philadelphia_ the _five and twentieth_ day of _october_, anno domini _one thousand seven hundred and one_, and in the _thirteenth_ year of the reign of king _w i l l i a m the third_, over _england_, &c. and the _one and twentieth_ year of my government. _w i l l i a m p e n n_. * * * * * _the_ c h a r t e r _of_ p r i v i l e g e s _granted by_ w i l l i a m p e n n, _esq_; _to the inhabitants of_ pensylvania _and territories_. _w i l l i a m p e n n_, proprietary and governor of the province of _pensylvania_, and territories thereunto belonging. to all to whom these presents shall come, sendeth greeting. w h e r e a s king _c h a r l e s the second_, by his letters patents, under the great seal of _england_, bearing date the _fourth_ day of _march_, in the year _one thousand six hundred and eighty_, was graciously pleased to give and grant unto me, and my heirs and assigns for ever, this province of _pensylvania_, with divers great powers and jurisdictions for the well government thereof. a n d w h e r e a s the king's dearest brother, _j a m e s duke of y o r k and a l b a n y_, &c. by his deeds of feoffment, under his hand and seal duly perfected, bearing date the _twenty-fourth_ day of _august, one thousand six hundred eighty and two_, did grant unto me, my heirs and assigns, all that tract of land, now called the territories of _pensylvania_, together with powers and jurisdictions for the good government thereof. a n d w h e r e a s for the encouragement of all the freemen and planters, that might be concerned in the said province and territories, and for the good government thereof, i the said william penn, in the year _one thousand six hundred eighty and three_, for me, my heirs and assigns, did grant and confirm unto all the freemen, planters and adventurers therein, divers liberties, franchises and properties, as by the said grant, entituled, _the f r a m e of the government of the province of_ pensylvania, _and territories thereunto belonging_, in _america_, may appear; which charter or frame being found in some parts of it, not so suitable to the present circumstances of the inhabitants, was in the _third_ month, in the year _one thousand seven hundred_, delivered up to me, by _six_ parts of _seven_ of the freemen of this province and territories, in general assembly met, provision being made in the said charter, for that end and purpose. a n d w h e r e a s i was then pleased to promise, that i would restore the said charter to them again, with necessary alterations, or in lieu thereof, give them another, better adapted to answer the present circumstances and conditions of the said inhabitants; which they have now, by their representatives in general assembly, met at _philadelphia_, requested me to grant. k n o w y e t h e r e f o r e, that for the further well-being and good government of the said province, and territories; and in pursuance of the rights and powers before-mentioned, i the said _william penn_ do declare, grant and confirm, unto all the freemen, planters and adventurers, and other inhabitants in this province and territories, these following liberties, franchises and privileges, so far as in me lieth, to be held, enjoyed and kept, by the freemen, planters and adventurers, and other inhabitants of and in the said province and territories thereunto annexed, for ever. f i r s t. b e c a u s e no people can be truly happy, though under the greatest enjoyment of civil liberties, if abridged of the freedom of their consciences, as to their religious profession and worship: and almighty god being the only lord of conscience, father of lights and spirits, and the author as well as object of all divine knowledge, faith and worship, who only doth enlighten the minds, and persuade and convince the understandings of people, i do hereby grant and declare, that no person or persons, inhabiting in this province or territories, who shall confess and acknowledge _one_ almighty god, the creator, upholder and ruler of the world; and profess him or themselves obliged to live quietly under the civil government, shall be in any case molested or prejudiced, in his or their person or estate, because of his or their conscientious persuasion or practice, nor be compelled to frequent or maintain any religious worship, place or ministry, contrary to his or their mind, or to do or suffer any other act or thing, contrary to their religious persuasion. a n d that all persons who also profess to believe in _jesus christ_, the saviour of the world, shall be capable (notwithstanding their other persuasions and practices in point of conscience and religion) to serve this government in any capacity, both legislatively and executively, he or they solemnly promising, when lawfully required, allegiance to the king as sovereign, and fidelity to the proprietary and governor, and taking the attests as now established by the law made at _newcastle_ in the year _one thousand and seven hundred_, entitled, _an act directing the attests of several officers and ministers, as now amended and confirmed by this present assembly_. ii. f o r the well governing of this province and territories, there shall be an assembly yearly chosen, by the freemen thereof, to consist of _four_ persons out of each county, of most note for virtue, wisdom and ability, (or of a greater number at any time, as the governor and assembly shall agree) upon the _first_ day of _october_ for ever; and shall sit on the _fourteenth_ day of the same month, at _philadelphia_, unless the governor and council for the time being, shall see cause to appoint another place within the said province or territories: which assembly shall have power to chuse a speaker and their other officers; and shall be judges of the qualifications and elections of their own members; sit upon their own adjournments; appoint committees; prepare bills in order to pass into laws; impeach criminals, and redress grievances; and shall have all other powers and privileges of an assembly, according to the rights of the free-born subjects of _england_, and as is usual in any of the king's plantations in _america_. a n d if any county or counties, shall refuse or neglect to chuse their respective representatives as aforesaid, or if chosen, do not meet to serve in assembly, those who are so chosen and met, shall have the full power of an assembly, in as ample manner as if all the representatives had been chosen and met, provided they are not less than _two thirds_ of the whole number that ought to meet. a n d that the qualifications of electors and elected, and all other matters and things relating to elections of representatives to serve in assemblies, though not herein particularly expressed, shall be and remain as by a law of this government, made at _new-castle_ in the year _one thousand seven hundred_, entitled, _an act to ascertain the number of members of assembly, and to regulate the elections_. iii. t h a t the freemen in each respective county, at the time and place of meeting for electing their representatives to serve in assembly, may as often as there shall be occasion, chuse a double number of persons to present to the governor for sheriffs and coroners, to serve for _three_ years, if so long they behave themselves well; out of which respective elections and presentments, the governor shall nominate and commissionate one for each of the said offices, the _third_ day after such presentment, or else the _first_ named in such presentment, for each office as aforesaid, shall stand and serve in that office for the time before respectively limited; and in case of death or default, such vacancies shall be supplied by the governor, to serve to the end of the said term. p r o v i d e d a l w a y s, that if the said freemen, shall at any time neglect or decline to chuse a person or persons for either or both the aforesaid offices, then and in such case, the persons that are or shall be in the respective offices of sheriffs or coroners, at the time of election, shall remain therein, until they shall be removed by another election as aforesaid. a n d that the justices of the respective counties, shall or may nominate and present to the governor _three_ persons, to serve for clerk of the peace for the said county, when there is a vacancy, one of which the governor shall commissionate, within _ten_ days after such presentment, or else the _first_ nominated, shall serve in the said office during good behaviour. iv. t h a t the laws of this government shall be in this stile, viz. _by the governor, with the consent and approbation of the freemen in general assembly met_; and shall be, after confirmation by the governor, forthwith recorded in the rolls-office, and kept at _philadelphia_, unless the governor and assembly shall agree to appoint another place. v. t h a t all criminals shall have the same privileges of witnesses and council as their prosecutors. vi. t h a t no person or persons shall or may, at any time hereafter, be obliged to answer any complaint, matter or thing whatsoever, relating to property, before the governor and council, or in any other place, but in ordinary course of justice, unless appeals thereunto shall be hereafter by law appointed. vii. t h a t no person within this government, shall be licensed by the governor to keep an ordinary, tavern, or house of publick entertainment, but such who are first recommended to him, under the hands of the justices of the respective counties, signed in open court; which justices are and shall be hereby impowered, to suppress and forbid any person, keeping such publick-house as aforesaid, upon their misbehaviour, on such penalties as the law doth or shall direct; and to recommend others from time to time, as they shall see occasion. viii. i f any person, through temptation or melancholy, shall destroy himself, his estate, real and personal, shall notwithstanding descend to his wife and children, or relations, as if he had died a natural death; and if any person shall be destroyed or killed by casualty or accident, there shall be no forfeiture to the governor by reason thereof. a n d no act, law or ordinance whatsoever, shall at any time hereafter, be made or done, to alter, change or diminish the form or effect of this charter, or of any part or clause therein, contrary to the true intent and meaning thereof, without the consent of the governor for the time being, and _six_ parts of _seven_ of the assembly met. b u t because the happiness of mankind depends so much upon the enjoying of liberty of their consciences as aforesaid, i do hereby solemnly declare, promise and grant, for me, my heirs and assigns, that the _first_ article of this charter relating to liberty of conscience, and every part and clause therein, according to the true intent and meaning thereof, shall be kept and remain without any alteration, inviolably for ever. a n d l a s t l y, i the said _william penn_, proprietary and governor of the province of _pensylvania_, and territories thereunto belonging, for myself, my heirs and assigns, have solemnly declared, granted and confirmed, and do hereby solemnly declare, grant and confirm, that neither i, my heirs or assigns, shall procure or do any thing or things, whereby the liberties in this charter contained and expressed, nor any part thereof, shall be infringed or broken: and if any thing shall be procured or done, by any person or persons, contrary to these presents, it shall be held of no force or effect. i n w i t n e s s whereof, i the said _william penn_, at _philadelphia_ in _pensylvania_, have unto this present charter of liberties, set my hand and broad seal, this _twenty-eighth_ day of _october_, in the year of our lord, _one thousand seven hundred and one_, being the _thirteenth_ year of the reign of king _w i l l i a m the third_, over _england, scotland, france_, and _ireland_, &c. and the _twenty-first_ year of my government. a n d n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the closure and test of this present charter as aforesaid, i think fit to add this following proviso thereunto, as part of the same, _that is to say_, that notwithstanding any clause or clauses in the above-mentioned charter, obliging the province and territories, to join together in legislation, i am content, and do hereby declare, that if the representatives of the province and territories shall not hereafter agree to join together in legislation, and that the same shall be signified unto me, or my deputy, in open assembly, or otherwise, from under the hands and seals of the representatives, for the time being, of the province and territories, or the major part of either of them, at any time within _three_ years from the date hereof, that in such case, the inhabitants of each of the _three_ counties of this province, shall not have less than _eight_ persons to represent them in assembly, for the province; and the inhabitants of the town of _philadelphia_ (when the said town is incorporated) _two_ persons to represent them in assembly; and the inhabitants of each county in the territories, shall have as many persons to represent them, in a distinct assembly for the territories, as shall be by them requested as aforesaid. n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g which separation of the province and territories, in respect of legislation, i do hereby promise, grant and declare, that the inhabitants of both province and territories, shall separately enjoy all other liberties, privileges and benefits, granted jointly to them in this charter, any law, usage, or custom of this government heretofore made and practised, or any law made and passed by this general assembly, to the contrary hereof notwithstanding. _w i l l i a m p e n n_. * * * * * _t h i s_ c h a r t e r of p r i v i l e g e s _being distinctly read in assembly, and the whole and every part thereof, being approved of and agreed to, by us, we do thankfully receive the same from our proprietary and governor, at_ philadelphia, _this_ twenty-eighth _day of_ october, one thousand seven hundred and one. _signed on behalf, and by order of the assembly,_ _per_ joseph growdon, _speaker_. _edward shippen_, } _phineas pemberton_, } _samuel carpenter_, } proprietary and governor's _griffith owen_, } council. _caleb pusey_, } _thomas story_, } _f i n i s_. [illustration] _this day is published_, a l e t h i a: or, a general system of moral truths and natural religion. contained in the letters of s e l i m a, empress of the turks, to her daughter i s a b e l l a, at grand cairo. with historical and critical notes. by richard murray, a. m. and j. u. b. _quid verum atque decens, curo, & rogo, omnis in hoc sum_. printed for t. osborne, in gray's-inn. * * * * * _this day is published_, _beautifully printed, in a neat pocket volume, price_ 2 s. _sew'd, or_ 2 s. 6. d. _bound_, a j o u r n e y through part of england and scotland along with the army, under the command of his royal highness the duke of cumberland. wherein the proceedings of the army, and the happy suppression of the rebellion in the year 1746, are particularly described. as also, the natural history and antiquities of the several places passed through. together with the manners and customs of the different people, especially of the highlanders. by a volunteer. comprised in several letters to a friend in london. printed for t. osborne, in gray's-inn. =transcriber's notes:= hyphenation, spelling and grammar have been preserved as in the original governour ==> governor" [ed. for consistency] page 3, the inhatants of ==> the inhabitants of page 12, by their forts. ==> by their forts." page 22, so advantagious a ==> so advantageous a page 42, following orignal letter ==> following original letter page 51, bretrhen of the ==> brethren of the page 52, shawanese, "that they ==> shawanese,' "that they page 56, had any warriours ==> had any warriors page 61, for us.' we ==> for us." we page 62, proper information. ==> proper information.' page 71, in obtaining justice. ==> in obtaining justice.' page 77, would communicate. ==> would communicate.' page 80, canassetego taking a ==> canassatego taking a page 94, no onger. your ==> no longer. your page 106, good undestanding with ==> good understanding with page 110, conred weiser ==> conrad weiser page 112, lands at at our ==> lands at our page 112, well, it it hath ==> well, it hath page 115, shick calamy ==> shickcalamy page 127, to have resonable ==> to have reasonable page 132, that seareh has ==> that search has page 135, "as we have already ==> as we have already page 146, design, and and the ==> design, and the page 163, was entred into ==> was entered into page 176, a mischievous people. ==> a mischievous people.] page 177, was wrought. ==> was wrought.] page 182, massachuset's-bay ==> massachusets-bay page 183, the enemies' blood ==> the enemies' blood page 185, interpreted as as follows ==> interpreted as follows page 194/195, war-like enprizes ==> war-like enterprizes page 208, other country whatsover ==> other country whatsoever page 215, or molestation whatsover ==> or molestation whatsoever page 235, to the criminial ==> to the criminal page 240, the porportion which ==> the proportion which page 245, act act of settlement ==> an act of settlement page 264, john bud, jun. ==> john bud, jun., page 278, other their officers ==> their other officers the young voyageurs--boy hunters in the north, by captain mayne reid. ________________________________________________________________________ the heroes are the three boys whom we met in "the boy hunters" where they were off on a search for a white buffalo, which their father had requested. now, however, their father has died, and the only relative they have is an uncle who works for the hudson's bay company, in the very north of canada. the uncle sends for them, and sends his own son to guide them over the canadian part of the journey. this is the story of their journey from their original home in the south of the u.s.a., many thousands of miles, to be with their uncle. at the time the only way they could do this journey was by their own efforts, by canoe, on foot, and, after the onset of winter, by sledge, or, if they could get one, by dog-train. the canoe and much of their clothes, food and equipment is lost in a major rapid, so they are very much thrown on their own ingenuity and woodcraft. one of the boys has a major interest in natural history, and we hear from him all about the various animals and birds encountered. this is far from being a bore, as the author has taken care to make it interesting. this is a very enjoyable book, even though it is over 150 years since it was written. ________________________________________________________________________ the young voyageurs--boy hunters in the north, by captain mayne reid. chapter one. the fur countries. boy reader, you have heard of the hudson's bay company? ten to one, you have worn a piece of fur, which it has provided for you; if not, your pretty little sister has--in her muff, or her boa, or as a trimming for her winter dress. would you like to know something of the country whence come these furs?--of the animals whose backs have been stripped to obtain them? as i feel certain that you and i are old friends, i make bold to answer for you--yes. come, then! let us journey together to the "fur countries;" let us cross them from south to north. a vast journey it will be. it will cost us many thousand miles of travel. we shall find neither railway-train, nor steamboat, nor stage-coach, to carry us on our way. we shall not even have the help of a horse. for us no hotel shall spread its luxurious board; no road-side inn shall hang out its inviting sign and "clean beds;" no roof of any kind shall offer us its hospitable shelter. our table shall be a rock, a log, or the earth itself; our lodging a tent; and our bed the skin of a wild beast. such are the best accommodations we can expect upon our journey. are you still ready to undertake it? does the prospect not deter you? no--i hear you exclaim. i shall be satisfied with the table--what care i for mahogany? with the lodging--i can tent like an arab. with the bed--fling feathers to the wind! enough, brave boy! you shall go with me to the wild regions of the "north-west," to the far "fur countries" of america. but, first--a word about the land through which we are going to travel. take down your atlas. bend your eye upon the map of north america. note two large islands--one upon the right side, newfoundland; another upon the left, vancouver. draw a line from one to the other; it will nearly bisect the continent. north of that line you behold a vast territory. how vast! you may take your scissors, and clip fifty englands out of it! there are lakes there in which you might _drown_ england, or make an island of it! now, you may form some idea of the vastness of that region known as the "fur countries." will you believe me, when i tell you that all this immense tract is a wilderness--a howling wilderness, if you like a poetical name? it is even so. from north to south, from ocean to ocean,--throughout all that vast domain, there is neither town nor village--hardly anything that can be dignified with the name of "settlement." the only signs of civilisation to be seen are the "forts," or trading posts, of the hudson's bay company; and these "signs" are few and far--hundreds of miles--between. for inhabitants, the country has less than ten thousand white men, the _employes_ of the company; and its native people are indians of many tribes, living far apart, few in numbers, subsisting by the chase, and half starving for at least a third part of every year! in truth, the territory can hardly be called "inhabited." there is not a man to every ten miles; and in many parts of it you may travel hundreds of miles without seeing a face, red, white, or black! the physical aspect is, therefore, entirely wild. it is very different in different parts of the territory. one tract is peculiar. it has been long known as the "barren grounds." it is a tract of vast extent. it lies north-west from the shores of hudson's bay, extending nearly to the mackenzie river. its rocks are _primitive_. it is a land of hills and valleys,--of deep dark lakes and sharp-running streams. it is a woodless region. no timber is found there that deserves the name. no trees but glandular dwarf birches, willows, and black spruce, small and stunted. even these only grow in isolated valleys. more generally the surface is covered with coarse sand--the _debris_ of granite or quartz-rock--upon which no vegetable, save the lichen or the moss, can find life and nourishment. in one respect these "barren grounds" are unlike the deserts of africa: they are well watered. in almost every valley there is a lake; and though many of these are landlocked, yet do they contain fish of several species. sometimes these lakes communicate with each other by means of rapid and turbulent streams passing through narrow gorges; and lines of those connected lakes form the great rivers of the district. such is a large portion of the hudson's bay territory. most of the extensive peninsula of labrador partakes of a similar character; and there are other like tracts west of the rocky mountain range in the "russian possessions." yet these "barren grounds" have their denizens. nature has formed animals that delight to dwell there, and that are never found in more fertile regions. two ruminating creatures find sustenance upon the mosses and lichens that cover their cold rocks: they are the caribou (reindeer) and the musk-ox. these, in their turn, become the food and subsistence of preying creatures. the wolf, in all its varieties of grey, black, white, pied, and dusky, follows upon their trail. the "brown bear,"--a large species, nearly resembling the "grizzly,"--is found only in the barren grounds; and the great "polar bear" comes within their borders, but the latter is a dweller upon their shores alone, and finds his food among the finny tribes of the seas that surround them. in marshy ponds, existing here and there, the musk-rat (_fibre zibethieus_) builds his house, like that of his larger cousin, the beaver. upon the water sedge he finds subsistence; but his natural enemy, the wolverene (_gulo luscus_), skulks in the same neighbourhood. the "polar hare" lives upon the leaves and twigs of the dwarf birch-tree; and this, transformed into its own white flesh, becomes the food of the arctic fox. the herbage, sparse though it be, does not grow in vain. the seeds fall to the earth, but they are not suffered to decay. they are gathered by the little lemmings and meadow-mice (_arvicolae_), who, in their turn, become the prey of two species of _mustelidae_, the ermine and vison weasels. have the fish of the lakes no enemy? yes--a terrible one in the canada otter. the mink-weasel, too, pursues them; and in summer, the osprey, the great pelican, the cormorant, and the white-headed eagle. these are the _fauna_ of the barren grounds. man rarely ventures within their boundaries. the wretched creatures who find a living there are the esquimaux on their coasts, and a few chippewa indians in the interior, who hunt the caribou, and are known as "caribou-eaters." other indians enter them only in summer, in search of game, or journeying from point to point; and so perilous are these journeyings, that numbers frequently perish by the way. there are no white men in the barren grounds. the "company" has no commerce there. no fort is established in them: so scarce are the fur-bearing animals of these parts, their skins would not repay the expense of a "trading post." far different are the "wooded tracts" of the fur countries. these lie mostly in the southern and central regions of the hudson's bay territory. there are found the valuable beaver, and the wolverene that preys upon it. there dwells the american hare, with its enemy the canada lynx. there are the squirrels, and the beautiful martens (sables) that hunt them from tree to tree. there are found the foxes of every variety, the red, the cross, and the rare and highly-prized silver-fox (_vulpes argentatus_), whose shining skin sells for its weight in gold! there, too, the black bear (_ursus americanus_) yields its fine coat to adorn the winter carriage, the holsters of the dragoon, and the shako of the grenadier. there the fur-bearing animals exist in greatest plenty, and many others whose skins are valuable in commerce, as the moose, the wapiti, and the wood-bison. but there is also a "prairie" district in the fur countries. the great table prairies of north america, that slope eastward from the rocky mountains, also extend northward into the hudson's bay territory. they gradually grow narrower, however, as you proceed farther north, until, on reaching the latitude of the great slave lake, they end altogether. this "prairie land" has its peculiar animals. upon it roams the buffalo, the prong-horned antelope, and the mule-deer. there, too, may be seen the "barking-wolf" and the "swift fox." it is the favourite home of the marmots, and the gauffres or sand-rats; and there, too, the noblest of animals, the horse, runs wild. west of this prairie tract is a region of far different aspect,--the region of the rocky mountains. this stupendous chain, sometimes called the andes of north america, continues throughout the fur countries from their southern limits to the shores of the arctic sea. some of its peaks overlook the waters of that sea itself, towering up near the coast. many of these, even in southern latitudes, carry the "eternal snow." this "mountain-chain" is, in places, of great breadth. deep valleys lie in its embrace, many of which have never been visited by man. some are desolate and dreary; others are oases of vegetation, which fascinate the traveller whose fortune it has been, after toiling among naked rocks, to gaze upon their smiling fertility. these lovely wilds are the favourite home of many strange animals. the argali, or mountain-sheep, with his huge curving horns, is seen there; and the shaggy wild goat bounds along the steepest cliffs. the black bear wanders through the wooded ravines; and his fiercer congener, the "grizzly"--the most dreaded of all american animals--drags his huge body along the rocky declivities. having crossed the mountains, the fur countries extend westward to the pacific. there you encounter barren plains, treeless and waterless; rapid rivers, that foam through deep, rock-bound channels; and a country altogether rougher in aspect, and more mountainous, than that lying to the east of the great chain. a warmer atmosphere prevails as you approach the pacific, and in some places forests of tall trees cover the earth. in these are found most of the fur-bearing animals; and, on account of the greater warmth of the climate, the true _felidae_--the long-tailed cats--here wander much farther north than upon the eastern side of the continent. even so far north as the forests of oregon these appear in the forms of the cougar (_felis concolor_), and the ounce (_felis onza_). but it is not our intention at present to cross the rocky mountains. our journey will lie altogether on the eastern side of that great chain. it will extend from the frontiers of civilisation to the shores of the arctic sea. it is a long and perilous journey, boy reader; but as we have made up our minds to it, let us waste no more time in talking, but set forth at once. you are ready? hurrah! chapter two. the young voyageurs. there is a canoe upon the waters of red river--red river of the north. it is near the source of the stream, but passing downward. it is a small canoe, a frail structure of birch-bark, and contains only four persons. they are all young--the eldest of them evidently not over nineteen years of age, and the youngest about fifteen. the eldest is nearly full-grown, though his body and limbs have not yet assumed the muscular development of manhood. his complexion is dark, nearly olive. his hair is jet-black, straight as an indian's, and long. his eyes are large and brilliant, and his features prominent. his countenance expresses courage, and his well-set jaws betoken firmness and resolution. he does not belie his looks, for he possesses these qualifications in a high degree. there is a gravity in his manner, somewhat rare in one so young; yet it is not the result of a morose disposition, but a subdued temperament produced by modesty, good sense, and much experience. neither has it the air of stupidity. no: you could easily tell that the mind of this youth, if once roused, would exhibit both energy and alertness. his quiet manner has a far different expression. it is an air of coolness and confidence, which tells you he has met with dangers in the past, and would not fear to encounter them again. it is an expression peculiar, i think, to the hunters of the "far west,"--those men who dwell amidst dangers in the wild regions of the great prairies. their solitary mode of life begets this expression. they are often for months without the company of a creature with whom they may converse--months without beholding a human face. they live alone with nature, surrounded by her majestic forms. these awe them into habits of silence. such was in point of fact the case with the youth whom we have been describing. he had hunted much, though not as a professional hunter. with him the chase had been followed merely as a pastime; but its pursuit had brought him into situations of peril, and in contact with nature in her wild solitudes. young as he was, he had journeyed over the grand prairies, and through the pathless forests of the west. he had slain the bear and the buffalo, the wild-cat and the cougar. these experiences had made their impression upon his mind, and stamped his countenance with that air of gravity we have noticed. the second of the youths whom we shall describe is very different in appearance. he is of blonde complexion, rather pale, with fair silken hair that waves gently down his cheeks, and falls upon his shoulders. he is far from robust. on the contrary, his form is thin and delicate. it is not the delicacy of feebleness or ill-health, but only a body of slighter build. the manner in which he handles his oar shows that he possesses both health and strength, though neither in such a high degree as the dark youth. his face expresses, perhaps, a larger amount of intellect, and it is a countenance that would strike you as more open and communicative. the eye is blue and mild, and the brow is marked by the paleness of study and habits of continued thought. these indications are no more than just, for the fair-haired youth _is_ a student, and one of no ordinary attainments. although only seventeen years of age, he is already well versed in the natural sciences; and many a graduate of oxford or cambridge would but ill compare with him. the former might excel in the knowledge--if we can dignify it by that name--of the laws of scansion, or in the composition of greek idyls; but in all that constitutes _real_ knowledge he would prove but an idle theorist, a dreamy imbecile, alongside our practical young scholar of the west. the third and youngest of the party--taking them as they sit from stem to bow--differs in many respects from both those described. he has neither the gravity of the first, nor yet the intellectuality of the second. his face is round, and full, and ruddy. it is bright and smiling in its expression. his eye dances merrily in his head, and its glance falls upon everything. his lips are hardly ever at rest. they are either engaged in making words--for he talks almost incessantly--or else contracting and expanding with smiles and joyous laughter. his cap is jauntily set, and his fine brown curls, hanging against the rich roseate skin of his cheeks, give to his countenance an expression of extreme health and boyish beauty. his merry laugh and free air tell you he is not the boy for books. he is not much of a hunter neither. in fact, he is not particularly given to anything--one of those easy natures who take the world as it comes, look upon the bright side of everything, without getting sufficiently interested to excel in anything. these three youths were dressed nearly alike. the eldest wore the costume, as near as may be, of a backwoods hunter--a tunic-like hunting-shirt, of dressed buckskin, leggings and mocassins of the same material, and all--shirt, leggings, and mocassins--handsomely braided and embroidered with stained quills of the porcupine. the cape of the shirt was tastefully fringed, and so was the skirt as well as the seams of the mocassins. on his head was a hairy cap of raccoon skin, and the tail of the animal, with its dark transverse bars, hung down behind like the drooping plume of a helmet. around his shoulders were two leathern belts that crossed each other upon his breast. one of these slung a bullet-pouch covered with a violet-green skin that glittered splendidly in the sun. it was from the head of the "wood-duck" (_anas sponsa_), the most beautiful bird of its tribe. by the other strap was suspended a large crescent-shaped horn taken from the head of an opelousas bull, and carved with various ornamental devices. other smaller implements hung from the belts, attached by leathern thongs: there was a picker, a wiper, and a steel for striking fire with. a third belt--a broad stout one of alligator leather--encircled the youth's waist. to this was fastened a holster, and the shining butt of a pistol could be seen protruding out; a hunting-knife of the kind denominated "bowie" hanging over the left hip, completed his "arms and accoutrements." the second of the youths was dressed, as already stated, in a somewhat similar manner, though his accoutrements were not of so warlike a character. like the other, he had a powder-horn and pouch, but instead of knife and pistol, a canvass bag or haversack hung from his shoulder; and had you looked into it, you would have seen that it was half filled with shells, pieces of rock, and rare plants, gathered during the day-the diurnal storehouse of the geologist, the palaeontologist, and botanist--to be emptied for study and examination by the night camp-fire. instead of the 'coon-skin cap he wore a white felt hat with broad leaf; and for leggings and mocassins he had trousers of blue cottonade and laced buskins of tanned leather. the youngest of the three was dressed and accoutred much like the eldest, except that his cap was of blue cloth--somewhat after the fashion of the military forage cap. all three wore shirts of coloured cotton, the best for journeying in these uninhabited regions, where soap is scarce, and a laundress not to be had at any price. though very unlike one another, these three youths were brothers. i knew them well. i had seen them before--about two years before--and though each had grown several inches taller since that time, i had no difficulty in recognising them. even though they were now two thousand miles from where i had formerly encountered them, i could not be mistaken as to their identity. beyond a doubt they were the same brave young adventurers whom i had met in the swamps of louisiana, and whose exploits i had witnessed upon the prairies of texas. they were the "boy hunters,"--basil, lucien, francois! i was right glad to renew acquaintance with them. boy reader, do you share my joy? but whither go they now? they are full two thousand miles from their home in louisiana. the red river upon which their canoe floats is not that red river, whose blood-like waters sweep through the swamps of the hot south--the home of the alligator and the gar. no, it is a stream of a far different character, though also one of great magnitude. upon the banks of the former ripens the rice-plant, and the sugar-cane waves its golden tassels high in the air. there, too, flourishes the giant reed (_arundo gigantea_), the fan-palm (_chamaerops_), and the broad-leafed magnolia, with its huge snow-white flowers. there the aspect is southern, and the heat tropical for most part of the year. all this is reversed on the red river of the north. it is true that on its banks sugar is also produced; but it is no longer from a plant but a lordly tree--the great sugar-maple (_acer saccharinum_). there is rice too,--vast fields of rice upon its marshy borders; but it is not the pearly grain of the south. it is the wild rice, "the water oats" (_zizania aquatica_), the food of millions of winged creatures, and thousands of human beings as well. here for three-fourths of the year the sun is feeble, and the aspect that of winter. for months the cold waters are bound up in an icy embrace. the earth is covered with thick snow, over which rise the needle-leafed _coniferae_--the pines, the cedars, the spruce, and the hemlock. very unlike each other are the countries watered by the two streams, the red river of the south and its namesake of the north. but whither go our boy hunters in their birch-bark canoe? the river upon which they are _voyaging_ runs due northward into the great lake winnipeg. they are floating with its current, and consequently increasing the distance from their home. whither go they? the answer leads us to some sad reflections. our joy on again beholding them is to be mingled with grief. when we last saw them they had a father, but no mother. now they have neither one nor the other. the old colonel, their father--the french _emigre_, the _hunter-naturalist_--is dead. he who had taught them all they knew, who had taught them "to ride, to swim, to dive deep rivers, to fling the lasso, to climb tall trees, and scale steep cliffs, to bring down birds upon the wing or beasts upon the run, with the arrow and the unerring rifle; who had trained them to sleep in the open air, in the dark forest, on the unsheltered prairie, along the white snow-wreath-anywhere--with but a blanket or a buffalo-robe for their bed; who had taught them to live on the simplest food, and had imparted to one of them a knowledge of science, of botany in particular, that enabled them, in case of need, to draw sustenance from plants and trees, from roots and fruits, to find resources where ignorant men would starve; had taught them to kindle a fire without flint, steel, or detonating powder; to discover their direction without a compass, from the rocks and the trees and the signs of the heavens; and in addition to all, had taught them, as far as was then known, the geography of that vast wilderness that stretches from the mississippi to the shores of the pacific ocean, and northward to the icy borders of the arctic sea"--he who had taught them all this, their father, was no more; and his three sons, the "boy men," of whom he was so proud, and of whose accomplishments he was wont to boast, were now orphans upon the wide world. but little more than a year after their return from their grand expedition to the texan prairies, the "old colonel" had died. it was one of the worst years of that scourge of the south--the yellow fever-and to this dread pestilence he had fallen a victim. hugot, the _ex-chasseur_ and attached domestic, who was accustomed to follow his master like a shadow, had also followed him into the next world. it was not grief that killed hugot, though he bore the loss of his kind master sadly enough. but it was not grief that killed hugot. he was laid low by the same disease of which his master had died--the yellow fever. a week had scarcely passed after the death of the latter, before hugot caught the disease, and in a few days he was carried to the tomb and laid by the side of his "old colonel." the boy hunters--basil, lucien, francois--became orphans. they knew of but _one_ relation in the whole world, with whom their father had kept up any correspondence. this relation was an uncle, and, strange as it may seem, a scotchman--a highlander, who had strayed to corsica in early life, and had there married the colonel's sister. that uncle had afterwards emigrated to canada, and had become extensively engaged in the fur trade. he was now a superintendent or "factor" of the hudson's bay company, stationed at one of their most remote posts near the shores of the arctic sea! there is a romance in the history of some men wilder than any fiction that could be imagined. i have not yet answered the question as to where our boy hunters were journeying in their birch-bark canoe. by this time you will have divined the answer. certainly, you will say, they were on their way to join their uncle in his remote home. for no other object could they be travelling through the wild regions of the red river. that supposition is correct. to visit this scotch uncle (they had not seen him for years) was the object of their long, toilsome, and perilous journey. after their father's death he had sent for them. he had heard of their exploits upon the prairies; and, being himself of an adventurous disposition, he was filled with admiration for his young kinsmen, and desired very much to have them come and live with him. being now their guardian, he might command as much, but it needed not any exercise of authority on his part to induce all three of them to obey his summons. they had travelled through the mighty forests of the mississippi, and upon the summer prairies of the south. these great features of the earth's surface were to them familiar things, and they were no longer curious about them. but there remained a vast country which they longed eagerly to explore. they longed to look upon its shining lakes and crystal rivers; upon its snow-clad hills and ice-bound streams; upon its huge mammalia--its moose and its musk-oxen, its wapiti and its monster bears. this was the very country to which they were now invited by their kinsman, and cheerfully did they accept his invitation. already had they made one-half the journey, though by far the easier half. they had travelled up the mississippi, by steamboat as far as the mouth of the saint peter's. there they had commenced their canoe voyage--in other words became "voyageurs"--for such is the name given to those who travel by canoes through these wild territories. their favourite horses and the mule "jeannette" had been left behind. this was a necessity, as these creatures, however useful upon the dry prairies of the south, where there are few or no lakes, and where rivers only occur at long intervals, would be of little service to the traveller in the northern regions. here the route is crossed and intercepted by numerous rivers; and lakes of all sizes, with tracts of inundated marsh, succeed one another continually. such, in fact, are the highways of the country, and the canoe the travelling carriage; so that a journey from one point of the hudson's bay territory to another is often a canoe voyage of thousands of miles--equal to a "trip" across the atlantic! following the usual custom, therefore, our boy hunters had become voyageurs--"_young voyageurs_." they had navigated the saint peter's in safety, almost to its head-waters. these interlock with the sources of the red river. by a "portage" of a few miles they had crossed to the latter stream; and, having launched their canoe upon its waters, were now floating downward and northward with its current. but they had yet a long journey before them--nearly two thousand miles! many a river to be "run," many a rapid to be "shot," many a lake to be crossed, and many a "portage" to be passed, ere they could reach the end of that great _voyage_. come, boy reader, shall we accompany them? yes. the strange scenes and wild adventures through which we must pass, may lighten the toils, and perhaps repay us for the perils, of the journey. think not of the toils. roses grow only upon thorns. from toil we learn to enjoy leisure. regard not the perils. "from the nettle danger we pluck the flower safety." security often springs from peril. from such hard experiences great men have arisen. come, then, my young friend! mind neither toil nor peril, but with me to the great wilderness of the north! stay! we are to have another "_compagnon du voyage_." there is a fourth in the boat, a fourth "young voyageur." who is he? in appearance he is as old as basil, full as tall, and not unlike him in "build." but he is altogether of a different _colour_. he is fair-haired; but his hair (unlike that of lucien, which is also light-coloured) is strong, crisp, and curly. it does not droop, but stands out over his cheeks in a profusion of handsome ringlets. his complexion is of that kind known as "fresh," and the weather, to which it has evidently been much exposed, has bronzed and rather enriched the colour. the eyes are dark blue, and, strange to say, with _black_ brows and lashes! this is not common, though sometimes observed; and, in the case of the youth we are describing, arose from a difference of complexion on the part of his parents. he looked through the eyes of his mother, while in other respects he was more like his father, who was fair-haired and of a "fresh" colour. the youth, himself, might be termed handsome. perhaps he did not possess the youthful beauty of francois, nor the bolder kind that characterised the face of basil. perhaps he was of a coarser "make" than any of his three companions. his intellect had been less cultivated by education, and _education adds to the beauty of the face_. his life had been a harder one--he had toiled more with his hands, and had seen less of civilised society. still many would have pronounced him a handsome youth. his features were regular, and of clean outline. his lips expressed good-nature as well as firmness. his eye beamed with native intelligence, and his whole face bespoke a heart of true and determined honesty--_that made it beautiful_. perhaps a close scrutiniser of countenances might have detected some resemblance--a family one--between him and his three companions. if such there was, it was very slight; but there might have been, from the relationship that existed between them and him. he was their cousin-their full cousin--the only son of that uncle they were now on their way to visit, and the new-comer who had been sent to bring them. such was the fourth of "the young voyageurs." his dress was not unlike that worn by basil; but as he was seated on the bow, and acting as pilot, and therefore more likely to feel the cold, he wore over his hunting-shirt a canadian _capote_ of white woollen cloth, with its hood hanging, down upon his shoulders. but there was still another "voyageur," an old acquaintance, whom you, boy reader, will no doubt remember. this was an animal, a quadruped, who lay along the bottom of the canoe upon a buffalo's hide. "from his size and colour--which was a tawny red--you might have mistaken him for a panther--a cougar. his long black muzzle and broad hanging ears gave him quite a different aspect, however, and declared him to be a hound. he _was_ one--a bloodhound, with the build of a mastiff--a powerful animal. he was the dog `marengo.'" you remember marengo? in the canoe there were other objects of interest. there were blankets and buffalo-robes; there was a small canvass tent folded up; there were bags of provisions, and some cooking utensils; there was a spade and an axe; there were rifles--three of them--and a double-barrelled shot-gun; besides a fish-net, and many other articles, the necessary equipments for such a journey. loaded almost to the gunwale was that little canoe, yet lightly did it float down the waters of the red river of the north. chapter three. the trumpeter swan and the bald eagle. it was the spring season, though late. the snow had entirely disappeared from the hills, and the ice from the water, and the melting of both had swollen the river, and rendered its current more rapid than usual. our young voyageurs needed not therefore to ply their oars, except now and then to guide the canoe; for these little vessels have no rudder, but are steered by the paddles. the skilful voyageurs can shoot them to any point they please, simply by their dexterous handling of the oars; and basil, lucien, and francois, had had sufficient practice both with "skiffs" and "dugouts" to make good oarsmen of all three. they had made many a canoe trip upon the lower mississippi and the bayous of louisiana; besides their journey up the saint peter's had rendered them familiar with the management of their birchen craft. an occasional stroke of the paddle kept them in their course, and they floated on without effort. norman--such was the name of their canadian or highland cousin--sat in the bow and directed their course. this is the post of honour in a canoe; and as he had more experience than any of them in this sort of navigation, he was allowed habitually to occupy this post. lucien sat in the stern. he held in his hands a book and pencil; and as the canoe glided onward, he was noting down his memoranda. the trees upon the banks were in leaf--many of them in blossom--and as the little craft verged near the shore, his keen eye followed the configuration of the leaves, to discover any new species that might appear. there is a rich vegetation upon the banks of the red river; but the _flora_ is far different from that which appears upon the low _alluvion_ of louisiana. it is northern, but not arctic. oaks, elms, and poplars, are seen mingling with birches, willows, and aspens. several species of indigenous fruit trees were observed by lucien, among which were crab-apple, raspberry, strawberry, and currant. there was also seen the fruit called by the voyageurs "le poire," but which in english phraseology is known as the "service-berry" (_amelanchier ovalis_). it grows upon a small bush or shrub of six or eight feet high, with smooth pinnate leaves. these pretty red berries are much esteemed and eaten both by indians and whites, who preserve them by drying, and cook them in various ways. there was still another bush that fixed the attention of our young botanist, as it appeared all along the banks, and was a _characteristic_ of the vegetation of the country. it was not over eight feet in height, with spreading branches of a grey colour. its leaves were three inches wide, and somewhat lobed liked those of the oak. of course, at this early season, the fruit was not ripe upon it; but lucien knew the fruit well. when ripe it resembles very much a red cherry, or, still more, a cranberry, having both the appearance and acrid taste of the latter. indeed, it is sometimes used as a substitute for cranberries in the making of pies and tarts; and in many parts it is called the "bush cranberry." the name, however, by which it is known among the indians of red river is "_anepeminan_," from "_nepen_," summer, and "_minan_" berry. this has been corrupted by the fur-traders and voyageurs into "pembina;" hence, the name of a river which runs into the red, and also he name of the celebrated but unsuccessful settlement of "pembina," formed by lord selkirk many years ago. both took their names from this berry that grows in abundance in the neighbourhood. the botanical appellation of this curious shrub is _viburnum oxycoccos_; but there is another species of the viburnum, which is also styled "oxycoccos." the common "snowball bush" of our gardens is a plant of the same genus, and very like the "pembina" both in leaf and flower. in fact, in a wild state they might be regarded as the same; but it is well-known that the flowers of the snowball are sterile, and do not produce the beautiful bright crimson berries of the "pembina." lucien lectured upon these points to his companions as they floated along. norman listened with astonishment to his philosophic cousin, who, although he had never been in this region before, knew more of its plants and trees than he did himself. basil also was interested in the explanations given by his brother. on the contrary, francois, who cared but little for botanical studies, or studies of any sort, was occupied differently. he sat near the middle of the canoe, double-barrel in hand, eagerly watching for a shot. many species of water-fowl were upon the river, for it was now late in the spring, and the wild geese and ducks had all arrived, and were passing northward upon their annual migration. during the day francois had got several shots, and had "bagged" three wild geese, all of different kinds, for there are many species of wild geese in america. he had also shot some ducks. but this did not satisfy him. there was a bird upon the river that could not be approached. no matter how the canoe was manoeuvred, this shy creature always took flight before francois could get within range. for days he had been endeavouring to kill one. even upon the saint peter's many of them had been seen, sometimes in pairs, at other times in small flocks of six or seven, but always shy and wary. the very difficulty of getting a shot at them, along with the splendid character of the birds themselves, had rendered francois eager to obtain one. the bird itself was no other than the great wild swan--the king of aquatic birds. "come, brother!" said francois, addressing lucien, "bother your viburnums and your oxycocks! tell us something about these swans. see! there goes another of them! what a splendid fellow he is! i'd give something to have him within range of buck-shot." as francois spoke he pointed down-stream to a great white bird that was seen moving out from the bank. it was a swan, and one of the very largest kind--a "trumpeter" (_cygnus buccinator_). it had been feeding in a sedge of the wild rice (_zizania aquatica_), and no doubt the sight of the canoe or the plash of the guiding oar had disturbed, and given it the alarm. it shot out from the reeds with head erect and wings slightly raised, offering to the eyes of the voyageurs a spectacle of graceful and majestic bearing, that, among the feathered race at least, is quite inimitable. a few strokes of its broad feet propelled it into the open water near the middle of the stream, when, making a half wheel, it turned head down the river, and swam with the current. at the point where it turned it was not two hundred yards ahead of the canoe. its apparent boldness in permitting them to come so near without taking wing, led francois to hope that they might get still nearer; and, begging his companions to ply the paddles, he seized hold of his double-barrel, and leaned forward in the canoe. basil also conceived a hope that a shot was to be had, for he took up his rifle, and looked to the cock and cap. the others went steadily and quietly to work at the oars. in a few moments the canoe cleft the current at the rate of a galloping horse, and one would have supposed that the swan must either at once take wing or be overtaken. not so, however. the "trumpeter" knew his game better than that. he had full confidence both in his strength and speed upon the water. he was not going to undergo the trouble of a fly, until the necessity arose for so doing; and, as it was, he seemed to be satisfied that that necessity had not yet arrived. the swim cost him much less muscular exertion than flying would have done, and he judged that the current, here very swift, would carry him out of reach of his pursuers. it soon began to appear that he judged rightly; and the voyageurs, to their chagrin, saw that, instead of gaining upon him, as they had expected, every moment widened the distance between him and the canoe. the bird had an advantage over his pursuers. three distinct powers propelled him, while they had only two to rely upon. he had the current in his favour--so had they. he had oars or paddles--his feet; they had oars as well. he "carried sail," while they spread not a "rag." the wind chanced to blow directly down-stream, and the broad wings of the bird, held out from his body, and half extended, caught the very pith of the breeze on their double concave surfaces, and carried him through the water with the velocity of an arrow. do you think that he was not aware of this advantage when he started in the race? do you suppose that these birds do not _think_? i for one am satisfied they do, and look upon every one who prates about the _instinct_ of these creatures as a philosopher of a very old school indeed. not only does the great swan think, but so does your parrot, and your piping bullfinch, and the little canary that hops on your thumb. all think, and _reason_, and _judge_. should it ever be your fortune to witness the performance of those marvellous birds, exhibited by the graceful mademoiselle vandermeersch in the fashionable _salons_ of paris and london, you will agree with me in the belief that the smallest of them has a mind like yourself. most certainly the swan, which our voyageurs were pursuing, thought, and reasoned, and judged, and calculated his distance, and resolved to keep on "the even tenor of his way," without putting himself to extra trouble by beating the air with his wings, and lifting his heavy body--thirty pounds at least--up into the heavens. his judgment proved sound; for, in less than ten minutes from the commencement of the chase, he had gained a clear hundred yards upon his pursuers, and continued to widen the distance. at intervals he raised his beak higher than usual, and uttered his loud booming note, which fell upon the ears of the voyageurs as though it had been sent back in mockery and defiance. they would have given up the pursuit, had they not noticed that a few hundred yards farther down the river made a sharp turn to the right. the swan, on reaching this, would no longer have the wind in his favour. this inspired them with fresh hopes. they thought they would be able to overtake him after passing the bend, and then, either get a shot at him, or force him into the air. the latter was the more likely; and, although it would be no great gratification to see him fly off, yet they had become so interested in this singular chase that they desired to terminate it by putting the trumpeter to some trouble. they bent, therefore, with fresh energy to their oars, and pulled onward in the pursuit. first the swan, and after him the canoe, swung round the bend, and entered the new "reach" of the river. the voyageurs at once perceived that the bird now swam more slowly. he no longer "carried sail," as the wind was no longer in his favour. his wings lay closely folded to his body, and he moved only by the aid of his webbed feet and the current, which last happened to be sluggish, as the river at this part spread over a wide expanse of level land. the canoe was evidently catching up, and each stroke was bringing the pursuers nearer to the pursued. after a few minutes' brisk pulling, the trumpeter had lost so much ground that he was not two hundred yards in the advance, and "dead ahead." his body was no longer carried with the same gracefulness, and the majestic curving of his neck had disappeared. his bill protruded forward, and his thighs began to drag the water in his wake. he was evidently on the threshold of flight. both francois and basil saw this, as they stood with their guns crossed and ready. at this moment a shrill cry sounded over the water. it was the scream of some wild creature, ending in a strange laugh, like the laugh of a maniac! on both sides of the river there was a thick forest of tall trees of the cotton-wood species (_populus angustifolia_). from this forest the strange cry had proceeded, and from the right bank. its echoes had hardly ceased, when it was answered by a similar cry from the trees upon the left. so like were the two, that it seemed as if some one of god's wild creatures was mocking another. these cries were hideous enough to frighten any one not used to them. they had not that effect upon our voyageurs, who knew their import. one and all of them were familiar with the voice of the _white-headed eagle_! the trumpeter knew it as well as any of them, but on him it produced a far different effect. his terror was apparent, and his intention was all at once changed. instead of rising into the air, as he had premeditated, he suddenly lowered his head, and disappeared under the water! again was heard the wild scream and the maniac laugh; and the next moment an eagle swept out from the timber, and, after a few strokes of its broad wing, poised itself over the spot where the trumpeter had gone down. the other, its mate, was seen crossing at the same time from the opposite side. presently the swan rose to the surface, but his head was hardly out of the water when the eagle once more uttered its wild note, and, half folding its wings, darted down from above. the swan seemed to have expected this, for before the eagle could reach the surface, he had gone under a second time, and the latter, though passing with the velocity of an arrow, plunged his talons in the water to no purpose. with a cry of disappointment the eagle mounted back into the air, and commenced wheeling in circles over the spot. it was now joined by its mate, and both kept round and round watching for the reappearance of their intended victim. again the swan came to the surface, but before either of the eagles could swoop upon him he had for the third time disappeared. the swan is but an indifferent diver; but under such circumstances he was likely to do his best at it. but what could it avail him? he must soon rise to the surface to take breath--each time at shorter intervals. he would soon become fatigued and unable to dive with sufficient celerity, and then his cruel enemies would be down upon him with their terrible talons. such is the usual result, unless the swan takes to the air, which he sometimes does. in the present case he had built his hopes upon a different means of escape. he contemplated being able to conceal himself in a heavy sedge of bulrushes (_scirpus lacustris_) that grew along the edge of the river, and towards these he was evidently directing his course under the water. at each emersion he appeared some yards nearer them, until at length he rose within a few feet of their margin, and diving again was seen no more! he had crept in among the sedge, and no doubt was lying with only his head, or part of it, above the water, his body concealed by the broad leaves of the _nymphae_, while the head itself could not be distinguished among the white flowers that lay thickly along the surface. the eagles now wheeled over the sedge, flapping the tops of the bulrushes with their broad wings, and screaming with disappointed rage. keen as were their eyes they could not discover the hiding-place of their victim. no doubt they would have searched for it a long while, but the canoe--which they now appeared to notice for the first time--had floated near; and, becoming aware of their own danger, both mounted into the air again, and with a farewell scream flew off, and alighted at some distance down the river. "a swan for supper!" shouted francois, as he poised his gun for the expected shot. the canoe was headed for the bulrushes near the point where the trumpeter had been last seen; and a few strokes of the paddles brought the little craft with a whizzing sound among the sedge. but the culms of the rushes were so tall, and grew so closely together, that the canoemen, after entering, found to their chagrin they could not see six feet around them. they dared not stand up, for this is exceedingly dangerous in a birch canoe, where the greatest caution is necessary to keep the vessel from careening over. moreover, the sedge was so thick, that it was with difficulty they could use their oars. they remained stationary for a time, surrounded by a wall of green bulrush. they soon perceived that that would never do, and resolved to push back into the open water. meanwhile marengo had been sent into the sedge, and was now heard plunging and sweltering about in search of the game. marengo was not much of a water-dog by nature, but he had been trained to almost every kind of hunting, and his experience among the swamps of louisiana had long since relieved him of all dread for the water. his masters therefore had no fear but that marengo would "put up" the trumpeter. marengo had been let loose a little too soon. before the canoe could be cleared of the entangling sedge, the dog was heard to utter one of his loud growls, then followed a heavy plunge, there was a confused fluttering of wings, and the great white bird rose majestically into the air! before either of the gunners could direct their aim, he was beyond the range of shot, and both prudently reserved their fire. marengo having performed his part, swam back to the canoe, and was lifted over the gunwale. the swan, after clearing the sedge, rose almost vertically into the air. these birds usually fly at a great elevation--sometimes entirely beyond the reach of sight. unlike the wild geese and ducks, they never alight upon land, but always upon the bosom of the water. it was evidently the intention of this one to go far from the scene of his late dangers, perhaps to the great lake winnipeg itself. after attaining a height of several hundred yards, he flew forward in a horizontal course, and followed the direction of the stream. his flight was now regular, and his trumpet-note could be heard at intervals, as, with outstretched neck, he glided along the heavens. he seemed to feel the pleasant sensations that every creature has after an escape from danger, and no doubt he fancied himself secure. but in this fancy he deceived himself. better for him had he risen a few hundred yards higher, or else had uttered his self-gratulation in a more subdued tone; for it was heard and answered, and that response was the maniac laugh of the white-headed eagle. at the same instant two of these birds--those already introduced--were seen mounting into the air. they did not fly up vertically, as the swan had done, but in spiral curves, wheeling and crossing each other as they ascended. they were making for a point that would intersect the flight of the swan should he keep on in his horizontal course. this, however, he did not do. with an eye as quick as theirs, he saw that he was "headed;" and, stretching his long neck upward, he again pursued an almost vertical line. but he had to carry thirty pounds of flesh and bones, while the largest of the eagles--the female bird--with a still broader spread of wing, was a "light weight" of only seven. the result of this difference was soon apparent. before the trumpeter had got two hundred yards higher, the female of the eagles was seen wheeling around him on the same level. the swan was now observed to double, fly downward, and then upward again, while his mournful note echoed back to the earth. but his efforts were in vain. after a series of contortions and manoeuvres, the eagle darted forward, with a quick toss threw herself back downward, and, striking upward, planted her talons in the under part of the wing of her victim. the lacerated shaft fell uselessly down; and the great white bird, no longer capable of flight, came whistling through the air. but it was not allowed to drop directly to the earth; it would have fallen on the bosom of the broad river, and that the eagles did not wish, as it would have given them some trouble to get the heavy carcass ashore. as soon as the male--who was lower in the air--saw that his partner had struck the bird, he discontinued his upward flight, and, poising himself on his spread tail, waited its descent. a single instant was sufficient. the white object passed him still fluttering; but the moment it was below his level he shot after it like an arrow, and, clutching it in his talons, with an outward stroke sent it whizzing in a diagonal direction. the next moment a crashing was heard among the twigs, and a dull sound announced that the swan had fallen upon the earth. the eagles were now seen sailing downward, and soon disappeared among the tops of the trees. the canoe soon reached the bank; and francois, accompanied by basil and marengo, leaped ashore, and went in search of the birds. they found the swan quite dead and lying upon its back as the eagles had turned it. its breast was torn open, and the crimson blood, with which they had been gorging themselves, was spread in broad flakes over its snowy plumage. the eagles themselves, scared by the dog marengo, had taken flight before the boys could get within shot of them. as it was just the hour for a "noon halt" and a luncheon, the swan was carried to the bank of the river, where a crackling fire was soon kindled to roast him; and while this operation was going on the "naturalist" was requested by his companions to give them an account of the "swans of america." chapter four. the swans of america. "very well, then," said lucien, agreeing to the request. "i shall tell you all i know of the swans; and, indeed, that is not much, as the natural history of these birds in their wild state is but little understood. on account of their shy habits, there is not much opportunity of observing them; and as they annually migrate and breed in those desolate regions within the arctic circle, where civilised men do not live, but little information has been collected about them. some of the species, however, breed in the temperate zones, and the habits of these are better known. "for a long time it was fancied there was but one species of swan. it is now known that there are several, distinguished from each other in form, colour, voice, and habits. `white as a swan,' is a simile as old, perhaps; as language itself. this, i fancy, would sound strangely to the ears of a native australian, who is accustomed to look upon swans as being of the very opposite colour, for the black swan is a native of that country. "according to the naturalist brehm, who has given much attention to this subject, there are four distinct species of swans in europe. they are all white, though some of the species have a reddish orange tinge about the head and neck. two of them are `gibbous,' that is, with a knob or protuberance upon the upper part of the bill. one of these brehm terms the `white-headed gibbous swan' (_cygnus gibbus_). the other is the `yellow-headed' (_cygnus olor_); and this last also is known as the _mute_ or _tame_ swan, because it is that species most commonly seen in a tame state upon the ornamental lakes and ponds of england. the other two european species brehm has designated `singing swans,' as both of them utter a note that may be heard to a considerable distance. "the black swan of australia (_cygnus niger_) has been naturalised in europe, and breeds freely in england, where, from its great size and peculiar markings, it is one of the most ornamental of water-fowls. it is, moreover, a great tyrant, and will not permit other birds to approach its haunt, but drives them off, striking them furiously with its strong broad wings. "until a late period the swans of america were supposed to be all of one kind. this is not the case. there are now known to be three distinct species inhabiting the fur countries, and migrating annually to the south. that which is best known is the `whistler,' or `hooper' (_cygnus americanus_), because it is the species that abounds in the old states upon the atlantic, and was therefore more observed by naturalists. it is believed to be identical with one of the european `singing' swans (_cygnus ferus_), but this is not certain; and for my part, i believe they are different, as the eggs of the american swan are greenish, while those of its european congener are brownish, with white blotches. "the `hooper' is four and a half feet in length, though there are males still larger, some of them measuring five feet. its colour is white, except upon the head and back part of the neck, where there is a coppery tinge. the bill and feet are black. from the angle of the mouth to the eye there is a small naked `cere,' of a bright yellow colour. these swans, like others of the genus, do not care much for the salt water. they are rarely seen upon the sea, except near its shores, where they may find the aquatic plants upon which they feed. nor do they go out upon the large lakes. when found upon these, it is generally close in to the land. this is accounted for by the fact that the swans do not `dive' for their food, but stretch down for it with their long necks, which nature has peculiarly adapted to this very purpose. their favourite food consists of the roots of aquatic plants, which are often farinaceous. as these grow best in the shallow small lakes and along the margins of rivers, such places are the usual resort of the swans. although their diet is a vegetable one, it is not exclusively so, as they will eat frogs, worms, and small fish. unlike the ducks and geese, they rarely feed upon land, but while floating upon the surface of the water. they walk but awkwardly on land, and are at home only on water or in the air. in the air they are quite at home, and fly so swiftly that it is no easy matter to shoot them, especially when going before the wind. at such times they are supposed to fly at the rate of one hundred miles an hour. when moulting, and unable to rise into the air, it is no easy matter to follow them even with a canoe. by means of their broad feet and strong wings, they can flutter so quickly over the water, now and then diving, that the hunter cannot overtake them in his boat, but is obliged to use his gun in the pursuit. "the `hoopers' are migratory,--that is, they pass to the north every spring, and southward again in the autumn. why they make these annual migrations, remains one of the mysteries of nature. some believe they migrate to the north, because they there find those desolate uninhabited regions where they can bring forth their young in security. but this explanation cannot be the true one, as there are also uninhabited regions in the south, even under the equator, where they may be equally free from the presence of man. another explanation might be offered. in hot and tropical countries most of the small lakes and swamps, where these birds love to dwell, dry up during the summer months: hence the necessity of a migration to colder and moister regions. but this would only hold good of the wading and water birds; it would not account for the migration of the many other birds of passage. "a better explanation may be this: the north and the cold zones are the natural habitat of most migratory birds. it is there that they bring forth their young, and there they are at home. in tropical regions they are only sojourners for a season, forced thither, some of them, by a cold which they do not relish; but others, such as the water-fowl, by the frost, which, binding up the lakes, rivers, and swamps, hinders them from procuring their food. they are thus compelled to make an annual migration to the open waters of the south, but as soon as the ice has given way before the genial breath of spring, they all return rejoicing to their favourite home in the north, when their season of love commences. "the `hoopers' follow this general law, and migrate to the northward every spring. they breed upon islets in the numerous lakes that stud the whole northern part of the american continent. eminences in swamps are also chosen for breeding places, and the ends of promontories that jut out into the water. the spot selected is always such that the swan, when seated upon her nest, can have a view of the surrounding country, and detect any enemy long before it can approach her. the top of the dome-shaped dwellings of the musk-rat, or musquash (_fibre zibethicus_), is often selected by the swan for her nest. these curious little houses are usually in the midst of impenetrable swamps: they are only occupied by their builders during the winter; and as they are deserted by them in early spring, they are therefore quite at the service of the swan for the `balance of the season.' the bird makes a large cavity in the top, and lines it with such reeds and grass as may be found near the spot. "the hooper lays from six to eight eggs, and sits upon them for a period of six weeks, when the cygnets come forth covered with a thick down of a bluish-grey colour. while sitting upon her eggs, the swan is exceedingly watchful and shy. she `faces' towards the point whence she most apprehends danger. when the weather is severe, and the wind cold and keen, she changes into that position which is most comfortable. if her nest be upon a promontory instead of an island, she usually sits with her head to the land, as she feels secure that no enemy will reach her from the waterside. from the land she has not only man to `look out' for, but the wolverene (_gulo luscus_), the lynx (_felis canadensis_), foxes, and wolves. "the indians often snare the swan upon her nest. of course the snare--a running noose made from the intestines of the deer--is set in her absence. it is placed upon the side by which she enters, as these birds enter and leave the nest upon opposite sides. the snare must be arranged with great care, and with _clean hands_; and the indians always take the precaution to wash their hands before setting it, else the swans, whose sense of smell is very acute, will perceive the presence of danger, and will not only keep away for a time, but sometimes desert the eggs altogether. there are many other birds that have a similar habit. "so much for the `hooper,'" continued lucien; "now for the `trumpeter.' this is the largest of the american swans, being found to measure seventy inches in length. its specific name `trumpeter' (cygnus _buccinator_) is given to it on account of its note, which resembles the sound of a french horn, or trumpet, played at a distance. the bird is white, with black bill and feet, and has also a reddish orange or copper tinge upon the crown and neck; but it wants the yellow spot between the split of the mandibles and the eye. it is easily distinguished from the hooper, both by its louder note and larger body. its habits, however, are very similar, except that it seems to be more gregarious,--small flocks of six or eight often appearing together, while the hooper is seen only in pairs, and sometimes solitary. another distinction is, that the trumpeter arrives much earlier in its migrations to the north, being the earliest bird that appears except the eagles. it breeds as far south as latitude 61 degrees, but most generally within the arctic circle. its nest is constructed similarly to those of the hooper, but its eggs are much larger, one of them being a meal for a moderate eater, without bread or any other addition. the trumpeter frequently arrives in the north before the lakes or rivers are thawed. it is then obliged to find sustenance at the rapids and waterfalls, where the indians can approach under cover, and many are shot at such times by these people. at all other times, as you, francois, have observed, it is a bird most difficult of approach; and the indian hunters only attempt it when they have a long-range gun loaded with ball. "the third species of american swans is that known as bewick's swan (cygnus _bewickii_), called after the naturalist of that name. it is the smallest of the three, rarely measuring over fifty-two inches in length, and weighing only fourteen pounds, while the hooper is over twenty pounds in weight, and the trumpeter is often obtained of the enormous weight of thirty! "bewick's swan is also said to be identical with one of brehm's singing swans. its colour is almost similar to that of the hooper, and the two are often mistaken for each other. the size and the tail-feathers of all three of the american swans form a sufficiently specific distinction. in the trumpeter these are twenty-four in number, in the hooper twenty, while the small species has only eighteen. "of the three, the last-mentioned is the latest on its annual journey, but it breeds farther north than either of the others. its nest is found upon the islands of the arctic sea; it is usually built of peat-moss, and is of gigantic dimensions, being six feet long by five in width, and nearly two feet high. in the top of this pile is the nest itself, forming a large round cavity nearly two feet in diameter. the eggs are of a brownish white, with clouds of darker tint. "i have remarked," continued lucien, "a singularity in the geographical distribution of these three species. upon the pacific coast the smallest kind and the hooper only are met with, and the small ones outnumber the others in the ratio of five to one. in the interior parts of the continent only the hoopers and trumpeters appear; and the trumpeters are by far the most numerous, while upon the eastern coasts of america the hoopers are the sort best known. "the swans are eagerly hunted both by the indians and white hunters. their skins, with the quills and down, form a source of profit to the natives of the fur countries, who dispose of them to the hudson's bay company. in some years as many as ten thousand skins have been exported, and sold at the rate of six or seven shillings each. most of the skins thus sold were those of the trumpeter swans, which are the most numerous. "now," said lucien, in conclusion, "you know as much about the swans as i do; so i shall drop the subject, and recommend to all of you a piece of roast swan, which is now just done to a turn, and which i doubt not will be found less dry than my lecture." chapter five. a swan-hunt by torchlight. a few days brought our travellers to the settlement of red river, where they made but a very short stay; and, having procured a few articles which they stood in need of, they resumed their journey, and floated on towards lake winnipeg. the swans were seen in greater numbers than ever. they were not less shy however, and francois, as before, in vain tried to get a shot at one. he was very desirous of bringing down one of these noble birds, partly because the taste he had had of their flesh had given him a liking for it; and partly because their shyness had greatly tantalised him. one is always more eager to kill shy game, both on account of the rarity of the thing, and the credit one gets for his expertness. but the voyageurs had now got within less than twenty miles of lake winnipeg, and francois had not as yet shot a single swan. it was not at all likely the eagles would help him to another. so there would be no more roast swan for supper. norman, seeing how eager francois was to shoot one of these birds, resolved to aid him by his advice. "cousin frank," said he, one evening as they floated along, "you wish very much to get a shot at the swans?" "i do," replied francois,--"i do; and if you can tell me how to accomplish that business, i'll make you a present of this knife." here francois held up a very handsome clasp-knife that he carried in his pouch. a knife in the fur countries is no insignificant affair. with a knife you may sometimes buy a horse, or a tent, or a whole carcass of beef, or, what is stranger still, a wife! to the hunter in these wild regions--perhaps a thousand miles from where knives are sold--such a thing is of very great value indeed; but the knife which francois offered to his cousin was a particularly fine one, and the latter had once expressed a wish to become the owner of it. he was not slow, therefore, in accepting the conditions. "well," rejoined he, "you must consent to travel a few miles by night, and i think i can promise you a shot at the trumpeters--perhaps several." "what say you, brothers?" asked francois, appealing to basil and lucien; "shall we have the sport? say yes." "oh! i have no objection," said lucien. "nor i," added basil. "on the contrary, i should like it above all things. i wish very much to know what plan our cousin shall adopt. i never heard of any mode of approaching these birds." "very well, then," answered norman, "i shall have the pleasure of instructing you in a way that is in use in these parts among the indians, who hunt the swan for its skin and quills, which they trade to us at the post. we can manage it to-night, i think," continued he, looking up at the sky: "there is no moon, and the sky is thick. yes, it will be dark enough." "is it necessary the night should be a dark one?" asked francois. "the darker the better," replied norman. "to-night, if i am not mistaken, will be as black as pitch. but we need to make some preparations. it is near sundown, and we shall have just time to get ready for the business. let us get ashore, then, as quickly as possible." "oh! certainly--let us land," replied all three at once. the canoe was now turned to the shore; and when it had arrived within a few feet of the land it was brought to a stop. its keel was not allowed to touch the bottom of the river, as that would have injured the little craft. the greatest precaution is always observed both in landing and embarking these vessels. the voyageurs first get out and wade to the shore, one or two remaining to hold the canoe in its place. the cargo, whatever it be, is then taken out and landed; and after that the canoe itself is lifted out of the water, and carried ashore, where it is set, bottom upward, to dry. the birch-bark canoe is so frail a structure, that, were it brought rudely in contact either with the bottom or the bank, it would be very much damaged, or might go to pieces altogether. hence the care with which it is handled. it is dangerous, also, to stand upright in it, as it is so "crank" that it would easily turn over, and spill both canoemen and cargo into the water. the voyageurs, therefore, when once they have got in, remain seated during the whole passage, shifting about as little as they can help. when landed for the night, the canoe is always taken out of the water as described. the bark is of a somewhat spongy nature; and if left in the water for a length of time, would become soaked and heavy, and would not run so well. when kept all night, bottom upward, it drips and becomes dryer and lighter. in the morning, at the commencement of the day's journey, it sits higher upon the water than in the afternoon and evening, and is at that time more easily paddled along. our voyageurs, having got on shore, first kindled a fire to cook their supper. this they intended to despatch earlier than usual, so as to give them the early part of the night for their swan-hunt, which they expected to finish before midnight. lucien did the cooking, while norman, assisted by basil and francois, made his preparations for the hunt. francois, who was more interested in the result than any of them, watched every movement of his cousin. nothing escaped him. norman proceeded as follows:-he walked off into the woods, accompanied by francois. after going about an hundred yards or so, he stopped at the foot of a certain tree. the tree was a birch--easily distinguished by its smooth, silvery bark. by means of his sharp hunting-knife he "girdled" this tree near the ground, and then higher up, so that the length between the two "girdlings," or circular cuttings, was about four feet. he then made a longitudinal incision by drawing the point of his knife from one circle to the other. this done he inserted the blade under the bark, and peeled it off, as he would have taken the skin from a buffalo. the tree was a foot in diameter, consequently the bark, when stripped off and spread flat, was about three feet in width; for you must remember that the circumference of a circle or a cylinder is always about three times the length of its diameter, and therefore a tree is three times as much "_round_" as it is "_through_." they now returned to the camp-fire, taking along with them the piece of bark that had been cut off. this was spread out, though not quite flat, still leaving it somewhat curved. the convex side, that which had lain towards the tree, was now blackened with pulverised charcoal, which norman had directed basil to prepare for the purpose; and to the bark at one end was fastened a stake or shaft. nothing more remained but to fix this stake in the canoe, in an upright position near the bow, and in such a way that the bottom of the piece of bark would be upon a level with the seats, with its hollow side looking forward. it would thus form a screen, and prevent those in the canoe from being seen by any creature that might be ahead. when all this had been arranged, norman shouldered the axe, and again walked off into the woods. this time his object was to obtain a quantity of "knots" of the pitch-pine (_pinus rigida_), which he knew would most likely be found in such a situation. the tree was soon discovered, and pointed out to francois, who accompanied him as before. francois saw that it was a tree of about fifty feet in height, and a foot in diameter at its base. its bark was thick, very dark in the colour, and full of cracks or fissures. its leaves, or "needles," were about three inches long, and grew in threes, each three forming a little bunch, bound together at its base by a brownish sheath. these bunches, in botanical language, are termed "fasciles." the cones were somewhat shorter than the leaves, nearly of the shape of eggs, and clustered together in threes and fours. francois noticed that the tree was thickly branched, and therefore there are many knots in the wood. for this reason it is not of much use as timber; but on account of the resin which it contains, it is the best species for firewood; and for that purpose it is used in all parts of the united states, where it grows. most of the _pine-wood_ sold for fuel in the large cities of america is the wood of this species. francois supposed that his companion was about to fell one of the trees. he was mistaken, however; norman had no such intention; he had only stopped before one to examine it, and make sure that it was the species he was in search of. he was soon satisfied of this, and moved on, directing his eyes along the ground. again he stopped; but this time it was by a tree that had already fallen--blown down, perhaps, by the wind. it was half decayed; but francois could see that it was one of the same species--the pitch-pine. this was the very thing norman wanted, and plying his axe, he soon knocked out a large quantity of the resinous knots. these he at length collected, and putting them into a bag, returned with francois to the fire. he then announced that he had no further preparations to make. all four now sat down to supper, which consisted of dry meat, with biscuits and coffee; and, as their appetites were sharpened by their water journey, they made a hearty meal of it. as soon as they had finished eating, the canoe was launched and got ready. the screen of birch-bark was set up, by lashing its shaft to the bottom timbers, and also to one of the seats. immediately in front of this, and out upon the bow, was placed the frying-pan; and this having been secured by being tied at the handle, was filled with dry pine-knots, ready to be kindled at a moment's notice. these arrangements being made, the hunters only awaited the darkness to set forth. in the progress of their hunt they would be carried still farther down-stream; but as that was the direction in which they were travelling, they would only be progressing on their journey, and thus "killing two birds with one stone." this was altogether a very pleasant consideration; and, having stowed everything snugly in the canoe, they sat chatting agreeably and waiting for the arrival of night. night came at length, and, as norman had predicted, it was as "dark as pitch." stepping gently into the canoe, and seating themselves in their respective places, they pushed out and commenced floating down-stream. norman sat near the bow, in order to attend to his torch of pine-knots. francois was next to him, holding his double-barrel, loaded with buck-shot, which is the same size as that used for swans, and in england is even known as "swan-shot." next came basil with his rifle. he sat near francois, just by the middle of the little vessel. lucien, who was altogether a man of peace principles, and but little of a shot compared with either of his brothers, handled the oar--not to propel the canoe, but merely to guide it. in this way the party floated on in silence. norman soon kindled his torch, which now cast its red glare over the surface of the river, extending its fiery radii even to the banks on both sides of the stream. the trees that overhung the water seemed tinged with vermilion, and the rippling wave sparkled like liquid gold. the light only extended over a semicircle. from the manner in which the torch was placed, its light did not fall upon the other half of the circle, and this, by contrast, appeared even darker than it would otherwise have done. the advantage of the plan which norman had adopted was at once apparent to all. ahead of the canoe the whole river was plainly seen for a distance of several hundred yards. no object larger than a cork could have floated on its surface, without being visible to those in the vessel--much less the great white body of a trumpeter swan. astern of the canoe, on the other hand, all was pitchy darkness, and any one looking at the vessel from a position ahead could have seen nothing but the bright torch and the black uniform surface behind it. as i have already stated, the concave side of the bark was towards the blaze, and the pan containing the torch being placed close in to the screen, none of the light could possibly fall upon the forms of those within the canoe. they were therefore invisible to any creature from the front, while they themselves could see everything before them. two questions yet remained unanswered. first,--would our hunters find any swans on the river? second,--if they should, would these birds allow themselves to be approached near enough to be shot at? the first question norman, of course, could not answer. that was a matter beyond his knowledge or control. the swans might or might not appear, but it was to be hoped they would. it was likely enough. many had been seen on the preceding day, and why not then? to the second question, the young canadian gave a definite reply. he assured his cousins that, if met with, the birds would be easily approached in this manner; he had often hunted them so. they would either keep their place, and remain until the light came very near them, or they would move towards it (as he had many times known them to do), attracted by curiosity and the novelty of the spectacle. he had hunted deer in the same manner; he had shot, he said, hundreds of these animals upon the banks of rivers, where they had come down to the water to drink, and stood gazing at the light. his cousins could well credit his statements. they themselves had hunted deer by torchlight in the woods of louisiana, where it is termed "fire-hunting." they had killed several in this way. the creatures, as if held by some fascination, would stand with head erect looking at the torch carried by one of the party, while the other took sight between their glancing eyes and fired the deadly bullet. remembering this, they could easily believe that the swans might act in a similar manner. it was not long until they were convinced of it by actual experience. as the canoe rounded a bend in the river, three large white objects appeared in the "reach" before them. a single glance satisfied all that they were swans, though, in the deceptive glare of the torch, they appeared even larger than swans. their long upright necks, however, convinced the party they could be nothing else, and the canoe was headed directly for them. as our hunters approached, one of the birds was heard to utter his strange trumpet-note, and this he repeated at intervals as they drew nearer. "i have heard that they sing before death," muttered francois to basil, who sat nearest him. "if so, i hope that's the song itself;" and francois laughed quietly at the joke he had perpetrated. basil also laughed; and lucien, who had overheard the remark, could not restrain himself from joining in the laughter. "i fear not," rejoined basil; "there is hardly enough music in the note to call it a song. they may live to `blow their own trumpet' a long while yet." this remark called forth a fresh chorus of laughter, in which all took part; but it was a very silent kind of laughter, that could not have been heard ten yards off: it might have been termed "laughing in a whisper." it soon ended, however, as matters now became serious: they were already within less than two hundred yards of the game, and the greatest caution had to be observed. the gunners had arranged the order of fire: basil was to shoot first, taking steady aim with his rifle at any one of the birds; while francois should fire as soon as he heard the report of his brother's gun, taking the remaining swans upon the wing, with one or both barrels, as he best might. at length basil deemed himself near enough, and, levelling his piece, fired. the bird threw out its wings, and flattened down upon the water, almost without a struggle. the other two were rising into the air, when "crack! crack!" went the two barrels of francois' piece, and one of the swans fell back with a broken wing, and fluttered over the surface of the stream. basil's had been shot dead, and was taken up easily; but the wounded bird was only captured after a long chase with the canoe; and when overtaken, it struck so fiercely with its remaining wing, that one of the blows inflicted a painful wound on the wrist of francois. both, however, were at length got safely aboard, and proved to be a male and female of the largest dimensions. chapter six. "cast away." of course, the reports of the guns must have frightened any other swans that were near. it was not likely they would find any more before going some distance farther down the river; so, having stowed away in a safe place the two already killed, the hunters paddled rapidly onward. they had hardly gone half a mile farther, when another flock of swans was discovered. these were approached in a similar way, and no less than three were obtained--francois making a remarkable shot, and killing with both barrels. a little farther down, one of the "hoopers" was killed; and still farther on, another trumpeter; making in all no less than seven swans that lay dead in the bottom of the canoe! these seven great birds almost filled the little craft to the gunwales, and you would think that our "torch-hunters" ought to have been content with such a spoil; but the hunter is hard to satisfy with game, and but too often inclined to "spill much more blood" than is necessary to his wants. our voyageurs, instead of desisting, again set the canoe in motion, and continued the hunt. a short distance below the place where they had shot the last swan, as they were rounding a bend in the river, a loud rushing sounded in their ears; similar to that produced by a cascade or waterfall. on first hearing it, they were startled and somewhat alarmed. it might be a "fall," thought they. norman could not tell: he had never travelled this route; he did not know whether there were falls in the red river or not, but he believed not. in his voyage to the south, he had travelled by another route; that was, up the winnipeg river, and through rainy lake and the lake of the woods to lake superior. this is the usual and well-known track followed by the _employes_ of the hudson's bay company; and norman had travelled it. in this uncertainty the canoe was brought to a stop, and our voyageurs remained listening. the noise made by the water was not very distant, and sounded like the roaring of "rapids," or the rush of a "fall." it was evidently one or the other; but, after listening to it for a considerable time, all came to the conclusion that the sound did not proceed from the red river itself, but from some stream that emptied into it upon the right. with this belief they again put the canoe in motion, and glided slowly and cautiously onward. their conjecture proved to be correct. as they approached nearer, they perceived that the noise appeared every moment more and more to their right; and presently they saw, below them, a rapid current sweeping into the red river from the right bank. this was easily distinguished by the white froth and bubbles that were carried along upon its surface, and which had evidently been produced by some fall over which the water had lately passed. the hunters now rowed fearlessly forward, and in a few moments came opposite the _debouchure_ of the tributary stream, when a considerable cascade appeared to their view, not thirty yards from the red river itself. the water foamed and dashed over a series of steps, and then swept rapidly on, in a frothy current. they had entered this current, and were now carried along with increased velocity, so that the oarsmen suspended operations, and drew their paddles within the canoe. a flock of swans now drew their attention. it was the largest flock they had yet seen, numbering nearly a score of these noble birds,--a sight, as norman informed them, that was exceedingly rare even in the most favoured haunts of the swan. rarely are more than six or seven seen together, and oftener only two or three. a grand _coup_ was determined upon. norman took up his own gun, and even lucien, who managed the stern oar, and guided the craft, also brought his piece--a very small rifle--close to his hand, so that he might have a shot as well as the others. the canoe was directed in such a manner that, by merely keeping its head down the stream, it would float to the spot where the swans were. in a short while they approached very near the great birds, and our hunters could see them sitting on the water, with upraised necks, gazing in wonder at the torch. whether they sounded their strange note was not known, for the "sough" of the waterfall still echoed in the ears of the canoemen, and they could not hear aught else. basil and norman fired first, and simultaneously; but the louder detonations of francois' double-barrel, and even the tiny crack of lucien's rifle, were heard almost the instant after. three of the birds were killed by the volley, while a fourth, evidently "winged," was seen to dive, and flutter down-stream. the others mounted into the air, and disappeared in the darkness. during the time occupied in this manoeuvre, the canoe, no longer guided by lucien's oar, had been caught by some eddy in the current, and swept round stern-foremost. in this position the light no longer shone upon the river ahead, but was thrown up-stream. all in a downward direction was buried in deep darkness. before the voyageurs could bring the canoe back to its proper direction, a new sound fell upon their ears that caused some of them to utter a cry of terror. it was the noise of rushing water, but not that which they had already heard and passed. it was before them in the river itself. perhaps it was a cataract, and _they were sweeping rapidly to its brink_! the voice of norman was heard exclaiming, "hold with your oars!--the rapids!--the rapids!" at the same time he himself was seen rising up and stretching forward for an oar. all was now consternation; and the movements of the party naturally consequent upon such a sudden panic shook the little craft until her gunwales lipped the water. at the same time she had swung round, until the light again showed the stream ahead, and a horrid sight it was. far as the eye could see was a reach of foaming rapids. dark points of rocks, and huge black boulders, thickly scattered in the channel, jutted above the surface; and around and against these, the water frothed and hissed furiously. there was no cataract, it is true--there is none such in red river--but for all purposes of destruction the rapids before them were equally dangerous and terrible to the eyes of our voyageurs. they no longer thought of the swans. the dead were permitted to float down unheeded, the wounded to make its escape. their only thought was to stop the canoe before it should be carried upon the rapids. with this intent all had taken to the oars, but in spite of every exertion they soon found that the light craft had got within the influence of the strong current, and was sucked downward more rapidly than ever. their backward strokes were to no purpose. in a few seconds the canoe had passed over the first stage of the rapids, and shot down with the velocity of an arrow. a huge boulder lay directly in the middle of the channel, and against this the current broke with fury, laving its sides in foaming masses. the canoe was hurried to this point; and as the light was again turned up-stream, none of the voyageurs could see this dangerous rock. but they could not have shunned it then. the boat had escaped from their control, and spun round at will. the rock once more came under the light, but just as the canoe, with a heavy crash, was driven against it. for some moments the vessel, pressed by the current against the rock, remained motionless, but her sides were stove in, and the water was rushing through. the quick eye of basil--cool in all crises of extreme danger--perceived this at a glance. he saw that the canoe was a wreck, and nothing remained but to save themselves as they best might. dropping the oar, and seizing his rifle, he called to his companions to leap to the rock: and all together immediately sprang over the gunwale. the dog marengo followed after. the canoe, thus lightened, heeled round into the current, and swept on. the next moment she struck another rock, and was carried over on her beams. the water then rushed in--the white bodies of the swans, with the robes, blankets, and implements, rose on the wave; the blazing knots were spilled from the pan, and fell with a hissing sound: and a few seconds after they were extinguished, and all was darkness! the young voyageurs--by captain mayne reid chapter seven. a bridge of buckskin. the canoe was lost, and all it had contained, or nearly all. the voyageurs had saved only their guns, knives, and the powder-horns and pouches, that had been attached to their persons. one other thing had been saved--an axe which basil had flung upon the rock as he stepped out of the sinking vessel. all the rest--robes, blankets, swans, cooking utensils, bags of provisions, such as coffee, flour, and dried meat-were lost--irrecoverably lost. these had either drifted off upon the surface, or been carried under water and hidden among the loose stones at the bottom. no matter where, they were lost; and our voyageurs now stood on a small naked rock in the middle of the stream, with nothing left but the clothes upon their backs, and the arms in their hands. such was their condition. there was something so sudden and awful in the mishap that had befallen them, that for some minutes they stood upon the spot where they had settled without moving or addressing a word to one another. they gazed after the canoe. they knew that it was wrecked, although they could see nothing either of it or its contents. thick darkness enveloped them, rendered more intense from the sudden extinction of the torchlight. they saw nothing but the foam flickering along the river; like the ghosts of the swans they had killed, and they heard only the roaring of the water, that sounded in their ears with a hoarse and melancholy wail. for a long time they stood impressed with the lamentable condition into which the accident had plunged them; and a lamentable condition it was, sure enough. they were on a small rock in the midst of a rapid river. they were in the midst of a great wilderness too, many long miles from a settlement. the nearest could only be reached by travelling through pathless forests, and over numerous and deep rivers. impassable swamps, and lakes with marshy shores, lay on the route, and barred the direct course, and all this journey would have to be made on foot. but none of our young voyageurs were of that stamp to yield themselves to despair. one and all of them had experienced perils before--greater even than that in which they now stood. as soon, therefore, as they became fully satisfied that their little vessel was wrecked, and all its contents scattered, instead of despairing, their first thoughts were how to make the best of their situation. for that night, at least, they were helpless. they could not leave the rock. it was surrounded by rapids. sharp, jagged points peeped out of the water, and between these the current rushed with impetuosity. in the darkness no human being could have crossed to either shore in safety. to attempt it would have been madness, and our voyageurs soon came to this conclusion. they had no other choice than to remain where they were until the morning; so, seating themselves upon the rock, they prepared to pass the night. they sat huddled close together. they could not lie down--there was not room enough for that. they kept awake most of the night, one or other of them, overcome by fatigue, occasionally nodding over in a sort of half-sleep, but awakening again after a few minutes' uncomfortable dreaming. they talked but little, as the noise of the rushing rapids rendered conversation painful. to be heard, they were under the necessity of shouting to one another, like passengers in an omnibus. it was cold, too. none of them had been much wetted in escaping from the canoe; but they had saved neither overcoat, blanket, nor buffalo-robe; and, although it was now late in the spring, the nights near lake winnipeg, even at that season, are chilly. they were above the latitude of 50 degrees; and although in england, which is on that parallel, it is not very cold of a spring night, it must be remembered that the line of equal temperature--in the language of meteorologists the "_isothermal line_,"--is of a much lower latitude in america than in europe. another fact worth remembering is, that upon the eastern or atlantic coast of the american continent it is much colder in the same latitude than on the western or pacific side. the pacific "sea-board" in its climate is more like the western edge of the old continent. this would seem to indicate that the climate of a coast country is much influenced by the side upon which the ocean lies, whether east or west. this in reality is the case, for you may observe on your map that the western coasts of both the "old world" and the "new" are somewhat similarly placed in regard to their oceans, and hence the similarity of their climates. there are many other causes connected with this; such as the direction of winds, and the different effects produced by them on the atmosphere when they have passed over water or over land. it was, and is still by many people believed, that the winds are produced by the air becoming heated in a particular place, and then ascending, and leaving a "vacuum" into which the colder air rushes from all sides around. this "rushing," it was supposed, made the wind. to some extent this theory is true, but there are several other causes that operate in producing wind. electricity--an agent hitherto but little known, but one of the most important elements of our earth--has much to do with the winds; and the revolution of the earth on its own axis has also an influence upon them. indeed it is to be wondered at, that mankind should have so long remained satisfied with the very unsatisfactory theory of the _heated air_. but it is not to be wondered at either, when we consider how little mankind has had to do with these things--when we consider that as yet nearly every country upon the face of the globe is despotic; that the whole time of the great body of the people is occupied in a struggle for life--occupied in toiling for a few, who by the most cunning devices rob them of the fruits of their toils--rob them so skilfully that the poor blinded masses have grown to consider eternal toil as the _natural state of man_--nay more, are ready to persecute him who would elevate them, and worship him who would sink them deeper in baseness and bondage;--when we reflect on this almost hopeless darkness of soul that has marked the history of the past, and is too much the character of the present, we need not wonder that so few have had either leisure or inclination to yield themselves to the acquirement or prosecution of scientific knowledge. "the winds have blown where they listed, and we have heard the sound thereof," but men absorbed in the hard struggle of life have found but little time to inquire "whence they come or whither they go." the people of the united states are yet but partially free. they still inherit, from customs and prejudices, the fruits of an ancestral oppression, and a bondage of centuries of duration. but even their _partial_ freedom has already shown its good effects. at this moment knowledge is progressing faster among these people than any other on the face of the earth. meteorology begins to assume the palpable shape of an exact science. the winds are being traced in their currents, and followed through all their windings, by maury and other men of talent; and if you live twenty years longer (and i hope you may live three times as many years), you will no doubt be able to tell "whence the wind cometh and whither it goeth." well, we began this politico-scientific discussion by observing that it was very cold in the latitude of lake winnipeg, even in late spring. only at night though; the days are sometimes so hot there that you might fancy yourself in the tropics. these extremes are characteristic of the climate of all american countries, and particularly those that lie at a distance from the sea-coast. our voyageurs were chilled to the very bones, and of course glad to see the daylight glimmering through the tops of the trees that grew upon the banks of the river. as soon as day broke, they began to consider how they would reach those trees. although swimming a river of that width would have been to any of the four a mere bagatelle, they saw that it was not to be so easy an affair. had they been upon either bank, they could have crossed to the other without difficulty--as they would have chosen a place where the water was comparatively still. on the rock they had no choice, as the rapids extended on both sides above and below it. between the boulders the current rushed so impetuously, that had they attempted to swim to either bank, they would have been carried downward, and perhaps dashed with violence against one or other of the sharp stones. as soon as it was light, they saw all this; not without feelings of apprehension and uneasiness. their whole attention was now occupied with the one object--how they should get to the bank of the river. the right bank was the more distant; but the passage in that direction appeared the easier one. the current was not so swift, nor yet did it seem so deep. they thought they might ford it, and basil made the attempt; but he soon got beyond his depth; and was obliged, after being carried off his feet, to swim up under the lee of the rock again. from the rock to the right bank was about an hundred yards' distance. here and there, at irregular intervals, sharp, jagged stones rose above the surface, some of them projecting three feet or more out of the water, and looking _very_ much like upright tombstones. lucien had noticed these, and expressed the opinion that if they only had a rope, they might fling it over one of these stones, and then, holding it fast at the other end, might pass by that means from one to the other. the suggestion was a good one, but where was the rope to come from? all their ropes and cords--lassoes and all--had been swept away in the wreck. not a string remained, except those that fastened their horns, flasks, and other accoutrements; and these were only small thongs, and would be of no use for such a purpose. it would require a rope strong enough to carry the weight of a man impelled by a rapid current--in fact, a weight equal to that of several men. they all set to thinking how this was to be obtained. each looked at the other, and scanned the straps and thongs that were around their bodies. they were satisfied at a glance that these would not be sufficient to make such a rope as was wanted. they did not give up the hope of being able to obtain one. they were all of them accustomed to resort to strange expedients, and a sufficiently strange one now suggested itself. basil and norman seemed to have thought of it at the same time, for both at once unbuckled their straps, and commenced pulling off their buckskin hunting-shirts. the others said nothing, as they knew well what they were going to do with them--they knew they intended cutting them into strips, and then twisting a rope out of them. all four set to work together. lucien and francois held the shirts taut, while basil and norman handled the knives, and in a few minutes the rock was covered with strips of buckskin about two inches wide, by a yard or so in length. these were next joined and plaited together in such a manner that a rope was formed nearly forty feet long. an eye was made at one end, and through this the other end was reeved--so that a running noose was obtained, in the same manner as the mexicans and indians make their lassoes. the rope was now ready for use, and basil was the very hand to use it; for basil knew how to fling a lasso as well as either mexican or indian. he had practised it often, and had lassoed many a long-horned bull upon the prairies of opelousas and the attakapas. to basil, therefore, the rope was given. he placed himself on the highest part of the rock, having first coiled the new-made lasso, and hung the coil lightly over his left arm. he then took the noose-end in his right hand, and commenced winding it around his head. his companions had laid themselves flat, so as not to be in the way of the noose as it circled about. after a few turns the rope was launched forth, and a loud "hurrah!" from francois announced that the throw was successful. it was so in fact, as the noose was seen settling smoothly over the jutting-stone, taking full hold upon it. a pull from basil fixed it; and in a few minutes it was made quite fast, without the slightest danger of its slipping off. the other end was then carried round a projecting point of the rock on which they stood, and knotted firmly, so that the rope was quite taut, and stretched in a nearly horizontal direction, about a foot above the surface of the water. the voyageurs now prepared to cross over. their guns, pouches, and flasks were carefully secured, so that the water could not damage them. then each took a piece of the buckskin thong, and fastened it round his waist, leaving enough to form a running loop. this loop was intended to embrace the rope, and run along it, as they drew themselves forward by their hands. basil passed over first. he was the oldest, and, as he asserted, it was but right he should run the risk in testing the new-fashioned bridge, of which he was the architect. it worked admirably, and sustained the weight of his body, with the whole force of the current acting upon it. of course he was swept far down, and the rope was stretched to its full tension, but he succeeded in handing himself along, until he was able to touch the second rock, and clamber upon it in safety. during the passage across he was watched by his companions with emotions of no ordinary character, but as soon as he had reached the opposite end of the rope all three uttered a loud and simultaneous cheer. lucien passed over next, and after him francois. notwithstanding his danger, francois laughed loudly all the time he was in the water, while his brothers were not without some fears for his safety. marengo was next attached to the rope, and pulled safely over. norman was the last to cross upon the buckskin bridge, but, like the others, he landed in safety; and the four, with the dog, now stood upon the little isolated boulder, where there was just room enough to give them all a footing. a difficulty now presented itself, which they had not hitherto thought of. another reach of rapid current was to be crossed, before they could safely trust themselves to enter the water. this they knew before, but they had also noticed that there was another jutting rock, upon which they might fling their rope. but the rope itself was now the difficulty. it was fast at both ends, and how were they to release it from the rock they had left? one of them could easily cross over again and untie it, but how was he to get back to the others? here was a dilemma which had not presented itself before, and they now saw themselves no better off than ever. the rapid that remained to be crossed, was as dangerous as the one they had succeeded in passing. there was no hope that they could swim it in safety. they would certainly be swept with violence against the rocks below. there was no chance, then, of their going an inch farther--unless by some means similar to that they had just used, and the rope was no longer at their service. for some time they all stood silent, each considering the matter in his own way. how could they free the rope? "it cannot be done," said one. "impossible," rejoined another. "we must make a second rope. francois's shirt still remains, and our leggings--we can use them." this was the mode suggested by francois and norman, and lucien seemed to assent to it. they had already commenced untying their leggings, when basil uttered the ejaculation-"stop!" "well, what is it, brother?" asked lucien. "i think i can free the rope at the other end. at all events, let me try. it will not cost much, either in time or trouble." "how do you mean to do it, brother?" "sit close, all of you. give me room--you shall see presently." as directed by basil, they all cowered closely down, so as to occupy as little space as possible. basil, having uncovered the lock of his rifle--which had been carefully bound up in a piece of deer's bladder-placed himself in a firm position, and appeared as if about to fire. such was his intention--for in a few moments he was seen to raise the gun to his shoulder, and take aim. none of his companions uttered a word. they had already guessed the object of this movement, and sat silently awaiting the result. on the rock which they had left, the rope still bound fast passed around one of the angles, in such a way that, from the point where basil stood, it offered a fair mark. it was at this basil was aiming. his object was to cut the thong with his bullet. he could not do it with a single shot, as the thong was broader than the bullet, but he had calculated that he might effect his purpose with several. if he did not succeed in cutting it clean through, the ball flattening upon the rock would, perhaps, tear the rope in such a manner that, by pulling by the other end, they might detach it. such were the calculations and hopes of basil. a moment more and the crack of his rifle was heard. at the same instant the dust rose up from the point at which he had aimed, and several small fragments flew off into the water. again was heard francois's "hurrah," for francois, as well as the others, had seen that the rope had been hit at the right place, and now exhibited a mangled appearance. while basil was reloading, norman took aim and fired. norman was a good shot, though perhaps not so good a one as basil, for that was no easy matter, as there were few such marksmen to be found anywhere, not even among the professional trappers and hunters themselves. but norman was a fair shot, and this time hit his mark. the thong was evidently better than half divided by the two; bullets. seeing this, francois took hold of the other end, and gave it a strong jerk or two, but it was still too much for him, and he ceased pulling, and waited the effect of basil's second shot. the latter had now reloaded, and, taking deliberate aim again, fired. the rope was still held taut upon the rock, for part of it dragged in the current, the force of which kept pressing it hard downward. scarcely was the report heard, when the farther end of the thong flew from its fastening, and, swept by the running water, was seen falling into the lee of the boulder on which the party now stood. a third time was heard the voice of francois uttering one of his customary "hurrahs." the rope was now dragged up, and made ready for further use. basil again took hold of it; and, after coiling it as before, succeeded in throwing the noose over the third rock, where it settled and held fast. the other end was tied as before, and all passed safely to the new station. here, however, their labour ended. they found that from this point to the shore the river was shallow, and fordable; and, leaving the rope where it was, all four took the water, and waded safely to the bank. chapter eight. decoying the "goats." for the present, then, our voyageurs had escaped. they were safe upon the river's bank; but when we consider the circumstances in which they were placed, we shall perceive that they were far from being pleasant ones. they were in the midst of a wilderness, without either horse or boat to carry them out of it. they had lost everything but their arms and their axe. the hunting-shirts of some of them, as we have seen, were destroyed, and they would now suffer from the severe cold that even in summer, as we have said, often reigns in these latitudes. not a vessel was left them for cooking with, and not a morsel of meat or anything was left to be cooked. for their future subsistence they would have to depend upon their guns, which, with their ammunition, they had fortunately preserved. after reaching the shore, their first thoughts were about procuring something to eat. they had now been a long time without food, and all four were hungry enough. as if by one impulse, all cast their eyes around, and looked upward among the branches of the tree's, to see if any animal could be discovered that might serve them for a meal. bird or quadruped, it mattered not, so that it was large enough to give the four a breakfast. but neither one nor the other was to be seen, although the woods around had a promising appearance. the trees were large, and as there was much underwood, consisting of berry-bushes and plants with edible roots, our voyageurs did not doubt that there would be found game in abundance. it was agreed, then, that lucien and francois should remain on the spot and kindle a fire, while basil and norman went off in search of something to be cooked upon it. in less than an hour the latter returned, carrying an animal upon his shoulders, which both the boys recognised as an old acquaintance,--the prong-horned antelope (_antilope furcifer_), so called from the single fork or prong upon its horns. norman called it "a goat," and stated that this was its name among the fur-traders, while the canadian voyageurs give it the title of "cabree." lucien, however, knew the animal well. he knew it was not of the goat kind, but a true antelope, and the only animal of that genus found in north america. its habitat is the prairie country, and at the present time it is not found farther east than the prairies extend, nor farther north either, as it is not a creature that can bear extreme cold. in early times, however--that is, nearly two centuries ago--it must have ranged nearly to the atlantic shores, as father hennepin in his travels speaks of "goats" being killed in the neighbourhood of niagara, meaning no other than the prong-horned antelopes. the true wild goat of america is a very different animal, and is only found in the remote regions of the rocky mountains. what norman had shot, then, was an antelope; and the reason why it is called "cabree" by the voyageurs, and "goat" by the fur-traders, is partly from its colour resembling that of the common goat, but more from the fact, that along the upper part of its neck there is a standing mane, which does in truth give it somewhat the appearance of the european goat. another point of resemblance lies in the fact, that the "prong-horns" emit the same disagreeable odour, which is a well-known characteristic of the goat species. this proceeds from two small glandular openings that lie at the angles of the jaws, and appear spots of a blackish brown colour. both lucien and francois had shot antelopes. they had decoyed them within range in their former expedition on the prairies, and had seen wolves do the same. the indians usually hunt them in this manner, by holding up some bright-coloured flag, or other curious object, which rarely fails to bring them within shot; but norman informed his cousins that the indians of the hudson's bay company care little about the antelope, and rarely think it worth hunting. its skin is of little value to them, and they consider its flesh but indifferent eating. but the chief reason why they take so little notice of it is, because it is found in the same range with the buffalo, the moose, and the elk; and, as all these animals are more valuable to the indian hunter, he allows the antelope to go unmolested, unless when he is hard pressed with hunger, and none of the others are to be had. while skinning the antelope for breakfast, norman amused his companions by relating how he had killed it. he said that he had got near enough to shoot it by practising a "dodge." after travelling through the woods for some half-mile or so, he had come out into a country of "openings," and saw that there was a large prairie beyond. he saw that the woods extended no farther than about a mile from the banks of the river, and that the whole country beyond was without timber, except in scattered clumps. this is, in fact, true of the red river country, particularly of its western part, from which the great prairies stretch westward, even to the "foot-hills" (_piedmont_) of the rocky mountains. well, then, after arriving at the openings, norman espied a small herd of antelopes, about ten or a dozen in all. he would rather they had been something else, as elk or deer; for, like the indians, he did not much relish the "goat's" meat. he was too hungry, however, to be nice, and so he set about trying to get within shot of the herd. there was no cover, and he knew he could not approach near enough without using some stratagem. he therefore laid himself flat upon his back, and raised his heels as high as he could into the air. these he kicked about in such a manner, as soon to attract the attention of the antelopes, that, curious to make out what it was, commenced running round and round in circles, of which norman himself was the centre. the circles gradually became smaller and smaller, until the hunter saw that his game was within range; when, slyly rolling himself round on one shoulder, he took aim at a buck, and fired. the buck fell, and the rest of the herd bounded off like the wind. norman feeling hungry himself, and knowing that his companions were suffering from the same cause, lost no time in looking for other game; but shouldering the "goat," carried it into camp. by this time lucien and francois had a fire kindled--a roaring fire of "pine-knots"--and both were standing by it, smoking all over in their wet leggings. they had got nearly dry when norman returned, and they proceeded to assist in butchering the antelope. the skin was whipped off in a trice; and the venison, cut into steaks and ribs, was soon spitted and sputtering cheerily in the blaze of the pine-knots. everything looked pleasant and promising, and it only wanted the presence of basil to make them all feel quite happy again. basil, however, did not make his appearance; and as they were all as hungry as wolves, they could not wait for him, but set upon the antelope-venison, and made each of them a hearty meal from it. as yet they had no apprehensions about basil. they supposed he had not met with any game, and was still travelling about in search of it. should he succeed in killing any, he would bring it in; and should he not, he would return in proper time without it. it was still early in the day. but several hours passed over, and he did not come. it was an unusual length of time for him to be absent, especially in strange woods of which he knew nothing; moreover, he was in his shirt-sleeves, and the rest of his clothing had been dripping wet when he set out. under these circumstances would he remain so long, unless something unpleasant had happened to him? this question the three began to ask one another. they began to grow uneasy about their absent companion; and as the hours passed on without his appearing, their uneasiness increased to serious alarm. they at length resolved to go in search of him. they took different directions, so that there would be a better chance of finding him. norman struck out into the woods, while lucien and francois, followed by the dog marengo, kept down the bank--thinking that if basil had got lost, he would make for the river to guide him, as night approached. all were to return to the camp at nightfall whether successful or not. after several hours spent in traversing the woods and openings, norman came back. he had been unable to find any traces of their missing companion. the others had got back before him. they heard his story with sorrowing hearts, for neither had they fallen in with the track of living creature. basil was lost, beyond a doubt. he would never have stayed so long, had not some accident happened to him. perhaps he was dead--killed by some wild animal--a panther or a bear. perhaps he had met with indians, who had carried him off, or put him to death on the spot. such were the painful conjectures of his companions. it was now night. all three sat mournfully over the fire, their looks and gestures betokening the deep dejection they felt. although in need of repose, none of them attempted to go to sleep. at intervals they discussed the probability of his return, and then they would remain silent. nothing could be done that night. they could only await the morning light, when they would renew their search, and scour the country in every direction. it was near midnight, and they were sitting silently around the fire, when marengo started to his feet, and uttered three or four loud barks. the echoes of these had hardly died among the trees when a shrill whistle was heard at some distance off in the woods. "hurrah!" shouted francois, leaping to his feet at the instant; "that's basil's whistle, i'll be bound. i'd know it a mile off. hurrah!" francois' "hurrah!" rang through the woods, and the next moment came back a loud "hilloa!" which all recognised as the voice of basil. "hilloa!" shouted the three by the fire. "hilloa, my boys! all right!" replied the voice; and a few seconds after, the tall upright form of basil himself was seen advancing, under the glare of the pine-knots. a shout of congratulation was again raised; and all the party, preceded by marengo, rushed out to meet the new-comer. they soon returned, bringing basil up to the fire, when it was seen that he had not returned empty-handed. in one hand he carried a bag of grouse, or "prairie hens," while from the muzzle of his shouldered rifle there hung something that was at once recognised as a brace of buffalo tongues. "_voila_!" cried basil, flinging down the bag, "how are you off for supper? and here," continued he, pointing to the tongues, "here's a pair of tit-bits that'll make you lick your lips. come! let us lose no time in the cooking, for i'm hungry enough to eat either of them raw." basil's request was instantly complied with. the fire was raked up, spits were speedily procured, a tongue and one of the grouse were roasted; and although lucien, francois, and norman, had already supped on the "goat's meat," they set to upon the new viands with fresh appetites. basil was hungrier than any, for he had been all the while fasting. it was not because he was without meat, but because he knew that his comrades would be uneasy about him, and he would not stop to cook it. of meat he had enough, since he had slain the two buffaloes to which the tongues had belonged; and these same buffaloes, he now informed them, had been the cause of his long absence. of course, all were eager to know how the buffaloes could have delayed him; and therefore, while they were discussing their savoury supper, basil narrated the details of his day's adventure. chapter nine. a "partridge dance." "after leaving here," said basil, "i struck off through the woods in a line that led from the river, in a diagonal direction. i hadn't walked more than three hundred yards, when i heard a drumming sound, which i at first took to be thunder; but, after listening a while, i knew it was not that, but the drumming of the ruffed grouse. as soon as i could ascertain the direction of the sound, i hurried on in that way; but for a long time i appeared to get no nearer it, so greatly does this sound deceive one. i should think i walked a full mile before i arrived at the place where the birds were, for there were many of them. i then had a full view of them, as they went through their singular performances. "there were, in all, about a score. they had selected a piece of open and level ground, and over this they were running in a circle, about twenty feet in diameter. they did not all run in the same direction, but met and crossed each other, although they never deviated much from the circumference of the circle, around which the grass was worn quite bare, and a ring upon the turf looked baked and black. when i first got near, they heard my foot among the leaves, and i saw that one and all of them stopped running, and squatted close down. i halted, and hid myself behind a tree. after remaining quiet a minute or so, the birds began to stretch up their necks, and then all rose together to their feet, and commenced running round the ring as before. i knew they were performing what is called the `partridge dance;' and as i had never witnessed it i held back awhile, and looked on. even hungry as i was, and as i knew all of you to be, so odd were the movements of these creatures, that i could not resist watching them a while, before i sent my unwelcome messenger into their `ballroom.' now and then an old cock would separate from the pack, and running out to some distance, would leap upon a rock that was there; then, after dropping his wings, flirting with his spread tail, erecting the ruff upon his neck, and throwing back his head, he would swell and strut upon the rock, exhibiting himself like a diminutive turkey-cock. after manoeuvring in this way for a few moments, he would commence flapping his wings in short quick strokes, which grew more rapid as he proceeded, until a `booming' sound was produced, more like the rumble of distant thunder than anything i can think of. "this appeared to be a challenge to the others; and then a second would come out, and, after replying to it by putting himself through a similar series of attitudes, the two would attack each other, and fight with all the fury of a pair of game-cocks. "i could have watched their manoeuvres much longer," continued basil, "but hunger got the better of me, and i made ready to fire. those that were `dancing' moved so quickly round the ring that i could not sight one of them. if i had had a shot-gun, i might have covered several, but with the rifle i could not hope for more than a single bird; so, wanting to make sure of that, i waited until an old cock mounted the rock, and got to `drumming.' then i sighted him, and sent my bullet through his crop. i heard the loud whirr of the pack as they rose up from the ring; and, marking them, i saw that they all alighted only a couple of hundred yards off, upon a large spruce-tree. hoping they would sit there until i could get another shot, i loaded as quickly as possible, and stepped forward. the course i took brought me past the one i had killed, which i picked up, and thrust hastily into my bag. beyond this i had to pass over some logs that lay along the ground, with level spaces between them. what was my surprise in getting among these, to see two of the cocks down upon the grass, and righting so desperately that they took no notice of my approach! at first i threw up my rifle, intending to fire, but seeing that the birds were within a few feet of me, i thought they might let me lay hold of them, which they, in fact, did; for the next moment i had `grabbed' both of them, and cooled their bellicose spirits by wringing their heads off. "i now proceeded to the pack, that still kept the tree. when near enough, i sheltered myself behind another tree; and taking aim at one, i brought him tumbling to the ground. the others sat still. of course, i shot the one upon the lowest branch: i knew that, so long as i did this, the others would sit until i might get the whole of them; but that if i shot one of the upper ones, its fluttering down through the branches would alarm the rest, and cause them to fly off. i loaded and fired, and loaded and fired, until half-a-dozen of the birds lay around the root of the tree. i believe i could have killed the whole pack, but it just then occurred to me that i was wasting our precious ammunition, and that, considering the value of powder and shot to us just now, the birds were hardly worth a load apiece; so i left off cracking at them. as i stepped forward to gather what i had killed, the rest whirred away into the woods. "on reaching the tree where they had perched, i was very much surprised to find a raw-hide rope neatly coiled up, and hanging from one of the lower branches. i knew that somebody must have placed it there, and i looked round to see what `sign' there was besides. my eye fell upon the cinders of an old fire near the foot of the tree; and i could tell that some indians had made their camp by it. it must have been a good while ago, as the ashes were beaten into the ground by the rain, and, moreover, some young plants were springing up through them. i concluded, therefore, that whoever had camped there had hung the rope upon the tree, and on leaving the place had forgotten it. i took the rope down to examine it: it was no other than a lasso, full fifty feet long, with an iron ring neatly whipped into the loop-end; and, on trying it with a pull, i saw it was in the best condition. of course, i was not likely to leave such a prize behind me. i had grown, as you may all conceive, to have a very great regard for a rope, considering that one had just saved all our lives; so i resolved on bringing the lasso with me. in order to carry it the more conveniently, i coiled it, and then hung the coil across my shoulders like a belt. i next packed my game into the bag, which they filled chock up to the mouth, and was turning to come back to camp, when my eye fell upon an object that caused me suddenly to change my intention. "i was near the edge of the woods, and through the trunks i could see a large open space beyond, where there were no trees, or only one here and there. in the middle of this opening there was a cloud of dust, and in the thick of it i could see two great dark animals in motion. they were running about, and now and then coming together with a sudden rush; and every time they did so, i could hear a loud thump, like the stroke of a sledgehammer. the sun was shining upon the yellow dust-cloud, and the animals appeared from this circumstance to be of immense size--much larger than they really were. had i not known what kind of creatures were before me, i should have believed that the mammoths were still in existence. but i knew well what they were: i had seen many before, carrying on just such a game. i knew they were buffalo bulls, engaged in one of their terrible battles." here basil's narrative was interrupted by a singular incident. indeed, it had been interrupted more than once by strange noises that were heard at some distance off in the woods. these noises were not all alike: at one time they resembled the barking of a cur dog; at another, they might have been mistaken for the gurglings of a person who was being hanged; and then would follow a shriek so dreadful that for some time the woods would echo with its dismal sound! after the shriek a laugh would be heard, but a miserable "haw-haw-haw!" unlike the laugh of a sane person. all these strange voices were calculated to inspire terror, and so have they many a time, with travellers not accustomed to the solitary woods of america. but our young voyageurs were not at all alarmed by them. they knew from what sort of a creature they proceeded; they knew they were the varying notes of the great horned-owl (_strix virginiana_); and as they had seen and heard many a one before, they paid no heed to this individual. while basil was going on with his relation, the bird had been several times seen to glide past, and circle around upon his noiseless pinions. so easy was his flight, that the slightest inclining of his spread tail, or the bending of his broad wing, seemed sufficient to turn and carry him in any direction. nothing could be more graceful than his flight, which was not unlike that of the eagle, while he was but little inferior in size to one of these noble birds. what interrupted basil was, that the owl had alighted upon a branch not twenty feet from where they were all sitting round the fire, by the blaze of which they now had a full view of this singular creature. the moment it alighted, it commenced uttering its hideous and unmusical cries, at the same time going through such a variety of contortions, both with its head and body, as to cause the whole party a fit of laughter. it was, in fact, an odd and interesting sight to witness its grotesque movements, as it turned first its body, and then its head around, without moving the shoulders, while its great honey-coloured eyes glared in the light of the fire. at the end of every attitude and utterance, it would snap its bill with such violence, that the cracking of the mandibles upon each other might have been heard to the distance of several hundred yards. this was too much for francois' patience to bear, and he immediately crept to his gun. he had got hold of the piece, and cocked it; but, just as he was about to take aim, the owl dropped silently down from the branch, and, gliding gently forward, thrust out its feathered leg, and lifted one of the grouse in its talons. the latter had been lying upon the top of a fallen tree not six feet from the fire! the owl, after clutching it, rose into the air; and the next moment would have been lost in darkness, but the crack of francois' rifle put a sudden stop to its flight, and with the grouse still clinging to its claws it fell fluttering to the earth. marengo jumped forward to seize it; but marengo little knew the sort of creature he had to deal with. it happened to be only "winged," and as soon as the dog came near, it threw itself upon its back, and struck at him with its talons so wickedly, that he was fain to approach it with more caution. it cost marengo a considerable fight before he succeeded in getting his jaws over it. during the contest it continually snapped its bill, while its great goggle eyes kept alternately and quickly opening and closing, and the feathers being erected all over its body, gave it the appearance of being twice its real size. marengo at length succeeded in "crunching" it--although not until he was well scratched about the snout--and its useless carcass having been thrown upon the ground, the dog continued to worry and chew at it, while basil went on with his narration. chapter ten. basil and the bison-bull. "as soon as i saw the buffaloes," continued basil, "my first thought was to get near, and have a shot at them. they were worth a charge of powder and lead, and i reflected that if i could kill but one of them, it would ensure us against hunger for a couple of weeks to come. so i hung my game-bag to the branch of a tree, and set about approaching them. i saw that the wind was in my favour, and there was no danger of their scenting me. but there was no cover near them--the ground was as level as a table, and there was not a score of trees upon as many acres. it was no use crawling up, and i did not attempt it, but walked straight forward, treading lightly as i went. in five minutes, i found myself within good shooting range. neither of the bulls had noticed me. they were too busy with one another, and in all my life i never saw two creatures fighting in such earnest. they were foaming at the mouth, and the steam poured out of their nostrils incessantly. at times, they would back from each other like a pair of rams, and then rush together head-foremost, until their skulls cracked with the terrible collision. one would have fancied that they would break them at every fresh encounter, but i knew the thickness of a buffalo's skull before that time. i remember having fired a musket at one that stood fronting me not more than six feet distant, when, to my surprise, the bullet flattened and fell to the ground before the nose of the buffalo! the creature was not less astonished than myself, as up to that time it had not seen me. "well," continued basil after a pause, "i did not stop long to watch the battle of the bison-bulls. i was not curious about that. i had seen such many a time. i was thinking about the meat; and i paused just long enough to select the one that appeared to have the most fat upon his flanks, when i drew up my rifle and fired. i aimed for the heart, and my aim was a true one, for the animal came to its knees along with the crack. just at that moment the other was charging upon it, and, to my surprise, it continued to run on, until striking the wounded one full butt upon the forehead, it knocked the latter right over upon its side; where, after giving half-a-dozen kicks, it lay quite dead. "the remaining bull had dashed some paces beyond the spot, and now turned round again to renew his attack. on seeing his antagonist stretched out and motionless, he seemed to be as much astonished as i was. at first, no doubt, he fancied himself the author of a grand _coup_, for it was plain that up to this time he had neither noticed my presence, nor the report of the rifle. the bellowing noise that both were making had drowned the latter; and the dust, together with the long shaggy tufts that hung over his eyes, had prevented him from seeing anything more than his rival, with whom he was engaged. now that the other was no longer able to stand before him, and thinking it was himself that had done the deed, he tossed up his head and snorted in triumph. at this moment, the matted hair was thrown back from his eyes, and the dust having somewhat settled away, he sighted me, where i stood reloading my gun. i fancied he would take off before i could finish, and i made all the haste in my power--so much so that i dropped the box of caps at my feet. i had taken one out, however, and hurriedly adjusted it, thinking to myself, as i did so, that the box might lie where it was until i had finished the job. i brought the piece to my shoulder, when, to my surprise, the bull, instead of running away, as i had expected, set his head, and uttering one of his terrible bellows, came rushing towards me. i fired, but the shot was a random one, and though it hit him in the snout, it did not in the least disable him. instead of keeping him off, it only seemed to irritate him the more, and his fury was now at its height. "i had no time to load again. he was within a few feet of me when i fired, and it was with difficulty that, by leaping to one side, i avoided his horns; but i did so, and he passed me with such violence that i felt the ground shake under his heavy tread. "he wheeled immediately, and made at me a second time. i knew that if he once touched me i was gone. his horns were set, and his eyes glared with a terrible earnestness. i rushed towards the body of the buffalo that lay near, hoping that this might assist me in avoiding the onset. it did so, for, as he dashed forward over it, he became entangled among the limbs, and again charged without striking me. he turned, however, as quick as thought, and again rushed bellowing upon me. there was a tree near at hand. i had noticed it before, but i could not tell whether i should have time to reach it. i was now somewhat nearer it, and, fearing that i might not be able to dodge the furious brute any longer upon the ground, i struck out for the tree. you may be sure i did my best at running. i heard the bull coming after, but before he could overtake me, i had got to the root of the tree. it was my intention, at first, only to take shelter behind the trunk; but when i had got there, i noticed that there were some low branches, and catching one of these i swung myself up among them. "the bull passed under me with a rush--almost touching my feet as i hung by the branch--but i was soon safely lodged in a fork, and out of his reach. "my next thought was to load my gun, and fire at him from my perch, and, with this intention, i commenced loading. i had no fear but that he would give me an opportunity, for he kept round the tree, and at times attacked the trunk, butting and goring it with his horns, and all the while bellowing furiously. the tree was a small one, and it shook so, that i began to fear it might break down. i therefore made all the haste i could to get in the load, expecting soon to put an end to his attacks. i succeeded at length in ramming down the bullet, and was just turning the gun to put on a cap, when i recollected that the cap-box was still lying on the ground where it had fallen! the sudden attack of the animal had prevented me from taking it up. my caps were all within that box, and my gun, loaded though it was, was as useless in my hands as a bar of iron. to get at the caps would be quite impossible. i dared not descend from the tree. the infuriated bull still kept pacing under it, now going round and round, and occasionally stopping for a moment and looking angrily up. "my situation was anything but a pleasant one. i began to fear that i might not be permitted to escape at all. the bull seemed to be most pertinacious in his vengeance. i could have shot him in the back, or the neck, or where i liked, if i had only had one cap. he was within three feet of the muzzle of my rifle; but what of that when i could not get the gun to go off? after a while i thought of making some tinder paper, and then trying to `touch off' the piece with it, but a far better plan at that moment came into my head. while i was fumbling about my bullet-pouch to get at my flint and steel, of course my fingers came into contact with the lasso which was still hanging around my shoulders. it was this that suggested my plan, which was no other than to _lasso the bull, and tie him to the tree_! "i lost no time in carrying it into execution. i uncoiled the rope, and first made one end fast to the trunk. the other was the loop-end, and reeving it through the ring, i held it in my right hand while i leaned over and watched my opportunity. it was not long before a good one offered. the bull still continued his angry demonstrations below, and passed round and round. it was no new thing for me to fling a lasso, and at the first pitch i had the satisfaction of seeing the noose pass over the bison's head, and settle in a proper position behind his horns. i then gave it a twitch, so as to tighten it, and after that i ran the rope over a branch, and thus getting `a purchase' upon it, i pulled it with all my might. "as soon as the bull felt the strange cravat around his neck, he began to plunge and `rout' with violence, and at length ran furiously out from the tree. but he soon came to the end of his tether; and the quick jerk, which caused the tree itself to crack, brought him to his haunches, while the noose tightening on his throat was fast strangling him. but for the thick matted hair it would have done so, but this saved him, and he continued to sprawl and struggle at the end of the rope. the tree kept on cracking, and as i began to fear that it might give way and precipitate me to the ground, i thought it better to slip down. i ran direct to where i had dropped the caps; and, having got hold of the box, i soon had one upon my gun. i then stole cautiously back, and while the bison was hanging himself as fast as he could, i brought his struggles to a period by sending a bullet through his ribs. "as it was quite night when i had finished the business, of course i could not stay to butcher the bulls. i knew that you would be wondering what kept me, so i cut out the tongues, and coming by the place where i had left the grouse, brought them along. i left a `scare-wolf' over both the bulls, however, and i guess we'll find them all right in the morning." basil having finished the narration of his day's adventures, fresh fuel was heaped on the embers, and a huge fire was built--one that would last until morning. this was necessary, as none of them had now either blankets or bedding. basil himself and norman were even in their shirt-sleeves, and of course their only chance for keeping warmth in their bodies would be to keep up a roaring fire all the night. this they did, and all four laying themselves close together, slept soundly enough. chapter eleven. three curious trees. next morning they were awake at an early hour. there was still enough of the tongues and grouse left, along with some ribs of the antelope, to breakfast the party; and then all four set out to bring the flesh of basil's buffaloes into camp. this they accomplished, after making several journeys. it was their intention to dry the meat over the fire, so that it might keep for future use. for this purpose the flesh was removed from the bones, and after being cut into thin slices and strips, was hung up on poles at some distance from the blaze. nothing more could be done, but wait until it became sufficiently parched by the heat. while this process was going on our voyageurs collected around the fire, and entered into a consultation about what was best to be done. at first they thought of going back to the red river settlement, and obtaining another canoe, as well as a fresh stock of provisions and implements. but they all believed that getting back would be a toilsome and difficult matter. there was a large lake and several extensive marshes on the route, and these would have to be got round, making the journey a very long one indeed. it would take them days to perform it on foot, and nothing is more discouraging on a journey than to be forced by some accident to what is called "taking the back-track." all of them acknowledged this, but what else could they do? it is true there was a post of the hudson's bay company at the northern end of lake winnipeg. this post was called norway house. how were they to reach that afoot? to walk around the borders of the lake would be a distance of more than four hundred miles. there would be numerous rivers to cross, as well as swamps and pathless forests to be threaded. such a journey would occupy a month or more, and at norway house they would still be as it were only at the beginning of the great journey on which they had set out. moreover, norway house lay entirely out of their way. cumberland house--another trading post upon the river saskatchewan--was the next point where they had intended to rest themselves, after leaving the red river settlements. to reach cumberland house _afoot_ would be equally difficult, as it, too, lay at the distance of hundreds of miles, with lakes, and rivers, and marshes, intervening. what, then, could they do? "let us _not_ go back," cried francois, ever ready with a bold advice; "let us make a boat, and keep on, say i." "ha! francois," rejoined basil, "it's easy to say `make a boat;' how is that to be done, i pray?" "why, what's to hinder us to hew a log, and make a dugout? we have still got the axe, and two hatchets left." norman asked what francois meant by a dugout. the phrase was new to him. "a canoe," replied francois, "hollowed out of a tree. they are sometimes called `dugouts' on the mississippi, especially when they are roughly made. one of them, i think, would carry all four of us well enough. don't you think so, luce?" "why, yes," answered the student; "a large one might: but i fear there are no trees about here of sufficient size. we are not among the great timber of the mississippi bottom, you must remember." "how large a tree would it require?" asked norman, who knew but little of this kind of craft. "three feet in diameter, at least," replied lucien; "and it should be of that thickness for a length of nearly twenty feet. a less one would not carry four of us." "then i am sure enough," responded norman, "that we won't find such timber here. i have seen no tree of that size either yesterday, or while we were out this morning." "nor i," added basil. "i don't believe there's one," said lucien. "if we were in louisiana," rejoined francois, "i could find fifty canoe-trees by walking as many yards. why, i never saw such insignificant timber as this here." "you'll see smaller timber than this, cousin frank, before we reach the end of our voyage." this remark was made by norman, who knew that, as they proceeded northward, the trees would be found decreasing in size until they would appear like garden shrubbery. "but come," continued he, "if we can't build a craft to carry us from _one_ tree, perhaps we can do it out of _three_." "with three!" echoed francois. "i should like to see a canoe made from three trees! is it a raft you mean, cousin norman?" "no," responded the other; "a canoe, and one that will serve us for the rest of our voyage." all three--basil, lucien, and francois--looked to their cousin for an explanation. "you would rather not go back up the river?" he inquired, glancing from one to the other. "we wish to go on--all of us," answered basil, speaking for his brothers as well. "very well," assented the young fur-trader; "i think it is better as you wish it. out of these trees i can build a boat that will carry us. it will take us some days to do it, and some time to find the timber, but i am tolerably certain it is to be found in these woods. to do the job properly i want three kinds; two of them i can see from where i sit; the third i expect will be got in the hills we saw this morning." as norman spoke he pointed to two trees that grew among many others not far from the spot. these trees were of very different kinds, as was easily told by their leaves and bark. the nearer and more conspicuous of them at once excited the curiosity of the three southerners. lucien recognised it from its botanical description. even basil and francois, though they had never seen it, as it is not to be found in the hot clime of louisiana, knew it from the accounts given of it by travellers. the tree was the celebrated "canoe-birch," or, as lucien named it, "paper-birch" (_betula papyracea_), celebrated as the tree out of whose bark those beautiful canoes are made that carry thousands of indians over the interior lakes and rivers of north america; out of whose bark whole tribes of these people fashion their bowls, their pails, and their baskets; with which they cover their tents, and from which they even make their soup-kettles and boiling-pots! this, then, was the canoe-birch-tree, so much talked of, and so valuable to the poor indians who inhabit the cold regions where it grows. our young southerners contemplated the tree with feelings of interest and curiosity. they saw that it was about sixty feet high, and somewhat more than a foot in diameter. its leaves were nearly cordate, or heart-shaped, and of a very dark-green colour; but that which rendered it most conspicuous among the other trees of the forest was the shining white or silver-coloured bark that covered its trunk, and its numerous slender branches. this bark is only white externally. when you have cut through the epidermis you find it of a reddish tinge, very thick, and capable of being divided into several layers. the wood of the tree makes excellent fuel, and is also often used for articles of furniture. it has a close, shining grain, and is strong enough for ordinary implements; but if exposed to the weather will decay rapidly. the "canoe-birch" is not the only species of these trees found in north america. the genus _betula_ (so called from the celtic word _batu_, which means birch) has at least half-a-dozen other known representatives in these parts. there is the "white birch" (_betula populifolia_), a worthless tree of some twenty feet in height, and less than six inches diameter. the bark of this species is useless, and its wood, which is soft and white, is unfit even for fuel. it grows, however, in the poorest soil. next there is a species called the "cherry-birch" (_betula lento_), so named from the resemblance of its bark to the common cherry-tree. it is also called "sweet birch," because its young twigs, when crushed, give out a pleasant aromatic odour. sometimes the name of "black birch" is given to this species. it is a tree of fifty or sixty feet in height, and its wood is much used in cabinet-work, as it is close-grained, of a beautiful reddish colour, and susceptible of a high polish. the "yellow birch" is a tree of the same size, and is so called from the colour of its epidermis. it is likewise used in cabinet-work, though it is not considered equal in quality to the cherry-birch. its leaves and twigs have also an aromatic smell when bruised, not so strong, however, as the last-mentioned. the wood makes excellent fuel, and is much used for that purpose in some of the large cities of america. the bark, too, is excellent for tanning--almost equal to that of the oak. the "red birch" is still another species, which takes its name from the reddish hue of its bark. this is equal in size to the canoe-birch, often growing seventy feet high, with a trunk of nearly three feet diameter. its branches are long, slender, and pendulous; and it is from the twigs of this species that most of the "birch-brooms" used in america are made. still another species of american birches is the "dwarf birch" (_betula nana_), so called from its diminutive size, which is that of a shrub, only eighteen inches or two feet in height. it usually grows in very cold or mountainous regions, and is the smallest of these interesting trees. this information regarding the birches of america was given by lucien to his brothers, not at that time, but shortly afterward, when the three were engaged in felling one of these trees. just then other matters occupied them, and they had only glanced, first at the canoe-birch and then at the other tree which norman had pointed out. the latter was of a different genus. it belonged to the order _coniferae_, or cone-bearing trees, as was evident from the cone-shaped fruits that hung upon its branches, as well as from its needle-like evergreen leaves. the cone-bearing trees of america are divided by botanists into three great sub-orders--the _pines_, the _cypresses_, and the _yews_. each of these includes several genera. by the "pine tribe" is meant all those trees known commonly by the names pine, spruce, fir, and larch; while the _cupressinae_, or cypress tribe, are the cypress proper, the cedars, the arbour-vitae, and the junipers. the yew tribe has fewer genera or species; but the trees in america known as yews and hemlocks--of which there are several varieties--belong to it. of the pine tribe a great number of species exist throughout the north american continent. the late explorations on the western slope of the rocky mountains, and in the countries bordering on the pacific, have brought to light a score of species hitherto unknown to the botanist. many of these are trees of a singular and valuable kind. several species found in the mountains of north mexico, and throughout those desert regions where hardly any other vegetation exists, have edible seeds upon which whole tribes of indians subsist for many months in the year. the spanish americans call them _pinon_ trees, but there are several species of them in different districts. the indians parch the seeds, and sometimes pound them into a coarse meal, from which they bake a very palatable bread. this bread is often rendered more savoury by mixing the meal with dried "prairie crickets," a species of coleopterous insects--that is, insects with a crustaceous or shell-like covering over their wings--which are common in the desert wilds where these indians dwell. some prairie travellers have pronounced this singular mixture equal to the "best pound-cake." the "lambert pine," so called from the botanist of that name, is found in oregon and california, and may be justly considered one of the wonders of the world. three hundred feet is not an uncommon height for this vegetable giant; and its cones have been seen of eighteen inches in length, hanging like sugar-loaves from its high branches! the wonderful "palo colorado" of california is another giant of the pine tribe. it also grows above three hundred feet high, with a diameter of sixteen feet! then there is the "red pine," of eighty feet high, much used for the decks and masts of ships; the "pitch-pine" (_pinus rigida_), a smaller tree, esteemed for its fuel, and furnishing most of the firewood used in some of the american cities. from this species the strong burning "knots" are obtained. there is the "white pine" (_pinus strobus_), valuable for its timber. this is one of the largest and best known of the pines. it often attains a height of an hundred and fifty feet, and a large proportion of those planks so well-known to the carpenter are sawed from its trunk. in the state of new york alone no less than 700,000,000 feet of timber are annually obtained from trees of this species, which, by calculation, must exhaust every year the enormous amount of 70,000 acres of forest! of course, at this rate the pine-forests of new york state must soon be entirely destroyed. in addition, there is the "yellow pine," a tree of sixty feet high, much used in flooring houses; and the beautiful "balsam fir," used as an ornamental evergreen both in europe and america, and from which is obtained the well-known medicine--the "canada balsam." this tree, in favourable situations, attains the height of sixty feet; while upon the cold summits of mountains it is often seen rising only a few inches from the surface. the "hemlock spruce" (_pinus canadensis_), is another species, the bark of which is used in tanning. it is inferior to the oak, though the leather made by it is of excellent quality. the "black" or "double spruce" (_pinus nigra_), is that species from the twigs of which is extracted the essence that gives its peculiar flavour to the well-known "_spruce beer_." besides these, at least a dozen new species have lately been discovered on the interior mountains of mexico--all of them more or less possessing valuable properties. the pines cannot be termed trees of the tropics, yet do they grow in southern and warm countries. in the carolinas, tar and turpentine, products of the pine, are two staple articles of exportation; and even under the equator itself, the high mountains are covered with pine-forests. but the pine is more especially the tree of a northern _sylva_. as you approach the arctic circle, it becomes the characteristic tree. there it appears in extensive forests, lending their picturesque shelter to the snowy desolation of the earth. one species of pine is the very last tree that disappears as the traveller, in approaching the pole, takes his leave of the limits of vegetation. this species is the "white spruce" (_pinus alba_), the very one which, along with the birch-tree, had been pointed out by norman to his companions. it was a tree not over thirty or forty feet high, with a trunk of less than a foot in thickness, and of a brownish colour. its leaves or "needles" were about an inch in length, very slender and acute, and of a bluish green tint. the cones upon it, which at that season were young, were of a pale green. when ripe, however, they become rusty-brown, and are nearly two inches in length. what use norman would make of this tree in building his canoe, neither basil nor francois knew. lucien only guessed at it. francois asked the question, by saying that he supposed the "timbers" were to come out of it. "no," said norman, "for that i want still another sort. if i can't find that sort, however, i can manage to do without it, but not so well." "what other sort?" demanded francois. "i want some cedar-wood," replied the other. "ah! that's for the timbers," said francois; "i am sure of it. the cedar-wood is lighter than any other, and, i dare say, would answer admirably for ribs and other timbers." "you are right this time, frank--it is considered the best for that purpose." "you think there are cedar-trees on the hills we saw this morning?" said francois, addressing his canadian cousin. "i think so. i noticed something like them." "and i, too, observed a dark foliage," said lucien, "which looked like the cedar. if anywhere in this neighbourhood, we shall find them there. they usually grow upon rocky, sterile hills, such as those appear to be--that is their proper situation." "the question," remarked basil, "ought to be settled at once. we have made up our mind to the building of a canoe, and i think we should lose no time in getting ready the materials. suppose we all set out for the hills." "agreed--agreed!" shouted the others with one voice; and then shouldering their guns, and taking the axe along, all four set out for the hills. on reaching these, the object of their search was at once discovered. the tops of all the hills--dry, barren ridges they were-were covered with a thick grove of the red cedar (_juniperus viginiana_). the trees were easily distinguished by the numerous branches spreading horizontally, and thickly covered with short dark-green needles, giving them that sombre, shady appearance, that makes them the favourite haunt of many species of owls. their beautiful reddish wood was well-known to all the party, as it is to almost every one in the civilised world. everybody who has seen or used a black-lead pencil must know what the wood of the red cedar is like--for it is in this the black-lead is usually incased. in all parts of america, where this tree grows in plenty, it is employed for posts and fence-rails, as it is one of the most durable woods in existence. it is a great favourite also for kindling fires, as it catches quickly, and blazes up in a few seconds, so as to ignite the heavier logs of other timbers, such as the oak and the pine. the red cedar usually attains a height of about thirty to forty feet, but in favourable situations it grows still larger. the soil which it loves best is of a stony, and often sterile character, and dry barren hill-tops are frequently covered with cedars, while the more moist and fertile valleys between possess a _sylva_ of a far different character. there is a variety of the red cedar, which trails upon the ground like a creeping plant, its branches even taking root again. this is rather a small bush than a tree, and is often seen hanging down the face of inaccessible cliffs. it is known among botanists as the _juniperus prostrata_. "now," said norman, after examining a few of the cedar-trees, "we have here all that's wanted to make our canoe. we need lose no more time, but go to work at once!" "very well," replied the three brothers, "we are ready to assist you,-tell us what to do." "in the first place," said the other, "i think we had better change our camp to this spot, as i see all the different kinds of trees here, and much better ones than those near the river. there," continued he, pointing to a piece of moist ground in the valley,--"there are some journeys if we go back and bring our meat to this place at once." to this they all of course agreed, and started back to their first camp. they soon returned with the meat and other things, and having chosen a clean spot under a large-spreading cedar-tree, they kindled a new fire and made their camp by it--that is, they strung up the provisions, hung their horns and pouches upon the branches around, and rested their guns against the trees. they had no tent to pitch, but that is not necessary to constitute a camp. in the phraseology of the american hunter, wherever you kindle your fire or spend the night is a "camp." chapter twelve. how to build a bark canoe. norman expected that they would be able to finish the canoe in about a week. of course, the sooner the better, and no time was lost in setting about it. the ribs or "timbers" were the first thing to be fashioned, and a number of straight branches of cedar were cut, out of which they were to be made. these branches were cleared of twigs, and rendered of an equal thickness at both ends. they were then flattened with the knife; and, by means of a little sweating in the ashes, were bent so as to bear some resemblance in shape to the wooden ox-yokes commonly used in america, or indeed to the letter u. the ribs when thus bent were not all of the same width. on the contrary, those which were intended to be placed near the middle or gangway of the vessel, were about two feet across from side to side, while the space between the sides of the others was gradually less in each fresh pair, according as their position was to be near to the stem and stern. when the whole of them had been forced into the proper shape, they were placed, one inside the other after the manner of dishes, and then all were firmly lashed together, and left to dry. when the lashing should be removed, they would hold to the form thus given them, and would be ready for fastening to the kelson. while norman was occupied with the timbers the others were not idle. basil had cut down several of the largest and straightest birches, and lucien employed himself in carefully removing the bark and cleansing it of nodules and other inequalities. the broad sheets were suspended by a smoke fire, so as completely to dry up the sap, and render it tough and elastic. francois had his part to play, and that was to collect the resinous gum which was distilled, in plenty from the trunks of the epinette or spruce-trees. this gum is a species of pitch, and is one of the most necessary materials in the making of a bark canoe. it is used for "paying" the seams, as well as any cracks that may show themselves in the bark itself; and without it, or some similar substance, it would be difficult to make one of these little vessels watertight. but that is not the only thing for which the epinette is valued in canoe-building; far from it. this tree produces another indispensable material; its long fibrous roots when split, form the twine-like threads by which the pieces of bark are sewed to each other and fastened to the timbers. these threads are as strong as the best cords of hemp, and are known among the indians by the name of "watap." in a country, therefore, where hemp and flax cannot be readily procured, the "watap" is of great value. you may say that deer are plenty, and that thongs of buckskin would serve the same purpose. this, however, is not the case. the buckskin would never do for such a use. the moment it becomes wet it is liable to stretch, so that the seams would open and the canoe get filled with water. the watap, wet or dry, does not yield, and has therefore been found to be the best thing of all others for this purpose. the only parts now wanted were the gunwale and the bottom. the former was easily obtained. two long poles, each twenty feet in length, were bent somewhat like a pair of bows, and then placed with their concave sides towards each other, and firmly lashed together at the ends. this was the gunwale. the bottom was the most difficult part of all. for that a solid plank was required, and they had no saw. the axe and the hatchet, however, were called into requisition, and a log was soon hewn and thinned down to the proper dimensions. it was sharpened off at the ends, so as to run to a very acute angle, both at the stem and stern. when the bottom was considered sufficiently polished, and modelled to the right shape, the most difficult part of the undertaking was supposed to be accomplished. a few long poles were cut and trimmed flat. these were to be laid longitudinally between the ribs and the bark, somewhat after the fashion of laths in the roofing of a house. their use was to prevent the bark from splitting. the materials were now all obtained complete, and, with a few days' smoking and drying, would be ready for putting together. while waiting for the timbers to dry, paddles were made, and norman, with the help of the others, prepared what he jokingly called his "dock," and also his "ship-yard." this was neither more nor less than a long mound of earth--not unlike a new-made grave, only three times the length of one, or even longer. it was flat upon the top, and graded with earth so as to be quite level and free from inequalities. at length all the materials were considered quite ready for use, and norman went to work to put them together. his first operation was to untie the bundle of timbers, and separate them. they were found to have taken the exact form into which they had been bent, and the thongs being no longer necessary to keep them in place, were removed. the timbers themselves were next placed upon the bottom or kelson, those with the widest bottoms being nearer to "midships," while those with the narrower bend were set towards the narrower ends of the plank. thus placed, they were all firmly lashed with strong cords of watap, by means of holes pierced in the bottom plank. fortunately lucien happened to have a pocket-knife, in which there was a good awl or piercer, that enabled them to make these holes-else the matter would have been a much more difficult one, as an awl is one of the most essential tools in the construction of a bark canoe. of course it took norman a considerable time to set all the ribs in their proper places, and fasten them securely; but he was ably assisted by francois, who waited upon him with much diligence, handing him now the awl, and then the watap, whenever he required them. norman's next operation was the laying of his kelson "in dock." the timbers being attached to it, it was lifted up on the earthen mound, where it reached quite from end to end. half-a-dozen large heavy stones were then placed upon it, so that, pressed down by these upon the even surface of the mould, it was rendered quite firm; and, moreover, was of such a height from the ground that the young shipwright could work upon it without too much bending and kneeling. the gunwale, already prepared, was next placed so as to touch the ends of the ribs all round, and these ends were adjusted to it with great nicety, and firmly joined. strong cross-pieces were fixed, which were designed, not only to keep the gunwale from spreading or contracting, but afterwards to serve as seats. of course the gunwale formed the complete mouth, or upper edge of the canoe. it was several feet longer than the bottom plank, and, when in place, projected beyond the ribs at both ends. from each end of the bottom plank, therefore, to the corresponding end of the gunwale, a straight piece of wood was stretched, and fastened. one of these pieces would form the stem or cutwater, while the other would become the stern of the craft. the long poles were next laid longitudinally upon the ribs outside, and lashed in their places; and this done, the skeleton was completed, ready for the bark. the latter had been already cut to the proper dimensions and shape. it consisted of oblong pieces--each piece being a regular parallelogram, as it had been stripped from the tree. these were laid upon the ribs longitudinally, and then sewed to the edge of the bottom plank, and also to the gunwale. the bark itself was in such broad pieces that two of them were sufficient to cover half a side, so that but one seam was required lengthwise, in addition to the fastenings at the top and bottom. two lengths of the bark also reached cleverly from stem to stern, and thus required only one transverse seam on each side. there was an advantage in this arrangement, for where the birch-bark can only be obtained in small flakes, a great number of seams is a necessary consequence, and then it is extremely difficult to keep the canoe from leaking. thanks to the fine birch-trees, that grew in abundance around, our boat-builders had procured the very best bark. the canoe was now completed all but the "paying," and that would not take long to do. the gum of the epinette had to be boiled, and mixed with a little grease, so as to form a species of wax. for this the fat already obtained from the buffaloes was the very thing; and a small tin cup which basil had saved from the wreck (it had been strung to his bullet-pouch), enabled them to melt the gum, and apply it hot. in less than an hour the thing was done. every crack and awl-hole was payed, and the canoe was pronounced "watertight," and, as francois added, with a laugh, "seaworthy." a small pond was near, at the bottom of the hill: francois espied it. "come, boys," cried he, "a launch! a launch!" this was agreed to by all. the great stones were taken out. basil and norman, going one to the stem the other to the stern, lifted the canoe from the "dock," and, raising it upon their shoulders, carried it down to the pond. the next moment it was pushed into the water, where it floated like a cork. a loud cheer was given, in which even marengo joined; and a salute was then fired--a full broadside--from the four guns. francois, to complete the thing, seized one of the paddles, and leaping into the canoe, shot the little craft out upon the bosom of the pond, cheering all the while like one frantic. after amusing himself for some minutes, he paddled back to the shore, when they all looked eagerly into the canoe, and perceived to their gratification that not as much as a drop of water had leaked during the "trip." thanks and congratulations now greeted norman from every side; and, taking their vessel from the water, the young voyageurs returned to their camp, to regale themselves with a grand dinner, which lucien had cooked for the occasion. chapter thirteen. the chain of lakes. our young voyageurs now prepared to resume their journey. while norman was engaged in building his canoe, with his assistant, francois, the others had not been idle. basil was, of course, the hunter of the party; and, in addition to the small game, such as hares, geese, and grouse, he had killed three caribou, of the large variety known as "woodland caribou." these are a species of the reindeer (_cervus tarandus_), of which i have more to say hereafter. lucien had attended to the drying of their flesh; and there was enough of it still left, as our voyageurs believed, to supply their wants until they should reach cumberland house, where they would, of course, procure a fresh stock of provisions. the skins of the caribou had also been scraped and dressed by lucien--who understood the process well--and these, with the skin of the antelope, were sufficient to make a pair of hunting-shirts for basil and norman, who, it will be remembered, had lost theirs by cutting them up. next morning the canoe was launched upon the river--below the rapids-and the dried meat, with their other matters, snugly stowed in the stern. then the young voyageurs got in, and, seating themselves in their places, seized hold of the paddles. the next moment the canoe shot out into the stream; and a triumphant cheer from the crew announced that they had recommenced their journey. they found to their delight that the little vessel behaved admirably,--shooting through the water like an arrow, and leaking not water enough, as francois expressed it, "to drown a mosquito." they had all taken their seats in the order which had been agreed upon for the day. norman was "bowsman," and, of course, sate in the bow. this, among the regular canadian voyageurs, is esteemed the post of honour, and the bowsman is usually styled "captain" by the rest of the crew. it is also the post that requires the greatest amount of skill on the part of its occupant, particularly where there are rapids or shoals to be avoided. the post of "steersman" is also one of honour and importance; and both steersman and bowsman receive higher wages than the other voyageurs, who pass under the name of "middlemen." the steersman sits in the stern, and that place was now occupied by lucien, who had proved himself an excellent steersman. basil and francois were, of course, the "middlemen," and plied the paddles. this was the arrangement made for the day; but although on other days the programme was to be changed, so as to relieve basil and francois, on all occasions when there were rapids or other difficulties to be encountered they were to return to this order. norman, of course, understood canoe navigation better than his southern cousins; and therefore, by universal assent, he was acknowledged "the captain," and francois always addressed him as such. lucien's claim to the post of second honour was admitted to be just, as he had proved himself capable of filling it to the satisfaction of all. marengo had no post, but lay quietly upon the buffalo skin between lucien's legs, and listened to the conversation without joining in it, or in any way interfering in the working of the vessel. in a few hours our voyageurs had passed through the low marshy country that lies around the mouth of the red river, and the white expanse of the great lake winnipeg opened before them, stretching northward far beyond the range of their vision. norman knew the lake, having crossed it before, but its aspect somewhat disappointed the southern travellers. instead of a vast dark lake which they had expected to see, they looked upon a whitish muddy sheet, that presented but few attractive points to the eye, either in the hue of its water or the scenery of its shores. these, so far as they could see them, were low, and apparently marshy; and this is, in fact, the character of the southern shores of winnipeg. on its east and north, however, the country is of a different character. there the geological formation is what is termed _primitive_. the rocks consist of granite, sienite, gneiss, etcetera; and, as is always the case where such rocks are found, the country is hilly and rugged. on the western shores a _secondary_ formation exists. this is _stratified limestone_,--the same as that which forms the bed of many of the great prairies of america; and, indeed, the lake winnipeg lies between this secondary formation and the primitive, which bounds it on the east. along its western shores extends the flat limestone country, partly wooded and partly prairie land, running from that point for hundreds of miles up to the very foot of the rocky mountains, where the primitive rocks again make their appearance in the rugged peaks of that stupendous chain. lake winnipeg is nearly three hundred miles in length, but it is very narrow--being in its widest reach not over fifty miles, and in many places only fifteen miles from shore to shore. it trends nearly due north and south, leaning a little north-west and south-east, and receives many large rivers, as the red, the saskatchewan, and the winnipeg. the waters of these are again carried out of it by other rivers that run from the lake, and empty into the hudson's bay. there is a belief among the hunters and voyageurs that this lake has its tides like the ocean. such, however, is not the case. there is at times a rise and overflow of its waters, but it is not periodical, and is supposed to be occasioned by strong winds forcing the waters towards a particular shore. lake winnipeg is remarkable, as being in the very centre of the north american continent, and may be called the centre of the _canoe navigation_. from this point it is possible to travel _by water_ to hudson's bay on the north-east, to the atlantic ocean on the east, to the gulf of mexico on the south, to the pacific on the west, and to the polar sea on the north and north-west. considering that some of these distances are upwards of three thousand miles, it will be perceived that lake winnipeg holds a singular position upon the continent. all the routes mentioned can be made without any great "portage," and even a choice of route is often to be had upon those different lines of communication. these were points of information communicated by norman as the canoe was paddled along the shore; for norman, although troubling himself but little about the causes of things, possessed a good practical knowledge of things as they actually were. he was tolerably well acquainted with the routes, their portages, and distances. some of them he had travelled over in company with his father, and of others he had heard the accounts given by the voyageurs, traders, and trappers. norman knew that lake winnipeg was muddy,--he did not care to inquire the cause. he knew that there was a hilly country on its eastern and a low level land on its western shores, but it never occurred to him to speculate on this geological difference. it was the naturalist lucien who threw out some hints on this part of the subject, and further added his opinion, that the lake came to be there in consequence of the wearing away of the rocks at the junction of the stratified with the primitive formation, thus creating an excavation in the surface, which in time became filled with water and formed the lake. this cause he also assigned for the existence of a remarkable "chain of lakes" that extends almost from the arctic sea to the frontiers of canada. the most noted of these are martin, great slave, athabasca, wollaston, deer, lake winnipeg, and the lake of the woods. lucien further informed his companions, that where primitive rocks form the surface of a country, that surface will be found to exhibit great diversity of aspect. there will be numerous lakes and swamps, rugged steep hills with deep valleys between, short streams with many falls and rapids. these are the characteristics of a primitive surface. on the other hand, where secondary rocks prevail the surface is usually a series of plains, often high, dry, and treeless, as is the case upon the great american prairies. upon such topics did lucien instruct his companions, as they paddled their canoe around the edge of the lake. they had turned the head of their little vessel westward--as it was their design to keep along the western border of the lake until they should reach the mouth of the saskatchewan. they kept at a short distance from the shore, usually steering from point to point, and in this way making their route as direct as possible. it would have been still more direct had they struck out into the open lake, and kept up its middle; but this would have been a dangerous course to pursue. there are often high winds upon lake winnipeg, that spring up suddenly; and at such times the waves, if not mountains high, at least arrive at the height of houses. among such billows the little craft would have been in danger of being swamped, and our voyageurs of going to the bottom. they, therefore, wisely resolved not to risk such an accident, but to "hug the shore," though it made their voyage longer. each night they would land at some convenient place, kindle their fire, cook their supper, and dry their canoe for the next day's journey. according to this arrangement, a little before sunset of the first day they came to land and made their camp. the canoe was unloaded, carefully lifted out of the water, and then set bottom upward to drip and dry. a fire was kindled, some of the dry meat cooked, and all four sat down and began to eat, as only hungry travellers can. chapter fourteen. wapiti, wolves, and wolverene. the spot where our voyageurs had landed was at the bottom of a small bay. the country back from the lake was level and clear of timber. here and there, nearer the shore, however, its surface was prettily interspersed with small clumps of willows, that formed little copse-like thickets of deep green. beside one of these thickets, within a hundred yards of the beach, the fire had been kindled, on a spot of ground that commanded a view of the plain for miles back. "look yonder!" cried francois, who had finished eating, and risen to his feet. "what are these, captain?" francois pointed to some objects that appeared at a great distance off upon the plain. the "captain" rose up, placed his hand so as to shade his eyes from the sun, and, after looking for a second or two in the direction indicated, replied to the other's question by simply saying-"wapiti." "i'm no wiser than before i asked the question," said francois. "pray, enlighten me as to what a wapiti may be!" "why, red deer; or elk, if you like." "oh! elk--now i understand you. i thought they were elk, but they're so far off i wasn't sure." lucien at this moment rose up, and looking through a small telescope, which he carried, confirmed the statement of the "captain," and pronounced it to be a herd of elk. "come, luce," demanded francois, "tell us what you know of the elk. it will pass the time. norman says it's no use going after them out there in the open ground, as they'd shy off before one could get within shot. you see there is not a bush within half-a-mile of them." "if we wait," interrupted norman, "i should not wonder but we may have them among the bushes before long. they appear to be grazing this way. i warrant you, they'll come to the lake to drink before nightfall." "very well then: the philosopher can tell us all about them before that." lucien, thus appealed to, began:-"there are few animals that have so many names as this. it is called in different districts, or by different authors, _elk, round-horned elk, american elk, stag, red deer, grey moose, le biche, wapiti_, and _wewaskish_. naturalists have given not a _few of_ their designations, as _cervus canadensis, cervus major, cervus alces, cervus strongylocerus, etcetera_. "you may ask, why so many names? i shall tell you. it is called `elk' because it was supposed by the early colonists to be the same as the elk of europe. its name of `grey moose' is a hunter appellation, to distinguish it from the real moose, which the same hunters know as the `black moose.' `round-horned elk' is also a hunter name. `wewaskish,' or `waskesse,' is an indian name for the animal. `stag' comes from the european deer so called, because this species somewhat resembles the stag; and `red deer' is a name used by the hudson bay traders. `le biche' is another synonyme of french authors. "of all these names i think that of `wapiti,' which our cousin has given, the best. the names of `elk,' `stag,' and `red deer,' lead to confusion, as there are other species to which they properly belong, all of which are entirely different from the wapiti. i believe that this last name is now used by the best-informed naturalists. "in my opinion," continued lucien, "the wapiti is the noblest of all the deer kind. it possesses the fine form of the european stag, while it is nearly a third larger and stronger. it has all the grace of limb and motion that belongs to the common deer, while its towering horns give it a most majestic and imposing appearance. its colour during the summer is of a reddish brown, hence the name red deer; but, indeed, the reddish tint upon the wapiti is deeper and richer than that of its european cousin. the wapiti, like other deer, brings forth its fawns in the spring. they are usually a male and female, for two is the number it produces. the males only have horns; and they must be several years old before the antlers become full and branching. they fall every year, but not until february or march, and then the new ones grow out in a month or six weeks. during the summer the horns remain soft and tender to the touch. they are covered at this time with a soft membrane that looks like greyish velvet, and they are then said to be `in the velvet,' there are nerves and blood-vessels running through this membrane, and a blow upon the horns at this season gives great pain to the animal. when the autumn arrives the velvet peels off, and they become as hard as bone. they would need to be, for this is the `rutting' season, and the bucks fight furious battles with each other, clashing their horns together, as if they would break them to pieces. very often a pair of bucks, while thus contending, `lock' their antlers, and being unable to draw them apart, remain head to head, until both die with hunger, or fall a prey to the prowling wolves. this is true not only of the elk, but also of the reindeer, the moose, and many other species of deer. hundreds of pairs of horns have been found thus `locked,' and the solitary hunter has often surprised the deer in this unpleasant predicament. "the wapiti utters a whistling sound, that can be heard far off, and often guides the hunter to the right spot. in the rutting season the bucks make other noises, which somewhat resemble the braying of an ass, and are equally disagreeable to listen to. "the wapiti travel about in small herds, rarely exceeding fifty, but often of only six or seven. where they are not much hunted they are easily approached, but otherwise they are shy enough. the bucks, when wounded and brought to bay, become dangerous assailants; much more so than those of the common deer. hunters have sometimes escaped with difficulty from their horns and hoofs, with the latter of which they can inflict very severe blows. they are hunted in the same way as other deer; but the indians capture many of them in the water, when they discover them crossing lakes or rivers. they are excellent swimmers, and can make their way over the arm of a lake or across the widest river. "they feed upon grass, and sometimes on the young shoots of willows and poplar-trees. they are especially fond of a species of wild rose (_rosa blanda_), which grows in the countries they frequent. "the wapiti at one time ranged over a large part of the continent of north america. its range is now restricted by the spread of the settlements. it is still found in most of the northern parts of the united states, but only in remote mountainous districts, and even there it is a rare animal. in canada it is more common; and it roams across the continent to the shores of the pacific. it is not an animal of the tropical countries, as it is not found in mexico proper. on the other hand, wapiti do not go farther north than about the fifty-seventh parallel of latitude, and then they are not in their favourite habitat, which is properly the temperate zone." lucien was interrupted by an exclamation from basil, who stood up looking out upon the prairie. they all saw that he had been observing the wapiti. "what is it?" cried they. "look yonder!" replied basil, pointing in the direction of the herd. "something disturbs them. give me your glass, luce." lucien handed the telescope to his brother, who, drawing it to the proper focus, pointed it towards the deer. the rest watched them with the naked eye. they could see that there was some trouble among the animals. there were only six in the herd, and even at the distance our voyageurs could tell that they were all bucks, for it was the season when the does secrete themselves in the woods and thickets to bring forth their young. they were running to and fro upon the prairie, and doubling about as if playing, or rather as if some creature was chasing them. with the naked eye, however, nothing could be seen upon the ground but the bucks themselves, and all the others looked to basil, who held the glass, for an explanation of their odd manoeuvres. "there are wolves at them," said basil, after regarding them for a second or two. "that's odd," rejoined norman. "wolves don't often attack full-grown wapiti, except when wounded or crippled somehow. they must be precious hungry. what sort of wolves are they?" to you, boy reader, this question may seem strange. you, perhaps, think that a wolf is a wolf, and there is but one kind. such, however, is not the exact truth. in america there are two distinct species of wolves, and of these two species there are many varieties, which differ so much in colour and other respects, that some authors have classed them as so many distinct species instead of considering them mere varieties. whether they may be species or not is still a question among naturalists; but certain it is that _two_ well-defined species do exist, which differ in size, form, colour, and habits. these are the _large_ or _common wolf (canis lupus_), and the barking or prairie wolf (_canis latrans_). the first species is the american representative of the common wolf of europe; and although an animal of similar nature and habits, it differs very much from the latter in form and appearance. it is, therefore, not the _same_, as hitherto supposed. this american wolf is found in greater or less numbers throughout the whole continent; but in the northern regions it is very common, and is seen in at least five different varieties, known by the characteristic names of _black, pied, white, dusky_, and _grey_ wolves. of these the grey is the most numerous kind; but as i shall have occasion to speak of the large wolves hereafter, i shall say no more of them at present, but direct your attention to the second and very different species, the _prairie wolves_. these are a full third smaller than the common kind. they are swifter, and go in larger packs. they bring forth their young in burrows on the open plain, and not among the woods, like the other species. they are the most cunning of american animals, not excepting their kindred the foxes. they cannot be trapped by any contrivance, but by singular manoeuvres often themselves decoy the over-curious antelope to approach too near them. when a gun is fired upon the prairies they may be seen starting up on all sides, and running for the spot in hopes of coming in for a share of the game. should an animal--deer, antelope, or buffalo-be wounded, and escape the hunter, it is not likely to escape them also. they will set after it, and run it down if _the wound has been a mortal one_. on the other hand, if the wound has been only slight, and is not likely in the end to cripple the animal, the wolves will not stir from the spot. this extraordinary sagacity often tells the hunter whether it is worth his while to follow the game he has shot at; but in any case he is likely to arrive late, if the wolves set out before him, as a dozen of them will devour the largest deer in a few minutes' time. the prairie wolves as well as the others follow the herds of buffaloes, and attack the gravid cows and calves when separated from the rest. frequently they sustain a contest with the bulls, when the latter are old or wounded, but on such occasions many of them get killed before the old bull becomes their prey. they resemble the common grey wolf in colour, but there are varieties in this respect, though not so great as among the larger species. their voice is entirely different, and consists of three distinct barks, ending in a prolonged howl. hence the specific and usual name "barking-wolf" (_canis latrans_). they are found only in the western or prairie half of the continent, and thence west to the pacific. their northern range is limited to the fifty-fifth parallel of latitude--but they are met with southward throughout mexico, where they are common enough, and known by the name of "coyote." their skins are an article of trade with the hudson's bay company. the fur is of about the same quality with that of other wolves, and consists of long hairs, with a thick wool at the base. in commerce they are termed "cased wolves," because their skins, on being removed, are not split open as with the large wolf-skins, but are stript off after the manner of rabbits, and then turned inside out, or "cased," as it is termed. so much for the _canis latrans_. "prairie wolves!" said basil, in answer to the question put by his cousin. "there must be something the matter with one of the bucks, then," remarked norman, "or else there's a good big pack of the wolves, and they expect to tire one down. i believe they sometimes do try it that way." "there appears to be a large pack," answered basil, still looking through the glass; "fifty at least--see! they have separated one of the bucks from the herd--it's running this way!" basil's companions had noticed this as soon as himself, and all four now leaped to their guns. the wapiti was plainly coming towards them, and they could now distinguish the wolves following upon his heels, strung out over the prairie like a pack of hounds. when first started, the buck was a full half-mile distant, but in less than a minute's time he came breasting forward until the boys could see his sparkling eyes and the play of his proud flanks. he was a noble animal to look at. his horns were full-grown, but still "in the velvet," and as he ran with his snout thrown forward, his antlers lay along both sides of his neck until their tips touched his shoulders. he continued on in a direct line until he was within less than an hundred paces of the camp; but, perceiving the smoke of the fire, and the figures crouching around it, he swerved suddenly from his course, and darted into the thicket of willows, where he was for the moment hidden from view. the wolves-fifty of them at least--had followed him up to this point; and as he entered the thicket several had been close upon his heels. the boys expected to see the wolves rush in after him--as there appeared to be no impediment to their doing so--but, to the astonishment of all, the latter came to a sudden halt, and then went sneaking back--some of them even running off as if terrified! at first the hunters attributed this strange conduct to their own presence, and the smoke of the camp; but a moment's reflection convinced them that this could not be the reason of it, as they were all well acquainted with the nature of the prairie wolf, and had never witnessed a similar exhibition before. they had no time to think of the wolves just then. the buck was the main attraction, and, calling to each other to surround the thicket, all four started in different directions. in a couple of minutes they had placed themselves at nearly equal distances around the copse, and stood watching eagerly for the reappearance of the wapiti. the willows covered about an acre of ground, but they were tolerably thick and full-leaved, and the buck could not be seen from any side. wherever he was, he was evidently at a standstill, for not a rustle could be heard among the leaves, nor were any of the tall stalks seen to move. marengo was now sent in. this would soon start him, and all four stood with guns cocked and ready. but before the dog had made three lengths of himself into the thicket, a loud snort was heard, followed by a struggle and the stamping of hoofs, and the next moment the wapiti came crashing through the bushes. a shot was fired--it was the crack of lucien's small rifle--but it had missed, for the buck was seen passing onward and outward. all ran round to the side he had taken, and had a full view of the animal as he bounded off. instead of running free as before, he now leaped heavily forward, and what was their astonishment on seeing that he _carried another animal upon his back_! the hunters could hardly believe their eyes, but there it was, sure enough, a brown shaggy mass, lying flat along the shoulders of the wapiti, and clutching it with large-spreading claws. francois cried out, "a panther!" and basil at first believed it to be a bear, but it was hardly large enough for that. norman, however, who had lived more in those parts where the animal is found, knew it at once to be the dreaded "wolverene." its head could not be seen, as that was hid behind the shoulder of the wapiti, whose throat it was engaged in tearing. but its short legs and broad paws, its busily tail and long shaggy hair, together with its round-arching back and dark-brown colour, were all familiar marks to the young fur-trader; and he at once pronounced it a "wolverene." when first seen, both it and the wapiti were beyond the reach of their rifles; and the hunters, surprised by such an unexpected apparition, had suddenly halted. francois and basil were about to renew the pursuit, but were prevented by norman who counselled them to remain where they were. "they won't go far," said he; "let us watch them a bit. see! the buck takes the water!" the wapiti, on leaving the willows, had run straight out in the first direction that offered, which happened to be in a line parallel with the edge of the lake. his eye, however, soon caught sight of the water, and, doubling suddenly round, he made directly towards it, evidently with the intention of plunging in. he had hopes, no doubt, that by this means he might rid himself of the terrible creature that was clinging to his shoulders, and tearing his throat to pieces. a few bounds brought him to the shore. there was no beach at the spot. the bank--a limestone bluff--rose steeply from the water's edge to a height of eight feet, and the lake under it was several fathoms in depth. the buck did not hesitate, but sprang outward and downwards. a heavy plash followed, and for some seconds both wapiti and wolverene were lost under the water. they rose to the surface, just as the boys reached the bank, but they came up _separately_. the dip had proved a cooler to the fierce wolverene; and while the wapiti was seen to strike boldly out into the lake and swim off, the latter--evidently out of his element--kept plunging about clumsily, and struggling to get back to the shore. their position upon the cliff above gave the hunters an excellent opportunity with their rifles, and both basil and norman sent their bullets into the wolverene's back. francois also emptied his double-barrelled gun at the same object, and the shaggy brute sank dead to the bottom of the lake. strange to say, not one of the party had thought of firing at the buck. this persecution by so many enemies had won for him their sympathy, and they would now have suffered him to go free, but the prospect of fresh venison for supper overcame their commiseration, and the moment the wolverene was despatched all set about securing the deer. their guns were reloaded, and, scattering along the shore, they prepared to await his return. but the buck, seeing there was nothing but death in his rear, swam on, keeping almost in a direct line out into the lake. it was evident to all that he could not swim across the lake, as its farther shore was not even visible. he must either return to where they were, or drown; and knowing this to be his only alternative, they stood still and watched his motions. when he had got about half-a-mile from the shore, to the surprise of all, he was seen to rise higher and higher above the surface, and then all at once stop, with half of his body clear out of the water! he had come upon a shoal, and, knowing the advantage of it, seemed determined to remain there. basil and norman ran to the canoe, and in a few minutes the little craft was launched, and shooting through the water. the buck now saw that it was likely to be all up with him, and, instead of attempting to swim farther, he faced round and set his antlers forward in a threatening attitude. but his pursuers did not give him the chance to make a rush. when within fifty yards or so, norman, who used the paddles, stopped and steadied the canoe, and the next moment the crack of basil's rifle echoed over the lake, and the wapiti fell upon the water, where, after struggling a moment, he lay dead. the canoe was paddled up, and his antlers being made fast to the stern, he was towed back to the shore, and carried into camp. what now surprised our voyageurs was, their finding that the wapiti had been wounded before encountering either the wolves, wolverene, or themselves. an arrow-head, with a short piece of the shaft, was sticking in one of his thighs. the indians, then, had been after him, and very lately too, as the wound showed. it was not a mortal wound, had the arrow-head been removed; but of course, as it was, it would have proved his death in the long run. this explained why the wolves had assailed an animal, that otherwise, from his great size and strength, would have defied them. the wolverene, moreover, rarely attacks game so large as the wapiti; but the latter had, no doubt, chanced upon the lair of his fierce enemy, who could not resist such a tempting opportunity of getting a meal. the wolves had seen the wolverene as they approached the thicket, and that accounted for their strange behaviour in the pursuit. these creatures are as great cowards as they are tyrants, and their dread of a wolverene is equal to that with which they themselves often inspire the wounded deer. chapter fifteen. a pair of deep divers. the wapiti was carefully skinned, and the skin spread out to dry. since their mishap our voyageurs had been very short of clothing. the three skins of the woodland caribou had made only a pair of jackets, instead of full hunting-shirts, and even these were pinched fits. for beds and bed-clothes they had nothing but the hides of buffaloes, and these, although good as far as they went, were only enough for two. lucien, the most delicate of the party, appropriated one, as the others insisted upon his so doing. francois had the other. as for basil and norman, they were forced each night to lie upon the naked earth, and but for the large fires which they kept blazing all the night, they would have suffered severely from cold. indeed, they did suffer quite enough; for some of the nights were so cold, that it was impossible to sleep by the largest fire without one-half of their bodies feeling chilled. the usual practice with travellers in the far west is to lie with their feet to the fire, while the head is at the greatest distance from it. this is considered the best mode, for so long as the feet are warm, the rest of the body will not suffer badly; but, on the contrary, if the feet are allowed to get cold, no matter what state the other parts be in, it is impossible to sleep with comfort. of course our young voyageurs followed the well-known practice of the country, and lay with their feet to the fire in such a manner that, when all were placed, their bodies formed four radii of a circle, of which the fire was the centre. marengo usually lay beside basil, whom he looked upon as his proper master. notwithstanding a bed of grass and leaves which they each night spread for themselves, they were sadly in want of blankets, and therefore the skin of the wapiti, which was a very fine one, would be a welcome addition to their stock of bedding. they resolved, therefore, to remain one day where they had killed it, so that the skin might be dried and receive a partial dressing. moreover, they intended to "jerk" some of the meat--although elk-venison is not considered very palatable where other meat can be had. it is without juice, and resembles dry short-grained beef more than venison. for this reason it is looked upon by both indians and white hunters as inferior to buffalo, moose, caribou, or even the common deer. one peculiarity of the flesh of this animal is, that the fat becomes hard the moment it is taken off the fire. it freezes upon the lips like suet, and clings around the teeth of a person eating it, which is not the case with that of other species of deer. the skin of the wapiti, however, is held in high esteem among the indians. it is thinner than that of the moose, but makes a much better article of leather. when dressed in the indian fashion--that is to say, soaked in a lather composed of the brains and fat of the animal itself, and then washed, dried, scraped, and smoked--it becomes as soft and pliable as a kid-glove, and will wash and dry without stiffening like chamois leather. that is a great advantage which it has, in the eyes of the indians, over the skins of other species of deer, as the moose and caribou--for the leather made from these, after a wetting, becomes harsh and rigid and requires a great deal of rubbing to render it soft again. lucien knew how to dress the elk-hide, and could make leather out of it as well as any indian squaw in the country. but travelling as they were, there was not a good opportunity for that; so they were content to give it such a dressing as the circumstances might allow. it was spread out on a frame of willow-poles, and set up in front of the fire, to be scraped at intervals and cleared of the fatty matter, as well as the numerous parasites that at this season adhere to the skins of the wapiti. while lucien was framing the skin, basil and norman occupied themselves in cutting the choice pieces of the meat into thin slices and hanging them up before the fire. this job being finished, all sat down to watch lucien currying his hide. "ho, boys!" cried francois, starting up as if something had occurred to him; "what about the wolverene? it's a splendid skin--why not get it too?" "true enough," replied norman, "we had forgotten that. but the beasts gone to the bottom--how can we get at him?" "why, fish him up, to be sure," said francois. "let's splice one of these willow-poles to my ramrod, and i'll screw it into him, and draw him to the surface in a jiffy. come!" "we must get the canoe round, then," said norman. "the bank's too steep for us to reach him without it." "of course," assented francois, at the same time going towards the willows; "get you the canoe into the water, while i cut the sapling." "stay!" cried basil, "i'll show you a shorter method. marengo!" as basil said this, he rose to his feet, and walked down to the bluff where they had shot the wolverene. all of them followed him as well as marengo, who bounded triumphantly from side to side, knowing he was wanted for some important enterprise. "do you expect the dog to fetch him out?" inquired norman. "no," replied basil; "only to help." "how?" "wait a moment--you shall see." basil flung down his 'coon-skin cap, and stripped off his caribou jacket, then his striped cotton shirt, then his under-shirt of fawn skin, and, lastly, his trousers, leggings, and mocassins. he was now as naked as adam. "i'll show you, cousin," said he, addressing himself to norman, "how we take the water down there on the mississippi." so saying, he stepped forward to the edge of the bluff; and having carefully noted the spot where the wolverene had gone down, turned to the dog, and simply said-"ho! marengo! _chez moi_!" the dog answered with a whimper, and a look of intelligence which showed that he understood his master's wish. basil again pointed to the lake, raised his arms over his head, placing his palms close together, launched himself out into the air, and shot down head-foremost into the water. marengo, uttering a loud bay, sprang after so quickly that the plunges were almost simultaneous, and both master and dog were for some time hidden from view. the latter rose first, but it was a long time before basil came to the surface--so long that norman and the others were beginning to feel uneasy, and to regard the water with some anxiety. at length, however, a spot was seen to bubble, several yards from where he had gone down, and the black head of basil appeared above the surface. it was seen that he held something in his teeth, and was pushing a heavy body before him, which they saw was the wolverene. marengo, who swam near, now seized hold of the object, and pulled it away from his master, who, calling to the dog to follow, struck out towards a point where the bank was low and shelving. in a few minutes basil reached a landing-place, and shortly after marengo arrived towing the wolverene, which was speedily pulled out upon the bank, and carried, or rather dragged, by norman and francois to the camp. lucien brought basil's clothes, and all four once more assembled around the blazing fire. there is not a more hideous-looking animal in america than the wolverene. his thick body and short stout legs, his shaggy coat and bushy tail, but, above all, his long curving claws and doglike jaws, give him a formidable appearance. his gait is low and skulking, and his look bold and vicious. he walks somewhat like a bear, and his tracks are often mistaken for those of that animal. indians and hunters, however, know the difference well. his hind-feet are plantigrade, that is, they rest upon the ground from heel to toe; and his back curves like the segment of a circle. he is fierce and extremely voracious--quite as much so as the "glutton," of which he is the american representative. no animal is more destructive to the small game, and he will also attack and devour the larger kinds when he can get hold of them; but as he is somewhat slow, he can only seize most of them by stratagem. it is a common belief that he lies in wait upon trees and rocks to seize the deer passing beneath. it has been also asserted that he places moss, such as these animals feed upon, under his perch, in order to entice them within reach; and it has been still further asserted, that the arctic foxes assist him in his plans, by hunting the deer towards the spot where he lies in wait, thus acting as his jackals. these assertions have been made more particularly about his european cousin, the "glutton," about whom other stories are told equally strange--one of them, that he eats until scarce able to walk, and then draws his body through a narrow space between two trees, in order to relieve himself and get ready for a fresh meal. buffon and others have given credence to these tales upon the authority of one "olaus magnus," whose name, from the circumstance, might be translated "great fibber." there is no doubt, however, that the glutton is one of the most sagacious of animals, and so, too, is the wolverene. the latter gives proof of this by many of his habits; one in particular fully illustrates his cunning. it is this. the marten-trappers of the hudson bay territory set their traps in the snow, often extending over a line of fifty miles. these traps are constructed out of pieces of wood found near the spot, and are baited with the heads of partridges, or pieces of venison, of which the marten (_mustela martes_) is very fond. as soon as the marten seizes the bait, a trigger is touched, and a heavy piece of wood falling upon the animal, crushes or holds it fast. now the wolverene _enters the trap from behind_, tears the back out of it before touching the bait, and thus avoids the falling log! moreover, he will follow the tracks of the trapper from one to another, until he has destroyed the whole line. should a marten happen to have been before him, and got caught in the trap, he rarely ever eats it, as he is not fond of its flesh. but he is not satisfied to leave it as he finds it. he usually digs it from under the log, tears it to pieces, and then buries it under the snow. the foxes, who are well aware of this habit, and who themselves greedily eat the marten, are frequently seen following him upon such excursions. they are not strong enough to take the log from off the trapped animal, but from their keen scent can soon find it where the other has buried it in the snow. in this way, instead of their being providers for the wolverene, the reverse is the true story. notwithstanding, the wolverene will eat _them_ too, whenever he can get his claws upon them; but as they are much swifter than he, this seldom happens. the foxes, however, are themselves taken in traps, or more commonly shot by guns set for the purpose, with the bait attached by a string to the trigger. often the wolverene, finding the foxes dead or wounded, makes a meal of them before the hunter comes along to examine his traps and guns. the wolverene kills many of the foxes while young, and sometimes on finding their burrow, widens it with his strong claws, and eats the whole family in their nests. even young wolves sometimes become his prey. he lives, in fact, on very bad terms with both foxes and wolves, and often robs the latter of a fat deer which they may have just killed, and are preparing to dine upon. the beaver, however, is his favourite food, and but that these creatures can escape him by taking to the water--in which element he is not at all at home--he would soon exterminate their whole race. his great strength and acute scent enable him to overcome almost every wild creature of the forest or prairie. he is even said to be a full match for either the panther or the black bear. the wolverene lives in clefts of rock, or in hollow trees, where such are to be found; but he is equally an inhabitant of the forest and the prairie. he is found in fertile districts, as well as in the most remote deserts. his range is extensive, but he is properly a denizen of the cold and snowy regions. in the southern parts of the united states he is no longer known, though it is certain that he once lived there when those countries were inhabited by the beaver. north of latitude 40 degrees he ranges perhaps to the pole itself, as traces of him have been found as far as man has yet penetrated. he is a solitary creature, and, like most predatory animals, a nocturnal prowler. the female brings forth two, sometimes three and four, at a birth. the cubs are of a cream colour, and only when full-grown acquire that dark-brown hue, which in the extreme of winter often passes into black. the fur is not unlike that of the bear, but is shorter-haired, and of less value than a bear-skin. notwithstanding, it is an article of trade with the hudson's bay company, who procure many thousands of the skins annually. the canadian voyageurs call the wolverene "carcajou;" while among the orkney and scotch servants of the hudson's bay company he is oftener known as the "quickhatch." it is supposed that both these names are corruptions of the cree word _okee-coo-haw-gew_ (the name of the wolverene among the indians of that tribe). many words from the same language have been adopted by both voyageurs and traders. those points in the natural history of the wolverene, that might be called _scientific_, were imparted by lucien, while norman furnished the information about its habits. norman knew the animal as one of the most common in the "trade"; and in addition to what we have recorded, also related many adventures and stories current among the voyageurs, in which this creature figures in quite as fanciful a manner, as he does in the works either of olaus magnus, or count de buffon. chapter sixteen. a grand sunday dinner. after remaining a day at their first camp on the lake, our voyageurs continued their journey. their course lay a little to the west of north, as the edge of the lake trended in that direction. their usual plan, as already stated, was to keep out in the lake far enough to shun the numerous indentations of the shore, yet not so far as to endanger their little craft when the wind was high. at night they always landed, either upon some point or on an island. sometimes the wind blew "dead ahead," and then their day's journey would be only a few miles. when the wind was favourable they made good progress, using the skin of the wapiti for a sail. on one of these days they reckoned a distance of over forty miles from camp to camp. it was their custom always to lie by on sunday, for our young voyageurs were christians. they had done so on their former expedition across the southern prairies, and they had found the practice to their advantage in a physical as well as a moral sense. they required the rest thus obtained; besides, a general cleaning up is necessary, at least, once every week. sunday was also a day of feasting with them. they had more time to devote to culinary operations, and the _cuisine_ of that day was always the most varied of the week. any extra delicacy obtained by the rifle on previous days, was usually reserved for the sunday's dinner. on the first sunday after entering lake winnipeg the "camp" chanced to be upon an island. it was a small island, of only a few acres in extent. it lay near the shore, and was well wooded over its whole surface with trees of many different kinds. indeed, islands in a large lake usually have a great variety of trees, as the seeds of all those sorts that grow around the shores are carried thither by the waves, or in the crops of the numerous birds that flit over its waters. but as the island in question lay in a lake, whose shores exhibited such a varied geology, it was natural the vegetation of the island itself should be varied. and, in truth; it was so. there were upon it, down by the water's edge, willows and cottonwoods (_populus angulata_), the characteristic _sylva_ of the prairie land; there were birches and sugar-maples (_acer saccharinum_); and upon some higher ground, near the centre, appeared several species that belonged more to the primitive formations that bounded the lake on the east. these were pines and spruces, the juniper, and tamarack or american larch (_laryx americana_); and among others could be distinguished the dark cone-shaped forms of the red cedar-trees. among the low bushes and shrubs there were rose and wild raspberry; there were apple and plum trees, and whole thickets of the "pembina" (_viburnum oxycoccos_). there is, in fact, no part of the world where a greater variety of wild fruit has been found indigenous than upon the banks of the red river of the north, and this variety extended to the little island where our voyageurs had encamped. the camp had been placed under a beautiful tree--the tacamahac, or balsam poplar (_populus balsamifera_). this is one of the finest trees of america, and one of those that extend farthest north into the cold countries. in favourable situations it attains a height of one hundred and fifty feet, with a proportionate thickness of trunk; but it is oftener only fifty or eighty feet high. its leaves are oval, and, when young, of a rich yellowish colour, which changes to a bright green. the buds are very large, yellow, and covered with a varnish, which exhales a delightful fragrance, and gives to the tree its specific name. it was near sunset on the afternoon of saturday; the travellers had just finished their repast, and were reclining around a fire of red cedar, whose delicate smoke curled up among the pale-green leaves of the poplars. the fragrant smell of the burning wood, mixed with the aromatic odour of the balsam-tree, filled the air with a sweet perfume, and, almost without knowing why, our voyageurs felt a sense of pleasure stealing over them. the woods of the little island were not without their voices. the scream of the jay was heard, and his bright azure wing appeared now and then among the foliage. the scarlet plumage of the cardinal grosbeak flashed under the beams of the setting sun; and the trumpet-note of the ivory-billed woodpecker was heard near the centre of the island. an osprey was circling in the air, with his eye bent on the water below, watching for his finny prey; and a pair of bald eagles (_haliaetus leucocephalus_) were winging their way towards the adjacent mainland. half-a-dozen turkey vultures (_cathartes atratus_) were wheeling above the beach, where some object, fish or carrion, had been thrown up by the waves. for some time the party remained silent, each contemplating the scene with feelings of pleasure. francois, as usual, first broke the silence. "i say, cook, what's for dinner to-morrow?" it was to lucien this speech was addressed. he was regarded as the _maitre de cuisine_. "roast or boiled--which would you prefer?" asked the cook, with a significant smile. "ha! ha! ha!" laughed francois; "boiled, indeed! a pretty boil we could have in a tin cup, holding less than a pint. i wish we _could_ have a boiled joint and a bowl of soup. i'd give something for it. i'm precious tired of this everlasting dry roast." "you shall have both," rejoined lucien, "for to-morrow's dinner. i promise you both the soup and the joint." again francois laughed incredulously. "do you mean to make soup in your shoe, luce?" "no; but i shall make it in this." and lucien held up a vessel somewhat like a water-pail, which the day before he had himself made out of birch-bark. "well," replied francois, "i know you have got a vessel that holds water, but cold water ain't soup; and if you can boil water in that vessel, i'll believe you to be a conjuror. i know you can do some curious things with your chemical mixtures; but that you can't do, i'm sure. why, man, the bottom would be burned out of your bucket before the water got blood-warm. soup, indeed!" "never mind, frank, you shall see. you're only like the rest of mankind--incredulous about everything they can't comprehend. if you'll take your hook and line, and catch some fish, i promise to give you a dinner to-morrow, with all the regular courses--soup, fish, boiled, roast, and dessert, too! i'm satisfied i can do all that." "_parbleu_! brother, you should have been cook to lucullus. well, i'll catch the fish for you." so saying, francois took a fish-hook and line out of his pouch, and fixing a large grasshopper upon the hook, stepped forward to the edge of the water, and cast it in. the float was soon seen to bob and then sink, and francois jerked his hook ashore with a small and very pretty fish upon it of a silver hue, with which the lake and the waters running into it abound. lucien told him it was a fish of the genus _hyodon_. he also advised him to bait with a worm, and let his bait sink to the bottom, and he might catch a sturgeon, which would be a larger fish. "how do you know there are sturgeon in the lake?" inquired francois. "i am pretty sure of that," answered the naturalist; "the sturgeon (_acipenser_) is found all round the world in the northern temperate zone--both in its seas and fresh waters; although, when you go farther south into the warmer climate, no sturgeons exist. i am sure there are some here, perhaps more than one species. sink your bait, for the sturgeon is a toothless fish, and feeds upon soft substances at the bottom." francois followed the advice of his brother, and in a few minutes he had a "nibble," and drew up and landed a very large fish, full three feet in length. lucien at once pronounced it a sturgeon, but of a species he had not before seen. it was the _acipenser carbonarius_, a curious sort of fish found in these waters. it did not look like a fish that would be pleasant eating; therefore francois again took to bobbing for the silver fish (_hyodons_), which, though small, he knew to be excellent when broiled. "come," said basil, "i must furnish my quota to this famous dinner that is to be. let me see what there is on the island in the way of game;" and shouldering his rifle, he walked off among the trees. "and i," said norman, "am not going to eat the produce of other people's labour without contributing my share." so the young trader took up his gun and went off in a different direction. "good!" exclaimed lucien, "we are likely to have plenty of meat for the dinner. i must see about the vegetables;" and taking with him his new-made vessel, lucien sauntered off along the shore of the islet. francois alone remained by the camp, and continued his fishing. let us follow the plant-hunter, and learn a lesson of practical botany. lucien had not gone far, when he came to what appeared to be a mere sedge growing in the water. the stalks or culms of this sedge were full eight feet high, with smooth leaves, an inch broad, nearly a yard in length, and of a light green colour. at the top of each stalk was a large panicle of seeds, somewhat resembling a head of oats. the plant itself was the famous wild rice (_zizania aquatica_), so much prized by the indians as an article of food, and also the favourite of many wild birds, especially the reed-bird or rice-bunting. the grain of the zizania was not yet ripe, but the ears were tolerably well filled, and lucien saw that it would do for his purpose. he therefore waded in, and stripped off into his vessel as much as he wanted. "i am safe for rice-soup, at all events," soliloquised he, "but i think i can do still better;" and he continued on around the shore, and shortly after struck into some heavy timber that grew in a damp, rich soil. he had walked about an hundred yards farther, when he was seen to stoop and examine some object on the ground. "it ought to be found here," he muttered to himself; "this is the very soil for it,--yes, here we have it!" the object over which he was stooping was a plant, but its leaves appeared shrivelled, or rather quite withered away. the upper part of a bulbous root, however, was just visible above the surface. it was a bulb of the wild leek (_allium tricoccum_.) the leaves, when young, are about six inches in length, of a flat shape and often three inches broad; but, strange to say, they shrivel or die off very early in the season,--even before the plant flowers, and then it is difficult to find the bulb. lucien, however, had sharp eyes for such things; and in a short while he had rooted out several bulbs as large as pigeons' eggs, and deposited them in his birchen vessel. he now turned to go back to camp, satisfied with what he had obtained. he had the rice to give consistency to his soup, and the leek-roots to flavour it with. that would be enough. as he was walking over a piece of boggy ground his eye was attracted to a singular plant, whose tall stem rose high above the grass. it was full eight feet in height, and at its top there was an umbel of conspicuous white flowers. its leaves were large, lobed, and toothed, and the stem itself was over an inch in diameter, with furrows running longitudinally. lucien had never seen the plant before, although he had often heard accounts of it, and he at once recognised it from its botanical description. it was the celebrated "cow parsnip" (_heracleum lanatum_). its stem was jointed and hollow, and lucien had heard that the indians called it in their language "flute-stem," as they often used it to make their rude musical instruments from, and also a sort of whistle or "call," by which they were enabled to imitate and decoy several kinds of deer. but there was another use to which the plant was put, of which the naturalist was not aware. norman, who had been wandering about, came up at this moment, and seeing lucien standing by the plant, uttered a joyful "hulloh!" "well," inquired lucien, "what pleases you, coz?" "why, the flute-stem, of course. you talked of making a soup. it will help you, i fancy." "how?" demanded lucien. "why, the young stems are good eating, and the roots, if you will; but the young shoots are better. both indians and voyageurs eat them in soup, and are fond of them. it's a famous thing, i assure you." "let us gather some, then," said lucien; and the cousins commenced cutting off such stems as were still young and tender. as soon as they had obtained enough, they took their way back to the camp. basil had already arrived with a fine _prairie hen (tetrao cupido_) which he had shot, and norman had brought back a squirrel; so that, with francois's fish, of which a sufficient number had been caught, lucien was likely to be able to keep his promise about the dinner. francois, however, could not yet comprehend how the soup was to be boiled in a wooden pot; and, indeed, basil was unable to guess. norman, however, knew well enough, for he had travelled through the country of the assinoboil indians, who take their name from this very thing. he had also witnessed the operation performed by crees, chippewas, and even voyageurs, where metal or earthen pots could not be obtained. on the next day the mystery was cleared up to basil and francois. lucien first collected a number of stones--about as large as paving-stones. he chose such as were hard and smooth. these he flung into the cinders, where they soon became red-hot. the water and meat were now put into the bark pot, and then one stone after another,--each being taken out as it got cooled,--until the water came to a fierce boil. the rice and other ingredients were added at the proper time, and in a short while an excellent soup was made. so much, then, for the soup, and the boiled dishes with vegetables. the roast, of course, was easily made ready upon green-wood spits, and the "game" was cooked in a similar way. the fish were broiled upon the red cinders, and eaten, as is usual, after the soup. there were no puddings or pies, though, no doubt, lucien could have made such had they been wanted. in their place there was an excellent service of fruit. there were strawberries and raspberries, one sort of which found wild in this region is of a most delicious flavour. there were gooseberries and currants; but the most delicious fruit, and that which francois liked best, was a small berry of a dark blue colour, not unlike the huckleberry, but much sweeter and of higher flavour. it grows on a low bush or shrub with ovate leaves; and this bush when it blossoms is so covered with beautiful white flowers, that neither leaves nor branches can be seen. there are no less than four varieties of it known, two of which attain to the height of twenty feet or more. the french canadians call it "le poire," but in most parts of america it is known as the "service-berry," although several other names are given to it in different districts. lucien informed his companions, while they were crushing its sweet purplish fruit between their teeth, that its botanical name is _amelanchier_. "now," remarked francois, "if we only had a cup of coffee and a glass of wine, we might say that we had dined in fashionable style." "i think," replied lucien, "we are better without the wine, and as for the other i cannot give you that, but i fancy i can provide you with a cup of tea if you only allow me a little time." "tea!" screamed francois; "why, there's not a leaf of tea nearer than china; and for the sugar, not a grain within hundreds of miles!" "come, frank," said lucien, "nature has not been so ungenerous here,-even in such luxuries as tea and sugar. look yonder! you see those large trees with the dark-coloured trunks. what are they?" "sugar-maples," replied francois. "well," said lucien, "i think even at this late season we might contrive to extract sap enough from them to sweeten a cup of tea. you may try, while i go in search of the tea-plant." "upon my word, luce, you are equal to a wholesale grocery. very well. come, basil, we'll tap the maples; let the captain go with luce." the boys, separating into pairs, walked off in different directions. lucien and his companion soon lighted upon the object of their search in the same wet bottom where they had procured the _heracleum_. it was a branching shrub, not over two feet in height, with small leaves of a deep green colour above, but whitish and woolly underneath. it is a plant well-known throughout most of the hudson's bay territory by the name of "labrador tea-plant;" and is so called because the canadian voyageurs, and other travellers through these northern districts, often drink it as tea. it is one of the _ericaceae_, or heath tribe, of the genus _ledum_--though it is not a true heath, as, strange to say, no true heath is found upon the continent of america. there are two kinds of it known,--the "narrow-leafed" and "broad-leafed;" and the former makes the best tea. but the pretty white flowers of the plant are better for the purpose than the leaves of either variety; and these it was that were now gathered by lucien and norman. they require to be dried before the decoction is made; but this can be done in a short time over a fire; and so in a short time it was done, norman having parched them upon heated stones. meanwhile basil and francois had obtained the sugar-water, and lucien having washed his soup-kettle clean, and once more made his boiling stones red-hot, prepared the beverage; and then it was served out in the tin cup, and all partook of it. norman had drunk the labrador tea before, and was rather fond of it, but his southern cousins did not much relish it. its peculiar flavour, which somewhat resembles rhubarb, was not at all to the liking of francois. all, however, admitted that it produced a cheering effect upon their spirits; and, after drinking it, they felt in that peculiarly happy state of mind which one experiences after a cup of the real "bohea." chapter seventeen. the marmots of america. from such a luxurious dinner you may suppose that our young voyageurs lived in prime style. but it was not always so. they had their fasts as well as feasts. sometimes for days they had nothing to eat but the jerked deer-meat. no bread--no beer--no coffee, nothing but water--dry venison and water. of course, this is food enough for a hungry man; but it can hardly be called luxurious living. now and then a wild duck, or a goose, or perhaps a young swan, was shot; and this change in their diet was very agreeable. fish were caught only upon occasions, for often these capricious creatures refused francois' bait, however temptingly offered. after three weeks' coasting the lake, they reached the saskatchewan, and turning up that stream, now travelled in a due westerly direction. at the grand rapids, near the mouth of this river, they were obliged to make a portage of no less than three miles, but the magnificent view of these "rapids" fully repaid them for the toil they underwent in passing them. the saskatchewan is one of the largest rivers in america, being full 1600 miles in length, from its source in the rocky mountains to its _debouchure_, under the name of the "nelson river," in hudson's bay. for some distance above lake winnipeg, the country upon its banks is well wooded. farther up, the river runs through dry sandy prairies that extend westward to the foot-hills of the rocky mountains. many of these prairies may be properly called "deserts." they contain lakes as salt as the ocean itself, and vast tracts--hundreds of square miles in extent--where not a drop of water is to be met with. but the route of our voyageurs did not lie over these prairies. it was their intention, after reaching cumberland house, to turn again in a northerly direction. one evening, when within two days' journey of the fort, they had encamped upon the bank of the saskatchewan. they had chosen a beautiful spot for their camp, where the country, swelling into rounded hills, was prettily interspersed with bushy copses of _amelanchiers_, and _rosa blanda_, whose pale red flowers were conspicuous among the green leaves, and filled the air with a sweet fragrance, that was wafted to our voyageurs upon the sunny breeze. the ground was covered with a grassy sward enamelled by the pink flowers of the _cleome_, and the deeper red blossoms of the beautiful wind-flower (_anemone_). upon that day our travellers had not succeeded in killing any game, and their dinner was likely to consist of nothing better than dry venison scorched over the coals. as they had been travelling all the morning against a sharp current, and, of course, had taken turn about at the paddles, they all felt fatigued, and none of them was inclined to go in search of game. they had flung themselves down around the fire, and were waiting until the venison should be broiled for dinner. the camp had been placed at the foot of a tolerably steep hill, that rose near the banks of the river. there was another and higher hill facing it, the whole front of which could be seen by our travellers as they sat around their fire. while glancing their eyes along its declivity, they noticed a number of small protuberances or mounds standing within a few feet of each other. each of them was about a foot in height, and of the form of a truncated cone--that is, a cone with its top cut off, or beaten down. "what are they?" inquired francois. "i fancy," answered lucien, "they are marmot-houses." "they are," affirmed norman; "there are plenty of them in this country." "oh! marmots!" said francois. "prairie-dogs, you mean?--the same we met with on the southern prairies?" "i think not," replied norman: "i think the prairie-dogs are a different sort. are they not, cousin luce?" "yes, yes," answered the naturalist; "these must be a different species. there are too few of them to be the houses of prairie-dogs. the `dogs' live in large settlements, many hundreds of them in one place; besides, their domes are somewhat different in appearance from these. the mounds of the prairie-dogs have a hole in the top or on one side. these, you see, have not. the hole is in the ground beside them, and the hill is in front, made by the earth taken out of the burrow, just as you have seen it at the entrance of a rat's hole. they are marmots, i have no doubt, but of a different species from the prairie-dog marmots." "are there not many kinds of marmots in america? i have heard so," said francois. this question was of course addressed to lucien. "yes," answered he. "the _fauna_ of north america is peculiarly rich in species of these singular animals. there are thirteen kinds of them, well-known to naturalists; and there are even some varieties in these thirteen kinds that might almost be considered distinct species. i have no doubt, moreover, there are yet other species which have not been described. perhaps, altogether, there are not less than twenty different kinds of marmots in north america. as only one or two species are found in the settled territories of the united states, it was supposed, until lately, that there were no others. latterly the naturalists of north america have been very active in their researches, and no genus of animals has rewarded them so well as the marmots-unless, perhaps, it may be the squirrels. almost every year a new species of one or the other of these has been found--mostly inhabiting the vast wilderness territories that lie between the mississippi and the pacific ocean. "as regards the marmots, the _closet-naturalists_, as usual, have rendered their history as complicated and difficult to be understood as possible. they have divided them into several genera, because one kind happens to have a larger tubercle upon its tooth than another, or a little more curving in its claws, or a shorter tail. it is true that in the thirteen species some differ considerably from the others in size, colour, and other respects. yet, for all that, there is such an identity, if i may so express it, about the mode of life, the food, the appearance, and habits of all the thirteen, that i think it is both absurd and ill-judged to render the study of them more difficult, by thus dividing them into so many genera. they are all _marmots_, that is what they are; and why confound the study of them by calling them spermophiles and arctomys, and such-like hard names?" "i quite agree with you, luce," said the hunter, basil, who, although not averse to the study of natural history (all hunters, i believe, love it more or less), had no great opinion of the closet-naturalists and "babblers about teeth," as he contemptuously called them. "when a family of animals," continued lucien, "contains a great many species, and these species differ widely from each other, i admit that it may then be convenient and useful to class them into genera, and sometimes even sub-genera; but, on the other hand, when there are only a few species, and these closely allied to each other, i think nothing can be more ridiculous than this dividing and subdividing, and giving such unpronounceable names to them. it is this that renders the study difficult, because even the committing to memory such a string of unmeaning phrases is of itself no easy task. take, for example, such a phrase as `_arctomys spermophilus rickardsonii_,' which, although nearly a yard long, means simply the `tawny marmot.' do not mistake me," continued lucien; "i do not object to the use of the greek or latin phraseology used in such cases. some universal language must be adopted, so that the naturalists of different countries may understand each other. but then this language should, when translated, describe the animal, by giving some of its characteristics, and thus have a meaning. on the contrary, it usually, when put into plain english, gives us only the name--often a clumsy and unpronounceable german one-of some obscure friend of the author, or, as is not unfrequently the case, some lordly patron for whom your closet-naturalist entertains a flunkeyish regard, and avails himself of this means of making it known to his maecenas. in my opinion," continued lucien, warming with the enthusiasm of a true naturalist, "it is a most impertinent interference with the beautiful things of nature--her birds and quadrupeds, her plants and flowers--to couple them with the names of kings, princes, lords, and lordlings, who chance to be the local gods of some closet-naturalist. it is these catalogue-makers who generally multiply synonymes so as to render science unintelligible. sitting in their easy-chairs they know little or nothing of the habits of the animals about which they write; and therefore, to write something original, they multiply names, and give measurements _ad infinitum_, and this among them constitutes a science. i do not, of course, include among these the man whose name is given--richardson. no; he was a true naturalist, who travelled and underwent hardships to earn the high name which he bears and so well deserves." "brother luce," said basil, "you grow excited upon this subject, and that is something of a rarity to see. i agree with you, however, in all you have said. previous to our leaving home i read several books upon natural history. they were the works of distinguished closet-naturalists. well, i found that all the information they contained about the animals of these northern regions--at least, all that could be called _information_--i had read somewhere before. after thinking for a while i recollected where. it was in the pages of the traveller hearne--a man who, among these scientific gentlemen, is considered only in the light of a rude traveller, and not deserving the name of naturalist. hearne journeyed to the arctic sea so early as the year 1771; and to him the world is indebted for their first knowledge of the fact that there was no strait across the continent south of the seventieth parallel of latitude." "yes," said lucien, "he was sent out by the hudson's bay company, perhaps more scantily furnished than any explorer ever was before. he underwent the most dreadful hardships and perils, and has left behind him an account of the inhabitants and natural history of these parts, so full and so truthful, that it has not only stood the test of subsequent observation, but the closet-naturalists have added but little to it ever since. most of them have been satisfied with giving just what poor hearne had gathered--as, in fact, they knew nothing more, and could not, therefore, add anything. some of them have quoted his own words, and given him the credit of his vast labour; while others have endeavoured to pass off hearne's knowledge as their own, by giving a slightly altered paraphrase of his language. this sort of thing," said lucien, "makes me indignant." "it's downright mean," interposed norman. "all of us in this country have heard of hearne. he was a right hardy traveller, and no mistake about it." "well, then," said lucien, cooling down, and resuming the subject of the marmots, "these little animals seem to form a link between the squirrels and rabbits. on the side of the squirrels they very naturally join on, if i may use the expression, to the ground-squirrel, and some of them differ but little in their habits from many of the latter. other species, again, are more allied to the rabbits, and less like the squirrels; and there are two or three kinds that i should say--using a yankee expression--have a `sprinkling' of the rat in them. some, as the ground-hog, or wood-chuck of the united states, are as large as rabbits, while others, as the leopard-marmot, are not bigger than norway rats. some species have cheek-pouches, in which they can carry a large quantity of seeds, nuts, and roots, when they wish to hoard them up for future use. these are the spermophiles, and some species of these have more capacious pouches than others. their food differs somewhat, perhaps according to the circumstances in which they may be placed. in all cases it is vegetable. some, as the prairie-dogs, live upon grasses, while others subsist chiefly upon seeds, berries, and leaves. it was long supposed that the marmots, like the squirrels, laid up stores against the winter. i believe this is not the case with any of the different species. i know for certain that most of them pass the winter in a state of torpidity, and of course require no provisions, as they eat nothing during that season. in this we observe one of those cases in which nature so beautifully adapts a creature to its circumstances. in the countries where many of the marmots are found, so severe are the winters, and so barren the soil, that it would be impossible for these creatures to get a morsel of food for many long months. during this period, therefore, nature suspends her functions, by putting them into a deep, and, for aught we know to the contrary, a pleasant sleep. it is only when the snow melts, under the vernal sun, and the green blades of grass and the spring flowers array themselves on the surface of the earth, that the little marmots make their appearance again. then the warm air, penetrating into their subterranean abodes, admonishes them to awake from their protracted slumber, and come forth to the enjoyment of their summer life. these animals may be said, therefore, to have no winter. their life is altogether a season of summer and sunshine. "some of the marmots," continued lucien, "live in large communities, as the prairie-dogs; others, in smaller tribes, while still other species lead a solitary life, going only in pairs, or at most in families. nearly all of them are burrowing animals, though there are one or two species that are satisfied with a cleft in the rock, or a hole among loose stones for their nests. some of them are tree-climbers, but it is supposed they only ascend trees in search of food, as they do not make their dwellings there. many of the species are very prolific, the females bringing forth eight, and even ten young at a birth. "the marmots are extremely shy and watchful creatures. before going to feed, they usually reconnoitre the ground from the tops of their little mounds. some species do not have such mounds, and for this purpose ascend any little hillock that may be near. nearly all have the curious habit of placing sentries to watch while the rest are feeding. these sentries station themselves on some commanding point, and when they see an enemy approaching give warning to the others by a peculiar cry. in several of the species this cry resembles the syllables `seek-seek' repeated with a hiss. others bark like `toy-dogs,' while still other kinds utter a whistling noise, from which one species derives its trivial name of `whistler' among the traders, and is the `siffleur' of the canadian voyageurs. "the `whistler's' call of alarm can be heard at a great distance; and when uttered by the sentinel is repeated by all the others as far as the troop extends. "the marmots are eaten both by indians and white hunters. sometimes they are captured by pouring water into their burrows; but this method only succeeds in early spring, when the animals awake out of their torpid state, and the ground is still frozen hard enough to prevent the water from filtering away. they are sometimes shot with guns; but, unless killed upon the spot, they will escape to their burrows, and tumble in before the hunter can lay his hands upon them." chapter eighteen. the blaireau, the "tawnies," and the "leopards." perhaps lucien would have carried his account of the marmots still farther--for he had not told half what he knew of their habits--but he was at that moment interrupted by the marmots themselves. several of them appeared at the mouths of their holes; and, after looking out and reconnoitring for some moments, became bolder, and ran up to the tops of their mounds, and began to scatter along the little beaten paths that led from one to the other. in a short while as many as a dozen could be seen moving about, jerking their tails, and at intervals uttering their "seek-seek." our voyageurs saw that there were two kinds of them, entirely different in colour, size, and other respects. the larger ones were of a greyish yellow above, with an orange tint upon the throat and belly. these were the "tawny marmots," called sometimes "ground-squirrels," and by the voyageurs, "siffleurs," or "whistlers." the other species seen were the most beautiful of all the marmots. they were very little smaller than the tawny marmots; but their tails were larger and more slender, which rendered their appearance more graceful. their chief beauty, however, lay in their colours and markings. they were striped from the nose to the rump with bands of yellow and chocolate colour, which alternated with each other, while the chocolate bands were themselves variegated by rows of yellow spots regularly placed. these markings gave the animals that peculiar appearance so well-known as characterising the skin of the leopard, hence the name of these little creatures was "leopard-marmots." it was plain from their actions that both kinds were "at home" among the mounds, and that both had their burrows there. this was the fact, and norman told his companion that the two kinds are always found together, not living in the same houses, but only as neighbours in the same "settlement." the burrows of the "leopard" have much smaller entrances than those of their "tawny kin," and run down perpendicularly to a greater depth before branching off in a horizontal direction. a straight stick may be thrust down one of these full five feet before reaching an "elbow." the holes of the tawny marmots, on the contrary, branch off near the surface, and are not so deep under ground. this guides us to the explanation of a singular fact--which is, that the "tawnies" make their appearance three weeks earlier in spring than the "leopards," in consequence of the heat of the sun reaching them sooner, and waking them out of their torpid sleep. while these explanations were passing among the boys, the marmots had come out, to the number of a score, and were carrying on their gambols along the declivity of the hill. they were at too great a distance to heed the movements of the travellers by the camp-fire. besides, a considerable valley lay between them and the camp, which, as they believed, rendered their position secure. they were not at such a distance but that many of their movements could be clearly made out by the boys, who after a while noticed that several furious battles were being fought among them. it was not the "tawnies" against the others, but the males of each kind in single combats with one another. they fought like little cats, exhibiting the highest degree of boldness and fury; but it was noticed that in these conflicts the leopards were far more active and spiteful than their kinsmen. in observing them through his glass lucien noticed that they frequently seized each other by the tails, and he further noticed that several of them had their tails much shorter than the rest. norman said that these had been bitten off in their battles; and, moreover, that it was a rare thing to find among the males, or "bucks," as he called them, one that had a perfect tail! while these observations were being made, the attention of our party was attracted to a strange animal that was seen slowly crawling around the hill. it was a creature about as big as an ordinary setter dog, but much thicker in the body, shorter in the legs, and shaggier in the coat. its head was flat, and its ears short and rounded. its hair was long, rough, and of a mottled hoary grey colour, but dark-brown upon the legs and tail. the latter, though covered with long hair, was short, and carried upright; and upon the broad feet of the animal could be seen long and strong curving claws. its snout was sharp as that of a greyhound--though not so prettily formed--and a white stripe, passing from its very tip over the crown, and bordered by two darker bands, gave a singular expression to the animal's countenance. it was altogether, both in form and feature, a strange and vicious-looking creature. norman recognised it at once as the "blaireau," or american badger. the others had never seen such a creature before--as it is not an inhabitant of the south, nor of any part of the settled portion of the united states, for the animal there sometimes called a badger is the ground-hog, or maryland marmot (_arctomys monax_). indeed, it was for a long time believed that no true badger inhabited the continent of america. now, however, it is known that such exists, although it is of a species distinct from the badger of europe. it is less in size than the latter, and its fur is longer, finer, and lighter in colour; but it is also more voracious in its habits, preying constantly upon mice, marmots, and other small animals, and feeding upon carcasses, whenever it chances to meet with such. it is an inhabitant of the sandy and barren districts, where it burrows the earth in such a manner that horses frequently sink and snap their legs in the hollow ground made by it. these are not always the holes scraped out for its own residence, but the burrows of the marmots, which the blaireau has enlarged, so that it may enter and prey upon them. in this way the creature obtains most of its food, but as the marmots lie torpid during the winter months, and the ground above them is frozen as hard as a rock, it is then impossible for the blaireau to effect an entrance. at this season it would undoubtedly starve had not nature provided against such a result, by giving it the power of sleeping throughout the winter months as well as the marmots themselves, which it does. as soon as it wakes up and comes abroad, it begins its campaign against these little creatures; and it prefers, above all others, the "tawnies," and the beautiful "leopards," both of which it persecutes incessantly. the badger when first seen was creeping along with its belly almost dragging the ground, and its long snout projected horizontally in the direction of the marmot "village." it was evidently meditating a surprise of the inhabitants. now and then it would stop, like a pointer dog when close to a partridge, reconnoitre a moment, and then go on again. its design appeared to be to get between the marmots and their burrows, intercept some of them, and get a hold of them without the trouble of digging them up--although that would be no great affair to it, for so strong are its fore-arms and claws that in loose soil it can make its way under the ground as fast as a mole. slowly and cautiously it stole along, its hind-feet resting all their length upon the ground, its hideous snout thrown forward, and its eyes glaring with a voracious and hungry expression. it had got within fifty paces of the marmots, and would, no doubt, have succeeded in cutting off the retreat of some of them, but at that moment a burrowing owl (_strix cunicularia_), that had been perched upon one of the mounds, rose up, and commenced hovering in circles above the intruder. this drew the attention of the marmot sentries to their well-known enemy, and their warning cry was followed by a general scamper of both tawnies and leopards towards their respective burrows. the blaireau, seeing that further concealment was no longer of any use, raised himself higher upon his limbs, and sprang forward in pursuit. he was too late, however, as the marmots had all got into their holes, and their angry "seek-seek," was heard proceeding from various quarters out of the bowels of the earth. the blaireau only hesitated long enough to select one of the burrows into which he was sure a marmot had entered; and then, setting himself to his work, he commenced throwing out the mould like a terrier. in a few seconds he was half buried, and his hindquarters and tail alone remained above ground. he would soon have disappeared entirely, but at that moment the boys, directed and headed by norman, ran up the hill, and seizing him by the tail, endeavoured to jerk him back. that, however, was a task which they could not accomplish, for first one and then another, and then basil and norman-who were both strong boys--pulled with all their might, and could not move him. norman cautioned them against letting him go, as in a moment's time he would burrow beyond their reach. so they held on until francois had got his gun ready. this the latter soon did, and a load of small shot was fired into the blaireau's hips, which, although it did not quite kill him, caused him to back out of the hole, and brought him into the clutches of marengo. a desperate struggle ensued, which ended by the bloodhound doubling his vast black muzzle upon the throat of the blaireau, and choking him to death in less than a dozen seconds; and then his hide--the only part which was deemed of any value--was taken off and carried to the camp. the carcass was left upon the face of the hill, and the red shining object was soon espied by the buzzards and turkey vultures, so that in a few minutes' time several of these filthy birds were seen hovering around, and alighting upon the hill. but this was no new sight to our young voyageurs, and soon ceased to be noticed by them. another bird, of a different kind, for a short time engaged their attention. it was a large hawk, which lucien, as soon as he saw it, pronounced to be one of the kind known as buzzards (_buteo_). of these there are several species in north america, but it is not to be supposed that there is any resemblance between them and the buzzards just mentioned as having alighted by the carcass of the blaireau. the latter, commonly called "turkey buzzards," are true vultures, and feed mostly, though not exclusively, on carrion; while the "hawk buzzards" have all the appearance and general habits of the rest of the falcon tribe. the one in question, lucien said, was the "marsh-hawk," sometimes also called the "hen-harrier" (_falco uliginosus_). norman stated that it was known among the indians of these parts as the "snake-bird," because it preys upon a species of small green snake that is common on the plains of the saskatchewan, and of which it is fonder than of any other food. the voyageurs were not long in having evidence of the appropriateness of the indian appellation; for these people, like other savages, have the good habit of giving names that express some quality or characteristic of the thing itself. the bird in question was on the wing, and from its movements evidently searching for game. it sailed in easy circlings near the surface, _quartering_ the ground like a pointer dog. it flew so lightly that its wings were not seen to move, and throughout all its wheelings and turnings it appeared to be carried onwards or upwards by the power of mere volition. once or twice its course brought it directly over the camp, and francois had got hold of his gun, with the intention of bringing it down, but on each occasion it perceived his motions; and, soaring up like a paper-kite until out of reach, it passed over the camp, and then sank down again upon the other side, and continued its "quarterings" as before. for nearly half-an-hour it went on manoeuvring in this way, when all at once it was seen to make a sudden turning in the air as it fixed its eyes upon some object in the grass. the next moment it glided diagonally towards the earth, and poising itself for a moment above the surface, rose again with a small green-coloured snake struggling in its talons. after ascending to some height, it directed its flight towards a clump of trees, and was soon lost to the view of our travellers. lucien now pointed out to his companions a characteristic of the hawk and buzzard tribe, by which these birds can always be distinguished from the true falcon. that peculiarity lay in the manner of seizing their prey. the former skim forward upon it sideways--that is, in a horizontal or diagonal direction, and pick it up in passing; while the true falcons--as the merlin, the peregrine, the gerfalcon, and the great eagle-falcons--shoot down upon their prey _perpendicularly_ like an arrow, or a piece of falling lead. he pointed out, moreover, how the structure of the different kinds of preying birds, such as the size and form of the wings and tail, as well as other parts, were in each kind adapted to its peculiar mode of pursuing its prey; and then there arose a discussion as to whether this adaptation should be considered a _cause_ or an _effect_. lucien succeeded in convincing his companions that the structure was the effect and not the cause of the habit, for the young naturalist was a firm believer in the changing and progressive system of nature. chapter nineteen. an odd sort of decoy-duck. two days after the adventure with the blaireau, the young voyageurs arrived at cumberland house--one of the most celebrated posts of the hudson's bay company. the chief factor, who resided there, was a friend of norman's father, and of course the youths were received with the warmest hospitality, and entertained during their stay in the best manner the place afforded. they did not make a long stay, however, as they wished to complete their journey before the winter should set in, when canoe-travelling would become impossible. during winter, not only the lakes, but the most rapid rivers of these northern regions, become frozen up, and remain so for many months. nearly the whole surface of the earth is buried under deep snow, and travelling can only be done with snow-shoes, or with sledges drawn by dogs. these are the modes practised by the indians, the esquimaux, and the few white traders and trappers who have occasion in winter to pass from one point to another of that icy and desolate region. travelling under such circumstances is not only difficult and laborious, but is extremely perilous. food cannot always be obtained--supplies fall short, or become exhausted--game is scarce, or cannot be found at all, as at that season many of the quadrupeds and most of the birds have forsaken the country, and migrated to the south--and whole parties of travellers--even indians, who can eat anything living or dead, roast or raw--often perish from hunger. our travellers were well acquainted with these facts; and being anxious, therefore, to get to the end of their journey before the winter should come down upon them, made all haste to proceed. of course they obtained a new "outfit" at the fort; but they took with them only such articles as were absolutely necessary, as they had many portages to make before they could reach the waters of the mackenzie river. as it required two of the party to carry the canoe, with a few little things besides, all the baggage was comprised in such loads as the others could manage; and of course that was not a great deal, for francois was but a lad, and lucien was far from being in robust health. a light axe, a few cooking utensils, with a small stock of provisions, and of course their guns, formed the bulk of their loads. after leaving the fort they kept for several days' journey up the saskatchewan. they then took leave of that river, and ascended a small stream that emptied into it from the north. making their first portage over a "divide," they reached another small stream that ran in quite a different direction, emptying itself into one of the branches of the mississippi, or churchill river. following this in a north-westerly course, and making numerous other portages, they reached lake la crosse, and afterwards in succession, lakes clear, buffalo, and methy. a long "portage" from the last-mentioned lake brought them to the head of a stream known as the "clear water;" and launching their canoe upon this, they floated down to its mouth, and entered the main stream of the elk, or athabasca, one of the most beautiful rivers of america. they were now in reality upon the waters of the mackenzie itself, for the elk, after passing through the athabasca lake, takes from thence the name of slave river, and having traversed great slave lake, becomes the mackenzie--under which name it continues on to the arctic ocean. having got, therefore, upon the main head-water of the stream which they intended to traverse, they floated along in their canoe with light hearts and high hopes. it is true they had yet fifteen hundred miles to travel, but they believed that it was all down-hill work now; and as they had still nearly two months of summer before them, they doubted not being able to accomplish the voyage in good time. on they floated down-stream, feasting their eyes as they went--for the scenery of the elk valley is of a most picturesque and pleasing character; and the broad bosom of the stream itself, studded with wooded islands, looked to our travellers more like a continuation of lakes than a running river. now they glided along without using an oar, borne onward by the current; then they would take a spell at the paddles, while the beautiful canadian boat-song could be heard as it came from the tiny craft, and the appropriate chorus "row, brothers, row!" echoed from the adjacent shores. no part of their journey was more pleasant than while descending the romantic elk. they found plenty of fresh provisions, both in the stream itself and on its banks. they caught salmon in the water, and the silver-coloured hyodon, known among the voyageurs by the name of "dore." they shot both ducks and geese, and roast-duck or goose had become an everyday dinner with them. of the geese there were several species. there were "snow-geese," so called from their beautiful white plumage; and "laughing geese," that derive their name from the circumstance that their call resembles the laugh of a man. the indians decoy these by striking their open hand repeatedly over the mouth while uttering the syllable "wah." they also saw the "brent goose," a well-known species, and the "canada goose," which is the _wild goose par excellence_. another species resembling the latter, called the "barnacle goose," was seen by our travellers. besides these, lucien informed them that there were several other smaller kinds that inhabit the northern countries of america. these valuable birds are objects of great interest to the people of the fur countries for months in the year. whole tribes of indians look to them as a means of support. with regard to ducks, there was one species which our travellers had not yet met with, and for which they were every day upon the look-out. this was the far-famed "canvass-back," so justly celebrated among the epicures of america. none of them had ever eaten of it, as it is not known in louisiana, but only upon the atlantic coast of the united states. norman, however, had heard of its existence in the rocky mountains--where it is said to breed--as well as in other parts of the fur countries, and they were in hopes that they might fall in with it upon the waters of the athabasca. lucien was, of course, well acquainted with its "biography," and could have recognised one at sight; and as they glided along he volunteered to give his companions some information, not only about this particular species, but about the whole genus of these interesting birds. "the canvass-back," began he, "is perhaps the most celebrated and highly-prized of all the ducks, on account of the exquisite flavour of its flesh--which is thought by some epicures to be superior to that of all other birds. it is not a large duck--rarely weighing over three pounds--and its plumage is far from equalling in beauty that of many other species. it has a red or chestnut-coloured head, a shining black breast, while the greater part of its body is of a greyish colour; but upon close examination this grey is found to be produced by a whitish ground minutely mottled with zig-zag black lines. i believe it is this mottling, combined with the colour, which somewhat resembles the appearance and texture of ship's canvass, that has given the bird its trivial name; but there is some obscurity about the origin of this. in colour, however, it so nearly resembles the `pochard,' or `red-head' of europe, and its near congener the red-head (_anas ferina_) of america, that at a distance it is difficult to distinguish them from each other. the last-mentioned species is always found associated with the canvass-backs, and are even sold for the latter in the markets of new york and philadelphia. a naturalist, however, can easily distinguish them by their bills and eyes. the canvass-back has red eyes, with a greenish black bill, nearly straight; while the eyes of the red-head are of an orange yellow, its bill bluish and concave along the upper ridge. "the canvass-back is known in natural history as _anas valisneria_, and this specific name is given to it because it feeds upon the roots of an aquatic plant, a species of `tape-grass,' or `eel-grass;' but botanically called `_valisneria_,' after the italian botanist, antonio valisneri. this grass grows in slow-flowing streams, and also on shoals by the seaside--where the water, from the influx of rivers, is only brackish. the water where it grows is usually three to five feet in depth, and the plant itself rises above the surface to the height of two feet or more, with grass-like leaves of a deep green colour. its roots are white and succulent, and bear some resemblance to celery--hence the plant is known among the duck-hunters as `wild celery.' it is upon these roots the canvass-back almost exclusively feeds, and they give to the flesh of these birds its peculiar and pleasant flavour. wherever the valisneria grows in quantity, as in the chesapeake bay and some rivers, like the hudson, there the canvass-backs resort, and are rarely seen elsewhere. they do not eat the leaves but only the white soft roots, which they dive for and pluck up with great dexterity. the leaves when stripped of the root are suffered to float off upon the surface of the water; and where the ducks have been feeding, large quantities of them, under the name of `grass wrack,' are thrown by the wind and tide upon the adjacent shores. "shooting the canvass-backs is a source of profit to hundreds of gunners who live around the chesapeake bay, as these birds command a high price in the markets of the american cities. disputes have arisen between the fowlers of different states around the bay about the right of shooting upon it; and vessels full of armed men--ready to make war upon one another--have gone out on this account. but the government of these states succeeded in settling the matter peacefully, and to the satisfaction of all parties." the canoe at this moment shot round a bend, and a long smooth expanse of the river appeared before the eyes of our voyageurs. they could see that upon one side another stream ran in, with a very sluggish current; and around the mouth of this, and for a good stretch below it, there appeared a green sedge-like water-grass, or rushes. near the border of this sedge, and in a part of it that was thin, a flock of wild fowl was diving and feeding. they were small, and evidently ducks; but the distance was yet too great for the boys to make out to what species they belonged. a single large swan--a trumpeter--was upon the water, between the shore and the ducks, and was gradually making towards the latter. francois immediately loaded one of his barrels with swan, or rather "buck" shot, and basil looked to his rifle. the ducks were not thought of--the trumpeter was to be the game. lucien took out his telescope, and commenced observing the flock. they had not intended to use any precaution in approaching the birds, as they were not extremely anxious about getting a shot, and were permitting the canoe to glide gently towards them. an exclamation from lucien, however, caused them to change their tactics. he directed them suddenly to "hold water" and stop the canoe, at the same time telling them that the birds ahead were the very sort about which they had been conversing--the "canvass-backs." he had no doubt of it, judging from their colour, size, and peculiar movements. the announcement produced a new excitement. all four were desirous not only of shooting, but of _eating_, a canvass-back; and arrangements were set about to effect the former. it was known to all that the canvass-backs are among the shyest of water-fowl, so much so that it is difficult to approach them unless under cover. while feeding, it is said, they keep sentinels on the look-out. whether this be true or not, it is certain that they never all dive together, some always remaining above water, and apparently watching while the others are under. a plan to get near them was necessary, and one was suggested by norman, which was to tie bushes around the sides of the canoe, so as to hide both the vessel and those in it. this plan was at once adopted--the canoe was paddled up to the bank--thick bushes were cut, and tied along the gunwale; and then our voyageurs climbed in, and laying themselves as low as possible, commenced paddling gently downward in the direction of the ducks. the rifles were laid aside, as they could be of little service with such game. francois' double-barrel was the arm upon which dependence was now placed; and francois himself leaned forward in the bow in order to be ready, while the others attended to the guidance of the vessel. the buck-shot had been drawn out, and a smaller kind substituted. the swan was no longer cared for or even thought of. in about a quarter of an hour's time, the canoe, gliding silently along the edge of the sedge--which was the wild celery (_valisneria spiralis_)--came near the place where the ducks were; and the boys, peeping through the leafy screen, could now see the birds plainly. they saw that they were not all canvass-backs, but that three distinct kinds of ducks were feeding together. one sort was the canvass-backs themselves, and a second kind very much resembled them, except that they were a size smaller. these were the "red-heads" or "pochards." the third species was different from either. they had also heads of a reddish colour, but of a brighter red, and marked by a white band that ran from the root of the bill over the crown. this mark enabled lucien at once to tell the species. they were widgeons (_anas americana_); but the most singular thing that was now observed by our voyageurs was the terms upon which these three kinds of birds lived with each other. it appeared that the widgeon obtained its food by a regular system of robbery and plunder perpetrated upon the community of the canvass-backs. the latter, as lucien had said, feeds upon the roots of the valisneria; but for these it is obliged to dive to the depth of four or five feet, and also to spend some time at the bottom while plucking them up. now the widgeon is as fond of the "celery" as the canvass-back, but the former is not a diver--in fact, never goes under water except when washing itself or in play, and it has therefore no means of procuring the desired roots. mark, then, the plan that it takes to effect this end. seated as near as is safe to the canvass-back, it waits until the latter makes his _somersault_ and goes down. it (the widgeon) then darts forward so as to be sufficiently close, and, pausing again, scans the surface with eager eye. it can tell where the other is at work, as the blades of the plant at which it is tugging are seen to move above the water. these at length disappear, pulled down as the plant is dragged from its root, and almost at the same instant the canvass-back comes up holding the root between his mandibles. but the widgeon is ready for him. he has calculated the exact spot where the other will rise; and, before the latter can open his eyes or get them clear of the water, the widgeon darts forward, snatches the luscious morsel from his bill, and makes off with it. conflicts sometimes ensue; but the widgeon, knowing himself to be the lesser and weaker bird, never stands to give battle, but secures his prize through his superior agility. on the other hand, the canvass-back rarely attempts to follow him, as he knows that the other is swifter upon the water than he. he only looks after his lost root with an air of chagrin, and then, reflecting that there is "plenty more where it came from," kicks up its heels, and once more plunges to the bottom. the red-head rarely interferes with either, as he is contented to feed upon the leaves and stalks, at all times floating in plenty upon the surface. as the canoe glided near, those on board watched these curious manoeuvres of the birds with feelings of interest. they saw, moreover, that the "trumpeter" had arrived among them, and the ducks seemed to take no notice of him. lucien was struck with something unusual in the appearance of the swan. its plumage seemed ruffled and on end, and it glided along in a stiff and unnatural manner. it moved its neck neither to one side nor the other, but held its head bent forward, until its bill almost touched the water, in the attitude that these birds adopt when feeding upon something near the surface. lucien said nothing to his companions, as they were all silent, lest they might frighten the ducks; but basil and norman had also remarked the strange look and conduct of the trumpeter. francois' eyes were bent only upon the ducks, and he did not heed the other. as they came closer, first lucien, and then basil and norman, saw something else that puzzled them. whenever the swan approached any of the ducks, these were observed to disappear under the water. at first, the boys thought that they merely dived to get out of his way, but it was not exactly in the same manner as the others were diving for the roots. moreover, none of those that went down in the neighbourhood of the swan were seen to come up again! there was something very odd in all this, and the three boys, thinking so at the same time, were about to communicate their thoughts to one another, when the double crack of francois' gun drove the thing, for a moment, out of their heads; and they all looked over the bushes to see how many canvass-backs had been killed. several were seen dead or fluttering along the surface; but no one counted them, for a strange, and even terrible, object now presented itself to the astonished senses of all. if the conduct of the swan had been odd before, it was now doubly so. instead of flying off after the shot, as all expected it would do, it was now seen to dance and plunge about on the water, uttering loud screams, that resembled the human voice far more than any other sounds! then it rose as if pitched into the air, and fell on its back some distance off; while in its place was seen a dark, round object moving through the water, as if making for the bank, and uttering, as it went, the same hideous human-like screams! this dark object was no other than the poll of a human being; and the river shallowing towards the bank, it rose higher and higher above the water, until the boys could distinguish the glistening neck and naked shoulders of a red and brawny indian! all was now explained. the indian had been duck-hunting, and had used the stuffed skin of the swan as his disguise; and hence the puzzling motions of the bird. he had not noticed the canoe--concealed as it was--until the loud crack of francois' gun had startled him from his work. this, and the heads and white faces of the boys peeping over the bushes, had frightened him, even more than he had them. perhaps they were the first white faces he had ever seen. but, whether or not, sadly frightened he was; for, on reaching the bank, he did not stop, but ran off into the woods, howling and yelling as if old nick had been after him: and no doubt he believed that such was the case. the travellers picked up the swan-skin out of curiosity; and, in addition to the ducks which francois had killed, they found nearly a score of these birds, which the indian had dropped in his fright, and that had afterwards risen to the surface. these were strung together, and all had their necks broken. after getting them aboard, the canoe was cleared of the bushes; and the paddles being once more called into service, the little craft shot down-stream like an arrow. chapter twenty. the ducks of america. lucien now continued his "monograph" of the american ducks. "there are," said he, "more than two dozen species of ducks on the waters of north america. these the systematists have divided into no less than _eighteen genera_! why it would be more easy to learn all that ever was known about all the ducks in creation, than to remember the eighteen generic names which these gentlemen have invented and put forward. moreover, the habits of any two species of these ducks are more similar than those of any two kinds of dogs. why then, i should ask--why this complication? it is true that the ducks do not resemble each other in every thing. some species are fonder of water than others. some feed entirely upon vegetable substances; others upon small fish, insects, crustacea, etcetera. some live entirely in the sea; others make their home in the freshwater lakes and rivers, while many species dwell indifferently, either in salt or fresh waters. some love the open wave; others the sedgy marsh; while one or two species roost upon trees, and build their nests in the hollow trunks. notwithstanding all this, there is such a similarity in the appearance and habits of the different species, that i think the systematists have improved but little, if anything, upon the simple arrangement of the true naturalist wilson, who--poor scotch _emigre_ as he was, with an empty purse and a loaded gun--has collected more original information about the birds of america than all that have followed him. he described the ducks of america under the single genus _anas_; and, in my opinion, described them in a more intelligent and intelligible manner than any one has done since his time--not even excepting another great and true naturalist, whose career has been longer, more successful, and happier; and whose fame, in consequence of his better fortune, has become, perhaps, higher and more extended. "the water-fowl of america," continued lucien--"i mean the swans, geese, and ducks, are of great importance in the fur countries where we are now travelling. at certain seasons of the year, in many parts, they furnish almost the only article of food that can be procured. they are all migratory--that is, when the lakes and rivers of these regions become frozen over in the winter they all migrate southward, but return again to breed and spend the summer. they do this, perhaps, because these wild territories afford them a better security during the season of incubation, and afterwards of moulting. it is not very certain, however, that this is the reason, and for my part i am inclined to think not, for there are also wild, uninhabited territories enough in southern latitudes, and yet they forsake these and migrate north in the spring. `their arrival in the fur countries,' writes a distinguished naturalist, `marks the commencement of spring, and diffuses as much joy among the wandering hunters of the arctic regions, as the harvest or vintage excites in more genial climes.' both by the indians and hunters in the employ of the hudson's bay company swans, geese, and ducks, are slaughtered by thousands, and are eaten not only when fresh killed, but they are salted in large quantities, and so preserved for winter use, when fresh ones can no longer be procured. of course, both indian and white hunters use all their art in killing or capturing them; and to effect this they employ many different methods, as decoying, snaring, netting, and shooting them: but cousin norman here could give a better description of all these things than i. perhaps he will favour us with some account of them." "the indians," said the young trader, taking up the subject without hesitation, "usually snare them. their most common way is to make a number of hedges or wattle fences projecting into the water at right angles to the edge of the lake, or, it may be, river. these fences are two or three yards apart, and between each two there is, of course, an opening, into which the birds swim, as they make towards the shore for their food. in these openings, then, the snares are set and tied so firmly to a post stuck in the bottom, that the birds, whether ducks, geese, or swans, when caught, may not be able to drag it away. to keep the snare in its place, it is secured to the wattles of the fence with tender strands of grass, that of course give way the moment the fowl becomes entangled. the snares are made out of deer sinews, twisted like packthread, and sometimes of thongs cut from a `parchment' deerskin, which, as you know, is a deerskin simply dried, and not tanned or dressed. the making of the fences is the part that gives most trouble. sometimes the timber for the stakes is not easily had; and even when it is plenty, it is no easy matter to drive the stakes into the bottom and wattle them, while seated in a vessel so crank as a birch canoe. sometimes, in the rivers where the water-fowl most frequent, the current is swift, and adds to this trouble. where the lakes and rivers are shallow, the thing becomes easier; and i have seen small lakes and rivers fenced in this way from shore to shore. in large lakes this would not be necessary, as most of the water-birds--such as the swans and geese--and all the ducks that are not of the diving kinds, are sure to come to the shore to feed, and are more likely to be taken close in to land than out in the open water. "the indians often snare these birds upon the nest, and they always wash their hands before setting the snare. they have a notion--i don't know whether true or not--that if their hands are not clean, the birds can smell the snare, and will be shy of going into it. they say that all these birds--and i believe it's true of all fowls that make their nests upon the ground--go into the nest at one side, and out at the opposite. the indians knowing this, always set their snares at the side where the bird enters, and by this they are more sure of catching them, and also of getting them some hours sooner. "besides snaring the water-fowl," continued norman, "the indians sometimes catch them in nets, and sometimes on hooks baited with whatever the birds are known to eat. they also shoot them as the white hunters do, and to get near enough use every sort of cunning that can be thought of. sometimes they decoy them within shot, by putting wooden ducks on the water near their cover, where they themselves are stationed. sometimes they disguise their canoes under brushwood, and paddle to the edge of the flock; and when the moulting season comes round, they pursue them through the water, and kill them with sticks. the swans, when followed in this way, often escape. with their strong wings and great webbed feet, they can flap faster over the surface than a canoe can follow them. i have heard of many other tricks which the indians of different tribes make use of, but i have only seen these ways i have described, besides the one we have just witnessed." norman was one of your practical philosophers, who did not choose to talk much of things with which he was not thoroughly acquainted. lucien now took up the thread of the conversation, and gave some further information about the different species of american ducks. "one of the most celebrated," said he, "is the `eider-duck' (_anas mollissima_). this is prized for its down, which is exceedingly soft and fine, and esteemed of great value for lining quilts and making beds for the over-luxurious. it is said that three pounds' weight of `eider down' can be compressed to the size of a man's fist, and yet is afterwards so dilatable as to fill a quilt of five feet square. the down is generally obtained without killing the bird, for that which is plucked from dead birds is far inferior, and has lost much of its elasticity. the mode of procuring it is to steal it from the nest, in the absence of the birds. the female lines the nest with down plucked from her own breast. when this is stolen from her, by those who gather the commodity, she plucks out a second crop of it, and arranges it as before. this being also removed, it is said that the male bird then makes a sacrifice of his downy waistcoat, and the nest is once more put in order; but should this too be taken, the birds forsake their nest never to return to it again. the quantity of `eider down' found in a single nest is sufficient to fill a man's hat, and yet it will weigh only about three ounces. "the eider-duck is about the size of the common mallard, or wild duck proper. its colour is black below, and buff-white on the back, neck, and shoulders, while the forehead is bluish black. it is one of the `sea-ducks,' or _fuligulae_, as the naturalists term them, and it is rarely seen in fresh water. its food is principally the soft mollusca common in the arctic seas, and its flesh is not esteemed except by the greenlanders. it is at home only in the higher latitudes of both continents, and loves to dwell upon the rocky shores of the sea; but in very severe winters, it makes its appearance along the atlantic coast of the united states, where it receives different names from the gunners-such as `black-and-white coot,' `big sea-duck,' `shoal-duck,' and `squaw-duck;' and under these titles it is often sold in the markets of american cities. some suppose that the eider-duck could be easily domesticated. if so, it would, no doubt, prove a profitable as well as an interesting experiment; but i believe it has already been attempted without success. it is in the countries of northern europe where the gathering of the eider down has been made an object of industry. on the american continent the pursuit is not followed, either by the native or white settler. "another species common to the higher latitudes of both continents is the `king-duck,' so called from its very showy appearance. its habits are very similar to the `eider,' and its down is equally soft and valuable, but it is a smaller bird. "a still smaller species, also noted for its brilliant plumage, inhabits the extreme north of both continents. this is the `harlequin-duck;' or, as the early colonists term it, the `lord.' "but the `wood-duck' (_anas sponsa_) is perhaps the most beautiful of all the american species, or indeed of all ducks whatever--although it has a rival in the _mandarin duck_ of china, which indeed it very much resembles both in size and markings. the wood-duck is so called from the fact of its making its nest in hollow trees, and roosting occasionally on the branches. it is a freshwater duck, and a southern species--never being seen in very high latitudes; nor is it known in europe in a wild state, but is peculiar to the continent of america. it is one of the easiest species to domesticate, and no zoological garden is now without it; in all of which its small size--being about that of a widgeon--its active movements and innocent look, its musical _peet-peet_, and, above all, its beautiful plumage, make it a general favourite. "besides these, there are many others of the american ducks, whose description would interest you, but you would grow tired were i to give a detailed account of them all; so i shall only mention a few that are distinguished by well-known peculiarities. there is the `whistler' (_anas clangula_), which takes its trivial name from the whistling sound of its wings while in flight; and the `shoveller,' so called from the form of its bill; and the `conjuring,' or `spirit' ducks of the indians (_anas vulgaris_ and _albeola_), because they dive so quickly and dexterously, that it is almost impossible to shoot them either with bow or gun. there is the `old wife,' or `old squaw' (_anas glacialis_), so called from its incessant cackle, which the hunters liken to the scolding of an ill-tempered old wife. this species is the most noisy of all the duck tribe, and is called by the voyageurs `caccawee,' from its fancied utterance of these syllables; and the sound, so often heard in the long nights of the fur countries, has been woven into and forms the burden of many a voyageur's song. in some parts of the united states the caccawee is called `south-southerly,' as its voice is there thought to resemble this phrase, while at the time when most heard--the autumn-these ducks are observed flying in a southerly direction. "besides these," continued lucien, "there are the teals--blue and green-winged--and the coots, and the widgeon--slightly differing from the widgeon of europe--and there is the rare and beautiful little ruddy duck (_anas rubida_), with its bright mahogany colour--its long upright tail and short neck--that at a distance give it the appearance of a duck with two heads. and there is the well-known `pintail,' and the `pochard' or `red-head;' and the `mallard,' from which comes the common domestic variety, and the `scoter,' and `surf,' and `velvet,' and `dusky,' ducks--these last four being all, more or less, of a dark colour. and there are the `shell-drakes,' or `fishers,' that swim low in the water, dive and fly well, but walk badly, and feed altogether on fish. these, on account of their toothed bills, form a genus of themselves--the `mergansers,'--and four distinct species of them are known in america." the approach of night, and the necessity of landing, to make their night camp, brought lucien's lecture to a close. indeed francois was glad when it ended, for he was beginning to think it somewhat tedious. chapter twenty one. the shrike and the humming-birds. the picturesque scenery of the elk appeared to be a favourite resort with the feathered creation. here our voyageurs saw many kinds of birds; both those that migrate into the fur countries during summer, and those that make their home there in the cold, dark days of winter. among the former were observed,--the beautiful blue bird of wilson (_sialia wilsoni_) which, on account of its gentle and innocent habits, is quite as much esteemed in america as the "robin" in england. another favourite of the farmer and the homestead, the purple martin, was seen gracefully wheeling through the air; while, among the green leaves, fluttered many brilliant birds. the "cardinal grosbeak" (_pitylus cardinalis_) with his bright scarlet wings; the blue jay, noisy and chattering; the rarer "crossbill" (_loxia_) with its deep crimson colour; and many others, equally bright and beautiful, enlivened the woods, either with their voice or their gaudy plumage. there was one bird, however, that had neither "fine feathers" nor an agreeable voice, but that interested our travellers more than any of the others. its voice was unpleasant to the ear, and sounded more like the grating of a rusty hinge than anything else they could think of. the bird itself was not larger than a thrush, of a light grey colour above, white underneath, and with blackish wings. its bill resembled that of the hawks, but its legs were more like those of the woodpecker tribe; and it seemed, in fact, to be a cross between the two. it was neither the colour of the bird, nor its form, nor yet its song, that interested our travellers, but its singular habits; and these they had a fine opportunity of observing at one of their "noon camps," where they had halted to rest and refresh themselves during the hot midday hours. the place was on one of the little islets, which was covered with underwood, with here and there some larger trees. the underwood bushes were of various sorts; but close to the spot where they had landed was a large thicket of honeysuckle, whose flowers were in full bloom, and filled the air with their sweet perfume. while seated near these, francois' quick eye detected the presence of some very small birds moving among the blossoms. they were at once pronounced to be humming-birds, and of that species known as the "ruby-throats" (_trochilus rolubris_), so called, because a flake of a beautiful vinous colour under the throat of the males exhibits, in the sun, all the glancing glories of the ruby. the back, or upper parts, are of a gilded green colour; and the little creature is the smallest bird that migrates into the fur countries, with one exception, and that is a bird of the same genus,--the "cinnamon humming-bird" (_trochilus rufus_). the latter, however, has been seen in the northern regions, only on the western side of the rocky mountains; but then it has been observed even as far north as the bleak and inhospitable shores of nootka sound. mexico, and the tropical countries of america, are the favourite home of the humming-birds; and it was, for a long time, supposed that the "ruby-throats" were the only ones that migrated farther north than the territory of mexico itself. it is now known, that besides the "cinnamon humming-bird," two or three other species annually make an excursion into higher latitudes. the "ruby-throats" not only travel into the fur countries, but breed in numbers upon the elk river, the very place where our travellers now observed them. as they sat watching these little creatures, for there were several of them skipping about and poising themselves opposite the flowers, the attention of all was attracted to the movements of a far different sort of bird. it was that one we have been speaking of. it was seated upon a tree, not far from the honeysuckles; but every now and then it would spring from its perch, dash forward, and after whirring about for some moments among the humming-birds, fly back to the same tree. at first the boys watched these manoeuvres without having their curiosity excited. it was no new thing to see birds acting in this manner. the jays, and many other birds of the fly-catching kind (_muscicapae_), have this habit, and nothing was thought of it at the moment. lucien, however, who had watched the bird more narrowly, presently declared to the rest that it was catching the humming-birds, and preying upon them--that each time it made a dash among the honeysuckles, it carried off one in its claws, the smallness of the victim having prevented them at first from noticing this fact. they all now watched it more closely than before, and were soon satisfied of the truth of lucien's assertion, as they saw it seize one of the ruby-throats in the very act of entering the corolla of a flower. this excited the indignation of francois, who immediately took up his "double-barrel," and proceeded towards the tree where the bird, as before, had carried this last victim. the tree was a low one, of the locust or _pseud-acacia_ family, and covered all over with great thorny spikes, like all trees of that tribe. francois paid no attention to this; but, keeping under shelter of the underwood, he crept forward until within shot. then raising his gun, he took aim, and pulling trigger, brought the bird fluttering down through the branches. he stepped forward and picked it up--not that he cared for such unworthy game, but lucien had called to him to do so, as the naturalist wished to make an examination of the creature. he was about turning to go back to camp, when he chanced to glance his eye up into the locust-tree. there it was riveted by a sight which caused him to cry out with astonishment. his cry brought the rest running up to the spot, and they were not less astonished than he, when they saw the cause of it. i have said that the branches of the tree were covered with long thorny spikes that pointed in every direction; but one branch in particular occupied their attention. upon this there were about a dozen of these spines pointing upward, and upon each spike _was impaled a ruby-throat_! the little creatures were dead, of course, but they were neither torn nor even much ruffled in their plumage. they were all placed back upwards, and as neatly spitted upon the thorns as if they had been put there by human hands. on looking more closely, it was discovered that other creatures, as well as the humming-birds, had been served in a similar manner. several grasshoppers, spiders, and some coleopterous insects were found, and upon another branch two small meadow-mice (_arvicolae_) had been treated to the same terrible death! to basil, norman, and francois, the thing was quite inexplicable, but lucien understood well enough what it meant. all these creatures, he informed them, were placed there by the bird which francois had shot, and which was no other than the "shrike" (_lanius_) or "butcher-bird"--a name by which it is more familiarly known, and which it receives from the very habit they had just observed. why it follows such a practice lucien could not tell, as naturalists are not agreed upon this point. some have asserted that it spits the spiders and other insects for the purpose of attracting nearer the small birds upon which it preys; but this cannot be true, for it preys mostly upon birds that are not insect-eaters, as the finches: besides, it is itself as fond of eating grasshoppers as anything else, and consumes large quantities of these insects. the most probable explanation of the singular and apparently cruel habit of the butcher-bird is, that it merely places its victims upon the thorns, in order to keep them safe from ground-ants, rats, mice, raccoons, foxes, and other preying creatures--just as a good cook would hang up her meat or game in the larder to prevent the cats from carrying it off. the thorny tree thus becomes the storehouse of the shrike, where he hangs up his superfluous spoil for future use, just as the crows, magpies, and jays, make their secret deposits in chinks of walls and the hollows of trees. it is no argument against this theory, that the shrike sometimes leaves these stores without returning to them. the fox, and dog, as well as many other preying creatures, have the same habit. wondering at what they had seen, the voyageurs returned to their camp, and once more embarked on their journey. chapter twenty two. the fish-hawk. a few days after, another incident occurred to our voyageurs, which illustrated the habits of a very interesting bird, the "osprey," or fish-hawk, as it is more familiarly known in america. the osprey (_falco halicetus_) is a bird of the falcon tribe, and one of the largest of the genus--measuring two feet from bill to tail, with an immense spread of wing in proportion, being nearly six feet from tip to tip. it is of a dark-brown colour above, that colour peculiar to most of the hawk tribe, while its lower parts are ashy white. its legs and bill are blue, and its eyes of a yellow orange. it is found in nearly all parts of america, where there are waters containing fish, for on these it exclusively feeds. it is more common on the sea-coast than in the interior, although it also frequents the large lakes, and lives in the central parts of the continent during summer, when these are no longer frozen over. it is not often seen upon muddy rivers, as there it would stand no chance of espying its victims in the water. it is a migratory bird, seeking the south in winter, and especially the shores of the great mexican gulf, where large numbers are often seen fishing together. in the spring season these birds move to the northward, and make their appearance along the atlantic coast of the continent, where they diffuse joy into the hearts of the fishermen--because the latter know, on seeing them, that they may soon expect the large shoals of herring, shad, and other fish, for which they have been anxiously looking out. so great favourites are they with the fishermen, that they would not knowingly kill an osprey for a boat-load of fish, but regard these bold fishing birds in the light of "professional brethren." in this case the old adage that "two of a trade never agree" is clearly contradicted. the farmer often takes up his gun to fire at the osprey-mistaking it for the red-tailed buzzard (_buteo borealis_) or some other hawk, several species of which at a distance it resembles--but, on discovering his mistake, brings down his piece without pulling trigger, and lets the osprey fly off unharmed. this singular conduct on the part of the farmer arises from his knowledge of the fact, that the osprey will not only _not_ kill any of his ducks or hens, but that where he makes a settlement he will drive off from the premises all the hawks, buzzards, and kites, that would otherwise prey upon the poultry. with such protection, therefore, the osprey is one of the securest birds in america. he may breed in a tree over the farmer's or fisherman's door without the slightest danger of being disturbed in his incubation. i say _his_ incubation; but the male takes no part in this domestic duty, further than to supply his loved mate with plenty of fish while she does the hatching business. of course, thus protected, the osprey is not a rare bird. on the contrary, fish-hawks are more numerous than perhaps any other species of the hawk tribe. twenty or thirty nests may be seen near each other in the same piece of woods, and as many as three hundred have been counted on one little island. the nests are built upon large trees--not always at the tops, as those of rooks, but often in forks within twenty feet of the ground. they are composed of large sticks, with stalks of corn, weeds, pieces of wet turf, and then lined plentifully with dry sea-grass, or any other grass that may be most convenient. the whole nest is big enough to make a load for a cart, and would be heavy enough to give any horse a good pull. it can be seen, when the woods are open, to an immense distance, and the more easily, as the tree upon which it is built is always a "dead wood," and therefore without leaves to conceal it. some say that the birds select a dead or decaying tree for their nest. it is more probable such is the effect, and not the cause, of their building upon a particular tree. it is more likely that the tree is killed partly by the mass of rubbish thus piled upon it, and partly by the nature of the substances, such as sea-weed in the nest, the oil of the fish, the excrement of the birds themselves, and the dead fish that have been dropped about the root, and suffered to remain there; for when the osprey lets fall his finny prey, which he often does, he never condescends to pick it up again, but goes in search of another. boys "a-nesting" might easily discover the nest of the osprey; but were they inclined to despoil it of its three or four eggs (which are about the size of a duck's, and blotched with spanish brown), they would find that a less easy task, for the owners would be very likely to claw their eyes out, or else scratch the tender skin from their beardless cheeks: so that boys do not often trouble the nest of the osprey. a very curious anecdote is related of a negro having climbed up to plunder a nest of these birds. the negro's head was covered with a close nap of his own black wool, which is supposed by a certain stretch of fancy to have the peculiarity of "growing in at both ends." the negro, having no other protection than that which his thick fur afforded him, was assailed by both the owners of the nest, one of which, making a dash at the "darkie's" head, struck his talons so firmly into the wool, that he was unable to extricate them, and there stuck fast, until the astonished plunderer had reached the foot of the tree. we shall not answer for the truthfulness of this anecdote, although there is nothing improbable about it; for certain it is that these birds defend their nests with courage and fury, and we know of more than one instance of persons being severely wounded who made the attempt to rob them. the ospreys, as already stated, feed exclusively on fish. they are not known to prey upon birds or quadrupeds of any kind, even when deprived of their customary food, as they sometimes are for days, on account of the lakes and rivers, in which they expected to find it, being frozen over to a later season than usual. other birds, as the purple grakles, often build among the sticks of the osprey's nest, and rear their young without being meddled with by this generous bird. this is an important point of difference between the osprey and other kinds of hawks; and there is a peculiarity of structure about the feet and legs of the osprey, that points to the nature of his food and his mode of procuring it. his legs are disproportionately long and strong. they are without feathers nearly to the knees. the feet and toes are also very long, and the soles are covered with thick, hard scales, like the teeth of a rasp, which enable the bird to hold securely his slippery prey. the claws, too, are long, and curved into semicircles, with points upon them almost as sharp as needles. i have stated that an incident occurred to our party that illustrated some of the habits of this interesting bird. it was upon the afternoon of a saturday, after they had fixed their camp to remain for the following day. they had landed upon a point or promontory that ran out into the river, and from which they commanded a view of a fine stretch of water. near where they had placed their tent was the nest of an osprey, in the forks of a large poplar. the tree, as usual, was dead, and the young were plainly visible over the edge of the nest. they appeared to be full-grown and feathered; but it is a peculiarity of the young ospreys that they will remain in the nest, and be fed by the parent birds, until long after they might be considered able to shift for themselves. it is even asserted that the latter become impatient at length, and drive the young ones out of the nest by beating them with their wings; but that for a considerable time afterwards they continue to feed them--most likely until the young birds learn to capture their finny prey for themselves. this lucien gave as a popular statement, but did not vouch for its truth. it was not long, however, before both he and his companions witnessed its complete verification. the old birds, after the arrival of the voyageurs upon the promontory, had remained for some time around the nest, and at intervals had shot down to where the party was, uttering loud screams, and making the air whizz with the strokes of their wings. seeing that there was no intention of disturbing them, they at length desisted from these demonstrations, and sat for a good while quietly upon the edge of their nest. then first one, and shortly after the other, flew out, and commenced sailing in circles, at the height of an hundred feet or so above the water. nothing could be more graceful than their flight. now they would poise themselves a moment in the air, then turn their bodies as if on a pivot, and glide off in another direction. all these motions were carried on with the most perfect ease, and as if without the slightest aid from the wings. again they would come to a pause, holding themselves fixed in mid-air by a gentle flapping, and appearing to scrutinise some object below. perhaps it was a fish; but it was either too large a one, or not the species most relished, or maybe it had sunk to too great a depth to be easily taken. again they sail around; one of them suddenly arrests its flight, and, like a stone projected from a sling, shoots down to the water. before reaching the surface, however, the fish, whose quick eye has detected the coming enemy, has gone to the dark bottom, and concealed himself; and the osprey, suddenly checking himself by his wings and the spread of his full tail, mounts again, and re-commences his curvilinear flight. after this had gone on for some time, one of the birds--the larger one, and therefore the female--was seen to leave off hunting, and return to the nest. there she sat only for a few seconds, when, to the astonishment of the boys, she began to strike her wings against the young ones, as if she was endeavouring to force them from the nest. this was just what she designed doing. perhaps her late unsuccessful attempt to get them a fish had led her to a train of reflections, and sharpened her determination to make them shift for themselves. however that may be, in a few moments she succeeded in driving them up to the edge, and then, by half pushing, and half beating them with her wings, one after the other--two of them there were--was seen to take wing, and soar away out over the lake. at this moment, the male shot down upon the water, and then rose again into the air, bearing a fish, head-foremost, in his talons. he flew directly towards one of the young, and meeting it as it hovered in the air, turned suddenly over, and held out the fish to it. the latter clutched it with as much ease as if it had been accustomed to the thing for years, and then turning away, carried the fish to a neighbouring tree, and commenced devouring it. the action had been perceived by the other youngster, who followed after, and alighted upon the same branch, with the intention of sharing in the meal. in a few minutes, the best part of the fish was eaten up, and both, rising from the branch, flew back to their nest. there they were met by the parents, and welcomed with a loud squeaking, that was intended, no doubt, to congratulate them upon the success of their first "fly." chapter twenty three. the osprey and his tyrant. after remaining for some time on the nest along with the others, the old male again resolved to "go a-fishing," and with this intent he shot out from the tree, and commenced wheeling above the water. the boys, having nothing better to engage them, sat watching his motions, while they freely conversed about his habits and other points in his natural history. lucien informed them that the osprey is a bird common to both continents, and that it is often seen upon the shores of the mediterranean, pursuing the finny tribes there, just as it does in america. in some parts of italy it is called the "leaden eagle," because its sudden heavy plunge upon the water is fancied to resemble the falling of a piece of lead. while they were discoursing, the osprey was seen to dip once or twice towards the surface of the water, and then suddenly check himself, and mount upward again. these manoeuvres were no doubt caused by the fish which he intended to "hook" having suddenly shifted their quarters. most probably experience had taught them wisdom, and they knew the osprey as their most terrible enemy. but they were not to escape him at all times. as the boys watched the bird, he was seen to poise himself for an instant in the air, then suddenly closing his wings, he shot vertically downward. so rapid was his descent, that the eye could only trace it like a bolt of lightning. there was a sharp whizzing sound in the air--a plash was heard--then the smooth bosom of the water was seen to break, and the white spray rose several feet above the surface. for an instant the bird was no longer seen. he was underneath, and the place of his descent was marked by a patch of foam. only a single moment was he out of sight. the next he emerged, and a few strokes of his broad wing carried him into the air, while a large fish was seen griped in his claws. as the voyageurs had before noticed, the fish was carried head-foremost, and this led them to the conclusion that in striking his prey beneath the water the osprey follows it and aims his blow from behind. after mounting a short distance the bird paused for a moment in the air, and gave himself a shake, precisely as a dog would do after coming out of water. he then directed his flight, now somewhat slow and heavy, toward the nest. on reaching the tree, however, there appeared to be some mismanagement. the fish caught among the branches as he flew inward. perhaps the presence of the camp had distracted his attention, and rendered him less careful. at all events, the prey was seen to drop from his talons; and bounding from branch to branch, went tumbling down to the bottom of the tree. nothing could be more opportune than this, for francois had not been able to get a "nibble" during the whole day, and a fresh fish for dinner was very desirable to all. francois and basil had both started to their feet, in order to secure the fish before the osprey should pounce down and pick it up; but lucien assured them that they, need be in no hurry about that, as the bird would not touch it again after he had once let it fall. hearing this, they took their time about it, and walked leisurely up to the tree, where they found the fish lying. after taking it up they were fain to escape from the spot, for the effluvium arising from a mass of other fish that lay in a decomposed state around the tree was more than any delicate pair of nostrils could endure. the one they had secured proved to be a very fine salmon of not less than six pounds weight, and therefore much heavier than the bird itself! the track of the osprey's talons was deeply marked; and by the direction in which the creature was scored, it was evident the bird had seized it from behind. the old hawks made a considerable noise while the fish was being carried away; but they soon gave up their squealing, and, once more hovering out over the river, sailed about with their eyes bent upon the water below. "what a number of fish they must kill!" said francois. "they don't appear to have much difficulty about it. i should think they get as much as they can eat. see! there again! another, i declare!" as francois spake the male osprey was seen to shoot down as before, and this time, although he appeared scarcely to dip his foot in the water, rose up with a fish in his talons. "they have sometimes others to provide for besides themselves," remarked lucien. "for instance, the bald eagle--" lucien was interrupted by a cackling scream, which was at once recognised as that of the very bird whose name had just escaped his lips. all eyes were instantly turned in the direction whence it came-which was from the opposite side of the river--and there, just in the act of launching itself from the top of a tall tree, was the great enemy of the osprey--the white-headed eagle himself! "now a chase!" cried francois, "yonder comes the big robber!" with some excitement of feeling, the whole party watched the movements of the birds. a few strokes of the eagle's wing brought him near; but the osprey had already heard his scream, and knowing it was no use carrying the fish to his nest, turned away from it, and rose spirally upward, in the hope of escaping in that direction. the eagle followed, beating the air with his broad pinions, as he soared after. close behind him went the female osprey, uttering wild screams, flapping her wings against his very beak, and endeavouring to distract his attention from the chase. it was to no purpose, however, as the eagle full well knew her object, and disregarding her impotent attempts, kept on in steady flight after her mate. this continued until the birds had reached a high elevation, and the ospreys, from their less bulk, were nearly out of sight. but the voyageurs could see that the eagle was on the point of overtaking the one that carried the fish. presently, a glittering object dropped down from the heavens, and fell with a plunge upon the water. it was the fish, and almost at the same instant was heard the "whish!" of the eagle, as the great bird shot after it. before reaching the surface, however, his white tail and wings were seen to spread suddenly, checking his downward course; and then, with a scream of disappointment, he flew off in a horizontal direction, and alit upon the same tree from which he had taken his departure. in a minute after the ospreys came shooting down, in a diagonal line, to their nest; and, having arrived there, a loud and apparently angry consultation was carried on for some time, in which the young birds bore as noisy a part as either of their parents. "it's a wonder," said lucien, "the eagle missed the fish--he rarely does. the impetus which he can give his body enables him to overtake a falling object before it can reach the earth. perhaps the female osprey was in his way, and hindered him." "but why did he not pick it up in the water?" demanded francois. "because it went to the bottom, and he could not reach it--that's clear." it was basil who made answer, and the reason he assigned was the true one. "it's too bad," said francois, "that the osprey, not half so big a bird, must support this great robber-tyrant by his industry." "it's no worse than among our own kind," interposed basil. "see how the white man makes the black one work for him here in america. that, however, is the _few_ toiling for the _million_. in europe the case is reversed. there, in every country, you see the million toiling for the few--toiling to support an oligarchy in luxurious ease, or a monarch in barbaric splendour." "but why do they do so? the fools!" asked francois, somewhat angrily. "because they know no better. that oligarchy, and those monarchs, have taken precious care to educate and train them to the belief that such is the _natural_ state of man. they furnish them with school-books, which are filled with beautiful sophisms--all tending to inculcate principles of endurance of wrong, and reverence for their wrongers. they fill their rude throats with hurrah songs that paint false patriotism in glowing colours, making loyalty--no matter to whatsoever despot--the greatest of virtues, and revolution the greatest of crimes; they studiously divide their subjects into several creeds, and then, playing upon the worst of all passions--the passion of religious bigotry--easily prevent their misguided helots from uniting upon any point which would give them a real reform. ah! it is a terrible game which the present rulers of europe are playing!" it was basil who gave utterance to these sentiments, for the young republican of louisiana had already begun to think strongly on political subjects. no doubt basil would one day be an m.c. "the bald eagles have been much blamed for their treatment of the ospreys, but," said lucien, "perhaps they have more reason for levying their tax than at first appears. it has been asked: why they do not capture the fish themselves? now, i apprehend, that there is a _natural_ reason why they do not. as you have seen, the fish are not always caught upon the surface. the osprey has often to plunge beneath the water in the pursuit, and nature has gifted him with power to do so, which, if i am not mistaken, she has denied to the eagles. the latter are therefore compelled, in some measure, to depend upon the former for a supply. but the eagles sometimes do catch the fish themselves, when the water is sufficiently shallow, or when their prey comes near enough to the surface to enable them to seize it." "do they ever kill the ospreys?" inquired francois. "i think not," replied lucien; "that would be `killing the goose,' etcetera. they know the value of their tax-payers too well to get rid of them in that way. a band of ospreys, in a place where there happens to be many of them together, have been known to unite and drive the eagles off. that, i suppose, must be looked upon in the light of a successful _revolution_." the conversation was here interrupted by another incident. the ospreys had again gone out fishing, and, at this moment, one of them was seen to pounce down and take a fish from the water. it was a large fish, and, as the bird flew heavily upward, the eagle again left its perch, and gave chase. this time the osprey was overtaken before it had got two hundred yards into the air, and seeing it was no use attempting to carry off the prey, it opened its claws and let it drop. the eagle turned suddenly, poised himself a moment, and then shot after the falling fish. before the latter had got near the ground, he overtook and secured it in his talons. then, arresting his own flight by the sudden spread of his tail, he winged his way silently across the river, and disappeared among the trees upon the opposite side. the osprey, taking the thing as a matter of course, again descended to the proper elevation, and betook himself to his work. perhaps he grinned a little like many another royal tax-payer, but he knew the tax had to be paid all the same, and he said nothing. an incident soon after occurred that astonished and puzzled our party not a little. the female osprey, that all this time seemed to have had but poor success in her fishing, was now seen to descend with a rush, and plunge deeply into the wave. the spray rose in a little cloud over the spot, and all sat watching with eager eyes to witness the result. what was their astonishment when, after waiting many seconds, the bird still remained under water! minutes passed, and still she did not come up. _she came up no more_! the foam she had made in her descent floated away--the bosom of the water was smooth as glass--not a ripple disturbed its surface. they could have seen the smallest object for a hundred yards or more around the spot where she had disappeared. it was impossible she could have emerged without them seeing her. where, then, had she gone? this, as i have said, puzzled the whole party; and formed a subject of conjecture and conversation for the rest of that day, and also upon the next. even lucien was unable to solve the mystery. it was a point in the natural history of the osprey unknown to him. could she have drowned herself? had some great fish, the "gar pike," or some such creature, got hold of and swallowed her? had she dashed her head against a rock, or become entangled in weeds at the bottom of the river? all these questions were put, and various solutions of the problem were offered. the true one was not thought of, until accident revealed it. it was saturday when the incident occurred. the party, of course, remained all next day at the place. they heard almost continually the cry of the bereaved bird, who most likely knew no more than they what had become of his mate. on monday our travellers re-embarked and continued down-stream. about a mile below, as they were paddling along, their attention was drawn to a singular object floating upon the water. they brought the canoe alongside it. it was a large fish, a sturgeon, floating dead, with a bird beside it, also dead! on turning both over, what was their astonishment to see that the talons of the bird were firmly fixed in the back of the fish! it was the _female osprey_! this explained all. she had struck a fish too heavy for her strength, and being unable to clear her claws again, had been drawn under the water and had perished along with her victim! chapter twenty four. the voyage interrupted. about ten days' rapid travelling down the elk river brought our party into the athabasca lake--sometimes called the "lake of the hills." this is another of those great bodies of fresh water that lie between the primitive rocks of the "barren grounds," and the more fertile limestone deposit upon the west. it is nearly two hundred miles long from west to east, and is only fifteen miles in breadth, but in some places it is so narrow and full of islands that it looks more like a broad river than a lake. its shores and many of its islands are thickly wooded, particularly upon the southern and western edges; and the eye of the traveller is delighted with many a beautiful vista as he passes along. but our voyageurs took little heed of these things. a gloom had come over their spirits, for one of their party had taken ill, and was suffering from a painful and dangerous disease--an intermittent fever. it was lucien--he that was beloved by all of them. he had been complaining for several days--even while admiring the fair scenery of the romantic elk--but every day he had been getting worse, until, on their arrival at the lake, he declared himself no longer able to travel. it became necessary, therefore, to suspend their journey; and choosing a place for their camp, they made arrangements to remain until lucien should recover. they built a small log-hut for the invalid, and did everything to make him as comfortable as possible. the best skins were spread for his couch; and cooling drinks were brewed for him from roots, fruits, and berries, in the way he had already taught his companions to prepare them. every day francois went forth with his gun, and returned with a pair of young pigeons, or a wood-partridge, or a brace of the beautiful ruffed grouse; and out of these he would make delicate soups, which he was the better able to do as they had procured salt, pepper, and other ingredients, at the fort. they had also brought with them a stock of tea--the real china tea--and sugar; and as the quantity of both was but small, this luxurious beverage was made exclusively for lucien, and was found by him exceedingly beneficial during his illness. to the great joy of all the invalid was at length restored to health, and the canoe being once more launched and freighted, they continued their journey. they coasted along the shores of the lake, and entered the great slave river, which runs from the athabasca into the great slave lake. they soon came to the mouth of another large river, called the peace. this runs into the great slave a short distance below lake athabasca, and, strange to say, the sources of the peace river lie upon the _western_ side of the rocky mountains, so that this stream actually runs across the mountain-chain! it passes through the mountains in a succession of deep gorges, which are terrible to behold. on both sides dizzy cliffs and snow-capped peaks rise thousands of feet above its rocky bed, and the scenery is cold and desolate. its head-waters interlock with those of several streams that run into the pacific; so that, had our voyageurs wished to travel to the shores of that ocean, they might have done so in their birch-bark canoe nearly the whole of the way. but this was not their design at present, so they passed the _debouchure_ of the peace, and kept on for the great slave lake. they were still upon the same water as the elk, for the great slave is only another name for that part of the river lying between the two lakes--athabasca and great slave. of course the river had now become much larger by the influx of the peace, and they were travelling upon the bosom of a magnificent stream, with varied scenery upon its banks. they were not so happy, however, as when descending the elk--not but that they were all in good health, for lucien had grown quite strong again. no, it was not any want of health that rendered them less cheerful. it was the prospect before them--the prospect of coming winter, which they now felt certain would arrive before they had got to the end of their journey. the delay of nearly a month, occasioned by lucien's illness, had deranged all their calculations; and they had no longer any hope of being able to finish their voyage in what remained of the short summer. the ice would soon make its appearance; the lakes and rivers would be frozen up; they could no longer navigate them in their canoe. to travel afoot would be a most laborious undertaking, as well as perilous in an extreme degree. in this way it is only possible to carry a very small quantity of provisions--for the traveller is compelled to load himself with skin-clothing in order to keep out the cold. the chances of procuring game by the way in that season are precarious, and not to be depended upon. most of the birds and many of the quadrupeds migrate to more southern regions; and those that remain are shy and rare. besides, great snow-storms are to be encountered, in which the traveller is in danger of getting "smoored." the earth is buried under a deep covering of snow, and to pass over this while soft is difficult, and at times quite impossible. all these circumstances were known to our young voyageurs--to norman better than any of them--and of course the prospect was a cheerless one--much more so than those unacquainted with the winter of these dreary regions would be willing to believe. it was the month of august, near its end, when they reached the great slave lake, in the latitude of 62 degrees. the days had now become very short, and their journeys grew short in proportion. they already experienced weather as cold as an english winter. there were slight frosts at night--though not yet enough to cover the water with ice--and the midday hours were hot, sometimes too hot to be comfortable. but this only caused them to feel the cold the more sensibly when evening set in; and all their robes and skins were necessary to keep them warm during the night. the great slave lake, like the athabasca, is very long and very narrow. it extends full 260 miles from east to west, but at its widest part is not over thirty, and in some places much less. along its northern shores lies the edge of the "barren grounds," and there nothing meets the eye but bleak and naked hills of primitive rock. on its southern side the geology is entirely of a different character. there the limestone prevails, and scarcely anything that deserves the name of hill is to be seen. there are fine forests too, in which poplars, pines, and birches, are the principal trees. the lake is filled with islands, many of which are wholly or partially covered with timber of these kinds, and willows also are abundant. there are fish of several species in its waters, which are in many places of great depth--sixty fathoms deep--and in some of the islands, and around the wooded shores, game exists in abundance in the summer season. even in winter it is not scarce, but then it is difficult to follow it on account of the deep snow. many of the animals, too, at this season become torpid, and are of course hidden in caves and hollow trees, and even in the snow itself, where no one can find them. notwithstanding all this, our voyageurs knew that it would be the best place for them to make their winter camp. they saw that to complete their journey during that season would be impossible. even had it been a month earlier it would have been a difficult undertaking. in a few days winter would be upon them. they would have to stop somewhere. there was no place where they could so safely stay as by the lake. one thing they would have there, which might not be found so plenty elsewhere, that was wood for their fire; and this was an inducement to remain by the lake. having made up their minds, therefore, to encamp on some part of it, they looked from day to day for a place that would be most suitable, still continuing their journey towards its western end. as yet no place appeared to their liking, and as the lake near its western point trends away towards the south, norman proposed that they should follow the shore no longer, but strike across to a promontory on the northern shore of the lake, known as "slave point." this promontory is of the limestone formation, and as norman had heard, is well wooded, and stocked with game. even buffaloes are found there. it is, in fact, the farthest point to the north-east that these animals range, and this presents us with a curious fact. it is the farthest point that the limestone deposit extends in that direction. beyond that, to the east and north, lie the primitive rocks of the barren grounds, into which the buffaloes never stray. thus we observe the connexion that exists between the _fauna_ of a country and its geological character. of course they all agreed to norman's proposal. the canoe was, therefore, headed for the open waters; and, after a hard day's paddling--for there was a head-wind--the voyageurs landed upon a small wooded island, about halfway over the lake, where they encamped for the night, intending next day to cross the remaining part. chapter twenty five. fishing under the ice. on awaking next morning, to their great surprise, they saw that the _lake was frozen over_! they had almost anticipated as much, for the night was one of the coldest they had yet experienced--so cold that one and all of them had slept but badly. as yet the ice was thin, but so much the worse. it was thick enough to prevent them from using the canoe, but too thin to bear their weight, and they now saw that they were _prisoners upon the island_! it was not without some feelings of alarm that they made this discovery; but their fears were allayed by reflecting, that they could remain upon the island until the ice either thawed away or became strong enough to bear them, and then they could cross upon it to the northern shore. with this consolation, therefore, they set about making their temporary quarters upon the island as snug as circumstances would permit. their apprehensions, however, began to return again, when several days had passed over, and the ice neither grew any thinner nor any thicker, but seemed to remain at a standstill. in the early part of the morning it was almost strong enough to bear them; but during the day the sun melted it, until it was little better than a scum over the surface of the water. the alarm of our voyageurs increased. their provisions were nearly out. there was no game on the islet--not so much as a bird--for they had beaten every bush, and found nothing. once or twice they thought of launching their canoe and breaking a way for it through the ice. but they knew that this proceeding would be one of much labour as well as danger. the islet was full ten miles from the shore, and they would therefore have to break the ice for ten miles. moreover, to stand up in a bark canoe, so as to get at the work, would be a difficult task. it could not be accomplished without endangering the equilibrium of the vessel, and indeed without upsetting it altogether. even to lean forward in the bow would be a perilous experiment; and under these considerations the idea of breaking a way was abandoned. but their provisions were at length entirely exhausted, and what was to be done? the ice was still too weak to carry them. near the shore it might have been strong enough, but farther out lay the danger. there they knew it was thinner, for it had not frozen over until a later period. it would have been madness to have risked it yet. on the other hand, they were starving, or likely to starve from hunger, by staying where they were. there was nothing eatable on the island. what was to be done? in the water were fish--they doubted not that--but how were they to catch them? they had tried them with hook and line, letting the hook through a hole in the ice; but at that late season the fish would not take a bait, and although they kept several continually set, and "looked" them most regularly and assiduously, not a "tail" was taken. they were about to adopt the desperate expedient, now more difficult than ever, of breaking their way through the ice, when, all at once, it occurred to norman, that, if they could not coax the fish to take a bait, they might succeed better with a net, and capture them against their will. this idea would have been plausible enough, had there been a net; but there was no net on that islet, nor perhaps within an hundred miles of it. the absence of a net might have been an obstacle to those who are ever ready to despair; but such an obstacle never occurred to our courageous boys. they had two _parchment_ skins of the caribou which they had lately killed, and out of these norman proposed to make a net. he would soon do it, he said, if the others would set to work and cut the deerskins into thongs fine enough for the purpose. two of them, therefore, basil and lucien, took out their knives, and went briskly to work; while francois assisted norman in twining the thongs, and afterwards held them, while the latter wove and knotted them into meshes. in a few hours both the skins were cut into fine strips, and worked up; and a net was produced nearly six yards in length by at least two in width. it was rude enough, to be sure, but perhaps it would do its work as well as if it had been twined out of silk. at all events, it was soon to have a trial--for the moment it was finished the sinkers were attached to it, and it was carried down to the edge of the water. the three "southerners" had never seen a net set under ice--for in their country ice is an uncommon thing, and indeed never freezes of sufficient thickness to carry the weight of a man. they were therefore very curious to know how the thing was to be done. they could not conceive how the net was to be stretched under the ice, in such a manner as to catch the fish. norman, however, knew all about it. he had seen the indians, and had set many a one himself. it was no new thing for him, and he set about it at once. he first crept out upon the ice to the distance of about twenty or thirty yards from the shore. he proceeded cautiously, as the ice creaked under him. having arrived at the place where he intended to set the net, he knelt down, and with his knife cut several holes in the ice, at the distance of about six feet from each other, and all in one line. he had already provided himself with a straight sapling of more than six feet in length, to one end of which he had attached a cord. the other end of this cord was tied to the net, at one of its corners. he now thrust the sapling through the first hole he had made, and then guided it so as to pass directly under the second. at this hole he took a fresh hold of the stick, and passed it along to the next, and so on to the last, where he pulled it out again, and of course along with it the string. the net was now drawn into the first hole, and by means of the cord already received through, was pulled out to its full length. the sinkers, of course, fell down in the water, and drew it into a vertical position. at both its upper corners the net was made fast above the ice, and was now "set." nothing more could be done until the fish came into it of their own accord, when it could be drawn out upon the ice by means of the cord attached; and, of course, by the same means could easily be returned to its place, and set again. all of them now went back to the fire, and with hungry looks sat around it, waiting the result. they had made up their minds, should no fish be caught, to get once more into the canoe and attempt breaking their way to the shore. summoning all their patience, therefore, they waited for nearly two hours, without examining the net. then norman and basil crawled back upon the ice, to see what fortune had done for them. they approached the spot, and, with their hearts thumping against their ribs, untied the knot, and commenced hauling out. "it certainly feels heavy," said basil, as he net was being drawn. "hurrah!" he shouted, "something kicks, hurrah!" and with the second "hurrah!" a beautiful fish was pulled up through the hole, and landed upon the ice. a loud "hurrah" was uttered in response by lucien and francois--who, fearing the ice might not bear so many, had remained upon the shore. a yard or two more of the net was cleared, and a second fish still larger than the former was greeted with a general "hurrah!" the two fish were now taken out--as these were all that had been caught--and the net was once more carefully set. basil and norman came back to the shore--norman to receive quite a shower of compliments from his companions. the fish--the largest of which weighed nearly five pounds-proved to be trout; and it was not long before their quality was put to the proof. all declared they had never eaten so fine trout in their lives; but when the condition of their appetites is taken into account, we may infer that there was, perhaps, a little exaggeration in this statement. if hunger really makes good sauce, our voyageurs had the best of sauce with their fish, as each of them was as hungry as a half-famished wolf. they felt quite relieved, as far as present appetite went, but they were still uneasy for the future. should they not succeed in taking more fish--and it was by no means certain they should succeed--they would be no better off than ever. their anxiety, however, was soon removed. their second "haul" proved even more successful than the first--as five fish, weighing together not less than twenty pounds, were pulled up. this supply would enable them to hold out for a long time, but they had not much longer to remain on the islet. upon that very night there was one of those severe frosts known only in high latitudes, and the ice upon the lake became nearly a foot in thickness. they had no longer any fear of its breaking under their weight; and taking their canoe with all their "traps," they set out to cross over upon the ice. in a few hours they reached the shore of the lake, near the end of the promontory, where they chose a spot, and encamped. chapter twenty six. an odd alarm. the first thing our voyageurs did after choosing a suitable situation, was to build a log-hut. being young backwoodsmen this was but a trifle to them. all four of them knew how to handle an axe with dexterity. the logs were soon cut and notched, and a small cabin was put up, and roofed with split clap-boards. with the stones that lay near the shore of the lake they built a chimney. it was but a rude structure, but it drew admirably. clay was wanted to "chink" the cabin, but that could not be had, as the ground was hard frozen, and it was quite impossible to make either clay or mud. even hot water poured out would freeze into ice in a few minutes. this was a serious want--for in such a cold climate even the smallest hole in the walls will keep a house uncomfortable, and to fill the interstices between the logs, so as to make them air-tight, some soft substance was necessary. grass was suggested, and lucien went off in search of it. after a while he returned with an armful of half-withered grass, which all agreed would be the very thing; and a large quantity was soon collected, as it grew plentifully at a short distance from the cabin. they now set to work to stuff it into the chinks; when, to their astonishment, they found that this grass had a beautiful smell, quite as powerful and as pleasant as that of mint or thyme! when a small quantity of it was flung into the fire it filled the cabin with a fragrance as agreeable as the costliest perfumes. it was the "scented grass," which grows in great profusion in many parts of the hudson's bay territory, and out of which the indians often make their beds, burning it also upon the fire to enjoy its aromatic perfume. for the first day or two, at their new abode, the travellers had lived altogether on fish. they had, of course, brought their net with them from the island, and had set it near the shore in the same way as before. they had captured as many as they wanted, and, strange to say, at one haul they found no less than five different species in the net! one kind, a white fish, the _coregonus albus_ of naturalists, but which is named "tittameg" by the fur-traders, they caught in great plenty. this fish is found in nearly all the lakes and rivers of the hudson's bay territory, and is much prized both by whites and indians for its delicate flavour. at some of the trading posts it often forms, for weeks together, the only food which the residents can obtain; and they are quite satisfied when they can get enough of it. the tittameg is not a large fish; the largest attain to the weight of about eight pounds. there was another and still smaller species, which, from its colour, the voyageurs call the "poisson bleu," or blue fish. it is the _coregonus signifer_ of ichthyologists. it is a species of grayling, and frequents sharp-running water, where it will leap at the fly like a trout. several kinds of trout also inhabit the great slave lake, and some of these attain to the enormous weight of eighty pounds! a few were caught, but none of so gigantic proportions as this. pike were also taken in the net, and a species of burbot (_gadus lota_). this last is one of the most voracious of the finny tribe, and preys upon all others that it is able to swallow. it devours whole quantities of cray-fish, until its stomach becomes crammed to such a degree as to distort the shape of its whole body. when this kind was drawn out, it was treated very rudely by the boys--because its flesh was known to be extremely unsavoury, and none of them cared to eat it. marengo, however, had no such scruples, and he was wont to make several hearty meals each day upon the rejected burbot. a fish diet exclusively was not the thing; and as our party soon grew tired of it, the hunter basil shouldered his rifle, and strode off into the woods in search of game. the others remained working upon the cabin, which was still far from being finished. basil kept along the edge of the lake in an easterly direction. he had not gone more than a quarter of a mile, when he came upon a dry gravelly ridge, which was thickly covered with a species of pine-trees that resembled the scotch fir (_pinus sylvestris_). these trees were not over forty feet in height, with very thick trunks and long flexible branches. no other trees grew among them, for it is the nature of this pine--which was the "scrub" or grey pine (_pinus banksiana)_ to monopolise the ground wherever it grows. as basil passed on, he noticed that many of the trees were completely "barked," particularly on the branches; and small pieces of the bark lay scattered over the ground, as though it had been peeled off and gnawed by some animal. he was walking quietly on and thinking what creature could have made such a wreck, when he came to a place where the ground was covered with fine sand or dust. in this, to his astonishment, he observed what he supposed to be the tracks of human feet! they were not those of a man, but small tracks, resembling the footsteps of a child of three or four years of age. he was about stooping down to examine them more closely, when a voice sounded in his ears exactly like the cry of a child! this brought him suddenly to an erect attitude again, and he looked all round to discover who or what had uttered that strange cry. he could see no one--child or man--and strange, too, for he had a clear view through the tree-trunks for several hundred yards around. he was filled with curiosity, not unmixed with alarm; and, stepping forward a few paces, he was about to bend down and examine the tracks a second time, when the singular cry again startled him. this time it was louder than before, as if he was closer to whatever had uttered it, but basil now perceived that it proceeded from above him. the creature from which it came was certainly not upon the ground, but high up among the tops of the trees. he looked up, and there, in the fork of one of the pines, he perceived a singular and hideous-looking animal--such as he had never before seen. it was of a brown colour, about the size of a terrier-dog, with thick shaggy hair, and clumped up in the fork of the tree--so that its head and feet were scarcely distinguishable. its odd appearance, as well as the peculiar cry which it had uttered, would have alarmed many a one of less courage than our young hunter, and basil was at first, as he afterwards confessed, "slightly flurried;" but a moment's reflection told him what the animal was--one of the most innocent and inoffensive of god's creatures--the canada porcupine. it was this, then, that had barked the scrub-pines--for they are its favourite food; and it was its track-which in reality very much resembles that of a child--that basil had seen in the sand. the first thought of the young hunter was to throw up his rifle, and send a bullet through the ungainly animal; which, instead of making any effort to escape, remained almost motionless, uttering, at intervals, its child-like screams. basil, however, reflected that the report of his rifle would frighten any large game that might chance to be near; and as the porcupine was hardly worth a shot, he concluded, upon reflection, it would be better to leave it alone. he knew--for he had heard lucien say so--that he would find the porcupine at any time, were it a week, or even a month after--for these creatures remain sometimes a whole winter in the same grove. he resolved, therefore, should no other game turn up, to return for it; and, shouldering his rifle again, he continued his course through the woods. as he proceeded, the timber became thinner. the scrub-pines gave place to poplar-trees, with here and there an undergrowth of willows. the trees stood far apart, and the willows grew only in clumps or "islands," so that the view was nearly open for many hundred yards around. basil walked on with all the silence and watchfulness of a true "still" hunter--for, among backwoodsmen, this species of hunting is so called. he ascended a low hill, and keeping a tree in front of him, looked cautiously over its crest. before him, and stretching from the bottom of the hill, was a level tract of considerable extent. it was bounded on one side by the edge of the lake, and on all the others by thin woods, similar to those through which the hunter had been for some time travelling. here and there, over the plain, there stood trees, far apart from each other, and in nowise intercepting the view for a mile or more. the ground was clear of underwood, except along the immediate edge of the lake, which was fringed by a thicket of willows. as basil looked over the hill, he espied a small group of animals near the interior border of the willows. he had never seen animals of the same species before, but the genus was easily told. the tall antlered horns, that rose upon the head of one of them, showed that they were deer of some kind; and the immense size of the creature that bore them, together with his ungainly form, his long legs, and ass-like ears, his huge head with its overhanging lip, his short neck with its standing mane, and, above all, the broad palmation of the horns themselves, left basil without any doubt upon his mind that the animals before him were moose-deer--the largest, and perhaps the most awkward, of all the deer kind. the one with the antlers was the male or bull-moose. the others were the female and her two calves of the preceding year. the latter were still but half-grown, and, like the female, were without the "branching horns" that adorned the head of the old bull. they were all of a dark-brown colour--looking blackish in the distance--but the large one was darker than any of the others. basil's heart beat high, for he had often heard of the great moose, but now saw it for the first time. in his own country it is not found, as it is peculiarly a creature of the cold regions, and ranges no farther to the south than the northern edge of the united states territory. to the north it is met with as far as timber grows--even to the shores of the polar sea! naturalists are not certain, whether or not it be the same animal with the elk (_cervus alces_) of europe. certainly the two are but little, if anything, different; but the name "elk" has been given in america to quite another and smaller species of deer--the wapiti (_cervus canadensis_). the moose takes its name from its indian appellation, "moosoa," or "wood-eater;" and this name is very appropriate, as the animal lives mostly upon the leaves and twigs of trees. in fact, its structure--like that of the camelopard--is such that it finds great difficulty in reaching grass, or any other herbage, except where the latter chances to be very tall, or grows upon the declivity of a very steep hill. when it wishes to feed upon grass, the moose usually seeks it in such situations; and it may often be seen browsing up the side of a hill, with its legs spread widely on both sides of its neck. but its favourite food is found at a more convenient height, and consists of the young shoots of many species of trees. it prefers those of the poplar, the birch-tree, and willows, and one kind of these last, the red willow, is its particular favourite. the "striped" maple (_acer striatum_) is also much relished by the moose-hence the name "moose-wood," by which this tree is known among the hunters. it loves also the common water-lilies (_nympha_); and in summer it may be seen wading out into lakes, and plucking up their succulent leaves. it takes to the water also for other purposes--to cool its body, and rid itself of several species of gnats and mosquitoes that at this season torment it exceedingly. at such times it is more easily approached; and the indians hunt it in their canoes, and kill it in the water, both with spears and arrows. they never find the moose, however, in large numbers--for it is a solitary animal, and only associates in pairs during one part of the year, and in families at another season--as basil now found it. in winter the indians track it through the snow, following it upon snow-shoes. these give them the advantage of skimming along the surface, while the moose plunges through the deep drift, and is therefore impeded in its flight. notwithstanding, it will frequently escape from the hunter, after a _chase of several days' duration_! sometimes, in deep snow, a dozen or more of these animals will be found in one place, where they have got accidentally together. the snow will be trodden down until the place appears as if enclosed by a wall. this the hunters term a "moose-pound," and when found in such situations the moose are easily approached and surrounded--when a general _battue_ takes place, in which few or none of the animals are allowed to escape. i have said that basil's heart beat high at the sight of the moose. he was very desirous of killing one--partly on account of the novelty of the thing, and partly because he and his companions at the camp were anxious for a change of diet. moose-meat was the very thing; and he knew that if he could return to camp with a few pieces of this strung over his gun, he would receive a double welcome. he was well aware that the flesh of the moose was of the most savoury and delicate kind, and that the long pendulous upper lip is one of the "tit-bits" of the fur countries. moreover, the fine hide would be an acceptable addition to their stock, as it is the best of all deerskins for mocassins, as well as snow-shoes--articles which basil knew would soon be needed. for these reasons he was unusually desirous of killing one of the moose. he knew it would be difficult to approach them. he had heard that they were shyest at that very season--the beginning of winter--and indeed such is the case. no deer is so difficult to get a shot at as a moose in early winter. in summer it is not so--as then the mosquitoes torment these animals to such a degree that they pay less heed to other enemies, and the hunter can more easily approach them. in winter they are always on the alert. their sense of smell--as well as of sight and hearing--is acute to an extreme degree, and they are cunning besides. they can scent an enemy a long distance off--if the wind be in their favour--and the snapping of a twig, or the slightest rustle of the leaves, is sufficient to start them off. in their journeyings through the snow, when they wish to rest themselves, they make a sort of _detour_, and, coming back, lie down near the track which they have already passed over. this gives them an opportunity of hearing any enemy that may be following upon their trail, and also of making off in a side-direction, while the latter will be looking steadfastly ahead for them. basil had heard of all these tricks of the moose--for many an old moose-hunter had poured his tale into basil's ear. he proceeded, therefore, with all due caution. he first buried his hand in his game-bag, and after a little groping brought out a downy feather which had chanced to be there. this he placed lightly upon the muzzle of his rifle, and having gently elevated the piece above his head, watched the feather. after a moment, the breeze carried it off, and basil noted the direction it took. this is called, in hunter phrase, "tossing the feather," and gave basil the exact direction of the wind--an important knowledge in the present case. to basil's gratification he saw that it was blowing down the lake, and nearly towards himself. he was not exactly to leeward of the moose; but, what was better still, the willows that fringed the lake were, for he could see them bending from the deer, as the breeze blew freshly. he knew he could easily get among the willows; and as they were not yet quite leafless, and, moreover, were interspersed with tall reed-grass, they formed a tolerable cover under which he might make his approach. without losing time, then, he made for the willows, and placing them between himself and the game, commenced "approaching" along the shore of the lake. he had a full half-hour's creeping--at one time upon his hands and knees--at another, crawling flat upon his breast like a gigantic lizard, and now and then, at favourable spots, walking in a bent attitude. a full half-hour was he, and much pain and patience did it cost him, before getting within shot. but basil was a hunter, and knew both how to endure the pain and practise the patience--virtues that, in hunting as well as in many other occupations, usually meet with their reward. and basil was likely to meet with his, for on parting the leaves, and looking cautiously through, he saw that he had arrived at the right spot. within fifty yards of him he saw the high shoulders of the bull-moose and his great flat antlers towering over the tops of the willows, among the leaves of which the snout of the animal was buried. he also caught a glimpse of parts of the other three beyond; but he thought only of the bull, and it was upon him that he kept his eyes fixed. basil did not think of the quality of the meat, else he would have selected either the cow or one of the calves. had it been buffaloes he would certainly have done so; but as he had never killed a moose, he was determined to slay the leader of the herd. indeed, had he wished to shoot one of the others, it might not have been so easy, as they were farther off, and he could only see the tops of their shoulders over the willows. neither did the bull offer a fair mark. he stood face to face with the hunter, and basil fancied that a shot on the frontal bone might not kill him. he knew it would not kill a buffalo. there was only one other part at which he could aim--the fore-shoulder; and after waiting some moments for the animal to give him a fairer chance, he took aim at this and fired. he heard a loud cracking of hoofs, as the cow and calves shambled off over the plain, but he saw that the bull was not with them. he was down behind the willows. no doubt he was dead. chapter twenty seven. encounter with a moose. what was a rare thing for basil to do, he rushed forward without reloading his gun. a few springs brought him into the open ground, and in presence of the game. to his astonishment, the bull was not dead, nor down neither, but only upon his knees--of course wounded. basil saw the "crease" of the bullet along the neck of the animal as he drew near. it was only by a quick glance that he saw this, for as soon as the bull saw him he rose to his full height--his eyes flashing like a tiger's-and setting his antlers in a forward position, sprang upon the hunter! basil leaped aside to avoid the encounter; and in the first rush was successful, but the animal turned suddenly, and, coming up a second time, raised his fore-feet high in the air, and struck forward with his long-pointed hoofs. basil attempted to defend himself with his rifle, but the piece was struck out of his hand in an instant. once more avoiding the forward rush of the infuriated beast, the young hunter looked around for some object to save him. a tree fell under his eye, and he ran towards it with all his speed. the moose followed close upon his heels, and he had just time to reach the tree and get around its trunk, when the animal brushed past, tearing the bark with his sharp antlers. basil now slipped round the trunk, and when the moose again turned himself the two were on opposite sides of the tree! the beast, however, rushed up, and struck the tree furiously first with his brow antlers, and then with his hoofs, uttering loud snorts, and at intervals a shrill whistling sound that was terrible to hear. the disappointment which the enraged animal felt, at seeing his enemy thus escape him, seemed to have added to his rage; and he now vented his spite upon the tree, until the trunk, to the height of six feet, was completely stripped of its bark. while this was going on, basil remained behind the tree, "dodging" round as the moose manoeuvred, and taking care always to have the animal on the opposite side. to have got into a safer situation he would have climbed the tree; but it happened to be a poplar, without a branch for many feet from the ground, and of too great a girth to be "embraced." he could do nothing, therefore, but remain upon the ground, and keep the tree-trunk between himself and the bull. for nearly an hour this lasted, the moose now remaining at rest for a few minutes, and then making fresh onsets that seemed to abate nothing in their fury. his rage appeared to be implacable, and his vengeance as tenacious as that of a tiger or any other beast of prey. the wound which the hunter had given him was no doubt painful, and kept his resentment from cooling. unfortunately, it was not a mortal wound, as basil had every opportunity of seeing. the bullet had hit the fore-shoulder; but, after tearing along the skin, had glanced off without injuring the bone. it had only enraged the bull, without crippling him in the least degree. basil began to dread the result. he was becoming faint with fatigue as well as hunger. when would he be relieved? when would the fierce brute feel inclined to leave him? these were questions which the hunter put to himself repeatedly, without being able to divine an answer. he had heard of hunters being killed by wounded moose. he had heard that these creatures will remain for days watching a person whom they may have "treed." he could not stand it for days. he would drop down with fatigue, and then the bull would gore and trample him at pleasure. would they be able to trace him from the camp? they would not think of that before nightfall. they would not think of him as "lost" before that time; and then they could not follow his trail in the darkness, nor even in the light--for the ground was hard as a rock, and he had made no footmarks. marengo might trace him. the dog had been left at the camp, as basil preferred "still-hunting" without him. but in his present situation the hunter's apprehensions were stronger than his hopes. even marengo might be baffled in lifting the scent. the trail was an exceedingly devious one, for basil had meandered round the sides of the hill in search of game. deer or other animals might have since crossed it, which might mislead the hound. it would be cold at night, and much colder next morning. there were many chances that no relief might reach him from the camp. impressed with this conviction, basil began to feel serious alarm. not despair, however--he was not the boy to despair. his mind only grew more alive to the necessity for action. he looked around to discover some means of escape. his gun lay not a hundred yards off. could he only get hold of the piece, and return safely to the tree again, he could there load it and put at end to the scene at once. but to reach the gun was impossible. the moose would bound after and overtake him to a certainty. the idea of getting the gun was abandoned. in the opposite direction to that in which the gun lay, basil perceived that there were other trees. the nearest was but a dozen yards from him; and others, again, grew at about the same distance from that one, and from each other. basil now conceived the idea of escaping to the nearest, and from that to the next, and by this means getting back into the thick forest. once there, he believed that he would be the better able to effect his escape, and perhaps reach the camp by dodging from tree to tree. he could beat the moose for a dozen yards--getting a little the start of him--and this he hoped to be able to do. should he fail in his short race, however--should his foot slip--the alternative was fearful. _it was no other than death_! he knew that, but it did not change his resolution to make the attempt. he only waited for the animal to work round between him and the tree towards which he intended to run. you will wonder that he did not prefer to have the moose on the other side. but he did not, for this reason--had the bull been there, he could have sprung after him at the first start; whereas, when heading the other way, basil believed he could brush close past, and gain an advantage, as the unwieldy brute, taken by surprise, would require some time in turning himself to give chase. the opportunity at length arrived; and nerving himself for the race, the hunter sprang past the moose, brushing the very tips of its antlers. he ran without either stopping or even looking back, until he had reached the tree, and sheltered himself behind its trunk. the moose had followed, and arrived but the moment after, snorting and whistling furiously. enraged at the _ruse_, it attacked this tree, as it had the other, with hoof and horns; and basil nimbly evaded both by keeping on the opposite side, as before. in a few minutes he prepared himself for a second rush, and once more started. a third tree was reached in safety--and then a fourth, and a fifth, and many others, in a similar manner--the moose all the while following in hot pursuit. basil had begun to hope that in this way he would get off, when, to his chagrin, he saw that an open space still intervened between him and the thick woods, upon which there were only a few trees, and those so small that not one of them would have sheltered him. this tract was full two hundred yards in width, and extended all along the edge of the thick forest. he dared not cross it. the moose would overtake him before he could get half the way; and he was obliged to give up the idea of making the attempt. as he stood behind the last tree he had reached, he saw that it branched, and the lowest branches grew but a little above his head. he could easily climb it, and at once resolved to do so. he would there be safe for the time, and could at least rest himself, for he was now weak with fatigue. he, therefore, stretched up his hands, and, laying hold of a branch, swung himself up into the tree. then climbing up a little higher, he sat down on one of the forks. the moose appeared as furious as ever; and ran round the tree, now striking it with his horns, and then rearing upon his hind-legs, and pouncing against the trunk with his hoofs. at times his snout was so close to basil, that the latter could almost touch it; and he had even drawn his hunting-knife, and reached down with the intent of giving the creature a stab. this last action led to a train of thought, and basil seemed suddenly to adopt some new resolution. leaving the fork where he had perched himself, he climbed higher up the tree; and, selecting one of the longest and straightest branches, commenced cutting it off close to the trunk. this was soon effected; and then, drawing it along his knee, he trimmed off all the twigs and tops until the branch became a straight pole, like a spear-handle. along one end of this he laid the handle of his knife; and with thongs, which he had already cut out of the strap of his bullet-pouch, he spliced the knife and pole together. this gave him a formidable weapon--for the knife was a "bowie," and had a long blade, with a point like a rapier. he was not slow in using it. descending again to the lowermost limbs, he commenced making demonstrations, in order to bring the moose within reach. this he very soon succeeded in doing; and the animal ran forward and reared up against the tree. before it could get upon its four legs again, basil had thrust it in the neck, giving full force to the blow. the blood rushed forth in a thick stream, as the jugular vein had been cut by the keen blade; and the huge brute was seen to totter in its steps, and then fall with a dull heavy sound to the earth. in a few moments the hunter had the satisfaction of perceiving that it was quite dead. basil now dropped out of the tree, and walking back to where his rifle lay, took up the piece and carefully reloaded it. he then returned to the moose, and opening the great jaws of the animal, gagged them with a stick. he next unspliced his knife, took off the gristly lips, and cut out the tongue. these he placed in his game-bag, and shouldering his rifle, was about to depart; when some new idea caused him to halt, put down his gun, and again unsheath his knife. once more approaching the carcass, he made an incision near the kidneys; and having inserted his hand, drew forth what appeared to be a part of the intestines. it was the bladder. he then looked around as if in search of something. presently his eye rested upon some tall reed-grass that was growing near. this was just what he wanted, and, pulling up one of the stems, he cut and fashioned it into a pipe. with this the moose-bladder was blown out to its full dimensions, and tied at the neck by a piece of thong. the other end of the thong was fastened to one of the branches of the tree above, so that the bladder dangled within a few feet of the carcass of the moose, dancing about with the lightest breath of wind. all these precautions basil had taken to keep the wolves from devouring the moose--for it was his intention to return and butcher it, as soon as he could get help. when he had hung the bladder to his liking, he put up his knife again; and, once more shouldering his rifle, walked off. on reaching the camp--which he did shortly after--the tongue of the moose was broiled without delay, and, after making a delicious meal of it, the whole party went off for the remainder of the meat. they found it all quite safe; although, had it not been for the bladder, not much of it would have been there--as no less than a dozen great gaunt wolves were seen lurking about, and these would have eaten it up in the shortest possible time. the bladder, however, had kept them off; for, strange to say, these creatures, who are as cunning as foxes, and can hardly be trapped, can yet be deceived and frightened by such a simple thing as a bladder dangling from a branch. the moose proved to be one of the largest of his kind. his height was quite equal to that of a horse; and his horns, flattened out to the breadth of shovels, weighed over sixty pounds. his carcass was not less than fifteen hundred pounds weight; and our voyageurs had to make two journeys to convey the meat to their camp. on the last journey, francois brought the porcupine as well--having found it on the very same tree where basil had left it! chapter twenty eight. life in a log-hut. the log-hut was finished on the 1st of september, and not a day too soon; for on that very day the winter set in with full severity. a heavy fall of snow came down in the night; and next morning, when our voyageurs looked abroad, the ground was covered to the depth of a foot, or more; and the ice upon the lake was also white. walking through the great wreaths now became very difficult; and the next thing to be done was the making of "snow-shoes." snow-shoes are an invention of the indians; and, in the winter of the arctic regions of america, are an article almost as indispensable as clothing itself. without them, travelling afoot would be impossible. in these countries, as already stated, the snow often covers the ground to the depth of many feet; and remains without any considerable diminution for six, and, in some years, eight or nine months. at times, it is frozen hard enough on the surface to bear a man without the snow-shoes; but oftener on account of thaws and fresh falls, it becomes quite soft, and at such times travelling over it is both difficult and dangerous. to avoid both the difficulty and the danger, the indians make use of this _very_ singular sort of foot-wear--called "snow-shoes" by the english, and "raquets" by the canadian voyageurs. they are used by all the indian tribes of the hudson's bay territory; and were it not for them these people would be confined to one place for months together, and could not follow the deer or other game. as almost all savages are improvident, and none more so than the north american indians, were they prevented for a season from going out to hunt, whole tribes would starve. indeed, many individuals of them perish with hunger as it is; and the life of all these indians is nothing more than one continued struggle for food enough to sustain them. in summer they are often in the midst of plenty; slaughtering deer and buffalo by hundreds, taking out only the tongues, and recklessly leaving the flesh to the wolves! in winter the very same indians may be seen without a pound of meat in their encampment--the lives of themselves and their families depending upon the success of a single day's hunt! but let us return to the snow-shoes. let us see what they are, and learn how they are made. any boy who has snared sparrows in snow-time, has, no doubt, done so by tying his snares upon a hoop netted across with twine or other small cord. now, if he will conceive his hoop bent into an oblong shape-something like what the figure of a boat turned on its mouth would make in snow--and if he will also fancy the netting to consist of thongs of twisted deer-hide woven somewhat closely together, he will get a very good idea of an indian snow-shoe. it is usually from three to four feet long, by about a foot wide at the middle part, from which it tapers gently to a point, both at the heel and toe. the frame, as i have said, is like the hoop of a boy's bird-snare. it is made of light, tough wood, and, of course, carefully bent and polished with the knife. the slender branches of the "scrub-pine" (_pinus banksiana_) are esteemed excellent for this purpose, as their wood is light, flexible and tough in its fibres. this is also a favourite tree, where it grows, to make tent-poles, canoe-timbers, and other implements required by the indians; and these people use so much of it for their arrows, that it has received from the canadian voyageurs the name of _bois de fleche_ (arrow-wood). well, then, the frame of the snow-shoes being bent to its proper shape, two transverse bars are placed across near the middle, and several inches from each other. they are for the foot to rest upon, as well as to give strength to the whole structure. these being made fast, the netting is woven on, and extends over the whole frame, with the exception of a little space in front of the bars where the ball of the foot is to rest. this space is left free of netting, in order to allow play to the toes while walking. the mesh-work is made of thongs usually cut from the parchment-skin of a deer, and twisted. sometimes twisted intestines are used, and the netting exactly resembles that seen in "racquets" for ball play. the snow-shoe, when finished, is simply fastened upon the foot by means of straps or thongs; and a pair of them thus placed, will present a surface to the snow of nearly six square feet--more, if required, by making them larger. but this is enough to sustain the heaviest man upon the softest snow, and an indian thus "shod" will skim over the surface like a skater. the shoes used by all tribes of indians are not alike in shape. there are fashions and fancies in this respect. some are made--as among the chippewa indians--with one side of the frame nearly straight; and these, of course, will not do for either foot, but are "rights and lefts." generally, however, the shape is such that the snow-shoe will fit either foot. the snow-shoes having now become a necessary thing, our young voyageurs set about making a complete set for the whole party--that is, no less than four pairs. norman was the "shoemaker," and norman knew how. he could splice the frames, and work in the netting, equal to an indian squaw. of course all the others assisted him. lucien cut the moose-skin into fine regular strips; basil waded off through the snow, and procured the frames from the wood of the scrub-pine-trees where he had encountered the porcupine; and then he and francois trimmed them with their knives, and sweated them in the hot ashes until they became dry, and ready for the hands of the "shoemaker." this work occupied them several days, and then each had a pair of shoes fitted to his size and weight. the next consideration was, to lay in a stock of meat. the moose had furnished them with enough for present use, but that would not last long, as there was no bread nor anything else to eat with it. persons in their situation require a great deal of meat to sustain them, much more than those who live in great cities, who eat a variety of substances, and drink many kinds of drinks. the healthy voyageur is rarely without a keen appetite; and meat by itself is a food that speedily digests, and makes way for a fresh meal; so that the ration usually allowed to the _employes_ of the fur companies would appear large enough to supply the table of several families. for instance, in some parts of the hudson's bay territory, the voyageur is allowed eight pounds of buffalo-meat _per diem_! and yet it is all eaten by him, and sometimes deemed barely sufficient. a single deer, therefore, or even a buffalo, lasts a party of voyageurs for a very short time, since they have no other substance, such as bread or vegetables, to help it out. it was necessary, then, that our travellers should use all their diligence in laying up a stock of dried meat, before the winter became too cold for them to hunt. there was another consideration--their clothing. they all had clothing sufficient for such weather as they had yet experienced; but that would never do for the winter of the great slave lake, and they knew it. many deer must be killed, and many hides dressed, before they could make a full set of clothing for all, as well as a set of deerskin blankets, which would be much needed. as soon as the snow-shoes were finished, therefore, basil and norman went out each day upon long hunting expeditions, from which they rarely returned before nightfall. sometimes they brought with them a deer, of the caribou or reindeer species, and the "woodland" variety, which were plenty at this place. they only carried to camp the best parts with the skin, as the flesh of the woodland caribou is not much esteemed. it is larger than the other kind--the "barren ground caribou," weighing about one hundred and fifty pounds; but both its venison and hide are of inferior quality to those of the latter species. sometimes our hunters killed smaller game; and on several occasions they returned without having emptied their guns at all. but there was one day that made up for several--one grand day when they were extremely successful, and on which they killed a whole herd of moose, consisting of five individuals--the old bull, a spike buck--that is, a young buck, whose horns had not yet got antlers upon them--the cow, and two calves. these they had tracked and followed for a long distance, and had succeeded, at length, in running into a valley where the snow was exceedingly deep, and where the moose became entangled. there had been a shower of rain the day before that had melted the surface of the snow; and this had again frozen into an icy crust, upon which the deer lacerated their ankles at every plunge, leaving a track of blood behind them as they ran. under these circumstances they were easily trailed, and basil and norman, skimming along upon their snow-shoes, soon came up with them, and shot first one and then another, until the whole herd were stretched in the valley. they then butchered them, and hung the hides and quarters upon high branches, so as to secure them from wolves and wolverenes. when the job was finished, the whole place looked like a great slaughter-yard! next day a rude sledge was constructed; and the voyageurs, returning in full force, transported the meat to camp. huge fires were kindled outside the hut, and several days were spent in cutting up and drying the flesh. had our travellers been certain that the frost would have continued all winter, this would not have been necessary--since the meat was already frozen as hard as a brick. but they knew that a sudden thaw would spoil it; and, as there was plenty of good firewood on the spot, they were not going to run the risk of losing it in that way. they had now enough provision to last them for months; and hunting became no longer necessary, except to obtain fresh meat--which was, of course, preferable to the dry stock. hunting, also, gave them exercise and amusement--both of which were necessary to their health; for to remain idle and inactive in a situation such as that in which they were placed is the worst possible plan, and is sure to engender both sickness and _ennui_. indeed, the last grew upon them, notwithstanding all the pains they took to prevent it. there were days on which the cold was so extreme, that they could not put their noses out of the door without the danger of having them frost-bitten--although each had now a complete suit of deerskin clothing, made by lucien, the "tailor" of the party. upon such days they were fain to remain shut up in their hut; and, seated around their huge log-fire, they passed the time in cleaning their guns, mending their nets, stitching their clothes, and such-like employments. these days were far from being their dullest; for, what with the varied and scientific knowledge of lucien, which he took pleasure in imparting to his companions--what with the practical experience of norman amid scenes of arctic life, and the many "voyageur tales" he could tell--what with francois' merry jokes and _bon mots_-and what with basil's _talent for listening_--not the least important element in a good _conversazione_,--our _quartette_ of young voyageurs found their indoor days anything but dull. this was all well enough for a while. for a month or two they bore their odd kind of life cheerfully enough; but the prospect of nearly six months more of it began to appal them, when they reflected upon it; and they soon found themselves longing for a change. hunting adventures, that at other times would have interested them, now occurred without creating any excitement; and the whole routine of their employments seemed monotonous. nearly all of them were boys of an active character of mind; and most of them were old enough to reason about the value of time. their idea of such a long isolation from civilised life, and, above all, the being debarred from following any useful pursuit, began to impress some of them forcibly. others, as francois, could not be contented for a very great stretch of time with any sort of life; so that all of them began to sigh for a change. one day, while conversing upon this theme, a bold proposal was made by basil. it was, that they should "strike camp," and continue their journey. this proposal took the others by surprise, but they were all just in the frame of mind to entertain and discuss it; and a long consultation was held upon the point. francois chimed in with the proposal at once; while lucien, more cautious, did not exactly oppose, but rather offered the reasons that were against it, and pointed out the perils of the undertaking. norman, of course, was appealed to--all of them looking to him as one whose advice, upon that question at least, was more valuable than their own. norman admitted the dangers pointed out by lucien, but believed that they might overcome them by a proper caution. on the whole, norman approved of the plan, and it was at length adopted. perhaps norman's habitual prudence was to some extent influenced on this occasion by the very natural desire he had of returning to what he considered his home. he had now been absent nearly two years, and was desirous of once more seeing his father and his old companions at the fort. there was another feeling that influenced nearly all of them: that was _ambition_. they knew that to make such a journey would be something of a feat, and they wished to have the credit of performing it. to minds like that of basil, even the danger had something attractive in it. it was resolved then to break up the encampment, and continue their journey. chapter twenty nine. travelling on snow-shoes. once their resolution was taken, they lost but little time in making preparations to carry it out. most of the articles required for such a journey were already in their hands. they had the proper dresses-snow-shoes, skin-blankets, and gloves. they had prepared for themselves sets of "snow spectacles." these were made out of red cedar-wood. each pair consisted of two small thin pieces, that covered the eyes, joined together and fastened on by thongs of buckskin. in each piece an oblong slit served for the eye-hole, through which the eye looked without being dazzled by the snow. without this, or some like contrivance, travelling in the arctic regions is painful to the eyes, and the traveller often loses his sight. indeed, one of the most common infirmities of both the indians and esquimaux of these parts is blindness or soreness of the eyes, caused by the reflexion of the sunbeams from the crystals of the frozen snow. norman was aware of this, and had made the spectacles to guard against this peril. out of their spare skins they had made a small tent. this was to be carried along by marengo in a light sledge, which they had long since constructed, and taught the dog to draw. nothing else remained but to pack their provisions in the smallest bulk possible, and this was done, according to the custom of the country, by making "pemmican." the dry meat was first pounded until it became a powder; it was then put into small skin bags, made for the purpose, and the hot melted fat was poured in and well mixed with it. this soon froze hard, and the mixture--that resembled "potted meat,"--was now ready for use, and would keep for an indefinite time without the least danger of spoiling. buffalo-beef, moose-meat, or venison of any sort, thus prepared, is called "_pemmican_," and is more portable in this shape than any other. besides no further cooking is required--an important consideration upon those vast prairie deserts, where firewood is seldom to be procured without the trouble of carrying it a great distance. norman, who was the maker of the pemmican, had produced a superior article upon this occasion. besides the pounded meat and fat, he had mixed another ingredient with it, which rendered it a most delicious food. this third ingredient was a small purple-coloured berry--of which we have already spoken--not unlike the whortleberry, but sweeter and of a higher flavour. it grows through most of the northern regions of america; and in some places, as upon the red river and the elk, the bushes that produce it are seen in great plenty. when in flower, they appear almost white, so thickly are they covered with blossoms. the leaves are small, and generally of an oval shape; but there are several varieties of the bush, some of them having the dimensions and form of trees, of twenty-five feet in height. the berries have received different names in different parts of america. they are known as "shadberries", "june-berries", "service-berries," and by the canadian voyageurs they are called "le poire." even the botanists have given them a great variety of names, as _pyrus, mespilus, aronia, crataegus_, and _amelanchier_. no matter which may be the best name, it is enough to know that these little berries are delicious to eat when fresh, and when dried, after the manner of currants, are excellent to mix in puddings, as well as in pemmican. previous to the setting in of winter, our voyageurs had collected a large bagful upon the banks of the elk, which they had dried and stored away--expecting to stand in need of them for this very purpose. they now came into use, and enabled norman to make his pemmican of the very choicest quality. five bags of it were put up, each weighing over thirty pounds. one of these was to be drawn upon the sledge, along with the tent, the axe, and a few other articles. the rest were to be carried by the voyageurs themselves--each shouldering one, which, along with their guns and accoutrements, would be load enough. these arrangements being at length complete, the party bid adieu to their log-hut--gave a parting look to their little canoe, which still rested by the door--and then, shouldering their guns and bags of pemmican, set out over the frozen surface of the snow. of course before starting they had decided upon the route they were to take. this decision, however, had not been arrived at until after much discussion. lucien advised that they should follow the shore of the lake until they should reach the mackenzie river--which of course was now frozen up. its channel, he argued, would then guide them; and, in case their provisions should run short, they would be more likely to find game upon its banks than elsewhere, as these were wooded almost to the sea--in consequence of its head-waters rising in southern latitudes, and carrying with them a warmer climate. there was plausibility in lucien's argument, combined with much prudence. norman, however, advised a contrary course. he said that they would have to make a considerable journey westward before reaching the place where the mackenzie river flows out of the lake; and, moreover, he knew that the river itself was very crooked--in some places winding about in great curves, whose ends come near meeting each other. should they keep the course of the river, norman believed it would almost double their journey. a much shorter route, he said, would be obtained by striking across the country in a north-westerly direction, so as to reach the mackenzie near where another great stream--the river of the mountains--empties into it from the west. this would certainly be a more direct route, and they would avoid the windings of the river channel. norman's reasoning prevailed. basil and francois readily agreed to his plan, and lucien at length also gave his assent, but with some reluctance. norman knew nothing whatever of the route he was advising them to take. his former journeys up and down the mackenzie had been made in summer, and of course he had travelled by canoe, in company with the traders and voyageurs. he only knew that to strike across the country would be the shorter way. but "the shortest way is not always the nearest," says the proverb; and although lucien remembered this prudent maxim, the others did not give it a thought. before the end of their journey they received a practical lesson of its wisdom--a lesson they were not likely to forget. but they knew not what was before them, and they started off in high spirits. their first three or four days' journeys were without any event worth being chronicled. they travelled full twenty miles each day. the southerners had become quite skilful in the management of their snow-shoes, and they skimmed along upon the icy crust at the rate of three or four miles an hour. marengo and his sledge gave them very little trouble. there was full sixty pounds weight upon it; but to the huge dog this was a mere bagatelle, and he pulled it after him without any great strain. his harness was neatly made of moose-skin, and consisted of a collar with a back strap and traces--the traces meeting behind, where they were attached to the head of the sledge. no head-gear was necessary, as marengo needed not to be either led or driven. the sledge consisted of two or three light planks of smooth wood, laid alongside each other, and held together by transverse bands. in front it turned up with a circular sweep, so as not to "plough" the snow; and at the top of this curved part the traces were adjusted. the load was, of course, carefully packed and tied, so that the overturning of the vehicle did no damage whatever, and it could be easily righted again. marengo required no one to guide him, but followed quietly in the tracks of the snow-shoes, and thus avoided the trees, rocks, and other inequalities. if a rabbit or other creature started up, marengo knew better than to go galloping after it; he felt that he had a more important duty to perform than to throw away his time upon rabbit-hunting. each night a spot was chosen for the camp by the side of some lake or stream, where wood could be obtained for their fire. water was got by breaking a hole in the ice, and the little tent was always set up in a sheltered situation. upon the fifth day after leaving the log-hut the woods began to grow thinner and more straggling; and towards night of the same day they found themselves travelling through a country, where the timber only grew here and there in small clumps, and the individual trees were small and stunted. next day still less timber was seen upon their route; and when camping-time came, they were obliged to halt at a spot where nothing but willows could be procured for their fire. they had, in fact, arrived upon the edge of that vast wilderness, the barren grounds, which stretches in all its wild desolation along the northern half of the american continent, (from the great slave lake even to the shores of the arctic sea on the north, and to those of hudson's bay on the east). this territory bears an appropriate name, for, perhaps, upon the whole surface of the earth there is no tract more barren or desolate--not even the sahara of africa. both are deserts of immense extent, equally difficult to cross, and equally dangerous to the traveller. on both the traveller often perishes, but from different causes. on the sahara it is _thirst_ that kills; upon the barren grounds _hunger_ is more frequently the destroyer. in the latter there is but little to be feared on the score of water. that exists in great plenty; or where it is not found, snow supplies its place. but there is water everywhere. hill succeeds hill, bleak, rocky, and bare. everywhere granite, gneiss, or other primitive rocks, show themselves. no vegetation covers the steep declivities of the hills, except the moss and lichen upon the rocks, a few willows upon the banks of streams, the dwarf birch-tree (_betula nana_), or the scrub-pines, rising only to the height of a few inches, and often straggling over the earth like vines. every hill has its valley, and every valley its lake--dark, and deep, and silent--in winter scarce to be distinguished under the snow-covered ice. the prospect in every direction exhibits a surface of rocks, or bleak hills, half covered with snow. the traveller looks around and sees no life. he listens and hears no sound. the world appears dead and wrapped in its cold winding-sheet! amidst just such scenes did our voyageurs find themselves on the seventh day after parting from the lake. they had heard of the barren grounds,--had heard many fearful stories of the sufferings of travellers who had attempted to cross them; but the description had fallen far short of the actual reality. none of them could believe in the difficulties to be encountered, and the desolateness of the scene they were to witness, until now that they found themselves in its midst; and, as they proceeded on their journey, getting farther and farther from the wooded region, their apprehensions, already aroused by the wild aspect of the country, grew stronger and stronger. they began to entertain serious fears, for they knew not how far the barren tract extended along their route. on calculation they found they had provisions enough to last them for a month. that in some measure restored their confidence; but even then, they could not help giving way to serious reflections. should they get lost or retarded in their course by mountains, or other obstacles, it might take them longer than a month to reach some place where game was to be met with. each day, as they advanced, they found the country more hilly and difficult. precipices often bounded the valleys, lying directly across their track; and as these could not be scaled, it was necessary to make long _detours_ to pass them, so that some days they actually advanced less than five miles upon their journey. notwithstanding these impediments, they might still have got over the barren grounds without further suffering than the fatigue and necessary exposure to cold; but at this time an incident occurred, that not only frustrated all their calculations, but placed them in imminent danger of perishing. chapter thirty. the barren grounds. the barren grounds are not entirely destitute of animal life. even in winter--when they are almost covered with snow, and you would suppose that no living creature could procure subsistence upon them--even then they have their denizens; and, strange to say, there are many animals that choose them for their home. there is no part of the earth's surface so sterile but that some animated being can find a living upon it, and such a being nature adapts to its peculiar situation. for instance, there are animals that prefer the very desert itself, and would not thrive were you to place them in a country of mild climate and fertile soil. in our own species this peculiarity is also found--as the esquimaux would not be happy were you to transplant him from his icy hut amidst the snows of the arctic regions, and give him a palace under the genial skies of italy. among other creatures that remain all winter upon the barren grounds, are the wolves. how they exist there is almost a question of the naturalists. it is true they prey upon other animals found at times in the same district; but wolves have been met with where not the slightest traces of other living creatures could be seen! there is no animal more generally distributed over the earth's surface than the wolf. he exists in nearly every country, and most likely has at one time existed in all. in america there are wolves in its three zones. they are met with from cape horn to the farthest point northward that man has reached. they are common in the tropical forests of mexico and south america. they range over the great prairies of the temperate zones of both divisions of the continent, and in the colder regions of the hudson's bay territory they are among the best known of wild animals. they frequent the mountains, they gallop over the plains, they skulk through the valleys, they dwell everywhere--everywhere the wolf seems equally at home. in north america two very different kinds are known. one is the "prairie" or "barking" wolf, which we have already met with and described. the other species is the "common" or "large" wolf; but it is not decided among naturalists that there are not several distinct species of the latter. at all events, there are several varieties of it--distinguished from each other in size, colour, and even to some extent in form. the habits of all, however, appear to be similar, and it is a question, whether any of these varieties be _permanent_ or only _accidental_. some of them, it is well-known, are accidental--as wolves differing in colour have been found in the same litter--but late explorers, of the countries around and beyond the rocky mountains, have discovered one or two kinds that appear to be specifically distinct from the common wolf of america--one of them, the "dusky wolf," being much larger. this last is said to resemble the wolf of europe (the pyrenean wolf, _canis lupus_) more than the other american wolves do--for there is a considerable difference between the wolves of the two continents. those of the northern regions of america have shorter ears, a broader snout and forehead, and are of a stouter make, than the european wolves. their fur, too, is finer, denser, and longer; their tails more bushy and fox-like; and their feet broader. the european wolf, on the contrary, is characterised by a gaunt appearance, a pointed snout, long jaws, high ears, long legs, and feet very narrow. it is possible, notwithstanding these points of difference, that both may be of the same species, the difference arising from a want of similitude in the circumstances by which they are surrounded. for instance, the dense wool of the hudson's bay wolf may be accounted for by the fact of its colder habitat, and its broader feet may be the result of its having to run much upon the surface of the snow. the writer of this little book believes that this peculiar adaptation of nature--which may be observed in all her kingdoms--may explain the difference that exists between the wolves of the northern parts of america and those of the south of europe. he believes, moreover, that those of the southern parts of the american continent approximate more nearly to the pyrenean wolves, as he has seen in the tropical forests of mexico some that possessed all that "gaunt" form and "sneaking" aspect that characterise the latter. it would be interesting to inquire whether the wolves of siberia and lapland, inhabiting a similar climate to that of the northern parts of america, do not possess the same peculiarities as the north american kind--a point which naturalists have not yet considered, and which you, my boy reader, may some day find both amusement and instruction in determining for yourself. with regard to colour the wolves of both continents exhibit many varieties. in north america there are more than half-a-dozen colours of them, all receiving different names. there is the "grey wolf," the "white," the "brown," the "dusky," the "pied," and the "black." these trivial names will give a good enough idea of the colours of each kind, but there are even varieties in their markings. "yellow" wolves, too, have been seen, and "red" ones, and some of a "cream colour." of all these the grey wolf is the most common, and is _par excellence the wolf_; but there are districts in which individuals of other colours predominate. wolves purely black are plenty in many parts, and white wolves are often seen in large packs. even those of the same colour differ in size, and that to a considerable extent. and, what is also strange, large wolves will be found in one district of country, while much smaller ones _of the same colour and species_ inhabit another. the largest in size of american wolves are about six feet in length, the tail included; and about three feet in height, measuring to the tips of the standing fur. the tail is usually about one-third of the whole length. the habits of the american wolf are pretty much like those of his european cousin. he is a beast of prey, devouring all the smaller animals he can lay hold of. he pursues and overtakes the deer, and often runs down the fox and makes a meal of it. he will kill and eat indian dogs, although these are so near his own species that the one is often taken for the other. but this is not all, for he will even eat his own kind, on a pinch. he is as cunning as the fox himself, and as cowardly; but at times, when impelled by hunger, he becomes bolder, and has been known to attack man. instances of this kind, however, are rare. the american wolves burrow, and, like the fox, have several entrances to their holes. a litter of young wolves numbers five puppies, but as many as eight are often produced at one birth. during their journey through the barren grounds our voyageurs had frequently observed wolves. they were mostly grey ones, and of great size, for they were travelling through a district where the very largest kind is found. at times they saw a party of five or six together; and these appeared to be following upon their trail--as each night, when they came barking about the camp, our travellers recognised some of them as having been seen before. they had made no attempt to shoot any of them--partly because they did not want either their skins or flesh, and partly because their ammunition had been reduced to a small quantity, and they did not wish to spend it unnecessarily. the wolves, therefore, were allowed to approach very near the camp, and howl as much as they liked--which they usually did throughout the livelong night. what they found to allure them after our travellers, the latter could not make out; as they had not shot an animal of any kind since leaving the lake, and scarcely a scrap of anything was ever left behind them. perhaps the wolves were _living upon hope_. one evening our travellers had made their camp on the side of a ridge-which they had just crossed--and under the shelter of some rough rocks. there was no wood in the neighbourhood wherewith to make a fire; but they had scraped the snow from the place over which their tent was pitched, and under it their skins were spread upon the ground. as the tent was a very small one, marengo's sledge, with the utensils and pemmican bags, was always left outside close by the opening. marengo himself slept there, and that was considered sufficient to secure all these things from wolves, or any other creatures that might be prowling about. on the evening in question, the sledge was in its usual place--the dog having been taken from it--and as our voyageurs had not yet had their supper, the pemmican bags were lying loosely about, one or two of them being open. there was a small rivulet at the foot of the ridge--some two hundred paces distant--and basil and francois had gone down to it to get water. one of them took the axe to break the ice with, while the other carried a vessel. on arriving near the bank of the rivulet, the attention of the boys was attracted to a singular appearance upon the snow. a fresh shower had fallen that morning, and the surface was still soft, and very smooth. upon this they observed double lines of little dots, running in different directions, which, upon close inspection, appeared to be the tracks of some animal. at first, basil and francois could hardly believe them to be such, the tracks were so very small. they had never seen so small ones before--those of a mouse being quite double the size. but when they looked more closely at them, the boys could distinguish the marks of five little toes with claws upon them, which left no doubt upon their minds that some living creature, and that a very diminutive one, must have passed over the spot. indeed, had the snow not been both fine-grained and soft, the feet of such a creature could not have made any impression upon it. the boys stopped and looked around, thinking they might see the animal itself. there was a wide circle of snow around them, and its surface was smooth and level; but not a speck upon it betrayed the presence of any creature. "perhaps it was a bird," said francois, "and has taken flight." "i think not," rejoined basil. "they are not the tracks of a bird. it is some animal that has gone under the snow, i fancy." "but i see no hole," said francois, "where even a beetle could have gone down. let us look for one." at francois' suggestion, they walked on following one of the dotted lines. presently they came to a place, where a stalk of long grass stood up through the snow--its seedless panicle just appearing above the surface. round this stalk a little hole had been formed--partly by the melting of the snow, and partly by the action of the wind upon the panicle--and into this hole the tracks led. it was evident that the animal, whatever it was, must have gone down the culm of the grass in making its descent from the surface of the snow! they now observed another track going from the hole in an opposite direction, which showed that the creature had climbed up in the same way. curious to know what it might have been, the boys hailed lucien and norman, telling them to come down. these, followed by marengo, soon arrived upon the spot. when lucien saw the tracks, he pronounced them at once to be those of the little shrew-mouse (_sorex parvus_), the smallest of all the quadrupeds of america. several of them had evidently been out upon the snow--as there were other dotted lines--and the tops of many stalks of grass were seen above the surface, each of which had formed a little hole around it, by which the mice were enabled to get up and down. norman, who had seen these little animals before, cautioned his companions to remain quiet awhile, and perhaps some of them might come to the surface. they all stopped therefore, and stood some time without moving, or speaking to one another. presently, a little head not much bigger than a pea was seen peeping up, and then a body followed, which in size did not exceed that of a large gooseberry! to this a tail was suspended, just one inch in length, of a square shape, and tapering from root to point, like that of any other mouse. the little creature was covered with a close smooth fur, of a clove-brown colour above, but more yellowish upon the belly and sides; and was certainly, as it sat upon the even surface of the snow, the most diminutive and oddest-looking quadruped that any of the party had ever beheld. they were just whispering to one another what means they should use to capture it, when marengo, whom basil had been holding quiet, all at once uttered a loud bay; and, springing out of the hands of his master, galloped off towards the camp. all of them looked after, wondering what had started the dog; but his strange behaviour was at once explained, and to their consternation. around the tent, and close to its entrance, several large wolves were seen. they were leaping about hurriedly, and worrying some objects that lay upon the ground. what these objects were was too plain. they were _the bags of pemmican_! part of their contents was seen strewed over the snow, and part was already in the stomachs of the wolves. the boys uttered a simultaneous shout, and ran forward. marengo was by this time among the wolves, and had set fiercely upon one of them. had his masters not been at hand, the fierce brutes would soon have settled the account with marengo. but the former were now close by, and the wolves, seeing them, ran off; but, to the consternation of the boys, each of them carried off a bag of the pemmican in his mouth with as much lightness and speed as if nothing encumbered them! "we are lost!" cried norman, in a voice of terror. "our provisions are gone!--all gone!" it was true. the next moment the wolves disappeared over the summit of the ridge; and although each of the boys had seized his gun, and ran after, the pursuit proved an idle one. not a wolf was overtaken. scarce a scrap of the pemmican had been left--only some fragments that had been gnawed by the ravenous brutes, and scattered over the snow. that night our travellers went to bed supperless; and, what with hunger, and the depression of spirits caused by this incident, one and all of them kept awake nearly the whole of the night. chapter thirty one. the rock-tripe. they left their skin-couch at an early hour, close after daybreak. hunger and anxiety drove them out of their tent. not a morsel of anything for breakfast! they looked abroad over the country, in order, if possible, to descry some living creature. none could be seen-nothing but the wilderness waste of snow, with here and there the side of a steep hill, or a rock showing cold and bleak. even the wolves that had robbed them were no longer to be seen, as if these creatures knew that they had got all that was worth having, and had now taken themselves off to hunt for plunder elsewhere. the situation of our travellers was really one of extreme peril, although it may be difficult for you, young reader, to conceive why it should be so. they, however, knew it well. they knew that they might travel for days through that inhospitable region, without falling in with anything that would make a single meal for them. but less time than that would suffice to starve them all. already they felt the pangs of hunger--for they had not eaten since their breakfast of the preceding day, the wolves having interrupted their preparations for dinner. it was of no use remaining where they were; so, striking their tent once more, they travelled forward. it was but poor consolation to them that they travelled much lighter than before. they had nothing to carry but their guns, and these they had got ready for work--so that their journey partook somewhat of the character of a hunting excursion. they did not even follow a direct course, but occasionally turned to one side or the other, wherever a clump of willows, or any other roughness on the ground, looked like it might be the shelter of game. but during that whole day--although they travelled from near sunrise to sunset--not a living thing was seen; and for the second night they went supperless to bed. a man will bear hunger for many days--some more, some less--without actually dying of it; but at no period will his sufferings be greater than during the third or fourth day. he will grow more feeble afterwards, but the pain which he endures will not be greater. on the third day the sufferings of our party were extreme. they began to chew pieces of their skin-tent and blankets; but although this took the sharp edge off their appetites, it added nothing to their strength; and they still craved for food, and grew feebler. to use a poetical phrase, marengo now became the "cynosure of every eye." marengo was not very fat. the sledge and short rations had thinned him down, and his ribs could be easily traced. although the boys, and basil in particular, would have suffered much before sacrificing him, yet starvation will reconcile a man to part with his best friend. in spite of their friendship for marengo, his masters could not help scanning him from time to time with hungry looks. marengo was an old dog, and, no doubt, as tough as a piece of tan-leather; but their appetites were made up for anything. it was near midday. they had started early, as on the day before. they were trudging wearily along, and making but little progress. marengo was struggling with his sledge, feeble as any of the party. basil saw that the eyes of his companions were from time to time bent upon the dog; and though none of them said anything, he understood the thoughts that were passing within them. he knew that none of them wished to propose it--as basil was the real master of marengo--but their glances were sufficiently intelligible to him. he looked at the downcast countenance of the once merry francois,--at the serious air of norman-at the wan cheek and sunken eye of lucien, whom basil dearly loved. he hesitated no longer. his duty to his companions at once overcame his affection for his faithful dog. "we must kill him!" said he, suddenly stopping, and pointing to marengo. the rest halted. "i fear there's no help for it," said norman, turning his face in every direction, and sweeping the surface of the snow with hopeless glances. francois also assented to the proposal. "let us make a condition," suggested lucien; "i for one could walk five miles farther." and as lucien said this, he made an effort to stand erect, and look strong and brave; but basil knew it was an effort of _generosity_. "no," said he,--"no, dear luce. you are done up. we must kill the dog!" "nonsense, basil, you mistake," replied the other; "i assure you i am far from being done up. i could go much farther yet. stay!" continued he, pointing ahead; "you see yonder rocks? they are about three miles off, i should think. they lie directly in our course. well, now, let us agree to this condition. let us give poor marengo a chance for his life. if we find nothing before reaching those rocks, why then--" and lucien, seeing marengo gazing up in his face, left the sentence unfinished. the poor brute looked up at all of them as though he understood every word that they were saying; and his mute appeal, had it been necessary, would not have been thrown away. but it did not require that to get him the proposed respite. all agreed willingly with lucien's proposition; and, shouldering their pieces, the party moved on. lucien had purposely understated the distance to the rocks. it was five, instead of three miles; and some of them made it full ten, as they were determined marengo should have the benefit of every chance. they deployed like skirmishers; and not a brake or brush that lay to the right or left of the path but was visited and beaten by one or other of them. their diligence was to no purpose. after two hours' weary work, they arrived among the rocks, having seen not a trace of either quadruped or bird. "come!" cried lucien in his now feeble voice, still trying to look cheerful, "we must pass through them. there is a chance yet. let him have fair play. the rocks were to be the limit, but it was not stated what part of them. let us pass through to the other side--they do not extend far." encouraged by the words of lucien, the party entered among the rocks, moving on separate paths. they had gone only a few paces, when a shout from norman caused the rest to look to him for an explanation. no animal was in sight. had he seen any? no; but something that gratified him certainly, for his voice and manner expressed it. "what is it?" inquired the others, all speaking at the same time. "_tripe de roche_!" answered he. "_tripe de roche_?" "yes," replied norman, "look there!" and he pointed to one of the rocks directly ahead of them, at the same time moving forward to it. the others hastened up after. on reaching the rock, they saw what norman had meant by the words _tripe de roche_ (rock-tripe). it was a black, hard, crumply substance, that nearly covered the surface of the rock, and was evidently of a vegetable nature. lucien knew what it was as well as norman, and joy had expressed itself upon his pale cheeks at the sight. as for basil and francois they only stood waiting an explanation, and wondering what value a quantity of "rock moss," as they deemed it, could be to persons in their condition. lucien soon informed them that it was not a "moss," but a "lichen," and of that celebrated species which will sustain human life. it was the _gyrophora_. norman confirmed lucien's statement, and furthermore affirmed, that not only the indians and esquimaux, but also parties of voyageurs, had often subsisted upon it for days, when they would otherwise have starved. there are many species,--not less than five or six. all of them possess nutritive properties, but only one is a palatable food--the _gyrophora vellea_ of botanists. unfortunately, this was not the sort which our voyageurs had happened upon, as it grows only upon rocks shaded by woods, and is rarely met with in the open barrens. the one, however, which norman had discovered was the "next best," and they were all glad at finding even that. the first thing to be thought of was to collect it, and all four set to peeling and scraping it from the rocks. the next thought was to make it ready for eating. here a new difficulty stared them in the face. the _tripe de roche_ had to be boiled,--it could not be eaten else,--and where was the fire? where was the wood to make one? not a stick was to be seen. they had not met with a tree during all that day's journey! they were now as badly off as ever. the _tripe de roche_ would be of no more use to them than so much dry grass. what could they do with it? in the midst of their suspense, one of them thought of the sledge-marengo's sledge. that would make a fire, but a very small one. it might do to cook a single meal. even that was better than none. marengo was not going to object to the arrangement. he looked quite willing to part with the sledge. but a few hours before, it came near being used to cook marengo himself. he was not aware of that, perhaps, but no matter. all agreed that the sledge must be broken up, and converted into firewood. they were about taking it to pieces, and had already "unhitched" marengo from it, when basil, who had walked to the other side of the rocky jumble, cried back to them to desist. he had espied some willows at no great distance. out of these a fire could be made. the sledge, therefore, was let alone for the present. basil and francois immediately started for the willows, while norman and lucien remained upon the spot to prepare the "tripe" for the pot. in a short time the former parties returned with two large bundles of willows, and the fire was kindled. the _tripe de roche_, with some snow--for there was no water near--was put into the pot, and the latter hung over the blaze. after boiling for nearly an hour, the lichen became reduced to a soft gummy pulp, and norman thickened the mess to his taste by putting in more snow, or more of the "tripe," as it seemed to require it. the pot was then taken from the fire, and all four greedily ate of its contents. it was far from being palatable, and had a clammy "feel" in the mouth, something like sago; but none of the party was in any way either dainty or fastidious just at that time, and they soon consumed all that had been cooked. it did not satisfy the appetite, though it filled the stomach, and made their situation less painful to bear. norman informed them that it was much better when cooked with a little meat, so as to make broth. this norman's companions could easily credit, but where was the meat to come from? the indians prefer the _tripe de roche_ when prepared along with the roe of fish, or when boiled in fish liquor. our weary voyageurs resolved to remain among the rocks for that night at least; and with this intent they put up their little tent. they did not kindle any fire, as the willows were scarce, and there would be barely enough to make one or two more boilings of the rock-tripe. they spread their skins within the tent, and creeping in, kept one another as warm as they could until morning. chapter thirty two. the polar hare and great snowy owl. of course hunger kept them from sleeping late. they were up and out of the tent by an early hour. their fire was re-kindled, and they were making preparations for a fresh pot of rock-tripe, when they were startled by the note of a well-known bird. on looking up, they beheld seated upon the point of a rock the creature itself, which was the "cinereous crow" (_garrulus canadensis_), or, as it is better known, the "whiskey jack." the latter name it receives from the voyageurs, on account of the resemblance of its indian appellation, "whiskae-shaw-neesh," to the words "whiskey john." although sometimes called the "cinereous crow," the bird is a true jay. it is one of the most inelegant of the genus, being of a dull grey colour, and not particularly graceful in its form. its plumage, moreover, does not consist of webbed feathers, but rather more resembles hair; nor does its voice make up for the plainness of its appearance, as is the case with some birds. on the contrary, the voice of "whiskey jack" is plaintive and squeaking, though he is something of a mocker in his way, and frequently imitates the notes of other birds. he is one of those creatures that frequent the habitations of man, and there is not a fur post, or fort, in all the hudson's bay territory, where "whiskey jack" is not familiarly known. he is far from being a favourite, however, as, like his near relative the magpie, he is a great thief, and will follow the marten-trapper all day while baiting his traps, perching upon a tree until the bait is set, and then pouncing down, and carrying it off. he frequently pilfers small articles from the forts and encampments, and is so bold as to enter the tents, and seize food out of any vessel that may contain it. notwithstanding all this, he is a favourite with the traveller through these inhospitable regions. no matter how barren the spot where the voyageur may make his camp, his tent will hardly be pitched, before he receives a visit from "whiskey jack," who comes, of course, to pick up any crumbs that may fall. his company, therefore, in a region where all other wild creatures shun the society of man, endears him to the lonely traveller. at many of their camps our voyageurs had met with this singular bird, and were always glad to receive him as a friend. they were now doubly delighted to see him, but this delight arose from no friendly feelings. their guest was at once doomed to die. francois had taken up his gun, and in the next moment would have brought him down, had he not been checked by norman. not that norman intended to plead for his life, but norman's eye had caught sight of another "whiskey jack,"--which was hopping among the rocks at some distance--and fearing that francois' shot might frighten it away, had hindered him from firing. it was norman's design to get both. the second "whiskey jack," or, perhaps, it was the whiskey "jill," soon drew near; and both were now seen to hop from rock to rock, and then upon the top of the tent, and _one of them actually settled_ upon the edge of the pot, as it hung over the fire, and quietly looking into it, appeared to scrutinise its contents! the boys could not think of any way of getting the birds, except by francois' gun; and it was at length agreed that francois should do his best. he was sure of one of them, at least; so telling the others to get behind him, he fired at the more distant one where it sat upon the tent, and took the other on the wing. both shots were successful. the two jays fell, and were soon divested of their soft, silky, hair-like plumage, and dropped into the boiling pot. they did not weigh together more than about six or seven ounces; but even that was accounted something under present circumstances; and, with the _tripe de roche_, a much better breakfast was made than they had anticipated. no more of the lichen could be found. the rocks were all searched, but only a few patches--not enough for another full meal--could be obtained. the travellers had no other resource, therefore, but to continue on, and passing through the rocky ground, they once more embarked upon the wilderness of snow. during that whole day not a living creature gladdened their eyes. they saw nothing that was eatable--fish, flesh, fowl, or vegetable. not even a bit of rock-tripe--in these parts the last resource of starving men-could be met with. they encamped in a plain, where not a tree stood-not even a rock to shelter them. next morning a consultation was held. marengo was again the subject of their thoughts and conversation. should they kill him on the spot or go a little farther? that was the question. lucien, as before, interposed in his favour. there was a high hill many miles off, and in their proper course. "let us first reach yonder hill," proposed lucien. "if nothing is found before that, then we must part with marengo." the proposal was agreed to, and, striking their tent, they again set out. it was a toilsome long way to that hill--feeble and weary as they all were--but they reached it without having observed the slightest trace of animal life. "up the hill!" cried lucien, beckoning to the others, and cheering them with his weak voice, "up the hill!" on they went, up the steep declivity--marengo toiling on after them. the dog looked downcast and despairing. he really appeared to know the conditions that had been made for his life. his masters, as they crept upward, looked sharply before them. every tuft that appeared above the snow was scrutinised, and every inch of the ground, as it came into view, was examined. at length they crossed the escarpment of the hill, and stood upon the summit. they gazed forward with disappointed feelings. the hill-top was a sort of table plain, of about three hundred yards in diameter. it was covered with snow, nearly a foot in depth. a few heads of withered grass were seen above the surface, but not enough to subdue the uniform white that prevailed all over. there was no creature upon it; that was evident. a bird as big as a sparrow, or a quadruped as large as a shrew-mouse, could have been seen upon any part of it. a single glance satisfied all of them that no living thing was there. they halted without proceeding farther. some of them could not have gone another mile, and all of them were tottering in their tracks. marengo had arrived upon the summit, and stood a little to one side, with the sledge behind him. "_you_ must do it!" said basil, speaking to norman in a hoarse voice, and turning his head away. lucien and francois stepped aside at the same time, and stood as if looking down the hill. the countenances of all three betokened extreme sorrow. there was a tear in basil's eye that he was trying to wipe away with his sleeve. the sharp click of norman's gun was heard behind them, and they were all waiting for the report, when, at that moment, a dark shadow passing over the white declivity arrested their attention! it was the shadow of a bird upon the wing. the simultaneous exclamation of all three stayed norman's finger--already pressing upon the trigger--and the latter, turning round, saw that they were regarding some object in the air. it was a bird of great size--almost as large as an eagle, but with the plumage of a swan. it was white all over--both body and wings--white as the snow over which it was sailing. norman knew the bird at a glance. its thick short neck and large head--its broad-spreading wings, of milky whiteness, were not to be mistaken. it was the "great snowy owl" of the arctic regions. its appearance suddenly changed the aspect of affairs. norman let the butt of his rifle fall to the ground, and stood, like the rest, watching the bird in its flight. the snowy owl (_strix nyctea_) is, perhaps, the most beautiful, as it is one of the most powerful birds of its genus--of which there are more than a dozen in north america. it is a bird of the polar regions--even the most remote--and in the dead of winter it is found within the arctic circle, on both continents--although at the same season it also wanders farther south. it dwells upon the barren grounds as well as in wooded districts. in the former it squats upon the snow, where its peculiar colour often prevents it from being noticed by the passing hunter. nature has furnished it with every protection from the cold. its plumage is thick, closely matted, and downy, and it is feathered to the very eyes--so that its legs appear as large as those of a good-sized dog. the bill, too, is completely hidden under a mass of feathers that cover its face, and not even a point of its whole body is exposed. the owl is usually looked upon as a night-bird, and in southern latitudes it is rarely seen by day; but the owls of the northern regions differ from their congeners in this respect. they hunt by day, even during the bright hours of noon. were it not so, how could they exist in the midst of an arctic summer, when the days are months in duration? here we have another example of the manner in which nature trains her wild creatures to adapt themselves to their situation. at least a dozen species of owls frequent the territory of the hudson's bay company--the largest of which is the cinereous owl, whose wings have a spread of nearly five feet. some species migrate south on the approach of winter; while several, as the snowy owl, remain to prey upon the ptarmigan, the hares, and other small quadrupeds, who, like themselves, choose that dreary region for their winter home. our travellers, as i have said, stood watching the owl as it soared silently through the heavens. francois had thrown his gun across his left arm, in hopes he might get a shot at it; but the bird--a shy one at all times--kept away out of range; and, after circling once or twice over the hill, uttered a loud cry and flew off. its cry resembled the moan of a human being in distress; and its effect upon the minds of our travellers, in the state they then were, was far from being pleasant. they watched the bird with despairing looks, until it was lost against the white background of a snow-covered hill. they had noticed that the owl appeared to be just taking flight when they first saw it. it must have risen up from the hill upon which they were; and they once more ran their eyes along the level summit, curious to know where it had been perched that they had not seen it. no doubt, reflected they, it had been near enough, but its colour had rendered it undistinguishable from the snow. "what a pity!" exclaimed francois. while making these reflections, and sweeping their glances around, an object caught their eyes that caused some of them to ejaculate and suddenly raise their guns. this object was near the centre of the summit table, and at first sight appeared to be only a lump of snow; but upon closer inspection, two little round spots of a dark colour, and above these two elongated black marks, could be seen. looking steadily, the eye at length traced the outlines of an animal, that sat in a crouching attitude. the round spots were its eyes, and the black marks above them were tips of a pair of very long ears. all the rest of its body was covered with a soft white fur, hardly to be distinguished from the snow upon which it rested. the form and colour of the animal, but more especially its long erect ears, made it easy for them to tell what it was. all of them saw it was a hare. "hush!" continued norman, as soon as he saw it, "keep still all of you-leave it to me." "what shall we do?" demanded basil. "can we not assist you?" "no," was the reply, uttered in a whisper, "stay where you are. keep the dog quiet. i'll manage puss, if the owl hasn't scared her too badly. that scream has started her out of her form. i'm certain she wasn't that way before. maybe she'll sit it out. lucky the sun's high--don't move a step. have the dog ready, but hold him tight, and keep a sharp look out if she bolts." after giving these instructions, that were all uttered quickly and in an under tone, norman moved off, with his gun carried across his arm. he did not move in the direction of the hare, but rather as if he was going from her. his course, however, bent gradually into a circle of which the hare was the centre--the diameter being the full breadth of the summit level, which was about three hundred yards. in this circle he walked round and round, keeping his eye fixed upon the crouching animal. when he had nearly completed one circumference, he began to shorten the diameter--so that the curve which he was now following was a spiral one, and gradually drawing nearer to the hare. the latter kept watching him as he moved--curiosity evidently mingling with her fears. fortunately, as norman had said, the sun was nearly in the vertex of the heavens, and his own body cast very little shadow upon the snow. had it been otherwise, the hare would have been frightened at the moving shadow, and would have sprung out of her form, before he could have got within range. when he had made some four or five circuits, norman moved slower and slower, and then stopped nearly opposite to where the others were. these stood watching him with beating hearts, for they knew that the life of marengo, and perhaps their own as well, depended on the shot. norman had chosen his place, so that in case the hare bolted, she might run towards them, and give them the chance of a flying shot. his gun was already at his shoulder--his finger rested on the trigger, and the boys were expecting the report, when again the shadow of a bird flitted over the snow, a loud human-like scream sounded in their ears, and the hare was seen to spring up, and stretch her long legs in flight. at the same instant the great snowy owl was observed wheeling above, and threatening to pounce upon the fleeing animal! the hare ran in a side-direction, but it brought her as she passed within range of the party by the sledge. the owl kept above her as she ran. a dozen leaps was all the hare ever made. a loud crack was heard, and she was seen to spring up and fall back upon the snow, dead as a doornail. like an echo another crack followed--a wild scream rang through the air, and the great white owl fell fluttering to the earth. the reports were not of a rifle. they were the louder detonations of a shot-gun. all eyes were turned towards francois, who, like a little god, stood enveloped in a halo of blue smoke. francois was the hero of the hour. marengo rushed forward and seized the struggling owl, that snapped its bill at him like a watch-man's rattle. but marengo did not care for that; and seizing its head in his teeth, gave it a crunch that at once put an end to its flapping. marengo was reprieved, and he seemed to know it, as he bounded over the snow, waving his tail, and barking like a young fool. they all ran up to the hare, which proved to be the "polar hare" (_lepus glacialis_), and one of the largest of its species--not less than fifteen pounds in weight. its fur, soft and white like swan-down, was stained with red blood. it was not quite dead. its little heart yet beat faintly, and the light of life was still shining from its beautiful honey-coloured eyes. both it and the owl were taken up and carried to the sledge, which was once more attached to marengo, as the party intended to go forward and halt under the shelter of the hill. "there must be some wood in this quarter," remarked norman: "i never knew this sort of hare far from timber." "true," said lucien, "the polar hare feeds upon willows, arbutus, and the labrador tea-plant. some of these kinds must be near." while they were speaking, they had reached the brow of the hill, on the opposite side from where they had ascended. on looking into the valley below, to their great joy they beheld some clumps of willows, and good-sized trees of poplar, birch, and spruce-pine (_pinus alba_), and passing down the hill, the travellers soon stood in their midst. presently was heard the chipping sound of an axe and crash of falling timber, and in a few moments after a column of smoke was seen soaring up out of the valley, and curling cheerfully towards the bright blue sky. chapter thirty three. the jumping mouse and the ermine. large as the hare was, she would have made but a meal for our four hungry voyageurs, had they eaten at will. by lucien's advice, however, they restrained themselves, and half of her was left for supper, when the "cook" promised to make them hare-soup. the head, feet, and other spare bits, fell to marengo's share. the owl, whose flesh was almost as white as its plumage, and, as norman well knew, most delicate eating, was reserved for to-morrow's breakfast. they had pitched their tent with the intention of remaining at that place all night, and continuing their journey next day; but, as it still wanted several hours of sunset, and the strength of all was considerably recruited, they resolved to hunt about the neighbourhood as long as they had light. it was of great importance that they should procure more game. the owl would make but a spare breakfast, and after that where was the next meal to come from? they had had a temporary relief, and while their strength lasted, they must use every effort to procure a further supply. the valley in which their new camp was placed looked well for game. it was a sort of oasis in the barren grounds. there was a lake and a considerable skirting of timber around it--consisting, as we have said, of willows, poplars, spruce-pine, and dwarf birch-trees (_betula nana_). the alpine arbutus, whose berries are the food of many species of animals, also grew upon the side of the hills; and the labrador tea-plant (_ledum palustre_) was found upon the low ground around the lake. the leaves of this last is a favourite food of the polar hare, and our voyageurs had no doubt but that there were many of these animals in the neighbourhood. indeed, they had better evidence than conjecture, for they saw numerous hare-tracks in the snow. there were tracks of other animals too, for it is a well-known fact that where one kind exists, at least two or three others will be found in the same habitat--all being connected together by a "chain of destruction." a singular illustration of this was afforded to lucien, who remained at the camp while the rest went out hunting. he had gathered some of the leaves of the labrador tea, and was drying them over the coals, intending to cheer his comrades with a cup of this beverage after supper. the hare-soup was boiling, and the "cook" sat listening to the cheerful sounds that issued from the pot--now and then taking off the lid to examine its savoury contents, and give them a stir. he would then direct his attention to the tea-leaves that were parching in the frying-pan; and, having shifted them a little, felt himself at liberty to look about for a minute or two. on one of these occasions, while glancing up, his attention was attracted to an object which appeared upon the snow at a short distance from where he sat. a wreath of snow, that had formed under the shelter of the hill, extended all around its base, presenting a steep front in every direction. this front was only two or three feet in height; but the top surface of the wreath was many yards wide--in fact, it extended back until it became blended with the slope of the hill. it was smooth and nearly level, but the hill above was steep, and somewhat rough and rocky. the steep front of the wreath came down within half-a-dozen paces of the fire where lucien was seated; and it was upon the top or scarpment of it that the object appeared that had drawn his attention. it was a small creature, but it was in motion, and thus had caught his eye. a single glance showed him that the little animal was a mouse, but of a somewhat singular species. it was about the size of the common mouse, but quite different in colour. the upper half of its body was of a light mahogany tint, while the lower half, including the legs and feet, were of a milky whiteness. it was, in fact, the "white-footed mouse" (_mus leucopus_), one of the most beautiful of its kind. here and there above the surface of the snow protruded the tops of arbutus-trees; and the little creature was passing from one of these to the other, in search, no doubt, of the berries that remain upon these trees all the winter. sometimes it ran from point to point like any other mouse, but now and then it would rear itself on its hind-legs, and leap several feet at a single bound! in this it evidently assisted itself by pressing its tail--in which it possesses muscular power-against the snow. this peculiar mode of progression has obtained for it the name of the "jumping mouse," and among the indians "deer"-mouse, because its leap reminds them of the bounding spring of the deer. but there are still other species of "jumping mice" in america that possess this power to a greater degree even than the _mus leucopus_. lucien watched its motions without attempting to interfere with it, until it had got nearly out of sight. he did not desire to do injury to the little creature, nor was he curious to obtain it, as he had already met with many specimens, and examined them to his satisfaction. he had ceased to think of it, and would, perhaps, never have thought of it again, but, upon turning his eyes in the opposite direction, he observed another animal upon the snow. this creature had a far different aspect from the mouse. its body was nearly a foot in length, although not much thicker than that of the other! its legs were short, but strong, and its forehead broad and arched convexly. it had a tail more than half the length of the body, hairy, and tapering like that of a cat. its form was the well-known form of the weasel, and it was, in fact, a species of weasel. it was the celebrated _ermine (mustela erminea_), celebrated for its soft and beautiful fur, so long prized as an ornament for the robes of the rich. it was white all over, with the exception of its tail; and that, for about an inch or so at the tip, was covered with black silky hair. on some parts of the body, too, the white was tinged with a primrose yellow; but this tinge is not found in all animals of this species, as some individuals are pure white. of course it was now in its winter "robes;" but in the summer it changes to a colour that does not differ much from that of the common weasel. when lucien first saw it, it was running along the top of the wreath, and coming from the same direction from which the mouse had come. now and then it paused awhile, and then ran on again. lucien observed that it kept its nose to the ground, and as it drew nearer he saw that it was following on the same path which the other had taken. to his astonishment he perceived that it was _trailing the mouse_! wherever the latter had doubled or made a _detour_, the ermine followed the track; and where the mouse had given one of its long leaps, there the ermine would stop, and, after beating about until it struck the trail again, would resume its onward course at a gallop. its manoeuvres were exactly like those of a hound upon the fresh trail of a fox! lucien now looked abroad to discover the mouse. it was still in sight far off upon the snow, and, as lucien could see, busily gnawing at the arbutus, quite unconscious that its _greatest_ enemy was so near. i say greatest enemy, for the _mus leucopus_ is the _natural_ prey of the _mustela erminea_. the mouse was soon made aware of the dangerous proximity, but not until the ermine had got within a few feet of it. when it perceived the latter it shrunk, at first, among the leaves of the arbutus; but seeing there would be no protection there--as the other was still springing forward to seize it--it leaped up, and endeavoured to escape by flight. its flight appeared to be in alternate jumps and runs, but the chase was not a long one. the ermine was as active as a cat, and, after a few skips, its claws were struck into the mouse. there was a short, slender squeak, and then a "crunch," like the cracking of a hazel-nut. this last sound was produced by the teeth of the ermine breaking through the skull of its victim. chapter thirty four. the arctic fox and white wolf. lucien turned round to get hold of his rifle, intending to punish the ermine, although the little creature, in doing what it did, had only obeyed a law of nature. but the boy had also another design in killing it: he wished to compare it with some ermines he had seen while travelling upon lake winnipeg, which, as he thought, were much larger-one that he had caught having measured more than a foot in length, without including the tail. he wished, also, to make some comparison between it and the common weasel; for in its _winter dress_, in the snowy regions, the latter very much resembles the ermine; and, indeed, the trappers make no distinction between them. with these ideas lucien had grasped his gun, and was raising himself to creep a little nearer, when his eye was arrested by the motions of another creature coming along the top of the wreath. this last was a snow-white animal, with long, shaggy fur, sharp-pointed snout, erect ears, and bushy tail. its aspect was fox-like, and its movements and attitudes had all that semblance of cunning and caution so characteristic of these animals. well might it, for it _was_ a fox--the beautiful white fox of the arctic regions. it is commonly supposed that there are but two or three kinds of foxes in america; and that these are only varieties of the european species. this is an erroneous idea, as there are nearly a dozen varieties existing in north america, although they may be referred to a less number of species. there is the arctic fox, which is confined to the cold northern regions, and which in winter is white. the "sooty fox" is a variety of the "arctic," distinguished from it only by its colour, which is of a uniform blackish brown. the "american fox" (_vulpes fulvus_), or, as it is commonly called, the "red fox," has been long supposed to be the same as the european red fox. this is erroneous. they differ in many points; and, what is somewhat curious, these points of difference are similar to those that exist between the european and american wolves, as already given. the "cross fox" is supposed by the indians and some naturalists to be only a variety of the last. it derives its name from its having two dark stripes crossing each other upon the shoulders. its fur from this circumstance, and perhaps because the animal is scarce, is more prized than that of the red variety. when a single skin of the latter is worth only fifteen shillings, one of the cross fox will bring as much as five guineas. another variety of the red fox, and a much more rare one, is the "black," or "silver" fox. the skins of these command six times the price of any other furs found in america, with the exception of the sea-otter. the animal itself is so rare that only a few fall into the hands of the hudson's bay company in a season; and mr nicholay, the celebrated london furrier, asserts that a single skin will fetch from ten to forty guineas, according to quality. a remarkable cloak, or pelisse, belonging to the emperor of russia, and made out of the skins of silver-foxes, was exhibited in the great london exposition of 1851. it was made entirely from the neck-part of the skins--the only part of the silver-fox which is pure black. this cloak was valued at 3400 pounds; though mr nicholay considers this an exaggerated estimate, and states its true value to be not over 1000 pounds. george the fourth had a lining of black fox-skins worth 1000 pounds. the "grey fox" is a more southern species than any already described. its proper home is the temperate zone covered by the united states; although it extends its range into the southern parts of canada. in the united states it is the most common kind, although in that district there is also a "red fox," different from the _vulpes fulvus_ already noticed; and which, no doubt, is the red fox of europe, introduced by the early colonists of america. still another species, the smallest and perhaps the most interesting of any, is the "kit fox." this little creature is an inhabitant of the prairies, where it makes its burrows far from any wood. it is extremely shy, and the swiftest animal in the prairie country--outrunning even the antelope! when lucien saw the fox he thought no more of the ermine, but drew back and crouched down, in hopes he might get a shot at the larger animal. he knew well that the flesh of the arctic fox is highly esteemed as food, particularly by persons situated as he and his companions were, and he hoped to be able to add it to their larder. when first seen it was coming towards him, though not in a direct line. it was engaged in hunting, and, with its nose to the snow, was running in zig-zag lines, "quartering" the ground like a pointer dog. presently it struck the trail of the ermine, and with a yelp of satisfaction followed it. this of course brought it close past where lucien was; but, notwithstanding his eagerness to fire, it moved so rapidly along the trail that he was unable to take sight upon it. it did not halt for a moment; and, as lucien's gun was a rifle, he knew that a flying shot would be an uncertain one. in the belief, therefore, that the fox would stop soon--at all events when it came up with the ermine--he restrained himself from firing, and waited. it ran on, still keeping the track of the ermine. the latter, hitherto busy with his own prey, did not see the fox until it was itself seen, when, dropping the half-eaten mouse, it reared up on its hindquarters like a squirrel or a monkey, at the same time spitting as spitefully as any other weasel could have done. in a moment, however, it changed its tactics--for the open jaws of the fox were within a few paces of it--and after making a short quick run along the surface, it threw up its hindquarters, and plunged head-foremost into the snow! the fox sprang forward, and flinging his brush high in air, shot after like an arrow! both had now disappeared from lucien's sight. for a moment the surface of the snow was disturbed above the spot where they had gone down, but the next moment all was still, and no evidence existed that a living creature had been there, except the tracks, and the break the two creatures had made in going down. lucien ran forward until he was within a few yards of the place, and stood watching the hole, with his rifle ready--thinking that the fox, at least, would soon come up again. he had waited for nearly five minutes, looking steadily at this point, when his eye was attracted by a movement under the snow, at a considerable distance, quite fifty paces, from where he stood. the frozen crust was seen to upheave; and, the next moment, the head of the fox, and afterwards his whole body, appeared above the surface. lucien saw that the ermine lay transversely between his jaws, and was quite dead! he was about to fire, but the fox, suddenly perceiving him, shot off like an arrow, carrying his prey along with him. he was soon out of reach, and lucien, seeing that he had lost his chance, was about to return to the fire, when, all at once, the fox was observed to stop, turn suddenly in his tracks, and run off in a new direction! lucien looked beyond to ascertain the cause of this strange manoeuvre. that was soon ascertained. coming down from among the rocks was a large animal--five times the fox's size--but in other respects not unlike him. it was also of a snow-white colour, with long hair, bushy tail, and short erect ears, but its aspect was not to be mistaken. it was the great _white wolf_. when lucien first saw this new-comer, the latter had just espied the fox, and was about stretching out into a gallop towards him. the fox, _watching backwards_ as he ran, had not seen the wolf, until the latter was within a few springs of him; and now when he had turned, and both were in full chase, there was not over twenty yards between them. the direction in which they ran would bring them near to lucien; and so they came, and passed him--neither of them seeming to heed his presence. they had not got many yards farther, before lucien perceived that the wolf was fast closing on the fox, and would soon capture him. believing he would then stop, so as to offer him a fairer chance for a shot, lucien followed. the wolf, however, had noticed him coming after, and although the next moment he closed his great jaws upon the fox, he did not pause for a single instant, but, lifting the latter clear up from the ground, ran on without the slightest apparent diminution of speed! reynard was seen to struggle and kick, while he squeaked like a shot puppy; but his cries each moment grew feebler, and his struggles soon came to an end. the wolf held him transversely in his jaws--just as he himself but the moment before had carried the ermine. lucien saw there was no use in following them, as the wolf ran on with his prey. with some disappointment, therefore, he was about to return to the fire, where, to add to his mortification, he knew he would find his tea-leaves parched to a cinder. he lingered a moment, however, with his eyes still fixed upon the departing wolf that was just about to disappear over the crest of a ridge. the fox was still in his jaws, but no longer struggling. reynard looked limber and dead, as his legs swung loosely on both sides of the wolf's head. lucien at that moment saw the latter suddenly stop in his career, and then drop down upon the surface of the snow as if dead! he fell with his victim in his jaws, and lay half doubled up, and quite still. this strange action would have been a difficult thing for lucien to explain, but, almost at the same instant in which he observed it, a puff of blue smoke shot up over the ridge, and quickly following was heard the sharp crack of a rifle. then a head with its cap of raccoon skin appeared above the snow, and lucien, recognising the face of basil, ran forward to meet him. both soon stood over the body of the dead wolf, wondering at what they saw; but basil, far more than lucien--for the latter already knew the circumstances of that strange scene of death. first there was the great gaunt body of the wolf stretched along the snow, and quite dead. crossways in his mouth was the fox, just as he had been carried off; and across the jaws of the latter, lay the long worm-like body of the ermine, still retaining between its teeth the half-devoured remains of the white-footed mouse! a very chain of destroyers! these creatures died as they had lived, preying one upon the other! of all four the little mouse alone was an innocent victim. the other three, though morally guilty by the laws of man, yet were only acting in obedience to the laws of nature and necessity. man himself obeys a similar law, as basil had just shown. philosophise as we will, we cannot comprehend why it is so--why nature requires the sacrifice of one of her creatures for the sustenance of another. but although we cannot understand the cause, we must not condemn the fact as it exists; nor must we suppose, as some do, that the destruction of god's creatures for our necessities constitutes a crime. they who think so, and who, in consistency with their doctrines, confine themselves to what they term "vegetable" food, are at best but shallow reasoners. they have not studied nature very closely, else would they know that every time they pluck up a parsnip, or draw their blade across the leaf of a lettuce, they cause pain and death! how much pain we cannot tell; but that the plant feels, as well as the animal, we can clearly _prove_. probably it feels less, and it may be each kind of plant differs from others in the amount, according to its higher or lower organism. probably its amount of pleasure--its capability of enjoyment--is in a direct proportion to the pain which it endures; and it is highly probable that this double line of ratios runs in an ascending scale throughout the vegetable kingdom, gradually joining on to what is more strictly termed the "animal." but these mysteries of life, my young friend, will be interesting studies for you when your mind becomes matured. perhaps it may be your fortune to unravel some of them, for the benefit of your fellow-men. i feel satisfied that you will not only be a student of nature, but one of her great teachers; you will far surpass the author of this little book in your knowledge of nature's laws; but it will always be a happiness to him to reflect, that, when far advanced upon the highway of science, you will look back to him as one you had passed upon the road, and who _pointed you to the path_. though basil had shot the wolf, it was plain that it was not the first nor yet the second time he had discharged his rifle since leaving the camp. from his game-bag protruded the curving claws and wing-tips of a great bird. in one hand he carried a white hare--not the polar hare-but a much smaller kind, also an inhabitant of these snowy regions; and over his shoulders was slung a fierce-looking creature, the great wild-cat or lynx of america (_lynx canadensis_). the bird in his bag was the golden eagle (_aquila chrysaetos_), one of the few feathered creatures that brave the fierce winter of a northern climate, and does not migrate, like its congeners the "white-head" and the osprey, to more southern regions. basil had returned alone--for the three, basil, norman, and francois, had taken different directions at setting cut. this they had done, in order to have as great a number of chances as possible of finding the game. norman came in a few minutes after, bearing a whole deer upon his shoulders--a glad sight that was--and, a short interval having passed, francois's "hurrah" sounded upon their ears, and francois himself was seen coming up the valley loaded like a little donkey with two bunches of large snow-white birds. the camp now exhibited a cheering sight. such a variety was never seen even in the larder of a palace kitchen. the ground was strewed with animals like a dead menagerie. there were no less than a dozen kinds upon it! the hare-soup was now quite ready, and was accordingly served up by lucien in the best style. lucien had dried a fresh "grist" of the tea-leaves, and a cheering cup followed; and then the party all sat around their log-fire, while each of them detailed the history of his experience since parting with the others. francois was the first to relate what had befallen him. chapter thirty five. the jerfalcon and the white grouse. "mine," began francois, "was a bird-adventure, as you all see--though what kind of birds i've shot i can't tell. one of them's a hawk, i'm sure; but it's a _white_ hawk, and that i never saw before. the rest, i suppose, are _white_ partridges. everything appears to be white here. what are they, luce?" "you are right about this first," answered lucien, taking up one of the birds which francois had brought back with him, and which was white all but a few spots of clove-brown upon its back. "this is a hawk, as you may tell, by its appearance, or rather i should say a `falcon,' for you must know there is a difference." "what difference?" demanded francois, with some eagerness of manner. "why the principal difference is the formation of their beaks or bills. the bills of the true falcons are stronger, and have a notch in the lower mandible answering to a tooth in the upper one. their nostrils, too, are differently formed. but another point of distinction is found in their habits. both feed on warm-blooded animals, and neither will eat carrion. in this respect the hawks and falcons are alike. both take their prey upon the wing; but herein lies the difference. the hawks capture it by skimming along horizontally or obliquely, and picking it up as they pass; whereas the true falcons `pounce' down upon it from above, and in a line nearly vertical." "then this must be a true falcon," interrupted francois, "for i saw the gentleman do that very thing; and beautifully he did it, too." "it is a falcon," continued lucien; "and of the many species of hawks which inhabit north america--over twenty in all--it is one of the boldest and handsomest. i don't wonder you never saw it before; for it is truly a bird of the northern regions, and does not come so far south as the territory of the united states, much less into louisiana. it is found in north europe, greenland, and iceland, and has been seen as far north on both continents as human beings have travelled. it is known by the name of `jerfalcon,' or `gyrfalcon,' but its zoological name is _falco islandicus_." "the indians here," interposed norman, "call it by a name that means `winter bird,' or `winterer'--i suppose, because it is one of the few that stay in these parts all the year round, and is therefore often noticed by them in winter time. the traders sometimes call it the `speckled partridge-hawk,' for there are some of them more spotted than this one is." "true," said lucien; "the young ones are nearly of a brown colour, and they first become spotted or mottled after a year or two. they are several years old before they get the white plumage, and very few individuals are seen of a pure white all over, though there are some without a spot. "yes," continued the naturalist, "it is the jerfalcon; and those other birds which you call `white partridges,' are the _very_ creatures upon which it preys. so _you_ have killed both the tyrant and his victims. they are not partridges though, but grouse--that species known as `willow-grouse' (_tetrao saliceti_)." and as lucien said this, he began to handle the birds, which were of a beautiful white all over, with the exception of the tail-feathers. these last were pitch-black. "ho!" exclaimed lucien, in some surprise, "you have two kinds here! were they all together when you shot them?" "no," answered francois; "one i shot along with the hawk out in the open ground. all the others i killed upon a tree in a piece of woods that i fell in with. there's no difference between them that i can see." "but i can," said lucien, "although i acknowledge they all look very much alike. both are feathered to the toes--both have the black feathers in the tail--and the bills of both are black; but if you observe closely, this kind--the willow-grouse--has the bill much stronger and less flattened. besides, it is a larger bird than the other, which is the `rock-grouse' (_tetrao rupestris_). both are sometimes, though erroneously, called `ptarmigan;' but they are not the true ptarmigan (_tetrao mutus_)--such as exist in north europe--though these last are also to be met with in the northern parts of america. the ptarmigan are somewhat larger than either of these kinds, but in other respects differ but little from them. "the habits of the `rock' and `willow' grouse are very similar. they are both birds of the snowy regions, and are found as far north as has been explored. the willow-grouse in winter keep more among the trees, and are oftener met with in wooded countries; whereas the others like best to live in the open ground, and, from your statement, it appears you found each kind in its favourite haunt." "just so," said francois. "after leaving here, i kept down the valley, and was just crossing an open piece of high ground, when i espied the white hawk, or falcon as you call it, hovering in the air as i'd often seen hawks do. well, i stopped and hid behind a rock, thinking i might have a chance to put a few drops into him. all at once he appeared to stand still in the air, and, then closing his wings, shot down like an arrow. just then i heard a loud `_whur-r-r_,' and up started a whole covey of white partridges--grouse, i should say--the same as this you call the `rock-grouse.' i saw that the hawk had missed the whole of them, and i marked them as they flew off. they pitched about a hundred yards or so, and then went plunge under the snow--every one of them making a hole for itself just like where one had poked their foot in! i guess, boys, this looked funny enough. i thought i would be sure to get a shot at some of these grouse as they came out again; so i walked straight up to the holes they had made, and stood waiting. i still saw the hawk hovering in the air, about an hundred yards ahead of me. "i was considering whether i ought to go farther on, and tramp the birds out of the snow; for i believed, of course, they were still under the place where the holes were. all at once i noticed a movement on the crust of the snow right under where the hawk was flying, and then that individual shot down to the spot, and disappeared under the snow! at the same instant, the crust broke in several places, and up came the grouse one after another, and whirred off out of sight, without giving me any sort of a chance. the hawk, however, had not come up yet; and i ran forward, determined to take him as soon as he should make his appearance. when i had got within shooting distance, up he fluttered to the surface, and--what do you think?--he had one of the grouse struggling in his claws! i let him have the right barrel, and both he and grousy were knocked dead as a couple of door-nails! "i thought i might fall in with the others again; and kept on in the direction they had taken, which brought me at last to a piece of woodland consisting of birches and willow-trees. as i was walking along the edge of this, i noticed one of the willows, at some distance off, covered with great white things, that at first i took for flakes of snow; but then i thought it curious that none of the other trees had the same upon them. as i came a little nearer, i noticed one of the things moving, and then i saw they were birds, and very like the same i had just seen, and was then in search of. so i crept in among the trees; and, after some dodging, got within beautiful shooting distance, and gave them both barrels. there, you see the result!" here francois triumphantly pointed to the pile of birds, which in all, with the jerfalcon, counted four brace and a half. one was the rock-grouse, which the falcon had itself killed, and the others were willow-grouse, as lucien had stated. francois now remained silent, while basil related his day's adventure. chapter thirty six. the hare, the lynx, and the golden eagle. "frank," began he, "has called his a `bird-adventure.' i might give mine somewhat of the same title, for there was a bird mixed up with it-the noblest of all birds--the eagle. but you shall hear it. "on leaving the camp, i went, as you all know, up the valley. after travelling for a quarter of a mile or so, i came upon a wide open bottom, where there were some scattered willows and clumps of dwarf birch-trees. as luce had told me that such are the favourite food of the american hare, or, as we call it in louisiana, `rabbit,' i looked out for the sign of one, and, sure enough, i soon came upon a track, which i knew to be that of `puss.' it was fresh enough, and i followed it. it kept me meandering about for a long while, till at last i saw that it took a straight course for some thick brushwood, with two or three low birches growing out of it. as i made sure of finding the game there, i crept forward _very_ quietly, holding marengo in the leash. but the hare was not in the brush; and, after tramping all through it, i again noticed the track where she had gone out on the opposite side. i was about starting forth to follow it, when all at once an odd-looking creature made its appearance right before me. it was that fellow there!" and basil pointed to the lynx. "i thought at first sight," continued he, "it was our louisiana wild-cat or bay lynx, as luce calls it, for it is very like our cat; but i saw it was nearly twice as big, and more greyish in the fur. well, when i first sighted the creature, it was about an hundred yards off. it hadn't seen me, though, for it was not running away, but skulking along slowly--nearly crosswise to the course of the hare's track--and looking in a different direction to that in which i was. i was well screened behind the bushes, and that, no doubt, prevented it from noticing me. at first i thought of running forward, and setting marengo after it. then i determined on staying where i was, and watching it a while. perhaps it may come to a stop, reflected i, and let me creep within shot. i remained, therefore, crouching among the bushes, and kept the dog at my feet. "as i continued to watch the cat, i saw that, instead of following a straight line, it was moving in a circle! "the diameter of this circle was not over an hundred yards; and in a very short while the animal had got once round the circumference, and came back to where i had first seen it. it did not stop there, but continued on, though not in its old tracks. it still walked in a circle, but a much smaller one than before. both, however, had a common centre; and, as i noticed that the animal kept its eyes constantly turned towards the centre, i felt satisfied that in that place would be found the cause of its strange manoeuvring. i looked to the centre. at first i could see nothing--at least nothing that might be supposed to attract the cat. there was a very small bush of willows, but they were thin. i could see distinctly through them, and there was no creature there, either in the bush or around it. the snow lay white up to the roots of the willows, and i thought that a mouse could hardly have found shelter among them, without my seeing it from where i stood. still i could not explain the odd actions of the lynx, upon any other principle than that it was in the pursuit of game; and i looked again, and carefully examined every inch of the ground as my eyes passed over it. this time i discovered what the animal was after. close in to the willows appeared two little parallel streaks of a dark colour, just rising above the surface of the snow. i should not have noticed them had there not been two of them, and these slanting in the same direction. they had caught my eyes before, but i had taken them for the points of broken willows. i now saw that they were the ears of some animal, and i thought that once or twice they moved slightly while i was regarding them. after looking at them steadily for a time, i made out the shape of a little head underneath. it was white, but there was a round dark spot in the middle, which i knew to be an eye. there was no body to be seen. that was under the snow, but it was plain enough that what i saw was the head of a hare. at first i supposed it to be a polar hare--such as we had just killed--but the tracks i had followed were not those of the polar hare. then i remembered that the `rabbit' of the united states also turns white in the winter of the northern regions. this, then, must be the american rabbit, thought i. "of course my reflections did not occupy all the time i have taken in describing them. only a moment or so. all the while the lynx was moving round and round the circle, but still getting nearer to the hare that appeared eagerly to watch it. i remembered how norman had manoeuvred to get within shot of the polar hare; and i now saw the very same _ruse_ being practised by a dumb creature, that is supposed to have no other guide than instinct. but i had seen the `bay lynx' of louisiana do some `dodges' as cunning as that,--such as claying his feet to make the hounds lose the scent, and, after running backwards and forwards upon a fallen log, leap into the tops of trees, and get off in that way. believing that his northern cousin was just as artful as himself," (here basil looked significantly at the "captain,") "i did not so much wonder at the performance i now witnessed. nevertheless, i felt a great curiosity to see it out. but for this curiosity i could have shot the lynx every time he passed me on the nearer edge of the circle. round and round he went, then, until he was not twenty feet from the hare, that, strange to say, seemed to regard this the worst of her enemies more with wonder than fear. the lynx at length stopped suddenly, brought his four feet close together, arched his back like an angry cat, and then with one immense bound, sprang forward upon his victim. the hare had only time to leap out of her form, and the second spring of the lynx brought him right upon the top of her. i could hear the child-like scream which the american rabbit always utters when thus seized; but the cloud of snow-spray raised above the spot prevented me for a while from seeing either lynx or hare. the scream was stifled in a moment, and when the snow-spray cleared off, i saw that the lynx held the hare under his paws, and that `puss' was quite dead. "i was considering how i might best steal up within shooting distance, when, all at once, i heard another scream of a very different sort. at the same time a dark shadow passed over the snow. i looked up, and there, within fifty yards of the ground, a great big bird was wheeling about. i knew it to be an eagle from its shape; and at first i fancied it was a young one of the white-headed kind--for, as you are aware, these do not have either the white head or tail until they are several years old. its immense size, however, showed that it could not be one of these. it must be the great `_golden' eagle_ of the rocky mountains, thought i. "when i first noticed it, i fancied that it had been after the rabbit; and, seeing the latter pounced upon by another preying creature, had uttered its scream at being thus disappointed of its prey. i expected, therefore, to see it fly off. to my astonishment it broke suddenly out of the circles in which it had been so gracefully wheeling, and, with another scream wilder than before, darted down towards the lynx! "the latter, on hearing the first cry of the eagle, had started, dropped his prey, and looked up. in the eagle he evidently recognised an antagonist, for his back suddenly became arched, his fur bristled up, his short tail moved quickly from side to side, and he stood with glaring eyes, and claws ready to receive the attack. "as the eagle came down, its legs and claws were thrown forward, and i could then tell it was not a bald eagle, nor the great `washington eagle,' nor yet a fishing eagle of any sort, which both of these are. the fishing eagles, as lucien had told me, _have always naked legs_, while those of the true eagles are more feathered. so were his, but beyond the feathers i could see his great curved talons, as he struck forward at the lynx. he evidently touched and wounded the animal, but the wound only served to make it more angry; and i could hear it purring and spitting like a tom-cat, only far louder. the eagle again mounted back into the air, but soon wheeled round and shot down a second time. this time the lynx sprang forward to meet it, and i could hear the concussion of their bodies as they came together. i think the eagle must have been crippled, so that it could not fly up again, for the fight from that time was carried on upon the ground. the lynx seemed anxious to grasp some part of his antagonist's body--and at times i thought he had succeeded--but then he was beaten off again by the bird, that fought furiously with wings, beak, and talons. the lynx now appeared to be the attacking party, as i saw him repeatedly spring forward at the eagle, while the latter always received him upon its claws, lying with its back upon the snow. both fur and feathers flew in every direction, and sometimes the combatants were so covered with the snow-spray that i could see neither of them. "i watched the conflict for several minutes, until it occurred to me, that my best time to get near enough for a shot was just while they were in the thick of it, and not likely to heed me. i therefore moved silently out of the bushes; and, keeping marengo in the string, crept forward. i had but the one bullet to give them, and with that i could not shoot both; but i knew that the quadruped was eatable, and, as i was not sure about the bird, i very easily made choice, and shot the lynx. to my surprise the eagle did not fly _off_, and i now saw that one of its wings was disabled! he was still strong enough, however, to scratch marengo severely before the latter could master him. as to the lynx, he had been roughly handled. his skin was torn in several places, and one of his eyes, as you see, regularly `gouged out.'" here basil ended his narration; and after an interval, during which some fresh wood was chopped and thrown upon the fire, norman, in turn, commenced relating what had befallen him. chapter thirty seven. the "alarm bird" and the caribou. "there wasn't much `adventure' in my day's sport," said he, "though i might call it a `bird-adventure' too, for if it hadn't been for a bird i shouldn't have had it. i shot a deer--that's all. but maybe it would be curious for you to know how i came to find the animal, so i'll tell you. "the first thing i did after leaving here was to climb the hill yonder,"--here norman pointed to a long hill that sloped up from the opposite shore of the lake, and which was the direction he had taken, as basil and francois had gone right and left. "i saw neither bird, beast, nor track, until i had reached the top of the hill. there i got a good view of the country ahead. i saw it was very rocky, without a stick of timber, and did not look very promising for game. `it's no use going that way,' i says to myself; `i'll keep along the ridge, above where frank's gone. he may drive some varmint out of the hollow, and i'll get a crack at it, as it comes over the hill.' "i was about to turn to the left when i heard the skreek of a bird away ahead of me. i looked in that direction; and, sure enough, saw one wheeling about in the air, right above the rocky jumble with which the country was covered. "now it's a mighty curious bird that i saw. it's a sort of an owl, but, i should say myself, there's a sprinkling of the hawk in it--for it's as much like the one as the other." "no doubt," interrupted lucien, "it was one of the day owls of these northern regions, some of which approach very near to the hawks, both in shape and habits. this peculiarity arises from the fact of the long summer day--of weeks in duration--within the arctic circle, requiring them to hunt for their prey, just as hawks do; and therefore nature has gifted them with certain peculiarities that make them resemble these birds. they want the very broad faces and large tufted heads of the true owls; besides the ears, which in the latter are remarkable for their size, and also for being operculated, or with lids, in the former are not much larger than in other birds of prey. the small hawk-owl (_strix funerea_), which is altogether a northern bird, is one of this kind." "very well," continued norman, "what you say may be very true, cousin luce; i only know that the bird i am speaking about is a mighty curious little creature. it ain't bigger than a pigeon, and is of a mottled-brown colour; but what i call it curious for is this:--whenever it sees any creature passing from place to place, it mounts up into the air, and hovers above them, keeping up a constant screeching, like the squalling of a child--and that's anything but agreeable. it does so, not only in the neighbourhood of its nest--like the plover and some other birds--but it will sometimes follow a travelling party for hours together, and for miles across the country. from this circumstance the indians of these parts call it the `alarm bird,' or `bird of warning,' because it often makes them aware of the approach either of their enemies or of strangers. sometimes it alarms and startles the game, while the hunter is crawling up to it; and i have known it to bother myself for a while of a day, when i was after grouse. it's a great favourite with the indians though--as it often guides them to deer, or musk-oxen, by its flying and screaming above where these animals are feeding. "just in the same way it guided me. i knew, from the movements of the bird, that there must be something among the rocks. i couldn't tell what, but i hoped it would turn out to be some creature that was eatable; so i changed my intention, and struck out for the place where it was. "it was a good half-mile from the hill, and it cost me considerable clambering over the rocks, before i reached the ground. i thought to get near enough to see what it was, without drawing the bird upon myself, and i crouched from hummock to hummock; but the sharp-eyed creature caught sight of me, and came screeching over my head. i kept on without noticing it; but as i was obliged to go round some large rocks, i lost the direction, and soon found myself wandering back into my own trail. i could do nothing, therefore, until the bird should leave me, and fly back to whatever had first set it a-going. in order that it might do so, i crept in under a big stone that jutted out, and lay quiet a bit, watching it. it soon flew off, and commenced wheeling about in the air, not more than three hundred yards from where i lay. this time i took good bearings, and then went on. i did not care for the bird to guide me any longer, for i observed there was an open spot ahead, and i was sure that there i would see something. and sure enough i did. on peeping round the end of a rock, i spied a herd of about fifty deer. they were reindeer, of course, as there are no others upon the `barren grounds,' and i saw they were all does--for at this season the bucks keep altogether in the woods. some of them were pawing the snow to get at the moss, while others were standing by the rocks, and tearing off the lichens with their teeth. it so happened that i had the wind of them, else they would have scented me and made off, for i was within a hundred yards of the nearest. i was not afraid of their taking fright, so long as they could only see part of my body--for these deer are so stupid, or rather so curious, that almost anything will draw them within shot. knowing this, i practised a trick that had often helped me before; and that was to move the barrel of my gun, up and down, with the same sort of motion as the deer make with their horns, when rubbing their necks against a rock or tree. if i'd had a set of antlers, it would have been all the better; but the other answered well enough. it happened the animals were not very wild, as, likely, they hadn't been hunted for a good while. i bellowed at the same time,--for i know how to imitate their call--and, in less than a minute's time, i got several of them within range. then i took aim, and knocked one over, and the rest ran off. that," said norman, "ended my adventure--unless you call the carrying a good hundred pounds weight of deer-meat all the way back to camp part of it. if so, i can assure you that it was by far the most unpleasant part." here norman finished his narration, and a conversation was carried on upon the subject of reindeer, or, as these animals are termed, in america, "caribou." lucien said that the reindeer (_cervus tarandus_) is found in the northern regions of europe and asia as well as in america, but that there were several varieties of them, and perhaps there were different species. those of lapland are most celebrated, because they not only draw sledges, but also furnish food, clothing, and many other commodities for their owners. in the north of asia, the tungusians have a much larger sort, which they ride upon; and the koreki, who dwell upon the borders of kamschatka, possess vast herds of reindeer--some rich individuals owning as many as ten or twenty thousand! it is not certain that the reindeer of america is exactly the same as either of the kinds mentioned; and indeed in america itself there are two very distinct kinds--perhaps a third. two kinds are well-known, that differ from each other in size, and also in habits. one is the "barren ground caribou," and the other, the "woodland caribou." the former is one of the smallest of the deer kind--the bucks weighing little over one hundred pounds. as its name implies, it frequents the barren grounds, although in winter it also seeks the shelter of wooded tracts. upon the barren grounds, and the desolate shores and islands of the arctic sea, it is the only kind of deer found, except at one or two points, as the mouth of the mackenzie river--which happens to be a wooded country, and there the moose also is met with. nature seems to have gifted the barren ground caribou with such tastes and habits, that a fertile country and a genial clime would not be a pleasant home for it. it seems adapted to the bleak, sterile countries in which it dwells, and where its favourite food--the mosses and lichens--is found. in the short summer of the arctic regions, it ranges still farther north; and its traces have been found wherever the northern navigators have gone. it must remain among the icy islands of the arctic sea until winter be considerably advanced, or until the sea is so frozen as to allow it to get back to the shores of the continent. the "woodland caribou" is a larger variety--a woodland doe being about as big as a barren ground buck--although the horns of the latter species are larger and more branching than those of the former. the woodland kind are found around the shores of hudson's bay, and in other wooded tracts that lie in the southern parts of the fur countries--into which the barren ground caribou never penetrates. they also migrate annually, but, strange to say, their spring migrations are southward, while, at the same season, their cousins of the barren grounds are making their way northward to the shores of the arctic sea. this is a very singular difference in their habits, and along with their difference in bulk, form, etcetera, entitles them to be ranked as separate species of deer. the flesh of the woodland caribou is not esteemed so good an article of food as that of the other; and, as it inhabits a district where many large animals are found, it is not considered of so much importance in the economy of human life. the "barren ground caribou," on the other hand, is an indispensable animal to various tribes of indians, as well as to the esquimaux. without it, these people would be unable to dwell where they do; and although they have not domesticated it, and trained it to draught, like the laplanders, it forms their main source of subsistence, and there is no part of its body which they do not turn to some useful purpose. of its horns they form their fish-spears and hooks, and, previous to the introduction of iron by the europeans, their ice-chisels and various other utensils. their scraping or currying knives are made from the split shin-bones. the skins make their clothing, tent-covers, beds, and blankets. the raw-hide, cleared of the hair and cut into thongs, serves for snares, bow-strings, net-lines, and every other sort of ropes. the finer thongs make netting for snow-shoes--an indispensable article to these people--and of these thongs fish-nets are also woven; while the tendons of the muscles, when split, serve for fine sewing-thread. besides these uses, the flesh of the caribou is the food of many tribes, indians and esquimaux, for most of the year; and, indeed, it may be looked upon as their staple article of subsistence. there is hardly any part of it (even the horns, when soft) that is not eaten and relished by them. were it not for the immense herds of these creatures that roam over the country, they would soon be exterminated--for they are easily approached, and the indians have very little difficulty, during the summer season, in killing as many as they please. norman next gave a description of the various modes of hunting the caribou practised by the indians and esquimaux; such as driving them into a pound, snaring them, decoying and shooting them with arrows, and also a singular way which the esquimaux have of taking them in a pit-trap built in the snow. "the sides of the trap," said he, "are built of slabs of snow, cut as if to make a snow-house. an inclined plane of snow leads to the entrance of the pit, which is about five feet deep, and large enough within to hold several deer. the exterior of the trap is banked up on all sides with snow; but so steep are these sides left, that the deer can only get up by the inclined plane which leads to the entrance. a great slab of snow is then placed over the mouth of the pit, and revolves on two axles of wood. this slab will carry the deer until it has passed the line of the axles, when its weight overbalances one side, and the animal is precipitated into the pit. the slab then comes back into a horizontal position as before, and is ready to receive another deer. the animals are attracted by moss and lichens placed for them on the opposite side of the trap--in such a way that they cannot be reached without crossing the slab. in this sort of trap several deer are frequently caught during a single day." norman knew another mode of hunting practised by the esquimaux, and proposed that the party should proceed in search of the herd upon the following day; when, should they succeed in finding the deer, he would show them how the thing was done: and he had no doubt of their being able to make a good hunt of it. all agreed to this proposal, as it would be of great importance to them to kill a large number of these animals. it is true they had now provision enough to serve for several days--but there were perhaps months, not days, to be provided for. they believed that they could not be far from the wooded countries near the banks of the mackenzie, as some kinds of the animal they had met with were only to be found near timber during the winter season. but what of that? even on the banks of the great river itself they might not succeed in procuring game. they resolved, therefore, to track the herd of deer which norman had seen; and for this purpose they agreed to make a stay of some days at their present camp. chapter thirty eight. a battle with wolves. next morning they were up by early daybreak. the days were now only a few hours in length, for it was mid-winter, and they were but three or four degrees south of the arctic circle. of course they would require all the day for the intended hunt of the caribou, as they might have to follow the track of the herd for many miles before coming up with the animals. lucien was to remain by the camp, as it would never do to leave the animals they had already lulled without some guard. to have hung them on the trees, would have put them out of the reach of both wolves and foxes; but the lynx and wolverene are both tree-climbers, and could easily have got at them there. they had reason to believe there were wolverenes about; for these fierce and destructive beasts are found in every part of the fur countries--wherever there exist other animals upon which they can prey. eagles, hawks, and owls, moreover, would have picked the partridges from the branches of the trees without difficulty. one proposed burying them in the snow; but norman assured them that the arctic foxes could scent them out, and dig them up in a few minutes. then it was suggested to cover them under a pile of stones, as there were plenty of these lying about. to this norman also objected, saying that the wolverene could pull off any stones they were able to pile upon them--as this creature in its fore-legs possesses more than the strength of a man. besides, it was not unlikely that one of the great brown bears,--a species entirely different from either the black or grizzly bears, and which is only met with on the barren grounds--might come ranging that way; and he could soon toss over any stone-heap they might build. on the whole it was better that one of the four should remain by the camp; and lucien, who cared less about hunting than any of them, willingly agreed to be the one. their arrangements were soon completed, and the three hunters set out. they did not go straight towards the place where norman had found the deer upon the preceding day, but took a cross-cut over the hills. this was by norman's advice, who guided himself by the wind--which had not changed since the previous day. he knew that the caribou in feeding always travel _against_ the wind; and he expected therefore to find them somewhere in the direction from which it was blowing. following a course, which angled with that of the wind, they kept on, expecting soon to strike the trail of the herd. meanwhile lucien, left to himself, was not idle. he had to prepare the flesh of the different animals, so as to render it fit to be carried along. nothing was required farther than to skin and cut them up. neither salting nor drying was necessary, for the flesh of one and all had got frozen as stiff as a stone, and in this way it would keep during the whole winter. the wolf was skinned with the others, but this was because his fine skin was wanted. his flesh was not intended to be eaten--although only a day or two before any one of the party would have been glad of such a meal. not only the indians, but the voyageurs and fur-traders, while journeying through these inhospitable wilds, are often but too delighted to get a dinner of wolf-meat. the ermine and the little mouse were the only other creatures of the collection that were deemed uneatable. as to the arctic fox and the lynx, the flesh of both these creatures is highly esteemed, and is white and tender, almost as much so as the hares upon which they feed. the snowy owl too, the jerfalcon, and the eagle, were looked upon as part of the larder--the flesh of all being almost as good as that of the grouse. had it been a fishing eagle--such as the bald-head--the case would have been different, for these last, on account of their peculiar food, taste rank and disagreeable. but there was no danger of their falling in with a fishing eagle at that place. these can only exist where there is _open_ water. hence the cause of their annual migrations to the southward, when the lakes and rivers of the fur countries become covered with their winter ice. though lucien remained quietly at the camp he was not without adventures to keep him from wearying. while he was singeing his grouse his eye happened to fall upon the shadow of a bird passing over the snow. on looking up he saw a very large bird, nearly as big as an eagle, flying softly about in wide circles. it was of a mottled-brown colour; but its short neck and great round head told the naturalist at a glance that it was a bird of the owl genus. it was the largest of the kind that lucien had ever seen, and was, in fact, the largest known in america--the "great cinereous owl" (_strix cinerea_). now and then it would alight upon a rock or tree, at the distance of an hundred yards or so from the camp; where it would watch the operations of lucien, evidently inclined to help him in dissecting some of the animals. whenever he took up his gun and tried to approach within shot, it would rise into the air again, always keeping out of range. lucien was provoked at this--for he wished, as a naturalist, to examine the bird, and for this purpose to kill it, of course; but the owl seemed determined that he should do no such thing. at length, however, lucien resolved upon a plan to decoy the creature within shot. taking up one of the grouse, he flung it out upon the snow some thirty yards from the fire. no sooner had he done so, than the owl, at sight of the tempting morsel, left aside both its shyness and prudence, and sailed gently forward; then, hovering for a moment over the ground, hooked the grouse upon its claws, and was about to carry it off, when a bullet from lucien's rifle, just in the "nick of time," put a stop to its further flight, and dropped the creature dead upon the snow. lucien picked it up and brought it to the camp, where he passed some time in making notes upon its size, colour, and other peculiarities. the owl measured exactly two feet in length from the point of the bill to the end of the tail; and its "alar spread," as naturalists term it, was full five feet in extent. it was of a clove-brown colour, beautifully mottled with white, and its bill and eyes were of a bright gamboge yellow. like all of its tribe that winter in the arctic wilds, it was feathered to the toes. lucien reflected that this species lives more in the woods than the "great snowy owl," and, as he had heard, is never found far out on the barren grounds during winter. this fact, therefore, was a pleasant one to reflect upon, for it confirmed the testimony which the travellers had already obtained from several of the other creatures they had killed--that is to say, that they must be in the neighbourhood of some timbered country. lucien had hardly finished his examination of the owl when he was called upon to witness another incident of a much more exciting nature. a hill, as already mentioned, or rather a ridge, rose up from the opposite shore of the lake by which the camp was pitched. the declivity of this hill fronted the lake, and sloped gradually back from the edge of the water. its whole face was smooth and treeless, covered with a layer of pure snow. the camp commanded a full view of it up to its very crest. as lucien was sitting quietly by the fire a singular sound, or rather continuation of sounds, fell upon his ear. it somewhat resembled the baying of hounds at a distance; and at first he was inclined to believe that it was marengo on a view-hunt after the deer. on listening more attentively, however, he observed that the sounds came from more than one animal; and also, that they bore more resemblance to the howling of wolves than the deep-toned bay of a bloodhound. this, in fact, it was; for the next moment a caribou shot up over the crest of the hill, and was seen stretching at full gallop down the smooth declivity in the direction of the lake. not twenty paces in its rear followed a string of howling animals, evidently in pursuit of it. there were a dozen of them in all, and they were running exactly like hounds upon the "view holloa." lucien saw at a glance they were wolves. most of them were dappled-grey and white, while some were of a pure white colour. any one of them was nearly as large as the caribou itself; for in these parts-around great slave lake--the wolf grows to his largest size. the caribou gained upon them as it bounded down the slope of the hill. it was evidently making for the lake, believing, no doubt, that the black ice upon its surface was water, and that in that element it would have the advantage of its pursuers, for the caribou is a splendid swimmer. nearly all deer when hunted take to the water--to throw off the dogs, or escape from men--and to this habit the reindeer makes no exception. down the hill swept the chase, lucien having a full view both of pursuers and pursued. the deer ran boldly. it seemed to have gathered fresh confidence at sight of the lake, while the same object caused its pursuers a feeling of disappointment. they knew they were no match for a caribou in the water, as no doubt many a one had escaped them in that element. it is not likely, however, that they made reflections of this sort. there was but little time. from the moment of their appearance upon the crest of the hill till the chase arrived at the edge of the lake, was but a few seconds. on reaching the shore the caribou made no stop; but bounded forward in the same way as if it had been springing upon water. most likely it expected to hear a plunge; but, instead of that, its hoofs came down upon the hard ice; and, by the impulse thus given, the animal shot out with the velocity of a skater. strange to say, it still kept its feet; but, now seemingly overcome by surprise, and knowing the advantage its pursuers would have over it upon the slippery ice, it began to plunge and flounder, and once or twice came to its knees. the hungry pursuers appeared to recognise their advantage at once, for their howling opened with a fresh burst, and they quickened their pace. their sharp claws enabled them to gallop over the ice at top speed; and one large brute that led the pack soon came up with the deer, sprang upon it, and bit it in the flank. this brought the deer upon its haunches, and at once put an end to the chase. the animal was hardly down upon the ice, when the foremost wolves coming up precipitated themselves upon its body, and began to devour it. it was about the middle of the lake where the caribou had been overtaken. at the time it first reached the ice, lucien had laid hold of his rifle and run forward in order to meet the animal halfway, and, if possible, get a shot at it. now that the creature was killed, he continued on with the design of driving off the wolves, and securing the carcass of the deer for himself. he kept along the ice until he was within less than twenty yards of the pack, when, seeing that the fierce brutes had torn the deer to pieces, and perceiving, moreover, that they exhibited no fear of himself, he began to think he might be in danger by advancing any nearer. perhaps a shot from his rifle would scatter them, and without further reflection he raised the piece, and fired. one of the wolves kicked over upon the ice, and lay quite dead; but the others, to lucien's great surprise, instead of being frightened off, immediately sprang upon their dead companion, and commenced tearing and devouring it, just as they had done the deer! the sight filled lucien with alarm; which was increased at seeing several of the wolves--that had been beaten by the others from the quarry--commence making demonstrations towards himself! lucien now trembled for his safety, and no wonder. he was near the middle of the lake upon slippery ice. to attempt running back to the camp would be hazardous; the wolves could overtake him before he had got halfway, and he felt certain that any signs of fear on his part would be the signal for the fierce brutes to assail him. for some moments he was irresolute how to act. he had commenced loading his gun, but his fingers were numbed with the cold, and it was a good while before he could get the piece ready for a second fire. he succeeded at length. he did not fire then, but resolved to keep the charge for a more desperate crisis. could he but reach the camp there were trees near it, and one of these he might climb. this was his only hope, in case the wolves attacked him, and he knew it was. instead of turning and running for this point, he began to back for it stealthily and with caution, keeping his front all the while towards the wolves, and his eyes fixed upon them. he had not got many yards, when he perceived to his horror, that the whole pack were in motion, and _coming after him_! it was a terrible sight, and lucien, seeing that by retreating he only drew them on, stopped and held his rifle in a threatening attitude. the wolves were now within twenty yards of him; but, instead of moving any longer directly towards him, they broke into two lines, swept past on opposite sides of him, and then circling round, met each other in his rear. _his retreat was cut off_! he now stood upon the ice with the fierce wolves forming a ring around him, whose diameter was not the six lengths of his gun, and _every_ moment growing shorter and shorter. the prospect was appalling. it would have caused the stoutest heart to quail, and lucien's was terrified. he shouted at the top of his voice. he fired his rifle at the nearest. the brute fell, but the others showed no symptoms of fear; they only grew more furious. lucien clubbed his gun--the last resort in such cases--and laid around him with all his might; but he was in danger of slipping upon the ice, and his efforts were feeble. once down he never would have risen again, for his fierce assailants would have sprung upon him like tigers. as it was, he felt but little hope. he believed himself lost. the teeth of the ferocious monsters gleamed under his eyes. he was growing weaker and weaker, yet still he battled on, and swept his gun around him with the energy of despair. such a struggle could not have continued much longer. lucien's fate would have been sealed in a very few minutes more, had not relief arrived in some shape or other. but it did come. a loud shout was heard upon the hill; and lucien, glancing suddenly towards it, saw several forms rushing downward to the lake! it was the hunting party returned, and in a moment more they were crossing the ice to his rescue. lucien gaining confidence fought with fresh vigour. the wolves busy in their attack had either not heard or were regardless of the new-comers; but the "crack, crack" of the guns--repeated no less than four times--and then the nearer reports of pistols, made a speedy impression upon the brutes, and in a short while half their number were seen tumbling and kicking upon the ice. the rest, uttering their hideous howls, took to flight, and soon disappeared from the valley; and lucien, half dead with fatigue, staggered into the arms of his deliverers. no less than seven of the wolves were killed in the affray--two of which lucien had shot himself. one or two were only wounded, but so badly, that they could not get away; and these were handed over to the tender mercies of marengo, who amused himself for some time after by worrying them to death. the hunting party had made a good day of it. they had fallen in with the caribou, and had killed three of them. these they were bringing to camp, but had dropped them upon the hill, on perceiving the perilous position of lucien. they now went back, and having carried the deer to their camping-place, were soon engaged in the pleasant occupation of eating a savoury dinner. lucien soon recovered from his fright and fatigue, and amused his companions by giving an account of the adventures that had befallen him in their absence. chapter thirty nine. end of the "voyage." our party remained several days at this place, until they had made a fresh stock of "pemmican" from the flesh of the caribou, several more of which they succeeded in killing; and then, arranging everything anew, and taking with them such skins as they wanted, they continued their journey. they had two days' hard travelling through a rocky mountainous country, where they could not find a stick of wood to cook their meals with, and were exposed to cold more than at any other place. both francois and lucien had their faces frost-bitten; but they were cured by norman, who prevented them from going near a fire until he had well rubbed the parts with soft snow. the rocks through which they passed were in many places covered with the _tripe de roche (gyrophora_) of several species; but our voyageurs cared nothing about it so long as their pemmican lasted, and of that each of them had nearly as much as he could carry. in the most dreary part of the mountains they chanced upon a herd of those curious animals, the musk-oxen, and shot one of them; but the meat tasted so rank, and smelt so strongly of musk, that the whole of it was left to the wolves, foxes, and other preying creatures of these parts. on the third day, after leaving their camp by the lake, a pleasant prospect opened before them. it was the valley of the mackenzie, stretching to the west, and extending north and south as far as the eye could reach, covered with forests of pine and poplar, and other large trees. of course the landscape was a winter one, as the river was bound up in ice, and the trees themselves were half-white with frozen snow; but after the dreary scenery of the barren grounds, even this appeared warm and summer-like. there was no longer any danger they should be without a good fire to cook their dinners, or warm themselves at, and a wooded country offers a better prospect of game. the sight, therefore, of a great forest was cheering; and our travellers, in high spirits, planted their tent upon the banks of the great northern river. they had still many hundred miles to go before arriving at their destination; but they determined to continue their journey without much delay, following the river as a guide. no more "near cuts" were to be taken in future. they had learned, from their recent experience, that "the shortest way across is sometimes the longest way round," and they resolved to profit by the lesson. i hope, boy reader, you too will remember it. after reaching the mackenzie the voyageurs halted one day, and upon the next commenced their journey down-stream. sometimes they kept upon the bank, but at times, for a change, they travelled upon the ice of the river. there was no danger of its giving way under them, for it was more than a foot in thickness, and would have supported a loaded waggon and horses, without even cracking. they were now drawing near the arctic circle, and the days grew shorter and shorter as they advanced. but this did not much interfere with their travelling. the long nights of the polar regions are not like those of more southern latitudes. they are sometimes so clear, that one may read the smallest print. what with the coruscations of the aurora borealis, and the cheerful gleaming of the northern constellations, one may travel without difficulty throughout the livelong night. i am sure, my young friend, you have made good use of your globes, and need not be told that the length of both nights and days, as you approach the pole, depends upon two things--the latitude of the place, and the season of the year; and were you to spend a whole year _leaning against the pole itself_, (!) you would _live but one day and one night_--each of them six months in length. but no doubt you know all these things without my telling you of them, and you are impatient to hear not about that, but whether the young voyageurs safely reached the end of their journey. that question i answer briefly at once--they did. some distance below the point where they had struck the mackenzie, they fell in with a winter encampment of dog-rib indians. some of these people had been to the fort to trade; and norman being known to them, he and his southern cousins were received with much hospitality. all their wants were provided for, as far as it lay in the power of these poor people to do; but the most valuable thing obtained from the indians was a full set of dogs and dog-sledges for the whole party. these were furnished by the chief, upon the understanding that he should be paid for them on his next visit to the fort. although the reindeer of north america are not trained to the sledge by the esquimaux and indians, several kinds of dogs are; and a single pair of these faithful creatures will draw a full-grown man at a rate that exceeds almost every other mode of travelling--steam excepted. when our voyageurs, therefore, flung away their snow-shoes, and, wrapped in their skin cloaks, seated themselves snugly in their dog-sledges, the five hundred miles that separated them from the fort were soon reduced to nothing; and one afternoon, four small sledges, each carrying a "young voyageur," with a large bloodhound galloping in the rear, were seen driving up to the stockade fence surrounding the fort. before they had quite reached the gate, there was a general rush of trappers, traders, voyageurs, _coureurs-des-bois_, and other _employes_, to reach them; and the next moment they were lost in the midst of the people who crowded out of the fort to welcome them. this was their hour of happiness and joy. to me there is an hour of regret, and i hope, boy reader, to you as well--the hour of our parting with the "young _voyageurs_." the end. (this file was produced from images generously made available by the canadian institute for historical microreproductions (www.canadiana.org)) lords of the north by a. c. laut toronto william briggs entered according to act of the parliament of canada, in the year one thousand nine hundred, by william briggs, at the department of agriculture. [illustration: lords of the north by a. c. laut] to the pioneers and their descendants whose heroism won the land, this work is respectfully dedicated. acknowledgment. the author desires to express thanks to pioneers and fur traders of the west for information, details and anecdotes bearing on the old life, which are herein embodied; and would also acknowledge the assistance of the history of the north-west company and manuscripts of the _bourgeois_, compiled by senator l. r. masson; and the value of such early works as those of dr. george bryce, gunn, hargraves, ross and others. the trapper's defiance. "the adventurous spirits, who haunted the forest and plain, grew fond of their wild life and affected a great contempt for civilization." you boxed-up, mewed-up artificials, pent in your piles of mortar and stone, hugging your finely spun judicials, adorning externals, externals alone, vaunting in prideful ostentation of the juggernaut car, called civilization- what know ye of freedom and life and god? monkeys, that follow a showman's string, know more of freedom and less of care, cage birds, that flutter from perch to ring, have less of worry and surer fare. cursing the burdens, yourselves have bound, in a maze of wants, running round and round- are ye free men, or manniken slaves? costly patches, adorning your walls, are all of earth's beauty ye care to know; but ye strut about in soul-stifled halls to play moth-life by a candle-glow- what soul has space for upward fling, what manhood room for shoulder-swing, coffined and cramped from the vasts of god? the spirit of life, o atrophied soul, in trappings of ease is not confined; that touch from infinite will 'neath the whole in nature's temple, not man's, is shrined! from hovel-shed come out and be strong! be ye free! be redeemed from the wrong, of soul-guilt, i charge you as sons of god! introduction. i, rufus gillespie, trader and clerk for the north-west company, which ruled over an empire broader than europe in the beginning of this century, and with indian allies and its own riotous _bois-brulés_, carried war into the very heart of the vast territory claimed by its rivals, the honorable hudson's bay company, have briefly related a few stirring events of those boisterous days. should the account here set down be questioned, i appeal for confirmation to that missionary among northern tribes, the famous priest, who is the son of the ill-fated girl stolen by the wandering iroquois. lord selkirk's narration of lawless conflict with the nor'-westers and the verbal testimony of red river settlers, who are still living, will also substantiate what i have stated; though allowance must be made for the violent partisan leaning of witnesses, and from that, i--as a nor'-wester--do not claim to be free. on the charges and counter-charges of cruelty bandied between white men and red, i have nothing to say. remembering how white soldiers from eastern cities took the skin of a native chief for a trophy of victory, and recalling the fiendish glee of mandanes over a victim, i can only conclude that neither race may blamelessly point the finger of reproach at the other. any variations in detail from actual occurrences as seen by my own eyes are solely for the purpose of screening living descendants of those whose lives are here portrayed from prying curiosity; but, in truth, many experiences during the thrilling days of the fur companies were far too harrowing for recital. i would fain have tempered some of the incidents herein related to suit the sentiments of a milk-and-water age; but that could be done only at the cost of truth. there is no french strain in my blood, so i have not that passionate devotion to the wild daring of _l'ancien régime_, in which many of my rugged companions under _les bourgeois de la compagnie du nord-ouest_ gloried; but he would be very sluggish, indeed, who could not look back with some degree of enthusiasm to the days of gentlemen adventurers in no-man's-land, in a word, to the workings of the great fur trading companies. theirs were the trappers and runners, the _coureurs des bois_ and _bois-brulés_, who traversed the immense solitudes of the pathless west; theirs, the brigades of gay _voyageurs_ chanting hilarious refrains in unison with the rhythmic sweep of paddle blades and following unknown streams until they had explored from st. lawrence to mackenzie river; and theirs, the merry lads of the north, blazing a track through the wilderness and leaving from atlantic to pacific lonely stockaded fur posts--footprints for the pioneers' guidance. the whitewashed palisades of many little settlements on the rivers and lakes of the far north are poor relics of the fur companies' ancient grandeur. that broad domain stretching from hudson bay to the pacific ocean, reclaimed from savagery for civilization, is the best monument to the unheralded forerunners of empire. rufus gillespie. winnipeg--one time fort garry formerly red river settlement, _19th june, 18--_ transcriber's note: minor typos have been corrected. contents page chapter i. wherein a lad sees makers of history 9 chapter ii. a strong man is bowed 23 chapter iii. novice and expert 38 chapter iv. launched into the unknown 55 chapter v. civilization's veneer rubs off 70 chapter vi. a girdle of agates recalled 92 chapter vii. the lords of the north in council 99 chapter viii. the little statue animate 118 chapter ix. decorating a bit of statuary 131 chapter x. more studies in statuary 144 chapter xi. a shuffling of allegiance 163 chapter xii. how a youth became a king 181 chapter xiii. the buffalo hunt 200 chapter xiv. in slippery places 220 chapter xv. the good white father 234 chapter xvi. le grand diable sends back our messenger 246 chapter xvii. the price of blood 253 chapter xviii. laplante and i renew acquaintance 266 chapter xix. wherein louis intrigues 281 chapter xx. plots and counter-plots 297 chapter xxi. louis pays me back 313 chapter xxii. a day of reckoning 327 chapter xxiii. the iroquois plays his last card 341 chapter xxiv. fort douglas changes masters 350 chapter xxv. his lordship to the rescue 368 chapter xxvi. father holland and i in the toils 378 chapter xxvii. under one roof 389 chapter xxviii. the last of louis' adventures 409 chapter xxix. the priest journeys to a far country 433 lords of the north chapter i wherein a lad sees makers of history "has any one seen eric hamilton?" i asked. for an hour, or more, i had been lounging about the sitting-room of a club in quebec city, waiting for my friend, who had promised to join me at dinner that night. i threw aside a news-sheet, which i had exhausted down to minutest advertisements, stretched myself and strolled across to a group of old fur-traders, retired partners of the north-west company, who were engaged in heated discussion with some officers from the citadel. "has any one seen eric hamilton?" i repeated, indifferent to the merits of their dispute. "that's the tenth time you've asked that question," said my uncle jack mackenzie, looking up sharply, "the tenth time, sir, by actual count," and he puckered his brows at the interruption, just as he used to when i was a little lad on his knee and chanced to break into one of his hunting stories with a question at the wrong place. "hang it," drawled colonel adderly, a squatty man with an over-fed look on his bulging, red cheeks, "hang it, you don't expect hamilton? the baby must be teething," and he added more chaff at the expense of my friend, who had been the subject of good-natured banter among club members for devotion to his first-born. i saw adderly's object was more to get away from the traders' arguments than to answer me; and i returned the insolent challenge of his unconcealed yawn in the faces of the elder men by drawing a chair up to the company of mctavishes and frobishers and mcgillivrays and mackenzies and other retired veterans of the north country. "i beg your pardon, gentlemen," said i, "what were you saying to colonel adderly?" "talk of your military conquests, sir," my uncle continued, "why, sir, our men have transformed a wilderness into an empire. they have blazed a path from labrador on the atlantic to that rock on the pacific, where my esteemed kinsman, sir alexander mackenzie, left his inscription of discovery. mark my words, sir, the day will come when the names of david thompson and simon fraser and sir alexander mackenzie will rank higher in english annals than braddock's and----" "egad!" laughed the officer, amused at my uncle, who had been a leading spirit in the north-west company and whose enthusiasm knew no bounds, "egad! you gentlemen adventurers wouldn't need to have accomplished much to eclipse braddock." and he paused with a questioning supercilious smile. "sir alexander was a first cousin of yours, was he not?" my uncle flushed hotly. that slighting reference to gentlemen adventurers, with just a perceptible emphasis of the _adventurers_, was not to his taste. "pardon me, sir," said he stiffly, "you forget that by the terms of their charter, the ancient and honorable hudson's bay company have the privilege of being known as gentlemen adventurers. and by the lord, sir, 'tis a gentleman adventurer and nothing else, that stock-jobbing scoundrel of a selkirk has proved himself! and he, sir, was neither nor'-wester, nor canadian, but an englishman, like the commander of the citadel." my uncle puffed out these last words in the nature of a defiance to the english officer, whose cheeks took on a deeper purplish shade; but he returned the charge good-humoredly enough. "nonsense, mackenzie, my good friend," laughed he patronizingly, "if the right honorable, the earl of selkirk, were such an adventurer, why the deuce did the beaver club down at montreal receive him with open mouths and open arms and----" "and open hearts, sir, you may say," interrupted my uncle mackenzie. "and i'd thank you not to 'good-friend' me," he added tartly. now, the beaver club was an organization at nor'-westers renowned for its hospitality. founded in 1785, originally composed of but nineteen members and afterwards extended only to men who had served in the _pays d'en haut_, it soon acquired a reputation for entertaining in regal style. why the vertebrae of colonial gentlemen should sometimes lose the independent, upright rigidity of self-respect on contact with old world nobility, i know not. but instantly, colonel adderly's reference to lord selkirk and the beaver club called up the picture of a banquet in montreal, when i was a lad of seven, or thereabouts. i had been tricked out in some highland costume especially pleasing to the earl--cap, kilts, dirk and all--and was taken by my uncle jack mackenzie to the beaver club. here, in a room, that glittered with lights, was a table steaming with things, which caught and held my boyish eyes; and all about were crowds of guests, gentlemen, who had been invited in the quaint language of the club, "to discuss the merits of bear, beaver and venison." the great sir alexander mackenzie, with his title fresh from the king, and his feat of exploring the river now known by his name and pushing through the mountain fastnesses to the pacific on all men's lips--was to my uncle jack's right. simon fraser and david thompson and other famous explorers, who were heroes to my imagination, were there too. in these men and what they said of their wonderful voyages i was far more interested than in the young, keen-faced man with a tie, that came up in ruffles to his ears, and with an imperial decoration on his breast, which told me he was lord selkirk. i remember when the huge salvers and platters were cleared away, i was placed on the table to execute the sword dance. i must have acquitted myself with some credit; for the gentlemen set up a prodigious clapping, though i recall nothing but a snapping of my fingers, a wave of my cap and a whirl of lights and faces around my dizzy head. then my uncle took me between his knees, promising to let me sit up to the end if i were good, and more wine was passed. "that's enough for you, you young cub," says my kinsman, promptly inverting the wine-glass before me. "o uncle mackenzie," said i with a wry face, "do you measure your own wine so?" whereat, the noble earl shouted, "bravo! here's for you, mr. mackenzie." and all the gentlemen set up a laugh and my uncle smiled and called to the butler, "here, johnson, toddy for one, glass of hot water, pure, for other." but when johnson brought back the glasses, i observed uncle mackenzie kept the toddy. "there, my boy, there's adam's ale for you," said he, and into the glass of hot water he popped a peppermint lozenge. "fie!" laughed sir alexander to my uncle's right, "fie to cheat the little man!" "his is the best wine of the cellar," vowed his lordship; and i drank my peppermint with as much gusto and self-importance as any man of them. then followed toasts, such a list of toasts as only men inured to tests of strength could take. ironical toasts to the north-west passage, whose myth sir alexander had dispelled; toasts to the discoverer of the mackenzie river, which brought storms of applause that shook the house; toasts to "our distinguished guest," whose suave response disarmed all suspicion; toasts to the "northern winterers," poor devils, who were serving the cause by undergoing a life-long term of arctic exile; toasts to "the merry lads of the north," who only served in the ranks without attaining to the honor of partnership; toasts enough, in all conscience, to drown the memory of every man present. thanks to my uncle jack mackenzie, all my toasts were taken in peppermint, and the picture in my mind of that banquet is as clear to-day as it was when i sat at the table. what would i not give to be back at the beaver club, living it all over again and hearing sir alexander mackenzie with his flashing hero-eyes and quick, passionate gestures, recounting that wonderful voyage of his with a sulky crew into a region of hostiles; telling of those long interminable winters of arctic night, when the great explorer sounded the depths of utter despair in service for the company and knew not whether he faced madness or starvation; and thrilling the whole assembly with a description of his first glimpse of the pacific! perhaps it was what i heard that night--who can tell--that drew me to the wild life of after years. but i was too young, then, to recognize fully the greatness of those men. indeed, my country was then and is yet too young; for if their greatness be recognized, it is forgotten and unhonored. i think i must have fallen asleep on my uncle's knee; for i next remember sleepily looking about and noticing that many of the gentlemen had slid down in their chairs and with closed eyes were breathing heavily. others had slipped to the floor and were sound asleep. this shocked me and i was at once wide awake. my uncle was sitting very erect and his arm around my waist had the tight grasp that usually preceded some sharp rebuke. i looked up and found his face grown suddenly so hard and stern, i was all affright lest my sleeping had offended him. his eyes were fastened on lord selkirk with a piercing, angry gaze. his lordship was not nodding, not a bit of it. how brilliant he seemed to my childish fancy! he was leaning forward, questioning those nor'-westers, who had received him with open arms, and open hearts. and the wine had mounted to the head of the good nor'-westers and they were now also receiving the strange nobleman with open mouths, pouring out to him a full account of their profits, the extent of the vast, unknown game preserve, and how their methods so far surpassed those of the hudson's bay, their rival's stock had fallen in value from 250 to 50 per cent. the more information they gave, the more his lordship plied them with questions. "i must say," whispered uncle jack to sir alexander mackenzie, "if any hudson's bay man asked such pointed questions on north-west business, i'd give myself the pleasure of ejecting him from this room." then, i knew his anger was against lord selkirk and not against me for sleeping. "nonsense," retorted sir alexander, who had cut active connection with the nor'-westers some years before, "there's no ground for suspicion." but he seemed uneasy at the turn things had taken. "has your lordship some colonization scheme that you ask such pointed questions?" demanded my uncle, addressing the earl. the nobleman turned quickly to him and said something about the highlanders and prince edward's island, which i did not understand. the rest of that evening fades from my thoughts; for i was carried home in mr. jack mackenzie's arms. and all these things happened some ten or twelve years before that wordy sword-play between this same uncle of mine and the english colonel from the citadel. "we erred, sir, through too great hospitality," my uncle was saying to the colonel. "how could we know that selkirk would purchase controlling interest in hudson's bay stock? how could we know he'd secure a land grant in the very heart of our domain?" "i don't object to his land, nor to his colonists, nor to his dower of ponies and muskets and bayonets to every mother's son of them," broke in another of the retired traders, "but i do object to his drilling those same colonists, to his importing a field battery and bringing out that little ram of a mcdonell from the army to egg the settlers on! it's bad enough to pillage our fort; but this proclamation to expel nor'-westers from what is claimed as hudson's bay territory----" "just listen to this," cries my uncle pulling out a copy of the obnoxious proclamation and reading aloud an order for the expulsion of all rivals to the hudson's bay company from the northern territory. "where can hamilton be?" said i, losing interest in the traders' quarrel as soon as they went into details. "home with his wifie," half sneered the officer in a nagging way, that irritated me, though the remark was, doubtless, true. "home with his wifie," he repeated in a sing-song, paying no attention to the elucidation of a subject he had raised. "good old man, hamilton, but since marriage, utterly gone to the bad!" "to the what?" i queried, taking him up short. this officer, with the pudding cheeks and patronizing insolence, had a provoking trick of always keeping just inside the bounds of what one might resent. "to the what, did you say hamilton had gone?" "to the domestics," says he laughing, then to the others, as if he had listened to every word of the explanations, "and if his little excellency, governor macdonell, by the grace of lord selkirk, ruler over gentlemen adventurers in no-man's-land, expels the good nor'-westers from nowhere to somewhere else, what do the good nor'-westers intend doing to the little tyrant?" "charles the first him," responds a wag of the club. "where's your cromwell?" laughs the colonel. "our cromwell's a cameron, temper of a lucifer, oaths before action," answers the wag. "tuts!" exclaims uncle jack testily. "we'll settle his lordship's little martinet of the plains. warrant for his arrest! fetch him out!" "warrant 43rd king george iii. will do it," added one of the partners who had looked the matter up. "43rd king george iii. doesn't give jurisdiction for trial in lower canada, if offense be committed elsewhere," interjects a lawyer with show of importance. "a daniel come to judgment," laughs the colonel, winking as my uncle's wrath rose. "pah!" says mr. jack mackenzie in disgust, stamping on the floor with both feet. "you lawyers needn't think you'll have your pickings when fur companies quarrel. we'll ship him out, that's all. neither of the companies wants to advertise its profits--" "or its methods--ahem!" interjects the colonel. "and its private business," adds my uncle, looking daggers at adderly, "by going to court." then they all rose to go to the dining-room; and as i stepped out to have a look down the street for hamilton, i heard colonel adderly's last fling--"pretty rascals, you gentlemen adventurers are, so shy and coy about law courts." it was a dark night, with a few lonely stars in mid-heaven, a sickle moon cutting the horizon cloud-rim and a noisy march wind that boded snow from the labrador, or sleet from the gulf. when eric hamilton left the hudson's bay company's service at york factory on hudson bay and came to live in quebec, i was but a student at laval. it was at my uncle mackenzie's that i met the tall, dark, sinewy, taciturn man, whose influence was to play such a strange part in my life; and when these two talked of their adventures in the far, lone land of the north, i could no more conceal my awe-struck admiration than a girl could on first discovering her own charms in a looking-glass. i think he must have noticed my boyish reverence, for once he condescended to ask about the velvet cap and green sash and long blue coat which made up the laval costume, and in a moment i was talking to him as volubly as if he were the boy and i, the great hudson's bay trader. "it makes me feel quite like a boy again," he had said on resuming conversation with mr. mackenzie. "by jove! sir, i can hardly realize i went into that country a lad of fifteen, like your nephew, and here i am, out of it, an old man." "pah, eric man," says my uncle, "you'll be finding a wife one of these days and renewing your youth." "uncle," i broke out when the hudson's bay man had gone home, "how old is mr. hamilton?" "fifteen years older than you are, boy, and i pray heaven you may have half as much of the man in you at thirty as he has," returns my uncle mentally measuring me with that stern eye of his. at that information, my heart gave a curious, jubilant thud. henceforth, i no longer looked upon mr. hamilton with the same awe that a choir boy entertains for a bishop. something of comradeship sprang up between us, and before that year had passed we were as boon companions as man and boy could be. but hamilton presently spoiled it all by fulfilling my uncle's prediction and finding a wife, a beautiful, fair-haired, frail slip of a girl, near enough the twenties to patronize me and too much of the young lady to find pleasure in an awkward lad. that meant an end to our rides and walks and sails down the st. lawrence and long evening talks; but i took my revenge by assuming the airs of a man of forty, at which hamilton quizzed me not a little and his wife, miriam, laughed. when i surprised them all by jumping suddenly from boyhood to manhood--"like a tadpole into a mosquito," as my uncle jack facetiously remarked. meanwhile, a son and heir came to my friend's home and i had to be thankful for a humble third place. and so it came that i was waiting for eric's arrival at the quebec club that night, peering from the porch for sight of him and calculating how long it would take to ride from the chateau bigot above charlesbourg, where he was staying. stepping outside, i was surprised to see the form of a horse beneath the lantern of the arched gateway; and my surprise increased on nearer inspection. as i walked up, the creature gave a whinny and i recognized hamilton's horse, lathered with sweat, unblanketed and shivering. the possibility of an accident hardly suggested itself before i observed the bridle-rein had been slung over the hitching-post and heard steps hurrying to the side door of the club-house. "is that you, eric?" i called. there was no answer; so i led the horse to the stable boy and hurried back to see if hamilton were inside. the sitting room was deserted; but eric's well-known, tall figure was entering the dining-room. and a curious figure he presented to the questioning looks of the club men. in one hand was his riding whip, in the other, his gloves. he wore the buckskin coat of a trapper and in the belt were two pistols. one sleeve was torn from wrist to elbow and his boots were scratched as if they had been combed by an iron rake. his broad-brimmed hat was still on, slouched down over his eyes like that of a scout. "gad! hamilton," exclaimed uncle jack mackenzie, who was facing eric as i came up behind, "have you been in a race or a fight?" and he gave him the look of suspicion one might give an intoxicated man. "is it a cold night?" asked the colonel punctiliously, gazing hard at the still-strapped hat. not a word came from hamilton. "how's the cold in your head?" continued adderly, pompously trying to stare hamilton's hat off. "here i am, old man! what's kept you?" and i rushed forward but quickly checked myself; for hamilton turned slowly towards me and instead of erect bearing, clear glance, firm mouth, i saw a head that was bowed, eyes that burned like fire, and parched, parted, wordless lips. if the colonel had not been stuffing himself like the turkey guzzler that he was, he would have seen something unspeakably terrible written on hamilton's silent face. "did the little wifie let him off for a night's play?" sneered adderly. barely were the words out, when hamilton's teeth clenched behind the open lips, giving him an ugly, furious expression, strange to his face. he took a quick stride towards the officer, raised his whip and brought it down with the full strength of his shoulder in one cutting blow across the baggy, purplish cheeks of the insolent speaker. chapter ii a strong man is bowed the whole thing was so unexpected that for one moment not a man in the room drew breath. then the colonel sprang up with the bellow of an enraged bull, overturning the table in his rush, and a dozen club members were pulling him back from eric. "eric hamilton, are you mad?" i cried. "what do you mean?" but hamilton stood motionless as if he saw none of us. except that his breath was labored, he wore precisely the same strange, distracted air he had on entering the club. "hold back!" i implored; for adderly was striking right and left to get free from the men. "hold back! there's a mistake! something's wrong!" "reptile!" roared the colonel. "cowardly reptile, you shall pay for this!" "there's a mistake," i shouted, above the clamor of exclamations. "glad the mistake landed where it did, all the same," whispered uncle jack mackenzie in my ear, "but get him out of this. drunk--or a scandal," says my uncle, who always expressed himself in explosives when excited. "side room--here--lead him in--drunk--by jove--drunk!" "never," i returned passionately. i knew both hamilton and his wife too well to tolerate either insinuation. but we led him like a dazed being into a side office, where mr. jack mackenzie promptly turned the key and took up a posture with his back against the door. "now, sir," he broke out sternly, "if it's neither drink, nor a scandal----" there, he stopped; for hamilton, utterly unconscious of us, moved, rather than walked, automatically across the room. throwing his hat down, he bowed his head over both arms above the mantel-piece. my uncle and i looked from the silent man to each other. raising his brows in question, mr. jack mackenzie touched his forehead and whispered across to me--"mad?" at that, though the word was spoken barely above a breath, eric turned slowly round and faced us with blood-shot, gleaming eyes. he made as though he would speak, sank into the armchair before the grate and pressed both hands against his forehead. "mad," he repeated in a voice low as a moan, framing his words slowly and with great effort. "by jove, men, you should know me better than to mouth such rot under your breath. to-night, i'd sell my soul, sell my soul to be mad, really mad, to know that all i think has happened, hadn't happened at all--" and his speech was broken by a sharp intake of breath. "out with it, man, for the lord's sake," shouted my uncle, now convinced that eric was not drunk and jumping to conclusions--as he was wont to do when excited--regarding a possible scandal. "out with it, man! we'll stand by you! has that blasted red-faced turkey----" "pray, spare your histrionics, for the present," eric cut in with the icy self-possession bred by a lifetime's danger, dispelling my uncle's second suspicion with a quiet scorn that revealed nothing. "what the----" began my kinsman, "what did you strike him for?" "did i strike somebody?" asked hamilton absently. again my uncle flashed a questioning look at me, but this time his face showed his conviction so plainly no word was needed. "did i strike somebody? wish you'd apologize----" "apologize!" thundered my uncle. "i'll do nothing of the kind. served him right. 'twas a pretty way, a pretty way, indeed, to speak of any man's wife----" but the word "wife" had not been uttered before eric threw out his hands in an imploring gesture. "don't!" he cried out sharply in the suffering tone of a man under the operating knife. "don't! it all comes back! it is true! it is true! i can't get away from it! it is no nightmare. my god, men, how can i tell you? there's no way of saying it! it is impossible--preposterous--some monstrous joke--it's quite impossible i tell you--it couldn't have happened--such things don't happen--couldn't happen--to her--of all women! but she's gone--she's gone----" "see here, hamilton," cried my uncle, utterly beside himself with excitement, "are we to understand you are talking of your wife, or--or some other woman?" "see here, hamilton," i reiterated, quite heedless of the brutality of our questions and with a thousand wild suspicions flashing into my mind. "is it your wife, miriam, and your boy?" but he heard neither of us. "they were there--they waved to me from the garden at the edge of the woods as i entered the forest. only this morning, both waving to me as i rode away--and when i returned from the city at noon, they were gone! i looked to the window as i came back. the curtain moved and i thought my boy was hiding, but it was only the wind. we've searched every nook from cellar to attic. his toys were littered about and i fancied i heard his voice everywhere, but no! no--no--and we've been hunting house and garden for hours----" "and the forest?" questioned uncle jack, the trapper instinct of former days suddenly re-awakening. "the forest is waist-deep with snow! besides we beat through the bush everywhere, and there wasn't a track, nor broken twig, where they could have passed." his torn clothes bore evidence to the thoroughness of that search. "nonsense," my uncle burst out, beginning to bluster. "they've been driven to town without leaving word!" "no sleigh was at chateau bigot this morning," returned hamilton. "but the road, eric?" i questioned, recalling how the old manor-house stood well back in the center of a cleared plateau in the forest. "couldn't they have gone down the road to those indian encampments?" "the road is impassable for sleighs, let alone walking, and their winter wraps are all in the house. for heaven's sake, men, suggest something! don't madden me with these useless questions!" but in spite of eric's entreaty my excitable kinsman subjected the frenzied man to such a fire of questions as might have sublimated pre-natal knowledge. and i stood back listening and pieced the distracted, broken answers into some sort of coherency till the whole tragic scene at the chateau on that spring day of the year 1815, became ineffaceably stamped on my memory. causeless, with neither warning nor the slightest premonition of danger, the greatest curse which can befall a man came upon my friend eric hamilton. however fond a husband may be, there are things worse for his wife than death which he may well dread, and it was one of these tragedies which almost drove poor hamilton out of his reason and changed the whole course of my own life. in broad daylight, his young wife and infant son disappeared as suddenly and completely as if blotted out of existence. that morning, eric light-heartedly kissed wife and child good-by and waved them a farewell that was to be the last. he rode down the winding forest path to quebec and they stood where the chateau garden merged into the forest of charlesbourg mountain. at noon, when he returned, for him there existed neither wife nor child. for any trace of them that could be found, both might have been supernaturally spirited away. the great house, that had re-echoed to the boy's prattle, was deathly still; and neither wife, nor child, answered his call. the nurse was summoned. she was positive _madame_ was amusing the boy across the hall, and reassuringly bustled off to find mother and son in the next room, and the next, and yet the next; to discover each in succession empty. alarm spread to the chateau servants. the simple _habitant_ maids were questioned, but their only response was white-faced, blank amazement. _madame_ not returned! _madame_ not back! mon dieu! what had happened? and all the superstition of hillside lore added to the fear on each anxious face. shortly after monsieur went to the city, _madame_ had taken her little son out as usual for a morning airing, and had been seen walking up and down the paths tracked through the garden snow. had _monsieur_ examined the clearing between the house and the forest? _monsieur_ could see for himself the snow was too deep and crusty among the trees for _madame_ to go twenty paces into the woods. besides, foot-marks could be traced from the garden to the bush. he need not fear wild animals. they were receding into the mountains as spring advanced. let him take another look about the open; and hamilton tore out-doors, followed by the whole household; but from the chateau in the center of the glade to the encircling border of snow-laden evergreens there was no trace of wife or child. then eric laughed at his own growing fears. miriam must be in the house. so the search of the old hall, that had once resounded to the drunken tread of gay french grandees, began again. from hidden chamber in the vaulted cellar to attic rooms above, not a corner of the chateau was left unexplored. had any one come and driven her to the city? but that was impossible. the roads were drifted the height of a horse and there were no marks of sleigh runners on either side of the riding path. could she possibly have ventured a few yards down the main road to an encampment of indians, whose squaws after indian custom made much of the white baby? neither did that suggestion bring relief; for the indians had broken camp early in the morning and there was only a dirty patch of littered snow, where the wigwams had been. the alarm now became a panic. hamilton, half-crazed and unable to believe his own senses, began wondering whether he had nightmare. he thought he might waken up presently and find the dead weight smothering his chest had been the boy snuggling close. he was vaguely conscious it was strange of him to continue sleeping with that noise of shouting men and whining hounds and snapping branches going on in the forest. the child's lightest cry generally broke the spell of a nightmare; but the din of terrified searchers rushing through the woods and of echoes rolling eerily back from the white hills convinced him this was no dream-land. then, the distinct crackle of trampled brushwood and the scratch of spines across his face called him back to an unendurable reality. "the thing is utterly impossible, hamilton," i cried, when in short jerky sentences, as if afraid to give thought rein, he had answered my uncle's questioning. "impossible! utterly impossible!" "i would to god it were!" he moaned. "it was daylight, eric?" asked mr. jack mackenzie. he nodded moodily. "and she couldn't be lost in charlesbourg forest?" i added, taking up the interrogations where my uncle left off. "no trace--not a footprint!" "and you're quite sure she isn't in the house?" replied my relative. "quite!" he answered passionately. "and there was an indian encampment a few yards down the road?" continued mr. mackenzie, undeterred. "oh! what has that to do with it?" he asked petulantly, springing to his feet. "they'd moved off long before i went back. besides, indians don't run off with white women. haven't i spent my life among them? i should know their ways!" "but my dear fellow!" responded the elder trader, "so do i know their ways. if she isn't in the chateau and isn't in the woods and isn't in the garden, can't you see, the indian encampment is the only possible explanation?" the lines on his face deepened. fire flashed from his gleaming eyes, and if ever i have seen murder written on the countenance of man, it was on hamilton's. "what tribe were they, anyway?" i asked, trying to speak indifferently, for every question was knife-play on a wound. "mongrel curs, neither one thing nor the other, iroquois canoemen, french half-breeds intermarried with sioux squaws! they're all connected with the north-west company's crews. the nor'-westers leave here for fort william when the ice breaks up. this riff-raff will follow in their own dug-outs!" "know any of them?" persisted my uncle. "no, i don't think i--let me see! by jove! yes, gillespie!" he shouted, "le grand diable was among them!" "what about diable?" i asked, pinning him down to the subject, for his mind was lost in angry memories. "what about him? he's my one enemy among the indians," he answered in tones thick and ominously low. "i thrashed him within an inch of his life at isle à la crosse. being a nor'-wester, he thought it fine game to pillage the kit of a hudson's bay; so he stole a silver-mounted fowling-piece which my grandfather had at culloden. by jove, gillespie! the nor'-westers have a deal of blood to answer for, stirring up those indians against traders; and if they've brought this on me----" "did you get it back?" i interrupted, referring to the fowling-piece, neither my uncle, nor i, offering any defense for the nor'-westers. i knew there were two sides to this complaint from a hudson's bay man. "no! that's why i nearly finished him; but the more i clubbed, the more he jabbered impertinence, '_cooloo! cooloo! qu' importe!_ it doesn't matter!' by jove! i made it matter!" "is that all about diable, eric?" continued my uncle. he ran his fingers distractedly back through his long, black hair, rose, and, coming over to me, laid a trembling hand on each shoulder. "gillespie!" he muttered through hard-set teeth. "it isn't all. i didn't think at the time, but the morning after the row with that red devil i found a dagger stuck on the outside of my hut-door. the point was through a fresh sprouted leaflet. a withered twig hung over the blade." "man! are you mad?" cried jack mackenzie. "he must be the very devil himself. you weren't married then--he couldn't mean----" "i thought it was an indian threat," interjected hamilton, "that if i had downed him in the fall, when the branches were bare, he meant to have his revenge in spring when the leaves were green; but you know i left the country that fall." "you were wrong, eric!" i blurted out impetuously, the terrible significance of that threat dawning upon me. "that wasn't the meaning at all." then i stopped; for hamilton was like a palsied man, and no one asked what those tokens of a leaflet pierced by a dagger and an old branch hanging to the knife might mean. mr. jack mackenzie was the first to pull himself together. "come," he shouted. "gather up your wits! to the camping ground!" and he threw open the door. thereupon, we three flung through the club-room to the astonishment of the gossips, who had been waiting outside for developments in the quarrel with colonel adderly. at the outer porch, hamilton laid a hand on mr. mackenzie's shoulder. "don't come," he begged hurriedly. "there's a storm blowing. it's rough weather, and a rough road, full of drifts! make my peace with the man i struck." then eric and i whisked out into the blackness of a boisterous, windy night. a moment later, our horses were dashing over iced cobble-stones with the clatter of pistol-shots. "it will snow," said i, feeling a few flakes driven through the darkness against my face; but to this remark hamilton was heedless. "it will snow, eric," i repeated. "the wind's veered north. we must get out to the camp before all traces are covered. how far by the beauport road?" "five miles," said he, and i knew by the sudden scream and plunge of his horse that spurs were dug into raw sides. we turned down that steep, break-neck, tortuous street leading from upper town to the valley of the st. charles. the wet thaw of mid-day had frozen and the road was slippery as a toboggan slide. we reined our horses in tightly, to prevent a perilous stumbling of fore-feet, and by zigzagging from side to side managed to reach the foot of the hill without a single fall. here, we again gave them the bit; and we were presently thundering across the bridge in a way that brought the keeper out cursing and yelling for his toll. i tossed a coin over my shoulder and we galloped up the elm-lined avenue leading to that charlesbourg retreat, where french bacchanalians caroused before the british conquest, passed the thatch-roofed cots of _habitants_ and, turning suddenly to the right, followed a seldom frequented road, where snow was drifted heavily. here we had to slacken pace, our beasts sinking to their haunches and snorting through the white billows like a modern snow-plow. hamilton had spoken not a word. clouds were massing on the north. overhead a few stars glittered against the black, and the angry wind had the most mournful wail i have ever heard. how the weird undertones came like the cries of a tortured child, and the loud gusts with the shriek of demons! "gillespie," called eric's voice tremulous with anguish, "listen--rufus--listen! do you hear anything? do you hear any one calling for help? is that a child crying?" "no, eric, old man," said i, shivering in my saddle. "i hear--i hear nothing at all but the wind." but my hesitancy belied the truth of that answer; for we both heard sounds, which no one can interpret but he whose well beloved is lost in the storm. and the wind burst upon us again, catching my empty denial and tossing the words to upper air with eldritch laughter. then there was a lull, and i felt rather than heard the choking back of stifled moans and knew that the man by my side, who had held iron grip of himself before other eyes, was now giving vent to grief in the blackness of night. at last a red light gleamed from the window of a low cot. that was the signal for us to turn abruptly to the left, entering the forest by a narrow bridle-path that twisted among the cedars. as if to look down in pity, the moon shone for a moment above the ragged edge of a storm cloud, and all the snow-laden evergreens stood out stately, shadowy and spectral, like mourners for the dead. again the road took to right-about at a sharp angle and the broad chateau, with its noble portico and numerous windows all alight, suddenly loomed up in the center of a forest-clearing on the mountain side. where the path to the garden crossed a frozen stream was a small open space. here the indians had been encamped. we hallooed for servants and by lantern light examined every square inch of the smoked snow and rubbish heaps. bits of tin in profusion, stones for the fire, tent canvas, ends of ropes and tattered rags lay everywhere over the black patch. snow was beginning to fall heavily in great flakes that obscured earth and air. not a thing had we found to indicate any trace of the lost woman and child, until i caught sight of a tiny, blue string beneath a piece of rusty metal. kicking the tin aside, i caught the ribbon up. when i saw on the lower end a child's finely beaded moccasin, i confess i had rather felt the point of le grand diable's dagger at my own heart than have shown that simple thing to hamilton. then the snow-storm broke upon us in white billows blotting out everything. we spread a sheet on the ground to preserve any marks of the campers, but the drifting wind drove us indoors and we were compelled to cease searching. all night long eric and i sat before the roaring grate fire of the hunting-room, he leaning forward with chin in his palms and saying few words, i offering futile suggestions and uttering mad threats, but both utterly at a loss what to do. we knew enough of indian character to know what not to do. that was, raise an outcry, which might hasten the cruelty of le grand diable. chapter iii. novice and expert. though many years have passed since that dismal storm in the spring of 1815, when hamilton and i spent a long disconsolate night of enforced waiting, i still hear the roaring of the northern gale, driving round the house-corners as if it would wrench all eaves from the roof. it shrieked across the garden like malignant furies, rushed with the boom of a sea through the cedars and pines, and tore up the mountain slope till all the many voices of the forest were echoing back a thousand tumultuous discords. again, i see hamilton gazing at the leaping flames of the log fire, as if their frenzied motion reflected something of his own burning grief. then, the agony of our utter helplessness, as long as the storm raged, would prove too great for his self-control. rising, he would pace back and forward the full length of the hunting-room till his eye would be caught by some object with which the boy had played. he would put this carefully away, as one lays aside the belongings of the dead. afterwards, lanterns, which we had placed on the oak center table on coming in, began to smoke and give out a pungent, burning smell, and each of us involuntarily walked across to a window and drew aside the curtains to see how daylight was coming on. the white glare of early morning flooded the room, but the snow-storm had changed to driving sleet and the panes were iced from corner to corner with frozen rain-drift. how we dragged through two more days, while the gale raved with unabated fury, i do not know. poor eric was for rushing into the blinding whirl, that turned earth and air into one white tornado; but he could not see twice the length of his own arm, and we prevailed on him to come back. on the third night, the wind fell like a thing that had fretted out its strength. morning revealed an ocean of billowy drifts, crusted over by the frozen sleet and reflecting a white dazzle that made one's eyes blink. great icicles hung from the naked branches of the sheeted pines and snow was wreathed in fantastic forms among the cedars. we had laid our plans while we waited. after lifting the canvas from the camping-ground and seeking in vain for more trace of the fugitives, we despatched a dozen different search-parties that very morning, eric leading those who were to go on the river-side of the chateau, and i some well-trained bushrangers picked from the _habitants_ of the hillside, who could track the forest to every indian haunt within a week's march of the city. after putting my men on a trail with instructions to send back an indian courier to report each night, i hunted up an old _habitant_ guide, named paul larocque, who had often helped me to thread the woods of quebec after big game. now paul was habitually as silent as a dumb animal, and sportsmen had nicknamed him the mute; but what he lacked in speech he made up like other wild creatures in a wonderful acuteness of eye and ear. indeed, it was commonly believed among trappers that paul possessed some nameless sense by which he could actually _feel_ the presence of an enemy before ordinary men could either see, or hear. for my part, i would be willing to pit that "feel" of paul's against the nose of any hound that dog-fanciers could back. "paul," said i, as the _habitant_ stood before me licking the short stem of an inverted clay pipe, "there's an indian, a bad indian, an iroquois, paul,"--i was particular in describing the indian as an iroquois, for paul's wife was a huron from lorette--"an iroquois, who stole a white woman and a little boy from the chateau three days ago, in the morning." there, i paused to let the facts soak in; for the mute digested information in small morsels. grizzled, stunted and chunky, he was not at all the picturesque figure which fancy has painted of his class. instead of the red toque, which artists place on the heads of _habitants_, he wore a cloth cap with ear flaps coming down to be tied under his chin. his jacket was an ill-fitting garment, the cast-off coat of some well-to-do man, and his trousers slouched in ample folds above brightly beaded moccasins. when i paused, paul fixed his eyes on an invisible spot in the snow and ruminated. then he hitched the baggy trousers up, pulled the red scarf, that held them to his waist, tighter, and, taking his eyes off the snow, looked up for me to go on. "that iroquois, who belongs to the north-west trappers----" "_pays d'en haut?_" asks paul, speaking for the first time. "yes," i answered, "and they all disappeared with the woman and the child the day before the storm." the mute's eyes were back on the snow. "now," said i, "i'll make you a rich man if you take me straight to the place where he's hiding." paul's eyes looked up with the question of how much. "five pounds a day." this was four more than we paid for the cariboo hunts. again he stood thinking, then darted off into the forest like a hare; but i knew his strange, silent ways, and confidently awaited his return. how he could get two pair of snow-shoes and two poles inside of five minutes, i do not attempt to explain, unless some of his numerous half-breed youngsters were at hand in the woods; but he was back again all equipped for a long tramp, and as soon as i had laced on the racquets, we were skimming over the drift like a boat on billows. in the mazy confusion of snow and underbrush, no one but paul would have found and kept that tangled, forest path. where great trunks had fallen across the way, paul planted his pole and took the barrier at a bound. then he raced on at a gait which was neither a run nor a walk, but an easy trot common to the _coureurs-des-bois_. the encased branches snapped like glass when we brushed past, and so heavily were snow and icicles frozen to the trees we might have been in some grotesque crystal-walled cavern. the _habitant_ spoke not a word, but on we pressed over the brushwood, now so packed with snow and crusted ice, our snow-shoes were not once tripped by loose branches, and we glided from drift to drift. in vain i tried to discern a trail by the broken thicket on either side, and i noticed that my guide was keeping his course by following the marks blazed on trees. at one place we came to a steep, clear slope, where the earth had fallen sheer away from the hillside and snow had filled the incline. first prodding forward to feel if the snow-bank were solid, paul promptly sat down on the rear end of his snow-shoes, and, quicker than i can tell it, tobogganed down to the valley. i came leaping clumsily from point to point with my pole, like a ski-jumping norwegian, risking my neck at every bound. then we coursed along the valley, the _habitant's_ eyes still on the trees, and once he stopped to emit a gurgling laugh at a badly hacked trunk, beneath which was a snowed-up sap trough; but i could not divine whether paul's mirth were over a prospect of sugaring-off in the maple-woods, or at some foolish _habitant_ who had tapped the maple too early. how often had i known my guide to exhaust city athletes in these swift marches of his! but i had been schooled to his pace from boyhood and kept up with him at every step, though we were going so fast i lost all track of my bearings. "where to, paul?" i asked with a vague suspicion that we were heading for the huron village at lorette. "to lorette, paul?" but paul condescended only a grunt and whisked suddenly round a headland up a narrow gorge, which seemed to lead to the very heart of the mountains and might have sheltered any number of fugitives. in the gorge we stopped to take a light meal of gingerbread horses--a cake that is the peculiar glory of the _habitant_--dried herrings and sea biscuits. by the sun, i knew it was long past noon and that we had been traveling northwest. i also vaguely guessed that paul's object was to intercept the north-west trappers, if they had planned to slip away from the st. lawrence through the bush to the upper ottawa, where they could meet north-bound boats. but not one syllable had my taciturn guide uttered. clambering up the steep, snowy banks of the gorge, we found ourselves in the upper reaches of a mountain, where the trees fell away in scraggy clumps and the snow stretched up clear and unbroken to the hill-crest. paul grunted, licked his pipe-stem significantly and pointed his pole to the hill-top. the dark peak of a solitary wigwam appeared above the snow. he pointed again to the fringe of woods below us. a dozen wigwams were visible among the trees and smoke curled up from a central camp-fire. "_voilà, monsieur?_" said the _habitant_, which made four words for that day. the mute then fell to my rear and we first approached the general camp. the campers were evidently thieves as well as hunters; for frozen pork hung with venison from the branches of several trees. the sap trough might also have belonged to them, which would explain paul's laugh, as the whole paraphernalia of a sugaring-off was on the outskirts of the encampment. "not the indians we're after," said i, noting the signs of permanency; but paul larocque shoved me forward with the end of his pole and a curious, almost intelligent, expression came on the dull, pock-pitted face. strangely enough, as i looked over my shoulder to the guide, i caught sight of an indian figure climbing up the bank in our very tracks. the significance of this incident was to reveal itself later. as usual, a pack of savage dogs flew out to announce our coming with furious barking. but i declare the _habitant_ was so much like any ragged indian, the creatures recognized him and left off their vicious snarl. only the shrill-voiced children, who rushed from the wigwams; evinced either surprise or interest in our arrival. men and women were haunched about the fire, above which simmered several pots with the savory odor of cooking meat. i do not think a soul of the company as much as turned a head on our approach. though they saw us plainly, they sat stolid and imperturbable, after the manner of their race, waiting for us to announce ourselves. some of the squaws and half-breed women were heaping bark on the fire. indians sat straight-backed round the circle. white men, vagabond trappers from anywhere and everywhere, lay in all variety of lazy attitudes on buffalo robes and caribou skins. i had known, as every one familiar with quebec's family histories must know, that the sons of old seigneurs sometimes inherited the adventurous spirit, which led their ancestors of three centuries ago to exchange the gayeties of the french court for the wild life of the new world. i was aware this spirit frequently transformed seigneurs into bush-rangers and descendants of the royal blood into _coureurs-des-bois_. but it is one thing to know a fact, another to see that fact in living embodiment; and in this case, the living embodiment was louis laplante, a school-fellow of laval, whom, to my amazement, i now saw, with a beard of some months' growth and clad in buckskin, lying at full length on his back among that villainous band of nondescript trappers. something of the surprise i felt must have shown on my face, for as louis recognized me he uttered a shout of laughter. "hullo, gillespie!" he called with the saucy nonchalance which made him both a favorite and a torment at the seminary. "are you among the prophets?" and he sat up making room for me on his buffalo robe. "i'll wager, louis," said i, shaking his hand heartily and accepting the proffered seat, "i'll wager it's prophets spelt with an 'f' brings you here." for the young rake had been one of the most notorious borrowers at the seminary. "good boy!" laughed he, giving my shoulder a clap. "i see your time was not wasted with me. now, what the devil," he asked as i surveyed the motley throng of fat, coarse-faced squaws and hard-looking men who surrounded him, "now, what the devil's brought you here?" "what's the same, to yourself, louis lad?" said i. he laughed the merry, heedless laugh that had been the distraction of the class-room. "do you need to ask with such a galaxy of nut-brown maidens?" and louis looked with the assurance of privileged impudence straight across the fire into the hideous, angry face of a big squaw, who was glaring at me. the creature was one to command attention. she might have been a great, bronze statue, a type of some ancient goddess, a symbol of fury, or cruelty. her eyes fastened themselves on mine and held me, whether i would or no, while her whole face darkened. "the lady evidently objects to having her place usurped, louis," i remarked, for he was watching the silent duel between the native woman's questioning eyes and mine. "the gentleman wants to know if the lady objects to having her place usurped?" called louis to the squaw. at that the woman flinched and looked to laplante. of course, she did not understand our words; but i think she was suspicious we were laughing at her. there was a vindictive flash across her face, then the usual impenetrable expression of the indian came over her features. i noticed that her cheeks and forehead were scarred, and a cut had laid open her upper lip from nose to teeth. "you must know that the lady is the daughter of a chief and a fighter," whispered louis in my ear. i might have known she was above common rank from the extraordinary number of trinkets she wore. pendants hung from her ears like the pendulum of a clock. she had a double necklace of polished bear's claws and around her waist was a girdle of agates, which to me proclaimed that she was of a far-western tribe. in the girdle was an ivory-handled knife, which had doubtless given as many scars as its owner displayed. "what tribe, louis?" i asked. "i'll be hanged, now, if i'm not jealous," he began. "you'll stare the lady out of countenance----" but at this moment the indian who had come up the bank behind us came round and interrupted laplante's merriment by tossing a piece of bethumbed paper between my comrade's knees. "the deuce!" exclaimed louis, bulging his tongue into one cheek and glancing at me with a queer, quizzical look as he unfolded and read the paper. if he had not spoken i might not have turned; but having turned i could not but notice two things. louis jerked back from me, as if i might try to read the soiled note in his hand, and in raising the paper displayed on the back the stamp of the commissariat department from quebec citadel. neither laplante's suppressed surprise, nor my observations of his movement, escaped the big squaw. she came quickly round the fire to us both. "give me that," she commanded, holding out her hand to the french youth. "the deuce i will," he returned, twisting the paper up in his clenched fist. half in jest, half in earnest, just as louis used to be punished at the seminary, she gave him a prompt box on the ear. he took it in perfect good-nature. and the whole encampment laughed. the squaw went back to the other side of the fire. laplante leaned forward and threw the paper towards the flames; but without his knowledge, he overshot the mark; and when the trader was looking elsewhere the big squaw stooped, picked up the coveted note and slipped it into her skirt pocket. "now, louis, nonsense aside," i began. "with all my soul, if i have one," said he, lying back languidly with a perceptible cooling of the cordiality he had first evinced. i told him my errand, and that i wished to search every wigwam for trace of the lost woman and child. he listened with shut eyes. "it isn't," i explained in a low voice, eager to arouse his interest, "it isn't in the least, laplante, that we suspect these people; but you know the kidnappers might have traded the clothing to your people----" "oh! go ahead!" he interjected impatiently. "don't beat round the bush! what do you want of me?" "to go through the tents with me and help me. by jove! laplante! i thought at least a spark of the man would suggest that without my speaking," i broke out hotly. he was on his feet with an alacrity that brought old paul larocque round to my side and the squaw to his. "curse you," he cried out roughly, shoving the squaw back. for a moment i was uncertain whether he were addressing the woman or myself. "you mind your own business and go to your indian! here, gillespie, i'll do the tents with you. get off with you," he muttered at the squaw, rumbling out a lingo of persuasive expletives; and he led the way to the first wigwam. but the squaw was not to be dismissed; for when i followed the frenchman, she closed in behind looking thunder, not at her abuser, but at me; and the mute, fearing foul play and pole in hand, loyally brought up the rear of our strange procession. i shall not retail that search through robes and skins and blankets and boxes, in foul-smelling, vermin-infested wigwams. it was fruitless. i only recall the lowering face of the big squaw looking over my shoulder at every turn, with heavy brows contracted and gashed lips grinning an evil, malicious challenge. i thought she kept her hands uncomfortably near the ivory handle in the agate belt; but larocque, good fellow, never took his beady eyes off those same hands and kept a grip of the leaping pole. thus we examined the tents and made a circuit of the people round the fire, but found nothing to reveal the whereabouts of miriam and the child. laplante and i were on one side of the robe, larocque and the squaw on the other. "and why is that tent apart from the rest and who is in it?" i asked laplante, pointing to the lone tepee on the crest of the hill. the fire cracked so loudly i became aware there was ominous silence among the loungers of the camp. they were listening as well as watching. up to this time i had not thought they were paying the slightest attention to us. laplante was not answering, and when i faced him suddenly i found the squaw's eyes fastened on his, holding them whether he would or no, just as she had mine. "eh! man?" i cried, seizing him fiercely, a nameless suspicion getting possession of me. "why don't you answer?" the spell was broken. he turned to me nonchalantly, as he used to face accusers in the school-days of long ago, and spoke almost gently, with downcast eyes, and a quiet, deprecating smile. "you know, rufus," he answered, using the schoolboy name. "we should have told you before. but remember we didn't invite you here. we didn't lead you into it." "well?" i demanded. "well," he replied in a voice too low for any of the listeners but the squaw to hear, "there's a very bad case of smallpox up in that tent and we're keeping the man apart till he gets better. that, in fact, is why we're all here. you must go. it is not safe." "thanks, laplante," said i. "good-by." but he did not offer me his hand when i made to take leave. "come," he said. "i'll go as far as the gorge with you;" and he stood on the embankment and waved as we passed into the lengthening shadows of the valley. now, in these days of health officers and vaccination, people can have no idea of the terrors of a smallpox scourge at the beginning of this century. the _habitant_ is as indifferent to smallpox as to measles, and accepts both as dispensations of providence by exposing his children to the contagion as early as possible; but i was not so minded, and hurried down the gorge as fast as my snow-shoes would carry me. then i remembered that the indian population of the north had been reduced to a skeleton of its former numbers by the pestilence in 1780, and recalled that my uncle jack had said the native's superstitious dread of this disease knew no bounds. that recollection checked my sudden flight. if the indians had such fear, why had this band camped within a mile of the pest tent? it would be more like indian character to reverse samaritan practises and leave the victim to die. this man might, of course, be a french-canadian trapper, but i would take no risks of a trick, so i ordered paul to lead me back to that tepee. the mute seemed to understand i had no wish to be seen by the campers. he skirted round the base of the hill till we were on the side remote from the tribe. then he motioned me to remain in the gorge while he scrambled up the cliff to reconnoitre. i knew he received a surprise as soon as his head was on a level with the top of the bank; for he curled himself up behind a snow-pile and gave a low whistle for me. i was beside him with one bound. we were not twenty pole-lengths from the wigwam. there was no appearance of life. the tent flaps had been laced up and a solitary watch-dog was tied to a stake before the entrance. down the valley the setting sun shone through the naked trees like a wall of fire, and dyed all the glistening snow-drifts primrose and opal. at one place in the forest the red light burst through and struck against the tent on the hill-top, giving the skins a peculiar appearance of being streaked with blood. the faintest breath of wind, a mere sigh of moving air-currents peculiar to snow-padded areas, came up from the woods with far-away echoes of the trappers' voices. perhaps this was heard by the watch-dog, or it may have felt the disturbing presence of my half-wild _habitant_ guide; for it sat back on its haunches and throwing up its head, let out the most doleful howlings imaginable. "oh! _monsieur_," shuddered out the superstitious habitant shivering like an aspen leaf, "sick man moan,--moan,--moan hard! he die, _monsieur_, he die, he die now when dog cry lak dat," and full of fear he scrambled down into the gorge, making silent gestures for me to follow. for a time--but not long, i must acknowledge--i lay there alone, watching and listening. paul's ears might hear the moans of a sick man, mine could not: nor would i return to the chateau without ascertaining for a certainty what was in that wigwam. slipping off the snow-shoes, i rose and tip-toed over the snow with the full intention of silencing the dog with my pole; but i was suddenly arrested by the distinct sound of pain-racked groaning. then the brute of a dog detected my approach and with a furious leaping that almost hung him with his own rope set up a vicious barking. suddenly the black head of an indian, or trapper, popped through the tent flaps and a voice shouted in perfect english--"go away! go away! the pest! the pest!" "who has smallpox?" i bawled back. "a trader, a nor'-wester," said he. "if you have anything for him lay it on the snow and i'll come for it." as honor pledged me to serve hamilton until he found his wife, i was not particularly anxious to exchange civilities at close range with a man from a smallpox tent; so i quickly retraced my way to the gorge and hurried homeward with the mute. my old school-fellow's sudden change towards me when he received the letter written on citadel paper, and the big squaw's suspicion of my every movement, now came back to me with a significance i had not felt when i was at the camp. either intuitions like those of my _habitant_ guide, which instinctively put out feelers with the caution of an insect's antennæ for the presence of vague, unknown evil, lay dormant in my own nature and had been aroused by the incidents at the camp, or else the mind, by the mere fact of holding information in solution, widens its own knowledge. for now, in addition to the letter from the citadel and the squaw's animosity, came the one missing factor--adderly. i felt, rather than knew, that louis laplante had deceived me. had he lied? a lie is the clumsy invention of the novice. an expert accomplishes his deceit without anything so grossly and tangibly honest as a lie; and louis was an expert. though i had not a vestige of proof, i could have sworn that adderly and the squaw and louis were leagued against me for some dark purpose. i was indeed learning the first lessons of the trapper's life: never to open my lips on my own affairs to another man, and never to believe another man when he opened his lips to me. chapter iv launched into the unknown "you should have knocked that blasted quarantine's head off," ejaculated mr. jack mackenzie, with ferocious emphasis. i had been relating my experience with the campers; and was recounting how the man put his head out of the tent and warned me of smallpox. but my uncle was a gentleman of the old school and had a fine contempt for quarantine. "knocked his head off, knocked his head off, sir," he continued, explosively. "make it a point to knock the head off anything that stands in your way, sir----" "but you don't suppose," i expostulated, about to voice my own suspicions. "_suppose!_" he roared out. "i make it a point never to _suppose_ anything. i act on facts, sir! you wanted to go into that wigwam; didn't you? well then, why the deuce didn't you go, and knock the head off anything that opposed you?" being highly successful in all his own dealings, mr. jack mackenzie could not tolerate failure in other people. a month of vigilant searching had yielded not the slightest inkling of miriam and the child; and this fact ignited all the gunpowder of my uncle's fiery temperament. we had felt so sure le grand diable's band of vagabonds would hang about till the brigades of the north-west company's tripmen set out for the north, all our efforts were spent in a vain search for some trace of the rascals in the vicinity of quebec. his gypsy nondescripts would hardly dare to keep the things taken from miriam and the child. these would be traded to other tribes; so day and night, mr. mackenzie, eric and i, with hired spies, dogged the footsteps of trappers, who were awaiting the breaking up of the ice; shadowed _voyageurs_, who passed idle days in the dram-shops of lower town, and scrutinized every native who crossed our path, ever on the alert for a glimpse of diable, or his associates. diligently we tracked all indian trails through charlesbourg forest and examined every wigwam within a week's march of the city. le grand diable was not likely to be among his ancestral enemies at lorette, but his half-breed followers might have traded with the hurons; and the lodges at lorette were also searched. watches were set along the st. lawrence, so no one could approach an opening before the ice broke up, or launch a canoe after the water had cleared, without our knowledge. but le grand diable and his band had vanished as mysteriously as miriam. it was as impossible to learn where the iroquois had gone as to follow the wind. his disappearance was altogether as unaccountable as the lost woman's, and this, of itself, confirmed our suspicions. had he sold, or slain his captives, he would not have remained in hiding; and the very fruitlessness of the search redoubled our zeal. the conviction that louis laplante had, somehow or other, played me false, stuck in my mind like the depression of a bad dream. again and again, i related the circumstances to my uncle; but he "pished," and "tushed," and "pooh-poohed," the very idea of any kidnappers remaining so near the city and giving me free run of their wigwams. my reasonless persistence was beginning to irritate him. indeed, on one occasion, he informed me that i had as many vagaries in my head as a "bed-ridden hag," and with great fervor he "wished to the lord there was a law in this land for the ham-stringing of such fool idiots, as that _habitant_ mute, who led me such a wild-goose chase." in spite of this and many other jeremiades, i once more donned snow-shoes and with paul for guide paid a second visit to the campers of the gorge. and a second time, i was welcomed by louis and taken through the wigwams. the smallpox tent was no longer on the crest of the hill; and when i asked after the patient, louis without a word pointed solemnly to a snow-mound, where the man lay buried. but i did not see the big squaw, nor the face that had emerged from the tent flaps to wave me off; and when i also inquired after these, louis' face darkened. he told me bluntly i was asking too many questions and began to swear in a mongrel jargon of french and english that my conduct was an insult he would take from no man. but louis was ever short of temper. i remembered that of old. presently his little flare-up died down, and he told me that the woman and her husband had gone north through the woods to join some crews on the upper ottawa. from the talk of the others, i gathered that, having disposed of their hunt to the commissariat department at the citadel, they intended to follow the same trail within a few days. i tried without questioning to learn what crews they were to join; but whether with purpose, or by chance, the conversation drifted from my lead and i had to return to the city without satisfaction on that point. meanwhile, hamilton rested neither night nor day. in the morning with a few hurried words he would outline the plan for the day. at night he rode back to the chateau with such eager questioning in his eyes when they met mine, i knew he had nothing better to report to me, than i to him. after a silent meal, he would ride through the dark forest on a fresh mount. how and where he passed those sleepless nights, i do not know. thus had a month slipped away; and we had done everything and accomplished nothing. baffled, i had gone to confer with mr. jack mackenzie and had, as usual, exasperated him with the reiterated conviction that adderly and the citadel writing paper and louis laplante had some connection with the malign influence that was balking our efforts. "fudge!" exclaims my uncle, stamping about his study and puffing with indignation. "you should have knocked that blasted quarantine's head off!" "you've said that several times already, mr. mackenzie," i put in, having a touch of his own peppery temper from my mother's side. "what about adderly's rage?" "adderly's been in montreal since the night of the row. for the lord's sake, boy, do you expect to find the woman by believing in that bloated bugaboo?" "but the citadel paper?" i persisted. "of course you've never been told, rufus gillespie," he began, choking down his impatience with the magnitude of my stupidity, "that the commissariat buys supplies from hunters?" "that doesn't explain the big squaw's suspicions and louis' own conduct." "that louis!" says my uncle. "pah! that son of an inflated old seigneur! a fig for the buck! not enough brains in his pate to fill a peanut!" "but there might be enough evil in his heart to wreck a life," and that was the first argument to pierce my uncle's scepticism. the keen eyes glanced out at me as if there might be some hope for my intelligence, and he took several turns about the room. "hm! if you're of that mind, you'd better go out and excavate the smallpox," was his sententious conclusion. "and if it's a hoax, you'd better----" and he puckered his brows in thought. "what?" i asked eagerly. "join the traders' crews and track the villains west," he answered with the promptitude of one who decides quickly and without vacillation. "o lord! if i were only young! but to think of a man too stout and old to buckle on his own snow-shoes hankering for that life again!" and my uncle heaved a deep sigh. now, no one, who has not lived the wild, free life of the northern trader, can understand the strange fascinations which for the moment eclipsed in this courteous and chivalrous old gentleman's mind all thought of the poor woman, with whom my own fate was interwoven. but i, who have lived in the lonely fastnesses of the splendid freedom, know full well what surging recollections of danger and daring, of success and defeat, of action in which one faces and laughs at death, and calm in which one sounds the unutterable depths of very infinity--thronged the old trader's soul. indeed, when he spoke, it was as if the sentence of my own life had been pronounced; and my whole being rose up to salute destiny. i take it, there is in every one some secret and cherished desire for a chosen vocation to which each looks forward with hope up to the meridian of life, and to which many look back with regret after the meridian. of prophetic instincts and intuitions and impressions and feelings and much more of the same kind going under a different name, i say nothing, i only set down as a fact, to be explained how it may, that all the way out to the gorge, with paul, the mute leading for a third time, i could have sworn there would be no corpse in that snow-covered grave. for was it not written in my inner consciousness that destiny had appointed me to the wild, free life of the north? so i was not surprised when paul larocque's spade struck sharply on a box. indians sleep their last sleep in the skins of the chase. nor was i in the least amazed when that same spade pried up the lid of cached provisions instead of a coffin. then i had ocular proof of what i knew before, that louis in word and conduct--but chiefly in conduct, which is the way of the expert had--lied outrageously to me. when the ice broke up at the end of april, hunters were off for their summer retreats and _voyageurs_ set out on the annual trip to the _pays d'en haut_. this year the hudson's bay company had organized a strong fleet of canoemen under mr. colin robertson, a former nor'-wester, to proceed to red river settlement by way of the ottawa and the sault instead of entering the fur preserve by the usual route of hudson bay and york factory. from le grand diable's former association with the north-west company it was probable he would be in robertson's brigade. among the _voyageurs_ of both companies there was not a more expert canoeman than this treacherous, thievish iroquois. as steersman, he could take a crew safely through knife-edge rocks with the swift certainty of arrow flight. in spite of a reputation for embodying the vices of white man and red--which gave him his unsavory title--it seemed unlikely that the hudson's bay company, now in the thick of an aggressive campaign against its great rival, and about to despatch an important flotilla from montreal to athabasca by way of the nor'-westers' route, would dispense with the services of this dexterous _voyageur_. on the other hand, the nor'-westers might bribe the iroquois to stay with them. acting on these alternative possibilities, hamilton and i determined to track the fugitives north. we could leave hirelings to shadow the movements of indian bands about quebec. eric could re-engage with the hudson's bay and get passage north with colin robertson's brigade, which was to leave lachine in a few weeks. my uncle had been a famous _bourgeois_ of the great north-west company in his younger days, and could secure me an immediate commission in the north-west company. thus we could accompany the _voyageurs_ and runners of both companies. hamilton's arrangements were easily made; and my uncle not only obtained the commission for me, but, with a hearty clap on my back and a "bravo, boy! i knew the fur trader's fever would break out in you yet!" pinned to the breast of my inner waistcoat the showy gold medallion which the _bourgeois_ wore on festive occasions. in very truth i oft had need of its inspiriting motto: _fortitude in distress_. feudal lords of the middle ages never waged more ruthless war on each other than the two great fur trading companies of the north at the beginning of the nineteenth century. pierre de raddison and grosselier, gentlemen adventurers of new france, first followed the waters of the outawa (ottawa) northward, and passed from lake superior (the _kelche gamme_ of indian lore) to the great unknown fur preserve between hudson bay and the pacific ocean; but the fur monopolists of the french court in quebec jealously obstructed the explorers' efforts to open up the vast territory. de raddison was compelled to carry his project to the english court, and the english court, with a liberality not unusual in those days, promptly deeded over the whole domain, the extent, locality and wealth of which there was utter ignorance, to a fur trading organization,--the newly formed "company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay," incorporated in 1670 with prince rupert named as first governor. if monopolists of new france, through envy, sacrificed quebec's first claim to the unknown land, frontenac made haste to repair the loss. father albanel, a jesuit, and other missionaries led the way westward to the _pays d'en haut_. de raddison twice changed his allegiance, and when quebec fell into the hands of the british nearly a century later, the french traders were as active in the northern fur preserve as their great rivals, the ancient and honorable hudson's bay company; but the englishmen kept near the bay and the frenchmen with their _coureurs-des-bois_ pushed westward along the chain of water-ays leading from lake superior and lake winnipeg to the saskatchewan and athabasca. then came the conquest, with the downfall of french trade in the north country. but there remained the _coureurs-des-bois_, or wood-rangers, the _metis_, or french half-breeds, the _bois-brulés_, or plain runners--so called, it is supposed, from the trapper's custom of blazing his path through the forest. and on the ruins of french barter grew up a thriving english trade, organized for the most part by enterprising citizens of quebec and montreal, and absorbing within itself all the cast-off servants of the old french companies. such was the origin of the x. y. and north-west companies towards the beginning of the nineteenth century. of these the most energetic and powerful--and therefore the most to be feared by the ancient and honorable hudson's bay company--was the north-west company, "_les bourgeois de la compagnie du nord-ouest_," as the partners designated themselves. from the time that the north-westers gratuitously poured their secrets into the ears of lord selkirk, and lord selkirk shrewdly got control of the hudson's bay company and began to infuse nor'-westers' zeal into the stagnant workings of the older company, there arose such a feud among these lords of the north as may be likened only to the pillaging of robber barons in the middle ages. and this feud was at its height when i cast in my lot with the north-west fur company, nor'-westers had reaped a harvest of profits by leaving the beaten track of trade and pushing boldly northward into the remote mackenzie river region. this year the hudson's bay had determined to enter the same area and employed a former nor'-wester, mr. colin robertson, to conduct a flotilla of canoes from lachine, montreal, by way of the nor'-westers' route up the ottawa to the saskatchewan and athabasca. but while the hudson's bay company could ship their peltries directly to england from the bay, the nor'-westers labored under the disadvantage of many delays and trans-shipments before their goods reached seaboard at montreal. indeed, i have heard my uncle tell of orders which he sent from the north to england in october. the things ordered in october would be sent from london in march to reach montreal in mid-summer. there they would be re-packed in small quantities for portaging and despatched from montreal with the nor'-western _voyageurs_ the following may, and if destined for the far north would not reach the end of their long trip until october--two years from the time of the order. yet, under such conditions had the nor'-westers increased in prosperity, while the hudson's bay, with its annual ships at york factory and churchill, declined. when lord selkirk took hold of the hudson's bay there was a change. once a feud has begun, i know very well it is impossible to apportion the blame each side deserves. whether selkirk timed his acts of aggression during the american war of 1812-1814, when the route of the nor'-westers was rendered unsafe--who can say? whether he brought colonists into the very heart of the disputed territory for the sake of the colonists, or to be drilled into an army of defense for the hudson's bay company--who can say? whether he induced his company to grant him a vast area of land at the junction of the red and assiniboine rivers--against which a minority of stockholders protested--for the sake of these same colonists, or to hold a strategical point past which north-westers' cargoes must go--who can say? on these subjects, which have been so hotly discussed both inside and outside law courts, without any definite decision that i have ever heard, i refuse to pass judgment. i can but relate events as i saw them and leave to each the right of a personal decision. in 1815, nor'-westers' canoes were to leave ste. anne de beaupré, twenty miles east of quebec, instead of ste. anne on the ottawa, the usual point of departure. we had not our full complement of men. some of the indians and half-breeds had gone northwest overland through the bush to a point on the ottawa river north of chaudière falls, where they were awaiting us, and hamilton, through the courtesy of my uncle, was able to come with us in our boats as far as lachine. i was never a grasping trader, but i provided myself before setting out with every worthless gew-gaw and flashy trifle that could tempt the native to betray indian secrets. lest these should fail, i added to my stock a dozen as fine new flint-locks as could corrupt the soul of an indian, and without consideration for the enemy's scalp also equipped myself with a box of wicked-looking hunting-knives. these things i placed in square cases and sat upon them when we were in barges, or pillowed my head upon them at night, never losing sight of them except on long portages where indians conveyed our cargo on their backs. a man on a less venturesome quest than mine could hardly have set out with the brigades of canoemen for the north country and not have been thrilled like a lad on first escape from school's leading strings. there we were, twenty craft strong, with clerks, traders, one steersman and eight willowy, copper-skin paddlers in each long birch canoe. no oriental prince could be more gorgeously appareled than these gay _voyageurs_. flaunting red handkerchiefs banded their foreheads and held back the lank, black hair. buckskin smocks, fringed with leather down the sleeves and beaded lavishly in bright colors, were drawn tight at the waist by sashes of flaming crimson, green and blue. in addition to the fringe of leather down the trouser seams, some in our company had little bells fastened from knee to ankle. it was a strange sight to see each of these reckless denizens of forest and plain pause reverently before the chapel of _la bonne sainte anne_, cross himself, invoke her protection on the voyage and drop some offering in the treasury box before hurrying to his place in the canoe. one indian left the miniature of a carved boat in the hands of the priest at the porch. it was his votive gift to the saint and may be seen there to this day. as we were embarking i noticed eric had not come down and the canoes were already gliding about the wharf awaiting the head steersman's signal. i had last seen him on the church steps and ran back from the river to learn the cause of his delay. now hamilton is not a catholic; neither is he a protestant; but i would not have good people ascribe his misfortunes to this lack of creed, for a trader in the far north loses denominational distinctions and a better man i have never known. what, then, was my surprise to meet him face to face coming out of the chapel with tears coursing down his cheeks and floor-dust thick upon his knees? women know what to do and say in such a case. a man must be dumb, or blunder; so i could but link my arm through his and lead him silently down to my own canoe. a single wave of the chief steersman's hand, and out swept the paddles in a perfect harmony of motion. then someone struck up a _voyageurs'_ ballad and the canoemen unconsciously kept time with the beat of the song. the valley seemed filled with the voices of those deep-chested, strong singers, and the chimes of ste. anne clashed out a last sweet farewell. "cheer up, old man!" said i to eric, who was sitting with face buried in his hands. "cheer up! do you hear the bells? it's a god-speed for you!" chapter v civilization's veneer rubs off my uncle accompanied our flotilla as far as lachine and occupied a place in my division of canoes. many were the admonitions he launched out like thunderbolts whenever his craft and mine chanced to glide abreast. "if you lay hands on that skunk," he had said, the malodorous epithet being his designation for louis laplante, "if you lay hands on that skunk, don't be a simpleton. skin him, sir, by the lord, skin him! let him play the ostrich act! keep your own counsel and work him for all you're worth! let him play his deceitful game! by jove! give the villain rope enough to hang himself! gain your end! afterwards forget and forgive if you like; but, by the lord, remember and don't ignore the fact, that repentance can't turn a skunk into an innocent, pussy cat!" and so mr. jack mackenzie continued to warn me all the way from quebec to montreal, mixing his metaphors as topers mix drinks. but i had long since learned not to remonstrate against these outbursts of explosive eloquence--not though all the canons of laval literati should be outraged. "what, sir?" he had roared out when i, in full conceit of new knowledge, had audaciously ventured to pull him up, once in my student days. "what, sir? don't talk to me of your book-fangled balderdash! is language for the use of man, or man for the use of language?" and he quoted from hamlet's soliloquy in a way that set me packing my pedant lore in the unused lumber-room of brain lobes. and so, i say, mr. jack mackenzie continued to pour instructions into my ear for the venturesome life on which i had entered. "the lad's a fool, only a fool," he said, still harping on louis, "and mind you answer the fool according to his folly!" "most men are fools first, and then knaves, knaves because they have been fools," i returned to my uncle, "and i fancy laplante has graduated from the fool stage by this time, and is a full diploma knave!" "that's all true," he retorted, "but don't you forget there's always fool enough left in the knave to give you your opportunity, if you're not a fool. joint in the armor, lad! use your cutlass there." apart from the peppery discourses of my kinsman, i remember very little of the trip up the st. lawrence from ste. anne to lachine with eric sitting dazed and silent opposite me. we, of course, followed the river channel between the island of orleans and the north shore; and whenever our boats drew near the mainland, came whiffs of crisp, frosty air from the dank ravines, where snow patches yet lay in the shadow. then the fleet would sidle towards the island and there would be the fresh, spring odor of damp, uncovered mold, with a vague suggestiveness of violets and may-flowers and ferns bursting with a rush through the black clods. the purple folds of the mountains, with their wavy outlines fading in the haze of distance, lay on the north as they lie to-day; and everywhere on the hills were the white cots of _habitant_ hamlets with chapel spires pointing above tree-tops. at the western end of the island, where boats sheer out into mid-current, came the dull, heavy roar of the cataract and above the north shore rose great, billowy clouds of foam. with a sweep of our paddles, we were opposite a cleft in the vertical rock and saw the shimmering, fleecy waters of montmorency leap over the dizzy precipice churning up from their own whirling depths and bound out to the river like a panther after prey. now the isle of orleans was vanishing on our rear and the bold heights of point levis had loomed up to the fore; and now we had poked our prows to the right and the sluggish, muddy tide of the st. charles lapped our canoes, while a forest of masts and yard-arms and flapping sails arose from the harbor of quebec city. the great walls of modern quebec did not then exist; but the rude fortifications, that sloped down from the lofty citadel on cape diamond and engirt the whole city on the hillside, seemed imposing enough to us in those days. it was late in the afternoon when we passed. the sunlight struck across the st. charles, brightening the dull, gray stone of walls and cathedrals and convents, turning every window on the west to fire and transforming a multitude of towers and turrets and minarets to glittering gold. small wonder, indeed, that all our rough tripmen stopped paddling and with eyes on the spire of notre dame des victoires muttered prayers for a prosperous voyage. for some reason or other, i found my own hat off. so was mr. jack mackenzie's, so was eric hamilton's. then the _voyageurs_ fell to work again. the canoes spread out. we rounded cape diamond and the lengthening shadow of the high peak darkened the river before us. always the broad st. lawrence seemed to be winding from headland to headland among the purple hills, in sunlight a mirror between shadowy, forest banks, at night, molten silver in the moon-track. afternoon slipped into night and night to morning, and each hour of daylight presented some new panorama of forests and hills and torrents. here the river widened into a lake. there the lake narrowed to rapids; and so we came to lachine--la chine, named in ridicule of the gallant explorer, la salle, who thought these vast waterways would surely lead him to china. at lachine, mr. jack mackenzie, with much brusque bluster to conceal his longings for the life he was too old to follow and many cynical injunctions about "skinning the skunk" and "knocking the head off anything that stood in my way" and "always profiting from the follies of other men"--"mind, have none yourself,"--parted from us. here, too, eric gripped my hand a tense, wordless farewell and left our party for the hudson's bay brigade under colin robertson. it has always been a mystery to me why our rivals sent that brigade to athabasca by way of lachine instead of hudson bay, which would have been two thousand miles nearer. we nor'-westers went all the way to and from montreal, solely because that was our only point of access to the sea; but the hudson's bay people had their own hudson bay for a starting place. why, in their slavish imitation of the methods, which brought us success, they also adopted our disadvantages, i could never understand. birch canoes and good tripmen could, of course, as the hudson's bay men say, be most easily obtained in quebec; but with a good organizer, the same could have been gathered up two thousand miles nearer york factory, on hudson bay. indeed, i have often thought the sole purpose of that expedition was to get nor'-westers' methods by employing discarded nor'-westers as trappers and _voyageurs_. colin robertson, the leader, had himself been a nor'-wester; and all the men with him except eric hamilton were renegades, "turn-coat traders," as we called them. but i must not be unjust; for neither company could possibly exceed the other in its zeal to entice away old trappers, who would reveal opponents' secrets. acting on my uncle's advice, i made shift to pick up a few crumbs of valuable information. had the hudson's bay known, i suppose they would have called me a spy. that was the name i gave any of them who might try such tricks with me. the general assembly of the north-west partners was to meet at fort william, at the head of lake superior. i learned that robertson's brigade were anxious to slip past our headquarters at fort william before the meeting and would set out that very day. i also heard they had sent forward a messenger to notify the hudson's bay governor at fort douglas of their brigade's coming. almost before i realized it, we were speeding up the ottawa, past a second and third and fourth ste. anne's; for she is the _voyageurs'_ patron saint and her name dots canada's map like ink-blots on a boy's copybook. wherever a ste. anne's is now found, there has the _voyageur_ of long ago passed and repassed. in places the surface of the river, gliding to meet us, became oily, almost glassy, as if the wave-current ran too fast to ripple out to the banks. then little eddies began whirling in the corrugated water and our paddlers with labored breath bent hard to their task. by such signs i learned to know when we were stemming the tide of some raging waterfall, or swift rapid. there would follow quick disembarking, hurried portages over land through a tangle of forest, or up slippery, damp rocks, a noisy launching far above the torrent and swifter progress when the birch canoes touched water again. such was the tireless pace, which made north-west _voyageurs_ famous. such was the work the great _bourgeois_ exacted of their men. a liberal supply of rum, when stoppages were made, and of bread and meat for each meal--better fare than was usually given by the trading companies--did much to encourage the tripmen. each man was doing his utmost to out-distance the bold rivals following by our route. the _bourgeois_ were to meet at fort william early in june. at all hazards we were determined to notify our company of the enemy's invading flotilla; and without margin for accidents we had but a month to cross half a continent. at nightfall the fourth day from the shrine, after a tiresome nine-mile traverse past the chaudière falls of the ottawa, glittering camp-fires on the river bank ahead showed where a fresh relay of canoemen awaited us. they were immediately taken into the different crews and night-shifts of paddlers put to work. it was quite dark, when the new hands joined us; but in the moonlight, as the chief steersman told off the men by name, i watched each tawny figure step quickly to his place in the canoes, with that gliding indian motion, which scarcely rocked the light craft. there came to my crew little fellow, a short, thick-set man, with a grinning, good-natured face, who--despite his size--would solemnly assure people he was equal in force to the sun. with him was la robe noire, of grave aspect and few words, mighty in stature and shoulder power. there were five or six others, whose names in the clangor of voices i did not hear. of these, one was a tall, lithe, swift-moving man, whose cunning eyes seemed to gleam with the malice of a serpent. this canoeman silently twisted into sleeping posture directly behind me. the signal was given, and we were in mid-stream again. wrapping my blanket about me, half propped by a bale of stuff and breathing deep of the clear air with frequent resinous whiffs from the forest i drowsed off. the swish of waters rushing past and the roar of torrents, which i had seen and heard during the day, still sounded in my ears. the sigh of the night-wind through the forest came like the lonely moan of a far-distant sea, and i was sleepily half conscious that cedars, pines and cliffs were engaged in a mad race past the sides of the canoe. a bed in which one may not stretch at random is not comfortable. certainly my cramped limbs must have caused bad dreams. a dozen times i could have sworn the indian behind me had turned into a snake and was winding round my chest in tight, smothering coils. starting up, i would shake the weight off. once i suddenly opened my eyes to find blanket thrown aside and pistol belt unstrapped. lying back eased, i was dozing again when i distinctly felt a hand crawl stealthily round the pack on which i was pillowed and steal towards the dagger handle in the loosened belt. i struck at it viciously only to bruise my fist on my dagger. now wide awake, i turned angrily towards the indian. not a muscle of the still figure had changed from the attitude taken when he came into the canoe. the man was not asleep, but reclined in stolid oblivion of my existence. his head was thrown back and the steely, unflinching eyes were fixed on the stars. "it may not have been you, my scowling sachem," said i to myself, "but snakes have fangs. henceforth i'll take good care you're not at my back." i slept no more that night. next day i asked the fellow his name and he poured out such a jumbled mouthful of quick-spoken, indian syllables, i was not a whit the wiser. i told him sharply he was to be tom jones on my boat, at which he gave an evil leer. without stay we still pushed forward. the arrowy pace was merciless to red men and white; but that was the kind of service the great north-west company always demanded. some ten miles from the outlet of lake nipissangue (nipissing) foul weather threatened delay. the _bourgeois_ were for proceeding at any risk; but as the thunder-clouds grew blacker and the wind more violent, the head steersman lost his temper and grounded his canoe on the sands at _point à la croix_. springing ashore he flung down his pole and refused to go on. "sacredie!" he screamed, first pointing to the gathering storm and then to the crosses that marked the fate of other foolhardy _voyageurs_, "allez si vous voulez! pour moi je n'irai pas; ne voyez pas le danger!" a hurricane of wind, snapping the great oaks as a chopper breaks kindling wood, enforced his words. canoes were at once beached and tarpaulins drawn over the bales of provisions. the men struggled to hoist a tent; but gusts of wind tossed the canvas above their heads, and before the pegs were driven a great wall of rain-drift drenched every one to the skin. by sundown the storm had gone southeast and we unrighteously consoled ourselves that it would probably disorganize the hudson's bay brigade as much as it had ours. plainly, we were there for the night. _point à la croix_ is too dangerous a spot for navigation after dark. with much patience we kindled the soaked underbrush and finally got a pile of logs roaring in the woods and gathered round the fire. the glare in the sky attracted the lake tribes from their lodges. indians, half-breeds and shaggy-haired whites--degenerate traders, who had lost all taste for civilization and retired with their native wives after the fashion of the north country--came from the nipissangue encampments and joined our motley throng. presently the natives drew off to a fire by themselves, where there would be no white-man's restraint. they had either begged or stolen traders' rum, and after the hard trip from ste. anne, were eager for one of their mad _boissons_--a drinking-bout interspersed with jigs and fights. stretched before our camp, i watched the grotesque figures leaping and dancing between the firelight and the dusky woods like forest demons. with the leaves rustling overhead, the water laving the pebbles on the shore, and the washed pine air stimulating one's blood like an intoxicant, i began wondering how many years of solitary life it would take to wear through civilization's veneer and leave one content in the lodges of forest wilds. gradually i became aware of my sulky canoeman's presence on the other side of the camp-fire. the man had not joined the revels of the other _voyageurs_ but sat on his feet, oriental style, gazing as intently at the flames as if spellbound by some fire-spirit. "what's wrong with that fellow, anyhow?" i asked a veteran trader, who was taking last pulls at a smoked-out pipe. "sick--home-sick," was the laconic reply. "you'd think he was near enough nature here to feel at home! where's his tribe?" "it ain't his tribe he wants," explained the trader. "what, then?" i inquired. "his wife, he's mad after her," and the trader took the pipe from his teeth. "faugh!" i laughed. "the idea of an indian sentimental and love-sick for some fat lump of a squaw! come! come! am i to believe that?" "don't matter whether you do, or not," returned the trader. "it's a fact. his wife's a sioux chief's daughter. she went north with a gang of half-breeds and hunters last month; and he's been fractious crazy ever since." "what's his name?" i called, as my informant vanished behind the tent flaps. again that mouthful of indian syllables, unintelligible and unspeakable for me was tumbled forth. then i turned to the fantastic figures carousing around the other camp fire. one form, in particular, i seemed to distinguish from the others. he was gathering the indians in line for some native dance and had an easy, rakish sort of grace, quite different from the serpentine motions of the redskins. by a sudden turn, his profile was thrown against the fire and i saw that he wore a pointed beard. he was no indian; and like a flash came one of those strange, reasonless intuitions, which precede, or proceed from, the slow motions of the mind. was this the _avant-courier_ of the hudson's bay, delayed, like ourselves, by the storm? i had hardly spelled out my own suspicion, when to the measured beatings of the tom-tom, gradually becoming faster, and with a low, weird, tuneless chant, like the voices of the forest, the indians began to tread a mazy, winding pace, which my slow eyes could not follow, but which in a strange way brought up memories of snaky convolutions about the naked body of some egyptian serpent-charmer. the drums beat faster. the suppressed voices were breaking in shrill, wild, exultant strains, and the measured tread had quickened from a walk to a run and from a swaying run to a swift, labyrinthine pace, which has no name in english, and which i can only liken to the wiggling of a green thing under leafy covert. the coiling and circling and winding of the dancers became bewildering, and in the centre, laughing, shouting, tossing up his arms and gesticulating like a maniac, was the white man with the pointed beard. then the performers broke from their places and gave themselves with utter abandon to the wild impulses of wild natures in a wild world; and there was such a scene of uncurbed, animal hilarity as i never dreamed possible. savage, furious, almost ferocious like the frisking of a pack of wolves, that at any time may fall upon and destroy a weaker one, the boisterous antics of these children of the forest fascinated me. filled with the curiosity that lures many a trader to his undoing, i rose and went across to the thronging, shouting, shadowy figures. a man darted out of the woods full tilt against me. 'twas he of the pointed beard, my _suspect_ of the hudson's bay company. quick as thought i thrust out my foot and tripped him full length on the ground. the light fell on his upturned face. it was louis laplante, that past-master in the art of diplomatic deception. he snarled out something angrily and came to himself in sitting posture. then he recognized me. "_mon dieu!_" he muttered beneath his breath, momentarily surprised into a betrayal of astonishment. "you, gillespie?" he called out, at once regaining himself and assuming his usual nonchalance. "pardon, my solemncholy! i took you for a tree." "granted, your impudence," said i, ignoring the slight but paying him back in kind. i was determined to follow my uncle's advice and play the rascal at his own game. "help you up?" said i, as pleasantly as i could, extending my hand to give him a lift; and i felt his palm hot and his arm tremble. then, i knew that louis was drunk and this was the fool's joint in the knave's armor, on which mr. jack mackenzie bade me use my weapons. "tra-la!" he answered with mincing insult. "tra-la, old tombstone! good-by, my mausoleum! au revoir, old death's-head! adieu, grave skull!" with an absurdly elaborate bow, he reeled back among the dancers. "get up, comrade," i urged, rushing into the tent, where the old trader i had questioned about my canoeman was now snoring. "get up, man," and i shook him. "there's a hudson's bay spy!" "spy," he shouted, throwing aside the moose-skin coverlet. "spy! who?" "it's louis laplante, of quebec." "louis laplante!" reiterated the trader. "a frenchman employed by the hudson's bay! laplante, a trapper, with them! the scoundrel!" and he ground out oaths that boded ill for louis. "hold on!" i exclaimed, jerking him back. he was for dashing on laplante with a cudgel. "he's playing the trapper game with the lake tribes." "i'll trapper him," vowed the trader. "how do you know he's a spy?" "i don't _know_, really know," i began, clumsily conscious that i had no proof for my suspicions, "but it strikes me we'd better not examine this sort of suspect at too long range. if we're wrong, we can let him go." "bag him, eh?" queried the trader. "that's it," i assented. "he's a hard one to bag." "but he's drunk." "drunk, oh! drunk is he?" laughed the man. "he'll be drunker," and the trader began rummaging through bales of stuff with a noise of bottles knocking together. he was humming in a low tone, like a grimalkin purring after a full meal of mice- "rum for indians, when they come, rum for the beggars, when they go, that's the trick my grizzled lads to catch the cash and snare the foe." "what's your plan?" i asked with a vague feeling the trader had some shady purpose in mind. "squeamish? eh? you'll get over that, boy. i'll trap your trapper and spy your spy, and nor'-wester your h. b. c.! you come down to the sand between the forest and the beach in about an hour and i'll have news for you," and he brushed past me with his arms full of something i could not see in the half-light. then, as a trader, began my first compromise with conscience, and the enmity which i thereby aroused afterwards punished me for that night's work. i knew very well my comrade, with the rough-and-ready methods of traders, had gone out to do what was not right; and i hung back in the tent, balancing the end against the means, our deeds against louis' perfidy, and nor'-westers' interests against those of the hudson's bay. it is not pleasant to recall what was done between the cedars and the shore. i do not attempt to justify our conduct. does the physician justify medical experiments on the criminal, or the sacrificial priest the driving of the scape-goat into the wilderness? suffice it to say, when i went down to the shore, louis laplante was sitting in the midst of empty drinking-flasks, and the wily, old nor'-wester was tempting the silly boy to take more by drinking his health with fresh bottles. but while louis laplante gulped down his rum, becoming drunker and more communicative, the tempter threw glass after glass over his shoulder and remained sober. the nor'-wester motioned me to keep behind the frenchman and i heard his drunken lips mumbling my own name. "rufush--prig--stuck-up prig--serve him tam right! hamilton's--sh--sh--prig too--sho's his wife. serve 'em all tam right!" "ask him where she is," i whispered over his head. "where's the gal?" demanded the trader, shoving more liquor over to louis. "shioux squaw--devil's wife--how you say it in english? lah grawnd deeahble," and he mouthed over our mispronunciation of his own tongue "joke, isn't it?" he went on. "that wax-face prig--slave to shioux squaw. rufush--a fool. stuffed him to hish--neck. made him believe shmall-pox was hamilton's wife. i mean, hamilton's wife was shmall-pox. calf bellowed with fright--ran home--came back--'tamme,' i say, 'there he come again' 'shmall-pox in that grave,' say i. joke--ain't it?" and he stopped to drain off another pint of rum. "biggest joke out of jail," said the nor'-wester dryly, with meaning which louis did not grasp. "ask him where she is," i whispered, "quick! he's going to sleep." for louis wiped his beard on his sleeve and lay back hopelessly drunk. "here you, waken up," commanded the nor'-wester, kicking him and shaking him roughly. "where's the gal?" "shioux--_pays d'en haut_," drawled the youth. "take off your boots! don't wear boots. _pays d'en haut_--moccasins--softer," and he rolled over in a sodden sleep, which defied all our efforts to shake him into consciousness. "is that true?" asked the nor'-wester, standing above the drunk man and speaking across to me. "is that true about the indian kidnapping a woman?" "true--too terribly true," i whispered back. "i'd like to boot him into the next world," said the trader, looking down at louis in a manner that might have alarmed that youth for his safety. "i've bagged h. b. dispatches anyway," he added with satisfaction. "what'll we do with him?" i asked aimlessly. "if he had anything to do with the stealing of hamilton's wife----" "he hadn't," interrupted the trader. "'twas diable did that, so laplante says." "then what shall we do with him?" "do--with--him," slowly repeated the nor'-wester in a low, vibrating voice. "do--with--him?" and again i felt a vague shudder of apprehension at this silent, uncompromising man's purpose. the camp fires were dead. not a sound came from the men in the woods and there was a gray light on the water with a vague stirring of birds through the foliage overhead. now i would not have any man judge us by the canons of civilization. under the ancient rule of the fur companies over the wilds of the north, 'twas bullets and blades put the fear of the lord in evil hearts. as we stooped to gather up the tell-tale flasks, the drunken knave, who had lightly allowed an innocent white woman to go into indian captivity, lay with bared chest not a hand's length from a knife he had thrown down. did the nor'-wester and i hesitate, and look from the man to the dagger, and from the dagger to the man; or is this an evil dream from a black past? miriam, the guiltless, was suffering at his hands; should not he, the guilty, suffer at ours? surely sisera was not more unmistakably delivered into the power of his enemies by the lord than this man; and sisera was discomfited by barak and jael. heber's wife--says the book--drove a tent nail--through the temples--of the sleeping man--and slew him! day was when i thought the old volume recorded too many deeds of bloodshed in the wilderness for the instruction of our refined generation; but i, too, have since lived in the wilderness and learned that soft speech is not the weapon of strong men overmastering savagery. i know the trader and i were thinking the same thoughts and reading each other's thoughts; for we stood silent above the drunk man, neither moving, neither uttering a word. "well?" i finally questioned in a whisper. "well," said he, and he knelt down and picked up the knife. "'twould serve him right." he was speaking in the low, gentle, purring voice he had used in the tent. "'twould serve him jolly right," and he knelt over louis hesitating. my eyes followed his slow, deliberate motions with horror. terror seemed to rob me of the power of speech. i felt my blood freeze with the fear of some impending crime. there was the faintest perceptible fluttering of leaves; and we both started up as if we had been assassins, glancing fearfully into the gloom of the forest. all the woods seemed alive with horrified eyes and whisperings. "stop!" i gasped, "this is madness, the madness of the murderer. what would you do?" and i was trying to knock the knife out of his hand, when among the shadowy green of the foliage, an open space suddenly resolved itself into a human face and there looked out upon us gleaming eyes like those of a crouching panther. "squeamish fool!" muttered the nor'-wester, raising his arm. "stop!" i implored. "we are watched. see!" and i pointed to the face, that as suddenly vanished into blackness. we both leaped into the thicket, pistol in hand, to wreak punishment on the interloper. there was only an indistinct sound as of something receding into the darkness. "don't fire," said i, "'twill alarm the camp." at imminent risk to our own lives, we poked sticks through the thicket and felt for our unseen enemy, but found nothing. "let's go back and peg him out on the sand, where the hudson's bay will see him when they come this way," suggested the nor'-wester, referring to laplante. "yes, or hand-cuff him and take him along prisoner," i added, thinking louis might have more information. but when we stepped back to the beach, there was no louis laplante. "he was too drunk to go himself," said i, aghast at the certainty, which now came home to me, that we had been watched. "i wash my hands of the whole affair," declared the trader, in a state of high indignation, and he strode off to his tent, i, following, with uncomfortable reflections trooping into my mind. compunctions rankled in self-respect. how near we had been to a brutal murder, to crime which makes men shun the perpetrators. civilization's veneer was rubbing off at an alarming rate. this thought stuck, but for obvious reasons was not pursued. also i had learned that the worst and best of outlaws easily justify their acts at the time they commit them; but afterwards--afterwards is a different matter, for the thing is past undoing. i heard the trader snorting out inarticulate disgust as he tumbled into his tent; but i stood above the embers of the camp fire thinking. again i felt with a creepiness, that set all my flesh quaking, felt, rather than saw, those maddening, tiger eyes of the dark foliage watching me. looking up, i found my morose canoeman on the other side of the fire, leaning so close to a tree, he was barely visible in the shadows. thinking himself unseen by me, he wore such an insolent, amused, malicious expression, i knew in an instant, who the interloper had been, and who had carried louis off. before i realized that such an act entails life-long enmity with an indian, i had bounded over the fire and struck him with all my strength full in the face. at that, instead of knifing me as an indian ordinarily would, he broke into hyena shrieks of laughter. he, who has heard that sound, need hear it only once to have the echo ring forever in his ears; and i have heard it oft and know it well. "spy! sneak!" i muttered, rushing upon him. but he sprang back into the forest and vanished. in dodging me, he let fall his fowling-piece, which went off with a bang into the fire. "hulloo! what's wrong out there?" bawled the trader's voice from the tent. "nothing--false alarm!" i called reassuringly. then there caught my eyes what startled me out of all presence of mind. there, reflecting the glare of the firelight was the indian's fowling-piece, richly mounted in burnished silver and chased in the rare design of eric hamilton's family crest. the morose canoeman was le grand diable. * * * * * a few hours later, i was in the thick of a confused re-embarking. le grand diable took a place in another boat; and a fresh hand was assigned to my canoe. of that i was glad; i could sleep sounder and he, safer. the _bourgeois_ complained that too much rum had been given out. "keep a stiffer hand on your men, boy, or they'll ride over your head," one of the chief traders remarked to me. chapter vi a girdle of agates recalled to unravel a ball of yarn, with which kittens have been making cobwebs, has always seemed to me a much easier task than to unknot the tangled skein of confused influences, that trip up our feet at every step in life's path. here was i, who but a month ago had a supreme contempt for guile and a lofty confidence in uprightness and downrightness, transformed into a crafty trader with all the villainous tricks of the bargain-maker at my finger-tips. we had befooled louis into a betrayal of his associates but how much reliance could be placed on that betrayal? had he incriminated diable to save himself? then, why had diable rescued his betrayer? where was louis in hiding? was the sioux wife with her white slave really in the north country, or was she near, and did that explain my morose iroquois' all-night vigils? we had cheated laplante; but had he in turn cheated us? would i be justified in taking diable prisoner, and would my company consent to the demoralization of their crews by such a step? ah, if life were only made up of simple right and simple wrong, instead of half rights and half wrongs indistinguishably mingled, we could all be righteous! if the path to the goal of our chosen desire were only as straight as it is narrow, instead of being dark, mysterious and tortuous, how easily could we attain high ends! i was launched on the life for which i had longed, but strange, shadowy forms like the storm-fiends of sailors' lore, drunkenness, deceit and crime--on whose presence i had not counted--flitted about my ship's masthead. and there was not one guiding star, not one redeeming influence, except the utter freedom to be a man. i was learning, what i suppose everyone learns, that there are things which sap success of its sweets. such were my thoughts, as our canoes sped across the northern end of lake huron, heading for the sault. the nor'-westers had a wonderful way of arousing enthusiastic loyalty among their men. danger fanned this fealty to white-heat. in the face of powerful opposition, the great company frequently accomplished the impossible. with half as large a staff in the service as its rivals boasted, it invaded the hunting-ground of the hudson's bay company, and outrunning all competition, extended fur posts from the heart of the continent to the foot-hills to the rockies, and from the international boundary to the arctic circle. i had thought no crews could make quicker progress than ours from lachine to _point à la croix_; but the short delay during the storm occasioned faster work. more _voyageurs_ were engaged from the nipissangue tribes. as soon as one lot fagged fresh shifts came to the relief. paddles shot out at the rate of modern piston rods, and the waters whirled back like wave-wash in the wake of a clipper. except for briefest stoppages, speed was not relaxed across the whole northern end of those inland seas called the great lakes. with ample space on the lakes, the brigades could spread out and the canoes separated, not halting long enough to come together again till we reached the sault. here, orders were issued for the maintenance of rigid discipline. we camped at a distance from the lodges of local tribes. no grog was given out. camp-fire conviviality was forbidden, and each man kept with his own crew. we remained in camp but one night; and though i searched every tent, i could not find le grand diable. this worried and puzzled me. all night, i lay awake, stretching conscience with doubtful plans to entrap the knave. rising with first dawn-streak, i was surprised to find little fellow and la robe noire, two of my canoemen, setting off for the woods. they had laid a snare--so they explained--and were going to examine it. of late i had grown distrustful of all natives. i suspected these two might be planning desertion; so i went with them. the way led through a dense thicket of ferns half the height of a man. only dim light penetrated the maze of foliage; and i might easily have lost myself, or been decoyed--though these possibilities did not occur to me till we were at least a mile from the beach. little fellow was trotting ahead, la robe noire jogging behind, and both glided through the brake without disturbing a fern branch, while i--after the manner of my race--crunched flags underfoot and stamped down stalks enough to be tracked by keen-eyed indians for a week afterwards. twice i saw little fellow pull up abruptly and look warily through the cedars on one side. once he stooped down and peered among the fern stems. then he silently signaled back to la robe noire, pointed through the undergrowth and ran ahead again without explanation. at first i could see nothing, and regretted being led so far into the woods. i was about to order both indians back to the tent, when little fellow, with face pricked forward and foot raised, as if he feared to set it down--for the fourth time came to a dead stand. now, i, too, heard a rustle, and saw a vague sinuous movement distinctly running abreast of us among the ferns. for a moment, when we stopped, it ceased, then wiggled forward like beast, or serpent in the underbrush. little fellow placed his forefinger on his lips, and we stood noiseless till by the ripple of the green it seemed to scurry away. "what is it, little fellow, a cat?" i asked; but the indian shook his head dubiously and turned to the open where the trap had been set. bending over the snare he uttered an indian word, that i did not understand, but have since heard traders use, so conclude it was one of those exclamations, alien races learn quickest from one another, but which, nevertheless, are not found in dictionaries. the trap had been rifled of game and completely smashed. "wolverine!" muttered the indian, making a sweep of his dagger blade at an imaginary foe. "no wolverine! bad indians!" scarcely had he spoken when la robe noire leaped into the air like a wounded rabbit. an arrow whizzed past my face and glanced within a hair's-breadth of the indian's head. both men were dumb with amazement. such treachery would have been surprising among the barbarous tribes of the athabasca. the sault was the dividing line between canada and the wilderness, between the east and the west, and there were no hostiles within a thousand miles of us. little fellow would have dragged me pell-mell back to the beach, but i needed no persuasion. la robe noire tore ahead with the springs of a hunted lynx. little fellow loyally kept between me and a possible pursuer, and we set off at a hard run. that creature, i fancied, was again coursing along beneath the undergrowth; for the foliage bent and rose as we ran. whether it were man or beast, we were three against one, and could drive it out of hiding. "see here, little fellow!" i cried, "let's hunt that thing out!" and i wheeled about so sharply the chunky little man crashed forward, knocking me off my feet and sending me a man's length farther on. that fall saved my life. a flat spear point hissed through the air above my head and stuck fast in the bark of an elm tree. scrambling up, i promptly let go two or three shots into the fern brake. we scrutinized the underbrush, but there was no sign of human being, except the fern stems broken by my shots. i wrenched the stone spear-head from the tree. it was curiously ornamented with such a multitude of intricate carvings i could not decipher any design. then i discovered that the medley of colors was produced by inlaying the flint with small bits of a bright stone; and the bright stones had been carved into a rude likeness of some birds. "what are these birds, little fellow?" i asked. he fingered them closely, and with bulging eyes muttered back, "l'aigle! l'aigle!" "eagles, are they?" i returned, stupidly missing the possible meaning of his suppressed excitement. "and the stone?" "agate, _monsieur_." agate! agate! what picture did agate call back to my mind? a big squaw, with malicious eyes and gaping upper lip and girdle of agates, watching louis laplante and myself at the encampment in the gorge. "little fellow!" i shouted, not suppressing my excitement. "who is le grand diable's wife?" and the indian answered in a low voice, with a face that showed me he had already penetrated my discovery, "the daughter of l'aigle, chief of the sioux." then i knew for whom those missiles had been intended and from whom they had come. it was a clever piece of rascality. had the assassin succeeded, punishment would have fallen on my indians. chapter vii the lords of the north in council beyond the sault, the fascinations of the west beckoned like a siren. vast waterways, where a dozen european kingdoms could be dropped into one lake without raising a sand-bar, seemed to sweep on forever and call with the voice of enchantress to the very ends of the earth. with the purple recesses of the shore on one side and the ocean-expanse of lake superior on the other, all the charms of clean, fresh freedom were unveiling themselves to me and my blood began to quicken with that fevered delight, which old lands are pleased to call western enthusiasm. lake huron, with its greenish-blue, shallow, placid waters and calm, sloping shores, seemed typical of the even, easy life i had left in the east. how those choppy, blustering, little waves resembled the jealousies and bickerings and bargainings of the east; but when one came to lake superior, with its great ocean billows and slumbering, giant rocks and cold, dark, fathomless depths, there was a new life in a hard, rugged, roomy, new world. we hugged close to the north coast; and the numerous rocky islands to our left stood guard like a wall of adamant between us and the heavy surf that flung against the barrier. we were rapidly approaching the headquarters of our company. when south-bound brigades, with prisoners in hand-cuffs, began to meet us, i judged we were near the habitation of man. "bad men?" i asked little fellow, pointing to the prisoners, as our crews exchanged rousing cheers with the nor'-westers now bound for montreal. "_non, monsieur!_ not all bad men," and the indian gave his shoulders an expressive shrug, "_les traitres anglais_." to the french _voyageur_, english meant the hudson's bay people. the answer set me wondering to what pass things had come between the two great companies that they were shipping each other's traders gratuitously out of the country. i recalled the talk at the quebec club about governor mcdonell of the hudson's bay trying to expel nor'-westers and concluded our people could play their own game against the commander of red river. we arrived in fort william at sundown, and a flag was flying above the courtyard. "is that in our honor?" i asked a clerk of the party. "not much it is," he laughed. "we under-strappers aren't oppressed with honors! it warns the indians there's no trade one day out of seven." "is this sunday?" i suddenly recollected as far as we were concerned the past month had been entirely composed of week-days. "out of your reckoning already?" asked the clerk with surprise. "wonder how you'll feel when you've had ten years of it." situated on the river bank, near the site of an old french post, fort william was a typical traders' stronghold. wooden palisades twenty feet high ran round the whole fort and the inner court enclosed at least two hundred square yards. heavily built block-houses with guns poking through window slits gave a military air to the trading post. the block-houses were apparently to repel attack from the rear and the face of the fort commanded the river. stores, halls, warehouses and living apartments for an army of clerks, were banked against the walls, and the main building with its spacious assembly-room stood conspicuous in the centre of the enclosure. as we entered the courtyard, one of the chief traders was perched on a mortar in the gate. the little magnate condescended never a smile of welcome till the _bourgeois_ came up. then he fawned loudly over the chiefs and conducted them with noisy ostentation to the main hall. indians and half-breed _voyageurs_ quickly dispersed among the wigwams outside the pickets, while clerks and traders hurried to the broad-raftered dining-hall. fatigued from the trip, i took little notice of the vociferous interchange of news in passage-way and over door-steps. i remember, after supper i was strolling about the courtyard, surveying the buildings, when at the door of a sort of barracks where residents of the fort lived, i caught sight of the most grateful object my eye had lighted upon since leaving quebec. it was a tin basin with a large bar of soap--actual soap. there must still have been some vestige of civilization in my nature, for after a delightful half-hour's intimate acquaintance with that soap, i came round to the groups of men rehabilitated in self-respect. "athabasca, rocky mountain and saskatchewan brigades here to-morrow," remarked a boyish looking nor'-wester, with a mannish beard on his face. involuntarily i put my hand to my chin and found a bristling growth there. that was a land where young men could become suddenly very old; and many a trader has discovered other signs of age than a beard on his face when he first looked at a mirror after life in the _pays d'en haut_. "i say," blurted out another young clerk. "there's a man here from red river, one of the selkirk settlers. he's come with word if we'll supply the boats, lots of the colonists are ready to dig out. general assembly's going to consider that to-morrow." "oh! hang the old assembly if it ships that man out! he's got a pretty daughter, perfect beauty, and she's here with him!" exclaimed the lad with the mannish beard. "go to, thou light-head!" declared the other youth, with the air of an elder in israel. "go to! you paraded beneath her window for an hour to-day and she never once laid eyes on you." all the men laughed. "hang it!" said the first speaker. "we don't display our little amours----" "no," broke in the other, "we just display our little contours and get snubbed, eh?" the bearded youth flushed at the sally of laughter. "hang it!" he answered, pulling fiercely at his moustache. "she is a bit of statuary, so she is, as cold as marble. but there is no law against looking at a pretty bit of statuary, when it frames itself in a window in this wilderness." to which, every man of the crowd said a hearty amen; and i walked off to stretch myself full length on a bench, resolving to have out a mirror from my packing case and get rid of those bristles that offended my chin. the men began to disperse to their quarters. the tardy twilight of the long summer evenings, peculiar to the far north, was gathering in the courtyard. as the night-wind sighed past, i felt the velvet caress of warm june air on my face and memory reverted to the innocent boyhood days of laval. how far away those days seemed! yet it was not so long ago. surely it is knowledge, not time, that ages one, knowledge, that takes away the trusting innocence resulting from ignorance and gives in its place the distrustful innocence resulting from wisdom. i thought of the temptations that had come to me in the few short weeks i had been adrift, and how feebly i had resisted them. i asked myself if there were not in the moral compass of men, who wander by land, some guiding star, as there is for those who wander over sea. i gazed high above the sloping roofs for some sign of moon, or star. the sky was darkling and overcast; but in lowering my eyes from heaven to earth, i saw what i had missed before--a fair, white face framed in a window above the stoop directly opposite my bench. the face seemed to have a background of gold; for a wonderful mass of wavy hair clustered down from the blue-veined brow to the bit of white throat visible, where a gauzy piece of neck wear had been loosened. evidently, this was the statuary described by the whiskered youth. but the statuary breathed. a bloom of living apple-blossoms was on the cheeks. the brows were black and arched. the very pose of the head was arch, and in the lips was a suggestion of archery, too,--cupid's archery, though the upper lip was drawn almost too tight for the bow beneath to discharge the little god's shaft. why did i do it? i do not know. ask the young nor'-wester, who had worn a path beneath the selfsame window that very day, or the hosts of young men, who are still wearing paths beneath windows to this very day. i coughed and sat bolt upright on the bench with unnecessarily loud intimations of my presence. the fringe of black lashes did not even lift. i rose and with great show of indifference paraded solemnly five times past that window; but, in spite of my pompous indifference, by a sort of side-signalling, i learned that the owner of the heavy lashes was unaware of my existence. thereupon, i sat down again. it _was_ a bit of statuary and a very pretty bit of statuary. as the youth said, there was no law against looking at a bit of statuary in this wilderness, and as the statuary did not know i was looking at it, i sat back to take my fill of that vision framed in the open window. the statuary, unknown to itself, had full meed of revenge; for it presently brought such a flood of longing to my heart, longings, not for this face, but for what this face represented--the innocence and love and purity of home, that i bowed dejectedly forward with moist eyes gazing at the ground. "hullo!" whispered a deep voice in my ear. "are you mooning after the little statue already?" when i looked up, the man had passed, but the head in the window was leaning out and a pair of swimming, lustrous, gray eyes were gazing forward in a way that made me dizzy. "ah," they said in a language that needed no speaking, "there are two of us, very, very home-sick." "the guiding star for my moral compass," said i, under my breath. then the statue in a live fashion suddenly drew back into the dark room. the window-shutter flung to, with a bang, and my vision was gone. i left the bench, made a shake-down on one of the store counters, and knew nothing more till the noise of brigades from the far north aroused the fort at an early hour monday morning. the arrival of the athabasca traders was the signal for tremendous activity. an army returning from victory could not have been received with greater acclaim. _bourgeois_ and clerks tumbled promiscuously from every nook in the fort and rushing half-dressed towards the gates shouted welcome to the men, who had come from the outposts of the known world. they were a shaggy, ragged-looking rabble, those traders from mountain fastnesses and the arctic circle. with long white hair, hatless some of them, with beards like oriental patriarchs, and dressed entirely in skins of the chase, from fringed coats to gorgeous moccasins, the unkempt monarchs of northern realms had the imperious bearing of princes. "is it you, really you, looking as old as your great grandfather? by gad! so it is," came from one quondam friend. "powers above!" ejaculated another onlooker, "see that old father abraham! it's tait! as you live, it's tait! and he only went to the athabasca ten years ago. he was thirty then, and now he's a hundred!" "that's wilson," says another. "looks thin, doesn't he? slim fare! he's the only man from great slave lake that escaped being a meal for the crees,--year of the famine; and they hadn't time to pick his bones!" a running fire of such comments went along the spectators lining each side of the path. there was a sad side to the clamorous welcomes and handshakes and surprised recognitions. had not these men gone north young and full of hope, as i was going? now, news of the feud with the hudson's bay brought them out old before their time and more like the natives with whom they had traded than the white race they had left. here and there, strong men would fall in each other's arms and embrace like school-girls, covering their emotion with rounded oaths instead of terms of endearment. all day the confusion of unloading boats continued. the dull tread of moccasined feet as indians carried pack after pack from river bank to the fort, was ceaseless. faster than the clerks could sort the furs great bundles were heaped on the floor. by noon, warehouses were crammed from basement to attic. ermine taken in mid-winter, when the fur was spotlessly white, but for the jet tail-tip, otter cut so deftly scarcely a tuft of fur had been wasted along the opened seam, silver fox, which had made the fortune of some lucky hunter--these and other rare furs, that were to minister to the luxury of kings, passed from tawny carriers to sorters. elsewhere, coarse furs, obtained at greater risk, but owing to the abundance of big game, less valuable for the hunter, were sorted and valued. with a reckless underestimate of the beaver-skin, their unit of currency, indians hung over counters bartering away the season's hunt. i frankly acknowledge the company's clerks on such occasions could do a rushing business selling tawdry stuff at fabulous prices. meanwhile, in the main hall, the _bourgeois_, or partners, of the great north-west company were holding their annual general assembly behind closed doors. clerks lowered their voices when they passed that room, and well they might; for the rulers inside held despotic sway over a domain as large as europe. and what were they decreeing? who can tell? the archives of the great fur companies are as jealously guarded as diplomatic documents, and more remarkable for what they omit than what they state. was the policy, that ended so tragically a year afterwards, adopted at this meeting? great corporations have a fashion of keeping their mouths and their council doors tight shut and of leaving the public to infer that catastrophes come causeless. however that may be, i know that duncan cameron, a fiery highlander and one of the keenest men in the north-west service, suddenly flung out of the assembly room with a pleased, determined look on his ruddy face. "are ye rufus gillespie?" he asked. "that's my name, sir." "then buckle on y'r armor, lad; for ye'll see the thick of the fight. you're appointed to my department at red river." and he left us. "lucky dog! i envy you! there'll be rare sport between cameron and mcdonell, when the two forts up in red river begin to talk back to each other," exclaimed a fort william man to me. "are you gillespie?" asked a low, mellow, musical voice by my side. i turned to face a tall, dark, wiry man, with the swarthy complexion and intensely black eyes of one having strains of native blood. among the _voyageurs_, i had become accustomed to the soft-spoken, melodious speech that betrays indian parentage; and i believe if i were to encounter a descendant of the red race in china, or among the latin peoples of southern europe, i could recognize indian blood by that rhythmic trick of the native tongue. "i'm gillespie," i answered my keen-eyed questioner. "who are you?" "cuthbert grant, warden of the plains and leader of the _bois-brulés_," was his terse response. "you're coming to our department at fort gibraltar, and i want you to give father holland a place in your canoes to come north with us. he's on his way to the missouri." at that instant duncan cameron came up to grant and muttered something. both men at once went back to the council hall of the general assembly. i heard the courtyard gossips vowing that the hudson's bay would cease its aggressions, now that cameron and cuthbert grant were to lead the nor'-westers; but i made no inquiry. next to keeping his own counsel and giving credence to no man, the fur trader learns to gain information only with ears and eyes, and to ask no questions. the scurrying turmoil in the fort lasted all day. at dusk, natives were expelled from the stockades and work stopped. grand was the foregathering around the supper table of the great dining hall that night. _bourgeois_, clerks and traders from afar, explorers, from the four corners of the earth--assembled four hundred strong, buoyant and unrestrained, enthusiastically loyal to the company, and tingling with hilarious fellowship over this, the first reunion for twenty years. though their manner and clothing be uncouth, men who have passed a lifetime exploring northern wilds have that to say, which is worth hearing. so the feast was prolonged till candles sputtered low and pitch-pine fagots flared out. indeed, before the gathering broke up, flagons as well as candles had to be renewed. lanterns swung from the black rafters of the ceiling. tallow candles stood in solemn rows down the centre of each table, showing that men, not women, had prepared the banquet. stuck in iron brackets against the walls were pine torches, that had been dipped in some resinous mixture and now flamed brightly with a smell not unlike incense. tables lined the four walls of the hall and ran in the form of a cross athwart the middle of the room. backless benches were on both sides of every table. at the end, chairs were placed, the seats of honor for famous _bourgeois_. british flags had been draped across windows and colored bunting hung from rafter to rafter. "ah, mon! is no this fine? this is worth living for! this is the company to serve!" duncan cameron exclaimed as he sank into one of the chairs at the head of the centre table. the scotchman's heart softened before those platters of venison and wild fowl, and he almost broke into geniality. "here, gillespie, to my right," he called, motioning me to the edge of the bench at his elbow. "here, grant, opposite gillespie! aye! an' is that you, father holland?" he cried to the stout, jovial priest, with shining brow and cheeks wrinkling in laughter, who followed grant. "there's a place o' honor for men like you, sir. here!" and he gave the priest a chair beside himself. the _bourgeois_ seated, there was a scramble for the benches. then the whole company with great zest and much noisy talk fell upon the viands with a will. "why, cameron," began a northern winterer a few places below me, "it's taken me three months fast travelling to come from mckenzie river to fort william. by jove! sir, 'twas cold enough to freeze your words solid as you spoke them, when we left great slave lake. i'll bet if you men were up there now, you'd hear my voice thawing out and yelling get-epp to my huskies, and my huskies yelping back! used a dog train, whole of march. tied myself up in bag of buffalo robes at night and made the huskies lie across it to keep me from freezing. got so hot, every pore in my body was a spouting fountain, and in the morning that moisture would freeze my buckskin stiff. couldn't stand that; so i tried sleeping with my head out of the bag and froze my nose six nights out of seven." the unfortunate nose corroborated his evidence. "ice was sloppy on the saskatchewan, and i had to use pack-horses and take the trail. i was trusting to get provisions at souris. you can imagine, then, how we felt towards the hudson's bays when we found they'd plundered our fort. we were without a bite for two days. why, we took half a dozen hudson's bays in our quarters up north last winter, and saved them from starvation; and here we were, starving, that they might plunder and rob. i'm with you, sir! i'm with you to the hilt against the thieves! there's a time for peace and there's a time for war, and i say this is a very good time for war!" "here's confusion to the old h. b. c's! confusion, short life, no prosperity, and death to the hudson's bay!" yelled the young whiskered nor'-wester, springing to his feet on the bench and waving a drinking-cup round his head. some of the youthful clerks were disposed to take their cue from this fire-eater and began strumming the table and applauding; but the _bourgeois_ frowned on forward conduct. "check him, grant!" growled cameron in disapproval. "sit down, bumptious babe!" said the priest, tugging the lad's coat. "here, you young show-off," whispered grant, leaning across the priest, and he knocked the boy's feet from under him bringing him down to the bench with a thud. "he needs more outdoor life, that young one! it goes to his head mighty fast," remarked cameron. "what were you saying about your hard luck?" and he turned to the northern winterer again. "call that hard luck?" broke in a mountaineer, laughing as if he considered hardships a joke. "we lived a month last winter on two meals a day; soup, out of snow-shoe thongs, first course; fried skins, second go; teaspoonful shredded fish, by way of an entrée!" the man wore a beaded buckskin suit, and his mellow intonation of words in the manner of the indian tongue showed that he had almost lost english speech along with english customs. his recital caused no surprise. "been on short, rations myself," returned the northerner. "don't like it! isn't safe! rips a man's nerves to the raw when indians glare at him with hungry eyes eighteen hours out of the twenty-four." "what was the matter?" drawled the mountaineer. "hudson's bay been tampering with your indians? now if you had a good indian wife as i have, you could defy the beggars to turn trade away----" "aye, that's so," agreed the winterer, "i heard of a fellow on the athabasca who had to marry a squaw before he could get a pair of racquets made; but that wasn't my trouble. game was scarce." "game scarce on mackenzie river?" a chorus of voices vented their surprise. to the outside world game is always scarce, reported scarce on mackenzie river and everywhere else by the jealous fur traders; but these deceptions are not kept up among hunters fraternizing at the same banquet board. "mighty scarce. some of the tribe died out from starvation. the hudson's bay in our district were in bad plight. we took six of them in--hadn't heard of the souris plunder, you may be sure." "more fools they to go into the athabasca," declared the mountaineer. "bigger fools to send another brigade there this year when they needn't expect help from us," interjected a third trader. "you don't say they're sending another lot of men to the athabasca!" exclaimed the winterer. "yes i do--under colin robertson," affirmed the third man. "colin robertson--the nor'-wester?" "robertson who used to be a nor'-wester! it's selkirk's work since he got control of the h. b." "robertson should know better," said the northerner. "he had experience with us before he resigned. i'll wager he doesn't undertake that sort of venture! surely it's a yarn!" "you lose your bet," cried the irrepressible fort william lad. "a runner came in at six o'clock and reported that the hudson's bay brigade from lachine would pass here before midnight. they're sooners, they are, are the h. b. c's.," and the clerk enjoyed the sensation of rolling a big oath from his boyish lips. "eric hamilton passing within a stone's throw of the fort!" in astonishment i leaned forward to catch every word the fort william lad might say. "to athabasca by our route--past this fort!" such temerity amazed the winterer beyond coherent expression. "good thing for them they're passing in the night," continued the clerk. "the half-breeds are hot about that souris affair. there'll be a collision yet!" the young fellow's importance increased in proportion to the surprise of the elder men. "there'll be a collision anyway when cameron and grant reach red river--eh, cuthbert?" and the mountaineer turned to the dark, sharp-featured warden of the plains. cuthbert grant laughed pleasantly. "oh, i hope not--for their sakes!" he said, and went on with the story of a buffalo hunt. the story i missed, for i was deep in my own thoughts. i must see eric and let him know what i had learned; but how communicate with the hudson's bay brigade without bringing suspicion of double dealing on myself? i was turning things over in my mind in a stupid sort of way like one new at intrigue, when i heard a talker, vowing by all that was holy that he had seen the rarest of hunter's rarities--a pure white buffalo. the wonder had appeared in qu'appelle valley. "i can cap that story, man," cried the portly irish priest who was to go north in my boat. "i saw a white squaw less than two weeks ago!" he paused for his words to take effect, and i started from my chair as if i had been struck. "what's wrong, young man?" asked the winterer. "we lonely fellows up north see visions. we leap out of our moccasins at the sound of our own voices; but you young chaps, with all the world around you"--he waved towards the crowded hall as though it were the metropolis of the universe--"shouldn't see ghosts and go jumping mad." i sat down abashed. "yes, a white squaw," repeated the jovial priest. "sure now, white ladies aren't so many in these regions that i'd be likely to make a mistake." "there's a difference between squaws and white ladies," persisted the jolly father, all unconscious that he was emphasizing a difference which many of the traders were spelling out in hard years of experience. "i've seen papooses that were white for a day or two after they were born----" "effect of the christening," interrupted the youth, whose head, between flattered vanity and the emptied contents of his drinking cup, was very light indeed. "take that idiot out and put him to bed, somebody," commanded cameron. "for a day or two after they were born," reiterated the priest; "but i never saw such a white-skinned squaw!" "where did you see her?" i inquired in a voice which was not my own. "on lake winnipeg. coming down two weeks ago we camped near a band of sioux, and i declare, as i passed a tepee, i saw a woman's face that looked as white as snow. she was sleeping, and the curtain had blown up. her child was in her arms, and i tell you her bare arms were as white as snow." "must have been the effect of the moonlight," explained some one. "moonlight didn't give the other indians that complexion," insisted the priest. it was my turn to feel my head suddenly turn giddy, though liquor had not passed my lips. this information could have only one meaning. i was close on the track of miriam, and eric was near; yet the slightest blunder on my part might ruin all chance of meeting him and rescuing her. chapter viii the little statue animate the men began arguing about the degrees of whiteness in a squaw's skin. those, married to native women, averred that differences of complexion were purely matters of temperament and compared their dusky wives to spanish belles. the priest was now talking across the table to duncan cameron, advocating a renewal of north-west trade with the mandanes on the missouri, whither he was bound on his missionary tour. to venture out of the fort through the indian encampments, where natives and outlaws were holding high carnival, and my sleepless foe could have a free hand, would be to risk all chance of using the information that had come to me. i did not fear death--fear of death was left east of the sault in those days. on my preservation depended miriam's rescue. besides, if either le grand diable or myself had to die, i came to the conclusion of other men similarly situated--that my enemy was the one who should go. violins, flutes and bag-pipes were striking up in different parts of the hall. simple ballads, smacking of old delights in an older land, songs, with which home-sick white men comforted themselves in far-off lodges--were roared out in strident tones. feet were beating time to the rasp of the fiddles. men rose and danced wild jigs, or deftly executed some intricate indian step; and uproarious applause greeted every performer. the hall throbbed with confused sounds and the din deadened my thinking faculties. even now, eric might be slipping past. in that deafening tumult i could decide nothing, and when i tried to leave the table, all the lights swam dizzily. "excuse me, sir!" i whispered, clutching the priest's elbow. "you're father holland and are to go north in my boats. come out with me for a moment." thinking me tipsy, he gave me a droll glance. "'pon my soul! strapping fellows like you shouldn't need last rites----" "please say nothing! come quickly!" and i gripped his arm. "bless us! it's a touch of the head, or the heart!" and he rose and followed me from the hall. in the fresh air, dizziness left me. sitting down on the bench, where i had lain the night before, i told him my perplexing mission. at first, i am sure he was convinced that i was drunk or raving, but my story had the directness of truth. he saw at once how easily he could leave the fort at that late hour without arousing suspicion, and finally offered to come with me to the river bank, where we might intercept hamilton. "but we must have a boat, a light cockle-shell thing, so we can dart out whenever the brigade appears," declared the priest, casting about in his mind for means to forward our object. "the canoes are all locked up. can't you borrow one from the indians? don't you know any of them?" i asked with a sudden sinking of heart. "and have the whole pack of them sneaking after us? no--no--that won't do. where are your wits, boy! arrah! me hearty, but what was that?" we both heard the shutter above our heads suddenly thrown open, but darkness hid anyone who might have been listening. "hm!" said the priest. "overheard! fine conspirators we are! some eavesdropper!" "hush!" and remembering whose window it was, i held him; for he would have stalked away. "are you there?" came a clear, gentle voice, that fell from the window in the breaking ripples of a fountain plash. the bit of statuary had become suddenly animate and was not so marble-cold to mankind as it looked. thinking we had been taken for an expected lover, i, too, was moving off, when the voice, that sounded like the dropping golden notes of a cremona, called out in tones of vibrating alarm: "don't--don't go! priest! priest! father! it's you i'm speaking to. i've heard every word!" father holland and i were too much amazed to do aught but gape from each other to the dark window. we could now see the outlines of a white face there. "if you'd please put one bench on top of another, and balance a bucket on that, i think i could get down," pleaded the low, thrilling voice. "an' in the name of the seven wonders of creation, what for would you be getting down?" asked the astonished priest. "oh! hurry! are you getting the bench?" coaxed the voice. "faith an' we're not! and we have no thought of doing such a thing!" began the good man with severity. "then, i'll jump," threatened the voice. "and break your pretty neck," answered the ungallant father with indignation. there was a rustling of skirts being gathered across the window sill and outlines of a white face gave place to the figure of a frail girl preparing for a leap. "don't!" i cried, genuinely alarmed, with a mental vision of shattered statuary on the ground. "don't! i'm getting the benches," and i piled them up, with a rickety bucket on top. "wait!" i implored, stepping up on the bottom bench. "give me your hand," and as i caught her hands, she leaped from the window to the bucket, and the bucket to the ground, with a daintiness, which i thought savored of experience in such escapades. "what do you mean, young woman?" demanded father holland in anger. "i'll have none of your frisky nonsense! do you know, you baggage, that you are delaying this young man in a matter that is of life-and-death importance? tell me this instant, what do you want?" "i want to save that woman, miriam! you're both so slow and stupid! come, quick!" and she caught us by the arms. "there's a skiff down among the rushes in the flats. i can guide you to it. cross the river in it! oh! quick! quick! some of the hudson's bay brigades have already passed!" "how do you know?" we both demanded as in one breath. "i'm frances sutherland. my father is one of the selkirk settlers and he had word that they would pass to-night! oh! come! come!" this girl, the daughter of a man who was playing double to both companies! and her service to me would compel me to be loyal to him! truly, i was becoming involved in a way that complicated simple duty. but the girl had darted ahead of us, we following by the flutter of the white gown, and she led us out of the courtyard by a sally-port to the rear of a block-house. she paused in the shadow of some shrubbery. "get fagots from the indians to light us across the flats," she whispered to father holland. "they'll think nothing of your coming. you're always among them!" "mistress sutherland!" i began, as the priest hurried forward to the indian camp-fires, "i hate to think of you risking yourself in this way for----" "stop thinking, then," she interrupted abruptly in a voice that somehow reminded me of my first vision of statuary. "i beg your pardon," i blundered on. "father holland and i have both forgotten to apologize for our rudeness about helping you down." "pray don't apologize," answered the marble voice. then the girl laughed. "really you're worse than i thought, when i heard you bungling over a boat. i didn't mind your rudeness. it was funny." "oh!" said i, abashed. there are situations in which conversation is impossible. "i didn't mind your rudeness," she repeated, "and--and--you mustn't mind mine. homesick people aren't--aren't--responsible, you know. ah! here are the torches! give me one. i thank you--father holland--is it not? please smother them down till we reach the river, or we'll be followed." she was off in a flash, leading us through a high growth of rushes across the flats. so i was both recognized and remembered from the previous night. the thought was not displeasing. the wind moaned dismally through the reeds. i did not know that i had been glancing nervously behind at every step, with uncomfortable recollections of arrows and spear-heads, till father holland exclaimed: "why, boy! you're timid! what are you scared of?" "the devil!" and i spoke truthfully. "faith! there's more than yourself runs from his majesty; but resist the devil and he will flee from you." "not the kind of devil that's my enemy," i explained. i told him of the arrow-shot and spear-head, and all mirth left his manner. "i know him, i know him well. there's no greater scoundrel between quebec and athabasca." "my devil, or yours?" "yours, lad. let your laughter be turned to mourning! beware of him! i've known more than one murder of his doing. eh! but he's cunning, so cunning! we can't trip him up with proofs; and his body's as slippery as an eel or we might----" but a loon flapped up from the rushes, brushing the priest's face with its wings. "holy mary save us!" he ejaculated panting to keep up with our guide. "faith! i thought 'twas the devil himself!" "do you really mean it? would it be right to get hold of le grand diable?" i asked. frances sutherland had slackened her pace and we were all three walking abreast. a dry cane crushed noisily under foot and my head ducked down as if more arrows had hissed past. "mane it?" he cried, "mane it? if ye knew all the evil he's done ye'd know whether i mane it." it was his custom when in banter to drop from english to his native brogue like a merry-andrew. "but, father holland, i had him in my power. i struck him, but i didn't kill him, more's the pity!" "an' who's talking of killin', ye young cut-throat? i say get howld of his body and when ye've got howld of his body, i'd further advise gettin' howld of the butt end of a saplin'----" "but, father, he was my canoeman. i had him in my power." instantly he squared round throwing the torchlight on my face. "had him in your power--knew what he'd done--and--and--didn't?" "and didn't," said i. "but you almost make me wish i had. what do you take traders for?" "you're young," said he, "and i take traders for what they are----" "but i'm a trader and i didn't----" though a beginner, i wore the airs of a veteran. "benedicite!" he cried. "the lord shall be your avenger! he shall deliver that evil one into the power of the punisher!" "benedicite!" he repeated. "may ye keep as clean a conscience in this land as you've brought to it." "amen, father!" said i. "here we are," exclaimed frances sutherland as we emerged from the reeds to the brink of the river, where a skiff was moored. "go, be quick! i'll stay here! 'twill be better without me. the hudson's bay are keeping close to the far shore!" "you can't stay alone," objected father holland. "i shall stay alone, and i've had my way once already to-night." "but we don't wish to lose one woman in finding another," i protested. "go," she commanded with a furious little stamp. "you lose time! stupids! do you think i stay here for nothing? we may have been followed and i shall stay here and watch! i'll hide in the rushes! go!" and there was a second stamp. that stamp of a foot no larger than a boy's hand cowed two strong men and sent us rowing meekly across the river. "did ye ever--did ever ye see such a little termagant, such a persuasive, commanding little queen of a termagant?" asked the priest almost breathless with surprise. "queen of courage!" i answered back. "queen of hearts, too, i'm thinking. arrah! me hearty, to be young!" she must have smothered her torch, for there was no light among the reeds when i looked back. we crossed the river slowly, listening between oar-strokes for the paddle-dips of approaching canoes. there was no sound but the lashing of water against the pebbled shore and we lay in a little bay ready to dash across the fleet's course, when the boats should come abreast. we had not long to wait. a canoe nose cautiously rounded the headland coming close to our boat. instantly i shot our skiff straight across its path and father holland waved the torches overhead. "hist! hold back there--have a care!" i called. "clear the way!" came an angry order from the dark. "clear--or we fire!" "fire if you dare, you fools!" i retorted, knowing well they would not alarm the fort, and we edged nearer the boat. "where's eric hamilton?" i demanded. "a curse on you! none of your business! get out of the way! who are you?" growled the voice. "answer--quick!" i urged father holland, thinking they would respect holy orders; and i succeeded in bumping my craft against their canoe. "strike him with your paddle, man!" yelled the steersman, who was beyond reach. "give 'im a bullet!" called another. "for shame, ye saucy divils!" shouted the priest, shaking his torch aloft and displaying his garb. "shame to ye, threatenin' to shoot a missionary! ye'd be much better showin' respect to the church. whur's eric hamilton?" he demanded in a fine show of indignation, and he caught the edge of their craft in his right hand. "let go!" and the steersman threateningly raised a pole that shone steel-shod. "let go--is ut ye're orderin' me?" thundered the holy man, now in a towering rage, and he flaunted the torch over the crew. "howld y'r imp'dent tongues!" he shouted, shaking the canoe. "be civil this minute, or i'll spill ye to the bottom, ye load of cursin' braggarts! faith an' ut's a durty meal ye'd make for the fush! foine answers ye give polite questions! how d'y' know we're not here to warn ye about the fort? for shame to ye. whur's eric hamilton, i say?" some of the canoemen recognized the priest. conciliatory whispers passed from man to man. "hamilton's far ahead--above the falls now," answered the steersman. "then, as ye hope to save your soul," warned father holland not yet appeased, "deliver this young man's message!" "tell hamilton," i cried, "that she whom he seeks is held captive by a band of sioux on lake winnipeg and to make haste. tell him that and he'll reward you well!" "vary by one word from the message," added the priest, "and my curses'll track your soul to the furnace." father holland relaxed his grasp, the paddles dipped down and the canoe was lost in the darkness. more than once i thought that a shadowy thing like an indian's boat had hung on our rear and the craft seemed to be dogging us back to the flats. father holland raised his torch and could see nothing on the water but the glassy reflection of our own forms. he said it was a phantom boat i had seen; and, truly, visions of le grande diable had haunted me so persistently of late, i could scarcely trust my senses. frances sutherland's torch suddenly appeared waving above the flats. i put muscle to the oar and before we had landed she called out-"an indian's canoe shot past a moment ago. did you see it?" "no," returned father holland. "i think we did," said i. * * * * * "how can i thank you for what you have done?" i was saying to frances sutherland as we entered the fort by the same sally-port. "do you really want to know how?" "do i?" i was prepared to offer dramatic sacrifice. "then never think of it again, nor speak of it again, nor know me any more than if it hadn't happened----" "the conditions are hard." "and----" "and what?" i asked eagerly. "and help me back the way i came down. for if my father--oh! if my father knew--he would kill me!" "faith! so he ought!" ejaculated the priest. "risking such precious treasure among vandals!" again i piled up the benches. from the bench, she stepped to the bucket, and from the bucket to my shoulder, and as the light weight left my shoulder for the window sill, unknown to her, i caught the fluffy skirt, now bedraggled with the night dew, and kissed it gratefully. "oh--ho--and oh-ho and oh-ho," hummed the priest. "do _i_ scent matrimony?" "not unless it's in your nose," i returned huffily. "show me a man of all the hundreds inside, father holland, that wouldn't go on his marrow-bones to a woman who risks life and reputation, which is dearer than life, to save another woman!" "bless you, me hearty, if he wouldn't, he'd be a villain," said the priest. chapter ix decorating a bit of statuary i frequently passed that window above the stoop next day. once i saw a face looking down on me with such withering scorn, i wondered if the disgraceful scene with louis laplante had become noised about, and i hastened to take my exercise in another part of the courtyard. thereupon, others paid silent homage to the window, but they likewise soon tired of that parade ground. eastern notions of propriety still clung to me. of this i had immediate proof. when our rough crews were preparing to re-embark for the north, i was shocked beyond measure to see this frail girl come down with her father to travel in our company. not counting her father, the priest, duncan cameron, cuthbert grant and myself, there were in our party three-score reckless, uncurbed adventurers, who feared neither god nor man. i thought it strange of a father to expose his daughter to the bold gaze, coarse remarks, and perhaps insults of such men. before the end of that trip, i was to learn a lesson in western chivalry, which is not easily explained, or forgotten. as father and daughter were waiting to take their places in a boat, a shapeless, flat-footed woman, wearing moccasins--probably the half-breed wife of some trader in the fort--ran to the water's edge with a parcel of dainties, and kissing the girl on both cheeks, wished her a fervent god-speed. "oh!" growled the young nor'-wester, who had been carried from the banquet hall, and now wore the sour expression that is the aftermath of banquets. "look at that fat lump of a bumblebee distilling honey from the rose! there are others who would appreciate that sort of thing! this _is_ the wilderness of lost opportunities!" the girl seated herself in a canoe, where the only men were duncan cameron, her father and the native _voyageurs_; and i dare vouch a score of young traders groaned at the sight of this second lost opportunity. "look, gillespie! look!" muttered my comrade of the banquet hall. "the little statue set up at the prow of yon canoe! i'll wager you do reverence to graven images all the way to red river!" "i'll wager we all do," said i. and we did. to change the metaphor--after the style of mr. jack mackenzie's eloquence--i warrant there was not a young man of the eight crews, who did not regard that marble-cold face at the prow of the leading canoe, as his own particular guiding star. and the white face beneath the broad-brimmed hat, tied down at each side in the fashion of those days, was as serenely unconscious of us as any star of the heavenly constellations. if she saw there were objects behind her canoe, and that the objects were living beings, and the living beings men, she gave no evidence of it. nor was the little statue--as we had got in the habit of calling her--heartless. in spite of the fears which she entertained for her stern father, her filial affection was a thing to turn the lads of the crews quite mad. scarcely were we ashore at the different encampments before father and daughter would stroll off arm in arm, leaving the whole brigade envious and disconsolate. was it the influence of this slip of a girl, i wonder, that a curious change came over our crews? the men still swore; but they did it under their breath. fewer yarns of a quality, which need not be specified, were told; and certain kinds of jokes were no longer greeted with a loud guffaw. still we all thought ourselves mightily ill-used by that diminutive bundle of independence, and some took to turning the backs of their heads in her direction when she chanced to come their way. one young spark said something about the little statue being a prig, which we all invited him to repeat, but he declined. had she played the coquette under the innocent mask of sympathy and all other guiles with which gentle slayers ambush strong hearts, i dare affirm there would have been trouble enough and to spare. suicides, fights, insults and worse, i have witnessed when some fool woman with a fair face came among such men. "fool" woman, i say, rather than "false"; for to my mind falsity in a woman may not be compared to folly for the utter be-deviling of men. with our guiding star at the prow of the fore canoe, we continued to wind among countless islands, through narrow, rocky channels and along those endless water-ways, that stretch like a tangled, silver chain with emerald jewels, all the way from the great lakes to the plains. somewhere along rainy river, where there is an oasis of rolling, wooded meadows in a desert of iron rock, we pitched our tents for the night. the evening air was fragrant with the odor of summer's early flowers. i could not but marvel at the almost magical growth in these far northern latitudes. barely a month had passed since snow enveloped the earth in a winding sheet, and i have heard old residents say that the winter's frost penetrated the ground for a depth of four feet. yet here we were in a very tropic of growth run riot and the frost, which still lay beneath the upper soil, was thawing and moistening the succulent roots of a wilderness of green. the meadow grass, swaying off to the forest margin in billowy ripples, was already knee-high. the woods were an impenetrable mass of foliage from the forest of ferns about the broad trunks to the high tree-tops, nodding and fanning in the night breeze like coquettish dames in an eastern ball-room. everywhere--at the river bank, where our tents stood, above the long grass, and in the forest--clear, faint and delicate, like the bloom of a fair woman's cheek, or the pensive theme of some dream fugue, or the sweet notes of some far-off, floating harmonies, was an odor of hidden flowers. a trader's nature is, of necessity, rough in the grain, but it is not corrupt with the fevered joys of the gilded cities. even we could feel the call of the wilds to come and seek. it was not surprising, therefore, that after supper father and daughter should stroll away from the encampment, arm in arm, as usual. as their figures passed into the woods, the girl broke away from her father's arm and stooped to the ground. "pickin' flowers," was the laconic remark of the trader, who had helped me with louis laplante on the beach; and the man lay back full length against a rising knoll to drink in the delicious freshness of the night. every man of us watched the vanishing forms. "smell violets?" asked a heterogeneous combination of sun-brown and buckskin. "this ground's a perfect wheat-field of violets," exclaimed the whiskered youngster. "lots o' mayflowers and night-shades in the bush," declared a ragged man, who was one of the worst gamblers in camp, and was now aimlessly shuffling a greasy, bethumbed pack of cards. "oh!" came simultaneously from half a dozen. personally, it struck me one might pick flowers for a certain purpose in the bush without being observed. "mayflowers in june!" scoffed the boy. "aye, babe! mayflowers in june! may is june in these here regions," asserted the man. "ladies-and-gentlemen, too, many's you could pick in the bush!" "ladies-and-gentlemen! sounds funny in this desert, don't it?" asked the lad. "what _are_ ladies-and-gentlemen?" "don't you know?" continued the gambler, unfolding a curious lore of flowers. "those little potty, white things, split up the middle with a green head on top--grow under ferns. come on. cards are ready! who's going to play?" "durn it! them's dutchman's breeches!" exclaimed the sun-browned trapper. "o goll! if that little stature finds any dutchman's breeches, she that's so scared of us men! o goll! won't she blush? say, babe, why don't y'r fill y'r hat with 'em and put 'em in her tent?" and the big trapper set up a hoarse guffaw which led a general chorus. then the men gathered round, to play. "faith, lads!" interrupted the voice of the irish priest, who had come upon the group so quietly the gambler scarcely had time to tuck the tell-tale cards under his buckskin smock, "i'm thinking ye've all developed a mighty sudden interest in botany. are there any bleeding hearts in the bush?" "there may be here," suggested the boy. "it all comes of the little statute!" declared the big trapper. "oh! you and your stature and statute! why can't you say statue?" asked the lad with the pompous scorn of youthful knowledge. "because, oh, babe with the chicken-down," answered the man, giving his corrector a thud with his broad palm and sticking heroically by his slip of the tongue, "i says the words i means and don't play no prig. she don't pay more attention to you than if you wuz a stump, that's why she's a statue, ain't it? and the fellows've got to stretch their necks to come up to her ideas of what's proper, that's why she's a stature, ain't it? and not a man of us, if his reverence'll excuse me for saying so, dare let out a cuss afore her. that's why she's a statute, ain't it?" and when i walked off to the bush with as great a show of indifference as i could muster, i heard the priest crying "bravo!" to the man's defence. how came it that i was in the woods slushing through damp mold up to my ankles in black ooze? i no longer had any fear of an ambushed enemy; for le grand diable, the knave, had forfeited his wages and deserted at fort william. he was not seen after the night of the meeting with the hudson's bay canoe off the flats. i drew father holland's attention to this, and the priest was no longer so sceptical about that phantom boat. but it was not of these things i thought, as i tore a great strip of bark from the trunk of a birch tree and twisted the piece into a huge cornucopia. nor had i the slightest expectation of encountering father and daughter in the woods. that marble face was too much in earnest for the vainest of men to suppose its indifference assumed; and no matter how fair the eyes, no man likes to be looked at, by eyes that do not see him, or see him only as a blur on the landscape. still that marble face stood for much that is dear to the roughest of hearts and about which men do not talk. so i went on packing damp moss into the bottom of the bark horn, arranging frail lilies and night shades about the rim and laying a solid pyramid of violets in the centre. the mold, through which i was floundering, seemed to merge into a bog; but the lower reaches were hidden by a thicket of alder bushes and scrub willows. i mounted a fallen tree and tried to get cautiously down to some tempting lily-pads. evidently some one else on the other side of the brush was after those same bulbs; for i heard the sucking sound of steps plunging through the mire of water and mud. "why, gillespie," called a voice, "what in the world are you doing here?" and the boy emerged through the willows gaping at me in astonishment. "just what i want to know of you," said i. he presented a comical figure. his socks and moccasins had been tied and slung round his neck. with trousers rolled to his knees, a hatful of water-lilies in one hand and a sheaf of ferns in the other, he was wading through the swamp. "you see," he began sheepishly. "i thought she couldn't--couldn't conveniently get these for herself, and it would be kind of nice--kind of nice--you know--to get some for her----" "don't explain," i blurted out. "i was trying that same racket myself." "you know, gillespie," he continued quite confidentially, "when a man's been away from his mother and sisters for years and years and years----" "yes, i know, babe; you're an octogenarian," i interrupted. "and feels himself going utterly to the bow-wows without any stop-gear to keep him from bowling clean to the bottom, a person feels like doing something decent for a girl like the little statue," and the youth plucked half a dozen yellow flowers as well as the coveted white ones. "have some for your basket," said he. his face was puckered into pathetic gravity. "it's so hanged easy to go to the bow-wows out here," he added. "not so easy as in the towns," i interjected. "ah! but i've been there, gone all through 'em in the towns," he explained. "that's why the pater packed me off to this wilderness." and that, thought i, is why the west gets all the credit for the wild oats gathered in old lands and sown in the new world. i pulled him up to the log on which i was balanced, and seating himself he dangled his feet down and began to souse the mud off his toes. "say!" he exclaimed. "how are you going to get 'em to her?" "take them to the tent." "well, gillespie, when you take yours up, take mine along, too, will you? there's a good fellow! do!" he was drawing on his socks. "not much i will. if there's any proxy, you can take mine," i returned. "say! do you think father holland would take 'em up?" he had tied his moccasins and was standing. "can't say i think he would." "he'd let you hear about it to all eternity, too, wouldn't he?" reflected the lad. "come on, then; but you go first." and he followed me up the log, both of us feeling like shame-faced schoolboys. we stole into the tent, the one tent of all others that had interest for us that night, and deposited our burden of flowers on the couch of buffalo robes. "hurry," whispered my companion. "stack these ferns round somewhere! hurry! she'll be back." and leaving me to do the arranging he bolted for the tent flaps. "oh! open earth and swallow me!" he almost screamed, and i heard the sound of two persons coming in violent collision at the entrance. "the babe, as i live! the rascally young broth of a babe! ye rogue, ye!" burred the deep bass tones of the trader whom i had met over louis laplante. "what are ye doin' here?" "oh, is it only you? thank fortune!" ejaculated the boy, dodging back. "what are you doing yourself? great guns! you scared the wits out of me! ho! here's a lark! gillespie, my pal, look here!" i turned to see the sheepish, guilty, smirking faces of the trader, the rough-tongued, sunburned trapper and the ragged gambler grouped at the entrance, and each man's arms were full of flowers. "well, i'm durned!" began the rough man. "as she's jack-spotted us all," drawled the gentle, liquid tones of the gambler, "we'd better go ahead and----" "and decorate a bit of statuary," shouted the lad with a laugh. it was a long tent, like the booth of a fair, with supports at each end, and we were festooning it from pole to pole with moss and ferns when somebody rasped at the door. "mon alive! what's goin' on here?" we started from our work with the guilty alacrity of burglars. there stood frances sutherland's father, much aghast at the proceedings, and by his side was a face with cheeks flaming poppy red and lips twitching in merriment. there was a sudden snow-storm of flowers being tossed down, and five men brushed past the two spectators and dashed into the hiding of gathering dusk. at the foot of the knoll i ran against the priest. "that," roared father holland, shaking with laughter. "that's what i call good stuff in the rough! faith, but ye'll give me good stuff in the rough. i want none o' yer gilded chivalry from the tinsel towns!" there was a wreath of night-shades in the little statue's hat when the canoes set out next morning. mayflowers were at her throat, violets in her girdle and i know not what in a basket at her feet. the face was unconscious of us as ever, but about the downcast eyelids played a tender gentleness which was not there before. once i caught her glancing back among us as if she would pick out the culprits; and when her eyes for a moment rested on me, my heart set up a silly thumping. but she looked just as pointedly at the others, and i know every man's heart of them responded; for the boy began such a floundering i thought he would spill his canoe. a quick trip brought us to the mouth of red river, where the hudson's bay _voyageurs_ under colin robertson were resting. here i was surprised to learn that eric hamilton had not waited but had hastened up red river to fort douglas. i could not but connect this southward move of his with the sudden flight of le grand diable from fort william. after brief pause at the foot of lake winnipeg, our brigade turned southward and made speed up the red through the rush-grown sedgy swamps which over-flood the river bed. farther south the banks towered high and smoke curled up from the huts of lord selkirk's settlers. women with nets in their hands to scare off myriad blackbirds that clouded the air, and men from the cornfields ran to the river edge and cheered us as we passed. here the sutherlands landed. some of the traders thought it a good omen, that hudson's bay settlers cheered nor'-wester brigades; but in one bend of the muddy red, the bastions of fort douglas, where governor mcdonell of the rival company ruled, loomed up and the guns pointing across the river wore anything but a welcome look. we passed fort douglas unmolested, followed the red a mile farther to its junction with the assiniboine and here disembarked at fort gibraltar, the headquarters of the nor'-westers in red river. chapter x more studies in statuary "so he laughs at our warrant?" exclaimed duncan cameron. "hut-tut! we'll teach him to respect warrants issued under authority of 43d king george iii.," and the dictator of fort gibraltar fussed angrily among the papers of his desk and beat a threatening tattoo with knuckles and heels. the assiniboine enters the red at something like a right angle and in this angle was the nor'-westers' fort, named after an old-world stronghold, because we imagined our position gave us the same command of the two waterways by which the _voyageurs_ entered and left the north country as gibraltar has of the mediterranean. governor mcdonell had thought to outwit us by building the hudson's bay fort a mile further down the current of the red. it was a sharp trick, for fort douglas could intercept nor'-west brigades bound from montreal to fort gibraltar, or from fort gibraltar to the athabasca. two days after our arrival, cuthbert grant, with a band of _bois-brulés_, had gone to fort douglas to arrest captain miles mcdonell for plundering nor'-west posts. the doughty governor took grant's warrant as a joke and scornfully turned the whole north-west party out of fort douglas. on the stockades outside were proclamations commanding settlers to take up arms in defense of the hudson's bay traders and forbidding natives to sell furs to any but our rivals. these things added fuel to the hot anger of the chafing _bois-brulés_. a curious race were these mongrel plain-rangers, with all the savage instincts of the wild beast and few of the brutal impulses of the beastly man. the descendants of french fathers and indian mothers, they inherited all the quick, fiery daring of the frenchman, all the endurance, craft and courage of the indian, and all the indolence of both white man and red. one might cut his enemy's throat and wash his hands in the life blood, or spend years in accomplishing revenge; but it is a question if there is a single instance on record of a _bois-brulé_ molesting an enemy's family. when the frenchman married a native woman, he cast off civilization like an ill-fitting coat and virtually became an indian. when the scotch settler married a native woman, he educated her up to his own level and if she did not become entirely civilized, her children did. one was the wild man, the ishmaelite of the desert, the other, the tiller of the soil, the israelite of the plain. such were the tameless men, of whom cuthbert grant was the leader, the leader solely from his fitness to lead. it was late in the afternoon when the warden returned from fort douglas. i was busy over my desk. father holland was still with us awaiting the departure of traders to the south, and duncan cameron was stamping about the room like a caged lion. there came a quick, angry tramp from the hall. "that's grant back, and there's no one with him," muttered cameron with suppressed anger; and in burst the warden himself, his heavy brows dark with fury and his eyes flashing like the fire at a pistol point. involuntarily i stopped work and the priest glanced across at me with a look which bespoke expectation of an explosion. grant did not storm. that was not his way. he took several turns about the room, mastered himself, and speaking through his teeth said quietly, "there be some fools that enjoy playing with gunpowder. i'm not one of them! there be some idiots that like teasing tigers. 'tis not sport to my fancy! there be some pot-valiant braggarts that defy the law. let them enjoy the breaking of the law!" "what--what--what?" sputtered the highland governor, springing first on one side of grant and then on the other, all the while rumbling out maledictions on lord selkirk, and governor mcdonell and fort douglas. "what do ye say, mon? do i understand ye clearly, there's no prisoners with ye?" "laughs at the _bois-brulés_. the fool laughs at the _bois-brulés_! i've seen gophers cock their eye at a wolf, before that same wolf made a breakfast of gophers! the fool laughs at your warrant, sir! scouted it, sir! bundled us out of fort douglas like cattle!" the warden went on in a bitter strain to tell of the effect of the posted proclamations on his followers. "so the lordly captain miles mcdonell of the queen's rangers, generalissimo of all creation, defies us, does he?" demanded cameron in great dudgeon, scarcely crediting his ears. "aye!" answered grant, "but he can ill afford to be so high and mighty. we went through the settlement and half the people are with us----" "that's good! that's good!" responded cameron with keen relish. "they're heartily sick of the country," continued the warden, "and would leave to-morrow if we'd supply the boats. last winter they nearly starved. the company's generous supply was rancid grease and wormy flour." "fine way o' colonizing a country," stormed cameron, "bring men out as settlers and arm them to fight! we'll spike his guns by shipping a score more away." "we've spiked his guns in a better way," said grant dryly. "some of the friendlies are so afraid he'll take their guns away and leave them defenceless unless they fight us, they've sent their arms here for safekeeping. we'll keep them safe, i'll warrant." grant smiled, showing his white teeth in a way that was not pleasant to see, and somehow reminded me of a dog's snarl. "good! good! excellent, grant." such strategy pleased cameron. "see here, mon, cuthbert, we've the law on our side--we've the warrants to back the law! we'd better give yon dour fool a lesson. he's broken the peace. we haven't. come out, an' i'll talk it over with ye!" the two went out, grant saying as they passed the window--"let him tamper with the fur trade among the indians and i'll not answer for it! that last order not to sell----" the rest of the remark i lost. "'twould serve him well right if they did," returned cameron, and both men walked beyond hearing. father holland and i were left alone. the fort became ominously still. there was a distant clatter of receding hoofs; but we were on the south side of the warehouse and could not see which way the horses were galloping. "i'm afraid--i'm afraid both sides will be rash," observed the priest. the sun-dial indicated six o'clock. i closed and locked the office desks. we had supper in the deserted dining-hall. afterwards we strolled to the northeast gate, and looking in the direction of fort douglas, wondered what scheme could be afoot. here my testimony need not be taken for, or against, either side. all i saw was duncan cameron with the other white men of the fort standing on a knoll some distance from fort gibraltar, evidently gazing towards fort douglas. against the sky, above the settlement, there were clouds of rising smoke. "burning hay-ricks?" i questioned. "aye, and houses! 'tis shameless work leaving the people exposed to the blasts of next winter! shameless, shameless work! y'r company'll gain nothing by it, rufus!" across the night came faint, short snappings like a fusillade of shots. "looting the neutrals," said the priest. "god grant there be no blood on the plains this night! these fool traders don't realize what it means to rouse blood in an indian! they'll get a lesson yet! give the red devils a taste of blood and there won't be a white unscalped to the rockies! i've seen y'r fine, clever rascals play the indian against rivals, and the game always ends the same way. the indian is a weapon that's quick to cut the hand of the user." little did i realize my part in the terrible fulfilment of that prophecy. "look alive, lad! where are y'r wits? what's that?" he cried, suddenly pointing to the river bank. up from the cliff sprang a form as if by magic. it came leaping straight to the fort gate. "some frightened half-breed wench," surmised the priest. i saw it was a woman with a shawl over her head like a native. "_bon soir!_" said i after the manner of traders with indian women; but she rushed blindly on to the gate. the fort was deserted. suspicion of treachery flashed on me. how many more half-breeds were beneath that cliff? "stop, huzzie!" i ordered, springing forward and catching her so tightly by the wrist that she swung half-way round before she could check herself. she wrenched vigorously to get free. "stop! be still, you huzzie!" "be still--you what?" asked a low, amazed voice that broke in ripples and froze my blood. a shawl fluttered to the ground, and there stood before us the apparition of a marble face. "the little statue!" i gasped in sheer horror at what i had done. "the little--what?" asked the rippling voice, that sounded like cold water flowing under ice, and a pair of eyes looked angrily down at the hand with which i was still unconsciously gripping her arm. "i'd thank you, sir," she began, with a mock courtesy to the priest, "i'd thank you, sir, to call off your mastiff." "let her go, boy!" roared the priest with a hammering blow across my forearm that brought me to my senses and convinced me she was no wraith. mastiff! that epithet stung to the quick. i flung her wrist from me as if it had been hot coals. now, a woman may tread upon a man--also stamp upon him if she has a mind to--but she must trip it daintily. otherwise even a worm may turn against its tormentor. to have idolized that marble creature by day and night, to have laid our votive offerings on its shrine, to have hungered for the sound of a woman's lips for weeks, and to hear those lips cuttingly call me a dog--were more than i could stand. "ten thousand pardons, mistress sutherland!" i said with a pompous stiffness which i intended should be mighty crushing. "but when ladies deck themselves out as squaws and climb in and out of windows,"--that was brutal of me; she had done it for miriam and me--"and announce themselves in unexpected ways, they need not hope to be recognized." and did she flare back at me? not at all. "you waste time with your long speeches," she said, turning from me to father holland. thereupon i strode off angrily to the river bank. "oh, father holland," i heard her say as i walked away, "i must go to pembina! i'm in such trouble! there's a frenchman----" trouble, thought i; she is in trouble and i have been thinking only of my own dignity. and i stood above the river, torn between desire to rush back and wounded pride, that bade me stick it out. over the plains came the shout of returning plunderers. i could hear the throb, throb of galloping hoofs beating nearer and nearer over the turf, and reflected that i might make the danger from returning _bois-brulés_ the occasion of a reconciliation. "come here, lad!" called father holland. i needed no urging. "ye must rig up in tam-o'-shanter and tartan, like a highland settler, and take mistress sutherland back to fort douglas. she's going to pembina to meet her father, lad, when i go south to the missouri. and, lad," the priest hesitated, glancing doubtfully from miss sutherland to me, "i'm thinking there's a service ye might do her." the little statue was looking straight at me now, and there were tear-marks about the heavy lashes. now, i do not pretend to explain the power, or witchery, a gentle slip of a girl can wield with a pair of gray eyes; but when i met the furtive glance and saw the white, veined forehead, the arched brows, the tremulous lips, the rounded chin, and the whole face glorified by that wonderful mass of hair, i only know, without weapon or design, she dealt me a wound which i bear to this day. what a ruffian i had been! i was ashamed, and my eyes fell before hers. if a libation of blushes could appease an offended goddess, i was livid evidence of repentance. i felt myself flooded in a sudden heat of shame. she must have read my confusion, for she turned away her head to hide mantling forgiveness. "there's a crafty frenchman in the fort has been troubling the lassie. i'm thinking, if ye worked off some o' your anger on him, it moight be for the young man's edification. be quick! i hear the breeds returning!" "but i have a message," she said in choking tones. "from whom?" i asked aimlessly enough. "eric hamilton!" she answered. "eric hamilton!" both the priest and i shouted. "yes--why? what--what--is it? he's wounded, and he wants a rufus gillespie, who's with the nor'-westers. the _bois-brulés_ fired on the fort. where _is_ rufus gillespie?" "bless you, lassie! here--here--here he is!" the holy father thumped my back at every word. "here he is, crazy as a march hare for news of hamilton!" "you--rufus--gillespie!" so she did not even know my name. evidently, if she troubled my thoughts, i did not trouble hers. "he's told me so much about you," she went on, with a little pant of astonishment. "how brave and good----" "pshaw!" i interrupted roughly. "what's the message?" "mr. hamilton wishes to see you at once," she answered coldly. "then kill two birds with one stone! take her home and see hamilton--and hurry!" urged the priest. the half-breeds were now very near. "put it over your head!" and father holland clapped the shawl about frances sutherland after the fashion of the half-breed women. she stood demurely behind him while i ran up-stairs in the warehouse to disguise myself in tartan plaid. when i came out, duncan cameron was in the gateway welcoming cuthbert grant and the _bois-brulés_, as if pillaging defenceless settlers were heroic. victors from war may be inspiring, but a half-breed rabble, red-handed from deeds of violence, is not a sight to edify any man. "what's this ye have, father?" bawled one impudent fellow, and he pointed sneeringly at the figure in the folds of the shawl. "let the wench be!" was the priest's reply, and the half-breed lounged past with a laugh. i was about to offer frances sutherland my arm to escort her from the mob, when i felt father holland's hard knuckles dig viciously into my ribs. "ye fool ye! ye blundering idiot!" he whispered, "she's a half-breed. och! but's time y'r eastern greenness was tannin' a good western russet! let her follow with bowed head, or you'll have the whole pack on y'r heels!" with that admonition i strode boldly out, she behind, humble, with downcast eyes like a half-breed girl. we ran down the river path through the willows and jumping into a canoe swiftly rounded the forks of the assiniboine and red. there we left the canoe and fled along a trail beneath the cliff till the shouting of the half-breeds could be no longer heard. at once i turned to offer her my arm. she must have bruised her feet through the thin moccasins, for the way was very rough. i saw that she was trembling from fatigue. "permit me," i said, offering my arm as formally as if she had been some grand lady in an eastern drawing-room. "thank you--i'm afraid i must," and she reluctantly placed a light hand on my sleeve. i did not like that condescending compulsion, and now out of danger, i became strangely embarrassed and angry in her presence. the "mastiff" epithet stuck like a barb in my boyish chivalry. was it the wind, or a low sigh, or a silent weeping, that i heard? i longed to know, but would not turn my head, and my companion was lagging just a step behind. i slackened speed, so did she. then a voice so low and soft and golden it might have melted a heart of stone--but what is a heart of stone compared to the wounded pride of a young man?--said, "do you know, i think i rather like mastiffs?" "indeed," said i icily, in no mood for raillery. "like _them_ for friends, not enemies, to be protected by _them_, not--not bitten," the voice continued with a provoking emphasis of the plural "_them_." "yes," said i, with equal emphasis of the obnoxious plural. "ladies find _them_ useful at times." that fling silenced her and i felt a shiver run down the arm on my sleeve. "why, you're shivering," i blundered out. "you must let me put this round you," and i pulled off the plaid and would have placed it on her shoulders, but she resisted. "i am not in the least cold," she answered frigidly--which is the only untruth i ever heard her tell--"and you shall not say '_must_' to me," and she took her hand from my arm. she spoke with a tremor that warned me not to insist. then i knew why she had shivered. "please forgive, miss sutherland," i begged. "i'm such a maladroit animal." "i quite agree with you, a maladroit mastiff with teeth!" mastiff! that insult again! i did not reproffer my arm. we strode forward once more, she with her face turned sideways remote from me, i with my face sideways remote from her, and the plaid trailing from my hand by way of showing her she could have it if she wished. we must have paced along in this amiable, post-matrimonial fashion for quite a quarter of the mile we had to go, and i was awkwardly conscious of suppressed laughing from her side. it was the rippling voice, that always seemed to me like fountain splash in the sunshine, which broke silence again. "really," said the low, thrilling, musical witchery by my side, "really, it's the most wonderful story i have ever heard!" "story?" i queried, stopping stock still and gaping at her. "perfectly wonderful! so intensely interesting and delightful." "interesting and delightful?" i interrogated in sheer amazement. this girl utterly dumfounded me, and in the conceit of youth i thought it strange that any girl could dumfound me. "what an interesting life you have had, to be sure!" "i have had?" "yes, don't you know you've been talking in torrents for the past ten minutes? no? do you forget?" and she laughed tremulously either from embarrassment, or cold. "well!" said i, befooled into good-humor and laughing back. "if you give me a day's warning, i'll try to keep up with you." "ah! there! i've put you through the ice at last! it's been such hard work!" "and i come up badly doused!" "stimulated too! you're doing well already!" "my thanks to my instructor," and catching the spirit of her mockery, i swept her a courtly bow. "there! there!" she cried, dropping raillery as soon as i took it up. "you were cross at the window. i was cross on the flats. you nearly wrenched my hand off----" "can you blame me?" i asked. "and to pay me back you turned my head and stole my heart----" "hush!" she interrupted. "let's clean the slate and begin again." "with all my heart, if you'll wear this tartan and stop shivering." i was not ready to consent to an unconditional surrender. "i hate your 'ifs' and 'buts' and so-much-given-for-so-much-got," she exclaimed with an impatient, little stamp, "but--but--" she added inconsistently, "if--if--you'll keep one end of the plaid for yourself, i'll take the other." "ho--ho! i like 'ifs' and 'buts.' have you more of that kind?" i laughed, whisking the fold about us both. drawing her hand into mine, i kept it there. "it isn't so cold as--as that, is it?" asked the voice under the plaid. "quite," i returned valiantly, tightening my clasp. she laughed a low, mellow laugh that set my heart beating to the tune of a trip-hammer. i felt a great intoxication of strength that might have razed fort douglas to the ground and conquered the whole world, which, i dare say, other young men have felt when the same kind of weight hung upon their protection. "oh! little statue! why have you been so hard on us?" i began. "_us?_" she asked. "me--then," and i gulped down my embarrassment. "because----" "because what?" "no _what_. just because!" she was astonished that her decisive reason did not satisfy. "because! a woman's reason!" i scoffed. "because! it's the best and wisest and most wholesome reason ever invented. think what it avoids saying and what wisdom may be behind it!" "only wisdom?" "you be careful! there'll be another cold plunge! tell me about your friend's wife, miriam," she answered, changing the subject. and when i related my strange mission and she murmured, "how noble," i became a very samson of strength, ready to vanquish an army of philistine admirers with the jawbone of my inflated self-confidence--provided, always, one queen of the combat were looking on. "are you cold, now?" i asked, though the trembling had ceased. no, she was not cold. she was quite comfortable, and the answer came in vibrant tones which were as wine to a young man's heart. "are you tired, frances?" and the "no" was accompanied by a little laugh, which spurred more questioning for no other purpose than to hear the music of her voice. now, what was there in those replies to cause happiness? why have inane answers to inane, timorous questions transformed earth into paradise and mortals into angels? "do you find the way very far--frances?" the flavor of some names tempts repeated tasting. "very far?" came the response in an amused voice, "find it very far? yes i do, quite far--oh! no--i don't. oh! i don't know!" she broke into a joyous laugh at her own confusion, gaining more self-possession as i lost mine; and out she slipped from the plaid. "i wish it were a thousand times farther," and i gazed ruefully at the folds that trailed empty. what other absurd things i might have said, i cannot tell; but we were at the fort and i had to wrap the tartan disguise about myself. stooping, i picked a bunch of dog-roses growing by the path, then felt foolish, for i had not the courage to give them to her, and dropped them without her knowledge. she gave the password at the gate. i was taken for a selkirk highlander and we easily gained entrance. a man brushed past us in the gloom of the courtyard. he looked impudently down into her face. it was laplante, and my whole frame filled with a furious resentment which i had not guessed could be possible with me. "that frenchman," she whispered, but his figure vanished among the buildings. she showed me the council hall where eric could be found. "and where do you go?" i asked stupidly. she indicated the quarters where the settlers had taken refuge. i led her to the door. "are you sure you'll be safe?" "oh! yes, quite, as long as the settlers are here; and you, you will let me know when the priest sets out for pembina?" i vowed more emphatically than the case required that she should know. "are there no dark halls in there, unsafe for you?" i questioned. "none," and she went up the first step of the doorway. "are you sure you're safe?" i also mounted a step. "yes, quite, thank you," and she retreated farther, "and you, have you forgotten you came to see mr. hamilton?" "why--so i did," i stammered out absently. she was on the top step, pulling the latch-string of the great door. "stop! frances--dear!" i cried. she stood motionless and i felt that this last rashness of an unruly tongue--too frank by far--had finished me. "what? can i do anything to repay you for your trouble in bringing me here?" "i've been repaid," i answered, "but indeed, indeed, long live the queen! may it please her majesty to grant a token to her leal and devoted knight----" "what is thy request?" she asked laughingly. "what token doth the knight covet?" "the token that goes with _good-nights_," and i ventured a pace up the stairs. "there, sir knight," she returned, hastily putting out her hand, which was not what i wanted, but to which i gratefully paid my devoir. "art satisfied?" she asked. "till the queen deigns more," and i paused for a reply. she lingered on the threshold as if she meant to come down to me, then with a quick turn vanished behind the gloomy doors, taking all the light of my world with her; but i heard a voice, as of some happy bird in springtime, trilling from the hall where she had gone, and a new song made music in my own heart. chapter xi a shuffling of allegiance time was when fort douglas rang as loudly with mirth of assembled traders as ever fort william's council hall. often have i heard veterans of the hudson's bay service relate how the master of revels used to fill an ample jar with corn and quaff a beaker of liquor for every grain in the drinker's hour-glass. "how stands the hour-glass?" the governor of the feast, who was frequently also the governor of the company, would roar out in stentorian tones, that made themselves heard above the drunken brawl. "high, your honor, high," some flunkey of the drinking bout would bawl back. thereupon, another grain was picked from the jar, another flagon tossed down and the revel went on. this was a usual occurrence before and after the conflict with the nor'-westers. but the night that i climbed the stairs of the main warehouse and, mustering up assurance, stepped into the hall as if i belonged to the fort, or the fort belonged to me, there was a different scene. a wounded man lay on a litter at the end of the long, low room; and the traders sitting on the benches against the walls, or standing aimlessly about, were talking in suppressed tones. scotchmen, driven from their farms by the _bois-brulés_, hung around in anxious groups. the lanterns, suspended on iron hooks from mid-rafter, gave but a dusky light, and i vainly scanned many faces for eric hamilton. that he was wounded, i knew. i was stealing stealthily towards the stretcher at the far end of the place, when a deep voice burred rough salutation in my ear. "hoo are ye, gillie?" it was a shaggy-browed, bluff scotchman, who evidently took me in my tartan disguise for a highland lad. whether he meant, "how are you," or "who are you," i was not certain. afraid my tongue might betray me, i muttered back an indistinct response. the scot was either suspicious, or offended by my churlishness. i slipped off quickly to a dark corner, but i saw him eying me closely. a youth brushed past humming a ditty, which seemed strangely out of place in those surroundings. he stood an elbow's length from me and kicked moccasined heels against the floor in the way of light-headed lads. both the air and figure of the young fellow vaguely recalled somebody, but his back was towards me. i was measuring my comrade, wondering if i might inquire where hamilton could be found, when the lad turned, and i was face to face with the whiskered babe of fort william. he gave a long, low whistle. "gad!" he gasped. "do my eyes tell lies? as i live, 'tis your very self! hang it, now, i thought you were one of those solid bodies wouldn't do any turn-coating----" "turn-coating!" i repeated in amazement. "one of those dray-horse, old reliables, wouldn't kick over the traces, not if the boss pumped his arms off licking you! hang it! i'm not that sort! by gad, i'm not! i've got too many oats! i can't stand being jawed and gee-hawed by dunc. cameron; so when the old gov. threatened to dock me for being full, i just kicked up my heels and came. but say! i didn't think you would, gillespie!" "no?" said i, keeping my own counsel and waiting for the nor'-west deserter to proceed. "what 'd y' do it for, gillespie? you're as sober as cold water! was it old cameron?" "you're not talking straight, babe," said i. "you know cameron doesn't nag his men. what did _you_ do it for?" "eh?" and the lad gave a laugh over my challenge of his veracity. "see here, old pal, i'll tell you if you tell me." "go ahead with your end of the contract!" "well, then, look here. we're not in this wilderness for glory. i knock down to the highest bidder----" "hudson's bay is _not_ the highest bidder." "not unless you happen to have information they want." "oh! that's the way of it, is it?" so the boy was selling nor'-westers' secrets. "you can bet your last beaver-skin it is! do you think i was old cam's private secretary for nothin'? not i! i say--get your wares as you may and sell 'em to the highest bidder. so here i am, snugly berthed, with nothing to do but twiddle my thumbs, all through judicious--distribution--of--information." and the boy gurgled with pleasure over his own cleverness. "and say, gillespie, i'm in regular clover! the little statue's here, all alone! dad's gone to pembina to the buffalo hunt. i've got ahead of all you fellows. i'm going to introduce a french-chap, a friend of mine." "you'd much better break his bones," was my advice. it needed no great speculation to guess who the frenchman was; and in the hands of that crafty rake this prattling babe would be as putty. "pah! you're jealous, gillespie! we're right on the inside track!" "lots of confidential talks with her, i suppose?" "talks! pah! you gross fatty! why, gillespie, what do you know of such things? laplante can win a girl by just looking at her--french way, you know--he can pose better than a poem!" "blockhead," i ground out between my teeth, a feeling taking possession of me, which is designated "indignation" in the first person but jealousy in the second and third. "you stupid simpleton, that laplante is a villain who will turn your addled pate and work you as an old wife kneads dough." "what do you know about laplante?" he demanded hotly. "i know he is an accomplished blackguard," i answered quietly, "and if you want to spoil your chances with the little statue, just prance round in his company." the lad was too much surprised to speak. "where's hamilton?" i asked. "find him for yourself," said he, going off in a huff. i edged cautiously near enough the wounded man to see that he was not hamilton. near the litter was a group of clerks. "they're fools," one clerk was informing the others. "cameron sent word he'd have mcdonell dead or alive. if he doesn't give himself up, this fort'll go and the whole settlement be massacred." "been altogether too high-handed anyway," answered another. "i'm loyal to my company; but lord selkirk can't set up a military despotism here. been altogether better if we'd left the nor'-westers alone." "it's all the fault of that cocky little martinet," declared a third. "i say," exclaimed a man joining the group, "d' y' hear the news? all the chiefs in there--" jerking his thumb towards a side door--"are advising captain mcdonell to give himself up and save the fort." "good thing. who'll miss him? he'll only get a free trip to montreal," remarked one of the aggressives in this group. "i tell you, men, both companies have gone a deal too far in this little slap-back game to be keen for legal investigation. why, at souris, everybody knows----" he lowered his voice and i unconsciously moved from my dark corner to hear the rest. "hoo are ye, gillie?" said the burly scot in my ear. turning, i found the canny swain had followed me on an investigating tour. again i gave him an inarticulate reply and lost myself among other coteries. was the man spying on me? i reflected that if "the chiefs"--as the hudson's bay man had called them--were in the side room, eric hamilton would be among these conferring with the governor. as i approached the door, i noticed my scotch friend had taken some one into his confidence and two men were now on my tracks. lifting the latch, i gave a gentle, cautious push and the hinges swung so quietly i had slipped into the room before those inside or out could prevent me. i found myself in the middle of a long apartment with low, sloping ceiling, and deep window recesses. it had evidently been partitioned off from the main hall; for the wall, ceiling and floor made an exact triangle. at one end of the place was a table. round this was a group of men deeply engrossed in some sort of conference. sitting on the window sills and lounging round the box stove behind the table were others of our rival's service. i saw at once it would be difficult to have access to hamilton. he was lying on a stretcher within talking range of the table and had one arm in a sling. now, i hold it is harder for the unpractised man to play the spy with everything in his favor, than for the adept to act that rôle against the impossible. one is without the art that foils detection. the other can defy detection. so i stood inside with my hand on the door lest the click of the closing latch should rouse attention, but had no thought of prying into hudson's bay secrets. "your honor," began hamilton in a lifeless manner, which told me his search had been bootless, and he turned languidly towards a puffy, crusty, military gentleman, whom, from the respect shown him, i judged to be governor mcdonell. "duncan cameron's warrant for the arrest is perfectly legal. if your honor should surrender yourself, you will save fort douglas for the hudson's bay company. besides, the whole arrest will prove a farce. the law in lower canada provides no machinery for the trial of cases occurring----" here hamilton came to a blank and unexpected stop, for his eyes suddenly alighted on me with a look that forbade recognition, and fled furtively back to the group it the table. i understood and kept silent. "for the trial of cases occurring?" asked the governor sharply. "occurring--here," added hamilton, shooting out the last word as if his arm had given him a sudden twinge. "and so i say, your honor will lose nothing by giving yourself up to the nor'-westers, and will save fort douglas for the hudson's bay." "the doctor tells me it's a compound fracture. you'll find it painful, mr. hamilton," said governor mcdonell sympathetically, and he turned to the papers over which the group were conferring. "i'm no great hand in winning victories by showing the white flag," began the gallant captain, "but if a free trip from here to montreal satisfies those fools, i'll go." "well said! bravo! your honor," exclaimed a shaggy member of the council, bringing his fist down on the table with a thud. "i call that diplomacy, outmanoeuvring the enemy! your honor sets an example for abiding by the law; you obey the warrant. they must follow the example and leave fort douglas alone." "besides, i can let his lordship know from montreal just what reinforcements are needed here," continued captain mcdonell, with a curious disregard for the law which he professed to be obeying, and a faithful zeal for lord selkirk. hamilton was looking anxiously at me with an expression of warning which i could not fully read. then i felt, what every one must have felt at some time, that a third person was watching us both. following eric's glance to a dark window recess directly opposite the door where i stood, i was horrified and riveted by the beady, glistening, insolent eyes of louis laplante, gazing out of the dusk with an expression of rakish amusement, the amusement of a spider when a fly walks into its web. taken unawares i have ever been more or less of what mr. jack mackenzie was wont to call "a stupid loon!" on discovering laplante i promptly sustained my reputation by letting the door fly to with a sharp click that startled the whole room-full. whereat louis laplante gave a low, soft laugh. "what do you want here, man?" demanded governor mcdonell's sharp voice. jerking off my cap, i saluted. "my man, your honor," interjected eric quietly. "come here, rufus," he commanded, motioning me to his side with the hauteur of a master towards a servant. and louis laplante rose and tip-toed after me with a tigerish malice that recalled the surly squaw. "oh, eric!" i cried out eagerly. "are you hurt, and at such a time?" unconsciously i was playing into louis' hands, for he stood by the stove, laughing nonchalantly. thereupon eric ground out some imprecation at my stupidity. "there's been a shuffling of allegiance, i hear," he said with a queer misleading look straight at laplante. "we've recruits from fort gibraltar." eric's words, curiously enough, banished triumph from laplante's face and the frenchman's expression was one of puzzled suspicion. from eric's impassive features, he could read nothing. what hamilton was driving at, i should presently learn; but to find out i would no more take my eyes from laplante's than from a tiger about to spring. at once, to get my attention, hamilton brought a stick down on my toes with a sharpness that made me leap. by all the codes of nudges and kicks and such signaling, it is a principle that a blow at one end of human anatomy drives through the density of the other extremity. it dawned on me that eric was trying to persuade laplante i had deserted nor'-westers for the hudson's bay. the ethics of his attempt i do not defend. it was after the facile fashion of an intriguing era. a sharper weapon was presently given us against louis laplante; for when i grasped eric's stick to stay the raps against my feet, i felt the handle rough with carving. "what are these carvings, may i inquire, sir?" i asked, assuming the strangeness, which eric's signals had directed, but never moving my eyes from laplante. the villain who had befooled me in the gorge and eluded me in the forest, and now tormented frances sutherland, winced under my watchfulness. "the carvings!" answered eric, annoyed that i did not return his plain signals and determined to get my eye. "pray look for yourself! where are your eyes?" "i can't see in this poor light, sir; but i also have a strangely carved thing--a spear-head. now if this head has no handle and this handle has no head--they might fit," i went on watching laplante, whose saucy assurance was deserting him. "spear-head!" exclaimed hamilton, beginning to understand i too had my design. "where did you find it?" "trying to bury itself in my head." i returned. at this, laplante, the knave, smiled graciously in my very face. "but it didn't succeed?" asked hamilton. "no--it mistook me for a tree, missed the mark and went into the tree; just as another friend of mine mistook me for a tree, hit the mark and ran into me," and i smiled back at laplante. his face clouded. that reference to the scene on the beach, where his hudson's bay despatches were stolen, was too much for his hot blood. "here it is," i continued, pulling the spear-head out of my plaid. i had brought it to hamilton, hoping to identify our enemy, and we did. "please see if they fit, sir? we might identify our--friends!" and i searched the furtive, guilty eyes of the frenchman. "dat frien'," muttered louis with a threatening look at me, "dat frien' of mister hamilton he spike good english for scot' youth." now louis, as i remembered from laval days, never mixed his english and french, except when he was in passion furious beyond all control. "fit!" cried hamilton. "they're a perfect fit, and both carved the same, too." "with what?" "eagles," answered eric, puzzled at my drift, and louis laplante wore the last look of the tiger before it springs. "and eagles," said i, defying the spring, "signify that both the spear-head and the spear-handle belong to the sioux chief whose daughter"--and i lowered my voice to a whisper which only laplante and hamilton could hear--"is married--to le--grand--diable!" "what!" came hamilton's low cry of agony. forgetting the fractured arm, he sprang erect. and louis laplante staggered back in the dark as if we had struck him. "laplante! laplante! where's that frenchman? bring him up here!" called governor mcdonell's fussy, angry tones. coming when it did, this demand was to louis a bolt of judgment; and he joined the conference with a face as gray as ashes. "now about those stolen despatches! we want to know the truth! were you drunk, or were you not? who has them?" captain mcdonell arraigned the frenchman with a fire of questions that would have confused any other culprit but louis. "eric," i whispered, taking advantage of the respite offered by louis' examination. "we found laplante at _pointe a la croix_. he was drunk. he confessed miriam is held by diable's squaw. then we discovered someone was listening to the confession and pursued the eavesdropper into the bush. when we came back, laplante had been carried off. i found one of my canoemen had your lost fowling-piece, and it was he who had listened and carried off the drunk sot and tried to send that spear-head into me at the sault. 'twas diable, eric! father holland, a priest in our company, told me of the white woman on lake winnipeg. did you find this--" indicating the spear handle--"there?" eric, cold, white and trembling, only whispered an affirmative. "was that all?" "all," he answered, a strange, fierce look coming over his face, as the full import of my news forced home on him. "was--was--laplante--in that?" he asked, gripping my arm in his unwounded hand with foreboding force. "not that we know of. only diable. but louis is friendly with the sioux, and if we only keep him in sight we may track them." "i'll--keep--him--in sight," muttered hamilton in low, slow words. "hush, eric!" i whispered. "if we harm him, he may mislead us. let us watch him and track him!" "he's asking leave to go trapping in the sioux country. can you go as trader for your people? to the buffalo hunt first, then, south? i'll watch here, if he stays; you, there, if he goes, and he shall tell us all he knows or--" "hush, man," i urged. "listen!" "where," governor mcdonell was thundering at laplante, "where are the parties that stole those despatches?" the question brought both hamilton and myself to the table. we went forward where we could see laplante's face without being seen by his questioners. "if i answer, your honor," began the frenchman, taking the captain's bluster for what it was worth and holding out doggedly for his own rights, "i'll be given leave to trap with the sioux?" "certainly, man. speak out." "the parties--that stole--those despatches," laplante was answering slowly. at this stage he looked at his interlocutor as if to question the sincerity of the guarantee and he saw me standing screwing the spear-head on the tell-tale handle. i patted the spear-head, smiled blandly back, and with my eyes dared him to go on. he paused, bit his lip and flushed. "no lies, no roguery, or i'll have you at the whipping-post," roared the governor. "speak up. where are the parties?" "near about here," stammered louis, "and you may ask your new turn-coat." i was betrayed! betrayed and trapped; but he should not go free! i would have shouted out, but hamilton's hand silenced me. "here!" exclaimed the astounded governor. "go call that young nor'-wester! if _he_ backs up y'r story, _he_ was cameron's secretary, you can go to the buffalo hunt." that response upset louis' bearings. he had expected the governor would refer to me; but the command let him out of an awkward place and he darted from the room, as hamilton and i supposed,--simpletons that we were with that rogue!--to find the young nor'-wester. this turn of affairs gave me my chance. if the young nor'-wester and laplante came together, my disguise as highlander and turn-coat would be stripped from me and i should be trapped indeed. "good-by, old boy!" and i gripped hamilton's hand. "if he stays, he's your game. when he goes, he's mine. good luck to us both! you'll come south when you're better." then i bolted through the main hall thinking to elude the canny scots, but saw both men in the stairway waiting to intercept me. when i ran down a flight of side stairs, they dashed to trap me at the gate. at the doorway a man lounged against me. the lantern light fell on a pointed beard. it was laplante, leaning against the wall for support and shaking with laughter. "you again, old tombstone! whither away so fast?" and he made to hold me. "i'm in a hurry myself! my last night under a roof, ha! ha! wait till i make my grand farewell! we both did well, did the grand, ho! ho! but i must leave a fair demoiselle!" "let go," and i threw him off. "take that, you ramping donkey, you anglo-saxon animal," and he aimed a kick in my direction. though i could ill spare the time to do it, i turned. all the pent-up strength, from the walk with frances sutherland rushed into my clenched fist and louis laplante went down with a thud across the doorway. there was the sish-rip of a knife being thrust through my boot, but the blade broke and i rushed past the prostrate form. certain of waylaying me, the scots were dodging about the gate; but by running in the shadow of the warehouse to the rear of the court, i gave both the slip. i had no chance to reconnoitre, but dug my hunting-knife into the stockade, hoisted myself up the wooden wall, got a grip of the top and threw myself over, escaping with no greater loss than boots pulled off before climbing the palisade, and the highland cap which stuck fast to a picket as i alighted below. at dawn, bootless and hatless, i came in sight of fort gibraltar and father holland, who was scanning the prairie for my return, came running to greet me. "the tip-top o' the mornin' to the renegade! i thought ye'd been scalped--and so ye have been--nearly--only they mistook y'r hat for the wool o' y'r crown. boots gone too! out wid your midnight pranks." a succession of welcoming thuds accompanied the tirade. as breath returned, i gasped out a brief account of the night. "and now," he exclaimed triumphantly, "i have news to translate ye to a sivinth hiven! och! but it's clane cracked ye'll be when ye hear it. now, who's appointed to trade with the buffalo hunters but y'r very self?" it was with difficulty i refrained from embracing the bearer of such good tidings. "be easy," he commanded. "ye'll need these demonstrations, i'm thinkin'--huntin' one lass and losin' y'r heart to another." we arranged he should go to fort douglas for frances sutherland and i was to set out later. they were to ride along the river-path south of the forks where i could join them. i, myself, picked out and paid for two extra horses, one a quiet little cayuse with ambling action, the other, a muscular broncho. i had the satisfaction of seeing father holland mounted on the latter setting out for fort douglas, while the indian pony wearing an empty side-saddle trotted along in tow. the information i brought back from fort douglas delayed any more hostile demonstrations against the hudson's bay. that very morning, before i had finished breakfast, governor mcdonell rode over to fort gibraltar, and on condition that fort douglas be left unmolested gave himself up to the nor'-westers. at noon, when i was riding off to the buffalo hunt and the missouri, i saw the captain, smiling and debonair, embarking--or rather being embarked--with north-west brigades, to be sent on a free trip two thousand five hundred miles to montreal. "a safe voyage to ye," said duncan cameron, commander of nor'-westers, as the ex-governor of red river settled himself in a canoe. "a safe voyage to ye, mon!" "and a prosperous return," was the ironical answer of the dauntless ruler over the hudson's bay. "sure now, rufus," said father holland to me a year afterwards, "'twas a prosperous return he had!" fortunately, i had my choice of scouts, and, by dangling the prospects of a buffalo hunt before la robe noire and little fellow, tempted them to come with me. chapter xii how a youth became a king when the prima-donna of some vauntful city trills her bird-song above the foot-lights, or the cremona moans out the sigh of night-winds through the forest, artificial townsfolk applaud. yet a nesting-tree, a thousand leagues from city discords, gives forth better music with deeper meaning and higher message--albeit the songster sings only from love of song. the fretted folk of the great cities cannot understand the witching fascinations of a wild life in a wild, free, tameless land, where god's own hand ministers to eye and ear. to fare sumptuously, to dress with the faultless distinction that marks wealth, to see and above all to be seen--these are the empty ends for which city men engage in a mad, feverish pursuit of wealth, trample one another down in a strife more ruthless than war and gamble away gifts of mind and soul. these are the things for which they barter all freedom but the name. where one succeeds a thousand fail. those with higher aims count themselves happy, indeed, to possess a few square feet of canvas, that truly represents the beauty dear to them, before weeds had undermined and overgrown and choked the temple of the soul. that any one should exchange gilded chains for freedom to give manhood shoulder swing, to be and to do--without infringing on the liberty of others to be and to do--is to such folk a matter of no small wonderment. for my part, i know i was counted mad by old associates of quebec when i chose the wild life of the north country. but each to his taste, say i; and all this is only the opinion of an old trader, who loved the work of nature more than the work of man. other voices may speak to other men and teach them what the waterways and forests, the plains and mountains, were teaching me. if "ologies" and "ics," the lore of school and market, comfort their souls--be it so. as for me, it was only when half a continent away from the jangle of learning and gain that i began to stir like a living thing and to know that i existed. the awakening began on the westward journey; but the new life hardly gained full possession before that cloudless summer day on the prairie, when i followed the winding river trail south of the forks. the indian scouts were far to the fore. rank grass, high as the saddle-bow, swished past the horse's sides and rippled away in an unbroken ocean of green to the encircling horizon. of course allowance must be made for a man in love. other men have discovered a worldful of beauty, when in love; but i do not see what difference two figures on horseback against the southern sky-line could possibly make to the shimmer of purple above the plains, or the fragrance of prairie-roses lining the trail. it seems to me the lonely call of the meadow-lark high overhead--a mote in a sea of blue--or the drumming and chirruping of feathered creatures through the green, could not have sounded less musical, if i had not been a lover. but that, too, is only an opinion; for one glimpse of the forms before me brought peace into the whole world. father holland evidently saw me, for he turned and waved. the other rider gave no sign of recognition. a touch of the spur to my horse and i was abreast of them, frances sutherland curveting her cayuse from the trail to give me middle place. "arrah, me hearty, here ye are at last! och, but ye're a skulkin' wight," called the priest as i saluted both. "what d'y' say for y'rself, ye belated rascal, comin' so tardy when ye're headed for gretna green--och! 'twas a _lapsus linguæ_! 'tis pembina--not gretna green--that i mean." had it been half a century later, when a little place called gretna sprang up on this very trail, frances sutherland and i need not have flinched at this reference to an old-world mecca for run-away lovers. but there was no gretna on the pembina trail in those days and the little statue's cheeks were suddenly tinged deep red, while i completely lost my tongue. "not a word for y'rself?" continued the priest, giving me full benefit of the mischievous spirit working in him. "he, who bearded the foe in his den, now meeker than a lambkin, mild as a turtle-dove, timid as a pigeon, pensive as a whimpering-robin that's lost his mate----" "there ought to be a law against the jokes of the clergy, sir," i interrupted tartly. "the jokes aren't funny and one daren't hit back." "there ought to be a law against lovers, me hearty," laughed he. "they're always funny, and they can't stand a crack." "against all men," ventured frances sutherland with that instinctive, womanly tact, which whips recalcitrant talkers into line like a deft driver reining up kicking colts. "all men should be warranted safe, not to go off." "unless there's a fair target," and the priest looked us over significantly and laughed. if he felt a gentle pull on the rein, he yielded not a jot. unluckily there are no curb-bits for hard-mouthed talkers. "rufus, i don't see that ye wear a ticket warranting ye'll not go off," he added merrily. red became redder on two faces, and hot, hotter with at least one temper. "and womankind?" i managed to blurt out, trying to second her efforts against our tormentor. "what guarantee against dangers from them? the pulpit silenced--though that's a big contract--mankind labeled, what for women?" "libeled," she retorted. "men say we don't hit straight enough to be dangerous." "the very reason ye are dangerous," the priest broke in. "ye aim at a head and hit a heart! then away ye go to gretna green--och! it's pembina, i mean! marry, my children----" and he paused. "marry!--what?" i shouted. thereupon frances sutherland broke into peals of laughter, in which i could see no reason, and father holland winked. "what's wrong with ye?" asked the priest solemnly. "faith, 'tis no advice i'm giving; but as i was remarking, marry, my children, i'd sooner stand before a man not warranted safe than a woman, who might take to shying pretty charms at my head! faith, me lambs, ye'll learn that i speak true." as mr. jack mackenzie used to put it in his peppery reproof, i always did have a knack of tumbling head first the instant an opportunity offered. this time i had gone in heels and all, and now came up in as fine a confusion as any bashful bumpkin ever displayed before his lady. frances sutherland had regained her composure and came to my rescue with another attempt to take the lead from the loquacious churchman. "i'm so grateful to you for arranging this trip," and she turned directly to me. "hm-m," blurted father holland with unutterable merriment, before i could get a word in, "he's grateful to himself for that same thing. faith! he's been thankin' the stars, especially venus, ever since he got marching orders!" "how did you reach fort gibraltar?" she persisted. "sans boots and cap," i promptly replied, determined to be ahead of the interloper. "sans heart, too," and the priest flicked my broncho with his whip and knocked the ready-made speech, with which i had hoped to silence him, clean out of my head. frances sutherland took to examining remote objects on the horizon. hers was a nature not to be beaten. "let us ride faster," she suddenly proposed with a glance that boded roguery for the priest's portly form. she was off like a shaft from a bow-string, causing a stampede of our horses. that was effective. a hard gallop against a stiff prairie wind will stop a stout man's eloquence. "ho youngsters!" exclaimed the priest, coming abreast of us as we reined up behind the scouts. "if ye set me that gait--whew--i'll not be left for gretna green--faith--it's pembina, i mean," and he puffed like a cargo boat doing itself proud among the great liners. he was breathless, therefore safe. frances sutherland was not disposed to break the accumulating silence, and i, for the life of me, could not think of a single remark appropriate for a party of three. the ordinary commonplaces, that stop-gap conversation, refused to come forth. i rehearsed a multitude of impossible speeches; but they stuck behind sealed lips. "silence is getting heavy, rufus," he observed, enjoying our embarrassment. thus we jogged forward for a mile or more. "troth, me pet lambs," he remarked, as breath returned, "ye'll both bleat better without me!" forthwith, away he rode fifty yards ahead, keeping that distance beyond us for the rest of the day and only calling over his shoulder occasionally. "och! but y'r bronchos are slow! don't be telling me y'r bronchos are not slow! arrah, me hearties, be making good use o' the honeymoon,--i mean afternoon, not honeymoon. marry, me children, but y'r bronchos are bog-spavined and spring-halted. jiggle-joggle faster, with ye, ye rascals! faith, i see ye out o' the tail o' my eye. those bronchos are nosing a bit too close, i'm thinkin'! i'm going to turn! i warn ye fair--ready! one--shy-off there! two--have a care! three--i'm coming! four--prepare!" and he would glance back with shouts of droll laughter. "get epp! we mustn't disturb them! get epp!" this to his own horse and off he would go, humming some ditty to the lazy hobble of his nag. "old angel!" said i, under my breath, and i fell to wondering what earthly reason any man had for becoming a priest. he was right. talk no longer lagged, whatever our bronchos did; but, indeed, all we said was better heard by two than three. why that was, i cannot tell, for like beads of a rosary our words were strung together on things commonplace enough; and fond hearts, as well as mystics, have a key to unlock a world of meaning from meaningless words. tufts of poplars, wood islands on the prairie, skulking coyotes, that prowled to the top of some earth mound and uttered their weird cries, mud-colored badgers, hulking clumsily away to their treacherous holes, gophers, sly fellows, propped on midget tails pointing fore-paws at us--these and other common things stole the hours away. the sun, dipping close to the sky-line, shone distorted through the warm haze like a huge blood shield. far ahead our scouts were pitching tents on ground well back from the river to avoid the mosquitoes swarming above the water. it was time to encamp for the night. those long june nights in the far north with fire glowing in the track of a vanished sun and stillness brooding over infinite space--have a glory, that is peculiarly their own. only a sort of half-darkness lies between the lingering sunset and the early sun-dawn. at nine o'clock the sun-rim is still above the western prairie. at ten, one may read by daylight, and, if the sky is clear, forget for another hour that night has begun. after supper, father holland sat at a distance from the tents with his back carefully turned towards us, a precaution on his part for which i was not ungrateful. frances sutherland was throned on the boxes of our quondam table, and i was reclining against saddle-blankets at her feet. "oh! to be so forever," she exclaimed, gazing at the globe of solid gold against the opal-green sky. "to have the light always clear, just ahead, nothing between us and the light, peace all about, no care, no weariness, just quiet and beauty like this forever." "like this forever! i ask nothing better," said i with great heartiness; but neither her eyes nor her thoughts were for me. would the eyes looking so intently at the sinking sun, i wondered, condescend to look at a spot against the sun. in desperation i meditated standing up. 'tis all very well to talk of storming the citadel of a closed heart, but unless telepathic implements of war are perfected to the same extent as modern armaments, permitting attack at long range, one must first get within shooting distance. apparently i was so far outside the defences, even my design was unknown. "i think," she began in low, hesitating words, so clear and thrilling, they set my heart beating wildly with a vague expectation, "i think heaven must be very, very near on nights like this, don't--you--rufus?" i wasn't thinking of heaven at all, at least, not the heaven she had in mind; but if there is one thing to make a man swear white is black and black white and to bring him to instantaneous agreement with any statement whatsoever, it is to hear his christian name so spoken for the first time. i sat up in an electrified way that brought the fringe of lashes down to hide those gray eyes. "very near? well rather! i've been in heaven all day," i vowed. "i've been getting glimpses of paradise all the way from fort william----" "don't," she interrupted with a flash of the imperious nature, which i knew. "please don't, mr. gillespie." "please don't mister gillespie me," said i, piqued by a return to the formal. "if you picked up rufus by mistake from the priest, he sets a good example. don't drop a good habit!" that was my first step inside the outworks. "rufus," she answered so gently i felt she might disarm and slay me if she would, "rufus gillespie"--that was a return of the old spirit, a compromise between her will and mine--"please don't begin saying that sort of thing--there's a whole day before us----" "and you think i can't keep it up?" "you haven't given any sign of failing. you know, rufus," she added consolingly, "you really must not say those things, or something will be hurt! you'll make me hurt it." "something is hurt and needs mending, miss sutherland----" "don't miss sutherland me," she broke in with a laugh, "call me frances; and if something is hurt and needs mending, i'm not a tinker, though my father and the priest--yes and you, too--sometimes think so. but sisters do mending, don't they?" and she laughed my earnestness off as one would puff out a candle. "no--no--no--not sisters--not that," i protested. "i have no sisters, little statue. i wouldn't know how to act with a sister, unless she were somebody else's sister, you know. i can't stand the sisterly business, frances----" "have you suffered much from the sisterly?" she asked with a merry twinkle. "no," i hastened to explain, "i don't know how to play the sisterly touch-and-go at all, but the men tell me it doesn't work--dead failure, always ends the same. sister proposes, or is proposed to----" "oh!" cried the little statue with the faintest note of alarm, and she moved back from me on the boxes. "i think we'd better play at being very matter-of-fact friends for the rest of the trip." "no, thank you, miss sutherland--frances, i mean," said i. "i'm not the fool to pretend that----" "then pretend anything you like," and there was a sudden coldness in her voice, which showed me she regarded my refusal and the slip in her name as a rebuff. "pretend anything you like, only don't say things." that was a throwing down of armor which i had not expected. "then pretend that a pilgrim was lost in the dark, lost where men's souls slip down steep places to hell, and that one as radiant as an angel from heaven shone through the blackness and guided him back to safe ground," i cried, taking quick advantage of my fair antagonist's sudden abandon and casting aside all banter. "children! children!" cried the priest. "children! sun's down! time to go to your trundles, my babes!" "yes, yes," i shouted. "wait till i hear the rest of this story." at my words she had started up with a little gasp of fright. a look of awe came into her gray eyes, which i have seen on the faces of those who find themselves for the first time beside the abyss of a precipice. and i have climbed many lofty peaks, but never one without passing these places with the fearful possibilities of destruction. always the novice has looked with the same unspeakable fear into the yawning depths, with the same unspeakable yearning towards the jewel-crowned heights beyond. this, or something of this, was in the startled attitude of the trembling figure, whose eyes met mine without flinching or favor. "or pretend that a traveler had lost his compass, and though he was without merit, god gave him a star." "is it a pretty story, rufus?" called the priest. "very," i cried out impatiently. "don't interrupt." "or pretend that a poor fool with no merit but his love of purity and truth and honor lost his way to paradise, and god gave him an angel for a guide." "is it a long story, rufus?" called the priest. "it's to be continued," i shouted, leaping to my feet and approaching her. "and pretend that the pilgrim and the traveler and the fool, asked no other privilege but to give each his heart's love, his life's devotion to her who had come between him and the darkness----" "rufus!" roared the priest. "i declare i'll take a stick to you. come away! d' y' hear? she's tired." "good-night," she answered, in a broken whisper, so cold it stabbed me like steel; and she put out her hand in the mechanical way of the well-bred woman in every land. "is that all?" i asked, holding the hand as if it had been a galvanic battery, though the priest was coming straight towards us. "all?" she returned, the lashes falling over the misty, gray eyes. "ah, rufus! are we playing jest is earnest, or earnest is jest?" and she turned quickly and went to her tent. how long i stood in reverie, i do not know. the priest's broad hand presently came down on my shoulder with a savage thud. "ye blunder-busticus, ye, what have ye been doing?" he asked. "the little statue was crying when she went to her tent." "crying?" "yes, ye idiot. i'll stay by her to-morrow." and he did. nor could he have contrived severer punishment for the unfortunate effect of my words. fool, that i was! i should keep myself in hand henceforth. how many men have made that vow regarding the woman they love? those that have kept it, i trow, could be counted easily enough. but i had no opportunity to break my vow; for the priest rode with frances sutherland the whole of the second day, and not once did he let loose his scorpion wit. she had breakfast alone in her tent next morning, the priest carrying tea and toast to her; and when she came out, she leaped to her saddle so quickly i lost the expected favor of placing that imperious foot in the stirrup. we set out three abreast, and i had no courage to read my fate from the cold, marble face. the ground became rougher. we were forced to follow long detours round sloughs, and i gladly fell to the rear where i was unobserved. clumps of willows alone broke the endless dip of the plain. glassy creeks glittered silver through the green, and ever the trail, like a narrow ribbon of many loops, fled before us to the dim sky-line. when we halted for our nooning, frances sutherland had slipped from her saddle and gone off picking prairie roses before either the priest or i noticed her absence. "if you go off, you nuisance, you," said the priest rubbing his bald pate, and gazing after her in a puzzled way, when we had the meal ready, "i think she'll come back and eat." i promptly took myself off and had the glum pleasure of hearing her chat in high spirits over the dinner table of packing boxes; but she was on her cayuse and off with the scouts long before father holland and i had mounted. "rufus," said the priest with a comical, quizzical look, as we set off together. "rufus, i think y'r a fool." "i've thought that several hundred thousand times myself, this morning." "have ye as much as got a glint of her eye to-day?" "no. i can't compete against the church with women. any fool knows that, even as big a fool as i." "tush, youngster! don't take to licking your raw tongue up and down the cynic's saw edge! put a spur to your broncho there and ride ahead with her." "having offended a goddess, i don't wish to be struck dead by inviting her wrath." "pah! i've no patience with y'r ramrod independence! bend a stiff neck, or you'll break a sore heart! ride ahead, i tell you, you young mule!" and he brought a smart flick across my broncho. "father holland," i made answer with the dignity of a bishop and my nose mighty high in the air, "will you permit me to suggest that people know their own affairs best----" "tush, no! i'll permit you to do nothing of the kind," said he, driving a fly from his horse's ear. "don't you know, you young idiot, that between a man surrendering his love, and a woman surrendering hers, there's difference enough to account for tears? a man gives his and gets it back with compound interest in coin that's pure gold compared to his copper. a woman gives hers and gets back----" the priest stopped. "what?" i asked, interest getting the better of wounded pride. "not much that's worth having from idiots like you," said he; by which the priest proved he could deal honestly by a friend, without any mincing palliatives. his answer set me thinking for the best part of the afternoon; and i warrant if any man sets out with the priest's premises and thinks hard for an afternoon he will come to the same conclusion that i did. "let's both poke along a little faster," said i, after long silence. "oho! with all my heart!" and we caught up with frances sutherland and for the first time that day i dared to look at her face. if there were tear marks about the wondrous eyes, they were the marks of the shower after a sun-burst, the laughing gladness of life in golden light, the joyous calm of washed air when a storm has cleared away turbulence. why did she evade me and turn altogether to the priest at her right? had i been of an analytical turn of mind, i might, perhaps, have made a very careful study of an emotion commonly called jealousy; but, when one's heart beats fast, one's thoughts throng too swiftly for introspection. was i a part of the new happiness? i did not understand human nature then as i understand it now, else would i have known that fair eyes turn away to hide what they dare not reveal. i prided myself that i was now well in hand. i should take the first opportunity to undo my folly of the night before. * * * * * it was after supper. father holland had gone to his tent. frances sutherland was arranging a bunch of flowers in her lap; and i took my place directly behind her lest my face should tell truth while my tongue uttered lies. "speaking of stars, you know miss sutherland," i began, remembering that i had said something about stars that must be unsaid. "don't call me _miss_ sutherland, rufus," she said, and that gentle answer knocked my grand resolution clean to the four winds. "i beg your pardon, frances----" chaos and i were one. whatever was it i was to say about stars? "well?" there was a waiting in the voice. "yes--you know--frances." i tried to call up something coherent; but somehow the thumping of my heart set up a rattling in my head. "no--rufus. as a matter of fact, i don't know. you were going to tell me something." "bother my stupidity, miss--miss--frances, but the mastiff's forgotten what it was going to bow-wow about!" "not the moon this time," she laughed. "speaking of stars," and she gave me back my own words. "oh! yes! speaking of stars! do you know i think a lot of the men coming up from fort william got to regarding the star above the leading canoe as their own particular star." i thought that speech a masterpiece. it would convince her she was the star of all the men, not mine particularly. that was true enough to appease conscience, a half-truth like louis laplante's words. so i would rob my foolish avowal of its personal element. a flush suffused the snowy white below her hair. "oh! i didn't notice any particular star above the leading canoe. there were so very, very many splendid stars, i used to watch them half the night!" that answer threw me as far down as her manner had elated me. "well! what of the stars?" asked the silvery voice. i was dumb. she flung the flowers aside as though she would leave; but father holland suddenly emerged from the tent fanning himself with his hat. "babes!" said he. "you're a pair of fools! oh! to be young and throw our opportunities helter-skelter like flowers of which we're tired," and he looked at the upset lapful. "children! children! _carpe diem! carpe diem!_ pluck the flowers; for the days are swifter than arrows," and he walked away from us engrossed in his own thoughts, muttering over and over the advice of the latin poet, "_carpe diem! carpe diem!_" "what is _carpe diem_?" asked frances sutherland, gazing after the priest in sheer wonder. "i wasn't strong on classics at laval and i haven't my crib." "go on!" she commanded. "you're only apologizing for my ignorance. you know very well." "it means just what he says--as if each day were a flower, you know, had its joys to be plucked, that can never come again." "flowers! oh! i know! the kind you all picked for me coming up from fort william. and do you know, rufus, i never could thank you all? were those _carpe diem_ flowers?" "no--not exactly the kind father holland means we should pick." "what then?" and she turned suddenly to find her face not a hand's length from mine. "this kind," i whispered, bending in terrified joy over her shoulder; and i plucked a blossom straight from her lips and another and yet another, till there came into the deep, gray eyes what i cannot transcribe, but what sent me away the king of all men--for had i not found my queen? and that was the way i carried out my grand resolution and kept myself in hand. chapter xiii the buffalo hunt i question if norse heroes of the sea could boast more thrilling adventure than the wild buffalo hunts of american plain-rangers. a cavalcade of six hundred men mounted on mettlesome horses eager for the furious dash through a forest of tossing buffalo-horns was quite as imposing as any clash between warring vikings. squaws, children and a horde of ragged camp-followers straggled in long lines far to the hunters' rear. altogether, the host behind the flag numbered not less than two thousand souls. like any martial column, our squad had captain, color-bearer and chaplain. luckily, all three were known to me, as i discovered when i reached pembina. the truce, patched up between hudson's bay and nor'-westers after governor mcdonell's surrender, left cuthbert grant free to join the buffalo hunt. pursuing big game across the prairie was more to his taste than leading the half-breeds during peace. the warden of the plains came hot-foot after us, and was promptly elected captain of the chase. father holland was with us too. our course lay directly on his way to the missouri and a jolly chaplain he made. in grant's company came pierre, the rhymster, bubbling over with jingling minstrelsy, that was the delight of every half-breed camp on the plains. bareheaded, with a red handkerchief banding back his lank hair, and clad in fringed buckskin from the bright neck-cloth to the beaded moccasins, he was as wild a figure as any one of the savage rabble. yet this was the poet of the plain-rangers, who caught the song of bird, the burr of cataract through the rocks, the throb of stampeding buffalo, the moan of the wind across the prairie, and tuned his rude minstrelsy to wild nature's fugitive music. viking heroes, i know, chanted their deeds in songs that have come down to us; but with the exception of the eskimo, descendants of north american races have never been credited with a taste for harmony. once i asked pierre how he acquired his art of verse-making. with a laugh of scorn, he demanded if the wind and the waterfalls and the birds learned music from beardless boys and draggle-coated dominies with armfuls of books. however, it may have been with his pegasus, his mount for the hunt was no laggard. he rode a knob-jointed, muscular brute, that carried him like poetic inspiration wherever it pleased. though pierre's right hand was busied upholding the hunters' flag, and he had but one arm to bow-string the broncho's arching neck, the half-breed poet kept his seat with the easy grace of the plainsman born and bred in the saddle. "faith, man, 'tis the fate of genius to ride a fractious steed," said father holland, when the bronchos of priest and poet had come into violent collision with angry squeals for the third time in ten minutes. "and what are the capers of this, my beast, compared to the antics of fate, sir priest?" asked pierre with grave dignity. the wind caught his long hair and blew it about his face till he became an equestrian personification of the frenzied muse. i had become acquainted with his trick of setting words to the music of quaint rhymes; but father holland was taken aback. "by the saints," he exclaimed, "i've no mind to run amuck of pegasus! i'll get out of your way. faith, 'tis the first time i've seen poetry in buckskin of this particular binding," and he wheeled his broncho out, leaving me abreast of the rhymster. pierre's lips began to frame some answer to the churchman. "have a care, father," i warned. "you've escaped the broncho; but look out for the poet." "save us! what's coming now?" gasped the priest. "ha! i have it!" and pierre turned triumphantly to father holland. "the lord be praised that poetry's free, or you'd bottle it up like a saint's thumb-bone, that beauty's beauty for eyes that see without regard to a priestly gown----" "hold on," interrupted father holland. "hold on, pierre!" "'your double-quick peg has a limp of one leg!' "'bone' and 'gown' don't fit, mr. rhymster." "upon my honor! you turned poet, too, father holland!" said i. "we might be on a pilgrimage to helicon." "to where?" says grant, whose knowledge of classics was less than my own, which was precious little indeed. "helicon." at that father holland burst in such roars of laughter, the rhymster took personal offense, dug his moccasins against the horse's sides and rode ahead. his fringed leggings were braced straight out in the stirrups as if he anticipated his broncho transforming the concave into the convex,--known in the vernacular as "bucking." "mad as a hatter," said grant, inferring the joke was on pierre. "let him be! let him be! he'll get over it! he's working up his rhymes for the feast after the buffalo hunt." and we afterwards got the benefit of those rhymes. the tenth day west from pembina our scouts found some herd's footprints on soggy ground. at once word was sent back to pitch camp on rolling land. a cordon of carts with shafts turned outward encircled the camping ground. at one end the animals were tethered, at the other the hunter's tents were huddled together. all night mongrel curs, tearing about the enclosure in packs, kept noisy watch. twice grant and i went out to reconnoitre. we saw only a whitish wolf scurrying through the long grass. grant thought this had disturbed the dogs; but i was not so sure. indeed, i felt prepared to trace features of le grand diable under every elk-hide, or wolf-skin in which a cunning indian could be disguised. i deemed it wise to have a stronger guard and engaged two runners, ringing thunder and burnt earth, giving them horses and ordering them to keep within call during the thick of the hunt. at daybreak all tents were a beehive of activity. the horses, with almost human intelligence, were wild to be off. riders could scarcely gain saddles, and before feet were well in the stirrups, the bronchos had reared and bolted away, only to be reined sharply in and brought back to the ranks. the dogs, too, were mad, tearing after make-believe enemies and worrying one another till there were several curs less for the hunt. inside the cart circle, men were shouting last orders to women, squaws scolding half-naked urchins, that scampered in the way, and the whole encampment setting up a din that might have scared any buffalo herd into endless flight. grant gave the word. pierre hoisted the flag, and the camp turmoil was left behind. the _bois-brulés_ kept well within the lines and observed good order; but the indian rabble lashed their half-broken horses into a fury of excitement, that threatened confusion to all discipline. the camp was strongly guarded. father holland remained with the campers, but in spite of his holy calling, i am sure he longed to be among the hunters. scouts ahead, we followed the course of a half-dried slough where buffalo tracks were visible. some two miles from camp, the out-runners returned with word that the herds were browsing a short distance ahead, and that the marsh-bed widened to a banked ravine. the buffalo could not have been found in a better place; for there was a fine slope from the upper land to our game. we at once ascended the embankment and coursed cautiously along the cliff's summit. suddenly we rounded an abrupt headland and gained full view of the buffalo. the flag was lowered, stopping the march, and up rose our captain in his stirrups to survey the herd. a light mist screened us and a deep growth of the leathery grass, common to marsh lands, half hid a multitude of broad, humped, furry backs, moving aimlessly in the valley. coal-black noses poked through the green stalks sniffing the air suspiciously and the curved horns tossed broken stems off in savage contempt. from the headland beneath us to the rolling prairie at the mouth of the valley, the earth swayed with giant forms. the great creatures were restless as caged tigers and already on the rove for the day's march. i suppose the vast flocks of wild geese, that used to darken the sky and fill the air with their shrill "hunk, hunk," when i first went to the north, numbered as many living beings in one mass as that herd; but men no more attempted to count the creatures in flock or herd, than to estimate the pebbles of a shore. protruding eyes glared savagely sideways. great, thick necks hulked forward in impatient jerks; and those dagger-pointed horns, sharper than a pruning hook, promised no boy's sport for our company. the buffalo sees best laterally on the level, and as long as we were quiet we remained undiscovered. at the prospect, some of the hunters grew excitedly profane. others were timorous, fearing a stampede in our direction. being above, we could come down on the rear of the buffaloes and they would be driven to the open. grant scouted the counseled caution. the hunters loaded guns, filled their mouths with balls to reload on the gallop and awaited the captain's order. wheeling his horse to the fore, the warden gave one quick signal. with a storm-burst of galloping hoofs, we charged down the slope. at sound of our whirlwind advance, the bulls tossed up their heads and began pawing the ground angrily. from the hunters there was no shouting till close on the herd, then a wild halloo with unearthly screams from the indians broke from our company. the buffaloes started up, turned panic-stricken, and with bellowings, that roared down the valley, tore for the open prairie. the ravine rocked with the plunging monsters, and reëchoed to the crash of six-hundred guns and a thunderous tread. firing was at close range. in a moment there was a battle royal between dexterous savages, swift as tigers, and these leviathans of the prairie with their brute strength. a quick fearless horse was now invaluable; for the swiftest riders darted towards the large buffaloes and rode within a few yards before taking aim. instantly, the ravine was ablaze with shots. showers of arrows from the indian hunters sung through the air overhead. men unhorsed, ponies thrown from their feet, buffaloes wounded--or dead--were scattered everywhere. one angry bull gored furiously at his assailant, ripping his horse from shoulder to flank, then, maddened by the creature's blood, and before a shot from a second hunter brought him down, caught the rider on its upturned horns and tossed him high. by keeping deftly to the fore, where the buffalo could not see, and swerving alternately from side to side as the enraged animals struck forward, trained horses avoided side thrusts. the saddle-girths of one hunter, heading a buffalo from the herd, gave way as he was leaning over to send a final ball into the brute's head. down he went, shoulders foremost under its nose, while the horse, with a deft leap cleared the vicious drive of horns. strange to say, the buffalo did not see where he fell and galloped onward. carcasses were mowed down like felled trees; but still we plunged on and on, pursuing the racing herd; while the ground shook in an earthquake under stampeding hoofs. i had forgotten time, place, danger--everything in the mad chase and was hard after a savage old warrior that outraced my horse. gradually i rounded him closer to the embankment. my broncho was blowing, almost wind-spent, but still i dug the spurs into him, and was only a few lengths behind the buffalo, when the wily beast turned. with head down, eyes on fire and nostrils blood-red, he bore straight upon me. my broncho reared, then sprang aside. leaning over to take sure aim, i fired, but a side jerk unbalanced me. i lost my stirrup and sprawled in the dust. when i got to my feet, the buffalo lay dead and my broncho was trotting back. hunters were still tearing after the disappearing herd. riderless horses, mad with the smell of blood and snorting at every flash of powder, kept up with the wild race. little fellow, la robe noire, burnt earth, and ringing thunder, had evidently been left in the rear; for look where i might i could not see one of my four indians. near me two half-breeds were righting their saddles. i also was tightening the girths, which was not an easy matter with my excited broncho prancing round in a circle. suddenly there was the whistle of something through the air overhead, like a catapult stone, or recoiling whip-lash. the same instant one of the half-breeds gave an upward toss of both arms and, with a piercing shriek, fell to the ground. the fellow caught at his throat and from his bared chest protruded an arrow shaft. i heard his terrified comrade shout, "the sioux! the sioux!" then he fled in a panic of fear, not knowing where he was going and staggering as he ran; and i saw him pitch forward face downwards. i had barely realized what had happened and what it all meant, before an exultant shout broke from the high grass above the embankment. at that my horse gave a plunge and, wrenching the rein from my grasp, galloped off leaving me to face the hostiles. half a score of indians scrambled down the cliff and ran to secure the scalps of the dead. evidently i had not been seen; but if i ran i should certainly be discovered and a sioux's arrow can overtake the swiftest runner. i was looking hopelessly about for some place of concealment, when like a demon from the earth a horseman, scarlet in war-paint appeared not a hundred yards away. brandishing his battle-axe, he came towards me at furious speed. with weapons in hand i crouched as his horse approached; and the fool mistook my action for fear. white teeth glistened and he shrieked with derisive laughter. i knew that sound. back came memory of le grand diable standing among the shadows of a forest camp-fire, laughing as i struck him. the indian swung his club aloft. i dodged abreast of his horse to avoid the blow. with a jerk he pulled the animal back on its haunches. quick, when it rose, i sent a bullet to its heart. it lurched sideways, reared straight up and fell backwards with le grand diable under. the fall knocked battle-axe and club from his grasp; and when his horse rolled over in a final spasm, two men were instantly locked in a death clutch. the evil eyes of the indian glared with a fixed look of uncowed hatred and the hands of the other tightened on the redman's throat. diable was snatching at a knife in his belt, when the cries of my indians rang out close at hand. their coming seemed to renew his strength; for with the full weight of an antagonist hanging from his neck, the willowy form squirmed first on his knees, then to his feet. but my men dashed up, knocked his feet from under him and pinioned him to the ground. la robe noire, with the blood-lust of his race, had a knife unsheathed and would have finished diable's career for good and all; but little fellow struck the blade from his hand. that murderous attempt cost poor la robe noire dearly enough in the end. hare-skin thongs of triple ply were wound about diable's crossed arms from wrists to elbows. burnt earth gagged the knave with his own moccasin, while ringing thunder and little fellow quickly roped him neck and ankles to the fore and hind shanks of the dead buffalo. this time my wily foe should remain in my power till i had rescued miriam. "_monsieur! monsieur!_" gasped little fellow as he rose from putting a last knot to our prisoner's cords. "the sioux!" and he pointed in alarm to the cliff. true, in my sudden conflict, i had forgotten about the marauding sioux; but the fellows had disappeared from the field of the buffalo hunt and it was to the embankment that my indians were anxiously looking. three thin smoke lines were rising from the prairie. i knew enough of indian lore to recognize this tribal signal as a warning to the sioux band of some misfortune. was miriam within range of those smoke signals? now was my opportunity. i could offer diable in exchange for the sioux captives. meanwhile, we had him secure. he would not be found till the hunt was over and the carts came for the skins. mounting the broncho, which little fellow had caught and brought back, i ordered the indians to get their horses and follow; and i rode up to the level prairie. against the southern horizon shone the yellow birch of a wigwam. vague movements were apparent through the long grass, from which we conjectured the raiders were hastening back with news of diable's capture. we must reach the sioux camp before these messengers caused another mysterious disappearing of this fugitive tribe. we whipped our horses to a gallop. again thin smoke lines arose from the prairie and simultaneously the wigwam began to vanish. i had almost concluded the tepee was one of those delusive mirages which lead prairie riders on fools' errands, when i descried figures mounting ponies where the peaked camp had stood. at this we lashed our horses to faster pace. the sioux galloped off and more smoke lines were rising. "what do those mean, little fellow?" i asked; for there was smoke in a dozen places ahead. "the prairie's on fire, _monsieur_! the sioux have put burnt stick in dry grass! the wind--it blow--it come hard--fast--fast this way!" and all four indians reined up their horses as if they would turn. "coward indians," i cried. "go on! who's put off the trail by the fire of a fool sioux? get through the fire before it grows big, or it will catch you all and burn you to a crisp." the gathering smoke was obscuring the fugitives and my indians still hung back. where the indian refuses to be coerced, he may be won by reward, or spurred by praise of bravery. "ten horses to the brave who catches a sioux!" i shouted. "come on, indians! who follows? is the indian less brave than the pale face?" and we all dashed forward, spurring our hard-ridden horses without mercy. each indian gave his horse the bit. beating them over the head, they craned flat over the horses' necks to lessen resistance to the air. a boisterous wind was fanning the burning grass to a great tide of fire that rolled forward in forked tongues; but beyond the flames were figures of receding riders; and we pressed on. cinders rained on us like liquid fire, scorching and maddening our horses; but we never paused. the billowy clouds of smoke that rolled to meet us were blinding, and the very atmosphere, livid and quivering with heat, seemed to become a fiery fluid that enveloped and tortured us. involuntarily, as we drew nearer and nearer the angry fire-tide, my hand was across my mouth to shut out the hot burning air; but a man must breathe, and the next intake of breath blistered one's chest like live coals on raw flesh. little wonder our poor beasts uttered that pitiful scream against pain, which is the horse's one protest of suffering. presently, they became wildly unmanageable; and when we dismounted to blindfold them and muffle their heads in our jackets, they crowded and trembled against us in a frenzy of terror. then we tied strips torn from our clothing across our own mouths and, remounting, beat the frantic creatures forward. i have often marveled at the courage of those four indians. for me, there was incentive enough to dare everything to the death. for them, what motive but to vindicate their bravery? but even bravery in its perfection has the limitation of physical endurance; and we had now reached the limit of what we could endure and live. the fire wave was crackling and licking up everything within a few paces of us. live brands fell thick as a rain of fire. the flames were not crawling in the insidious line of the prairie fire when there is no wind, but the very heat of the air seemed to generate a hurricane and the red wave came forward in leaps and bounds, reaching out cloven fangs that hissed at us like an army of serpents. i remember wondering in a half delirium whether parts of dante's hell could be worse. with the instinctive cry to heaven for help, of human-kind world over, i looked above; but there was only a great pitchy dome with glowing clouds rolling and heaving and tossing and blackening the firmament. then i knew we must choose one of three things, a long detour round the fire-wave, one dash through the flames--or death. i shouted to the men to save themselves; but burnt earth and ringing thunder had already gone off to skirt the near end of the fire-line. little fellow and la robe noire stuck staunchly by me. we all three paused, facing death; and the indians' horses trembled close to my broncho till i felt the burn of hot stirrups against both ankles. our buckskin was smoking in a dozen places. there was a lull of the wind, and i said to myself, "the calm before the end; the next hurricane burst and those red demon claws will have us." but in the momentary lull, a place appeared through the trough of smoke billows, where the grass was green and the fire-barrier breached. with a shout and heads down, we dashed towards this and vaulted across the flaming wall, our horses snorting and screaming with pain as we landed on the smoking turf of the other side. i gulped a great breath of the fresh air into my suffocating lungs, tore the buckskin covering from my broncho's head and we raced on in a swirl of smoke, always following the dust which revealed the tracks of the retreating sioux. there was a whiff of singed hair, as if one of the horses had been burnt, and little fellow gave a shout. looking back i saw his horse sinking on the blackened patch; but la robe noire and i rode on. the fugitives were ascending rising ground to the south. they were beating their horses in a rage of cruelty; but we gained at every pace. i counted twenty riders. a woman seemed to be strapped to one horse. was this miriam? we were on moist grass and i urged la robe noire to ride faster and drove spurs in my own beast, though i felt him weakening under me. the sioux had now reached the crest of the hill. our horses were nigh done, and to jade the fagged creatures up rising ground was useless. when we finally reached the height, the sioux were far down in the valley. it was utterly hopeless to try to overtake them. ah! it is easy to face death and to struggle and to fight and to triumph! but the hardest of all hard things is to surrender, to yield to the inevitable, to turn back just when the goal looms through obscurity! i still had diable in my power. we headed about and crawled slowly back by unburnt land towards the buffalo hunters. little fellow, we overtook limping homeward afoot. burnt earth and ringing thunder awaited us near the ravine. the carts were already out gathering hides, tallow, flesh and tongues. we made what poor speed we could among the buffalo carcasses to the spot where we had left le grand diable. it was little fellow, who was hobbling ahead, and the indian suddenly turned with such a cry of baffled rage, i knew it boded misfortune. running forward, i could hardly believe my eyes. fools that we were to leave the captive unguarded! the great buffalo lay unmolested; but there was no le grand diable. a third time had he vanished as if in league with the powers of the air. closer examination explained his disappearance. a wet, tattered moccasin, with the appearance of having been chewed, lay on the turf. he had evidently bitten through his gag, raised his arms to his mouth, eaten away the hare thongs, and so, without the help of the sioux raiders, freed his hands, untied himself and escaped. dumfounded and baffled, i returned to the encampment and took counsel with father holland. we arranged to set out for the mandanes on the missouri. diable's tribe had certainly gone south to sioux territory. the sioux and the mandanes were friendly enough neighbors this year. living with the mandanes south of the sioux country, we might keep track of the enemy without exposing ourselves to sioux vengeance. forebodings of terrible suffering for miriam haunted me. i could not close my eyes without seeing her subjected to indian torture; and i had no heart to take part in the jubilation of the hunters over their great success. the savory smell of roasting meat whiffed into my tent and i heard the shrill laughter of the squaws preparing the hunters' feast. with hard-wood axles squeaking loudly under the unusual burden, the last cart rumbled into the camp enclosure with its load of meat and skins. the clamor of the people subsided; and i knew every one was busily gorging to repletion, too intent on the satisfaction of animal greed to indulge in the saxon habit of talking over a meal. well might they gorge; for this was the one great annual feast. there would follow a winter of stint and hardship and hunger; and every soul in the camp was laying up store against famine. even the dogs were happy, for they were either roving over the field of the hunt, or lying disabled from gluttony at their masters' tents. father holland remained in the tepee with me talking over our plans and plastering indian ointment on my numerous burns. by and by, the voices of the feasters began again and we heard pierre, the rhymester, chanting the song of the buffalo hunt: now list to the song of the buffalo hunt, which i, pierre, the rhymester, chant of the brave! we are _bois-brulés_, freemen of the plains, we choose our chief! we are no man's slave! up, riders, up, ere the early mist ascends to salute the rising sun! up, rangers, up, ere the buffalo herds sniff morning air for the hunter's gun! they lie in their lairs of dank spear-grass, down in the gorge, where the prairie dips. we've followed their tracks through the sucking ooze, where our bronchos sank to their steaming hips. we've followed their tracks from the rolling plain through slime-green sloughs to a sedgy ravine, where the cat-tail spikes of the marsh-grown flags stand half as high as the billowy green. the spear-grass touched our saddle-bows, the blade-points pricked to the broncho's neck; but we followed the tracks like hounds on scent till our horses reared with a sudden check. the scouts dart back with a shout, "they are found!" great fur-maned heads are thrust through reeds, a forest of horns, a crunching of stems, reined sheer on their haunches are terrified steeds! get you gone to the squaws at the tents, old men, the cart-lines safely encircle the camp! now, braves of the plain, brace your saddle-girths! quick! load guns, for our horses champ! a tossing of horns, a pawing of hoofs, but the hunters utter never a word, as the stealthy panther creeps on his prey, so move we in silence against the herd. with arrows ready and triggers cocked, we round them nearer the valley bank; they pause in defiance, then start with alarm at the ominous sound of a gun-barrel's clank. a wave from our captain, out bursts a wild shout, a crash of shots from our breaking ranks, and the herd stampedes with a thunderous boom while we drive our spurs into quivering flanks. the arrows hiss like a shower of snakes, the bullets puff in a smoky gust, out fly loose reins from the bronchos' bits and hunters ride on in a whirl of dust. the bellowing bulls rush blind with fear through river and marsh, while the trampled dead soon bridge safe ford for the plunging herd; earth rocks like a sea 'neath the mighty tread. a rip of the sharp-curved sickle-horns, a hunter falls to the blood-soaked ground! he is gored and tossed and trampled down, on dashes the furious beast with a bound, when over sky-line hulks the last great form and the rumbling thunder of their hoofs' beat, beat, dies like an echo in distant hills, back ride the hunters chanting their feat. now, old men and squaws, come you out with the carts! there's meat against hunger and fur against cold! gather full store for the pemmican bags, garner the booty of warriors bold. so list ye the song of the _bois-brulés_, of their glorious deeds in the days of old, and this is the tale of the buffalo hunt which i, pierre, the rhymester, have proudly told. chapter xiv in slippery places a more desolate existence than the life of a fur-trading winterer in the far north can scarcely be imagined. penned in some miserable lodge a thousand miles from human companionship, only the wild orgies of the savages varied the monotony of dull days and long nights. the winter i spent with the mandanes was my first in the north. i had not yet learned to take events as the rock takes wave-blows, and was still at that mawkish age when a man is easily filled with profound pity for himself. a month after our arrival, father holland left the mandane village. eric hamilton had not yet come; so i felt much like the man whom a gloomy poet describes as earth's last habitant. i had accompanied the priest half-way to the river forks. here, he was to get passage in an indian canoe to the tribes of the upper missouri. after an affectionate farewell, i stood on a knoll of treeless land and watched the broad-brimmed hat and black robe receding from me. "good-by, boy! god bless you!" he had said in broken voice. "don't fall to brooding when you're alone, or you'll lose your wits. now mind yourself! don't mope!" for my part, i could not answer a word, but keeping hold of his hand walked on with him a pace. "get away with you! go home, youngster!" he ordered, roughly shaking me off and flourishing his staff. then he strode swiftly forward without once looking back, while i would have given all i possessed for one last wave. as he plunged into the sombre forest, where the early autumn frost of that north land had already tinged the maple woods with the hectic flush of coming death, so poignant was this last wresting from human fellowship, i could scarcely resist the impulse to desert my station and follow him. poorer than the poorest of the tribes to whom he ministered, alone and armed only with his faith, this man was ready to conquer the world for his master. "would that i had half the courage for my quest," i mused, and walked slowly back to the solitary lodge. black cat, chief of the mandane village, in a noisy harangue, adopted me as his son and his brother and his father and his mother and i know not what; but apart from trade with his people, i responded coldly to these warm overtures. from father holland's leave-taking to hamilton's coming, was a desolately lonesome interval. daily i went to the north hill and strained my eyes for figures against the horizon. sometimes horsemen would gradually loom into view, head first, then arms and horse, like the peak of a ship preceding appearance of full canvas and hull over sea. thereupon i would hurriedly saddle my own horse and ride furiously forward, feeling confident that hamilton had at last come, only to find the horsemen some company of indian riders. what could be keeping him? i conjectured a thousand possibilities; but in truth there was no need for any conjectures. 'twas i, who felt the days drag like years. hamilton was not behind his appointed time. he came at last, walking in on me one night when i least expected him and was sitting moodily before my untouched supper. he had nothing to tell except that he had wasted many weeks following false clues, till our buffalo hunters returned with news of the sioux attack, diable's escape and our bootless pursuit. at once he had left fort douglas for the missouri, pausing often to send scouts scouring the country for news of diable's band; but not a trace of the rascals had been found; and his search seemed on the whole more barren of results than mine. laplante, he reported, had never been seen the night after he left the council hall to find the young nor'-wester. in my own mind, i had no doubt the villain had been in that company we pursued through the prairie fire. altogether, i think hamilton's coming made matters worse rather than better. that i had failed after so nearly effecting a rescue seemed to embitter him unspeakably. out of deference to the rival companies employing us, we occupied different lodges. indeed, i fear poor eric did but a sorry business for the hudson's bay that winter. i verily believe he would have forgotten to eat, let alone barter for furs, had i not been there to lug him forcibly across to my lodge, where meals were prepared for us both. often when i saw the indian trappers gathering before his door with piles of peltries, i would go across and help him to value the furs. at first the indian rogues were inclined to take advantage of his abstraction and palm off one miserable beaver skin, where they should have given five for a new hatchet; and i began to understand why they crowded to his lodge, though he did nothing to attract them, while they avoided mine. then i took a hand in hudson's bay trade and equalized values. first, i would pick over the whole pile, which the indians had thrown on the floor, putting spoiled skins to one side, and peltries of the same kind in classified heaps. "lynx, buffalo, musk-ox, marten, beaver, silver fox, black bear, raccoon! want them all, eric?" i would ask, while the indians eyed me with suspicious resentment. "certainly, certainly, take everything," eric would answer, without knowing a word of what i had said, and at once throwing away his opportunity to drive a good bargain. picking over the goods of hamilton's packet, the mandanes would choose what they wanted. then began a strange, silent haggling over prices. unlike oriental races, the indian maintains stolid silence, compelling the white man to do the talking. "eric, running deer wants a gun," i would begin. "for goodness' sake, give it to him, and don't bother me," eric would urge, and the faintest gleam of amused triumph would shoot from the beady eyes of running deer. running deer's peltries would be spread out, and after a half hour of silent consideration on his part and trader's talk on mine, furs to the value of so many beaver skins would be passed across for the coveted gun. i remember it was a wretched old squaw with a toothless, leathery, much-bewrinkled face and a reputation for knowledge of indian medicines, who first opened my eyes to the sort of trade the indians had been driving with hamilton. the old creature was bent almost double over her stout oak staff and came hobbling in with a bag of roots, which she flung on the floor. after thawing out her frozen moccasins before the lodge fire and taking off bandages of skins about her ankles, she turned to us for trade. we were ready to make concessions that might induce the old body to hurry away; but she demanded red flannel, tea and tobacco enough to supply a whole family of grandchildren, and sat down on the bag of roots prepared to out-siege us. "what's this, eric?" i asked, knowing no more of roots than the old woman did of values. "seneca for drugs. for goodness' sake, buy it quick and don't haggle." "but she wants your whole kit, man," i objected. "she'll have the whole kit and the shanty, too, if you don't get her out," said hamilton, opening the lodge door; and the old squaw presently limped off with an armful of flannel, one tea packet and a parcel of tobacco, already torn open. such was the character of hamilton's bartering up to the time i elected myself his first lieutenant; but as his abstractions became almost trance-like, i think the superstition of the indians was touched. to them, a maniac is a messenger of the great spirit; and hamilton's strange ways must have impressed them, for they no longer put exorbitant values on their peltries. after the day's trading eric would come to my hut. pacing the cramped place for hours, wild-eyed and silent, he would abruptly dash into the darkness of the night like one on the verge of madness. thereupon, the taciturn, grave-faced la robe noire, tapping his forehead significantly, would look with meaning towards little fellow; and i would slip out some distance behind to see that hamilton did himself no harm while the paroxysm lasted. so absorbed was he in his own gloom, for days he would not utter a syllable. the storm that had gathered would then discharge its strength in an outburst of incoherent ravings, which usually ended in hamilton's illness and my watching over him night and day, keeping firearms out of reach. i have never seen--and hope i never may--any other being age so swiftly and perceptibly. i had attributed his worn appearance in fort douglas to the cannon accident and trusted the natural robustness of his constitution would throw off the apparent languor; but as autumn wore into winter, there were more gray hairs on his temple, deeper lines furrowed his face and the erect shoulders began to bow. when days slipped into weeks and weeks into months without the slightest inkling of miriam's whereabouts to set at rest the fear that my rash pursuit had caused her death, i myself grew utterly despondent. like all who embark on daring ventures, i had not counted on continuous frustration. the idea that i might waste a lifetime in the wilderness without accomplishing anything had never entered my mind. week after week, the scouts dispatched in every direction came back without one word of the fugitives, and i began to imagine my association with hamilton had been unfortunate for us both. this added to despair the bitterness of regret. the winter was unusually mild, and less game came to the missouri from the mountains and bad lands than in severe seasons. by february, we were on short rations. two meals a day, with cat-fish for meat and dried skins in soup by way of variety, made up our regular fare for mid-winter. the frequent absence of my two indians, scouring the region for the sioux, left me to do my own fishing; and fishing with bare hands in frosty weather is not pleasant employment for a youth of soft up-bringing. protracted bachelordom was also losing its charms; but that may have resulted from a new influence, which came into my life and seemed ever present. at christmas, hamilton was threatened with violent insanity. as the mandanes' provisions dwindled, the indians grew surlier toward us; and i was as deep in despondency as a man could sink. frequently, i wondered whether father holland would find us alive in the spring, and i sometimes feared ours would be the fate of athabasca traders whose bodies satisfied the hunger of famishing crees. how often in those darkest hours did a presence, which defied time and space, come silently to me, breathing inspiration that may not be spoken, healing the madness of despair and leaving to me in the midst of anxiety a peace which was wholly unaccountable! in the lambent flame of the rough stone fireplace, in the darkness between hamilton's hut and mine, through which i often stole, dreading what i might find--everywhere, i felt and saw, or seemed to see, those gray eyes with the look of a startled soul opening its virgin beauty and revealing its inmost secrets. a bleak, howling wind, with great piles of storm-scud overhead, raved all the day before christmas. it was one of those afternoons when the sombre atmosphere seems weighted with gloom and weariness. on christmas eve hamilton's brooding brought on acute delirium. he had been more depressed than usual, and at night when we sat down to a cheerless supper of hare-skin soup and pemmican, he began to talk very fast and quite irrationally. "see here, old boy," said i, "you'd better bunk here to-night. you're not well." "bunk!" said he icily, in the grand manner he sometimes assumed at the quebec club for the benefit of a too familiar member. "and pray, sir, what might 'bunk' mean?" "go to bed, eric," i coaxed, getting tight hold of his hands. "you're not well, old man; come to bed!" "bed!" he exclaimed with indignation. "bed! you're a madman, sir! i'm to meet miriam on the st. foye road." (it was here that miriam lived in quebec, before they were married.) "on the st. foye road! see the lights glitter, dearest, in lower town," and he laughed aloud. then followed such an outpouring of wild ravings i wept from very pity and helplessness. "rufus! rufus, lad!" he cried, staring at me and clutching at his forehead as lucid intervals broke the current of his madness. "gillespie, man, what's wrong? i don't seem able to think. who--are--you? who--in the world--are you? gillespie! o gillespie! i'm going mad! am i going mad? help me, rufus! why can't you help me? it's coming after me! see it! the hideous thing!" tears started from his burning eyes and his brow was knotted hard as whipcord. "look! it's there!" he screamed, pointing to the fire, and he darted to the door, where i caught him. he fought off my grasp with maniacal strength, and succeeded in flinging open the door. then i forgot this man was more than brother to me, and threw myself upon him as against an enemy, determined to have the mastery. the bleak wind roared through the open blackness of the doorway, and on the ground outside were shadows of two struggling, furious men. i saw the terrified faces of little fellow and la robe noire peering through the dark, and felt wet beads start from every pore in my body. both of us were panting like fagged racers. one of us was fighting blindly, raining down aimless blows, i know not which, but i think it must have been hamilton, for he presently sank in my arms, limp and helpless as a sick child. somehow i got him between the robes of my floor mattress. drawing a box to the bedside i again took his hands between mine and prepared for a night's watch. he raved in a low, indistinct tone, muttering miriam's name again and again, and tossing his head restlessly from side to side. then he fell into a troubled sleep. the supper lay untouched. torches had burned black out. one tallow candle, that i had extravagantly put among some evergreens--our poor decorations for christmas eve--sputtered low and threw ghostly, branching shadows across the lodge. i slipped from the sick man's side, heaped more logs on the fire and stretched out between robes before the hearth. in the play of the flame hamilton's face seemed suddenly and strangely calm. was it the dim light, i wonder. the furrowed lines of sorrow seemed to fade, leaving the peaceful, transparent purity of the dead. i could not but associate the branched shadows on the wall with legends of death keeping guard over the dying. the shadow by his pillow gradually assumed vague, awesome shape. i sat up and rubbed my eyes. was this an illusion, or was i, too, going mad? the filmy thing distinctly wavered and receded a little into the dark. an unspeakable fear chilled my veins. then i could have laughed defiance and challenged death. death! curse death! what had we to fear from dying? had we not more to fear from living? at that came thought of my love and the tumult against life was quieted. i, too, like other mortals, had reason, the best of reason, to fear death. what matter if a lonely one like myself went out alone to the great dark? but when thought of my love came, a desolating sense of separation--separation not to be bridged by love or reason--overwhelmed me, and i, too, shrank back. again i peered forward. the shadow fluttered, moved, and came out of the gloom, a tender presence with massy, golden hair, white-veined brow, and gray eyes, speaking unutterable things. "my beloved!" i cried. "oh, my beloved!" and i sprang towards her; but she had glided back among the spectral branches. the candle tumbled to the floor, extinguishing all light, and i was alone with the sick man breathing heavily in the darkness. a log broke over the fire. the flames burst up again; but i was still alone. had i, too, lost grip of reality; or was she in distress calling for me? neither suggestion satisfied; for the mean lodge was suddenly filled with a great calm, and my whole being was flooded and thrilled with the trancing ecstasy of an ethereal presence. if i remember rightly--and to be perfectly frank, i do--though i was in as desperate straits as a man could be, i lay before the hearth that christmas eve filled with gratitude to heaven--god knows such a gift must have come from heaven!--for the love with which i had been dowered. how it might have been with other men i know not. for myself, i could not have come through that dreary winter unscathed without the influence of her, who would have been the first to disclaim such power. among the velvet cushions of the east one may criticise the lapse of white man to barbarity; but in the wilderness human voice is as grateful to the ear as rain patter in a drouth. there, men deal with facts, not arguments. natives break the loneliness of an isolated life by not unwelcomed visits. comes a time when they tarry over long in the white man's lodge. other men, who have scouted the possibility of sinking to savagery, have forsaken the ways of their youth. who can say that i might not have departed from the path called rectitude? religion may keep a holy man upright in slippery places; but for common mortals, devotion to a being, whom, in one period of their worship men rank with angels, does much to steady wavering feet. hers was the influence that aroused loathing for the drunken debauches, the cheating, the depraved living of the indian lodges: hers, the influence that kept the loathing from slipping into indifference, the indifference from becoming participation. indeed, i could wish a young man no better talisman against the world, the flesh and the devil, than love for a pure woman. how we dragged through the hours of that night, of christmas and the days that followed, i do not attempt to set down here. hamilton's illness lasted a month. what with trading and keeping our scouts on the search for miriam and waiting on the sick man, i had enough to busy me without brooding over my own woes. hard as my life was, it was fortunate i had no time for thoughts of self and so escaped the melancholy apathy that so often benumbs the lonely man's activities. and when eric became convalescent, i had enough to do finding diversion for his mind. keeping record of our doings on birch-bark sheets, playing quoits with the mandanes and polo with a few fearless riders, helped to pass the long weary days. so the dismal winter wore away and spring was drizzling into summer. within a few weeks we should be turning our faces northward for the forks of the red and assiniboine. the prospect of movement after long stagnation cheered hamilton and fanned what neither of us would acknowledge--a faint hope that miriam might yet be alive in the north. i verily believe eric would have started northward with restored courage had not our plans been thwarted by the sinister handiwork of le grand diable. chapter xv the good white father for a week hamilton and i had been busy in our respective lodges getting peltries and personal belongings into shape for return to red river. on saturday night, at least i counted it saturday from the notches on my doorpost, though eric, grown morose and contradictory, maintained that it was sunday--we sat talking before the fire of my lodge. a dreary raindrip pattered through the leaky roof and the soaked parchment tacked across the window opening flapped monotonously against the pine logs. unfastening the moon-shaped medallion, which my uncle had given me, i slowly spelled out the nor'-westers' motto--"fortitude in distress." "for-ti-tude in dis-tress," i repeated idly. "by jove, hamilton, we need it, don't we?" eric's lips curled in scorn. without answering, he impatiently kicked a fallen brand back to the live coals. i know old saws are poor comfort to people in distress, being chiefly applicable when they are not needed. "what in the world can be keeping father holland?" i asked, leading off on another tack. "here we are almost into the summer, and never a sight of him." "did you really expect him back alive from the bloods?" sneered hamilton. he had unconsciously acquired a habit of expecting the worst. "certainly," i returned. "he's been among them before." "then all i have to say is, you're a fool!" poor eric! he had informed me i was a fool so often in his ravings i had grown quite used to the insult. he glared savagely at the fire, and if i had not understood this bitterness towards the missionary, the next remark was of a nature to enlighten me. "i don't see why any man in his senses wants to save the soul of an indian," he broke out. "let them go where they belong! souls! they haven't any souls, or if they have, it's the soul of a fiend----" "by the bye, eric," i interrupted, for this petulant ill-humor, that saw naught but evil in everything, was becoming too frequent and always ended in the same way--a night of semi-delirium, "by the bye, did you see those fellows turning up soil for corn with a buffalo shoulder-blade as a hoe?" "i wish every damn red a thousand feet under the soil, deeper than that, if the temperature increases." it was impossible to talk to hamilton without provoking a quarrel. leaning back with hands clasped behind my head, i watched through half-closed eyes his sad face darkling under stormy moods. at last the rain succeeded in soaking through the parchment across the window and the wind drove through a great split in chilling gusts that added to the cabin's discomfort. i got up and jammed an old hat into the hole. at the window i heard the shouting of indians having a hilarious night among the lodges and was amazed at the sound of discharging firearms above the huzzas, for ammunition was scarce among the mandanes. the hubbub seemed to be coming towards our hut. i could see nothing through the window slit, and lighting a pine fagot, shot back the latch-bolt and threw open the door. a multitude of tawny, joyous, upturned faces thronged to the steps. the crowd was surging about some newcomer, and chief black cat was prancing around in an ecstasy of delight, firing away all his gunpowder in joyous demonstration. i lifted my torch. the indians fell back and forth strode father holland, his face shining wet and abeam with pleasure. the indians had been welcoming "their good white father." as he dismissed his mandane children we drew him in and placed his soaked over-garments before the fire. then we proffered him all the delicacies of bachelors' quarters, and filled and refilled his bowl with soup, and did not stop pouring out our lye-black tea till he had drained the dregs of it. having satisfied his inner-man, we gave him the best stump-tree seat in the cabin and sat back to listen. there was the awkward pause of reunion, when friends have not had time to gather up the loose threads of a parted past and weave them anew into stronger bands of comradeship. hamilton and the priest were strangers; but if the latter were as overcome by the meeting after half a year's isolation as i was, the silence was not surprising. to me it seemed the genial face was unusually grave, and i noticed a long, horizontal scar across his forehead. "what's that, father?" i asked, indicating the mark on his brow. "tush, youngster! nothing! nothing at all! sampled scalping-knife on me; thought better of it, kept me out of the martyr's crown." "and left you your own!" cried hamilton astonished at the priest's careless stoicism. "left me my own," responded father holland. "do you mean to say the murderous----" i began. "tush, youngster! be quiet!" said he. "haven't many brethren come from the same tribe more like warped branches than men? what am i, that i should escape? never speak of it again," and he continued his silent study of the flames' play. "where are your indians?" he asked abruptly. "in the lodges. shall i whistle for them?" he did not answer, but leaned forward with elbows on his knees, rubbing his chin vigorously first with one hand, then the other, still studying the fire. "how strong are the mandanes?" he asked. "weak, weak," i answered. "few hundred. it hasn't been worth while for traders to come here for years." "was it worth while this year?" "not for trade." "for anything else?" and he looked at eric's dejected face. "nothing else," i put in hastily, fearing one of hamilton's outbreaks. "we've been completely off the track, might better have stayed in the north----" "no, you mightn't, not by any means," was his sharp retort. "i've been in the sioux lodges for three weeks." with an inarticulate cry, hamilton sprang to his feet. he was trembling from head to foot and caught father holland roughly by the shoulder. "speak out, sir! what of miriam?" he demanded in dry, hard, rasping tones. "well, well, safe and inviolate. so's the boy, a big boy now! may ye have them both in y'r arms soon--soon--soon!" and again he fell to studying the fire with an unhurried deliberation, that was torture to hamilton. "are they with you? are they with you?" shouted hamilton, hope bounding up elastically to the wildest heights after his long depression. "don't keep me in suspense! i cannot bear it. tell me where they are," he pleaded. "are they with you?" and his eyes burned into the priest's like live coals. "are--they--with--you?" "no--lord--no!" roared father holland, alarmed at hamilton's violent condition. "but," he added, seeing eric reel dizzily, "but they're all right! now you keep quiet and don't scare the wits out of a body! they're all right, i tell you, and i've come straight from them for the ransom price." "get it, rufus, get it!" shouted hamilton to me, throwing his hands distractedly to his head, a habit too common with him of late. "get it! get it!" he kept calling, utterly beside himself. "sit down, will you?" thundered the priest, as if eric's sitting down would calm all agitation. "sit down! behave! keep quiet, both of you, or my tongue'll forget holy orders and give ye some good irish eloquence! what d' y' mane, scarin' the breath out of a body and blowing his ideas to limbo? keep quiet, now, and listen!" "and did they," i cried, in spite of the injunction, "did they do that to you?" pointing to the scar on his brow. "yes, they did." "because they saw you with me?" "no, that's a brand for the faith, you conceited whelp, you--they stopped their tortures because they saw you with me. now, swell out, rufus, and gloat over your importance! i tell you it was the devil, himself, snatched my martyr's crown." "le grand diable?" "le grand diable's own minion. i saw his devilish eyes leering from the back o' the crowd, when i was tied to a stake. 'bring that indian to me,' sez i, transfixing him with my gaze; for--you understand--i couldn't point, my hands being tied. troth! but ye should 'a' seen their looks of amazement at me boldness! there was i, roped to that tree, like a pig for the boiling pot, and sez i, 'bring--that indian--to me!' just as though i was managing the execution," and the priest paused to enjoy the recollection of the effects of his boldness. "a squaw up with an old clout," he continued, "and slashed it across my face, saying, 'take that, pale face! take that, man with a woman's skirts on!' and 'take that!' howled a young buck, fetching the flat of his dagger across me forehead, close-cropped hair giving no grip for scalping, not to mention a pate as bald as mine," and the priest roared at his own joke, patting his bare crown affectionately. "though the blood was boilin' in me enraged veins and dribblin' down my face like the rain to-night, by the help o' the lord, i felt no pain. never flinchin' nor takin' heed o' that bold baste of a squaw, i bawled like a bull of bashan, 'bring--that indian--to me, coward-hearted sioux--d' y' fear an iroquois? bring him to me and i'll make him enrich your tribe!' "faith! their eyes grew big as a harvest moon and they brought le grand diable to me. knowing his covetous heart, i told him if he still had the woman and the child, i'd get him a big ransom. at that they all jangled a bit, the old squaw clouting me with her filthy rag as if she wanted to slap me to a peak. at length they let le grand diable unfasten the bands. with my hands tied behind my back, i was taken to his lodge. miriam and the boy were kept in a place behind the sioux squaw's hut. once when the skin tied between blew up, i caught a glimpse of her poor white face. the boy was playing round her feet. i was in a corner of the lodge but was so grimed with grease and dirt, if she saw me she thought i was some indian captive and turned away her head. i told le grand diable in _habitant_ french--which the rascal understands--that i could obtain a good ransom for his prisoners. he left me alone in the lodge for some hours, i think to spy upon me and learn if i tried to speak to miriam; but i lay still as a log and pretended to sleep. when he came back, he began bartering for the price; but i could make him no promises as to the amount or time of payment, for i was not sure you were here, and would not have him know where you are. "he kept me hanging on for his answer during the whole week, and many a time miriam brushed past so close her skirts touched me; but that she-male devil of his--may the lord give them both a warm, front seat!--was always watching and i could not speak. miriam's face was hidden under her shawl and she looked neither to the right, nor to the left. i don't think she ever saw me. on condition you stay in your camp and don't go to meet her, but send your two indians alone for her with your offer, he let me go. here i am! now, rufus, where are your men? off with them bearing more gifts than the queen of sheba carried to solomon!" * * * * * from the hour that la robe noire and little fellow, laden with gaudy trinkets and hunting outfits, departed for the sioux lodges, hamilton was positively a madman. in the first place, he had been determined to disguise himself as an indian and go instead of la robe noire, whose figure he resembled. to this, we would not listen. le grand diable was not the man to be tricked and there was no sense in ransoming miriam for a captive husband. then, he persisted in riding part of the way with our messengers, which necessitated my doing likewise. i had to snatch his horse's bridle, wheel both our horses round and head homeward at a gallop, before he would listen to reason and come back. round the lodges he was a ramping tiger. twenty times a day he went from our hut to the height of land commanding the north country, keeping me on the run at his heels; and all night he beat around the cramped shack as if it had been a cage. on the fourth day from the messengers' departure, chains could not bind him. if all went well, they should be with us at night. in defiance of le grand diable's conditions, which an arrow from an unseen marksman might enforce, eric saddled his mare and rode out to meet the men. of course father holland and i peltered after him; but it was only because gathering darkness prevented travel that we prevailed on him to dismount and await the indians' coming at the edge of the village. at last came the clank, clank of shod hoofs in the valley. the natives used only unshod animals, so we recognized our men. hamilton darted away like a hare racing for cover. "the lord have mercy upon us!" groaned father holland. "listen, lad! there's only one horse!" i threw myself to the earth and laying my ear to the turf strained for every sound. the thud, thud of a single horse, fore and hind feet striking the beaten trail in quick gallop, came distinctly up from the valley. "it may not be our men," said i, with sickening forebodings tugging at throat and heart. "i mistrusted them! i mistrusted the villains!" repeated the priest. "if only you had enough mandanes to ride down on them, but you're too weak. there are at least two thousand sioux." hamilton and little fellow, talking loudly and gesticulating, rode crashing through the furze. "i knew it! i knew it!" shouted hamilton fiercely, "one of us should have gone." "what's wrong?" came from father holland in a voice so low and unnaturally calm, i knew he feared the worst. "wrong!" yelled hamilton, "they hold la robe noire as hostage and demand five hundred pounds of ammunition, twenty guns and ten horses. of course, i should have gone----" "and would it have mended matters if you'd been held hostage too?" i demanded, utterly out of patience and at that stage when a little strain makes a man strike his best friends. "you know very well, the men were only sent to make an offer. you'd no right to expect everything on one trip without any bargaining----" "shut up, boy!" exclaimed father holland. "just when ye both need all y'r wits, y'r scattering them to the four winds. now, mind yourselves! i don't like these terms! 'tis the devil's own doing! let's talk this over!" with a vast deal of the wordy eloquence that characterizes indian diplomacy, the tenor of le grand diable's message was "his shot pouch was light and his pipe cold; he hung down his head and the pipe of peace had not been in the council; the sioux were strangers and the whites were their enemies; the pale-faces had been in their power and they had always conveyed them on their journey with glad hearts and something to eat." finally, the master of life, likewise earth, air, water, and fire were called on to witness that if the white men delivered five hundred rounds of ammunition, twenty guns and ten horses, the white woman and her child, likewise the two messengers, would be sent safely back to the mandane lodge; none but these two messengers would be permitted in the sioux camp; also, the sioux would not answer for the lives of the white men if they left the mandane lodges. let the white men, therefore, send back the full ransom by the hands of the same messenger. chapter xvi le grand diable sends back our messenger father holland advised caution and consideration before acting. a policy of bargaining was his counsel. "i don't like those terms, at all," he said, "too much like giving your weapons to the enemy. i don't like all this." he would temporize and rely on le grand diable's covetous disposition bringing him to our terms; but hamilton would hear of neither caution nor delay. the ransom price was at once collected. next morning, little fellow, on a fresh mount with a string of laden horses on each side, went post haste back to the sioux. in all conscience, hamilton had been wild enough during the first parley. his excitement now exceeded all bounds. the first two days, when there was no possibility of miriam's coming and little fellow could not yet have reached the sioux, i tore after eric so often i lost count of the races between our lodge and the north hill. the performance began again on the third day, and i broke out with a piece of my mind, which surprised him mightily. "look you here, hamilton!" i exclaimed, rounding him back from the hill, "can't you stop this nonsense and sit still for only two days more, or must i tie you up? you've tried to put me crazy all winter and, by jove, if you don't stop this, you'll finish the job----" he gazed at me with the dumb look of a wounded animal and was too amazed for words. leaving me in mid-road, feeling myself a brute, he went straight to his own hut. after that incident, he gave us no further anxiety and kept an iron grip on his impatience. with me, anger had given place to contrition. he remained much by himself until the night, when our messengers were expected. then he came across to my quarters, where father holland and i were keyed up to the highest pitch. putting out his hand he said-"is it all right with us again, rufus, old man?" that speech nigh snapped the strained cords. "of course," said i, gripping the extended hand, and i immediately coughed hard, to explain away the undue moisture welling into my eyes. we all three sat as still and silent as a death-watch, father holland fumbling and pretending to pore over some holy volume, eric with fingers tightly interlaced and upper teeth biting through lower lip, and i with clenched fists dug into jacket pockets and a thousand imaginary sounds singing wild tunes in my ears. how the seconds crawled, and the minutes barely moved, and the hours seemed to heap up in a blockade and crush us with their leaden weight! twice i sought relief for pent emotion by piling wood on the fire, though the night was mild, and by breaking the glowing embers into a shower of sparks. the soft, moccasined tread of mandanes past our door startled father holland so that his book fell to the floor, while i shook like a leaf. strange to say, hamilton would not allow himself the luxury of a single movement, though the lowered brows tightened and teeth cut deeper into the under lip. dogs set up a barking at the other end of the village--a common enough occurrence where half-starved curs roved in packs--but i could not refrain from lounging with a show of indifference to the doorway, where i peered through the moon-silvered dusk. as usual, the indians with shrill cry flew at the dogs to silence them. the noise seemed to be annoying my companions and was certainly unnerving me, so i shut the door and walked back to the fire. the howl of dogs and squaws increased. i heard the angry undertone of men's voices. a hoarse roar broke from the mandane lodges and rolled through the village like the sweep of coming hurricane. there was a fleet rush, a swift pattering of something pursued running round the rear of our lodge, with a shrieking mob of men and squaws after it. the dogs were barking furiously and snapping at the heels of the thing, whatever it was. "a hostile!" exclaimed hamilton, leaping up. hardly knowing what i did, i bounded towards the door and shot forward the bolt, with a vague fear that blood might be spilled on our threshold. "for shame, man!" cried father holland, making to undo the latch. but the words had not passed his lips when the parchment flap of the window lifted. a voice screamed through the opening and in hurtled a round, nameless, blood-soaked horror, rolling over and over in a red trail, till it stopped with upturned, dead, glaring eyes and hideous, gaping mouth, at the very feet of hamilton. it was the scalpless head of la robe noire. our indian had paid the price of his own blood-lust and diable's enmity. before the full enormity of the treachery--messengers murdered and mutilated, ransom stolen and captives kept--had dawned on me, father holland had broken open the door. he was rushing through the night screaming for the mandanes to catch the miscreant sioux. when i turned back, not daring to look at that awful object, hamilton had fallen to the hut floor in a dead faint. * * * * * and now may i be spared recalling what occurred on that terrible night! women luxuriate and men traffic in the wealth of the great west, but how many give one languid thought to the years of bloody deeds by which the west was won? * * * * * before restoring hamilton, it was necessary to remove that which was unseemly; also to wash out certain stains on the hearth-stones; and those things would have tried the courage of more iron-nerved men than myself. i should not have been surprised if eric had come out of that faint, a gibbering maniac; but i toiled over him with the courage of blank hopelessness, pumping his arms up and down, forcing liquor between the clenched teeth, splashing the cold, clammy face with water, and laving his forehead. at last he opened his eyes wearily. like a man ill at ease with life, moaning, he turned his face to the wall. outside, it was as if the unleashed furies of hell fought to quench their thirst in human blood. the clamor of those red demons was in my ears and i was still working over hamilton, loosening his jacket collar, under-pillowing his chest, fanning him, and doing everything else i could think of, to ease his labored breathing, when father holland burst into the lodge, utterly unmanned and sobbing like a child. "for the lord's sake, rufus," he cried, "for the lord's sake, come and help! they're murdering him! they're murdering him! 'twas i who set them on him, and i can't stop them! i can't stop them!" "let them murder him!" i returned, unconsciously demonstrating that the civilized heart differs only in degree from the barbarian. "come, rufus," he pleaded, "come, for the love of frances, or your hands will not be clean. there'll be blood on your hands when you go back to her. come, come!" out we rushed through the thronging mandanes, now riotous with the lust of blood. a ring of young bucks had been formed round the sioux to keep the crowd off. naked, with arms pinioned, the victim stood motionless and without fear. "good white father, he no understand," said the mandanes, jostling the weeping priest back from the circle of the young men. "good white father, he go home!" in spite of protest by word and act they roughly shoved us to our lodge, the doomed man's death chant ringing in our ears as they pushed us inside and clashed our door. in vain we had argued they would incur the vengeance of the sioux nation. our voices were drowned in the shout for blood--for blood! the sigh of the wind brought mournful strains of the victim's dirge to our lodge. i fastened the door, with robes against it to keep the sound out. then a smell of burning drifted through the window, and i stop-gapped that, too, with more robes. * * * * * that the sioux would wreak swift vengeance could not be doubted. as soon as the murderous work was over, guides were with difficulty engaged. having fitted up a sort of prop in which i could tie hamilton to the saddle, i saw both father holland and eric set out for red river before daybreak. it was best they should go and i remain. if miriam were still in the country, stay i would, till she were safe; but i had no mind to see eric go mad or die before the rescue could be accomplished. as they were leaving i took a piece of birch bark. on it i wrote with a charred stick:- "greetings to my own dear love from her ever loyal and devoted knight." this, father holland bore to frances sutherland from me. chapter xvii the price of blood how many shapeless terrors can spring from the mind of man i never knew till eric and the priest left me alone in the mandane village. ever, on closing my eyes, there rolled and rolled past, endlessly, without going one pace beyond my sight, something too horrible to be contemplated. when i looked about to assure myself the thing was not there--could not possibly be there--memory flashed back the whole dreadful scene. up started glazed eyes from the hearth, the floor, and every dim nook in the lodge. thereupon i would rush into the village road, where the shamefaced greetings of guilty indians recalled another horror. if i ventured into le grand diable's power a fate worse than la robe noire's awaited me. that there would be a hostile demonstration over the sioux messenger's death i was certain. nothing that i offered could induce any of the indians to act as scouts or to reconnoiter the enemy's encampment. i had, of my own will, chosen to remain, and now i found myself with tied hands, fuming and gnashing against fate, conjuring up all sorts of projects for the rescue of miriam, and butting my head against the impossible at every turn. thus three weary days dragged past. having reflected on the consequences of their outrage, the mandanes exhibited repentance of a characteristically human form--resentment against the cause of their trouble. unfortunately, i was the cause. from the black looks of the young men i half suspected, if the sioux chief would accept me in lieu of material gifts, i might be presented as a peace-offering. this would certainly not forward my quest, and prudence, or cowardice--two things easily confused when one is in peril--counseled discretion, and discretion seemed to counsel flight. "discretion! discretion to perdition!" i cried, springing up from a midnight reverie in my hut. every selfish argument for my own safety had passed in review before my mind, and something so akin to judicious caution, which we trappers in plain language called "cowardice," was insidiously assailing my better self, i cast logic's sophistries to the winds, and dared death or torture to drive me from my post. whence comes this sublime, reasonless _abandon_ of imperiled human beings, which casts off fear and caution and prudence and forethought and all that goes to make success in the common walks of life, and at one blind leap mounts the sinai of duty? to me, the impulse upwards is as mysterious as the impulse downwards, and i do not wonder that pagans ascribe one to ormuzd, the other to ahriman. 'tis ours to yield or resist, and i yielded with the vehemence of a passionate nature, vowing in the darkness of the hut--"here, before god, i stay!" swift came test of my oath. while the words were yet on my lips, stealthy steps suddenly glided round the lodge. a shuffling stopped at the door, while a chilling fear took possession of me lest the mutilated form of my other indian should next be hurled through the window. i had not time to shoot the door-bolt to its catch before a sharp click told of lifted latch. the hinge creaked, and there, distinct in the starlight, that smote through the open, stood little fellow, himself, haggard and almost naked. "little fellow! good boy!" i shouted, pulling him in. "where did you come from? how did you get away? is it you or your ghost?" down he squatted with a grunt on one of the robes, answering never a word. the gaunt look of the man declared his needs, so i prepared to feed him back to speech. this task kept me busy till daybreak, for the filling capacity of a famishing indian may not be likened to any other hungry thing on earth without doing the red man grave injustice. "hoohoo! hoohoo! but i be sick man to-morrow!" and he rubbed himself down with a satisfied air of distension, declining to have his plate reloaded for the tenth time. i noticed the poor wretch's skin was cut to the bone round wrists and ankles. chafed bandage marks encircled the flesh of his neck. "what did this, little fellow?" and i pointed to the scars. a grim look of indian gratitude for my interest came into the stolid face. "bad indians," was the terse response. "did they torture you?" he grunted a ferocious negative. "you got away too quick for them?" an affirmative grunt. "le grand diable--did you see him?" at that name, his white teeth snapped shut, and from the depths of the indian's throat came the vicious snarl of an enraged wolf. "come," i coaxed, "tell me. how long since you left the sioux?" "walkee--walkee--walkee--one sleep," and rising, he enacted a hobbling gait across the cabin in unison with the rhythmic utterance of his words. "walkee--walkee--walkee--one." "traveled at night!" i interrupted. "two nights! you couldn't do it in two nights!" "walkee--walkee--walkee--one sleep," he repeated. "three nights!" four times he hobbled across the floor, which meant he had come afoot the whole distance, traveling only at night. sitting down, he began in a low monotone relating how he had returned to la robe noire with the additional ransom demanded by le grand diable. the "pig sioux, more gluttonous than the wolverine, more treacherous than the mountain cat," had come out to receive them with hootings. the plunder was taken, "as a dead enemy is picked by carrion buzzards." he, himself, was dragged from his horse and bound like a slave squaw. la robe noire had been stripped naked, and young men began piercing his chest with lances, shouting, "take that, man who would scalp the iroquois! take that, enemy to the sioux! take that, dog that's friend to the white man!" then had la robe noire, whose hands were bound, sprung upon his torturers and as the trapped badger snaps the hand of the hunter so had he buried his teeth in the face of a boasting sioux. here, little fellow's teeth clenched shut in savage imitation. then was le grand diable's knife unsheathed. more, my messenger could not see; for a sioux bandaged his eyes. another tied a rope round his neck. thus, like a dead stag, was he pulled over the ground to a wigwam. here he lay for many "sleeps," knowing not when the great sun rose and when he sank. once, the lodges became very still, like many waters, when the wind slumbers and only the little waves lap. then came one with the soft, small fingers of a white woman and gently, scarcely touching him, as the spirits rustle through the forest of a dark night, had these hands cut the rope around his neck, and unbound him. a whisper in the english tongue, "go--run--for your life! hide by day! run at night!" the skin of the tent wall was lifted by the same hands. he rolled out. he tore the blind from his eyes. it was dark. the spirits had quenched their star torches. no souls of dead warriors danced on the fire plain of the northern sky! the father of winds let loose a blast to drown all sound and help good indian against the pig sioux! he ran like a hare. he leaped like a deer. he came as the arrows from the bow of the great hunter. thus had he escaped from the sioux! little fellow ceased speaking, wrapped himself in robes and fell asleep. i could not doubt whose were the liberator's hands, and i marveled that she had not come with him. had she known of our efforts at all? it seemed unlikely. else, with the liberty she had, to come to little fellow, surely she would have tried to escape. on the other hand, her immunity from torture might depend on never attempting to regain freedom. now i knew what to expect if i were captured by the sioux. yet, given another stormy night, if little fellow and i were near the sioux with fleet horses, could not miriam be rescued in the same way he had escaped? until little fellow had eaten and slept back to his normal condition of courage, it would be useless to propose such a hazardous plan. indeed, i decided to send him to some point on the northern trail, where i could join him and go alone to the sioux camp. this would be better than sitting still to be given as a hostage to the sioux. if the worst happened and i were captured, had i the courage to endure indian tortures? a man endures what he must endure, whether he will, or not; and i certainly had not courage to leave the country without one blow for miriam's freedom. with these thoughts, i gathered my belongings in preparation for secret departure from the mandanes that night. then i prepared breakfast, saw little fellow lie back in a dead sleep, and strolled out among the lodges. four days had passed without the coming of the avengers. the villagers were disposed to forget their guilt and treat me less sulkily. as i sauntered towards the north hill, pleasant words greeted me from the lodges. "be not afraid, my son," exhorted chief black cat. "lend a deaf ear to bad talk! no harm shall befall the white man! be not afraid!" "afraid!" i flouted back. "who's afraid, black cat? only white-livered cowards fear the sioux! surely no mandane brave fears the sioux--ugh! the cowardly sioux!" my vaunting pleased the old chief mightily; for the indian is nothing if not a boaster. at once black cat would have broken out in loud tirade on his friendship for me and contempt for the sioux, but i cut him short and moved towards the hill, that overlooked the enemy's territory. a great cloud of dust whirled up from the northern horizon. "a tornado the next thing!" i exclaimed with disgust. "the fates are against me! a fig for my plans!" i stooped. with ear to the ground i could hear a rumbling clatter as of a buffalo stampede. "what is it, my son?" asked the voice of the chief, and i saw that black cat had followed me to the hill. "are those buffalo, black cat?" and i pointed to the north. as he peered forward, distinguishing clearly what my civilized eyes could not see, his face darkened. "the sioux!" he muttered with a black look at me. turning, he would have hurried away without further protests of friendship, but i kept pace with him. "pooh!" said i, with a lofty contempt, which i was far from feeling. "pooh! black cat! who's afraid of the sioux? let the women run from the sioux!" he gave me a sidelong glance to penetrate my sincerity and slackened his flight to the proud gait of a fearless indian. all the same, alarm was spread among the lodges, and every woman and child of the mandanes were hidden behind barricaded doors. the men mounted quickly and rode out to gain the vantage ground of the north hill before the enemy's arrival. another cross current to my purposes! fool that i was, to have dilly-dallied three whole days away like a helpless old squaw wringing her hands, when i should have dared everything and ridden to miriam's rescue! now, if i had been near the sioux encampment, when all the warriors were away, how easily could i have liberated miriam and her child! * * * * * always, it is the course we have not followed, which would have led on to the success we have failed to grasp in our chosen path. so we salve wounded mistrust of self and still, in spite of manifest proof to the contrary, retain a magnificent conceit. i cursed my blunders with a vehemence usually reserved for other men's errors, and at once decided to make the best of the present, letting past and future each take care of itself, a course which will save a man gray hairs over to-morrow and give him a well-provisioned to-day. arming myself, i resolved to be among the bargain-makers of the mandanes rather than be bargained by the sioux. wakening little fellow, i told him my plan and ordered him to slip away north while the two tribes were parleying and to await me a day's march from the sioux camp. he told me of a wooded valley, where he could rest with his horses concealed, and after seeing him off, i rode straight for the band of assembled mandanes and surprised them beyond all measure by taking a place in the forefront of black cat's special guard. the sioux warriors swept towards us in a tornado. ascending the slope at a gallop, whooping and beating their drums, they charged past us, and down at full speed through the village, displaying a thousand dexterities of horsemanship and prowess to strike terror to the mandanes. then they dashed back and reined up on the hillside beneath our forces. the men were naked to the waist and their faces were blackened. porcupine quills, beavers' claws, hooked bones, and bears' claws stained red hung round their necks in ringlets, or adorned gorgeous belts. feathered crests and broad-shielded mats of willow switches, on the left arm, completed their war dress. the leaders had their buckskin leggings strung from hip to ankle with small bells, and carried firearms, as well as arrows and stone lances; but the majority had only indian weapons. in that respect--though we were not one third their number--we had the advantage. all the mandanes carried firearms; but i do not believe there was enough ammunition to average five rounds a man. luckily, this was unknown to the sioux. i scanned every face. diable was not there. scarcely were the ranks in position, when both sioux and mandane chiefs rode forward, and there opened such a harangue as i have never heard since, and hope i never may. "our young man has been killed," lamented the sioux. "he was a good warrior. his friends sorrow. our hearts are no longer glad. till now our hands have been white, and our hearts clean. but the young man has been slain and we are grieved. of the scalps of the enemy, he brought many. we hang our heads. the pipe of peace has not been in our council. the whites are our enemies. now, the young man is dead. tell us if we are to be friends or enemies. we have no fear. we are many and strong. our bows are good. our arrows are pointed with flint and our lances with stone. our shot-pouches are not light. but we love peace. tell us, what doth the mandane offer for the blood of the young man? is it to be peace or war? shall we be friends or enemies? do you raise the tomahawk, or pipe of peace? say, great chief of the mandanes, what is thy answer?" this and more did the sioux chief vauntingly declaim, brandishing his war club and addressing the four points of the compass, also the sun, as he shouted out his defiance. to which black cat, in louder voice, made reply. "say, great chief of the sioux, our dead was brought into the camp. the body was yet warm. it was thrown at our feet. never before did it enter the heart of a missouri to seek the blood of a sioux! our messengers went to your camp smoking the sacred calumet of peace. they were sons of the mandanes. they were friends of the white men. the white man is like magic. he comes from afar. he knows much. he has given guns to our warriors. his shot bags are full and his guns many. but his men, ye slew. we are for peace, but if ye are for war, we warn you to leave our camp before the warriors hidden where ye see them not, break forth. we cannot answer for the white man's magic," and i heard my power over darkness and light, life and death, magnified in a way to terrify my own dreams; but black cat cunningly wound up his bold declamation by asking what the sioux chief would have of the white man for the death of the messenger. a clamor of voices arose from the warriors, each claiming some relationship and attributing extravagant virtues to the dead sioux. "i am the afflicted father of the youth ye killed," called an old warrior, putting in prior claim for any forthcoming compensation and enhancing its value by adding, "and he had many feathers in his cap." "he, who was killed, i desired for a nephew," shouted another, "and an ivory wand he carried in his hand." "he who was killed was my brother," cried a third, "and he had a new gun and much powder." "he was braver than the buffalo," declared another. "he had three wounds!" "he had scars!" "he wore many scalps!" came the voices of others. "many bells and beads were on his leggings!" "he had garnished moccasins!" "he slew a bear with his own hands!" "his knife had a handle of ivory!" "his arrows had barbs of beavers' claws!" if the noisy claimants kept on, they would presently make the dead man a god. i begged black cat to cut the parley short and demand exactly what gift would compensate the sioux for the loss of so great a warrior. after another half-hour's jangling, in which i took an animated part, beating down their exorbitant request for two hundred guns with beads and bells enough to outfit the whole sioux tribe, we came to terms. indeed, the grasping rascals well-nigh cleared out all that was left of my trading stock; but when i saw they had no intention of fighting, i held back at the last and demanded the surrender of le grand diable, miriam and the child in compensation for la robe noire. then, they swore by everything, from the sun and the moon to the cow in the meadow, that they were not responsible for the doings of le grand diable, who was an iroquois. moreover, they vowed he had hurriedly taken his departure for the north four days before, carrying with him the sioux wife, the strange woman and the white child. as i had no object in arousing their resentment, i heard their words without voicing my own suspicions and giving over the booty, whiffed pipes with them. but i had no intention of being tricked by the rascally sioux, and while they and the mandanes celebrated the peace treaty, i saddled my horse and spurred off for their encampment, glad to see the last of a region where i had suffered much and gained nothing. chapter xviii laplante and i renew acquaintance the warriors had spoken truth to the mandanes. le grand diable was not in the sioux lodges. i had been at the encampment for almost a week, daily expecting the warriors' return, before i could persuade the people to grant me the right of search through the wigwams. in the end, i succeeded only through artifice. indeed, i was becoming too proficient in craft for the maintenance of self-respect. a child--i explained to the surly old men who barred my way--had been confused with the sioux slaves. if it were among their lodges, i was willing to pay well for its redemption. the old squaws, eying me distrustfully, averred i had come to steal one of their naked brats, who swarmed on my tracks with as tantalizing persistence as the vicious dogs. the jealous mothers would not hear of my searching the tents. then i was compelled to make friends with the bevies of young squaws, who ogle newcomers to the indian camps. presently, i gained the run of all the lodges. indeed, i needed not a little diplomacy to keep from being adopted as son-in-law by one pertinacious old fellow--a kind of embarrassment not wholly confined to trappers in the wilds. but not a trace of diable and his captives did i find. i had hobbled my horses--a string of six--in a valley some distance from the camp and directly on the trail, where little fellow was awaiting me. returning from a look at their condition one evening, i heard a band of hunters had come from the upper missouri. i was sitting with a group of men squatted before my fatherly indian's lodge, when somebody walked up behind us and gave a long, low whistle. "mon dieu! mine frien', the enemy! sacredie! 'tis he! thou cock-brained idiot! ho--ho! alone among the sioux!" came the astonished, half-breathless exclamation of louis laplante, mixing his english and french as he was wont, when off guard. need i say the voice brought me to my feet at one leap? well i remembered how i had left him lying with a snarl between his teeth in the doorway of fort douglas! now was his chance to score off that grudge! i should not have been surprised if he had paid me with a stab in the back. "what for--come you--here?" he slowly demanded, facing me with a revengeful gleam in his eyes. his english was still mixed. there was none of the usual light and airy impudence of his manner. "you know very well, louis," i returned without quailing. "who should know better than you? for the sake of the old days, louis, help to undo the wrong you allowed? help me and before heaven you shall command your own price. set her free! afterwards torture me to the death and take your full pleasure!" "i'll have it, anyway," retorted louis with a hard, dry, mirthless laugh. "know they--what for--you come?" he pointed to the indians, who understood not a word of our talk; and we walked a pace off from the lodges. "no! i'm not always a fool, louis," said i, "though you cheated me in the gorge!" "see those stones?" there was a pile of rock on the edge of the ravine. "i do. what of them?" "all of your indian--left after the dogs--it lie there!" his eye questioned mine; but there was not a vestige of fear in me towards that boaster. this, i set down not vauntingly, but fully realizing what i owe to heaven. "poor fellow," said i. "that was cruel work." "your other man--he fool them----" "all the better," i interrupted. "they not be cheated once more again! no--no--mine frien'! to come here, alone! ha--ha! stupid anglo-saxon ox!" "don't waste your breath, louis," i quietly remarked. "your names have no more terror for me now than at laval! however big a knave you are, louis, you're not a fool. why don't you make something out of this? i can reward you. hold _me_, if you like! scalp me and skin me and put me under a stone-pile for revenge! will it make your revenge any sweeter to torture a helpless, white woman?" louis winced. 'twas the first sign of goodness i had seen in the knave, and i credited it wholly to his french ancestors. "i never torture white woman," he vehemently declared, with a sudden flare-up of his proud temper. "the son of a seigneur----" "the son of a seigneur," i broke in, "let an innocent woman go into captivity by lying to me!" "don't harp on that!" said louis with a scornful laugh--a laugh that is ever the refuge of the cornered liar. "you pay me back by stealing despatches." "don't harp on that, louis!" and i returned his insolence in full measure. "i didn't steal your despatches, though i know the thief. and you paid me back by almost trapping me at fort douglas." "but i didn't succeed," exclaimed laplante. "mon dieu! if i had only known you were a spy!" "i wasn't. i came to see hamilton." "and you pay me back as if i had succeed," continued louis, "by kicking me--me--the son of a seigneur--kicking me in the stomach like a pig, which is no fit treatment for a gentleman!" "and you paid me back by sticking your knife in my boot----" "and didn't succeed," broke in louis regretfully. at that, we both laughed in spite of ourselves, laughed as comrades. and the laugh brought back memories of old laval days, when we used to thrash each other in the schoolyard, but always united in defensive league, when we were disciplined inside the class-room. "see here, old crony," i cried, taking quick advantage of his sudden softening and again playing suppliant to my adversary. "i own up! you owe me two scores, one for the despatches i saw taken from you, one for knocking you down in fort douglas; for your knife broke and did not cut me a whit. pay those scores with compound interest, if you like, the way you used to pummel me black and blue at laval; but help me now as we used to help each other out of scrapes at school! afterwards, do as you wish! i give you full leave. as the son of a seigneur, as a gentleman, louis, help me to free the woman!" "pah!" cried louis with mingled contempt and surrender. "i not punish you here with two thousand against one! louis laplante is a gentleman--even to his enemy!" "bravo, comrade!" i shouted out, full of gratitude, and i thrust forward my hand. "no--no--thanks much," and laplante drew himself up proudly, "not till i pay you well, richly,--generous always to mine enemy!" "very good! pay when and where you will." "pay how i like," snapped louis. with that strange contract, his embarrassment seemed to vanish and his english came back fluently. "you'd better leave before the warriors return," he said. "they come home to-morrow!" "is diable among them?" "no." "is diable here?" "no." his face clouded as i questioned. "do you know where he is?" "no." "will he be back?" "dammie! how do i know? he will if he wants to! i don't tell tales on a man who saved my life." his answer set me to wondering if diable had seen me hold back the trader's murderous hand, when louis lay drunk, and if the frenchman's knowledge of that incident explained his strange generosity now. "i'll stay here in spite of all the sioux warriors on earth, till i find out about that knave of an indian and his captives," i vowed. louis looked at me queerly and gave another whistle. "you always were a pig-head," said he. "i can keep them from harming you; but remember, i pay you back in your own coin. and look out for the daughter of l'aigle, curse her! she is the only thing i ever fear! keep you in my tent! if le grand diable see you----" and louis touched his knife-handle significantly. "then diable _is_ here!" "i not say so," but he flushed at the slip of his tongue and moved quickly towards what appeared to be his quarters. "he is coming?" i questioned, suspicious of louis' veracity. "dolt!" said louis. "why else do i hide you in my tent? but remember i pay you back in your own coin afterwards! ha! there they come!" a shout of returning hunters arose from the ravine, at which louis bounded for the tent on a run, dashing inside breathlessly, i following close behind. "stay you here, inside, mind! mon dieu! if you but show your face; 'tis two white men under one stone-pile! louis laplante is a fool--dammie--a fool--to help you, his enemy, or any other man at his own risk." with these enigmatical words, the frenchman hurried out, fastening the tent flap after him and leaving me to reflect on the wild impulses of his wayward nature. was his strange, unwilling generosity the result of animosity to the big squaw, who seemed to exercise some subtle and commanding influence over him; or of gratitude to me? was the noble blood that coursed in his veins, directing him in spite of his degenerate tendencies; or had the man's heart been touched by the sight of a white woman's suffering? if his alarm at the sound of returning hunters had not been so palpably genuine--for he turned pale to the lips--i might have suspected treachery. but there was no mistaking the motive of fear that hurried him to the tent; and with le grand diable among the hunters, louis might well fear to be seen in my company. there was a hubbub of trappers returning to the lodges. i heard horses turned free and tent-poles clattering to the ground; but laplante did not come back till it was late and the indians had separated for the night. "i can take you to her!" he whispered, his voice thrilling with suppressed emotion. "le grand diable and the squaw have gone to the valley to set snares! and when i whistle, come out quickly! mon dieu! if you're caught, both our scalps go! dammie! louis is a fool. i take you to her; but i pay you back all the same!" "to whom?" the question throbbed with a rush to my lips. "stupid dolt!" snarled louis. "follow me! keep your ears open for my whistle--one--they return--two--come you out of the tent--three, we are caught, save yourself!" i followed the frenchman in silence. it was a hazy summer night with just enough light from the sickle moon for us to pick our way past the lodges to a large newly-erected wigwam with a small white tent behind. "this way," whispered louis, leading through the first to an opening hidden by a hanging robe. raising the skin, he shoved me forward and hastened out to keep guard. the figure of a woman with a child in her arms was silhouetted against the white tent wall. she was sitting on some robes, crooning in a low voice to the child, and was unaware of my presence. "and was my little eric at the hunt, and did he shoot an arrow all by himself?" she asked, fondling the face that snuggled against her shoulder. the boy gurgled back a low, happy laugh and lisped some childish reply, which only a mother could translate. "and he will grow big, big and be a great warrior and fight--fight for his poor mother," she whispered, lowering her voice and caressing the child's curls. the little fellow sat up of a sudden facing his mother and struck out squarely with both fists, not uttering a word. "my brave, brave little eric! my only one, all that god has left to me!" she sobbed hiding her weeping face on the child's neck. "o my god, let me but keep my little one! thou hast given him to me and i have treasured him as a jewel from thine own crown! o my god, let me but keep my darling, keep him as thy gift--and--and--o my god!--thy--thy--thy will be done!" the words broke in a moan and the child began to cry. "hush, dearie! the birds never cry, nor the beavers, nor the great, bold eagle! my own little warrior must never cry! all the birds and the beasts and the warriors are asleep! what does eric say before he goes to sleep?" a pair of chubby arms were flung about her neck and passionate, childish kisses pressed her forehead and her cheeks and her lips. then he slipped to his knees and put his face in her lap. "god bless my papa--and keep my mamma--and make little eric brave and good--for jesus' sake----" the child hesitated. "amen," prompted the gentle voice of the mother. "and keep little eric for my mamma so she won't cry," added the child, "for jesus' sake--amen," and he scrambled to his feet. a low, piercing whistle cut the night air like the flight of an arrow-shaft. it was louis laplante's signal that diable and the squaw were coming back. at the sound, mother and child started up in alarm. then they saw me standing in the open way. a gasp of fright came from the white woman's lips. i could tell from her voice that she was all a-tremble, and the little one began to whimper in a smothered, suppressed way. i whispered one word--"miriam!" with a faint cry of anguish, she leaped forward. "is it you, eric? o eric! is it you?" she asked. "no--no, miriam, not eric, but eric's friend, rufus gillespie." she tottered as if i had struck her. i caught her in my arms and helped her to the couch of robes. then i took up my station facing the tent entrance; for i realized the significance of laplante's warning. "we have hunted for more than a year for you," i whispered, bending over her, "but the sioux murdered our messenger and the other you yourself let out of the tent!" "that--your messenger for me?" she asked in sheer amazement, proving what i had suspected, that she was kept in ignorance of our efforts. "i have been here for a week, searching the lodges. my horses are in the valley, and we must dare all in one attempt." "i have given my word i will not try," she hastily interrupted, beginning to pluck at her red shawl in the frenzied way of delirious fever patients. "if we are caught, they will torture us, torture the child before my eyes. they treat him well now and leave me alone as long as i do not try to break away. what can you, one man, do against two thousand sioux?" and she began to weep, choking back the anguished sobs, that shook her slender frame, and picking feverishly at the red shawl fringe. to look at that agonized face would have been sacrilege, and in a helpless, nonplussed way, i kept gazing at the painful workings of the thin, frail fingers. that plucking of the wasted, trembling hands haunts me to this day; and never do i see the fingers of a nervous, sensitive woman working in that delirious, aimless fashion but it sets me wondering to what painful treatment from a brutalized nature she has been subjected, that her hands take on the tricks of one in the last stages of disease. it may be only the fancy of an old trader; but i dare avow, if any sympathetic observer takes note of this simple trick of nervous fingers, it will raise the veil on more domestic tragedies and heart-burnings than any father-confessor hears in a year. "miriam," said i, in answer to her timid protest, "eric has risked his life seeking you. won't you try all for eric's sake? there'll be little risk! we'll wait for a dark, boisterous, stormy night, and you will roll out of your tent the way you thrust my indian out. i'll have my horses ready. i'll creep up behind and whisper through the tent." "where _is_ eric?" she asked, beginning to waver. two shrill, sharp whistles came from louis laplante, commanding me to come out of the tent. "that's my signal! i must go. quick, miriam, will you try?" "i will do what you wish," she answered, so low, i had to kneel to catch the words. "a stormy night our signal, then," i cried. three, sharp, terrified whistles, signifying, "we are caught, save yourself," came from laplante, and i flung myself on the ground behind miriam. "spread out your arms, miriam! quick!" i urged. "talk to the boy, or we're trapped." with her shawl spread out full and her elbows sticking akimbo, she caught the lad in her arms and began dandling him to right, and left, humming some nursery ditty. at the same moment there loomed in the tent entrance the great, statuesque figure of the sioux squaw, whom i had seen in the gorge. i kicked my feet under the canvas wall, while miriam's swaying shawl completely concealed me from the sioux woman and thus i crawled out backwards. then i lay outside the tent and listened, listened with my hand on my pistol, for what might not that monster of fury attempt with the tender, white woman? "there were words in the tepee," declared the angry tones of the indian woman. "the pale face was talking! where is the messenger from the mandanes?" at that, the little child set up a bitter crying. "cry not, my little warrior! hush, dearie! 'twas only a hunter whistling, or the night hawk, or the raccoon! hush, little eric! warriors never cry! hush! hush! or the great bear will laugh at you and tell his cubs he's found a coward!" crooned miriam, making as though she neither heard, nor saw the squaw; but eric opened his mouth and roared lustily. and the little lad unconsciously foiled the squaw; for she presently took herself off, evidently thinking the voices had been those of mother and son. i skirted cautiously around the rear of the lodges to avoid encountering diable, or his squaw. the form of a man hulked against me in the dark. 'twas louis. "mon dieu, gillespie, i thought one scalp was gone," he gasped. "what are you here for? you don't want to be seen with me," i protested, grateful and alarmed for his foolhardiness in coming to meet me. "sacredie! the dogs! they make pretty music at your shins without me," and louis struck boldly across the open for his tent. "fool to stay so long!" he muttered. "i no more ever help you once again! mon dieu! no! i no promise my scalp too! they found your horses in the valley! they--how you say it?--think for some mandane is here and fear. they rode back fast on your horses. 'twas why i whistle for, twice so quick! they ride north in the morning. i go too, with the devil and his wife! i be gone to the devil this many a while! but i must go, or they suspect and knife me. that vampire! ha! she would drink my gore! i no more have nothing to do with you. before morning, you must do your own do alone! sacredie! do not forget, i pay you back yet!" so he rattled on, ever keeping between me and the lodges. by his confused words, i knew he was in great trepidation. "why, there are my horses!" i exclaimed, seeing all six standing before diable's lodge. "you do your do before morning! take one of my saddles!" said louis. sure enough, all my saddles were piled before the iroquois' wigwam; and there stood my enemy and the sioux squaw, talking loudly, pointing to the horses and gesticulating with violence. "mon dieu! prenez garde! get you in!" muttered louis. we were at his tent door, and i was looking back at my horses. "if they see you, all is lost," he warned. and the warning came just in time. with that animal instinct of nearness, which is neither sight, nor smell, my favorite broncho put forward his ears and whinnied sharply. both diable and the squaw noted the act and turned; but louis had knocked me forward face down into the tent. with an oath, he threw himself on his couch. "take my saddle," he said. "i steal another. do your do before morning. i no more have nothing to do with you, till i pay you back all the same!" and he was presently fast asleep, or pretending to be. chapter xix wherein louis intrigues next morning le grand diable would set out for the north. this night, then, was my last chance to rescue miriam. "do your do before morning!" how laplante's words echoed in my ears! i had told miriam a stormy night was to be the signal for our attempt; and now the rising moon was dispelling any vague haziness that might have helped to conceal us. in an hour, the whole camp would be bright as day in clear, silver light. presently, the clatter of the lodges ceased. only an occasional snarl from the dogs, or the angry squeals of my bronchos kicking the indian ponies, broke the utter stillness. there was not even a wind to drown foot-treads, and every lodge of the camp was reflected across the ground in elongated shadows as distinct as a crayon figure on white paper. what if some watchful indian should discover our moving shadows? la robe noire's fate flashed back and i shuddered. flinging up impatiently from the robes, i looked from the tent way. some dog of the pack gave the short, sharp bark of a fox. then, but for the crunching of my horses over the turf some yards away, there was silence. i could hear the heavy breathing of people in near-by lodges. up from the wooded valley came the far-off purr of a stream over stony bottom and the low washing sound only accentuated the stillness. the shrill cry of some lonely night-bird stabbed the atmosphere with a throb of pain. again the dog snapped out a bark and again there was utter quiet. "one chance in a thousand," said i to myself, "only one in a thousand; but i'll take it!" and i stepped from the tent. this time the wakeful dog let out a mouthful of quick barkings. jerking off my boots--i had not yet taken to the native custom of moccasins--i dodged across the roadway into the exaggerated shadow of some indian camp truckery. here i fell flat to the ground so that no reflection should betray my movements. then i remembered i had forgotten louis laplante's saddle. rising, i dived back to the tepee for it and waited for the dogs to quiet before coming out again. that alert canine had set up a duet with a neighboring brute of like restless instincts and the two seemed to promise an endless chorus. as i live, i could have sworn that louis laplante laughed in his sleep at my dilemma; but louis was of the sort to laugh in the face of death itself. a man flew from a lodge and dealing out stout blows quickly silenced the vicious curs; but i had to let time lapse for the man to go to sleep before i could venture out. once more, chirp of cricket, croak of frog and the rush of waters through the valley were the only sounds, and i darted across to the camp shadow. lying flat, i began to crawl cautiously and laboriously towards my horses. one gave a startled snort as i approached and this set the dogs going again. i lay motionless in the grass till all was quiet and then crept gently round to the far side of my favorite horse and caught his halter strap lest he should whinny, or start away. i drew erect directly opposite his shoulders, so that i could not be seen from the lodges and unhobbling his feet, led him into the concealment of a group of ponies and had the saddle on in a trice. to get the horse to the rear of miriam's tent was no easy matter. i paced my steps so deftly with the broncho's and let him munch grass so often, the most watchful indian could not have detected a man on the far side of the horse, directing every move. behind the sioux lodge, the earth sloped abruptly away, bare and precipitous; and i left the horse below and clambered up the steep to the white wall of miriam's tent. once the dogs threatened to create a disturbance, but a man quieted them, and with gratitude i recognized the voice of laplante. three times i tapped on the canvas but there was no response. i put my arm under the tent and rapped on the ground. why did she not signal? was the sioux squaw from the other lodge listening? i could hear nothing but the tossings of the child. "miriam," i called, shoving my arm forward and feeling out blindly. thereupon, a woman's hand grasped mine and thrust it out, while a voice so low it might have been the night breeze, came to my ear--"we are watched." watched? what did it matter if we were? had i not dared all? must not she do the same? this was the last chance. we must not be foiled. my horse, i knew, could outrace any cayuse of the sioux band. "miriam," i whispered back, lifting the canvas, "they will take you away to-morrow--my horse is here! come! we must risk all!" and i shoved myself bodily in under the tent wall. she was not a hand's length away, sitting with her face to the entrance of diable's lodge, her figure rigid and tense with fear. in the half light i could discern the great, powerful, angular form of a giantess in the opening. 'twas the sioux squaw. miriam leaned forward to cover the child with a motion intended to conceal me, and i drew quickly out. i thought i had not been detected; but the situation was perilous enough, in all conscience, to inspire caution, and i was backing away, when suddenly the shadows of two men coming from opposite sides appeared on the white tent, and something sprang upon me with tigerish fury. there was the swish of an unsheathing blade, and i felt rather than saw le grand diable and louis laplante contesting over me. "never! he's mine, my captive! he stole my saddle! he's mine, i tell you," ground out the frenchman, throwing off my assailant. "keep him for the warriors and let him be tortured," urged louis, snatching at the indian's arm. i sprang up. it was louis, who tripped my feet from under me, and we two tumbled to the bottom of the cliff, while the indian stood above snarling out something in the sioux tongue. "idiot! anglo-saxon ox!" muttered louis, grappling with me as we fell. "do but act it out, or two scalps go! i no promise mine when i say i help you, bah----" that was the last i recall; for i went down head backwards, and the blow knocked me senseless. when i came to, with an aching neck and a humming in my ears, there was the gray light of a waning moon, and i found myself lying bound in miriam's tent. her child was whimpering timidly and she was hurriedly gathering her belongings into a small bundle. "miriam, what has happened?" i asked. then the whole struggle and failure came back to me with an overwhelming realization that torture and death would be our portion. "try no more," she whispered, brushing past me and making as though she were gathering things where i lay. "never try, for my sake, never try! they will torture you. i shall die soon. only save the child! for myself, i am past caring. good-by forever!" and she dashed to the other side of the tent. at that, with a deal of noisy mirth, in burst laplante and the sioux squaw. "ho-ho! my knight-errant has opened his eyes! great sport for the braves, say i! fine mouse-play for the cat, ho-ho!" and louis looked down at me with laughing insolence, that sent a chill through my veins. 'twas to save his own scalp the rascal was acting and would have me act too; but i had no wish to betray him. striking at her captives and rudely ordering them out, the sioux led the way and left louis to bring up the rear. "leave this, lady," said louis with an air that might have been impudence or gallantry; and he grabbed the bundle from miriam's hand and threw it over his shoulder at me. this was greeted with a roar of laughter from the sioux woman and one look of unspeakable reproach from miriam. whistling gaily and turning back to wink at me, the frenchman disappeared in diable's lodge. for my part, i was puzzled. did louis act from the love of acting and trickery and intrigue? was he befooling the daughter of l'aigle, or me? they tore down diable's tepee, stringing the poles on the bronchos stolen from me and leaving miriam's white tent with the sioux. i saw them mount with my horses to the fore, and they set out at a sharp trot. from the hoof-beats, i should judge they had not gone many paces, when one rider seemed to turn back, and louis ran into the tent where i lay. i did not utter one word of pleading; but as he stooped for miriam's bundle, he whisked out a jack-knife and my heart bounded with a great hope. i suppose, involuntarily, i must have lifted my arms to have the bonds severed; for laplante shook his head. "no--mine frien'--not now--i not scalp louis laplante for your sake,--no, never. use your teeth--so!" said he, laying the blade of the knife in his own teeth to show me how; and he slipped the thing into hiding under my armpits. "the warriors--they come back to-day," he warned. "you wait till we are far, then cut quick, or they do worse to you than to la robe noire! i leave one horse for you in the valley beyond the beaver-dam. tra-la, comrade, but not forget you. i pay you back yet all the same," and with a whistle, he had vanished. i hung upon the frenchman's words as a drowning sailor to a life-line, and heard the hoof-beats grow fainter and fainter in the distance, hardly daring to realize the fearful peril in which i lay. by the light at the tent opening, i knew it was daybreak. already the sioux were stirring in their lodges and naked urchins came to the entrance to hoot and pelt mud. somehow, i got into sitting posture, with my head bowed forward on my arms, so i could use the knife without being seen. at that, the impertinent brats became bolder and swarming into the tent began poking sticks. i held my arm closer to my side, and felt the hard steel's pressure with a pleasure not to be marred by that tantalizing horde. there seemed to be a gathering hubbub outside. indians, squaws and children were rushing in the direction of the trail to the mandanes. the children in my tent forgot me and dashed out with the rest. i could not doubt the cause of the clamor. this was the morning of the warriors' return; and getting the knife in my teeth, i began filing furiously at the ropes about my wrists. man is not a rodent; but under stress of necessity and with instruments of his own designing, he can do something to remedy his human helplessness. to the din of clamoring voices outside were added the shouts of approaching warriors, the galloping of a multitude of horses and the whining yells of countless dogs. while all the sioux were on the outskirts of the encampment, i might yet escape unobserved, but the returning braves were very near. putting all my strength in my wrists, i burst the half-cut bonds; and the rest was easy. a slash of the knife and my feet were free and i had rolled down the cliff and was running with breathless haste over fallen logs, under leafy coverts, across noisy creeks, through the wooded valley to the beaver dam. how long, or how far, i ran in this desperate, heedless fashion, i do not know. the branches, that reached out like the bands of pursuers, caught and ripped my clothing to shreds. i had been bootless, when i started; but my feet were now bare and bleeding. a gleam of water flashed through the green foliage. this must be the river, with the beaver-dam, and to my eager eyes, the stream already appeared muddy and sluggish as if obstructed. my heart was beating with a sensation of painful, bursting blows. there was a roaring in my ears, and at every step i took, the landscape swam black before me and the trees racing into the back ground staggered on each side like drunken men. then i knew that i had reached the limit of my strength and with the domed mud-tops of the beaver-dam in sight half a mile to the fore, i sank down to rest. the river was marshy, weed-grown and brown; but i gulped down a drink and felt breath returning and the labored pulse easing. not daring to pause long, i went forward at a slackened rate, knowing i must husband my strength to swim or wade across the river. was it the apprehension of fear, or the buzzing in my ears, that suggested the faint, far-away echo of a clamoring multitude? i stopped and listened. there was no sound but the lapping of water, or rush of wind through the leaves. i went on again at hastened pace, and distinctly down the valley came echo of the sioux war-whoop. i was pursued. there was no mistaking that fact, and with a thrill, which i have no hesitancy in confessing was the most intense fear i have ever experienced in my life, i broke into a terrified, panic-stricken run. the river grew dark, sluggish and treacherous-looking. by the blood flowing from my feet, indian scouts could track me for leagues. i looked to the river with the vague hope of running along the water bed to throw my pursuers off the trail; but the water was deep and i had not strength to swim. the beaver-dam was huddled close to the clay bank of the far side and on the side, where i ran, the current spread out in a flaggy marsh. hoping to elude the sioux, i plunged in and floundered blindly forward. but blood trails marked the pond behind and the soft ooze snared my feet. i was now opposite the beaver-dam and saw with horror there were branches enough floating in mid-stream to entangle the strongest swimmer. the shouts of my pursuers sounded nearer. they could not have known how close they were upon me, else had they ambushed me in silence after indian custom, shouting only when they sighted their quarry. the river was not tempting for a fagged, breathless swimmer, whose dive must be short and sorry. i had nigh counted my earthly course run, when i caught sight of a hollow, punky tree-trunk standing high above the bank. i could hear the swiftest runners behind splashing through the marsh bed. now the thick willow-bush screened me, but in a few moments they would be on my very heels. with the supernatural strength of a last desperate effort, i bounded to the empty trunk and like some hounded, treed creature, clambered up inside, digging my wounded feet into the soft, wet wood-rot and burrowing naked fingers through the punk of the rounded sides till i was twice the height of a man above the blackened opening at the base. then a piece of wood crumbled in my right hand. daylight broke through the trunk and i found that i had grasped the edge of a rotted knot-hole. bracing my feet across beneath me like tie beams of raftered scaffolding, i craned up till my eye was on a level with the knot-hole and peered down through my lofty lookout. either the shouting of the sioux warriors had ceased, which indicated they had found my tracks and knew they were close upon me, or my shelter shut out the sound of approaching foes. i broke more bark from the hole and gained full view of the scene below. a crested savage ran out from the tangled foliage of the river bank, saw the turgid settlings of the rippling marsh, where i had been floundering, and darted past my hiding-place with a shrill yell of triumph. instantaneously the woods were ringing, echoing and re-echoing with the hoarse, wild war-cries of the sioux. band after band burst from the leafy covert of forest and marsh willows, and dashed in full pursuit after the leading indian. some of the braves still wore the buckskin toggery of their visit to the mandanes; but the swiftest runners had cast off all clothing and tore forward unimpeded. the last coppery form disappeared among the trees of the river bank and the shoutings were growing fainter, when, suddenly, there was such an ominous calm, i knew they were foiled. would they return to the last marks of my trail? that thought sent the blood from my head with a rush that left me dizzy, weak and shivering. i looked to the river. the floating branches turned lazily over and over to the lapping of the sluggish current, and the green slime oozing from the clustered beaver lodges of the far side might hide either a miry bottom, or a treacherous hole. a naked indian came pattering back through the brush, looking into every hollow log, under fallen trees, through clumps of shrub growth, where a man might hide, and into the swampy river bed. it was only a matter of time when he would reach my hiding-place. should i wait to be smoked out of my hole, like a badger, or a raccoon? again i looked hopelessly to the river. a choice of deaths seemed my only fate. torture, burning, or the cool wash of a black wave gurgling over one's head? a broad-girthed log lay in the swamp and stretched out over mid-stream in a way that would give a quick diver at least a good, clean, clear leap. a score more savages had emerged from the woods and were eagerly searching, from the limbs of trees above, where i might be perched, to the black river-bed below. however much i may vacillate between two courses, once my decision is taken, i have ever been swift to act; and i slipped down the tree-trunk with the bound of a bullet through a gun-barrel, took one last look from the opening, which revealed pursuers not fifty yards away, plunged through the marsh, dashed to the fallen log and made a rush to the end. a score of brazen throats screeched out their baffled rage. there was a twanging of bow-strings. the humming of arrow flight sung about my head. i heard the crash of some savage blazing away with his old flintlock. a deep-drawn breath, and i was cleaving the air. then the murky, greenish waters splashed in my face, opened wide and closed over me. a tangle of green was at the soft, muddy bottom. something living, slippery, silky and furry, that was neither fish, nor water snake, got between my feet; but countless arrows, i knew, were aimed and ready for me, when i came to the surface. so i held down for what seemed an interminable time, though it was only a few seconds, struck for the far shore, and presently felt the green slime of the upper water matting in my hair. every swimmer knows that rich, sweet, full intake of life-giving air after a long dive. i drew in deep, fresh breaths and tried to blink the slime from my eyes and get my bearings. there were the howlings of baffled wolves from what was now the far side of the river bank; but domed clay mounds, mossy, floating branches and a world of willows shrubs were about my head. then i knew what the furry thing among the tangle at the river bottom was, and realized that i had come up among the beaver lodges. the dam must have been an old one; for the clay houses were all overgrown with moss and water-weeds. a perfect network of willow growth interlaced the different lodges. i heard the splash as of a diver from the opposite side. was it a beaver, or my indian pursuers? then i could distinctly make out the strokes of some one swimming and splashing about. my foes were determined to have me, dead, or alive. i ducked under, found shallow, soft bottom, half paddled, half waded, a pace more shoreward, and came up with my head in utter darkness. where was i? i drew breath. yes, assuredly, i was above water; but the air was fetid with heavy, animal breath and teeth snarled shut in my very face. somehow, i had come up through the broken bottom of an old beaver lodge and was now in the lair of the living creatures. what was inside, i cannot record; for to my eyes the blackness was positively thick. i felt blindly out through the palpable darkness and caught tight hold of a pole, that seemed to reach from side to side. this gave me leverage and i hoisted myself upon it, bringing my crown a mighty sharp crack as i mounted the perch; for the beaver lodge sloped down like an egg shell. i must have seemed some water monster to the poor beaver; for there was a scurrying, scampering and gurgling off into the river. then my own breathing and the drip of my clothes were all that disturbed the lodge. time, say certain philosophers, is the measure of a man's ideas marching along in uniform procession. but i hold they are wrong. time is nothing of the sort; else had time stopped as i hung panting over the pole in the beaver lodge; for one idea and one only, beat and beat and beat to the pulsing of the blood that throbbed through my brain--"i am safe--i am safe--i am safe!" how can i tell how long i hung there? to me it seemed a century. i do not even know whether i lost consciousness. i am sure i repeatedly awakened with a jerk back from some hazy, far-off, oblivious realm, shut off even in memory from the things of this life. i am sure i tried to burrow my hand through the clammy moss-wall of the beaver lodge to let in fresh air; but my spirit would be suddenly rapt away to that other region. i am sure i felt the waters washing over my head and sweeping me away from this world to another life. then i would lose grip of the pole and come to myself clutching at it with wild terror; and again the drowse of life's borderland would overpower me. and all the time i was saying over and over, "i am safe! i am safe!" how many of the things called hours slipped past, i do not know. as i said before, it seemed to me a century. whether it was mid-day, or twilight, when i let myself down from the pole and crawled like a bedraggled water-rat to the shore, i do not know. whether it was morning, or night, when i dragged myself under the fern-brake and fell into a death-like sleep, i do not know. when i awakened, the forest was a labyrinth of shafted moonlight and sombre shadows. all that had happened in the past twenty-four hours came back to me with vivid reality. i remembered laplante's promise to leave a horse for me in the valley beyond the beaver dam. with this hope in my heart i crawled cautiously down through the silent shadows of the night. at daybreak i found louis had made good his promise, and i was speeding on horseback towards the trail, where little fellow awaited me. chapter xx plots and counter-plots he who would hear that paradox of impossibilities--silence become vocal--must traverse the vast wastes of the prairie by night. as a mother quiets a fretful child, so the illimitable calm lulls tumultuous thoughts. the wind moving through empty solitudes comes with a sigh of unutterable loneliness. unconsciously, men listen for some faint rustling from the gauzy, wavering streamers that fire northern skies. the dullest ear can almost fancy sounds from the noiseless wheeling of planets through the overspanning vaulted blue; and human speech seems sacrilege. though the language of the prairie be not in words, some message is surely uttered; for the people of the plains wear the far-away look of communion with the unseen and the unheard. the fine sensibility of the white woman, perhaps, shows the impress of the vast solitudes most readily, and the gravely repressed nature of the indian least; but all plain-dwellers have learned to catch the voice of the prairie. i, myself, know the message well, though i may no more put it into words than the song love sings in one's heart. love, says the poet, is infinite. so is the space of the prairie. that, i suppose, is why both are too boundless for the limitation of speech. night after night, with only a grassy swish and deadened tread over the turf breaking stillness, we journeyed northward. occasionally, like the chirp of cricket in a dry well, life sounded through emptiness. skulking coyotes, seeking prey among earth mounds, or night hawks, lilting solitarily in vaulted mid-heaven, uttered cries that pierced the vast blue. owls flapped stupidly up from our horses' feet. hungry kites wheeled above lonely indian graves, or perched on the scaffolding, where the dead lay swathed in skins. reflecting on my experiences with the mandanes and the sioux, i was disposed to upbraid fate as a senseless thing with no thread of purpose through life's hopeless jumble. now, something in the calm of the plains, or the certainty of our unerring star-guides, quieted my unrest. besides, was i not returning to one who was peerless? that hope speedily eclipsed all interests. that was purpose enough for my life. forthwith, i began comparing lustrous gray eyes to the stars, and tracing a woman's figure in the diaphanous northern lights. one face ever gleamed through the dusk at my horse's head and beckoned northward. i do not think her presence left me for an instant on that homeward journey. but, indeed, i should not set down these extravagances, which each may recall in his own case, only i would have others judge whether she influenced me, or i, her. thus we traveled northward, journeying by night as long as we were in the sioux territory. once in the land of the assiniboines, we rode day and night to the limit of our horses' endurance. remembering the hudson's bay outrage at the souris, and having also heard from mandane runners of a raid planned by our rivals against the north-west fort at pembina, i steered wide of both places, following the old missouri trail midway between the red and souris rivers. it may have been because we traveled at night, but i did not encounter a single person, native or white, till we came close to the red and were less than a day's journey from fort gibraltar. on the river trail, we overtook some hudson's bay trappers. the fellows would not answer a single question about events during the year and scampered away from us as if we carried smallpox, which had thinned the population a few years before. "that's bad!" said i aloud, as the men fled down the river bank, where we could not follow. little fellow looked as solemn as a grave-stone. he shook his head with ominous wisdom that foresees all evil but refuses to prophesy. "bother to you, little fellow!" i exclaimed. "what do you mean? what's up?" again the indian shook his head with dark mutterings, looking mighty solemn, but he would not share his foreknowledge. we met more hudson's bay men, and their conduct was unmistakably suspicious. on a sudden seeing us, they reined up their horses, wheeled and galloped off without a word. "i don't like that! i emphatically don't!" i piloted my broncho to a slight roll of the prairie, where we could reconnoitre. distinctly there was the spot where the two rivers met. intervening shrubbery confused my bearings. i rose in my stirrups, while little fellow stood erect on his horse's back. "little fellow!" i cried, exasperated with myself, "where's fort gibraltar? i see where it ought to be, where the towers ought to be higher than that brush, but where's the fort?" the indian screened his eyes and gazed forward. then he came down with a thud, abruptly re-straddling his horse, and uttered one explosive word--"smoke." "smoke? i don't see smoke! where's the fort?" "no fort," said he. "you're daft!" i informed him, with the engaging frankness of a master for a servant. "there--is--a fort, and you know it--we're both lost--that's more! a fine indian you are, to get lost!" little fellow scrambled with alacrity to the ground. picking up two small switches, he propped them against each other. "fort!" he said, laconically, pointing to the switches. "l'anglais!" he cried, thrusting out his foot, which signified hudson's bay. "no fort!" he shouted, kicking the switches into the air. "no fort!" and he looked with speechless disgust at the vacancy. now i knew what he meant. fort gibraltar had been destroyed by hudson's bay men. we had no alternative but to strike west along the assiniboine, on the chance of meeting some nor'-westers before reaching the company's quarters at the portage. that post, too, might be destroyed; but where were hamilton and father holland? danger, or no danger, i must learn more of the doings in red river. also, there were reasons why i wished to visit the settlers of fort douglas. we camped on the south side of the assiniboine a few miles from the red, and little fellow went to some neighboring half-breeds for a canoe. and a strange story he brought back! a great man, second only to the king--so the half-breeds said--had come from england to rule over assiniboia. he boasted the shock of his power would be felt from montreal to athabasca. he would drive out all nor'-westers. this personage, i afterwards learned, was the amiable governor semple, who succeeded captain miles mcdonell. already, as a hunter chases a deer, had the great governor chased nor'-westers from red river. did little fellow doubt their word? where was fort gibraltar? let little fellow look and see for himself if aught but masonry and charred walls stood where fort gibraltar had been! let him seek the rafters of the nor-westers' fort in the new walls of fort douglas! pembina, too, had fallen before the hudson's bay men. since the coming of the great governor, nothing could stand before the english. but wait! it was not all over! the war drum was beating in the tents of all the _bois-brulés_! the great governor should be taught that even the king's arms could not prevail against the _bois-brulés_! was there smoke of battle? the _bois-brulés_ would be there! the _bois-brulés_ had wrongs to avenge. they would not be turned out of their forts for nothing! knives would be unsheathed. there were full powder-bags! there was a grand gathering of _bois-brulés_ at the portage. they, themselves, were on the way there. let little fellow and the white trader join them! let them be wary; for the english were watchful! great things were to be done by the _bois-brulés_ before another moon--and little fellow's eyes snapped fire as he related their vauntings. i was inclined to regard the report as a fairy tale. if the half-breeds were arming and the english watchful, the distrust of the hudson's bay men was explained. a nomad, himself, the indian may be willing enough to share running rights over the land of his fathers; but when the newcomer not only usurps possession, but imposes the yoke of laws on the native, the resentment of the dusky race is easily fanned to that point which civilized men call rebellion. i could readily understand how the hudson's bay proclamations forbidding the sale of furs to rivals, when these rivals were friends by marriage and treaty with the natives, roused all the bloodthirsty fury of the indian nature. nor'-westers' forts were being plundered. why should the _bois-brulés_ not pillage hudson's bay posts? each company was stealing the cargo of its rival, as boats passed and repassed the different forts. why should the half-breed not have his share of the booty? the most peace-loving dog can be set a-fighting; and the fight-loving indian finds it very difficult indeed, to keep the peace. this, the great fur companies had not yet realized; and the lesson was to be driven home to them with irresistible force. the half-breeds also had news of a priest bringing a delirious man to fort douglas. the description seemed to fit hamilton and father holland. whatever truth might be in the rumors of an uprising, i must ascertain whether or not frances sutherland would be safe. leaving little fellow to guard our horses, at sundown i pushed my canoe into the assiniboine just east of the rapids. paddling swiftly with the current, i kept close to the south bank, where overhanging willows concealed one side of the river. as i swung out into the red, true to the _bois-brulés'_ report, i saw only blackened chimneys and ruined walls on the site of fort gibraltar. heading towards the right bank, i hugged the naked cliff on the side opposite fort douglas, and trusted the rising mist to conceal me. thus, i slipped past cannon, pointing threateningly from the hudson's bay post, recrossed to the wooded west bank again, and paddled on till i caught a glimpse of a little, square, whitewashed house in a grove of fine old trees. this i knew, from frances sutherland's description, was her father's place. mooring among the shrubbery i had no patience to hunt for beaten path; but digging my feet into soft clay and catching branches with both hands, i clambered up the cliff and found myself in a thicket not a stone's throw from the door. the house was in darkness. my heart sank at a possibility which hardly framed itself to a thought. was the apparition in the mandane lodge some portent? had i not read, or heard, of departed spirits hovering near loved ones? i had no courage to think more. suddenly the door flung open. involuntarily, i slipped behind the bushes, but dusk hid the approaching figure. whoever it was made no noise. i felt, rather than heard, her coming, and knew no man could walk so silently. it must be a woman. then my chest stifled and i heard my own heart-beats. garments fluttered past the branches of my hiding-place. she of whom i had dreamed by night and thought by day and hoped whether sleeping, or waking, paused, not an arm's length away. toying with the tip of the branch, which i was gripping for dear life, she looked languorously through the foliage towards the river. at first i thought myself the victim of another hallucination, but would not stir lest the vision should vanish. she sighed audibly, and i knew this was no spectre. then i trembled all the more, for my sudden appearance might alarm her. i should wait until she went back to the house--another of my brave vows to keep myself in hand!--then walk up noisily, giving due warning, and knock at the door. the keeping of that resolution demanded all my strength of will; for she was so near i could have clasped her in my arms without an effort. indeed, it took a very great effort to refrain from doing so. "heigh-ho," said a low voice with the ripple of a sunny brook tinkling over pebbles, "but it's a long day--and a long, long week--and a long, long, long month--and oh!--a century of years since----" and the voice broke in a sigh. i think--though i would not set this down as a fact--that a certain small foot, which once stamped two strong men into obedience, now vented its impatience at a twig on the grass. by the code of eastern proprieties, i may not say that the dainty toe-tip first kicked the offensive little branch and then crunched it deep in the turf. "i hate this lonely country," said the voice, with the vim of water-fret against an obstinate stone. "wonder what it's like in the mandane land! i'm sure it's nicer there." now i affirm there is not a youth living who would not at some time give his right hand to know a woman's exact interpretation of that word "nicer." for my part, it set me clutching the branch with such ferocity, off snapped the thing with the sharp splintering of a breaking stick. the voice gave a gasp and she jumped aside with nervous trepidation. "whatever--was that? i am--not frightened." no one was accusing her. "i won't go in! i won't let myself be frightened! there! the very idea!" and three or four sharp stamps followed in quick succession; but she was shivering. "i declare the house is so lonely, a ghost would be live company." and she looked doubtfully from the dark house to the quivering poplars. "i'd rather be out here with the tree-toads and owls and bats than in there alone, even if they do frighten me! anyway, i'm not frightened! it's just some stupid hop-and-go-spring thing at the base of our brains that makes us jump at mice and rats." but the hands interlocking at her back twitched and clasped and unclasped in a way that showed the automatic brain-spring was still active. "it's getting worse every day. i can't stand it much longer, looking and looking till i'm half blind and no one but indian riders all day long. why doesn't he come? oh! i know something is wrong." "afraid of the metis," thought i, "and expecting her father. a fine father to leave his daughter alone in the house with the half-breeds threatening a raid. she needs some one else to take care of her." this, on after thought, i know was unjust to her father; for pioneers obey necessity first and chivalry second. "if he would only come!" she repeated in a half whisper. "hope he doesn't," thought i. "for a week i've been dreaming such fearful things! i see him sinking in green water, stretching his hands to me and i can't reach out to save him. on sunday he seemed to be running along a black, awful precipice. i caught him in my arms to hold him back, but he dragged me over and i screamed myself awake. sometimes, he is in a black cave and i can't find any door to let him out. or he lies bound in some dungeon, and when i stoop to cut the cords, he begins to sink down, down, down through the dark, where i can't follow. i leap after him and always waken with such a dizzy start. oh! i know he has been in trouble. something is wrong! his thoughts are reaching out to me and i am so gross and stupid i can't hear what his spirit says. if i could only get away from things, the clatter of everyday things that dull one's inner hearing, perhaps i might know! i feel as if he spoke in a foreign language, but the words he uses i can't make out. all to-day, he has seemed so near! why does he not come home to me?" "mighty fond daughter," thought i, with a jealous pang. she was fumbling among the intricate draperies, where women conceal pockets, and presently brought out something in the palm of her hand. "i wouldn't have him know how foolish i am," and she laid the thing gently against her cheek. now i had never given frances sutherland a gift of any sort whatever; and my heart was pierced with anguish that cannot be described. i was, indeed, falling over a precipice and her arms were not holding me back but dragging me over. would that i, like the dreamer, could awaken with a start. in all conscience, i was dizzy enough; and every pressure of that hateful object to her face bound me faster in a dungeon of utter hopelessness. my sweet day-dreams and midnight rhapsodies trooped back to mock at me. i felt that i must bow broken under anguish or else steel myself and shout back cynical derision to the whole wan troop of torturing regrets. and all the time, she was caressing that thing in her hand and looking down at it with a fondness, which i--poor fool--thought that i alone could inspire. i suppose if i could have crept away unobserved, i would have gone from her presence hardened and embittered; but i must play out the hateful part of eavesdropper to the end. she opened the hand to feast her eyes on the treasure, and i craned forward, playing the sneak without a pang of shame, but the dusk foiled me. then the low, mellow, vibrant tones, whose very music would have intoxicated duller fools than i--'tis ever a comfort to know there are greater fools--broke in melody: "to my own dear love from her ever loyal and devoted knight," and she held her opened hand high. 'twas my birch-bark message which father holland had carried north. i suddenly went insane with a great overcharge of joy, that paralyzed all motion. "dear love--wherever are you?" asked a voice that throbbed with longing. can any man blame me for breaking through the thicket and my resolution and discretion and all? "here--beloved!" i sprang from the bush. she gave a cry of affright and would have fallen, but my arms were about her and my lips giving silent proof that i was no wraith. what next we said i do not remember. with her head on my shoulder and i doing the only thing a man could do to stem her tears, i completely lost track of the order of things. i do not believe either of us was calm enough for words for some time after the meeting. it was she who regained mental poise first. "rufus!" she exclaimed, breaking away from me, "you're not a sensible man at all." "never said i was," i returned. "if you do _that_," she answered, ignoring my remark and receding farther, "i'll never stop crying." "then cry on forever!" with womanly ingratitude, she promptly called me "a goose" and other irrelevant names. the rest of our talk that evening i do not intend to set down. in the first place, it was best understood by only two. in the second, it could not be transcribed; and in the third, it was all a deal too sacred. we did, however, become impersonal for short intervals. "i feel as if there were some storm in the air," said frances sutherland. "the half-breeds are excited. they are riding past the settlement in scores every day. o, rufus, i know something is wrong." "so do i," was my rejoinder. i was thinking of the strange gossip of the assiniboine encampment. "do you think the _bois-brulés_ would plunder your boats?" she asked innocently, ignorant that the malcontents were nor'-westers. "no," said i. "what boats?" "why, nor'-west boats, of course, coming up red river from fort william to go up the assiniboine for the winter's supplies. they're coming in a few days. my father told me so." "is mr. sutherland an h. b. c. or nor'-wester?" i asked in the slang of the company talk. "i don't know," she answered. "i don't think he knows himself. he says there are numbers of men like that, and they all know there is to be a raid. why, rufus, there are men down the river every day watching for the nor'-westers' fort william express." "where do the men come from?" i questioned, vainly trying to patch some connection between plots for a raid on north-west boats and plots for a fight by nor'-west followers. "from fort douglas, of course." "h. b. c.'s, my dear. you must go to fort douglas at once. there will be a fight. you must go to-morrow with your father, or with me to-night," i urged, thinking i should take myself off and notify my company of the intended pillaging. "with you?" she laughed. "father will be home in an hour. are you sure about a fight!" "quite," said i, trembling for her safety. this certainty of mine has been quoted to prove premeditation on the nor'-westers' part; but i meant nothing of the sort. i only felt there was unrest on both sides, and that she must be out of harm's way. truly, i have seldom had a harder duty to perform than to leave frances alone in that dark house to go and inform my company of the plot. many times i said good-by before going to the canoe and times unnumbered ran back from the river to repeat some warning and necessitate another farewell. "rufus, dear," she said, "this is about the twentieth time. you mustn't come back again." "then good-by for the twenty-first," said i, and came away feeling like a young priest anointed for some holy purpose. * * * * * i declare now, as i declared before the courts of the land, that in hastening to the portage with news of the hudson's bay's intention to intercept the nor'-westers' express from fort william, i had no other thought but the faithful serving of my company. i knew what suffering the destruction of souris had entailed in athabasca, and was determined our brave fellows should not starve in the coming winter through my negligence. could i foresee that simple act of mine was to let loose all the punishment the hudson's bay had been heaping up against the day of judgment? chapter xxi louis pays me back what tempted me to moor opposite the ruins of fort gibraltar? what tempts the fly into the spider's web and the fish with a wide ocean for play-ground into one small net? i know there is a consoling fashion of ascribing our blunders to the inscrutable wisdom of a long-suffering providence; but common-sense forbids i should call evil good, deify my errors, and give thanks for what befalls me solely through my own fault. bare posts hacked to the ground were all that remained of fort gibraltar's old wall. i had not gone many paces across the former courtyard, when voices sounded from the gravel-pit that had once done duty as a cellar. the next thing i noticed was the shaggy face of louis laplante bobbing above the ground. with other vagabond wanderers, the frenchman had evidently been rummaging old nor'-west vaults. "tra-la, comrade," he shouted, leaping out of the cellar as soon as he saw me. "i, louis laplante, son of a seigneur, am resurrecting. i was a plante! now i'm a _louis d'or_, fresh coined from the golden vein of dazzling wit. once we were men, but they drowned us in a wine-barrel like your lucky dog of an english prince. now we're earth-goblins re-incarnate! behold gnomes of the mine! knaves of the nethermost depths, tra-la! vampires that suck the blood of whisky-cellars and float to the skies with dusky wings and dizzy heads! laugh with us, old solemncholy! see the ground spin! laugh, i say, or be a hitching-post, and we'll dance the may-pole round you! we're vampires, comrade, and you're our cousin, for you're a bat," and louis applauded his joke with loud, tipsy laughter and staggered up to me drunk as a lord. his heavy breath and bloodshot eyes testified what he had found under the rubbish heaps of fort gibraltar's cellar. embracing me with the affection of a long-lost brother, he rattled on with a befuddled, meaningless jargon. "so the knife cut well, did it? and the sioux did not eat you by inches, beginning with your thumbs? ha! très bien! very good taste! you were not meant for feasts, my solemncholy? some men are monuments. that's you, mine frien'! some are champagne bottles that uncork, zip, fizz, froth, stars dancing round your head! that's me! 'tis i, louis laplante, son of a seigneur, am that champagne bottle!" pausing for breath, he drew himself erect with ridiculous pomposity. now there are times when the bravest and wisest thing a brave and wise man can do is take to his heels. i have heard my uncle jack mackenzie say that vice and liquor and folly are best frustrated by flight; and all three seemed to be embodied in louis laplante that night. a stupid sort of curiosity made me dally with the mischief brewing in him, just as the fly plays with the spider-web, or the fish with a baited hook. "there's a fountain-spout in nor'-west vaults for those who know where to tap the spigot, eh, louis?" i asked. "i'm a hudson's bay man and to the conqueror comes the tribute," returned louis, sweeping me a courtly bow. "i hope such a generous conqueror draws all the tribute he deserves. do you remember how you saved my life twice from the sioux, louis?" "generous," shouted the frenchman, drawing himself up proudly, "generous to mine enemy, always magnificent, grand, superb, as becomes the son of a seigneur! now i pay you back, rich, well, generous." "nonsense, louis," i expostulated. "'tis i who am in your debt. i owe you my life twice over. how shall i pay you?" and i made to go down to my canoe. "pay me?" demanded louis, thrusting himself across my path in a menacing attitude. "stand and pay me like a man!" "i am standing," i laughed. "now, how shall i pay you?" "strike!" ordered louis, launching out a blow which i barely missed. "strike, i say, for kicking me, the son of a seigneur, like a pig!" at that, half a dozen more drunken vagabonds of the hudson's bay service reeled up from the cellar pit; and i began to understand i was in for as much mischief as a young man could desire. the fellows were about us in a circle, and now, that it was too late, i was quite prepared like the fly and the fish to seek safety in flight. "sink his canoe," suggested one; and i saw that borrowed craft swamped. "strike! _sacredie!_ i pay you back generous," roared louis. "how can i, louis laplante, son of a seigneur, strike a man who won't hit back?" "and how can i strike a man who saved my life?" i urged, trying to mollify him. "see here, louis, i'm on a message for my company to-night. i can't wait. some other day you can pay me all you like--not to-night, some-other-time----" "some-oder-time! no--never! some-oder-time--'tis the way i pay my own debts, always some-oder-time, and i never not pay at all. you no some-oder-time me, comrade! louis knows some-oder-time too well! he quit his cups some-oder-time and he never quit, not at all! he quit wild indian some-oder-time, and he never quit, not at all! and he go home and say his confess to the curé some-oder-time, and he never go, not at all! and he settle down with a wife and become a grand seigneur some-oder-time, and he never settle down at all!" "good night, laplante! i have business for the company. i must go," i interrupted, trying to brush through the group that surrounded us. "so have we business for the company, the hudson's bay company, and you can't go," chimed in one of the least intoxicated of the rival trappers; and they closed about me so that i had not striking room. "are you men looking for trouble?" i asked, involuntarily fingering my pistol belt. "no--we're looking for the nor'-west brigade billed to pass from fort william to athabasca," jeered the boldest of the crowd, a red-faced, middle-aged man with blear eyes. "we're looking for the nor'-westers' express," and he laughed insolently. "you don't expect to find our brigades in fort gibraltar's cellar," said i, backing away from them and piecing this latest information to what i had already heard of plots and conspiracies. forthwith i felt strong hands gripping both my arms like a vise and the coils of a rope were about me with the swiftness of a lasso. my first impulse was to struggle against the outrage; but i was beginning to learn the service of open ears and a closed mouth was often more valuable than a fighter's blows. already i had ascertained from their own lips that the hudson's bay intended to molest our north-bound brigade. "well," said i, with a laugh, which surprised the rascals mightily, "now you've captured your elephant, what do you propose to do with him?" without answering, the men shambled down to the landing place of the fort, jostling me along between the red-faced man and louis laplante. "i consider this a scurvy trick, louis," said i. "you've let me into a pretty scrape with your idiotic heroics about paying back a fancied grudge. to save a mouse from the tigers, louis, and then feed him to your cats! fie, man! i like your son-of-a-seigneur ideas of honor!" "ingrate! low-born ingrate," snapped the frenchman, preparing to strike one of his dramatic attitudes, "if i were not the son of a seigneur, and you a man with bound arms, you should swallow those words," and he squared up to me for a second time. "if you won't fight, you shan't run away----" "off with your french brag," ordered the soberest of the hudson's bay men, catching louis by the scruff of his coat and spinning him out of the way. "there'll be neither fighting nor running away. it is to fort douglas we'll take our fine spy." the words stung, but i muffled my indignation. "i'll go with pleasure," i returned, thinking that frances sutherland and hamilton and father holland were good enough company to compensate for any captivity. "with pleasure, and 'tis not the first time i'll have found friends in the hudson's bay fort." at that speech, the red-faced man, who seemed to be the ringleader, eyed me narrowly. we all embarked on a rickety raft, that would, i declare, have drowned any six sober men who risked their lives on it; but drunk men and children seem to do what sober, grown folk may not are. how louis laplante was for fighting a duel _en route_ with the man, who spoke of "french brag" and was only dissuaded from his purpose by the raft suddenly teetering at an angle of forty-five degrees with the water, which threatened to toboggan us all into mid-river; how i was then stationed in the centre and the other men distributed equally on each side of the raft to maintain balance; how we swung out into the red, rocking with each shifting of the crew and were treated to a volley of objurgations from the red-faced man--i do not intend to relate. this sort of melodrama may be seen wherever there are drunken men, a raft and a river. the men poled only fitfully, and we were driven solely by the current. it was dark long before we had neared fort douglas and the waters swished past with an inky, glassy sheen that vividly recalled the murky pool about the beaver-dam. and yet i had no fear, but drifted along utterly indifferent to the termination of the freakish escapade in which i had become involved. nature mercifully sets a limit to human capacity for suffering; and i felt i had reached that limit. nothing worse could happen than had happened, at least, so i told myself, and i awaited with cynical curiosity what might take place inside the hudson's bay fort. then a shaft of lantern light pierced the dark, striking aslant the river, and the men began poling hard for fort douglas wharf. we struck the landing with a bump, disembarked, passed the sentinel at the gate and were at the entrance to the main building. "you kick me here," said louis. "i pay you back here!" "what are you going to do with him?" asked the soberest man of the red-faced leader. "hand him over to governor semple for a spy." "the governor's abed. besides, they don't want him about to hear h. b. secrets when the nor'-west brigade's a-coming! you'd better get sobered up, yez hed! that's my advice to yez, before going to governor semple," and the prudent trapper led the way inside. to the fore was the main stairway, on the right the closed store, and on the left a small apartment which the governor had fitted up as a private office. for some unaccountable reason--the same reason, i suppose, that mischief is always awaiting the mischief-maker--the door to this office had been left ajar and a light burned inside. 'twas louis, ever alert, when mischief was abroad, who tip-toed over to the open door, poked his head in and motioned his drunken companions across the sacred precincts of governor semple's private room. i was loath to be a party to this mad nonsense, but the fly and the fish should have thought of results before venturing too near strange coils. the red-faced fellow gave me a push. the sober man muttered, "better come, or they'll raise a row," and we were all within the forbidden place, the door shut and bolted. to city folk, used to the luxuries of the east, i dare say that office would have seemed mean enough. but the men had been so long away from leather chairs, hair-cloth sofa, wall mirror, wine decanter and other odds and ends which furnish a gentleman's living apartments that the very memory of such things had faded, and that small room, with its old-country air, seemed the vestibule to another world. "sump--too--uss--ain't it?" asked the sober man with bated breath and obvious distrust of his tongue. "mag--nee--feque! m. louis laplante, look you there," cried the frenchman, catching sight of his full figure in the mirror and instantly striking a pose of admiration. then he twirled fiercely at both ends of his mustache till it stood out with the wire finish of a parisian dandy. the red-faced fellow had permitted me, with arms still tied, to walk across the room and sit on the hair-cloth sofa. he was lolling back in the governor's armchair, playing the lord and puffing one of mr. semple's fine pipes. "we are gentlemen adventurers of the ancient and honorable hudson's bay company, gentlemen adventurers," he roared, bringing his fist down with a thud on the desk. "we hereby decree that the fort william brigade be captured, that the whisky be freely given to every dry-throated lad in the hudson's bay company, that the nor'-westers be sent down the red on a raft, that this meeting raftify this dissolution, afterwards moving--seconding--and unanimously amending----" "adjourning--you mean," interrupted one of the orator's audience. "i say," called one, who had been dazed by the splendor, "how do you tell which is the lookin' glass and which is the window?" and he looked from the window on one side to its exact reflection, length and width, directly opposite. the puzzle was left unsolved; for just then louis laplante found a flask of liquor and speedily divided its contents among the crowd--which was not calculated to clear up mysteries of windows and mirrors among those addle-pates. dull wit may be sport for drunken men, but it is mighty flat to an onlooker, and i was out of patience with their carousal. "the governor will be back here presently, louis," said i. "tired of being a tombstone, ha--ha! better be a champagne bottle!" he laughed with slightly thickened articulation and increased unsteadiness in his gait. "if you don't hide that bottle in your hand, there'll be a big head and a sore head for you men to-morrow morning." i rose to try and get them out of the office; but a sober man with tied arms among a drunken crew is at a disadvantage. "ha--old--wise--sh--head! to--be--sh--shure! whur--d'--y'--hide--it?" "throw it out of the window," said i, without the slightest idea of leading him into mischief. "whish--whish--ish--the window, rufush?" asked louis imploringly. the last potion had done its work and louis was passing from the jovial to the pensive stage. he would presently reach a mood which might be ugly enough for a companion in bonds. was it this prospect, i wonder, or the mischievous spirit pervading the very air from the time i reached the ruins that suggested a way out of my dilemma? "throw it out of the window," said i, ignoring his question and shoving him off. "whish--ish--the window--dammie?" he asked, holding the bottle irresolutely and looking in befuddled distraction from side to side of the room. "thur--both--windows--fur as i see," said the man, who had been sober, but was no longer so. "throw it through the back window! folks comin' in at the door won't see it." the red-faced man got up to investigate, and all faith in my plan died within me; but the lantern light was dusky and the red-faced man could no longer navigate a course from window to mirror. "there's a winder there," said he, scratching his head and looking at the window reflected in perfect proportion on the mirrored surface. "and there's a winder there," he declared, pointing at the real window. "they're both winders and they're both lookin'-glasses, for i see us all in both of them. this place is haunted. lem-me out!" "take thish, then," cried louis, shoving the bottle towards him and floundering across to the door to bar the way. "take thish, or tell me whish--ish--the window." "both winders, i tell you, and both lookin'-glasses," vowed the man. the other four fellows declined to express an opinion for the very good reason that two were asleep and two befuddled beyond questioning. "see here, louis," i exclaimed, "there's only one way to tell where to throw that bottle." "yesh, rufush," and he came to me as if i were his only friend on earth. "the bottle will go through the window and it won't go through the mirror," i began. "dammie--i knew that," he snapped out, ready to weep. "well--you undo these things," nodding to the ropes about my arms, "and i'll find out which opens, and the one that opens is the window, and you can throw out the bottle." "the very thing, rufush, wise--sh--head--old--old--ol' solemncholy," and he ripped the ropes off me. now i offer no excuse for what i did. i could have opened that window and let myself out some distance ahead of the bottle, without involving louis and his gang in greater mischief. what i did was not out of spite to the governor of a rival company; but mischief, as i said, was in the very air. besides, the knaves had delayed me far into midnight, and i had no scruples about giving each twenty-four hours in the fort guardroom. i took a precautionary inspection of the window-sash. yes, i was sure i could leap through, carrying out sash and all. "hurry--ol' tombshtone--governor--sh-comin'," urged louis. i made towards the window and fumbled at the sash. "this doesn't open," said i, which was quite true, for i did not try to budge it. then i went across to the mirror. "neither does this," said i. "wha'--wha'--'ll--we do--rufush?" "i'll tell you. you can jump through a window but not through a glass. now you count--one two--three,"--this to the red-faced man--"and when you say 'three' i'll give a run and jump. if i fall back, you'll know it's the mirror, and fling the bottle quick through the other. ready, count!" "one," said the red-faced man. louis raised his arm and i prepared for a dash. "two!" louis brought back his arm to gain stronger sweep. "three!" i gave a leap and made as though i had fallen back. there was the pistol-shot splintering of bottle and mirror crashing down to the floor. the window frame gave with a burst, and i was outside rushing past the sleepy sentinel, who poured out a volley of curses after me. chapter xxii a day of reckoning as well play pussy-wants-a-corner with a tiger as make-believe war with an indian. in both cases the fun may become ghastly earnest with no time for cry-quits. so it was with the great fur-trading companies at the beginning of this century. each held the indian in subjection and thought to use him with daring impunity against its rival. and each was caught in the meshes of its own merry game. i, as a nor'-wester, of course, consider that the lawless acts of the hudson's bay had been for three years educating the natives up to the tragedy of june 19, 1816. but this is wholly a partisan, opinion. certainly both companies have lied outrageously about the results of their quarrels. the truth is hudson's bay and nor'-westers were playing war with the indian. consequences having exceeded all calculation, both companies would fain free themselves of blame. for instance, it has been said the hudson's bay people had no intention of intercepting the north-west brigade bound up the red and assiniboine for the interior--this assertion despite the fact our rivals had pillaged every north-west fort that could be attacked. now i acknowledge the nor'-westers disclaim hostile purpose in the rally of three hundred _bois-brulés_ to the portage; but this sits not well with the warlike appearance of these armed plain rangers, who sallied forth to protect the fort william express. nor does it agree with the expectations of the indian rabble, who flocked on our rear like carrion birds keen for the spoils of battle. both companies had--as it were--leveled and cocked their weapon. to send it off needed but a spark, and a slight misunderstanding ignited that spark. my arrival at the portage had the instantaneous effect of sending two strong battalions of _bois-brulés_ hot-foot across country to meet the fort william express before it could reach fort douglas. they were to convoy it overland to a point on the assiniboine where it could be reshipped. to the second of these parties, i attached myself. i was anxious to attempt a visit to hamilton. there was some one else whom i hoped to find at fort douglas; so i refused to rest at the portage, though i had been in my saddle almost constantly for twenty days. when we set out, i confess i did not like the look of things. those indians smeared with paint and decked out with the feathered war-cap kept increasing to our rear. there were the eagles! where was the carcass? the presence of these sinister fellows, hot with the lust of blood, had ominous significance. among the half-breeds there was unconcealed excitement. shortly before we struck off the assiniboine trail northward for the red, in order to meet the expected brigade beyond fort douglas, some of our people slipped back to the indian rabble. when they reappeared, they were togged out in native war-gear with too many tomahawks and pistols for the good of those who might interfere with our mission. there was no misunderstanding the ugly temper of the men. here, i wish to testify that explicit orders were given for the forces to avoid passing near fort douglas, or in any way provoking conflict. there was placed in charge of our division the most powerful plain-ranger in the service of the company, the one person of all others, who might control the natives in case of an outbreak--and that man was cuthbert grant. pierre, the minstrel, and six clerks were also in the party; but what could a handful of moderate men do with a horde of indians and metis wrought up to a fury of revenge? "now, deuce take those rascals! what are they doing?" exclaimed grant angrily, as we left the river trail and skirted round a slough of frog plains on the side remote from fort douglas. our forces were following in straggling disorder. the first battalions of the _bois-brulés_, which had already rounded the marsh, were now in the settlement on red river bank. it was to them that grant referred. commanding a halt and raising his spy-glass, he took an anxious survey of the foreground. "there's something seriously wrong," he said. "strikes me we're near a powder mine! here, gillespie, you look!" he handed the field-glass to me. a great commotion was visible among the settlers. ox-carts packed with people were jolting in hurried confusion towards fort douglas. behind, tore a motley throng of men, women and children, running like a frightened flock of sheep. whatever the cause of alarm, our men were not molesting them; for i watched the horsemen proceeding leisurely to the appointed rendezvous, till the last rider disappeared among the woods of the river path. "scared! badly scared! that's all, grant," said i. "you've no idea what wild stories are going the rounds of the settlement about the _bois-brulés_!" "and you've no idea, young man, what wild stories are going the rounds of the _bois-brulés_ about the settlement," was grant's moody reply. my chance acquaintance with the assiniboine encampment had given me some idea, but i did not tell grant so. "perhaps they've taken a few old fellows prisoners to ensure the fort's good behavior, while we save our bacon," i suggested. "if they have, those highlanders will go to fort douglas shining bald as a red ball," answered the plain-ranger. in this, grant did his people injustice; for of those prisoners taken by the advance guard, not a hair of their heads was injured. the warden was nervously apprehensive. this was unusual with him; and i have since wondered if his dark forebodings arose from better knowledge of the _bois-brulés_ than i possessed, or from some premonition. "there'd be some reason for uneasiness, if you weren't here to control them, grant," said i, nodding towards the indians and metis. "one man against a host! what can i do?" he asked gloomily. "good gracious, man! do! why, do what you came to do! whatever's the matter with you?" the swarthy face had turned a ghastly, yellowish tint and he did not answer. "'pon my honor," i exclaimed. "are you ill, man?" "'tisn't that! when i went to sleep, last night, there were--corpses all round me. i thought i was in a charnel house and----" "good gracious, grant!" i shuddered out. "don't you go off your head next! leave that for us green chaps! besides, the indians were raising stench enough with a dog-stew to fill any brain with fumes. for goodness' sake, let's go on, meet those fellows with the brigade, secure that express and get off this 'powder mine'--as you call it." "by all means!" grant responded, giving the order, and we moved forward but only at snail pace; for i think he wanted to give the settlers plenty of time to reach the fort. by five o'clock in the afternoon we had almost rounded the slough and were gradually closing towards the wooded ground of the river bank. we were within ear-shot of the settlers. they were flying past with terrified cries of "the half-breeds! the half-breeds!" when i heard grant groan from sheer alarm and mutter-"look! look! the lambs coming to meet the wolves!" to this day i cannot account for the madness of the thing. there, some twenty, or thirty hudson's bay men--mere youths most of them--were coming with all speed to head us off from the river path, at a wooded point called seven oaks. what this pigmy band thought it could do against our armed men, i do not know. the blunder on their part was so unexpected and inexcusable, it never dawned on us the panic-stricken settlers had spread a report of raid, and these poor valiant defenders had come out to protect the colony. if that be the true explanation of their rash conduct in tempting conflict, what were they thinking about to leave the walls of their fort during danger? my own opinion is that with lord selkirk's presumptuous claims to exclusive possession in red river and the recent high-handed success of the hudson's bay, the men of fort douglas were so flushed with pride they did not realize the risk of a brush with the _bois-brulés_. much, too, may be attributed to governor semple's inexperience; but it was very evident the purpose of the force deliberately blocking our path was not peaceable. if the hudson's bay blundered in coming out to challenge us, so did we, i frankly admit; for we regarded the advance as an audacious trick to hold us back till the fort william express could be captured. now that the thing he feared had come, all hesitancy vanished from grant's manner. steeled and cool like the leader he was, he sternly commanded the surging metis to keep back. straggling indians and half-breeds dashed to our fore-ranks with the rush of a tempest and chafed hotly against the warden. at a word from grant, the men swung across the enemy's course sickle-shape; but they were furious at this disciplined restraint. from horn to horn of the crescent, rode the plain-ranger, lashing horses back to the circle and shaking his fist in the quailing face of many a bold rebel. both sides advanced within a short distance of each other. we could see that governor semple, himself, was leading the hudson's bay men. immediately, boucher, a north-west clerk, was sent forward to parley. now, i hold the nor'-westers would not have done that if their purpose had been hostile; but boucher rode out waving his hand and calling-"what do you want? what do you want?" "what do you want, yourself?" came governor semple's reply with some heat and not a little insolence. "we want our fort," demanded boucher, slightly taken aback, but thoroughly angered. his horse was prancing restively within pistol range of the governor. "go to your fort, then! go to your fort!" returned semple with stinging contempt in manner and voice. he might as well have told us to go to gehenna; for the fort was scattered to the four winds. "the fool!" muttered grant. "the fool! let him answer for the consequences. their blood be on their own heads." whether the _bois-brulés_, who had lashed their horses into a lather of foam and were cursing out threats in the ominous undertone that precedes a storm-burst, now encroached upon the neutral ground in spite of grant, or were led gradually forward by the warden as the hudson's bay governor's hostility increased, i did not in the excitement of the moment observe. one thing is certain, while the quarrel between the hudson's bay governor and the north-west clerk was becoming more furious, our surging cohorts were closing in on the little band like an irresistible tidal wave. i could make out several hudson's bay faces, that seemed to remind me of my fort douglas visit; but of the rabble of nor'-westers and _bois-brulés_ disguised in hideous war-gear, i dare avow not twenty of us were recognizable. "miserable rogue!" boucher was shouting, utterly beside himself with rage and flourishing his gun directly over the governor's head, "miserable rogue! why have you destroyed our fort?" "call him off, grant! call him off, or it's all up!" i begged, seeing the parley go from bad to worse; but grant was busy with the _bois-brulés_ and did not hear. "wretch!" governor semple exclaimed in a loud voice. "dare you to speak so to me!" and he caught boucher's bridle, throwing the horse back on its haunches. boucher, agile as a cat, slipped to the ground. "arrest him, men!" commanded the governor. "arrest him at once!" but the clerk was around the other side of the horse, with his gun leveled across its back. whether, when boucher jumped down, our bloodthirsty knaves thought him shot and broke from grant's control to be avenged, or whether lieutenant holt of the hudson's bay at that unfortunate juncture discharged his weapon by accident, will never be known. instantaneously, as if by signal, our men with a yell burst from the ranks, leaped from their saddles and using horses as breast-work, fired volley after volley into the governor's party. the neighing and plunging of the frenzied horses added to the tumult. the hudson's bay men were shouting out incoherent protest; but what they said was drowned in the shrill war-cry of the indians. just for an instant, i thought i recognized one particular voice in that shrieking babel, which flashed back memory of loud, derisive laughter over a camp fire and at the buffalo hunt; but all else was forgotten in the terrible consciousness that our men's murderous onslaught was deluging the prairie with innocent blood. throwing himself between the _bois-brulés_ and the retreating band, the warden implored his followers to grant truce. as well plead with wild beasts. the half-breeds were deaf to commands, and in vain their leader argued with blows. the shooting had been of a blind sort, and few shots did more than wound; but the natives were venting the pent-up hate of three years and would give no quarter. from musketry volleys the fight had become hand-to-hand butchery. i had dismounted and was beating the scoundrels back with the butt end of my gun, begging, commanding, abjuring them to desist, when a hudson's bay youth swayed forward and fell wounded at my feet. there was the baffled, anguished scream of some poor wounded fellow driven to bay, and i saw laplante across the field, covered with blood, reeling and staggering back from a dozen red-skin furies, who pressed upon their fagged victim, snatching at his throat like hounds at the neck of a beaten stag. with a bound across the prostrate form of the youth, i ran to the frenchman's aid. louis saw me coming and struck out so valiantly, the wretched cowards darted back just as i have seen a miserable pack of open-mouthed curs dodge the last desperate sweep of antlered head. that gave me my chance, and i fell on their rear with all the might i could put in my muscle, bringing the flat of my gun down with a crash on crested head-toggery, and striking right and left at louis' assailants. "ah--_mon dieu_--comrade," sobbed louis, falling in my arms from sheer exhaustion, while the tears trickled down in a white furrow over his blood-splashed cheeks, "_mon dieu_--comrade, but you pay me back generous!" "tutts, man, this is no time for settling old scores and playing the grand! run for your life. run to the woods and swim the river!" with that, i flung him from me; for i heard the main body of our force approaching. "run," i urged, giving the frenchman a push. "the run--ha--ha--my old spark," laughed louis with a tearful, lack-life sort of mirth, "the run--it has all run out," and with a pitiful reel down he fell in a heap. i caught him under the armpits, hoisted him to my shoulders, and made with all speed for the wooded river bank. my pace was a tumble more than a run down the river cliff, but i left the man at the very water's edge, where he could presently strike out for the far side and regain fort douglas by swimming across again. then i hurried to the battle-field in search of the wounded youth whom i had left. as i bent above him, the poor lad rolled over, gazing up piteously with the death-look on his face; and i recognized the young nor'-wester who had picked flowers with me for frances sutherland and afterwards deserted to the hudson's bay. the boy moaned and moved his lips as if speaking, but i heard no sound. stooping on one knee, i took his head on the other and bent to listen; but he swooned away. afraid to leave him--for the savages were wreaking indescribable barbarities on the fallen--i picked him up. his arms and head fell back limply as if he were dead, and holding him thus, i again dashed for the fringe of woods. rogers of the hudson's bay staggered against me wounded, with both hands thrown up ready to surrender. he was pleading in broken french for mercy; but two half-breeds, one with cocked pistol, the other with knife, rushed upon him. i turned away that i might not see; but the man's unavailing entreaties yet ring in my ears. farther on, governor semple lay, with lacerated arm and broken thigh. he was calling to grant, "i'm not mortally wounded! if you could get me conveyed to the fort i think i would live!" then i got away from the field and laid my charge in the woods. poor lad! the pallor of death was on every feature. tearing open his coat and taking letters from an inner pocket to send to relatives, i saw a knife-stab in his chest, which no mortal could survive. battle is pitiless. i hurriedly left the dying boy and went back to the living, ordering a french half-breed to guard him. "see that no one mutilates this body," said i, "and i'll reward you." my shout seemed to recall the lad's consciousness. whether he fully understood the terrible significance of my words, i could not tell; but he opened his eyes with a reproachful glazed stare; and that was the last i saw of him. knowing grant would have difficulty in obtaining carriers for governor semple, and only too anxious to gain access to fort douglas, i ran with haste towards the recumbent form of the fallen leader. grant was at some distance scouring the field for reliable men, and while i was yet twenty or thirty yards away an indian glided up. "dog!" he hissed in the prostrate man's face. "you have caused all this! you shall not live! dog that you are!" then something caught my feet. i stumbled and fell. there was the flare of a pistol shot in governor semple's face and a slight cry. the next moment i was by his side. the shot had taken effect in the breast. the body was yet hot with life; but there was neither breath, nor heart beat. a few of the hudson's bay band gained hiding in the shrubbery and escaped by swimming across to the east bank of the red, but the remnant tried to reach the fort across the plain. calling me, grant, now utterly distracted, directed his efforts to this quarter. i with difficulty captured my horse and galloped off to join the warden. our riders were circling round something not far from the fort walls and grant was tearing over the prairie, commanding them to retire. it seems, when governor semple discovered the strength of our forces, he sent some of his men back to fort douglas for a field-piece. poor semple with his european ideas of indian warfare! the _bois-brulés_ did not wait for that field-piece. the messengers had trundled it out only a short distance from the gateway, when they met the fugitives flying back with news of the massacre. under protection of the cannon, the men made a plucky retreat to the fort, though the _bois-brulés_ harassed them to the very walls. this disappearance--or rather extermination--of the enemy, as well as the presence of the field-gun, which was a new terror to the indians, gave grant his opportunity. he at once rounded the men up and led them off to frog plains, on the other side of the swamp. here we encamped for the night, and were subsequently joined by the first division of _bois-brulés_. chapter xxiii the iroquois plays his last card the _bois-brulés_ and indian marauders, who gathered to our camp, were drunk with the most intoxicating of all stimulants--human blood. this flush of victory excited the redskins' vanity to a boastful frenzy. there was wild talk of wiping the pale-face out of existence; and if a weaker man than grant had been at the head of the forces, not a white in the settlement would have escaped massacre. in spite of the bitterness to which the slaughter at seven oaks gave rise, i think all fair-minded people have acknowledged that the settlers owed their lives to the warden's efforts. that night pandemonium itself could not have presented a more hideous scene than our encampment. the lust of blood is abhorrent enough in civilized races, but in indian tribes, whose unrestrained, hard life abnormally develops the instincts of the tiger, it is a thing that may not be portrayed. let us not, with the depreciatory hypocrisy, characteristic of our age, befool ourselves into any belief that barbaric practices were more humane than customs which are the flower of civilized centuries. let us be truthful. scientific cruelty may do its worst with intricate armaments; but the blood-thirst of the indian assumed the ghastly earnest of victors drinking the warm life-blood of dying enemies and of torturers laving hands in a stream yet hot from pulsing hearts. decked out in red-stained trophies with scalps dangling from their waists, the natives darted about like blood-whetted beasts; and the half-breeds were little better, except that they thirsted more for booty than life. there was loud vaunting over the triumph, the ignorant rabble imagining their warriors heroes of a great battle, instead of the murderous plunderers they were. pierre, the rhymester, according to his wont, broke out in jubilant celebration of the half-breeds' feat:[a] ho-ho! list you now to a tale of truth which i, pierre, the rhymester, proudly sing, of the _bois-brulés_, whose deeds dismay the hearts of the soldiers serving the king! swift o'er the plain rode our warriors brave to meet the gay voyageurs come from the sea. out came the bold band that had pillaged our land, and we taught them the plain is the home of the free. we were passing along to the landing-place, three hostile whites we bound on the trail. the enemy came with a shout of acclaim, we flung back their taunts with the shriek of a gale. "they have come to attack us," our people cry. our cohorts spread out in a crescent horn, their path we bar in a steel scimitar, and their empty threats we flout with scorn. they halt in the face of a dauntless foe, they spit out their venom of baffled rage! honor, our breath to the very death! so we proffer them peace, or a battle-gage. the governor shouts to his soldiers, "draw!" 'tis the enemy strikes the first, fateful blow! our men break from line, for the battle-wine of a fighting race has a fiery glow. the governor thought himself mighty in power. the shock of his strength--ha-ha!--should be known from the land of the sea to the prairie free and all free men should be overthrown![b] but naked and dead on the plain lies he, where the carrion hawk, and the sly coyote greedily feast on the great and the least, without respect for a lord of note. the governor thought himself mighty in power. he thought to enslave the _bois-brulés_, "ha-ha," laughed the hawk. ho-ho! let him mock. "plain rangers ride forth to slay, to slay." whose cry outpierces the night-bird's note? whose voice mourns sadly through sighing trees? what spirits wail to the prairie gale? who tells his woes to the evening breeze? ha-ha! we know, though we tell it not. we fought with them till none remained. the coyote knew, and his hungry crew licked clean the grass where the turf was stained. ho-ho! list you all to my tale of truth. 'tis i, pierre, the rhymester, this glory tell of freedom saved and brave hands laved in the blood of tyrants who fought and fell! the whole scene was repugnant beyond endurance. my ears were so filled with the death cries heard in the afternoon, i had no relish for pierre's crude recital of what seemed to him a glorious conquest. i could not rid my mind of that dying boy's sad face. many half-breeds were preparing to pillage the settlement. intending to protect the sutherland home and seek the dead lad's body, i borrowed a fresh horse and left the tumult of the camp. i made a detour of the battle-field in order to reach the sutherland homestead before night. i might have saved myself the trouble; for every movable object--to the doors and window sashes--had been taken from the little house, whether by father and daughter before going to the fort, or by the marauders, i did not know. it was unsafe to return by the wooded river trail after dark and i struck directly to the clearing and followed the path parallel to the bush. when i reached seven oaks, i was first apprised of my whereabouts by my horse pricking forward his ears and sniffing the air uncannily. i tightened rein and touched him with the spur, but he snorted and jumped sideways with a suddenness that almost unseated me, then came to a stand, shaking as if with chill. something skulked across the trail and gained cover in the woods. with a reassuring pat, i urged my horse back towards the road, for the prairie was pitted with badger and gopher holes; but the beast reared, baulked and absolutely refused to be either driven, or coaxed. "wise when men are fools!" said i, dismounting. bringing the reins over his head, i tried to pull him forward; but he planted all fours and jerked back, almost dragging me off my feet. "are you possessed?" i exclaimed, for if ever horror were plainly expressed by an animal, it was by that horse. legs rigid, head bent down, eyes starting forward and nostrils blowing in and out, he was a picture of terror. something wriggled in the thicket. the horse rose on his hind legs, wrenched the rein from my hand and scampered across the plain. i sent a shot into the bush. there was a snarl and a scurrying through the underbrush. "pretty bold wolf! never saw a broncho act that way over a coyote before!" i might as well find the body of the english lad before trying to catch my horse, so i walked on. suddenly, in the silver-white of a starry sky, i saw what had terrified the animal. close to the shrubbery lay the stark form of a white man, knees drawn upwards and arms spread out like the bars of a cross. was that the lad i had known? i rushed towards the corpse--but as quickly turned away. from downright lack of courage, i could not look at it; for the body was mutilated beyond semblance to humanity. would that i had strength and skill to paint that dead figure as it was! then would those, who glory in the shedding of blood, glory to their shame; and the pageant of war be stripped of all its false toggery revealing carnage and slaughter in their revolting nakedness. i could not look back to know if that were the lad, but ran aimlessly towards the scene of the seven oaks fray. as i approached, there was a great flapping of wings. up rose buzzards, scolding in angry discord at my interruption. a pack of wolves skulked a few feet off and eyed me impatiently, boldly waiting to return when i left. the impudence of the brutes enraged me and i let go half a dozen charges, which sent them to a more respectful distance. here were more bodies like the first. i counted eight within a stone's throw, and there were twice as many between seven oaks and the fort. where they lay, i could tell very well; for hawks wheeled with harsh cries overhead and there was a vague movement of wolfish shapes along the ground. what possessed me to hover about that dreadful scene, i cannot imagine, unless the fear of those creatures returning; but i did not carry a thing with which i could bury the dead. involuntarily, i sought out rogers and governor semple; for i had seen the death of each. it was when seeking these, that i thought i distinguished the faintest motion of one figure still clothed and lying apart from the others. the sight riveted me to the spot. surely it was a mistake! the form could not have moved! it must have been some error of vision, or trick of the shadowy starlight; but i could not take my eyes from the prostrate form. again the body moved--distinctly moved--beyond possibility of fancy, the chest heaving up and sinking like a man struggling but unable to rise. with the ghastly dead and the ravening wolves all about, the movement of that wounded man was strangely terrifying and my knees knocked with fear, as i ran to his aid. the man was an indian, but his face i could not see; for one hand staunched a wound in his head and the other gripped a knife with which he had been defending himself. my first thought was that he must be a nor'-wester, or his body would not have escaped the common fate; but if a nor'-wester, why had he been left on the field? so i concluded he was one of the camp-followers, who had joined our forces for plunder and come to a merited end. still he was a man; and i stooped to examine him with a view to getting him on my horse and taking him back to the camp. at first he was unconscious of my presence. gently i tried to remove the left hand from his forehead, but at the touch, out struck the right hand in vicious thrusts of the hunting-knife, one blind cut barely missing my arm. "hold, man!" i cried, "i'm no foe, but a friend!" and i caught the right arm tightly. at the sound of my voice, the left hand swung out revealing a frightful gash; and the next thing i knew, his left arm had encircled my neck like the coil of a strangler, five fingers were digging into the flesh of my throat and le grand diable was making frantic efforts to free his right hand and plunge that dagger into me. the shock of the discovery threw me off guard, and for a moment there was a struggle, but only for a moment. then the wounded man fell back, writhing in pain, his face contorted with agony and hate. i do not think he could see me. he must have been blind from that wound. i stood back, but his knife still cut the air. "le grand diable! fool!" i said, "i will not harm you! i give you the white man's word, i will not hurt you!" the right arm fell limp and still. had i, by some strange irony, been led to this spot that i might witness the death of my foe? was this the end of that long career of evil? "le grand diable!" i cried, going a pace nearer, which seemed to bring back the ebbing life. "le grand diable! you cannot stay here among the wolves. tell me whereto find miriam and i'll take you back to the camp! tell me and no one shall harm you! i will save you!" the thin lips moved. he was saying, or trying to say, something. "speak louder!" and i bent over him. "speak the truth and i take you to the camp!" the lips were still moving, but i could not hear a sound. "speak louder!" i shouted. "where is miriam? where is the white woman?" i put my ear to his lips, fearful that life might slip away before i could hear. there was a snarl through the glistening set teeth. the prostrate body gave an upward lurch. with one swift, treacherous thrust, he drove his knife into my coat-sleeve, grazing my forearm. the effort cost him his life. he sank down with a groan. the sightless, bloodshot eyes opened. le grand diable would never more feign death. i jerked the knife from my coat, hurled it from me, sprang up and fled from the field as if it had been infected with a pest, or i pursued by gends. never looking back and with superstitious dread of the dead indian's evil spirit, i tore on and on till, breath-spent and exhausted, i threw myself down with the north-west camp-fires in sight. footnotes: [a] it should scarcely be necessary for the author to state that these are the sentiments of the indian poet expressing the views of the savage towards the white man, and not the white man towards the savage. the poem is as close a translation of the original ballad sung by pierre in metis dialect the night of the massacre, as could be given. the indian nature is more in harmony with the hawk and the coyote than with the white man; hence the references. other thoughts embodied in this crude lay are taken directly from the refrains of the trappers chanted at that time. [b] governor semple unadvisedly boasted that the shock of his power would be felt from montreal to athabasca. chapter xxiv fort douglas changes masters i suppose there are times in the life of every one, even the strongest--and i am not that--when a feather's weight added to a burden may snap power of endurance. i had reached that stage before encountering le grand diable on the field of massacre at seven oaks. with the events in the mandane country, the long, hard ride northward and this latest terrible culmination of strife between nor'-westers and hudson's bay, the past month had been altogether too hard packed for my well-being. the madness of northern traders no longer amazed me. an old nurse of my young days, whom i remember chiefly by her ramrod back and sharp tongue, used to say, "nerves! nerves! nothing but nerves!" she thanked god she was born before the doctors had discovered nerves. though neurotic theories had not been sufficiently elaborated for me to ascribe my state to the most refined of modern ills--nervous prostration--i was aware, as i dragged over the prairie with the horse at the end of a trailing bridle rein, that something was seriously out of tune. it was daylight before i caught the frightened broncho and no knock-kneed coward ever shook more, as i vainly tried to vault into the saddle, and after a dozen false plunges at the stirrup, gave up the attempt and footed it back to camp. there was a daze between my eyes, which the over-weary know well, and in the brain-whirl, i could distinguish only two thoughts, where was miriam--and father holland's prediction--"benedicite! the lord shall be your avenger! he shall deliver that evil one into the power of the punisher." thus, i reached the camp, picketed the horse, threw myself down in the tent and slept without a break from the morning of the 20th till mid-day of the 21st. i was awakened by the _bois-brulés_ returning from a demonstration before the gateway of fort douglas. going to the tent door, i saw that pritchard, one of the captive hudson's bay men, had been brought back from a conference with the enemy. from his account, the hudson's bay people seemed to be holding out against us; but the settlers, realizing the danger of indian warfare, to a man favored surrender. had it not been for grant, there would have been no farther parley; but on news that settlers were pressing for capitulation, the warden again despatched pritchard to the hudson's bay post. in the hope of gaining access to frances sutherland and eric hamilton i accompanied him. such was the terror prevailing within the walls, in spite of pritchard's assurance regarding my friendly purpose, admission was flatly denied me. i contented myself with verbal messages that hamilton and father holland must remain. i could guarantee their safety. the same offer i made to frances, but told her to do what was best for herself and her father. when pritchard came out, i knew from his face that fort douglas was ours. hamilton and father holland would stay, he reported; but mistress sutherland bade him say that after seven oaks her father had no friendly feeling for nor'-westers, and she could not let him go forth alone. terms were stipulated between the two companies with due advantage to our side from the recent victory and the formal surrender of fort douglas took place the following day. "what are you going to do with the settlers, cuthbert?" i asked of the warden before the capitulation. "aye! that's a question," was the grim response. "why not leave them in the fort till things quiet down?" "with all the indians of red river in possession of that fort?" asked grant, sarcastically. "were a few nor'-westers so successful in holding back the metis at seven oaks, you'd like to see that experiment repeated?" "'twill be worse, grant, if you let them go back to their farms." "they'll not do that, if i'm warden of the plains," he declared with great determination. "we'll have to send them down the red to the lake till that fool of a scotch nobleman decides what to do with his fine colonists." "but, grant, you don't mean to send them up north in this cold country. they may not reach hudson's bay in time to catch the company ship to scotland! why, man, it's sheer murder to expose those people to a winter up there without a thing to shelter them!" "to my mind, freezing is not quite so bad as a massacre. if they won't take our boats to the states, or canada, what else can nor'-westers do?" and what else, indeed? i could not answer grant's question, though i know every effort we made to induce those people to go south instead of north has been misrepresented as an infamous attempt to expel selkirk settlers from red river. truly, i hope i may never see a sadder sight than the going forth of those colonists to the shelterless plain. it was disastrous enough for them to be driven from their native heath; but to be lured away to this far country for the purpose of becoming buffers between rival fur-traders, who would stop at nothing, and to be sacrificed as victims for their company's criminal policy--i speak as a nor'-wester--was immeasurably cruel. grant was, of course, on hand for the surrender, and he wisely kept the plain-rangers at a safe distance. clerks lined each side of the path to the gate, and i pressed forward for a glimpse of frances sutherland. there was the jar of a heavy bolt shot back. confused noises sounded from the courtyard. the gates swung open, and out marched the sheriff of assiniboia, bearing in one hand a pole with a white sheet tacked to the end for a flag of truce, and in the other the fort keys. behind, sullen and dejected, followed a band of hudson's bay men. grant stepped up to meet the sheriff. the terms of capitulation were again stated, and there was some signing of paper. of those things my recollection is indistinct; for i was straining my eyes towards the groups of settlers inside the walls. when i looked back to the conferring leaders the silence was so intense a pinfall could have been heard. the keys of the fort were being handed to the nor'-westers and the hudson's bay men had turned away their faces that they might not see. the vanquished then passed quickly to the barges at the river. each of the six drunken fellows, whom i had last seen in the late governor semple's office, the highlanders who had spied upon me when i visited fort douglas but a year before, the clerks whom i had heard talking that night in the great hall, and many others with whom i had but a chance acquaintance, filed down to the river. seeing all ready, with a north-west clerk at the prow of each boat to warn away marauders, the men came back for settlers and wounded comrades. i would have proffered my assistance to some of the burdened people on the chance of a word with frances sutherland, but the colonists proudly resented any kind offices from a nor'-wester. i saw louis laplante come limping out, leaning on the arm of the red-faced man, whose eye quailed when it met mine. poor louis looked sadly battered, with his head in a white bandage, one arm in a sling, and a dejected stoop to his shoulders that was unusual with him. "this is too bad, louis," said i, hurrying forward. "i forgot to send word about you. you might as well have stayed in the fort till your wounds healed. won't you come back?" louis stole a furtive, sheepish glance at me, hung his head and looked away with a suspicion of moisture about his eyes. "you always were a brute to fight at laval! i might trick you at first, but you always ended by giving me the throw," he answered disconsolately. "nonsense, louis." i was astounded at the note of reproach in his voice. "we're even now--let by-gones be by-gones! you helped me, i helped you. you trapped me into the fort, i tricked you into breaking a mirror and laying up a peck of trouble for yourself. surely you don't treasure any grudge yet?" he shook his head without looking at me. "i don't understand. let us begin over again. come, forget old scores, come back to the fort till you're well." "pah!" said louis with a sudden, strange impatience which i could not fathom. "you understand some day and turn upon me and strike and give me more throw." "all right, comrade, treasure your wrath! only i thought two men, who had saved each other's lives, might be friends and bury old quarrels." "you not know," he blurted out in a broken voice. "not know what?" i asked impatiently. "i tell you i forgive all and i had thought you might do as much----" "do as much!" he interrupted fiercely. "_o mon dieu!_" he cried, with a sob that shook his frame. "take me away! take me away!" he begged the man on whose arm he was leaning; and with those enigmatical words he passed to the nearest boat. while i was yet gazing in mute amazement after louis laplante, wondering whether his strange emotion were revenge, or remorse, the women and children marched forth with the men protecting each side. the empty threats of half-breeds to butcher every settler in red river had evidently reached the ears of the women. some trembled so they could scarcely walk and others stared at us with the reproach of murder in their eyes, gazing in horror at our guilty hands. at last i caught sight of frances sutherland. she was well to the rear of the sad procession, leaning on the arm of a tall, sturdy, erect man whom i recognized as her father. i would have forced my way to her side at once, but a swift glance forbade me. a gleam of love flashed to the gray eyes for an instant, then father and daughter had passed. "little did i think," the harsh, rasping voice of the father was saying, "that daughter of mine would give her heart to a murderer. which of these cut-throats may i claim for a son?" "hush, father," she whispered. "remember he warned us to the fort and took me to pembina." she was as pale as death. "aye! aye! we're under obligations to strange benefactors when times go awry!" he returned bitterly. "o father! don't! you'll think differently when you know----" but a hulking lout stumbled between us, and i missed the rest. they were at the boats and an old highlander was causing a blockade by his inability to lift a great bale into the barge. "let me give you a lift," said i, stepping forward and taking hold of the thing. "friend, or foe?" asked the scot, before he would accept my aid. "friend, of course," and i braced myself to give the package a hoist. "hudson's bay, or nor'-wester?" pursued the settler, determined to take no help from the hated enemy. "nor'-wester, but what does that matter? a friend all the same! yo heave! up with it!" "neffer!" roared the man in a towering passion, and he gave me a push that sent me knocking into the crowd on the landing. involuntarily, i threw out my arm to save a fall and caught a woman's outstretched hand. it was frances sutherland's and i thrilled with the message she could not speak. "i beg your pardon, mistress sutherland," said i, as soon as i could find speech, and i stepped back tingling with embarrassment and delight. "a civil-tongued young man, indeed," remarked the father, sarcastically, with a severe scrutiny of my retreating person. "a civil-tongued young man to know your name so readily, frances! pray, who is he?" "oh! some nor'-wester," answered frances, the white cheeks blushing red, and she stepped quickly forward to the gang-plank. "some nor'-wester, i suppose!" she repeated unconcernedly, but the flush had suffused her neck and was not unnoticed by the father's keen eyes. then they seated themselves at the prow beside the nor'-wester appointed to accompany the boat; and i saw that louis laplante was sitting directly opposite frances sutherland, with his eyes fixed on her face in a bold gaze, that instantly quenched any kindness i may have felt towards him. how i regretted my thoughtlessness in not having forestalled myself in the sutherlands' barge. the next best thing was to go along with grant, who was preparing to ride on the river bank and escort the company beyond all danger. "you coming too?" asked grant sharply, as i joined him. "if you don't mind." "think two are necessary?" "not when one of the two is grant," i answered, which pleased him, "but as my heart goes down the lake with those barges----" "hut-tutt--man," interrupted grant. "war's bad enough without love; but come if you like." as the boats sheered off from the wharf, grant and i rode along the river trail. i saw frances looking after me with surprise, and i think she must have known my purpose, though she did not respond when i signalled to her. "stop that!" commanded grant peremptorily. "you did that very slyly, rufus, but if they see you, there'll be all sorts of suspicion about collusion." the river path ran into the bush, winding in and out of woods, so we caught only occasional glimpses of the boats; but i fancied her eyes were ever towards the bank where we rode, and i could distinctly see that the frenchman's face was buried in his arms above one of the squarish packets opposite the sutherlands. "is it the same lass," asked grant, after we had been riding for more than an hour, "is it the same lass that was disguised as an indian girl at fort gibraltar?" his question astonished me. i thought her disguise too complete even for his sharp penetration; but i was learning that nothing escaped the warden's notice. indeed, i have found it not unusual for young people at a certain stage of their careers to imagine all the rest of the world blind. "the same," i answered, wondering much. "you took her back to fort douglas. did you hear anything special in the fort that night?" "nothing but that mcdonell was likely to surrender. how did you know i was there?" "spies," he answered laconically. "the old _voyageurs_ don't change masters often for nothing. if you hadn't been stuck off in the mandane country, you'd have learned a bit of our methods. her father used to favor the nor'-westers. what has changed him?" "seven oaks changed him," i returned tersely. "aye! aye! that was terrible," and his face darkened. "terrible! terrible! it will change many," and the rest of his talk was full of gloomy portents and forebodings of blame likely to fall upon him for the massacre; but i think history has cleared and justified grant's part in that awful work. suddenly he turned to me. "there's pleasure in this ride for you. there's none for me. will ye follow the boats alone and see that no harm comes to them?" "certainly," said i, and the warden wheeled his horse and galloped back towards fort douglas. for an hour after he left, the trail was among the woods, and when i finally reached a clearing and could see the boats, there was cause enough for regret that the warden had gone. a great outcry came from the sutherlands' boat and louis laplante was on his feet gesticulating excitedly and talking in loud tones to the rowers. "hullo, there!" i shouted, riding to the very water's edge and flourishing my pistol. "stop your nonsense, there! what's wrong?" "there's a french papist demands to have speech wi' ye," called mr. sutherland. "bring him ashore," i returned. the boat headed about and approached the bank. then the rowers ceased pulling; for the water was shallow, and we were within speaking distance. "now, louis, what do you mean by this nonsense?" i began. in answer, the frenchman leaped out of the boat and waded ashore. "let them go on," he said, scrambling up the cliff in a staggering, faint fashion. "if you meant to stay at the fort, why didn't you decide sooner?" i demanded roughly. "i didn't." this doggedly and with downcast eyes. "then you go down the lake with the rest and no skulking!" "gillespie," answered louis in a low tone, "there's strength of an ox in you, but not the wit. let them go on! simpleton, i tell you of miriam." his words recalled the real reason of my presence in the north country; for my quest had indeed been eclipsed by the fearful events of the past week. i signalled the rowers to go without him, waved a last farewell to frances sutherland, and turned to see louis laplante throw himself on the grass and cry like a schoolboy. dismounting i knelt beside him. "cheer up, old boy," said i, with the usual vacuity of thought and stupidity of expression at such times. "cheer up! seven oaks has knocked you out. i knew you shouldn't make this trip till you were strong again. why, man, you have enough cuts to undo the pluck of a giant-killer!" louis was not paying the slightest attention to me. he was mumbling to himself and i wondered if he were in a fever. "the priest, the irish priest in the fort, he say to me: 'wicked fellow, you be tortured forever and ever in the furnace, if you not undo what you did in the gorge!' what care louis laplante for the fire? pah! what care louis for wounds and cuts and threats? pah! the fire not half so hot as the hell inside! the cuts not half so sharp as the thinks that prick and sting and lash from morn'g to night, night to morn'g! pah! something inside say: 'louis laplante, son of a seigneur, a dog! a cur! toad! reptile!' then i try stand up straight and give the lie, but it say: 'pah! louis laplante!' the irish priest, he say, 'you repent!' what care louis for repents? pah! but her eyes, they look and look and look like two steel-gray stars! sometime they caress and he want to pray! sometime they stab and he shiver; but they always shine like stars of heaven and the priest, he say, 'you be shut out of heaven!' if the angel all have stars, steel glittering stars, for eyes, heaven worth for trying! the priest, he say, 'you go to abode of torture!' torture! pah! more torture than 'nough here. angels with stars in their heads, more better. but the stars stab through--through--through----" "bother the stars," said i to myself. "what of miriam?" i asked, interrupting his penitential confidences. his references to steel-gray eyes and stars and angels somehow put me in no good mood, for a reason with which most men, but few women, will sympathize. "stupid ox!" he spat out the words with unspeakable impatience at my obtuseness. "what of miriam! why the priest and the starry eyes and the something inside, they all say, 'go and get miriam! where's the white woman? you lied! you let her go! get her--get her--get her!' what of miriam? pah!" after that angry outburst, the fountains of his sorrow seemed to dry up and he became more the old, nonchalant louis whom i knew. "where is miriam?" i asked. he ignored my question and went on reasoning with himself. "no more peace--no more quiet--no more sing and rollick till he get miriam!" was the fellow really delirious? the boats were disappearing from view. i could wait no longer. "louis," said i, "if you have anything to say, say it quick! i can't wait longer." "you know i lie to you in the gorge?" and he looked straight at me. "certainly," i answered, "and i punished you pretty well for it twice." "you know what that lie mean"--and he hesitated--"mean to her--to miriam?" "yes, louis, i know." "and you forgive all? call all even?" "as far as i'm concerned--yes--louis! god almighty alone can forgive the suffering you have caused her." then louis laplante leaped up and, catching my hand, looked long and steadily into my eyes. "i go and find her," he muttered in a low, tense voice. "i follow their trail--i keep her from suffer--i bring them all back--back here in the bush on this river--i bring her back, or i kill louis laplante!" "old comrade--you were always generous," i began; but the words choked in my throat. "i know not where they are, but i find them! i know not how soon--perhaps a year--but i bring them back! go on with the boats," and he dropped my hand. "i can't leave you here," i protested. "you come back this way," he said. "may be you find me." poor louis! his tongue tripped in its old evasive ways even at the moment of his penitence, which goes to prove--i suppose--that we are all the sum total of the thing called habit, that even spontaneous acts are evidences of the summed result of past years. i did not expect to find him when i came back, and i did not. he had vanished into the woods like the wild creature that he was; but i was placing a strange, reasonless reliance on his promise to find miriam. when i caught up with the boats, the river was widening so that attack would be impossible, and i did not ride far. heading my horse about, i spurred back to fort douglas. passing seven oaks, i saw some of the hudson's bay men, who had remained burying the dead--not removing them. that was impossible after the wolves and three days of a blistering sun. i told hamilton of neither le grand diable's death, nor louis laplante's promise. he had suffered disappointments enough and could ill stand any sort of excitement. i found him walking about in the up-stairs hall, but his own grief had deadened him to the fortunes of the warring companies. "confound you, boy! tell me the truth!" said father holland to me afterwards in the courtyard. le grand diable's death and louis laplante's promise seemed to make a great impression on the priest. "i tell you the lord delivered that evil one into the hands of the punisher; and of the innocent, the lord, himself, is the defender. await his purpose! await his time!" "mighty long time," said i, with the bitter impatience of youth. "quiet, youngster! i tell you she shall be delivered!" * * * * * at last the nor-westers' fort william brigade with its sixty men and numerous well-loaded canoes--whose cargoes had been the bone of contention between hudson's bay and nor'-westers at seven oaks--arrived at fort douglas. the newcomers were surprised to find us in possession of the enemy's fort. the last news they had heard was of wanton and successful aggression on the part of lord selkirk's company; and i think the extra crews sent north were quite as much for purposes of defence as swift travel. but the gravity of affairs startled the men from fort william; for they, themselves, had astounding news. lord selkirk was on his way north with munitions of war and an army of mercenaries formerly of the de meurons' regiment, numbering two hundred, some said three or four hundred men; but this was an exaggeration. for what was he coming to red river in this warlike fashion? his purpose would probably show itself. also, if his intent were hostile, would not seven oaks massacre afford him the very pretence he wanted for chastising nor'-westers out of the country? the canoemen had met the ejected settlers bound up the lake; and with them, whom did they see but the bellicose captain miles mcdonell, given free passage but a year before to montreal and now on "the prosperous return," which he, himself, had prophesied? the settlers' news of seven oaks sent the brave captain hurrying southward to inform lord selkirk of the massacre. we had had a victory; but how long would it last? truly the sky was darkening and few of us felt hopeful about the bursting of the storm. chapter xxv his lordship to the rescue even at the hour of our triumph, we nor'-westers knew that we had yet to reckon with lord selkirk; and a speedy reckoning the indomitable nobleman brought about. the massacre at seven oaks afforded our rivals the very pretext they desired. clothed with the authority of an officer of the law, lord selkirk hurried northward; and a personage of his importance could not venture into the wilderness without a strong body-guard. at least, that was the excuse given for the retinue of two or three hundred mercenaries decked out in all the regimentals of war, whom lord selkirk brought with him to the north. a more rascally, daring crew of ragamuffins could not have been found to defend selkirk's side of the gentlemen adventurers' feud. the men were the offscourings of european armies engaged in the napoleonic wars, and came directly from the old de meurons' regiment. the information which the fort william brigade brought of selkirk's approach, also explained why that same brigade hastened back to the defence of nor'-west quarters on lake superior; and their help was needed. news of events at fort william came to us in the red river department tardily. first, there was a vague rumor among the indian _voyageurs_, who were ever gliding back and forward on the labyrinthine waters of that north land like the birds of passage overhead. then came definite reports from freemen who had been expelled from fort william; and we could no longer doubt that nor'-west headquarters, with all the wealth of furs and provisions therein had fallen into the hands of the hudson's bay forces. afterwards came warning from our _bourgeois_, driven out of fort william, for fort douglas to be prepared. lord selkirk would only rest long enough at fort william to take possession of everything worth possessing, in the name of the law--for was he not a justice of the peace?--and in the name of the law would he move with like intent against fort douglas. to the earl's credit, be it said, that his victories were bloodless; but they were bloodless because the nor'-westers had no mind to unleash those redskin bloodhounds a second time, preferring to suffer loss rather than resort to violence. nevertheless, we called in every available hand of the nor'-west staff to man fort douglas against attack. but summer dragged into autumn and autumn into winter, and no lord selkirk. then we began to think ourselves secure; for the streams were frozen to a depth of four feet like adamant, and unless selkirk were a madman, he would not attempt to bring his soldiers north by dog-train during the bitter cold of mid-winter. but 'tis ever the policy of the astute madman to discount the enemy's calculations; and selkirk utterly discounted ours by sending his hardy, dare-devil de meurons across country under the leadership of that prince of braggarts, captain d'orsonnens. indeed, we had only heard the rumor of their coming, when we awakened one morning after an obscure, stormy night to find them encamped at st. james, westward on the assiniboine river. day after day the menacing force remained quiet and inoffensive, and we began to look upon these notorious ruffians as harmless. for our part, vigilance was not lacking. sentinels were posted in the towers day and night. nor'-west spies shadowed every movement of the enemy; and it was seriously considered whether we should not open communication with d'orsonnens to ascertain what he wanted; but, truth to say, we knew very well what he wanted, and had had such a surfeit of blood, we were not anxious to re-open hostilities. as for hamilton, i can hardly call his life at fort douglas anything more than a mere existence. a blow stuns, but one may recover. repeated failure gradually benumbs hope and willpower and effort, like some ghoulish vampire sucking away a man's life-blood till he faint and die from very inanition. the blow, poor eric had suffered, when he lost miriam; the repeated failure, when we could not restore her; and i saw this strong, athletic man slowly succumb as to some insidious, paralyzing disease. the thought of effort seemed to burden him. he would silently mope by the hour in some dark corner of fort douglas, or wander aimlessly about the courtyard, muttering and talking to himself. he was weary and fatigued without a stroke of work; and what little sleep he snatched from wakeful vigils seemed to give him no rest. his food, he thrust from him with the petulance of a child; and at every suggestion i could make, he sneered with a quiet, gentle insistence that was utterly discomfiting. to be sure, i had father holland's boisterous good cheer as a counter-irritant; for the priest had remained at fort douglas, and was ministering to the tribes of the red and assiniboine. but it was on her, who had been my guiding star and hope and inspiration from the first, that i mainly depended. as hard, merciless winter closed in, i could not think of those shelterless colonists driven to the lake, without shuddering at the distress i knew they must suffer; and i despatched a runner, urging them to return to red river, and giving personal guarantee for their safety. among those, who came back, were the sutherlands; and if my quest had entailed far greater hardship than it did, that quiet interval with leisure to spend much time at the selkirk settlement would have repaid all suffering. after sundown, i was free from fort duties. tying on snow-shoes after the manner of the natives, i would speed over the whitened drifts of billowy snow. the surface, melted by the sun-glare of mid-day and encrusted with brittle, glistening ice, never gave under my weight; and, oddly enough, my way always led to the sutherland homestead. after the coming of the de meurons, frances used to expostulate against what she called my foolhardiness in making these evening visits; but their presence made no difference to me. "i don't believe those drones intend doing anything very dreadful, after all, sir," i remarked one night to frances sutherland's father, referring to the soldiers. following his daughter's directions i had been coming very early, also very often, with the object of accustoming the dour scotchman to my staying late; and he had softened enough towards me to take part in occasional argument. "don't believe they intend doing a thing, sir," i reiterated. pushing his spectacles up on his forehead, he closed the book of sermons, which he had been reading, and puckered his brows as if he were compromising a hard point with conscience, which, indeed, i afterwards knew, was exactly what he had been doing. "aye," said he, "aye, aye, young man. but i'm thinking ye'll no do y'r company ony harm by speerin' after the designs o' fightin' men who make ladders." "oh!" i cried, all alert for information. "have they been making ladders?" he pulled the spectacles down on his nose and deliberately reopened the book of sermons. "of that, i canna say," he replied. only once again did he emerge from his readings. i had risen to go. frances usually accompanied me to the outer door, where i tied my snow-shoes and took a farewell unobserved by the father; but when i opened the door, such a blast of wind and snow drove in, i instantly clapped it shut again and began tying the racquets on inside. "o rufus!" exclaimed frances, "you can't go back to fort douglas in that storm!" then we both noticed for the first time that a hurricane of wind was rocking the little house to its foundations. "did that spring up all of a sudden?" i cried. "i never saw a blizzard do that before." "i'm afraid, rufus, we were not noticing." "no, we were otherwise interested," said i, innocently enough; but she laughed. "you can't go," she declared. "the wind will be on my back," i assured her. "i'll be all right," and i went on lacing the snow-shoe thongs about my ankle. the book of sermons shut with a snap and the father turned towards us. "let no one say any man left the sutherland hearth on such a night! put by those senseless things," and he pointed to the snow-shoes. "but those ladders," i interposed. "let no one say when the enemy came rufus gillespie was absent from his citadel!" the wind roared round the house corners like a storm at sea; and the father looked down at me with a strange, quizzical expression. "ye're a headstrong young man, rufus gillespie," said the hard-set mouth. "ye maun knock a hole in the head, or the wall! will ye go?" "knock the hole in the wall," i laughed back. "of course i go." "then, tak' the dogs," said he, with a sparkle of kindliness in the cold eyes. so it came that i set out in the sutherlands' dog-sled with a supply of robes to defy biting frost. and i needed them every one. old settlers, describing winter storms, have been accused of an imagination as expansive as the prairie; but i affirm no man could exaggerate the fury of a blizzard on the unbroken prairie. to one thing only may it be likened--a hurricane at sea. people in lands boxed off at short compass by mountain ridges forget with what violence a wind sweeping half a continent can disport itself. in the boisterous roar of the gale, my shouts to the dogs were a feeble whisper caught from my lips and lost in the shrieking wind. the fine snowy particles were a powdered ice that drove through seams of clothing and cut one's skin like a whip lash. without the fringe of woods along the river bank to guide me, it would have been madness to set out by day, and worse than madness by night; but i kept the dogs close to the woods. the trees broke the wind and prevented me losing all sense of direction in the tornado whirl of open prairie. not enough snow had fallen on the hard-crusted drifts to impede the dogs. they scarcely sank and with the wind on their backs dashed ahead till the woods were passed and we were on the bare plains. no light could be seen through the storm, but i knew i was within a short distance of the fort gate and wheeled the dogs toward the river flats of the left. the creatures seemed to scent human presence. they leaped forward and brought the sleigh against the wall with a knock that rolled me out. "good fellows;" i cried, springing up, uncertain where i was. the huskies crouched around my feet almost tripping me and i felt through the snowy darkness against the stockades, stake by stake. ah! there was a post! here were close-fitted boards--here, iron-lining--this must be the gate; but where was the lantern that hung behind? a gust of wind might have extinguished the light; so i drubbed loudly on the gate and shouted to the sentry, who should have been inside. the wind lulled for a moment and up burst wild shouting from the courtyard intermingled with the jeers of frenchmen and cries of terror from our people. then i knew judgment had come for the deeds at seven oaks. the gale broke again with a hissing of serpents, or red irons, and the howling wind rose in shrill, angry bursts. hugging the wall, while the dogs whined behind, i ran towards the rear. men jostled through the snowy dark, and i was among the de meurons. they were too busy scaling the stockade on the ladders of which i had heard to notice an intruder. taking advantage of the storm, i mounted a ladder, vaulted over the pickets and alighted in the courtyard. here all was noise, flight, pursuit and confusion. i made for the main hall, where valuable papers were kept, and at the door, cannoned against one of our men, who shrieked with fright and begged for mercy. "coward!" said i, giving him a cuff. "what has happened?" a flare fell on us both, and he recognized me. "the de meurons!" he gasped. "the de meurons!" i left him bawling out his fear and rushed inside. "what has happened?" i asked, tripping up a clerk who was flying through the hallway. "the de meurons!" he gasped. "the de meurons!" "stop!" i commanded, grasping the lap of his coat. "what--_has_--happened?" "the de meurons!" this was fairly screamed. i shook him till he sputtered something more. "they've captured the fort--our people didn't want to shed blood----" "and threw down their guns," i interjected, disgusted beyond word. "threw down their guns," he repeated, as though that were a praiseworthy action. "the s-s-sentinels--saw the court--full--full--full of s-soldiers!" "full of soldiers!" i thundered. "there are not a hundred in the gang." thereupon i gave the caitiff a toss that sent him reeling against the wall, and dashed up-stairs for the papers. all was darkness, and i nigh broke my neck over a coffin-shaped rough box made for one of the trappers, who had died in the fort. why was the thing lying there, anyway? the man should have been put into it and buried at once without any drinking bout and dead wake, i reflected with some sharpness, as i rubbed my bruised shins and shoved the box aside. shouts rang up from the courtyard. heavy feet trampled in the hall below. hamilton, as a hudson's bay man, and father holland, i knew, were perfectly safe. but i was far from safe. why were they not there to help me, i wondered, with the sort of rage we all vent on our friends when we are cornered and they at ease. i fumbled across the apartment, found the right desk, pried the drawer open with my knife, and was in the very act of seizing the documents when i saw my own shadow on the floor. lantern light burst with a glare through the gloom of the doorway. chapter xxvi father holland and i in the toils behind the lantern was a face with terrified eyes and gaping mouth. it was the priest, his genial countenance a very picture of fear. "what's wrong, father?" i asked. "you needn't be alarmed; you're all right." "but i am alarmed, for you're all wrong! lord, boy, why didn't ye stay with that peppery scotchman? what did frances mane by lettin' you out to-night?" and he shaded the light of the lantern with his hand. "i wanted these things," i explained. "ye want a broad thumpin', i'm thinkin', ye rattle-pate, to risk y'r precious noodle here to-night," he whispered, coming forward and fussing about me with all the maternal anxiety of a hen over her only chicken. "listen," said i. "the whole mob's coming in." "go!" he urged, pushing me from the desk over which i still fumbled. "run for those dogs of mercenaries!" i protested. "ye swash-buckler! ye stiff-necked braggart!" bawled the priest. "out wid y'r nonsense, and what good are y' thinkin' ye'll do--? stir your stumps, y' stoopid spalpeen!" "listen," i urged, undisturbed by the tongue-thrashing that stormed about my ears. in the babel of voices i thought i had heard some one call my name. "run, rufus! run for y'r life, boy!" urged father holland, apparently thinking the ruffians had come solely for me. "run yourself, father; run yourself, and see how you like it," and i tucked the documents inside my coat. "divil a bit i'll run," returned the priest. "hark!" the de meurons' leaders were shouting orders to their men. above the screams of people fleeing in terror through passage-ways, came a shrill bugle-call. "go--go--go--rufus!" begged father holland in a paroxysm of fear. "go!" he pleaded, pushing me towards the door. "i won't!" and i jerked away from him. "there, now." i caught up a club and loaded pistol. the nor'-westers had no time to defend themselves. almost before my stubborn defiance was uttered, the building was filled with a mob of intoxicated de meurons. rushing everywhere with fixed bayonets and cursing at the top of their voices, they threatened death to all nor'-westers. there was a loud scuffling of men forcing their way through the defended hall downstairs. "go, rufus, go! think of frances! save yourself," urged the priest. it was too late. i could not escape by the hall. noisy feet were already trampling up the stairs and the clank of armed men filled every passage. "jee-les-pee! jee-les-pee! seven oaks!" bawled a french voice from the half-way landing, and a multitude of men with torches dashed up the stairs. i took a stand to defend myself; for i thought i might be charged with implication in the massacre. "jee-les-pee," roared the voices. "where is gillespie?" thundered a leader. "that's you, rufus, lad! down with you!" muttered the priest. before i knew his purpose, he had tripped my feet from under me and knocked me flat on the floor. overturning the empty coffin-box, he clapped it above my whole length, imprisoning me with the snap and celerity of a mouse-trap. then i heard the thud of two hundred avoirdupois seating itself on top of the case. the man above my person had whisked out a book of prayers, and with lantern on the desk was conning over devotions, which, i am sure, must have been read with the manual upside down; for bits of the _pater noster_, service of the mass, and vesper psalms were uttered in a disconnected jumble, though i could not but apply the words to my own case. "_libera nos a malo--ora pro nobis, peccatoribus--ab hoste maligno defende me--ab homine iniquo et doloso erue me--peccator videbit et irascetur--desiderium peccatorum peribit_----" came from the priest with torrent speed. "jee-les-pee! jee-les-pee!" roared a dozen throats above the half-way landing. then came the stamp of many feet to the door. "wait, men!" hamilton's voice commanded. "i'll see if he's here!" "_simulacra gentium argentum et aurum, opera manuum hominum_," like hailstones rattled the latin words down on my prison. "one moment, men," came eric's voice; but he could not hold them back. in burst the door with a rush, and immediately the room was crowded with vociferating french soldiers. "_manus habent, et non palpabunt; pedes_----" "is gillespie here?" interrupted hamilton, without the slightest recognition of the priest in his tones. "_pedes habent et non ambulabunt; non clamabunt in gutture suo_," muttered the priest, finishing his verse; then to the men with a stiffness which i did not think father holland could ever assume-"how often must i be disturbed by men seeking that young scoundrel? look at this place, fairly topsy-turvy with their hunt! faith! the room is before you. look and see!" and with a great indifference he went on with his devotions. "_similes illis fiant qui faciunt ea_----" "some one here before us?" interrupted an englishman with some suspicion. "two parties here before ye," answered the priest, icily, as if these repeated questions rumpled ecclesiastical dignity, and he gabbled on with the psalm, "_similes illis fiant qui faciunt ea, et omnes_----" "if we lifted that box," interrupted the persistent englishman, "what might there be?" "if ye lift that box," answered father holland with massive solemnity--and i confess every hair on my body bristled as he rose--"if ye lift that box there might be a powr--dead--body," which was very true; for i still held the cocked pistol in hand and would have shot the first man daring to molest me. but the priest's indifference was not so great as it appeared. i could tell from a tremor in his voice that he was greatly disturbed; and he certainly lost his place altogether in the vesper psalm. "_requiescat in pace_," were his next words, uttered in funereal gravity. singularly enough, they seemed to fit the situation. father holland's prompt offer to have the rough box examined satisfied the searchers, and there were no further demands. "oh," said the englishman, taken aback, "i beg your pardon, sir! no offence meant." "no offence," replied the priest, reseating himself. "_benedicite_----" "sittin' on the coffin!" blurted out the voice of an english youth as the weight of the priest again came down heavily on my prison; and again i breathed easily. "come on, men!" shouted hamilton, apprehensive of more curiosity. "we're wasting time! he may be escaping by the basement window!" "_jam hiems transiit, imber abiit et recessit; surge, amica mea, et veni!_" droned the priest, and the whole company clattered downstairs. "quick!--out with you!" commanded father holland. "speed to y'r heels, and blessing on the last o' ye!" i dashed down the stairs and was bolting through the doorway when some one shouted, "there he is!" "run, gillespie!" cried some one else--one of our men, i suppose--and i had plunged into the storm and raced for the ladders at the rear stockades with a pack of pursuers at my heels. the snow drifts were in my favor, for with my moccasins, i leaped lightly forward, while the booted soldiers floundered deep. i eluded my pursuers and was half-way up a ladder when a soldier's head suddenly appeared above the wall on the other side. then a bayonet prodded me in the chest and i fell heavily backwards to the ground. * * * * * i was captured. that is all there is to say. no man dilates with pleasure over that part of his life when he was vanquished. it is not pleasant to have weapons of defence wrested from one's hands, to feel soldiers standing upon one's wrists and rifling pockets. it is hard to feel every inch the man on the horizontal. in truth, when the soldiers picked me up without ceremony, or gentleness, and bundling me up the stairs of the main hall, flung me into a miserable pen, with windows iron-barred to mid-sash, i was but a sorry hero. my tormentors did not shackle me; i was spared that humiliation. "there!" exclaimed a hudson's bay man, throwing lantern-light across the dismal low roof as i fell sprawling into the room. "that'll cool the young hot-head," and all the french soldiers laughed at my discomfiture. they chained and locked the door on the outside. i heard the soldiers' steps reverberating through the empty passages, and was alone in a sort of prison-room, used during the régime of the petty tyrant mcdonell. it was cold enough to cool any hot-head, and mine was very hot indeed. i knew the apartment well. nor'-westers had used it as a fur storeroom. the wind came through the crevices of the board walls and piled miniature drifts on the floor-cracks, all the while rattling loose timbers like a saw-mill. the roof was but a few feet high, and i crept to the window, finding all the small panes coated with two inches of hoar-frost. whether the iron bars outside ran across, or up and down, i could not remember; but the fact would make a difference to a man trying to escape. much as i disliked to break the glass letting in more cold, there was only one way of finding out about those bars. i raised my foot for an outward kick, but remembering i wore only the moccasins with which i had been snowshoeing, i struck my fist through instead, and shattered the whole upper half of the window. i broke away cross-pieces that might obstruct outward passage, and leaning down put my hand on the sharp points of upright spikes. so intense was the frost, the skin of my finger tips stuck to the iron, and i drew my hand in, with the sting of a fresh burn. it was unfortunate about those bars. i could not possibly get past them down to the ground without making a ladder from my great-coat. i groped round the room hoping that some of the canvas in which we tied the peltries, might be lying about. there was nothing of the sort, or i missed it in the dark. quickly tearing my coat into strips, i knotted triple plies together and fastened the upper end to the crosspiece of the lower window. feet first, i poked myself out, caught the strands with both hands, and like a flash struck ground below with badly skinned palms. that reminded me i had left my mits in the prison room. the storm had driven the soldiers inside. i did not encounter a soul in the courtyard, and had no difficulty in letting myself out by the main gate. i whistled for the dogs. they came huddling from the ladders where i had left them, the sleigh still trailing at their heels. one poor animal was so benumbed i cut him from the traces and left him to die. gathering up the robes, i shook them free of snow, replaced them in the sleigh and led the string of dogs down to the river. it would be bitterly cold facing that sweep of unbroken wind in mid-river; but the trail over ice would permit greater speed, and with the high banks on each side the dogs could not go astray. to an overruling providence, and to the instincts of the dogs, i owe my life. the creatures had not gone ten sleigh-lengths when i felt the loss of my coat, and giving one final shout to them, i lay back on the sleigh and covered myself, head and all, under the robes, trusting the huskies to find their way home. i do not like to recall that return to the sutherlands. the man, who is frozen to death, knows nothing of the cruelties of northern cold. the icy hand, that takes his life, does not torture, but deadens the victim into an everlasting, easy, painless sleep. this i know, for i felt the deadly frost-slumber, and fought against it. aching hands and feet stopped paining and became utterly feelingless; and the deadening thing began creeping inch by inch up the stiffening limbs the life centres, till a great drowsiness began to overpower body and mind. realizing what this meant, i sprang from the sleigh and stopped the dogs. i tried to grip the empty traces of the dead one, but my hands were too feeble; so i twisted the rope round my arm, gave the word, and raced off abreast the dog train. the creatures went faster with lightened sleigh, but every step i took was a knife-thrust through half-frozen awakening limbs. not the man who is frozen to death, but the man who is half-frozen and thawed back to life, knows the cruelties of northern cold. in a stupefied way, i was aware the dogs had taken a sudden turn to the left and were scrambling up the bank. here my strength failed or i tripped; for i only remember being dragged through the snow, rolling over and over, to a doorway, where the huskies stopped and set up a great whining. somehow, i floundered to my feet. with a blaze of light that blinded me, the door flew open and i fell across the threshold unconscious. * * * * * need i say what door opened, what hands drew me in and chafed life into the benumbed being? "what was the matter, rufus gillespie?" asked a bluff voice the next morning. i had awakened from what seemed a long, troubled sleep and vaguely wondered where i was. "what happened to ye, rufus gillespie?" and the man's hand took hold of my wrist to feel my pulse. "don't, father! you'll hurt him!" said a voice that was music to my ears, and a woman's hand, whose touch was healing, began bathing my blistered palms. at once i knew where i was and forgot pain. in few and confused words i tried to relate what had happened. "the country's yours, mr. sutherland," said i, too weak, thick-tongued and deliriously happy for speech. "much to be thankful for," was the scotchman's comment. "seven oaks is avenged. it would ill 'a' become a sutherland to give his daughter's hand to a conqueror, but i would na' say i'd refuse a wife to a man beaten as you were, rufus gillespie," and he strode off to attend to outdoor work. and what next took place, i refrain from relating; for lovers' eloquence is only eloquent to lovers. chapter xxvii under one roof nature is not unlike a bank. when drafts exceed deposits comes a protest, and not infrequently, after the protest, bankruptcy. from the buffalo hunt to the recapture of fort douglas by the hudson's bay soldiers, drafts on that essential part of a human being called stamina had been very heavy with me. now came the casting-up of accounts, and my bill was minus reserve strength, with a balance of debt on the wrong side. the morning after the escape from fort douglas, when mr. sutherland strode off, leaving his daughter alone with me, i remember very well that frances abruptly began putting my pillow to rights. instead of keeping wide awake, as i should by all the codes of romance and common sense, i--poor fool--at once swooned, with a vague, glimmering consciousness that i was dying and this, perhaps, was the first blissful glimpse into paradise. when i came to my senses, mr. sutherland was again standing by the bedside with a half-shamed look of compassion under his shaggy brows. "how far," i began, with a curious inability to use my wits and tongue, "how far--i mean how long have i been asleep, sir?" "hoots, mon! dinna claver in that feckless fashion! it's months, lad, sin' ye opened y'r mouth wi' onything but daft gab." "months!" i gasped out. "have i been here for months?" "aye, months. the plain was snaw-white when ye began y'r bit nappie. noo, d'ye no hear the clack o' the geese through yon open window?" i tried to turn to that side of the little room, where a great wave of fresh, clear air blew from the prairie. for some reason my head refused to revolve. stooping, the elder man gently raised the sheet and rolled me over so that i faced the sweet freshness of an open, sunny view. "did i rive ye sore, lad?" asked the voice with a gruffness in strange contradiction to the gentleness of the touch. now i hold that however rasping a man's words may be, if he handle the sick with gentleness, there is much goodness under the rough surface. thoughtlessness and stupidity, i know, are patent excuses for half the unkindness and sorrow of life. but thoughtlessness and stupidity are also responsible for most of life's brutality and crime. not spiteful intentions alone, but the dulled, brutalized, deadened sensibilities--that go under the names of thoughtlessness and stupidity--make a man treat something weaker than himself with roughness, or in an excessive degree, qualify for murder. when the harsh voice asked, "do i rive ye sore?" i began to understand how surface roughness is as often caused by life's asperities as by the inner dullness akin to the brute. indeed, if my thoughts had not been so intent on the daughter, i could have found mr. sutherland's character a wonderfully interesting study. the infinite capacity of a canny scot for keeping his mouth shut i never realized till i knew mr. sutherland. for instance, now that consciousness had returned, i noticed that the father himself, and not the daughter, did all the waiting on me even to the carrying of my meals. "how is your daughter, mr. sutherland?" i asked, surely a natural enough question to merit a civil reply. "aye--is it frances y'r speerin' after?" he answered, meeting my question with a question; and he deigned not another word. but i lay in wait for him at the next meal. "i haven't seen your daughter yet, mr. sutherland," i stuttered out with a deal of blushing. "i haven't even heard her about the house." "no?" he asked with a show of surprise. "have ye no seen frances?" and that was all the satisfaction i got. between the dinner hour and supper time i conjured up various plots to hoodwink paternal caution. "mr. sutherland," i began, "i have a message for your daughter." "aye," said he. "i wish her to hear it personally." "aye." "when may i see her?" "ye maun bide patient, lad!" "but the message is urgent." that was true; for had not forty-eight hours passed since i had regained consciousness and i had heard neither her footsteps nor her voice? "aye," said the imperturbable father. "very urgent, mr. sutherland," i added. "aye." "when may i see her, sir?" "all in guid time. ye maun bide quiet, lad." "the message cannot wait," i declared. "it must be given at once." "then deleever it word for word to me, young mon, and i'll trudge off to frances." "your daughter is not at home?" "what words wu'l ye have me bear to her, lad?" he asked. that was too much for a youth in a peevish state of convalescence. what lover could send his heart's eloquence by word of mouth with a peppery, prosaic father? "tell mistress sutherland i must see her at once," i quickly responded with a flash of temper that was ever wont to flare up when put to the test. "aye," he answered, with an amused look in the cold, steel eyes. "i'll deleever y'r message when--when"--and he hesitated in a way suggestive of eternity--"i'll deleever y'r message when i see her." at that i turned my face to the wall in the bitterness of spirit which only the invalid, with all the strength of a man in his whims and the weakness of an infant in his body, knows. i spent a feverish, restless night, with the hard-faced scotchman watching from his armchair at my bedside. once, when i suddenly awakened from sleep, or delirium, his eyes were fastened on my face with a gleam of grave kindliness. "mr. sutherland," i cried, with all the impatience of a child, "please tell me, where is your daughter?" "i sent her to a neighbor, sin' ye came to y'r senses, lad," said he. "ye hae kept her about ye night and day sin' ye gaed daft, and losh, mon, ye hae gabbled wild talk enough to turn the head o' ony lassie clean daft. an' ye claver sic' nonsense when ye're daft, what would ye say when ye're sane? hoots, mon, ye maun learn to haud y'r tongue----" "mr. sutherland," i interrupted in a great heat, quite forgetful of his hospitality, "i'm sorry to be the means of driving your daughter from her home. i beg you to send me back to fort douglas----" "haud quiet," he ordered with a wave of his hand. "an' wa'd ye have me expose the head of a mitherless bairn to a' the clack o' the auld geese in the settlement? temper y'r ardor wi' discretion, lad! 'twas but the day before yesterday she left and she was sair done wi' nursing you and losing of sleep! till ye're fair y'rsel' again and up, and she's weel and rosy wi' full sleep, bide patient!" that speech sent my face to the wall again; but this time not in anger. and that dogged fashion mr. sutherland had of taking his own way did me many a good turn. often have i heard those bragging captains of the hudson's bay mercenaries swagger into the little cottage sitting-room, while i lay in bed on the other side of the thin board partition, and relate to mr. sutherland all the incidents of their day's search for me. "so many pounds sterling for the man who captures the rascal," declares d'orsonnens. "aye, 'tis a goodly price for one poor rattle-pate," says mr. sutherland. whereupon, d'orsonnens swears the price is more than my poor empty head is worth, and proceeds to describe me in terms which mr. sutherland will only tolerate when thundered from an orthodox pulpit. "i'd have ye understand, sir," he would declare with great dignity, "i'll have no papistical profanity under my roof." forthwith, he would show d'orsonnens the door, lecturing the astonished soldier on the errors of romanism; for whatever mr. sutherland deemed evil, from oaths to theological errors, he attributed directly to the pope. "the ne'er-do-weel can hawk naething frae me," said he when relating the incident. once i heard a fort douglas man observe that, as the search had proved futile, i must have fallen into one of the air-holes of the ice. "nae doot the headstrong young mon is' gettin' what he deserves. i warrant he's warm in his present abode," answered mr. sutherland. on another occasion d'orsonnens asked who the man was that mr. sutherland's daughter had been nursing all winter. "a puir body driven from fort douglas by those bloodthirsty villains," answered mr. sutherland, giving his visitor a strong toddy; and he at once improved the occasion by taking down a volume and reading the french officer a series of selections against romanism. after that d'orsonnens came no more. "i hope i did not tell nor'-west secrets in a hudson's bay house when i was delirious, mr. sutherland," i remarked. the scotchman had lugged me from bed in a gentle, lumbering, well-meant fashion, and i was sitting up for the first time. "ye're no the mon wi' a leak t' y'r mouth. i dinna say, though, ye're aye as discreet wi' the thoughts o' y'r heart as y'r head! ye need na fash y'r noodle wi' remorse aboot company secrets. i canna say ye'll no fret aboot some other things ye hae told. a' the winter lang, 'twas frances and stars and spooks and speerits and bogies and statues and graven images--wha' are forbidden by the holy scriptures--till the lassie thought ye gane clean daft! 'twas a bonnie e'e, like silver stars; or a bit blush, like the pippin; or laughter, like a wimplin' brook; or lips, like posies; or hair, like links o' gold; and mair o' the like till the lassie came rinnin' oot o' y'r room, fair red wi' shame! losh, mon, ye maun keep a still tongue in y'r head and not blab oot y'r thoughts o' a wife till she believes na mon can hae peace wi'out her. i wad na hae ye abate one jot o' all ye think, for her price is far above rubies; but hae a care wi' y'r grand talk! after ye gang to the kirk, lad, na mon can keep that up." his warning i laughed to the winds, as youth the world over has ever laughed sage counsels of chilling age. i can compare my recovery only to the swift transition of seasons in those northern latitudes. without any lingering spring, the cold grayness of long, tense winter gives place to a radiant sun-burst of warm, yellow light. the uplands have long since been blown bare of snow by the march winds, and through the tangle of matted turf shoot myriad purple cups of the prairie anemone, while the russet grass takes on emerald tints. one day the last blizzard may be sweeping a white trail of stormy majesty across the prairie; the next a fragrance of flowers rises from the steaming earth and the snow-filled ravines have become miniature lakes reflecting the dazzle of a sunny sky and fleece clouds. my convalescence was similar to the coming of summer. without any weary fluctuation from well to ill, and ill to well--which sickens the heart with a deferred hope--all my old-time strength came back with the glow of that year's june sun. "there's nae accountin' for some wilful folk, lad," was mr. sutherland's remark, one evening after i was able to leave my room. "ye hae risen frae y'r bed like the crocus frae snaw. an' frances were hangin' aboot y'r pillow, lad, i'm nae sure y'd be up sae dapper and smart." "i thought my nurse was to return when i was able to be up," i answered, strolling to the cottage door. "come back frae the door, lad. dinna show y'rsel' tae the enemy. there be more speerin' for ye than hae love for y'r health. have y'r wits aboot ye! dinna be frettin' y'rsel' for frances! the lassies aye rin fast enow tae the mon wi' sense to hold his ain!" with that advice he motioned me to the only armchair in the room, and sitting down on the outer step to keep watch, began reading some theological disputation aloud. "odds, lad, ye should see the papist so'diers rin when i hae calvin by me," he remarked. "it's a pity you can't lay the theological thunderers on the doorstep to drive stray de meurons off. then you could come in and take this chair yourself," i answered, sitting back where no visitor could see me. but mr. sutherland did not hear. he was deep in polemics, rolling out stout threats, that used scriptural texts as a cudgel, with a zest that testified enjoyment. "the wicked bend their bow," began the rasping voice; but when he cleared his throat, preparatory to the main argument, my thoughts went wandering far from the reader on the steps. as one whose dream is jarred by outward sound, i heard his tones quaver. "aye, frances, 'tis you," he said, and away he went, pounding at the sophistries of some straw enemy. a shadow was on the threshold, and before i had recalled my listless fancy, in tripped frances sutherland, herself, feigning not to see me. the gray eyes were veiled in the misty fashion of those fluffy things women wear, which let through all beauty, but bar out intrusion. i do not mean she wore a veil: veils and frills were not seen among the colonists in those days. but the heavy lashes hung low in the slumbrous, dreamy way that sees all and reveals nothing. instinctively i started up, with wild thoughts thronging to my lips. at the same moment mr. sutherland did the most chivalrous thing i have seen in homespun or broadcloth. "hoots wi' y'r giddy claver," said he, before i had spoken a word; and walking off, he sat down at some distance. thereupon his daughter laughed merrily with a whole quiver of dangerous archery about her lips. "that is the nearest to an untruth i have ever heard him tell," she said, which mightily relieved my embarrassment. "why did he say that?" i asked, with my usual stupidity. "i am sure i cannot say," and looking straight at me, she let go the barbed shaft, that lies hidden in fair eyes for unwary mortals. "sit down," she commanded, sinking into the chair i had vacated. "sit down, rufus, please!" this with an after-shot of alarm from the heavy lashes; for if a woman's eyes may speak, so may a man's, and their language is sometimes bolder. "thanks," and i sat down on the arm of that same chair. for once in my life i had sense to keep my tongue still; for, if i had spoken, i must have let bolt some impetuous thing better left unsaid. "rufus," she began, in the low, thrilling tones that had enthralled me from the first, "do you know i was your sole nurse all the time you were delirious?" "no wonder i was delirious! dolt, that i was, to have been delirious!" thought i to myself; but i choked down the foolish rejoinder and endeavored to look as wise as if my head had been ballasted with the weight of a patriarch's wisdom instead of ballooning about like a kite run wild. "i think i know all your secrets." "oh!" a man usually has some secrets he would rather not share; and though i had not swung the full tether of wild west freedom--thanks solely to her, not to me--i trembled at recollection of the passes that come to every man's life when he has been near enough the precipice to know the sensation of falling without going over. "you talked incessantly of miriam and mr. hamilton and father holland." "and what did i say about frances?" "you said things about frances that made her tremble." "tremble? what a brute, and you waiting on me day and----" "hush," she broke in. "tremble because i am just a woman and not an angel, just a woman and not a star. we women are mortals just as you men are. sometimes we're fools as well as mortals, just as you men are; but i don't think we're knaves quite so often, because we're denied the opportunity and hedged about and not tempted." as she gently stripped away the pretty hypocrisies with which lovers delude themselves and lay up store for disappointment, i began to discount that old belief about truth and knowledge rendering a woman mannish and arrogant and assertive. "you men marry women, expecting them to be angels, and very often the angel's highest ambition is to be considered a doll. then your hope goes out and your faith----" "but, frances," i cried, "if any sensible man had his choice of an angel and a fair, good woman----" "be sure to say fair, or he'd grumble because he hadn't a doll," she laughed. "no levity! if he had choice of angels and stars and a good woman, he'd choose the woman. the star is mighty far away and cold and steely. the angel's a deal too perfect to know sympathy with faults and blunders. i tell you, little statue, life is only moil and toil, unless love transmutes the base metal of hard duty into the pure gold of unalloyed delight." "that's why i tremble. i must do more than angel or star! oh, rufus, if i can only live up to what you think i am--and you can live up to what i think you are, life will be worth living." "that's love's leverage," said i. then there was silence; for the sun had set and the father was no longer reading. shadows deepened into twilight, and twilight into gloaming. and it was the hour when the brooding spirit of the vast prairie solitudes fills the stillness of night with voiceless eloquence. why should i attempt to transcribe the silent music of the prairie at twilight, which every plain-dweller knows and none but a plain-dweller may understand? what wonder that the race native to this boundless land hears the rustling of spirits in the night wind, the sigh of those who have lost their way to the happy hunting-ground, and the wail of little ones whose feet are bruised on the shadow trail? what wonder the gauzy northern lights are bands of marshaling warriors and the stars torches lighting those who ride the plains of heaven? indeed, i defy a white man with all the discipline of science and reason to restrain the wanderings of mystic fancy during the hours of sunset on the prairie. there is, i affirm, no such thing as time for lovers. if they have watches and clocks, the wretched things run too fast; and if the sun himself stood still in sympathy, time would not be long. so i confess i have no record of time that night frances sutherland returned to her home and mr. sutherland kept guard at the door. when he had passed the threshold impatiently twice, i recollected with regret that it was impossible to read theology in the dark. the third time he thrust his head in. "mind y'rselves," he called. "i hear men coming frae the river, a pretty hour, indeed, for visitin'. frances, go ben and see yon back window's open!" "the soldiers from the fort," cried frances with a little gasp. "don't move," said i. "they can't see me here. it's dark. i want to hear what they say and the window is open. indeed, frances, i'm an expert at window-jumping," and i had begun to tell her of my scrape with louis' drunken comrades in fort douglas, when i heard mr. sutherland's grating tones according the newcomers a curious welcome. "ye swearin', blasphemin', rampag'us, carousin' infidel, ye'll no darken my doorway this night. y'r french gab may be foul wi' oaths for all i ken; but ye'll no come into my hoose! an' you, sir, a blind leader o' the blind, a disciple o' beelzebub, wi' y'r babylonish idolatries, wi' y'r incense that fair stinks in the nostrils o' decent folk, wi' y'r images and mummery and crossin' o' y'rsel', wi' y'r pagan, popish practises, wi' y'r skirts and petticoats, i'll no hae ye on my premises, no, not an' ye leave y'r religion outside! an' you, meester hamilton, a respectable protestant, i'm fair surprised to see ye in sic' company." "'tis eric and father holland and laplante," i shouted, springing to my feet and rushing to the doorway, but frances put herself before me. "keep back," she whispered. "the priest and mr. hamilton have been here before; but father would not let them in. the other man may be a de meuron. be careful, rufus! there's a price on your head." "ho--ho--my _ursus major_, prime guardian of _ursa major_, first of the heavenly constellations in the north," insolently laughed louis laplante through the dusk. "let me pass, frances," i begged, thrusting her gently aside, but her trembling hands still clung to my arm. "impertinent rascal," rasped the irate scotchman. "i'd have ye understand my name's sutherland, not _major ursus_. i'll no bide wi' y'r impudence! leave this place----" "the bruin growls," interrupted louis with a laugh, and i heard mr. sutherland's gasp of amazed rage at the lengths of the frenchman's insolence. "i must, dearest," i whispered, disengaging the slender hands from my arm; and i flung out into the dusk. in the gloom, my approach was unnoticed; and when i came upon the group, father holland had laid his hand upon mr. sutherland's shoulder and in a low, tense voice was uttering words, which--thank an all-bountiful providence!--have no sectarian limits. "and the king shall answer and say unto them, 'i was a stranger and ye took me not in: naked and ye clothed me not: sick and in prison and ye visited me not. verily i say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me'----" "dinna con holy writ to me, sir," interrupted mr. sutherland, throwing the priest's hand off and jerking back. then louis laplante saw me. there was a long, low whistle. "ye daft gommerel," gasped mr. sutherland, facing me with unutterable disgust. "ye daft gommerel! a' my care and fret, waste--gane clean to waste. i wash m' hands o' ye----" but louis had knocked the scotchman aside and tumbled into my arms, half laughing, half crying and altogether as hysterical as was his wont. "i pay you back at las', my comrade! ha--old solemncholy! you thought the bird of passage, he come not back at all! but the birds return! so does louis! he decoy-duck the whole covey! you generous? no more not generous than the son of a seigneur, mine enemy! you give life? he give life! you give liberty! so does louis! you help one able help himself? louis help one not able help himself! ha! _très bien! noblesse oblige! la gloire!_ she--near! she here! she where i, louis laplante, son of a seigneur, snare that she-devil, trap that fox, trick the tigress! ha--ol' tombstone! _noblesse oblige_--i say! she near--she here," and he flung up both arms like a frenzied maniac. "man! are you mad?" i demanded, uncertain whether he were apostrophizing diable's squaw, or abstract glory. "speak out!" i shouted, shaking him by the shoulder. "these--are they all friends?" asked louis, suddenly cooled and looking suspiciously at the group. "all," said i, still holding him by the shoulder. "that--that thing--that bear--that bruin--he a friend?" and louis pointed to mr. sutherland. "friend to the core," said i, laying both hands upon his shoulders. "core with prickles outside," gibed louis. "louis," i commanded, utterly out of patience, "what of miriam? speak plain, man! have you brought the tribe as you promised?" it must have been mention of miriam's name, for the white, drawn face of eric hamilton bent over my shoulder and fiery, glowing eyes burned into the very soul of the frenchman. louis staggered back as if red irons had been thrust in his face. "_sacredie_," said he, backing against father holland, "i am no murderer." it was then i observed that frances sutherland had followed me. her slender white fingers were about the bronzed hand of the french adventurer. "monsieur laplante will tell us what he knows," she said softly, and she waited for his answer. "the daughter of _l'aigle_," he replied slowly and collectedly, all the while feasting upon that fair face, "comes down the red with her tribe and captives, many captive women. they pass here to-night. they camp south the rapids, this side of the rapids. last night i leave them. i run forward, i find le petit garçon--how you call him?--leetle fellow? he take me to the priest. he bring canoe here. he wait now for carry us down. we must go to the rapids--to the camp! there my contract! my bargain, it is finished," and he shrugged his shoulders, for frances had removed her hand from his. whether louis laplante's excitable nature were momentarily unbalanced by the success of his feat, i leave to psychologists. whether some premonition of his impending fate had wrought upon him strangely, let psychical speculators decide. or whether louis, the sly rogue, worked up the whole situation for the purpose of drawing frances sutherland into the scene--which is what i myself suspect--i refer to private judgment, and merely set down the incidents as they occurred. that was how louis laplante told us of bringing diable's squaw and her captives back to red river. and that was how father holland and eric and louis and mr. sutherland and myself came to be embarking with a camping outfit for a canoe-trip down the river. "have the indians passed, or are they to come?" i asked louis as mr. sutherland and eric settled themselves in a swift, light canoe, leaving the rest of us to take our places in a larger craft, where little fellow, gurgling pleased recognition of me, acted as steersman. "they come later. the fast canoe go forward and camp. we watch behind," ordered louis, winking at me significantly. i saw frances step to her father's canoe. "you're no coming, frances," he protested, querulously. "don't say that, father. i never disobeyed you in my life, and i _am_ coming! don't tell me not to! push out, mr. hamilton," and she picked up a paddle and i saw the canoe dart swiftly forward into mid-current, where the darkness enveloped it; and we followed fast in its wake. "louis," said i, trying to fathom the meaning of his wink, "are those indians to come yet?" "no. simpleton--you think louis a fool?" he asked. "why did you lie to them?" "get them out of the way." "why?" "because, stupid, some ones they be killed to-night! the englishman, he have a wife--he not be killed! mademoiselle--she love a poor fool--or break her pretty heart! the father--he needed to stick-pin you both--so you never want for to fight each other," and louis laughed low like the purr of water on his paddle-blade. "faith, lad," cried the priest, who had been unnaturally silent, because, i suppose, he was among aliens to his faith, "faith, lad, 'tis a good heart ye have, if ye'd but cut loose from the binding past. may this night put an end to your devil pranks!" * * * * * and that night did! chapter xxviii the last of louis' adventures i think, perhaps, the reason good enterprises fail so often where evil ventures succeed, is that the good man blunders forward, trusting to the merits of his cause, where the evil manipulator proceeds warily as a cat over broken glass. and so, altogether apart from his services as guide, i felt louis laplante's presence on the river a distinct advantage. "the lord is with us, lad. she shall be delivered! the lord is with us; but don't you bungle his plans!" ejaculated father holland for the twentieth time; and each time the french trapper looked waggishly over his shoulder at me and winked. "bungle! pah!" louis clapped his paddle athwart the canoe and laughed a low, sly, defiant laugh. "bungle! pah! catch louis bungle his cards, ha, ha! trumps! he play trumps--he hold his hand low--careless--nodings in it--he keep quiet--nodings worth play in his hand--but his sleeve--ha, ha!" and louis laughed softly and winked at the full moon. "the daughter of l'aigle, she cuff louis, she slap his cheek, she call him lump--lout--slouch! ha, ha!--louis no fool--he pare the claws of l'aigle to-night!" at that, little fellow's stolid face took on a vindictive gleam, and he snapped out something in indian tongue which set louis to laughing. suddenly the indian's paddle was suspended in mid-air, and little fellow bent over the prow, gazing at the moon-tracked water. "_sacredie!_" cried louis, catching up water that trickled through his fingers, "'tis dried rabbit thong! they are ahead of us! they have passed while that scotch mule was balk! we must catch the englishman," and he began hitting out with his paddle at a great rate. we had overtaken mr. sutherland's canoe within half an hour of louis' discovery, and eric wheeled about with a querulous demand. "what's wrong? are they ahead? i thought you said they were behind," and he turned suspiciously to laplante. "you thought wrong," said louis, ever facile with subterfuges. "you thought wrong, mister high-and-mighty! camp here and watch; they come before morning!" "no lies to me," shouted eric, becoming uncontrollably excited. "if you mislead us, your life shall----" "pig-head! i no save your wife for back chin! camp here, i say," and louis' fitful temper began to show signs of sulking. "for goodness' sake, eric, do what you're told! we've made a bad enough business of it----" "give the frenchman a chance! do what you're told, i say, ye blunderers! troth, the lord himself couldn't bring success to such blundering idiots," was father holland's comment. "i'll take na orders frae meddlesome papists," began the scotchman; but little fellow had forcibly turned the prow of the canoe shoreward. i gave them a shove with my paddle. frances took the cue, and while her father was yet scolding raised her paddle and had them close to the river bank. "get your tent up here," i called to conciliate them. "then come to the bank and watch for the indians." a bit of clean gravel ran out from the clay cliff. "that's the ground," said i, as the other canoe bumped over the pebbles; and i stopped paddling and dangled my hand in the water. something in the dark drifted wet and soft against my fingers. ordinarily such an incident would not have alarmed me; but instantly a shudder of apprehension ran through my frame. i scarce had courage to look into the river lest the white face of a woman should appear through the watery depths. clutching the water-soaked tangle, i jerked it up. something gave with a rip, and my hand was full of shawl fringe. "what's that, rufus?" asked father holland. "don't know." i motioned him to be silent and held it up in the moonlight. distinctly it was, or had been, red fringe. "do you think--" he began, then stopped. our keel had rubbed bottom and hamilton was springing out of the other canoe. "yes, i do," i replied, choking with dread. "this is too terrible! he'll kill himself! go up the bank with him! keep him busy at the tent! little fellow and i'll pole for it. the water's shallow there----" "what do _you_ think?" said the priest to laplante. "t'ink! i never t'ink! i finds out." but all the same, louis' assurance was shaken and he peered searchingly into the river. "aren't you coming? what's your plan?" called eric. "certainly we are, but get this truck to higher ground, will you?" i hoisted out the camp trappings. "i want to paddle out for something." "what is it?" he asked. "something lost out there. i lost it out of my hand." frances sutherland, i know, suspected trouble from the alarm which i could not keep out of my speech; for she pressed to the water's edge. "get the tent ready," i urged. "what's the meaning of this mystery?" persisted hamilton sharply. "what have you lost?" "don't press him too closely. faith, it may be a love token," interjected father holland, as he stepped ashore; but he whispered in my ear as he passed, "you're wrong, lad! you're on the wrong track!" i leaped back to the canoe, little fellow and the frenchman following, and we paddled to the shallows where i had caught the fringe. i prodded the soft mud below and trailed the paddle back and forward over the clay bottom. louis did likewise; but in vain. only soft ooze came up on the blade. then little fellow stripped and dived. of course it was dark under water, as it always is dark under the muddy red, and the indian could not feel a thing from which fringe could have ripped. had my jerk disturbed whatever it was and sent it rolling down to mid-current? i asked father holland this when i came back. "tush, faint-heart," he muttered, drawing me aside. "'tis only a trial of your faith." i said something about trials of faith which i shall not repeat here, but which the majority of people, who are on the tenter-hooks of such trials, have said for themselves. "faith! pah!" exclaimed louis, joining our whispered conference, while eric and mr. sutherland were hoisting a tent. "that shawl, it mean nodings of things heavenly! it only mean rag stuck in the mud and reds nearabouts here! i have told the great bear and his snarl englishman the indians not come till morning. they get tent ready and watch! you follow louis, he lead you to camp. the priest--he good for say a little prayer; the indian for fight; louis--for swear; rufus--to snatch the englishwoman, he good at snatching the fair, ha-ha." he darted to the shore, calling little fellow from the canoe and leaving father holland and me to follow as best we could. "we'll be back soon, eric," i shouted. "we're going to get the lie of the land. keep watch here," and i broke into a run to keep up with the french trapper and the indian, who were leading into the woods away from the river. i could hear father holland puffing behind like a wind-blown racer. abruptly the priest came to a stop. "by all the saints," he ordered. "go back to the tent!" i turned. a white form emerged from the foliage and frances was beside me. "may i not come?" she asked. "no--dearest, there will be fighting." "no--lord--no," panted father holland coming up to us. "we're not swapping one woman for another. what would rufus do without ye?" "you are going for miriam?" she questioned, holding my hand. "god speed you and bring you back safely!" "say rather--bring miriam," and i unfastened the clinging hand almost roughly. "come on, slugs, sloths, laggards," commanded laplante impatiently, and we dashed into the thick of the woods, leaving the white figure alone against the shadowy thicket. she called out something, of which i heard only two words, "miriam" and "rufus"; but i knew those names were uttered in supplication and they filled my heart with daring hope. surely, we must succeed--for the little statue's prayers were following me--and i bounded on with a faith as buoyant as the priest's blind trust. thus we ran through the moon-shafted woods pursuing the flitting, lithe figures of trapper and indian, who scarce disturbed a fern leaf, while father holland and i floundered through the underbrush like ramping elephants. then i found myself panting as hard as the priest and clinging to his arm for support; for illness had taken all the bravery out of my muscles, like champagne uncorked and left in the heat. "brace yourself, lad," said the priest. "the lord is with us, but don't you bungle." a long, low whistle came through the dark, a whistle that was such a perfect imitation of the night hawk, no spy might detect it for the signal of a runner. after the whistle, was the soft, ominous hiss of a serpent in the grass; and we were abreast of louis laplante and little fellow standing stock still sniffing forward as hounds might scent a foe. "she may not be there! she may be drown;" whispered louis, "but we creep on, quiet like hare, no noise like deer, stiller than mountain cat, hist--what that?" the night breeze set the leaves all atremble--clapping their hands, as the indians call it--and a whiff of burning bark tainted the air. "that's it," said i under my breath. the smoke was blowing from wooded flats between us and the river. cautiously parting interlaced branches and as carefully replacing each bough to prevent backward snap, we turned down the sloping bank. i suppose necessity's training in the wilds must produce the same result in man and beast; and from that fact, faddists of the various "osophies" and "ologies" may draw what conclusions they please; but i affirm that no panther could creep on its prey with more stealth, caution and cunning than the trapper and indian on the enemy's camp. i have seen wild creatures approaching a foe set each foot down with noiseless tread; but i have never seen such a combination of instincts, brute and human, as louis and little fellow displayed. the indian felt the ground for tracks and pitfalls and sticks, that might crackle. louis, with his whole face pricked forward, trusted more to his eyes and ears and that sense of "feel," which is--contradictory as it may seem--utterly intangible. once the indian picked up a stick freshly broken. this was examined by both, and the indian smelt it and tried his tongue on the broken edge. then both fell on all fours, creeping under the branches of the thicket and pausing at every pace. "would that i had taken lessons in forest lore before i went among the sioux," i thought to myself. now i knew what had been incomprehensible before--why all my well-laid plans had been detected. a wind rustled through the foliage. that was in our favor; for in spite of our care the leaves crushed and crinkled beneath us. at intervals a glimmer of light shone from the beach. louis paused and listened so intently our breathing was distinctly audible. a vague murmur of low voices--like the "talking of the trees" in little fellow's language--floated up from the river; and in the moonlight i saw laplante laugh noiselessly. trees stood farther apart on the flats and brushwood gave place to a forest of ferns, that concealed us in their deep foliage; but the thick growth also hid the enemy, and we knew not at what moment we might emerge in full view of the camp. so we stretched out flat, spying through the fern stalks before we parted the stems to draw ourselves on a single pace. presently, the murmur separated into distinct voices, with much low laughing and the bitter jeers that make up indian mirth. we could hear the crackling of the fire, and wormed forward like caterpillars. there was a glare of light through the ferns, and louis stopped. we all three pulled abreast of him. lying there as a cat watches a mouse, we parted first one and then another of the fronds till the indian encampment could be clearly seen. "is that the tribe?" i whispered; but louis gripped my arm in a vice that forbade speech. the camp was not a hundred feet away. fire blazed in the centre. poles were up for wigwams, and already skins had been overlaid, completing several lodges. men lay in lazy attitudes about the fire. squaws were taking what was left of the evening meal and slave-women were putting things to rights for the night. sitting apart, with hands tied, were other slaves, chiefly young women taken in some recent fray and not yet trusted unbound. among these was one better clad than the others. her wrists were tied; but her hands managed to conceal her face, which was bowed low. in her lap was a sleeping child. was this miriam? children were with the other captives; but to my eyes this woman's torn shawl appeared reddish in the fire glow. "let's go boldly up and offer to buy the slaves," i suggested; but louis' grip tightened forbiddingly and little fellow's forefinger pointed towards a big creature, who was ordering the others about. 'twas a woman of giant, bronzed form, with the bold stride of a conquering warrior and a trophy-decked belt about her waist. the fire shone against her girdle and the stones in the leather strap glowed back blood-red. father holland breathed only one word in my ear, "agates;" and the fire of the red stones flashed like some mystic flame through my being till brain and heart were hot with vengeance and my hands burned as if every nerve from palm to finger-tips were a blade point reaching out to destroy that creature of cruelty. "diable's squaw," i gasped out, beside myself with anger and joy. "let me but within arm's length of her----" "hold quiet," the priest hissed low and angry, gripping my shoulder like a steel winch. "'vengeance is mine,' saith the lord! see that you save the white woman! leave the evil-doer to god! the lord's with us, but i tell you, don't you bungle!" "bungle!" i could have shouted out defiance to the whole band. "let go!" i ordered, trying to struggle up; for the iron hand still held me. "let go, or i'll----" but louis laplante's palm was forcibly slapped across my mouth and his other hand he laid significantly on his dagger, giving me one threatening look. by the firelight i saw his lips mechanically counting the numbers of the enemy and mechanically i audited his count. "twenty men, thirty squaws and the slaves," said he under his breath. an indian left the fire and approached the captives. "see! watch! is that woman miriam?" demanded the priest. "she'll take her hands from her face now." "of course it is!" i was furious at the restraint and hesitancy; but as i said before, the experienced intriguer proceeds as warily as a cat. "you not sure--not for sure--_mon dieu_--no," muttered laplante; and he was right. with the forest shadows across the captives, it was impossible to distinguish the color of their faces. taking a knife from his belt, the indian cut the cords of all but the woman with her hands across her face. a girl brought refuse of food; but this woman took no notice, never moving her hands. thereupon the young squaw sneered and the indian idlers jeered loud in harsh, strident laughter. this roused the big squaw. she strode up, little fellow all the while with glistening teeth following her motions as a cat's head turns to a mouse. with the flat of her hand she struck the silent woman, who leaped up and ran to a wigwam. in speechless fear, the child had scrambled to its feet and backed away from the angry group towards the ferns; but the light was fitful and shadowy, and we could recognize neither woman, nor child. "i can't stand this any longer," i declared. "i must know if that's miriam. let's draw closer." father holland and i crawled stealthily to the very border of fern growth, louis and the indian lying still and muttering over some plan of action. "hist," said the priest, "we'll try the child." unlike naked indian children, the little thing had a loose garment banded about its waist; but its feet were bare and its hair as raven black as that of any young savage. it stood like some woodland elf in the maze of heavy sleepiness, at each harsh word from the camp, sidling shyly closer to our hiding-place. we dragged forward till i could have touched the child, but feared to startle it. putting his hand out slowly, father holland caught the little creature's arm. it gave a start, jerked back and looked in mute wonderment at our strange hiding-place. "pretty boy," crooned the priest in low, coaxing tones, gently tightening his hold. "is it white?" i whispered. "i can't see." "good little man," he went on, slowly folding his hands about it. drawing quickly back, he lifted the child completely into his arms. "is boy sleepy?" he asked. "call him 'eric,'" i urged. "is eric sleepy?" the child's head fell wearily against the priest's shoulder. snuggling closer, he lisped back in perfect english, "eric's tired." at once father holland's free hand caught my arm as if he feared i might rush out. for a moment neither of us spoke. then he said, "give me your coat." i ripped off my buckskin-smock. wrapping the sleeping boy about, the priest laid him gently among the ferns. "where's the mother?" asked father holland with a catching intake of breath. i pointed to the wigwam. the big squaw had come out, leaving miriam alone and was engaged in noisy dispute with the men. louis and little fellow had now wriggled abreast of us. "ha, ha, _mon brave_--your time, it come now! you save the white woman! i pay my devoirs to the lady, ha, ha--i owe her much--i pay you both back with one stroke, one grand stroke. little fellow, he watch for spring surprise and help us both! swoop--snitch--snatch--snap her up! 'tis done--tra-la!" and louis drew up for all the world like a tiger about to spring, but the priest drew him down. "listen," commanded the churchman, in the slow, tense way of one who intended to be obeyed. "i'll go back and come up by the beach. i'll brow-beat them and tongue-whack them for having slaves. they'll offer fight; so'll i. they'll all run down; that's your chance. wait till they all go. i'll make them, every one. that's your chance. you rush! try that! if it fail, in the name of the lord, have y'r weapons ready--and the lord be with us!" "they'll kill you," i protested. "let me go!" "you? what about frances?" "pah!" said louis. "i go myself--i trick--i trap--i snare 'em----" "hush to ye, ye braggart," interrupted the priest. "gillespie is as flabby as dough from an illness. 'tis here you sit quiet, and help with miriam as ye'd save y'r soul! howld down with y'r bouncing nonsense, lad, and the saints be with ye; for it's a fight there'll be, and there is the fightin' stuff of a soldier in ye! never turn to me--mind ye never turn to help me, or the curse of the fool be on y'r head--and the lord be with us!" "amen." but i spoke to vacancy. while a rising wind set the branches overhead grating noisily, he had risen and darted away. louis laplante, contrary to the priest's orders, also rose and disappeared in the woods. little fellow still lay by me, but i could not rely on him for intelligent action, and there came over me that sense of aloneness in danger, which i knew so well in the mandane country. the child's slightest cry might alarm the camp, and i shivered when he breathed heavily, or turned in his sleep. the indians might miss the boy and search the woods. instinctively my hand was on my pistol. it was well to be as near miriam's tent as possible; and i, too, took advantage of the wind to change my place. i moved back, signalling the indian to follow, and skirted round the open till i was directly opposite miriam's wigwam. why had louis gone off, and why did he not come back? had he gone to keep secret guard over the priest, or to decoy the vigilant sioux woman? in his intentions i had confidence enough, but not in his judgment. at that moment my speculations were interrupted by a loud shout from the beach. every indian in camp started up as if hostiles had uttered their war-cry. "hallo, there! hallo! hallo!" called the priest. indians dashed to the river, while bedraggled squaws and naked children rushed from wigwams and stood in clamorous groups between the lodges and the water. the topmost branches of the trees swayed back and forward in the wind, alternately throwing shafts of moonlight and shadows across the opening of miriam's wigwam. when the light flooded the tent a solitary, white-faced form appeared in dark, sharp outline. the bare arms were tied at the wrists, and beat aimlessly through the darkness. and there was a sound of piteous weeping. should i make the final, desperate dash now? "don't bungle his plans," came the priest's warning; and i waited. the squaws were very near; and the angular figure of diable's wife hung on the rear of the group. she was scolding like a termagant in the sioux tongue, ordering the other women to the fray; but still she kept back, looking over her shoulder suspiciously at miriam's tent, uncertain whether to go or stay. we had failed in every other attempt to rescue miriam. if the lord--as the priest believed--had planned the sufferer's aid, his instruments had blundered badly. there must be no more feeble-fingering. "thieves! thieves! cut-throats!" bawled father holland in a storm of abuse. "ye rascals," he thundered, cutting the air with his stick and purposely backing away from the camp to draw the indians off. then his voice was lost in a chorus of shrill screams. the moonlight shone across the wigwam opening. the captive had heard the english tongue, and was listening. but the sioux squaw had also heard and recognized the voice of a former prisoner. she ran forward a pace, then hesitated, looking back doubtfully. as she turned her head, out from the gloom of the thicket with the leap of a lynx, lithe and swift, sprang the crouching form of louis laplante. i felt little fellow all in a tremor by my side; the tremor not of fear, but of the couchant panther; and he uttered the most vicious snarl i have ever heard from human throat. louis alighted neatly and noiselessly, directly behind the sioux woman. she must have felt his presence, for she turned round and round expectantly. louis, silent and elusive as a shadow, circled about her, tripping from side to side as she turned her head. but the fire betrayed him. she had wheeled towards the forest as if spying for the unseen presence among the foliage, and louis deftly dodged behind. the move put him between the fire and his antagonist, and the full profile of his queer, bending figure was shadowed clear past the woman. she turned like some vengeful, malign goddess, and i thought it all up with the daring trapper; but he doffed his red toque and swept the advancing fury the low bow of a french courtier. then he drew himself erect and laughed insolently in the woman's face. his careless assurance allayed her suspicions. "oh, 'tis you!" she growled. "'tis i, fleet-foot, winged messenger, humble slave," laughed louis, with another grotesque bow; but the rogue had cleverly put himself between the squaw and miriam's tent. i should have rushed to miriam's rescue long since, instead of watching this by-play between trapper and mountain cat; but as the foray waxed hotter with the priest, the young braves had run back to their tents for guns and clubs. "stand off, ye scoundrels," roared the priest, in tones of genuine anger; for the indians were closing threateningly about him. "stand back, ye knaves, ye sons of satan," and every soul but louis laplante and the sioux squaw ran with querulous shouts to the river. "cruel! cruel! cruel!" sobbed a voice from the wigwam; and there was a straining to break the thongs which bound her. "cruel! cruel! hast thou no pity? o my god! hast thou no pity? shall not a sparrow fall to the ground without thy knowledge? is this thy pity? o my god!" the voice broke in a torrent of heart-piercing cries. i could endure it no longer. "have at ye, ye villains! come out like men! now, me brave bhoys, show the stuff that's in ye! a fig for y'r valor if ye fail! the curse o' the lord on the coward heart! back with ye; ye red divils! out with ye, rufus! the lord shall deliver the captive! what, 'an wuld ye dare strike a servant o' the lord? let the deliverer appear, i say," he shouted, weaving in commands to us as he dealt stout blows about him and receded down the river bank. "take that--and that--and that," i heard him shout, with a rat-tat-too of sharp thuds from the staff accompanying each word. then i knew the quarrel on the beach was at its height; and louis laplante was still foiling the sioux's approach to miriam's wigwam like a deft fencer. "follow me, little fellow," i commanded. "have your knife ready," and i had not finished speaking when three shrill whistles came from louis. 'twas his old-time signal of danger. above the hubbub at the river the sioux squaw was screaming to the braves. bounding from concealment, i tore off the layer roofing of the wigwam, plunged through the tapering pole frame, shaking the frail lean-to like a house of cards, and was beside miriam. again i heard louis' whistle and again the squaw's angry scream; but little fellow had followed on my heels and stood with knife-blade glittering bare at the tent-entrance. "hush," i whispered, slashing my dagger through the thongs around her hands and cutting the rope that held her to the central stake. "we've found you at last. come! come!" and i caught her up. "o my god!" she cried. "at last! at last! where is the child? they have taken little eric!" "we have him safe! his father is waiting! don't hesitate, miriam!" "run, little fellow," i ordered, "across the camp. get the child," and i sprang from the wigwam, which crashed to the ground behind me. i had thought to save skirting the woods by a run across the camping-ground; but when my indian dashed for the child and the sioux saw me undefended with the white woman in my arms, she made a desperate lunge at laplante and called at the top of her voice for the braves. louis, with weapons in hand, still kept between the fury and miriam; but i think his french chivalry must have been restraining him. though the sioux offered him many opportunities and was doing her best to sheathe a knife in his heart, he seemed to refrain from using either dagger or pistol. an insolent laugh was on his face. the life-and-death game which he was playing was to his daring spirit something novel and amusing. "the lady is--perturbed," he laughed, dodging a thrust at his neck; "she fences wide, tra-la," this as the barrel of his pistol parried a drive of her knife; "she hits afar--ho--ho--not so fast, my fury--not so furious, my fair--zipp, ha--ha--ha--another miss--another miss--the lady's a-miss," for the squaw's weapon struck fire against his own. "look out for the braves, have a care," i shouted; for a dozen young bucks were running up behind to the woman's aid. "ha--ha---_prenez garde_--my tiger-cat has kittens," he laughed; and he looked over his shoulder. that backward look gave the fury her opportunity. in the firelight blue steel flashed bright. the frenchman reeled, threw up his arms, and fell. one sharp, deep, broken draw of breath, and with a laugh on his lips, louis laplante died as he had lived. then the tiger-cat leaped over the dead form at miriam and me. what happened next i can no more set down consecutively than i can distinguish the parts in a confused picture with a red-eyed fury striking at me, naked indians brandishing war-clubs, flashes of powder smoke, a circle of gesticulating, screeching dark faces in the background, my indian fighting like a very fiend, and a pale-faced woman with a little curly-headed boy at her feet standing against the woods. "run, _monsieur_; i keep bad indians off," urged little fellow. "run--save white squaw and papoose--run, _monsieur_." now, whatever may be said to the contrary, however brave two men may be, they cannot stand off a horde of armed savages. i let go my whole pistol-charge, which sent the red demons to a distance and intended dashing for the woods, when the sioux woman put her hand in her pocket and hurled a flint head at little fellow. the brave indian sprang aside and the thing fell to the ground. with it fell a crumpled sheet of paper. i heard rather than saw little fellow's crouching leap. two forms rolled over and over in the camp ashes; and with miriam on my shoulder and the child under the other arm, i had dashed into the thicket of the upper ground. overhead tossed the trees in a swelling wind, and up from the shore rushed the din of wrangling tongues, screaming and swearing in a clamor of savage wrath. the wind grew more boisterous as i ran. behind the indian cries died faintly away; but still with a strength not my own, always keeping the river in view, and often mistaking the pointed branches, which tore clothing and flesh from head to feet, for the hands of enemies--i fled as if wolves had been pursuing. again and again sobbed miriam--"o, my god! at last! at last! thanks be to god! at last! at last!" we were on a hillock above our camp. putting miriam down, i gave her my hand and carried the child. when i related our long, futile search and told her that eric was waiting, agitation overcame her, and i said no more till we were within a few feet of the tents. "please wait." i left her a short distance from the camp that i might go and forewarn eric. frances sutherland met me in the way and read the news which i could not speak. "have you--oh--have you?" she asked. "who is that?" and she pointed to the child in my arms. "where's hamilton? where's your father?" i demanded, trembling from exhaustion and all undone. "mr. hamilton is in his tent priming a gun. father is watching the river. and oh, rufus! is it really so?" she cried, catching, sight of miriam's stooped, ragged figure. then she darted past me. both her arms encircled miriam, and the two began weeping on each other's shoulders after the fashion of women. i heard a cough inside hamilton's tent. going forward, i lifted the canvas flap and found eric sitting gloomily on a pile of robes. "eric," i cried, in as steady a voice as i command, which indeed, was shaking sadly, and i held the child back that hamilton might not see, "eric, old man, i think at last we've run the knaves down." "hullo!" he exclaimed with a start, not knowing what i had said. "are you men back? did you find out anything?" "why--yes," said i: "we found this," and i signalled frances to bring miriam. this was no way to prepare a man for a shock that might unhinge reason; but my mind had become a vacuum and the warm breath of the child nestling about my neck brought a mist before my eyes. "what did you say you had found?" asked hamilton, looking up from his gun to the tent-way; for the morning light already smote through the dark. "this," i said, lifting the canvas a second time and drawing miriam forward. i could but place the child in her arms. she glided in. the flap fell. there was the smothered outcry of one soul--rent by pain. "miriam--miriam--my god--miriam!" "come away," whispered a choky voice by my side, and frances linked her arm through mine. then the tent was filled and the night air palpitated with sounds of anguished weeping. and with tears raining from my eyes, i hastened away from what was too sacred for any ear but a pitying god's. that had come to my life which taught me the depths of hamilton's suffering. "dearest," said i, "now we understand both the pain and the joy of loving," and i kissed her white brow. chapter xxix the priest journeys to a far country again the guest-chamber of the sutherland home was occupied. how came it that a catholic priest lay under a protestant roof? how comes it that the new west ever ruthlessly strips reality naked of creed and prejudice and caste, ever breaks down the barrier relics of a mouldering past, ever forces recognition of men as individuals with individual rights, apart from sect and class and unmerited prerogatives? the catholic priest was wounded. the protestant home was near. manhood in protestant garb recognized manhood in roman cassock. necessity commanded. prejudice obeyed as it ever obeys in that vast land of untrameled freedom. so father holland was cared for in the protestant home with a tenderness which mr. sutherland would have repudiated. for my part, i have always thanked god for that leveling influence of the west. it pulls the fools from high places and awards only one crown--merit. it was little fellow who had brought father holland, wounded and insensible, from the sioux camp. "what of louis laplante's body, little fellow?" i asked, as soon as i had seen all the others set out for the settlement with father holland lying unconscious in the bottom of the canoe. "the white man, i buried in the earth as the white men do--deep in the clay to the roots of the willow, so i buried the frenchman," answered the indian. "and the squaw, i weighted with stones at her feet; for they trod on the captives. and with stones i weighted her throat, which was marked like the deer's when the mountain cat springs. with the stones at her throat and her feet, the squaw, i rolled into the water." "what, little fellow," i cried, remembering how i had seen him roll over and over through the camp-fire, with his hands locked on the sioux woman's throat, "did you kill the daughter of l'aigle?" "non, _monsieur_; little fellow no bad indian. but the squaw threw a flint and the flint was poison, and my hands were on her throat, and the squaw fell into the ashes, and when little fellow arose she was dead. did she not slay la robe noire? did she not slay the white man before monsieur's eyes? did she not bind the white woman? did she not drag me over the ground like a dead stag? so my fingers caught hard in her throat, and when i arose she lay dead in the ashes. so i fled and hid till the tribe left. so i shoved her into the water and pushed her under, and she sank like a heavy rock. then i found the priest." i had no reproaches to offer little fellow. he had only obeyed the savage instincts of a savage race, exacting satisfaction after his own fashion. "the squaw threw a flint. the flint was poison. also the squaw threw this at little fellow, white man's paper with signs which are magic," and the indian handed me the sheet, which had fallen from the woman's pocket as she hurled her last weapon. without fear of the magic so terrifying to him, i took the dirty, crumpled missive and unfolded it. the superscription of quebec citadel was at the top. with overwhelming revulsion came memory of poor louis laplante lying at the camp-fire in the gorge tossing a crumpled piece of paper wide of the flames, where the sioux squaw surreptitiously picked it up. the paper was foul and tattered almost beyond legibility; but through the stains i deciphered in delicate penciling these words: "in memory of last night's carouse in lower town, (one favor deserves another, you know, and i got you free of that scrape), spike the gun of my friend the enemy. if r-f-s g--p--e, e. h--l-t-n, j--k mack, or any of that prig gang come prying round your camp for news, put them on the wrong track. i owe the whole ------set a score. pay it for me, and we'll call the loan square." no name was signed; but the scene in the quebec club three years before, when eric had come to blows with colonel adderly, explained not only the authorship but louis' treachery. 'tis the misfortune of errant rogues like poor louis that to get out of one scrape ever involves them in a worse. now i understood the tumult of contradictory emotions that had wrought upon him when i had saved his life and he had resolved to undo the wrong to miriam. little fellow put the small canoe to rights, and i had soon joined the others at the sutherland homestead. but for two days the priest lay as one dead, neither moaning nor speaking. on the morning of the third, though he neither opened his eyes nor gave sign of recognition, he asked for bread. then my heart gave a great bound of hope--for surely a man desiring food is recovering!--and i sent frances sutherland to him and went out among the trees above the river. that sense of resilient relief which a man feels on discharging an impossible task, or throwing off too heavy a burden, came over me. miriam was rescued, the priest restored, and i dowered with god's best gift--the love of a noble, fair woman. hard duty's compulsion no longer spurred me; but my thoughts still drove in a wild whirl. there was a glassy reflection of a faded moon on the water, and daybreak came rustling through the trees which nodded and swayed overhead. a twittering of winged things arose in the branches, first only the cadence of a robin's call, an oriole's flute-whistle, the stirring wren's mellow note. then, suddenly, out burst from the leafed sprays a chorus of song that might have rivaled angels' melodies. the robin's call was a gust of triumph. the oriole's strain lilted exultant and a thousand throats gushed out golden notes. "now god be praised for love and beauty and goodness--and above all--for frances--for frances," were the words that every bird seemed to be singing; though, indeed, the interpretation was only my heart's response. i know not how it was, but i found myself with hat off and bowed head, feeling a gratitude which words could not frame--for the splendor of the universe and the glory of god. "rufus," called a voice more musical to my ear than any bird song; and frances was at my side with a troubled face. "he's conscious and talking, but i can't understand what he means. neither can miriam and eric. i wish you would come in." i found the priest pale as the pillows against which he leaned, with glistening eyes gazing fixedly high above the lintel of the door. miriam, with her snow-white hair and sad-lined face, was fanning the air before him. at the other side stood eric with the boy in his arms. mr. sutherland and i entered the room abreast. for a moment his wistful gaze fell on the group about the bed. first he looked at eric and the child, then at miriam, and from miriam to me, then back to the child. the meaning of it all dawned, gleamed and broke in full knowledge upon him; and his face shone as one transfigured. "the lord was with us," he muttered, stroking miriam's white hair. "praise be to god! now i can die in peace----" "no, you can't, father," i cried impetuously. "ye irriverent ruffian," he murmured with a flash of old mirth and a gentle pressure of my hand. "ye irriverent ruffian. peace! peace! i die in peace," and again the wistful eyes gazed above the door. "rufus," he whispered softly, "where are they taking me?" "taking you?" i asked in surprise; but frances sutherland's finger was on her lips, and i stopped myself before saying more. "troth, yes, lad, where are they taking me? the northern tribes have heard not a word of the love of the lord; and i must journey to a far, far country." at that the boy set up some meaningless child prattle. the priest heard him and listened. "father," asked the child in the language of indians when referring to a priest, "father, if the good white father goes to a far, far away, who'll go to northern tribes?" "and a little child shall lead them," murmured the priest, thinking he, himself, had been addressed and feeling out blindly for the boy. eric placed the child on the bed, and father holland's wasted hands ran through the lad's tangled curls. "a little child shall lead them," he whispered. "lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation. a light to lighten the gentiles--and a little child shall lead them." then i first noticed the filmy glaze, as of glass, spreading slowly across the priest's white face. blue lines were on his temples and his lips were drawn. a cold chill struck to my heart, like icy steel. too well i read the signs and knew the summons; and what can love, or gratitude, do in the presence of that summons? miriam's face was hidden in her hands and she was weeping silently. "the northern tribes know not the lord and i go to a far country; but a little child shall lead them!" repeated the priest. "indeed, sir, he shall be dedicated to god," sobbed miriam. "i shall train him to serve god among the northern tribes. do not worry! god will raise up a servant----" but her words were not heeded by the priest. "rufus, lad," he said, gazing afar as before, "lift me up," and i took him in my arms. "my sight is not so good as it was," he whispered. "there's a dimness before my face, lad! can _you_ see anything up there?" he asked, staring longingly forward. "faith, now, what might they all be doing with stars for diadems? what for might the angels o' heaven be doin' going up and down betwane the blue sky and the green earth? faith, lad, 'tis daft ye are, a-changin' of me clothes! lave the black gown, lad! 'tis the badge of poverty and he was poor and knew not where to lay his head of a weary night! lave the black gown, i say! what for wu'd a powr irish priest be doin' a-wearin' of radiant white? where are they takin' me, rufus? not too near the light, lad! i ask but to kneel at the master's feet an' kiss the hem of his robe!" there was silence in the room, but for the subdued sobbing of miriam. frances had caught the priest's wrists in both her hands, and had buried her face on the white coverlet. with his back to the bed, mr. sutherland stood by the window and i knew by the heaving of his angular shoulders that flood-gates of grief had opened. there was silence; but for the hard, sharp, quick, short breathings of the priest. a crested bird hopped to the window-sill with a chirp, then darted off through the quivering air with a glint of sunlight from his flashing wings. i heard the rustle of morning wind and felt the priest's face growing cold against my cheek. "i must work the master's work," he whispered, in short broken breaths, "while it is day--for the night cometh--when no man--can work.--don't hold me back, lad--for i must go--to a far, far country--it's cold, cold, rufus--the way is--rugged--my feet are slipping--slipping--give a hand--lad!--praise to god--there's a resting-place--somewhere!--farewell--boy--be brave--farewell--i may not come back soon--but i must--journey--to--a----far----far----" there was a little gasp for breath. his head felt forward and frances sobbed out, "he is gone! he is gone!" and the warmth of pulsing life in the form against my shoulder gave place to the rigid cold of motionless death. "may the lord god of israel receive the soul of his righteous servant," cried mr. sutherland in awesome tones. with streaming eyes he came forward and helped me to lay the priest back. then we all passed out from that chamber, made sacred by an invisible presence. * * * * * valedictory. 'twas twenty years after father holland's death that a keen-eyed, dark-skinned, young priest came from montreal on his way to athabasca. this was miriam's son. to-day it is he, the missionary famous in the north land, who passing back and forward between his lonely mission in the athabasca and the headquarters of his order, comes to us and occupies the guest-chamber in our little, old-fashioned, vine-grown cottage. the retaking of fort douglas virtually closed the bitter war between hudson's bay and nor'-westers. to both companies the conflict had proved ruinous. each was as anxious as the other for the terms of peace by which the great fur-trading rivals were united a few years after the massacre of seven oaks. so ended the despotic rule of gentlemen adventurers in the far north. the massacre turned the attention of britain to this unknown land and the daring heroism of explorers has given place to the patient nation-building of multitudes who follow the pioneer. such is the record of a day that is done. available by internet archive (https://archive.org) note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the numerous original illustrations. see 42279-h.htm or 42279-h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42279/42279-h/42279-h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/42279/42279-h.zip) images of the original pages are available through internet archive. see https://archive.org/details/cu31924028902216 transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). a list of corrections will be found at the end of the e-book. [illustration: lord strathcona and mount royal _present governor of the hudson's bay company_.] the great company being a history of the honourable company of merchants-adventurers trading into hudson's bay by beckles willson with an introduction by lord strathcona and mount royal present governor of the hudson's bay company with original drawings by arthur heming and maps, plans and illustrations new york dodd, mead & company 1900 entered according to act of the parliament of canada, in the year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-nine, by the copp, clark company, limited, toronto, in the office of the minister of agriculture. to the right honourable sir wilfrid laurier, g.c.m.g., to whose generous suggestion and continued encouragement is so largely due the compilation of these annals. preface. praiseworthy as the task is of unifying the scattered elements of our canadian story, yet it will hardly be maintained that such historical studies ought not to be preceded by others of a more elementary character. herein, then, are chronicled the annals of an institution coherent and compact--an isolated unit. the hudson's bay company witnessed the french dominion in northamerica rise to its extreme height, decline and disappear; it saw new colonies planted by britain; it saw them quarrel with the parent state, and themselves become transformed into states. wars came and passed--european powers on this continent waxed and waned, rose and faded away; remote forests were invaded by loyal subjects who erected the wilderness into opulent provinces. change, unceasing, never-ending change, has marked the history of this hemisphere of ours; yet there is one force, one institution, which survived nearly all conditions and all _régimes_. for two full centuries the hudson's bay company existed, unshorn of its greatness, and endures still--the one enduring pillar in the new world mansion. in pondering the early records of the company, one truth will hardly escape observation. it did not go forth amongst the savages with the bible in its hand. elsewhere, an old axiom, and true--first the missionary, then the soldier, then the trader. in the case of the company, this order has been reversed. the french associations in canada for the collection and sale of furs were preceded by the jesuits--brave, fearless, self-denying--whose deeds form the theme of some of parkman's most thrilling pages. a few years since, in the solitudes of the west, two european tourists were struck by the frequency with which they encountered a certain mystic legend. eager to solve its meaning, they addressed a half-breed lounger at a small station on the canadian pacific railway. "tell us, my friend," they said, "what those three letters yonder signify. wherever we travel in this country we encounter 'h. b. c.' we have seen the legend sewn on the garments of indians; we have seen it flying from rude forts; it has been painted on canoes; it is inscribed on bales and boxes. what does 'h. b. c.' mean?" "that's _the company_," returned the native grimly, "here before christ." might not the first missionary who, in 1818, reached york factory contemplate his vast cure, and say: here, bartering, civilizing, judging, corrupting, revelling, slaying, marching through the trackless forest, making laws and having dominion over a million souls--_here before christ!_ it is probable a day is at hand when all this area will be dotted with farms, villages and cities, a time when its forests will be uprooted and the plains of rupert's land and the north-west territory tilled by the husbandman, its hills and valleys exploited by the miner; yet, certain spots in this vast region must ever bear testimony to the hunter of furs. remote, solitary, often hungry and not seldom frozen--the indomitable servant of the great fur company lived here his life and gave his name to mountain, lake and river. whatsoever destiny has in store for this country, it can never completely obliterate either the reverence and admiration we have for brave souls, or those deeper feelings which repose in the bosoms of so many canadian men and women whose forefathers lent their arms and their brains to the fur-trade. the beaver and the marten, the fox and the mink, may soon be as extinct as the bison, or no more numerous than the fox and the beaver are to-day in the british isles; but this volume, imperfect as it is, may serve as a reminder that their forbears long occupied the minds and energies of a hardy race of men, the like of whose patience, bravery and simple honest careers may not soon again be seen. he who would seek in these pages the native romance, the vivid colour, the absorbing drama of the great north-west, will seek, i fear, in vain. my concern has been chiefly with the larger annals of the hudson's bay company, its history proper, which until now has not been compiled. toronto, 27th june, 1899. introduction. mr. beckles willson has asked me to write a short introduction for his forthcoming book on the hudson's bay company, and it gives me great pleasure to comply with his request. it is gratifying to know that this work has been undertaken by a young canadian, who has for some years had a laudable desire to write the history of what he appropriately calls "the great company," with whose operations the development of the western parts of canada has been so closely connected. the history of the company during the two centuries of its existence must bring out prominently several matters which are apt now to be lightly remembered. i refer to the immense area of country--more than half as large as europe--over which its control eventually extended, the explorations conducted under its auspices, the successful endeavours, in spite of strenuous opposition, to retain its hold upon what it regarded as its territory, its friendly relations with the indians, and, finally, the manner in which its work prepared the way for the incorporation of the "illimitable wilderness" within the dominion. it is not too much to say that the fur-traders were the pioneers of civilization in the far west. they undertook the most fatiguing journeys with the greatest pluck and fortitude; they explored the country and kept it in trust for great britain. these fur-traders penetrated to the rocky mountains, and beyond, into what is now known as british columbia, and even to the far north and northwest, in connection with the extension of trade, and the establishment of the famous "h. b. c." posts and forts, which were the leading features of the maps of the country until comparatively recent times. the names of many of these early explorers are perpetuated in its rivers and lakes; and many important arctic discoveries are associated with the names of officers of the company, such as hearne, dease, and simpson, and, in later times, dr. john rae. the american and russian companies which were seeking trade on the pacific coast, in the early days of the present century, were not able to withstand the activity and enterprise of their british rivals, but for whose discoveries and work even british columbia might not have remained british territory. for many years the only civilized occupants of both banks of the columbia river were the fur-traders, and it is not their fault that the region between it and the international boundary does not now belong to canada. alaska was also leased by the hudson's bay company from russia, and one cannot help thinking that if that country had been secured by great britain, we should probably never have heard of the boundary question, or of disputes over the seal fisheries. however, these things must be accepted as they are; but it will not, in any case, be questioned that the work of the company prepared the way for the consolidation of the dominion of canada, enabling it to extend its limits from the atlantic to the pacific, and from the international boundary to the far north. the principal business of the company in the early days was, of course, the purchasing of furs from the indians, in exchange for arms, ammunition, clothes and other commodities imported from the united kingdom. naturally, therefore, the prosperity of the company depended largely upon good relations being maintained with the indians. the white man trusted the indians, and the indians trusted the white man. this mutual confidence, and the friendly relations which were the result, made the transfer of the territory to canada comparatively easy when the time for the surrender came. it is interesting to note also, that while intent upon trading with the indians, the company did not neglect the spread of civilizing influences among them. the result of their wise policy is seen in the relations that have happily existed since 1870 between the government and the indians. there has been none of the difficulties which gave rise to so many disasters in the western parts of the united states. even in the half-breed disturbance in 1869-70, and in that of 1885, the indians (with very few exceptions) could not be induced to take arms against the forces of law and order. although the red river settlement was inaugurated and carried out under its auspices, it has been stated, and in terms of reproach, that the company did not encourage settlement or colonization. the statement may have an element of truth in it, but the condition of the country at the time must be borne in mind. of course, the fur trade and settlement could not go on side by side. on the other hand, until the country was made accessible, colonization was not practicable. settlers could not reach it without the greatest difficulty, even for many years after the transfer of the territory took place, or get their produce away. indeed, until the different provinces of canada became federated, and were thus in a position to administer the country and to provide it with the necessary means of communication, the opening up of its resources was almost an impossibility. no single province of canada could have undertaken its administration or development, and neither men nor money were available, locally, to permit of its blossoming out separately as a colony, or as a series of provinces. the work of the company is still being continued, although, of course, under somewhat different conditions. the fur trade is quite as large as ever it was, and the relations of the company are as cordial as of old with the indians and other inhabitants in the districts remote from settlement, in which this part of the business is largely carried on. it has also adapted itself to the times, and is now one of the leading sources of supplies to the settlers in manitoba, the north-west territories, and british columbia, and to the prospectors and miners engaged in developing the resources of the pacific province. besides, it has a very large stake in the north-west, in the millions of acres of land handed over to it, according to agreement, as the country is surveyed. in fact, it may be stated that the hudson's bay company is as inseparably bound up with the future of western canada as it has been with its past. there are, of course, many other things that might be mentioned in an introduction of this kind, and there is room especially for an extended reference to the great and wonderful changes that have been apparent in manitoba, the north-west territories, and british columbia, since, in the natural order of things, those parts of canada passed out of the direct control of the company. the subject is so fascinating to me, having been connected with the company for over sixty years, that the tendency is to go on and on. but the different details connected with it will doubtless be dealt with by mr. beckles willson himself much better than would be possible in the limited time at my disposal, and i shall therefore content myself with stating, in conclusion, that i congratulate the author on the work he has undertaken, and trust that it will meet with the success it deserves. it cannot fail to be regarded as an interesting contribution to the history of canada, and to show, what i firmly believe to be the case, that the work of the hudson's bay company was for the advantage of the empire. [illustration: signature of lord strathcona and mount royal.] london, june 23rd, 1899. contents. page. chapter i.--1660-1667. effect of the restoration on trade -adventurers at whitehall - the east india company monopoly -english interest in north america -prince rupert's claims -the fur trade of canada - aim of the work. 17 chapter ii.--1659-1666. groseilliers and radisson -their peregrinations in the north-west -they return to quebec and lay their scheme before the governor -repulsed by him they proceed to new england - and thence sail for france, where they endeavour to interest m. colbert. 23 chapter iii.--1667-1668. prince rupert -his character -serves through the civil war -his naval expedition in the west indies -residence in france -and ultimately in london -he receives groseilliers and introduces him to the king. 35 chapter iv.--1668-1670. the prince visits the _nonsuch_ -arrival in the bay -previous voyages of exploration -a fort commenced at rupert's river - gillam's return -dealing with the nodwayes -satisfaction of the company -a royal charter granted. 44 chapter v.--1668-1670. danger apprehended to french dominion -intendant talon -fur trade extended westward -news of the english expedition reaches quebec -sovereign rights in question -english priority established. 52 chapter vi.--1671. first public sale at garraway's -contemporary prices of fur -the poet dryden -meetings of the company -curiosity of the town -aborigines on view. 60 chapter vii.--1671-1673. mission of the père albanel -apprehension at fort charles - bailey's distrust of radisson -expedition to moose river - groseilliers and the savages -the bushrangers leave the company's service -arrival of governor lyddal. 69 chapter viii.--1673-1682. progress of the company -confusion as to the names and number of the tribes -radisson goes to paris -his efforts to obtain support there, and from prince rupert, in england, fail -arrival of m. de la chesnaye -with his help radisson secures support -and sails for quebec -thence proceeds with two ships to attack the english ports in hudson's bay -his encounters with gillam's expedition from london, and his son's, from new england. 80 chapter ix.--1682-1683. death of prince rupert -the company's difficulty in procuring proper servants -radisson at port nelson -the two gillams -their meeting -capture of the new england party -the first scotchman in the bay -governor bridgar carried off prisoner -indian visitors to the fort -disasters to the ships -the french burn the island fort -radisson's harangue to the indians -return to france. 94 chapter x.--1684-1687. hays writes to lord preston -godey sent to radisson's lodgings -la barre's strenuous efforts -radisson returns to the english -he leaves for the bay -meets his nephew, chouart -fort bourbon surrendered to the company - radisson's dramatic return to london. 112 chapter xi.--1683-1686. feigned anger of lewis -he writes to la barre -importance attached to indian treaties -duluth's zeal -gauthier de comportier -denonville made governor -capture of the _merchant of perpetuana_ -expedition of troyes against the company's posts in the bay -moose fort surrendered. 125 chapter xii.--1686-1689. the french attack upon fort rupert -governor sargeant apprised -intrepidity of nixon -capture of fort albany - disaster to the _churchill_ -the company hears the ill news - negotiations for colonial neutrality -destruction of new severn fort -loss of the _hampshire_ -the revolution. 134 chapter xiii.--1689-1696. company's claims mentioned in declaration of war -parliament grants company's application for confirmation of its charter - implacability of the felt-makers -fort albany not a success in the hands of the french -denonville urges an attack upon fort nelson -lewis despatches tast with a fleet to canada - iberville's jealousy prevents its sailing to the bay - governor phipps burns fort nelson -further agitation on the part of the french to possess the west main -company makes another attempt to regain fort albany -fort nelson surrendered to iberville -its re-conquest by the company. 146 chapter xiv.--1696-1697. imprisoned french fur-traders reach paris -a fleet under iberville despatched by lewis to the bay -company's four ships precede them through the straits -beginning of a fierce battle -the _hampshire_ sinks -escape of the _dering_ and capture of the _hudson's bay_ -dreadful storm in the bay - losses of the victors -landing of iberville -operations against fort nelson -bailey yields -evacuation by the english. 158 chapter xv.--1698-1713. petition presented to parliament hostile to company - seventeenth century conditions of trade -_coureurs de bois_ -price of peltries -standard of trade prescribed - company's conservatism -letters to factors -character of the early governors -henry kelsey -york factory under the french -massacre of jérémie's men -starvation amongst the indians. 169 chapter xvi.--1697-1712. company seriously damaged by loss of port nelson -send an account of their claims to lords of trade -definite boundary propositions of trade -lewis anxious to create boundaries - company look to outbreak of war -war of spanish succession breaks out -period of adversity for the company -employment of orkneymen -attack on fort albany -desperate condition of the french at york fort -petition to anne. 187 chapter xvii.--1712-1720. queen anne espouses the cause of the company -prior's view of its wants -treaty of utrecht -joy of the adventurers - petition for act of cession -not pressed by the british government -governor knight authorized to take possession of port nelson -"smug ancient gentlemen" -commissioners to ascertain rights -their meeting in paris -matters move slowly -bladen and pulteney return to england. 198 chapter xviii.--1719-1727. the south sea bubble -nation catches the fever of speculation -strong temptation for the company -pricking of the bubble -narrow escape of the adventurers -knight and his expedition -anxiety as to their fate -certainty of their loss -burnet's scheme to cripple the french -it forces them westward into rupert's land. 208 chapter xix.--1687-1712. hudson's bay tribes peaceful -effect of the traders' presence -depletion of population -the crees and assiniboines - their habits and customs -their numbers -no subordination amongst them -spirituous liquors -effect of intemperance upon the indian. 217 chapter xx.--1685-1742. errant tribes of the bay -the goose hunt -assemblage at lake winnipeg -difficulties of the voyage -arrival at the fort -ceremony followed by debauch -gifts to the chief - he makes a speech to the governor -ceremony of the pipe - trading begun. 230 chapter xxi.--1725-1742. system of licenses re-adopted by the french -verandrye sets out for the pacific -his son slain -disappointments -he reaches the rockies -death of verandrye -forts in rupert's land -peter the great and the hudson's bay company - expeditions of bering -a north-west passage -opposition of the company to its discovery -dobbs and middleton - ludicrous distrust of the explorer -an anonymous letter. 240 chapter xxii.--1744-1748. war again with france -company takes measures to defend its forts and property -"keep your guns loaded" -prince "charlie" -his stock in the company confiscated -further instructions to the chief factors -another expedition to search for a north-west passage -parliament offers twenty thousand pounds reward -cavalier treatment from governor norton -expedition returns -dobbs' enmity -privy council refuse to grant his petition -press-gang outrages -voyage of the _seahorse_. 257 chapter xxiii.--1748-1760. parliamentary committee of enquiry appointed -aim of the malcontents -lord strange's report -testimony of witnesses -french competition -lords of plantations desire to ascertain limits of company's territory -defeat of the labrador company -wolfe's victory -"locked up in the strong box" -company's forts -clandestine trade -case of captain coats. 269 chapter xxiv.--1763-1770. effect of the conquest on the fur-trade of the french - indians again seek the company's factories -influx of highlanders into canada -alexander henry -mystery surrounding the _albany_ cleared up -astronomers visit prince of wales' fort -strike of sailors -seizure of furs - measures to discourage clandestine trade. 286 chapter xxv.--1768-1773. reports of the "great river" -company despatch samuel hearne on a mission of discovery -norton's instructions -saluted on his departure from the fort -first and second journeys - matonabee -results of the third journey -the company's servants in the middle of the century -death of governor norton. 299 chapter xxvi.--1773-1782. company suffers from the rivalry of canadians -cumberland house built -debauchery and license of the rivals - frobisher intercepts the company's indians -the smallpox visitation of 1781 -la pérouse appears before fort prince of wales -hearne's surrender -capture of york fort by the french -the post burned and the company's servants carried away prisoners. 314 chapter xxvii.--1783-1800. disastrous effects of the competition -montreal merchants combine -the north-westers -scheme of the association - alexander mackenzie -his two expeditions reach the pacific - emulation difficult -david thompson. 327 chapter xxviii.--1787-1808. captain vancouver -la pérouse in the pacific -the straits of anian -a fantastic episode -russian hunters and traders -the russian company -dissensions amongst the northmen - they send the _beaver_ to hudson's bay -the scheme of mackenzie a failure -a ferocious spirit fostered -abandoned characters -a series of outrages -the affair at bad lake. 344 chapter xxix.--1808-1812. crisis in the company's affairs -no dividend paid -petition to lords of the treasury -factors allowed a share in the trade -canada jurisdiction act -the killing of macdonnell -mowat's ill-treatment -lord selkirk -his scheme laid before the company -a protest by thwaytes and others -the project carried -emigrants sent out to red river -northmen stirred to reprisal. 361 chapter xxx.--1812-1815. the bois-brulés -simon mcgillivray's letter -frightening the settlers -a second brigade -governor mcdonnell's manifesto -defection of northmen to the company - robertson's expedition to athabasca -affairs at red river - cameron and mcdonell in uniform -cuthbert grant -miles mcdonnell arrested -fort william -news brought to the northmen -their confiscated account-books -war of 1812 concluded. 383 chapter xxxi.--1816-1817. a new brigade of immigrants -robert semple -cuthbert grant's letter -the de meuron regiment -assembling of the bois-brulés -tragedy at seven oaks -selkirk at fort william -mcgillivray arrested -arrest of the northmen -selkirk proceeds to red river. 404 chapter xxxii.--1817-1821. the english government intervenes -selkirk at red river - makes a treaty with the indians -hostilities at peace river -governor williams makes arrests -franklin at york factory -the duke of richmond interferes -trial of semple's murderers -death of selkirk -amalgamation. 423 chapter xxxiii.--1821-1847. the deed poll -a governor-in-chief chosen -a chaplain appointed -new license from george iv. -trade on the pacific coast -the red river country claimed by the states -the company in california -the oregon question -anglo-russian treaty of 1825 -the _dryad_ affair -lieutenant franklin's two expeditions -red river territory yielded to company - enterprise on the pacific. 436 chapter xxxiv.--1846-1863. the oregon treaty -boundary question settled -company proposes undertaking colonization of north america -enmity and jealousy aroused -attitude of earl grey -lord elgin's opinion of the company -amended proposal for colonization submitted -opposition of mr. gladstone -grant of vancouver island secured, but allowed to expire in 1859 -dr. rae's expedition -the franklin expedition and its fate -discovery of the north-west passage -imperial parliament appoints select committee -toronto board of trade petitions legislative council -trouble with indians -question of buying out the company -british government refuses help - "pacific scheme" promoters meet company in official interview -international financial association buys company's rights - edward ellice, the "old bear." 459 chapter xxxv.--1863-1871. indignation of the wintering-partners -distrust and misgivings arise -proposals of governor dallas for the compensation of the wintering-partners in exchange for their abrogation of deed poll -threatened deadlock -position of those in authority rendered untenable -failure of duke of newcastle's proposals for surrender of territorial rights - the russo-american alaskan treaty -the hon. w. mcdougall's resolutions -deputation goes to england -sir stafford-northcote becomes governor -opinion of lord granville as to the position of affairs -lack of military system company's weakness -cession now inevitable -terms suggested by lord granville accepted -first riel rebellion - wolseley at fort garry. 481 chapter xxxvi.--1821-1871. the company still king in the north-west -its forts described -fort garry -fort vancouver -franklin -walla walla - yukon -kamloops -samuel black -mountain house -fort pitt -policy of the great company. 497 the hudson's bay posts. 509 appendix. royal charter incorporating the hudson's bay company 515 the alaska boundary 527 governors of the hudson's bay company 531 deputy-governors of the hudson's bay company 532 index 533 list of illustrations. full page illustrations. lord strathcona and mount royal frontispiece. facing page prince rupert 32 original charter of the great company 48 capt. godey and radisson 112 marching out of the english garrison 160 the massacre of jérémie's men 192 the bushranger and the indians 337 dog brigade in the far north 304 tracking canoes up the rapids 368 murder of governor semple 416 sir george simpson 432 sir george simpson receiving a deputation 464 interior hudson's bay post 496 illustrations in the text. page early map of north america 19 radisson 25 chart of hudson's straits 30 prince rupert 36 english map of 1782 57 the beaver 60 arms of the hudson's bay co. 67 type of early trading post 71 bark canoe of indians on hudson's bay 74 landing of iberville's men at port nelson 155 ships on hudson's bay 160 french encampment 163 capture of port nelson by the french 167 trading with the indians 171 a coureur des bois 173 an early river pioneer 178 facsimile of the company's standard of trade 181 french map of the bay and vicinity 215 indian tepee 218 an assiniboine indian 219 indian with tomahawk 220 esquimau with dogs 223 modern type of indian 231 type of cree indian 234 an old chief 237 maldonado's strait of anian 246 lapie's map of 1821 247 plans of york and prince of wales forts 262 map showing the hays river 265 fort prince of wales 281 a blackfoot brave 289 alexander henry 291 dobbs' map, 1744 301 visit to an indian encampment 315 indian trappers 318 ruins of fort prince of wales 322 sir alexander mackenzie 330 a portage 337 de l'isle's map, 1752 345 the rival traders 353 york factory 355 lord selkirk 372 stornaway 380 a bois-brulé 384 fort george (astoria) 387 arrival of the upland indians 388 on the way to fort william 390 the company's ships in 1812 392 fort douglas, red river 394 scene of red river tragedy 411 vicinity of fort douglas 414 board room, hudson's bay house 438 red river cart 441 fur train from the far north 446 sir george back, r.n. 451 thomas simpson 454 hudson's bay company's trade tokens 458 hudson's bay employees on their annual expedition 460 opening of cairn on point victory 467 discovery of relics of franklin expedition 468 fort prince of wales 477 fort garry 482 arrival of hudson's bay ships at york factory 498 fort pelly 499 fort simpson 501 york factory 502 father lacombe 504 gateway to fort garry 507 sketch map of south-east alaska 527 the great company. chapter i. 1660-67. effect of the restoration on trade -adventurers at whitehall -the east india company monopoly -english interest in north america -prince rupert's claims -the fur trade of canada - aim of the work. that page in the nation's history which records the years immediately following the restoration of the stewarts to the english throne, has often been regarded as sinister and inauspicious. crushed and broken by the long strain of civil war, apparently bankrupt in letters, commerce and arms, above all, sick of the restraints imposed upon them by the roundheads, the nation has too often been represented as abandoning itself wholly to the pursuit of pleasure, while folly and license reigned supreme at court. the almost startling rapidity with which england recovered her pride of place in the commercial world has been too little dwelt upon. hardly had charles the second settled down to enjoy his heritage when the spirit of mercantile activity began to make itself felt once more. the arts of trade and commerce, of discovery and colonization, which had languished under the puritan ascendancy, revived; the fever of "imperial expansion" burst out with an ardour which no probability of failure was able to cool; and the court of the "merry monarch" speedily swarmed with adventurers, eager to win his favour for the advancement of schemes to which the chiefs of the commonwealth would have turned but a deaf ear. of just claimants to the royal bounty, in the persons of ruined cavaliers and their children, there was no lack. with these there also mingled, in the throng which daily beset the throne with petitions for grants, charters, patents and monopolies,--returned free-booters, buccaneers in embryo, upstarts and company-promoters. every london tavern and coffee-house resounded with projects for conquest, trade, or the exploitation of remote regions. from the news-letters and diaries of the period, and from the minutes of the council of trade and the royal society, one may form an excellent notion of the risks which zealous capital ran during this memorable decade. for two centuries and more mercantile speculation had been busy with the far east. there, it was believed, in the realms of cathay and hindustan, lay england's supreme market. a large number of the marine expeditions of the sixteenth century were associated with an enterprise in which the english nation, of all the nations in europe, had long borne, and long continued to bear, the chief part. from the time of cabot's discovery of the mainland in 1498, our mariners had dared more and ventured oftener in quest of that passage through the ice and barren lands of the new world which should conduct them to the sunny and opulent countries of the east. [sidenote: english right to hudson's bay.] the mercantile revival came; it found the orient robbed of none of its charm, but monopoly had laid its hand on east india. for over half a century the east india company had enjoyed the exclusive right of trading in the pacific between the cape of good hope and cape horn, and the merchants of london therefore were forced to cast about for other fields of possible wealth. as far as north america was concerned, the merest reference to a map of this period will reveal the very hazy conception which then prevailed as to this vast territory. few courtiers, as yet, either at whitehall or versailles, had begun to concern themselves with nice questions of frontier, or the precise delimitation of boundaries in parts of the continent which were as yet unoccupied, still less in those hyperborean regions described by the mariners frobisher, button and fox. to these voyagers, themselves, the northern half of the continent was merely a huge barrier to the accomplishment of their designs. [illustration: early map of north america.] yet in spite of this destructive creed, it had long been a cardinal belief in the nation that the english crown had by virtue of cabot's, and of subsequent discoveries, a right to such territories, even though such right had never been actively affirmed.[1] in the year 1664 the king granted the territory now comprised in the states of new york, new jersey and delaware to his brother, the duke of york, and the courtiers became curious to know what similar mark of favour would be bestowed upon his majesty's yet unrewarded cousin, prince rupert, duke of cumberland and count palatine of the rhine.[2] the duke of york succeeded in wresting his new transatlantic possession from the dutch, and the fur-trade of new amsterdam fell into english hands. soon afterwards the first cargo of furs from that region arrived in the thames. naturally, it was not long before some of the keener-sighted london merchants began to see behind this transaction vast possibilities of future wealth. the extent of the fur-trade driven in canada by the french was no secret.[3] twice annually, for many years, had vessels anchored at havre, laden with the skins of fox, marten and beaver, collected and shipped by the company of the hundred associates or their successors in the quebec monopoly. a feeling was current that england ought by right to have a larger share in this promising traffic, but, it was remarked, "it is not well seen by those cognizant of the extent of the new plantations how this is to be obtained, unless we dislodge the french as we have the dutch, which his present majesty would never countenance." charles had little reason to be envious of the possession by his neighbour lewis, of the country known as new france. [sidenote: french fur-trade.] those tragic and melancholy narratives, the "relations des jesuites," had found their way to the english court. from these it would seem that the terrors of cold, hunger, hardships, and indian hostility, added to the cost and difficulties of civil government, and the chronic prevalence of official intrigue, were hardly compensated for by the glories of french ascendancy in canada. the leading spirits of the fur-trade then being prosecuted in the northern wilds, were well aware that they derived their profits from but an infinitesimal portion of the fur-trading territory; the advantages of extension and development were perfectly apparent to them; but the difficulties involved in dealing with the savage tribes, and the dangers attending the establishment of further connections with the remote interior, conspired to make them content with the results attained by the methods then in vogue. the security from rivalry which was guaranteed to them by their monopoly did not fail to increase their aversion to a more active policy. any efforts, therefore, which were made to extend the french company's operations were made by jesuit missionaries, or by individual traders acting without authority. such, in brief, was the state of affairs in the year 1666 when two intrepid bushrangers, employees of the old company,[4] dissatisfied with their prospects under the new _régime_, sought their way out from the depths of the wilderness to quebec, and there propounded to the intendant, jean talon, a scheme for the extension of the fur-trade to the shores of hudson's bay. this enterprising pair saw their project rejected, and as a sequel to this rejection came the inception and establishment of an english association,[5] which subsequently obtained a charter from the king, under the name and title of "the governor and company of merchants-adventurers trading into hudson's bay." to narrate the causes which first led to the formation of this company, the contemporary interest it excited, the thrilling adventures of its early servants, of the wars it waged with the french and drove so valiantly to a victorious end; its vicissitudes and gradual growth; the fierce and bloody rivalries it combated and eventually overbore; its notable expeditions of research by land and sea; the character of the vast country it ruled and the indians inhabiting it; and last but not least, the stirring and romantic experiences contained in the letters and journals of the great company's factors and traders for a period of above two centuries--such will be the aim and purpose of this work. footnotes: [1] "the great maritime powers of europe," said chief justice marshall, "discovered and visited different parts of this continent at nearly the same time. the object was too immense for any of them to grasp the whole; and the claimants were too powerful to submit to the exclusive or unreasonable pretensions of any single potentate. to avoid bloody conflicts, which might terminate disastrously to all, it was necessary for the nations of europe to establish some principle which all would acknowledge and which would decide their respective rights as between themselves. this principle, suggested by the actual state of things, was, 'that discovery gave title to the government by whose subjects or by whose authority it was made, against all other european governments, which title might be consummated by possession.'" [2] "prince rupert, we hear, is of no mind to press his plantation claims until this dutch warre is over. a jamaica pattent is spoke of."--_pleasant passages_, 1665. [3] as early as 1605, quebec had been established, and had become an important settlement; before 1630, the beaver and several other companies had been organized, at quebec, for carrying on the fur-trade in the west, near and around the great lakes and in the north-west territory; that the enterprise and trading operations of these french companies, and of the french colonists generally, extended over vast regions of the northern and the north-western portions of the continent; that they entered into treaties with the indian tribes and nations, and carried on a lucrative and extensive fur-trade with the natives. in the prosecution of their trade and other enterprises these adventurers evinced great energy, courage and perseverance. they had, according to subsequent french writers, extended their hunting and trading operations to the athabasca country. it was alleged that some portions of the athabasca country had before 1640 been visited and traded in, and to some extent occupied by the french traders in canada and their beaver company. from 1640 to 1670 these discoveries and trading settlements had considerably increased in number and importance. [4] in 1663 the charter of the compagnie des cents assocés, granted by richelieu in 1627, was ceded to the crown. in 1665 the new association "la compagnie des indes occidentals" received its charter. [5] "several noblemen and other public-spirited englishmen, not unmindful of the discovery and right of the crown of england to those parts in america, designed at their own charge to adventure the establishing of a regular and constant trade in hudson's bay, and to settle forts and factories, whereby to invite the indian nations (who live like savages, many hundred leagues up the country), down to their factories, for a constant and yearly intercourse of trade, which was never attempted by such settlements, and to reside in that inhospitable country, before the aforesaid english adventurers undertook the same."--_company's memorial_, 1699. chapter ii. 1659-1666. groseilliers and radisson -their peregrinations in the north-west -they return to quebec and lay their scheme before the governor -repulsed by him they proceed to new england - and thence sail for france, where they endeavour to interest m. colbert. the year 1659, notable in england as the last of the puritan ascendancy and the herald of a stirring era of activity, may be reckoned as the first with which the annals of the great company are concerned. it is in this year that we first catch a glimpse of two figures who played an important part in shaping its destinies. little as they suspected it, the two intrepid fur-traders, groseilliers and radisson, who in the spring of that year pushed their way westward from quebec to the unknown shores of lake superior, animated in this, as in all their subsequent exploits, by a spirit of adventure as well as a love of gain, were to prove the ancestors of the great company. [sidenote: groseilliers' first marriage.] medard chouart, the first of this dauntless pair, was born in france, near meaux, and had emigrated to quebec when he was a little over sixteen years old. his father had been a pilot, and it was designed that the son should succeed him in the same calling. but long before this intention could be realized he fell in with a jesuit, returned from canada, who was full of thrilling tales about the new france beyond the seas; and so strongly did these anecdotes, with their suggestion of a rough and joyous career in the wilderness, appeal to his nature, that he determined to take his own part in the glowing life which the priest depicted. in 1641 he was one of the fifty-two _emigrés_ who sailed with the heroic maissoneuve from rochelle. five years later we find him trading amongst the hurons, the tribe whose doom was already sealed by reason of the enmity and superior might of the iroquois; and at the close of another year comes the record of his first marriage. the bride is etienne, the daughter of a pilot, abraham martin of quebec, the "eponymous hero" of that plateau adjoining quebec where, a century later, was to take place the mortal struggle between wolfe and montcalm. it was probably soon after this marriage that chouart adopted the title "des groseilliers," derived from a petty estate which his father had in part bequeathed to him. not long did his wife survive the marriage; and she died without leaving any legacy of children to alleviate his loss. but the young adventurer was not destined to remain for any length of time disconsolate. within a year of his wife's death, there arrived in the colony a brother and sister named pierre and marguerite radisson, huguenots of good family, who had been so persistently hounded in france by the persecution which sought to exterminate their community, that the one key to happiness had seemed to them to lie beyond the seas. no sooner had their father died than they bade farewell to france and sailed for canada, there to start a new life amidst new and more tranquil surroundings. with this couple young groseilliers soon struck up an acquaintance; and so rapidly did the intimacy ripen that before long he was united, to the sister in matrimony, and to the brother in a partnership for the pursuit of commercial adventure. the double union proved doubly fortunate; for marguerite seems to have made a well-suited wife, and pierre, though in birth and education superior to groseilliers, was no whit less hardy and adventurous, nor in any respect less fitted for the arduous tasks which their rough life imposed upon them. the two speedily became fast friends and associates in enterprise, and thus united they soon took their place as the leading spirits of the settlement at three rivers. here, in 1656, radisson married for the first time, his bride being a mlle. elizabeth herault, one of the few protestant young women in the whole of canada. groseilliers, who had been long disgusted at the priestly tyranny of which he had seen so much in canada, probably needed but little inducement to embrace the protestant religion, if indeed this had not been stipulated upon at the time of his marriage. at all events, we now find him reputed to be among the protestants of the colony; some of whom were, in spite of the bitter prejudice against them, the boldest and most successful spirits the fur-trading community of that period had to show. [illustration: radisson. (_after an old print._)] [sidenote: radisson weds miss kirke.] radisson, like groseilliers,[6] had the misfortune to lose his wife soon after their marriage; but, like his comrade, he too sought consolation in a fresh marriage. this time he allied himself with the daughter of a zealous english protestant, who afterwards became sir john kirke. it was to the brothers of this kirke that the great champlain, thirty years before, had surrendered quebec. with this introduction to the characters of the two remarkable men whose fortunes were to become so closely entwined with that of the hudson's bay company, we may pass to their early efforts to extend the fur-trade beyond those limits which the distracted and narrow-minded officers of the compagnie des cent assocés, thought it necessary to observe. reaching the shore of lake superior in the early summer of 1659, radisson and groseilliers travelled for six days in a south-westerly direction, and then came upon a tribe of indians incorporated with the hurons, known as the tionnontates, or the tobacco nation. these people dwelt in the territory between the sources of the black and chippeway rivers, in what is now the state of wisconsin, whence, in terror of the bloody enmity of the iroquois, they afterwards migrated to the small islands in lake michigan at the entrance of green bay. during their temporary sojourn with this branch of the unhappy hurons the two pioneering traders heard constant mention of a deep, wide, and beautiful river--comparable to the st. lawrence--to the westward, and for a time they were half tempted by their ever-present thirst for novelty to proceed in that direction. other counsels, however, seem to have prevailed; for instead of striking out for the unknown river of the west they journeyed northward, and wintered with the nadouechiouecs or sioux, who hunted and fished among the innumerable lakes of minnesota. soon afterwards they came upon a separate band of war-like sioux, known as the assiniboines, a prosperous and intelligent tribe, who lived in skin and clay lodges and were "familiar with the use of charcoal." [sidenote: a route to the bay.] from these assiniboines, radisson and groseilliers first heard of the character and extent of that great bay to the north, named by the english marine explorers "hudson's bay," which was to be the scene of their later labours; and not only did they glean news of its nature, but they also succeeded in obtaining information as to the means of reaching it. in august, 1660, the two adventurers found their way back to montreal, after over a year's absence. they were accompanied by three hundred indians, and in possession of sixty canoes laden with furs, which they undertook to dispose of to the advantage of the savages and themselves. as they had anticipated, they found the little colony and its leaders deeply interested in their reports of the extent and richness of the fur-producing countries to the westward, as well as in their description of the unfamiliar tribes inhabiting that region. the sale of the furs having resulted in a handsome profit, groseilliers announced to his brother-in-law his intention of making the journey on his own account. there was no dearth of volunteers eager to embark in the enterprise, and from those who offered their services he chose six frenchmen--_coureurs des bois_ or bushrangers; and having provided himself with an ample outfit, turned his footsteps once more to the prairies of the west, while radisson went to rejoin his wife and sister at three rivers. on the eve of his departure the jesuit fathers, distrusting groseilliers' religious proclivities and suspecting that he might attempt to influence the assiniboines, insisted upon one of their number accompanying him. the priest chosen for this arduous mission was the aged missionary réné ménard, who, in spite of his physical frailty was still undaunted by any prospect of peril; though he was, on this occasion, prevailed upon to allow his servant guérin to accompany him. it was the priest's last journey. when groseilliers again reached montreal, after a season in the wilderness as prosperous as its forerunner, he bore the mournful news that ménard had been massacred and his body, beyond question, devoured by a fierce band of indians. this voyage, besides showing lucrative results, also proved a memorable one for groseilliers, inasmuch as it was during his winter's sojourn with the distant assiniboines that he acquired information which affected his whole subsequent career. there can be no question that it was the knowledge he obtained from this tribe of a convenient route to hudson's bay, by way of lake superior, and of a system of trade with the tribes dwelling on or in proximity to that unknown sea, that caused him to set out once again in may, 1662, for the west. he was accompanied by ten men, all of whom were disaffected towards the powers which then controlled the fur-trade in new france, and the combination of good fortune and _esprit de corps_ among his followers proved so successful that when, after a year's absence, he returned to the eastern colonies, the number of furs he brought back was sufficiently great to render a simultaneous disposal of all the packs inadvisable. he adopted the wise course of dividing them into three consignments, and these were sold respectively at montreal, three rivers, and quebec. henceforward, but one idea possessed groseilliers--a journey to the great fur-lands of the north. it should be his life's work to exploit the fur-trade of hudson's bay. already he saw himself rich--richer even than the merchant-princes of old rochelle. [sidenote: a new fur company.] but alas for his plans, the official laxity and dissensions which had made it possible for himself and others thus to infringe with impunity, the general monopoly granted by the king came to a sudden end. a fresh patent for a new company was issued by the crown; a new governor, m. d'avagour, entered upon the scene, and the rigorous measures enacted against private traders drove many of these over to the english and the dutch. a commission from m. d'avagour, dated the 10th of may, 1663, conveyed permission to one m. couture to remove with five men to the bottom of the great bay to the north of canada, consequent upon the requisition of some indians, who had returned to quebec to ask for aid to conduct and assist them in their affairs. this same couture afterwards certified, or the french government certified in his stead, that he really undertook this voyage, and "erected anew upon the lands at the bottom of the said bay a cross and the arms of the king engraved on copper, and placed between two plates of lead at the foot of a large tree." much justifiable doubt has been cast upon this story, and at a much later period, when french and english interests were contesting hotly for the sovereignty of the territory surrounding hudson's bay, an expedition was sent in search of the boasted memorials, but no trace of the cross or the copper escutcheon could be found. there seems every probability that the allegation, or the subsequent statement of an allegation of this description, was false. groseilliers had thus to reckon with the new fur-trading proprietors of quebec, who were to prove themselves less complaisant than the old. they instantly interdicted traders from going in search of peltries; reasoning that the produce would ultimately find its way into their hands, without the need of any such solicitation. and though groseilliers persistently explained to them that their policy of interdiction was really a short-sighted one; that the indians could not be always depended upon to bring their own furs to the company's mart; and that no great time would elapse before the english or dutch would push their way westward to lake superior, and so acquire an unequalled opportunity of developing the resources of the northern regions; neither his criticism and advice (founded on personal knowledge of the unstable indian character) nor the apprehensions of rivalry, which he showed good grounds for entertaining, had any power to move the officials of the hundred associates. neither argument, entreaty, nor prognostications of danger would induce them to look with any favour upon groseilliers' project, or even entertain his proposals. [sidenote: groseilliers in boston.] groseilliers afterwards hinted that it was prejudice against his adopted religion which really lay at the bottom of this complete rejection of his scheme, and also accounted for the company's refusal to avail themselves of his services, otherwise than as a mere salaried servant. it was at this juncture that he sought the advice of radisson, and it is not unlikely that it was the counsels of his brother-in-law which induced him to resolve upon a bold step in the furtherance of his cherished project. it was well-known that the english colonists settled in new england were putting forth the strongest efforts to secure a share of the fur-trade of the north. their allies, the redoubtable iroquois, had upon several occasions way-laid and plundered the huron tribes, who were conveying their cargoes to quebec and montreal, and had delivered these into the hands of the english. farther westward, the dutch were indefatigable in their endeavours to divert the fur-traffic of the north from the st. lawrence to the hudson. but the dutch had been vanquished by the english; new amsterdam was now new york; and it was english brains and english money which now controlled the little colony and the untravelled lands which lay beyond it. it was to the english, therefore, that the indomitable adventurer now determined to apply. madame radisson had relatives in boston; her father was an intimate friend of the governor. relying on such influences as these, but still more on the soundness of his project, groseilliers made his way to boston by way of acadia. [illustration: a chart of hudson's streights and bay of davis streights, and baffin's bay; as published in the year 1668. ] early in 1664 we find the mother superior of the ursuline nuns at quebec writing thus of groseilliers: "as he had not been successful in making a fortune, he was seized with a fancy to go to new england to better his condition. he excited a hope among the english that he had found a passage to the sea of the north." the good mother superior was deceived. it was no part of groseilliers' plan to seek a passage to the sea of the north; but one can hardly doubt that he found it highly politic that such a report should obtain currency in quebec. the fur-trade of the north, and the fur-trade alone, was groseilliers' lode-stone; but in spite of all it had cost him to acquire the knowledge he already possessed, he was ready to abandon the land and fresh water route, and seek the shores of hudson's bay from the side of the atlantic ocean. doubtless many causes operated to alter his original plan; but there can be little question that the most potent was the opposition of the canadian company. yet had the sea route not existed, even the opposition of the company would not have sufficed to baulk him of a fulfilment of his designs. he would not have been the first french trader, even at that early day in the history of the rival colonies, to circumvent his countrymen, and, taking advantage of their confined area of activity, to conduct negotiations with the indians surrounding the most distant outposts of their territory. the proceeding would have been hazardous had the company possessed the force necessary to assert its rights to the trade of the whole northern and north-western country; but the new company would not as yet possess the force. the most real danger groseilliers had to fear was that, if he persisted in his endeavours to draw away the trade of the northern tribes, he might be outlawed and his property, and that of his brother-in-law radisson, confiscated. groseilliers had left his wife and his son in canada, and he therefore went to work with considerable caution. it has been asserted, and perhaps with excellent point, that groseilliers may have been very powerfully influenced in the abandonment of his land and fresh water route by obtaining an entirely new idea of the configuration of northern north america. in the maps which were likely at that time to have found their way to quebec, the northern regions are but very dimly defined; and with the knowledge of geography gained only from these maps groseilliers could hardly have realized the accessibility of the approach by sea. it seems likely therefore that the change of route was not even thought of until groseilliers had had his interview with radisson; it was probably radisson--with his superior geographical knowledge and more thorough comprehension (through his kinship with the kirkes, all famous mariners) of the discoveries made by the english in the northern parts--who advocated the sea-route. the idea must have grown upon him gradually. his countrymen took it for granted that the whole northern country was theirs, apparently assuming the sole mode of access to be by land. the sea route never seems to have occurred to them, or if they thought of it at all, it was dismissed as dangerous and impracticable for purposes of commerce. the configuration of the northern country, the form and extent of the seas, certainly the character of the straits and islands, were to them little known. secure in what they regarded as nominal possession, forgetful that english mariners had penetrated and named these northern waters, the officials of the canada company were content to pursue a policy of _laissez faire_ and to deprecate all apprehensions of rivalry. singular coincidence! more than a century was to elapse and another company with ten times the wealth, the power, the sovereignty wielded by this one: not french--for france had then been shorn of her dominion and authority--but english, scorning the all-conquering, all-pervading spirit of mercantile england, was to pursue the same policy, and to suffer the loss of much blood and treasure in consequence of such pursuit. [sidenote: groseilliers finds no patrons.] in boston, the main difficulty which groseilliers encountered was a scarcity of wealth. his scheme was approved by many of the leading spirits there, and his assertions as to the wealth of the fur-bearing country were not doubted. but at that period the little puritan colony was much put to it to carry out projects for its own security and maintenance, not to mention plans for enrichment much nearer home. and it was pointed out to him that so long as schemes which were regarded as essential to safety could only be with difficulty supported, no pecuniary assistance could be rendered for an extraneous project, however promising its nature.[7] [illustration: prince rupert. (_after the painting by sir p. lely._)] there were in boston at this time, however, four personages whom the king had sent as envoys, in 1664, to force the dutch to evacuate manhattan, and who were also a kind of commission instructed to visit the english colonies, and to hear and rule their complaints. they were richard nichols, robert carr, george cartwright and samuel maverick. one of these, colonel carr, it is said, strongly urged groseilliers to proceed to england and offer his services to the king. [sidenote: zachary gillam.] although, therefore, he was unable to secure there the patronage he desired, groseilliers' visit to boston was not quite barren of profit. he fell in besides with an intelligent sea-faring man, zachary gillam, who was then captain and part-owner of a small vessel, the _nonsuch_, with which he plied a trade between the colony and the mother country. gillam expressed himself eager to assist in the project as far as lay in his power, and offered his services in case an equipment could be found. a long correspondence passed between groseilliers and his brother-in-law in canada, the latter very naturally urging that as the new england project had failed, it would be advisable not to seek further aid from the english, but that, as nothing was to be expected from the canada company, or the merchants of canada, it would be as well to journey to france, and put the matter before the french court. groseilliers seems to have agreed to this; and he wrote back begging radisson to join him in boston with the object of accompanying him to france. in june, 1665, both the adventurers set sail in the _nonsuch_ for plymouth, whence in all likelihood they proceeded direct to havre. it would be unprofitable, and at best but a repetition, to describe the difficulties groseilliers and his brother-in-law met with in paris, the petitions they presented and the many verbal representations they made. in the midst of their ill-success colonel carr came to paris. there is extant a letter of his to lord arlington. "having heard," says he, "by the french in new england of a great traffic in beavers" to be got in the region of hudson's bay, and "having had proofs of the assertions" of the two adventurers, he thought "the finest present" he could make to his majesty was to despatch these men to him. the ambassador pondered on this and at last decided to entrust groseilliers with a letter to a certain prince--a friend of his--and a patron of the arts and sciences. leaving radisson despondent in paris, therefore, the other adventurer crossed the channel and found himself, with a beating heart, for the first time in the english capital. footnotes: [6] each writer seems to have followed his own fancy in spelling our hero's name, i find groiseliez, grozeliers, groseliers, groiziliers, grosillers, groiseleiz, and groseillers. charlevoix spells it groseilliers. dr. dionne, following radisson's chouard, writes chouart. but as dr. brymner justly observes "he is as little known by that name as voltaire by his real name of arouet, he being always spoken of by the name of des groseilliers, changed in one affidavit into 'gooseberry.'" the name literally translated is, of course, gooseberry-bushes. [7] for example, the adjoining colony of connecticut had appealed to them for help in their laudable enterprise of despoiling the dutch of their possessions. raids upon the territory and trading-posts controlled by the dutch were a constantly recurring feature in the history of those times, and nearly the whole of the zeal and substance remaining to the english colonists in connecticut and virginia, after their periodical strifes with the indians, were devoted to forcing the unhappy hollanders to acknowledge the sovereignty of king charles of england. chapter iii. 1667-1668. prince rupert -his character -serves through the civil war -his naval expedition in the west indies -residence in france -and ultimately in london -he receives groseilliers and introduces him to the king. it was a fortunate chance for medard chouart des groseilliers that threw him, as we shall see, into the hands of such a man as rupert, prince of england and bohemia. a dashing soldier, a daring sailor, a keen and enlightened student, a man of parts, and at the age of forty-seven still worshipping adventure as a fetish and irresistibly attracted by anything that savoured of novelty, there was perhaps no other noble in england more likely to listen to such a project as the canadian was prepared to pour into his ear, no prince in the whole of europe more likely to succumb to its charm. rupert may, on good grounds, be considered one of the most remarkable men of that age. he was the third son of the king of bohemia by the princess elizabeth stuart, eldest daughter of james i. in common with most german princes he had been educated for the army; and, as he used to observe himself in after years, there was no profession better fitted for a prince provided he could be allowed to fight battles. it was a maxim of his that the arts of patience, of strategy, and parleying with the enemy should be left to statesmen and caitiffs; and it can be said with truth of rupert that no one could possibly have acted more completely in accordance with his rule than himself. "than prince rupert," wrote a chronicler at his death, "no man was more courageous or intrepid. he could storm a citadel but, alas, he could never keep it. a lion in the fray, he was a very lamb, tho' a fuming one, if a siege was called for." [illustration: prince rupert. (_after a painting by vandyke._)] youthful, high-spirited and of comely appearance, rupert found his way to england during his twentieth year to offer his services to his royal uncle, king charles i. the country was then on the brink of a civil war. parliament had proved refractory. the puritan forces had already assembled; and in a few months the first blow was struck. the young prince placed himself at the head of a troop of cavaliers and soon all england was ringing with the fame of his exploits. on more than one occasion did cromwell have reason to remember the prowess of "fiery prince rupert." [sidenote: the great company's founder.] such dashing tactics and spontaneous strategy, however, could not always prevail. he was charged with the defence of bristol, with what result is a matter of common historical knowledge. his own observation on this episode in his career is an admirable epitome of his character, as comprehensive as it is brief, "i have no stomach for sieges." charles wrote him a letter of somewhat undue severity, in which he exhibited all the asperity of his character as well as his ignorance of the situation. perhaps if he had realized that the circumstances would have rendered the retention of bristol impossible even to a caesar or a turenne, he might have written in a more tolerant strain; but it is not very probable. in any case the letter cut rupert to the heart. before his final overthrow charles, indeed, relented from his severity, and created his nephew earl of holdernesse and duke of cumberland, granting him also a safe conduct to france, which was honoured by the parliamentary leaders. thenceforward for a few years rupert's career is directly associated with the high seas. on the revolt of the fleet from the control of the commonwealth he made his way on board of one of the king's vessels, and figured in several naval battles and skirmishes. but even here the result was a foregone conclusion. the bulk of the ships and crews still remaining loyal were rapidly captured or sunk, and the remnant, of which rupert assumed command, was exceedingly small. he began by sailing to ireland, whither he was pursued by popham and blake, who very quickly blocked him up in the harbour of kinsale. but the puritan captains were deceived if, as it appears, they fancied the prince an easy prey. rupert was no more the sailor than he had been the soldier to brook so facile a capture. he effected a bold escape, just under their guns. but realizing his helplessness to engage the puritan fleet in open combat, he inaugurated a series of minor conflicts, a kind of guerilla warfare, which, to our modern notions, would best be classified under the head of privateering, to use no harsher term. [sidenote: a resemblance to piracy.] the spanish main was at that period an excellent ground for operations of this kind, and with very little delay rupert was soon very busy with his small but gallant fleet in those waters. here the commander of the little _reformation_ and his convoys spent three years with no little pecuniary profit to himself and crew. on more than one occasion his exploits in the neighbourhood of the west indies bore no distant resemblance to piracy, as he boarded impartially not only english, dutch and spanish ships, but also those flying the english colours. howbeit on one occasion, being advised that the master of one craft was a frenchman, he generously forebore to reap the profits of his valour out of respect to the monarch with whom both his cousins, charles and james, had found a refuge. he insisted that the plunder should be restored. on the whole, however, rupert seems to have had little conscience in the matter. the mere excitement of such adventures alone delighted him, although it would scarce have satisfied his crews. there is reason to suppose that he himself was not actuated primarily by the mere love of gain. it is known that several of his captains returned with large fortunes; rupert's own profits were long a matter for conjecture. even at his death they could not be approximately ascertained; for while he left a goodly fortune, comprising jewels valued at twenty thousand pounds, much of this fortune was acquired legitimately since these stirring days of his youth; and no small part was derived from his share in the hudson's bay company. the exiled prince, in whose name rupert was always extremely careful to conduct his depredations on the prosperous commerce of the west indies, does not appear himself to have derived much material advantage therefrom. it was true the terror of his name was already industriously spread in those waters, and this perhaps was some consolation for the contempt with which it was regarded by the insolent and usurping puritans. in a newspaper of the period, "pleasant passages," i find under date of october 15, 1652, the following quaint comment: "prince rupert hath lately seized on some good prizes and he keeps himself far remote; and makes his kinsman, charles stuart, make a leg for some cullings of his windfalls." [sidenote: loss of the "reformation."] rupert after a time transferred the scene of his operations to the azores, where after some collisions with the portuguese, he met with a catastrophe so severe as to compel him to permanently desist from his predatory operations. a violent storm came on, and the _reformation_ and his entire fleet perished, no fewer than 360 souls being lost on the flagship. it was with difficulty that the prince and twelve of his companions, including his brother maurice, escaped with a portion of the treasure. a contemporary news-writer records that rupert had landed at nantes with ten thousand pounds or so, "'tis said by those best informed. the king hath sent his carriage to meet him at orleans." charles, who was of course the king mentioned, was then in high hopes of obtaining funds from his cousin rupert, which might enable him to make an effort for the recovery of his crown. but the king, minus a throne, was destined to be disappointed. rupert did not yet seem prepared to disgorge, acting, it is easy to see, on advice.[8] "no money for his majesty out of all this," forms the burden of numerous letters written by the faithful edward hyde, afterwards to become the lord chancellor clarendon. "the money the king should have received!" he complains, in an epistle addressed to sir richard browne. "why, rupert is so totally governed by the lord keeper, sir edward herbert, that the king knows him not. the king hasn't had a penny, and rupert pretends the king owes him more than ever i was worth." hyde had no love for the lord keeper of the exiled court; but according to several contemporary writers, the buccaneering prince looked upon herbert as "an oracle," (to quote the diarist evelyn) and chose for a time at least to spend most of his gains in his own way. but rupert did not persist in the course suggested by his friend herbert. soon afterwards he is announced to have made charles a present of two thousand pounds, for which the king expressed his profound satisfaction by attaching him immediately to the royal household. a little later, in 1654, there is recorded the following, printed in the "loyal gentleman at court." "prince rupert flourishes highly here, with his troop of blackamoors; and so doth his cousin charles, they having shared the money made of his prize goods at nantz." [sidenote: rupert's secretary.] it was in this year that rupert seems to have engaged one william strong, a cavalier who had lost all he possessed, to replace john holder as his private secretary, a circumstance worthy of mention, inasmuch as it was strong who was to figure later as the intermediary between his master and the adventurer groseilliers in london. there is a passage of this period which describes rupert as he appeared in paris, "a straight and comely man, very dark-featured," probably owing to exposure in warm climates, "with jet black hair and a great passion for dress." he is often referred to in news-letters and diaries of the time under the sobriquet of the "black prince." "our black prince ruperte" records one, "has had a narrow escape from drowning in the seine; but by the help of one of his blackamoors escaped." this was perhaps the period of the closest friendship between charles and his bohemian cousin; inasmuch as a decided coolness had already arisen on the part of the exiled monarch and his brother, the duke of york. this coolness at length terminated in a quarrel, and a separation in the ensuing year at bruges. indeed, the duke advised rupert to have no further dealings with his royal brother, a proposition which the prince wisely, and fortunately for himself, neglected to entertain, for had he acted otherwise, it is extremely doubtful if at the restoration he would have been in a position to demand any favours at the monarch's hands. james, probably on this score, never afterwards professed much cordiality towards his kinsman, rupert. [sidenote: a patron of commerce.] in the years between 1656 and 1665, rupert spent much of his time in cultivating science and the arts. there are a hundred evidences of his extraordinary ingenuity. a mere list of his devices and inventions, as printed at his decease in 1682, almost entitles him to be considered the edison of his day, a day in which inventors were rare. yet in the period before the outbreak of the dutch war his activity was by no means limited to the laboratory which he had constructed for himself in kings' bench walk, temple, or to his study at windsor. none could have exhibited greater versatility. in april, 1662, he was sworn a member of the privy council; he also became a member of the tangier commission; and in december of the same year he was unanimously elected a fellow of the royal society. he already cut a prominent figure as a patron of commerce, being appointed a member of the council of trade, and taking an active part in the promotion of commerce with africa as a member of the royal african company. with all his sympathies and activities, however, it is very clear that rupert did not enjoy very great favour at court. he was suspected of holding his royal cousin in not very high esteem, and of entertaining pronounced opinions on the subject of the royal prerogative; whatever the cause, his influence at whitehall was not always fortunate. seeing his councils neglected on several occasions, he kept aloof, and the courtiers, taking as they supposed their cue from their master, made light of his past achievements, finding in his surrender of the city of bristol, a specially suitable subject for their derision. in 1664 we find in pepys' diary that rupert had been "sent to command the guinny fleet. few pleased, as he is accounted an unhappy [_i.e._, unlucky] man." as a consequence of these sentiments, which rupert was soon destined by his valour to alter, one captain holmes was sent instead. nevertheless it was known at court that rupert desired a naval employment, and as the authorities found that their estimate of his abilities was not mistaken, he was in 1666 selected to command the fleet against the dutch, in conjunction with the duke of albemarle. his conduct was most exemplary. on one occasion he wrested a victory from the dutch, and again in the month of june beat them soundly, pursuing them into their own harbour. returning to england on the cessation of hostilities, he found himself in much higher favour at court. but with a single exception, which i will proceed to relate, rupert sought no favours at the hands of his royal relations from this moment until the day of his death. he was content to pursue an even career in comparative solitude, a circumstance for which a serious physical ailment, which soon overtook and for a time threatened his life, was no doubt in some measure responsible. the fire which distinguished his youth was exchanged, we are told, for good temper and sedateness. he was credited with writing an autobiography, but if the report be true, it is a pity there remains no tangible evidence of such an intention. it is certain that his correspondence was so large as to entail the continuous employment of a secretary, william strong; but prior to the inception of the hudson's bay project, it probably related almost entirely to his chemical and scientific researches and achievements. in may, 1667, the prince's secretary opened a letter from lord preston, then english ambassador at paris, intimating that one m. des groseilliers, a canadian fur-trader, would be the bearer of an introductory letter from himself to his highness. he was convinced that the french were managing the fur-trade of new france very clumsily, and he added that monsieur des groseilliers seemed as much disaffected towards the new company lately chartered by the french king as towards the old. there is no reason, in the writer's opinion, why english men of commerce should not avail themselves of opportunities and instruments, such as the weak policy of their rivals now afforded, for obtaining a share in the northern fur-trade. [sidenote: rupert sends for groseilliers.] unfortunately rupert was at first unable to see the adventurer who had travelled so far. the cause of the delay is not quite clear, but it appears plausible to suppose that it was due to the prince's illness. he had already undergone the operation of trepanning, and it was found necessary to still continue treatment for the disease to which he had been subject. at any rate it was a fortnight or three weeks before the first interview took place, and the prince and the french trader did not meet until the 4th of june. the result of this interview was that prince rupert promised his credit for the scheme. three days later he sent for groseilliers, who found on his arrival in the prince's apartments several gentlemen, among whom lord craven, sir john robinson and mr. john portman appear to have been numbered. in a week from this conference both radisson, groseilliers and portman travelled to windsor castle at the request of the prince. there is no record of what then passed, but there is mention of a further meeting in a letter written by oldenburgh, the secretary of the royal society to robert boyle, in america. "surely i need not tell you from hence" he wrote, "what is said here with great joy of the discovery of a north-west passage by two englishmen and one frenchman, lately represented by them to his majesty at oxford and, answered by the grant of a vessel to sail into hudson's bay and channel into the south sea." from this it would appear that radisson was then popularly supposed to be an englishman, probably on account of his being sir john kirke's son-in-law, and also that the matter was not settled at windsor, but at oxford. then came a long delay--during which there is nothing worthy of record. it was too late to attempt a voyage to the bay in 1667, but during the autumn and winter groseilliers and radisson could console themselves with the assurance that their scheme had succeeded. for at last the adventurers had met with a tangible success. a ship was engaged and fitted out for them; and it was none other than that commanded by their boston friend, captain zachary gillam. footnote: [8] "we have another great officer," records "pleasant passages" in another budget of news from paris, "prince ruperte, master of the horse." chapter iv. 1668-1670. the prince visits the _nonsuch_ -arrival in the bay - previous voyages of exploration -a fort commenced at rupert's river -gillam's return -dealing with the nodwayes - satisfaction of the company -a royal charter granted. early in the morning of the 3rd of june, 1668, without attracting undue attention from the riparian dwellers and loiterers, a small skiff shot out from wapping old stairs. the boatman directed its prow towards the _nonsuch_, a ketch of fifty tons, then lying at anchor in mid-thames, and soon had the satisfaction of conveying on board in safety his highness prince rupert, lord craven, and mr. hays, the distinguished patrons of an interesting expedition that day embarking for the new world. radisson was to have accompanied the expedition but he had met with an accident and was obliged to forego the journey until the following year. all hands being piped on deck, a salute was fired in honour of the visitors. captain zachary gillam and the sieur des groseilliers received the prince, and undertook to exhibit, not without a proper pride, their craft and its cargo. subsequently a descent was made to the captain's cabin, where a bottle of madeira was broached, and the success of the voyage toasted by rupert and his companions. the party then returned to wapping, amidst a ringing cheer from captain and crew. by ten o'clock the _nonsuch_ had weighed anchor and her voyage had begun. the passage across the atlantic was without any incident worthy of record. the vessel was fortunate in encountering no gales or rough seas. the leisure of groseilliers and captain gillam was employed chiefly in discussing the most advantageous landfall, and in drawing up plans for a settlement for fort-building and for trade with the tribes. by the 4th of august they sighted resolution isle, at the entrance of hudson's straits. they continued fearlessly on their course. during their progress the shores on either hand were occasionally visible; and once a squall compelled them to go so near land as to descry a band of natives, the like of whom for bulk and singularity of costume, groseilliers and the captain had never clapped eyes upon. they were right in judging these to be esquimaux. [sidenote: the "nonsuch" in the bay.] on the seventh day of their passage amongst those narrow channels and mountains of ice which had chilled the enthusiasm and impeded the progress of several daring navigators before them, the forty-two souls on board the _nonsuch_ were rewarded with a sight of hudson's bay.[9] already, and long before the advent of the _nonsuch_, hudson's bay had a history and a thrilling one. in 1576 sir martin frobisher made his first voyage for the discovery of a passage to china and cathay by the north-west, discovering and entering a strait to which he gave his name. in the following year he made a second voyage, "using all possible means to bring the natives to trade, or give him some account of themselves, but they were so wild that they only studied to destroy the english." frobisher remained until winter approached and then returned to england. a further voyage of his in 1578-79 made no addition to the knowledge already derived. six years later captain john davis sailed from dartmouth, and in that and succeeding voyages reached the arctic circle through the straits bearing his name. he related having found an open sea tending westward, which he hoped might be the passage so long sought for; but the weather proved too tempestuous, and, the season being far advanced, he likewise returned to a more hospitable clime. after this there were no more adventures in this quarter of the world until 1607, when captain hudson explored as far north as 80 degrees 23 minutes. on his third voyage, two years later, he proceeded a hundred leagues farther along the strait, and arriving at the bay resolved to winter there. hudson was preparing for further exploration when henry green, a profligate youth, whom he had taken into his house and preserved from ruin by giving him a berth on board without the knowledge of the owners, conspired with one robert ivett, the mate, whom captain hudson had removed, to mutiny against hudson's command. these turned the captain, with his young son john, a gentleman named woodhouse, who had accompanied the expedition, together with the carpenter and five others, into a long-boat, with hardly any provisions or arms. the inhuman crew suffered all the hardships they deserved, for in a quarrel they had with the savages green and two of his companions were slain. as for ivett, who had made several voyages with hudson, and was the cause of all the mischief, he died on the passage home. habbakuk prickett, one of the crew, who wrote all the account we have of the latter part of the voyage, was a servant of sir dudley diggs. probably his master's influence had something to do with his escape from punishment. [sidenote: henry hudson's fate.] this was the last ever seen or heard, by white men, of henry hudson, and there is every likelihood that he and the others drifted to the bottom of the bay and were massacred by the savages. in the year of hudson's death sir thomas button, at the instigation of that patron of geographical science, prince henry, pursued the dead hero's discoveries. he passed hudson's straits and, traversing the bay, settled above two hundred leagues to the south-west from the straits, bestowing upon the adjacent region the name of new wales. wintering in the district afterwards called port nelson, button made an investigation of the boundaries of this huge inland sea, from him named button's bay. in 1611 came the expedition of baffin; and in 1631 captain james sailed westward to find the long-sought passage to china, spending the winter at charlton island, which afterwards became a depot of the company. captain luke fox went out in the same year, but his success was no greater than his predecessors in attaining the object of his search. he landed at port nelson and explored the country round about, without however much advantage either to himself or to his crew. when the _nonsuch_ arrived a quarter of a century had passed since an european had visited hudson's bay. after much consultation, the adventurers sailed southward from cape smith, and on sept. 29 decided to cast anchor at the entrance to a river situated in 51 degrees latitude. the journey was ended; the barque's keel grated on the gravel, a boat was lowered and gillam and groseilliers went promptly ashore. the river was christened rupert's river,[10] and it being arranged to winter here, all hands were ordered ashore to commence the construction of a fort and dwellings, upon which the name of king charles was bestowed. thus our little ship's-load of adventurers stood at last on the remotest shores of the new world; all but two of them strangers in a strange land. [sidenote: the first fort.] for three days after their arrival groseilliers and his party beheld no savages. the work of constructing the fort went on apace. it was, under groseilliers' direction, made of logs, after the fashion of those built by the traders and jesuits in canada; a stockade enclosing it, as some protection from sudden attack. the experienced bushranger deemed it best not to land the cargo until communication had been made with the natives; and their attitude, friendly or otherwise, towards the strangers ascertained. no great time was spent in waiting; for on the fourth day a small band of the tribe called nodwayes appeared, greatly astonished at the presence of white settlers in those parts. after a great deal of parleying, the indians were propitiated by groseilliers with some trifling gifts, and the object of their settlement made known. the indians retired, promising to return before the winter set in with all the furs in their possession, and also to spread the tidings amongst the other tribes. the autumn supply proved scanty enough; but the adventurers being well provisioned could afford to wait until the spring. groseilliers' anticipations were realized; but not without almost incredible activity on his part. he spent the summer and autumn, and part of the ensuing winter, in making excursions into the interior. he made treaties with the nodwayes, the kilistineaux, the ottawas, and other detachments of the algonquin race. solemn conclaves were held, in which the bushranger dwelt--with that rude eloquence of which he was master, and which both he and radisson had borrowed from the indians--on the superior advantages of trade with the english. nor did his zeal here pause; knowing the indian character as he did, he concocted stories about the english king and prince rupert; many a confiding savage that year enriched his pale-face vocabulary by adding to it "charles" and "rupert," epithets which denoted that transcendent twain to whom the french bushranger had transferred his labours and his allegiance. the winter of 1668-69 dragged its slow length along, and in due course the ground thawed and the snow disappeared. no sooner had the spring really arrived than strange natives began to make their appearance, evincing a grotesque eagerness to strike bargains with the whites for the pelts which they brought from the bleak fastnesses. by june it was thought fit that captain gillam should return with the _nonsuch_, leaving groseilliers and others at the fort. gillam accordingly sailed away with such cargo as they had been able to muster, to report to the prince and his company of merchants the excellent prospects afforded by the post on rupert's river, provided only the indians could be made aware of its existence, and the french trade intercepted. [illustration: the original charter of the great company. (_from a photograph._)] [sidenote: groseilliers' presence of mind.] chouart des groseilliers in all his transactions with the natives exhibited great hardihood of speech and action; and few indeed were the occasions which caught him unawares. it happened more than once, for instance, that some of the wandering algonquins or hurons recognized in this smooth-tongued leader of the english fort the same french trader they had known at montreal, and the french posts on the western lakes, and marvelled much that he who had then been loudly crying "up king lewis and the fleur-de-lis," should now be found surrounded by pale-faces of a different speech, known to be the allies of the terrible iroquois. groseilliers met their exclamations with a smile; he represented himself as profoundly dissatisfied with the manner in which the french traders treated his friends the indians, causing them to travel so far and brave such perils to bring their furs, and giving them so little in return. "tell all your friends to come hither," he cried, "and king charles will give you double what king lewis gives." in august, 1669, a gun was heard by groseilliers and his english and native companions. with great joy the bushranger ran from the fort to the point of land commanding the bay, thinking to welcome back gillam and the expected _nonsuch_. but as the vessel came nearer he saw it was not the _nonsuch_, and for a moment he was dismayed, uncertain whether or not to make himself known. but the colour of the flag she carried reassured him; he caused a fire to be made, that the attention of those on board might be attracted by the smoke; and was soon made aware that his signal had been seen. the sloop headed up rupert's river, and a boat containing three men was lowered from her side. greater still was groseilliers' joy when he recognized amongst the approaching party in the boat his brother-in-law, pierre radisson. these two sturdy children of the wilderness embraced one another with great affection and set to work diligently to barter. the _nonsuch_ arrived safely in the thames in the month of august. [sidenote: satisfaction of the adventurers.] it would be difficult to exaggerate the satisfaction of the company of london merchants at hearing the results of their first venture. they had taken counsel together, and considering the importance of securing a charter of monopoly from the king to be paramount, prince rupert was persuaded to use his good offices to this end. charles was doubtless relieved to hear that his cousin rupert desired no greater favour. he expressed himself ready to grant such a patent, provided the lord chancellor approved. a charter was accordingly drawn up forthwith at the instance of the prince, in the usual form of such charters; but the winter of 1669-70 elapsed without its having received the royal assent. indeed it was not until the second day of may that prince rupert, presenting himself at whitehall, received from the king's own hands one of the most celebrated instruments which ever passed from monarch to subject, and which, though almost incessantly in dispute, was perpetuated in full force throughout two centuries.[11] [sidenote: the charter.] this document was granted to prince rupert and seventeen nobles and gentlemen, comprising the duke of albemarle,[12] earls craven and arlington, lord ashley,[13] sir john robinson, sir robert vyner, sir peter colleton, sir edward hungerford, sir paul neele, sir john griffith, sir philip carteret, knights and baronets; james hays, john kirke, francis wellington, william prettyman, john fenn, esquires, and john portman, "citizen and goldsmith," incorporated into a company, with the exclusive right to establish settlements and carry on trade at hudson's bay. the charter recites that those adventurers having, at their own great cost, undertaken an expedition to hudson's bay in order to discover a new passage into the south sea, and to find a trade for furs, minerals and other commodities, and having made such discoveries as encouraged them to proceed in their design, his majesty granted to them and their heirs, under the name of "the governor and company of merchants-adventurers trading into hudson's bay," the power of holding and alienating lands, and the sole right of trade in hudson's strait, and with the territories upon the coasts of the same. they were authorized to get out ships of war, to erect forts, make reprisals, and send home all english subjects entering the bay without their license, and to declare war and make peace with any prince or people not christian. the territory described as rupert's land consisted of the whole region whose waters flowed into hudson's bay. it was a vast tract--perhaps as vast as europe--how much vaster was yet to be made known, for the breadth of the continent of north america had not yet been even approximately ascertained. for all the adventurers knew the pacific ocean was not distant more than one hundred miles west of the bay. in the same merry month of may the _prince rupert_ set sail from gravesend, conveying a new cargo, a new crew, and a newly appointed overseer of trade, to the company's distant dominions. footnotes: [9] the proportions of this inland sea are such as to give it a prominent place among the geographical features of the world. one thousand three hundred miles in length, by six hundred miles in breadth, it extends over twelve degrees of latitude, and covers an area not less than half a million square miles. of the five basins into which canada is divided, that of hudson's bay is immeasurably the largest, the extent of country draining into it being estimated at three million square miles. to swell the mighty volume of its waters there come rivers which take their rise in the rocky mountains on the west, and the labrador wilderness on the east; while southward its river roots stretch far down below the forty-ninth parallel, reaching even to the same lake source whence flows a stream into the gulf of mexico. a passing breath of wind may determine whether the ultimate destiny of the rain drop falling into the little lake be the bosom of the mexican gulf or the chilly grasp of the arctic ice-floe. [10] known afterwards as nemiscau by the french. [11] see appendix. [12] the second duke, charles' old friend, general george monk, known to all the leaders of english history as the brave restorer of the king, afterwards created duke of albemarle, died in the year the charter was granted. [13] lord ashley, the ancestor of the present earl of shaftsbury, and one of the ruling spirits of the reign of charles ii., will also be remembered as the achitophel of dryden. "a man so various that he seemed to be not one; but all mankind's epitome." arlington, another of the honourable adventurers, was also a member of the celebrated cabal. chapter v. 1668-1670. danger apprehended to french dominion -intendant talon -fur trade extended westward -news of the english expedition reaches quebec -sovereign rights in question -english priority established. [sidenote: french activity.] although neither the governor, the fur company nor the officials of the most christian king at quebec, had responded favourably to the proposals of groseilliers, yet they were not long in perceiving that a radical change in their trade policy was desirable. representations were made to m. colbert and the french court. it was even urged that france's north american dominions were in danger, unless a more positive and aggressive course were pursued with regard to extension. these representations, together with the knowledge that the dutch on the south side of the st lawrence and in the valley of the hudson had unexpectedly acknowledged allegiance to the king of england, determined lewis to evince a greater interest in canadian affairs than he had done hitherto. mezy was recalled, to die soon afterwards; and daniel de remin, seigneur de courcelles, was despatched as provincial governor. a new office was created, that of intendant of justice, police and finance; and jean talon--a man of ability, experience and energy--was made the first intendant. immediately upon his arrival, he took steps to confirm the sovereignty of his master over the vast realms in the west; and to set up the royal standard in the region of the great lakes. in 1668 talon returned to france, taking with him one of those hardy bushrangers (_coureurs de bois_) who passed nearly the whole of their lives in the interior and in the company of the hurons. this man seems to have cut a very picturesque figure. he had been scalped, and bore about his person many grim mutilations and disfigurements, to bear witness to his adventures amongst unfriendly tribes. he accompanied talon in the capacity of servant or bodyguard, and appears to have had little difficulty in making himself an object of infinite interest to the lackeys and concierges of paris. on the intendant's return to canada, this daring personage, peray by name, is alluded to as talon's most trusted adviser with regard to the western country and the tribes inhabiting it. in one of the intendant's letters, dated february 24th, 1669, he writes that peray had "penetrated among the western nations farther than any frenchman; and had seen the copper mine on lake huron. this man offers to go to that mine and explore either by sea, or by the lake and river--such communication being supposed to exist between canada and the south sea--or to the hudson's bay." french activity had never been so great in the new world as in the years between groseilliers' departure from quebec and the period when the english fur-traders first came in contact with the french on the shores of hudson's bay, thirteen years later. in the summer of 1669, the active and intelligent louis joliet, with an outfit of 4,000 livres, supplied him by the intendant, penetrated into an unknown region and exhibited the white standard of france before the eyes of the astonished natives. this also was the period which witnessed the exploits of la salle, and of saint lusson. trade followed quickly on their heels. in march, 1670, five weeks before the charter was granted to the great company, a party of jesuits arriving at sault ste. marie found twenty-five frenchmen trading there with the indians. these traders reported that a most lucrative traffic had sprung up in that locality. coincident with the tidings they thus conveyed to talon, the intendant learnt from some algonquins who had come to quebec to trade, that two european vessels had been seen in hudson's bay. [sidenote: colbert and the company.] "after reflecting," he wrote to colbert, "on all the nations that might have penetrated as far north as that, i can only fall back on the english, who, under the conduct of one named groseilliers, in former times an inhabitant of canada, might possibly have attempted that navigation, of itself not much known and not less dangerous. i design to send by land some men of resolution to invite the kilistinons,[14] who are in great numbers in the vicinity of that bay, to come down to see us as the ottawas do, in order that we may have the first handling of what the savages bring us, who, acting as retail dealers between ourselves and those natives (_i.e._, the kilistinons), make us pay for this roundabout way of three or four hundred leagues." the rivalry of french and english north of the st. lawrence had begun. with that rivalry began also from this moment that long series of disputes concerning the sovereignty of the whole northern territories, which has endured down to our own generation. [sidenote: a much vexed controversy.] few historical themes have ever been argued at greater length or more minutely than this--the priority of discovery, occupation, and active assumption of sovereignty over those lands surrounding hudson's bay, which for two centuries were to be held and ruled by the hudson's bay company. the wisest jurists, the shrewdest intellects, the most painstaking students were destined to employ themselves for over a century in seeking to establish by historical evidence, by tradition and by deduction, the "rights" of the english or of the french to those regions. a great deal of importance has been attached to the fact that in 1627 a charter had been granted by lewis xiii. to a number of adventurers sent to discover new lands to the north of the river of st. lawrence. the clause of the charter reads as follows:--"le fort et habitation de quebec, avec tout le pays de la nouvelle france dite canada, tant le long des cotes depuis la floride que les predecesseurs rois de sa majeste ont fait habiter en rangeant les cotes de la mer jusqu'au cercle artique pour latitude, et de longitude depuis l'ile de terreneuve tirant a l'ouest au grand lac dit la mer douce et au dela que de dans les terres, et le long des rivieres qui y passant et se dechargent dans le fleuve dit st. laurent, ou autrement la grande riviere du canada, et dans tous les autres fleuves qui se portent a la mer." but most writers have omitted to verify the fact that in this charter to the french company, the only portions of land granted to the french company are the lands or portions of lands which had already been occupied by the kings of france, and the object of the charter was simply to give them an exclusive right of trade therein. thus it was clearly indicated that the charter did not go further than the land occupied by the predecessors of lewis xiv. "new france was then understood to include the whole region of hudson's bay, as the maps and histories of the time, english and french, abundantly prove." this is a broad assertion, which is not supported by the early discoverers nor by the historians of that time. charlevoix in his history described new france as being an exceedingly limited territory. there is in l'escarbot a description which shows that at that time the whole territory known as new france extended but a few miles on each side of the st. lawrence. charlevoix says regretfully at that time that the giving up of this territory did not amount to much, as new france was circumscribed by very narrow limits on either side of the st lawrence. when an examination is made into the facts of the voyages and expeditions alleged to have been undertaken by the french prior to 1672, it is difficult to arrive at any but a certain conclusion--that the french claims had no foundation in fact. it was then asserted, and long afterwards repeated, that jean bourdon, the attorney-general in 1656, explored the entire coast of labrador and entered hudson's bay. for this assertion one is unable to find any historical support; certainly no record of any kind exists of such a voyage. there is a record in 1655, it is true, that sieur bourdon, then attorney-general, was authorized to make a discovery of _mer du nord_; and in order to comply with that _arrét_ of the sovereign council at quebec, he actually made an attempt at such discovery. bourdon left quebec on may 2nd, 1657, and an entry in the records proves his return on august 11th of the same year. it is manifestly impossible that such a voyage could have been accomplished between these dates. but a reference to this business in the jesuit relations of the succeeding year is sufficiently convincing.[15] it is there recorded that on the "11th of august, there appeared the barque of m. bourdon, which having descended the grand river on the north side, sailed as far as the 55th degree, where it encountered a great bank of ice, which caused it to return, having lost two hurons that it had taken as guides. the esquimaux savages of the north massacred them and wounded a frenchman with three arrows and one cut with a knife." another statement employed to strengthen the french claim to sovereignty was, that father dablon and sieur de valiere were ordered in 1661 to proceed to the country about hudson's bay, and that they accordingly went thither. all accounts available to the historian agree that the worthy father never reached the bay. [sidenote: la couture's mythical voyage.] another assertion equally long-lived and equally ill-founded, was to the effect that one sieur la couture, with five men, proceeded overland to the bay, and there took possession of it in the king's name. there is no account of this voyage in _charlevoix_, or in the "relations des jesuites," or in the memoir furnished by m. de callieres to the marquis de denonville. this memoir, which was penned in 1685, or twenty-one years after the time of which it treated, set forth that la couture made the journey for purposes of discovery. under the circumstances, particularly owing to the strong necessity under which the french were placed to find some shadow of right for their pretensions, m. de callieres' memoir has been declared untrustworthy by competent authorities. [illustration: english map of 1782.] in 1663, sieur duquet, the king's attorney for quebec, and jean l'anglois, a canadian colonist, are said to have gone to hudson's bay by order of sieur d'argenson, and to have renewed possession by setting up the king's arms there a second time. such an order could hardly have been given by d'argenson, because he had left canada on september 16th, 1671, two years before this pretended order was given to sieur duquet. [sidenote: french falsehoods and fallacies.] it has been attempted to explain the silence of the "relations of the jesuits" concerning bourdon's voyage, by asserting that they were naturally anxious that members of their own society should be the pioneers in discovery, and that therefore many important discoveries were never brought to light in their relations because they were not made by jesuits. it is enough to say that such an argument cannot apply to the voyage of dablon. he was a jesuit, a man in whom the interests of the society were centred, and if a voyage had been made by him, no doubt a great deal of prominence would have been given to it. on the contrary, in the third volume of the "jesuit relations," 1662, we find this jesuit, father dablon, describing an unsuccessful voyage that he made. there can be no doubt that he attempted a voyage. a portion of this relation is written by himself, and he calls it, "journal du premier voyage fait vers la mer du nord." the first portion of it is most important and conclusive, as showing that de callieres, in his memoir to m. de seignely, twenty-one years afterwards, must have been speaking from hearsay, and without any authentic documents on which to base his assertions. dablon says that the highest point which he did reach was nekauba, a hundred leagues from tadoussac, and that subsequently he returned; and this is from a report of this journey written by himself. some have attempted to raise a doubt as to the identity of the dablon in de callieres' memoir, with the dablon of the "relations des jesuites." but at the end of one of the volumes is a complete list of all the jesuits, pioneers both of the faith and in the way of discovery, and there is only one dablon mentioned. another inaccuracy of this memoir is as to the trip of duquet, under an order said to have been given by sieur d'argenson. there can be no doubt that at the time this pretended order was given, d'argenson had left canada. on the whole it may be as well for the reader to dismiss the french pretensions. they are no longer of interest, save to the hair-splitting student of the country's annals: but in their day they gave rise to a wilderness of controversy, through which we in the twentieth century may yet grope vainly for the light. for all practical purposes the question of priority was settled forever by the ontario boundary commission of 1884. let us turn rather to behold to what account the honourable adventurers turned their new property. footnotes: [14] kristineaux, crees. [15] jean bourdon was of the province of quebec; he was well known to the jesuits and trusted by them. he subsequently accompanied father jacques on an embassy to governor dongan, the governor of the province of new york. in shea's _charlevoix_, vol. iii, pp. 39, 40, it is stated that père dablon attempted to penetrate to the northern ocean by ascending the saguenay. early in june, two months after they set out, they found themselves at the head of the nekauba river, 300 miles from lake st. john. warned of the approach of the iroquois, they dared not proceed farther. in the new york historical documents (p. 97) there is an account of dablon from the time of his arrival in canada in 1655. he was immediately sent missionary to onondaga, where he continued with a brief interval until 1658. in 1661 he set out overland for hudson's bay, but succeeded only in reaching the head waters of the nekauba, 300 miles from lac st. jean. chapter vi. 1671. first public sale at garraway's -contemporary prices of fur -the poet dryden -meetings of the company -curiosity of the town -aborigines on view. on the seventeenth day of november, 1671, the wits, beaux and well-to-do merchants who were wont to assemble at garraway's coffee-house, london, were surprised by a placard making the following announcement:--"on the fifth of december, ensuing, there will be sold, in the greate hall of this place, 3,000 weight of beaver skins,[16] comprised in thirty lotts, belonging to the honourable, the governour and company of merchants-adventurers trading into hudson's bay." [illustration: the beaver.] such was the notice of the first official sale of the company. up to this date, the peltries brought back in their ships had been disposed of by private treaty, an arrangement entrusted chiefly to mr. john portman and mr. william prettyman, both of whom appear to have had considerable familiarity with the european fur-trade. the immediate occasion of this sale is a trivial matter. the causes lying behind it are of interest. among the numerous houses which cured and dealt in furs at this period, both in london and bristol, there were none whose business seems to have been comparable, either in quantity or quality, to that of the great establishments which flourished in leipsic and amsterdam, paris and vienna. indeed, it was a reproach continually levelled at the english fur-dressers that such furs as passed through their hands were vastly inferior to the foreign product; and it is certain that it was the practice of the nobles and wealthier classes, as well as the municipal and judicial dignitaries, for whose costume fur was prescribed by use and tradition, to resort not to any english establishment, but to one of the cities above-mentioned, when desirous of replenishing this department of their wardrobe. hitherto, then, the company had had but little opportunity of extending its trade, and but little ground to show why an intending purchaser should patronize its wares. but the superiority both in the number and quality of the skins which now began to arrive seems to have encouraged the directors to make a new bid for public custom; and as the purchasing public showed no disposition to visit their warehouses they determined to take their wares to the public. [sidenote: first sale well attended.] this sale of the company, however, the first, as it subsequently proved, of a series of great transactions which during the past two centuries have made london the centre of the world's fur-trade, did not take place until the twenty-fourth of january. it excited the greatest interest. garraway's was crowded by distinguished men, and both the prince of wales and the duke of york, besides dryden, the poet, were among the spectators. there are some lines attributed to him, under date of 1672, which may have been improvised on this occasion. "friend, once 'twas fame that led thee forth to brave the tropic heat, the frozen north, late it was gold, then beauty was the spur; but now our gallants venture but for fur." a number of purchases seem to have been made by private parties; but the bulk of the undressed beaver-skins probably went to fur merchants, and there is good reason to believe that the majority found their way into the hands of portman and prettyman. beaver seems on this occasion to have fetched from thirty-five to fifty-five shillings--a high figure, which for a long time was maintained. but the company showed considerable sagacity by not parting with its entire stock of furs at once. only the beaver-skins were disposed of at this sale; the peltries of moose, marten, bear and otter were reserved for a separate and subsequent auction. [sidenote: meeting at john horth's.] prior to its incorporation, and for a year afterwards, the company does not seem to have pursued any formal course with regard to its meetings. at first, they met at the tower, at the mint, or at prince rupert's house in spring garden. once or twice they met at garraway's. but at a conclave held on november 7th, 1671, it was resolved that a definite procedure should be established with regard both to the time and place of meeting, and to the keeping of the minutes and accounts. these latter, it was ordered, were forthwith to be rendered weekly to the general court, so that the adventurers might be conversant with all sales, orders and commissions included in the company's dealings. employees' accounts were also to be posted up; and the same regulation was applied to the lists of goods received for the two ships then lying in the thames. it was further decreed that the weekly meetings should take place at mr. john horth's office, "the excise office," in broad street, pending the building of a "hudson's bay house." soon afterwards, a "general court" of the adventurers was held, at which the prince, lord ashley, sir john robinson, sir peter colleson, sir robert viner, mr. kirke and mr. portman were in attendance. we catch a thoroughly typical glimpse of prince rupert at this meeting; sober business was not at all to his taste, and at a very early stage in the proceedings he feigned either indisposition or another appointment, and took his departure. a hint, however, may possibly have been given to him to do so, for, no sooner was the door closed behind him, than his friend lord ashley introduced a very delicate topic which was entered into by all those present. it concerned nothing less than prince rupert's profits, which up to this time seem to have been very vaguely defined. lord ashley spoke for the prince and he seems to have demanded some definite payment besides a share in the enterprise; but there is no record of an agreement or of any exact sum, nor is there any basis for the conjecture that his share was ten thousand pounds. the charter of monopoly was an important one, and the king certainly not the man to fail in appreciating its value; but how much he did out of good will to his kinsman, and how much out of consideration for his own profit, will never be known. a perusal of the vast quantity of manuscript matter which exists relating to this arrangement leads to the conclusion that charles sold the charter out of hand. and indeed one pamphleteer, intent on defaming the company in 1766, even goes so far as to profess actual knowledge of the sum paid to his majesty by the adventurers. upon a consideration of all the speculations advanced, i have come to the conclusion that it is highly improbable that the king received any immediate pecuniary advantage whatever on account of the charter. there is no shadow of evidence to support the charge; and there is at least some presumptive evidence against it. charters were both commonly and cheaply given in those days. even where consideration was given, the amount was insignificant. in 1668, for example, charles transferred the province of bombay, which had come to the british crown as portion of the dower of catherine of braganza, to the east india company for an annual rent of no more than £10. on the whole then the data, such as they are, strongly favour the belief that he granted the charter simply in the cause of friendship and at the urgent instance of his cousin; while, as an additional motive, it was probably also urged upon him that a charter boasting the royal signature would be a virtual assertion of his dominion over territory which was always somewhat in dispute. prince rupert himself in any case was paid a lump sum by the adventurers, but the amount will probably never be known. the early meetings of the company seem to have been largely occupied in considering the question of cargoes. this was, no doubt, a very important business. the company appear to have had two precedents which, in part, they naturally adopted, those of the dutch (or west india company) and the french company. the east india company's practice could have afforded them little assistance. they also struck out a line for themselves, and in their selection of goods for the purposes of barter they were greatly guided by the advice of radisson, who had a very sound conception of the indian character. from the first the company rejected the policy of seeking to exchange glass beads and gilded kickshaws for furs. not that they found it inexpedient to include these trifles in their cargoes: for we read in one of the news-letters of 1671, speaking of the doings at garraway's:-"hither came mr. portman, to whom, reports says, is entrusted the purchase of beads and ribbons for the american savages by the new adventurers, and who is charged with being in readiness to bargain for sackfuls of child's trinkets as well as many outlandish things, which are proper for barter. he takes the rallying in great good-humour." [sidenote: solid character of the merchandise.] long before the company was thought of, the manufacture of beads and wampum for the new england trade had been going on in london. but beads and jewellery, it was argued, were better suited for the african and east indian trade. it was radisson who pointed out with great propriety that the northern tribes would become most useful to the company if they were provided with weapons for killing or ensnaring the game, as well as with the knives, hatchets and kettles, which were indispensable for dressing it, and for preparing pemmican. and his advice was taken on this, as on most other points. thus for the _prince rupert_ and the _imploy_, which were to sail in the following spring, the following cargo was prescribed by radisson and captain gillam:- 500 fowling pieces, and powder and shot in proportion. 500 brass kettles, 2 to 16 gallons apiece. 30 gross of knives. 2,000 hatchets. but it is curious to note how this list of exports was continually added to. for instance, one of the company on one occasion rose at the weekly meeting and stated that he had been told by an experienced indian trader that scarlet cloth was very highly esteemed among the indians. "i hear," said he, "that an indian will barter anything he possesses for a couple of yards of scarlet cloth and a few dyed feathers." whereupon, the chairman turned to the original adventurer in the region controlled by the company. "what does mr. radisson say to this?" "i think," said mr. radisson, "that the honourable adventurer does not understand the indian trade as well as i do. he forgets that indians are of many races; and that what will suit the case and attract the cupidity of an indian far to the south, will have little effect on the northern tribes. an iroquois would think more of a brass nail than of twenty yards of scarlet cloth. in the north, where we have built a factory, the indians are more peaceful; but they do not care much for kickshaws and coloured rags. they, too, esteem powder and shot and the means of discharging them. but they are just as fond, particularly eskimaux, of knives and kettles and hatchets." on a subsequent occasion, a third as many again of these implements were taken as cargo. [sidenote: ships besieged by peddlers.] in the meantime, it was not to be supposed that the rumours of the great value put upon petty merchandise by the hyperborean savages, could fail to excite the cupidity of london merchants and dealers in these things. the ships that sailed in the spring of 1671 were besieged by peddlers and small dealers, who were prepared to adventure their property in the wilds. not only the ships, but the houses selected for the company's meetings were beset with eager throngs, praying the adventurers, collectively and individually, to act as middlemen for their trumpery merchandise. not only did the ships and the place of meeting suffer siege, but as many as thirty persons shipped out to hudson's bay in the first two voyages after the granting of the charter, while twenty-one of them returned in the next two vessels fully determined, apparently, to repeat a journey which had proved so lucrative. to abate this nuisance, it was enacted that no persons would "hereafter be employed to stay in the country or otherwise but by consent of the committee, nor any goods be put aboard the ships but with their knowledge and consent, to the end that the ships be not hereafter pestered as they were the last voyage." this enactment may have had its rise in the dishonesty of these self-appointed adventurers. on several occasions on unshipping the cargo, boxes and barrels containing valuable furs would be found missing, or their loss would coincide with the disappearance of a reprobate who had joined the ship without a character. thus we read in the minutes that at one meeting it was ordered that enquiry be made as to sixty beaver skins, "very good and large, packed up with the others, in one of the casks, which were not found." one jeremiah walker, a second mate and supercargo was required to state which cask they were taken in, and his cross-examination reveals the loose and unbusiness-like methods then in vogue. nothing could be more entertaining than the character of these meetings, as compared with a modern board-meeting of a joint stock enterprise. a great air of mystery was kept up. the novelty of the undertaking was so great as to imbue the committee with a high sense of the importance and interest of their weekly conclaves. the length of the speeches bears witness to this spirit. a member had been known to speak for a whole hour on the edifying theme as to whether the furs should be placed in barrels or boxes. [illustration: arms of the hudson's bay company.] vague rumours of these secret proceedings permeated the town. they became a standing topic at the places where men foregathered. to the popular imagination, the north was a land of fable. the denizens of those countries were invested with strange attributes and clothed in weird and wonderful garments. the hudson's bay company dealt with picturesque monarchs and a fierce, proud and noble people, whose ordinary attire was the furs of sable, of ermine, of fox, and of otter; who made treaties and exacted tributes after the fashion of the ceremonial east. petty chiefs and sachems were described as kings and emperors; the wretched squaws of a redskin leader as queens. it was, perhaps, only natural for a generation which banqueted its imagination on the seductive fable of a north-west passage to confuse the red indians of north america with the inhabitants of the east; a very long period was to pass away before the masses were able to distinguish between the tawny-skinned indian of the north american continent and the swarthy servants of the east india company. nor were the masses alone sinners in this respect. the indians of dryden, of congreve, of steele, and even of writers so late as goldsmith no more resembled the real red-men than the bison of the western prairies was akin to the buffalo of the himalayas. for such reasons as these, the adventurers kept their ways and their superior knowledge with superior discretion to themselves. [sidenote: capital of the company.] it was never known in the seventeenth century what actually constituted the original capital of the adventurers. so small was it that when, in the course of the parliamentary committee of enquiry in 1749, nearly eighty years after the company had received its charter, the figures were divulged, the pettiness of the sum occasioned universal surprise. each adventurer was apparently required to pay £300, sterling; and the gross sum was divided into thirty-four equal shares. besides prince rupert's "sundry charges" (the euphemism employed to describe the sum paid him for his interest in obtaining the charter), his highness was offered a share amounting to one equal share. "he having graciously signified his acceptance thereof," says the secretary in the minute-book, "credit given him for three hundred pounds." the capital thus stood at £10,500. footnote: [16] the beaver, amphibious and intelligent, had for centuries a considerable place in commerce: and also a celebrity of its own as the familiar synonym for the common covering of a man's head, and here the animal becomes historic. by royal proclamation in 1638, charles i., of england, prohibited the use of any material in the manufacture of hats "except beaver stuff or beaver wool." this proclamation was the death-warrant of beavers innumerable, sacrificed to the demands of the trade. chapter vii. 1671-1673. mission of the père albanel -apprehension at fort charles - bailey's distrust of radisson -expedition to moose river - groseilliers and the savages -the bushrangers leave the company's service -arrival of governor lyddal. while the honourable company of adventurers was holding its meetings in mr. alderman horth's house, and gravely discussing its huge profits and its motley wares, an event was happening some thousands of miles away which was to decide the fate, for some years at least, of the two picturesque figures to whom the inception of the whole enterprise was due. in august, 1671, m. talon, the intendant of new france, sent for a certain father albanel and a young friend of his, the sieur de st. simon, and after embracing them sent both forth on a perilous mission to the north. they were directed to "penetrate as far as the mer du nord; to draw up a memoir of all they would discover, drive a trade in fur with the indians, and especially reconnoitre whether there be any means of wintering ships in that quarter." such were the injunctions bestowed upon these hardy spirits on the eve of their errand. to recur to a theme already touched upon, if the french government of the day had previously caused visits to be made to hudson's bay in the manner described several years later, all this knowledge would have been already acquired; and there would have been no necessity to despatch either priest or layman thither to make that discovery anew. [sidenote: father albanel's journey.] in the "jesuit relations" for 1672 is found father albanel's own narration of his journey: "hitherto this voyage had been considered impossible for frenchmen, who, after having undertaken it three times and not having been able to surmount the obstacles, had seen themselves to abandon it in despair of success. what appears as impossible is found not to be so when it pleases god. the conduct of it was reserved to me after eighteen years' prosecution that i had made, and i have very excellent proofs that god reserved the execution of it for me, after the singular favour of a sudden and marvellous, not to say miraculous, recovery that i received as soon as i devoted myself to this mission at the solicitation of my superior; and in fact i have not been deceived in my expectation; i have opened the road, in company with two frenchmen and six savages." thus it is made apparent that so far as the jesuits, pioneers of this country, were concerned, no knowledge of any of their compatriots having penetrated to hudson's bay had ever reached them. the letter that m. talon was writing to his royal master is proof that he, too, was unaware of any prior discovery. no doubt remains that the worthy priest and the young chevalier, his servant, were the first party travelling overland from quebec to penetrate into those regions and to behold that vast expanse of water. the little band of english at fort charles, under charles bailey, who had been sent out as governor of rupert's land by the company, were soon made aware of the proximity of the french, and no one seems to have been more affected by the news than radisson and groseilliers. the two brothers-in-law indulged in many anxious surmises. radisson offered to go and find out who the intruders were, but the governor by no means favoured the idea. in those days, when national rivalries and prejudices were so intense, and especially so among the english middle classes, bailey seems to have felt a great deal of distrust with regard to the two frenchmen; and he early made up his mind to let them know his opinion and feel his authority. the two parties were continually at loggerheads; the frenchmen naturally resenting the governor's unjust suspicions, and the governor retorting by a ponderous irony and a surly and continual surveillance of their speech and movements. [sidenote: rivals on the scene.] in the following year, 1673, the occupants of the company's post, at rupert's river, were made aware of the neighbourhood of their trade rivals in no pleasant manner. the indians of the country round about began to show signs of disaffection. on being questioned, some of the more friendly ones were induced to betray the cause. they had been informed by the frenchmen, who in that and the previous years had reached the shores of the bay, distant some twenty or thirty leagues, that the english were not to be trusted, that their firearms were bewitched, and their religion was that of the evil one. peaceably inclined, the nodwayes, who were the principal inhabitants of that region, fell an easy prey to the proselytism of the indomitable jesuits, and many of their younger braves had journeyed to quebec and taken part in the mission services there, and at montreal, before the arrival of dablon in their midst. but they were readily adaptable to the racial and commercial antagonisms of their teachers; and late in 1673 governor bailey was informed that they contemplated an attack on the fort. [illustration: type of early trading post. (_from an old print._)] on this, the company's servants began the task of strengthening their frail defences. the governor alleged that he had received instructions from england to despatch groseilliers to the other side of the bay, called the "west main." radisson sought to accompany his kinsman, but was met with a peremptory refusal. this action by no means increased the amity between him and his rather stupid and choleric superior. nevertheless the winter passed without any open exhibition of hostility between the two men; and it seemed likely that no difficulties would arise while the cold weather continued. the ground was, however, still covered with snow when several indians appeared and asked to be allowed to take up their abode at the east end of the fort, that they might be ready for trade in the spring. bailey, with his customary sagacity in such matters, suspected some treachery in this; but on the active expostulations of radisson the simple request was granted, and the indians immediately proceeded to erect their wigwams. on the 25th of march, when the thaw commenced, six savages, announcing themselves as ambassadors from kas-kidi-dah, the chief of the tribe, (referred to by bailey's secretary as "king cusciddidah,") came to herald the approach of that potentate. it so chanced that both the governor and radisson were absent, having gone out to reconnoitre and to obtain an addition to their now slender stock of meat. in all these little expeditions the governor and radisson were inseparable. the former swore privately he could never bring himself to trust the fort in the hands of a frenchman; and, although there was no reason whatever to apprehend such consequences, the governor constantly acted as if any such show of confidence on his part would emphatically jeopardize the interests of the company. [sidenote: governor bailey's distrust.] king cusciddidah arrived on the following day. "his majestie brought a retinue with him," records thomas gorst, the governor's secretary, "but very little beaver, the indians having already sent their best to canada." in the absence of the governor, the occupants of the fort regarded captain cole as their superior. cole did not place much confidence in the pacific mien of the savages surrounding the fort, and a guard was kept up night and day. under cover of darkness two sailors were despatched to find the governor; but scarcely had they departed on their quest than cusciddidah proposed that two of his indians should go on the same errand. the acting commandant of the fort could not well decline this offer, and on the 31st of march the second party returned, bringing with them the governor. to the surprise of all radisson did not accompany him. no explanation was offered; but the next day the rumour ran that they had quarrelled in the wilderness, that from words they came to blows, and that finally radisson had attempted to shoot the governor. filled with a natural alarm, groseilliers made several attempts to obtain from bailey the true story of the affair, but the governor declined to affirm or confirm anything, saying that he had no doubt groseilliers knew quite as much of the matter as himself. groseilliers' anxiety, however, was considerably lessened when at a formal conference with the indian king, held at the latter's wigwams near the fort, he learnt that the french had made a settlement not above eight days' journey from rupert's river. hither, in effect, radisson had repaired; and afterwards from thence made his way back to quebec. of his subsequent adventures mention will be made later in the narrative. [sidenote: first french rivalry.] cusciddidah openly demanded the english protection. he declared his apprehension of being attacked by other indians, whom the french had animated against the english and all who dealt with them. he even gave a description of the fort the french had erected on the banks of moose river, and the contents of its store-house. already the french were resorting to many artifices to hinder the natives from trading with the heretic pale-faces; they gave higher value for the furs brought them, and lost no opportunity of instilling into the minds of the indians a far from flattering opinion of their trade rivals, the english. one hearer received these tidings with complete equanimity. that which surprised and confounded his companions, filled the bosom of chouart des groseilliers with a secret joy. the governor's high-handed deportment had oppressed, if it had not angered him; and he had, together with his brother-in-law, begun to suspect that this policy of enmity was dictated by a desire to rid himself and the company of them both. but in the proximity of the french he found a weapon of great utility in his relations with the governor, his superior officer. on the third of april a council was held, to debate upon the advisability of the company's agents removing from rupert's to moose river, thus to prevent their traffic being intercepted by the french. the governor adopted a tone of great cordiality towards groseilliers, and listened with deference to his advice. groseilliers boldly counselled giving up the present fort and establishing themselves close to the french. bailey, much to captain cole's astonishment, instantly approved of the plan. in vain did cole protest against the course as dangerous; the governor professed his confidence in groseilliers' wisdom, and ordered the sloop to be got ready for the journey. [illustration: bark canoe of indians on hudson's bay.] in the meantime the indians in the neighbourhood of fort charles continued building their wigwams. they raised their wauscohegein or fort so near the english that the palisades joined. as their numbers increased, groseilliers advised putting off their own expedition until the savages were gone hunting, so that fort charles and those left in charge might not be surprised in their absence. on the 20th of may, seven canoes containing more subjects of cusciddidah arrived, bringing the news to the english that few, if any, upland indians might be expected to visit them that season, the french having persuaded them to journey with their goods to canada instead. indeed, said they, the tribes had already left, so that even if the english expedition were made, it would be fruitless. at this depressing intelligence bailey again sought groseilliers' advice, and this being still in favour of advancing to moose river, it was adopted. before the departure, on the 27th of may, a band of about fifty men, women and children appeared, anxious to trade; but instead of furs they offered wampum, feathers, and a few small canoes, for none of which merchandise the company's agents had need. they were of the nation called pishapocanoes, a tribe allied to the esquimaux, and like them, a "poor, beggarly people; by which," adds one of the party, "we may perceive the french ran away with the best of the trade." everything being now in readiness, the expedition started, but without bailey. the governor, at the last moment, decided to remain behind at fort charles and await their return. [sidenote: first visit to moose river.] the voyage across the bay was made in safety, and on the very day of landing at the mouth of moose river, a band of tabiti indians were encountered, from whom they obtained about two hundred pelts. the chief of this band denied that the french had bribed them or the other indians not to trade with the english. they declared that as yet their intercourse had been almost entirely with the jesuits, one of whom was father albanel, who had merely urged them to live on terms of friendship with the nations in league with the french. the chief blamed the english for trading with such pitiful tribes as cusciddidah's and the pishapocanoes, advising them instead to settle at moose river, where, he asserted, the upland indians would come and trade with them. one curious incident occurred in the course of this parley. the tabiti chief, who had been for some time looking rather sharply at groseilliers, suddenly broke off the intercourse. when captain cole demanded the reason, the chief declared that it was on groseilliers' account, whom he had recognized as the frenchman with whom he had had dealings many years before. groseilliers, nothing loth, stepped forward, and declared that the chief might possess himself in easiness on that score, as he was now to all intents and purposes an englishman; and that he would always trade with the tabitis as such. "but you drove hard bargains," returned the chief. "you took our silkiest, softest and richest furs, and you gave us but beads and ribbons. you told us the skins of the sable, and marten, and beaver were of little account to you, whereas the english give us, and the french traders as well, guns and hatchets in exchange." this harangue does not seem to have particularly disconcerted groseilliers; he was an old indian trader; he returned a polite answer, renewing his expressions of amity. nevertheless, it made a profound impression upon the other members of the party, who reported to bailey on their return that the indians thought groseilliers too hard on them, and refused to deal with him. indeed, they did not scruple to assert that the comparative failure of their expedition was owing to groseilliers' presence; that both the tabitis and the shechittiwans, hard by, were really possessed of peltries which they chose to conceal. [sidenote: bailey at moose river.] on hearing this intelligence, bailey himself was induced to set out for moose river. by rare good fortune, he found the tabitis reinforced by a numerous band of shechittiwans, who had journeyed thither some fifty leagues and were eager to trade. from this tribe, the governor procured no fewer than fifteen hundred skins on very good terms. charmed with his adventure, he decided to pursue his course, discover the chechouan river, and thence coast along the west shore of the bay, to port nelson, where there was, as yet, no fort. on the 18th of july, he arrived at chechouan river, "where no englishman had been before," but secured little or no beaver. he treated with the chief of the tribe he found there and with his son, who exacted from him a promise that he would come with a ship and trade the next year. in return, they assured him they would provide a quantity of beaver and induce the upland tribes to travel thence. hardly had the sloop departed than, on the 27th, it ran upon a mass of floating ice and narrowly escaped foundering. this catastrophe precipitated the governor's return to rupert's river. he arrived to find groseilliers and his protégé gorst at daggers drawn, and the factors, traders and sailors almost at the point of mutiny, and all this because they objected to serve under a frenchman. [sidenote: jesuit priest at fort charles.] bailey now seems to have made up his mind what course to pursue with regard to groseilliers; but if anything were wanting to complete his decision, he had not long to wait. on the next day but one, that is to say the 30th of august, a messenger came to him to announce the arrival of a canoe. in it was a jesuit missionary, accompanied by one of cusciddidah's own sons. the worthy priest was in a sorry condition with regard to his apparel, most of which he had either been robbed of or been compelled to barter for food during his long sojourn in the wilderness. he had left quebec during the preceding october, but had been detained for many months owing to the impassability of the route. he bore with him letters; one of them for mr. bailey from the governor of quebec. this epistle seems to have given bailey a great deal of pleasure, and as a communication from one great man to another, he caused it to be publicly read out in the fort. the french governor desired bailey to treat the priest civilly "on account of the amity between the two crowns"; and the bearer of this letter had no reason to complain of a lack of hospitality. he was clothed and entertained with great kindness. unhappily, on the very evening of his arrival, the governor was made aware that the jesuit had brought other letters, and that these had been delivered into the hands of groseilliers. always suspicious, he now became convinced of treachery. he saw in this harmless visit of a pious missionary a deep-laid plot to capture the fort and allow it to be pillaged by the hostile indians. he ordered groseilliers to appear before him. but groseilliers was not to be found, and gorst returned to say that both the frenchmen were out walking together. bailey, taking several men with him, now went himself in search of the pair; he confronted groseilliers, and hurled a host of accusations at his head. to these accusations, all ill-founded and ill-advised, groseilliers very promptly responded by knocking the governor down. he then returned calmly to the fort, demanded his wages and possessions, and calling three of the indians to his side, including the young brave who had accompanied the priest, set off valiantly into the wilderness. in due time he reached quebec, where he rendered a faithful account to the authorities of what had transpired. he also forwarded to england, by way of new england, a minute account of his experiences, which was duly read out at one of the meetings of the company. the jesuit, who had offered to proceed with groseilliers, had been detained. he seems to have made himself very useful to the english in their dealings with the indians, although he was thoroughly distrusted, as was to be expected, by the governor. [sidenote: arrival of the "prince rupert."] on the 24th of september, a sloop was descried in the river, which, with joy, they soon made out to be the _prince rupert_, just arrived from england. she was commanded by captain gillam, and with her came the new governor, william lyddal, to supersede bailey. captain gillam reported that the sister-ship, the _shaftesbury_, commanded by captain shepherd, was likewise at the mouth of the river. the new governor's commission and instructions being read, all hands were immediately put to work, with the intention of unloading and reloading the ships for the return voyage immediately. bailey seems to have expressed the greatest anxiety to proceed to london without delay; but at length he was induced to listen to reason. it was pointed out to him that the season would be far spent before the work of equipment could be properly concluded. after several councils, it was resolved that they should winter at rupert's river; and no effort was made to unload the vessels until the following spring. in the meantime, the crews were not idle. under lyddal's direction they found employment in cutting timber and building houses, more particularly a bake-house and a brew-house, which latter added greatly to the comfort of the fort. chapter viii. 1673-1682. progress of the company -confusion as to the names and number of the tribes -radisson goes to paris -his efforts to obtain support there, and from prince rupert, in england, fail -arrival of m. de la chesnaye -with his help radisson secures support -and sails for quebec -thence proceeds with two ships to attack the english ports in hudson's bay -his encounters with gillam's expedition from london, and his son's, from new england. rapidly advancing in prosperity and reputation, and possessed of a basis of credit which gave it a welcome sense of solidity, the company now renewed its efforts to extend its trade and settlements. the weekly meetings in mr. john horth's house, which were so full of mystery to the public, continued to bear fruit; and at length a regular system was determined for the organization and government of its distant dependencies. [sidenote: ignorance of the geography of hudson's bay.] all ships bound for hudson's bay were now ordered to visit charlton island, which lies about forty miles from the mouth of rupert's river, in the extreme south of the bay; and the island was also made a rendezvous whither all factors were to bring all their merchandise for the purpose of loading the company's ships. the geography of the district had hitherto, in spite of the researches of a long series of explorers, beginning with frobisher, and ending with fox, remained obscure. but the company's servants had not been idle, and the adventurers were soon in possession of carefully drawn charts, and maps of the straits, the bay itself, and the lands surrounding it. they kept themselves also well-advised by lists, drawings, and detailed descriptions, of the tribes inhabiting the territories granted to them under the charter; and the discussions which went on over this subject were not lacking in humour. it is worth observing that for a great many years during the early history of the company, its governors, captains, chief factors, chief traders, and the rank and file of its employees could never by any chance agree, either as to the number or the characteristics of the aborigines. in concocting their reports many were animated purely by love of romance: others relied too implicitly on the tales told by the indians themselves; others may be credited with being the victims of their own imaginations. nor could the lists enumerating the tribes boast more consistency. extracts from those of two governors may be given here for purposes of comparison:- nations visiting hudson's bay. bailey, 1673: lyddal, 1678: esquemos, askimows, nodwayes, odwayes, twegwayes, twagions, pankeshones, paggarshows, noridgewelks, narchuels, abenekays, penkayes, micmacks, micmackes, kilistinons, crilistinons, assinapoils, ossa-poets, cuchneways, kitchenayes, algonkins, algonkings, outaways, otawayes, outagamis. wattagamais. no wonder, therefore, that the adventurers in england were puzzled, and that at one of their later meetings prince rupert was forced to exclaim: "gentlemen, these indians" (each member had been supplied with governor nixon's list) "are not our indians. 'fore god, out of the nineteen i see only five we have dealt with before." another worthy member declared, on a similar occasion that the tribes frequenting the bay were more volatile than the bedouins. "these are not men, but chameleons"--was the remark of another adventurer. [sidenote: confusion of tribes.] the chief cause of the confusion lay in the variations of spelling. more than a century was to elapse before a common orthography was adopted, and in the interval it was impossible to fix the tribes by name with certainty. the name of no tribe perhaps underwent such vicissitudes of spelling and pronunciation as that described by the earliest jesuit pioneers as the ossa-poiles, which in our own day are known as the assiniboines. they were in process of time the poeles, poets, the pedlas, the semplars, oss-semplars, essapoils and the simpoils.[17] at a general court held to consider the action of governor bailey, the majority of the adventurers professed themselves rejoiced at having been quit of the services of the sieurs groseilliers and radisson; yet there were not wanting others to openly regret the treatment these two men had received. as may be supposed, the most fervent of their advocates and defenders was sir john kirke, whose daughter had married radisson, and who himself had lately been knighted by the king. he predicted some disaster to the company from having dismissed these two faithful servants, and he was loud and persistent in asserting the bad faith and unjust suspicions of bailey. while the affairs of the company were proceeding tranquilly at home, the conduct and employment of one of these two bushrangers was more enlivening. chouart was passing his time in inactivity at three rivers. but his brother-in-law, after several ineffectual endeavours to establish a northern rivalry to the company, had offered his services to the french navy. this career, which at that period must have been, even for him, sufficiently eventful and exciting, was cut short by ship-wreck in 1679. losing all his property, even to his clothing, radisson made his way first to brest and then to paris. the vice-admiral and intendant of the fleet having written in his favour, the court was pleased to grant him a sum of one hundred crowns, and hope was also held out to him that he would be honoured by the command of a frigate. in the meantime he was accorded leave to go to england to fetch his wife. [sidenote: radisson in france.] madame radisson, otherwise mistress mary kirke, appears to have caused her husband a great deal of mortification and numerous disappointments. there is no doubt that her continued residence in england, in spite of her husband's return to the french service, made him an object of suspicion to the french court. once when he endeavoured, in a memorable interview with colbert, to press upon that minister his scheme for ousting the english from hudson's bay, the minister responded coldly: "m. radisson, you are suspected of being in league with the english, your father-in-law is one of the members of the english company; and your wife resides under his roof." "i made him understand," declared radisson long afterwards, "that, though married, i was not master of my wife. her father would by no means consent to my bringing her to france with me." these rebuffs determined him to make an attempt to better his worldly condition elsewhere. a true soldier of fortune, patriotism appears to have had little weight with him; he was as ready to serve under the english as the french. he returned to find his father-in-law more placable. sir john had at this time certain claims against the french; and he doubtless fancied that radisson might assist him in preferring these at the french court. he took occasion to ask his father-in-law what chance there remained to him of again securing employment under the company. "none, sir," replied kirke, "both bailey, lyddal and others are against you and have poisoned the minds of their employers. prince rupert is, however, your friend, and also captain gillam; but one dislikes to speak openly, and the other dare not." acting on this intelligence, radisson resolved to see rupert. the prince received him kindly enough; he took pains to show him his collection of mezzotints, and to explain some of his scientific curiosities. he even went so far as to condole with radisson on the treatment he had received. but he had to point out that the temper of the company was such that he feared it would be in vain for him to exercise his interest for his visitor's reinstatement. [sidenote: plan to dislodge the company.] radisson, disappointed of his hopes, and frustrated in his desire to return with his wife, did not meet with a warm welcome on the other side of the channel. colbert received him with black looks; and the suspicions which gathered about him were now strengthened rather than dissipated. in this extremity he repaired to the marquis de seignely, to whom he set forth substantially the same plan which he had cherished for years, of opening out the trade of the north, with the additional attraction now of dislodging the english from a commerce which had already proved vastly profitable. seignely listened with interest, and requested time to reflect on the matter. at the second interview radisson was not overwhelmed with disappointment, for he had expected no other issue; he was told flatly that he was regarded by the king as little better than a traitor; and that his canadian project met with universal distrust. the outlook seemed discouraging indeed, when happily at this juncture there arrived in paris m. de la chesnaye, who was in charge of the fur-trade in canada, as the head of the compagnie du nord. this event proved radisson's salvation. he learned with great rejoicing that la chesnaye's visit to france was actuated by a desire to report upon the intrusion of the english company. la chesnaye proved a true friend; he evinced himself most heartily in favour of the government securing the services of radisson in establishing a rival establishment, on the principle of those of the company to which he had formerly been attached. many consultations took place, both seignely and chesnaye listening with great interest while radisson explained the equipment and merchandise of the hudson's bay company, which he strongly advised should be taken as a pattern in all practical extensions of the french fur-trade in those regions. [sidenote: radisson assisted by the jesuits.] the only difficulty now presenting itself was to find money for the enterprise. the exchequer of the court was at a low ebb; and it had a thousand calls upon its charity and liberality. radisson must wait even for the few hundred crowns he so sadly needed for his passage to new france and his personal needs. there was, however, one force in france which could always be approached with a good courage when any enterprise in a new country required support, and always with success. it was the power which, though it had endured a thousand disappointments and sacrificed a thousand lives, and as many fortunes, in the attempt to teach the gospel of jesus in the wilderness, had adhered without wavering to its faith in the ultimate victory of the cross over the savage nature of the indians. no adventurer, if he had but a sufficiently plausible story, need turn away empty-handed from the door of the jesuits. to the jesuits of paris radisson presented himself as a good catholic seeking to subvert the designs of the heretic english. he applied for assistance, and he was at length rewarded for his pains by a sum of five hundred crowns. but nearly two years had passed before this assistance was procured. radisson's debts had accumulated; his creditors were clamouring about him, threatening him with the sponging-house; no effort to elude them met with success, and at length he found himself at rochelle, with scarce twenty crowns in his pocket over and above the cost of his passage. it was then that he made the resolve to reimburse the jesuits, "if he should live to be worth so great a sum," and it is interesting to discover that two years later he kept his word. at present he could only trust to la chesnaye, who was anxiously awaiting his arrival in quebec. thither radisson arrived on the 25th of september, 1681. la chesnaye showed much joy at seeing his friend; for in truth his own plans for seeking to share the northern trade of the english were nearly ripe. he declared that there was no time to be lost; but that in spite of the urgency of the matter the greatest circumspection would have to be observed, as frontenac by no means desired to compromise the king without first seeing his way clear. but if the governor whose career was about to close was punctilious, the intendant duchesneau was not. he had already dispatched a memoir to his superior relating to hudson's bay, and to what he believed to be the french rights there. [sidenote: duchesneau protests against english encroachments.] "they" (the english) he wrote, "are still on hudson's bay on the north and do great damage to our fur-trade. the farmers [of the revenue] suffer in consequence by this diminution of the trade at tadoussac, and throughout the entire country, because the english drive off the outaoua nations. for the one and the other design they have two forts on the said bay--the one towards tadoussac and the other at cape henrietta marie, on the side of the assinibonetz. the sole means to prevent them succeeding in what is prejudicial to us in this regard would be to drive them by main force from that bay, which belongs to us. or, if there would be an objection in coming to that extremity, to construct forts on the rivers falling into the lakes, in order to stop the indians at these points." the zealous intendant declared that should king lewis adopt the resolution to arrange with the duke of york for his possessions in that quarter, "in which case boston could not resist," canada would be ruined, "the french being naturally inconsistent and fond of novelty." finding, however, that they could obtain no official recognition of the enterprise, la chesnaye at length resorted to a transparent fiction in order to account for radisson's departure--a subterfuge which was the more necessary since many had begun to suspect his destination and urged the governor to do nothing which would bring down on them the enmity of the english and their allies, the iroquois. he requested the governor, if he would not countenance an expedition with license to trade on the shores of the bay, to grant radisson formal permission to return to france by way of new england in a vessel belonging to the government of acadia, which at that moment lay in the st. lawrence ready to sail. it was arranged privately that after his departure radisson should proceed in this vessel only as far as isle percée in the gulf, near the mouth of the river, and there await his kinsmen groseilliers, his nephew chouart, and the two ships which la chesnaye was even then busily fitting out. thus all official cognizance of the expedition would be avoided. [sidenote: company's enemies leave quebec.] the terms agreed upon were, that in return for la chesnaye's equipment, radisson and groseilliers were, provided certain conditions were carried out, to receive jointly half the profits of the venture, and la chesnaye the other half. what these conditions were can only be guessed; but beyond all question, they concerned the capture or spoliation of the english trading posts on the bay. radisson took with him his nephew, jean baptiste, who had passed nearly the whole of his life among the indians as a _coureur de bois_; the pilot, pierre allemand, and an old bushranger named godefrey, who was well acquainted with the indians of the northern regions. groseilliers was to remain behind until the spring, when he was to have the command of the smaller of the two vessels. on the 4th of november the advance guard of the expedition directed against the company's establishment in hudson's bay left quebec. in the following spring the rendezvous was kept at the island named. radisson is found complaining bitterly of the character of the vessels _st. pierre_ and _st. anne_. the former he describes as an old craft of 50 tons only, "with twelve men of a crew, including those with me. there were goods enough for the trade aboard her," he adds, "but so scanty a supply of provisions that if i had not been so deeply engaged i should not venture on the enterprise." [sidenote: rejected advice of radisson and groseilliers.] if his case was scarcely hopeful, that of his brother-in-law was far worse. the latter's vessel could boast but little more than half the tonnage, and while her crew was larger by three men, she carried even fewer supplies. but radisson and groseilliers were not men to shrink from any enterprise because it seemed hazardous. they had led bold, reckless lives, and their spirits rose at the prospect of danger. it was afterwards alleged of this pair that one great cause of their disagreement with the company was their absolute inability to remain quiet and content in the enjoyment of a regular traffic. such a career seemed to their bold, energetic dispositions worthier of drapers' apprentices. it is said they counselled the company not to think of establishing one or two trading posts and expect the indians to come to them for trade, but to push on in the wilderness to the north and west, building new depots and stirring up the hunters to greater activity and more profitable results. had this advice been followed, the exploration of the great north-west would not only have been anticipated by almost a century; but by the occupation of its territory, the great evils of a later day would have been averted; nor would anyone in england have challenged the company's right to an exclusive trade in the regions granted by its charter. but the company was soon to learn that its earliest pioneers and forerunners were not to be cast off with impunity. the two bushrangers experienced considerable difficulty at the outset in propitiating and calming the fears of their crews, who were terrified, and not without reason, at the prospect of a voyage of 900 leagues in such craft as the _st. pierre_ and the _st. anne_, and amidst rough water and ice. but they at length succeeded and effected a start. after nineteen days the crew of groseilliers' ship mutinied. groseilliers' attempts to appease them seemed about to end in signal failure when the man on watch cried out that a vessel was in sight to windward. groseilliers seized his opportunity; "see!" he cried, pointing to the distant barque, "yonder is one of the english company, laden with the profits of their trade in the bay. every man has his pocket full of gold and his stomach full of rum; and we shall have the same if we are not cowards enough to abandon our voyage." after innumerable episodes, some of which almost ended in tragic consequences, radisson at last, on the 26th of august, arrived on the west coast of hudson's bay. on the following day he was joined by his brother-in-law in the _st. anne_ at the mouth of a river named by the indians ka-kirka-kiouay, translated by radisson as "who goes, who comes." twelve days before their arrival another ship had entered this same river, commanded by none other than captain gillam, and having on board john bridgar, commissioned as governor of the new settlement at port nelson. having thus entered the river, they advanced fifteen miles up stream, and radisson then left groseilliers to build a fort, while he himself departed in search of savages with whom to trade. with him he took his nephew and godefrey, all three being well armed with muskets and pistols. in the course of eight days they accomplished forty leagues and attained the upper part of the river, though without meeting a single savage. on the eighth day, however, their eyes were rejoiced by the sight of a large encampment of indians, who, while not especially rich in furs, were eager to conclude a treaty with the french, and to encourage their settlement in the country. radisson now decided to return, accompanied by some of the savages, and on the 12th day of september rejoined his brother-in-law, whose fort he found pretty well advanced. [sidenote: the younger gillam discovered.] hardly had he returned when the sudden booming of a cannon startled the settlement. it was the first time the indians had ever heard the sound, and they expressed much astonishment and apprehension. while the two adventurers hastened to re-assure their allies, they were themselves hardly less disturbed. radisson made up his mind to immediately ascertain whence the firing came and with this intention he embarked in a canoe and went to the mouth of the river. in passing to the opposite bank of the stream, and while in the vicinity of a small island, they perceived signs of european habitation. a tent had been erected, and at that moment a log house was being built. after a stealthy reconnoitre, lasting the whole night, radisson and his companions advanced boldly in the morning from the opposite shore in their canoe. the islanders were engaged in making a repast when radisson attracted their attention. speaking first to them in french, and finding that none of them understood, he thereupon addressed them in english. he asked them what was their business in those parts. their leader quickly responded: "we are english, and come for the beaver trade." "by whose authority," asked radisson; "do you possess a commission?" the other replied that he did not himself possess such a document, but that his father did, and that he and his companions hailed from new england. whereupon radisson, still seated in his canoe at some distance from the shore, informed them that they had not a shadow of right to be in those regions, which he himself had discovered and settled for the french some years before. he drew upon his imagination so far as to intimate that he was at that moment in command of a large force of frenchmen near at hand, who would effectually maintain the sovereignty of king lewis and his exclusive trading right in this territory; and he concluded his harangue, which was delivered almost at the top of his voice, by advising the party of new englanders to embark as soon as possible and to return from whence they came. before any reply could be made, a cry broke from the lips of both the leaders. the canoe had touched the bank, and they recognized one another. the new englander was the son of radisson's old friend gillam; and, as may be supposed, he possessed a very high admiration for a man of whom he had heard so much. they speedily embraced, but radisson is careful to inform us that he did not entirely trust his young friend. when young gillam's ship appeared at the mouth of the river, and he was invited to go on board, he did so, but he took the precaution of insisting upon two englishmen being left as hostages on shore. it was not without misgivings that, as he neared the vessel in their canoe, he observed the captain posting the english emblem and likewise discharging a number of cannon shots. "i told him," says radisson, "that it was not necessary to fire any more, for fear of causing jealousy amongst our people, who might show themselves hostile. he proposed that we should negotiate together. i promised that i would persuade our other officers to consent that, since the season was already too far advanced for them to withdraw, he should pass the winter where he was without their doing him any mischief." in short radisson was resolved at all costs to keep up appearances. he even went so far as to grant gillam formal permission to continue building his house, "barring fortifications," and to guarantee him against insults from the indians, over whom he professed to have absolute power. the two men parted on good terms; and perhaps gillam's complaisance was well-advised. radisson confesses that had the english shown themselves refractory or exhibited any disposition to assert rights over the country, it was his firm intention to concert a plan for seizing their ship, which he observes, was an "excellent prize" inasmuch it held no commission or warrant to trade from any power. it afterwards appeared that this enterprise of the new england ship was set on foot by gillam senior, who, dissatisfied with his profits under the company, sought to adventure an expedition on his own account from boston. he was destined to pay the penalty for this indiscretion. happy at having come out of this encounter so easily, radisson and his party re-embarked in their canoe and struck out northwards. another surprise was in store for them. a ship under full sail was on the point of entering the river. more strategy was necessary. the party regained the shore and instantly kindled a huge bonfire, upon which they cast grass and leaves so as to produce a thick column of smoke. their purpose was to attract the attention and arrest the progress of the vessel and in this they succeeded. believing they had come upon an indian settlement, and anxious to reconnoitre before proceeding farther, the parties aboard the ship cast anchor immediately and so remained motionless in the channel all night. [sidenote: arrival of bridgar.] early in the morning they saw that a boat was being lowered from the ship, and while it was filling with occupants radisson made ready to receive them. each of his party was posted, armed, at the entrance to the wood, while radisson himself walked down to the shore to greet the strangers. they were soon within hail. radisson set up a loud cry, indian fashion, for the purpose of eliciting a response. he was disappointed in this; for the boat approached steadily and silently; there was a movement of the oars, but most of the figures appeared stern and motionless. the boat grounded ten yards from where radisson stood with folded arms, and a general attitude of defiance. one of the crew had got a leg over the side of the boat when our bushranger cried out in a loud voice: "hold, in the king's name." and then presenting his carbine, "i forbid you to land." the occupants of the boat were astonished. "who are you?" they asked, "and what is your business?" "i am a frenchman," was the answer, delivered in english; "and i hold this country for his most christian majesty, king lewis!" radisson signalled to his followers, who emerged from their retreat, making a brave show of their weapons. the coup seemed destined to be successful. the leader of the boat party, visibly impressed, remained standing up in his craft without any attempt on the part of his followers to land. "i beg to inform you, gentlemen, that we hail from london. our ship yonder is the _prince rupert_, belonging to the honourable hudson's bay company and commanded by captain zachary gillam." "you arrive too late. this country is already in the possession of the king of france, and its trade belongs to the northern company of canada." a short dispute succeeded. suddenly changing his tactics, governor bridgar, for it was no other, feigned acquiescence, admitted that after all radisson might be right, and requested the privilege of landing and saluting him. [sidenote: the bushranger's mendacity.] the two leaders now conversed amicably. radisson took occasion to elaborate the narrative to which he had recently treated young gillam, without, however, mentioning the circumstance of his having met the latter. he did not scruple to allege a lengthy residence in the region, detailing his forces, both french and indian, with a fine display of exactitude. commenced on shore, the interview was transferred to the ship; radisson, while accepting bridgar's hospitality, took care to keep, as before, two or three hostages on land. on board the _prince rupert_ he embraced gillam, and listened with a real interest to the tidings he had to convey of what had been happening in europe, and of the affairs of the company. for himself, he readily volunteered the information that he and his brother-in-law groseilliers had two fine large vessels in the vicinity, while the third was shortly expected. he likewise made no secret of the fact that a huge fort was being constructed hard by in the interests of the french company. in all of these statements governor bridgar professed absolute credence, whatever may have been his private opinion of their value. in reality, however, he was not deceived; and if it had not been for radisson's precaution as to the hostages, there is some reason to believe he would have detained his guest on board the company's ship to ruminate for a while on his treachery to the company. even allowing for the truth of radisson's assertions regarding the occupation by the french of port nelson and the surrounding neighbourhood in large numbers, bridgar was not to be dissuaded by mere words from his intention to establish a factory there. he had every confidence in the company's rights; and he determined to carry out his instructions to the letter. no sooner had radisson departed, therefore, than a majority of the people on board the _prince rupert_ landed and commenced building a fort. the french party hiding in the woods spied on their movements; and before rejoining their comrades at their own settlement they had the privilege of seeing the erection of fort nelson, the fourth establishment of the company in the hudson's bay territories, well under way. footnote: [17] also known to-day as the stone indians. chapter ix. 1682-1683. death of prince rupert -the company's difficulty in procuring proper servants -radisson at port nelson -the two gillams -their meeting -capture of the new england party -the first scotchman in the bay -governor bridgar carried off prisoner -indian visitors to the fort -disasters to the ships -the french burn the island fort -radisson's harangue to the indians -return to france. [sidenote: death of prince rupert.] on the 28th of november, 1682, at his house in spring garden, died the first governor of the hudson's bay company. the prince had been in ill-health for some time, he was in his sixty-third year; and he had lived a stirring and adventurous life. his demise occasioned general regret, more amongst the people than at court; for, as a writer of that day observed, "he had of late years proved a faithful counsellor to the king, but a greater patriot to english liberty; and therefore was towards his latter end neglected by the court to that degree that nothing passed between him and his great relations but bare civilities in the common forms." on the sixth of the ensuing month his body was privately interred among others of the royal family in a vault in westminster abbey. a week later there was held a general court of the company, at which the duke of york was chosen to succeed rupert in the governorship. besides the duke himself, his royal highness the duke of albemarle, lord arlington and mr. hays, all delivered enthusiastic panegyrics on the deceased prince, rightly attributing to his zeal, judgment and enterprise, the successful establishment of the company. and the meeting then adjourned out of regret for the dead governor without proceeding to further business. more than fifteen years had elapsed since medard chouart des groseilliers had first fired prince rupert with his project of founding a great fur-traffic in the unknown and unexplored regions of the new world. the prince had lived to see that project succeed even beyond his most sanguine expectations. now, at his death, the company owned four ships; and after all the cost of its plant, its ships and its equipment had been paid, it was returning an annual profit of two hundred per cent. on its capital. it was well-known that his highness favoured greater activity, and one of his last acts had been to sign the commission of john bridgar as governor of the new settlement at port nelson. but during his own governorship, the company, feeling, no doubt, that they must balance the prince's zeal for adventure with considerable caution, opposed the policy of rapid expansion with somewhat excessive prudence; and it was only after his death that they felt confident in pursuing a more vigorous and enterprising plan of commerce. under date of april 27th, 1683, while the drama between the french and english was being enacted at port nelson, the following instructions were addressed to governor sargeant, regarding trade with the interior: "you are to choose out from amongst our servants such as are best qualified with strength of body and the country language to travel and to penetrate into the country, and to draw down the indians by fair and gentle means to trade with us." but the company was to learn that the parsimony which then characterized its policy was not calculated to foster the success of its aims. the majority of the men it sent out from england could not be classified under the head of adventurous spirits, ready to dare all for mere excitement and the prospect of gain. they were for the most part young men gifted with no more aptitude for the work in the wilderness than a disinclination to pursue their callings at home. no small number were dissatisfied apprentices; one william evans had been a drawer at the rainbow inn; portman had sent his scullion. even at that early day the staffs employed on the plantations were recruited from amongst the very class least competent to exploit those regions. the majority of the applicants for employment in the company's service in the seventeenth century were not men of character and vigour, or even of robust physique, but rather hare-brained artisans of the wild, dare-devil type, whose parents and friends foresaw for them, if london or bristol formed the sphere of their talents, a legal and violent rather than a natural termination of their respective careers. [sidenote: company's encouragement requested.] sargeant's response to the foregoing injunction certainly served to enlighten his superiors. "i shall not be neglectful," he wrote, "as soon as i can find any man capable and willing to send up into the country with the indians, to endeavour to penetrate into what the country will and may produce, and to effect their utmost in bringing down the indians to our factory; but your honours should give good encouragement to those who undertake such extraordinary service; or else i fear that there will be but few that will embrace such employment." the rebuke may have been just; but it seems to have given offence to some of the more pompous members of the company; and sargeant was desired not to cast any further reflection on his employers in his communications to them. nevertheless, the company was soon to learn the value of a less niggardly policy. meanwhile for ten days the two ex-employees, radisson and groseilliers, gave no further evidence to the english at the new settlement on nelson river of their presence. but on the tenth day their curiosity and uneasiness regarding the conduct of the english governor, bridgar, and the other servants of the company, had reached such a pitch that it was decided without further consideration that radisson should start off at once to reconnoitre their behaviour. the actual distance between fort bourbon, on the hays river, and the company's factory on nelson river was not above fifty miles; but owing to the dangerous character of the river, and the necessity for delay before an attempt could be made to cross it, radisson and his party consumed fourteen days on the journey. [sidenote: bridgar's credulity.] on their arrival on the 3rd of february, one of the first objects to attract their attention was the _prince rupert_, stuck fast in the ice and mud about a mile from where the factory was being erected. at the same time they met the governor, who was out on a hunting expedition with the chief mate of the vessel. satisfying himself that no treachery was intended, radisson accepted bridgar's invitation to enter the log-house which he had caused to be built for his own occupation. radisson introduced one of the frenchmen who accompanied him as the captain of an imaginary ship, which he averred had arrived from france in his behalf. "mr. b. believed it and anything else i chose to tell him," remarks radisson naively, "i aiming always to prevent him from having any knowledge of the english interloper." while engaged in the pleasing diversion of drinking each other's health, a number of musket shots were fired. the crew of the vessel not taking any notice of this, the bushranger concluded that those on board were not on their guard and might readily be surprised. with this condition uppermost in his mind, the frenchman quitted bridgar, having first allayed any suspicion which might have naturally arisen as to the intention of the party. the latter went boldly on board the ship, and no hindrance being offered, their leader had a colloquy with captain gillam. the latter, while he received the visit civilly enough, found occasion to let radisson know that he was far from entirely trusting him. when his visitor suggested that he was running a great risk in allowing the _prince rupert_ to remain grounded, gillam bluntly requested radisson to mind his own business, adding that he knew perfectly well what he was doing--a boast which, as the sequel showed, was certainly not well founded. radisson was determined not to be put out of temper, and so run risk of spoiling his plans. winter, even in all its rigour, seems to have had no terrors for our indomitable bushranger. for the next two months, as we shall see, he continued to scour backwards and forwards through the country, inspiring his followers and urging them onward to the prosecution of a plan which was obvious to them all. after parting from gillam the elder, who had not the faintest suspicion that his son was in the locality, radisson at once started to parley with gillam, the younger. when he had regained the island which he had left, he was instantly made aware that the new englanders had been considerably less idle than the company's servants; having completed a very creditable fort and mounted it with six pieces of cannon. with benjamin gillam, our bushranger passed off the same subterfuge with which he had hoodwinked zachary. he spoke fluently of his newly arrived ship and her cargo and crew, and to cap his narrative, proceeded to introduce her captain, who was none other than the old pilot, pierre allemand, who, from the description still extant of his appearance, looked every inch the bold, fierce and uncompromising mariner. he had a great deal to tell benjamin likewise of the company's post near by, which he said contained forty soldiers. "let them be forty devils," exclaimed gillam, junior, "we have built a good fort and are afraid of nothing." whereupon radisson gently reminded him that according to his agreement he was to have built no fort whatever. in reply to this benjamin begged his visitor not to take umbrage at such a matter, as he never intended to dispute the rights of the french in the region; and the fort was merely intended as a defence against the indians. [sidenote: a manoeuvre of radisson's.] as the evening wore on, a manoeuvre suggested itself to radisson. he resolved to bring father and son together. no sooner had he formed this amiable resolve than he revealed to benjamin gillam the proximity of the _prince rupert_ and her commander, and described the means by which an encounter might be effected without eliciting the suspicions of governor bridgar or any of the company's servants. it consisted briefly in young benjamin's disguising himself as a frenchman and a bushranger. the scheme met with the young man's hearty approbation and the details were settled as radisson had designed. on the following day the party set out through the snow. arriving at the point of land opposite to which the company's ship lay, radisson posted two of his best men in the woods on the path which led to the factory. he instructed them to allow the governor to pass should he come that way, but that if he returned from the ship unaccompanied or prior to their own departure they were to seize and overpower him on the spot. with such precautions as these, radisson felt himself safe and went on board the _prince rupert_ accompanied by gillam. he introduced his two companions into the captain's room without any notice on the part of gillam the elder, and the mate and another man he had with him. leaning across the table, upon which was deposited a bulky bottle of rum, radisson whispered to the honest captain that he had a secret of the highest importance to communicate if he would but dismiss the others. gillam readily sent away the mate, but would not dismiss his second attendant until radisson, again in a whisper, informed him that the black-bearded man in the strange head-gear was his son. [sidenote: meeting of father and son.] after communicating this intelligence the pair had their own way. the next few moments were devoted to embraces and to an interchange of news, for captain gillam and benjamin had not met for two years. the sire could not refrain from imparting to his son that he was running a great risk; he declared it would be ruinous to him if it got to the governor's ears that there was any collusion between them. radisson again professed his friendship, but added that in his opinion neither of the parties had any right to be where they were, he having taken possession for the king of france. "this territory is all his most christian majesty's," he said. "the fort we have built yonder we call fort bourbon, and none have any right here but such as own allegiance to lewis xiv." he observed that nothing would cause a rupture of the friendly relations now subsisting between french and english but the trade in peltries, trade which he had too great reason to fear they hoped to initiate with the indians in the spring. the elder gillam coolly responded that the ship he commanded, and the spot on which they were then assembled, luckily belonged not to himself, but to the hudson's bay company. "with regard to the trade, gentlemen," said he, "you have nothing to fear from me. even though i don't carry a solitary beaver back to the thames, i shall not trouble myself, being sure of my wages." [sidenote: gillam nearly betrayed.] this interview was prolonged. the healths of the kings of france and england, prince rupert and m. colbert (quite in ignorance of the death of the two last named) were drunk with zeal and enthusiasm. in the midst of all this, that which radisson had anticipated, occurred. governor bridgar, notified of radisson's return, came to the ship in hot haste. on his joining the group, he remarked meaningly that the fort the french had constructed must be nearer than he had been given to think, since its commandant could effect so speedy a return. he evinced himself very uneasy in mind concerning the frenchman's intentions. before their departure, young gillam came very near being betrayed. he was partially recognized by one of the traders who accompanied the governor. but the matter passed off without serious consequences. none too soon did the party return to young gillam's fort on the island, for a tremendous blizzard ensued, sweeping the whole country, and forcing radisson to remain for some days within doors. as soon as the storm had subsided, however, radisson started off, declining gillam's offer of his second mate to accompany him back to the french settlement. "i managed to dissuade him," he writes, "having my reasons for wishing to conceal the road we should take. on leaving we went up from the fort to the upper part of the river, but in the evening we retraced our steps and next morning found ourselves in sight of the sea, into which it was necessary to enter in order to pass the point and reach the river in which was our habitation. but everything was so covered with ice that there was no apparent way of passing farther. we found ourselves, indeed, so entangled in the ice that we could neither retreat nor advance towards the shore to make a landing. it was necessary, however, that we should pass through the ice or perish. we remained in this condition for four hours without being able to advance or retire and in great danger of our lives. our clothes were frozen on us and we could only move with difficulty; but at last we made so strong an attempt that we arrived at the shore, our canoe being all broken up. each of us took our baggage and arms, and marched in the direction of our habitation without finding anything to eat for three days, except crows and birds of prey, which are the last to leave these countries." fort bourbon was reached at length. after reporting to his brother-in-law all that had passed, groseilliers was not long in counselling what was best to be done. in his opinion the first thing necessary was to secure possession of young gillam's ship. time pressed and the spring would soon be upon them, bringing with it the advent of the indians. he argued that delay might prove fatal, inasmuch as bridgar might at any moment learn of the presence of the new england interlopers; and in that event he would probably make an effort to capture their fort and add their forces to his own. if this were done, the success of the french in overpowering the english traders would be slight and their voyage would have been undertaken for nothing. [sidenote: calamity to the company's ship.] it was therefore agreed that groseilliers should remain in charge of the fort, while his kinsman should immediately return to nelson river. in a few days they parted once more, radisson setting out with a fresh party and thoroughly resolved upon action. the first discovery he made, on arriving at the scene of his proposed operations, was that the company's ship, the _prince rupert_, was frozen fast in the ice, and must inevitably perish when the spring floods came. he also speedily ascertained that the governor, by no means relishing his presence in the vicinity, was already planning measures to thwart, if not to capture, his rivals, for he had sent out two sailors charged with the task of discovering the exact whereabouts of the french and the extent of their strength and equipment. these two spies radisson promptly captured--no difficult task indeed, for they had lost their way and were half-frozen and almost famished. the anticipated fate of the _prince rupert_ was not long delayed. the tidings shortly reached radisson that she was a total wreck, and with it came also the news of the loss of her captain, the mate and four sailors. a subsequent report, however, declared that gillam had escaped with his life. receiving this intelligence, radisson presented himself before the governor to see how he was affected by such a calamity. he found bridgar drinking heavily, but resolved to keep up appearances and to withhold from the french any knowledge of what had happened. he affected to believe the ship safe, merely observing that she had shifted her position a few leagues down the river. radisson asserts that at this time the company's factory was short of provisions. it is impossible that this could have been the case. the assertion was probably made to cover his own depredations on the stores of the company. parting from the governor, radisson presented himself before gillam the younger, to whom he did not as yet choose to say anything concerning his father and the loss of his ship. under various pretences he induced gillam to pay him a visit at fort bourbon. the latter does not seem at this time to have been aware of the intention of the french towards him. but he was soon to be undeceived. [sidenote: radisson's threats.] "i remained quiet for a month," says radisson, in the course of his extraordinary narrative, "treating young gillam, my new guest, well and with all sorts of civilities, which he abused on several occasions. for having apparently perceived that we had not the strength i told him, he took the liberty of speaking of me in threatening terms behind my back, treating me as a pirate and saying that in spite of me he would trade in spring with the indians. he had even the hardihood to strike one of my men, which i pretended not to notice; but, having the insolence later, when we were discussing the privileges of new england, to speak against the respect due the best of kings, i treated him as a worthless dog for speaking in that way and told him that, having had the honour to eat bread in his service, i would pray to god all my life for his majesty. he left me, threatening that he would return to his fort and that when he was there i would not dare to speak to him as i had done. i could not expect to have a better opportunity to begin what i had resolved to do. i told this young brute then that i had brought him from his fort, that i would take him back myself when i pleased, not when he wished. he answered impertinently several times, which obliged me to threaten that i would put him in a place of safety if he was not wiser. he asked me then if he was a prisoner. i said i would consider it and that i would secure my trade since he threatened to interrupt it. i then withdrew to give him time to be informed by the englishmen how his father's life was lost with the company's ship, and the bad situation of mr. bridgar. i left in their company a frenchman who understood english, unknown to them. when i had left, young gillam urged the englishman to fly, and to go to his master and assure him that he would give him six barrels of powder and other supplies if he would undertake to deliver him out of my hands. the englishman made no answer, but he did not inform me of the proposition that had been made him (i had learned that from the frenchman, who had learned everything and thought it was time to act for my security)." in the evening radisson said nothing of what he knew of the plot. he asked those in his train if the muskets were in their places, which he had put around to act as guarantee against surprise. at the word _musket_ young gillam, who did not know what was meant, grew alarmed and, according to radisson, wished to fly, believing that it was intended to kill him. but his flight was arrested by his captor, who took occasion to free him from his apprehension. the next morning, however, the bushranger's plans were openly divulged. he told gillam that he was about to take his fort and ship. "he answered haughtily that even if i had a hundred men i could not succeed, and that his people would have killed more than forty before they could reach the palisades. this boldness did not astonish me, being very sure that i would succeed in my design." [sidenote: hays' island fort.] having secured gillam the younger, it was now necessary to secure the fort of which he was master. the intrepid frenchman started for hays' island with nine men, and gaining an entrance by strategy, he cast off the mask of friendship and boldly demanded the keys of the fort and the whole stock of arms and powder. he added that in the event of their refusal to yield he would raze the fort to the ground. no resistance seems to have been attempted, and radisson took formal possession of the place in the name of the king of france. this ceremony being concluded, he ordered jenkins, the mate, to conduct him to the ship, and here formal possession was taken in the same fashion, without any forcible objection on the part of the crew. some explanation of this extraordinary complaisance, if radisson's story of the number of men he took with him be true, may be found in the commander's unpopularity, he having recently killed his supercargo in a quarrel. nevertheless, benjamin gillam was not to be altogether without friends. a certain scotchman, perchance the first of his race in those regions, which were afterwards to be forever associated with scottish zeal and labours, wishing to show his fidelity to his chief, escaped, and eluding the efforts of the fleetest of the french bushrangers to catch him, he arrived at fort nelson and told his tale. the governor's astonishment may be imagined. he had hitherto no inkling of the presence of the new england interlopers, and although his captain and fellow-servant was not equally ignorant, gillam had kept his counsel well. the governor decided at once to head a party of relief, in which he was seconded by the elder gillam, who was at the moment only just recovering from illness caused by exposure during the shipwreck. the _susan_ was their first point of attack. under the cover of night they made a determined effort to recapture her for the company. it is possible that the attempt might have succeeded had not radisson, suspecting the move, despatched his entire available force at the same time and completely overpowered the governor's men. he thought at first sight that bridgar himself was among his prisoners, but the governor was not to be caught in that fashion; he had not himself boarded the ship. the scotchman who accompanied him, however, was not so fortunate; he fell into radisson's hands and suffered for his zeal. he was tied to a post and informed that his execution would take place without ceremony on the morrow. the sentence was never carried out. for radisson, after exposing his prisoner to the cold all night in an uncomfortable position, seems to have thought better of his threat, and after numerous vicissitudes the scot at length regained his liberty. reinforcements for the french now arrived from groseilliers. believing himself now strong enough to beard the lion in his lair, radisson decided to lose no more time in rounding off his schemes. first, however, he saw fit to address a letter to the governor asking him if he "approved the action of the company's people whom he held prisoners, who had broken two doors and the storeroom of his ship, in order to carry off the powder." bridgar's reply was that he owed no explanation to a renegade employee of the company. radisson had not been sincere in his professions, and he had dealt basely and deceitfully with him in preserving silence on the subject of the interlopers. "as i had proper instructions," concluded bridgar, in a more conciliatory strain, "on setting sail from london to seize all ships coming to this quarter, i would willingly have joined hands with you in capturing this vessel. if you wish me to regard you as sincere you will not keep this prize for your own use." the other's response was rapid and masterly. he marched upon fort nelson with twelve men, and by the following nightfall was master of the english establishment. this feat nearly drove the unhappy governor to despair, and he sought solace by applying himself to the rum cask with greater assiduity than ever. in the frame of mind thus superinduced, john bridgar, the first governor of port nelson, was carried off a prisoner to fort bourbon. this post was built of logs, as the others had been, but there was a bastion of stone at one end facing the river. it occupied, as nearly as one may now ascertain, the site upon which was afterwards reared york factory. but in the course of the seventy years following the post was shifted slightly from site to site, when the exigencies of fire and other causes of destruction demanded a new building. a few days after the governor's arrival at fort bourbon, the first indians began to appear with provisions, which were now beginning to be very sorely required. to the chief of this band radisson related the story, properly garnished, of his exploits, realizing well how such things appeal to the savage heart. while the indians were pondering upon his valour, great was their surprise to behold about the fort, a number of english, whom radisson had made prisoners; and upon learning that there were others at york factory and hays' island, they very handsomely offered 200 beavers for permission to go thither and massacre them. this offer radisson wisely declined; but it seems clear that he did his best to stir up enmity amongst his indian friends against the english. in this he was not entirely successful. good news travels fast, too; and the indians had got wind of bridgar's boast that rather than see the trade pass into the hands of the french it was his intention to offer six axes for a beaver and as much merchandise in proportion. they had, besides, reason to believe in the superior generosity of the english traders as compared with the french. [sidenote: destruction of la chesnaye's vessels.] it was now april, 1683. on the 22nd a disaster little foreseen by radisson or groseilliers occurred, which involved the destruction of their own frail ships. the _st. pierre_ and the _st. anne_ had been hauled into a small stream as far as possible in the woods and there sheltered by a knoll. at ten o'clock on the night named all at fort bourbon were awakened by a frightful noise, caused by the breaking up of the ice. the occupants of the fort rushed outside to find the waters everywhere rising with almost incredible rapidity; and the masses of ice blocking up the mouth of the creek caused a complete general submersion. la chesnaye's two vessels offered no strong resistance to the flood, and presently began to crack and splinter in all parts. in a few hours all that remained sound were the bottoms, clinging fast to the ice and mud. a similar fate was apprehended for the new england ship, and radisson made all haste thither. she was saved only by his adopting the suggestion of bridgar, that the ice be carefully cut all about the _susan_, as he had heard of governor bailey doing on a previous occasion. the ice once cut, the vessel was only pushed by the strength of the floes to one side, where she remained aground with little damage. the chief concern of the leaders of the french now was to get the english safely out of the country as soon as possible, before the arrival of the company's ships. to this end radisson and groseilliers offered them the hull of the _st. anne_ which, they believed, could with industry be patched up with new timber sufficiently well to withstand a voyage. when the english saw that these were the best terms they could expect, and that if they were left at the mercy of the indians a much worse fate might be in store for them, they set to work with a will. the labour proved arduous, and they had suffered terribly. four had died from cold and hunger, and two had been poisoned from having rashly drunk of a liquor they had found in the medicine-room chest, without knowing its nature; another had had his arm broken quite recently by a musket shot while out hunting. the governor felt that his sole hope lay in the expected ships of the company. he seems to have always adopted a high tone in dealing with the french, even to the last. he declared to radisson that it was only one of three things that could oblige him to abandon the place, "the order of his masters, force, or famine." groseilliers now counselled burning the island fort, in order to do away with the necessity of keeping perpetual guard there, and of always taking precautions to protect themselves against the governor's intrigues. this advice was acted upon forthwith; the fort was burned and a small lodge erected to accommodate such of the new englanders as had not been carried to fort bourbon, or were not at work on the hull of the wrecked ship. [sidenote: arrival of the indians.] early in may the indians began to appear in great numbers. bridgar--who, divested of his command and robbed of his stores, was now allowed at large--heard of their arrival with joy. he seems to have believed that their chiefs would not repudiate their treaties with the company. he hoped in any case to be granted the privilege of a conference with them, but in this he was quickly undeceived. radisson went forward to meet the indians, who had come well loaded with peltries and who were much perturbed at discovering the helpless state of the governor and the ascendancy of the french. but they showed no disinclination to trade with the latter, in spite of their solemn covenant, provided groseilliers and his brother-in-law would do so on the same terms as the english. both the bushrangers, however, seem to have been determined to put an immediate stop to what they termed folly. let the company give six axes for a beaver if it chose; for themselves they would countenance no such wantonness; two would suffice. the tribe being assembled and having spread out their customary gifts, consisting of beaver tails, smoked moose tongues and pemmican, one of the leading braves arose and said:-"men who pretend to give us life, do you wish us to die? you know what beaver is worth and the trouble we have to take it. you call yourselves our brothers and yet will not give us what those give who make no such profession. accept our gifts, and let us barter, or we will visit you no more. we have but to travel a hundred leagues and we will encounter the english, whose offers we have heard." on the conclusion of this harangue, silence reigned for some moments. all eyes were turned on the two white traders. feeling that now or never was the time to exhibit firmness, radisson, without rising to his feet, addressed the whole assemblage in haughty accents. "whom dost thou wish i should answer? i have heard a dog bark; when a man shall speak he will see i know how to defend my conduct and my terms. we love our brothers and we deserve their love in return. for have we not saved them all from the treachery of the english?" [sidenote: radisson overawes the indians.] uttering these words fearlessly, he leapt to his feet and drew a long hunting knife from his belt. seizing by the scalp-lock the chief of the tribe, who had already adopted him as his son, he asked, "who art thou?" to which the chief responded, as was customary, "thy father." "then," cried radisson, "if that is so, and thou art my father, speak for me. thou art the master of my goods; but as for that dog who has spoken, what is he doing in this company? let him go to his brothers, the english, at the head of the bay. or he need not travel so far: he may, if he chooses, see them starving and helpless on yonder island: answering to my words of command." "i know how to speak to my indian father," continued radisson, "of the perils of the woods, of the abandonment of his squaws and children, of the risks of hunger and the peril of death by foes. all these you avoid by trading with us here. but although i am mightily angry i will take pity on this wretch and let him still live. go," addressing the brave with his weapon outstretched, "take this as my gift to you, and depart. when you meet your brothers, the english, tell them my name, and add that we are soon coming to treat them and their factory yonder as we have treated this one." the speaker knew enough of the indian character, especially in affairs of trade, to be aware that a point once yielded them is never recovered. and it is but just to say that the terms he then made of three axes for a beaver were thereafter adopted, and that his firmness saved the company many a cargo of these implements. his harangue produced an immediate impression upon all save the humiliated brave, who declared that if the assiniboines came hither to barter he would lay in ambush and kill them. the french trader's reply to this was to the indian mind a terrible one. "i will myself travel into thy country," said he, "and eat sagamite in thy grandmother's skull." while the brave and his small circle of friends were livid with fear and anger, radisson ordered three fathoms of tobacco to be distributed; observing, contemptuously, to the hostile minority that as for them they might go and smoke women's tobacco in the country of the lynxes. the barter began, and when at nightfall the indians departed not a skin was left amongst them. [sidenote: departure of the english.] it was now time to think of departure. as absent men tell no tales, it was decided to despatch bridgar and his companions first. but at the last moment some trouble seems to have arisen as to which vessel the english should have to convey them to more hospitable shores. bridgar himself would have preferred to go in the ship, and at first his passage had been arranged for in that craft; but it was at length settled that he should be carried with the brothers-in-law in their barque. after numerous vicissitudes, which would need a volume to describe, the _st. anne_ arrived at the mouth of the st. lawrence. at tadoussac was a trading post belonging to the french: and the sight of it seems to have inspired either one or both of these conscienceless adventurers with the idea of lightening their load of furs, which consisted of above two thousand skins, though this cargo only represented about one-third of the number they had actually secured by cheating, robbery and intrigue in the country of the bay. having in this nefarious manner disposed of about half of la chesnaye's property jointly with themselves, they again set sail and arrived at quebec on the 26th of october. immediately on their arrival they went to report themselves to m. de la barre, the governor, la chesnaye being fortunately, or unfortunately, absent in montreal. the governor thought proper to return the _susan_ to the new england merchants, with a warning not to send again to the place from which she had just come, and the company's ill-starred governor, bridgar, together with young gillam, sailed on board her for new england. "we parted," says radisson with that matchless audacity of statement for which his narrative deserves to be famous, "on friendly terms; and he (bridgar) could testify that i let him know at the time my attachment; and yet, that i wished still to act as heartily in the service of the king and the nation as i wished to do for france." this hardly tallies with bridgar's evidence before the company, that radisson was "a cheat, a swindler, and a black-hearted, infamous scoundrel," and that he was "a born intriguing traitor." as for the elder gillam, he was heard to declare, when he had at length arrived on the frail and half-rotten craft which bore him and his unhappy comrades to new england, that he would not die happy until his "hangar had dipped into the blood of the french miscreant, radisson." [sidenote: radisson and groseilliers leave quebec.] quebec soon got too hot for both of the brothers-in-law. between the unfortunate la chesnaye, who saw himself some thousand crowns out of pocket, and the governor, who had received orders from france to despatch to the court the two adventurers who seemed bent on making trouble between the two crowns, radisson and groseilliers decided to leave quebec, which they did in about a fortnight after their arrival. the exact date of their departure was the 11th of november, 1683, and it was effected on board a french frigate which had brought troops to the colony. but though the captain of the frigate made all haste, the frail and shattered _st. anne_, with captain gillam on board, arrived in europe before them; and soon england was ringing with his story of the dastardly encroachment of the french into the realms of the company at port nelson.[18] footnote: [18] the material for the two last chapters has been derived chiefly from a pamphlet entitled "french villainy in hudson's bay"; radisson's own narrative, and the "journal" of gillam, the elder, supplied to dongan. radisson's narrative, divided into two parts, is written in a clear, legible character, and evinces that its author was a person of some education. the first part is in english, and was long the property of samuel pepys. some years after pepys' death, the manuscript was purchased for a trifle by rawlinson, the bibliophile. the second part, recounting the voyages to hudson's bay in 1682-84, is half in french and half in english; it is now in the bodleian library. chapter x. 1684-1687. hays writes to lord preston -godey sent to radisson's lodgings -la barre's strenuous efforts -radisson returns to the english -he leaves for the bay -meets his nephew chouart -fort bourbon surrendered to the company - radisson's dramatic return to london. [sidenote: lord preston informed of the return of radisson and groseilliers.] lord preston, who, in the year 1684, held the post of ambassador extraordinary of king charles ii. at the court of versailles, was advised of the return to paris of the bushranger radisson in these terms:- "my lord: it has just reached our ears and that of his royal highness the duke of york, governor of the honourable hudson's bay company, that the person who has caused all the recent trouble in the hudson's bay regions whereby our merchants have suffered so much at the hands of the french, is at this moment in paris. as it is much in the interests of the nation as of the company that there should be no repetition of these encroachments and disturbances, it might be advantageous for your lordship to see this mr. radisson who, it is believed, could be brought over again to our service if he were so entreated by your lordship. his royal highness, together with the other honourable partners, are convinced from his previous conduct that it matters little to mr. radisson under whose standard he serves; and that, besides, he is secretly well disposed toward us, and this in spite of his late treacherous exploits which have given great offence to the nation and damage to the company." [illustration: captain godey's visit to radisson. (_see page 112._)] this private note was signed by sir john hays and mr. young on behalf of the company. on its receipt by lord preston, he at once sent his attaché, captain godey, to seek out radisson and make overtures to him. on the third floor of a house in the faubourg st. antoine, surrounded by a number of his relations and boon companions, the dual traitor was discovered, deeply engaged in drinking healths and in retailing his adventures to the applause of an appreciative circle. upon the walls and mantelpiece of the apartment, and such meagre furniture as it boasted, were disposed numerous relics and trophies, bespeaking a thirty years' career in the transatlantic wilderness. [sidenote: radisson's appearance in paris.] "radisson himself," remarks godey, "was apparelled more like a savage than a christian. his black hair, just touched with grey, hung in a wild profusion about his bare neck and shoulders. he showed a swart complexion, seamed and pitted by frost and exposure in a rigorous climate. a huge scar, wrought by the tomahawk of a drunken indian, disfigured his left cheek. his whole costume was surmounted by a wide collar of marten's skin; his feet were adorned by buckskin moccasins. in his leather belt was sheathed a long knife." such was the picture presented by this uncouth, adventurous huguenot, not merely in the seclusion of his own lodgings, but to the polished and civilized folk of paris of the seventeenth century. what were the projects harboured in this indomitable man's mind? in spite of his persistent intrigues it is to be doubted if he, any more than médard chouart des groseilliers, was animated by more than a desire to pursue an exciting and adventurous career. habitually holding out for the best terms, he does not appear to have saved money when it was acquired, but spent it freely. when he died he was in receipt of a pension from the company, so far insufficient to provide for his manner of living that they were forced to pay his remaining debts. unabashed by the surroundings thus presented to him, captain godey announced himself, shook hands with the utmost cordiality with radisson, and pleaded to be allowed to join in the convivial proceedings then in progress. the better to evince his sincerity, without further ceremony he accepted and drank as full a bumper of bad brandy and applauded with as much heartiness as any man of the party the truly astonishing tales of their host. godey was the last of the guests to depart. "look you," said he, when he and radisson were alone together, "you, monsieur, are a brave man, and it does not become the brave to harbour vengeance. nor does it become a brave nation to think hardly of any man because of his bravery, even though that nation itself be a sufferer. you know," he pursued, "what is said about you in england?" radisson interrupted his guest by protesting with warmth that he neither knew nor cared anything about such a matter. "it is said, then," answered godey, "that you have been a traitor to the king, and that there is no authority or defence for your conduct. you and groseilliers, whilst professing friendship for the english company have done them great injury, and endangered the peace between the two crowns." "i am sorry," rejoined radisson, "but all that i and my brother-in-law have done, is to be laid at the door of the hudson's bay company. we wished honestly to serve them, but they cast us away as being no longer useful, when now they see what it is they have done, and how foolishly they have acted in listening to the counsels of governor bridgar. we really bear them no ill-will, neither the company nor his royal highness."[19] [sidenote: godey's report.] the gallant emissary reported the tenor of this conversation forthwith to his master, and both were agreed as to the sort of man they had to deal with. godey expressed himself convinced that there would be little difficulty in inducing radisson to return to the company's service. on this advice preston at once wrote off to mr. young, telling him not to further press the company's memorial to the king, nor to seek to have the french court take cognizance of, and award recompense for, the wrongs done the english interests. "radisson has done this thing out of his own head, and he is the one man competent to undo it. he is, i learn, well-disposed to the english, and there is no reason, if proper overtures be made him, why he should not do more for the english interests in that region than he has yet done." at the same time la barre, the french governor, was urged to make the most strenuous efforts to retain the advantages for the french by the two adventurers. a royal despatch of august 5th, 1683, and signed by lewis himself, had already been sent, in these words:- "i recommend you to prevent the english as much as possible from establishing themselves in hudson's bay, possession whereof was taken in my name several years ago; and as colonel d'unguent,[20] appointed governor of new york by the king of england, has had precise orders on the part of the said king to maintain good correspondence with us and carefully to avoid whatever may interrupt it, i doubt not the difficulties you have experienced will cease for the future." lewis was by no means desirous of rendering the position of his fellow monarch over the channel uncomfortable. he was disposed to yield in a small matter when he had his own way in most of the large ones. had charles yielded to french representations about port nelson he would have given great offence to his brother the duke of york. indeed, there is little doubt that had the company not boasted members of such distinction, or the patronage of royalty, the french would have at this juncture forced their demands and overwhelmed the english possession. radisson appears to have got wind of the situation and this was, perhaps, to him a greater argument for returning to the service of the power likely to be most permanent in hudson's bay. he, however, hung about idle in paris for some weeks, in a state of indecision. had m. de seignely exerted his full powers of persuasion, he might have induced our bushranger to remain in the service of lewis. but no such inducement was offered. there is some reason to believe that m. de seignely undervalued radisson; but in any case the apathy of the court influenced his actions. the bushranger was, on the other hand, exhorted to return to his first engagement with the english, lord preston assuring him that if he could in reality execute what he proposed, he would receive in england from his majesty, from his royal highness, from the company, and from the nation, "every sort of good treatment and entire satisfaction." the duke's especial protection was also guaranteed. radisson, none too punctilious, at length made up his mind as to the course he would pursue. "i yielded," says he, "to these solicitations and determined to go to england forever, and so strongly bind myself to his majesty's service, and to that of those interested in the nation, that no other cause could ever detach me from it." [sidenote: radisson decides to join the english.] but in order that he might have an excuse for his conduct, the very day that he arrived at this decision he is found writing to the french minister demanding a certain grant in the north-west of canada as an alternative to a former proposal that "in consideration of his discoveries, voyages and services he should be given every fourth beaver, trapped or otherwise caught in those territories." m. de seignely had no suspicion of the depth of radisson's duplicity. the minister thought him "a vain man, much given to boasting, who could do much harm, and had therefore best have his vanity tickled at home." up to the very eve of his departure, april 24, 1684, he was a daily attendant on the minister or his subordinates of the department of marine and commerce. he was not always favoured with an audience; but when listened to spoke vaguely of fitting out and equipping vessels for trade on voyages similar to those he had already undertaken. his _naiveté_, to use no harsher term, is remarkable. "in order," says he, "that they should not suspect anything by my sudden absence, i told them i was obliged to take a short trip into the country on friendly family matters. _i myself made good use of this time to go to london._" he arrived in the english capital on the 10th of may, and immediately paid his respects to mr. young. the project for regaining possession of york factory was canvassed. radisson estimated that there would be between fifteen and twenty thousands beaver skins in the hands of his nephew, awaiting shipment. the partners appeared more than satisfied, and radisson met with a most cordial reception. he was assured that the company had entire confidence in him, and that their greatest regret was that there had been any misunderstanding between them. they would, it was declared on their behalf, make all amends in their power. for a few weeks the hudson's bay bushranger found himself a lion. he was presented to the king in the course of a _levee_. charles listened with the greatest assumption of interest to the adventurer's account of himself, and to his asseverations of loyalty and good will. radisson in the evening was taken to the play-house in the suite of his royal highness, and there by his bizarre attire attracted almost as much attention amongst the audience as the play itself. "to the duke's play-house," writes john selwyn to his wife, "where radisson, the american fur-hunter, was in the royal box. never was such a combination of french, english and indian savage as sir john kirke's son-in-law. he was not wont to dress so when he was last here, but he has got him a new coat with much lace upon it, which he wears with his leather breeches and shoes. his hair is a perfect tangle. it is said he has made an excellent fortune for himself." [sidenote: radisson's departure for hudson's bay.] after a number of conferences with the partners, radisson finally departed from gravesend on may 17. three ships set sail, that in which radisson was embarked being named the _happy return_. the elements being favourable, the little fleet reached the straits more speedily than usual. the chief figure of this expedition, who had never borne a part in any joint enterprise without being animated by jealousy and distrust, found here ample scope for the exercise of his characteristic vices. during nearly the entire period of the voyage he evinced a perpetual and painful apprehension that one of the other ships carrying officials and servants of the company would, with malicious intentions, arrive before him. his first concern on awaking in the morning was to be assured that the companion vessels were in sight, and although the _happy return_ was the most sluggish sailor of the trio, yet to such good purpose were plied the bushranger's energies and promises that her commander's seamanship made her a capital match for the others. but just before their destination was reached contrary winds, currents and masses of floating ice brought about a separation, and radisson began to be assailed more than ever by the fear that the english servants would arrive on the ground, overwhelm his nephew and the other french without his assistance, and thus frustrate all his plans for claiming sole credit. and in truth this fear was very nearly justified. twenty leagues from port nelson the ship got blocked amidst the masses of ice, and progress, except at a raft's pace, became out of the question. in this dilemma, radisson demanded of the captain a small boat and seven men. his request being granted, it was launched, and after undergoing forty-eight hours' fatigue, without rest or sleep, the entrance to nelson river was reached. imagine radisson's surprise, as well as that of his companions, on beholding two ships at anchor, upon one of which, a complete stranger to them, floated the royal standard of england. [sidenote: the presence of the french made known.] it was the english frigate which had entered at port nelson. the other ship was the _alert_, commanded by captain outlaw, having brought out the company's new governor, william phipps, the previous season. radisson boldly headed his boat for this vessel, and when he drew near, perceived bridgar's successor, with all his people in arms, on the quarter-deck. the governor, in a loud voice, instantly demanded to know who radisson was. upon his making himself and his allegiance known, they decided to permit him to board the company's ship. the bushranger first made it his care to be informed how the land lay, and he was inwardly rejoiced to learn that the governor and his men had not dared to land, out of fear for the french and indians, who were considered hostile to the english interests. this was precisely the situation radisson most desired; a thought seems to have struck him that after all, his nephew, chouart, might prove intractable, and by no means so easily won over as he had anticipated. it therefore behooved him to act with adroitness and circumspection. taking with him two men, radisson proceeded up country in the direction of the abandoned york factory, hourly hoping that they might discover something, or at least they should make someone hear, or see a friendly indian, by firing musket shots or making a smoke. the attempt was not fruitless, as he tells us, for after a while they perceived ten canoes with indians coming down the river. "at first," he says, "i thought some frenchmen might be with them, whom my nephew might have sent to discover who the new arrivals were." upon this supposition radisson severed himself from his comrades, and going to meet the savages he made the usual signs to them from the bank, which the indians at first seemed to respond to in no amiable spirit. albeit, on addressing them in their own tongue, he was immediately recognized, the indians testifying by shouts and playful postures to their joy at his arrival. he quickly learned from them that his nephew and the other frenchmen were above the rapids, four leagues from the place where they then were. they had expected groseilliers would accompany radisson, and when they expressed surprise that this was not the case, radisson did not scruple to tell them that groseilliers awaited him at a short distance. "but what," asked radisson, "are you doing here? what brings you into this part of the country and in such numbers?" the savage leader's sudden confusion betrayed him to radisson. the circumstance of the indians voluntarily seeking trade with the english greatly simplified the situation. "look you," said he, heartily, at the same time calling to captain geyer, who was in ambush hard by, "i am glad to find you seeking trade with the english. i have made peace with the english for the love of our indian brothers; you, they and i are to be henceforth only one. embrace us, therefore, in token of peace; this (pointing to geyer) is your new brother. go immediately to your son at the fort yonder and carry him these tidings and the proofs of peace. tell him to come and see me at this place, while the others will wait for me at the mouth of the river." it should be mentioned that the chief of this band had previously announced himself as young chouart's sire, according to the indian custom. he now readily departed on his mission. radisson passed an anxious night. the sun had been risen some hours before his eyes were gladdened by the sight of a canoe, in which he descried chouart. the young man's countenance bore, as well it might, an expression of profound amazement; and at first hardly the bare civilities of relationship passed between the pair. chouart waited patiently for his uncle to render an explanation of the news which had reached him. silently and slowly they walked together, and after a time the prince of liars, traitors, adventurers and bushrangers began his account of his position. radisson states that his nephew immediately acquiesced in his scheme. a memoir penned in 1702, the year of radisson's death, by m. barthier, of quebec, asserts that the young man received with the utmost disgust, and flatly declined to entertain, his relative's proposals. he expressed, on the other hand, the greatest grief on hearing the news; for he had begun to believe that it was through their efforts that the dominion of the king had been extended in that region. now it appeared that this labour had all been in vain. it was only his love for his mother, radisson's sister, which prevented an open rebellion on the part of chouart against the proposed treachery. [sidenote: chouart surrenders to radisson.] no rupture took place; the stronger and more crafty spirit prevailed. chouart surrendered on the following day his command of the fort. he had, he complained, expected a far different fate for the place and his men. the tattered old _fleur de lis_ standard brought by the _st. anne's_ captain from quebec was lowered and the english emblem, with the device of the company, run up in its stead. all the forces were assembled and amidst cheers for king charles and the honourable adventurers, the company's governor took formal possession. but the french bushrangers and sailors watched these proceedings with melancholy dissatisfaction, not, perhaps, as much from patriotic motives as from the frailty of their own tenure. they could no longer be assured of a livelihood amongst so many english, who bore themselves with so haughty a mien. radisson proceeded to make an inventory of all the skins on hand, together with all those concealed in _caches_ in the woods. the results showed 239 packages of beaver, or about 12,000 skins, together with merchandise sufficient to barter for seven or eight thousand more. instructions were now given by radisson, the governor remaining passive, to have all these goods taken in canoes to the ships. it now only remained for the bushranger to accomplish one other object before setting sail with the cargo for england. radisson speaks of himself as having a secret commission, but no authority can be found for his statement. it involved the retention in the company's service of his nephew and the other frenchmen; but even assuming that radisson were armed with any such instructions, the plan was not likely to enjoy the approval of governor phipps, who, if he were at the outset of his term of office determined upon any one thing, it was that fort nelson should be cleared of frenchmen. exactly how this was to be arranged was not quite clear, especially as there was yet no open rupture between the two authorities. but for such a rupture they had not long to wait. they were destined on the very eve of his departure to be involved in a quarrel. [sidenote: dispute between radisson and the governor.] some years before an assiniboine chief named ka-chou-touay had taken radisson to his bosom and adopted him as his son with all the customary ceremonies. this formidable chief, who had been at war with a neighbouring tribe at the time of his adopted son's arrival in the country, now put in an appearance. instead of the joy radisson expected it was with reproaches that he was greeted. ka-chou-touay informed him that a brother chief of his, named la barbé, with one of his sons, had been killed while expostulating with a party of english. the consequences of this rash action might be so grave that radisson felt it to be his duty to resort to the governor and demand that his servants should be punished for the crime, or else he would not be answerable for the consequences. the governor does not appear to have taken radisson's demand in good part, declining altogether to intervene in the matter. the other now proceeded to commands and threats. he asserted that as long as he remained in the country the governor was his subordinate, which greatly angered that official and high words passed. the task the governor had set himself was by no means easy, especially if he wished to avoid bloodshed. but the plan of overpowering and disarming the french was finally accomplished through strategy. all were escorted aboard the ship, even to chouart himself, and on the fourth of september sail was set. on this voyage radisson's state of mind rivalled that which he had experienced when outward bound. his late anxiety to be the first upon the scene at port nelson was paralleled now by his desire to be the first in london. if happily, the company should first hear an account of what had transpired from himself, he felt convinced full measure of justice would be done him. if, on the other hand, governor phipps' relation were first received there was no knowing how much prejudice might be raised against him. great as was his impatience, he managed to hide it with adroitness, so that none save his nephew suspected the intention he shortly executed. the captain, crew and company's servants left the ship leisurely at portsmouth. those going up to london lingered for the coach, but not so with radisson, who instantly made his way to the post-house, where he hired a second-rate steed, mounted it and, without the courtesy of an adieu to his late comrades, broke into a gallop, hardly restrained until london bridge was reached. [sidenote: phipps' letter to the company.] his arrival took place close upon midnight, but late as was the hour, he took no thought of securing lodging or of apprising his wife of his advent. he spurred on his stumbling horse to the dwelling of mr. young, in wood street, cheapside. the honourable adventurer had retired for the night, but, nevertheless, in gown and night-cap welcomed radisson with great cordiality. he listened, we are told, with the greatest interest and satisfaction to the bushranger's tale, garnished with details of his own marvellous prowess and zeal for the company. nor, perhaps, was radisson less satisfied when, on attaining his own lodging, he pondered on the day's exploits. he slumbered little, and at eleven o'clock young was announced, and was ushered in, declaring that he had already been to whitehall and apprised the court of the good news. his majesty and his royal highness had expressed a wish to see radisson, the hero of these great doings, and young was accordingly brought to escort the bushranger into the royal presence. it was a triumph, but a short-lived one. radisson had hardly left the precincts of the court, his ears still ringing with the praises of king and courtiers, than the deputy-governor, mr. dering, received phipps' account of the affair, which was almost as unfair to radisson and the part he had played in the re-capture of port nelson, as radisson's own account was flattering. on the receipt of the report, a general court of the adventurers was held on september 26th. by the majority of members the bushranger was hardly likely to be accorded full justice, for great offence had been given by his presentation at court and the extremely informal manner of his arrival. despite the friendliness of hays, young and several other partners, radisson was not again granted a position of authority in the company's service. in the meanwhile young chouart, being detained in england against his wish, decided to write to denonville and propose to accompany his uncle to port nelson and make his escape and gain quebec by land. the governor forwarded this letter to paris and demanded permission to promise fifty pistoles to those who would seize the traitor radisson and bring him to quebec. the minister complied. but in march, 1687, he had had no success. "the misfortune," says the minister, "that the man radisson has done to the colony, and that he is still capable of doing if he remains longer amongst the english, should oblige denonville and champagne to make every effort to seize him and so judgment will be held out." radisson did, it is true, make another voyage to hudson's bay, but his sojourn was of brief duration, and a plot set on foot to seize him failed. not long afterwards, "peter raddison" is found to be in receipt of a pension of ten pounds a month from the company, which he continued to enjoy for many years to the time of his death at islington, in 1702. footnotes: [19] as an example of the absurd legends current some years later, and perpetuated, i am sorry to say, to a later day, it would be hard to match this, from la potherie: "he (preston) promised to godey, one of his domestics, to create him perpetual secretary of the embassy, providing he engaged radisson in his party. godey, the better to succeed, promised radisson his daughter in marriage, whom he (radisson) espoused." (la potherie, vol. i, p. 145.) godey was _aide-de-camp_ to preston; he may have had a daughter, but radisson certainly did not espouse her, inasmuch as he was already married to sir john kirke's daughter, who was still living. [20] this is m. de la barre's quaint fashion of spelling dongan. chapter xi. 1683-1686. feigned anger of lewis -he writes to la barre -importance attached to indian treaties -duluth's zeal -gauthier de comportier -denonville made governor -capture of the _merchant of perpetuana_ -expedition of troyes against the company's posts in the bay -moose fort surrendered. when the news of the expedition of 1684 reached the court of versailles, lewis professed anger that the peace between the two crowns should be broken even in that remote corner of the world. he related the discussion which had taken place between the english ambassador and himself with regard to radisson's treachery. he had been happy, he said, to inform king charles's representative that he was unwilling to afford his "brother of england" any cause of complaint. nevertheless, as he thought it important to prevent the english from establishing themselves in that river, it would be well to make a proposal to the commandant at hudson's bay that neither french nor english should have power to make any new establishments. long before that he had written to governor la barre, in no measured terms, demanding of him what he meant by releasing the boston vessel, the _susan_, without calling on the intendant, or consulting the sovereign council. "you have herein done," said he, "just what the english would be able to make a handle of, since in virtue of your ordinance you caused a vessel to be surrendered which ought strictly to be considered a pirate, as it had no commission; and the english will not fail to say that you so fully recognized the regularity of the ship's papers as to surrender it." [sidenote: duluth in the west.] simultaneously with the receipt of this letter from his monarch, there came to the perplexed governor a letter from the sieur duluth, stating that at great expense of presents he had prevented the western tribes from further carrying their beaver trade to the english. he had, it appeared, met the sieur de la croix with his two comrades, who had presented the despatches in which the governor had urged him to use every endeavour in forwarding letters to chouart, at nelson river. "to carry out your instructions," wrote duluth, "there was only monsieur péré, who would have to go himself, the savages having all at that time withdrawn into the interior." he added that péré had left during the previous month, and doubtless at that time had accomplished his mission. duluth invariably expressed himself with great confidence on the subject of the implicit trust which the savages reposed in him. more than once in his letters, as well as in verbal messages forwarded to his superiors, he boasted that before a couple of years were out not a single savage would visit the english at hudson's bay. to this end they had bound themselves by the numerous presents they had received at his hands; and he was assured that they would not go back on their word. as with duluth so with the other officials, pioneers and emissaries amongst the french, great importance was attached to treaties and compacts with the aborigines. every endeavour was made to obtain the good-will and amity of the indians. [sidenote: french and english relations with the indians.] perhaps nothing exhibits so powerfully the totally differing attitude and motives of the company, compared with the french traders, than the manner in which, in those early times, the red man was trusted and believed by the one and distrusted and contemned by the other. one may peruse neither the narratives of the jesuits nor of the traders without an emotion of awe at the simple faith of those pioneers in the honesty and probity of the red men. to the very end, when disaster succeeding disaster overwhelmed the propaganda of loyola amongst the northern tribes and exterminated its disciples, we read of the frenchman trusting to the word and deferring to the prejudices of his indian brother. it was as if the latter were indeed of a common steadfastness and moral nature with his own. contrast that trait in the english character which is exhibited in his early dealings with inferior and black peoples in india and africa, to that he has retained to the present day. never was the contrast greater than during the acute conflict of english and french interests in hudson's bay at this time. the early governors and traders almost without exception openly despised the indian and secretly derided his most solemn counsels. august treaties were set aside on the most flimsy pretexts, and if the virtues of the savages were too highly esteemed by the french, they were on the other hand perhaps much too cheaply held by their rivals. but to whatever extent they may have held themselves bound by compacts of this kind, the company's officials were not so foolish as to doubt their potency amongst savages. thus we find that from the years 1682 to 1688 the company regularly instructed its servants to enact the strongest treaties with the "captains and kings of the rivers and territories where they had settlements." "these compacts," observes one of the company's servants, "were rendered as firm and binding as the indians themselves could make them. ceremonies of the most solemn and sacred character accompanied them." duluth had already built a fort near the river à la maune, at the bottom of lake nepigon, and thither he expected at least six of the northern nations to resort in the spring. lest this should not be sufficient for the purpose he designed building another in the christineaux river, which would offer an effectual barrier to the expansion of the english trade. with characteristic zeal duluth, in a letter written at this time, concluded with these words: "finally, sir, i wish to lose my life if i do not absolutely prevent the savages from visiting the english." but with every good will to serve his monarch and stifle in infancy the growing trade of the hudson's bay company in the northern regions, duluth vastly undervalued the forces of circumstance as well of enterprise at the command of the enemy. the plans of the french were destined to be confounded by the unforeseen and treacherous action of radisson and chouart in the following year. "what am i to do?" now became the burden of la barre's appeals to the king. the young priest who acted as his secretary at quebec was kept perpetually writing to versailles for instructions. his letters are long, and filled with explanations of the situation, which only served to confuse his superiors. fearful of offending the english on one hand and thereby precipitating new france in a war with new england, and on the other of arousing the resentment of the colonists by a supine behaviour, the unhappy denonville was in an unpleasant dilemma. "am i to oppose force to force?" he asks in one letter. "am i to venture against those who have committed these outrages against your majesty's subjects at sea? it is a matter in which your majesty will please to furnish me with some precise and decisive orders whereunto i shall conform my conduct and actions." [sidenote: lewis unwilling to oppose the english.] but the most christian king was by no means anxious to quarrel with his cousin charles either for the dominion of, or the fur-trade monopoly in, the north. charles was in possession of a handsome subsidy paid out of the exchequer of lewis. europe was spectator of the most cordial relations between these two monarchs, relations which are described by more than one candid historian as those commonly subsisting between master and vassal. that tempest of indignation which was to break over england in the reign of charles's successor would have not so long been deferred had but a real knowledge of the "good understanding and national concord" been known to englishmen at large. under the circumstances it is not surprising that lewis concluded to do nothing. it was not that opportunities to regain what was lost were lacking. an old soldier, gauthier de comportier, who with a number of other patriots had learned of the jeopardy in which french interests lay in the north, presented a memoir to the king offering, if a grant were made him, to win all back from the english and to establish three posts on the bourbon river. the grant was refused. a change then came which altered the aspect of affairs. in february, 1685, charles ii. died, and the duke of york, second governor of the hudson's bay company, ascended the throne of england. lewis was not the last to perceive that the accession of james would cause but little real difference, as the latter and himself were bound together by ties as strong as had bound charles, yet saw at the same time that full advantage might safely be reaped from the change of monarchs. proceedings were instantly therefore set on foot to retrieve the fortunes of the french in the fur countries. the conduct of groseilliers and radisson had deeply offended the inhabitants of quebec. an excited populace burnt the pair in effigy, and a decree was issued for their arrest should they at any time be apprehended, and for their delivery to those whom they had betrayed. but it was the anger of la chesnaye and his associates of the company which was especially strong. an expedition which they had sent out to port nelson, with the intention of collecting the wealth in peltries, returned to the st. lawrence without so much as a single beaver. the success of the english made some decided action on the part of the french inevitable. la barre was recalled and his successor, the marquis de denonville, determined to take matters into his own hands, rather than see the interests of new france in the bay suffer. he relied upon the success of the expedition to atone for the boldness of the initiative, but his action was not taken without repeated warnings addressed to the minister. "all the best of our furs, both as to quality and quantity, we must expect to see shortly in the hands of the english." if the english were not expelled they would secure all the fat beaver from an infinite number of tribes in the north who were being discovered every day; besides abstracting the greater portion of the peltries that ordinarily reached them at montreal through the ottawas, assiniboines and other tribes.[21] [sidenote: the french capture a company's ship.] in the month of july, 1685, two ships belonging to the french company, returning in disappointment to canada from port nelson, met, at the mouth of the straits, one of the hudson's bay company's vessels named the _merchant of perpetuana_, commanded by one edward humes. she was bound for york fort with a cargo of merchandise and provisions. no time was lost on the part of the french in intercepting her. captain humes not surrendering with sufficient alacrity to please the enemy, the _merchant of perpetuana_ was boarded and forcibly possessed in the name of king lewis. several english sailors lost their lives. the vessel having been seized in this manner, her prow was headed for quebec, where her master and crew were summarily cast into gaol. after a miserable confinement, lasting eleven months, the sufferings of captain humes ended with his death, and the other prisoners, exposed to the insults and indignities of the quebec populace, were ultimately sent away to martinique on board their own ship, and there sold as slaves. the mate, richard smithsend by name, managed to escape. upon reaching london the tale he unfolded to his employers excited general indignation. a memorial of the outrage, couched in vigorous language, was presented to the king, but james, resolved not to give offence to his friend and ally the most christian king, took no notice of the matter. amongst the french in canada there were not wanting bold spirits to follow up this daring stroke. chief amongst them, not merely for the character of his achievements, but for his uncommon and romantic personality, was the chevalier de troyes. this canadian nobleman, who was of advanced years, was a retired captain in the army. he believed he now saw an opportunity to win a lasting distinction, and to rival, and perhaps surpass, the exploits of champlain, lusson, frontenac and the other hero-pioneers of new france. scholarly in his tastes, and frail of body, though by profession a soldier, he emerged from privacy on christmas eve, 1685, and asked of the governor a commission to drive the english utterly from the northern bay. the authority the old soldier sought for was granted. he was empowered to "search for, seize and occupy the most advantageous posts, to seize the robbers, bushrangers and others whom we know to have taken and arrested several of our french engaged in the indian trade, whom we order him to arrest, especially the said radisson and his adherents wherever they may be found, and bring them to be punished as deserters, according to the rigour of the ordinances." the rigour of the ordinances was death. fourscore canadians were selected to form part of the expedition against the hudson's bay company's posts by the chevalier de troyes. for his lieutenants, the leader chose the three sons of a nobleman of new france named charles le moine. one, the eldest, a young man of only twenty-five, was to bear an enduring distinction in the annals of france as one of her most able and intrepid naval commanders. this was the sieur d'iberville. his brothers, taking their names, as he had done, from places in their native land, were called the sieurs de sainte hèlène and de marincourt. thirty soldiers were directly attached to the chevalier's command, veterans who had, almost to a man, seen service in one or other of the great european wars. that they might not be without the ministrations of religion, father sylvie, a jesuit priest, accompanied the expedition. [sidenote: expedition of de troyes.] "the rivers," writes a chronicler of the troyes expedition, "were frozen and the earth covered with snow when that small party of vigorous men left montreal in order to ascend the ottawa river as far as the height of land and thence to go down to james' bay." at the beginning of april they arrived at the long sault, where they prepared some canoes in order to ascend the ottawa river. from lake temiscamingue they passed many portages until they reached lake abbitibi, at the entrance or most southern extremity of which they built a small fort of stockades. after a short halt they continued their course towards james' bay. the establishment first doomed to conquest by troyes and his companions was moose factory, a stockade fort having four bastions covered with earth. in the centre was a house forty feet square and as many high, terminating in a platform. the fort was escaladed by the french late at night and the palisades made short work of by the hatchets of their bushrangers. amongst the garrison none appears to have attempted a decent defence save the chief gunner, who perished bravely at his post of duty.[22] a cry for quarter went up and the english were made prisoners on the spot. they were sixteen in number, and as the attack was made at night they were in a state of almost complete undress. troyes found in the fort twelve cannon, chiefly six and eight-pounders, three thousand pounds of powder and ten pounds of lead. [sidenote: capture of moose factory.] it is worthy of record that the capture was effected with an amount of pomp and ceremony calculated to strike the deepest awe into the hearts of those fifteen unhappy and not too intelligent company's apprentices, who knew nothing of fighting nor had bargained for anything so perilous. for so small a conquest it was both preceded and followed by almost as much circumstance as would have sufficed for the grand monarque himself in one of his theatrical sieges. the chevalier announced in a loud voice that he took possession of the fort and island "in the name of his most christian majesty the most high, most mighty, most redoubtable monarch lewis xiv. of the most christian name, king of france and navarre." in obvious imitation of lusson, a sod of earth was thrice raised in the air, whilst a cry of "vive le roi" rang out over those waters wherein were sepultured the bodies of henry hudson and his men. * * * * * note.--the career of the chevalier de troyes ended abruptly and tragically in 1687, when he and all his men, to the number of ninety, were massacred at niagara. footnotes: [21] our frenchmen have seen quite recently from port nelson some indians who were known to have traded several years ago at montreal. the posts at the head of the bay abbitibi and nemisco can be reached through the woods and seas; our frenchmen are acquainted with the road. but in regard to the posts occupied by the english in the river bourbon or port nelson it is impossible to hold any posts below them and convey merchandise thither except by sea. some pretend that it is feasible to go thence overland; but the river to reach that quarter remains yet to be discovered, and when discovered could only admit the conveyance of a few men and not of any merchandise. in regard to hudson's bay, should the king not think proper for enforcing the reasons his majesty has for opposing the usurpation of the english on his lands, by the just titles proving his majesty's possession long before the english had any knowledge of the country, nothing is to be done but to find means to support the company of the said bay, formed in canada, by the privilege his majesty has been pleased this year to grant to all his subjects of new france; and to furnish them for some years with a few vessels of 120 tons, well armed and equipped. i hope with this aid our canadians will support this business, which will otherwise perish of itself; whilst the english merchants, more powerful than our canadians, will with good ships continue their trade, whereby they will enrich themselves at the expense of the colony and the king's revenue.--despatch of denonville, 12th november, 1685. [22] iberville declares that he split his head into fragments. chapter xii. 1686-1689. the french attack upon fort rupert -governor sargeant apprised -intrepidity of nixon -capture of fort albany - disaster to the _churchill_ -the company hears the ill news -negotiations for colonial neutrality -destruction of new severn fort -loss of the _hampshire_ -the revolution. undecided whether to next attack fort rupert or fort albany, the chevalier de troyes was prompted to a decision through learning that a boat containing provisions had left moose factory on the previous day bound for rupert's river. iberville was therefore sent with nine men and two bark canoes to attack a sloop belonging to the company then lying at anchor at the mouth of the latter river with fourteen souls aboard, including the governor. to accomplish this stroke it was necessary to travel forty leagues along the sea coast. the road was extremely difficult and in places almost impassable. a shallop was constructed to carry a couple of small cannon, and on the 25th of june troyes left for fort rupert. st. hèlène was sent on in advance to reconnoitre the establishment. he returned with the information that it was a square structure, flanked by four bastions, but that all was in a state of confusion owing to repairs and additions then being made to the fort. the cannon had not yet been placed, being temporarily accommodated outside on the slope of a redoubt. before the attack, which could only have one issue, was made by the land forces, iberville had boarded the company's sloop, surprised captain and crew, and made all, including governor bridgar, prisoners. four of the english were killed. after this exploit iberville came ashore, rejoined his superior and overpowered the almost defenceless garrison of fort rupert. the french forces now united, and st hèlène having been as successful as his brother in securing the second of the company's ships, all embarked and sailed for the remaining post of the company in that part of the bay. * * * * * neither troyes nor iberville knew its precise situation; but a little reconnoitring soon discovered it. fort albany was built in a sheltered inlet forty yards from the borders of the bay. two miles to the north-east was an _estrapade_ on the summit of which was placed a seat for a sentinel to sight the ships expected from england and to signal them if all was well. but on this morning, unhappily, no sentinel was there to greet with a waving flag the company's ship, on the deck of which young iberville stood. [sidenote: attack on fort albany.] two indians, however, brought governor sargeant tidings of the approach of the enemy, and his previous successes at moose and rupert rivers. the governor immediately resolved upon making a bold stand; all was instantly got in readiness to sustain a siege, and the men were encouraged to behave with fortitude. two hours later the booming of cannon was heard, and soon afterwards a couple of skirmishers were sighted at a distance. despite the governor's example, the servants at the fort were thrown into the greatest confusion. two of their number were deputed by the rest to inform the governor that they were by no means disposed to sacrifice their lives without provision being made for themselves and families in case of a serious issue. they were prevailed upon by the governor to return to their posts, and a bounty was promised them. bombardment by the french soon afterwards began, and lasted for two days, occasionally replied to by the english. but it was not until the evening of the second day that the first fatality occurred, when one of the servants was killed, and this brought about a mutiny. elias turner, the chief gunner, declared to his comrades that it was impossible for the governor to hold the place and that, for his part, he was ready to throw himself on the clemency of the french. sargeant overhearing this declaration, drew his pistol and threatened to blow out the gunner's brains if he did not return to his post, and this form of persuasion proved effective. the french now profited by the darkness to bring their cannon through the wood closer to the fort; and by daybreak a series of heavy balls struck the bastions, causing a breach. bridgar and captain outlaw, then at fort albany, were convinced that the enemy was undermining the powder magazine, in which case they would certainly be blown up. the french from the ship had thrown up a battery, which was separated from the moat surrounding the fort by less than a musket shot. none ventured to show himself above ground at a moment of such peril. a shell exploded at the head of the stairway and wounded the cook. the cries of the french could now be distinctly heard outside the fort--"vive le roi, vive le roi." in their fright and despair the english echoed the cry "vive le roi," thinking thereby to propitiate their aggressors. but the latter mistook the cry for one of defiance, as a token of loyalty to an altogether different monarch, and the bullets whistled faster and thicker. sargeant desired to lower the flag floating above his own dwelling, but there was none to undertake so hazardous a task. finally dixon, the under-factor, offered to show himself and propitiate the french. he first thrust a white cloth from a window and waved a lighted torch before it. he then called in a loud voice, and the firing instantly ceased. the under-factor came forth, fully dressed, and bearing two huge flagons of port wine. walking beyond the parapets he encountered both troyes and iberville, and by the light of a full moon the little party of french officers and the solitary englishman sat down on the mounted cannon, or on the ground beside it, broached the two flagons and drank the health of the two kings, their masters. "and now, gentlemen," said dixon, "what is it you want?" "possession of your fort in the name of his most christian majesty, king lewis xiv." dixon, explaining that he was not master there, offered to conduct this message to sargeant, and in a very short time the french commanders were seated comfortably within the house of the governor. the demand was again preferred, it being added that great offence had been given by the action of the english in taking captive three french traders, the previous autumn, and keeping them prisoners on ground owned and ruled by the king of france. for this reason reparation was demanded, and sargeant was desired at once to surrender the fort. the governor was surprised at such extreme measures, for which he was totally unprepared, but was willing to surrender upon terms of capitulation. on the following morning these were arranged. [sidenote: capitulation of the fort.] it was agreed that sargeant should continue to enjoy all his personal effects; and further, that his deputy, dixon, three domestics and his servant, should accompany him out of the fort. it was also agreed that troyes should send the clerks and servants of the company to charlton island, there to await the arrival of the company's ships from england. in case of their non-arrival within a reasonable time, troyes promised to assist them to such vessel as he could command for the purpose. the frenchman also gave sargeant the provisions necessary to keep him and his companions from starvation. all quitted the fort without arms, save sargeant and his son, whose swords and pistols hung at their sides. the governor and his suite were provided with passage to hays island, where he afterwards made his escape to port nelson. the others were distributed between forts moose and albany, and were treated with considerable severity and hardship. having attended to the disposition of his prisoners and their property, troyes, accompanied by iberville, departed on 10th august for montreal. the gallant chevalier and his associates would have been glad to have pursued their successes, by crossing the bay and capturing york factory. but although two ships belonging to the company had fallen to their lot, yet they could find none competent to command them. the distance between albany and port nelson was by water two hundred and fifty leagues, and the road overland was as yet unknown to the french. but it was not their purpose that it should long remain so. in a letter to his official superior at quebec, denonville, pursuing his way amongst the tribes of the upper mississippi region, boasted that the next year would not pass without their becoming acquainted with it. wherefore troyes suffered himself to be prevailed upon by iberville, and be content with the victories already won. they carried with them in their journey more than 50,000 beaver as a trophy of their arms. many of the hudson's bay company's servants were employed in bearing the spoils. along the dreary march several of these unhappy captives were killed through the connivance of the french with the indians; and the survivors reached quebec in a dreadfully emaciated and halt condition. troyes' victories were ludicrously exaggerated: his return, therefore, was attended with much pomp. [sidenote: french prisoners taken by the "churchill."] ignorant of troyes and his conquests, the company sent out its annual expedition as usual in 1687. in the autumn of this year the _churchill_ was caught in the ice near charlton island. iberville was quickly apprised of this mishap, and sent a party of four across the ice to reconnoitre. they appear to have been somewhat careless, for, while one sank down from utter exhaustion, the others were surprised by the company's crew, seized and bound. one of the three, however, managed to escape the fate of his companions, who were manacled and placed in the bottom of the ship's hold, where they passed the winter. but the three frenchmen enjoyed no monopoly of misfortune. the captain of the ship, while hunting on the island in the early days of spring, lost his life by drowning; and there were numerous minor calamities. in may, preparation was made for departure, and as the english were short-handed the two frenchmen were forced to lend their aid. this they did willingly, glad to exchange the open air of heaven for that of the hold of the ship. one day, while most of the crew were aloft, one of the frenchmen, perceiving only two of his captors on deck, furtively secured an axe. with this implement he silently split the skulls of both men, and then ran to release his comrade temporarily chained below. the pair seized fire-arms which they came upon in a corner of the hold, and brandishing these in skilful fashion, they suddenly changed from captives into masters. in opprobrious terms and with violent gesticulations they dared the crew to come down from the rigging, or indeed to lay a hand upon the fringe of a shroud; and while one watched with two drawn pistols in hand the shivering seamen in the shrouds and rigging, the other steered the ship towards rupert's river. how long this drama might have lasted it is hard to say, for within a few hours iberville and his ship hove in sight. he had fitted out an expedition to rescue his men as soon as the ice would permit, and now came and took charge of the _churchill_ and all on board. [sidenote: news of the disaster reaches england.] the tidings of this expedition of the chevalier troyes, following close upon the harrowing tale of smithsend, the mate of the _merchant of perpetuana_, excited the adventurers to a pitch of fury. an extraordinary general meeting was held and london was placarded with an account of the outrages. a news-letter was issued at the company's expense detailing the events, and carrying them into the remotest parts of the kingdom. lord churchill, who had succeeded king james in the governorship of the company, personally presented a petition of the outraged company of adventurers to the king, wherein it was prayed "that james would be pleased to afford them his royal assistance and protection and that your majesty will demand and procure satisfaction to be made them for all losses and damages they have suffered as well formerly as by this last invasion." it is now necessary to mention what had been happening between the two crowns between 1685 and 1688. in the first named year, in response to the pressure brought to bear upon both by their subjects, james had agreed with lewis to appoint a joint commission to examine into the disputes between the two nations and, if possible, effect a pacific settlement. their respective possessions in america were giving the two crowns so much trouble and expense that they were ready to welcome any arrangement which would reduce the burden. war between england and france in the old days had been a simple matter, confined to contiguous territory of whose geography and physical features they knew something. but now the mother countries could not offer each other hostilities without a score or so of their offspring colonies springing at each other's throats. if war between france and england could only be confined to war between france and england, and not be allowed to spread itself over innumerable savage tribes and dependencies in north america, it was felt that a great end would thereby be gained. [sidenote: negotiations for colonial neutrality.] the point sought by both kings was to make america neutral. such a thing would have been excellent, had it but been possible. but the futility of such an arrangement was instantly made manifest. both races in america were too eager and too anxious to reap the advantages of war. it was not likely that the colonial english would allow a rich prize to pass them, only to be seized a hundred leagues farther east by the home authorities. the colonial french were not to be expected in time of war to suffer tamely from competition in the fur-trade, when the very principles of their allegiance urged them to forcible retaliation. even without the episode of the _merchant of perpetuana_ the rivalry between the two nations for the fur-trade was so bitter as to be a perpetual danger to peace. for this reason, and in order to mark some delimitation to the trade of the two countries, the joint commission had sat and examined into the matter. on the sixth of november, 1686, a treaty of neutrality had been concluded between the two kings. it stipulated for a "firm peace, union and concord, and good understanding between the subjects" of james and lewis. no vessels of either sovereign were thereafter to be employed in attacking the subjects of the other in any of the colonies. no soldiers of either king stationed in any of the colonies were to engage in any act of hostility such as giving aid or succour to men, or provisions to savages, at war with one another. but the fourth article of this treaty was productive of much confusion and misunderstanding. "it has been agreed," it ran, "that each of the said kings shall hold the domains, rights, pre-eminences in the seas, straits and other waters of america which, and in the same extent, of right belongs to them; and in the same manner which they enjoy at present." now, at the very moment this treaty was signed, the french, by the victory of troyes, were in possession of fort albany and the english still held port nelson. as the liberty of navigation was not disturbed by the treaty it would appear that the french retained the right to sail in the bay. commissioners were appointed to consider the carrying out of the treaty, the sieurs barillon and bonrepas acting on behalf of france, and lords sutherland, middleton and godolphin for james. to these commissioners the company presented a further memorial, which dwelt upon their grievances "for five years past, in a time of peace and good correspondence between the two crowns." [sidenote: impracticability of the treaty.] these commissioners appear to have done their best to arrange matters satisfactorily; but such a result was impossible under the conditions. they were privately instructed by their respective masters to agree to hold the trade of port nelson in common. such a proposal was extremely impracticable, as that well-informed subject, denonville, made haste to inform his royal master. the proximity of the english, he declared, in such a remote part would be a certain source of hostility on both sides, and a dangerous temptation for numbers of "libertines," whom the least dissatisfaction would induce to take refuge at port nelson. the "libertines" he thus alluded to were the bushrangers, who were already giving the french great trouble and uneasiness through their wild, undisciplined habits and their freedom from restraint. denonville added that the hudson's bay company, paying higher prices for beaver than the french could do, would always have a preference, and consequently would almost monopolize the trade. it was therefore better, in his opinion, to effect a compromise in the bay, restoring the three forts troyes had taken in exchange for port nelson, which, so he stated, was worth more than the other three together for trading purposes. besides, on the first rupture, it would be very easy to retake them by an overland march, as troyes had done. but such proposals on the part of the french were indignantly rejected by the english company. there was, therefore, nothing for it but a _modus vivendi_, under which no further encroachments in the bay were to be made by either party. but whatever the intent of the negotiations, there was nothing to compel the parties directly interested to observe them. the elated french company was too much inclined to retain what troyes had wrested from the english to adhere to sophistries and weak-kneed arguments. it engaged iberville to return to fort albany, upon which establishment it had bestowed the name of st. anne, and repulse the english should their ships arrive and endeavour to land. captain moon, returning from port nelson, did make an attempt with twenty-four men to surprise the french. he built a station some eight miles distant; but iberville heard of it, marched thither with great despatch, and pursued them for twenty miles. he then made preparations for seizing captain moon's ship, embarking upwards of forty men in canoes and small boats for this purpose. but those aboard her defeated his intention in the night, by setting her on fire and making their escape to the shore, where they rejoined their companions and made the best of their way overland to new severn, a fort which had been erected in the previous year as a means of drawing trade away from the french conquerors in the eastern parts of the bay. iberville was not long ignorant of the retreat of those who had escaped him; nor of the prosperity which attended the new factory. he arrived before new severn in october, 1689, obtained its surrender and took the company's governor prisoner. amongst the governor's papers which he seized was a letter from the secretary of the company, ordering him, on behalf of the partners, to proclaim the prince and princess of orange king and queen of england, showing that the chief spirits of the company were not unfriendly to those who precipitated the revolution. glorying in this new exploit, iberville now returned to fort st. anne, just in time to behold the spectacle of two strange ships standing off in the bay. the presence of these vessels was explained by the company having sent out an expedition, comprising eighty-three men of both crews, with instructions to land on an island close to the chechouan river and establish a fort, from whence they could sally forth to the re-conquest of fort albany. but already the winter had overtaken them, and the two vessels were locked in the ice. their fort was, however, pretty well advanced, and they had landed a number of pieces of cannon. iberville lay in ambush and, watching his opportunity, when twenty-one of the english were proceeding for a supply of stores to the ship, intercepted them. the whole party fell into the hands of the french; and marincourt, with fourteen men, now began to reconnoitre the forces on the island. a brisk cannonading ensued between the two parties. after this had lasted some days iberville found means to summon the company's commander to surrender, threatening him with no quarter if he deferred compliance. [sidenote: surrender of the company's ships to the french.] [sidenote: iberville's treacherous plan.] to this the governor responded that he had been given to understand on his departure from london that there was a treaty in force between the two crowns, and that it occasioned him much astonishment that the french paid so little heed to it. iberville's response was not exactly truthful, for he declared that whether a treaty existed or not he had not been the first to invade it; and that in any case he could waste no time in parley. the governor replied that his force was still a strong one; but that he would not be averse to surrender if iberville would agree to reimburse the company's officers out of the proceeds of their store of furs; and also accord them a vessel wherewith to sail away. this stipulation was granted; iberville grimly remarking that it was extraordinary what a large number of officers there were for so small a company of men. he had already captured the captain of one of the vessels and the surgeon; and there now remained thirteen others who thus escaped scot-free from the clutches of the french. the amount of wages demanded was close upon two thousand pounds. all the others were made prisoners, including the pilots, of whom it is said there were a number who had been despatched by the admiralty to acquire a knowledge of the bay and straits. all were carried off by iberville to quebec, and marincourt left behind with thirty-six men to guard the two posts. the young commander did not this time proceed overland, but having got possession of the company's ship, the _hampshire_, he sailed northward for the straits. he had scarcely reached the latitude of southampton island when an english ship hove in sight, proceeding in his direction. they came so close together as to exchange speech. iberville had taken the precaution to hoist the english flag, and the presence of the prisoners caused implicit belief in his friendly pretensions. he learned that young chouart, radisson's nephew, was on board, and declares that he longed to attack openly the company's ship, but the insufficiency of his force to guard the prisoners prevented him taking this course. he had, however, recourse to a stratagem which nearly succeeded. the captain of the other ship agreed to sail together in company through the straits, and on the first clear weather to pay a visit to iberville's ship. it was, it is almost needless to observe, the frenchman's intention to seize the guileless englishman and his companions the moment they had reached his deck. but storms intervening, this project fell through. the ships separated and did not meet again. the hudson's bay company was not a little puzzled at the non-arrival of the _hampshire_, which had been spoken thus happily in hudson's straits. for a long time the vessel was believed to be lost; as, indeed, she was, but not quite in the manner apprehended by her owners. possession was not regained for some years; and when the _hampshire_ sailed again for the bay it was to encounter there complete destruction in battle. as has been foreshadowed, in 1689 an event occurred which had been brewing ever since james had relinquished the governorship of the company for the governorship of his subjects at large. william of orange landed at plymouth, and the revolution in england put a new king on the english throne. chapter xiii. 1689-1696. company's claims mentioned in declaration of war -parliament grants company's application for confirmation of its charter - implacability of the felt-makers -fort albany not a success in the hands of the french -denonville urges an attack upon fort nelson -lewis despatches tast with a fleet to canada - iberville's jealousy prevents its sailing to the bay - governor phipps burns fort nelson -further agitation on the part of the french to possess the west main -company makes another attempt to regain fort albany -fort nelson surrendered to iberville -its re-conquest by the company. upon william the third's accession to the throne, the company renewed its claims to its property, and for reparation for the damages it had suffered at the hands of the french in time of peace. "as to the article of the company's losses, it will appear," it said, "by a true and exact estimate, that the french took from the company, in full peace between 1682 and 1688, seven ships with their cargoes, and six forts and factories, from which they carried away great stores of goods laid up for trading with the indians. the whole amounts to £38,332 15s." to such effect was this memorial presented to the king that william caused the hostile proceedings of lewis in the company's territory to be inserted in one of the articles of his declaration of war, in these words:- "but that the french king should invade our caribbee islands and possess himself of our territories of the province of new york and hudson's bay, in hostile manner, seizing our forts, burning our subjects' houses and enriching his people with the spoil of our goods and merchandises, detaining some of our subjects under the hardships of imprisonment, causing others to be inhumanly killed, and driving the rest to sea in a small vessel without food or necessaries to support them, are actions not even becoming an enemy; and yet he was so far from declaring himself so, that at that very time he was negotiating here in england, by his ministers, a treaty of neutrality and good correspondence in america." much has been made by later writers, hostile to the company, of a circumstance which soon afterwards took place. [sidenote: the company's charter confirmed.] owing to the state of public feeling in england towards the stewarts at the time of the revolution, the company, keenly alive to the fact of the exiled king's having been so recently its governor, sought at the beginning of william's reign to strengthen its position by an act of parliament for the charter granted by charles ii. why, have asked its enemies, if the company had the utmost confidence in its charter did it resort to the lords and commons to have it confirmed? and why was this confirmation limited to but seven years? i have already answered the first question; as to the second, the company itself asked for no longer period. the proceeding was no secret; it was done openly. parliament made but one stipulation, and that at the instance of the felt-makers' company; that the adventurers "should be obliged to make at least two sales of 'coat beaver' annually, and not exceeding four. these should be proportioned in lotts of about £100 sterling each, and not exceeding £200. in the intervals of public sales the company should be debarred from selling beaver by private contract, or at any price than was sett up at the last publick sale." the company asked for a confirmation of its charter by parliament as a prudent course in uncertain times; and also in order to more firmly establish its claim to reparation for damages. the nation's representatives saw no reason why they should not issue a confirmation; there being none, save the felt-makers, to oppose it. [sidenote: the company increases its capital.] the charter being confirmed, it was decided that the nominal capital of the company should be increased to £31,500, several good reasons being put forward in committee for thus trebling the stock. these reasons are quaintly enumerated as follows: i--that the company have actually in warehouse above the value of their first original stock. ii--that they have set out an expedition this yeare in their shipps and cargoe to more than the value of their first stock again; the trading of which goods may well be estimated, in expectation as much more. iii--that our factories at port nelson river and new severne are under an increasing trade; and that our returns in beavers this yeare (by god's blessing) are modestly expected to be worth 20,000_l._ iv--our forts, factories, guns and other materials, the prospect of new settlements and further trade, are also reasonably to be estimated at a considerable intrinsic value. v--and lastly, our just expectancy of a very considerable reparation and satisfaction from the french and the close of this war and the restoring our places and trade at the bottom of the bay; which upon proof, hath been made out above 100,000_l._ some years later the treaty of ryswick, in securing to the french the fruits of iberville's victory, powerfully affected for ill the fortunes of the company. nevertheless, the whole nation was then in sympathy with its cause, knowing that but for the continued existence of the honourable adventurers as a body corporate the chances of the western portion of the bay reverting to the english were small. but the felt-makers were implacable. they would like to have seen the beaver trade in their own hands. at the expiration of the seven years for which the confirmation was allowed, they again, as will be shown, evinced, yet vainly, their enmity. because this parliamentary confirmation was limited to so short a period, some writers have conjectured that at the expiration of that period the charter ceased to be valid. so absurd a conclusion would scarcely appear to stand in need of refutation. could those who pretend to draw this inference have been ignorant that if some of the rights conferred by the charter required the sanction of parliament, there were other rights conferred by it which required no such sanction, because they were within the prerogative of the crown? even assuming that at the end of the term for which the act of william and mary was passed, such of the provisions of the charter (if there could be found any such) as derived their efficacy only from parliamentary support should be considered inefficient, still all the rights similar to those of the charters for former governments and plantations in america would continue to exist. that they were so regarded as existing is made evident by the repeated references to them in various subsequent international treaties and acts of parliament. king george and his advisers completely recognized the company as proprietors of a certain domain. in establishing the limits of the newly-acquired province of canada, it was enacted that it should be bounded on the north by "the territory granted to the merchants-adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay," a boundary which by statute was long to subsist. fort albany did not prove a success in the hands of the french. the quebec company were losing money, and they had no ships. they were, besides, severely handicapped by physical conditions, owing to the inaccessibility of the bay by land and the impracticability of carrying merchandise by the overland route. it seemed clear that, after all, the trade of the bay could only be made profitable by sea.[23] the french were consequently most anxious to exchange the forts on james' bay for fort nelson, because they were aware that better furs were to be had in the north; and because it would enable them to intercept the tribes who hunted about lake nepigon. [sidenote: denonville plans the capture of fort nelson.] denonville is now found writing long despatches to seignely, assuring him that their affairs at hudson's bay would prosper if the northern company continued to co-operate with and second the designs of iberville, whose fixed resolve was to go and seize fort nelson. for that purpose denonville regarded it as necessary that the minister should inform m. de lagny that the king desired the capture of that fort, and to "furnish iberville with everything he requires to render his designs successful." the governor himself thought one ship added to those they had captured in 1689 from the english would suffice. he sought to obtain for iberville some honourable rank in the navy, as this would, he urged, excite honourable emulation amongst the canadians who were ready to follow the sea. denonville suggested a lieutenancy, adding his opinion that his young friend was "a very fine fellow, capable of rendering himself expert and doing good service." the plea of the governor was successful and lewis was pleased to confer upon iberville the rank of lieutenant in the french royal navy, the first distinction of the kind then on record. it fired the blood and pride of not a few of the canadian youth, one peter gauthier de varennes amongst the rest. many years later he, under the name of verandrye, was the first of the great pioneers through the territories of the great company. all negotiations for an exchange of forts having fallen through, the _compagnie du nord_ determined to make a valiant attempt to obtain their desires by force. for this purpose they made powerful application to the court; and in the autumn of 1691 their petition resulted in the arrival at quebec of admiral tast with no fewer than fourteen ships. it was said in quebec that while lewis xiv. surprised his enemies by his celerity in taking the field in europe, the vessels sent out to america by his order always started two or three months too late for canada and the bay. this tardiness, it was declared, was the sole cause of all the losses and want of success attending french enterprises in that part of the new world.[24] however this may be, there was beyond question another and not less potent reason for the failure which overtook the proposed expedition of tast on behalf of the northern company. iberville's successes had up to this moment tended to bolster up the waning popularity of the company in canada. this popular hero had just returned from the bay with 80,000 francs value in beaver skins, and 6,000 livres in small furs, but he now refused point blank to have anything to do with the expedition. he did not care to share such glory and profit as he might obtain with his own followers, with the company and admiral tast. without this powerful auxiliary and the support of the populace, tast's fleet abandoned its expedition to the bay, and sailed away to acadia and newfoundland. [sidenote: burning of fort nelson.] nevertheless, while governor phipps was in charge of fort nelson this year, a french frigate belonging to the enemy appeared at the entrance of bourbon river. as it chanced that nearly the whole of his garrison were absent from the fort on a hunting expedition, it seemed to the governor that armed resistance would be futile. rather, therefore, than allow the fort to pass again into the hands of the french under circumstances so humiliating, he resolved to burn it, together with a large part of its merchandise, valued at about £8,000, well knowing that without the merchandise the french could not procure furs from the indians. whilst the flames of the fort were ascending, phipps and three men he had with him retreated into ambush and established themselves with some indians in the interior. the frenchman landed, saw the perdition of his hopes in the ruin of the fort and its contents, and returned to the ship with a few hatchets and knives as the sole trophy of his enterprise. on the arrival of the company's ship in the spring however, york factory was re-built stronger and on a larger scale than before. iberville at this time finds great cause of complaint in the fact of the french company's poverty, and its inability to occupy the region after it had been won for them. more than a single ship was required; and a larger number of men in the vicinity of fort nelson would have served to keep the english off perpetually. in 1693 the northern company petitioned pontchartrain, who had succeeded seignely at court, respecting operations in the bay. the company declared that it could hold everything if it were only enabled to seize fort nelson; but that continued hostilities and losses had so weakened it as to oblige it to have recourse to his excellency to obtain sufficient force in a suitable time to drive out the english. in another petition it is alleged that this "single fort which remains in the possession of the english is of so much importance that the gain or loss of everything in hudson's bay depends upon it. the company's establishment in quebec, to carry on this commerce, claims anew the protection of your excellency, that you may give it a sufficient force to enable it to become master of fort nelson, which the english took by an act of treason against this company in time of peace. this they hope from the strong desire which you have for the aggrandizement of the kingdom, and from your affection for this colony." iberville crossed over to france, and met with a warm reception at versailles. he unfolded his plans for the capture of fort nelson, stated what force he would require for this desirable purpose, and was promised two ships in the following spring.[25] highly gratified with his success, he departed for home in the _envieux_. [sidenote: the english regain fort albany.] the hudson's bay company now made another effort to regain its fort at albany. three powerfully armed ships wintered at fort nelson and sailed thither in the spring of 1693.[26] from all accounts that had been received, it was not believed that the rival french company was in a position to maintain a very strong force for an all-winter defence, especially since the alienation of iberville. forty men were landed, and approaching the post were met by a brisk fire, which failed to check the english advance. much to their own astonishment, they were permitted to close upon the fort without check, and a ruse was suspected. a cautious entrance was therefore made: the premises were found apparently deserted. but at length, in a corner of the cellar, emaciated and covered with rags, a human being a victim to scurvy was discovered. his arms and legs were fastened together, and a heavy chain kept him close to the wall. while they were marvelling at this discovery, some of the sailors came to inform the captain that three frenchmen had been seen at a distance flying as fast as their legs would carry them. captain grimington was not long left in doubt as to the facts: these three frenchmen had formed the garrison of the fort st anne. the unlucky wretch they now beheld was a bushranger who, in a paroxysm of rage, had murdered the surgeon at the fort. horrified, on recovering his reason, at what he had done, and fearing that the only witness of the deed, father dalmas, would betray him to the rest, he slew the priest also. the latter, with his expiring breath, disclosed his murderer, and the french, then ten in number, had chained the criminal in the cellar, not themselves relishing the task of his summary execution. iberville did not leave quebec until the tenth[27] of august, and arrived at fort nelson, september 24th. almost immediately he disembarked with all his people, also with cannons, mortars and a large quantity of ammunition. batteries were thrown up about five hundred yards from the palisades, and upon these guns were mounted.[28] a bombardment now took place, lasting from the 25th of september to the 14th of october, when the governor was forced to surrender, owing to the danger of a conflagration as well as to the loss of several of his best men. on this occasion young henry kelsey[29] showed great bravery, and a report of his gallantry being forwarded to the company, he was presented with the sum of forty pounds as a token of their appreciation. this youth was destined to be long in the service of the company, as first in command at fort nelson. [illustration: landing of iberville's men at port nelson. (_from an old print._)] [sidenote: iberville takes fort nelson.] iberville accomplished his entry on the fifteenth of october. the french standard was hoisted and the fort christened bourbon, and it being st. theresa's day, the river was given the name of that saint. the enemy did not come out of this business unscathed; they having lost several of their men, including a brother of iberville. some of the english were kept prisoners, while others made their way as best they could to new severn and albany. at the time of the surrender, the fort was well furnished with merchandise and provisions, and this circumstance induced the french to remain for the winter, before returning to france. on the 20th of the following july, iberville departed for the straits in his two vessels, the _poli_ and _salamandre_. he left sixty-seven men under the command of la forest. martigny became lieutenant, and jérémie was appointed ensign, with the additional functions of interpreter and "director of commerce." la forest and his men were not long to enjoy security of trade and occupation however. a meeting of the hudson's bay company was held the moment these outrages were reported. the king was besought to send a fleet of four ships to the rescue and recapture of fort nelson. but it was too late to sail that year. news of the proposed despatch of an english fleet having reached france, serigny was sent in june, 1696, with two of the best craft procurable at rochelle. sailing three days before the english, the two french ships arrived two hours too late. it was instantly perceived that they were no match for the english, and accordingly they discreetly withdrew. as the company's vessels occupied the mouth of the river, there was no safe landing place at hand. both ships set sail again for france; but one, the _hardi_, was destined never to reach her destination. she probably ran against ice at the mouth of the straits and went to the bottom with all on board. [sidenote: fort nelson surrenders to the english fleet.] the english commenced the attack on the fort august 29th. on the following day it was decided to land, and the french, seeing the strength of their force, had no alternative but surrender. perchance by way of retaliation for the affairs of albany and new severn, the provisions of capitulation[30] were disregarded; all the french were made prisoners and carried to england. possession was taken of a vast quantity of furs, and the english returned, well satisfied with their exploit; but not ignorant of the difficulties which surrounded the maintenance of such a conquest. footnotes: [23] it has been truly observed that the protracted and bloody contest between the french and english for the possession of the bay was the result of a desire of the governor to have access to those waters, and the resolve of the latter to defeat this purpose. "the truth is," says mr. lindsay, "the fur trade was only profitable when carried on by water." at quebec or three rivers forty beaver skins made a canoe load. a single canoe load of northern furs was worth six of the southern. [24] charlevoix. [25] although by this action the french court directly participated in and lent its support to the hostilities against the english, yet to all intents and purposes the war was between two commercial corporations. the ruling spirits of the northern company were not unaware of the importance and power of the enemy they had to deal with. in a pamphlet published in france in 1692 there is amusing testimony to the consideration in which the london company was held by the french. "it is composed," says this authority, "of opulent merchants and noblemen of the first quality; and it is known that the king himself is part proprietor, having succeeded to that emolument with the other belongings to king james ii. so great are its profits that each member is worth at least £5,000 english sterling above what he was before he embarked in the fur traffic. there can be no secrecy about its intention, which is to subvert and subjugate the whole northern country to its sway." [26] the expedition which thus wrested away from the french all the forts at the bottom of the bay was in charge of captain grimington, an experienced naval officer, who had seen service in the late wars. i have not been able to ascertain grimington's fate, but in the company's minute-book, under date of 19th of may, 1714, i find the following entry:-"mrs. ann grimington, widow of captain michael grimington, deceased, having delivered in her petition to the company, the same was read, and considering her poverty and the faithful services her husband performed for the company, the committee agreed to allow the said mrs. grimington twelve shillings per month for her subsistence, which the secretary is ordered to pay her every first monday in the month, to commence the first monday in june next. interim, the secretary is ordered to pay her twenty shillings as charity, which is afterwards to be taken out of the poor-box." this is sufficiently strong evidence of the state into which the company had fallen. [27] to illustrate the divergence of authorities in such matters, i may mention that while jérémie, who took part in this expedition, calls the two ships the _poli_ and _charente_, in which he is followed by abbé ferland. father marest, the aumonier of the crew, refers to the second ship as the _salamandre_. his relation is entitled "le voyage du _poli_ et _salamandre_." in the letter of frontenac to the french minister (november 5, 1694) it is stated that serigny commanded the _salamandre_. _la potherie_ observes that the ships sent out in 1694 were the _poli_ and _salamandre_. furthermore, he declares, they sailed the 8th of august; frontenac states the 9th, and jérémie the 10th (_jour de st. laurent_). _la potherie_ and jérémie agree on the date of their arrival, september 24th, although ferland says it was the 20th. [28] jérémie gives us a detailed description of the fort in his "relation." he says it was composed of four bastions, which formed a square of thirty feet, with a large stone house above and below. in one of these bastions was the storeroom for furs and merchandise, another served for provisions; a third was used by the garrison. all were built of wood. in a line with the first palisade there were two other bastions, in one of which lodged the officers, the other serving as a kitchen and forge. between these two bastions was a crescent-shaped earthworks sheltering eight cannon, firing eight-pound balls, and defending the side of the fort towards the river. at the foot of this earthworks was a platform, fortified by six pieces of large cannon. there was no butt-range looking out upon the wood, which was a weak point; all the cannon and swivel-guns were on the bastions. in all, the armament consisted of thirty-two cannon and fourteen swivel-guns outside the fort and fifty-three inside; on the whole, calculated to make a stalwart defence. [29] kelsey was the earliest english explorer in the north-west. mention of his achievements will be found in the course of chapter xv. [30] allen sent home to his superiors a copy of the capitulation proposals of the french commandant. this document is not without interest. it is headed:- capitulation of fort york, 1696. articles of capitulation between william allen, commandant-in-chief at hays, or st. therese river, and sieur g. de la forest, commandant at fort york or bourbon, august 31, 1696. i consent to give up to you my fort on the following conditions:- 1. that i and all my men, french as well as indians, and my english servant, shall have our lives and liberty granted to us, and that no wrong or violence shall be exercised upon us or whatever belongs to us. 2. we shall march out of the fort without arms, to the beat of the drum, match lighted, ball in mouth, flags unfurled, and carry with us the two cannon which we brought from france. 3. we shall be transported altogether, in our own vessel, to plaisance, a french port in new newfoundland. we do not wish to give up the fort till we have embarked, and we shall keep the french flag over the fort till we march out. 4. if we meet with our vessels there shall be a truce between us, and it shall be permitted to transport us with whatever belongs to us. 5. we shall take with us all the beaver skins and other merchandise obtained in trade this year, which shall be embarked with us upon our vessels. 6. all my men shall embark their clothes and whatever belongs to them without being subject to visitation, or robbed of anything. 7. in case of sickness during the voyage, you shall furnish us with all the remedies and medicines which we may require. 8. the two frenchmen, who ought to return with the indians, shall be received in the fort on their return, where they shall be treated the same as the english, and sent to europe during the same year, or they shall be furnished with everything necessary to take them to rochelle. we shall have the full exercise of our religion, and the jesuit priest, our missionary, shall publicly perform the functions of his ministry. chapter xiv. 1696-1697. imprisoned french fur-traders reach paris -a fleet under iberville despatched by lewis to the bay -company's four ships precede them through the straits -beginning of a fierce battle -the _hampshire_ sinks -escape of the _dering_ and capture of the _hudson's bay_ -dreadful storm in the bay - losses of the victors -landing of iberville -operations against fort nelson -bailey yields -evacuation by the english. the french prisoners captured in the company's expedition of 1696 suffered an incarceration of nearly four months at portsmouth. no sooner had their liberty been regained than they boarded a french brig bound for havre, and on arrival in paris lost little time in making known the condition of affairs at hudson's bay. lewis and his ministers, gazing upon this emaciated band of traders and bushrangers, could hardly refrain from taking immediate action to retrieve the situation. precisely following the tactics of their enemy in the previous year, they engaged four men-of-war; which fleet was despatched to join iberville, then at the port of placentia in newfoundland. the court was well aware that there was no one man so thoroughly equipped at all points in knowledge of the bay, and the conditions there of life and warfare, as this hero. consequently, although numerous enough, all other offers to lead the expedition were rejected. on the arrival of the french ships at placentia, iberville took command, embarking in the _pelican_, of fifty guns. the others were the _palmier_, the _weesph_, the _pelican_, and the _violent_.[31] but fort nelson was not to be captured without a struggle. [sidenote: meeting of the french and english ships.] at almost the very moment the french fleet sailed, there departed from plymouth four of the company's ships, the _hampshire_, the _hudson's bay_, the _dering_, and _owner's love_, a fire-ship, the two former having been participants in the conquest of the previous year. the company's fleet entered the straits only forty hours before the ships of the french; and like them was much impeded by the ice, which was unusually troublesome. passage was made by the enemy in the english wake. the _profound_, commanded by duqué, pushed past the currents, taking a northerly course, which brought her commander into full view of two of the company's ships. shots were exchanged; but owing to the difficulties engendered by the ice, it was impossible to manoeuvre with such certainty as to cut off the frenchman's escape. while this skirmish was in progress, iberville in the _pelican_ succeeded in getting past the english unknown to them, and reached the mouth of the nelson river in sight of the fort. his presence, as may be imagined, greatly surprised and disturbed the governor and the company's servants; for they had believed their own ships would have arrived in season to prevent the enemy from entering the straits. several rounds of shot were fired as a signal, in the hope that a response would be made by the company's ships which they hourly expected in that quarter. on his part the french commander was equally disturbed by the non-arrival of his three consorts, which the exigencies of the voyage had obliged him to forsake. two days were passed in a state of suspense. at daybreak on the fifth of september three ships[32] were distinctly visible; both parties joyfully believed they were their own. so certain was iberville, that he immediately raised anchor and started to join the newcomers. he was soon undeceived, but the perception of his mistake in no way daunted him. the company's commanders were not prepared either for the daring or the fury of the frenchman's onslaught. it is true the _pelican_ was much superior to any of their own craft singly, being manned by nearly two hundred and fifty men, and boasting forty-four pieces of cannon. the company's ships lined up, the _hampshire_ in front, the _dering_ next, with the _hudson's bay_ bringing up the rear. [illustration: "hampshire." "hudson's bay." "dering."] [sidenote: a fierce battle in the bay.] the combatants being in close proximity the battle began at half-past nine in the morning. the french commander came straight for the _hampshire_, whose captain, believing it was his enemy's design to board, instantly lowered his mainsheet and put up his fore-top-sail. contact having been by these means narrowly evaded, the scene of battle suddenly shifted to the _pelican_ and the _dering_, whose mainsail was smitten by a terrific volley. at the same time the _hudson's bay_, veering, received a damaging broadside. the company's men could distinctly hear the orders shouted by iberville to both ships to discharge a musket fire into the _dering's_ forecastle, but in this move he was anticipated by the english sailors, who poured a storm of bullets in upon the frenchman, accompanied by a broadside of grape, which wrought havoc with her sails. while the cries of the wounded on the _pelican_ could be distinctly heard, all three of the company's ships opened fire, with the design of disabling her rigging. but the captain of the _hudson's bay_, seeing that he could not engage the _pelican_, owing to iberville's tactics, determined to run in front of her and give her the benefit of a constant hull fire, besides taking the wind from her sails. iberville observed the movement; the two english vessels were near; he veered around, and by a superb piece of seamanship came so near to the _hampshire_ that the crew of the latter saw that boarding was intended. every man flew out on the main deck, with his pistol and cutlass, and a terrific broadside of grape on the part of the englishman alone saved him. [illustration: the evacuation of fort nelson. (_see page 166._)] the battle raged hotter and fiercer. the _hampshire's_ salvation had been only temporary; at the end of three hours and a half she began to sink, with all sails set. when this occurred, iberville had ninety men wounded, forty being struck by a single broadside. notwithstanding this, he decided at once to push matters with the _hampshire's_ companions, although the _pelican_ was in a badly damaged state, especially the forecastle, which was a mass of splinters. the enemy made at once for the _dering_, which, besides being the smallest ship, had suffered severely. she crowded on all sail and managed to avoid an encounter, and iberville being in no condition to prosecute the chase, returned to the _hudson's bay_, which soon surrendered. iberville was not destined, however, to reap much advantage from his prize, the _hampshire_. the english flag-ship was unable to render any assistance to her and she soon went down with nearly all on board.[33] to render the situation more distressing, no sooner had some ninety prisoners been made, than a storm arose; so that it became out of the question to approach the shore with design of landing. they were without a long-boat and each attempt to launch canoes in the boiling surf was attended with failure. [sidenote: a great storm.] night fell; the wind instead of calming, grew fiercer. the sea became truly terrible, seeking, seemingly, with all its power to drive the _pelican_ and the _hudson's bay_ upon the coast. the rudders of each ship broke; the tide rose and there seemed no hope for the crews whose destiny was so cruel. their only hope in the midst of the bitter blast and clouds of snow which environed them, lay in the strength of their cables. soon after nine o'clock the _hudson's bay_ and its anchor parted with a shock. "instantly," says one of the survivors, "a piercing cry went up from our forecastle. the wounded and dead lay heaped up, with so little separation one from the other that silence and moans alone distinguished them. all were icy cold, and covered with blood. they had told us the anchor would hold; and we dreaded being washed up on the shore stiff the next morning." a huge wave broke over the main deck and the ship rocked desperately. two hours later the keel was heard to split, and the ship was hurled rudderless to and fro in the trough of the sea. by the french account, matters were in no more enviable state aboard the _pelican_; iberville, however, amidst scenes rivalling those just described, did his best to animate his officers and men with a spirit equalling his own. "it is better," he cried, "to die, if we must, outside the bastions of fort bourbon than to perish here like pent sheep on board." [sidenote: terrible plight of the shipwrecked french.] when morning broke, it was seen by the french that their ship was not yet submerged, and it was resolved to disembark by such means as lay in their power. the company's servants were more fortunate. the _hudson's bay_ had drifted eight miles to the south of the fort, and was wrecked on a bank of icy marshland, which at least constrained them to wade no deeper than their knees. the french, however, were forced to make their way through the icy water submerged to their necks, from the results of which terrible exposure no fewer than eighteen marines and seamen lost their lives. once on shore they could not, like the english, look forward to a place of refuge and appease their hunger with provisions and drink. they were obliged, in their shivering, half frozen state, to subsist upon moss and seaweed, but for which indifferent nourishment they must inevitably have perished. the company's garrison witnessed the calamities which were overtaking the french, but not knowing how great their number, and assured of their hostility, did not attempt any acts of mercy. they perceived the enemy camped in a wood, less than two leagues distant, where, building several large fires they sought to restore their spirits by means of warmth and hot draughts of boiled herbs. [illustration: "the enemy camped in a wood where, building several large fires, they sought to restore their spirits."] while the fort was being continually recruited by survivors of the two wrecked ships, the other three french vessels had arrived on the scene. the fourth, the _violent_, lay at the bottom of the bay, having been sunk by the ice. the _palmier_ had suffered the loss of her helm, but was fortunate in not being also a victim of the storm. the french forces being now united, little time was lost by iberville in making active preparations for the attack upon the fort. on the 11th, the enemy attained a small wood, almost under the guns of the fort, and having entrenched themselves, lit numerous fires and made considerable noise in order to lend the impression to the english that an entrenchment was being thrown up. this ruse was successful, for the governor gave orders to fire in that direction; and iberville, seizing this opportunity, effected a landing of all his men and armaments from the ships. [sidenote: iberville demands surrender of the fort.] the fort would now soon be hemmed in on all sides, and it were indeed strange if a chance shot or fire-brand did not ignite the timbers, and the powder magazine were not exploded. governor bailey was holding a council of his advisers when one of the french prisoners in the fort gave notice of the approach of a messenger bearing a flag of truce. he was recognized as martigny. the governor permitted his advance, and sent a factor to meet him and insist upon his eyes being bandaged before he would be permitted to enter. martigny was conducted to where the council was sitting and there delivered iberville's message, demanding surrender. he was instantly interrupted by captain smithsend, who, with a great show of passion, asked the emissary if it were not true that iberville had been killed in the action. in spite of martigny's denials, smithsend loudly persisted in believing in iberville's death; and held that the french were in sore straits and only made the present attack because no other alternative was offered to desperate men to obtain food and shelter. bailey allowed himself to be influenced by smithsend, and declined to yield to any of martigny's demands. the latter returned, and the french instantly set up a battery near the fort and continued, amidst a hail of bullets, the work of landing their damaged stores and armaments. stragglers from the wreck of the _hudson's bay_ continued all day to find their way to the fort, but several reached it only to be shot down in mistake by the cannon and muskets of their own men. on the 12th, after a hot skirmish, fatal to both sides, the governor was again requested, this time by sérigny, to yield up the fort to superior numbers. "if you refuse we will set fire to the place, and accord you no quarter," was the french ultimatum. "set fire and be d----d to you!" responded bailey. he then set to work, with smithsend, whose treatment at the hands of the french in the affair of the _merchant of perpetuana_ was still vividly before him, to animate the garrison. "go for them, you dogs!" cried bailey, "give it to them hot and heavy; i promise you forty pounds apiece for your widows!" fighting in those days was attended by fearful mortality, and the paucity of pensions to the hero's family, perhaps, made the offer seem handsome. at any rate it seemed a sufficient incentive to the company's men, who fought like demons.[34] a continual fire of guns and mortars, as well as of muskets, was kept up. the canadians sallied out upon a number of skirmishes, filling the air with a frightful din, borrowing from the iroquois their piercing war-cries. in one of these sallies st. martin, one of their bravest men, perished. under protection of a flag of truce, sérigny came again to demand a surrender. it was the last time, he said, the request would be preferred. a general assault had been resolved upon by the enemy, who were at their last resort, living like beasts in the wood, feeding on moss, and to whom no extremity could be odious were it but an exchange for their present condition. they were resolved upon carrying the fort, even at the point of the bayonet and over heaps of their slain. bailey decided to yield. he sent morrison to carry the terms of capitulation, in which he demanded all the peltries in the fort belonging to the hudson's bay company. this demand being rejected by the enemy, bailey later in the evening sent henry kelsey with a proposition to retain a portion of their armament; this also was refused. there was now nothing for it but to surrender, iberville having granted an evacuation with bag and baggage. [sidenote: evacuation of the english.] at one o'clock on the following day, therefore, the evacuation took place. bailey, at the head of his garrison and a number of the crew of the wrecked _hudson's bay_, and six survivors of the _hampshire_, marched forth from fort york with drums beating, flag flying, and with arms and baggage. they hardly knew whither they were to go; or what fate awaited them. a vast and inhospitable region surrounded them, and a winter long to be remembered for its severity had begun. but to the french it seemed as if their spirits were undaunted, and they set forth bravely. the enemy watched the retreat of the defeated garrison not without admiration, and for the moment speculation was rife as to their fate. but it was only for the moment. too rejoiced to contemplate anything but the termination of their own sufferings, the canadians hastened to enter the fort, headed by boisbriant, late an ensign in the service of the compagnie du nord. fort nelson was once more in the hands of the french.[35] [illustration: capture of fort nelson by the french. (_from a contemporary print appearing in m. de la potherie's "relation."_)] the company, too, was debarred from any attempt at reconquest, because of the treaty[36] just concluded at ryswick, which yielded the territory which had been the scene of so much commerce, action and bloodshed to the subjects of the most christian king. footnotes: [31] a young irishman, edmund fitz-maurice, of kerry, who had embraced the church, and had served with james's army at the battle of the boyne, accompanied the expedition in the character of chaplain. he is alluded to by the french chronicler of the affair as "fiche-maurice de kieri de la maison du milord kieri en irlande." [32] the fourth, the fire-ship _owner's love_, was never more heard of. it is supposed that, separated from the others, she ran into the ice and was sunk, with all on board. [33] thus was concluded what was, in the opinion of the best authorities, french and english, one of the fiercest and bloodiest battles of the war. "toute la marine de rochefort croient que ce combat a ete un des plus rudes de cette guerre," says la potherie. [34] "ils avoient de tres habile cannoniers," jérémie, an eye-witness, was forced to confess. [35] "ainsi le dernier poste," garneau exclaims, "que les english avaient dans le baie d'hudson tombé en notre pouvoir, et la france resta seule maitresse de cette region." (tome ii., p. 137.) but garneau overlooked the three forts in james' bay retaken by the english in 1693; one of which, fort anne or chechouan, he mistook for fort nelson. at any rate fort albany or chechouan remained in possession of the company from 1693; and they never lost it. it was unsuccessfully attacked by menthel in 1709. [36] so strongly has the treaty of ryswick been interpreted in favour of france, that some historians merely state the fact that by it she retained all hudson's bay, and the places of which she was in possession at the beginning of the war. the commissioners having never met to try the question of right, things remained _in statu quo_. now, whatever the commissioners might have done, had they ever passed judgment on the cause the treaty provided they should try, they could not have given fort albany to the british, for it was one of the places taken by the french during the preceding peace, and retaken by the british during the war, and, therefore, adjudged in direct terms of the treaty itself to belong to france. thus, then, it will be seen, declared the opponents of the company, that the only possession held by the hudson's bay company during the sixteen years that intervened between the treaty of ryswick and the treaty of utrecht was one to which they had no right, and which the obligations of the treaty required should be given up to france.--_report of ontario boundary commission._ chapter xv. 1698-1713. petition presented to parliament hostile to company - seventeenth century conditions of trade -_coureurs de bois_ -price of peltries -standard of trade prescribed - company's conservatism -letters to factors -character of the early governors -henry kelsey -york factory under the french -massacre of jérémie's men -starvation amongst the indians. before the news of the catastrophe could reach england, in april, 1698, there was presented to parliament a petition appealing against the confirmation of the privileges and trade granted to the company in 1690. the principal reason alleged for this action was the exorbitant price of beaver which it was contended turned away an immense amount of indian trade, which reverted to the french in canada. another reason given was the undesirable monopoly which caused english dealers, while paying the highest prices for beaver, to get the worst article; the best travelling to russia and other continental countries. in this petition, concocted by enemies of the company envious of its success, it was insinuated that the company's trade had been of no use save to increase the practice of stock-jobbing. [sidenote: the company replies to its enemies.] to this the company made reply that "it was well known that the price of beaver had decreased one-third since its own establishment; and that themselves, far from hindering the trade, encouraged it by every means in their power, being anxious to be relieved of an over-stocked commodity." herein they referred to the enormous quantity of furs stored in their warehouse, for which, during the stringency of continued trade they were obliged to retain and pay repeated taxes upon.[37] as for sending goods to russia it was only of late years that the company had extended its trade to that and other foreign countries and for no other cause than that reasonable prices could not be obtained in england. although two london guilds, the skinner's company and the felt-makers' company, joined issue with the honourable adventurers, the fate of the petition was sealed. on account of the misfortunes which had overtaken the company, together with the presence of other and weightier matters, for parliamentary consideration, the petition was laid on the table, and from the table it passed to the archives, where, together with the act of 1690, it lay forgotten for a century and a half. it will be diverting, at this juncture in the general narrative, to glance at seventeenth century conditions of life and commerce in the domain of the company. [sidenote: method of trade with the indians.] even at so early a period as 1690 was the method of transacting trade with the indians devised and regulated. the tribes brought down their goods, beaver skins, martens, foxes and feathers, to the factory and delivered them through a small aperture in the side of the storehouse. they entered the stockade three or four at a time; trading one by one at the window over which presided the traders. the whole of the actual trading of the factory was in the hands of two officials known as traders. none other of the company's servants at any fort were permitted to have direct intercourse with the indians, save in exceptional circumstances. the trade was chiefly carried on in summer when the rivers were free from ice, although occasionally the natives in the immediate region of the factories came down in winter; the factors never refusing to trade with them when they so came. no partiality was shown to particular tribes, but the actual hunters were favoured more than those who merely acted as agents or carriers. it was not unusual for the chief factors, as the governors came to be called after 1713, to make presents to the chiefs in order to encourage them to bring down as many of their tribe the ensuing year as possible. [illustration: trading with the indians.] before the era of the standard of trade, it was customary at all the forts, as it was at one or two long afterwards, for remuneration for the furs of the savages to be left at the chief factor's discretion. many things conspired to alter the values from season to season, and even from day to day, but no cause was so potent as the contiguous rivalry of the french. when the french were close at hand in the vicinity of fort nelson, as they were from 1686 to 1693, the price of beaver would fluctuate with surprising rapidity. it should be borne in mind that the western country at this period, and for long afterwards, was frequented by roving, adventurous parties of _coureurs des bois_, whose activity in trade tended to injure the company's business. even an enactment prescribing death for all persons trading in the interior of the country without a license, had proved insufficient to abate their numbers or their activity. [sidenote: activity of "coureurs des bois."] the hudson's bay company seem to have some cognizance of this state of affairs, and were wont to put down much of the depredations it suffered at the hands of the french to the unkempt multitude of bushrangers. in one document it describes them as "vagrants," and la chesnaye, who had been the leading spirit of the quebec company, was ready to impute to them much of the woes of the fur-trade, as well as the greater part of the unpleasant rivalries which had overtaken the french and their neighbours. one day it would be carried like wild-fire amongst the tribe who had come to barter, that the french were giving a pound of powder for a beaver; that a gun could be bought from the english for twelve beaver. in an instant there was a stampede outside the respective premises, and a rush would be made for the rival establishment. fifty miles for a single pound of powder was nothing to these indians, who had often journeyed two whole months in the depth of winter, endured every species of toil and hardship in order to bring down a small bundle of peltries; nor when he presented himself at the trader's window was the indian by any means sure what his goods would bring. he delivered his bundles first, and the trader appraised them and gave what he saw fit. if a series of wild cries and bodily contortions ensued, the trader was made aware that the indian was dissatisfied with his bargain, and the furs were again passed back through the aperture. this was merely a form; for rarely did the native make a practical repentance of his bargain, however unsatisfactory it might appear to him. it is true the indian was constant in his complaint that too little was given for his furs; but no matter what the price had been this would have been the case. apart from dissatisfaction being an ineradicable trait in the indian character, the contemplation of the sufferings and privations he had undergone to acquire his string of beads, his blanket, or his hatchet, must have aroused in him all his fund of pessimism. in 1676 the value of the merchandise exported did not exceed £650 sterling. the value of the furs imported was close upon £19,000. [illustration: a "coureur des bois."] [sidenote: prices paid for furs.] in 1678 the first standard was approved of by the company on the advice of one of its governors, sargeant, but it does not appear to have been acted upon for some years. the actual tariff was not fixed and settled to apply to any but albany fort, and a standard was not filed at the council of trade until 1695. it originally covered forty-seven articles, later increased to sixty-three, and so remained for more than half a century. at first, as has been noted in an earlier chapter, the aborigines were content with beads and toys, and no doubt the bulk of the supplies furnished them might have continued for a much longer period to consist of these baubles and petty luxuries had not the policy of the company been to enrich the indians (and themselves) with the arms and implements of the chase. gradually the wants of the savages became wider, so that by the time, early in the eighteenth century, the french had penetrated into the far western country, these wants comprised many of the articles in common use amongst civilized people. the standard of trade alluded to was intended to cover the relative values at each of the company's four factories. yet the discrepancy existing between prices at the respective establishments was small. in 1718 a blanket, for example, would fetch six beavers at albany and moose, and seven at york and churchill. in nearly every case higher prices were to be got from the tribes dealing at york and churchill than from those at the other and more easterly settlements, often amounting to as much as thirty-three per cent. this was illustrated in the case of shirts, for which three beavers were given in the west main, and only a single beaver at east main. the company took fifteen beavers for a gun; whereas, when verandrye appeared, he was willing to accept as small a number as eight. ten beavers for a gun was the usual price demanded by the french. it may be observed that a distinguishing feature of the french trade in competition with the company was that they dealt almost exclusively in light furs, taking all of that variety they could procure, the indians bringing to the company's settlements all the heavier furs, which the french refused at any price, owing to the difficulty of land transportation. these difficulties, in the case of the larger furs, were so great that it is related that upon innumerable occasions the savages themselves, when weakened by hunger, used to throw overboard all but mink, marten and ermine skins rather than undergo the painful labour of incessant portages. it must not be inferred, however, that the factors ever adhered strictly in practice to the standard prescribed and regulated from time to time by the company. the standard was often privately doubled, where it could be done prudently, so that where the company directed one skin to be taken for such or such an article, two were taken. the additional profit went into the hands of the chief factor, and a smaller share to the two traders, without the cognizance of the company, and was called the overplus trade. [sidenote: stationary character of the company's trade.] occasionally, far seeing, active spirits amongst its servants strove to break through the policy of conservatism which distinguished its members; but where they succeeded it was only for a short period; and the commerce of the corporation soon reverted to its ancient boundaries. but this apparent attitude is capable of explanation. the company were cognizant, almost from the first, that the trade they pursued was capable of great extension. one finds in the minute-books, during more than forty years from the time of radisson and groseilliers, partner after partner arising in his place to enquire why the commerce, vastly profitable though it was, remained stationary instead of increasing. "why are new tribes not brought down? why do not our factors seek new sources of commerce?" a motion directing the chief factor to pursue a more active policy was often put and carried. but still the trade returns, year after year, remained as before. scarce a season passed without exhortations to its servants to increase the trade. "use more diligence," "prosecute discoveries," "draw down distant tribes," form the burden of many letters. "we perceive," writes the company's secretary in 1685 to sargeant, "that our servants are unwilling to travel up into the country by reason of danger and want of encouragement. the danger, we judge, is not more now than formerly; and for their encouragement we shall plentifully reward them, when we find they deserve it by bringing down indians to our factories, of which you may assure them. we judge robert sandford a fit person to travel, having the linguæ and understanding the trade of the country; and upon a promise of mr. young (one of our adventurers) that he should travel, for which reason we have advanced his wages to £30 per annum, and mr. arrington, called in the bay, red-cap, whom we have again entertained in our service; as also john vincent, both which we do also judge fit persons for you to send up into the country to bring down trade." to this the governor replied that sandford was by no means disposed to accept the terms their honours proposed, but rather chose to go home. "neither he nor any of your servants will travel up the country, although your honours have earnestly desired it, and i pressed it upon those proposals you have hinted." [sidenote: character of the company's factors.] i have already shown why the company's wishes in this respect were not fruitful; that the character of the men in the company's employ was not yet adapted to the work in hand. its servants were not easily induced to imperil their lives; they gained little in valour or hardihood from their surroundings. they were shut up in the forts, as sailors are shut up in a ship, scarcely ever venturing out in winter, and hardly ever holding converse with a savage in his wild state. in vain, for the most part, were such men stirred to enterprise; and so this choice and habit of seclusion grew into a rule with the company's employees; and the discipline common to the ship, or to contracted bodies, became more and more stringent. the company's policy was nearly always dictated by the advice of their factors, but it can be shown that these were not always wise, dreading equally the prospect of leading an expedition into the interior, and the prestige which might ensue if it were entrusted to a subordinate. a discipline ludicrous when contrasted with the popular impression regarding the fur-trader's career, was maintained in the early days. it was the discipline of the quarter-deck, and surprised many of the youth who had entered the company's employ expecting a life of pleasure and indulgence. many of the governors were resembled, bridgar and bailey being surly, violent men, and were, indeed, often chosen for these qualities by the company at home. it is singular but true, that in the days of our ancestors a choleric temper was considered an unfailing index of the masterful man. in both branches of the king's service, on sea and on land, there seemed to have been no surer sign of a man's ability to govern and lead, than spleen and tyranny; and many an officer owed his promotion and won the regard of the admiralty and the war office by his perpetual exhibition of the traits and vices of the martinet. one of the company's governors, duffell, was wont to order ten lashes to his men on the smallest provocation. another named stanton, the governor at moose factory, declared he would whip any man, even to the traders, without trial if he chose; and this declaration he more than once put into practice. the whipping of two men, edward bate and adam farquhar, at moose factory, almost occasioned a mutiny there. the death of one robert pilgrim, from a blow administered by the chief factor, created a scandal some years later in the century. it was the practice of the early governors to strike the indians when they lost their own tempers or for petty offences. [sidenote: life at the company's factories.] it is diverting to compare nineteenth century life at the factories, on its religious, moral and intellectual side, to what obtained in the early days. in governor stanton's time, out of thirty-six men only six were able to read. there was neither clergyman nor divine worship. the men passed their time in eating and sleeping. occasionally, indian squaws were smuggled into the fort, at the peril of the governor's displeasure, for immoral purposes. the displeasure of the governor was not, however, excited on the grounds of morality, for it was nearly always the case that the governor had a concubine residing on the premises or near at hand; and it was observed in 1749 by a servant of thirty years' standing in the company's employ, that at each fort most of the half-breed children in the country claimed paternity of the one or other of the factors of the company. [illustration: an early river pioneer.] to return to the question of the extension of trade, there were from time to time governors and servants who evinced a zeal and love for adventure which contrasted favourably with that of their fellows. their exploits, however, when compared with those of the hardier race of french-canadian bushrangers were tame enough. in 1673 governor bailey summoned all the servants of the fort to appear before him, and informed them that it was the company's wish that some amongst them should volunteer to find out a site for a new fort. three young men presented themselves, two of whom afterwards became governors of the company. the names of these three were william bond, thomas moore and george geyer. some years later bond was drowned in the bay; but his two companions continued for some years to set an example which was never followed; and of which they seem finally to have repented. indeed, almost without exception, once a fort was built the servants seem to have clung closely to it; and it was not until the year 1688 that a really brave, adventurous figure, bearing considerable resemblance to the bushrangers of the past, and the explorers of the future, emerges into light. [sidenote: kelsey's voyage.] henry kelsey, a lad barely eighteen years of age, was the forerunner of all the hardy british pioneers of the ensuing century. he is described as active, "delighting much in indians' company; being never better pleased than when he is travelling amongst them." young as he was, kelsey volunteered to find out a site for a fort on churchill river. no record exists of this voyage; but a couple of years later he repeated it, and himself kept a detailed diary of his tour. in this journal the explorer states that he received his supplies on the 5th of july, 1691. he sent the assiniboines ten days before him, and set out for dering's point to seek the remainder of their tribe. at this place it was the custom for the indians to assemble when they went down the coast on trading expeditions. kelsey soon overtook them, and accompanied them to the country of the naywatamee poets, the journey consuming fifty-nine days. he travelled first by water seventy-one miles from dering's point, and there beached his canoes and continued by land a distance of three hundred and sixteen miles, passing through a wooded country. at the end of this came prairie lands for forty-six miles, intersected by a small shallow river scarcely a hundred yards wide. crossing ponds, woods and champaign for eighty-one miles more, discovering many buffalo and beavers, the young explorer retraced his steps fifty-four miles, and there met the tribe of which he was in search. kelsey did not accomplish this journey without meeting with many adventures. on one occasion the naywatamee poets left him asleep on the ground. during his slumber the fire burnt the moss upon which he was lying and entirely consumed the stock of his gun, for which he was obliged to improvise from a piece of wood half dry. on another occasion, he and an indian were surprised by a couple of grisly bears. his companion made his escape to a tree, while kelsey, his retreat cut off, hid himself in a clump of high willows. the bears perceiving the indian in the branches made directly for him, but kelsey observing their action levelled his gun and killed one of the animals, the other bear bounding towards the place from which the shots came, and not finding the explorer, returned to the tree, when he was brought down by kelsey's second shot. good fortune attended this exploit, for it attained for the young man the name among the tribes of miss-top-ashish, or "little giant." he returned to york factory after this first expedition, apparelled after the manner of his indian companions, while at his side trudged a young woman with whom he had gone through the ceremony of marriage after the indian fashion. it was his wish that mistress kelsey should enter with her husband into the court, but this desire quickly found an opponent in the governor, whose scruples, however, were soon undermined when the explorer flatly declined to resume his place and duties in the establishment unless his indian wife were admitted with him. thus, then, it is seen that in 1691, forty years before verandrye's voyages of discovery, this young servant of the hudson's bay company, had penetrated to no slight extent into the interior. he had crossed the assiniboine country, seen for the first time among the english and french the buffaloes of the plain, he had been attacked by the grisly bears which belong to the far west; and in behalf of the hudson's bay company had taken possession of the lands he traversed, and secured for his masters the trade of the indians hitherto considered hostile. although the governor hoped that the encouragement noted in the case of kelsey, together with the advance of salary, would stimulate other young men to follow his example, yet, strange to say, none came forward. the day of the henrys, the mackenzies, the thompsons and the frobishers had not yet dawned. for many years after this the company was in constant apprehension that its profits would be curtailed by tribal wars. [sidenote: effect of indian wars on the company's business.] "keep the indians from warring with one another, that they may have more time to look after their trade," was a frequently repeated injunction. "if you prevent them from fighting they will bring a larger quantity of furs to the factory," they wrote on one occasion to geyer. the governor admitted the premise, "but," said he, "perhaps your honours will tell me how i am going to do it." the company devoted a whole meeting to consider the matter, and decided that nothing was easier, provided their instructions were implicitly obeyed. [illustration: fac-simile of company's standard of trade.] "tell them what advantages they may make," they wrote; "that the more furs they bring, the more goods they will be able to purchase of us, which will enable them to live more comfortably and keep them from want in a time of scarcity. inculcate better morals than they yet understand; tell them that it doth nothing advantage them to kill and destroy one another, that thereby they may so weaken themselves that the wild ravenous beasts may grow too numerous for them, and destroy them that survive." if geyer delivered this message to the stern and valorous chiefs with whom he came in contact, they must have made the dome of heaven ring with scornful laughter. he was obliged to write home that fewer savages had come down than in former seasons because they expected to be attacked by their enemies. the company then responded shortly and in a business-like manner, that if fair means would not prevail to stop these inter-tribal conflicts, that the nation beginning the next quarrel was not to be supplied for a year with powder or shot "which will expose them to their enemies, who will have the master of them and quite destroy them from the earth, them and their wives and children. this," adds the secretary, and in a spirit of true prophecy, "must work some terror amongst them." [sidenote: the french at michilimackinac.] a potent cause contributed to the lack of prosperity which marked port nelson under the french _régime_. it was the exploitation of the west by an army of traders and bushrangers. the new post of michilimackinac had assumed all the importance as a fur-trading centre which had formerly belonged to montreal. the french, too, were served by capable and zealous servants, none more so than iberville himself, the new governor of the mississippi country.[38] his whole ambition continued to be centred upon driving out the english from the whole western and northern region, and destroying forever their trade and standing with the aborigines, and none more than he more ardently desired the suppression of the _coureur de bois_. "no frenchmen," he declared, "should be allowed to follow the indians in their hunts, as it tends to keep them hunters, as is seen in canada; and when they are in the woods they do not desire to become tillers of the soil." at the same time the value of the bushrangers to the french _régime_ was considerable in damaging the english on the bay. "it is certain," observed one of their defenders, "that if the articles required for the upper tribes be not sent to michilimackinac, the indians will go in search of them to hudson's bay, to whom they will convey all their peltries, and will detach themselves entirely from us." the bushrangers penetrated into the wilderness and intercepted the tribes, whose loyalty to the english was not proof against liquor and trinkets served on the spot, for which otherwise they would have to proceed many weary leagues to the bay. the company began to experience some alarm at the fashion the trade was sapped from their forts at albany and moose.[39] the quebec company was in the same plight with regard to port nelson. [sidenote: the western company.] an association of french merchants, known as the western company, sprang up in the early days of the eighteenth century and many forts and factories were built in the mississippi region. its promoters expected great results from a new skin until now turned to little account, that of bison, great herds of which animal had been discovered roaming the western plains. m. de juchereau, with thirty-four canadians, established a post on the wabash, in the name of the western company. here, he writes, he collected in a short time fifteen thousand buffalo skins. from 1697 to 1708 a series of three commandants were appointed, one of whom now administered the affairs at fort bourbon, which however never assumed the importance which had attached to it under the english rule. there is one romantic episode which belongs to this period, serving to relieve by its vivid, perhaps too vivid, colouring, the long sombreness of the french _régime_. it was the visit in 1704 of an officer named lagrange and his suite from france. in the train of this banished courtier came a number of gallant youths and fair courtesans; and for one brief season fort bourbon rang with laughter and revelry. hunting parties were undertaken every fine day; and many trophies of the chase were carried back to france. have ever the generations of quiet english servants and scotch clerks snatched a glimpse, in their sleeping or waking dreams, of those mad revels, a voluptuous scene amidst an environment so sullen and sombre? in the year 1707 jérémie, the lieutenant, obtained permission of the company to return to france on leave. he succeeded in obtaining at court his nomination to the post of successor to the then commandant, delisle. after a year's absence he returned to port nelson, to find matters in a shocking state. no ships had arrived from france, and stores and ammunition were lacking. a few days after his arrival, delisle was taken seriously ill, and expired from the effects of cold and exposure. for a period of six years jérémie continued to govern fort bourbon, receiving his commission not from the company but direct from the king himself, a fact of which he seems very proud. jérémie's tenure of office was marked by a bloody affair, which fortunately had but few parallels under either english or french occupation. although the tribes in the neighbourhood were friendly and docile, they were still capable, upon provocation, to rival those iroquois who were a constant source of terror to the new england settlers. in august, 1708, jérémie sent his lieutenant, two traders and six picked men of his garrison to hunt for provisions. they camped at nightfall near a band of savages who had long fasted and lacked powder, which, owing to its scarcity, the french did not dare give them. [sidenote: indian treachery.] round about these unhappy savages, loudly lamenting the passing of the english dominion when powder and shot was plenty, were the heaps of furs which to them were useless. they had journeyed to the fort in all good faith, across mountain and torrent, as was their custom, only to find their goods rejected by the white men of the fort, who told them to wait. when the french hunting party came to encamp near them, several of the younger braves amongst the indians crept up to where they feasted, and returned with the news to their comrades. the tribe was fired with resentment. exasperated by the cruelty of their fate, they hatched a plan of revenge and rapine. two of their youngest and comeliest women entered the assemblage of the white men, and by seductive wiles drew two of them away to their own lodges. the remaining six, having eaten and drunk their fill, and believing in their security, turned to slumber. hardly had the two roysterers arrived at the indian camp than instead of the cordial privacy they expected, they were confronted by two score famished men drawn up in front of the lodges, knives in hand and brandishing hatchets. all unarmed as they were, they were unceremoniously seized and slain. as no trace was ever found of their bodies, they were, although denied by the eye-witness of the tragedy, a squaw, probably devoured on the spot. the younger men now stole again to the french camp and massacred all the others in their sleep, save one, who being wounded feigned death, and afterwards managed to crawl off. but he, with his companions, had been stripped to the skin by the savages, and in this state, and half-covered with blood, he made his way back to the fort. the distance being ten leagues, his survival is a matter of wonder, even to those hardy men of the wilderness. the governor naturally apprehended that the indians would attempt to follow up their crime by an attack upon the fort. as only nine men remained in the garrison, it was felt impossible to defend both of the french establishments. he therefore withdrew the men hastily from the little fort philipeaux near by, and none too quickly, for the indians came immediately before it. finding nobody in charge they wrought a speedy and vigorous pillage, taking many pounds of powder which jérémie had not had time to transfer to bourbon. the condition of the french during the winter of 1708-9 was pitiable in the extreme. surrounded by starving, blood-thirsty savages, with insufficient provisions, and hardly ever daring to venture out, they may well have received the tidings with joy that the indomitable english company had re-established a factory some leagues distant, and were driving a brisk trade with the eager tribes. it was not until 1713 that the french fur company succeeded in relieving its post of fort bourbon. it had twice sent ships, but these had been intercepted on the high seas by the english and pillaged or destroyed. the _providence_ arrived the very year of the treaty of utrecht. [sidenote: starvation amongst the indians.] but wretched as was the case of the french, that of the indians was lamentable indeed. a few more years of french occupation and the forests and rivers of the bay would know its race of hunters no more. many hundreds lay dead within a radius of twenty leagues from the fort, the flesh devoured from their bones. they had lost the use of the bow and arrow since the advent of the europeans, and they had no resource as cultivators of the soil; besides their errant life forbade this. pressed by a long hunger, parents had killed their children for food; the strong had devoured the weak. one of these unhappy victims of civilization and commercial rivalries, confessed to the commandant that he had eaten his wife and six children. he had, he declared, not experienced the pangs of tenderness until the time came for him to sacrifice his last child, whom he loved more than the others, and that he had gone away weeping, leaving a portion of the body buried in the earth. footnotes: [37] "six or seven times over," the company say in their reply. [38] after the battle of port nelson, iberville had returned to france leaving martigny in command of the fort. his subsequent career may be read elsewhere; the bay was no longer to be the theatre of his exploits. he perished in 1707 at havana. [39] at albany they were surrounded by the french on every side, a circumstance which greatly sapped their commerce. yet, even at this period, the importation of beaver and other peltries from the single fort remaining to them was above thirty thousand annually. chapter xvi. 1697-1712. company seriously damaged by loss of port nelson -send an account of their claims to lords of trade -definite boundary propositions of trade -lewis anxious to create boundaries - company look to outbreak of war -war of spanish succession breaks out -period of adversity for the company -employment of orkneymen -attack on fort albany -desperate condition of the french at york fort -petition to anne. the treaty of ryswick[40] had aimed a severe blow at the prosperity of the company,[41] in depriving them of that important quarter of the bay known as port nelson. although now on the threshold of a long period of adversity, the merchants-adventurers, losing neither hope nor courage, continued to raise their voice for restitution and justice. petition after petition found its way to king, commons, and the lords of trade and plantations. [sidenote: the company's claims.] in may, 1700, the company were requested by the lord of trade and plantations to send an account of the encroachments of the french on her majesty's dominion in america within the limits of the company's charter; to which the company replied, setting forth their right and title, and praying restitution. it has been stated, and urged as a ground against the later pretensions of the hudson's bay company, that at this time they were willing to contract their limits. while willing to do this for the purpose of effecting a settlement, it was only on condition of their not being able to obtain "the whole straits and bay which of right belongs to them." "this," remarked a counsel for the company in a later day, "is like a man who has a suit of ejectment, who, in order to avoid the expense and trouble of a law suit, says, 'i will be willing to allow you certain bounds, but if you do not accept that i will insist on getting all my rights and all that i am entitled to.'" the company's propositions soon began to take a definite form. the company's claims after the treaty of ryswick. [_to the right honourable the lords commissioners of trade and plantations._] the limits which the hudson's bay company conceive to be necessary as boundaries between the french and them in case of an exchange of places, and that the company cannot obtain the whole streights and bay, which of right belongs to them, viz.:- 1. that the french be limited not to trade by wood-runners, or otherwise, nor build any house, factory, or fort, beyond the bounds of 53 degrees, or albany river, vulgarly called chechewan, to the northward, on the west or main coast. 2. that the french be likewise limited not to trade by wood-runners, or otherwise, nor build any house, factory, or fort, beyond rupert's river, to the northward, on the east or main coast. 3. on the contrary, the english shall be obliged not to trade by wood-runners, or otherwise, nor build any house, factory, or fort, beyond the aforesaid latitude of 53 degrees, or albany river, vulgarly called chechewan, south-east towards canada, on any land which belongs to the hudson's bay company. 4. as also the english be likewise obliged not to trade by wood-runners, or otherwise, nor build any house, factory, or fort, beyond rupert's river, to the south-east, towards canada, on any land which belongs to the hudson's bay company. 5. as likewise, that neither the french or english shall at any time hereafter extend their bounds contrary to the aforesaid limitations, nor instigate the natives to make war, or join with either, in any acts of hostility to the disturbance or detriment of the trade of either nation, which the french may very reasonably comply with, for that they by such limitations will have all the country south-eastward betwixt albany fort and canada to themselves, which is not only the best and most fertile part, but also a much larger tract of land than can be supposed to be to the northward, and the company deprived of that which was always their undoubted right. and unless the company can be secured according to these propositions, they think it will be impossible for them to continue long at york fort (should they exchange with the french), nor will the trade answer their charge; and therefore if your lordships cannot obtain these so reasonable propositions from the french, but that they insist to have the limits settled between [albany and] york and albany fort, as in the latitude of 55 degrees or thereabouts, the company can by no means agree thereto, for they by such an agreement will be the instruments of their own ruin, never to be retrieved. by order of the general court, wm. potter, _secretary_. confirmed by the general court of } the said company, 10th july, 1700.} the adventurers were, they said, not indisposed to listen to reason. they proposed limits to be observed by the two nations in their trade and possessions in the bay. but should the french be so foolish as to refuse their offer, then they would not be bound by that or any former concession, but would then, as they had always theretofore done, "insist upon the prior and undoubted right to the whole of the bay and straits." [sidenote: lewis proposes boundaries.] the court of versailles was now most anxious to delimit the boundaries of the respective possessions of the two countries in the bay. to this end, proposals were exchanged between the two crown governments. one alternative proposed by the french ambassador was that the weemish river, which was exactly half way between fort bourbon and fort albany, should mark the respective limits of the french on the east, while the limits of new france on the side of acadia should be restricted to the river st. george. this proposition having been referred to them, the board of trade and plantations discouraged the scheme. the hudson's bay adventurers it said, challenged an undoubted right to the whole bay, antecedent to any pretence of the french. it was, therefore, requisite that they should be consulted before any concession of territories could be made to the most christian king or his subjects. the company pinned their hopes to an outbreak of hostilities,[42] which would enable them to attempt to regain what they had lost. a protracted peace was hardly looked for by the nation. in answer to governor knight's continual complaints, to which were added those of the dispossessed geyer, the company begged its servants to bide their time; and to exert themselves to the utmost to increase the trade at albany, and moose, and rupert's river. "england," says the historian green, "was still clinging desperately to the hope of peace, when lewis, by a sudden act, forced it into war. he had acknowledged william as king in the peace of ryswick, and pledged himself to oppose all the attacks on his throne. he now entered the bed-chamber at st. germain, where james was breathing his last, and promised to acknowledge his son at his death as king of england, scotland and ireland." [sidenote: outbreak of the war between england and france.] such a promise was tantamount to a declaration of war, and in a moment england sprang to arms. none were so eager for the approaching strife as the honourable merchants-adventurers. they expressed their opinion that, while their interests had undoubtedly suffered at the peace of 1697, they were far from attributing it to any want of care on the part of his majesty. their rights and claims, they said, were then "overweighed by matters of higher consequence depending in that juncture for the glory and honour of the king." yet a dozen more years were to elapse before they were to come into their own again; and during that critical period much was to happen to affect their whole internal economy. the value of the shares fell; the original adventurers were all since deceased, and many of their heirs had disposed of their interests. a new set of shareholders appeared on the scene; not simultaneously, but one by one, until almost the entire personnel of the company had yielded place to a new, by no means of the same weight or calibre.[43] mention has already been made of the manner in which the company devoted its thought and energy to its weekly meetings. not even in the gravest crises to which the east india company was subjected, was there a statute more inconvenient or severe, than the following: "resolved and ordered by the committee, to prevent the company's business from being delayed or neglected, that for the future if any member do not appear by one hour after the time mentioned in the summons and the glass run out, or shall depart without leave of the committee, such member shall have no part in the moneys to be divided by the committee, and that the time aforesaid be determined by the going of the clock in the court-room, which the secretary is to set as he can to the exchange clock; and that no leave shall be given until one hour after the glass is run out." but out of their adversity sprung a proposition which, although not put into effect upon a large scale until many years afterwards, yet well deserves to be recorded here. to stem the tide of desertions from the company's service, caused by the war, and the low rate of wages, it was in 1710 first suggested that youthful scotchmen be employed.[44] [sidenote: employment of scotchmen in the service.] the scarcity of servants seems to have continued. in the following year greater bribes were resorted to. "captain mounslow was now ordered to provide fifteen or sixteen young able men to go to h. b. this expedition for five years, which he may promise to have wages, viz.: £8 the 1st year; £10 the 2nd; £12 the 3rd and £14 for the two last years, and to be advanced £3 each before they depart from gravesend." the result of this was that in june, 1711, the first batch of these servants came aboard the company's ship at stromness. but they were not destined to sail away to the bay in their full numbers. overhauled by one of her majesty's ships, eleven of the young men were impressed into the service. for many years after this incident it was not found easy to engage servants in the orkneys. [illustration: "the younger men now stole again to the french camp and massacred all the others in their sleep." (_see page 185._)] captain barlow was governor at albany fort in 1704 when the french came overland from canada to besiege it. the canadians and their indian guides lurked in the neighbourhood of albany for several days before they made the attack, and killed many of the cattle that were grazing in the marshes. a faithful home indian (as those crees in the vicinity were always termed), who was on a hunting excursion, discovered those strangers, and correctly supposing them to be enemies, immediately returned to the fort and informed the governor of the circumstance. barlow, while giving little credit to the report, yet took immediately every measure for the fort's defence. orders were given to the master of a sloop hard by to hasten to the fort should he hear a gun fired. in the middle of the night the french came before the fort, marched up to the gate and demanded entrance. barlow, who was on watch, told them that the governor was asleep, but he would go for the keys at once. the french, according to the governor, on hearing this, and expecting no resistance, flocked up to the gate as close as they could stand. barlow took advantage of this opportunity, and instead of opening the gate opened two port-holes, and discharged the contents of two six-pounders into the gathering. this quantity of grape-shot slaughtered great numbers of the french, and amongst them their commander, who was an irishman. a precipitate retreat followed such an unexpected reception; and the master of the sloop hearing the firing proceeded with the greatest haste to the spot. but some of the enemy, who lay in ambush on the river's bank, intercepted and killed him, with his entire crew. seeing no chance of surprising the fort, the french retired reluctantly, and did not renew the attack; although some of them were heard shooting in the neighbourhood for ten days after their repulse. one man in particular was noticed to walk up and down the platform leading from the gate of the fort to the launch for a whole day. at sundown fullerton, the governor, thinking his conduct extraordinary, ventured out and spoke to the man in french. he offered him lodgings within the fort if he chose to accept them; but to such and similar proposals the man made no reply, shaking his head. fullerton then informed him that unless he would surrender himself as his prisoner he would have no alternative but to shoot him. in response to this the man advanced nearer the fort. the governor kept his word, and the unhappy frenchman fell, pierced by a bullet. no explanation of his eccentric behaviour was ever forthcoming, but it may be that the hardships he expected to encounter on his return to canada had unbalanced his mind, and made him prefer death to these while scorning surrender. [sidenote: desperate condition of the french at fort york.] it was some solace to know that their french rivals were in trouble, and that york factory had hardly proved as great a source of profit to the french company as had been anticipated. the achievements of iberville and his brothers had done little, as has been shown, to permanently better its fortunes. to such an extent had these declined, that the capture, in 1704, of the principal ship of the french company by an english frigate, forced these traders to invoke the assistance of the mother country in providing them with facilities for the relief of the forts and the transportation of the furs to france. in the following year, the garrison at fort bourbon nearly perished for lack of provisions. the assistance was given; but two years later it was discontinued, because they could no longer spare either ships or men. although both were urgently needed for defence against the new englanders. owing to the enormous increase of unlicensed bushrangers, the continued hostilities and the unsettled state of the country, no small proportion of the entire population chose rather to adventure the perils of illicit trade in the wilderness, than to serve the king in the wars at home.[45] unaccustomed for so long a period to till the soil, their submission was not easily secured, no matter how dire the penalties. finding their continual petitions to the lords of trade ineffectual, the company now drew up a more strongly worded one and presented it to queen anne herself. the memorial differed from any other, inasmuch as the company now lay stress for the first time on some other feature of their commerce than furs. "the said country doth abound with several other commodities (of which your petitioners have not been able to begin a trade, by reason of the interruptions they have met with from the french) as of whale-bone, whale-oil (of which last your subjects now purchase from holland and germany to the value of £26,000 per annum, which may be had in your own dominions), besides many other valuable commodities, which in time may be discovered." if the french, it was argued, came to be entirely possessed of hudson's bay, they would undoubtedly give up whale fishing in those parts, which will greatly tend to the increase of their navigation and to their breed of seamen. when your majesty, in your high wisdom, shall think fit to give peace to those enemies whom your victorious arms have so reduced and humbled, and when your majesty shall judge it for your people's good to enter into a treaty of peace with the french king, your petitioners pray that the said prince be obliged by such treaty, to renounce all right and pretensions to the bay and streights of hudson, to quit and surrender all posts and settlements erected by the french, or which are now in their possession, as likewise not to sail any ships or vessels within the limits of the company's charter, and to make restitution of the £108,514, 19s. 8d., of which they robbed and despoiled your petitioners in times of perfect amity between the two kingdoms. this petition seems actually to have come into the hands of the queen and to have engaged her sympathy, for which the honourable adventurers had to thank john robinson, the lord bishop of london. this dignitary, _persona grata_ in the highest degree to the sovereign, was also a close personal friend of the lake family, whose fortunes[46] were long bound up with the hudson's bay company. the company was asked to state what terms it desired to make. in great joy they acceded to the request. to the right honourable the lords commissioners of trades and plantations. _the memorandum of the governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay:_ that for avoiding all disputes and differences that may, in time to come, arise between the said company and the french, settled in canada, they humbly represent and conceive it necessary- that no wood-runners, either french or indians, or any other person whatsoever, be permitted to travel, or seek for trade, beyond the limits hereinafter mentioned. that the said limits began from the island called grimington's island, or cape perdrix, in the latitude of 58½° north, which they desire may be the boundary between the english and the french, on the coast of labrador, towards rupert's land, on the east main, and novia britannia on the french side, and that no french ship, bark, boat or vessel whatsoever, shall pass to the northward of cape perdrix or grimington's island, towards or into the streights or bay of hudson, on any pretence whatever. [sidenote: demand of the company.] that a line be supposed to pass to the south-westward of the said island of grimington or cape perdrix to the great lake miscosinke, _alias_ mistoveny, dividing the same into two parts (as in the map now delivered), and that the french, nor any others employed by them, shall come to the north or north-westward of the said lake, or supposed line, by land or water, or through any rivers, lakes or countries, to trade, or erect any forts or settlements whatsoever; and the english, on the contrary, not to pass the said supposed line either to the southward or eastward. that the french be likewise obliged to quit, surrender and deliver up to the english, upon demand, york fort (by them called bourbon), undemolished; together with all forts, factories, settlements and buildings whatsoever, taken from the english, or since erected or built by the french, with all the artillery and ammunition, in the condition they are now in; together with all other places they are possessed of within the limits aforesaid, or within the bay and streights of hudson. these limits being first settled and adjusted, the company are willing to refer their losses and damages formerly sustained by the french in time of peace, to the consideration of commissioners to be appointed for that purpose. by order of the governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson's bay. hudson's bay house, 7th of february, 1711-12. a list of forts from 1668 to 1714. 1. rupert, called by the french st. jacques. founded 1668 by gillam. taken by the french under troyes and iberville, july, 1686. retaken by the english, 1693. 2. fort monsippi, monsonis, st. lewis and moose fort, taken by troyes and iberville 20th june, 1686. retaken 1693. 3. fort chechouan, st. anne or albany, taken by de troyes and iberville in 1686. retaken 1693. 4. new severn or nieu savanne, taken by iberville, 1690. 5. fort bourbon, nelson or york. founded 1670. taken by the french, 1682, acting for english, 1684. retaken by iberville 12th october, 1894. retaken by the english 1696, and by the french, 1697. retaken by the english, 1714. 6. fort churchill, 1688. 7. east main. footnotes: [40] by the treaty of ryswick, great britain and france were respectively to deliver up to each other generally whatever possessions either held before the outbreak of the war, and it was specially provided that this should be applicable to the places in hudson's bay taken by the french during the peace which preceded the war, which, though retaken by the british during the war, were to be given up to the french. commissioners were to be appointed in pursuance of the treaty to determine the rights and pretensions which either nation had to the places in hudson's bay. but these commissioners never met. the commissioners must, however, have been bound by the text of the treaty wherever it was explicit. they _might_, said the company's opponents, have decided that france had a right to the whole, but they could _not_ have decided that great britain had a right to the whole. they would have been compelled to make over to france all the places she took during the peace which preceded the war, for in that the treaty left them no discretion. the following are the words of the treaty:--"but the possession of those places which were taken by the french, during the peace that preceded this present war, and were retaken by the english during the war, shall be left to the french by virtue of the foregoing article." thus the treaty of ryswick recognized and confirmed the right of france to certain places in hudson's bay distinctly and definitely, but it recognized no right at all on the part of great britain; it merely provided a tribunal to try whether she had any or not. [41] "therefore, we shall proceed to inform your lordships of the present melancholy prospects of our trade and settlement in hudson's bay, and that none of his majesty's plantations are left in such a deplorable state as those of this company, for by their great losses by the french, both in times of peace as well as during the late war, together with the hardships they lie under by the late treaty of ryswick, they may be said to be the only mourners by the peace. they cannot but inform your lordships that the only settlement that the company now have left in hudson's bay (of seven they formerly possessed) is albany fort, vulgarly called checheawan, in the bottom of the said bay, where they are surrounded by the french on every side, viz., by their settlements on the lakes and rivers from canada to the northwards, towards hudson's bay, as also from port nelson (old york fort) to the southward; but beside this, the company have, by the return of their ship this year, received certain intelligence that the french have made another settlement at a place called new severn, 'twixt port nelson and albany fort, whereby they have hindered the indians from coming to trade at the company's factory, at the bottom of the bay, so that the company this year have not received above one-fifth part of the returns they usually had from thence, insomuch that the same doth not answer the expense of their expedition." [42] the company being by these and other misfortunes reduced to such a low and miserable condition, that, without his majesty's favour and assistance, they are in no ways able to keep that little remainder they are yet possessed of in hudson's bay, but may justly fear in a short time to be deprived of all their trade in those parts which is solely negotiated by the manufacturers of this kingdom. upon the whole matter, the company humbly conceive, they can be no ways safe from the insults and encroachments of the french, so long as they are suffered to remain possessed of any place in hudson's bay, and that in order to dislodge them from thence (which the company are no ways able to do) a force of three men-of-war, one bomb-vessel, and two hundred and fifty soldiers besides the ships' company will be necessary, whereby that vast tract of land which is of so great concern, not only to this company in particular, but likewise to the whole nation in general, may not be utterly lost to this kingdom. [43] the duke of york's (james ii.) share, however, was retained by his heirs up to 1746. [44] captain john merry is desired to speak with captain moody, who has a nephew in the orkneys, to write to him to provide fifteen or sixteen young men, about twenty years old, to be entertained by the company, to serve them for four years in hudson's bay, at the rate of £6 per annum, the wages formerly given by the company.--from the company's order book, 29th february, 1710. [45] "this country," it was remarked in 1710, "is composed of persons of various character and different inclinations. one and the other ought to be managed, and can contribute to render it flourishing." [46] i find the following in the minute books, under date of 24th march, 1714. "it was resolved that the committee when they meet friday come senuit, do agree to wait on the lord bishop of london, in order to return him the thanks of this company for the care that has been taken of them by the treaty of ryswick." chapter xvii. 1712-1720. queen anne espouses the cause of the company -prior's view of its wants -treaty of utrecht -joy of the adventurers - petition for act of cession -not pressed by the british government -governor knight authorized to take possession of port nelson -"smug ancient gentlemen" -commissioners to ascertain rights -their meeting in paris -matters move slowly -bladen and pulteney return to england. at last the company had triumphed. its rights had been admitted; the queen and her ministers were convinced of the justice of its claims.[47] peace, long and anxiously awaited, began to dawn over the troubled horizon. lewis and his courtiers had long sickened of the war: and at the flemish town of utrecht negotiations were on foot for a cessation of hostilities and the adjustment of differences between the crowns of england and france. the view which matthew prior, the english plenipotentiary, took of the company's rights was not one, however, inspired by that body. he wanted the trade of the country, rather than the sovereignty. "i take leave to add to your lordship," he observes at the end of a communication addressed to the secretary of state, "that these limitations are not otherwise advantageous or prejudicial to great britain than as we are both better or worse with the native indians; and that the whole is a matter rather of industry than of dominion." these negotiations finally resulted in a treaty signed on the 31st of march (o.s.), 1713, by which the whole of hudson's bay was ceded to great britain without any distinct definition of boundaries, for the determining of which commissioners were to be appointed. [sidenote: effect of the treaty on the company.] on the news of the conclusion of the treaty, the adventurers were filled with joy. the committee was in session when a messenger came hot haste from whitehall to bear the glad tidings. a general court was convoked for several days later. plans were concerted for securing the very most that the circumstances would allow. it was necessary to secure the act of cession which it was supposed would be issued by lewis, ceding to great britain the places on hudson's bay, the company being regarded merely in the light of sub-ordinary subjects. many of the members wished to press at once for pecuniary compensation, but the wiser heads agreed that this would best be a matter for subsequent negotiation. many thought indeed that perhaps there need be no haste in the matter, as the interest on the original estimate of damages, already nearly double the principal, was growing daily at an enormous rate. "as to the company's losses," says a memorandum of this year, "it will appear by a true and exact estimate that the french took from the company in full peace between 1682 and 1688 seven ships, with their cargoes, and six forts and caches in which were carried away great stores of goods laid up for trading with the indians. the whole amounts to £38,332 15s., and £62,210 18s. 9d. interest, computed to 1713." [sidenote: company's claim for compensation.] under date of 30th july, 1714, occurs the following: "the committee having received a letter from the lords commissioners of trade, and they desiring their attendance on tuesday next, and to bring in writing the demands of the co. for damages rec'd from the french in times of peace pursuant to the 10th & 11th articles of the treaty of utrecht. upon which the secretary is ordered to copy out the abstract of the whole damage sustained, amounting to with interest the sum of £100,543-13-9; as likewise the particulars in these small volumes in order to present the same to the commission of trade on wednesday next." it does not seem to have been doubted but that the queen, if petitioned, would grant the company's request in time to send an expedition to the bay that very year.[48] but while vessels were being acquired, fitted out and loaded with cargoes, the company was wise enough not to run the risk of falling into a trap. nothing was to be done without the fullest royal authority. it is worthy of remark as illustrating how much the company trusted the canadian authorities, bolingbroke (may 29, 1713) reminded the duke of shrewsbury (then at paris) that in pontchartrain's letter to the marquis de vaudreuil, governor of canada, the latter was directed to yield the forts and settlements belonging to the hudson's bay company: "but this order the merchants thought would hardly fulfil their requirements. they were despatching two ships to the bay. it would therefore be better if his grace obtained direct order to m. jérémie in duplicate." [sidenote: no act of cession.] but the act of cession eagerly awaited by the company was not forthcoming. the queen's advisers were wiser than anybody else. lord dartmouth's letter[49] of the 27th may, 1713, enclosing the petition of the hudson's bay company, shows what was the design in not accepting an act of cession from the french king. her majesty insisted only upon an order from the french court for delivering possession; "by which means the title of the company was acknowledged, and they will come into the immediate enjoyment of their property without further trouble." the summer of 1713 came on apace, and it was soon too late to think of occupying port nelson that year. but all was made ready for the next. on the 5th of june, 1714, many of the adventurers hied themselves to gravesend, to wish governor knight and his deputy, henry kelsey, godspeed. "the committee," we read in the minutes, "delivered to captain knight, her majesty's royal commission, to take possession (for the company) of york fort, and all other places within the bay and straits of hudson. also another commission from her majesty constituting him governor under the company, and mr. h. kelsey, deputy governor of the bay and straits of hudson, aforesaid." knight took with him, likewise, "the french king's order under his hand and seal, to mons. jérémie, commander at york fort, to deliver the same to whom her majesty should appoint, pursuant to the treaty of utrick." knight's eyes, now dimmed with age, were gladdened by the sight of port nelson, on the 25th of july. jérémie was already advised by the french ship, and no time was lost in evacuation. a bargain was made for such buildings and effects as the french had no further use for, which had been beforehand arranged. "from his particular regard for the queen of great britain, the king will leave to her the artillery and ammunition in the forts and places in hudson's bay and straits, notwithstanding the urgent reasons his majesty has to withdraw them, and to appropriate them elsewhere." the cannon were accordingly left. [sidenote: regulation of boundary.] by article x of the treaty of utrecht it was proposed, in order to avoid all further conflict and misunderstanding, that commissioners should be appointed to regulate the boundaries of hudson's bay and the extent of the trade thereof, which should be enjoyed by each.[50] but no great haste was apparent on the part of france to secure this end. for several years nothing was done in the matter, save and except the persistent exchange of letters between the two ambassadors. there is a letter of bolingbroke's which evinces the feeling current in diplomatic circles at the time. "there is nothing more persistent in the world," he says, "than these claims of the hudson's bay company. we are desirous greatly to see all these smug ancient gentlemen satisfied; but notwithstanding we are unable to budge an inch. the truth of the business seems to me to be that the french are always hoping that their ultimate concessions will be less and the english that these concessions will be vastly more. as for ourselves we have no desire to play with frost; and i for one shall be relieved to see this question thawed out without further delay." lewis had consented, at the time of the peace, to afterwards name two commissioners who should give possession to such of the english, as proved that they were actual proprietors, or the heirs of proprietors of those who had in a former time possessed property in the bay. this seemed to provide for the company's rights in a manner most satisfactory. [sidenote: appointment of a commission.] nevertheless matters dragged on, and it was not until 1719 that a practical movement was made. on the 3rd of september of that year, daniel pulteney and martin bladen, lords of trade, were appointed commissioners in response to the appointment by lewis of the mareschal comte d'estrees and the abbé dubois, minister and secretary of state. pulteney was an indian merchant, and bladen had been an officer in the army. the lords of trade having made the suggestion, the company now wished their governor, sir bibye lake, to go over to paris the "more earnestly to solicit and prosecute the claims of the honourable adventurers." "it is by this committee desired most humbly of the governor to accept and undertake this journey and to manage the company's affairs there, as he shall judge most conducive to their interest and advantage. which, being signified to the governor, he did, to the great satisfaction of the committee readily undertake and accept the same. it was ordered that the governor have liberty to take with him such person or persons to france as he shall think fit." lake accordingly joined bladen and pulteney, and was permitted to take a silent part in the conference. it was intended that this commission, meeting in paris, should have power to settle generally the boundaries between the english and french possessions in america. but this was soon seen to be impracticable. the settlement of these matters was too vast and complicated for the commission to deal with; and the lords of trade instructed bladen, on his setting out, to deal only with the hudson's bay territories. it is significant that private instructions of a similar nature were at the same time conveyed to the french commissioners by the court. the commissioners finally met. perhaps it would be a pity if bladen's own quaint account of what followed were allowed to perish:- on saturday last, my lord stair and i met marechal d'estrees and abbé dubois. our time was spent in preparatory discourses concerning the intent of the 10th article of the treaty of utrecht, relating to the boundaries of hudson's bay; and at our next meeting, which will be to-morrow at my lord stair's house, we design to give in the claim of the hudson's bay company, in writing, with some few additions pretty material for their service, in case the abbé dubois his health will allow him to be there, which i fear it will not, for he is confined at present to his bed. [sidenote: martin bladen's description of the commission.] but i confess, i cannot help thinking it will be to a very little purpose to puzzle ourselves about setting boundaries, by treaty, in the north of america, if the french have so concise a way of fixing theirs in the south, without asking our concurrence; it is to be hoped they will have the modesty to recede from this new acquisition, but in the meantime i cannot help saying this gives me no very good relish either of their friendship or discretion. i cannot leave this subject without observing how much it imports us to be upon our guard in our american colonies. it were to be wished that the several governments of his majesty's plantations would pay the respect they owe to their instructions, and if those of barbados for some time past had observed theirs, relating to santa lucia, the settlement of a hundred french families there could never have been put upon us at this day as a proof of their right to that island. there is, further, much talk of a "multiplicity of books and papers necessary to be read," and of "arduous labours" in going over maps, charts and memoirs, which, however numerous, "are not to be depended on."[51] while this initial work was going on, one of the adventurers was entreating his fellows at a company meeting in london, to take note of a scheme which the french had been insidiously attempting for the previous four years to utterly destroy not only the company's trade, but all the english colonies as well. he proceeded to read a private letter from a relation in the colony of pennsylvania in which it was shewn that the mississippi company required close watching. "its leaders are egged on by the jesuits, and will stop at no bloody measures to draw down trade from the indians. their projects must inevitably succeed if we are not watchful." this was put forward as one potent reason why the french were complaisant about yielding us the bay itself. it was but the shell they would surrender, whilst preserving to themselves the kernel. this letter from the pennsylvanian had its effect upon the easily-alarmed adventurers, for they lost no time in communicating their apprehensions to the lords of trade. the matter was sent forward to bladen and pulteney. "it were heartily to be wished," the company observed, "that in imitation of our industrious neighbours the french, some means can be determined upon to extend the trade in furs southwards." in response, bladen imparted a brilliant idea. he suggested that st. augustine might be "reduced at a small cost," and advantage taken thereby of the war then in progress with spain. matters went on in paris as badly as could be. the english commissioners lost all patience. nothing was in the air but john law and his mississippi scheme. the three distinguished englishmen, bladen, pulteney and lake, were dined and feted: but were at length disgusted with the whole business.[52] the "smug ancient gentlemen," as bolingbroke had irreverently dubbed the honourable adventurers, were not to be satisfied in regard to the delimitation of boundaries and at this time. but perhaps even they had less interest in hudson's bay at heart than new interests which had dramatically arisen much nearer home. governor lake was sent for suddenly from london, and bladen and pulteney were not long in following him. footnotes: [47] the lords of trade to the earl of dartmouth. _to the right honourable the earl of dartmouth._ my lord,--in obedience to her majesty's commands, signified to us, we have considered the enclosed petition from the hudson's bay company to her majesty, and are humbly of opinion that the said company have a good right and just title to the whole bay and streights of hudson. since the receipt of which petition, the said company have delivered us a memorial, relating to the settlement of boundaries between them and the french of canada, a copy whereof is enclosed, and upon which we take leave to offer, that as it will be for the advantage of the said company that their boundaries be settled, it will also be necessary that the boundaries between her majesty's colonies on the continent of america and the said french of canada be likewise agreed and settled; wherefore we humbly offer these matters may be recommended to her majesty's plenipotentiaries at utrecht. we are, my lord, your lordship's most obedient, and most humble servants, winchelsea, ph. meadows, chas. turner, geo. baillie, arth. moore, fra. gwyn. whitehall, february 19th, 1711-12. [48] the company's petition to queen anne for act of cession. _to the queen's most excellent majesty_:- the humble petition of the governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, sheweth: that your petitioners, being informed that the act of cession is come over, whereby (among other matters thereby concerted) the french king obliges himself to restore to your majesty (or to whom your majesty shall appoint to take possession thereof) the bay and streights of hudson, as also all forts and edifices whatsoever, entire and demolished, together with guns, shot, powder and other warlike provisions (as mentioned in the 10th article of the present treaty of peace), within six months after the ratification thereof, or sooner, if possible it may be done. your petitioners do most humbly pray your majesty will be graciously pleased to direct the said act of cession may be transmitted to your petitioners, as also your majesty's commission to captain james knight and mr. henry kelsey, gentleman, to authorize them, or either of them, to take possession of the premises above mentioned, and to constitute captain james knight to be governor of the fortress called fort nelson, and all other forts and edifices, lands, seas, rivers and places aforesaid; and the better to enable your petitioners to recover the same, they humbly pray your majesty to give orders that they may have a small man-of-war to depart with their ships, by the 12th of june next ensuing, which ship may in all probability return in the month of october. and your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray. by order of the company. per wm. potter, secretary. [49] "my lords and gentlemen,--the queen has commanded me to transmit to you the enclosed petition of the hudson's bay company, that you may consider of it and report your opinion what orders may properly be given upon the several particulars mentioned. in the meantime i am to acquaint you that the places and countries therein named, belonging of right to british subjects, her majesty did not think fit to receive any act of cession from the french king, and has therefore insisted only upon an order from that court for delivering possession to such persons as should be authorized by her majesty to take it; by this means the title of the company is acknowledged, and they will come into the immediate enjoyment of their property without further trouble." [50] in 1714 the hudson's bay company sent a memorandum to the lords commissioners of trade and plantations, accompanied by a map in which they claimed that the eastern boundary should be a line running from grimington's island through lake miscosinke or mistassinnie, and from the said lake by a line run south-westward into 49 degrees north latitude, as by the red line may more particularly appear, and that that latitude be the limit; that the french do not come to the north of it, nor the english to the south of it. [51] mr. bladen to mr. delefaye. paris, november 11th, 1719, n.s. on wednesday last, my lord stair and i delivered to the marechal d'estrees the demand of the hudson's bay company, with respect to their limits, and by comparing the enclosed, which is a copy of that demand, with the instruction upon his head, you will perceive the same has been fully complied with. so soon as i shall have the french commissary's answer to our demand, i shall likewise take care to transmit you a copy of it, to be laid before their excellencys the lord justices. [52] paris, may the 4th, n.s., 1720. mr. pulteney to mr. secretary craggs. my lord stair has spoke to the regent, who said immediately that the conferences shall be renewed whenever we please; his excellency then desired his royal highness would appoint a day, which he promised to do. this is what the regent has promised my lord stair once every week, for four or five months past, without any effect, and his excellency does not expect any more from the promise now, though possibly a conference may be appointed for form sake. i have been here near six months, and have seen only one conference, which was appointed by my lord stanhope's desire. i think there had been two conferences before i came; at the first of them the commissions were read, and at the second my lord stair and mr. bladen gave in a memorial about the limits of the hudson's bay company, to which no answer has been made. i must own that i never could expect much success from this commission, since the french interests and ours are so directly opposite, and our respective pretensions interfere so much with each on the several points we were to treat about; but that the french have not been willing to entertain us now and then with a conference, and try how far we might be disposed to comply with a conference, and try how far we might be disposed with any of the views they had in desiring the commission, cannot, i should think be accounted for, but by supposing they knew we came prepared to reject all their demands, and to make very considerable ones for ourselves.... i shall expect your further direction as to my stay or return; i cannot help owning i heartily wish for the latter, but i shall always submit to what his majesty likes best, and shall only desire in this case that i may have a supply from the treasury, since i have not had the good fortune to be concerned in either of the misiseppis. chapter xviii. 1719-1727. the south sea bubble -nation catches the fever of speculation -strong temptation for the company -pricking of the bubble -narrow escape of the adventurers -knight and his expedition -anxiety as to their fate -certainty of their loss -burnet's scheme to cripple the french -it forces them westward into rupert's land. the cause of the governor's recall lay in the existence of a crisis which promised a happy issue. it arose through the venality of some of the company's directors, who were victims of the south sea fever. [sidenote: south sea company.] the south sea company, whose extraordinary success gave rise to a thousand joint stock enterprises equally unsound and fatuous, owed its origin to harley, earl of oxford, in 1711, who in return for the acceptance of a government debt of £10,000,000 granted to a number of merchants a monopoly of the trade to the south seas. at that time the most extravagant ideas prevailed concerning the riches of south america. "if," it was said, "the hudson's bay company can make vast moneys out of the frozen north, what can be done with lands flowing with milk and honey?" the south sea adventurers carefully fostered all the current notions, spreading likewise the belief that spain was ready to admit them to a share of its south american commerce. in 1717 this company advanced to the english government five more millions sterling, at an interest of six per cent. their shares rose daily. even the outbreak of war with spain, which destroyed all hope in the minds of sensible persons of any share in the spanish traffic, did not lessen the company's popularity. in paris, john law's mississippi bubble burst, ruining thousands, but, far from being alarmed at this catastrophe, it was universally believed that law's scheme was sound, but had been wrecked through unwise methods. in may, 1720, the south sea company proposed to take upon themselves the entire national debt of upwards of £30,000,000 upon a guarantee of five per cent. per annum for seven and one-half years, at the end of which period the debt might be redeemed if the government chose, or the interest reduced to four per cent. the nation was dazzled; parliament accepted the offer; and the company's stock rose steadily to 330 on april 7, falling to 290 on the following day. [sidenote: a fever of speculation.] this day in april witnessed a change in methods on the part of the south sea directors. until then the scheme had been honestly promoted; but the prospect of enormous wealth was too near to be permitted to escape. it became thenceforward, until the crash, the prime object of the directors, at no matter what cost or scruple, to maintain the fictitious value of the shares. by may 28, £100 shares were quoted at 550; three days later they had reached 890. the whole nation caught the fever; the steadiest merchants turned gamblers. hardly a day passed without a new swindling concern being started as a joint stock company. meanwhile several of the hudson's bay merchants-adventurers looked on with envious eyes. the desire was great to embark in so tempting a scheme, and the opportunity to cast inflated shares on the market almost too great to withstand. but for many weeks the temptation was resisted. at last, at a meeting early in august, the chief director came before a general court of the adventurers with a scheme by which each partner could either retire with a moderate fortune or remain an active participant, and reap the benefit of an infusion of public capital. the scheme was simplicity itself, to modern notions; but that it was not so regarded by some of the adventurers themselves may be gathered from the following passage from a letter of mrs. mary butterfield, one of the owners of the company's stock. "i cannot tell you how it is to be done, for that passes my wit; but in short, the value of our interests is to be trebled without our paying a farthing; and then to be trebled again if the business is to the publick taste, and we are told it cannot fail to be." [sidenote: plan to reorganize the company.] it was late in august before the scheme was detailed. it was explained that the company's assets in quick and dead stock and lands were £94,500. with this as a basis, it was proposed to enlarge the stock to the sum of £378,000, dividing this into 3,780 shares of £100 each. before this could be carried out, however, the existing stock, being but £31,500, or 315 shares, was to be made and reckoned 945 shares of £100 value each. by such means a result of £94,500 actual capital would appear. a majority of partners favoured the scheme, and the proposal was carried amidst the greatest enthusiasm. its purpose was to unload the stock at an inflated figure, far even in excess of that actually named by its promoters. had it succeeded and the flotation been carried out, it would have doubtless administered a death-blow to the company as then organized, and would probably have involved the revocation of its charter in view of what was soon to occur. but the plan met with a sudden arrest by an event which then happened, and which in beggaring multitudes altered the whole disposition of the public with regard to joint stock enterprises. a general impression had gained ground that the south sea company's stock had attained high-water mark, and so many holders rushed to realize that the price fell, on june 3rd, to 640. the directors were not yet ready for their _coup_. agents were despatched by them to buy up and support the market, and the result was that by nightfall of that day the quoted price was £750. by means of this and similarly unscrupulous devices, the shares were sent, early in august, to 1,000. this was the long-awaited opportunity. many of the directors sold out; a general anxiety began to prevail and the shares began to drop. in view of this change in affairs, the hudson's bay company's meeting for september 3rd was deferred. on the 12th, south sea shares were selling at 400, and the decline continued. the country was thrown into the greatest excitement, and by the time december had arrived, parliament had been hastily summoned to consider the calamity. with what happened subsequently, to the authors and participators in this celebrated joint stock swindle, it is not my present purpose to deal, except to say that the hudson's bay company was saved in the nick of time from sharing the fate of its neighbour and rival. a meeting on the 23rd of december was held, at which it was resolved that the "said subscription be vacated; and that the company's seal be taken off from the said instrument." nevertheless one permanent result remained. the capital had been trebled, and it was now further resolved that each subscriber should have £30 of stock "for each £10 by him paid in." this trebled, the total capital stood, at the beginning of 1721, at £94,500. the company had had a narrow escape. to what extent its shares would have been inflated may be conjectured; but it is certain that it could not have avoided being swept into the vortex and sharing the same fate which overtook so many of its commercial contemporaries. its enemies were on the watch, and they would have proved relentless. the revocation of its charter would have accomplished its final downfall. already the company was being assailed because it had not complied with one of the provisions named in that instrument: that of making search for a north-west passage. it was not, however, to quiet these reproaches, so persistently levelled at it, that a year before the bursting of the south sea bubble an expedition was actually set on foot to accomplish the long-deferred exploration. knight, the company's aged governor at york factory, had long listened to the tales of the indians concerning the copper mines to the north; and resolved, on his return to england, to bring the matter before the company. this he did, but it was by no means an easy matter to induce the adventurers to consent to the expense of further exploration. nevertheless knight's insistence prevailed, more especially as, besides the profitable results to be obtained through such a voyage, he was careful to point out that the company were expected by their charter to undertake such an expedition. [sidenote: expedition to explore the north-west passage.] in 1719 the company, therefore, fitted out two ships for the purpose of discovery north of churchill. one of these, called the _albany_, a frigate, was commanded by george barlow, whom we have already seen as deputy-governor at albany in 1704, when the french failed to capture that post. the other, named the _discovery_, a sloop, under david vaughan. but the command of the expedition itself was entrusted to knight, who was a man of great experience in the company's service, who had been for many years governor of different factories in the bay, and who had made the first settlement at churchill river. nevertheless, in spite of the experience knight possessed of the company's business, and its methods of trade with the indians, there was nothing to lead any one to suppose him especially adapted for the present enterprise, having nothing to direct him but the slender and imperfect accounts which he, in common with many other of the company's servants had received from the indians, who, as we have seen, were at that time little known and less understood. but these disadvantages, added to his advanced years, he being then nearly eighty, by no means deterred his bold spirit. indeed, so confident was he of success and of the material advantages which would accrue from his impending discoveries, that he caused to be made, and carried with him, several large iron-bound chests, wherein to bestow the gold dust and other treasures which he "fondly flattered himself were to be found in those parts." the first paragraph of the company's instructions to knight on this occasion was as follows:- 4th june, 1719. to captain james knight. sir,--from the experience we have had of your abilities in the management of our affairs, we have, upon your application to us, fitted out the _albany_ frigate, captain george barlow, and the _discovery_, captain david vaughan, commander, upon a discovery to the northward; and to that end have given you power and authority to act and do all things relating to the said voyage, navigation of the said ship and sloop only excepted; and have given orders and instructions to our said commanders for that purpose. you are, with the first opportunity of wind and weather, to depart from gravesend on your intended voyage, and by god's permission to find out the straits of anian, and to discover gold and other valuable commodities to the northward. knight departed from gravesend on board the _albany_, and proceeded on his voyage. the ships not returning to england that year no uneasiness was felt, as it was judged they had wintered in the bay. besides, both were known to have on board a plentiful stock of provisions, a house in frame, together with the requisite tools and implements, and a large assortment of trading goods. little anxiety was therefore entertained concerning their safety for fifteen months. but when new year's day, 1721, arrived, and neither ship nor sloop had been heard from, the company became alarmed for their welfare. by the ship sailing to churchill in june they sent orders for a sloop then in the bay, called the _whalebone_, john scroggs, master, to go in search of the missing explorers. but the _whalebone_ was cruising about in the north of the bay at the time, on the esquimaux trade, and returned to churchill at so advanced a season of the year as to defer the execution of the company's wishes until the following summer. [sidenote: anxiety as to the fate of the expedition.] the north-west coast was little known in those days, so it is not singular that scroggs, on board the little _whalebone_, finding himself encompassed by dangerous shoals and rocks, should return to prince of wales' fort little the wiser regarding the fate of the two ships. he saw amongst the esquimaux, it is true, european clothing and articles, as in a later day rae and mcclintock found souvenirs of the franklin tragedy; but these might have been come by in trade, or even as the result of an accident. none could affirm that a shipwreck or other total calamity had overtaken knight and his companions. many years elapsed without anything to shed light on the fate of this expedition. at first, the strong belief which had so long prevailed in europe of a north-west passage by way of this bay, caused many to conjecture that the explorers had found that passage and had gone through it into the south sea. but before the voyages of middleton, ellis, bean, christopher and jobington had weakened this belief it was known that knight, barlow and the crews of the two ships had been lost. proofs of their fate were found in the year 1767, as will appear in a later chapter of this work. an important circumstance now transpired which was not without effect upon the company's trade; and which, for a time, gave the adventurers great uneasiness. in 1727 burnett had been appointed to the governorship of new york. finding that the french in canada were in possession of all the indian fur-trade of the north and west, which was not in the hudson's bay company's hands, and that the new englanders and iroquois were trafficking with the iroquois, he determined to take a bold step with a view to crippling the french. [sidenote: attempt of new england to secure the fur-trade.] it had long been understood that the chief support of new france was in the fur commerce; and upon enquiry it was found that the traders, of quebec and montreal, were chiefly supplied with european merchandise for barter from the new york merchants, from whom they procured it upon much easier terms than it could possibly be got from france. with this knowledge, the governor resolved to foster the fur-trade of his colony by inducing direct transactions with the indians. he procured an act in the assembly of the colony, prohibiting the trade in merchandise from new york. the colonial merchants were, not unnaturally, up in arms against such a measure; but burnett, bent upon carrying his point, had their appeal to king george set aside and the act confirmed by that monarch. [illustration: contemporary french map of the bay and vicinity.] by this measure, trade at once sprang up with the western indians, since the french had no goods to offer them in any way to their liking at a reasonable price. intercourse and familiarity ensued moreover in consequence; a fortified trading post was built at oswego, which not only drew away trade from the french, at michilimackinac and st. marie, but from albany and moose as well. [sidenote: boundaries between french and english territory.] it has been observed that the ancient boundaries of canada or new france were circumscribed by the treaty of utrecht, and that it is difficult to determine precisely the new boundaries assigned to it. the general interpretation adopted by the british geographers, as the country gradually became better known from that time up to the final cession of canada, was that the boundary ran along the high lands separating the waters that discharged into the st. lawrence from those that discharge into hudson's bay to the sources of the nepigon river, and thence along the northerly division of the same range of high lands dividing the waters flowing direct to hudson's bay, from those flowing into lake winnipeg, and crossing the nelson, or (as it was then known) the bourbon river, about midway between the said lake and bay, thence passing to the west and north by the sources of churchill river; no westerly boundary being anywhere assigned to canada. this and other measures could have but one result: to make the french traders and the government of new france perceive that their only hope to avert famine and bankruptcy lay in penetrating farther and farther into the west, in an effort to reach remote tribes, ignorant of true values and unspoilt by a fierce and ungenerous rivalry. it seems fitting to reserve the next chapter for a consideration of who and what the tribes were at this time inhabiting the territories granted by its charter to the great company; together with their numbers, their modes of life and relations with the factories. chapter xix. 1687-1712. hudson's bay tribes peaceful -effect of the traders' presence -depletion of population -the crees and assiniboines - their habits and customs -their numbers -no subordination amongst them -spirituous liquors -effect of intemperance upon the indian. let us imagine for a moment that the hudson's bay company had held traffic with the fierce and implacable iroquois, the mohawks or the courageous and blood-thirsty tribes of the mississippi, instead of with the crees and assiniboines. how different would have been its early history! what frail protection would have been afforded by the forts and wooden palisades, often not stronger than that last fort of the jesuits in the huron country, the inmates of which were slaughtered so ruthlessly, or that other at niagara, where the chevalier de troyes and ninety of his companions perished to a man. but the red men of the company's territories, compared to these, were pacific. occasionally want or deep injustice drove them to acts of barbarism, as we have seen in the case of the massacre at york factory under jérémie's _régime_; but on the whole they had no marked enmity to the white men, and long displayed a remarkable and extremely welcome docility. [sidenote: character of the assiniboines.] "the assinibouels," remarked jérémie, "are humane and affable; and so are also all those indians with whom we have commerce in the bay, never trading with the french but as their fathers and patrons. although savages, they are foes to lying, which is extraordinary in nations which live without subordination or discipline. one cannot impute to them any vice, unless they are a little too slanderous. they never blaspheme and have not even a term in their language which defines an oath." if we are to believe the early traders and explorers, the red man of rupert's land spoke a tongue by no means difficult for an englishman to master. yet if these same traders really took the trouble to master it, as they alleged, their knowledge certainly brought little order into the chaos of tribal nomenclature. [illustration: indian tepee.] the custom of fantastic names for the indians was long continued. more than one instance occur of the impropriety with which the french-canadians named the indians. they called one tribe gros ventres, or big bellies, and that without any known reason; they being as comely and well-made as any other tribe. "they are very far," says one trader, "from being remarkable for their corpulency." this tribe also came to be known as the fall indians. [sidenote: indian country.] jérémie observed that the ouinebigonnolinis inhabited the sea-coast. the poaourinagou country was inhabited by the miskogonhirines or savannah, who made war with the hakouchirmions. twelve leagues above york factory was situated the river oujuragatchousibi, while far beyond dwelt the nakonkirhirinons. one might readily suspect one commandant of drawing upon his imagination when he speaks of such nations as the unighkillyiakow, ishisageck roanu, the twightwis roanu, the oskiakikis, oyachtownuck roanu, kighetawkigh roanu, and the kirhawguagh roanu. [illustration: an assiniboine indian.] in the seventeenth century, the districts about the great lakes were rather thickly populated. certain regions which at the opening of the eighteenth century were but thinly sprinkled by inhabitants, once had boasted numerous tribes. for when the first missionaries visited the south of lake superior in 1668, they found the country full of inhabitants. they relate that, about this time, a band of nepisingues, converts to the jesuitical teaching, emigrated to the nepigon country. by 1785 few of their descendants were said to exist, and not a trace amongst them of the religion espoused by their ancestors. as to the lake of the woods district, before the smallpox, in 1781, ravaged this country and completed what the nodwayes by their warfare had gone far to accomplish, this part of the country was very densely inhabited. one of the company's factors reported, in 1736, that a tribe lived beyond the range of mountains, who had never known the use of fire-arms, for which reason they were made slaves of by the assiniboines and crees. he declared he had beheld several of this tribe "who all wanted a joynt of their little finger, which was cut off soon after birth." "the migichihilinons, that is the eagle ey'd indians," reported middleton, one of the company's captains, "are at two hundred leagues distance; the assinibouels inhabit the west and north; they are reputed to be the same nation because of the great affinity of their language. the name signifies men of the rock. they use the calumet and live at two hundred and fifty leagues distance. they paint their bodies, are grave and have much phlegm, like _flemings_." he also enumerates the michinipic poets, or men of stone, of the great lake; but i am inclined to think these two are of the same tribe. [illustration: indian with tomahawk.] [sidenote: the crees.] the crees, or christineaux, were the earliest as well as the most numerous tribe which had dealings with the company. they sprang from the same stock as the ojibways, chippewas or saulteurs, who with the assiniboines inhabited the vast interior of the country to the west of the bay. their language, according to one of the early traders, was less copious and expressive than their mother tongue. they were deficient in many direct terms for things, often expressing themselves in approximate phrases, whereas the ojibways would have an exactly corresponding term ready at command. the crees appear not to have possessed the custom of totems, so that it was often difficult for members of the tribe to trace their ancestry back for more than two or three generations. [sidenote: their mode of living.] in their ideas of creation the crees and the saulteurs resembled, and the early traders and bushrangers learnt gradually that both nations owned a mythology of no mean proportions. nain au bouchaw, the god of the saulteurs, was known as "wee-sue-ha-jouch," amongst the crees; but the tales they told concerning him were by no means clear and distinct, nor in such general currency. the crees were divided into two groups: those inhabiting the plains, and the denizens of the woods; the latter being far the most enterprising and useful to the trade of the company. the tents of the crees, like those of the other tribes in rupert's land, were of dressed leather, erected by means of poles, seventeen of which latter were required for the purpose, two being tied together about three feet from the top. the whole formed nearly a circle which was then covered with buffalo, moose, or red deer skins, well sewn together, nicely cut to fit the conical figure of the poles. an opening was then arranged above to let out the smoke, and admit the light. such tents were of good size, commonly measuring twenty feet in diameter. a fire was kindled in the centre, around which a range of stones was placed to keep the fire compact. the crees were fond of self-adornment, and were much addicted to false hair. their morals at first greatly shocked the servants of the company, and in the early reports sent home from york factory much stress was laid upon the need for enlightenment in this regard amongst the savages. polygamy was common, but not universal. the first wife was considered as mistress of the tent, ruling all the others, often with a rod of iron, and obliging them to perform all the drudgery. the names of the children were always given to them by their parents, or some near relative. those of the boys were various, and generally derived from some place, season or animal. the names of the female children, amongst the northern indians, were chiefly taken from some part or property of a marten, such as the white marten, the black marten, the summer marten, the marten's head, the marten's foot, the marten's heart, the marten's tail, etc.[53] the exact number of crees at the time of the company's advent, is difficult to compute. even at that time they were dispersed over a vast extent of country, mixing with the assiniboines and other nations with whom they were on terms of peace. in 1709 appeared an estimate that there were not less than a million members of the cree nation. from what source was derived this striking conclusion is not given. it may be laid down as a general rule that all contemporary estimates as to the population of the indian tribes which were necessarily founded upon hearsay prior to actual penetration into their country are fanciful and totally unreliable. perhaps the most significant fact which parkman brought home to the masses of his readers, was the astounding discrepancy between current conception of the numbers of the various tribes, particularly the iroquois, and that attested and corroborated by the acute research of scholars, and by the testimony of contemporaries. in 1749 the company thought the number of the crees to be about 100,000, men, women and children. a half century later they had diminished to about 14,000, although, in 1810, henry can find only about 300 tents full of crees capable of furnishing less than 1,000 men. in this calculation, however, he did not include the crees who lived north of beaver river. the crees were, for the most part, quiet and inoffensive, and their personal appearance not entirely prepossessing; and although compared with the wilder and more valiant tribes to the south and east, their carriage and deportment was inferior, still they were gifted with activity, and prominent, wiry figures and intelligent countenances. [sidenote: the assiniboines.] the next numerous tribe was the assiniboine, or stone indians, who it is believed originated with the sioux or nodwayes. but owing to some misunderstanding between the bands they separated, and some half century before the first fort was built by the company they were in possession of a vast extent of prairie country near the red river, and thence running westward. the region they inhabited may be said to commence at the hare hills, near red river, and running along the assiniboine to the junction of the north and south branches of the saskatchewan. they were generally of a moderate stature, slender and active. in complexion they were of a lighter copper colour than the crees, with more regular features. moreover they were readily distinguished from the latter by a different head-dress. [illustration: esquimau with dogs.] other tribes trading with the company were the sioux, blackfeet, blood, slave and crow indians. there were also the esquimaux, with whom a traffic in the north was carried on chiefly for whalebone, ivory and oil. "i have often," wrote captain coats, "thought this people of the lineage of the chinese, in the many features i see in them, their bloated flatt faces, little eyes, black hair, little hands and feet, and their listlessness in travelling. they are very fair, when free from grease, very submissive to their men, very tender to their children, and indefatigable in the geegaws to please their men and children." they owned no manner of government or subordination. the father or head of the family obeyed no superior nor any command, and he himself only gave his advice or opinions. consequently it was rarely that any great chief ever existed, and then only in time of war. it is true that when several families went to war, or to the factories to trade, they chose a leader, but to such a one obedience was only voluntary; everyone was at liberty to leave when he pleased, and the notion of a commander was soon obliterated. merit alone gave title to distinction; such merit as an experienced hunter could boast, or one who possessed knowledge of communication between lakes and rivers, who could make long harangues, was a conjurer, or had a large family. such a man was sure to be followed by several indians when they happened to be out in large parties. they likewise followed him down to trade at the settlements, although upon such occasions he was forced to secure their attendance by promises and rewards, as the regard paid to his ability was of too weak a nature to command subjection. in war a mutual resentment forced their union for perpetrating vengeance. the hudson's bay indian's method of dividing time was by numbering the nights elapsed or to come. thus, if he were asked how long he had been on his journey, he would answer, "so many nights." from the nocturnal division he proceeded to lunar or monthly reckoning, twelve to a year, all of these moons being symbolical of some remarkable event or appearance. their method of computing numbers was abstruse, they reckoning chiefly by decades: two-tens, three-tens, ten-tens. a few units over or under were added or subtracted, thirty-two being three-tens and two over. if they reckoned any large number a skin or stick was laid down for every ten, and afterwards tied in a bundle for the aggregate. [sidenote: intelligence of the indians.] the servants of the company were not a little astonished at the wonderful intuition of the indian, which enabled him to forego the advantage to be derived from a compass, and yet to rarely miss his way. the trees, he knew, were all bent to the south, and the branches on that side were larger and stronger than on the north, as was also the moss. to apprise his women of the spot where the game was killed, he broke off branches here and there, laying them in the path with their ends pointed in the requisite direction. in winter, when the braves went abroad they rubbed themselves all over with bear's grease or beaver oil, treating in this fashion, too, the furs they wore. "they use," says one trader, "no milk from the time they are weaned, and they all hate to taste cheese, having taken up an opinion that it was made of dead men's fat." they were fond of prunes and raisins, and would give a beaver skin for twelve of them to carry to their children, and also for a jew's-harp or a tin trumpet. they were great admirers of pictures or prints, giving a beaver for bad prints, and "all toys were jewels to them." a trader at a little later period writes: "having been fortunate enough to administer medical relief to one of these indians during their stay, i came to be considered as a physician, and found that was a character held in high veneration," and goes on to add that their solicitude and credulity as to drugs and nostrums had exposed them to gross deceptions on the part of the agents of the hudson's bay company. one of the chiefs informed him that he had been at the bay the year before and there purchased a quantity of medicines which he would allow his visitor to inspect. accordingly, he fetched a bag containing numerous small papers, in which he found lumps of white sugar, grains of coffee, pepper, allspice, cloves, tea, nutmegs, ginger, and other things of the kind, sold as specifics against evil spirits and against the dangers of battle. these compounds were said to give power over enemies, particularly the white bear, of which the indians in those latitudes were much afraid; others were infallible against barrenness in women, against difficult labour, and against a variety of other afflictions. [sidenote: superstition of the indians.] it is related that some indians, who were employed in the vicinity of york factory in a goose hunt, were so influenced by superstition that they firmly believed the devil, with hideous howlings, frequented their tent every night. they came in a most dejected state to the factory and related a lamentable tale to the governor, setting forth with much pathos, the distress they were being subjected to by his satanic majesty. so overcome were they that they kept large fires burning all night, sleeping only in the day time. one of the red men declared that he had discharged his gun at the monster, but unluckily missed. the devil was described as of human shape, with a capacity for enormous strides. the governor treated the victims to a little brandy, and as if by magic their courage rose. investigation that same night disclosed that the satan was neither more nor less than a huge night-owl. the same trader also declares he found a number of small prints, such as in england were commonly sold to children, but which amongst the indians were each transformed into a talisman for the cure of some evil or for procuring some delight. he even gives the mottoes on some of these, and their specific uses: no. 1--"a sailor kissing his mistress on his return from sea." this worn about the person of a gallant attracted, though concealed, the affections of the sex! no. 2--"a soldier in arms." such a talisman poured a sentiment of valour into its possessor and gave him the strength of a giant! it was alleged that by means of such commodities many customers were secured to the company, nor is there reason to doubt it. "even those indians who shortened their voyage by dealing with us, sent forward one canoe laden with beaver-skins to purchase articles of this kind at cumberland house." henry adds that he was wise enough not to dispute their value. as time went on the indians began to relinquish many of the habits and customs, and even the appearance they presented, before the advent of the white traders. being in constant communication with the factories, they became semi-civilized, and took on many of the outer characteristics of the european. they brought in year after year the spoils of the chase in strict confidence, and there exchanged them for the necessaries of life, which they no longer provided for themselves. to all intents and purposes the tribes were in the pay of the company, or lived upon their bounty. it was, therefore, to be expected that all originality would be lost amongst them. the principal things necessary for the support and satisfaction of the indian and his family in the middle of the eighteenth century were: a gun, hatchet, ice chisel, brazil fob, knives, files, flints, powder and shot, a powder horn, a bayonet, a kettle, cloth, beads, etc. it was early found that alcohol was a very dangerous element to introduce amongst the savages. talon had presented the unhappy colony of new france with a statute removing all the penalties and ordinances of which justice and the authorities had made use to repress the disorders caused by the too great quantity of liquor given to the indians. [sidenote: liking of the indians for liquor.] the inclination of the indians for intoxication, it was pointed out to colbert by an ecclesiastic who sought to alter the condition of affairs, is much stronger than that of the people of europe. they have, urged he, greater weakness in resisting it. "if in a bourgade there be liquor freely accessible to the indians, they usually all become intoxicated--old, young, great and small, women and children, so that there is hardly one left sober. if there were liquor sufficient to last two days, drunkenness invariably continued two days. if enough for a week, it would last a week; if for a month, it would last a month. this," said the good priest, "is what we do not see in europe--a whole city get drunk, nor see it continue in that state for weeks and months." it may readily be perceived that those who wish to strike a bargain favourable to themselves with the indians, had only to resort to liquor, and by that means, without regard to their own salvation or that of the savages, could generally procure what they desired at a small expenditure. an indian, it was said early in the next century, would barter away all his furs, nay even leave himself without a rag to cover his nakedness, in exchange for that vile, unwholesome stuff called english brandy. the company in england having decided not to employ liquor in its traffic with the indians, the temptation was strong upon colbert and the french to resort to it. at one of its meetings, in 1685, the company listened to a paper describing the methods in vogue by the french traders at the important post of tadoussac. at this fort or factory, for more than twenty years previously, it was the custom to allow an indian a quart of wine; this fluid, although it boasted such a title, hardly merited it. it was composed of one part of brandy to five parts of water; a proportion which fluctuated, it is true, but chiefly in respect of more water. to this more or less fiery liquid was given at a little later date the name high wine; and high wine figured largely in the dealings of both french and english with the indians for more than two centuries. if an indian desired more than the regulation quart, he was put off until another time. the necessary moderation was thus secured, and the trade suffered no injury. colbert expressed himself as afraid that if the quebec company did not employ liquor the indians would carry their beavers to the dutch. he need not, however, have troubled himself with this apprehension, as it was the iroquois alone who could go there, and the french of quebec did small trade with this hostile nation. it was asserted that the french would not lose five hundred skins a year by preserving the moderation necessary for christianity, and the good morality of the colony. [sidenote: effect of intoxication on the indians.] excess of liquor frequently made europeans merry and gay; on the indian, however, it had a contrary effect. under its influence he recalled his departed friends and relations, lamenting their death with abundance of tears. should he be near their graves he would often resort thither and weep there. others would join the chorus in a song, even though quite unable to hold up their heads. it was not uncommon for them to roll about their tents in a fit of frenzy, frequently falling into the blazing fire. quarrelling then was common: an ancient disagreement, long forgotten, being revived. the chiefs had often the prudence, when matters were going this way, to order the women to remove all offensive weapons out of the tent. but one weapon, very effective, the teeth, still remained; and it was not unusual to see several braves the next morning without a nose, an ear, or a finger. in affrays such as these, no respect whatever was paid to the ties of blood, brothers and sisters often fighting with great spirit and animosity. at the conclusion of one of these encounters early in the eighteenth century, an indian entered york factory one morning and desired to be admitted to the surgeon. he was conducted to the surgeon's room; he saluted its inmate in broken english, with "look here, man; here my nose," at the same time holding out his palm, which contained half that desirable facial adjunct. this he desired the surgeon, having a mighty opinion of the faculty, to restore. the man's nephew had, it seems, bit it off; he declared he felt no pain, nor was he sensible of his loss till awaking the next morning he found the piece lying by his side. footnote: [53] "matonabbee," says hearne, "had eight wives, and they were all called martens." chapter xx. 1685-1742. errant tribes of the bay -the goose hunt -assemblage at lake winnipeg -difficulties of the voyage -arrival at the fort -ceremony followed by debauch -gifts to the chief - he makes a speech to the governor -ceremony of the pipe - trading begun. the tribes to the west of the bay led an erratic life. they were without horses, and it was their custom never to remain above a fortnight in one spot, unless they found plenty of game. when they had encamped, and their lodges were built, they dispersed to hunt, meeting in the evening when they had procured enough to maintain them during the day. it was not their custom to travel more than three or four miles from their lodges, but when scarcity of game was encountered they would remove a league or two farther off. in this fashion they traversed the whole forest region, hardly missing a single day winter or summer, fair or foul, but always employed in some kind of chase. [sidenote: the indians as hunters.] the indians were ruthless slaughterers of animals at the earliest period at which they were known to the servants of the company. whether they happened to be under the pinch of necessity or enjoying themselves in all the happiness of health and plenty, it was their custom to slay all they could. they boasted a maxim that the "more they killed, the more they had to kill." such an opinion, although opposed to reason and common sense, was clung to with great pertinacity by them. the results of this indiscriminate slaughter were obvious; and to such a pitch of destitution were the tribes often brought that cannibalism was not infrequent amongst them. the species of game, such as marten, squirrel and ermine, got by traps and snares, were generally caught by the women and children. when the men had slain their elks, deer, or buffalo, or foxes, they left it where it fell, leaving the squaws to fetch it to the lodges the next day, taking care to cut off the titbits or tender morsels, such as tongues, for their own immediate pleasure. [illustration: modern type of indian.] a great part of the factory provisions consisted of geese killed by the indians. for this purpose the factors supplied the latter with powder and shot, allowing them the value of a beaver skin for every ten geese killed. accordingly, after the indian had got his supply, he set off from his tent early in the morning into the marshes, where he sat himself down with great patience, difficult of imitation by the company's men, and there, sheltered by willows, waited for the geese. these were shot flying, and so dexterous were the braves at this sport that a good hunter would kill, in times of plenty, fifty or sixty a day. few europeans were able to endure the cold, hunger and adversity which often marked these excursions. [sidenote: meeting at lake winnipeg.] the nations coming from a distance to york factory were wont to assemble in may at lake winnipeg to the number of perhaps fifteen hundred. the chief would then harangue the men, representing their wants, and exhort the young men to exert themselves to the utmost to reach the fort with all their skins and to secure good terms from the white men. each family then made a feast, in the course of which they fixed upon those of their number who were to undertake the journey. during the progress of the wassail which then reigned, it was customary for speeches to be made, new alliances formed and old ones strengthened. the morrow was spent in building the birch bark canoes, in which the northern tribes had attained great proficiency; and being at last ready for the voyage, the leaders of the expedition were chosen, and all was ready to start. it was never exactly ascertained how many actually participated in these trading expeditions; the number was regulated by the circumstance of the tribes being at peace or at war, and also whether disease raged amongst them. it may be taken, roughly speaking, that six hundred canoes containing one thousand persons, not counting women, came down annually to york factory, with furs to trade. no regularity marked their voyage, each striving to be foremost, because those proceeding first had the best chance of procuring food. during the voyage each leader canvassed, with all manner of art and diligence, for braves to join his party. some were influenced by presents, and others by promises, for the more canoes each petty leader had under his command the greater he appeared at the factory. [sidenote: difficulties of the journey.] throughout their progress the indians were obliged to go ashore for several hours daily, which caused great delay in their progress. their canoes were small, holding only two men and a pack of one hundred beaver skins, with not much room for provisions. had their canoes been larger their voyages would undoubtedly have been less protracted, and they would have been able to transport a greater cargo. often great numbers of skins were left behind. a good hunter of these nations could kill six hundred beavers in the course of a season; he could carry down to the factory rarely more than one hundred, using the remainder at home in various ways. sometimes he hung them upon branches of trees by way of votive offering upon the death of a child or near relation; often they were utilized as bedding and bed coverings; occasionally the fur was burnt off, and the beast roasted whole for food at banquets. these annual journeys were beset by much hardship and suffering even at the best of times. the testimony of at least one governor is significant. "while," said he, "it is the duty of every one of the company's servants to encourage a spirit of industry among the natives, and to use every means in their power to induce them to procure furs and other commodities for trade ... at the same time, it must be confessed that such conduct is by no means for the real benefit of the poor indians; it being well-known that those who have the least intercourse with the factories, are by far the happiest.... it is true that there are few indians but have once in their lives, at least, visited the fort, and the hardships and dangers which most of them experienced on those occasions have left such a lasting impression on their minds, that nothing can induce them to repeat their visits." arriving near their journey's end, they all put ashore; the women going into the woods to gather pine-brush for the bottom of the tents, while the leaders smoked together and arranged the procession to the factory. this settled, they re-embarked, and soon after arrived before the post of the company; if there happened to be but one captain, his situation was in the centre of all the canoes; if more than one, they placed themselves at the wings, their canoes being distinguished by a small flag hoisted on a stick and placed astern. arriving within two hundred yards of the palisade, they discharged their fowling pieces by way of compliment to the governor, who returned the salute by firing off two or three small cannon. the men of the tribe seldom concerned themselves with taking out the bundles, except occasionally when the younger ones assisted the women. [illustration: type of cree indian.] [sidenote: arrival at the fort.] the factor being now informed that the indians had arrived, the trader was sent to introduce the leaders into the fort. chairs were placed in the trading-room for the visitors, and pipes introduced. during the first part of the ceremony the leader puffed great clouds of smoke, but said little; but the tobacco in the bowl becoming low, he began to be more talkative. fixing his eyes immovably on the ground, he informed the factors how many canoes he had brought, and what tribes he had seen; he enquired after the health of his hosts, and declared he is glad to see them. when this speech was concluded the governor bade the chief and his party welcome, informing him that he had good goods and plenty, that he loved the indians, and they might count upon his kindness to them. the pipe was then removed, and the conversation became general. during this visit the chief was dressed out at the company's expense. he was furnished with a coarse cloth coat, red or blue, lined with baize, and white regimental cuffs; a waistcoat and breeches of baize. this suit was ornamented with orris lace. he was likewise presented with a white or checked cotton shirt, stockings of yarn, one red and the other blue, and tied below the knee with worsted garters; his moccasins were sometimes put on over these, but he as freely walked away in bare feet. his hat was of coarse felt and bedecked with three ostrich feathers, of various colours. a worsted sash was fastened to its crown; a small silk handkerchief drawn about his neck, and thus attired, the chief strutted up and down delighted. his second in command also claimed attention. he was given a coat, but not a lined one; a shirt and a cap such as was worn by sailors of the period. the guests once equipped, bread and prunes were forthcoming and set before the chief; and of these confections he took care to fill his pockets before they were carried out. these were followed by a two-gallon keg of brandy, pipes and tobacco for himself and followers. it was now high time to think of returning to the camp, but this exit was not to be undertaken without further marks of the favour and esteem with which the chief was held by the company. his conduct from the fort was effected in state. in front a halberd and ensign were borne; next came a drummer beating a march, followed by several of the factory servants bearing bread, prunes, pipes, tobacco, brandy, etc. behind these came the "king," "captain," or chief, with stately tread, and erect, smoking his pipe and conversing with the factors at his side. afterwards came the "lieutenant," "prince," relative or friend, who had accompanied the chief. the tent was found ready for their reception, strewn with clean pine brush and beaver coats placed for them to sit. the brandy was deposited on the ground, and the chief gave orders for its distribution. after this the factor left, none too soon, however, for all were soon plunged into a brutal state of intoxication. "it is fifty to one," writes one trader, "but some one is killed before morning. they give loose rein to every species of disorderly tumult--all crying, fighting, and dancing." about 1735, a party of indians came down to trade, and the first day of their arrival, as was their invariable custom, got vilely drunk. while thus inebriated, they fought, not noisily, but silently, in the darkness. when morning dawned, two corpses, in a fearful state of mutilation, were found stretched on the ground in pools of blood. [sidenote: ceremony of the pipe.] after this debauch, which lasted about two or three days, the sobered braves took to the calumet of peace. the stem of this pipe was three or four feet long, decorated with pieces of lace, bears' claws, eagles' talons, and the feathers of the most beautiful birds. the pipe being affixed to the stem, the factor took it in both hands, and with great gravity rose from his chair and pointed the end of the stem to the east or sunrise, and then to the zenith, and to the west, and then perpendicularly to the nadir. after this he took three or four hearty whiffs and then presented it to the chief, and so on round the whole party, the women excepted. when the tobacco was consumed, the factor took the pipe again and twirling it three times round his head, laid it with great deliberation on the table. a great ho! was thereupon emitted from the mouths of the assemblage.[54] this ceremony being over, a further gratuity of bread and prunes was distributed, and the chief made a speech, which one trader has reported, after this style. [illustration: an old chief. (_from a photograph._)] "you told me last year to bring many indians to trade, which i promised to do. you see, i have not lied, here are many young men come with me; use them kindly, i say; let them trade good goods, i say. we lived hard last winter and were hungry; powder being short measure and bad, i say. tell your servants to fill the measure, and not put their thumbs within the brim; take pity on us, take pity on us, i say. "we paddle a long way to see you; we love the english. let us trade good black tobacco, moist and hard twisted; let us see it before it is opened. take pity on us, take pity on us, i say. "the guns are bad, let us trade light guns, small in the hand and well-shaped, and locks that will not freeze in the winter, and red gun-cases. let the young men have more than measure of tobacco, cheap pattees, thick and high. "give us good measure of cloth; let us see the old measure. the young men love you by coming so far to see you. give them good goods; they like to dress and be fine; do you see?" as soon as the chief had finished the above speech, he, with his followers, proceeded to examine the guns and tobacco; the former with a most minute attention. this over, they traded with furs promiscuously, the leader being so far indulged as to be admitted into the trading-room all the time if he desired it. [sidenote: varieties of beaver.] the beaver thus received by the chief trader and stored at the factory pending its shipment to england in the company's ships, was classified into eight varieties. the first was the fat winter beaver, slain in winter, which was valued at five shillings and sixpence a pound. the second sort was the fat summer beaver, worth two shillings and ninepence. next came in order the dry winter beaver, and the bordeaux, both worth three shillings and sixpence. the dry summer beaver, not much valued, about one shilling and ninepence. sixth came the coat beaver, as it was called, which brought four shillings and sixpence. the muscovite, dry beaver of a fine skin, covered with a silky hair; it was worn in russia, where the short fur was combed away and manufactured into fabric, leaving only the hair; this fetched four and sixpence; and lastly on the list figured the mittain beaver, which were utilized in the manufacture of mittens, being worth one shilling and ninepence. it was reported that in the year 1742 the natives were so discouraged in their trade with the company that many found the peltry hardly worth the carriage, and the finest furs sold for very little. when the tribes came to the factory in june they found the goods much higher in price, and much in excess of the standard they were accustomed to. according to joseph la france, a french-canadian voyageur, they gave but a pound of gunpowder for four beavers, a fathom of tobacco for seven beavers, a pound of shot for one, an ell of coarse cloth for fifteen, a blanket for twelve, two fish-hooks or three flints for one, a gun for twenty-five, a pistol for ten; a common hat with white lace cost seven beavers, an axe four, a bill-hook one, a gallon of brandy four, a chequered shirt seven; "all of which sold at a monstrous profit, even to two thousand per cent." it was a fact, nevertheless, that notwithstanding such discouragement the two expeditions of indians who visited york and churchill that year brought down two hundred packs of one hundred each, that is to say twenty thousand beaver skins. as to the other indians who arrived from another direction, they carried three hundred packs of one hundred each, which made a total of fifty thousand beavers, besides nine thousand martens. footnote: [54] all this ceremony has a significance of its own. interpreted, it said: "whilst the sun shall visit the different parts of the world and make day and night; peace, firm friendship and brotherly love shall be established between the english and the indians, and the same on the latter's part. by twirling the pipe over the head, it was further intended to imply that all persons of the two nations, whosoever they were, shall be included in the friendship and brotherhood, then concluded or renewed." chapter xxi. 1725-1742. system of licenses re-adopted by the french -verandrye sets out for the pacific -his son slain -disappointments -he reaches the rockies -death of verandrye -forts in rupert's land -peter the great and the hudson's bay company - expeditions of bering -a north-west passage -opposition of the company to its discovery -dobbs and middleton - ludicrous distrust of the explorer -an anonymous letter. it has already been observed how fearful had grown the demoralization of the indians, chiefly through the instrumentality and example of the _coureur des bois_. this class seemed daily to grow more corrupt, and bade fair to throw off the last vestige of restraint and become merged in all the iniquity, natural and acquired, of the savage races. we have seen, too, how the missionaries intervened, and implored the civil authorities to institute some sort of reform. it was at their solicitation that the government of canada at length decided to re-adopt the system of licenses, and to grant the privileges of exclusive trade to retired army officers, to each of whom they accorded a certain fur-bearing district by way of recompense for services rendered by him. in order that the trader might be protected against hostile assault, permission was given to establish forts in certain places suitable for their construction. one of the french canadian youth, whom the exploits of iberville against the hudson's bay company had fired with a spirit of emulation and who was head and shoulders above all that race of soldiers turned fur-traders, who now began to spread themselves throughout the great west--was pierre gaultier de varennes, sieur de la verandrye. [sidenote: sieur de verandrye.] this gallant soldier and intrepid explorer, to whose memory history has as yet done but scant justice, was born at three rivers on the 17th of november, 1685. at an early age he embraced the profession of arms, and at twenty-four fought so valorously against marlborough's forces at malplaquet that, pierced by nine wounds, he was left for dead upon the field of battle. recovering, however, he returned to the colony, and at twenty-seven married the daughter of the seigneur d'isle dupas, by whom he had four sons. these sons were all destined to be associated with their father in the subsequent explorations in rupert's land and the west. at the hour when verandrye was seized with his zeal for exploration and discovery, the company's rivals already possessed numerous posts established by iberville, duluth, frontenac and denonville, and a host of lesser lights, in the west. of one of these, on the shores of lake nepigon, at the extreme end of lake superior, verandrye had been given the command. [sidenote: verandrye sets out to explore the west.] while at this fort, a rumour had reached him of a mighty river flowing into the great ocean. credulous of the truth of this report, borne to him by the indians, verandrye lost little time in communicating it to a friend, father de gonor, at michilimackinac. it was shortly thereafter carried to governor beauharnois, who was induced, but not without much pleading, to grant verandrye fifty men and a missionary for the purposes of exploration. but, although he had thus far succeeded, the only pecuniary aid upon which the explorer could rely was from the fur-trade. he was accordingly given a license to trade, and on the strength of this concession, certain merchants advanced him an outfit. he set out and arrived at rainy lake in september, 1731, traversed it, and erected a fort near the site of the present fort francis of a later day, to which he gave the name of st. peter. a year later he built another fort on the western shore of the lake of the woods, and in 1733 paddled down to the mouth of the winnipeg river to the lake of that name. crossing lake winnipeg, he ascended the assiniboine river and constructed fort rouge.[55] in 1738 the explorer's three sons, under their sire's instructions, made their way up the assiniboine and built fort la reine, on the site of the present portage la prairie. well may it be said that the five years from 1733 to 1738 were years of cruel grief and disappointment for verandrye. he had been struggling on to a realization of his dream in spite of the bitterest discouragements. one of his sons had been slain by the sioux; he was without funds; fur-trading being with him only a subsidiary employment. his men lacking both courage and faith became unmanageable, and verandrye addressed the most affecting letters to his monarch in france, who looked upon him and his schemes coldly. those merchants, who had advanced him money, loaded him with their distrust, perpetually harassed him for returns, and loudly demanded his recall, so that he was forced to stand still and engage in barter when his whole soul cried aloud for him to press on in his path and reach the pacific. [sidenote: verandrye's son reaches the rockies.] verandrye divided his little party in the spring of 1742 and ascended the souris river. those who came to be familiar with the territory in a later day, when it was frequented by traders, might well appreciate what were the perils these pioneers encountered, and what dangers they escaped when they finally left the country of the peace--leaving ojibways at red river, and struck off into the land of the sioux, a tribe then, from their ferocity to the whites, called the "tigers of the plains." but they were to go still farther. already the eldest son of the explorer had reached the tribe of the mandans in the missouri, but owing to inability to obtain guides his party had been forced to return. he was again despatched by his father, this time in company with the younger son, known as the chevalier, and two other frenchmen into the unknown country to the west. this little band of four made a journey of several hundred miles, entering into a league with one of the nations into whose country they penetrated, to lead them to the great western ocean. on the first day of january, 1743, they beheld, the first amongst white men, the eastern spurs of the northern rocky mountains. but here the bow indians, their guides, deserted them, and surrounded by hostile tribes, the party was forced to return. it was in this same year that the elder verandrye, scarred and gaunt from his long wanderings in the wilderness, presented himself at quebec to confront his enemies and traducers. they had represented as making an enormous fortune and leading an idle life, he who could point proudly to having taken possession of the country of the upper missouri for lewis xv., and who had built a score and more of forts in the unknown regions of the west. "if 40,000 livres of debt that i have over my head," said verandrye bitterly, "are an advantage, then i can compliment myself on being very rich, and i would have been much more so in the end, if i had continued." his license was given to another who, however, made a poor showing by means of it, and it was not until beauharnois's successor investigated verandrye's claims that the explorer received some recognition at court. he was given a captaincy and the cross of st. lewis. but the explorer had not waited for this. he had been pushing on in his work, and in 1748 ascended the saskatchewan. the progress of the french was marked by more forts, one in lake dauphin and another called bourbon at the extremity of his discoveries. verandrye was about to cross the rocky mountains when death overtook him, on the 6th of december, 1749. the sons of verandrye were eager to continue his work and attain at last the pacific. but bigot, the intendant, was not their friend; he had other plans, and the verandryes were deposed by favourites with not half their ability or their claims to honours and rewards. but they had paved the way and now the french were reaping the profits of the fur-trade in the north-west on a great scale. [sidenote: verandrye's work.] thus were successively established, from 1731 to 1748, by verandrye and his sons, fort st. pierre on rainy lake; fort st. charles on the lake of the woods; fort maurepas near the mouth of the winnipeg; fort dauphin, on the north-west extremity of lake manitoba; fort la reine, on the southern extremity of the last-named lake; fort rouge, at the confluence of the assiniboine and red river; fort bourbon, at the head of lake winnipeg; fort poskoyae, on the saskatchewan, and fort lacerne (nipawi), at the forks of the said river. in 1752, some years prior to the conquest of canada, a relative of verandrye, named niverville, established fort jonquiere at the foot of the mountains.[56] which of all these forts were to pass, after many vicissitudes, into the hands of the hudson's bay company, we shall see in the course of subsequent pages. verandrye and his compeers chose their sites with great care and ability; so that it was rarely that their successors were able to improve upon them. on the foundations or charred remnants of the french forts, should the structures themselves have perished, the english fur-traders, when they came, reared anew their posts. while thus the french were pressing forward from the south and east at the same moment, a new rivalry threatened to spring up in the far north-west. [sidenote: russia looks toward the new world.] the eighteenth century broke upon an abated zeal of the spaniards in extending their discoveries and dominions in the new world. almost contemporaneously, the threads they threw down were grasped by another power, which the zeal and energy of one man had suddenly transformed from a collection of savage, barbarous tribes into a great nation. having achieved conquest over his neighbours and the cohesion of his new empire, peter the great turned his attention to a hardly inferior task. none knew as yet whether the two great continents, asia and north america, united on the north-east. during peter's residence in england, not the least of the institutions interesting him was the hudson's bay company. a letter from peter is quoted by a russian writer, in which he alludes to the english rivalry for these trades "which had so long been the monopoly of muscovy fur-hunting and fur-gathering." doubtless even at this time he was speculating upon the chances of russia competing with england for the fur traffic of the new world. but before such a competition could be brought about the question of the geographical connection between asia and america must be settled. when he had been in holland in 1717, he had been urged by some of the most eminent patrons of discovery amongst the dutch to institute an expedition of investigation. but again other matters intervened; although in 1727 two russian officers were equipped and in readiness to start overland when they were recalled for service in sweden. not until he was on his death-bed did czar peter pen with his own hand the instructions to admiral aproxin which bore fruit later. it was then, too, that the idea, according to lestkof, was discussed of a russian fur company, similar in its methods and organization to the hudson's bay company. peter directed first that one or two boats with decks should be built at kamschatka, or in the vicinity; that with these a survey should be made of the most northerly coasts of his asiatic empire, to determine whether they were or were not contiguous to america. also that the persons to whom the expedition might be entrusted should endeavour to ascertain whether there was any port in those regions belonging to europe, and to keep a strict look-out for any european ship, taking care also to employ some skilful men in making enquiries regarding the names and situation of the coasts which they discovered. they were to keep an exact journal and to transmit it to st. petersburg. peter died, but the empress catherine, his successor, was equally favourable to the scheme, and gave orders to fit out the expedition. to captain vitus bering was entrusted the command. under him were two lieutenants, martin spangberg and alexi tchirikoff; and besides other subalterns were several excellent ship-carpenters. [illustration: maldonado's "strait of anian," 1609.] on february 5, 1735, they set out from st. petersburg, and on march 16 arrived at tobolsk, the capital of siberia. [sidenote: bering's discoveries.] bering returned from his first voyage satisfied that he had reached the utmost limits of asia, and that no junction with america existed. some years elapsed, and in 1741 bering, spangberg and tchirikoff again volunteered. this expedition was destined to prove fatal to the explorer; he got lost in a fog, intense cold prevailed, scurvy broke out amongst the men, and on a little island in bering's sea he breathed his last. [illustration: lapie's map, 1821.] although many years were to elapse before the russians took any more active steps, they had, by virtue of bering's discoveries, got a footing on the north american continent, and were thus already neighbours, if not yet rivals, of the hudson's bay company. "it is very evident," wrote one of the contemporary chroniclers, "that for upwards of two centuries and a half an opinion has prevailed amongst the most knowing and experienced persons, that there is a passage to the north-west, and this built partly upon science, partly upon tradition. now, it is very hard to conceive how such an opinion should maintain its credit if it was not founded in reality; for it is an old and true maxim that specious opinions endure but a short time, whereas truth is everlasting." for many years the notion of a north-west passage had slept; but in 1737 it again attracted public attention. in that year arthur dobbs, a gentleman of some means and of scientific bent, made formal application to the hudson's bay company that a search be undertaken. upon his representations the company sent forth two of their ships upon the quest. these, the _churchill_ and the _musquash_ went, however, no farther north than latitude 62° 15' and returned without seeing anything worthy of notice, save "a number of small islands, abundance of black whales, but no very great tides, the highest about two fathoms, the flood coming from the northward." there had been for a great many years in the company's employ an able mariner, captain christopher middleton. for some reason or other middleton had become dissatisfied with their service and one of his friends placed him in communication with the patron of discovery, dobbs, and a close correspondence ensued.[57] dobbs was eager to employ middleton in a search for the long-sought straits. this was by no means an easy matter. in the first place the company flatly declined to participate in the scheme, alleging that they had already done enough in that direction[58] and that the whole idea was a fallacy. there was no north-west passage to india, and the sooner the public mind divested itself of the folly of supposing one existed the better it would be for the public purse and the public wisdom. the company pointed out that if middleton should winter at either of the company's factories it might drive the natives to trade with the french, who were always on the alert; and trade so lost would never return or be regained. they begged the admiralty to restrain captain middleton from interfering with the company's trade and invading their property and rights. dobbs, however, secured from the admiralty for middleton's use the bomb ketch _furnace_, which, with another small vessel, the _welcome_, was ready to sail early in june. [sidenote: the company opposes further exploration.] so opposed do the company appear to have their domains meddled with by these fruitless explorations that they sent out a letter to their governor at churchill, which was the most convenient harbour for the explorers to winter in, not to receive middleton into their fort. dobbs and his friends getting wind of this, complained to the admiralty, who wrote to the honourable adventurers in a tone of decided reproof, observing that even if middleton were to receive assistance and provisions, payment would be made for these to the company on the return of the expedition to england. after deliberating for some time, the company thereupon wrote to the lords of the admiralty, saying that they had sent a further letter to governor norton requiring him to extend the necessary hospitality to middleton. that the sort of hospitality the company was prepared to dispense was not of too warm a character may be adjudged from the following: hudson's bay house, london, may 15, 1741. _mr. james isham and council_, _prince of wales' fort, churchill river_: gentlemen,--notwithstanding our orders to you, if captain middleton (who is sent abroad in the government's service to discover a passage north-west) should by inevitable necessity be brought into real distress and danger of his life and loss of his ship, in such case you are then to give him the best assistance and relief you can. a duplicate of this was put in middleton's possession, who still dissatisfied, rushed off instantly with it to whitehall. it was deemed necessary to apply to the lords of the regency that the secretary of state might, by their orders, write to the company to request the assistance they refused to the admiralty. the company, thus hemmed in, gave a letter couched in a more friendly style. "it is plain," remarks a contemporary writer, "that the company believe there is a passage, which they want to conceal; for otherwise it would have been their interest to have the attempt made. if not found there would have been an end to prosecuting it any further, and they might probably have enjoyed their trade to the bay, without its being coveted or enquired into." middleton owned to dobbs that just before his departure the company had endeavoured to bribe him with an offer of £5,000 to return to their service, or that if he was determined to go, to pursue the voyage by davis' straits, or by any other way than the west of the bay. they alleged that it would cost the company that amount to support their right against the crown and against private adventurers, and that "as he had been their friend, and knew all their concerns, it would be better to give him that sum than to give it to their lawyers." the company did not deny that such an offer had been made by two or three of the committee privately. [sidenote: middleton explores for a north-west passage.] middleton now proceeded on his journey in quest of the famed north-west passage. it is charged that on his arrival in the bay he never once went ashore or sent his boat to search for any inlet or to try the tide. he tried the current in latitude 63° 20', and found it very rapid, in spite of the fact that there existed a great deal of ice to the northward. its presence compelled him to stand off from shore until he passed cape dobbs, beyond which he found an opening northwestward. in this opening he sought shelter for three weeks. [sidenote: trouble between middleton and his men.] no voyage of discovery since the world began was ever made under such circumstances. numerous members of the crew, who had got wind of the situation, were filled, or professed to be filled, with distrust of their captain. caring nothing about the voyage itself or the object for which it was undertaken, they entered with zeal a hundred times a day into plots to make the commander's life unbearable. the supposed passage was christened the "forbidden straits," and the crews vastly amused themselves with middleton's supposed discomfiture. several were very nearly yard-armed for spreading reports that the captain had purposely sailed past the straits. sometimes the captain merely laughed at the views of his subordinates; at other times, it is said, he flew into a temper, and indulged in threats and abuse. once, when from the number of whales and the breadth and depth of the river, word sped from mouth to mouth that it was a strait they were in, and no river, "he rated several of them for pretending to say so against his opinion, saying his clerk was a double-tongued rascal, that he would cane the lieutenant, broomstick the master, and lash any others who would concern themselves about the voyage." it was, moreover, charged against middleton that he interdicted the keeping of private journals, and that if any disobeyed this order he threatened to break open their boxes and get possession of such records. once when the lieutenants and masters were absent down the river to look for a cove for the ships, middleton grimly observed that he supposed the former would bring back "some romantick account of a strait or passage." nevertheless, for his part, he would not take the ships a foot farther. intrigue characterized the whole of this voyage of discovery. the officers of both the _furnace_ and the _discovery_ took turns in making jaunts into the country. on the 8th of august, captain middleton, the clerk, gunner, and carpenter went ashore at cape frigid, and after pacing some fifteen miles into the country, returned, to find the ship drifted, although it lacked some hours of high water. rankin and the men on board from this had become convinced that it was the effects of the flood from the supposed strait. the captain laughed them to scorn, and said that if it came from any strait at all it was hudson's strait. two northern indians were taken on board the _discovery_, and thompson, the surgeon, who could speak some of the southern tongue, began busying himself making a vocabulary of their language. at this innocent occupation he was observed by middleton, who threatened to "crop him" in case he persisted. when they reached marble island, although the two indians were desirous of going to england, he put the pair ashore in a bad boat they were ignorant of how to manage. the supplications of the unhappy savages were useless to turn the company's captain from his purpose. in vain they told him that the island was three leagues from the mainland, and a hundred miles from their own country; that it was inhabited by the esquimaux, their enemies. "the captain gave them some provisions, ammunition, hatchets and toys. the excuse he made for not bringing them to england was, that upon his return his friends might be out of the admiralty, and as he had no orders to take them home, they would be left a charge upon him." this was plausible, but middleton's detractors did not rest there. they accused the captain of saying that he was afraid the indians, when they learned to speak english, would be talking of the copper mine and the north-west passage, and would thereby put the public to the expense of sending out more ships in quest of it. "and this, no doubt," commented dobbs, "was the true reason for that piece of cruelty, for he thought if they came to england he should _not be able to conceal the passage_." on middleton's return, after his quest, he was accused of saying, "my character is so well established as a discoverer that no man will ever, hereafter, attempt to discover the north-west passage." [sidenote: middleton returns without discovering the passage.] he certainly received a cordial invitation from the government, the admiralty and the court. immediately upon his arrival in london he communicated with several of the partners of the hudson's bay company. the preparation of his journal occupied for a time his leisure. "he himself," says dobbs, "had got great reputation from the royal society for his observations upon cold; and for what he had discovered had got a medal from them. he was upon good terms with the lords of the admiralty, and was to dedicate his charts and discoveries to the king and noblemen of the first rank as well as to the lords of the admiralty." that the lords of the admiralty were perfectly satisfied with his conduct, there is every reason to believe, as in the following year middleton was placed in command of the _shark_, a sloop. all this naturally put him into a position to serve those under him. all his recommendations for promotion only strengthened the suspicions gathering in the mind of dobbs and his fellow-patrons. "he had recommended also his lieutenant, and thought none other on board had weight enough to impeach his proceedings, which, if they failed in, would ruin their characters; so that securing his officers, he thought all things would be safe amongst the crew. but middleton was not one to forget the patron and prime mover of the expedition, whom he endeavoured to propitiate by sending him an abstract of his journal. this abstract seemed, to dobbs, to be so full of contradictions and discrepancies, that he wrote to the explorer to send him, if possible, the journal itself. he had scarcely dispatched this communication when he received a letter from lanrick, "a gentleman who had been bred a scholar," who had accompanied middleton on the voyage. it was substantially the same account rendered by the captain, with this added paragraph: "sir,--this account i should have sent you before now but that the captain, for reasons to himself best known, desired that none of us should say anything about it relating to the discovery for a little." this very natural desire on the part of an explorer, about to become an author, seems to have been fraught with deep and incriminating significance to dobbs. after a short time the whole of middleton's journal reached him; it appeared to confirm all dobbs's presentiments. [sidenote: suspicion attaches to middleton.] dobbs and the other patrons were therefore convinced that middleton had played them false for the hudson's bay company; and their belief in a north-west passage was strengthened rather than weakened. in their report, after going over the whole account of the voyage furnished them, they were especially severe upon middleton. "his whole conduct," they said, "from his going to churchill until his return to england, and even since his return, it will appear plainly that he intended to serve the company at the public expense, and contrived everything so as to stifle the discovery, and to prevent others from undertaking it for the future so as to secure the favour of the company and the reward they said they promised him before he began the voyage." an informer appeared, who testified that middleton had declared in presence of the others at a council held at york factory, churchill, that he "should be able to make the voyage, but none on board should be any the wiser and he would be a better friend to the company than ever." middleton was charged in public with neglect in having failed to explore the line of coast which afforded a probability of a passage to the north-west. the principal points at issue appear to have been in respect to the discovery by middleton, of the wager river, repulse bay, and the frozen strait. in this century sir edward parry has remarked: "the accuracy of captain middleton is manifest upon the point most strenuously argued against him, for our subsequent experience has not left the smallest doubt of repulse bay and the northern part of the welcome being filled by a rapid tide flowing into it from the eastward through the frozen strait." dobbs, fully impressed with a conviction that the captain's story of the frozen strait was all chimera, as well as everything middleton had said concerning that part of the voyage, confidently insisted on the probability of the tide finding its way through wager river, or at least through some arm of the sea communicating with that inlet from the westward.[59] one detail only was lacking to render the situation farcical--an anonymous letter. this reached dobbs on the 21st of january, and ran in this absurd vein:- "this script is only open to your eyes, which have been sealed or closed with too much (we cannot say cunning) artifice, so as they have not been able to discover our discoverer's pranks. all nature cries aloud that there is a passage, and we are sure there is one from hudson's bay to japan. send a letter directed to messieurs brook and cobham, who are gentlemen who have been the voyage, and cannot bear so glorious an attempt, should die under the hands of mercenary wretches, and they will give you such pungent reasons as will awaken all your industry. they desire it may be kept secret so long as they shall think fit; they are willing to venture their lives, their fortunes, their all, in another attempt; and they are no inconsiderable persons, but such as have had it much at heart ever since they saw the rapidity of tides in the welcome. the frozen straits is all chimera, and everything you have yet read or seen concerning that part of our voyage, we shall send you some unanswerable queries. direct for us at the chapter coffee house, st paul's churchyard, london." it was now clear that middleton's voyage had been made in vain, and that another would shortly be attempted. footnotes: [55] this fort has been thought to have been in the neighbourhood of selkirk, manitoba. but verandrye would not have abandoned such an advantageous position as that which the meeting of the two rivers afforded at the modern winnipeg. [56] on the site of fort jonquiere, a century later, captain brisebois, of the mounted police, founded a post bearing his name. this post has given way to-day to the well-built and thriving town of calgary. [57] in one of his letters, dated 21st of january, 1737, middleton held that the company thought it their interest rather to prevent than forward new discoveries in that part of the world. "for that reason they won't suffer any of our journals to be made public," he adds. than which certainly no observation could be truer. [58] a list of vessels fitted out by the hudson's bay company on discovery of a north-west passage. 1719--_albany frigate_, capt. george barlow, sailed from england on or about 5th june. never returned. _discovery_, capt. david vaughan, sailed from england on or about 5th june. never returned. 1719--_prosperous_, capt henry kelsey, sailed from york fort, june 19th. returned 10th august following. _success_, john hancock, master, sailed from prince of wales' fort, july 2nd. returned 10th august. 1721--_prosperous_, capt. henry kelsey, sailed from york fort, june 26th. returned 2nd sept. _success_, james napper, master, sailed from york fort, june 26th. lost 30th of same month. 1721--_whalebone_, john scroggs, master, sailed from gravesend, 31st may; wintered at prince of wales' fort. 1722--sailed from thence 21st june. returned july 25th following. 1737--_the churchill_, james napper, master, sailed from prince of wales' fort, july 7th. died 8th august; and the vessel returned the 18th. _the musquash_, robert crow, master, sailed from prince of wales' fort, july 7th. returned 22nd august. [59] "on looking through the correspondence at the admiralty, it is impossible not to be struck with the straightforward manliness, candour and honesty of purpose exemplified by captain middleton throughout this trying business. it was a cruel attack."--sir john barrow. chapter xxii. 1744-1748. war again with france -company takes measures to defend its forts and property -"keep your guns loaded" -prince "charlie" -his stock in the company confiscated -further instructions to the chief factors -another expedition to search for a north-west passage -parliament offers twenty thousand pounds reward -cavalier treatment from governor norton -expedition returns -dobbs' enmity -privy council refuse to grant his petition -press-gang outrages -voyage of the _seahorse_. [sidenote: war with france.] in the year 1740 the state of affairs in europe seemed to point to war between england and france. england had declared war against spain, and although for a time lewis xv. and his ministers sympathized with the latter country, they endeavoured to avoid being drawn into a conflict with her powerful neighbour and hereditary enemy across the channel. yet such a conflict seemed inevitable, when by degrees spanish commerce became shattered under the blows of king george's navy. apprehensive that england would wrest from spain her colonies, france resolved to take sides with spain. in 1744 war was declared, and hostilities, which had been in abeyance for thirty-one years, at once recommenced in the transatlantic possessions of both crowns. it was therefore decided at a general court of the adventurers, at which no fewer than seventy were present, to take measures to avoid a repetition of the disasters of fifty years previously. they felt that their enemies were now many, who would be glad to see them driven from the bay, and that less assistance might be expected from the government than at any of the crises which had previously overtaken them. we have seen to what this was due. it now behooved the company to gird up its loins, and if the foe came, to strike, and strike with force. it was the hudson's bay company against france and spain. the incident of louisburg alone saved the company from destruction. to illustrate the temper of the company instructions were immediately drawn up by the committee, and despatched to the chief factors in the bay. the one addressed to joseph isbister and council at albany fort was dated the 10th of may, 1744. "the english and french having declared war," it ran, "against each other, and the war with spain still continuing, we do hereby strictly direct you to be always on your guard, and to keep a good watch, and that you keep all your men as near home as possible. [sidenote: bellicose instructions from the company.] "we do also direct that you fix your cannon in the most proper places to defend yourselves and annoy an enemy, after which you are to fire each cannon once with powder to see how they prove, and instruct your men to the use of them without firing; and that you keep them constantly loaded with powder and ball, ready for service. you are also to keep your small arms loaded and in good order and at hand, to be easily come at; and that those loaded arms be drawn or discharged once a month, and be well cleaned; and you are to exercise your men once a week till they are well disciplined and afterwards once a month. and you are also to keep a sufficient number of your trading guns loaded and at hand in case of an attack; and if there be any indians that you can confide in, and will be of service in your defence, we recommend it to you to employ them in such manner as you think proper. "we have wrote to the factory at moose river, that in case they have any intelligence of the french coming down that river to attack them, they are immediately to send you notice thereof, that you may make the necessary preparations for your defence, and that there be a constant correspondence and intelligence between each factory for the safety of both. "as we rely on the courage and conduct of mr. isbister, our chief, in case of an attack from the enemy, which, if done at all on your factory, we apprehend it will be by land in the winter, from canada; in which case the enemy not being able to bring down any cannon with them, we doubt not of your frustrating their designs and repulsing them. "in case you are attacked at henly house, and notwithstanding a vigorous resistance you should have the misfortune to be overpowered, then you are to nail up the cannon, blow up the house, and destroy everything that can be of service to the enemy, and make the best retreat you can to the factory." the letters to the other governors were in similar strain. the company directed isbister to get "the best information you can from the trading indians, whether the french are making any preparations to come down to the factory, or have lodged any provisions, stores or ammunition at certain distances from their supply. we also direct you, for your better security, at all times to keep two indians in the factory with civil and kind usage, and send them out every morning for intelligence, to a proper distance, so that they may return in the evening; and provided that they do not return that it be an alarm to you, and that you thereupon prepare yourselves for a vigorous defence. but," it was added, "you must not, upon any consideration, let those indians have the least knowledge of the use you intend to make of their not returning." [sidenote: letters of marque to the company's ships.] at the company's urgent request letters of marque were granted to the _prince rupert_ against both france and spain. the _prince rupert_ was one hundred and eighty tons burthen, and the crews were full of expectation that the voyage would yield them a prize of some sort or another. but they were destined not merely to be disappointed, but to be given a great fright into the bargain. when in the neighbourhood of davis' straits, where a whale fishery was established, several large vessels were sighted. they seemed to the company's captain undoubtedly french men-of-war. filled with fear, he immediately turned round in his tracks and bore away as fast as his sails could carry him, and after beating about for a time managed to pass through the straits unobserved. so convinced were the company on the return of its ship in the autumn that the french were lying in wait for its ships at the straits, they sought the admiralty with a request for a convoy to york fort, to return with its vessels the following autumn. a convoy was granted, but it was hardly necessary. louisburg had fallen, and all the strength the french could muster was being directed in an attempt to win back that fortress from the english. no french ships could therefore be spared to cruise north of latitude fifty in north america. [sidenote: confiscation of prince charlie's stock.] one consequence of the war with france was a revival of the hopes of the jacobites. in 1744 charles edward, the grandson of james ii., was placed by lewis in command of "a formidable armament," and in the following year the young pretender placed his foot on a little island of the hebrides, where for three weeks he stood almost alone. but the highland blood was fired; the clans rallied to the standard of "prince charlie," and when he began his march on edinburgh, several thousand scottish zealots had rallied to his standard. "james the eighth" was proclaimed at the town cross of the capital, and when his troops and the english regiments met at preston pans, in september, the latter were defeated with heavy loss. but although this victory swelled his numbers it did not bring the lowlanders and english to fight for him. "hardly a man," we are told, "had risen in his support as he passed through the districts where jacobitism boasted of its strength. the people flocked to see his march as if it had been a show. catholics and tories abounded in lancashire, but only a single squire took up arms." the knell of jacobitism was rung, and after a brief success the english forces fell upon prince charles edward at culloden moor, and cut his little army to pieces. fifty of his followers and adherents in england ascended the scaffold; lords lovat, balmerino and kilmarnock were beheaded, and over forty noblemen and gentlemen were attainted by act of parliament. scarcely a month had elapsed from charles edward's escape to france after his romantic adventures, when a motion was submitted to the governor and company of adventurers in england trading into hudson's bay, ordering the confiscation of the stock held by the heir of the second governor of the company, king james ii. the exiled monarch had never relinquished his share, and under the name of "john stanion" the dividends had always reached him. but the jacobite rising affected his fellow-adventurers' complaisance, and by 1746 "john stanion" had ceased to figure as an active partner of the company.[60] under date of 3rd of may, 1745, the company wrote to governor isbister and council, at albany fort, to say that they had "augmented the complement of men (as you desired) at your factory and moose fort, that in case of need you may assist each other, and thereby we hope you will be enabled to baffle the designs of the enemy. "we do direct," it pursued, "that not only a continual correspondence be kept between you and moose fort, but that you correspond with the factory at slude river, york fort, and prince of wales' fort as often as you can, and if under any apprehensions of an attack, to give immediate notice to moose fort. we still recommend your diligence in getting intelligence and information of the designs of the french." [sidenote: further instructions to company's officials.] it also urged governor pilgrim and council, at prince of wales' fort, "to keep a good watch, and your men near home, except those that are guarding the battery at cape merry, but not to hinder a proper number to be employed in providing a sufficient quantity of the country provisions to prevent the complaint of those persons that murmur for want of victuals; and we recommend sobriety, that you may be capable of making a vigorous defence if attacked. "we again recommend your keeping the land, round the fort and the battery at cape merry, free from everything that may possibly conceal or shelter an enemy, that you may thereby prevent being surprised. "we again direct that you keep up a general correspondence with all the factories, and get what intelligence you can of the designs of the french." [illustration: plans of york and prince of wales' forts.] the course of events now bids us return to dobbs and the renewed endeavours to find a north-west passage through the company's territory. a number of public-spirited persons came forward for the prosecution of the design. parliament was urged to act in the matter, and a bill was carried, offering a reward of twenty thousand pounds for the discovery of the north-west passage. [sidenote: parliament and the north-west passage.] "whereas," ran the act, "the discovering of a north-west passage through hudson's straits, to the western american ocean, will be of great benefit and advantage to the trade of this kingdom; and whereas it will be a great encouragement to adventurers to attempt the same, if a public reward was given to such person or persons as shall make a perfect discovery of the said passage: may it therefore please your majesty that it may be enacted; and be it enacted by the king's most excellent majesty by and with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons in this present parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, that if any ship or vessel, ships or vessels belonging to any of his majesty's subjects, shall find out and sail through any passage by sea between hudson's bay and the western and southern ocean of america, the owner or owners of such ship or ships, vessel or vessels as aforesaid, so first finding out and sailing through the said passage, his or their executors, administrators or assigns shall be entitled to receive and shall receive as a reward for such discovery, the sum of twenty thousand pounds." parliament took care, however, to declare that nothing in the act should "in any ways extend or be construed to take away or prejudice any of the estates, rights or privileges of or belonging to the governor and company of adventurers trading into hudson's bay." with such encouragement, it was not long before a north-west association was formed for the raising of £10,000, which sum it was thought would answer the necessary expense of the proposed expedition. the ships bought by the committee were one of one hundred and eighty tons, called the _dobbs' galley_, and another of one hundred and forty tons, to which the name of the _california_ was given. each of these vessels was got ready, and a sufficient quantity of stores and provisions put on board. a cargo of merchandise, suitable for presents to the natives was put on board, after assurance to the hudson's bay company that these would not be used for purpose of barter. the command of the _dobbs' galley_ was entrusted to captain william moor, an old servant of the company; that of the _california_ being given to francis smith. by way of encouragement, premiums were settled on officers and crew, in case of success. thus the captain was to have £500, each of the mates £200, and every other officer and seaman a reward suitable to his station. over and above all this, in case they were so fortunate as to take any prizes, such were to belong entirely to them. [sidenote: expedition of the north-west association.] on the 10th of may the expedition started. in order that they might get safely beyond the british isles without danger from the french privateersmen, the admiralty appointed a convoy to meet them at the island of pomona, in the orkneys. judge of their surprise to find this convoy commanded by captain middleton himself, on board the _shark_. some days later the explorer of 1742 and the explorers of 1746 bade farewell to one another. for some months the ships cruised about the bay. at last, in september, it was decided to set about preparations for wintering in some part of hays' river. this they found in a creek about five miles above york factory, on the south side of the stream. the locality was, perhaps, hardly congenial in a social sense. [sidenote: governor norton.] "the governor," says one who accompanied the expedition as the agent of the patrons,[61] "being now convinced of our intentions to winter there, used his utmost endeavours that we might lay our ships below the fort, in a place open to the sea, where they would have been in all probability beat to pieces, either from the waves of the sea setting in or the breaking of the ice; but as his arguments were of no efficacy in persuading us, and finding himself disappointed in this, as in his former scheme, being still resolved to distress us as much as possible, he sent most of the indians, whose chief employment is to kill deer, geese, etc., into the country, on purpose that we might not make use of them in that way, or be in any wise benefited by their means." [illustration: contemporary map showing the hays' river.] the charge that governor norton desired the destruction of the ships is too absurd to refute at this late day; nevertheless there is little doubt that the explorers believed it, and anything else their inflamed imaginations and prejudices against the company suggested. even when norton designed to show them kindness, the design was twisted into one of sinister shape. for instance, hearing that their supply of liquor was short, when christmas came around, he sent as a present to the explorers, at the little log-house they had christened montague house, a couple of casks of brandy with which to make good cheer. soon afterwards scurvy broke out, and the disease was set down immediately to the brandy. "our people had been healthy enough before," says ellis. but even when the scurvy had carried off several of the men at montague house, governor norton was alleged to have refused both to succour or to suggest a remedy. "the indians were charged not to come near us, or to furnish us with anything (and this out of consideration for them), because we had a contagious distemper amongst us." norton's sole view in all his actions is represented to have been to hinder and distress the explorers, "which," remarks the writer quoted, philosophically, "is the encouragement that all are to expect who go in search of a north-west passage _from such neighbours_." when spring came the expedition resumed its labours. it is said the crews were full of alacrity and cheerfulness. one honest seaman, "whose sole delight was a delicious dram," was so enthusiastic over the discovery that "in the warm sincerity of his heart he could not help saying, with a good, round oath, 'now, i had rather find the north-west passage than half an anchor of brandy!'" [sidenote: return of the expedition to england.] the summer was spent in coasting the whole north-west side of the bay. but, alas, the north-west passage so ardently and characteristically desired by the "honest sea-man," was not found, and by the 14th of october the expedition was back again in england, after an absence of one year four months and seventeen days. the explorers and the patrons might well have been discouraged from further attempts, albeit they returned, we are told, "with clearer and fuller proofs, founded on plain facts and accurate experiments, that such a passage existed." nevertheless, if the company breathed easier on their return, it was a temporary relief. a new trial was in store for the honourable adventurers. in 1748, war still continuing with france and spain, the company again issued strict orders to governor spence at albany fort to be always on his guard, and "to keep a good watch and your men near home, but not to hinder a proper number to be employed in providing a sufficient quantity of the country provisions, particularly geese, which we find you constantly employ the indians only to kill for you, and which we are dissatisfied with; that being such a material article, you ought always to blend some of your people with the natives in the goose seasons, that they may understand how to kill them, and thereby lessen your dependence on the native hunters." to the governor of prince of wales' fort it directed that he should "constantly keep his great guns loaded with powder and ball ready for service during the time the rivers are open. you are also to keep your small arms loaded and in good order, and at hand, to be easily come at, which loaded arms and cannon are to be drawn once a month and well cleaned, and to exercise your men as often as requisite, whom we expect by this time are artists, not only in the use of small arms but also of cannon, that the great expense we have been at in this particular may answer the end proposed thereby in case of an attack. you are also to keep a sufficient number of your trading guns loaded and at hand, which charges are also to be drawn every month, and if there be any indians you can confide in, and will be of service to you in your defence, we recommend it to you to employ them in such manner as you think proper." certainly if a french commander of even iberville's power had appeared before the forts of the company in 1748 he would have met with a far different reception to that which was offered to that champion in 1697. the company suffered much from the press-gangs, from time to time, and in eras of war the evil was almost intolerable. it was well-known that the sailors in its employ were amongst the ablest and hardiest on the high seas, which fact exposed them perpetually to the onslaughts of the crimps and bullies. in 1739 the company's vessel, the _seahorse_, was intercepted by the man-of-war _warwick_, and seventeen men of the _seahorse_ crew captured by the press-gang for services in the navy. that the _seahorse_ might not be totally without servants, a number of incompetent landsmen were put aboard in their stead. nevertheless, the voyage was continued to the bay, although not without great peril, not arriving until 27th of september. the voyage of the disabled _seahorse_ was long a tradition in the company's service. [sidenote: dobb's petition rejected by a parliamentary committee.] by an order-in-council dated the 4th of february, 1748, a petition from arthur dobbs and members of a committee appointed by the subscribers for finding out a passage to the western and southern ocean of america, "was referred to the consideration of a committee of parliament." after hearing counsel for and against the company, this committee of two members decided that "considering how long the company have enjoyed and acted under this charter without interruption or encroachment, we cannot think it advisable for his majesty to make any express or implied declaration against the validity of it till there has been some judgment of a court of justice to warrant it." dobbs and his friends were enraged at this decision, and lost no time in taking other steps. footnotes: [60] the name of john stanion certainly appears in the list of proprietors of hudson's bay stock, published in 1749, but it is followed by the significant term _deceased_. [61] henry ellis. chapter xxiii. 1748-1760. parliamentary committee of enquiry appointed -aim of the malcontents -lord strange's report -testimony of witnesses -french competition -lords of plantations desire to ascertain limits of company's territory -defeat of the labrador company -wolfe's victory -"locked up in the strong box" -company's forts -clandestine trade -case of captain coats. [sidenote: parliamentary enquiry.] "mr. sharpe, the company's solicitor," we read in the company's minute-books, under date of march 10th, 1748, "attending the committee acquainted them that a motion was yesterday made and carried in the house of commons to enquire into the state and condition of the countries and trade of hudson's bay, and also the right the company pretend to have by charter to the property of the land, and exclusive trade to those countries, and that a committee was appointed accordingly." the adventurers were not caught entirely unawares. they had expected some such move on the part of their opponents, and now determined that since they could not ward off the enquiry, they would take the best means to present the most favourable statement of the company's case to the nation. a ransacking of books and records ensued; and a rigorous search after facts bearing on the beneficent character of the company's rule and policy; and these proofs being at length ready, were placed by the following december in the form of a memorial in the hands of every member of the house of commons. the enquiry aroused the greatest national interest. it began soon after christmas, 1748, and lasted for two months. [sidenote: plea of the malcontents.] what the malcontents desired is, perhaps, best explained in the words of their prime mover: "by opening," said he, "the trade in the bay, many thousands more would be employed in trade, and a much greater vent would be opened for our manufactures. whereas all the gain we have at present, whilst the trade is confined to the company, is the employment of one hundred and twenty men in all their factories, and two or three ships in that trade, manned with perhaps one hundred and twenty men in time of war, to enrich nine or ten[62] merchants at their country's expense; at the same time betraying the nation, by allowing the french to encroach upon us at the bottom of the bay, having given up by that means the greatest part of their trade there to the french. it is, therefore, humbly submitted to the government, whether it is not just, as well as prudent, to open that trade to all the british merchants, and resume at the same time the charter, so far as to take from them all those lands they have not reclaimed or occupied after seventy years possession, leaving them only their factories, and such lands as they have reclaimed adjoining to them; and to give grants as usual in other colonies to all who shall go over to trade and make settlements in the country; for no grants were ever intended to be made to them, to enable them to prevent other subjects of britain from planting colonies in those countries, which they themselves would not plant or occupy; for such a power, instead of being beneficial, would be the greatest prejudice to britain, and is become a general law in the colonies, that those who take grants of land and don't plant them in a reasonable, limited time, forfeit their rights to those lands, and a new grant is made out to such others as shall plant and improve them; and if this grant be not immediately resumed so far and the trade laid open, and some force be not sent to secure our southern possessions in the bay by the government in case there should be a french war, we shall see the french immediately dispossess the company of all their factories but churchill, and all these countries and that trade will be in the possession of the french." so ran the argument of the company's enemies. on the 24th of april, 1749, lord strange presented, on behalf of the select committee, the report to parliament. "the committee," said he, "appointed to enquire into the state and condition of the countries adjoining to hudson's bay and the trade carried on there; and to consider how those countries may be settled and improved, and the trade and fisheries there extended and increased; and also to enquire into the right the company of adventurers trading into hudson's bay pretend to have, by charter, to the property of lands and exclusive trade to those countries; have pursuant to the order of the house, examined into the several matters to them referred. "your committee thought proper, in the first place, to enquire into the nature and extent of the charter granted by king charles the second, to the company of adventurers trading into hudson's bay; under which charter the present company claim as right to lands and an exclusive trade to those countries; which charter being laid before your committee, they thought it necessary for the information of the house to annex a copy thereof to this report." the charter, published now for the first time, was deemed to be valid. [sidenote: witnesses called by the committee.] the committee had examined the witnesses in the case. these witnesses were: joseph robson, who had been employed in the bay for six years as a stonemason; richard white, who had been a clerk at albany fort and elsewhere; matthew sargeant, who had been employed in the company's service and "understood the indian language"; john hayter, who had been house carpenter to the company for six years at moose river; matthew gwynne, who had been twice at hudson's bay; edward thompson, who had been three years at moose river as surgeon; enoch alsop, who had been armourer to the company at moose river; christopher bannister, who had been armourer and gunsmith, and had resided in the bay for twenty-two years; robert griffin, silversmith, who had been five years in the company's service; thomas barnet smith, who went over to albany in 1741; alexander brown, who had been six years at hudson's bay as surgeon; captain thomas mitchell, who had commanded a sloop of the company. besides the above witnesses there was, of course, dobbs himself, who was "examined as to the information he had received from a french-canadese indian (since deceased) who was maintained at the expense of the admiralty, on the prospect of his being of service on the discovery of a north-west passage." dobbs "informed your committee that the whole of that discourse is contained in part of a book printed for the witness in 1744, to which he desired leave to refer."[63] there also appeared captain william moor, who had been employed in hudson's bay from a boy; henry spurling, merchant, who had traded in furs for twenty-eight years past, during which time he had dealt with the hudson's bay company; captain carruthers, who had been in the company's service thirty-five years ago; and arthur slater, who had been employed by the company on the east main. the opposition endeavoured to show that one object aimed at in granting a charter to the hudson's bay company was to further the discovery of the north-west passage. this of course was absurd. it was charged that they had done almost nothing in this direction, which the adventurers on their part rebutted by furnishing parliament with a list of the ships they had fitted out for such a discovery. in the evidence before the committee, it became clear that the witnesses were not unanimous, especially concerning the probability of finding a north-west passage. [sidenote: evidence as to a north-west passage.] the evidence of edward thompson, the ship surgeon on the _furnace_, for example, states that he has the "greatest reason to believe there is one, from the winds, tides and black whales; and he thinks the place to be at chesterfield inlet; that the reason of their coming back was they met the other boat which had been five leagues farther, and the crew told them the water was much fresher and shallower there, but where he was the water was fifty fathoms deep, and the tide very strong; the ebb six hours and the flood two, to the best of his remembrance; that it is not common for the tide to flow only two hours." he imagined it to be obstructed by another tide from the westward. the rapidity of the tide upwards was so great that the spray of the water flew over the bow of the schooner, and was "so salt that it candied on the men's shoes, but the tide did not run in so rapid a manner the other way." captain william moor, being asked if he believed there was a north-west passage to the south seas, said he believed there was a communication, but "whether navigable or not he cannot say; that if there is any such communication, 'tis farther northward than he expected; that if it is but short, as 'tis but probable to conclude from the height of the tides, 'tis possible it might be navigable. it was the opinion of all the persons sent on that discovery that a north-west wind made the highest tides." according to captain carruthers, "he don't apprehend there is any such passage; but if there is, he thinks it impracticable to navigate it on account of the ice; that he would rather choose to go round by cape horn; and that it will be impossible to go and return through such passage in one year; and he thinks 'tis the general opinion of seamen, that there is no such passage." in which opinion the seamen were in the right, although dobbs and his friends were long to hold the contrary. john tomlinson, a london merchant, testified that he was a subscriber to "the undertaking for finding a north-west passage, which undertaking was dropped for want of money; that he should not choose to subscribe again on the same terms; that he can not pretend to say whether there is such a passage or not, or whether, if found, it could ever be rendered useful to navigation." it was only to be expected that the merchants, having no share in the company's profits, should be, to a man, in favour of throwing open the trade of hudson's bay. tomlinson, for example, gave it out as his opinion that if the charter were revoked more ships would be sent and more indians brought down to trade. "this is confirmed," said he, "by the experience of the guinea trade, which, when confined to a company, employed not above ten ships, and now employs one hundred and fifty." he moreover asserted that "the case of the guinea trade was exactly similar, where the ships are near one another, and each endeavours to get the trade; and the more ships lie there the higher the prices of negroes." [sidenote: the company's profits.] the company was obliged, in the course of this enquiry, to divulge a number of facts relating to its trade, which had until then remained secret. parliament was informed that the trade between london and hudson's bay was carried on in 1748, and for some years previous, by means of four ships; that the cost of the exports was in that year £5,012 12s. 3d.; that the value of the sales of furs and other imports amounted to £30,160 5s. 11d. as for the "charge attending the carrying on of the hudson's bay trade, and maintaining their factories," it was, in 1748, £17,352 4s. 10d. thus a trade which involved only £5,000 a year in exports brought back a return of £30,000. even when the outlay for working and maintenance of forts and establishments was considered, there was, in dull times, a profit of forty per cent on actual paid-up capital. with regard to french competition, many of the witnesses were most emphatic. robson, for instance, "thought that the beavers which are brought down to the company are refused by the french from their being a heavy commodity; for the natives who come to trade with the company dispose of their small, valuable furs to the french, and bring down their heavy goods to the company in summer when the rivers are open, which they sell, and supply the french with european goods purchased from the company." "the french," said richard white, another witness, "intercept the indians coming down with their trade," he having seen them with guns and clothing of french manufacture; and further an indian had told him that there was a french settlement up moose river, something to the southward of the west, at the distance, as the witness apprehended, of about fifty miles. "the french deal in light furs, and take all of that sort they can get, and the indians bring the heavy to us. sometimes the indians bring down martens' skins, but that is when they don't meet with the french; but never knew any indians who had met the french bring down light furs. the french settlement on moose river is at abbitibi lake. the trade," concluded the witness, "might be further extended by sending up europeans to winter amongst the natives, which, though the company have not lately attempted, the french actually do." "the french," said another, "intercept the trade; to prevent which the company some time ago built henley house,[64] which did, in some measure, answer the purpose: but if they would build farther in the country it would have a better effect. the french went there first, and are better beloved; but if we would go up into the country the french indians would trade with us." [sidenote: french encroachment on trade.] another of the witnesses testified that he "has been informed by the indians that the french-canadese indians come within six score miles of the english factories. the french indians come to albany to trade for their heavy goods." he said he had heard governor norton say that the "french ran away with our trade." "if," continued this witness, alexander brown, "the trade was opened, the french would not intercept the indians, since in that case the separate traders must have out-factories in the same manner the french have, which the company have not." upon being asked by lord strange if "in case those out-settlements were erected, whether the same trade could be carried on at the present settlements?" the witness replied that "it would be impossible, but that the trade would be extended, and by that means they would take it from the french. that if these settlements were near the french, they must have garrisons to secure them against the french, and the indians who trade with and are in friendship with them (whom he distinguished by the name of french indians)." brown quoted norton as saying, in the year 1739, "that the french had a settlement at about the distance of one hundred or six score miles from churchill, which had been built about a year, and contained sixty men with small arms." the result of the deliberations of the committee of enquiry was, on the whole, favourable to the company. the charter was pronounced unassailable, and the company had made out a good case against its enemies. it had certainly permitted the encroachments of the french. but the english government of the day foresaw that french possession of canada was doomed, and the company could make ample amends when the british flag was unfurled at quebec and at montreal. the company having come out of the ordeal unharmed,[65] the lords of trade and plantations thought it might as well settle in its own mind the precise territory claimed by the company under its charter. the company, on its part, was not forgetful that the french government had not yet paid its little bill, which having been running for over sixty years, had now assumed comparatively gigantic proportions. [sidenote: the government asks the company to define its territory.] accordingly the lords of trade and plantations, on the 25th of july, 1750, addressed a letter to the company, representing that "as it was for the benefit of the plantations that the limits or boundaries of the british colonies on the continent of america should be distinctly known, more particularly as they border on the settlements made by the french, or any foreign nation in america, their lordships desired as exact an account as possible of the limits and boundaries of the territory granted to the company, together with a chart or map thereof, and all the best accounts and vouchers they can obtain to support the same, and particularly, if any, or what settlements have been made by the english on the frontiers towards the lakes, and if any, or what encroachments have been made, and at what period, and to be exact in stating every particular in the history of whatever encroachments have been made, which may serve to place the proceedings in a true light, and confute any right which may at any time be founded upon them." [sidenote: company's reply.] the company replied, among other things, that the said straits and bays "are now so well known, that it is apprehended they stand in no need of any particular description than by the chart or map herewith delivered; and the limits or boundaries of the lands and countries lying round the same, comprised, as your memorialists conceive, in the same grant, are as follows, that is to say: all the lands lying on the east side or coast of the said bay, and extending from the bay eastward to the atlantic ocean and davis' strait, and the line hereafter mentioned as the east and south-eastern boundaries of the said company's territories; and towards the north, all the lands that lie at the north end, or on the north side or coast of the said bay, and extending from the bay northwards to the utmost limits of the lands; then towards the north pole; but where or how these lands terminate is hitherto unknown. and towards the west, all the lands that lie on the west side or coast of the said bay, and extending from the said bay westward to the utmost limits of those lands; but where or how these lands terminate to the westward is also unknown, though probably it will be found they terminate on the great south sea, and towards the south," they propose the line already set out by them, before and soon after the treaty of utrecht, stating that the commissioners under that treaty were never able to bring the settlement of the said limits to a final conclusion; but they urged that the limits of the territories granted to them, and of the places appertaining to the french, should be settled upon the footing above mentioned. the treaty of utrecht stipulated that the french king should restore to great britain in full right forever, hudson's bay, the straits, and all lands, rivers, coasts, etc., there situate. further, that the hudson's bay company be repaid their losses by french hostile incursions and depredations in time of peace. the hudson's bay company now went farther and asked the government to insist that no french vessel should be allowed to pass to the north or north-west of a line drawn from grimington's island and cape perdrix. one of the most feasible plans of the company's foes seemed to be to get hold of some adjacent territory, and from that vantage ground gradually encroach on the chartered preserves. such seems to have been the scheme in july, 1752, when a petition was presented to the lords of trade and plantations, from "several london merchants," who sought a grant of "all that part of america lying on the atlantic ocean on the east part, extending south and north from 52° north latitude from the equinoctial line to 60° of the same north latitude, called labradore or new britain, not at this time possessed by any of his majesty's subjects or the subjects of any christian prince or state." on the receipt of this petition by the government, the hudson's bay company was called upon to say whether it laid claim to this tract. in their reply the honourable adventurers referred to the grant of charles ii. of all rights to trade and commerce of those seas, etc., within entrance of hudson's straits, and of all lands on the coasts and confines thereof; labrador throughout its whole extent, from 60° north latitude to 52°, was therefore alleged to be within their limits. the company was already settled there, and had spent £10,000 on it. moreover, declared the company, it was a barren land, with few beavers or other furs of value. the company suggested that the "london merchants'" aim was to gain a footing and draw off the hudson's bay company's trade, which it hoped would not be permitted. this hope of the adventurers was realized, for the petition of the london merchants was not allowed.[66] france's fatal hour with respect to her sovereignty over canada rapidly approached. in december, 1759, the company wrote as follows to the lords of plantations:- in prospect of an approaching treaty of peace between this nation and france, and in the hope that the great success his majesty's arms have been blessed with, and the many acquisitions that have been thereby gained from the enemy, will enable his majesty to secure to your memorialists satisfaction for the injuries and depredations they have long since suffered from the french, which stands acknowledged by treaty and are stipulated to be made satisfaction for, but through the perfidy of the enemy, and in disregard of the treaty have hitherto remained unsatisfy'd; in which the honour of the nation as well as justice to the individuals, loudly call for redress. halifax and soame jenyns thereupon wrote to pitt in these words: sir,--the governor and company of merchants trading to hudson's bay having presented a memorial to us, stating their claims with respect to limits and other matters provided for by the treaty of utrecht, and praying that in case of a peace with france, his majesty would be graciously pleased to cause satisfaction to be made to them with respect to such claims, pursuant to the stipulations of the tenth and eleventh articles of the said treaty; we beg leave to transmit to you the enclosed copy of the said memorial for his majesty's directions thereupon. [sidenote: conquest of canada.] while england went mad with joy over wolfe's victory at quebec, the company thought the time had, at last, come when the indemnity it claimed so long should be exacted in the treaty of peace which could not be long delayed. but its sanguine expectations were not destined to be realized. in vain did the governor wait at the door of mr. secretary pitts; in vain did lord halifax assure the company's secretary that he would make it his own personal business to have the affair attended to. it was too late in the day.[67] with reason might the company's zealous secretary trace in the minutes: "locked up this day (november 22nd, 1759), in the great iron chest, a book containing estimates of the company's losses sustained from the french, from 1682 to 1688." the "great iron chest" was to hold the book for many a day, and though the company evinced a never-failing alacrity to produce it, yet never was there to be inscribed the words "settled with thanks," at the foot of this "little bill against the french." we have already been made familiar with the character of the company's forts in the bay so late as the reign of queen anne. there had been almost from the beginning a party amongst the honourable adventurers favourable to the erection of strong forts, not built of logs with bastions of stone, but of stone throughout, from the designs of competent engineers. a few years after the company had regained possession of york factory, it built (1718) a wooden fort at churchill river, to which was given the name of prince of wales. in 1730 it constructed another at moose river; and about the same time a small post, capable of containing eight or ten men at slude river, on the east main. in 1720 henley house, one hundred and fifty miles up albany river, was built to contain a garrison of eight men, as a check to the indians who carried on a trade with the french. [sidenote: building of stone forts.] but the wooden fort prince of wales did not remain long. the remembrance of their former posts destroyed by fire, and iberville's cannon, caused the company at length to undertake the fortification on a splendid scale of its best harbour, to safeguard what it designed to be its principal _entrepôt_ from the french, as well as from the indians. opposition was cried down, and the "fortification party," as it was called, carried the day. a massive thirty-feet wide foundation was begun at churchill, from the plans of military engineers who had served under marlborough, and, after many vicissitudes, in 1734 fort prince of wales, one of the strongest forts on the continent, was reared at the mouth of churchill river. [illustration: fort prince of wales.] it was the original intention to have the walls forty-two feet thick at their foundation, but on account of the governor's interference the dimensions were reduced to twenty-five. it was afterwards found, however, that there was a tendency to sink when cannon were fired frequently from the walls, so one section was forthwith pulled down and rebuilt according to original plans. three of the bastions had arches for storehouses, forty feet three inches by ten feet, and in the fourth was built a stone magazine twenty-four feet long and ten feet wide in the clear, with a passage to it through the gorge of the bastion twenty-four feet long and four feet wide. the parapets were originally constructed of wood, supplied by denuding the old fort, situated five miles up the churchill river, the site of which was first occupied in 1688; but in 1746 the company began erecting a stone parapet. robson's plan shows that two houses, a dwelling and office building, were erected inside the fort, and incidentally he describes one of the two as being one hundred and eighty-one feet six inches by thirty-three feet, with side walls seventeen feet high and the roof covered with lead. in 1730 moose, a new fort, was erected on the site of moose factory. about the same time richmond fort was built on whale river, but it did not continue a great many years. i find, under date of 21st december, 1758, that "the governor represented to the committee that richmond fort did not give a sufficient return to pay the most moderate charge of supporting it," and it was "resolved that the company's servants and effects be withdrawn from there as soon as conveniently may be and replaced at such of the company's other factories as shall be found needful." further, it was "resolved that a factory with accommodation for twelve men, with all convenience for trading goods stores, and provisions, be built as early as possible in the year 1760, in the most convenient place for that purpose on the north side of severn river and as high up as may be." at the same time it was ordered that the number of men for york fort and the new settlement to be made on the severn river should be forty-eight men. [sidenote: clandestine trade.] clandestine trade was a constantly recurring feature of eighteenth century life in the bay. charges were repeatedly preferred against the company's servants, and altogether scores were dismissed as a punishment for this offence. it must be confessed that there was often a temptation difficult to resist. nothing seemed more natural for the poor apprentice to trade his jack-knife, jew's-harp or silk kerchief with an indian or esquimau for a peltry; and the only reason, perhaps, why private bartering was not indulged in more generally was the certainty of detection. but with the governors and traders and ship captains, risk was reduced to a minimum. one of the most unfortunate examples was the case of captain coats. this able mariner had been in the employ of the company for a period of many years. none was superior to him in knowledge of the bay and straits. captain coats had been twice shipwrecked, once in 1727, "when near the meridian of cape farewell, when running through the ice with a small sail, when two pieces of ice shutt upon us and sank our ship"; and again in 1736, when he was entangled in the ice off cape resolution, when his ship had her sides crushed in and sank in twenty minutes. coats drew up a journal for the use of his sons, containing an elaborate description of the bay and its approaches, together with a great deal of relative matter; and this journal, which has received the honour of publication by the hakluyt society, concludes by saying that if these sons are neglected by the hudson's bay company they are at liberty, and "it is his will and command that every part be made publick, for the use and benefit of mankind." there is herein, it is almost needless to say, no mention of the captain's clandestine trading operations, which extended over a long series of years, and which might never have been made known to the company had it not been for the sudden death of pilgrim, who was formerly governor at prince of wales and moose fort. a number of private letters and papers reached england, incriminating coats, but they never reached the public; nor in 1752, were the hakluyt society cognisant of the fate which overtook their author. "of the writer," remarks sir john barrow, who edited the volume, "the editor can learn but little; nothing, in fact, is now known of captain coats, except that he was in the company's service as commander of one or other of their ships from 1727 to 1751." he added that the memorial was believed to exist in the company's archives. under date of november 28th, 1751, i find the following: "the governor having acquainted the committee of this affair, and laid the letters and papers before them, they were fully examined and the contents thereof considered." coats was then called in and told of the information they had received, and the cause they had to suspect that he had defrauded the company by carrying on a clandestine trade greatly to their prejudice and contrary to the fidelity he owed the company. [sidenote: case of capt. coats.] coats at first endeavoured to excuse himself, but finding the proofs contained in the letter papers (many of which were in his own handwriting and signature) so strong in evidence against him, at last owned he was guilty of the offence he was accused of and submitted himself to the company, and he was ordered to withdraw while his case was considered. at the expiration of two hours the culprit was called in and acquainted with his sentence, which was dismissal from the service. he was ordered to deliver up the keys of the _king george_, of which he was commander, together with the stores and the keys of such stores in the warehouse in his custody belonging to the company. the disgraced captain went home, and after a miserable existence of some weeks, ended his life by his own hand. on the 20th of february, there is a letter to the company from his widow, mary coats, which was read out to the adventurers assembled. it prayed that the committee would "indulge her so far as to order the balance that shall appear upon her late husband's account to be paid, and to permit her to have the stores brought home, still remaining in the _king george_; the profit of these, urged the widow, had always been enjoyed by every master in the company's services." moved by the appeal, widow coats was called in and informed that provided she delivered up to the company all the books, papers, charts or drafts belonging to her late husband and now in her custody, she might expect to meet with the favour of the company. "for which she returned thanks and promised to comply therewith." but the hakluyt society's publication of coats' journal is sufficient to show that his widow did not keep to the strict letter of her word. footnotes: [62] the number of the adventurers was, before the enquiry of 1749, a mystery. by many it was charged that they were not above a dozen or fifteen. [63] dobbs's "hudson's bay," a hysterical work, which was throughout an attack on captain christopher middleton. [64] 1720 [65] on june 28th, 1749, at a company's meeting, an account was made of the cost of defending the company's charter, upon the motion made in the house of commons. it amounted in the whole to only £755 5s. 10d., exclusive of sharpe, the company solicitor's services. [66] in refusing to advise the granting of a charter to the company's enemies, the attorney-general, sir dudley ryder, and the solicitor-general, sir william murray--afterwards lord mansfield--drew up a lengthy and important paper, reviewing the charges against the company. their conclusion was that either the charges were "not sufficiently supported in point of fact, or were in great measure accounted for from the nature and circumstances of the case." they deemed the charter valid for all practical purposes. [67] "the company being apprehensive that mr. secretary pitts' indisposition should deprive them of an opportunity of conferring with him in due time, with respect to the company's claim on the french nation for depredations in times of peace before the treaty of utrecht, resolved that a petition should be drawn up to his majesty, humbly representing such losses and damages, reciting the tenth and eleventh article of the said treaty, and praying that his majesty will give his plenipotentiaries at the approaching congress for a treaty of peace, such directions as will suffice for justice being done to the company by compensation for such losses. also that the boundaries of hudson's bay may be settled."--_minute book_, may 20th, 1761. chapter xxiv. 1763-1770. effect of the conquest on the fur-trade of the french - indians again seek the company's factories -influx of highlanders into canada -alexander henry -mystery surrounding the _albany_ cleared up -astronomers visit prince of wales' fort -strike of sailors -seizure of furs - measures to discourage clandestine trade. [sidenote: effect of the conquest.] the conquest of canada by the english in 1760[68] had an almost instantaneous effect upon the fur-trade of the french. the system of licenses was swept away with the _régime_ of intendants of new france. the posts which, established chiefly for purposes of trade, were yet military, came to be abandoned, and the officers who directed them turned their disconsolate faces towards france, or to other lands where the flag of the lily still waved. the english colonies were not devoid of diligent traders ready to pursue their calling advantageously: but they shrank from penetrating a country where the enemy might yet lurk, a country of whose approaches, and of whose aspect or inhabitants they knew nothing and feared everything. as for the indians themselves, they, for a time, awaited patiently the advent of the french trader. spring came and found them at the deserted posts. they sought but they could not find; "their braves called loudly, but the sighing trees alone answered their call." despair at first filled the bosoms of the red men when they found that all their winter's toil and hardships in the forest and over the trail had been in vain. they waited all summer, and then, as the white trader came not, wearily they took up their burdens and began their journey anew. for a wise indian had appeared amongst them, and he had said: "fools, why do you trust these white traders who come amongst you with beads, and fire-water and crucifixes? they are but as the crows that come and are gone. but there are traders on the banks of the great lake yonder who are never absent, neither in our time nor in the time of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers. they are like the rock which cannot be moved, and they give good goods and plenty, and always the same. if you are wise you will go hence and deal with them, and never trust more the traders who are like fleas and grasshoppers--here one minute and flown away the next." more than one factor of the company heard and told of this oft-spoken harangue, and many there lived to testify to its effect upon the assembled indians. not even was it forgotten or disregarded years afterwards in the height of the prosperity of the northmen, whose arts of suasion were exercised in vain to induce the red man to forego his journey to york, churchill or cumberland. "no," they would say, "we trade with our friends, as our grandfathers did. our fathers once waited for the french and bostonians to come to their forts, and they lay down and died, and their squaws devoured them, waiting still. you are here to-day, but will you be here to-morrow? no, we are going to trade with the company." and so they pressed on, resisting temptation, wayward, though loyal, enduring a long and rough journey that they might deal with their friends. [sidenote: the "coureurs de bois."] thus for some years the company prospered, and did a more thriving business than ever. but before, however, dealing with the new _régime_, let us turn for a moment to the canadian bushrangers and voyageurs thus cut off from their homes and abandoned by their officers and employers. their occupation was gone--whither did they drift? too long had they led the untrammelled life of the wilderness to adjust again the fetters of a civilized life in montreal or quebec; they were attached to their brave and careless masters; these in many instances they were permitted to follow; but large numbers dispersed themselves amongst the indians. without capital they could no longer follow the fur-trade; they were fond of hunting and fishing; and so by allying themselves with indian wives, and by following the pursuits and adopting the customs of the red men, themselves became virtually savages, completely severed from their white fellows. but an influx of scotch highlanders had been taking place in canada ever since 1745, and some of these bold spirits were quick to see the advantages of prosecuting, without legal penalty, a private trade in furs. to these were added english soldiers, who were discharged at the peace, or had previously deserted. how many of these were slain by the aborigines, and never more heard of, can never be computed; but it is certain that many more embarked in the fur-trade and fell victims to the tomahawk, torch, hunger and disease than there is any record of. [sidenote: hostility of the indians to the english.] it is certain, also, that the hostility of the tribes, chief amongst them the iroquois, to the english, was very great, and this hostility was nourished for some years by the discontented bushrangers and voyageurs. in the action of pontiac at detroit, and the surprise and capture of michilimackinac with its attendant horrors, there is ample proof, both of the spirit animating the indians, and the danger which went hand in hand with the new trade in furs. [illustration: a blackfoot brave. (_drawn by edmund morris, after photo._)] the first of these english traders at michilimackinac to penetrate into the west, where the french had gone, is said to be thomas curry. this man, having by shrewdness and ability procured sufficient capital for the purpose, engaged guides and interpreters, purchased a stock of goods and provisions, and with four canoes reached fort bourbon, which was situated at the western extremity of cedar lake, on the waters of the saskatchewan. his venture was successful, and he returned to montreal with his canoes loaded with fine furs. but he never expressed a desire to repeat the performance, although it was not long before his example was followed by many others. james finlay was the first of these; he penetrated to nipawee, the last of the french posts on the saskatchewan, in latitude 53½, and longitude 103. this trader was equally successful. [sidenote: henry's expedition.] after a career of some years in the vicinity of michilimackinac, of a general character, identical with that pursued a hundred years before by groseilliers, another intrepid trader, alexander henry, decided to strike off into the north-west. he left "the sault," as sault ste. marie was called, on the 10th of june, 1775, with goods and provisions to the value of £3,000 sterling, on board twelve small canoes and four larger ones. each small canoe was navigated by three men, and each larger one by four. on the 20th they encamped at the mouth of the pijitic. it was by this river, he tells us, that the french ascended in 1750, when they plundered one of the company's factories in the bay, and carried off the two small pieces of brass cannon, which fell again into english hands at michilimackinac. but here henry fell into error; for it was by the river michipicoten that the french went, and the factory plundered of its adornments was moose, not churchill, and the year 1756, not 1750. henry himself was going on a sort of plundering expedition against the company, which was to be far more effective in setting an example to others, than any the french had yet carried through. everywhere as he passed along there were evidences of the recent french occupation. to return to 1767, this year had witnessed a clearing up of the mystery surrounding the fate of the _albany_, the first of the vessels sent by the company to search for a north-west passage. [illustration: alexander henry.] [sidenote: fate of the "albany."] the company was at that time carrying on a black whale fishery, and marble island was made the rendezvous, not merely on account of the commodious harbour, but because of the greater abundance of whales there. under these circumstances the boats, when on the lookout for fish, had frequent occasion to row close to the island, which led to the discovery, at the easternmost extremity, of a new harbour.[69] upon landing at this place, the crews made a startling discovery. they found english guns, anchors, cables, bricks, a smith's anvil, and many other articles lying on the ground, which, though they were very old, had not been defaced by the hand of time, and which having been apparently without use to the native esquimaux, and too heavy to be removed by them, had not been removed from the spot where they had originally been laid a little farther inland. the whalers beheld the remains of a frame house,[70] which, though half destroyed by the esquimaux for the wood and iron, yet could plainly be seen at a distance. lastly, when the tide ebbed in the harbour there became visible the hulls of two craft, lying sunk in five fathoms of water. the figurehead of one of these vessels, together with the guns and other implements, was shortly afterwards carried to england. the hypothesis of governor norton was instantly and only too correctly espoused by the company. on this inhospitable island, where neither stick nor stump was, nor is to be seen, and which lies sixteen miles from a mainland, no less inhospitable, perished knight, barlow, and the other members of the exploring expedition of 1719. thus was a fate nearly half a century in the balance ascertained at last. two years later some members of a whaling party landed at this same harbour, and one of their number, perceiving some aged esquimaux, determined to question them on the matter. "this," says the narrator, "we were the better enabled to do by the assistance of an esquimau, who was then in the company's service as a linguist, and annually sailed in one of their vessels in that character. the account received from these aged natives was 'full, clear and unreserved,' and its purport was in this wise: "when the doomed vessels arrived at marble island, it was late in the autumn of 1719, and in making the harbour through the ice, the larger was considerably damaged. the party landed safely, however, and at once set about building the house. as soon as the ice permitted, in the following summer, the esquimaux paid them a further visit, and observed that the white strangers were largely reduced in number and that the survivors were very unhealthy in appearance. according to the account given by these esquimaux, these were very busily employed, but the nature of their employment they could not easily describe. it is probable they were lengthening the long-boat or repairing the ship, and to support this conjecture, forty-eight years later there lay, at a little distance from the house, a quantity of oak chips, 'most assuredly made by carpenters.'" much havoc must have been thenceforward wrought among the explorers, who could not repair their ship, which even may by this time have been sunk; and by the second winter, only twenty souls out of fifty remained. [sidenote: wretched death of knight and his men.] that same winter, some of the esquimaux had taken up their abode on the opposite side of the harbour to the english, and frequently supplied them with such provisions as they had, which consisted chiefly of whale's blubber, seal's flesh and train oil. when the spring advanced, the natives crossed over to the mainland, and upon visiting marble island in the summer of 1721 found only five of the white men alive, and those in such distress that they instantly seized upon and devoured the seal's flesh and whale blubber, given them in trade by their visitors, in a raw state. this occasioned a severe physical disorder which destroyed three of the five; and the other two, though very weak made shift to bury their dead comrades. these two survivors eked out a wretched existence for many weeks, frequently resorting to the summit of an adjacent rock, in the vain hope of being seen by some relief party. but alas, they were doomed to a daily disappointment; the esquimaux themselves had little to offer them; and at last they were seen by the wandering natives to crouch down close together and cry aloud like children, the tears rolling down their cheeks. first one of the pair died, and then the other, in an attempt to dig a grave for his fellow. the esquimau who told the story, led the whalers to the spot and showed them the skulls and the larger bones of the luckless pair, then lying above ground not a great distance from the dwelling. it is believed that the last survivor must have been the armourer or smith of the expedition, because according to the account given by the aborigines, he was always employed in working iron into implements for them, some of which they could still show. there flourished in 1768 the body known as the "royal society for improving natural knowledge." this society wrote to the company, requesting that two persons might be conveyed to and from fort churchill in hudson's bay, in some of the company's ships, "to observe the passage of venus over the sun, which will happen on the 3rd of june, 1769." it was desired that these persons might be maintained by the company, and furnished with all necessary articles while on board and on shore. the company was asked to furnish them with materials and the assistance of servants to erect an observatory; the society engaging to recoup the company's whole charge, and desiring an estimate of the expense. [sidenote: astronomers at hudson's bay, 1769.] the company expressed itself as "ready to convey the persons desired, with their baggage and instruments, to and from fort churchill, and to provide them with lodging and medicine while there, _gratis_, they to find their own bedding." the company demanded £250 for diet during the absence of the astronomers from england, which would be about eighteen months. the adventurers recommended the society to send the intended building in frame, with all necessary implements, tools, etc., which "will be conveyed upon freight, the royal society likewise paying for any clothing that may be supplied the observers during their residence in hudson's bay." it is interesting to record that the expedition was entirely successful. the two astronomers went out to prince of wales' fort, and returned in the _prince rupert_, after having witnessed the transit of venus on the 3rd of june, 1769. towards the middle of the century there had grown up a deep prejudice and opposition towards the hudson's bay company from the sailors and watermen who frequented the thames. it was alleged that the company did nothing to make itself popular; its rules were strict and its wages to seamen were low, albeit it had never suffered very much from this prejudice until the return of the middleton expedition. many absurd stories became current as to the company's policy and the life led by the servants at the factories. these travellers' tales had been thoroughly threshed out by the enquiry of 1749. the opponents of the company had told their "shocking narratives." it was only natural, perhaps, that these should be passed about from mouth to mouth, and so become exaggerated beyond bounds. upon the discharge and death of captain coats a demonstration against the company had been talked of at wapping and gravesend, but nothing came of it but a few hootings and bawlings as the ships sailed away on their annual voyages to the bay. by 1768, however, the dissatisfaction had spread to the company's own seamen, and now took an active form. the time was well chosen by the malcontents, because the public were ready at that time to sympathize with the movement for the amelioration of the conditions which characterized the merchant service generally. [sidenote: the company's seamen strike.] a numerous body of seamen forcibly entered the company's ships in the river thames, demanding that wages should be raised to 40s. per month. they struck the topgallant masts and yards, and lowered the lower yards close down, and got them in fore and aft. the consequence was that the crews of the company's ships and brigantine were compelled to quit their vessels. the moment the tidings of this reached the governor and company it was deemed advisable for the deputy governor, thomas berens and james fitzgerald, esquires, to "attend his majesty's principal secretaries of state, and such other gentlemen in the administration as they shall find necessary, and represent the urgent situation of the company's affairs in general." this was done forthwith, and the facts of the situation placed before viscount weymouth and sir edward hawke first lord of the admiralty. secretary of state weymouth appeared well disposed to do all the service in his power to redress the present grievances; that a memorial should be presented on the company's behalf. while the memorial was being drawn up, the three captains acquainted the commissioners that under the present disturbances on the river thames, they should not be able to secure the seamen they had already got, without allowing their sailors 40s. per month. it was then the 18th of may, and the company considered that the lives of its servants abroad, and the event of the intended voyage, would not admit of delay. they therefore told their three captains, and the master of the _charlotte_, brigantine, that they would allow the sailors 35s. per month from their respective entries to this day, inclusive, and 40s. per month from this day for their voyage out and home. hardly had this been done than a letter was received expressing lord weymouth's great concern on being informed that the company's ships had been prevented from sailing until a promise was made to raise the seamen's wages, and that some acts of violence had been committed to effect their purpose. from the strong assurance his lordship had received that there was no danger of any obstacle to delay the voyages, he was almost ready to doubt the rumour. berens called on weymouth and informed him that the company's critical situation had already obliged the company to acquiesce in the demand of 40s. per month for the seamen's wages. no acts of violence were committed on board the company's ship, other than that the crews were daily forced against their inclination to join the rioters. the ships were at length got down to greenwich and proceeded on their voyage with despatch. but the company was not yet out of the wood. clandestine trade was to be again its bogey. the disaffection had been temporarily arrested amongst the sailors: but they were hardly prepared to learn that it extended to the captains themselves, who had, however, the best of reasons for concealing their feelings. when the ships came home in the following year the company received information that a seizure of furs and other valuable goods brought from hudson's bay had been made since the arrival of the company's ships that season. communication was entered into with the commissioners of customs requesting a particular account of such seizures either from the company's ships or other places, "in order that the commissioners may pursue an enquiry for detecting the frauds that have been committed to the prejudice of his majesty's revenue and the interest of the company." [sidenote: clandestine trade by the company's captains.] suspicion for the loss of numerous packages of furs now began to fasten itself upon one of the company's captains, horner of the _seahorse_. horner acknowledged that he was not altogether ignorant that the furs had been abstracted from the hold of his ship. the company deliberated on his case, and it was "unanimously resolved that the said john horner be discharged from the company's service." the other captains were now called in and acquainted with the reasons for captain horner's discharge. the adventurers declared their determination to make the like public example of all persons who should be found to be concerned in clandestine trade. in the following year the company came to a wise decision. taking into consideration the state of its trade and the many frauds that "have been practised and detected," it was concluded that such frauds were connived at by the company's chief factors and captains, who were not only privy thereto, but in consideration for some joint interest, permitted this illicit trade to be carried on. [sidenote: salaries increased.] the company seems to have thought that the chief factors and captains might have been tempted to these nefarious practices by the smallness of their respective salaries, and therefore in the hope of securing their fidelity and encouraging diligence and industry, and the extending of the company's trade to the utmost to the benefit of the company and the revenue, it was decided that a salary of £130 per annum be allowed the chief factors at york, albany, and prince of wales' fort; also the factors about to be appointed at moose fort and severn house, "in lieu of former salaries, and all trapping gratuities, and perquisites whatever, except a servant, which is to be allowed to them as before." a gratuity was to be given to all chief factors of three shillings upon every score of made beaver which they consigned and "which shall actually be brought home to the company's account." to the captains a gratuity was decreed of one shilling and sixpence per score of made beaver which they should bring to the company's warehouse in good saleable condition. to prevent any loss from rioters or dissatisfied sailors the company decided, in 1770, to insure their ships and goods for the first time in its history. the secretary made enquiries at the london assurance office, and reported that the premium would be five per cent. per annum on each ship during their being in dock, or on the river thames above gravesend; and the same on the ships' stores while they continued in the company's warehouse at ratcliff. whereupon the company insured each of its three ships for £2,000, and the ships' stores in the above warehouse for £3,000. footnotes: [68] france ceded to england "canada with all its dependencies," reserving only such part of what had been known as canada as lay west of the mississippi. the watershed between the missouri and the mississippi rivers had been the boundary between canada and louisiana when both were owned by france, and by the treaty of 1763 the river mississippi was agreed to as the future boundary between the english and french possessions in that quarter; the language of the treaty being, "that the confines between [france and england] in that part of the world shall be fixed irrevocably by a line drawn along the middle of the river mississippi from its source [etc.], to the sea." very soon after this treaty, viz., on 7th october, 1763, the province of quebec was erected by royal proclamation, but the province as then constituted took in very little of what was afterwards upper canada and what is now ontario; the most north-westerly point was lake nipissing; the whole of the territory adjacent to the great lakes was excluded. in 1774 the boundaries of quebec were enlarged by the quebec act. that act recited that "by the arrangements made by the said royal proclamation a very large extent of territory, within which were several colonies and settlements of subjects of france, who claimed to remain therein under the faith of the said treaty, was left without any provision being made for the administration of civil government therein." the act, therefore, provided that "all the territories, islands and countries in north america belonging to the crown of great britain, bounded on the south by a line" therein described, "from the bay of chaleurs to the river ohio, and along the bank of the said river, westward, to the banks of the mississippi, and northward to the southern boundary of the territory granted to the merchants-adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay," etc., "be, and they are hereby, during his majesty's pleasure, annexed to and made part and parcel of the province of quebec as created and established by the said royal proclamation of the 7th october, 1763." [69] it is not a little singular that neither middleton, ellis, christopher, johnston nor garbet, all of which explorers had visited marble island prior to 1767, and some of them often, ever discovered this harbour. the actual discoverer was joseph stephens, commanding the _success_, a small vessel employed in the whale fishery. two years later stephens was given the command of the _charlotte_, a fine brig of 100 tons, his mate then being samuel hearne, the explorer. [70] "i have seen," wrote governor hearne, "the remains of those houses several times; they are on the west side of the harbour, and in all probability will be discernible for many years to come." chapter xxv. 1768-1773. reports of the "great river" -company despatch samuel hearne on a mission of discovery -norton's instructions -saluted on his departure from the fort -first and second journeys - matonabee -results of the third journey -the company's servants in the middle of the century -death of governor norton. [sidenote: the "great river."] some northern indians, who came to trade at prince of wales' fort in the spring of 1768, brought further accounts of the "great river," as they persisted in calling it, and also produced several pieces of copper, as specimens of a mine long believed by the traders to exist in the vicinity. this determined governor norton to represent it to the company as a matter well worthy their attention. as he went that year to england, he was given the opportunity of doing so in person; and in consequence of his representations, the committee resolved to despatch an intelligent person by land to observe the latitude and longitude of the river's mouth, and to make a chart of the country traversed, with such observations as might lead to a better knowledge of the region. an intelligent mariner, samuel hearne, then in the company's employ as mate of the brig _charlotte_, was selected for the mission.[71] [sidenote: hearne's expedition of discovery.] before starting on his journey in 1769, hearne received full instructions from moses norton, the governor. he was provided with an escort and was urged to cultivate, as he went, friendly relations with the indians. "smoke your calumet of peace with their leaders in order to establish a friendship with them." he was equipped with instruments, and was required to take account of latitude and longitude of the chief points visited; he was to seek for a north-west passage through the continent. but a more immediate and practical matter was dwelt upon in his letter. "be careful to observe what mines are near the river,[72] what water there is at the river's mouth, how far the woods are from the seaside, the course of the river, the nature of the soil, and the productions of it; and make any other remarks that you may think will be either necessary or satisfactory. and if the said river be likely to be of any utility, take possession of it on behalf of the hudson's bay company by cutting your name on some of the rocks, and also the date of the year, month, etc." hearne promised to follow these instructions implicitly, and soon after daybreak on the morning of the 6th of november, the occupants of the fort assembled to witness the intrepid explorer's departure. a salute of seven guns and a ringing cheer thrice repeated was responded to by hearne, already on his way, with a wave of his cap. [illustration: dobbs' map, 1744.] he had not gone far, however, when dissatisfaction broke out amongst his party. first one indian guide deserted him and then another; but trusting to the fidelity of the rest hearne pressed forward. at last, nearly the whole party left him, taking at the same time several bags of powder and shot, his hatchets, chisels and files. his chief guide, chaw-chin-ahaw, now advised the explorer to return, and announced his own intention of travelling to his own tribe in the south-west. "thus," says hearne, "they set out, making the woods ring with their laughter, and left us to consider our unhappy situation, nearly two hundred miles from prince of wales' fort, all heavily laden, and in strength and spirits greatly reduced by hunger and fatigue." mortifying as the prospect of return was, it was inevitable. they arrived on the 11th of december, to the astonishment of norton and the company's servants. [sidenote: second expedition.] but hearne was not to be daunted. on the 23rd of february he again set out with five indians. this time his journey was a succession of short stages, with intervals of a whole day's rest between. these intervals were occupied in killing deer, or in seeking for fish under the ice with nets. on one occasion they spent a day in building a more permanent tent, where they waited for the flights of goose to appear. the course had been in a general north-western direction from the churchill river, but on the 10th of june the party abandoned the rivers and lakes and struck out into the barren lands. the following narrative by hearne is interesting, because up to that moment no servant of the company had ever seen a live musk ox, that "now rare denizen of the northern solitudes." "we had not walked above seven or eight miles before we saw three musk oxen grazing by the side of a small lake. the indians immediately went in pursuit of them, and as some were expert hunters they soon killed the whole of them. this was, no doubt, very fortunate, but to our great mortification before we could get one of them skinned, such a fall of rain came on as to put it out of our power to make a fire, which, even in the finest weather, could only be made of moss, as we were nearly a hundred miles from any woods. this was poor comfort for people who had not broken their fast for four or five days. necessity, however, has no law, and having before been initiated into the method of eating raw meat, we were the better prepared for this repast. but this was by no means so well relished, either by me or the southern indians, as either raw venison or raw fish had been; for the flesh of the musk-ox is not only coarse and tough, but smells and tastes so strong of musk as to make it very disagreeable when raw, though it is tolerable eating when properly cooked. the weather continued so remarkably bad, accompanied with constant heavy rain, snow and sleet, and our necessities were so great by the time the weather permitted us to make a fire, that we had nearly eaten to the amount of one buffalo quite raw." [sidenote: hardships of the journey.] what severities of hardship were endured by our traveller may be judged from his description. "we have fasted many times," he declares, "two whole days and nights; twice upwards of three days, and once, while at shethaunee, near seven days, during which we tasted not a mouthful of anything except a few cranberries, water, scraps of old leather and burnt bones. on these pressing occasions i have frequently seen the indians examine their wardrobe, which consisted chiefly of skin clothing, and consider what part could best be spared; sometimes a piece of an old, half-rotten deerskin, and others a pair of old shoes, were sacrificed to alleviate extreme hunger." it was while in the midst of these sufferings and bitter experiences, which required all the traveller's courage to endure that a disaster of a different order happened. it was the 11th of august. hearne had reached a point some five hundred miles north-west of churchill. it proving rather windy at noon, although otherwise fine, he had let his valuable quadrant stand, in order to obtain the latitude more exactly by two altitudes. he then retired to eat his mid-day meal. suddenly he was startled by a crash, and looking in the direction, found that a gust of wind had overturned the instrument and sent it crashing to earth. as the ground where it stood was very stony, the bubble, sight-vane and vernier were entirely broken to pieces, and the instrument thus destroyed. in consequence of this misfortune, the traveller resolved to retrace his steps wearily back to prince of wales' fort. when he had arrived at churchill river he had met the friendly chief, matonabee,[73] who at once, and with charming simplicity, volunteered a reason for the troubles which had overtaken the white explorer. he had taken no women with him on his journey. said matonabee: [sidenote: the indian's estimate of woman.] "when all the men are heavy-laden they can neither hunt nor travel to any considerable distance; and in case they meet with success in hunting, who is to carry the product of their labour? women," added he, "were made for labour; one of them carry or haul as much as two men can do. they also pitch our tents, make and mend our clothing, keep up our fires at night, and, in fact, there is no such thing as travelling any considerable distance, or for any length of time, in this country, without their assistance. women," he observed again, "though they do everything, are maintained at a trifling expense, for as they always act as cooks, the very licking of their fingers in scarce times is sufficient for their subsistence." hearne did not reach the fort till towards the close of november. on the 21st he thus describes the weather: "that night we lay on the south shore of egg river, but long before daybreak the next morning, the weather being so bad, with a violent gale of wind from the north-west, and such a drift of snow that we could not have a bit of fire; and as no good woods were near to afford us shelter, we agreed to proceed on our way, especially as the wind was on our backs; and though the weather was bad near the surface we could frequently see the moon and sometimes the stars, to direct us in our course. in this situation we continued walking the whole day, and it was not until after ten at night that we could find the smallest tuft of wood to put up in; for though we well knew we must have passed by several hummocks of shrubby wood that might have afforded us some shelter, yet the wind blew so hard and the snow drifted so excessively thick that we could not see ten yards before us the whole day." that night his dog, a valuable animal, was frozen to death, and after that there was nothing for it but he must himself haul his heavy sledge over the snowdrifts. twice baffled, yet the intrepid explorer was far from being swerved from his purpose. not even the distrust of norton, who wrote home to the company that hearne was unfit for the task in hand, could discourage him from making a third attempt. on this journey, his plan was to secure the company and assistance of matonabee, and three or four of the best indians under that chief; and this was put into practice on the 7th of december, 1770. this time the departure took place under different auspices. there was no firing of cannon from the fort, no cheering, and no hearty godspeeds from the governor and his staff. again, similar adventures to those encountered the first two journeys were met with. hearne cultivated the friendship of strange, but not hostile, savages as he went along. in one locality he took part in "snaring deer in a pound," or large stockade. the rest of the winter was spent in such a succession of advances as the weather and state of the country permitted. in april it was possible to obtain supplies of birch wood staves for tent poles, and birch rind and timber for building canoes. spring enabled the party to proceed with greater rapidity, and at last a rendezvous at a place called clowey was reached. from this point the final dash for the coppermine river, the main object of the expedition, must be made. at clowey some hundreds of indians joined the little party to proceed to the coppermine, and thus it grew suddenly into a military expedition, for the tribe was bent on making war on the esquimaux, should the latter be discovered. [sidenote: the expedition reaches the arctic.] the long-desired spot was attained at last. on the 14th of july hearne and his party looked out over the dancing surface of the coppermine river, and descending this stream to its mouth beheld the arctic ocean. hearne thus being the first white man to reach the northern sea from the interior. says the explorer: "in those high latitudes, and at this season of the year, the sun is always at a good height over the horizon, so that we not only had daylight, but sunshine the whole night; a thick fog and drizzling rain then came on, and finding that neither the river nor sea were likely to be of any use, i did not think it worth while to wait for fair weather to determine the latitude exactly by an observation. for the sake of form, however, after having had some consultation with the indians, i erected a mark and took possession of the coast, on behalf of the hudson's bay company. i was not provided with instruments for cutting on stone, but i cut my name, date of the year, etc., on a piece of board that had been one of the indian's targets, and placed it in a heap of stones on a small eminence near the entrance of the river, on the south side." "it is, indeed," remarks hearne, "well known to the intelligent and well-informed part of the company's servants, that an extensive and numerous tribe of indians, called e-arch-e-thinnews, whose country lies far west of any of the company's or canadian settlements, must have traffic with the spaniards on the west side of the continent; because some of the indians who formerly traded to york fort, when at war with those people, frequently found saddles, bridles, muskets, and many other articles in their possession which were undoubtedly of spanish manufacture."[74] [sidenote: hearne returns to england.] hearne went home to england and related his experiences in a paper read before his employers, the honorable adventurers.[75] it was not until some years later that it was discovered that he had, either in ignorance or, according to one of his enemies named dalrymple, "in a desire to increase the value of his performance," placed the latitude of the coppermine at nearly 71 degrees north instead of at about 67½ degrees. hearne's own apology was that after the breaking of his quadrant[76] on the second expedition, he was forced to employ an old elton quadrant, which had for thirty years been amongst the relics and rubbish of prince of wales' fort. but the geographical societies were indignant at having been thus imposed upon. "i cannot help observing," wrote hearne, "that i feel myself rather hurt at mr. dalrymple's rejecting my latitude in so peremptory a manner and in so great a proportion as he has done; because before i arrived at cange-cath-a-whachaga, the sun did not set during the whole night, a proof that i was then to the northward of the arctic circle." hearne's journey, considering the epoch in which it was undertaken, the life led by the company's servants at the forts, and the terrible uncertainties incident to plunging into an icy wilderness, with no security against hunger or the attacks of savages, was greater than it really appeared, and without doubt paved the way for the company's new policy. with the ship which brought hearne over from england came a large number of young orkney islanders. [sidenote: company employ orkney islanders.] the labouring servants, as has been seen, were first in 1712, and from about 1775 onwards, procured from the orkney islands, their wages being about £6 a year. they were engaged by the captains of the ships, usually for a period of five years. each servant signed a contract on his entrance into the service to serve for the term and not to return home until its expiration, unless recalled by the company. he engaged during his passage back to do duty as watch on board ship without extra pay; but that which was the last and principal clause of the agreement related to illicit trading. he was bound in the most solemn manner not to detain, secrete, harbour or possess any skin or part of a skin, on any pretence whatever; but on the contrary, he was to search after and detect all persons who might be disposed to engage in this species of speculation. should he detect any such, he was to expose them to the governor. if contrary to this agreement, any persons should be found bold enough to conceal any peltry or otherwise infringe his contract, they were to forfeit all the wages due them by the company. although a further penalty was nominally exacted under the contract, that of a fine of two years' pay, it was rarely carried into effect, and then only when the delinquent was believed to have largely profited by his illegal transaction. in the early days when a servant's time expired and he was about to return home, the governor in person was supposed to inspect his chest, even examining his bedding and other effects, to see that it contained not even the smallest marten skin. an almost equally rigorous surveillance attended the sending of private letters and parcels, not merely in the bay alone, but in london. in the latter case, the parcel of clothing, etc., intended for the company's distant servant, was first obliged to be sent to the hudson's bay house, and there undergo a careful examination for fear it should contain anything used in private trade. during the time that the indians were at the posts trading their furs, the gates were continually kept closed, it being the regular employment of one person to see that no one made his exit for fear he should attempt a private barter with the indians. while this rule was rarely relaxed, yet it was not at all of the forts that a too strict watch was kept on the movements of the employees. at york fort, however, during the eighteenth century, if a servant wished to take a walk on a sunday afternoon, at a time when no natives were trading, it was first necessary to apply to the governor for leave. of the run of the company's servants in the latter half of the eighteenth century, a writer of that day has said of them: "they are a close, prudent, quiet people, strictly faithful to their employers," adding that they were "sordidly avaricious." whilst these young scotchmen were scattered about the country in small parties amongst the indians, their general behaviour won them the respect of the savages, as well as procured them their protection. it is a significant fact that for the first fifteen years of the new _régime_ the company did not suffer the loss of a single man, notwithstanding that their servants were annually exposed to all the dangers incident to the trade and times. [sidenote: character of the company's traders.] it was observed that very few of the canadian servants were to be entirely trusted with even a small assortment of goods, unless some substantial guarantee were first exacted. the chances were ten to one that the master would be defrauded of the whole stock of merchandise, often through the medium of the indian women, who were quick to perceive what an easy prey was the one and how difficult the other. the french-canadian traders were brave and hardy; apt in learning the habits and language of the indians; dexterous canoemen and of a lively, not to say boisterous, disposition; but none of these qualities, nor all together, were often the means of earning the respect and trust of the natives. and it must not be imagined that these talents and accomplishments were limited to the canadians, even in the earliest days of rivalry. "though such may be the sentiments of their employers," wrote one of the company's factors, "let these gentlemen for a while look around them and survey without prejudice the inhabitants of our own hemisphere, and they will find people who are brought up from their infancy to hardships, and inured to the inclemency of the weather from their earliest days; they will also find people who might be trusted with thousands, and who are much too familiarized to labour and fatigue to repine under the pressure of calamity as long as their own and their master's benefit is in view. i will further be bold to say that the present servants of the company may be led as far inland as navigation is practicable, with more ease and satisfaction to the owners, than the same number of canadians." the former, it was noted, would be always honest, tractable and obedient, as well from inclination as from fear of losing their pecuniary expectations; whereas the latter, being generally in debt, and having neither good name, integrity nor property to lose, were always neglectful of the property committed to their charge. whenever difficulties arose there was never wanting some amongst them to impede the undertaking. [sidenote: the council at the forts.] the governor at each factory occasionally had a person to act with him, who was known as the second or under-factor. these, with the surgeon and the master of the sloop, constituted a council, who were supposed to deliberate in cases of emergency or upon affairs of importance. amongst the latter were classed the reading of the company's general letter, received annually and inditing a reply to it; the encroachments of their french, at a later period, canadian rivals; or the misbehaviour of the servants. in these councils very little regard, it seems, was paid to the opinion of the subordinate members, who rather desired to obtain the governor's favour by acquiescence rather than his resentment by opposition. the governors were appointed for either three or five years, and their nominal salary was from £50 to £150 per annum, which the premium on the trade often trebled and sometimes quadrupled. these officials commonly reigned as absolute in their petty commands as eastern nabobs; and as it was in a governor's power to render the lives of those under them happy or unhappy as they chose, it was only natural that the inferior servants were most diligent in cultivating their good will. it was out of the power, of course, for any aggrieved or dissatisfied servant to return home until the ships came, and if he then persisted in his intention, the payment of his wages was withheld until the company should decide upon his character, which was furnished in writing by the governor. although the voice of an inferior servant counted but little when opposed to the governor, yet there are few instances when the company, in parting with a servant, refused him his wages in full. it is an old axiom that austerity is acquired by a term of absolute petty dominion, so that it is not remarkable that the company's early governors were distinguished by this trait in the fullest degree. "i had an opportunity," wrote one former factor, "of being acquainted with many governors in my time. i could single out several whose affability and capacity merited a better employment. some i have known who despised servility and unworthy deeds; but this was only for a time, and while young in their stations." such criticism, while doubtless unjust, had yet, applied generally, a basis of truth. [sidenote: character of the trading governors.] robson complains of a governor at churchill, in his time, who had a thousand times rendered himself obnoxious to society. but perhaps the company had never in its employ a more eccentric and choleric official than the governor who was in command of york factory from 1773 to 1784. it is said of him that his bad name extended even across the atlantic and reached the orkney isles, where the malevolence of his disposition became a by-word, and restrained many youths from entering the company's service. intoxication seems to have been this governor's principal delight, and this was often gratified at the expense of common prudence, as when the french captured york factory in 1782; no common spirits being on hand, he procured raw alcohol from the surgeon, of which he drank several bumpers to raise his courage. although most of the company's early trading governors were, in spite of their tempers and habits, persons of education and intelligence, yet there were occasional exceptions. one, governor hughes, was said to be incapable of casting up a simple sum in addition; numeral characters being almost unknown to him; nor was his success in writing his own name greater. yet his courage and business ability was beyond question. it has already been observed that the company were accustomed to treat with much deference, and to place great reliance upon their chief factors while these were at their posts in the bay; yet it must not be supposed that the same consideration was extended to them on their return home. a governor, it was said by one of the company's servants, might attend the hudson's bay house, and walk about their hall for a whole day without the least notice being taken of his attendance. it is related that one such governor, after having served the company for a matter of seventeen years, went home in 1782, expecting to reap in person some of the rewards of his faithful service in the compliments and attentions of the adventurers as a body. but, to his chagrin, not the slightest notice was taken of him, and he returned without having even been introduced to a single partner. [sidenote: death of governor norton.] on the 29th of december, 1773, there died one of the notable characters in the bay, governor moses norton. norton was an indian half-breed, the son of a previous governor, richard norton. he was born at prince of wales' fort, but had been in england nine years, and considering the small sum spent on his education, had made considerable progress in literature. at his return to the bay, according to hearne, he entered into all the abominable vices of his countrymen. he established a seraglio, in which figured five or six of the most comely indian maidens. yet, although somewhat lax in his morality himself, he seems to have been by no means indulgent to others. to his own friends and relatives, the indians and half-breeds, it is said, he was "so partial that he set more value on, and showed more respect to, one of their favourite dogs than he ever did to his first officer." this is probably a spiteful exaggeration, but it is certain that norton, although a man of ability, was not very popular. his great desire was to excite admiration for his skilful use of drugs. "he always," declared one of the governor's enemies, "kept about him a box of poison to administer to those who refused him their wives or daughters." with all these bad qualities, no man took greater pains to inculcate virtue, morality and continence upon others; always painting in the most glaring colours the jealous and revengeful disposition of the indians, when any attempt was made to violate the chastity of their wives and daughters. his apartments at the fort were not only convenient, but had some pretensions to elegance, and were always crowded with his favourites. as this governor advanced in years, his jealousy increased, and it is said he actually poisoned two of his women because he thought they had transferred their affections elsewhere. he had the reputation of being a most notorious smuggler; but though he put many thousands into the pockets of the company's captains, he seldom put a shilling into his own. footnotes: [71] from the good opinion we entertain of you, and mr. norton's recommendation, we have agreed to raise your wages to £130 per annum for two years, and have placed you in our council at prince of wales' fort; and we should have been ready to advance you to the command of the _charlotte_, according to your request, if a matter of more immediate consequence had not intervened. mr. norton has proposed an inland journey, far to the north of churchill, to promote an extension of our trade, as well as for the discovery of a north-west passage, copper mines, etc.; and as an undertaking of this nature requires the attention of a person capable of taking an observation for determining the longitude and latitude and also distances, and the course of rivers and their depths, we have fixed upon you (especially as it is represented to us to be your own inclination) to conduct this journey with proper assistants. we therefore hope you will second our expectations in readily performing this service, and upon your return we shall willingly make you any acknowledgment suitable to your trouble therein. we highly approve of your going in the _speedwell_ to assist in the whale-fishery last year, and heartily wish you health and success in the present expedition. we remain your loving friends, bibye lake, deputy governor. john anthony merle. robert merry. samuel wegg. james winter lake. herman berens. joseph sparrel. james fitzgerald. [72] "no man," says hearne, "either english or indian, ever found a bit of copper in that country to the south of the seventy-first degree of latitude, unless it had been accidentally dropped by some of the far northern indians on their way to the company's factory." [73] "this leader," says hearne, "when a youth, resided several years at the above fort and was not only a perfect master of the southern indian language, but by being frequently with the company's servants had acquired several words of english and was one of the men who brought the latest accounts of the coppermine river. it was on his information, added to that of one i-dot-le-ezry (who is since dead), that this expedition was set on foot." [74] "i cannot sufficiently regret," wrote hearne in 1796, "the loss of a considerable vocabulary of the northern indian language, containing sixteen folio pages, which was lent to the late mr. hutchins, then corresponding secretary to the company, to copy for captain duncan, when he went on discoveries to hudson's bay in the year 1790. but mr. hutchins dying soon after, the vocabulary was taken away with the rest of his effects and cannot now be recovered, and memory, at this time, will by no means serve to replace it." [75] the company had previously written thus to its servant, mr. samuel hearne:-sir,--your letter of the 28th august last, gave us the agreeable pleasure to hear of your safe return to our factory. your journal and the two charts you sent sufficiently convinces us of your very judicious remarks. we have, naturally, considered your great assiduity in the various accidents which occurred in your several journeys. we hereby return you our grateful thanks, and to manifest our obligation we have consented to allow you a gratuity of £200 for those services. [76] "mr. dalrymple, in one of his pamphlets relating to hudson's bay, has been so very particular in his observations on my journey, as to remark that i have not explained the construction of the quadrant which i had the misfortune to break in my second journey to the north. it was a hadley quadrant, with a bubble attached to it for a horizon, and made by daniel scatlif, of wapping."--_hearne._ chapter xxvi. 1773-1782. company suffers from the rivalry of canadians -cumberland house built -debauchery and license of the rivals - frobisher intercepts the company's indians -the smallpox visitation of 1781 -la pérouse appears before fort prince of wales -hearne's surrender -capture of york fort by the french -the post burned and the company's servants carried away prisoners. the company was not immediately advised of the ruinous proceedings of the montreal traders by its governors at york and churchill. but at length the diminution of trade became marked. the indians continued to bring in reports of other white traders speaking english, who intercepted them and gave them trinkets and rum in exchange for their furs. they declared they were conscious of having made a bad bargain in not continuing onward to the company's posts, but what could they do? "the _bostonnais_[77] was cunning and he deceived the indian." at last, in view of this, it was felt that further delay were folly. [sidenote: cumberland house built.] in the spring of 1773 instructions were sent out to governor norton to despatch hearne westward and establish a post in the interior. by this time the rival canadian traders had carried the trade beyond the french limits, although, for reasons to be disclosed, all their activity was in vain, so far as material results either to themselves or their employers or capitalists were concerned, not to mention the aborigines themselves. hearne hit upon what he considered a good site for the new post at sturgeon lake, on the eastern bank, in latitude 53°, 56 and longitude 102°, 15. the post prospered almost from its foundation. the neighbouring tribes found that here were to be procured a larger and better assortment of goods than the canadians brought them, and frequented it in preference.[78] for several years now a trade with the indians had been carried on in the footsteps of the french license-holders. [illustration: visit to an indian encampment.] what was to be expected when the character of the montreal traders themselves, and the commerce they prosecuted, was considered, soon happened. this army of half-wild men, armed to the teeth, unhampered by legal restraint, constantly drinking, carousing and quarrelling amongst themselves, gradually spread over the north-west, sowing crime and anarchy wherever they went. the country they traded in was so distant, and their method of transportation so slow, that they were fortunate if they reached their winter quarters without leaving the corpses of several of their number to mark their path. was it singular that trade carried on in such a fashion, and with results so ruinous, should cause the "partners," as these unhappy individuals, who had furnished the funds, were called, to contemplate the future with dismay? season after season the "winterers" returned to the grand portage with the same tale; and season after season were better profits promised, but never, alas, for their dupes, were these promises fulfilled! [sidenote: frobisher intercepts company's indians.] matters were thus going from bad to worse in this way, when one sober and enterprising trader, joseph frobisher, resolved to leave the beaten track and penetrate nearer to the company's factory, at churchill, than had yet been done. in the spring of 1775, as a band of indians were on their way as usual to prince of wales' fort, they were met by frobisher, who caused them to halt and to drink and smoke with him. the chiefs imagined he was one of the company's factors, and frobisher did not choose to undeceive them. his wares being of a better quality than those of his compeers, the indians suffered themselves to be persuaded to trade on the spot, which was at a portage afterwards called by the montreal traders la traite, on account of this episode. the indians, nevertheless, resumed their journey to churchill river, where the indignation of hearne and the council knew no bounds. he informed the indians that a "scurvy trick" had been played upon them; and so characterized it in his journal. a few having still some of the heavier furs by them, were paid double, as an encouragement to their future discrimination. nevertheless, in spite of all, the "scurvy trick" was repeated by frobisher the following year, both times securing enormous booty.[79] the difficulties and sufferings of these two undertakings, however, affected him with a distaste for a repetition; but he sent his brother benjamin to explore the region still farther. this he accomplished, going as far west as the lake of isle a la crosse. the difficulties of transport are pointed out in letters of frobisher and mcgill. the value of each canoe load, on arrival at michilimackinac, had been estimated, in 1780, to be £660 currency, equal to $2,640, showing the cost of transport by the ottawa to have been $640 for each canoe; the value at montreal having been $2,000. in april, 1784, benjamin frobisher wrote that twenty-eight canoes were ready to be sent off, valued at £20,000 currency, or $80,000, a sum for each canoe largely in excess of the estimate of four years before. frobisher's success in intercepting the company's indians induced others to attempt a similar course. the idea was, of course, to give goods of a better character, and to travel so far into the savage country as to relieve the indian, who always contemplated the annual journey to the company's post with repugnance of such necessity. in 1779 peter pond, an able, but desperate character, was the first to attempt storing such goods as he could not bring back immediately, in one of the wintering huts at elk river, against his return the following season. this imitation of a company's post proved successful, and led to its being repeated on a larger scale. but matters were not equally propitious with the vast bulk of the peddlers, bushrangers, swashbucklers, and drunken half-breeds who were comprised in the canadian trading fraternity. a numerous crew of them got from their winter quarters at saskatchewan to the eagle hills in the spring of 1780. here they held high carouse amidst a body of indians as drunken, and much more noisy and abandoned, as themselves. one of the traders becoming tired of the continued application of an indian for more grog, gave him a dose of laudanum. the savage thereupon staggered a few steps away, lay down and died. a cry went up from the man's wives, a skirmish ensued, and the sun went down on seven corpses. one of the traders, two of his men, and four half-breed voyageurs lost their lives, and the rest were forced to abandon their all and take to flight. [illustration: indian trappers. (_from "picturesque canada," by permission._)] the same spring, two of the canadian posts on the assiniboine river were assailed during a quarrel. several white men and a large number of indians were killed. [sidenote: terrible smallpox epidemic.] the fearful act of vengeance which might now have been meditated at this juncture was never carried out, for in 1781 an epidemic of smallpox broke out, wreaking a memorable destruction upon all the indians of rupert's land. it is worthy of remark, the extraordinary and fatal facility with which this disease had always made headway among the aborigines of the north american continent. there must have been some predisposition in their constitutions which rendered them an easy prey to this scourge of europe. later, when the boon, brought into europe by lady mary montague arrested and partially disarmed the monster, smallpox had wrought unmitigated havoc amongst whole tribes and circles of the red men, more than decimating the entire population and occasionally destroying whole camps, while leaving scarcely more than one shrivelled hag to relate to the company's factors the fell tale of destruction. the scourge which depopulated vast regions naturally cleared the country of white traders. two parties did, indeed, set out from montreal in 1781-82, with the avowed intention of making permanent settlements on churchill river and at athabasca. but the smallpox had not yet done its worst, and drove them back with only seven packages of beaver. this season was a better one than the preceding for the company's factories; but an event now happened scarcely foreseen by anyone. england and france had been again at war, but none had as yet dreamt of a sea attack on the company's posts in the bay. such a thing had not happened for upwards of eighty years, and the conquest of canada seemed to so preclude its probability that the adventurers had not even instructed its governors to be on the alert for a possible foe. up to the era of the terrible smallpox visitation in 1782, the remote chippewas and far-off tribes from athabasca and the great slave lake, travelling to prince of wales' fort, must have gazed with wonder at its solid masonry and formidable artillery. the great cannon whose muzzles stared grimly from the walls had already been woven into indian legend, and the company's factors were fond of telling how the visiting red men stood in astonishment for hours at a time before this fortress, whose only parallel on the continent was quebec itself. [sidenote: french attack fort prince of wales, 1782.] fort prince of wales had been built, as we have seen, at a time when the remembrance of burned factories and posts easily captured and pillaged by french and indians was keen amongst the honourable adventurers. but that remembrance had long since faded; the reasons for which the fort had been built had seemingly vanished. wherefore gradually the garrison waned in numbers, until on the 8th of august, 1782, only thirty-nine defenders[80] within its walls witnessed the arrival of three strange ships in the bay. instantly the word ran from mouth to mouth that they were three french men-of-war. all was consternation and incredulity at first, quickly succeeded by anxiety. two score pair of english eyes watched the strangers, as pinnace, gig and long-boat were lowered, and a number of swarthy whiskered sailors began busily to sound the approaches to the harbour. as may be believed, an anxious night was passed in the fort by governor samuel hearne and his men. daybreak came and showed the strangers already disembarking in their boats, and as the morning sun waxed stronger, an array of four hundred troops was seen to be drawn up on the shore of churchill bay, at a place called hare point. orders were given to march, and with the flag of france once more unfurled on these distant sub-arctic shores, the french attacking party approached the company's stronghold. when about four hundred yards from the walls they halted, and two officers were sent on ahead to summon the governor to surrender. the french ships turned out to be the _sceptre_, seventy-four guns, the _astarte_, and the _engageante_, of thirty-six guns each, and the force possessed besides four field guns, two mortars, and three hundred bomb-shells. this fleet was in command of admiral pérouse. it appears that la pérouse had counted on arriving just in time to secure a handsome prize in the company's ships, for which he had lain in wait in the bay. hearne seems to have been panic-stricken and believed resistance useless. to the surprise of the french, a table cloth snatched up by the governor was soon seen waving from the parapet of the fort. fort prince of wales had thus yielded without a shot being fired on either side. the french admiral lost no time in transporting what guns he could find to his ships, and replenishing his depleted commissariat from the well-filled provision stores of the fort.[81] la pérouse was both angry and disappointed at the escape of the company's ships and cargoes. one of these ships, bound for fort churchill, he had met in the bay and immediately sent a frigate in pursuit. but captain christopher, by the steering of the french frigate, judged rightly that her commander knew nothing of the course, and so resorted to strategy. when night came he furled his sails, as if about to anchor, a proceeding which the french captain imitated. when he had anchored, the company's vessel re-set her sails, and was soon many leagues distant by the time the french fleet reached churchill river. possession was followed by license on the part of the soldiers, and the utter looting of the fort. an attempt was made, occupying two days, to demolish it; but although french gunpowder was freely added to the company's store, yet the walls resisted their best efforts. [illustration: ruins of fort prince of wales.] of solid masonry, indeed, was prince of wales' fort. the french artillerymen could only displace the upper rows of the massive granite stones, dismount its guns, and blow up the gateway, together with the stone outwork protecting it. it has been remarked as strange that hearne, who had proved his personal bravery in his arctic travels, should have shown such a craven front on this occasion to the enemy. indeed, umfreville, who was himself taken prisoner at the capture of the fort, declared that he, with others, were disgusted at the governor's cowardice. he asserted that the french were weak and reduced in health after a long sea voyage, most of them wretchedly clad, and half of the entire number barefoot. "i assume, your honours," wrote john townsend, "that had we shown a front to the enemy, our fort would have outlasted their ammunition, and then they would have been completely at our mercy." [sidenote: hearne blamed for surrendering.] the company was very indignant at the conduct of governor hearne. they demanded the reason of his not sending a scout overland to apprise the governor of york factory of the enemy's proximity. to this hearne replied that he was given no opportunity, and that any such scout would have been inevitably seized and slain. on the 11th of august the french fleet set sail for port nelson and anchored there. one of the company's ships was in the harbour at the time, and the captain, perceiving the approach of three large ships, and scenting danger, put out to sea in the night. he was instantly pursued by a frigate, which obviously outsailed him. whereupon captain fowler tacked and made for the south in the hope of enticing the frenchman into shallow water. but her commander was by no means to become so easy a prey to destruction, and refused to follow. on the following day the news was brought to the governor that the enemy was landing in fourteen boats, provided with mortars, cannon, scaling ladders, and about three hundred men, exclusive of marines. york factory at this time was garrisoned by sixty english and twelve indians. its defence consisted of thirteen cannon, twelve and nine pounders, which formed a half-moon battery in front; but it being thought probable that the enemy would arrive in the night and turn these guns against the fort, they were overturned into the ditch. on the ramparts were twelve swivel guns mounted on carriages, and within were abundance of small arms and ammunition. besides, a rivulet of fresh water ran within the stockades; and there were also thirty head of cattle and as many hogs within the confines of the fort. on the 22nd, two indian scouts were sent out to obtain intelligence; these returned in about three hours with the information that, in their judgment, the enemy were less than a league distant. indeed they had heard several guns fired in the neighbourhood of the fort; and at sunset of that day all could plainly discern a large fire, presumably kindled by the french about a mile and a half to the west. [sidenote: french attack york factory.] at ten o'clock the next morning, the enemy appeared before the gates. "during their approach," says one of those in the fort at the time, "a most inviting opportunity offered itself to be revenged on our invaders by discharging the guns on the ramparts, which must have done great execution." unhappily, the governor was hardly the man for such an occasion. he knew nothing of war, and had a wholesome dread of all armed and equipped soldiery. he trembled so that he could scarcely stand, and begged the surgeon, "for god's sake to give him a glass of liquor to steady his nerves." there being none at hand, he swallowed a tumbler of raw spirits of wine. this so far infused courage and determination into his blood, that he peremptorily declared he would shoot the first man who offered to fire a gun. dismay took possession of many of the company's servants, and the second in command and the surgeon endeavoured to expostulate. to avert this, the governor caught up a white sheet with his own hand and waved it from a window of the fort. this was answered by the french officer displaying his pocket handkerchief. under the sanction of this flag of truce, a parley took place. the governor was summoned to surrender within two hours. but no such time was needed by the governor; and the fort was most ingloriously yielded in about ten minutes. in vain did the council plead that this fort might have withstood the united efforts of double the number of those by whom it was assailed in an attack with small arms. in vain they demonstrated that from the nature of the enemy's attack by way of nelson river, they could not use their mortars or artillery, the ground being very bad and interspersed with woods, thickets and bogs. the governor was resolved to yield the place, and he carried out his intention much to the astonishment and satisfaction of la pérouse. [sidenote: unwise surrender.] the unwisdom of the surrender was afterwards made too apparent. it was made to a half-starved, half-shod body of frenchmen, worn out by fatigue and hard labour, not a man of whom was familiar with the country. it was perceived also, when it was too late, that the enemy's ships lay at least twenty miles from the factory, in a boisterous sea. consequently, they could not co-operate with their troops on shore, save with the greatest difficulty and uncertainty, and if the fort had held out a few weeks it would have been impossible. the french troops could have received no supplies but what came from the ships; and cold, hunger and fatigue were working hourly in favour of the company's men. la pérouse now issued orders for the fort to be evacuated and burned, and the company's people were taken prisoners. the company suffered great loss by the capture of york factory, which had, as we have seen, remained in their possession since the treaty of utrecht. the whole of the furs which had not yet been sent on board the ship were destroyed, as well as a large quantity of stores, implements and appliances which had been collecting for nearly seventy years. this expedition had resulted in two cheap conquests for la pérouse. but the fortunes of war bade fair to alter the situation. the company sent in a bill to the british government of many thousands of pounds for failing to protect their fort on churchill river; and when peace was proclaimed, the french plenipotentiary agreed on behalf of his master to settle this bill. fort prince of wales was never rebuilt. its ruins stand, to-day, to mark the most northern fortress on the continent of north america, scarcely inferior in strength to louisburg or to quebec. "its site," remarks dr. bell, "was admirably chosen; its design and armament were once perfect; interesting still as a relic of bygone strife, but useful now only as a beacon for the harbour it had failed to protect." although the french themselves sustained no loss from the english in their brief campaign against the fort; yet, owing to the severity of the climate and their own inexperience, they lost five large boats, a considerable quantity of merchandise and fifteen soldiers who were drowned in hays' river after the surrender of the fort. footnotes: [77] the eastern traders were always known by this title, as though hailing from boston, in contradistinction to the "king george men." [78] upon the new post was bestowed the name of cumberland house. [79] the following were the prices paid by the company about 1780, at its inland posts:- a gun 20 beaver skins. a strand blanket 10 do. a white do. 8 do. an axe of one pound weight 3 do. half a pint of gunpowder 1 do. ten balls 1 do. the principal profits accrued from the sale of knives, beads, flint, steels, awls and other small articles. tobacco fetched one beaver skin per foot of "spencer's twist," and rum "not very strong," two beaver skins per bottle. [80] "what folly," asks one of the company's servants, "could be more egregious than to erect a fort of such extent, strength and expense and only allow thirty-nine men to defend it?" [81] an account of hearne's journey was found in ms. among the papers of the governor, and la pérouse declares in his memoirs that hearne was very pressing that it should be returned to him as his private property. "the goodness of la pérouse's heart induced him to yield to this urgent solicitation, and he returned the ms. to him on the express condition, however, that he should print and publish it immediately on his arrival in england." "notwithstanding this," observes mr. fitzgerald, "hearne's travels did not appear until 1795, _i.e._, twenty-three years after they were performed." this gentleman, so distinguished in his zeal to prove a case against the company, evidently overlooks the circumstance of the gist of travels having been issued in pamphlet form in 1773 and again in 1778-80. the volume of 1795 was merely an application--the product of hearne's leisure upon retirement. chapter xxvii. 1783-1800. disastrous effects of the competition -montreal merchants combine -the north-westers -scheme of the association - alexander mackenzie -his two expeditions reach the pacific - emulation difficult -david thompson. [sidenote: competition of the canadian traders.] for many years up to 1770, before the traders from canada had penetrated their territory, york factory had annually sent to london at least 30,000 skins. there were rarely more than twenty-five men employed in the fort at low wages. in 1790 the company maintained nearly one hundred men at this post, at larger wages, yet the number of skins averaged only about 20,000 from this and the other posts. the rivalry daily grew stronger and more bitter. yet from what has been seen of the habits and character of the canadian bushrangers and peddlers, it is almost unnecessary to say that the company's scotchmen ingratiated themselves more into the esteem and confidence of the indians wherever and whenever the two rivals met. the advantage of trade, it has been well said, was on their side--because their honesty was proven. but there was another reason for the greater popularity of the company amongst the natives, and it was that the principal articles of their trading goods were of a quality superior to those imported from canada. the extraordinary imprudence and ill-manner of life which characterized the montreal traders continually offset the enterprise and exertions of their employers. many of these traders had spent the greater portion of their lives on this inland service; they were devoid of every social and humane tie, slaves to the most corrupting vices, more especially drunkenness. so that it is not strange that they were held in small esteem by the indians, who, a choice being free to them, finding themselves frequently deceived by specious promises, were not long in making up their minds with whom to deal. "till the year 1782," says mackenzie, "the people of athabaska sent or carried their furs regularly to fort churchill, and some of them have since that time repaired farther, notwithstanding they could have provided themselves with all the necessaries which they required. the difference of the price set on goods here and at the factory, made it an object with the chippewans to undertake a journey of five or six months, in the course of which they were reduced to the most painful extremities, and often lost their lives from hunger and fatigue. at present, however, this traffic is, in a great measure, discontinued, as they were obliged to expend in the course of their journey, that very ammunition which was its most alluring object." [sidenote: montreal merchants combine.] but the company was now threatened with a more determined and judicious warfare by the better class of canadian traders. the enterprise had been checked, first by the animosity of the indians, and at the same time by the ravages of the smallpox, but during the winter of 1783-4, the montreal merchants resolved, for the better prosecution of their scheme, to effect a junction of interests, by forming an association of sixteen equal shares, without, however, depositing any capital. the scheme was to be carried out in this way: each party was to furnish a proportion of such articles as were necessary in the trade, while the actual traders, or "wintering partners," of these merchants were to receive each a corresponding share of the profits. to this association was given, on the suggestion of joseph frobisher, the name of the north-west company. the chief management of the business was entrusted to the two frobishers and simon mctavish, another scotch merchant in montreal. in may, 1784, accordingly, benjamin frobisher and mctavish went to the grand portage with their credentials from the other partners in the new undertaking. here they met the bulk of the traders and voyageurs, who were delighted to hear of the new scheme. these entered heartily into the spirit of the undertaking, and that spring embarked for the west with the merchandise and provisions brought them, with a lighter heart than they had known for years, and with a determination to profit by the disasters of the past. not all of the chief traders, it must be said, cast in their lots with the new company. two, named pond and pangman, opposed it; and finding a couple of merchants who were willing to furnish sufficient capital, resolved to strike out for themselves as rivals to the north-west company. this action occasioned, as might be expected, great bitterness and disorder. nevertheless, it was the means of bringing to light a young scotchman from the isles, whose name will be forever linked with the north-west. his name was alexander mackenzie. [sidenote: alexander mackenzie.] this young man had been for five years in the counting-house of gregory, one of the merchants who had allied themselves with the two malcontents. it was now decided that mackenzie should set out with pond and pangman in their separate trading venture into the distant indian country. a more perilous business than this can scarcely be imagined. besides the natural difficulties, the party had to encounter all the fiercest enmity and opposition of which the adherents of the new association were capable. it is enough to say that after a fearful struggle they forced the latter to allow them a participation in the trade. but the feat which resulted in the coalition of the two interests in 1787 cost them dear. one of the partners was killed, another lamed for life, and many of their voyageurs injured. yet the establishment thus joined, and shorn of all rivals save the great company, was placed on a solid basis, and the fur-trade of canada began to assume greater proportions than it had yet done under the english _régime_. as this north-west concern was finally itself to merge into the company of which these chapters are the history, it will not be unprofitable to glance at its constitution and methods, particularly as the economic fabric was to be likewise transferred and adapted to its hudson's bay rival. [illustration: sir alexander mackenzie.] [sidenote: the north-west company.] it was then, and continued to be, merely an association of merchants agreeing among themselves to carry on the fur-trade by itself, although many of these merchants plied other commerce. "it may be said," observes mackenzie, "to have been supported entirely on credit; for whether the capital belonged to the proprietor, or was borrowed, it equally bore interest, for which the association was annually accountable." the company comprised twenty shares unequally divided and amongst the parties concerned. "of these a certain proportion was held by the people who managed the business in canada and were styled agents for the company. their duty was to import the necessary goods from england, store them at their own expense at montreal, get them made up into articles suited to the trade, pack and forward them and supply the cash that might be wanting for the outfits." for all this they received, besides the profit on their shares, an annual commission on the business done. a settlement took place each year, two of the partners going to grand portage to supervise affairs of that growing centre, now outrivalling detroit, michilimackinac and sault ste. marie. the furs were seen safely to the company's warehouse in montreal, where they were stored pending their shipment to england. this class were denominated agents for the concern. then there was the other proprietary class--the actual traders, who conducted the expeditions amongst the indians and furnished no capital. if they did amass capital by the trade they could invest it in the company through the agents, but could never employ it privately. there were several who from long service and influence who had acquired double shares and these were permitted to retire from activity, leaving one of such shares to whichever young man in the service they chose to nominate, provided always he was approved by the company. such successions, we are told, were considered as due to either seniority or exceptional merit. the retiring shareholder was relieved from any responsibility concerning the share he transferred and accounted for it according to the annual value or rate of the property. thus the trader who disposed of his extra share had no pecuniary advantage from the sale, but only drew a continuous profit from the share which as a sleeping partner he retained. [sidenote: partnership regulations.] by such means all the younger men who were not provided for at the inception of the north-west company, or when they afterwards entered into service, were likely to succeed to the situation and profits of regular partners in the concern. by their contract they entered the company's service as articled clerks for five or seven years. occasionally they succeeded to shares before the expiration of their apprenticeship. none could be admitted as a partner unless he had first served such apprenticeship to the fur-trade, therefore shares were transferable only to the concern at large. as for the sleeping partner he could not, of course, be debarred from selling out if he chose, but if the transaction were not countenanced by the rest, his name continued to figure in committee, the actual owner of the share being regarded as merely his agent or attorney. a vote accompanied every share, two-thirds constituting a majority. such, in brief, was the remarkable constitution of this commercial body--a constitution which was in those days wholly unique. by such regular and equitable methods of providing for all classes of employees, a zeal and independence was fostered. every petty clerk felt himself, as he was, a principal, and his loyalty and thrift became assured forthwith. it has been argued, and not unjustly, that such a constitution was obvious, that no great merit need be ascribed to its originators, that it was evolved, so to speak, by the situation itself. the character of the fur-trade at that time was such, the commerce so hazardous and diffused over so vast a country, that without that spirit of emulation thus evoked the new fur company must quickly have resolved itself into its constituent particles. nevertheless, shrewdness, courage and foresight were demanded, and in the persons of these canadian scotchmen were forthcoming. as for the value of the business in 1788, all the furs, merchandise, provisions and equipments were worth the sum of £40,000. this might properly be called the stock of the company, for, as mackenzie, who was now one of its traders, remarked, it included, within the gross expenditure for that year, the amount of the property unexpended, which having been appropriated for that year's adventure, was carried on to the account of the next season. so greatly did the new company flourish that the gross amount of the adventure ten years later, was close upon £125,000. but in that year, 1798, a change was to occur which will be dealt with in another chapter. [sidenote: mackenzie's expedition to the arctic.] in 1789 mackenzie felt the time ripe to prosecute a journey towards which his mind had long been directed--that journey overland to the pacific, in which verandrye, as we have seen, had failed through the hand of death. his commercial associates by no means relished the enterprise; but mackenzie's power and influence had now grown considerable, and he found means this year to carry out his wish. on the 3rd of june, 1789, mackenzie set out from fort chipewyan, at the head of athabaska lake, a station nearly midway between hudson's bay and the pacific. the young explorer had served here for eight years, and was familiar with the difficulties he had to face, as well as aware of the best methods of overcoming them. taking with him four canoes, he embarked a german and four canadians with their wives in the first. the second canoe was occupied by a northern indian, called english chief, who had been a follower of matonabee, hearne's chief guide and counsellor. this worthy was accompanied by his two wives. the third was taken up by two sturdy young savages, who served in the double capacity of hunters and interpreters; whilst the fourth was laden with provisions, clothing, ammunition, and various articles designed as presents to the indians. this canoe was in charge of one of the north-west concern's clerks, named la roux. in such fashion and in such numbers did mackenzie's party set forth from fort chipewyan. by the 4th of june they reached slave river, which connects the athabasca and slave lakes in a course of about 170 miles; on the 9th of the same month they sighted slave lake itself. during this part of the journey they had suffered no other inconvenience than those arising from the attacks of the mosquitoes during the heat of the day and the excessive cold, which characterizes the nights in that country, especially in the hours near dawn. skirting the shore they came to a lodge of red knife indians, so called from their use of copper knives. one of these natives offered to conduct mackenzie to the mouth of that river which was the object of his search, as the coppermine had been of hearne's. unhappily, so numerous were the impediments encountered from drift ice, contrary winds, and the ignorance of their guide (whom english chief threatened to murder for his incompetence), that it was the 29th of the month before they embarked upon the stream which to-day bears the name of the leader of the party who then first ascended it. [sidenote: journey down the mackenzie river.] on quitting the lake, the mackenzie river was found to take its course to the westward, becoming gradually narrower for twenty-four miles, till it dwindled to a stream half a mile wide, having a strong current and a depth of three and a half fathoms. a stiff breeze from the eastward now drove them on at a great speed, and after a run of ten miles the channel widened gradually until it assumed the appearance of a small lake. the guide confessed that this was the limit of his acquaintance with the river. soon afterwards they came in sight of the chain of horn mountains, bearing north-west, and experienced some difficulty in resuming the channel of the river. the party continued the journey for five days with no interruption. on july 6th they observed several columns of smoke on the north bank and on landing discovered an encampment of five families of slave and dog-ribbed indians, who, on the first appearance of the white men, fled in consternation to the woods. english chief, however, called after them, in a tongue they understood, and they, though reluctantly, responded to his entreaties to return, especially when they were accompanied by offers of gifts. the distribution of a few beads, rings and knives, with a supply of grog, soon reconciled them to the strangers. but the travellers were somewhat appalled to learn from these indians of the rigours of the journey which awaited them. these asserted that it would require several winters to reach the sea, and that old age would inevitably overtake the party before their return. demons of terrible shape and malevolent disposition were stated to have their dwellings in the rock caves which lined the river's brim, and these were ready to devour the hardy spirits who should dare continue their journey past them. this information mackenzie and his party endeavoured to receive with equanimity; they staggered more at the narrative of two impassable falls which were said to exist about thirty days march from where they then were. but although the effect of these tales on the leader of the expedition was not great, his indians, already weary of travelling, drank all in with willing ears. they could hardly be induced to continue the journey. when their scruples were overcome, one of the dog-ribbed indians was persuaded by the present of a kettle, an axe, and some other articles, to accompany them as guide. but, alas, when the hour for embarkation came, his love of home overbore all other considerations, and his attempt to escape was only frustrated by actually forcing him on board. continuing their journey, they passed the great bear lake river, and steering through numerous islands came in sight of a ridge of snowy mountains, frequented, according to their guide, by herds of bears and small white buffalo. the banks of the river were seen to be pretty thickly peopled with natives, whose timidity was soon overcome by small gifts. from these indians was procured a seasonable supply of hares, partridges, fish and reindeer. the same stories of spirits or manitous which haunted the stream, and of fearful rapids which would dash the canoes in pieces, were repeated by these tribes. this time they had a real effect. the guide, during a storm of thunder and lightning, decamped in the night, and no doubt fled for home as rapidly as his legs, or improvised canoe, could carry him. no great difficulty, however, was experienced in procuring a substitute, and after a short sail the party approached an encampment of indians, whose brawny figures, healthy appearance, and cleanliness were a great improvement on the other tribes they had seen. from these mackenzie learnt that he must sleep ten nights before arriving at the sea. in three nights, he was told, he would meet with esquimaux, with whom they had been at war, but were now at peace. it was evident that none in these parts had ever heard the sound of fire-arms for, when one of mackenzie's men discharged his fowling-piece, the utmost terror took possession of them. when this intrepid pioneer through the lands of the hudson's bay company had reached a latitude of 67° 47´, a great range of snowy mountains burst into view. mackenzie, by this time, was convinced that the waters on which the four frail barks were gliding must flow into the arctic ocean. when within a few days of accomplishing the great object of the journey, the attendant indians sunk into a fit of despondency and were reluctant to proceed. the new guide pleaded his ignorance of the region, as he had never before penetrated to what he and his fellows termed the benahulla toe.[82] mackenzie, thereupon, assured them all that he would return if it were not reached in seven days, and so prevailed on them to continue the journey. the nights were now illumined by a blazing sun and everything denoted the proximity of the sea. on landing at a deserted esquimaux encampment, several pieces of whalebone were observed; also a place where train-oil had been spilt. signs of vegetation grew rarer and rarer. [sidenote: the explorer reaches the arctic.] on the 12th of july the explorer reached what appears to have been an arm of the arctic sea. it was quite open to the westward, and by an observation the latitude was found to be 69°. all before them, as far as they could see, was a vast stretch of ice. they continued their course with difficulty fifteen miles to the western-most extremity of a high island, and then it was found impossible to proceed farther. many other islands were seen to the eastward; but though they came to a grave, on which lay a bow, a paddle and a spear, they met no living human beings in those arctic solitudes. the red fox and the reindeer, flocks of beautiful plover, some venerable white owls, and several large white gulls were the only natives. but mackenzie knew he had triumphed; for he had, as he stood on the promontory of whale island, caught sight of a shoal of those marine night monsters from whom the island then received its name. before returning, mackenzie caused a post to be erected close to the tents, upon which the traveller engraved the latitude of the spot, his own name, the number of persons accompanying him, and the time they spent on the island. [illustration: the bushranger and the indians.] [illustration: a portage.] on the 16th of july they set out on their long journey to the fort. on the 21st, the sun, which for some time had never set, descended below the horizon, and on that day they were joined by eleven of the natives. these represented their tribe as numerous, and perpetually at war with the esquimaux, who had broken a treaty into which they had seduced the indians and had massacred many of them. on one occasion an indian of a strange tribe beyond the mountains to the west endeavoured to draw for mackenzie a map of that distant country with a stick upon the sand. it was a rude production, but gave the explorer an idea. the savage traced out a long point of land between two rivers. this isthmus he represented as running into the great lake, at the extremity of which, as he had been told by indians of other nations, there was built a benahulla couin, or white man's fort. "this," says mackenzie, "i took to be oonalaska fort, and consequently the river to the west to be cook's river, and that the body of water or sea into which the river discharges itself at whale island communicated with norton sound." mackenzie in vain endeavoured to procure a guide across the mountains; the natives refused to accompany him. on the 12th of september the party arrived in safety at fort chippewyan, having been absent one hundred and two days. taken in connection with hearne's journey, this expedition was of great importance as establishing the fact of an arctic sea of wide extent to the north of the continent. it seemed probable, also, that this sea formed its continuous boundary. but the greater expedition of this intrepid fur-trader was yet to be undertaken. his object this time was to ascend the peace river, which rises in the rocky mountains, and crossing these to penetrate to that unknown stream which he had sought in vain during his former journey. this river, he conjectured, must communicate with the ocean; and finding it, he must be borne along to the pacific. [sidenote: mackenzie sets out for the pacific.] the explorer set out, accordingly, from fort chippewyan on the 10th of october, 1792, pushing on to the remotest trading post, where he spent the winter in a traffic for furs with the beaver and rocky indians. when he had despatched six canoes to chippewyan with the cargo he had collected, he engaged hunters and interpreters, built a huge canoe and set out for the pacific. this canoe, it may be mentioned, was twenty-five feet long within, exclusive of the curves of stem and stern, twenty-six inches hold and four feet nine inches beam. at the same time it was so light that two men could carry it three or four miles, if necessity arose, without stopping to rest. in such a slender craft they not only stowed away their provisions, presents, arms, ammunition and baggage to the weight of three thousand pounds, but found room for mackenzie, seven white companions and two indians. up to the 21st of may the party encountered a series of such difficulties and hardships that all save the leader himself were disheartened at the prospect. the river being broken by frequent cascades and dangerous rapids, it was very often necessary to carry the canoe and baggage until the voyage could be resumed in safety; and on their nearer approach to the rocky mountains the stream, hemmed in between stupendous rocks, presented a continuance of fearful torrents and huge cataracts. the party began to murmur audibly; and, at last, progress came to a standstill. in truth, there was some reason for this irresolution; further progress by water was impossible and they could only advance over a mountain whose sides were broken by sharp, jagged rocks and thickly covered with wood. mackenzie despatched a reconnoitring party, with orders to ascend the mountain and proceed in a straight course from its summit, keeping the line of the river until they could ascertain if it was practicable to resume navigation. while this party was gone on its quest, the canoe was repaired, and mackenzie busied himself in taking an altitude which showed the latitude to be 56° 8'. by sunset the scouts had severally returned, each having taken different routes. they had penetrated through thick woods, ascended hills and dived into valleys, passed the rapids, and agreed, that though the difficulties by land were appalling, this was the only practicable course. unattractive as was the prospect, the spirits of the party rose as night closed in. their troubles were forgotten in a repast of wild rice sweetened with sugar; the usual evening regale of rum renewed their courage, and followed by a night's rest, they entered upon the journey next day with cheerfulness and vigour. it is not to the purpose here to relate all that befell mackenzie on this memorable voyage, but, after many vicissitudes, towards the close of june he reached the spot where the party were to strike off across the country. [sidenote: journey in the mountain.] "we carried on our back," says mackenzie, "four bags and a half of pemmican, weighing from eighty-five to ninety-five pounds each, a case with the instruments, a parcel of goods for presents weighing ninety pounds, and a parcel containing ammunition of the same weight; each of the canadians had a burden of about ninety pounds, with a gun and ammunition, whilst the indians had about forty-five pounds weight of pemmican, besides their gun--an obligation with which, owing to their having been treated with too much indulgence, they expressed themselves much dissatisfied. my own load, and that of mr. mackay, consisted of twenty-two pounds of pemmican, some rice, sugar, and other small articles, amounting to about seventy pounds, besides our arms and ammunition. the tube of my telescope was also slung across my shoulder, and owing to the low state of our provisions, it was determined that we should content ourselves with two meals a day." about the middle of july mackenzie encountered a chief who had, ten years before, in a voyage by sea, met with two large vessels full of white men, the first he had ever seen and by whom he was kindly received. the explorer very plausibly conjectured that these were the ships of captain cook. thus the names of two of the world's great explorers were, by that episode, conjoined. the navigation of the river, although interrupted by rapids and cascades, was continued until the 23rd, when the party reached its mouth. here the river was found to discharge itself by various smaller channels into the pacific. the memorable journey was now finished, and its purpose completed. in large characters, upon the surface of a rock under whose shelter the party had slept, their leader painted this simple memorial: "alexander mackenzie, from canada by land the 22nd of july, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three." such was the inscription written with vermilion, at which doubtless the simple aboriginal tribes came to marvel before it was washed away by the elements. but its purport was conveyed to england in another and more abiding character, which yet will not outlast the memory of the achievement. mackenzie and his followers had paved the way; almost despite itself the company must take possession, before long, of its own; although much had arisen which rendered the task less easy than if it had been undertaken immediately on the conquest, thirty years before. [sidenote: turner's exploration.] the news of mackenzie's journeys reaching london considerably perturbed the honourable adventurers and undeniably diminished their prestige. it was not that the company did not wish to pursue discovery and bring about a knowledge of the vast unknown regions which appertained to it under the charter; it was for a long time impracticable. in 1785 it had sent out orders to continue the exploration of the west, begun by hearne. a man had been despatched in accordance with these instructions, but his courage, or his endurance, had failed him, and he returned to cumberland house without having accomplished anything of note. for the five or six years ensuing, the reports of the meetings of the company are sufficient testimony to the desire of the members to take an active part in seeking trade with unknown tribes. but to effect this, men were necessary; and men of the required character were not immediately forthcoming. it was not till 1791 that, after an animated correspondence with the colonial office, a person was suggested for the enterprise who seemed to possess the equipment adequate to the task. this was turner, who sought a career as an astronomer, and with him went ross, one of the company's clerks. both were badly furnished for an expedition of this kind, and taking counsel among themselves, came to the conclusion that as they had to make their way through parts unknown to the hudson's bay servants, it would be as well to seek the assistance of the northmen as well. from alexander mackenzie, turner obtained a letter to the factor in charge of fort chippewyan, instructing him to offer the explorers every facility and courtesy; and indeed so well were turner and his companion treated at this post that they passed the winter there. the result of this expedition went to show that lake athabasca, instead of being situated in proximity to the pacific, was really distant nearly a thousand miles. there were men enough for the work in hand if the company had only availed themselves of them. at the very moment when mackenzie was making his voyages, a youth was finishing his education at the charter house who had all the cleverness, force and intrepidity for the task that all desired to see accomplished. his name was david thompson. the time having arrived when this youth should choose a career, his inclination turned to travel in the unknown quarters of the globe, and hoping that adventure of some sort would transpire for him in the north-west of the new world, he signed as one of the clerks of the company, and set sail in 1794 for fort churchill. arriving here, he found himself "cribbed, cabined and confined." governor colen and himself were little to their mutual liking, and still less of the same mind, as thompson had an ardent, energetic temperament, and was with difficulty controlled. yet during the summer of 1795, by reason of continuous pleadings, he obtained permission to set out on a tour to the west, and with an escort of one white clerk, an irishman, and two indians, he travelled to athabasca, surveying the country as he went along. [sidenote: david thompson.] on his return from athabasca, thompson's term of service had expired, and he was encouraged to apply for employment with the northmen. they desired to learn the position of their trading houses, chiefly with respect to the 49th parallel of latitude, which had become, since the treaty of 1792 with america, the boundary line between the possessions of the two countries. for several years thompson continued in the service of the company's rivals, surveying a considerable territory and drawing up charts and maps, which were sent to the partners at fort william.[83] after thompson came simon fraser and john stuart, the names of both of whom are perpetuated in the rivers bearing their names to-day. fraser is described by one of his associates as "an illiterate, ill-bred, fault-finding man, of jealous disposition, but ambitious and energetic, with considerable conscience, and in the main holding to honest convictions." both these men bore a chief share in establishing trading posts on the other side of the rocky mountains, which are now associated with the hudson's bay company. footnotes: [82] white man's lake. [83] of david thompson we get a portrait from mr. h. h. bancroft. he was, he says, "of an entirely different order of man from the orthodox fur-trader. tall and fine looking, with sandy complexion, with large features, deep-set studious eyes, high forehead and broad shoulders, the intellectual was set upon the physical. his deeds have never been trumpeted as have those of some of the others; but in the westward explorations of the north-west company, no man performed more valuable service or estimated his achievements more modestly. unhappily his last days were not as pleasant as fell to the lot of some of the worn out members of the company. he retired, almost blind, to lachine house, once the headquarters of the company, where he was met with in 1831 in a very decrepit condition." chapter xxviii. 1787-1808. captain vancouver -la pérouse in the pacific -the straits of anian -a fantastic episode -russian hunters and traders -the russian company -dissensions amongst the northmen - they send the _beaver_ to hudson's bay -the scheme of mackenzie a failure -a ferocious spirit fostered -abandoned characters -a series of outrages -the affair at bad lake. when mackenzie, in july, 1793, reached the pacific by land from the east, he had been preceded by sea only three years by captain george vancouver, the discoverer of the british columbian coast. the same year gray, sailing from boston in 1790, entered the columbia river farther south. but the title of muscovy to the northern coasts had already been made good by several russians since bering's time, and the company's charter secured to them the lands drained by the fraser, mackenzie, and peace rivers, to the west. [sidenote: la pérouse in the pacific.] so little, however, was the russian title recognized for some time, that when this unfortunate expedition of la pérouse, with the frigates _boussole_ and _astralabe_, stopped on this coast in 1787, that doughty destroyer of york and prince of wales' forts did not hesitate to consider the friendly harbour in latitude 58° 36' as open to permanent occupation. describing this harbour, which he named port des françois, he says that nature seemed to have created at this extremity of the world a port like that of toulon, but vaster in plan and accommodation; and then, considering that it had never been discovered before, that it was situated thirty-three leagues north-west of remedios, the limit of spanish navigation, about two hundred and eighty-four leagues from nootka, and one hundred leagues from prince william sound. the mariner records his judgment that "if the french government had any project of a factory on this coast no nation could have the slightest right to oppose it." [illustration: de l'isle's map, 1752.] thus was russia to be coolly dislodged by the french! there is little doubt but that the company, judging by its declarations in committee some years afterwards, would have had something to say in the matter. but la pérouse and his frigates sailed farther on in their voyage and never returned to france. their fate for a generation remained unknown, until their shipwrecked hulls were accidentally found on a desert island in the south pacific. the unfinished journal of this zealous admiral had, however, in the meantime been sent by him overland by way of kamschatka and siberia to france, where it was published by decree of the national assembly, thus making known his supposed discovery and his aspirations. [sidenote: spanish claims.] spain also had been a claimant. in 1775 bodega, a spanish navigator, seeking new opportunities to plant the spanish flag, reached a parallel of 58° on this coast, not far from sitka; but this supposed discovery was not followed by any immediate assertion of dominion. the universal aspiration of spain had embraced this whole region at a much earlier day, and shortly after the return of bodega another enterprise was equipped to verify the larger claim, being nothing less than the original title as discoverer of the straits between america and asia, and of the conterminous continent under the name of anian. indeed, a spanish document appeared, which caused a considerable fluttering of hearts amongst the adventurers, entitled "relation of the discovery of the strait of anian made by me, captain lorenzo ferren maldonado," purporting to be written at the time, although it did not see the light until 1781, when it immediately became the subject of a memoir before the french academy. this narrative of maldonado has long since taken its place with that of the celebrated munchausen. the whole fantastic episode of anian's straits is worthy of mention in a history of the company and its lands. there is no doubt of the existence of early maps bearing straits of that name to the north. on an interesting map by zoltieri, bearing the date of 1566, without latitude or longitude, the western coast of the continent is here delineated with straits separating it from asia, not unlike bering's straits in outline and with the name in italian, stretto di anian; and towards the south the coast possesses a certain conformity to that which we now know. below the straits is an indentation corresponding to bristol bay; then a peninsula somewhat broader than alaska, which is continued in an elbow of the coast; lower down appear three islands, not unlike sitka, queen charlotte and vancouver; and lastly, to the south appears the peninsula of lower california. after a time maps began to record the straits of anian; but the substantial conformity of the early delineation with the reality has always been somewhat of a mystery.[84] the foundation of the story of anian is said to lie in the voyage of the portuguese navigator, caspar de cortereal, in 1500-1505, who, on reaching hudson's bay in quest of a passage to india, imagined he had found it, naming his discovery "in honour of two brothers who accompanied him." [sidenote: russians on the west coast.] meanwhile russian hunters and traders from okhotsk were extending their expedition from the north-east coast of siberia to the north-west coast of north america. a russian government expedition started from okhotsk in 1790, under the command of captain billings, an englishman in the russian service, and to captain taryteheff, one of the members, are due important researches on the hydrography and ethnology of these countries. the first attempt at permanent settlement was due to three russian traders, shelekoff and the two golikoffs, who fitted out two or three vessels to be sent to "the land of alaska, also called america; to islands known or unknown, for the purpose of trading in furs; of exploring the country and entering into relations with the inhabitants." their first expedition started in 1781, and the first settlement was founded on the island of kodiak. the authority of the russian government was thus established on this and the adjacent islands. in 1790, shelekoff, then residing in irkoutsk, sent out a merchant named baranoff to govern the new colony.[85] thus the knowledge that they were being pressed in on opposite sides by the canadian traders on the south and east, and by russians on the north and west, reached the company at the same time. as a matter of fact, the knowledge of baranoff's enterprise and the energy with which it was being prosecuted did not come before the committee until october, 1794; and it was in that very month that the report of mackenzie's journey reached them. the next few years were devoted to devising and considering schemes to counteract these two growing competitors--to oppose the further progress of the russians on the one hand, and to combat the north-westers on the other. for twenty-seven years baranoff continued to be the controlling mind of the new russian trading enterprise. shelekoff died in 1795; and his widow continued the business, and upon combining with the milnikoff company it increased gradually in wealth. the charter of these joint enterprises, to which the name of the russian-american fur company was given, was signed in august, 1798, and confirmed at st. petersburg in 1799. that year witnessed the settlement of new archangel, on the island of sitka. the consequences of this increased output were not, however, felt in the fur-markets at leipsic. europe was convulsed by war, and napoleon had laid an embargo on british goods. the furs, therefore, accumulated for several years in the stores of the hudson's bay company without finding a mart. from 1787 to 1817, for only a portion of which time the russian company existed, the unalaska district yielded upwards of 2,500,000 seal skins alone. the number of other skins reported at times was prodigious. but the time had not come for the company to actively assert itself in opposition to the russians. it was paying dearly now for its short-sightedness in not availing itself of the opportunities afforded by the conquest of canada to penetrate into its chartered domain. in the second year of the century the honourable adventurers had been obliged to borrow £20,000 from the bank of england, hoping that the cessation of war in europe, and the quarrels of the rival montreal traders in north america, would permit the company to regain the advantage it had lost. for in the autumn of 1798 the company had received advices that its prosperous canadian rival had taken a new step in the conduct of its affairs. [sidenote: rival factions in the north-west company.] difficulties and dissensions had begun to breed in the ranks of the northmen. a few disaffected spirits spoke of secession and carried their intentions into effect, but the stronger partners were reluctant to break up an alliance which had proved so prosperous. but in the closing year, but one of the century, the situation became intolerable and when the partners met, as was their custom at the grand portage, mackenzie bluntly told his associates that he had resolved to quit the company. he was led to this decision by a personal quarrel between himself and simon mctavish, the chief of the north-west company. opposing factions sprang into being, attaching themselves to both mackenzie and mctavish, the latter of whom strongly resented the way in which he was treated at the annual meeting by the partisans of the former, and each now determined to take his course thenceforward untrammelled by the other. mackenzie went to england, where he published an account of his travels in the north-west and obtained the honour of knighthood, and in 1801 returned to canada. here his friends flocked about him, and there saw the light of a new organization, officially entitled the new north-west company, or sir alexander mackenzie & co., but more popularly as the x. y. co. the two rival canadian associations now put forth all their strength to establish their commerce in the unknown and unfrequented regions. one of the old north-west employees, livingston, who had already, in 1796, established a post nearly 100 miles north of slave lake, undertook to carry the trade still farther north. but this he was never destined to accomplish. a few days out on this journey he was confronted by the aborigines, who slew him and his companions. an expedition to the bow river, however, was more successful, and in the midst of many hostile indians a trading post was established there. other proofs of enterprise on the part of mctavish and his associates were not wanting. the dissensions between the two companies so far do not appear to have had a prejudicial effect on the traffic, for on the 30th october, 1802, lieutenant governor milnes, in a dispatch to lord hobart,[86] gives an account of the flourishing state of the fur-trade which so far, he says, from diminishing, appears to increase. new tracts of country had been visited by the merchants employed in this traffic, which had furnished new sources of supply, a large proportion of the furs taken in the north-west being brought to quebec for shipment.[87] but, perhaps, a policy the most daring was pursued with regard to the hudson's bay company. it was not expected that either mctavish and his allies, or the x. y. concern would long be content to forego the glory and profit attendant upon warfare at close quarters with the chartered company. "what is there in their charter," they asked themselves, "which gives them benefits we cannot enjoy? we shall see." [sidenote: the northmen at hudson's bay.] they provided for a most effectual demonstration. in the spring of 1803, they sent the _beaver_, a vessel of one hundred and fifty tons, to hudson's bay, with instructions to exploit commerce under the very guns of the company's forts. hardly had the _beaver_ got under way than an overland expedition was sent by the old french trading route of lakes st. jean and mistassini, to the same quarter. the result was the construction of two posts, one on charlton island, and the other at the mouth of moose river. the astonishment of the company's servants can be imagined, when upon looking out one fine morning, they beheld a band of swarthy half-breeds, captained by orkneymen, rearing premises adjacent to their own, and bidding defiance to the ancient charter of the honourable hudson's bay company. they were told by their superiors not to be alarmed; the scheme of their rivals would not succeed any more than had those of the quebec companies who a century before had sought to penetrate overland to the bay. the company could always undersell them then; and it could now, and did. the confidence of the factors was justified, and the indians merely smiled at the northmen and their goods, bidding them return to their country, or betake themselves to the west, where the tribes were ignorant and knew not the value of things. so, after a season or two, the north-west concern abandoned moose river and charlton island, and sought other and more fruitful fields in the west. [sidenote: the fishery and fur company.] mackenzie himself was in london actively engaged in promoting a scheme of his own. he sought to get the british government to constrain the hudson's bay company to grant licenses to a company of british merchants, to be established in london under the name of "the fishery and fur company," which company, for the purpose of combining the fishery in the pacific with the fur trade of the interior from the east to the west coasts of the continent of north america, would at once "equip whalers in england, and by means of the establishments already made and in activity at montreal on the east and advanced posts and trading houses in the interior towards the west coast, to which they might extend it and where other establishments to be made at king george sound, nootka island, under the protection of the supreme government, and on the river columbia and at sea otter harbour under the protection of the subordinate government of these places, would open and establish a commercial communication through the continent of north america between the atlantic and pacific oceans to the incalculable advantage and furtherance both of the pacific fishery of america and american fur trade of great britain, in part directly and in part indirectly, through the channel of the possessions and factories of the east india company in china," etc., "it being perfectly understood that none of these maritime or inland establishments shall be made on territory in the possession of any other european nation, nor within the limits of the united states of north america or of the hudson's bay company." the scheme, however, failed. the death of mctavish, in 1804, brought about a reunion of the two rival factions, and the north-west company became stronger than ever. they imitated the chartered company in establishing several of their members in london as agents, who purchased the necessary merchandise and saw it safely shipped, besides attending to the fur imports and other regular business of the concern. [sidenote: coalition of the north-west and x. y. companies.] after the coalition of the old north-west and the x. y. concern, and the consequent suppression of all private adventurers in canada, the only rival of the northmen in the uplands was the hudson's bay company. it was alleged that thenceforward the ferocious spirit which had been fostered among the clerks and servants of the two companies by six years of continual violence was all turned against the company. it was said that not only was a systematic plan formed for driving their traders out of all valuable beaver companies, but that hopes were entertained of reducing the company to so low an ebb as in time to induce them to make over their chartered rights to their commercial rival. with this intent, a series of aggressive acts was now begun and carried on against the servants of the company. [illustration: the rival traders.] the hudson's bay company had witnessed the encroachment of the traders, first french, then english, as well as the establishment and growth of the north-west association, without taking any active steps to forcibly restrain them. many years was the competition carried on without any violent breach of the peace on either side. oftentimes indeed did the rival traders meet in the wilderness at a deserted camp, or at some remote portage, but they bore no personal enmity in their hearts. they shook hands, smoked, broke meat together, and parted--one with his beaver skins to the east, the other to the north--to cumberland or york factory. doubtless the north-west concern at the beginning of the century possessed a powerful advantage in the system of profits and deserved promotion, while the company's servants, unstimulated by any hope of additional reward or certain promotion, was calculated to foster apathy, rather than zeal. [sidenote: murder of labau.] it was claimed by the company that the northmen employed for their purposes men of the most abandoned character who, as sir alexander mackenzie expressed it, "considered the command of their employer as binding on them, and however wrong or irregular the transaction the responsibility rested with the principal who directed them." one of the first instances of collision occurred in the year 1800. in that year frederick schultz, a clerk of the old company, commanded a post near nepigon. amongst his men was a young lad about nineteen years of age named labau, who understood english, and had in the course of the preceding winter become intimate with the servants of the hudson's bay company, who occupied a post near the same place. labau was attracted to the company's service and, when the traders on both sides were preparing to leave their wintering ground, resolved to go down to york factory. intelligence of this having reached schultz, he sent his interpreter to order labau to return to his duty, accompanied by a reminder that he was in debt to the north-west company. the young man responded by offering to remit the money he owed the company, but declared that he would not remain any longer in its service. this answer being reported to schultz he vehemently declared that if the scoundrel would not come back willingly he would know what to do with him. the doughty northman took his dagger, carefully whetted it, and having dressed himself in his best attire, went over to the hudson's bay post. here he found labau, and asked him in a furious tone whether he would come with him. the young man, being intimidated, faltered out an affirmative, but watching his opportunity sought to make his escape out of the room, but schultz was too quick for him. he drew his dagger and aimed a blow which labau tried in vain to avoid. he was stabbed in the loin, and expired the same evening. after this exploit, when schultz returned to the assembly of the northmen at the grand portage, he met with an indifferent reception, labau being rather popular amongst his fellow-servants. it was, therefore, not thought advisable to employ schultz any longer in that quarter, although this was the only notice taken of the murder. the murderer came down in the canoes of the north-west concern to montreal, where he remained at large and unnoticed for months. he was afterwards taken into the service of the company, employed in a different region, and after several years settled down undisturbed in lower canada. [illustration: york factory. (_from an old print._)] there can be no doubt that much of the success of the northmen was due to the indiscriminate manner in which they extirpated the animals in the country, destroying all without distinction, whether young or old, in season or out of season. the miserable natives, over-awed by the preparation and power of the strangers, and dreading the resentment of the northmen, witnessed this destruction without daring to resist, although they complained bitterly that their country was wasted as if it had been overrun by fire. it is well known that the best season for hunting all the fur-bearing animals is the winter. the fur in summer is universally of inferior quality, and this, too, is the season when wild animals rear their young. for both these reasons it seemed desirable that the hunting should be suspended during the summer months, and this was effectually procured when all the best hunters, all the young and active men of the indian tribes, were engaged in a distant excursion. there was consequently a material advantage in requiring them to leave their hunting grounds in summer, and come to the factories on the coast for a supply of european goods. while this was the practice, no furs were brought from home but those of prime quality, and as the beaver and other valuable fur-bearing animals were protected from injury during the most critical time of the year, the breed was preserved, and the supply was plentiful. but when the traders came to the interior, there to remain throughout the year, the indians were tempted to conceal their hunts through the season. they were too improvident to abstain from killing the breeding animals or their young. the cub was destroyed with the full-grown beaver, and the consequence might readily have been foreseen. these valuable animals, formerly so numerous, rapidly approached the point of complete extermination. it was observed that the district in which they once abounded, and from which large supplies were formerly obtained, soon came to produce few or none. [sidenote: collision at big fall.] in autumn, 1806, john crear, a trader in the service of the hudson's bay company (also on the establishment of albany factory), occupied a post at a place called big fall, near lake winipic. one evening a party of canadians in two canoes, commanded by mr. alexander macdonnell, then a clerk of the north-west company, arrived, and encamped at a short distance. on the following morning four of crear's men set out for their fishing grounds, about a mile off, immediately after which mr. macdonnell came to the house with his men, and charging crear with having traded furs with an indian who was indebted to the north-west concern, insisted on these furs being given up to him. on crear's refusal, macdonnell's men broke open the warehouse door. william plowman, the only servant that remained with crear, attempted to prevent them from entering; but one of the canadians knocked him down, while another presented a gun at crear himself. although macdonnell prevented him from firing, the canadian struck crear in the eye with the butt end of his gun, which covered his face with blood and felled him to the ground. mr. macdonnell himself stabbed plowman in the arm with a dagger, and gave him a dangerous wound. the canadians then rifled the warehouse; the furs, being taken in summer, were of little value; but they carried off two bags of flour, a quantity of salt pork and beef, and some dried venison, and also took away a new canoe belonging to the hudson's bay company. in the following february macdonnell sent one of his junior clerks with a party of men, who again attacked crear's house, overpowered him, beat him and his men in the most brutal manner, and carried away a great number of valuable furs. they also obliged crear to sign a paper acknowledging that he had given up the furs voluntarily, which they extorted with threats of instant death if he should refuse. mr. alexander macdonnell had lately been promoted to the station of a partner in the north-west concern. in the year 1806, mr. fidler was sent with a party of eighteen men from churchill factory, to establish a trading post at isle a la crosse, near the borders of the athabasca country, but within the territories of the hudson's bay company. he remained there for two years, sending a detachment of his people to green lake and beaver river. during the first winter he had some success, but afterwards he was effectually obstructed. on many former occasions the officers of the hudson's bay company had attempted to establish a trade in this place, which is in the centre of a country abounding in beaver, but they had always been obliged to renounce the attempt. the methods used with mr. fidler may explain the causes of this failure. mr. john macdonnell had been mr. fidler's competitor during the early part of the winter, but (not being inclined to set all principles of law and justice at defiance) was removed and relieved, first by mr. robert henry, and then by mr. john duncan campbell. the north-west concern having been established for many years at isle a la crosse without any competition, had obtained what they call the attachment of the indians, that is to say, they had reduced them to such abject submission that the very sight of a canadian was sufficient to inspire them with terror. in order that this salutary awe might suffer no diminution, the post at isle a la crosse was reinforced with an extra number of canadians, so that the natives might be effectually prevented from holding any intercourse with the traders of the hudson's bay company, and that the appearance of so very superior a force, ready to overwhelm and destroy him, might deter mr. fidler from any attempt to protect his customers. a watch-house was built close to his door, so that no indian could enter unobserved; a party of professed batteilleurs were stationed here, and employed not only to watch the natives, but to give every possible annoyance, night and day, to the servants of the hudson's bay company. their fire-wood was stolen, they were perpetually obstructed in hunting for provisions, the produce of their garden was destroyed, their fishing lines taken away in the night time, and their nets, on which they chiefly relied for subsistence, cut to pieces. the ruffians who were posted to watch mr. fidler, proceeded from one act of violence to another, and in proportion as they found themselves feebly resisted, they grew bolder, and at length issued a formal mandate that not one of the servants of the hudson's bay company should stir out of their house, and followed up this with such examples of severity that mr. fidler's men refused to remain at the post. they were compelled to leave it, and the canadians immediately burnt his house to the ground. [sidenote: the robbery at bad lake.] a trader, william corrigal, in the service of the company, was stationed, in may, 1806, with a few men at a place called bad lake, not far from albany factory. near this post was another occupied by a much larger number of men in charge of a partner in the north-west concern named haldane. five of the canadians in his service watching their opportunity broke into corrigal's house about midnight when he and his men were in bed. the ruffians immediately secured all the loaded guns and pistols they could find, and one of them seizing the company's trader and presenting a pistol at his breast swore to shoot him if he made any resistance. in the meantime the others rifled the storehouse and took away furs to the number of 480 beaver. on their departure corrigal dressed himself and went immediately to haldane, whom he found up, and fully attired, to complain of the conduct of his servants and to demand that the stolen property be restored. the answer of the northman was that "he had come to that country for furs, and furs he was determined to have." the robbers were permitted to carry away the stolen peltries to the grand portage where they were sold, and formed part of the returns of the north-west concern that year. a robbery of the same character took place at red lake a little later in the year. this trading house was also under the charge of corrigal, and was forcibly entered by eight of the northmen, armed with pistols and knives; under threats to murder the servants of the hudson's bay company they carried off furs to the amount of fifty beaver. not long after this they forcibly broke open the same warehouse and robbed it of a large quantity of cloth, brandy, tobacco and ammunition. [sidenote: violence and robbery by the north-west company.] in the year 1808 mr. john spence, of the hudson's bay company, commanded a post fitted out from churchill's factory at reindeer lake, in the neighbourhood of which there was a station of the north-west company commanded by mr. john duncan campbell, one of the partners. in the course of the spring, william linklater, in the service of the hudson's bay company, was sent out to meet some indians, from whom he traded a parcel of valuable furs. he was bringing them home on a hand sleigh, and was at no great distance from the house, when campbell came out with a number of men, stopped him, demanded the furs, and on being refused drew a dagger, with which he cut the traces of the sledge, while at the same time one of his men took hold of linklater's shoes, tripped him up, and made him fall on the ice. the sledge of furs was then hauled away to the north-west concern's house. campbell offered to mr. spence to send other furs in exchange for those which he had thus robbed him of; but they were of very inferior value, and the latter refused the compromise. the furs were carried away, and no compensation was ever made. on a previous occasion, at isle a la crosse lake (in the year 1805), the same campbell had attacked two of the servants of the hudson's bay company, and took a parcel of furs from them in the same way. some of the men from the hudson's bay house came out to assist their fellow-servants, but were attacked by superior numbers of the canadians, and beaten off, with violence and bloodshed. footnotes: [84] see map, page 246. [85] to exhibit anew the exaggeration common to the acquisition of new possessions, i may observe that shelekoff reported that he had subjected to the crown of russia, "fifty thousand men in the island of kodiak alone." but lisiansky, who took a prominent part in the russian company, remarks, in 1805, that "the population of the island, when compared with its size, is very small." after the "minutest research" at that time he found it amounted to only four thousand souls. [86] canadian archives. [87] the tables enclosed in the dispatch show, first, the names and numbers of the posts occupied in the indian country (exclusive of the king's posts), the number of partners, clerks and men employed, the latitude and longitude of each post being also given. the grand total shows that there were 117 posts, 20 partners, 161 clerks and interpreters, 877 common men, in all of a permanent staff 1,058 men, thus divided: ninety-five in the territory of the united states from the south side of lake superior to the division of the waters falling into the mississippi on the one side and hudson's bay on the other; seventy-six on the waters falling into the st. lawrence from the kaministiquia, and also from the st. maurice; six hundred and thirty on the waters falling into hudson's bay, and two hundred and fifty-seven on the waters falling into the north sea by the mackenzie river. besides these there were eighty or one hundred canadians and iroquois hunters, not servants, ranging free over the country and about five hundred and forty men employed in canoes on the ottawa river. the average duties paid annually on landing in britain amounted to upwards of £22,000 sterling and the price paid for the furs exported from quebec in 1801, at the london sales, was £371,139 11s. 4d. chapter xxix. 1808-1812. crisis in the company's affairs -no dividend paid -petition to lords of the treasury -factors allowed a share in the trade -canada jurisdiction act -the killing of macdonnell -mowat's ill-treatment -lord selkirk -his scheme laid before the company -a protest by thwaytes and others -the project carried -emigrants sent out to red river -northmen stirred to reprisal. england was again at war with france. napoleon had placed an embargo on english commerce, and to the uttermost corner of europe was this measure felt. tons of the most costly furs, for which there was no market, lay heaped in the company's warehouse. the greatest difficulty was experienced in procuring servants, especially seamen, and when these were procured, they were often seized by a press-gang; shares began to decline in value; numerous partners were selling out their interests, and no strong man appeared at the head of affairs. in 1808 no dividend was paid, chiefly the result of the non-exportation of the company's furs to the continent of europe. there were the accumulations of furs imported during 1806, 1807 and 1808 lying in the warehouse without prospect of sale. the pressure still continued and at last, in 1809, the company was driven to petition the chancellor of the exchequer for transmission to lords of the treasury, setting forth the company's position and its claims on the nation. [sidenote: the company in difficulties.] "accumulated difficulties," it said, "have pressed hardly on the company and we ask assistance to maintain a colony that till now has found within itself resources to withstand the pressure of all former wars and to continue those outfits on which six hundred europeans and their families and some thousands of native indians depend for their very existence. "we assure your worships that it was not until all those resources were exhausted that we came to the resolution of making the present application." the petition recited that after having received their charter the company had colonized such parts of newly granted territories as appeared most convenient for carrying on their commerce with the natives. this commerce "consisted in the barter of british manufactures for the furs of animals killed by the different tribes of indians who were within reach of factories and gradually extended itself till, as at the present moment, the manufactures of great britain are borne by the traders of hudson's bay over the face of the whole country from lake superior to the athabasca. "the trade is at present pursued by the export of furs, gunpowder, shot, woollens, hardware and other articles, which together with large supplies of provisions for the factories, constitute an annual outfit consisting wholly of british manufactures and british produce of from £40,000 to £50,000, in return for which we receive the furs of bears, wolves, foxes, otters, martens, beaver and other animals, together with some oil and articles of inferior value. the cargoes are sold at public sale. the beaver and some few inferior furs, together with the oil, are bought for home consumption and sell for about £30,000, but the fine furs were, till after the sale of 1806, bought by the fur merchants for the fairs of frankfort and of leipsic for petersburg, and before the present war, for france. since that year there has not been a fur sold for exportation, and as a proof to your worships that the deficiency of buyers did not arise from our holding back for a higher market, we sold in 1806 for seven shillings per skin furs that in the more quiet state of europe in 1804 had brought us 20s. 3d., and which for years previous to that time had sold for a similar price; and other depreciation pervaded in about the same proportion the whole of those furs calculated only for the foreign market, and in some instances furs were sold for a less price than the duties we had paid for them. "since that period no orders have been received from abroad, and our warehouses are filled with the most valuable productions of three years' import that if sold at the prices of those years before the closing of the ports on the continent would have produced us at least £150,000. "it may be objected to us, that we were improvident in pursuing under such circumstances a trade which must so inevitably tend to ruin. but a certainty that a considerable quantity of furs found their way to new york, and an earnest zeal for the preservation of trade which by the conduct of the hudson's bay company had been secured to this country for a century and a half, prompted us to every exertion to maintain the footing we had established, and the annually increasing amount of our trade gave us just grounds to look forward with confidence to the opening of the northern ports of europe as the period when all our difficulties would cease; an event which, anterior to the battles of austerlitz or of jena, was looked for with the most sanguine expectation. "above all were we impelled by the strongest motives to continue these supplies which were necessary for the subsistence of six hundred european servants, their wives and children, dispersed over a vast and extended field of the north american continent, and who would not be brought to europe under a period of three years as well as those upon whom the many indian nations now depend for their very existence. "the nations of hunters taught for one hundred and fifty years the use of fire-arms could no more resort, with certainty, to the bow or the javelin for their daily subsistence. accustomed to the hatchet of great britain, they could ill adopt the rude sharpened stone to the purposes of building, and until years of misery and of famine had extirpated the present race, they could not recur to the simple arts by which they supported themselves before the introduction of british manufactures. as the outfits of the hudson's bay company consist principally of articles which long habit have taught them now to consider of first necessity, if we withhold these outfits, we leave them destitute of their only means of support. the truth of this observation had a melancholy proof in the year 1782, when from the attack made upon the settlements by la pérouse, and the consequent failure of our supplies, many of the indians were found starved to death. [sidenote: petition of the company.] "it was not only from the firm conviction that we felt of the necessity of european manufactures to the present existence of whole nations of north american indians that we considered ourselves bound by the most powerful ties to exert every effort in their favour; but also that we might continue to them those advantages which would result to their religious as well as civil welfare from the progressive improvements, and a gradual system of civilisation and education which we have introduced throughout the country; improvements which are now diffusing the comforts of civilized life, as well as the blessings of the christian faith to thousands of uninstructed indians, and would in their completion, we can confidently assert, have tended to the future cultivation of lands, which from experiments we found capable of growing most of the grains of northern europe, and from their climate adapted to the culture of hemp and flax, and from the labour of those families who would have been induced to settle at our factories, might soon have brought to this country the produce of the boundless forests of pine that spread themselves over almost the southern parts of our possessions. "to realize these not visionary schemes, but sure and certain plans, founded upon the progressive civilization of the natives, were objects not to be given up without the most urgent necessity, and the hope that the ruler of the french empire could not forever shut out our trade from europe, induced us to resort to every means within our power to preserve the advantages resulting to ourselves and to the indians, and to the british nation. "we have exhausted those funds which we set apart for their completion; we have pledged our credit till we feel, as honest men, that upon the present uncertainty we can pledge it no farther, and we throw ourselves upon your worship's wisdom to afford us that temporary assistance which we cannot ask at any other hands. "were we to resort to the early history of our settlements, we might lay the foundations of just claims upon the public to assist our present wants. we could show instances of most destructive attacks by the french upon our factories. our forts and military works, mounted with a numerous and expensive artillery for the defence of the colony against their future operations, were destroyed and the guns ruined. and particularly was a most grievous loss occasioned to us by the predatory attack of la pérouse about the conclusion of the american war, which caused the distress to which we have above alluded. "against these pressures when our trade flourished we were able to hold up, and we found within ourselves those resources which defeated the enemy's views and continued to great britain the trade we had established. "and it is not until pressed to our last resort that we ask of your lordships that assistance with which we may confidently hope to preserve our trade until the continent may be again opened, when we shall be delivered from those difficulties under which we are now sinking." the petition was signed by wm. mainwaring, governor; joseph berens, deputy governor; george hyde wollaston, thomas neave, job mathew raikes, thomas langley, john henry pelly, benjamin harrison, john webb. in april the adventurers petitioned the king in council to reduce duties on furs to one-half, or trade must suffer extinction. no profit was derivable, it said, on marten, wolf, bear, wolverine and fisher-skins. to this petition the office of committee of privy council for trade, whitehall, replied in the following february, that the memorial of the hudson's bay company contained no proposition on which the lords of this council could "offer any opinion to the lords of treasury." [sidenote: small government assistance.] as their petition was denied, the company now boldly prepared a request and asked for a loan of £60,000, and that time be extended for paying the duties on furs imported until the continental market re-opened. to this request an answer was returned, allowing twelve months storage of furs free of duty and promising drawbacks as if storage had only been for one year, but stating that there were no funds out of which a loan could be made without special authority of parliament. it was clear that the company was in very low water, and that some new salutary policy was demanded. by way of a beginning, barter was abolished as a basis of trade, and money payments ordered. at the same time the adventurers stole a leaf out of the book of the north-west company, and new regulations, comprising thirty-five articles, were made in the early months of 1810, for carrying on the business in hudson's bay. the principle of allowing to their chief officers a considerable participation in the profits of their trade was admitted. it was found absolutely necessary to adopt some step of this sort, as nothing of such a measure could be sufficient to stem the torrent of aggression with which they had been assailed by the north-west company; and their absolute ruin must have ensued if some effectual means had not been taken, not only to rectify some of the abuses which had crept in under the former system, but also to rouse their officers to a more effectual resistance of the lawless violence practised against them. the total lack of jurisdiction in the indian country, as the territory which was the scene of the operations of the fur-traders was called, permitted crime to go unpunished, and numerous representations were made in respect to the evils of this practical immunity from punishment. in sir alexander mackenzie's letter of the 25th of october, 1802, he says that, in view of the improbability of the two companies amalgamating, a jurisdiction should be established as speedily as possible, to prevent the contending fur companies from abusing the power either might possess, so as to secure to each the fruits of fair, honest and industrious exertion; it would also, he believed, tend to put a stop to the increasing animosity between the two companies. mr. richardson, of the other company, also pressed for the establishment of a competent jurisdiction and instanced the case of one of the clerks in his company who had killed a clerk of the other in defending the property in his care. the young man had come to montreal to be tried, but there being no jurisdiction there for such trial, "he remains in the deplorable predicament that neither his innocence nor his guilt can be legally ascertained." he also proposed that a military post should be established at thunder bay, on lake superior, as an additional means of securing peace. repeatedly had the grand juries of quebec and montreal called attention to this want of jurisdiction. in one report the number of people from the canadas, chiefly from lower canada, was urged as one reason for establishing in the indian country a court of competent jurisdiction for the trial of offences committed in these territories, including hudson's bay. [sidenote: plea for establishment of jurisdiction.] "the very heavy expense," observes the report, "incident to the conveyance of offenders from the territory of hudson's bay to england, with the necessary witnesses on both sides, and the cost of prosecution and defence, must generally operate, either to prevent recourse to a tribunal across the ocean, and thereby stimulate to private retaliation and revenge, or where such course can or shall be had, the guilty may escape punishment, and the innocent be sacrificed from the distance of time and place of trial, the death or absence of witnesses, or other causes; and the mind cannot contemplate without horror the possible abuses to which such circumstances might give rise; as in the instance of a prosecutor coming from and at a remote day, when the accused may be destitute of pecuniary means, and the exculpatory evidence may either be dead, removed, or be otherwise beyond his reach, who at all events (however innocent he may finally be found) will have undergone a long and painful confinement, far removed from his family and connections, and perhaps ruinous to every prospect he had in life." sir robert milnes strongly supported the representation of the grand jury, and added that "under such circumstances every species of offence is to be apprehended, from trespasses to murder," and also that "the national character of the english will be debased among the indians, and the numerous tribes of those people will in consequence thereof be more easily wrought upon by foreign emissaries employed by the enemies of great britain."[88] in consequence of these representations lord hobart promised that immediate steps should be taken to remedy the existing state of affairs. but milnes became impatient for a decision, and writing in september, 1803, to the under-secretary, he reminded him of the promise, the great increase and extent of the fur-trade rendering such an act daily more necessary. the act to give jurisdiction to the courts of upper and lower canada had, however, been assented to on the 11th of the preceding month. [illustration: voyageurs tracking canoes up a rapid.] [sidenote: canada jurisdiction act.] the first case brought to trial under the act became celebrated. in the autumn of 1809 william corrigal was the trader at a company's post near eagle lake. on the 15th of september a party of north-westers established an encampment about forty yards from the company's post, under one of their clerks, aeneas macdonnell. in the evening an indian arrived in his canoe to trade with corrigal and to pay a debt which he owed him. as he was not able to defray the whole amount, corrigal accepted the canoe in part payment. the indian requested that it might be lent to him for a few days, which was agreed to; and the indian spent the night at the post with his canoe. in the morning he received in advance some more merchandise, such as clothing for his family and ammunition for his winter hunt. when he finally departed, three of the company's servants were sent down to the wharf with the canoe and the goods. on their way they were observed by a number of northmen, including macdonnell, who went immediately down to the lake, armed with a sword and accompanied by a voyageur named adhemer, armed with a brace of pistols. upon pretence that the unhappy red man was indebted to the north-west company, they proceeded to seize and drag away the canoe and the merchandise to their own wharf. corrigal observing this, commanded two of his men, james tate and john corrigal, to go into the water and prevent the seizure, and as they approached on this mission macdonnell drew his sword and struck two blows at tate's head. the latter was unarmed, and warded the blows with his wrist, which was severely gashed. he then received another deep wound in the neck, which felled him to the ground. in the meantime adhemer had seized john corrigal (who was also unarmed) and presenting a cocked pistol at his head, swore that if he went near the canoe he would blow out his brains. several of the company's servants who were near the spot, perceiving what was going on, and observing that the rest of macdonnell's men were collecting with arms, ran up to their own house, which was only about forty or fifty yards from the lake, for weapons of defence. macdonnell next attacked john corrigal, who to escape him ran into the lake. finding the water too deep, however, he was soon obliged to make a turn towards the shore. his pursuer wading after him, aimed a blow at him with his sword, cut his arm above the elbow and laid the bone bare. he followed this up with a tremendous blow at his head, which robert leask, one of the company's servants, fortunately warded off with the paddle of his canoe, which was cut in two by the blow. the north-west leader in a fury now attacked another servant named essen, aimed a blow at him with his sword, which, however, only struck his hat off. but in making his escape essen fell into the water. before he could recover himself another canadian aimed a blow at his head with a heavy axe, which missed its aim, but dislocated his shoulder, so that he could make no use of his arm for over two months after this affray. [sidenote: killing of macdonnell.] macdonnell and adhemer, the one with a drawn sword and the other with a cocked pistol, continued to pursue several other of the company's servants towards the fort, when one of them, named john mowat, whom macdonnell had previously struck with his sword, and was preparing to strike again, shot macdonnell on the spot. [sidenote: trial of mowat.] macdonnell's body was carried away, and the parties separated, corrigal fearing a further attack. on the 24th, a partner of the north-west company, named haldane, arrived in a canoe with ten men, and on the following day another partner, mclellan, also arrived. they came to the gates of the stockades, behind which corrigal and his men had barricaded themselves, and demanded the man who had shot macdonnell. they declared that if the person was not immediately given up they would either shoot every one of the company's men, or get the indians to kill them, were it even to cost them a keg of brandy for each of their heads! mowat now stepped forward and acknowledged that he was the man, and that he would shoot macdonnell again in the same circumstances. much to his surprise the north-westers announced their intention of taking him and two witnesses down to montreal for trial. mowat was thereupon put in irons. from the 2nd of october, when they arrived at rainy lake, the unhappy man was generally kept in irons from six in the morning till eight in the evening, and during the night until the 14th of december. during the whole winter he was kept in close confinement, and the two witnesses, tate and leask, who had voluntarily accompanied him, were themselves subjected to much insult and indignity, and were obliged to submit to every species of drudgery and labour in order to obtain a bare subsistence. in june the whole party, including corrigal, arrived at fort william, the chief trading-post rendezvous of the north-westers. here mowat was imprisoned in a close and miserable dungeon, about six feet square, without any window or light of any kind whatsoever, and when he finally reached montreal he was in a most pitiable condition. the witnesses were seized on a charge of aiding and abetting the murder of macdonnell, and this upon the oath of one of the north-west half-breeds. the hudson's bay company had at this time no agent or correspondent at montreal or any place in canada, and it was not until the end of november that the honourable adventurers heard of the prosecution being carried on against their servants. immediate steps were taken for their protection, and counsel engaged for the defence. mowat and his witnesses were indicted for murder. the grand jury found a true bill against mowat, but not against the others, and tate and leask were accordingly discharged.[89] in spite of the evidence, the jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter. the judge, however, had charged them to find it murder. mowat was sentenced to be imprisoned six months and branded on the hand with a hot iron. after his discharge, two years from the time he was first put in irons at eagle lake, mowat proceeded from canada to the united states in order to return to england, but was never heard of again. he is supposed to have been drowned by the breaking of the ice in one of the rivers he had to cross on his way. [sidenote: the earl of selkirk.] such was the situation in the early years of the century. at this time there rose a name destined to be of more than local fame, that of thomas douglas, fifth earl of selkirk, a young man of benevolent character, whose feelings had been deeply moved by the sufferings of his countrymen in the scottish highlands. nor was the nobleman's compassion excited without cause. a compulsory exodus of the inhabitants of the mountainous regions in the county of sutherland was in progress. the tale of expulsion of a vast number of poor tenantry from the estates of the duchess of sutherland, which they and their ancestors had looked upon as their own without the necessity of rent and taxes, may be heard to-day from some white-haired old grandfather, who had it from the lips of his sire, in the far north of scotland. the system of rents and land-management as it prevails to-day all over the highlands had only then been put in force, and the squatters were driven to seek their homes as best they might in the remote and sequestered places of the earth. selkirk encouraged this emigration as the only remedy; and having endeavoured in vain to secure the active co-operation of the government, resolved to settle a colony on waste lands granted him in prince edward island. the better to ensure success, he went in person to oversee the whole enterprise. gathering together about eight hundred of these poor people, who bade a melancholy farewell to their heather-robed hills, they arrived at their future home early in september, 1803. [illustration: lord selkirk.] selkirk visited montreal in this and also in the following year on matters connected with his philanthropic undertaking, and on both occasions evinced the heartiest interest in the great territory to the north-west which formed the theatre of action for the two rival fur-trading companies. the prince edward island colony continuing to prosper, lord selkirk now conceived the plan of forming a colony on the banks of the red river, in rupert's land.[90] in order to execute his project with a greater assurance of success, he again, in 1805, addressed the british government and nation, pointing out the successful issue of his colony as an example of the excellent results which would attend a further exodus of the superfluous population. time went on and the execution of the plan being still in abeyance, the great decline in hudson's bay stock suggested an idea to selkirk. he submitted the charter to several of the highest legal authorities in england, and got from them the following: "we are of the opinion that the grant of the said contained charter is good, and that it will include all the country, the waters of which run into hudson's bay, as ascertained by geographical observations. [sidenote: legal opinion on the company's charter.] "we are of opinion that an individual holding from the hudson's bay company a lease or grant in fee simple of any part of their territory, will be entitled to all the ordinary rights of landed property in england, and will be entitled to prevent other persons from occupying any part of the lands; from cutting down timber and fishing in the adjoining waters (being such as a private right of fishing may subsist in), and may (if he can peaceably or otherwise in due course of law) dispossess them of any buildings which they have recently erected within the limits of their property. "we are of opinion that the grant of the civil and criminal jurisdiction is valid, though it is not granted to the company, but to the governor and council at their respective establishments. we cannot recommend, however, it to be exercised so as to affect the lives or limbs of criminals. it is to be exercised by the governor and council as judges, who are to proceed according to the laws of england. "the company may appoint a sheriff to execute judgments and do his duty as in england. "we are of opinion that the sheriff, in case of resistance to his authority, may collect the population to his assistance, and put arms into the hands of his servants for defence against attack, and to assist in enforcing the judgments of the courts; but such powers cannot be exercised with too much circumspection. "we are of opinion that all persons will be subject to the jurisdiction of the court, who reside or are found within the territories over which it extends. "we do not think the canada jurisdiction act (43 george iii.) gives jurisdiction within the territories of the hudson's bay company, the same being within the jurisdiction of their own governors and council.[91] "we are of opinion that the governor (in hudson's) might under the authority of the company, appoint constables and other officers for the preservation of the peace and that the officers so appointed would have the same duties and privileges as the same officers in england, so far as these duties and privileges may be applicable to their situation in the territories of the company." this was signed by sir samuel ronully, mr. justice holroyd, w. m. cruise, j. scarlett and john bell. there could be thus no question of selkirk's right. the company's charter, amongst other provisions, expressly forbids all english subjects from entering, without license or authority, upon the territories of the hudson's bay company. the governor and company only are empowered to grant such authority and on them also is conferred the right of establishing castles, fortifications, forts, garrisons, colonies, plantations, towns and villages, in any parts or places within the limits of their territory. they had also the right of sending ships of war, men or ammunition, to their colonies, fortifications or plantations, and of appointing governors, commanders and officers over them. selkirk began by purchasing several thousand pounds worth of shares in the company. late in 1810 he made a formal proposition to the company, a proposition previously made and rejected, for a settlement to be made within its territory. this time some of the honourable adventurers began to see that the scheme might be fraught with salvation for themselves. lord selkirk was asked to lay before the committee the terms on which he would accept a grant of land within the hudson's bay territories, "specifying what restrictions he would be prepared to consent to be imposed on the settlers." also what security he would offer to the company against any injury to its trade or to its rights and privileges. lord selkirk responded to this, and his proposals were agreed to, subject to final approbation of a general court of all the adventurers. [sidenote: selkirk's project.] it now dawned upon the wiser spirits that here was being offered them the means for the company's salvation. nevertheless, the traditional opposition of the company to any project of the kind still lingered, and was not easily disposed of. for weeks the meetings in committee resounded with appeals to "traditional policy," to "loyalty to the noble, the ancient founders," to "a spirit of reverence for the history of our company," but all to no purpose. selkirk was to carry the day. a general court was convened, by public notice, in may 1811, when the stockholders were informed that the governor and committee considered it beneficial to their general interests to grant lord selkirk 116,000 square miles of their territory, on condition that he should establish a colony and furnish, on certain terms, from amongst the settlers, such labourers as would be required by the company in their trade. in order to give the partners a further opportunity of making themselves fully informed of the nature of the proposed measure, an adjournment of the court took place. in the meanwhile notice was given to all the stockholders that the terms of the proposed grant were left at the secretary's office for their inspection. this interval was the opportunity of mcgillivray and his friends. in certain quarters, no pains or misrepresentations were spared by persons associated with the north-west company to prejudice the public mind against it. the newspapers teemed with falsehoods representing the country as cold or barren, as a dreary waste or interminable forest, unfit to be the abode of men and incapable of improvement. selkirk was accosted in pall mall by a friend who remarked: "by god, sir, if you are bent on doing something futile, why do you not sow tares at home in order to reap wheat, or plough the desert of sahara, which is nearer." old servants of the company came forward to dispel these calumnies, and seeing their first falsehoods destroyed, selkirk's enemies now proceeded to follow new tactics. they spoke with feigned alarm concerning the hostile disposition of the aborigines; they lamented with affected sympathy and humanity the injuries and slaughters to which the colonists would be exposed from the savages. at the adjourned meeting the proposition was again discussed amidst the greatest excitement and tumult, and adopted. a memorial or protest was however entered against the measure, bearing the signature of six of the proprietors. [sidenote: opposition by agents of the north-west company.] of these six signing the protest, three were persons closely connected with and interested in the rival commercial concerns of the north-west company of montreal; and two of the three were, at the very moment, avowed london agents of that association. these had become proprietors of hudson's bay stock only eight and forty hours before the general meeting. they were not indeed possessed of it long enough to entitle them to vote at the meeting; but their names now being entered in the company's books, though the ink was scarcely dry with which they were inserted, they felt themselves competent to formally raise their voices in condemnation of those measures which the committee of directors unanimously, and the general court by a great majority, had approved of. their design in acquiring the company's stock was obvious. however circuitous the stratagem might be, it was clear that they had thus become proprietors of one commercial company for the purpose of advancing the fortunes of another, and a rival concern.[92] the stratagem did not altogether fail, for lord selkirk's agents were yet to encounter much friction in distant quarters supposed to be friendly, and required to be obedient to the orders of the company. when the vote was taken, it was found that for the question there appeared holders of stock valued at £29,937; against it, £14,823. the earl, himself, voted "for"--£4,087; the principal opponent of the scheme being one william thwaytes, whose interest was represented at £9,233. at this meeting a memorial was read violently opposing the scheme, signed by thwaytes and four or five others. according to them, the main objections were:--(_a_) impolitic; (_b_) consideration inadequate; (_c_) grant asked for very large proportion of company's holding, viz.: 70,000 square miles, or about 45,000,000 acres; (_d_) should be a public sale, if any, not a private contract with a member of the company; (_e_) no penalty for failure to find settlers; (_f_) colonization unfavourable to the fur-trade; private traffic would be carried on with the united states of america. the earl proposed to find a number of effective men as servants to the hudson's bay company in return for a grant of land, viz., two hundred men for ten years, from 1812, who would every year be ready to embark between may 1st and july 1st at an appointed place in scotland. the company were to pay wages to each man not exceeding £20. should the earl fail, he agreed to forfeit £10 per man short of two hundred. as to proposed grants of land to settlers, two hundred acres were to be given to labourers or artificers; one thousand acres to a master of a trading-house. the company were, of course, to have full rights of access to all the surrendered districts. [sidenote: earl selkirk's proposal accepted.] the customs duties, exports and imports, payable by settlers were not to exceed five per cent, at port nelson, unless it happened that a higher duty was levied at quebec. the duties so to be levied were to be applied to the expense of government police, communication between lake winnipeg and port nelson, etc., and not to be taken as profits for the company. the show of hands was in favour of the proposal; but a protest was handed in to the governor by thwaytes and others. in spite of this, on the 13th of june, the deed was signed, sealed and delivered by the secretary on behalf of the company. the lands were defined by deed as situate between 52° 30' north latitude and 102° 30' west longitude, a map being affixed to the deed. in reading this protest, one who was ignorant of the true state of affairs would have been led to believe that the partners concerned had no object so dear to them as the welfare and prosperity of the hudson's bay company. these gentlemen appeared to be animated by the most thorough devotion and zeal, as they stood together declaiming in loud, earnest tones against the errors into which their beloved company was falling, and pouring out their sympathy to the emigrant settlers who might be lured to their destruction by establishing themselves on the lands so granted "out of reach," to employ their own phrase, "of all those aids and comforts which are derived from civil society;" and so it did truly appear to many then as it has done since. but let us examine those signatures, and lo, the wolf obtrudes himself basking in the skin of a lamb! the grant was thus confirmed. the opposition had found itself powerless, and selkirk was put into possession of a territory only 5,115 square miles less than the entire area of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland.[93] the grant secured, selkirk at once despatched agents to ireland and throughout the highlands of scotland, to engage servants, some for the company's service, others for general labourers in the colony. these last were known as "his lordship's servants," and were engaged for a term of years, at the expiration of which they became entitled to one hundred acres of land, free of cost. they were placed under the charge of miles mcdonnell, who received a joint appointment from selkirk and the company, as first governor of the new colony. [sidenote: selkirk's immigrants arrive.] the first section of the immigrant party arrived at york factory late in the autumn of 1811.[94] this post was then in charge of william auld, who, as we have seen, occupied the position of superintendent of the northern department of rupert's land. after a short residence at the fort, where they were treated in a somewhat tyrannical and high-handed fashion by the governor, who had scant sympathy for the new _régime_, the party were sent forward to seal creek, fifty miles up nelson river. governor mcdonnell and one hillier, in the character of justice of the peace, accompanied them thither, and preparations were at once made for the erection of a suitable shelter. [illustration: stornaway. (_the hebrides._)] mcdonnell experienced a great deal of trouble during the winter with the men under his charge, for a mutinous spirit broke out, and he was put to his wits' end to enforce discipline. he put it all down to the glasgow servants. "these glasgow rascals," he declared to auld, the governor of york factory, "have caused us both much trouble and uneasiness. a more stubborn, litigious and cross-grained lot were never put under any person's care. i cannot think that any liberality of rum or rations could have availed to stop their dissatisfaction. army and navy discipline is the only thing fit to manage such fierce spirits." but the irish of the party were hardly more tractable. on new year's night, 1812, a violent and unprovoked attack was made by some of the irish on a party of orkneymen, who were celebrating the occasion. three of the latter were so severely beaten that for a month the surgeon could not report their lives entirely out of danger. four of the irishmen concerned in this assault were sent back home. "worthless blackguards," records the governor; "the lash may make them serviceable to the government in the army or navy, but they will never do for us." on the subject of the orkney servants of the company all critics were not agreed. governor mcdonnell's opinion, for instance, was not flattering:-"there cannot," he reported, "be much improvement made in the country while the orkneymen form the majority of labourers; they are lazy, spiritless, and ill-disposed--wedded to old habits, strongly prejudiced against any change, however beneficial. it was with the utmost reluctance they could be prevailed on to drink the spruce juice to save themselves from the scurvy; they think nothing of the scurvy, as they are then idle, and their wages run on.... it is not uncommon for an orkneyman to consume six pounds or eight pounds of meat in a day, and some have ate as much in a single meal. this gluttonous appetite, they say, is occasioned by the cold. i entirely discredit the assertion, as i think it rather to be natural to themselves. all the labour i have seen these men do would scarcely pay for the victuals they consume. with twenty-five men belonging to it, the factory was last winter distressed for firewood, and the people sent to tent in the woods."[95] [sidenote: opposition by the nor'-westers.] meanwhile, leaving the shivering immigrants, distrustful of their officers and doubtful of what the future had in store for them, to encamp at seal creek, let us turn to the state of affairs amongst the parties concerned elsewhere, particularly amongst the nor'-westers. simon mcgillivray, who was agent in london for that company, watched all selkirk's acts with the utmost distrust, and kept the partners continually informed of the turn affairs were taking. he assured them that selkirk's philanthropy was all a cloak, designed to cover up a scheme for the total extinction of the hudson's bay company's rivals. the colony was to be planted to ruin their trade. it was an endeavour to check the physical superiority of the nor'-westers and by means of this settlement secure to the hudson's bay company and to himself, not only the extensive and sole trade of the country within their own territories, but a "safe and convenient stepping-stone for monopolizing all the fur-trade of the far west." the partners in montreal were stirred to action. regarding lord selkirk's motives in this light, they warmly disputed the validity of the hudson's bay company's charter and of the grants of land made to him. it was decided to bring all the forces of opposition they possessed to bear on this "invasion of their hunting grounds." footnotes: [88] canadian archives. [89] it has been noted that several partners of the north-west concern were upon the grand jury which found the bill of indictment, and out of four judges who sat upon the bench, two were nearly related to individuals of that association. [90] already, in april, 1802, lord selkirk had addressed a letter and memorial to lord pelham, the home secretary, detailing the practicability of promoting emigration to rupert's land. "to a colony in these territories," he concluded, "the channel of trade must be the river of port nelson." [91] in the course of a letter reporting on the disputes between the hudson's bay company and the north-westers, commissioner coltman attributed the disasters in the territories to the company having held in abeyance its right to jurisdiction and that this neglect was the reason for passing the act of 1803. this letter is in the canadian archives, _v._ report 1892. [92] "i have," writes sir alexander mackenzie from london, 13th april, 1812, "finally settled with that lord (selkirk). after having prepared a bill to carry him before the lord chancellor, it was proposed to my solicitor by the solicitor of his lordship that one-third of the stock that was purchased on joint account before i went to america, amounting to £47,000, and the balance of cash in his lordship's hands, belonging to me, should be given up to me; of this i accepted, though i might have obliged his lordship to make over to me one-third of the whole purchase made by him in this stock, which at one time i was determined to do, having been encouraged thereto by the house of suffolk lane and countenanced by that of mark lane. but these houses thought it prudent to desist from any further purchases." mackenzie says that by a verbal understanding with mr. mcgillivray, his purchase of the hudson's bay stock belonged to the north-west company, and that, if mr. mcgillivray himself had been there, a sum of £30,000 might have been invested in that stock, "all of which lord selkirk purchased, and if he persists in his present scheme, it will be the dearest he yet made. "he will put the north-west company to a greater expense than you seem to apprehend, and had the company sacrificed £20,000 which might have secured a preponderance in the stock of hudson's bay co., it would have been money well spent." [93] the district thus granted was called assiniboia, a name undoubtedly derived from the assiniboine tribe and river, yet alleged by some at the time to be taken from two gaelic words "osni" and "boia"--the house of ossian. [94] "none of the young men," says mcdonnell, "made any progress in learning the gaelic or irish language on the voyage. i had some drills of the people with arms, but the weather was generally boisterous, and there were few days when a person could stand steady on deck. there never was a more awkward squad--not a man, or even officer, of the party knew how to put a gun to his eye or had ever fired a shot." [95] governor mcdonnell's observations are not always to be relied upon. for instance, he says in one report, "i am surprised the company never directed a survey to be made of the coast on each side of hudson's straits. from the appearance of the country there must be many harbours and inlets for vessels to go in case of an accident from ice, want of water, etc. we were often, ourselves, much in doubt for the accomplishment of our voyage, and had we been under the necessity of putting back, must have suffered for want of water. two of the ships, without any additional expense, might execute this survey on the voyage out, with only the detention of a few days, one taking the north and the other the south shore." such a survey had been made as early as 1728. mention has already been made of captain coats, who, in 1739, prepared a chart of the straits and bay. to some of the older captains in the service, the straits were as well-known as the harbour of stromness. chapter xxx. 1812-1815. the bois-brulés -simon mcgillivray's letter -frightening the settlers -a second brigade -governor mcdonnell's manifesto -defection of northmen to the company - robertson's expedition to athabasca -affairs at red river - cameron and mcdonell in uniform -cuthbert grant -miles mcdonnell arrested -fort william -news brought to the northmen -their confiscated account-books -war of 1812 concluded. [sidenote: the bois-brulés.] there had lately been witnessed the rapid growth of a new class--sprung from the loins of red man and european. alert, rugged, turbulent, they evinced at the same time a passionate love of the life and manners of the wilderness, and a fierce intractability which could hardly fail to cause occasional uneasiness in the minds of their masters. to this class had been given the name of métis, or bois-brulés. they were principally the descendants of the french voyageurs of the north-west concern, who had allied themselves with indian women and settled down on the shore of some lake or stream in the interior. amongst these half-breeds hunters and trappers came, and at a later period a number of englishmen and scotchmen, hardly less strongly linked to a wild, hardy life than themselves. these also took indian wives, and they and their children spoke of themselves as neither english, scotch, or indian, but as belonging to the "new nation." from 1812 to 1821 the north-west concern absorbed all the labours and exacted the loyalty of the increasing class of bois-brulés. the hudson's bay company was exclusively an english company, and their scotch and english servants had left few traces of an alliance with the aborigines. as the posts in the interior began to multiply, and the men were thus cut off from the larger society which obtained at york, cumberland and moose factories, and were thrown more upon their own resources, a laxer discipline prevailed, and the example of their neighbours was followed. a time was to come when the "orkney half-breeds" equalled in point of numbers those of the french bois-brulés. [illustration: a bois-brulé.] there were yet few half-breeds of english extraction. the bois-brulés were passionately attached to the north-west company, who were quick to recognize their value as agents amongst the indians. the idea of nationality, so far from being frowned upon, was encouraged amongst them. so much for the instruments which the company proposed to employ in montreal. it was only natural that amongst this rude race there should arise a leader, a half-breed to whose superior ability and natural advantages was added an education in montreal, the seat of the co-partnery. cuthbert grant, which was the name this individual bore, was known far and wide amongst the hunters and trappers of rupert's land, and everywhere commanded homage and respect. he had risen to be one of the most enterprising and valued agents of the nor'-westers, and was constantly admitted to their councils. on the 22nd of may, 1811, at which period the matter was in embryo in london, simon mcgillivray had frankly declared to miles mcdonnell, agent to lord selkirk, that he was "determined to give all the opposition in his power, whatever might be the consequences," because, in his opinion, "such a settlement struck at the root of the north-west company, which it was intended to ruin."[96] by way of argument, this gentleman took it upon himself to inform the hudson's bay company that the proposed settlement was foredoomed to destruction, inasmuch as it "must at all times lie at the mercy of the indians," who would not be bound by treaties, and that "one north-west company's interpreter would be able at any time to set the indians against the settlers and destroy them." [sidenote: defections from the north-west company.] selkirk was now informed that there were several clerks who had been many years in the service of the northmen, and who were disaffected in that service. they grumbled at not having been sooner promoted to the proprietary--that the claims of the old and faithful were too often passed over for those of younger men of little experience, because they were related to the partners. the earl was not slow to avail himself of this advantage. it became a matter of importance to persuade as many as possible of these dissatisfied spirits to join his scheme, by the offer of large salaries, and several accepted his offer with alacrity. amongst the most enterprising was one colin robertson, a trader who had often ventured his life amongst the tribes and half-breeds, to forward the interests of his establishment. he possessed a perfect knowledge of the interior and of the fur-trade, and to him lord selkirk entrusted the chief management of the latter for the company. robertson was well convinced of the superiority of the canadian voyageurs over the orkneymen, in the management of canoes, for example, and he proceeded to engage a number of them in montreal at a much higher wage than they had received hitherto. to robertson's counsels must be ascribed much of the invigoration which now began to mark the policy of the company. his letters to the company were full of a common-sense and a fighting spirit. "let us carry the trade to athabasca," he said; and he proceeded to demonstrate how all rivalry could be annihilated. the strength and weakness of his rivals were familiar to him, and he was well aware how much depended on the indians themselves. they could and would deal with whom they chose; robertson determined they should deal henceforth, not with the north-west, but with the hudson's bay company. the northmen had been for years continually pressing to the west. they were doing a thriving trade on the columbia river, in oregon, where they had a lucrative post; they had a post to the south of that in california, and to the north as far as new archangel. in the second decade of the century the north-west association had over three hundred canadians in its employ on the pacific slope, sending three or four ships annually to london by way of cape horn. in 1810 they had a competitor in the post of astoria, founded by john jacob astor, a fur-monopolist of new york. astor had made overtures to the north-west partners, which had been declined; whereupon he induced about twenty canadians to leave them and enter his service. he despatched two expeditions, one overland and the other by sea, around cape horn. but the founder of astoria had not foreseen that the breaking out of war between great britain and america would upset all his plans. fort astoria, in the fortunes of war, changed hands and became fort george; and although the post was, by the treaty of ghent, restored, the canadians and scotchmen had returned to their old employers and interests. in a few years the hudson's bay company was to control the chief part of the fur-trade of the pacific coast. [illustration: fort george. (_astoria--as it was in 1813._)] none of the company's servants had yet penetrated as far west as athabasca. yet it was the great northern department of rupert's land--a country which, if not flowing with milk and honey, swarmed with moose and beaver. to athabasca, therefore, robertson went. [sidenote: the company in athabasca.] this first expedition was highly successful. never had the natives received such high prices for their furs. seduced from their allegiance to the northmen, and dimly recalling the tales of their sires, regarding whilom journeys to the posts of the great company, they rallied in scores and hundreds round its standard. the news spread far and wide. other tribes heard and marvelled. they, too, had listened to stories of the white traders, who far away, past rivers and plain and mountain, sat still in their forts and waited for the red man to bring them furs. now the mountain was coming to mahomet. many of them resolved to keep their furs until the traders from the bay came amongst them, too; and, gnashing their teeth, the northmen were compelled to give them still higher prices, if they would obtain the goods of the savages, and secure their wavering loyalty. [illustration: arrival of the upland indians.] other measures became incumbent upon them to perform. they were obliged to send double the quantity of merchandise into the interior, and they were also to supply extra provisions to their own men, and to raise their wages; while several clerks were elected partners. cost what it might, the northmen were determined to fight to the end. it has been shewn in preceding pages how the step of removing from grand portage had been anticipated as far back as 1785, when edward umfreville was sent to reconnoitre a site for a new fort on british territory. none appeared more suited to the purposes of the nor'-westers than this; the river was deep and of easy access, and offered a safe harbour for shipping. on the other hand, it was situated in low, swampy soil; but by dint of great labour and perseverance they succeeded in draining the marshes and in converting to solidity the loose and yielding soil, accomplishing on a small scale much of what czar peter was obliged to do on a large scale with the foundation of petersburg. [sidenote: fort william.] when all was finished, fort william as it was called,[97] presented an engaging exterior. it possessed the appearance of a fort, having a palisade fifteen feet high, while the number of dwellings it enclosed, gave it, from a distance, the appearance of a charming village. in the centre of the spacious enclosure rose a large wooden building, constructed with considerable pretensions to elegance, a long piazza or portico, at an elevation of five feet from the ground and surmounted by a balcony, fronting the building its entire length. the great hall or saloon was situated in the middle of this building. at each extremity of this apartment were two rooms, designed for the use of the two principal agents, and the steward and his staff, the last named official being a highly important personage. the kitchen and servants' rooms were in the basement. on either side of the main edifice was another of similar but less lofty extent, each divided by a corridor running through its length and containing a dozen cosy bedrooms. one was destined for the wintering partners, the other for the clerks. on the east of the square stood another building similar to the ones named, and applied to the same purpose; also a warehouse, where the furs were inspected and packed for shipment. in the rear of these were the lodging house of the guides, another fur warehouse, and lastly, a powder magazine, a substantial structure of stone with a metal roof. a great bastion, at an angle of the fort, commanded a view of lake superior. there were other buildings to the westward, stores, a gaol, workshops of the carpenter, cooper, blacksmith and tinsmith, with spacious yards for the shelter, repair and construction of canoes. near the gate of the fort, which faced the south, were the quarters of the physician and the chief clerks, and over the gates was a guard-house. the river being of considerable depth at the entrance, the company had a wharf built extending the whole length of the fort, for the discharge of the vessels it maintained on the lake, and for the transport of its furs from fort william to sault ste. marie or merchandise and provisions from the latter place to fort william. the land behind the fort and on both sides was cleared and under cultivation. [illustration: on the way to fort william.] [sidenote: the immigrants at red river.] at the beginning of spring the "first brigade" of immigrants resumed its journey to the red river valley, arriving at what is now known as point douglas, late in august, 1812. hardly had they reached this spot than they were immediately thrown into the greatest fright and disorder. a band of armed men, painted, disfigured and apparelled like savages, confronted this little band of colonists and bade them halt. they were told briefly that they were unwelcome visitors in that region, and must depart. the colonists might have been urged to make a stand, but to the terrors of hostile indian and half-breed was added that of prospective starvation, for none would sell them provisions thereabouts. the painted warriors, who were north-west company métis in disguise, urged them to proceed to pembina, where they would be unharmed, and offered to conduct them there. they acquiesced, and the pilgrimage, seventy miles farther on, was resumed. at pembina they passed the winter in tents, according to the indian fashion, subsisting on the products of the chase, in common with the natives. when spring came it was decided to again venture to plant the colony on the banks of the red river. means were found to mollify their opponents, and log-houses were built, and patches of prairie sown with corn. a small quantity of seed wheat, obtained at fort alexander, yielded them handsome returns at harvest time and the lot of the settlers seemed brighter; but nevertheless they decided to repair to pembina for the winter, and saving their corn, live by hunting until the spring. while affairs were thus proceeding with the colonists, lord selkirk, in 1813, paid a visit to ireland, where he secured a large number of people as servants for the fur-trade and the colony, in addition to those engaged in the highlands.[98] selkirk infused new life into the company, and a number of plans for its prosperity emanated from his brain. for a long time the company had had much at heart the erection of a new factory in place of york factory, but they had not thitherto had sufficient strength of hands to accomplish this. selkirk wrote to mcdonnell that if the settlers were employed in that object for the winter, the company stood ready to pay their wages. "perhaps," he added, "it would be more advisable to do this than to make an abortive attempt to reach the interior.... i believe that i mentioned that i am anxious to have the soundings of nelson river taken, from seal island down to the open sea. i beg that while you are at york, you will try to induce some of the officers of the ships to go and make the survey. i will pay a handsome premium to the individual who accomplishes it." [illustration: the company's ships in 1812. (_from the picture in hudson's bay house._)] [sidenote: irish colonists brought out.] on june 28, the company's ships, the _prince of wales_ and the _eddystone_, sailed out of the little harbour of stromness. they were accompanied by two other vessels, one a brig bound for the moravian missions on the labrador coast, and the other his majesty's sloop of war _brazen_, as armed convoy. the voyage was by no means as monotonous as such voyages usually were. on board the _prince of wales_, typhoid fever of a virulent character broke out, causing a panic and a number of deaths, marine funerals being a daily occurrence. as for the _eddystone_, an insurrection occurred; during which the sailors and passengers between decks sought to obtain possession of the ship and dispose of her, together with cargo and effects to france or spain, or to the ships or colonies of those hostile countries. the captain was, however informed of the plan, and immediately placed armed men to guard the hatches, loaded the quarter gun with grape shot and coolly awaited the advent on deck of the conspirators. these appeared in due course, but were quick to perceive themselves completely non-plussed and retired below in confusion. on the 12th of august the little fleet found an anchorage in churchill river, in close proximity to the new fort prince of wales. here the immigrants were landed, and after a short rest were sent forward, some on foot and others by boat, to a place known as colony creek. here they built log cabins, and in their weak, unacclimatized state, drew together to pass the winter in those hyperborean regions. in order to receive the scant rations dealt out to them by the company at the fort, they were obliged to perform a journey of thirty miles on snowshoes each week. but the trials and hardships of the poor wanderers, amongst which was the deprivation of the locks of their guns "in order that they should not kill the company's partridges," came to an end in april, when their gun-locks were restored and they took up their journey to york factory, slaying innumerable game as they went. here they met from the chief factor, cook, a hospitable reception, and continuing their journeyings after a short halt, reached fort douglas in the early autumn. governor mcdonnell welcomed the members of this second brigade and proceeded to allot to each head of a family one hundred acres of land and an indian pony. a few days later they were called together, and after each had been regaled with a glass of spirits, he was furnished with a musket, bayonet and ammunition. they were told they must offer an armed resistance to their tormentors and aggressors should they again appear, and admonished that the strong could dictate to the weak. notwithstanding, the colonists could not but marvel at the plentiful lack of preparation for the agricultural pursuits which they had intended to follow in this remote region. there were no farm implements, nor was there metal of which these could be fashioned, unless it was the formidable battery of field-guns, or the plentiful supply of muskets and bayonets. at fort douglas, under the circumstances, the colonists could remain but a short time; it was necessary for them to resort, as their forerunners had done, to pembina, so as to be within convenient distance of the buffalo. [illustration: fort douglas, red river. (_from a drawing by lord selkirk._)] in the spring of 1814, the colonists, after a winter rendered miserable by the jealousy and unfriendliness of the indians and half-breeds, returned to red river in a state of great destitution, resolved never to return again to pembina, no matter what their circumstances. but a step had been taken during that winter by governor mcdonnell which was to reverberate throughout the english-speaking world. incensed at the boycotting of the colonists and stirred to action by their condition, he issued from fort daer, which was the company's post erected at pembina, the following proclamation: whereas, the right honourable thomas, earl of selkirk, is anxious to provide for the families at present forming settlements on his lands at red river and those on the way to it, passing the winter at york and churchill forts in hudson's bay, as also those who are expected to arrive next autumn, rendering it a necessary and indispensable part of my duty to provide for their support. in the yet uncultivated state of the country, the ordinary resources derived from the buffalo and other wild animals hunted within the territory, are not deemed more than adequate for the requisite supply. [sidenote: governor mcdonnell's proclamation.] whereas, it is hereby ordered that no person trading furs or provisions within the territory for the honourable the hudson's bay company, or the north-west company, or any individual or unconnected traders or persons whatever, shall take any provisions, either of flesh, fish, grain or vegetables, procured or raised within the said territory, by water or land carriage, for one twelvemonth from the date hereof, save and except what may be judged necessary for the trading parties at this present time within the territory, to carry them to their respective destinations; and who may, on due application to me, obtain a license for the same. the provisions procured and raised as above shall be taken for the use of the colony; and that no loss shall accrue to the parties concerned, they will be paid for by british bills at the customary rates. and be it hereby further made known that whosoever shall be detected in attempting to convey out, or shall aid or assist in carrying out, or attempting to carry out, any provisions prohibited as above, either by water or land, shall be taken into custody and prosecuted as the laws in such cases direct; and the provisions so taken, as well as any goods and chattels, of what nature soever, which may be taken along with them, and also the craft, carriages and cattle instrumental in conveying away the same to any part out to any settlement on red river, shall be forfeited. given under my hand at fort daer (pembina), the 8th day of january, 1814. (signed) miles mcdonnell, _governor_. (by order of the governor). (signed) john spencer, _secretary_. a copy of this proclamation was despatched in all haste to fort william, where the partners met in the spring. it excited the greatest indignation and bitterness. it was now determined to seduce and inveigle away as many of the colonists as could be induced to join the north-west standard, and after they should have thus diminished their means of defence, to exhort the indians of lac rouge, fond du lac and other places, to rise and destroy the settlement. it was likewise their avowed intention to seize the governor and carry him to montreal as a prisoner, by way of degrading the authority under which the colony was established, in the eyes of the natives of that country. [sidenote: hostilities planned by the north-west concern.] among the partners of the north-west concern who received their instructions from this general annual meeting at fort william, were duncan cameron and alexander mcdonell, and these were the persons selected by the partnership to superintend and execute the plans entered into against the red river colony. on the 5th of august the last named person wrote to a fellow-partner at montreal from one of the portages lying between lake superior and the place of his winter destination in the interior, to which he was then proceeding: "you see myself, and our mutual friend, mr. cameron, so far on our way to commence open hostilities against the enemy in red river. much is expected from us, and if we believe some--perhaps too much. one thing is certain, that we will do our best to defend what we consider our rights in the interior. something serious will undoubtedly take place. nothing but the complete downfall of the colony will satisfy some, by fair or foul means--a most desirable object if it can be accomplished. so here is at them, with all my heart and energy." mcdonell and his co-partner accordingly proceeded towards their destination, and arrived about the end of august at a trading post (called by them fort gibraltar) belonging to the north-west concern, situated at the forks, within half a mile of the red river settlement. cameron remained here during the winter, while his partner, mcdonell, proceeded farther into the interior, returning in the month of may with a party of cree indians from a considerable distance, for a purpose which is now obvious. cameron, to whom his associates appear to have confided the task of opposing, upon the spot, the further progress of colonization, was well qualified to perform such a service. he began by ingratiating himself amongst several of the heads of families in the settlement, and being able to converse with many of them in their native gaelic tongue, by degrees he gained their confidence and good opinions. he frequently invited them to his house, and, in short, took every means to secure their favour. they saw no reason to suspect his intentions; and thus the influence which he gradually acquired over many of their members, during the autumn and winter, was artfully exerted to make them discontented alike with their situation, their officers, and their prospects. he alarmed them with constant reports which he stated he had received from the interior, that the indians from a distance were coming in the spring to attack them; and that unless they placed themselves under the protection of the north-west company, and accepted his offers to take them to canada, they would never be able to escape from the country or avoid the dangers surrounding them. [sidenote: the north-west company causes discontent among the settlers.] prior to the departure of cameron and mcdonell from fort william for red river, they had adopted the expedient of providing themselves with british military uniforms. a military coat with a pair of epaulets, the cast-off uniform of a major, which had previously adorned the person of a factor named mcleod, now added to cameron's dignity. he pretended to bear the king's commission, as did also his companion; and these two worthies occasionally rode around the country in uniform, attended by a numerous suite of clerks and half-breeds, and other servants of the north-west company on horseback. such imposture and assumed airs of authority would have evoked merely contempt or laughter, but under the circumstances had great weight with the ignorant settlers, who could not but help believing that cameron and his followers were sanctioned by government in their position and behaviour. the north-west agents now proceeded to put their plans into execution. the immigrants were alternately bribed, cajoled and threatened into abandoning their settlement on the red river. to each cameron engaged to give a free passage to canada (generally to montreal), a twelvemonth's supply of provisions _gratis_ for themselves and families, while various sums, varying from £15 to £100, were paid or promised to deserters. a pretext being found, spencer, the sheriff of the colony and a really valuable officer, was taken prisoner under a warrant from a north-west partner, and after a protracted detention sent overland to montreal. during the interval between the autumn of 1814 and the spring of 1815, a number of the settlers were seduced and instigated to disloyalty against their benefactors and the company. a large band of the bois-brulés were, during this period, maintained and paraded in arms under cameron, who, now that the preparatory measures had reached this stage, believed the time ripe for more decisive measures. of the ruling spirit amongst the half-breed hordes, mention has already been made. cuthbert grant now appeared on the scene and with him some of his choicest dare-devil crew. the return of the settlers to the colony had filled the minds of the bois-brulés with rage. the contempt of the wild hunters of the plains for the peaceful tillers of the soil was great. they scorned them for their manual labour; they reproachfully termed them "the workers in gardens," and the phrase, "pork-eaters," formerly applied to the voyageurs east of fort william, was now used derisively to the scotch settlers. all now looked forward to a grand gathering in the spring at "the forks," to administer a final blow to the infant colony. the disaffected settlers were therefore, during the temporary absence of a number of those who still continued faithful to their contracts and their duty, incited to rob and pillage a fort belonging to the settlement, and of the cannon set out by the british government for its defence. armed sentinels were placed at different doors to prevent opposition, while a part of the bois-brulés and servants of the nor'-westers, under the command of cameron, were stationed in arms within the distance of a few hundred feet for the purpose of giving support to the plunderers in case their force should be insufficient. nine pieces of artillery were thus taken from the settlement and delivered to the north-west party in waiting, who received them with shouts of triumph and conveyed them to their headquarters, fort gibraltar. to celebrate this exploit cameron gave a ball and entertainment to the parties engaged, on the following evening. [sidenote: attack on the settlement.] a camp was now established at a place called frog plain, about four miles below the settlement, by the servants and partisans of the north-westers, under the command of mcdonell. in june, 1815, after the colony had been thereby deprived of the means of defence, and was in great measure surrounded by its enemies, the whole force of cameron's post, consisting of half-breeds, servants and north-west clerks, sallied forth to make a combined attack on the settlement. a sharp fire of musketry was kept up for some time on the governor's house and adjacent buildings. in this attack only four persons belonging to the settlement were wounded, but one died soon after. several days passed, the men encamped at frog plain received orders to march to the settlement, where they erected a battery against the building called the government house, on which they planted a portion of the cannon previously taken. after a series of attacks and skirmishes, governor mcdonnell was obliged to surrender himself as a prisoner, and under a warrant from a partner in the north-west company, sent to montreal, charged with an undue arrogance of authority to the detriment of the fur-trade. but the north-westers were not yet satisfied. the principal person of the settlement (and one who also held the appointment, from the hudson's bay company, of governor of the district) was, it is true, in custody; but having got possession of him, peremptory orders were issued to cameron directing the remaining settlers to leave the red river. the most wanton acts of aggression followed on the part of alexander mcdonell, who, after cameron's departure with his prisoner, succeeded to the command at the forks. the colonists were frequently fired on; the farm-house was broken open and pillaged; a number of farm labourers were arrested; horses were stolen and cattle driven away. on the 22nd of june, another attack with fire-arms was made upon the governor's house, but the fire was not returned by the dispirited settlers, who now resolved to migrate. [sidenote: forced departure of the colonists.] an episode occurring on the very eve of their departure showed clearly upon whose side the indians of the interior were disposed to range themselves. two saulteaux chiefs, with about forty warriors of that nation, arrived at the settlement. learning the condition of affairs they went over to the north-westers' fort, and endeavoured to prevail upon mcdonell to cease his persecution and allow the colonists to remain. naturally, their request was refused, although the indian numbers prevented the north-west official from laughing in their faces. to mcleod, the hudson's bay factor at fort douglas, the indians expressed their regret; but considering the armament at the disposal of their foes, could offer them merely the protection of an escort down the river to lake winnipeg. the offer was thankfully accepted, and under their indian escort, the officers and remaining settlers, amounting to about sixty, quitted the settlement, leaving mcleod and three clerks behind. having in this manner quitted their homes, they proceeded in canoes to the mouth of the red river, crossed lake winnipeg and took up a new abode at a trading-post on jack river belonging to the hudson's bay company. [illustration: the fur loft at a hudson's bay post.] the day following their departure, a party of north-west company clerks, servants and half-breeds gathered at the spot, and setting fire to the houses, the mill and the other buildings, burned them to the ground. great joy filled the breasts of the north-westers assembled at fort william when these brave tidings were conveyed to their ear. these tidings were accompanied by convincing proofs of the great victory gained over the enemy, in the persons of one hundred and thirty-four settlers, including men, women and children. they arrived about the end of july and found many of the partners gathered to receive them. the conduct of cameron and mcdonell met with the most enthusiastic approval. they were again appointed to command at the same stations in the interior, which they had charge of the previous season, with a view to oppose any further attempt to restore the scattered colony on red river. [sidenote: treachery rewarded.] while, however, these marks of approbation were lavished upon the heroes of this work of destruction, the subordinate agents were by no means so liberally rewarded as they had reason to expect. they even complained of being defrauded of their promised hire. many of the deserters from the colony, however, and those of the settlers whose treachery had proved most useful to the montreal company, were well rewarded for their services. one of the most interesting features of this business well deserves to be rescued from oblivion. it is the account-book captured in the following year by lord selkirk, together with other papers and effects of the north-west company at fort william, and despatched for safe-keeping to hudson's bay house, in london. it shows that credits were given to forty-eight of these persons for various articles which they had plundered from the settlement and delivered to cameron at fort gibraltar. these consisted principally of implements of husbandry, working tools, horses, muskets, guns, pistols, etc., etc. thus in one of the pages appears a credit "for five new guns, £10; for a new common pistol, 15s.; one old gun, 15s.," etc., etc. at the bottom of these accounts were generally added the amounts they were to receive, and did receive, as rewards for their services against the settlement. several thus obtained larger sums than, in all probability, they had ever been possessed of at any one period in the course of their lives. to many of their accounts were also subjoined, in the handwriting of cameron and mcdonell, brief abstracts of the services which these deserters had, respectively, performed in promoting the destruction of the settlement. as an illustration of this, honourable mention is made of one of them (in the handwriting of cameron) in this style: "this man joined our people in february, was a great partisan and very useful to us ever since, and deserves something from the north-west company, say five or six pounds." of another, "this man was also a great partisan of ours, and made himself very useful to us; he lost his three years' earnings with the hudson's bay company for joining us, and he deserves, at least, about £20." of another (inscribed by alexander mcdonell): "he was very desperate in our cause this spring and deserves three or four pounds." there are other entries, as follows: "an active, smart fellow. left the hudson's bay company in april last--a true partisan, steady and brave. took a most active part in the campaign this spring, and deserves from £15 to £20. he has lost about £20 by leaving the hudson's bay company a month before the expiration of his contract." "this man left the hudson's bay company in the month of april, owing to which he lost three years' wages. his behaviour towards us has been that of a true partisan--a steady, brave and resolute man; and was something of a leading character among his countrymen, and deserves at least about £20." [sidenote: leaves from the account book.] but the truest of all these "partisans" appears to have been one george campbell. this hitherto obscure personage was accordingly conspicuously honoured, as well as rewarded, by the north-west company. he was seated at table in their common hall at fort william, next to the partners, and above the clerks of the company. enviable distinction! but it was but as the shadow of a more tangible and, doubtless, to its recipient, a more valued reward. by the direction of the partnership he received a recompense of £100, paid to him by one of the company's clerks. in the account-book above mentioned appears cameron's testimony to the merits of this hero. "this (george campbell) is a very decent man, and a great partisan, who often exposed his life for the north-west company. he has been of very essential service in the transactions of red river, and deserves at least £100, halifax; and every other service that can be rendered him by the north-west company. rather than that his merit and services should go unrewarded, i would give him £100 myself, although i have already been a good deal out of pocket by my campaign to red river." one would fain linger in the common-hall, at fort william, the barbaric splendour and even opulence of whose creature comforts have been painted for us by another and more gifted hand. how deep the potations, how turbulent the revelry when the flushed cohorts from red river returned and took their places at the board, conscious of a victory gained over their hated rivals, the merchants-adventurers trading into hudson's bay, and those miserable colonists despatched by their governor to begin the peopling of the west! moreover, tidings now came to swell their joy that the war between great britain and america was ended, and so further relieved their dread of disaster. but decisive as their triumph seemed, it was short-lived. even in the midst of this vulgar wassail the despised settlers had returned, and affairs at red river were shaping for a tragedy. footnotes: [96] the precise spot was well chosen by selkirk, had his object been only the confusion and discomfiture of the north-westers. it was the great depot of the latter for the preparation of pemmican. were the region to become colonized it would slowly but surely cut off the buffalo, from which pemmican was made, and eventually force the north-westers to import from canada, at ruinous expense, the chief part of the provisions requisite for their trading expeditions. [97] in honour of william mcgillivray, principal partner of the concern. [98] "it will never do," wrote governor mcdonnell to his chief, "to take the colonists from among the company's servants. the orkneymen are so averse to labour that they prefer the company's service to agriculture, and all being engaged in the name of the company they object to serve in the colony, thinking it a separate concern." chapter xxxi. 1816-1817. a new brigade of immigrants -robert semple -cuthbert grant's letter -the de meuron regiment -assembling of the bois-brulés -tragedy at seven oaks -selkirk at fort william -mcgillivray arrested -arrest of the northmen -selkirk proceeds to red river. a new brigade of emigrants had sailed from stromness. gloomy and portentous was the prospect which greeted them on their arrival. they beheld their comrades and fellow-countrymen of the previous brigade, who had returned from their exile at jack river, still gazing in wretchedness upon the embers of their late dwellings, seeking to rescue what produce remained in the earth for their winter's subsistence. the ship which had brought out these immigrants had also carried an able officer of the company, robert semple, a man of parts and culture, who had been appointed to the chief control of all the factories in rupert's land. [sidenote: influence of the nor'-westers over the half-breeds.] the hostile feuds and lawless proceedings of the fur-trading "partisans" had convulsed the whole indian country throughout its boundaries. the arrival of more immigrants only served to add fresh fuel to the flame. it cannot be denied that between the two rival companies the north-westers possessed one dangerous advantage, viz., the authority and influence they had over the half-breeds, their own servants, and over many of the more dissolute indians. "they had so trained and influenced these," says, with great truth, one sober trader writing of those times, "both in the school of mischief, rapine and bloodshed, that no outrage which the unscrupulous ministers of a lawless despotism could inflict was too extravagant to dread.[99] posts were pillaged, robberies committed, and valuable lives sacrificed without remorse." instead of settling down quietly and cultivating the soil on their arrival, all the immigrants were quickly dispersed in search of a precarious subsistence at pembina and elsewhere, as had been the case with the first unhappy brigade. they separated, to weather the storms of winter as best they might, hunting and fishing amongst the savages, and enduring every species of privation and suffering which fate could inflict upon them. as soon, however, as the snows of winter were melted, all re-assembled at the colony, and fell to with a will to the task of tilling the ground, and sowing what, alas, the fowls of the air were to reap. [sidenote: lord selkirk arrives in canada.] for a moment let us turn to lord selkirk. on the arrival of this nobleman at new york on his way to canada to support in person the exertions of his colonists, he received intelligence of their dispersion, and the capture of his lieutenant and agent. he immediately proceeded to montreal where he was apprised of the danger with which the new arrivals were threatened as well as the distress which had overtaken those settlers who had been brought into canada. the north-west company had no further use for their services, the expense of bringing them down having already proved sufficiently burdensome. the alluring promises made on the banks of the red river, of lands, high wages, practical encouragement, were forgotten on the shores of the st. lawrence. selkirk was determined upon a rigid enquiry; and steps were taken by his agents in upper and lower canada to that end. while he was thus engaged, information arrived of the re-establishment of the colony, both brigades of immigrants having made a junction at red river, on the departure of cameron and mcdonell. lord selkirk, having despatched a messenger[100] into the interior to advise the settlers of his speedy arrival amongst them, now renewed his endeavour to obtain from the governor of canada, sir gordon drummond, some small military protection for the settlers. but his application was refused. one, if not the principal, of the reasons being that drummond had no desire to lower his popularity by exerting his influence against the partners of the north-west company. the attempt proving fruitless, a new resource offered itself, and this selkirk was not loath to seize. as a result of the termination of hostilities with america, the hired european regiments of de meuron, watteville and the glengarry fencibles in canada were reduced. the privates, as well as their officers, were entitled on their discharge to grants of lands in canada, and in the event of their accepting them, the members of the two first-mentioned regiments were not to be sent back to europe. a proposition was put to them and agreed to with alacrity. [sidenote: regiment of de meuron.] the regiments to which these men belonged were part of the body of german mercenaries raised during the napoleonic wars. col. de meuron, one of the most illustrious officers, bequeathed his name to the whole body. though germans for the most part, swiss and piedmontese were also numbered amongst them. while the great corsican was languishing at elba, the de meurons were equally inactive at malta, but in the war which had broken out between england and the american states there was plenty of work for their swords. they were shipped to canada, and in 1816, hostilities having ceased, they were again out of employment. lord selkirk perceived in them an instrument ready to his hand. he sent for their officers, four in number, captains d'orsonnens and matthey, and lieutenants fauché and graffenreith, and informed them he had work in hand. they listened and agreed to his terms on behalf of their men. they hastened in boats up the st. lawrence, and at kingston encountered twenty other foreign soldiers belonging to the de watteville regiment, and also victims of peace. these were engaged on the same terms. eighty soldiers and four officers of de meuron's regiment, twenty of watteville's, and several of the glengarry fencibles, with one of their officers, instead of remaining in canada, preferred going to the red river settlement on the terms proposed by lord selkirk. they were to receive pay at a certain rate per month for navigating the canoes up to red river, were to have lands assigned to them at the settlement, and if they did not elect to remain were to be conveyed at his lordship's expense to europe by way of hudson's bay. whatever we may now think of the motive prompting the employment of these men, it must be conceded that it was effected with propriety and ingenuous formality. the men being discharged could no longer be held soldiers. they retained their clothing, as was usual in such cases, and lord selkirk furnished them with arms, as he had done to his other settlers. had there existed a disposition to criticise this latter measure, ample justification was to be found in the instructions of the board of ordnance, in 1813, to issue some field pieces and a considerable number of muskets and ammunition for the use of the red river colony. with this body of men selkirk proceeded into the interior. [sidenote: fort gibraltar captured.] while he was on the march, the colony on red river was apprehending alarming consequences. cameron and mcdonell, the two north-west partners, had arrived the previous autumn and been astonished at the temerity of the settlers at returning to the forbidden spot, and measures had at once been taken to molest and discourage them. thereupon the hudson's bay factor, colin robertson, who, in governor mcdonnell's absence, had placed himself at their head, planned an attack upon fort gibraltar, which he seized by surprise in the month of october. he thus recovered two of the field pieces and thirty stand of arms, which had been abstracted from the settlement in the previous year. in this capture no blood was shed, and although cameron was taken prisoner he was released upon a promise to behave peaceably in future and was even reinstated in possession of his fort. but this posture of affairs was not long to endure. at the beginning of march, governor semple went west to inspect the forts on the assiniboine, lake manitoba, and swan lake, leaving robertson in command. on the 16th, suspecting a plot on the part of cameron and his north-westers, robertson intercepted some letters, which transformed suspicion into conviction. he therefore attacked the north-west post, took cameron prisoner, and removed all the arms, trading goods, furs, books and papers, to fort douglas.[101] he furthermore informed his enemy that being situated at the confluence of the two rivers, the red and the assiniboine, fort gibraltar was the key to the position, and could be in no other hands but those of the lords of the soil. following up this move, robertson attacked the north-west post on the pembina river, captured bostonnais pangman, who was in charge, with two clerks and six voyageurs, who were afterwards incarcerated in fort douglas. pursuing his advantage an attempt was made to carry fort qu'appelle. but mcdonell, who was in command there, displayed considerable force, and caused the hudson's bay people to retire. about this period five flat-bottomed boats belonging to the company, laden with pemmican and from thirty to forty packs of furs, under charge of james sutherland, were _en route_ to fort douglas. mcdonell was advised of the circumstance and seized the whole, while retaining two of the factors, bird and pambrun, as prisoners. a canoe was given sutherland and the others, together with a scanty supply of pemmican, and they were allowed to continue their journey to the fort. on receiving intelligence of this proceeding, as well as of the plots being hatched by the half-breeds and their allies in the west, robertson concluded that cameron would be best out of the way; the prisoner was accordingly sent off under guard to york factory, from whence he reached england seventeen months later. here he was released without a trial, and soon afterwards returned to canada, where he spent the remainder of his years. the enemy were no sooner out of fort gibraltar than robertson had the walls pulled down. all the useful material was rafted down the river to fort douglas, where it was employed in new erections within that post. [sidenote: plan to exterminate the red river settlement.] mcdonell now exerted himself to the utmost to assemble the half-breeds from every quarter, for the purpose of a final extermination of the colony at red river. many of these were collected from a very distant part of the country; some from cumberland house and also from the upper saskatchewan, at least seven hundred miles from the settlement. reports had reached the colonists, of whom there were, all told, about two hundred, that the bois-brulés were assembling in all parts of the north for the purpose of driving them away. each day increased the prevalence of these rumours. the hunters, and the free canadians who had supplied them with provisions, were terrified at the prospect of the punishment they might receive at the hands of the violent north-westers. about the close of may the north-wester, alexander mcdonell, embarked in his boats with the furs and bags of provisions which he had seized, as above related, from the hudson's bay people. he was attended by a body of the half-breeds on horseback, who followed him along the banks of the river. when the party arrived near the chief hudson's bay company's post, brandon house, cuthbert grant was sent ahead with twenty-five men, who seized the post and pillaged it, not only of all the english goods, together with the furs and provisions belonging to the company, but also of the private property of their servants, which was distributed amongst the servants and half-breeds. the latter were now eager for the accomplishment of their great desire. accordingly, on the 18th of june, cuthbert grant, lacerte, frazer, hoole and mckay were sent off from portage la prairie, with about seventy men, to attack the colony at red river. mcdonell himself, foreseeing the issue, prudently remained behind.[102] the tidings he anticipated would arrive were not long delayed. on the 20th of june a messenger, covered with sweat, returned from cuthbert grant, to report that his party had killed governor semple, with five of his officers and sixteen of his people. at this welcome news of the consummation of their fondest hopes, mcdonell and the other officers shouted with joy. no time was lost in spreading the story. the unhappy pambrun, from his confinement, could distinctly hear the cries of the french and half-breeds, which they caught up again and again in a paroxysm of triumph. "sacré nom de dieu! bonne nouvelles! vingt-deux anglaise de tués!" [illustration: scene of the red river tragedy.] [sidenote: the affair at seven oaks.] the story of this tragedy of the plains, to which for a time was cynically applied the term, "battle," has been often and variously narrated; but the facts seem clear enough. semple the governor, was on the point of returning to york factory on the concerns of the company, when the rumours of immediate hostility, which have been described, checked his departure. measures of precaution were adopted and a watch regularly kept to guard against surprise. on the 17th of june, two cree indians who had escaped from the party of north-westers under mcdonell, came to the governor at fort douglas, adjoining the settlement, with the intelligence that he would certainly be attacked in two days by the bois-brulés, under cuthbert grant, who were determined to take the fort, and that if any resistance were made, neither man, woman or child would escape. peguis, chief of the swampy indians, who came periodically to the district about the mouth of the red river, also waited on governor semple for the purpose of offering the services of his tribe, about seventy in number, to assist in the colonists protection. a conflict seemed inevitable. on the afternoon of the 19th a man in the watch-house called out that the half-breeds were coming. governor semple and his officers surveyed the neighbouring plains through their telescopes and made out the approach of some men on horseback. these were not, however, headed in the direction of the fort, but of the settlement. [illustration: the shooting of governor semple. (_see page 413._)] [sidenote: killing of governor semple.] semple's words were: "we must go out and meet these people; let twenty men follow me." they proceeded by the frequented path leading to the settlement. as they went along they met many of the colonists, who were running towards them, crying: "the half-breeds! the half-breeds!" an advance was made of about one mile, when some persons on horseback were discerned in ambush, close at hand, and the governor, somewhat uneasy at the signs of their numbers, had just decided to send for a field-piece, when a fearful clamour pierced the air, and he saw it was too late. the half-breeds galloped forward, their faces painted in the most hideous manner, and all dressed in the indian fashion[103] and surrounded the hudson's bay people in the form of a half-moon. as they advanced the latter party retreated, and a north-west employee named boucher rode up very close to governor semple and asked what he wanted there? to this enquiry, which was delivered in a very authoritative and insolent tone, semple replied by demanding of boucher what he and his party wanted? boucher said: "we want our fort," and the governor's answer was: "well, go to your fort." in a loud tone came the other's rejoinder: "you damned rascal, you have destroyed our fort." semple, though a man of extremely mild manners and cultivated mind, flushed with indignation at such an address, and incautiously laid hand upon the bridle of boucher's horse, according to some; of his gun, according to others. a few high words passed. two shots rang out in quick succession, by the first of which holt fell, and by the second semple was wounded.[104] in a few minutes the field was covered with bleeding forms; almost all semple's men were either killed or wounded. save in a single instance no quarter was given; the injured were summarily despatched, and on the bodies of the dead were practised all the revolting horrors which characterize the inhuman heart of the savage.[105] [illustration: vicinity of fort douglas.] in all twenty-one persons were killed, the remaining eight escaping to the woods. besides governor semple, lieutenant holt, captain rogers, dr. james white and dr. wilkinson, the governor's private secretary were amongst the dead. immediately every human being at fort douglas was plunged into confusion and dismay. the survivors, hastily returning, told their fell tale, and men, women and children crowded together seeking protection within its walls. bourke, and a few of his companions, had succeeded in regaining the fort with the cannon he had taken out. all waited for the expected attack of the north-westers. an anxious night ensued, but no attack, and it was afterwards learnt that the bois-brulés had a wholesome dread of the cannon in the hands of the settlers. pritchard, who had been taken prisoner to the camp ground of the main body of the half-breeds, now begged cuthbert grant, the leader, to be allowed to go to fort douglas. after securing his consent, he met with a refusal on the part of the others, until he gave a promise to bear a message of eviction to the colonists and return. grant accompanied the prisoner on parole as far as seven oaks, where the ground was still strewn with the corpses of the slain. [sidenote: the nor'-westers demand evacuation.] on reaching fort douglas, pritchard informed the unhappy settlers that they must depart, which if they did immediately, a safe escort would be provided them, and they would be permitted to take all their personal effects. they were told that two other groups of north-westers were daily expected to arrive in the locality, one hailing from the saskatchewan, and the other party from lake superior. it would, therefore, be necessary to send some of the bois-brulés with them, to explain the situation. at first the colonists refused to listen to these terms. sheriff mcdonnell, who was now in charge of the settlement, resolved to hold the fort as long as the men were disposed to guard it. but they were not long of this courageous temper. after fully considering the situation, the settlers concluded to depart, and after several conferences between the sheriff and cuthbert grant, a capitulation was arranged. an inventory of all the property was taken, and the whole delivered up to the half-breed leader, for the use of the north-west company, each sheet of the inventory being signed as follows:-"received on account of the north-west company by me, cuthbert grant, clerk for the n.-west co." [sidenote: arrest of colonists.] in two days the colonists, in all nearly two hundred, were ready to embark for hudson's bay. albeit they had not been long on the voyage down the river before they were met by norman mcleod, one of the leading partners of the north-west company, accompanied by a large party in canoes. at sight of the settlers the north-westers set up an indian war-whoop, and when they drew sufficiently near, mcleod, who posed as a magistrate, is said to have enquired, "whether that rascal and scoundrel robertson was in the boats." the colloquy was followed by a seizure of the accounts and papers of the settlers, including some of governor semple's letters. of these they kept what they deemed proper, the rest being returned. mcleod took his magistracy very seriously, and seems to have regarded the whole party as his prisoners. he expressed neither horror nor regret at the murder of semple and his companions, but ordered sheriff mcdonnell, pritchard, bourke, corcoran, heden and mckay to be arrested and put under a strong guard. mcdonnell was liberated on bail, but the others were treated for nearly a week with the greatest indignity. nevertheless, the north-westers felt themselves in a sorry plight, which, they flattered themselves, a brazen behaviour might alleviate. the five men thus made prisoners were, after various delays and after two of them had been put in irons, conveyed to fort william. they had not long been inmates of quarters at this great post, when mcleod and his party arrived there. with him came a number of the bois-brulés, semple's murderers, bearing a portion of the plunder which had been reserved for the north-west company. their arrival was the signal for rejoicing. the air was filled with impromptu songs and ballads commemorative of the happy event, which swept away the colony on the red river. the "complete downfall" desired by the north-west partner seemed to have been consummated. at that time fort william was the great emporium of the north-west company. an extensive assortment of merchandise was brought thither every year from montreal by large canoes or the company's vessels on the lakes, these returning with the furs to canada and from thence shipped to england. it is difficult to imagine, as one visits the spot to-day, that it was once the abode of industry, of gaiety, of opulence and even of splendour. it boasted a fashionable season, which continued from may to late in august, and during this period the fur aristocracy, the _bourgeoisie_ and the _canaille_, met and mingled in a picturesque carnival of mirth, feasting and exultation. it was the meeting-place between the montreal partners and voyageurs, and those who coursed the boundless expanse of the distant west. to the wintering clerks and partners, after their hardships and fasts in the interior, fort william seemed a foretaste of paradise, and a hundred journals of a hundred traders tell again the tale of a dream of distant fort william, which, in the midst of cold, hunger and desolation, cheered the wanderer's heart and lightened his burdens. for the voyageurs it was all in all. to reach fort william, enjoy the carnival, and betwixt drink and riotous living dissipate the hard-earned wages of years was to them often the happiness of earth and heaven combined. [sidenote: fort william described.] it was in the great dining-hall that there centred the chief glory of fort william. of noble proportions was it, and capable of entertaining two hundred persons, and here fully two hundred sat when the news from red river reached them. let us attempt to describe the scene. there on a glittering pedestal looked down on the joyous company a marble bust of simon mctavish; while ever and anon the eye of some struggling clerk or ambitious partner would be attracted by a row of paintings, depicting to the life the magnates of the north, and rest with ecstasy upon those gleaming eyes and rubicund cheeks, cheerful prophesies of his own roseate future. not all were portraits of opulent northmen--other heroes lent the glory of their visages to this spacious hall--the king in his majesty, the prince regent, and admiral the lord nelson. a gigantic painting of the memorable battle of the nile also adorned the walls. at the upper end hung a huge map of the indian country, drawn by david thompson, he who had written at the crisis of his career, "to-day i left the services of the hudson's bay company to join the north-west, and may god help me." on this extraordinary production were inscribed in characters bold enough to be seen by the humblest _engagé_ at the farthest end of the great hall, the whole number of the company's trading posts from hudson's bay to the pacific ocean, from sault ste. marie to athabasca and the great slave lake. many a time and oft while the feast was at its height and the wine bottles of the partners were being broached and the rum puncheons tapped, was a glance cast at some spot on that map which marked months of suffering, the death place of a comrade, the love of an indian maiden, a thrilling adventure, a cruel massacre, painful solitude, great rejoicing or a bitter disappointment. but if the scene within was noisy and animated, that without beggared description. hundreds of voyageurs, soldiers, indians, and half-breeds were encamped together in the open, holding high revel. they hailed from all over the globe, england, ireland, scotland, france, germany, italy, denmark, sweden, holland, switzerland, america, the african gold coast, the sandwich islands, bengal, canada, with creoles, various tribes of indians, and a mixed progeny of bois-brulés or half-breeds! "here," cries one trader, "were congregated on the shores of the inland sea, within the walls of fort william, episcopalians, presbyterians, methodists, sun-worshippers, men from all parts of the world whose creeds were 'wide as poles asunder,' united in one common object, and bowing down before the same idol." women, soldiers, voyageurs, and indians, in ever moving medley, danced, sang, drank, and gamboled about the fort on the night when the news came of the tragedy of the red river. meanwhile it will be remembered that the earl of selkirk was on his way, with his party of about eighty soldiers, to the scene of this rude rejoicing. when sault ste. marie was reached, the first intelligence of the massacre and destruction of the colony was received, together with the news that some of the settlers and a large part of the property had been transported to fort william. filled with indignation, and determined to demand an explanation of the bloody deed, the earl pressed on with all haste to the rendezvous of the north-west company, who, all unconscious of his approach, had made no plan either to defend themselves or to arrest his progress. [sidenote: selkirk arrives at fort william.] upon his arrival in the vicinity many favourable to the company came out to meet him and relate the present state of affairs. as a magistrate for the country, he secured a number of affidavits, disclosing such circumstances of conspiracy and participation on the part of the north-westers as determined him, as it was his duty, to issue warrants for their arrest. these were accordingly issued, first for the apprehension of william mcgillivray, the principal partner, and next for that of all the other partners. a great many of the north-west partners were at this time assembled at fort william, and amongst them was william mcgillivray, their principal agent in canada. lord selkirk immediately despatched a message to that gentleman, desiring to know by what authority and for what reason pritchard, pambrun, nolin and others from red river were detained as prisoners in their hands. mcgillivray's response was to grant permission to most of these prisoners to join selkirk, to whom he denied that they were detained, except as witnesses. the parties thus freed came over, asserting that they had all suffered for some time a rigorous confinement. the intelligence they conveyed was of such a nature as to induce the earl to issue warrants for the arrest of most of the north-west partners then at fort william. [sidenote: arrest of the north-west partners.] the first to be arrested was mcgillivray, who submitted with the best possible grace to the warrant. two other partners who came over with him, to offer themselves on bail (which was refused), were also taken in custody. instructions were now given to constables to again set out in the boats, accompanied by some of the soldiers, to apprehend the other delinquents. on their landing, four or five of the northmen were standing close to the gate of the fort, surrounded by a considerable body of french-canadians, indians and half-breeds in the north-west company's employment. the warrants were in the usual form served upon two of the partners; but when the constable was proceeding to arrest a third, he declared that there should be no further submission to any warrant until mcgillivray was liberated. at the same instant an attempt was made to shut the gate and prevent the constables from entering. the fort people had succeeded in shutting one half of the gate, and had almost closed the other by force, when the chief constable called out for help from the soldiers. these to the number of about thirty forthwith rushed to the spot, and forced their way into the stronghold of the northmen. the notes of a bugle now rang out across the river. the earl understood the signal, and a fresh force of about thirty other veterans hurried quickly over the stream to join their comrades. awed by the apparition of so many arms and uniforms, the north-westers abandoned further resistance, and thus bloodshed was happily averted. the partner who had refused obedience to the warrant was seized and taken forcibly to the boats, the others submitting peaceably to arrest. at the time this episode was in progress, there were about two hundred french-canadians and half-breeds, and sixty or seventy iroquois indians in and about the fort. a warrant having been issued to search for and secure the north-west papers, seals were in due course put upon these and guards placed for their security. the arrested men were transported to the earl's camp; but upon their pledging their word of honour that no further attempt should be made to obstruct the execution of the law, and that all hostile measures should be renounced, they were permitted that same night to return to their apartments at fort william. notwithstanding this, it was discovered next morning that the seals had been broken in several places, and that many letters and papers had been burnt in the kitchen in the course of the night. more than this, a canoe loaded with arms and ammunition had been launched and several barrels of gunpowder had been secretly conveyed from the fort. these were afterwards traced to a place of concealment amongst some brushwood close at hand. about fifty or sixty stand of indian guns, to all appearance freshly loaded and primed, were found hidden under some hay in a barn adjoining the fort. owing to these discoveries, and suspecting treachery on the part of the canadians and indians, the greater part of the latter were ordered to evacuate the premises and pitch their tents on the opposite side of the river. having seen this carried out, and having secured all the canoes of the enemy, selkirk and his party came over and pitched their tents in front of the fort and mounted guard. soon after, the north-west prisoners were sent off under escort to york, and finally reached montreal in a state of mind not difficult to conceive. fort william had been captured by lord selkirk. he himself, writing in 1817, observes, that "in the execution of his duty as a magistrate," he had become possessed of "a fort which had served, the last of any in the british dominions, as an asylum for banditti and murderers, and the receptacle for their plunder. a fort which nothing less than the express and special license of his majesty could authorize subjects to hold. a fort which had served as the capital and seat of government to the traitorously assumed sovereignty of the north-west. a fort whose possession could have enabled the north-west company to have kept back all evidence of their crimes." "heretofore," exclaims the earl, "those who in the execution of the laws obtained possession of such strongholds as served for the retreat of banditti or murderers, were considered to have rendered a national service, and were rewarded with public gratitude and thanks." it can hardly be supposed that either the canadians or the north-west partners were animated by any such sentiments. "that canting rascal and hypocritical villain, lord selkirk, has got possession of our post at fort william," was the phrase employed by one of the aggrieved partners. "well, we will have him out of that fort," he pursued amiably, "as the hudson's bay knaves shall be cleared, bag and baggage, out of the north-west. and this in short order, mark my words." [sidenote: selkirk winters at fort william.] but his lordship was by no means of so accommodating a temper, nor was there anything to accelerate his abandonment of the post. finding it too late to continue his journey on to red river, he despatched a party of his men in advance, and himself resolved to pass the winter as pleasantly and profitably as circumstances would permit at fort william. mcgillivray and his companions, upon reaching montreal, were greeted by an assembled host of their friends. public opinion there was in their favour, whatever it might be in other quarters. on all sides one heard diatribes pronounced against selkirk and the hudson's bay company, and little sympathy for the victims of the massacre. the north-westers were instantly admitted to bail, and warrants were sworn out for the earl's arrest. a constable was sent to fort william to execute them, but on his arrival found himself made prisoner, and his authority treated with contempt. in a few days he was released and ordered to return to those who had sent him on his unprofitable mission. lord selkirk was by no means idle at fort william. he sent out parties to capture other north-west posts, and in this way the forts of fond du lac, michipicoten and lac la pluie fell into his hands. when the month of may arrived he was ready to take up his journey to the west. footnotes: [99] there is preserved a letter from the leader of the bois-brulés, written to one of the partners. it bears date of 13th of march, 1816, and runs as follows:- my dear sir: i received your generous and kind letter of last fall by the last canoe. i should certainly be an ungrateful being should i not return you my sincerest thanks. although a very bad hand at writing letters i trust to your generosity. i am yet safe and sound, thank god! for i believe it is more than colin robertson, or any of his suit dare to offer the least insult to any of the bois-brulés, although robertson made use of some expressions which i hope he shall swallow in the spring; he shall see that it is neither fifteen, thirty nor fifty of your best horsemen can make the bois-brulés bow to him. our people of fort des prairies and english river are all to be here in the spring. it is hoped we shall come off with flying colours, and never to see any of them again in the colonizing way in red river; in fact the traders shall pack off with themselves, also, for having disobeyed our orders last spring, according to our arrangements. we are all to remain at the forks to pass the summer, for fear they should play us the same trick as last summer, of coming back; but they shall receive a warm reception. i am loath to enter into any particulars, as i am well assured that you will receive more satisfactory information (than i have had) from your other correspondents; therefore i shall not pretend to give you any, at the same time begging you will excuse my short letter, i shall conclude, wishing you health and happiness. i shall ever remain, your most obedient humble servant, cuthbert grant. j. d. cameron, esq. [100] this messenger, lagimoniere by name, was waylaid and robbed by the north-westers. he had previously made a hazardous winter journey of upwards of 2,000 miles for the purpose of bringing to montreal intelligence of the re-establishment of the red river colony. he was now attacked near fond du lac by some native hunters employed by the north-west company, who beat him in a shocking manner, besides plundering him of his despatches, his canoe and all his effects. the order to intercept him was issued on the 2nd of june by norman mcleod from fort william; and the indians who performed the service were credited in the books of the partnership with the sum of $100. several of lord selkirk's letters were afterwards discovered at fort william. [101] semple is said, on the authority of an eye-witness, donald murray, yet living in 1891 (when a monument was erected to commemorate the red river tragedy), to have disapproved of robertson's management during his absence. this veteran was fond of relating that when robertson started for york factory in a boat, taking duncan cameron a prisoner, he insultingly hoisted a pemmican sack instead of the british flag. [102] the route taken by the bois-brulés was along the edge of the swamps, about two miles out on the prairie from fort douglas, and from that point gradually drawing nearer to the main highway, which is now the northern continuation of winnipeg's main street, until it effected a junction at a spot known as seven oaks. the name was derived from the circumstance of seven good sized oak trees growing there, about one hundred yards south of a small rivulet, now known as inkster's creek. [103] their being painted and disguised, forms a very material fact, because it shows a premeditation to commit hostilities. it was not the custom of the indians or bois-brulés to paint themselves, except on warlike occasions. seeing this party of horsemen were proceeding towards the settlement, semple directed about twenty men to follow him in the direction they had taken to ascertain what was their object. these took arms with them, but no ammunition. that semple and his party went out with no hostile intention is evident from there being but twenty who went, whereas a much greater number who could have gone and were desirous of going, were left behind. [104] after the tragedy many of the settlers are said to have been of the opinion that the first shot was fired by lieut. holt, whose gun went off by accident, thus precipitating the conflict. [105] while the affair was sufficiently horrible, there was yet room for exaggeration in the tales of the survivors. "on my arrival at the fort," declared pritchard, "what a scene of distress presented itself! the widows, children and relations of the slain, in the horrors of despair, were lamenting the dead and trembling for the safety of the survivors." it is to be noted that only one actual settler was killed, and i cannot discover that the others had any white women-folk amongst them. chapter xxxii. 1817-1821. the english government intervenes -selkirk at red river - makes a treaty with the indians -hostilities at peace river -governor williams makes arrests -franklin at york factory -the duke of richmond interferes -trial of semple's murderers -death of selkirk -amalgamation. tidings of the brutal massacre of the 19th of june, and the subsequent acts of robbery and bloodshed in the wilderness, reached london in due course, awakening the imperial authorities to the necessity of at once terminating a strife which had now become chronic. in february, 1817, therefore, while lord selkirk was still at fort william, the governor-general of canada received a despatch from the home government, which contained the following passage:- you will also require, under similar penalties, a restitution of all forts, buildings and trading stations, with the property which they contain, which may have been seized, or taken possession of by either party, to the party who originally established or constructed the same, and who were in possession of them previous to the recent disputes between the two companies. you will also require the removal of any blockade or impediment by which any party may have attempted to prevent the free passage of traders, or other of his majesty's subjects, or the natives of the country, with their merchandise, furs, provisions or other effects throughout the lakes, rivers, roads, and every other usual route or communication heretofore used for the purpose of the fur-trade in the interior of north america, and the full and free permission of all persons to pursue their usual and accustomed trade without hindrance or molestation. the mutual restoration of all property captured during these disputes, and the freedom of trade and intercourse with the indians, until the trials now pending can be brought to a judicial decision, and the great question at issue, with respect to the rights of the companies, shall be definitely settled. [sidenote: fort william restored to the nor'-westers.] the governor-general appointed colonel coltman and major fletcher, two military personages of high character, to act as commissioners, in order to carry out the imperial government's intentions. coltman and fletcher left montreal in the same month that selkirk evacuated fort william. no sooner had lord selkirk and his party left this great trading post than the sheriff of upper canada arrived, and by virtue of a writ of restitution took possession and restored it to its original owners. the commissioners, confronted by this fact, continued their journey on to red river, arriving at fort douglas while lord selkirk was still in that locality. they proceeded to execute their commission, and to endeavour to restore the region to law and order. the merchandise, provisions and furs were in the course of the summer apportioned to their respective proprietors; the channels of communication were opened, and in time the commissioners were enabled to return to canada, flattering themselves with the hope that the orders of the prince regent would be everywhere obeyed. the commissioners made a most circumstantial report of their mission, of which both parties complained that neither had received justice, which (as senator masson truly observes) was a very good reason for supposing that the report was just and impartial. unhappily, this hope of theirs was not destined to be fulfilled. fort gibraltar had been destroyed, but the north-westers at once set about erecting buildings for carrying on their trade. selkirk meanwhile devoted himself to the affairs of his colony, making provision for the soldiers of the de meuron and watteville regiments according to the contract mutually entered into. he allotted each man a plot of land either in the vicinity of fort douglas, or on the other side of the river, close at hand; and the officers were stationed amongst them. this was done so that in case of any necessity arising, a signal from headquarters would enable the whole body to join their commanders in the fort at short notice. everything was effected which, in his opinion, could conduce to the well-being of the colony. selkirk now turned his attention to the indians, whom he called together within the walls of the fort, and after bestowing amongst them presents, concluded the following treaty with them:-[sidenote: treaty with red river indians.] this indenture, made on the 18th day of july, in the fifty-seventh year of the reign of our sovereign lord, king george the third, and in the year of our lord, 1817, between the undersigned chiefs and warriors of the chippeway or saulteaux nation, and of the killistins or cree nation, on the one part, and the right honourable thomas, earl of selkirk, on the other part. witnesseth, that for and in consideration of the annual present or quit rent hereinafter mentioned, the said chiefs have given, granted and confirmed, and do by these presents give, grant and confirm unto our sovereign lord, the king, all that tract of land adjacent to red river and assiniboine river, beginning at the mouth of the red river, and extending along the same as far as the great forks at the mouth of the red lake river, and along assiniboine river as far as musk-rat river, otherwise called riviere des champignons, and extending to the distance of six miles from fort douglas on every side, and likewise from fort daer (pembina), and also from the great forks, and in other parts extending in the breadth to the distance of two english statute miles back from the banks of the said rivers, on each side, together with all the appurtenances whatsoever of the said tract of land, to have and to hold forever the said tract of land and appurtenances, to the use of the said earl of selkirk, and of the settlers being established thereon, with the consent and permission of our sovereign lord, the king, or of the said earl of selkirk. provided always, that these presents are under the express condition that the earl, his heirs and successors, or their agents, shall annually pay to the chiefs and warriors of the chippeway or saulteaux nation the present, or quit rent, consisting of one hundred pounds weight of good merchantable tobacco, to be delivered on or before the tenth day of october, at the forks of the assiniboine river; and to the chiefs and warriors of the kinstineaux or cree nation, a like present, or quit rent, of one hundred pounds of tobacco, to be delivered to them on or before the said tenth day of october, at portage de la prairie, on the banks of assiniboine river. provided always that the traders hitherto established upon any part of the above-mentioned tract of land shall not be molested in the possession of the lands which they have already cultivated and improved, till his majesty's pleasure shall be known. in witness whereof the chiefs aforesaid have set their marks at the forks of red river on the day aforesaid. signed, selkirk. signed in presence of thomas thomas, james bird, f. matthey, captain; p. d. orsonnens, captain; miles mcdonell, j. bate, chr. de lovimier, louis nolin, interpreter; and the following chiefs, each of whom made his mark, being a rude outline of some animal. moche w. keocab (le sonent); ouckidoat (premier alias grande oreilles); mechudewikonaie (la robe noire); kayajickebinoa (l'homme noir); pegawis. as a matter of fact, the saulteaux indians, who were given precedence in the above treaty, had no real claim to the lands on the red river, which were possessed by the crees alone. this latter tribe afterwards took great offence at this circumstance and made various threats to recede from their covenant and claim their lands from the settlers. these threats, however, were not carried out. selkirk having in this manner arranged all to his satisfaction, bade farewell to red river, and accompanied by a guide and a few friends, directed his course southward across the frontier into american territory. he made his way to new york and there embarked for england. it has been remarked that his majesty's commissioners flattered themselves that in the formal and peaceful manner described, law and order was to be introduced into the north-west. it is true that the proclamation of the prince regent and the creation of the commission of inquiry had quieted much of the turbulence, and that all who came in contact with the recognized officers were ready to submit to their authority; but it was by no means so in the more remotely situated departments. [sidenote: attack on fort vermilion.] governor robertson, semple's lieutenant, had delegated his authority to clarke, another ex-employee of the north-west company. this trader now sought upon lord selkirk's authority to penetrate, with an effective force, and a quantity of merchandise, into the very heart of the territory occupied by the north-westers. one of clarke's first acts on arriving at peace river was to attack fort vermilion, with the design of acquiring a supply of provisions; but here he met with so vigorous a resistance that he was constrained to beat a retreat without having succeeded in his project. on the other hand, two partners, black and mcgillivray, on the pretence that robertson had incited the savages to massacre some of their number, and that their men would refuse to serve if an example were not made, took him prisoner to fort athabasca, and there confined him during an entire winter. there were numerous examples of the abuse of force and the utter abandonment to lawlessness during this and the following year. [sidenote: arrest of nor'-westers.] upon most of those northmen named in the warrants issued at the instance of the earl of selkirk, it had been impossible to serve papers owing to their absence in the distant fur country. williams, semple's successor as governor of the colony of assiniboia, was consumed with a desire to effect the arrest of all those persons himself. it is possible that he also wished to avenge the incarceration of robertson. taking with him a number of de meuron soldiers and two pieces of cannon, governor williams departed to lie in ambush for the north-westers at a portage called grand rapids, which spot it was necessary for the enemy to pass in order to enter lake winnipeg. beyond question, the north-westers had no suspicion of what was in store for them, inasmuch as the party did not arrive in a large body, but in small detachments, and successively, often at an interval of several days. as fast as they arrived, however, governor williams and his soldiers were on the watch. it was new work to the veterans, but they entered into it with a zest and spirit. the north-westers were seized and disarmed, being subjected to considerable violence. some were permitted to continue their route; others were dispatched to york factory, on the bay. here they were, during many weeks, detained as prisoners and treated with scant courtesy, up to the arrival of a certain british naval officer. this was lieut. franklin, who was then about to undertake his celebrated land voyage to the arctic sea. franklin had in his possession several letters of introduction to partners in the north-west company. under these circumstances the consideration, not to say compassion, which he evinced for the hudson's bay company's prisoners was much in their favour. mctavish and shaw, two of the north-west partners, were granted permission to return to england as passengers on the ship which had brought franklin, but the others were not so fortunate. duncan campbell was sent to canada, _via_ moose factory and michipicoten, and there placed at liberty. as to benjamin frobisher, there was no accusation or warrant of arrest against him, but it was felt that he should not escape punishment for his long hostility to the company, as well as for the violent and crafty resistance which he had offered in the first instance to his arrest. frobisher is described as being a man of great strength and herculean stature. on numerous occasions he had had the good or ill-fortune to come in contact with the servants of the hudson's bay company, and there were many to testify that he had on such occasions not emerged with the loss either of prestige or property. his whole ambition now, whilst suffering from a severe wound in the head, was to escape from his captors. the nearest north-west post was distant about five hundred miles as the crow flies, but this circumstance had little restraining power upon his project. two of his french-canadian companions, turcotte and lépine, endeavoured to dissuade him, but without success; and at length they consented to participate in the escape should it be possible to elude the vigilance of their captors. they succeeded in doing this on the 30th september; launched themselves in an old canoe, into which they had stored some pounds of pemmican saved from their rations, and so commenced their painful journey. [sidenote: flight of prisoners from york factory.] for two whole months these three fugitives from york factory travelled through the wilderness. they suffered from cold and hunger, even devouring the buffalo skins that the indians had left suspended in the trees as an indication of their route. at last the doughty frobisher arrived at such a state of weakness that he was fain to lie down without further power of exertion. the trio were then not more than two days' journey from lac l'orignal, near lake bourbon, where the north-westers had a post. frobisher begged his companions, whose greater power of endurance and devotion to their superior had led to their carrying him on their shoulders, to leave him and seek assistance. this they did, after having deposited their burden at the side of a fire, and grilled a morsel of buffalo skin for his nourishment. four days later they reached the fort, and a search party did not arrive on the spot until the 27th of november. their eyes were greeted by the corpse of frobisher, partly burnt, and extended at full length on the ground. within his scanty clothing was found a journal, which he had kept ever since his arrest at grand rapids, and in which he had recorded his daily sufferings.[106] after considerable delay the news of frobisher's escape and subsequent death was spread throughout the west. a courier arrived at fort william in hot haste with the news of the affair at grand rapids. the utmost indignation prevailed. many of the partners, fearing a descent of the hudson's bay soldiery, left in disorder for montreal. the agents of the company instantly addressed themselves to the duke of richmond, then governor of canada, representing to him that if the civil authorities did not interfere to compel respect for the orders of the prince regent, the fortunes of the north-west co-partnery would suffer a great and irreparable blow. [sidenote: envoys of the government enjoin peace.] the duke was then at little york. he lost no time in dispatching one of the officers of his suite, major macleod, with a budget of dispatches for delivery at the chief forts of the north-west. in these he enjoined obedience to the laws. macleod was accompanied, at the last moment, by sir charles saxton. the envoys of the governor reached fort william and pressed on to the grand rapids, where they learned that williams had raised the blockade of the river, and had left for the bay with his soldiers and prisoners. it was too late in the autumn to follow them, so there was nothing left but to arrange to have their dispatches forwarded to the parties in the interior, and to return immediately to little york. the alarm of the partners in canada was matched by that of their agents in london. they addressed themselves to the imperial government, soliciting his majesty's interference in order to put an end to the outrages and lawlessness, as they expressed it, of lord selkirk and the hudson's bay company. they recalled that they had often demanded that the rights of the company should be submitted to law, and warned the authorities that when their rivals mocked the orders of the prince regent, it would be impossible for themselves to confide their persons and their property to the protection of an authority with a seat so remote and exacting, so reluctant an obedience. "what is to become of us," they demanded, "if we are to have no protection for our servants in these wild regions of the north?" "you have no right in these regions," was, in effect, the retort of the company. "they are vested in us by royal charter, and the sooner you apprehend this truth the better." whereupon the partners declared that if the hudson's bay company or lord selkirk continued to exercise illegal powers, which had for their end the destruction of the commerce of their rivals, it was inevitable that more bloodshed should follow. such protestations had the desired effect. the government entered into correspondence with the directors of the company and ordered that they should exert themselves to the utmost to prevent a repetition of lawlessness, else the consequences must be on their own head. [sidenote: trial of semple's murderers.] the trials which took place at little york and at montreal had been very costly to both parties. those relating to the semple massacre were not tried until 1818.[107] application had been made to the governor-in-chief of canada in the previous march (1817) to have them removed to upper canada, and this naturally caused delay, the governor judging it expedient to consult the home government in the matter. a favourable reply was received on the 24th of october, and warrants under the great seal were issued to try the cases at york. the north-westers were finally brought before the court, and indictments found against them for participating in the affairs of the 11th of june, and the 28th of june, 1815; for larceny at qu'appelle river on the 12th of may, and the semple massacre on the 19th of june, 1816. it surprised nobody in canada that the jury in each case brought in a verdict of not guilty, however it may have astonished the british public. mcgillivray, who had been waiting two years for trial, and now finding the further indictments abandoned, caused lord selkirk, miles mcdonnell, and eighteen others, to be indicted for the part they took in the capture of fort william. the earl had also several civil suits entered against him, one of which was by william smith, the constable whom he ejected from fort william, "taking hold of him and pushing him out of doors, and afterwards keeping him in close custody in the fort, under a military guard." the constable got a verdict of £500 damages against the earl. daniel mckenzie also entered suit against lord selkirk, and received a verdict of £1,500. [sidenote: prosperity at red river.] whilst these various proceedings were in progress, the red river colony was struggling against adversity. in the winter of 1817 they were forced to resort again to pembina, owing to a scarcity of food. the next year, when a considerable area of land had been planted, and followed by a favourable summer, the july sky suddenly darkened, and a cloud of grasshoppers descended upon the earth. every green thing perished before them. in greater despair and wretchedness than ever, the colonists again migrated across the border. the same disaster occurred in the ensuing year, and if it had not been for the bounty and care of the company, many would have perished. it was not until 1822 that the red river colony, now recruited by french, irish, german and swiss, as well as scotch settlers, began to take on a flourishing condition; but the news of this prosperity was not destined to reach the ears and gladden the heart of its founder. selkirk had reached england disheartened, and with a well-founded grievance against the canadian authorities, who, he declares, and with justice, had not accorded him the encouragement to which he had a right; and against the canadian tribunals, from whom it had been impossible to obtain justice. the health of the earl, shattered by the anxieties and episodes which have been recorded, rendered it necessary that he should seek repose in the south of france. but his ailment was mortal. he breathed his last at pau, in the month of april, 1820, surrounded by his wife and children, leaving behind him many friends, and numerous admirers of his intellectual qualities and his courage. the great north-west of to-day is his monument. the death of its principal adventurer strengthened, on the part of the company, the sentiment for peace; and by removing the chief obstacle hastened an amalgamation of interests of the rival traders. none then could nor can now but perceive, if they examine the situation broadly, that the complete annihilation of the north-west association was a mere matter of time. none recognized this more than their agents in london, who had repeatedly made overtures to lord selkirk for amalgamation, but which were by him rejected as often as made. to edward ellice, a leading partner, an enterprising merchant, and a rising parliamentarian, belongs the chief credit of bringing about this union. this young man was the son of alexander ellice, a wealthy london merchant, and himself directly interested in the canadian fur-trade. in 1803, when a lad of but fourteen, young ellice had gone out to canada, and animated by a love of adventure, had entered into the life of a trader, under the auspices of his father's friends. ellice was quick to grasp the tendency of affairs. the terrible struggle of recent years made by the northmen had told severely upon them.[108] [illustration: sir george simpson.] the partners met at fort william, in july, 1820, and a stormy session served to reflect their vexed plight. dissensions exhibited themselves; the minority, at least, felt that in their london agents--ellice and the mcgillivrays--coming to terms with the hudson's bay company, lay their only hope of salvation. [sidenote: union of the two companies.] without, however, consulting the powers at fort william, these agents in london were acting on their own account. conferences with the chartered adventurers took place daily. by the time the partnership between the northmen themselves expired, in 1821, the negotiations had attained the form of an agreement. delegates had been sent from fort william to confer with their english representatives as to the future of the interests of the north-west company. ellice received them cordially in his office in mark lane and showed them an instrument which he called the deed poll. this document bore the names of the governor, berens, and the committee of the honourable hudson's bay company, on the one part, and the mcgillivrays and ellice, on the other. the astonished delegates gazed upon the signed and sealed instrument, and recognized that the north-west company had ceased to exist. "amalgamation," cried one of them, "this is not amalgamation, but submersion. we are drowned men." a coalition and partnership had been agreed upon for twenty-one years, on the basis that each should furnish an equal capital for conducting the trade. this deed poll, which bore date of march 26, 1821, provided that the expenses of the establishment should be paid out of the trade, and that no expense of colonization or any commerce not directly relating to the fur-trade, was to fall upon the company. the profits were to be divided into one hundred equal parts, of which forty were to be shared between the chief factors and chief traders, according to profit and loss. if a loss should occur in one year on these forty shares it was to be made good out of the profits of the year ensuing. a general inventory and account was to be made out annually on the 1st of june. if profits were not paid to any parties within fourteen days of that date, interest was to be allowed then at the rate of five per cent. when the deed poll was signed, it was stipulated that twenty-five chief factors and twenty-eight chief traders should be appointed, to be named in alternate succession from the hudson's bay and the north-west company's servants. both were placed on an equal footing, the forty shares out of the hundred being again subdivided into eighty-five shares, in order that each of the twenty-five chief factors should receive two (or 2/85ths), and each of the chief traders one of such shares. the remaining seven shares, to complete the eighty-five, were set apart for old servants, to be paid them during a term of seven years. [sidenote: plan of union.] the chief factors were to superintend the business of the company at their respective stations, while the chief traders under them were to conduct the commerce with the indians. the third class was the clerks, who were promoted to factorships and traderships, according to good conduct and seniority, but whose clerical salaries ranged from £20 to £100 per annum. the chief factors and traders, who wintered in the interior, were granted, in addition to their share of profits, certain personal necessaries free of cost. they were not, however, permitted to carry on any private trade on their own account with the indians. strict accounts were required of them annually. the councils at the various posts were empowered to mulct, admonish or suspend any of the company's servants. each year three chief factors and two chief traders were granted twelve months leave of absence. a chief factor or chief trader, after wintering three years in the service might retire, and hold his full share of profits for one year after so retiring, with half the share for the four succeeding years. if he wintered for five years, he was granted half profits for six years on retiring. retirements of chief factors and chief traders were made annually by rotation, three of the former, or two of the former and two of the latter. the heirs of a chief factor or chief trader who died after wintering five years received all the benefit to which the deceased or himself would have been entitled had he lived, or in proportion otherwise. everything was thus regulated, provision was effected for everything. the northmen, rough, enterprising, adventurous, as many of them were, found themselves part of a huge machine, operated with sleepless vigilance of a governor and committee in london. as for the profits, they were to be estimated after the entire expenses, both in london and the fur country, were deducted. they were then to be divided into fifths, of which three-fifths went to the proprietary and two-fifths to the chief factors, chief traders and clerks, who were to be thenceforward known as the "fur-trade" or the "wintering partners." no wonder that many of the northmen were constrained to cry out, in the language of one of their number[109]: "alas, the north-west is now beginning to be ruled with an iron rod!" footnotes: [106] benjamin frobisher was a native of york, england. [107] at the trials at york in october, 1818, sherwood, the north-west company's counsel, continually demanded to know why semple was called governor. "why," he exclaimed, with ludicrous energy, "why should this gentleman be continually dignified by the appellation of governor? the indictment charged that robert semple was killed and murdered; it said nothing about his being a governor. if he was a governor, then he was also an emperor. yes, gentlemen," shrieked the counsel, working himself up to fever heat, "i repeat, an emperor--a bashaw in that land of milk and honey, where nothing, not even a blade of corn, will ripen. who made him governor? did the king? did the prince regent? no; this pretended authority was an illegal assumption of power, arrogating to itself prerogatives such as are not exercised even by the king of england. i demand that robert semple be called robert semple--but as he was not a governor let us not be ----" "come, come," cried chief justice powell, "do let this trial go on! it is no matter whether he was or was not a governor, or what he was called, or called himself, he is not to be murdered, though he was not a governor." [108] "ses postes," says senator masson, "avient été pillés et devastés; ses exportatiors considerablement sédintes." on the other hand, he adds, these losses were partly compensated for by the high prices secured in england for their furs. [109] wentzel. chapter xxxiii. 1821-1847. the deed poll -a governor-in-chief chosen -a chaplain appointed -new license from george iv. -trade on the pacific coast -the red river country claimed by the states - the company in california -the oregon question - anglo-russian treaty of 1825 -the _dryad_ affair - lieutenant franklin's two expeditions -red river territory yielded to company -enterprise on the pacific. by the terms of the deed poll, the immediate control of the company's affairs in its territory passed from the hands of a committee sitting in london, to a personage known as governor-in-chief of rupert's land and his council. his commission extended over all the company's lands and possessions, with an unlimited tenure of office. the council was to be composed of chief factors, and occasionally a few chief traders, who were to meet at some convenient centre for the purposes of consultation, this particular feature being a survival of the rendezvous of fort william. the chartered territories and circuit of commercial relations were divided into vast sections, known as the northern, southern, montreal and western departments. the northern extended between hudson's bay and the rocky mountains, the southern, between james' bay and canada, including a part of the eastern shore of hudson's bay. [sidenote: governor simpson.] such a governor-in-chief should be a person of energy, shrewdness and ability. mr. ellice had been struck by the qualities and special aptitude for this important post of a young scotchman, named george simpson. this young man was an illegitimate son of the maternal uncle of thomas simpson, the arctic explorer. while clerk in a london counting-house, george simpson had attracted the attention of andrew colville, lord selkirk's brother-in-law, who sent him to rupert's land in the service of the company. the responsibility was a tremendous one, but simpson did not flinch from accepting it; and the end showed the wisdom of the appointment. for nearly forty years this man stood at the head of the fur-trade: a potentate in the midst of the wilderness, the virtual ruler of almost one-half of a continent. governor simpson was a man of small stature, but he had "the self-possession of an emperor."[110] accompanied by his voyageurs and clerks, he journeyed along the old ottawa and lake route, through the grand portage, or by fort william and lake of the woods, accomplishing this feat at least once a year throughout the entire period of his rule. at the outset of his career he perceived that the management of red river colony was an extremely difficult task--harder perhaps than the management of the fur-trade. but he attacked both with energy, resolved to serve his employers, and to create, at all hazards, harmony and prosperity in the territories. part of the time he spent at red river, part in oregon, in athabasca, and at hudson's bay. he crossed the rocky mountains at three different latitudes, and journeyed extensively over the vast territory of which he was truly the "commercial sovereign." the appointment of the rev. mr. west as principal chaplain to the company led to very great improvements in the moral and religious life at the forts. many of the traders and servants of the company were soon afterwards induced to marry the women with whom they had lived, a material step towards the amelioration of the condition of the indian and half-breed females. [sidenote: company obtains a new license.] the next step on the part of the honourable adventurers was to further safeguard their interests, and supplement their charter by a license from the new king, george iv. this license was for the exclusive privilege of trading with the indians in such parts of north america as were not part of the territories heretofore granted to the hudson's bay company. this royal license, dated the 5th of december, 1821, at carlton house, was expressly issued to prevent the admission of individual or associated bodies into the british north american fur-trade, inasmuch as the competition therein had been found for years to be productive of enormous loss and inconvenience to the hudson's bay company and to trade at large, and also of much injury to the natives and half-breeds. [illustration: the board room, hudson's bay house, london.] to anticipate events, it may here be remarked that this license expired in 1842, but prior to its expiration an extension was granted at the close of the first year of the reign of her present majesty,[111] for a further term of twenty-one years. by virtue of these licenses the company was granted exclusive trade in the indian territories west of the rocky mountains. it must be borne in mind, and will be pointed out in a subsequent chapter, that it was of the utmost moment for great britain to obtain a standing in oregon and on the columbia river,[112] and the licenses were framed to this great and desirable end. although, as has been shown, the north-west partners had made great efforts and borne great sacrifices, to maintain the trade on the pacific, they were contending against great odds. the russian establishments at norfolk sound, and at other places on the coast, even so far south as california, came to share in a virtual monopoly with the americans, who, after the treaty of ghent, began to send ships from boston to new york. the amalgamation of 1821 came about, and the hudson's bay company, invigorated by the infusion of new blood, believed it their duty to seek to regain the trade. they therefore set to work to re-establish british influence on the pacific. it was no easy task. the russians had gained a firm foothold, and the americans paused at no form of competition, nor any method by which they might secure their ends. the natives had already become debauched and now their debauchery spread from tribe to tribe, rendering dealings with them difficult and formidable. serious losses, both of lives and property, were sustained through their savage attacks on the company's agents and trading posts. but the work was in the hands of strong, able, and temperate men, who knew what the situation required of them and did not shrink from meeting it fully and fearlessly. by tact and vigorous measures the natives were restrained; at great expenditure of money and patience, order was restored; and in ten years time the company occupied the whole country between the rocky mountains and the pacific. it maintained six permanent establishments on the coasts, sixteen in the interior, and several movable posts and migratory brigades. by 1835 it had a fleet of six armed vessels, one of them propelled by steam, on the pacific. fort vancouver, its principal _entrepôt_ on the columbia river, was surrounded by large pasture and grain farms, maintaining large herds of horses and cattle, and was a profitable and growing establishment. it was a long time since the company had cut any considerable figure in international politics, but with the extraordinary growth of the american states and the increase of the fur traffic of the russians, contemporary european publicists came again to speak of the prospect of trouble over the company's rights and boundaries. [sidenote: claim of the united states to red river.] before this time there had arisen a cry, sedulously seconded by the company's enemies, that the red river region belonged to the united states. nothing can be clearer than that it was never for a moment contemplated either by the british or american government, that any of the hudson's bay lands, or any of the waters running into hudson's bay, would be included in the lines assigned as the boundaries between the possessions of great britain and those of the states. it is sufficiently demonstrated by the treaty concluded with america in 1794 that such an idea never existed in the minds of the negotiators. by the third article of that treaty, which permits the most perfect freedom of communication and intercourse between the subjects of both nations throughout their respective dominions, an exception is made of the country within the limits of the hudson's bay company, to be ascertained, of course, in conformity to their charter from which the americans are expressly excluded. the terms of the treaty concluded in 1783 with the united states show the express intentions of both nations to have been that the northern boundary of the united states should not, in any part, extend farther north than the river st. lawrence, or the lakes and streams which feed or fall into it. the unhappy feature of the matter was that a great part of the second article of the treaty of 1783 was drawn up in complete ignorance of the geography of the country. it is so full of contradictions that it became impossible afterwards to lay down a line which should follow that article literally. in this dilemma the only fair method of solving the difficulty was to return to the principles which governed the framing of the article. [illustration: red river cart.] [sidenote: the treaty of 1783.] at the close of the revolution the chief aim of the american negotiators, as is evinced throughout their correspondence, was to obtain a recognition of the right of their country to the western territory as far as the st. lawrence on the north, and the mississippi on the west. when the british government acceded to this proposition it was regarded by the americans as an important concession, and their plenipotentiaries proceeded upon that concession as the principle on which their boundary towards canada, after it had struck the st. lawrence, was to be defined. they brought the line from nova scotia to the st. lawrence, and then followed up the main stream of the river to what they believed to be its principal source, and what was supposed to approach the nearest to the source of the mississippi. in fanciful conformity to this intention, the second article of the treaty of 1783, after having carried the line to lake superior, stipulates that it shall be continued onwards through the middle of certain water communications to the north-west point of the lake of the woods, and thence due west to the mississippi. the fact, however, is that the waters of the lake of the woods feed streams which fall into hudson's bay, but have no communication with any waters which fall into lake superior. it is also a fact that a line drawn due west from the lake of the woods would never reach the mississippi, which lies far to the south of such a line. but there was a reason for such egregious blundering. the country had never been surveyed by men of science. its physical features had been derived from the vague and inaccurate accounts of ignorant traders and bushrangers, which had formed the basis for the current maps. these laid down a large river running from the lake of the woods and falling into lake superior. if there had been such a river in existence, there can be no doubt, from the body of waters contained in the lake of the woods, that it would have been a much larger stream than any of the feeders of lake superior. it was therefore most natural that the negotiators should suppose the lake of the woods to be the main source of the st. lawrence. at the same time this must have appeared to them the point at which the waters of the st. lawrence approached the nearest to the source of the mississippi, because in the maps of the bushrangers the mississippi is laid down as rising four or five degrees of latitude farther north than it does in fact, and as coming within a short distance of the lake of the woods on the west. as the negotiators in paris in 1783 reposed the greatest confidence in these crude productions of the cartographer, is it surprising that the second article of the treaty should be full of inconsistencies? on any other supposition the intention of the negotiators would be fatuous and incomprehensible. [sidenote: examination of american claims.] this brings us to the whole point involved in the american contention, which deprived great britain and the company of a vast territory to which the united states possessed no shadow of right. where the limits of a country have never been ascertained the conquest of the contiguous and encroaching territory may be justly considered as establishing the bounds originally claimed by the victorious nation; and this was the case with regard to canada and the territory of the company. but where between two powers there have been no defined limits, and no conquests have determined the claims of either, the pretensions of both might be fairly adjusted by laying down as a rule that "the priority of right should be considered as vested in each, to the respective countries, which each have either principally or exclusively frequented." the spaniards west of the mississippi never extended their establishments nearly so far north as latitude 42, while the hudson's bay limits were long frequented by the english. on what ground, therefore, could the americans, the successors merely to the rights derived from the spaniards, claim all the country of the sioux, the mandans and many other tribes on the upper branches of the missouri? nevertheless the states, after their purchase of louisiana, continued to put in claims for a more northerly and westerly boundary, with what ultimate result we shall see. it is only pertinent to remark here, that nothing could be more absurd than the idea that spain ever contemplated the cession of any territory on the pacific ocean, under the name of louisiana. the interior river waters of the sacramento and san joaquin had attracted the attention of the company even before the american trappers had reached them, and traders remained there in unmolested possession long after the russians had left the country. the feeble frontier guard could do nothing but protest, and ultimately when the trappers had nearly exhausted the outlying districts and desired to penetrate into the centre of the state, the american government admitted them under an agreement with the hudson's bay company, whereby a tax of fifty cents was to be paid for each beaver skin. a year before the amalgamation the north-west coast for the first time engaged the attention of the american government,[113] and what came to be known as the oregon question had its birth. the states possessed no title to the country, but a strong party believed that they had a right to found by occupation a legitimate title to a large portion of the territory in question. the matter was brought up at several sessions of congress, and the utmost was done by such legislators as floyd and benton to flog it into an active issue. it was claimed that "the united states, through spain, france and her own establishments, had the undisputed sovereignty of the coast from latitude 60° down to 36°." a bill was introduced for the occupation of the columbia, grants of lands to settlers, and regulation of indian affairs. but the government was by no means so sure of the wisdom of such a proceeding; the bill was repeatedly shelved. the restoration of fort george (astoria) by the british was one of the strong arguments used. in the meanwhile russia had declared that the north pacific coast down to latitude 51° belonged to her exclusively. all foreign vessels were prohibited from approaching within a hundred italian miles of any part of the coast. america protested, and between 1821 and 1824 negotiations were carried on between the two powers. [sidenote: russian claims.] russia flatly asserted that the boundary question was one between herself and great britain, with which the americans had no legitimate concern; and offered proofs that the treaty with spain gave the united states a right only to territory south of 42°. a conclusion was, however, reached in the treaty of 1824, by which the boundary was fixed at 54° 40', beyond which neither nation was to found any establishment, or to resort, without permission; while for a period of ten years both nations were to have free access for trade and fishery to each other's territory. in the following year was concluded a treaty between russia and great britain,[114] by which the former again relinquished her claim not only to the region below latitude 54° 40', but to the vast interior occupied by the company up to the frozen ocean. no objection to this was urged by america, although some of her statesmen sought to take a hand in the matter, and proposed a joint conference. great britain's reply to this proposition was to decline to recognize the right of the united states to any interest in the territory in question. the recent promulgation of the monroe doctrine had given offence not only to her, but to russia as well, and both were prepared to combat american pretensions. although his majesty's ministers had refused to treat for a joint convention, yet in 1824 negotiations were begun in london, between great britain and america, for the ownership of the northern pacific coast. the british commissioners showed clearly that the americans had no valid claim to the territory occupied by the company. [illustration: fur train from the far north.] [sidenote: temporary arrangement between england and the states.] the mere entrance of a private individual, such as captain gray, into a river could not give the states a claim up and down the coast to regions which had been previously explored by officially despatched british expeditions like that of cook. it was emphatically denied that the restoration of fort astoria, under the treaty of ghent, had any bearing on the title. nevertheless, great britain was willing to accept as a boundary the forty-ninth parallel from the mountains to the columbia (then known as mcgillivray river), and down that river to the sea. but the americans were obdurate; a deadlock ensued and the convention of 1818 remained in force. the company repeatedly urged the government not to abandon one inch of territory rightfully under the crown, to the united states. nevertheless, a settlement of the oregon question was highly desirable. if in spite of the treaty of 1818 the states should attempt to occupy the territory, war would be inevitable. if on the other hand the treaty should expire without any attempt at american occupation, great britain would be, by the law of nations, the party rightfully in possession. a new conference was held in london, in 1827; but it was impossible to agree on a boundary, and the only thing possible was a compromise to the effect that the treaty of joint occupation should be indefinitely renewed subject to abrogation at any time by either party on twelve months' notice. thus the _statu quo_ was maintained, and the hudson's bay company remained in actual possession of the profits of the fur-trade for many years to come. in 1828 governor simpson believed it advisable to make a general survey of the western posts, with the object of impressing peace and good-will upon the natives, and also to acquire a further knowledge of the needs and abilities of the company's officers and servants in that quarter. this journey of the governor, undertaken in considerable state, was from york factory to the pacific. he was accompanied by a chief factor, archibald macdonald, and a surgeon named hamlyn. fourteen commissioned gentlemen, as the chief factors and chief traders were called, and as many clerks, accompanied the party to the canoes, and amidst great cheering and a salute of seven guns, bade them god-speed. simpson entered peace river on the 15th of august, and reached fort vermilion in due course, three hundred and twenty miles from the mouth, which was then in charge of paul fraser. from here he proceeded to fort st. james, the capital of western caledonia, and the chief depot for all the region north of the fraser forks to the russian boundary, including the babine country. forts alexandria, kamloops and vancouver were visited in due order, and in the following year simpson returned east by way of the columbia. in an attempt to enter the columbia river in 1829, the company's ship from london, _william and ann_, was wrecked on land island. several of the crew escaped and landed on clatsop point, where they were immediately murdered by the natives, in order that the plunder of the vessel might be accomplished without interruption. news of the disaster was carried to fort vancouver, where the officer in charge, mclaughlin, sent messengers demanding a restoration of the stolen cargo. in response to this request, an old broom was despatched to the fort, with the intelligence that this was all the restitution the clatsops contemplated. the schooner _colbore_ was therefore sent on a punitive expedition. several of the tribe were wounded and a chief shot, after which the clatsops entered into a better frame of mind, and expressed contrition for their behaviour. under the anglo-russian treaty of 1825, the company possessed the free navigation of streams which, having their rise in british territory, crossed russian territory in their course to the sea. the company were not long in availing themselves of this privilege. posts were successively erected, as far as the stickeen river; but seven years afterwards there was yet no permanent post on that stream. it was, therefore, decided to establish one, and a brig, the _dryad_, was accordingly fitted out and despatched from fort vancouver. but in that year, 1833, the russian government had received the petition of its subjects to rescind the proviso in the treaty favourable to the british. the company's enterprise in thus encroaching on russian territory had alarmed wrangel, who was then in charge of the russian establishment[115] at sitka, and he wrote to his superiors urging them to memorialize the emperor. he alleged that the hudson's bay company had violated its agreement to refrain from selling fire-arms or spirituous liquors to the natives--an allegation which was not founded on fact. [sidenote: the _dryad_ appears.] believing that the situation called for instant action, wrangel did not wait to learn what course his government would take in the matter, but at once despatched two armed vessels to the entrance of stickeen river. a fort was hastily built on the site of an indian village, guns were mounted, and the company's expedition awaited. all unconscious the _dryad_ force approached. suddenly a puff of smoke and a loud report arrested them, and several shots came from two vessels hitherto concealed in the offing. while the astonished captain and crew put the brig about, with a design to anchor out of range, a boat reached them from the shore, bearing an officer in russian uniform. he protested in the name of the emperor and the governor of the russian-american possessions, against the entrance of a british vessel into a river appertaining to those powers. the company's agent attempted to argue the matter, but his representations went unheeded. the russian was obdurate; they were all threatened with peril to their lives, and their vessel, if the _dryad_ did not immediately weigh anchor. there was consequently nothing to do but to return. the company was indignant at this outrage. the forts it had already built, together with the cost of fitting out the _dryad_ and other vessels, besides a vast quantity of provisions and perishable merchandise sent into that country, had amounted to £20,000 sterling. the emperor had granted the petition of the russian company; and both the british and the american governments received notification that the clause in the treaty would terminate at twelve months' notice. but the _dryad_ affair took place before this decision was made public. the british government very properly demanded immediate satisfaction, and for a time public interest was keenly aroused. the russian government merely consented to disavow the act of its officer; and issued instructions prohibiting further hindrance to the trading limits previously agreed upon. the matter did not, however, receive settlement until 1839, in which year a convention was held in london to arrange the points long in dispute between the two companies. the matter was settled with despatch. the hudson's bay company's claim for compensation was waived in return for a lease from the russian company of all their territory on the mainland lying between cape spencer and latitude 54° 40'. for this lease the company agreed to pay an annual rental of two thousand land-otter skins, and also to supply the russians with provisions at moderate rates. in the last chapter, the expedition in 1819-20 of lieutenant (afterwards sir john) franklin, was alluded to. franklin and his party reached fort chippewyan on the 26th march, after having travelled on foot eight hundred and fifty-six miles, with the weather so intensely cold that the mercury continually froze in the bulb. in july, 1820, they journeyed five hundred miles more to fort enterprise, where the party wintered, back returning to fort chippewyan to procure supplies for the next season's operations. he was eagerly awaited, and when he arrived, in march, 1821, he had a tale of great hardship to relate. he had travelled over one thousand one hundred miles, sometimes going two or three days without food, with no covering at night but a blanket and deerskins to protect him from the fearful rigours of fifty-seven degrees below zero. in june the party started out from the coppermine to reach the sea, which they did in eighteen days. their subsequent sufferings were of the most dreadful description. when the survivors returned to york factory, they had travelled five thousand five hundred and fifty miles by land and water; but their object was still unaccomplished.[116] in 1825, franklin entered upon a second journey to the shores of the polar sea, again accompanied by lieutenant back and peter dease, one of the company's chief traders. "the governor and committee took," says franklin, "a most lively interest in the objects of the expedition, promised their utmost support to it, and forthwith sent injunctions to their officers in the fur countries to provide the necessary depots of provisions at the places which i pointed out, and to give every other aid in their power." franklin descended the mackenzie and traced the coast line through thirty-seven degrees of longitude from the mouth of the coppermine river, where his former survey began, to near the one hundred and fiftieth meridian, and coming within one hundred and sixty miles of the most easterly point reached by captain beechy, who was exploring from bering's strait. [illustration: sir george back, r.n.] in 1832 the protracted absence of captain (afterwards sir john) ross, who had sailed three years before for the polar regions, became cause for anxiety. it was decided to send an expedition, commanded by captain back, in search of this explorer, and the government granted £2,000 towards the expense, "it being understood that the hudson's bay company will furnish the supplies and canoes free of charge, and that the remainder of the expense, which is estimated at £3,000, will be contributed by captain ross's friends." the expedition sailed, but after it had been absent one year, news reached them[117] that ross had returned safe and sound in england; and captain back was ordered to attempt a completion of the coast line of the north-eastern extremity of north america. the company, through sir george simpson, nominated four officers, in its service, to be placed under back's command. in 1834 there was witnessed a confirmation of the deed poll of 1821, with a more definite prescription of the duties and emoluments of the company's servants. it was not until the year 1835 that lord selkirk's heirs determined to give up their control of the red river colony, and to surrender the territories granted in 1811. the expenses incurred by the earl in his expeditions, and in his costly law suits, were estimated at a large amount, and this the company agreed to assume. in 1839 a powerful blow was dealt at the prosperity of the company by the successful substitution of silk for beaver fur in the manufacture of hats. the price of beaver almost instantly fell, and continued to fall thenceforward for many years, inflicting great loss upon the company which was fortunately atoned for in other directions. in this same year the company, at the suggestion of chief factor mclaughlin, demanded and obtained of the russian fur company a ten years' lease for trading purposes of a strip of land ten leagues wide, extending north from latitude 50° 40', and lying between british territory and the ocean, paying therefor two thousand east side land otter, worth thirty-two shillings and sixpence each. statesmen in england marvelled at this arrangement, wondering why the company sought these ten leagues of russian seaboard. but traffic with the natives was only one of the objects of the company, for they also contemplated making a customer of the russians for european goods, as well as for those products of the soil which the inclemency of the more northern regions prevented their rivals from raising. acting upon this arrangement, a party was organized at montreal in 1839 to take possession of the leased territory. they set out from york factory in july, and travelled from thence by way of edmonton, jasper house and walla walla to fort vancouver. in the following year they proceeded to the redoubt st. dionysius, or as it was thereafter called, fort stickine, the russian post at the mouth of the stickine river, which was to be the british headquarters in the leased territory. in charge of the fort they found a russian officer with fifty men, guarded by a brig of thirty-two guns. the officer was informed by the company's pioneers that they would remain with eighteen men, at which the russians expressed astonishment. they informed young mclaughlin and w. g. rae, who had been appointed to the new post, that the savages were troublesome, that the chief had many slaves skilled in assassination and accustomed to obey his murderous orders. to which the company's men replied, "other forts we rule with twenty men, and we will hold stickine." [illustration: thomas simpson.] to this period belong the adventures and the tragic end of thomas simpson, the arctic explorer. as a youth, simpson had shown great scholastic promise, and seemed destined for medicine, when fortune tempted him to try the service of the company. his cousin, george simpson, was then governor of the company's territories, and repeated offers of a position decided the brilliant student to embark in the fur-trade. he began work as secretary to governor simpson, with whom he travelled from post to post for some time, until he settled down as accountant at fort garry. but soon the company had a duty for him to perform. in order to strengthen their hand when applying for a renewal of their general trading license, the honourable adventurers decided to spend some money in exploring the arctic coast. young simpson was requested to undertake this arduous task. exploration from the atlantic showed a defined coast line to within seven degrees of the great fish river, and it was to devolve upon simpson to explore the intervening gap. the important duty was laid upon him of completing the discovery of the northern coast of north america, and in accomplishing this it was thought that the long-looked for north-west passage would be brought to light. simpson set out from fort garry in the winter of 1836-37 and travelled on foot the whole distance to lake athabasca, a matter of one thousand two hundred miles, where he encountered dease, the chief factor, who was nominally at the head of the expedition. in the spring the party descended the mackenzie in open boats, coasting along to the westward until they attained the farthest point attained by franklin. from here a successful journey was made to within a short distance of point barrow, when their progress was arrested by the ice. after wintering at great bear lake, in the spring of 1838 the expedition again started for the coast, crossing the coppermine river and descending that stream to its mouth. but to their great disappointment they found the coast ice-bound. in the following spring they were more fortunate, finding the sea comparatively open, and as before, simpson struck off along the coast on foot. the expedition returned by way of the coppermine and great bear lake to the mackenzie river, and here simpson wrote a narrative of the expedition while waiting for the freezing up of that stream. he departed from fort simpson on the 2nd december, and reached fort garry on 1st of february, covering a distance of one thousand nine hundred and ten miles in sixty-one days, many of which were spent in enforced delays at the company's forts on the way. simpson was greatly disappointed to find on his arrival at red river no letters from the company in london, inasmuch as he had offered to make another expedition to complete the seven degrees still remaining of unexplored coast. the company had accepted his offer, and wrote to that effect, but the letter arrived too late. the same mail also contained the news that the royal geographical society, in view of the success which had attended his first expedition, had awarded him its gold medal; while the british government had bestowed on him a pension of £100 sterling per annum. simpson's later discoveries far excelled those he had made in 1837, and no doubt the honours accorded him would have been very great; but in 1840, while travelling, about three days' journey from fort garry, in what is now dakota, a tragedy took place, the details of which are still wrapt in mystery. it appears that the party of which simpson was a member were arranging their camp for the night. their horses were grazing hard by. all were armed with guns and pistols, for the sioux were on the warpath. one of the party was helping to pitch the tent when he heard the report of a gun. on turning around he beheld simpson in the act of shooting, first, john bird and then antoine legros, the former of whom fell dead, while the latter had time to give his son a last embrace. according to this witness, simpson then spoke for the first time, demanding if he knew of any plot to rob him of his papers. this was the last seen alive of the arctic explorer; next morning his dead body was found lying beside the others he had slain. there is little doubt that he was the victim of a fit of insanity, superinduced by the fear that one of his fellow-travellers might report the results of the expedition to the company in england before him. his death removed an able and distinguished explorer, who rendered good service to the company. in 1842 lord ashburton arrived in the united states, equipped with instructions and powers for the settlement of certain questions long pending between britain and america. it was expected that the oregon boundary matter would be one of these, but this was not the case.[118] meanwhile the utmost excitement prevailed in oregon, the settlers of both nationalities claiming possession. political meetings were held on the part of the british, at which old hudson's bay company servants and ignorant voyageurs were nominated for office, the latter men, "whose ideas of government," says mckay, "were little above those of a grisly bear." travelling along the middle columbia at this time was by no means devoid of danger, owing to the animosity of the natives towards the americans. their faith in the company remained unshaken; but they were subject to fits of suspicion and ill-temper, which were occasionally fraught with considerable inconvenience for the hudson's bay servants. in 1844, when j. w. mckay first came to fort vancouver, he found that many of the indians along the route were not to be trusted. early in 1846 mckay was dispatched to california to ascertain what arrangements might be made for securing certain supplies nearer than england, in case the company's farming establishment on the columbia should be surrendered to the united states. in 1846 joseph mckay was given the general supervision of the pacific establishments, in succession to james douglas. taking passage northward in the _beaver_ in october, according to the custom of the general agent, he visited the several stations and made such changes and left such instructions as he deemed advisable. the russians he found "affable and polite, but tricky." in august, 1847, he mentions meeting a chief of the stickine indians, whom he had reason to believe perfectly trustworthy. "he told me that he had been approached by a russian officer with presents of beads and tobacco, and that he was told that if he would get up a war with the english in that vicinity and compel them to withdraw, he should receive assistance in the shape of arms and ammunition; and in case of success he would receive a medal from the russian emperor, a splendid uniform, and anything else he might desire, while his people should always be paid the highest prices for their peltries." in the east as in the west, at red river, at edmonton, and on the pacific, the old policy of procuring provisions and the necessaries of life from england had been abandoned. the company now raised horses, horned cattle, sheep, and other farm stock. it owned large farms in different parts of the country, grist mills, saw mills, tanneries, fisheries, etc. from its posts on the pacific it exported flour, grain, beef, pork, and butter, to the russian settlements; lumber and fish to the sandwich islands; hides and wool to england. it opened the coal mines at nanaimo, after an unremunerative expenditure of £25,000 in seeking coal at fort rupert. [sidenote: agricultural and mercantile enterprise.] on the pacific coast, as many of the company's men who could be spared from the business of the fort, as well as such natives as had a leaning towards civilization, were employed in clearing lands and establishing farms. it was not difficult to convince these indians that they were pursuing the best policy, and they set to with a will to help the white men and half-breeds, "becoming good bullock-drivers and better ploughmen than the canadians or ranakes," to whom, nevertheless, they gave freely of their women as wives, a circumstance which tended to promote good behaviour amongst the medley throng of company's servants. such natives were treated with all fairness, and paid wages as high as the other labourers, usually from £17 to £25 per annum. the company became banker for the thousands who thrived by hunting, trading, tilling or mining, within its domains. it issued notes, and so valid were they that it has been said "the hudson's bay company's note was taken everywhere over the northern continent when the 'shin plasters' of banks in the united states and canada were refused."[119] [illustration: hudson's bay co., trade tokens.] footnotes: [110] in march, 1821, wentzel, one of the north-west partners, wrote: "the hudson's bay company have apparently relaxed in the extravagance of their measures; last autumn they came in the [athabasca] department with fifteen canoes only, containing each about fifteen pieces. mr. simpson, a gentleman from england last spring, superintends their business. his being a strange, and reputedly gentlemanly, man, will not create much alarm, nor do i presume him formidable as an indian trader." [111] may 30th, 1838. [112] "such is the spirit and avidity exhibited by the council," wrote one of the company's factors, in 1823, "that it is believed these discoveries will be extended as far as the russian settlements on the pacific ocean." [113] on motion of mr. congressman floyd, a committee was appointed in december, 1820, "to enquire into the situation of the settlements upon the pacific ocean, and the expediency of occupying the columbia river." [114] see appendix for copy of this treaty. [115] the russian company was incorporated under the patronage of the crown with a capital of two hundred and sixty thousand pounds sterling. it had a large commerce with northern china which did not deal with canton; and it was in the northern part of the empire that the consumption of furs was greatest. canton was merely the _entrepôt_ where furs were received for distribution throughout china. [116] from joseph berens, esq., the governor of the hudson's bay company and the gentlemen of the committee, i received all kinds of assistance and information, communicated in the most friendly manner previous to my leaving england; and i had the gratification of perusing the orders to their agents and servants in north america, containing the fullest directions to promote by every means the progress of the expedition.--_sir john franklin._ [117] "the extraordinary expedition with which this despatch was transmitted by the hudson's bay company," says back, "is worthy of being recorded." [118] indeed it cannot be doubted that great britain was wholly influenced by the position of the company. it has been said that she did not anticipate any permanent possession of the country. "the british have certainly no other immediate object," wrote mr. gallatin, the american commissioner, to henry clay, "than that of protecting the company in its fur-trade." [119] sir edward walkin tells how, when he was for a short time, in 1865 and 1866, shareholders' auditor of the company, he cancelled many of these notes which had become defaced, mainly owing to the fingering of indians and others, who had left behind on the thick yellow paper, coatings of pemmican. chapter xxxiv. 1846-1863. the oregon treaty -boundary question settled -company proposes undertaking colonization of north america -enmity and jealousy aroused -attitude of earl grey -lord elgin's opinion of the company -amended proposal for colonization submitted -opposition of mr. gladstone -grant of vancouver island secured, but allowed to expire in 1859 -dr. rae's expedition -the franklin expedition and its fate -discovery of the north-west passage -imperial parliament appoints select committee -toronto board of trade petitions legislative council -trouble with indians -question of buying out the company -british government refuses help - "pacific scheme" promoters meet company in official interview -international financial association buys company's rights - edward ellice, the "old bear." on the 15th of june, 1846, the famous "oregon treaty" was concluded between great britain and america. [sidenote: the oregon boundary question.] by the second article of that instrument it is declared that: "from the point at which the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude shall be found to intersect the great northern branch of the columbia river, the navigation of the said branch of the river to the point where the said branch meets the main stream of the said river shall be free and open to the hudson's bay company, and to all british subjects trading with the same, and thence down the said main stream to the ocean, with free access into and through the said river or rivers, it being understood that all the usual portages along the line thus described shall, in like manner, be free and open. in navigating the said river or rivers, british subjects, with their goods and produce, shall be treated on the same footing as citizens of the united states; it being, however, always understood that nothing in this article shall be construed as preventing, or intending to prevent, the government of the united states from making any regulations respecting the navigation of the said river or rivers not inconsistent with the present treaty." [illustration: hudson's bay co.'s employees on their annual expedition. (_from "picturesque canada," by permission._)] according to article iii, "in the future appropriation of the territory south of the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, as provided in the first article of this treaty, the possessary rights of the hudson's bay company, and of all british subjects who may be already in the occupation of land or other property lawfully acquired within the said territory, shall be respected." the oregon boundary question was thus settled. immigrants were pouring into oregon from all parts of america, and california was already receiving numerous gold miners. it was therefore natural that vancouver island and british columbia should receive attention. the climate was known to be almost perfect, and a motion to encourage colonization in those territories was made in the british parliament. but the company was quite alive to the situation. a letter was addressed to earl grey, the colonial secretary, dwelling on the efforts the adventurers had made in the british interest, and urging that vancouver island be granted to them. the negotiations continued until march, 1847, when sir j. h. pelly, the governor of the company, again wrote to earl grey, informing him that the company would "undertake the government and colonization of all the territories belonging to the crown in north america, and receive a grant accordingly." such a proposition staggered her majesty's ministers, who were for the most part ignorant of the work the company had already accomplished, of the position it occupied, or of the growth of its establishment on the pacific. already it governed and was now busy colonizing the territory, doing both in a manner superior to that adopted by the americans in their adjacent territories. such a proposition, too, awakened all the jealousy and enmity against the company which had been latent for so long. [sidenote: enmity and jealousy aroused.] one of the most determined and virulent in his attacks on the company at this time was one a. k. isbister, who addressed a long communication to earl grey, besides other letters to public men in england. in answer to mr. isbister, earl grey forwarded the substance of a report which had been made by major griffiths, late in command of her majesty's troops at fort garry, to whom had been communicated the petition of certain residents of red river settlement. to all the petitions, memorials, and complaints of interested parties and self-seekers against the company, earl grey had but one answer. he said he had gone to the bottom of the matter, and he believed the company was honest and capable. if he had had any doubt about it, this doubt must have been removed by a remarkable despatch of lord elgin, governor-general of canada, under date of 6th june, 1848. "i am bound to state," he wrote, "that the result of the enquiries which i have hitherto made is highly favourable to the company, and that it has left on my mind the impression that the authority which it exercises over the vast and inhospitable region subject to its jurisdiction, is, on the whole, very advantageous to the indians.... more especially it would appear to be a settled principle of their policy to discountenance the use of ardent spirits. it is indeed possible that the progress of the indians toward civilization may not correspond with the expectations of some of those who are interested in their welfare. but disappointments of this nature are experienced, i fear, in other quarters as well as in the territories of the hudson's bay company; and persons to whom the trading privileges of the company are obnoxious may be tempted to ascribe to its rule the existence of evils which are altogether beyond its power to remedy. there is too much reason to fear that if the trade were thrown open and the indians left to the mercy of the adventurers who might chance to engage in it, their condition would be greatly deteriorated."[120] such was the opinion of the earl of elgin on the hudson's bay company, and it was the opinion of all who really understood the company's aims, its history and its position. "persons to whom the trading privileges of the company are obnoxious." it was thus that the earl laid his finger upon the cause of the whole onslaught. jealousy of the company's rights was at the bottom of the whole matter. [sidenote: opposition of mr. gladstone.] the vancouver island negotiations were suspended for a year, and then the company, seeing the opposition it had evoked, put forward a less extensive proposal, by which it offered to continue the general management of the whole territory north of the forty-ninth degree, and for colonizing purposes to except vancouver island alone. it agreed to colonize the island without any pecuniary advantage accruing to itself, and promised that all moneys received for lands and minerals should be applied to purposes connected with the improvement of the country. the proposition seemed a reasonable one; but in a certain rising statesman, who had inherited his opposition to the company from his father, and who had many followers, the honourable adventurers had a powerful enemy. his name was mr. w. e. gladstone, and his enmity to the measure caused the government to halt. the company was not without strong friends, as well as enemies. it drew up a deed of charter, and boldly relied on the earl of lincoln (afterwards duke of newcastle) to procure favour for it in the house of commons. on the 17th july the earl opened the subject, and drew from mr. gladstone a speech which occupies many columns of hansard's debates. with mighty energy he hurled argument, invective, appeal and remonstrance at the heads of his fellow-members. it was even suggested that he was actuated by personal malice. every statement, every slander that could wither or blacken the fair fame of a corporation which had deserved well of its country, was employed on this occasion, and his conclusion was that the company was incompetent to carry out its promises. mr. howard, who followed, believed that it would be "most unwise to confer the extensive powers proposed on a fur-trading company." yet he did not deny that as california had recently been ceded to america, it was a matter of the highest importance that a flourishing british colony should be established on the pacific coast as an offset to that power. lord john russell undertook to enlighten the house as to the achievements of the company, apart from fur-trading. he said that it already held exclusive privileges, which did not expire until 1859; that the western lands were controlled by a crown grant, dated 13th may, 1838, confirming the possession by the company for twenty-one years from that date; that these privileges "could not be taken away from it without breach of principle and that if colonization were delayed until the expiration of this term squatters from america might step in and possess themselves of the island." [sidenote: the grant of vancouver island.] it was voted to refer the matter to the privy council committee for trade and plantations; and on the 4th september this body reported in favour of granting vancouver island to the hudson's bay company. the grant was duly signed, sealed and delivered on the 13th january, 1849. the company, in the midst of its triumph, was not satisfied. it had aroused enmities which it was powerless to allay. it had been lured, by too zealous friends, into making promise of a policy which it foresaw could not be followed without ruinous cost. it also foresaw that the rush to the pacific, consequent upon the gold-fever of 1849, would bring about new interests not its own and, in brief, that the colony would pass from its hands, and that all its outlay and labour would have been expended without profits. what it anticipated came about sooner than it expected. opposition had been collecting from without, and had been engendered from within. some of the adventurers announced that when, in 1859, the grant would expire, they would object to its renewal. the company's enemies asserted that it had not exerted itself to bring about the desired colonization of vancouver island. the settlers forwarded a memorial asking to be relieved from the company's control. at the same time, the governor it had appointed, mr. douglas (afterwards sir james douglas), was popular, and when the grant was allowed to expire and vancouver island became a crown colony in 1859, he was retained in the same office. soon afterwards, a government was organized, with mr. douglas at its head, on the mainland of british columbia. [illustration: sir george simpson receiving a deputation of indians.] meanwhile, in the eastern as well as the western extremity of the company's domains, agitation and malcontent was being fomented. certain residents of red river settlement had forwarded petitions to earl grey. lieutenant-colonel crofton, in command of her majesty's troops at fort garry, was asked to send in a report of the state of affairs at red river. at a little later period his successor, major griffiths, was requested to do the same. neither had any connection with the company, and both might therefore be regarded as unbiassed as well as fully informed. both exonerated the company from most of the charges brought against them, and as to the remainder, which were preferred on untrustworthy evidence, they professed ignorance. they rendered full credit to the company "for the manner in which it has of late years exercised its powers." in the year of the oregon treaty the company caused some valuable exploration to be made of its northern coasts. dr. rae and his party reached chesterfield inlet 13th july, 1846, passed repulse bay safely, and conveyed their boats thence into committee bay, at the bottom of boothia gulf. the company's expedition wintered at repulse bay, and again entering committee bay, in april, 1847, by the following month had completed a survey, with the exception of fury and hecla straits, of the entire northern coast of the north american continent. [sidenote: fate of the franklin expedition.] in the previous year, 1845, sir john franklin, who had, since his last travels in rupert's land, been governor of tasmania, was offered the command of another expedition in search of the north-west passage by the british government. he embarked in the _erebus_ and _terror_, and his ships were last seen on the 26th of july in baffin's bay by a whaler. several years passed without tidings of the expedition. in 1850 traces of the missing ships were discovered by ommaney and penny, and it was thus ascertained that the first winter had been spent behind beechy island. no further news came until the spring of 1854, when an expedition of the hudson's bay company, under dr. rae, from republic bay, received information from the esquimaux that four years before about forty white men had been seen dragging a boat over the ice near the north shore of king william's island. somewhat later in the same season of 1850, declared the natives, the bodies of the entire party were found at a point a short distance to the north-west of the great fish river. to prove their assertion the esquimaux produced various articles which were known to have belonged to the ill-fated explorer and his party. the government having previously offered a reward of £10,000 "to any party, or parties who, in the judgment of the board of admiralty, shall, by virtue of his or her efforts, first succeed in ascertaining" the fate of the missing expedition, dr. rae laid claim to and obtained this reward. another expedition under anderson and stewart went in two canoes, in 1855, down the great fish river, and further verified the truth by securing more european articles and clothing from the esquimaux. it now became clear that a party from the _erebus_ and _terror_ had sought to reach, by the fish river route, the nearest company's post to the south, and had been arrested by the ice in the channel near that river's mouth. in 1857 lady franklin, whose efforts to set at rest the fate of her husband had been most heroic, sent out the yacht _fox_, commanded by captain (afterwards sir leopold) mcclintock, who had already taken part in three expeditions despatched in search of franklin. in the following year more relics were obtained, closely followed by the discovery of many skeletons. in a cairn at point victory lieutenant hobson unearthed the celebrated record kept by two of the explorers, which briefly told the history of the expedition for three years, or up to april 25, 1848. it appeared that sir john franklin had perished on the 11th of june, 1847. it is believed that one of the vessels must have been crushed in the ice and the other stranded on the shore of king william's island, where it lay for years, a mine of wonderful implements and playthings for the esquimaux. [illustration: opening of cairn on point victory which contained the record of the franklin expedition.] [illustration: discovery of relics of franklin expedition.] franklin was virtually the discoverer of the long-sought north-west passage, inasmuch as he had all but traversed the entire distance between baffin's bay and bering's strait. [sidenote: the north-west passage discovered at last.] yet it should be observed that in 1853 commander mcclure, who was in charge of an arctic expedition from the pacific, was rescued near melville island by sir edward belcher, who came from the side of the atlantic, and both he and his ship's company returned to europe _via_ baffin's bay. thus the secret of the north-west passage was disclosed at last. it was now known that a continuous passage by water existed between baffin's bay and bering's strait, and that was the last of the voyages undertaken for the purpose through rupert's land. for ten years past the profits of the company had already increased. in 1846, there were in its employ five hundred and thirteen articled men and thirty-five officers. it controlled a net-work of trading routes between its posts situated between the atlantic and the pacific oceans. in 1856 it had one hundred and fifty-two establishments under governor simpson's control, with sixteen chief factors and twenty-nine chief traders, assisted by five surgeons, eighty-seven clerks, sixty-seven postmasters, five hundred voyageurs and one thousand two hundred permanent servants, in addition to sailors on sea-going ships and other employees, numbering altogether above three thousand men. [sidenote: imperial parliament appoints select committee.] at the beginning of 1857 the opponents of the company were on the _qui vive_. they had at last succeeded in procuring a select committee of the imperial house of commons for the purpose of considering "the state of those british possessions in north america which are under the administration of the hudson's bay company, or over which it possesses a license to trade." the committee was composed of the following persons: the right honourable henry labouchere (afterwards lord taunton), sir john pakingham, lord john russell, mr. gladstone, the right honourable edward ellice, lord stanley, viscount sandon, and messrs. lowe, adderley, roebuck, grogan, kinnaird, blackburn, charles fitzwilliam, gordon, gurney, bell and percy herbert. evidence was taken from the 20th of february to the 9th of march, which comprised the first session of the committee. it sat again in may, and the examination of the numerous witnesses ended on the 23rd of june. public interest was aroused, and the company and its doings again became a standing topic at london dinner-tables. the honourable adventurers were again on their trial--would they come out of the ordeal as triumphantly as on the occasion of the previous great investigation a full century and a decade before? the list of witnesses comprised some of the best known names of the day. there were: sir john richardson, rear admiral sir george back, dr. rae, chief justice draper of canada, sir george simpson, hon. john ross, lieut.-colonel lefroy, lieut.-colonel caldwell, bishop anderson, hon. charles fitzwilliam, dr. king and right hon. edward ellice. at the second session messrs. gordon, bell and adderley retired, and viscount goderich, and messrs. matheson and christy took their places. the first witness examined was the honourable john ross, then president of the grand trunk railway of canada. "it is complained," said he, "that the hudson's bay company occupy that territory and prevent the extension of settlement and civilization in that part of the continent. i do not think they ought to be permitted to do that; but i think it would be a very great calamity if their control and power were entirely to cease. my reason for forming that opinion is this: during all the time that i have been able to observe their proceedings, there has been peace within the whole territory. the operations of the company seem to have been carried on, at all events, in such a way as to prevent the indian tribes within their borders from molesting the canadian frontier; while, on the other hand, those who have turned their attention to that quarter of the world must have seen that, from oregon to florida, for these last thirty years or more, there has been a constant indian war going on between the natives of american territory, on the one side, and the indian tribes on the other. now, i very much fear that if the occupation of the hudson's bay company were to cease, our fate in canada might be just what it is with americans in the border settlements of their territory." lord elgin had showed the weak spot of the opposition. mr. ross indicated it more precisely. "i believe," said he, "there are certain gentlemen at toronto very anxious to get up a second north-west company, and i daresay it would result in something like the same difficulties which the last north-west company created. i should be sorry to see them succeed. i think it would do a great deal of harm, creating further difficulties in canada, which i do not desire to see created." at the close of the evidence, mr. gladstone proposed resolutions unfavourable to the company, which were negatived by the casting vote of the chairman, lord taunton, the numbers being seven to seven. the committee agreed to their report on the 31st july. it recommended that the red river and saskatchewan districts might be "ceded to canada on equitable principles," the details being left to her majesty's government. the termination of the company's rule over vancouver island was advised; and this advice was not distasteful to the company. the committee strongly urged, in the interests of law and order, and of the indian population as well as for the preservation of the fur-trade, that the company "should continue to enjoy the privileges of exclusive trade which they now possess." [sidenote: toronto merchants petition legislative council.] as an illustration of the spirit prevalent in many quarters in canada towards the company, the petition which on the 28th of april, 1857, reached the legislative council of canada, may be cited. it emanated from the board of trade of the city of toronto. after reciting in anything but a respectful manner the history and status of the company, it declared that the company acted under a "pretended" right, that it "assumed the power to enact tariffs, collect custom dues, and levy taxes against british subjects, and has enforced unjust and arbitrary laws in defiance of every principle of right and justice." the petitioners besought the attention of the government "to that region of country designated as the chartered territory, over which the said company exercises a sovereignty over the soil as well as a monopoly in the trade, and which said company claims as a right that insures to it _in perpetuo_, in contradistinction to that portion of the country over which it claims an exclusive right of trade, but for a limited period only." the "gentlemen from toronto" admitted that this latter claim was founded upon a legal right, but submitted that a renewal of "such license of exclusive trade was injurious to the interests of the country so monopolized, and in contravention of the rights of the inhabitants of canada." in this year the claims of the company in connection with the treaty of 1846 were finally arranged by a special treaty concluded through the hon. w. h. seward for america, and lord lyons, the british ambassador. the puget's sound agricultural company, which was an offshoot and subordinate concern of the hudson's bay company, for the purposes of wheat, wool, hides and tallow production, was also named as one of the interested parties. "whereas," so ran the new treaty, "it is desirable that all questions between the united states authorities on the one hand, and the hudson's bay and puget's sound agricultural companies on the other, with respect to the possessary rights and claims of these companies, and of any other british subjects in oregon and washington territory, should be settled by the transfer of those rights and claims to the government of the united states for an adequate money consideration: it is hereby agreed that the united states of america and her britannic majesty shall, within twelve months after the exchange of the ratification of the present treaty, appoint each a commissioner for the purpose of examining and deciding upon all claims arising out of the provisions of the above-quoted articles of the treaty of june 15, 1846."[121] [sidenote: unwholesome temper amongst the indians.] the commercial rivalry existing between the russian-american company and the hudson's bay company, which held a trading lease of part of the sea-bound territory, naturally tended to engender and keep alive an unwholesome temper amongst the indians. they were frequently troublesome, and occasionally murderous. in may, 1862, between two hundred and fifty and three hundred of the natives on the west side of chatham strait, twenty-five miles north of cross sound, seized on the quarter-deck the captain and chief trader of the company's steamer _labouchere_, of seven hundred tons and taking possession of the vessel, drove the crew forward. but the crew had a large gun trained aft, and parleying took place. the indians had not known that this was a company ship. it was agreed that both parties should discharge their rifles, and peace was proclaimed, the indians finally leaving the vessel. before their departure, however, they covered the deck with fine sea-otter and other skins as a present to the captain and traders, and as a token of peace. in september, 1860, after an illness of but five days' duration, died sir george simpson, the governor-in-chief in rupert's land, amidst universal regrets. he had been often, indeed persistently, attacked by the company's enemies during his tenure of his office; indeed almost up to the day of his death he was charged with being autocratic and tyrannical, but none could deny him great ability and exceptional fitness for his post. he had taken a powerful interest in northern discoveries, and superintended the fitting out of several arctic expeditions. for his services in this direction he had been knighted in 1841, and soon afterwards had set out on a journey round the world, of which he published an interesting relation. in his late years he resided at lachine, where he entertained the prince of wales, on his visit in 1860. his successor was mr. a. e. dallas, who having made a considerable fortune in china, had for some time served the company on the pacific coast. thanks to his prudence, the landing in 1859 of general harney and a detachment of american troops on the island st. juan, between vancouver's island and the mainland, had been controlled and check-mated by the proposal of joint occupation until negotiations should settle the question of right. he was returning home to england, intending to retire, when he was persuaded to accept the governorship of rupert's land. [sidenote: proposals to buy out the company.] at the head of a scheme for a transcontinental road and telegraph system was mr. (afterwards sir) edward watkin, well known as the promoter of the grand trunk railway. for this scheme an imperial subsidy was sought. the dissensions which ensued between the various parties interested proved not unfruitful, for they led up to the great question of buying out the company. at the beginning, however, the duke of newcastle, then colonial secretary, had amiably undertaken to sound the company as to their willingness to allow a road and telegraphs through their territory.[122] in response to this demand the aged governor answered, almost in terror, to the duke of newcastle, "what, sequester our very tap-root! take away the fertile lands where the buffaloes feed! let in all kinds of people to squat and settle, and frighten away the fur-bearing animals they don't hunt and kill! impossible! destruction--extinction of our time-honoured industry. if these gentlemen are so patriotic, why don't they buy us out?" to this outburst the duke quietly replied: "what is your price?" governor berens answered: "well, about a million and a half." [sidenote: discussions as to the price.] on hearing this, mr. watkin was anxious that the british government should figure among the purchasing parties. purchase seemed the only way out of the difficulty. the governor and company seemed to have made up their minds for a sale or else to withstand the project which mr. watkin and the rest had so dearly at heart. an endeavour was made to convince the duke that at the price named there could be no risk of loss, because the fur-trade could be separated from the land and rights, and after the purchase a new joint-stock company could be organized to take over the trading-posts, the fleet of ships, the stock of goods, and the other assets, rights and privileges affecting trade. such a company, it was figured, would pay a rental (redeemable over a term of years if necessary) of three or three and one-half per cent, on £800,000, leaving only £700,000 as the value of a territory bigger than russia in europe. such a company would have to raise additional capital of its own to modernise its business, to improve the means of intercourse between its posts, and to cheapen and expedite the transport to and fro of its merchandise. it was pointed out that a land company could be organized in england, canada and america which, on a similar principle of redemption rental, might take over the lands, leaving a reserve of probably a fourth of the whole as the unpaid-for property of the government, at the price of £700,000. "were these proposals to succeed, then," said mr. watkin, "all the country would have to do was to lend £1,000,000 on such security as could be offered, ample in each case," in his opinion. but a condition was to be imposed if these plans were to be adopted. the hudson's bay territory must be erected into a crown colony like british columbia, and governed on the responsibility of the empire. as to the cost of government, there were three suggestions put forward. one was that it might be recouped by a moderate system of duties in and out of the territory, to be agreed upon between canada and british columbia on the one hand, and the united states on the other. the second was to sell a portion of the territory to america for five million dollars, which sum mr. watkin knew could be obtained. the third scheme was to open up portions of the fertile belt to colonization from the united states. when considering the second plan, the duke said he would not sell; he would exchange; and studying the map, "we put our fingers upon the aroostook wedge, in the state of maine; upon a piece of territory at the head of lake superior, and upon islands between british columbia and vancouver's island, which might be the equivalent of rectification of boundary on many portions of the westward along the 49th parallel of latitude." as for a name for the new proposed crown colony, dr. mackay had suggested to mr. watkin, "hysperia," and this name was mentioned to the duke. its similarity to "hysteria" probably caused it to be dismissed. [sidenote: opposition of the colonial office.] the decision of the duke of newcastle on the whole proposition was that were he a minister of russia he would agree to purchase the land from the hudson's bay company. "it is," said he, "the right thing to do for many, for all reasons; but ministers here must subordinate their views to the cabinet." nevertheless, he went so far as to believe that it was right. but the colonial office were in positive opposition to the scheme. it was now clear that the promoters of the pacific transcontinental railway could hope for no direct pecuniary aid from the british government. they must act for themselves. after some correspondence, it was arranged that the promoters of the "pacific scheme," as it was called, should meet the governor and committee of the hudson's bay company in an official interview. the date was the 1st of december, 1862. "the room," writes sir edward watkin in his memoirs, "was the court room, dark and dirty. a faded green cloth, old chairs, almost black, and a fine portrait of prince rupert. we met the governor, berens, eden colville and lyell only. on our part there were mr. g. g. glyn (the late lord wolverton), captain glyn (the late admiral henry glyn), and messrs. newmarch, benson, blake and myself. mr. berens, an old man and obstinate, bearing a name to be found in the earliest lists of hudson's bay shareholders, was somewhat insulting in his manner. we took it patiently. he seemed to be astounded at our assurance. 'what! interfere with his fertile belt, tap-root,' etc." [sidenote: the "pacific scheme" discussed.] but the governor showed himself more reasonable; a calmer discussion ensued, and the promoters were informed that the company would be ready to make a grant of land for the actual site of a road and telegraph through their territory. nothing more would be vouchsafed, unless, as they had informed the duke of newcastle, they were paid for all their rights and property. [illustration: fort prince of wales. (_drawn from an old print._)] "the offer," observes sir edward, "of a mere site of a road and ground for telegraph poles was no use. so, just as we were leaving, i said, 'we are quite ready to consider your offer to sell; and to expedite matters, will you allow us to see your accounts, charters, etc.' they promised to consult their court." the result of this promise was that the promoters were put into communication with "old mr. roberts, aged eighty-five, their accountant, and with their solicitor, mr. maynard." many interviews took place at hudson's bay house between these parties. on the 17th of march, 1863, mr. watkin met the governor, mr. ellice, junior (son of edward ellice, who had been nick-named the "old bear"), mr. matheson and mr. maynard, at hudson's bay house. a number of account books were produced. "next day i had a long private interview with mr. maynard, but could not see the balance-sheet the same day, i saw the duke with messrs. glyn and benson." on the following day, the chief promoter spent the forenoon with mr. roberts, the accountant, and his son and assistant, at hudson's bay house. "mr. roberts told him many odd things," he says; "one was, that the company had had a freehold farm on the site of the present city of san francisco of one thousand acres, and had sold it just before the gold discoveries for £1,000, because two factors quarrelled over it. i learnt a great deal of the inside of the affair, and got some glimpses of the competing north-west company, amalgamated by mr. edward ellice, its chief mover, many years agone, with the hudson's bay company. pointing to some boxes in his private room one day, mr. maynard said, 'there are years of chancery in those boxes, if anyone else had them.' and he more than once quoted a phrase of the old bear, 'my fortune came late in life.'" [sidenote: the international financial association.] in spite of the duke's indisposition, he expressed the greatest interest in the progress of the negotiations. yet the prospect of government aid was now remote. two ways were open to raise the money for a purchase of the company's rights--to secure the names and support of fifteen persons, millionaires, for £100,000 each; the other to hand the proposed purchase over to the newly-organized international finance association, who were eager to find some important enterprise to put before the public. the first method seemed to recommend itself to the promoters; and the friends of the project could easily have underwritten the necessary amount. but the company now announced that it would give no credit. "we must take up the shares as presented and pay for them over the counter." there was, therefore, no alternative. mr. richard potter, acting for the capitalists, completed the negotiations. the shares were taken over and paid for by the international financial association, who issued new stock to the public to an amount which covered a large provision of new capital for the extension of business by the company, and at great profit to themselves. as regards the new hudson's bay shareholders, their two hundred and one shares were subsequently reduced by returns of capital to one hundred and thirty-one, and having attained a value of thirty-seven, during the "land boom" period twenty years later stood at two hundred and forty-one. a hudson's bay company prospectus was issued. it was understood that the international financial association were merely agents, that the shares would not remain in their hands, but would pass to the proprietors, who would, of course, only enjoy the rights such shares carried. they would, in fact, be a continuation of the company, only their efforts would be directed to the promotion of the settlement of the country; the development of the postal and transit communications being one of the objects to which they were pledged. a new council had been formed, and amongst its members was mr. eden colville, one of the old committee, whom the duke praised publicly in the highest terms, as a "man of business and good sense." there was one man in london who was astonished at what had taken place. edward ellice still lived, but his commanding figure was bent by the weight of years. as we have seen, it was he who, in 1821, played the principal part in the amalgamation of the rival companies. he had grown to be proud of the company, proud of its history, of its traditions, of its service; and he seemed to detect in this transfer, its fall. a few months before his death, in 1863, he met one of the negotiators at burlington house. he confronted him for some moments without speaking, in a state of abstraction. then he passed on, like a man "endeavouring to recollect a long history of difficulty, and to realize how strangely it had all ended." ellice had said, before the parliamentary committee of 1857, in reply to a question put by a member as to what probability there was of a settlement being made, "within what you consider to be the southern territories of the hudson's bay company?" "none; in the lifetime of the youngest man now alive!" footnotes: [120] lord elgin went on to say: "at the same time i think it is to be regretted that a jurisdiction so extensive and peculiar, exercised by british subjects at such a distance and so far beyond the control of public opinion, should be so entirely removed from the surveillance of her majesty's government. the evil arising from this state of things is forcibly illustrated in the present instance by the difficulty which i experience in obtaining materials for a full and satisfactory report on the charges which your lordship referred to me. it were very desirable, if abuses do exist, that government possessed the means of probing them to the bottom; and on the other hand it seems to be hard on the company, if the imputations cast upon it be unfounded, that government, which undertakes the investigation, should not have the power of acquitting it on testimony more unexceptionable than any which is at present procurable. it has been stated to me that your lordship has it in contemplation to establish a military officer at some point within the territories of the company, and that the company is disposed to afford every facility for carrying out this arrangement. i trust that this report may prove to be well founded." [121] the treaty having provided for a joint commission, mr. a. s. johnston and the hon. (afterwards sir) john rose were appointed to act for america and great britain, respectively. these commissioners, on the 10th of september, 1869, issued an award from washington, directing the payment of $450,000 by the united states to the hudson's bay company, and $200,000 to the puget's sound company. there was, as usual, considerable delay in making this payment. on the 11th of july, 1870, $325,000 was appropriated by congress for this purpose, and a like sum by another appropriation in the following year. [122] "i am glad to tell you that since i received your letter of saturday last, the hudson's bay company has replied to my communication; and has promised to _grant_ land to a company formed under such auspices as those with whom i placed them in communication. the question now is, what _breadth_ of land they will give, for of course they propose to include the whole length of the line through their territory. a copy of the reply shall be sent to mr. baring, and i hope you and he will be able to bring this concession to some practical issue. "i was quite aware of the willingness of the company to _sell_ their _whole_ rights for some such sum as £1,500,000. i ascertained the fact two months ago and alluded to it in the house of lords in my reply to a motion by lord donoughmore. i cannot, however, view the proposal in so favourable a light as you do. there would be no immediate or _direct_ return to show for this large outlay, for of course the trade monopoly must cease, and the sale of the land would for some time bring in little or nothing--certainly not enough to pay for the government of the country. "i do not think canada _can_, or if she can, ought to take any large share in such a payment. some of her politicians would no doubt support the proposal with views of their own--but it would be a serious, and for some time unrenumerative addition to their very embarassing debt. i certainly should not like to _sell_ any portion of the territory to the united states--_exchange_ (if the territory were once acquired) would be a different thing--but that would not help towards the liquidation of the purchase money."--_letter of the duke of newcastle, 14th august, 1862._ chapter xxxv. 1863-1871. indignation of the wintering partners -distrust and misgivings arise -proposals of governor dallas for the compensation of the wintering partners in exchange for their abrogation of deed poll -threatened deadlock -position of those in authority rendered untenable -failure of duke of newcastle's proposals for surrender of territorial rights - the russo-american alaskan treaty -the hon. w. mcdougall's resolutions -deputation goes to england -sir stafford northcote becomes governor -opinion of lord granville as to the position of affairs -lack of military system company's weakness -cession now inevitable -terms suggested by lord granville accepted -first riel rebellion -wolseley at fort garry. all this had taken place in london. the sale had been negotiated between financiers. not a word of what was impending had crossed the atlantic to the hunting-grounds of the north-west--to the body of men who were, as much as the governor, the committee and the sleeping partners, members of the great company. yet their voice had never been heard, nor their consent to the transaction obtained. by the deed poll it was provided that the profits of the fur-trade (less interest on capital employed) were to be divided into one hundred parts, sixty parts going to the stockholders and forty to the "wintering partners." what would the "wintering partners" say to this brilliant "game of chess" which had been played with the stockholders for interests which were jointly theirs? [sidenote: indignation of the wintering partners.] no sooner had the papers been signed, and the million and a half sterling paid over, than misgivings seem to have seized the minds of those directly interested. yet, on their behalf, it was urged that the company's posts and hunting grounds still remained. that the factors and traders would be as well off under the new _régime_ as the old--that the mere change of one body of shareholders for another could affect them nothing--that, in fact, they would really benefit by having men of newer ideas and a more progressive spirit. the news, once in the newspapers, travelled fast, and in a few weeks at the less distant posts, and in a few months at the more remote ones, the rumour ran that the company had sold out--that the london partners had betrayed the real workers in the wilderness. [illustration: fort garry.] a large number of the company's chief factors and traders had, it appeared, addressed a memorial to the company in london, when first the rumour of a sale had reached them. they declared that they had been informed that no transfer was probable, but if it took place it would not be without previous consultation. they now learned for the first time from the newspapers that these arrangements had been made. an influential member of the new company predicted that a general resignation of the officers from labrador to sitka would ensue, followed by a confederation amongst themselves, in order to carry on the fur-trade in competition with the company. they had, they said, "the skill, the will, and the capital to do it." it was said that the appearance of mr. lampson's name as deputy governor of the new company had heightened the first feeling of distrust, for this gentleman and his commercial connections had long been the company's great rivals in the fur marts, carrying on a vigorous competition at all accessible points.[123] [sidenote: governor dallas's suggestions.] governor dallas, almost immediately upon his arrival in montreal, caused a circular to be issued, addressed to all the factors, completely refuting all these charges and innuendoes. many conferences took place between dallas and watkin as to the working of the company in the fur territories on the new basis. dallas kept the governor and committee in london fully advised of the state of affairs, accompanied by proposals as to the compensation to be allowed the aggrieved wintering partners. an interesting object, which it was desired to accomplish at this time, was an exchange of boundary between the company and the united states, so as to permit superior city being brought into british territory by means of a fair payment and exchange of land. the negotiations looking to this end, although at one time promising, proved a failure. it was believed that the first measure necessary towards the re-organization of the hudson's bay service would be the abolition or modification of the deed poll, under which the trade was then conducted. the wintering partners (chief factors and chief traders) had certain vested rights, and these could not be interfered with without compensation.[124] one mode suggested by governor dallas of removing the difficulty was to ascertain the value of a retired interest, and bestow a money compensation to each officer on his entering into an agreement to consent to the abrogation of the deed poll. as regarded the shares held in retirement, some of the interests had nearly run out and none of the parties had any voice in the business. the value of a (one-eighty-fifth) share was ascertained to be (on the average of the previous thirteen "outfits") about £408, at which rate a chief factor's retired interest would amount to £3,264, and a chief trader's to £1,632. adding the customary year's furlough on retiring, a factor's retired allowance would be £4,080, and a trader's £2,040. on such a scale of commutation it would cost the company £114,500 to buy out its officers. as a set-off to this outlay governor dallas suggested a substantial reduction in salaries. under the then existing organization the pay of officers in the service was £2,000 to the governor-in-chief, £16,000 amongst sixteen chief factors, £14,000 to thirty-five chief traders, and £10,000 to the clerks, a total officers' pay-roll of £38,000. he proposed to cut this down as follows: governor-in-chief £2,000 lieutenant-governor 1,250 four councillors at £800 3,200 twenty-five chief traders at £300 7,500 one hundred clerks at various salaries 10,000 ----- £23,950 but sir edmund and his colleagues thought otherwise. the wintering partners were not yet to reap any profit from the sale of the company's assets. the deed poll remained in full force until 1871, when they were paid £107,055 out of the money received from canada for rupert's land and the north-west. [sidenote: threatened deadlock in red river settlement.] in 1863 the company's government had almost come to a deadlock in the red river settlement. two cases had just occurred of prisoners having been forcibly rescued from gaol; and they, with about thirty to fifty others implicated in the riots, continued at large, fostering discontent. the only paper published, the notorious _nor'-wester_, was in the hands of the company's bitterest enemies.[125] the position of those in authority was so disagreeable that it was with great difficulty that governor dallas persuaded the magistrates to continue their duties. governor mctavish, who was in charge of assiniboine, resigned, and others were prepared to follow his example, including the governor-in-chief himself. fortunately the open malcontents were few in number and the volunteer force was sufficient to protect the gaol and support law and order, were it not for the unwise zeal of the company's partisans who were ready to engage in a free fight with the agitators. this, beyond question, would have led to a repetition of the semple tragedy of 1816. it may be noted that the company's unpopularity in the red river country, according to governor dallas, "arose entirely from the system, not from the faults of its administrators." the agitation against the company still continued, but slowly. it seemed difficult for the parties interested in the abolition of the company's rights to agree upon a single scheme which would be permanently satisfactory, and not too costly. sir edmund head expressed himself in favour of a complete sale of rights and ownership to the imperial authorities. but this scheme was, as has been seen, beset with almost insuperable difficulties. in november, 1863, sir edmund suggested that an equal division be made of the territory fit for settlement between the company and the crown, with inclusion of specified tracts in the share of the former; secondly, that the company construct the road and telegraph; thirdly, that the crown purchase such of the company's premises as should be required for military use, and to pay the company a net third of all future revenue from gold and silver. in his speech from the throne, on the 19th february, 1864, lord monk, the governor-general of canada, alluded to the matter, which was beginning to engross the public mind. "the condition," said he, "of the vast region lying on the north-west of the settled portions of the province is daily becoming a question of great interest. i have considered it advisable to open a correspondence with the imperial government, with a view to arrive at a precise definition of the geographical boundaries of canada in that direction. such a definition of boundary is a desirable preliminary to further proceedings with respect to the vast tracts of land in that quarter belonging to canada, but not yet brought under the action of our political and municipal system." it was hoped by many that the company could be induced to sell out its rights to the imperial government, and out of the territory to carve out a new crown colony. in the course of the ensuing debate on the address, the honourable william mcdougall, minister of crown lands, who was officially concerned in the matter, stated that "the government of canada had reached a conclusion upon the advisability of determining whether the red river territory belonged to canada or to some other country." the consequence was that a correspondence had been opened with the imperial government upon the subject. mr. mcdougall thereupon announced his individual view of the case as being that "canada was entitled to claim as a portion of its soil all that part of the north-west territory that could be proved to have been in possession of the french at the time of the cession of canada to the british." it was not at all likely that the duke of newcastle would share such a view, or that he would entirely acquiesce with the suggestion of sir edmund head on behalf of the company. under date of the 11th of march, and 5th of april, 1864, he formulated the appended proposals:- 1. the company to surrender to the crown its territorial rights. 2. to receive one shilling for every acre sold by the crown but limited to £150,000 in all, and to fifty years in duration, whether or not the receipts attained that amount. 3. to receive one-fourth of any gold revenue, but limited to £100,000 in all, and to fifty years in duration. 4. to have one square mile of adjacent land for every lineal mile constructed of road and telegraph to british columbia. [sidenote: the surrender of territorial rights.] these proposals were carefully considered by sir edmund head and his colleagues, and it was decided at a meeting on the 13th of april to accept them, subject to certain alterations. it was urged that the amount of payments within fifty years should either not be limited or else placed at the sum of £1,000,000 sterling, instead of a quarter of that sum. the company also suggested that a grant be made to it of five thousand acres of wild land for every fifty thousand acres sold by the crown. in the meantime the duke of newcastle had been succeeded in the colonial secretaryship by mr. cardwell, who on the 6th of june wrote to say that he could not entertain the amendments of the company. for several months nothing was done, but in december the honourable adventurers again met and again showed their desire for an amicable and reasonable arrangement. they offered to accept £1,000,000 for the territory which they then defined, and which was substantially in extent the whole region granted them in the charter of charles ii. in 1865 the hon. george brown went to england to come to terms over the proposed transfer, but without success. [sidenote: america purchases alaska.] the charter of the russian company was about to expire. it had underlet to the hudson's bay company all its franchise on the mainland between 54° 40' and mount st elias; and now it was proposed that an american company, holding direct from the russian government, should be substituted, and it seemed to the americans a good opportunity to organize a fur-trading company to trade between the states and the russian possessions in america. but before the matter could mature, the american and russian governments interposed with a treaty, by which alaska was ceded to the states for $7,200,000 in gold. few treaties have ever been carried out in so simple a manner. russia was glad to be rid of her possessions in north america. the sum of $7,000,000 was originally agreed upon; but when it was understood that a fur company and an ice company enjoyed monopolies under the existing government, it was decided to extinguish these for the additional sum. on 1st july, 1867, the confederation of the scattered british provinces of north america was made an accomplished fact, amidst general rejoicings. on the 4th of december, mr. mcdougall, who was now minister of public works for the new dominion of canada, brought in, at the first session of parliament, a series of resolutions directly relating to the acquisition of rupert's land and the great north-west:- 1. that it would promote the prosperity of the canadian people and conduce to the advantage of the whole empire if the dominion of canada, constituted under the provisions of the british north america act, 1867, were extended westward to the shores of the pacific ocean. 2. that the colonization of the lands of the saskatchewan, assiniboine, and red river settlements, the development of the mineral wealth which abounds in the regions of the north-west, and the extension of commercial intercourse through the british possessions in america from the atlantic to the pacific, are alike dependent upon the establishment of a stable government for maintenance of law and order in the north-west territories. 3. that the welfare of the sparse and widely-scattered population of british subjects of european origin, already inhabiting these remote and unorganized territories, would be materially enhanced by the formation therein of political institutions bearing analogy, as far as circumstances will admit, to those which exist in the several provinces of this dominion. 4. that the 146th section of the british north america act, 1867, provides for the admission of rupert's land and the north-west territory, or either of them, into union with canada upon terms and conditions to be expressed in addresses from the houses of parliament of the dominion to her majesty, and which shall be approved of by the queen in council. 5. that it is accordingly expedient to address her majesty, that she would be graciously pleased, by and with the advice of her most honourable privy council, to unite rupert's land and the north-west territory with the dominion of canada, and to grant to the parliament of canada authority to legislate for their future welfare and good government. 6. that in the event of the imperial government agreeing to transfer to canada the jurisdiction and control over this region, it would be expedient to provide that the legal rights of any corporation, company, or individual within the same will be respected; and that in case of difference of opinion as to the extent, nature, or value of these rights, the same shall be submitted to judicial decision, to be determined by mutual agreement between the government of canada and the parties interested. such agreement to have no effect or validity until first sanctioned by the parliament of canada. 7. that upon the transference of the territories in question to the canadian government, the claims of the indian tribes to compensation for lands required for purposes of settlement would be considered, and settled in conformity with the equitable principles which have uniformly governed the crown in its dealings with the aborigines. [sidenote: deputation goes to england.] in the following year a delegation to arrange the terms for the acquisition by canada of rupert's land and the north-west territory arrived in england. it consisted of sir george étienne cartier and mr. william mcdougall. on presenting themselves at the colonial office they were invited by the duke of buckingham and chandos, then secretary of state for the colonies, to visit him at stowe "for the purpose of discussing freely and fully the numerous and difficult questions involved in the transfer of these great territories to canada." to the duke's country-seat the delegates accordingly went. here, one of the first things the duke communicated to them was that the company being lords-proprietors were to be treated as such, and not as parties having a defective title and fit subjects for that "spoliation" previously deplored by cartier.[126] there can be no manner of doubt that, taking this view, the company's demands were most reasonable. but the canadian delegates were not content to take this view. there had been so much irresponsible hue-and-cry about the weakness of the company's title, that they doubtless felt themselves privileged to hold out for better terms. while negotiations were thus pending in london, the duke of buckingham quitted office with his colleagues, and was succeeded by earl granville. almost at the same time the earl of kimberley, the company's governor, resigned, and was replaced by sir stafford northcote. in january, 1869, the new colonial secretary transmitted to the delegates the reply of the company, declining their counter-proposals, and inviting them to communicate to him any observations they might desire to offer further on the situation. "we felt reluctant," to quote the language of the delegates, "as representatives of canada, to engage in a controversy with the company concerning matters of fact, as well as questions of law and policy, while the negotiation with it was being carried on by the imperial government in its own name and of its own authority." [sidenote: canada exerts pressure on the company.] nevertheless, these scruples were soon overcome. they accepted lord granville's invitation, and on the 8th february stated at length their views upon the various points raised by the governor of the company, which views clearly demonstrated that the dominion was by no means prepared to deal with the honourable adventurers in a spirit of generosity or even of equity. lord granville now came forward with plans of his own, but these were not agreeable to sir george cartier and mr. mcdougall. while the negotiations were in progress the company lodged an indignant complaint against the canadian government for undertaking the construction of a road between the lake of the woods and the red river settlement without first having procured its consent. stormy meetings of the honourable adventurers were held; it seemed impossible to resist the pressure which was being brought to bear. had the old governor and committee been in existence it is possible this pressure would have been longer withstood. the delegates returned to canada, but they had succeeded in no slight measure in impressing upon the imperial government their peculiar views. on the 9th of march, lord granville employed the following language to the governor of the company: "at present the very foundations of the company's title are not undisputed. the boundaries of its territory are open to questions of which it is impossible to ignore the importance. its legal rights, whatever these may be, are liable to be invaded without law by a mass of canadian and american settlers, whose occupation of the country on any terms it will be little able to resist; while it can hardly be alleged that the terms of the charter, or its internal constitution, are such as to qualify it under all these disadvantages for maintaining order and performing the internal and external duties of government." [sidenote: lack of military system company's weakness.] there was the company's weakness. no sovereign in europe had a clearer right to his or her dominions, perhaps no rule was wiser or more beneficent, but the one powerful, indispensable adjunct to sovereign authority it lacked--a military system.[127] with a standing army the company's rights would have been secure--but it was a king without soldiers. it required ten thousand drilled men to defend its frontiers--it was too late in the day to organize such a force, it could only submit gracefully to its envious and powerful neighbours. cession was perhaps inevitable; the terms which lord granville now proposed it decided to accept. 1. the hudson's bay company to surrender to her majesty all the rights of government, property, etc., in rupert's land, which are specified in 31 and 32 victoria, clause 105, section 4; and also all similar rights in any other part of british north america, not comprised in rupert's land, canada, or british columbia. 2. canada is to pay to the company £300,000 when rupert's land is transferred to the dominion of canada. 3. the company may, within twelve months of the surrender, select a block of land adjoining each of its stations, within the limits specified in article 1. 4. the size of the blocks is not to exceed ---acres in the red river country, nor 3,000 acres beyond that territory, and the aggregate extent of the blocks is not to exceed 50,000 acres. 5. so far as the configuration of the country admits, the blocks are to be in the shape of parallelograms, of which the length is not more than double the breadth. 6. the hudson's bay company may, for fifty years after the surrender, claim in any township or district within the fertile belt, in which land is set out for settlement, grants of land not exceeding one-twentieth of the land so set out. the blocks so granted to be determined by lot, and the hudson's bay company to pay a ratable share of the survey expenses, not exceeding ---an acre. 7. for the purpose of the present agreement, the fertile belt is to be bounded as follows: on the south by the united states boundary; on the west by the rocky mountains; on the north by the northern branch of the saskatchewan; on the east by lake winnipeg, the lake of the woods, and the waters connecting them. 8. all titles to land up to the 8th of march, 1869, conferred by the company, are to be confirmed. 9. the company to be at liberty to carry on its trade without hindrance, in its corporate capacity, and no exceptional tax is to be placed on the company's land, trade or servants, nor an import duty on goods introduced by them previous to the surrender. 10. canada is to take over the materials of the electric telegraph at cost price, such price including transport, but not including interest for money, and subject to a deduction for ascertained deteriorations. 11. the company's claim to land under agreement of messrs. vankoughnet and hopkins to be withdrawn. 12. the details of this arrangement, including the filling up of the blanks in articles 4 and 6, to be settled at once by mutual agreement. [sidenote: cession to canadian government.] on such terms did the canadian government acquire this vast territory of two million three hundred thousand square miles. in that portion designated the fertile belt, comprising three hundred million acres, there were agricultural lands believed to be capable of yielding support to twenty-five million people. filled with high hopes as to the future of the country they had thus acquired, the canadian government was confronted by the necessity of providing it with a suitable form of government to replace that of the company. little did the public men who had interested themselves in the negotiations ponder on the difficulties of the task. apparently they undertook it with a light heart. during the session of 1869 an act was passed at ottawa providing a provisional form of government in the territory, and in october of the same year the hon. william mcdougall received the appointment of lieutenant-governor. but before he set out on his duties surveying parties had been busy in the red river settlement, laying out townships and instituting an extended series of surveys. [sidenote: forlorn case of the métis.] in order to be in the place of his government when by the queen's proclamation it should become a portion of the dominion of canada, mcdougall, in the month of november, found himself at the frontier of his province. but the transfer was not to be consummated without bloodshed. a portion of the little community of red river raised its voice in vehement protest against the arrangements made between the government of canada and the company. these malcontents, chiefly french half-breeds, headed by louis riel, expelled the governor appointed by the dominion and planned a resistance to all authority emanating from the same source. they assembled in large numbers, and, after fortifying portions of the road between pembina and fort garry, had taken possession of the latter post. upon consideration of the case of these wild and ignorant métis, it is difficult to withhold from them sympathy. settled government, forms of law, state duty, exactions of citizenship, the sacrifices and burdens of urban civilization--of these he knew but dimly, and held them in a vague horror. he knew that men lived and ground out their lives in cities afar off, and that by means of their wealth they possessed power; that they had cast envious eyes on the hunting-grounds of the indian and his half-brother the métis; that they sought to wrest him from his lands and mark it off into town lots, people his beloved prairies and exterminate his race. they must mean him ill or they would not work in such a silent, stealthy fashion to dispossess him and drive him farther west into unfamiliar fastnesses. there were fifteen thousand souls in the country bordering on red river, and the majority objected, not without reason, that such an arrangement as had just been carried out should be done without their consent or having been consulted. was it wonderful that the half-breed, resenting this march of civilization which would trample him and his possessions to atoms, should arise, seize his rude weapons, and prepare for war? it is true the insurrection of 1869-70 could have been averted. it would have been easy, through an agent of tact and eloquence, to have dispelled the illusions which had taken possession of the métis, and to have restored confidence as to the policy of canada. but was it the hudson's bay company's duty to enlighten the aggrieved inhabitants? the company who had been bullied and badgered and threatened with confiscation unless it agreed to a renunciation of its rights? was it the fault of the company that several thousand wild métis children of the wilderness, passionately attached to the old order of things, were in their hearts loyal to the company, which fed and clothed and administered law to them?[128] the insurgents, growing bolder, had taken possession of fort garry, where a council of half-breeds was held and the inhabitants called upon to send delegates to a national convention. the english colonists accepted the invitation, but were soon made aware that riel and his supporters were resolved on more desperate measures than they could themselves countenance. the authority of the company had been observed; but it was now disregarded; the books and records of the council of assiniboia were seized, and on the 1st december a "bill of rights" was passed by the "provisional government." this act of open rebellion caused the secession of the english; insurgency was now rampant and many of the inhabitants found themselves incarcerated in gaol. then followed the illegal infliction of capital punishment upon thomas scott, a young orangeman, and the despatch of colonel (now lord) wolseley to the seat of trouble. leaving toronto on the 25th of may, 1870, wolseley and his force, after a long and arduous journey, arrived at fort garry on the 24th of august. but the rebellion was already over, and the chief instigator and his companions had fled. for many years the company's officers in charge of the various districts in rupert's land had annually met in council for the regulation and discussion of affairs of the fur-trade in general. regarding themselves as true partners of the company, they naturally looked to share with the shareholders in the sum agreed to be paid by canada for its territory. [sidenote: turbulent meetings at hudson's bay house.] in july, just one month before the entrance of the future hero of tel-el-kebir and the british troops into fort garry, a last meeting of the council of officers of the honourable hudson's bay company was held at the post known as norway house. it was presided over by fort garry's governor, mr. donald alexander smith,[129] a servant since boyhood of the company. at this meeting it was decided to represent the claims of the officers to the partners in england. to this end mr. smith was unanimously appointed their representative, he undertaking the task of presenting their claims. the london shareholders were by no means immediately acquiescent. but although sir stafford northcote presided over some turbulent meetings in fenchurch street, the claims of the "wintering partners" were ultimately recognized in the only manner possible. out of the £300,000 paid by the dominion, the sum of £107,000 was divided amongst the officers for the relinquishment of their claims. the governor of the company, in his report to the shareholders in november, stated that "since the holding of the general court on the 28th june, the committee have been engaged in proceeding with the re-organization of the fur-trade, and have entered into an agreement with the chief factors and chief traders for revoking the deed poll of 1834, and settling claims arising under it upon the terms sanctioned by the proprietors at the last general court. they have also prepared the draft of a new deed poll adopted to the altered circumstances of the trade." a new era had thus begun in the history of the honourable company of merchants-adventurers trading into hudson's bay. footnotes: [123] "to my mind the worst feature in the new company is that of allowing a foreigner (american) to hold office. he owes allegiance to the united states, and his position gives him knowledge which no american should possess. 'blood is thicker than water,' says the proverb: 'no man can serve two masters.' as to the idea that being in the fur-trade his experience and influence will benefit the new company, will any furrier believe that? if the company will sell all the furs, i would never rest satisfied while an american was in the management.'"--william mcnaughten, the company's agent at new york. [124] the eighty-five shares belonging to the wintering partners, in 1863, were held as follows: 15 chief factors 30 shares 37 chief traders 37 " 10 retired chief factors 13 " 10 retired chief traders 5 " - 85 shares. [125] "its continued attacks upon the company," wrote governor dallas, "find a greedy ear with the public at large, both in the settlement and in canada." [126] "with regard to the hudson's bay matter," wrote cartier to watkin, under date of 15th of february, 1868, "not the least doubt that the speech of 'john a.,' was very uncalled for and injudicious. he had no business to make such a speech, and i told him so at the time--that he ought not to have made it. however, you must not attach too much importance to that speech. i myself, and several of my colleagues, and john a. himself, have no intention to commit any spoliation; and for myself in particular, i can say to you that i will never consent to be a party to a measure or anything intended to be an act of spoliation of the hudson's bay's rights and privileges." [127] "the present state of government in the red river settlement is attributable alike to the habitual attempt encouraged, perhaps very naturally, in england and in canada, to discredit the tradition and question the title of the hudson's bay company, and to the false economy which has stripped the governor of a military force, with which, in the last resort, to support the decisions of the legal tribunals. no other organized government of white men in the world, since william penn, has endeavoured to rule any population, still less a promiscuous people composed of whites, half-breeds, indians and borderers, without a soldiery of some sort, and the inevitable result of the experiment has, in this case, been an unpunished case of prison-breaking, not sympathized in, it is true, by the majority of the settlers, but still tending to bring law and government into contempt, and greatly to discourage the governing body held responsible for keeping order in the territory."--_governor dallas._ [128] "it is an undoubted fact," remarks general sir william butler, "that warning had been given to the dominion government of the state of feeling amongst the half-breeds, and the phrase, 'they are only eaters of pemmican,' so cutting to the métis, was thus first originated by a distinguished canadian politician." [129] the distinguished philanthropist, the present lord strathcona and mount royal, high commissioner for canada in london and governor of the hudson's bay company. [illustration: the trading room at a hudson's bay post.] chapter xxxvi. 1821-1871. the company still king in the north-west -its forts described -fort garry -fort vancouver -franklin -walla walla - yukon -kamloops -samuel black -mountain house -fort pitt -policy of the great company. the company, in yielding the sovereignty of the great north-west to canada, was still a king, though crown and sceptre had been taken from it. its commercial ascendancy was no whit injured; it is still one of the greatest corporations and the greatest fur company in the world. but new interests have arisen; its pristine pride, splendour and dignity, would now be out of place. the old lion has been shorn of its mane, and his roar is now no longer heard in the great north-west. it no longer crouches in the path of progress determined to sell dearly the smallest sacrifice of its ancient rights and privileges; it is ready to co-operate with the settler and explorer, and all its whilom enemies. [sidenote: canada's debt to the company.] yet, since 1871, its history has not been without many stirring passages. its long record of steady work, enterprise, and endurance, has never been greater. its commanding influence with the indians, and with a large number of the colonists, has enabled it to assist the authorities in many ways and often in forwarding the public interests, suppressing disorder and securing the good-will of the red men who inhabit canada. the great dominion owes much to the great company. the posts of the company reach from the stern coasts of labrador to the frontiers of alaska, and throughout this enormous region it yet controls the traffic with the aborigines. to-day there are one hundred and twenty-six posts at which this active trade is conducted, besides those numerous wintering stations or outposts, which migrate according to circumstances and mercantile conditions. [illustration: york factory. arrival of hudson's bay co.'s ship. (_by permission, from "picturesque canada."_)] [sidenote: latter-day forts of the company.] the forts of the company in rupert's land and on the pacific, with few exceptions, all resembled each other. when permanent, they were surrounded by palisades about one hundred yards square. the pickets were of poles and logs ten or fifteen inches in diameter, sunk into the ground and rising fifteen or twenty feet above it. split slabs were sometimes used instead of round poles; and at two diagonally opposite corners, raised above the tops of the pickets, two wooden bastions were placed so as to command a view of the country. from two to six guns were mounted in each of these bastions--four six or twelve-pounders, each with its aperture like the port-hole of a ship. the ground floor beneath served as a magazine. within the pickets were erected houses, according to necessity, store and dwelling being most conspicuous. [illustration: fort pelly.] the older forts have already been described. when fort garry was constructed it became the company's chief post and headquarters. high stone walls, having round towers pierced for cannon at the corners, enclosed a square wherein were substantial wooden buildings, including the storehouses, dwellings, the governor's residence and the gaol. some distance below fort garry, on red river, was stone fort, which comprised about four acres, with numerous buildings. the chief establishment of the saskatchewan district was fort edmonton. it was of sexagonal form, with pickets, battlemented gateways and bastions. here were the usual buildings, including the carpenter's shop, blacksmith's forge and windmill. at fort edmonton were made and repaired, boats, carts, sleighs, harness and other articles and appliances for the annual voyage to york factory, and for traffic between posts. there was also here a large and successful farm, where wheat, barley and vegetables were raised in abundance. how different was fort franklin, a rough, pine-log hut on the shore of great bear lake, containing a single apartment eighteen by twenty feet! it was roofed with sticks and moss, and the interstices between the logs were filled with mud. [sidenote: fort vancouver.] in 1825 was built fort vancouver, the metropolitan establishment of the company on the pacific. it stood on the north side of the columbia river, six miles above the eastern mouth of the willamette. at first located at the highest point of some sloping land, about a mile from the river, this site was found disadvantageous to transport and communication, and the fort was moved a few years later to within a quarter of a mile of the columbia. the plan presented the familiar parallelogram, but much larger than usual, of about seven hundred and fifty feet in length and five hundred in breadth. the interior was divided into two courts, with about forty buildings, all of wood, except the powder magazine, which was of stone. in the centre, facing the main entrance, stood the governor's residence, with the dining-room, smoking-room, and public sitting-room or bachelors' hall, the latter serving also for a museum of indian relics and other curiosities. single men, clerks and others, made the bachelors' hall their place of resort, but artisans and servants were not admitted. the residence was the only two-storey house in the fort, and before its door were mounted two old eighteen-pounders. two swivel guns stood before the quarters of the chief factor. a prominent position was occupied by the roman catholic chapel, to which the majority of the fort's inmates resorted, the dining-hall serving for the smaller number of church of england worshippers. the other buildings were dwellings for officers and men, school and warehouses, retail stores and artisan shops. the interior of the dwellings exhibited, as a rule, an unpainted pine-board panel, with bunks for bedsteads, and a few other simple pieces of furniture. [illustration: fort simpson.] another post on the pacific, of different character and greater strength, was fort walla walla. it stood on the site of fort nez percé, which was established when the indians attacked ogden's party of fur-traders here in 1818. the assault was repelled; but it was found necessary as a safeguard to rear this retreat. fort walla walla was built of adobe and had a military establishment. a strong fort was fort rupert, on the north-east coast of vancouver island. for a stockade, huge pine trees were sunk into the ground and fastened together on the inside with beams. round the interior ran a gallery, and at two opposite corners were flanking bastions mounting four nine-pounders. within were the usual shops and buildings, while smaller stockades protected the garden and out-houses. fort yukon was the most remote post of the company. it was beyond the line of russian america, and consequently invited comparison with the smaller and meaner russian establishments. its commodious dwellings for officers and men had smooth floors, open fire-places, glazed windows, and plastered walls. its gun room, fur press, ice and meat wells were the delight and astonishment of visitors, white and red. [illustration: york factory.] after the treaty of 1846, by which the united states obtained possession of oregon territory, the headquarters of the company on the pacific coast were transferred from fort vancouver to fort victoria. this post was enclosed one hundred yards square by cedar pickets twenty feet high. at the north-east and south-west corners were octagonal bastions mounted with six six-pounders. it had been founded three years earlier as a trading post and depot for whalers, and possessed more than three hundred acres under cultivation, besides a large dairy farm, from which the russian colonies in alaska received supplies. old fort kamloops was first called fort thompson, having been begun by david thompson, astronomer of the north-west company, on his overland journey from montreal to astoria, by way of yellowhead pass, in 1810. it was the capital of the thompson river district, and one of the oldest in all the oregon region. after thompson, hither came alexander ross, who, in 1812, conducted operations there on behalf of astor's pacific fur company. after the coalition in 1821, the veteran fur-trader, john mcleod, was in charge of the thompson river district. then came ermatinger, who presided at kamloops in 1828, when governor simpson visited the fort and harangued the neighbouring indians, beseeching them to be "honest, temperate and frugal; to love their friends, the fur-traders, and above all to bring in their heaps of peltries, and receive therefor the goods of the company." [sidenote: legend of kamloops.] the post was not without thrilling legends and abundance of romance. it was here that the company's officer in command, samuel black, in 1840, challenged his brother scot, and guest, david douglas, the wandering botanist, to fight a duel, because the latter bluntly, one night, over his rum and dried salmon, had stigmatized the honourable adventurers as "not possessing a soul above a beaver skin." black repelled in fury such an assertion; but douglas refused to fight. he took his departure, only to meet his death shortly afterwards by falling into a pit at hawaii, while homeward bound. if this was the fate of the calumniator of the company, that of its defender was not less tragic; for soon after his display of loyalty, while residing at fort kamloops, he was assassinated by the nephew of a friendly neighbouring chief, named wanquille, "for having charmed his uncle's life away." black's successor, john tod, built a new fort on the opposite side of the river, which differed but little from the later fortresses of the company. there were seven houses, including stores, dwellings and shops, enclosed in palisades fifteen feet in height, with gates on two sides and bastions at two opposite angles. early in 1848 a small post was erected by the company on the fraser river, near a village of the lachincos, adjacent to the rapids ascended by alexander anderson the previous year. the fort was called yale, in honour of chief factor yale, who was at that time in charge of fort langley. it was the only post on that wild stream, the fraser, between langley and alexandria, a distance of some three hundred miles. two causes led to its erection: the waiilatpu massacre in 1847, and the conclusion of the oregon treaty of 1846, which placed the boundary line several degrees north of the lower columbia. [illustration: father lacombe.] [sidenote: mountain house.] perhaps one of the most remarkable of the company's posts was mountain house. "every precaution known to the traders," writes a visitor of thirty years ago, "has been put in force to prevent the possibility of a surprise during 'a trade.' bars and bolts, and places to fire down at the indians who are trading, abound in every direction; so dreaded is the name borne by the blackfeet, that it is thus their trading-post has been constructed." eighty years ago, the company had a post far south of the bow river, in the very heart of the blackfeet country; but, despite all precautions, it was frequently plundered and finally burnt down by the blackfeet, and no attempt was since made to construct another fort in their country. the hilly country around fort pitt was frequently the scene of indian ambush and attack, and on more than one occasion the post itself has been captured by the blackfeet. the surroundings are a favourite camping-ground of the crees; and it was found difficult to persuade the blackfeet that the factors and traders there are not the active friends and allies of their enemies. in fact, they regarded both fort pitt and fort carlton as places belonging to another company from that which ruled at mountain house and edmonton. "if it was the same company," they were wont to say, "how could they give our enemies, the crees, guns and powder; for do they not give us guns and powder, too?" the strength of the company throughout the vast region where their rule was paramount, was rather a moral strength than a physical one. its roots lay deep in the heart of the savage, who in time came to regard the great corporation as the embodiment of all that was good, and great, and true, and powerful. he knew that under its sway justice was secured to him; that if innocent he would be unharmed, that if guilty he would inevitably pay the penalty of his transgression. the prairie was wide, the forests were trackless, but in all those thousands of miles there came to be no haven for the horse-thief, the incendiary or the murderer, where he would be free, in his beleaguered fastness, to elude or defy nemesis. the company made it its business to find and punish the real offender; they did not avenge themselves on his friends or tribe. but punishment was certain--blood was paid for in blood, and there was no trial. often did an intrepid factor, trader or clerk, enter a hostile camp, himself destitute of followers, walk up to the trembling malefactor, raise his gun or pistol, take aim, fire, and seeing his man fall, stalk away again to the nearest fort. "this certainty of punishment," it was said, "acted upon the savage mind with all the power of a superstition. felons trembled before the white man's justice, as in the presence of the almighty." that sense of injustice which rankled in the bosoms of the other indians of the continent, causing them to continually break out and give battle to their tormentors and oppressors--a warfare which, in 1870, had cost the united states more than five hundred million of dollars, could not exist. the red men, as red men, could have no well-founded grievance against the company, which treated white and red with equity. [sidenote: the great company's policy.] "i have no hesitation in attributing the great success attendant for so many years upon the indian policy of the hudson's bay company," wrote an american commissioner, lieutenant scott, in 1867, "to the following facts:-"the savages are treated justly--receiving protection in life and property from the laws which they are forced to obey. "there is no indian bureau with attendant complications. "there is no pretended recognition of the indian's title in fee-simple to the lands on which he roams for fish or game. "intoxicating liquors were not introduced amongst these people so long as the hudson's bay company preserved the monopoly of trade. "prompt punishment follows the perpetration of crime, and from time to time the presence of a gunboat serves to remind the savages along the coast of the power of their masters. not more than two years ago the fort rupert indians were severely punished for refusing to deliver up certain animals demanded by the civil magistrate. their village was bombarded and completely destroyed by her britannic majesty's gunboat _clio_." what was the direct consequence of such a policy? that among distant and powerful tribes trading posts were built and maintained, well stocked with goods tempting to savage cupidity, yet peacefully conducted by one or two white men. there was not a regular soldier in all this territory (except the marines on shipboard and at esquimault) and yet white men could hunt through the length and breadth of the land in almost absolute security. [illustration: gateway to fort garry. (_drawn by edmund morris, from a photo taken in 1877._)] search all europe and asia, and you will find no parallel to the present sway of the company, for it feeds and clothes, amuses and instructs, as well as rules nine-tenths of its subjects, from the esquimaux tribes of ungava to the loucheaux at fort simpson, thousands of miles away--all look to it as to a father. the communication with the outside world is slight, yet the thread that binds is encrusted with hoar frost, reaching far away to that little island in the north sea which we call britain. if these strong men, immured for years in the icy wildernesses are moved by the news which reaches them twice in the year, through a thousand miles and more of snow, it is british news. kitchener's victory at khartoum sent a patriotic thrill through thousands of bosoms six months after it became known to the englishman who is content to live at home. the hudson's bay posts. in their report of 28th june, 1872, the governor and committee report the details of the varied posts from ocean to ocean of the hudson's bay company, as follows:- _statement of land belonging to the hudson's bay company, exclusive of their claim to one-twentieth of the land set out for settlement in the "fertile belt."_ ========================+====+==========================+======= | | | acres district. | | post. | of | | | land ------------------------+----+--------------------------+------ lake huron | 1 | la cloche | 6,400 temiscaminque | 2 | kakababeagino | 10 superior | 3 | long lake | 10 united states | 4 | georgetown | 1,133 | | | manitoba, or } | 5 | fort garry | 500 red river settlement } | 6 | lower fort | 500 | 7 | white horse plains | 500 manitoba lake | 8 | oak point | 50 portage la prairie | 9 | | 1,000 | | | lac la pluie | 10 | fort alexander | 500 | 11 | fort frances | 500 | 12 | eagles nest | 20 | 13 | big island | 20 | 14 | lac du bennet | 20 | 15 | rat portage | 50 | 16 | shoal lake | 20 | 17 | lake of the woods | 50 | 18 | white fish lake | 20 | 19 | english river | 20 | 20 | hungry hall | 20 | 21 | trout lake | 20 | 22 | clear water lake | 20 | 23 | sandy point | 20 | | | swan river | 24 | fort pelly | 3,000 | 25 | fort ellice | 3,000 | 26 | qu'appelle lakes | 2,500 | 27 | touchwood hills | 500 | 28 | shoal river | 50 | 29 | manitoban | 50 | 30 | fairford | 100 | | | cumberland | 31 | cumberland house | 100 | 32 | fort la corne | 3,000 | 33 | pelican lake | 50 | 34 | moose woods | 1,000 | 35 | the pas | 25 | 36 | moose lake | 50 | 37 | grand rapid portage | 100 | | |50 acres | | |at each | | |end of | | |portage saskatchewan | 38 | edmonton house | 3,000 | 39 | rocky mountain house | 500 | 40 | fort victoria | 3,000 | 41 | st. paul | 3,000 | 42 | fort pitt | 3,000 | 43 | battle river | 3,000 | 44 | carlton house | 3,000 | 45 | fort albert | 3,000 | 46 | whitefish lake | 500 | 47 | lac la biche | 1,000 | 48 | fort assiniboine | 50 | 49 | lesser slave lake | 500 | 50 | lac st. anne | 500 | 51 | lac la nun | 500 | 52 | st. albert | 1,000 | 53 | pigeon lake | 100 | 54 | old white mud fort | 50 | | | english river | 55 | isle à la crosse | 50 | 56 | rapid river | 5 | 57 | portage la loche | 20 | 58 | green lake | 100 | 59 | cold lake | 10 | 60 | deers lake | 5 | | | york | 61 | york factory | 100 | 62 | churchill | 10 | 63 | severn | 10 | 64 | trout lake | 10 | 65 | oxford | 100 | 66 | jackson's bay | 10 | 67 | god's lake | 10 | 68 | island lake | 10 | | | norway house | 69 | norway house | 100 | 70 | berens river | 25 | 71 | grand rapid | 10 | 72 | nelson's river | 10 | | | albany | 73 | albany factory | 100 | 74 | martin's falls | 10 | 75 | osnaburg | 25 | 76 | lac seul | 500 | | | east main | 77 | little whale river | 50 | 78 | great whale river | 50 | 79 | fort george | 25 | | | moose | 80 | moose factory | 100 | 81 | hannah bay | 10 | 82 | abitibi | 10 | 83 | new brunswick | 25 | | | rupert's river | 84 | rupert's house | 50 | 85 | mistassing | 10 | 86 | temiskamay | 10 | 87 | woswonaby | 10 | 88 | meehiskun | 10 | 89 | pike lake | 10 | 90 | nitchequon | 10 | 91 | kamapiscan | 10 | | | kinogumissee | 92 | matawagauinque | 50 | 93 | kuckatoosh | 10 | | | labrador | 94 | fort nascopie | 75 | 95 | outposts do | 25 | 96 | fort chimo (ungava) | 100 | 97 | south river, outposts | 30 | 98 | george's river | 50 | 99 | whale river | 50 |100 | north's river | 25 |101 | false river | 25 | | | athabasca |102 | fort chippewyan | 10 |103 | fort vermilion | 500 |104 | fort dunvegan | 50 |105 | fort st. john's | 20 |106 | forks of athabasca river | 10 |107 | battle river | 5 |108 | fond du lac | 5 |109 | salt river | 5 | | | mckenzie river |110 | fort simpson | 100 |111 | fort liard | 300 |112 | fort nelson | 200 |113 | the rapids | 100 |114 | hay river | 20 |115 | fort resolution | 20 |116 | fort rae | 10 |117 | fond du lac | 10 |118 | fort norman | 10 |119 | fort good hope | 10 |120 | peel's river | 10 |121 | lapierre's house | 10 |122 | fort halkett | 100 ------------------------+----+--------------------------+-----western department. ===============+========================================+====== | | acres district. | post. | of | | land ---------------+----+-----------------------------------+----- vancouver's | 123| victoria, including town lots, | island | | about | 70 | 124| esquimault (puget's sound | | | company's land) | 2,300 | 125| uplands farm | 1,125 | 126| north dairy farm | 460 | | | british | 127| fort alexander | 100 columbia | 128| fort george | 100 | 129| fraser's lake | 100 | 130| stuart's lake | 100 | 131| mcleod's lake | 100 | 132| connolly's lake | 100 | 133| babine | 100 | 134| chilcotin | 100 | | five other places | 100 | 135| fort dallas | 50 | 136| fort berens | 50 | 137| fort shepherd | 100 | 138| fort simpson | 100 | 139| salmon river | 50 | 140| langley and langley farm | 2,220 | 141| yale, sundry small blocks | | 142| hope | 5 | 143| kamloops | 1,976 | 144| similkameen | 1,140 | | barkerville } | town | | quesnel } | lots. ---------------+----+-----------------------------------+------appendix. the charter incorporating the hudson's bay company. _granted by his majesty king charles the second, in the 22nd year of his reign, a.d. 1670._ charles the second, by the grace of god, king of england, scotland, france and ireland, defender of the faith, &c. to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: whereas our dear entirely beloved cousin, prince rupert, count palatine of the rhine, duke of bavaria and cumberland, &c.; christopher duke of albemarle, william earl of craven, henry lord arlington, anthony lord ashley, sir john robinson, and sir robert vyner, knights and baronets; sir peter colleton, baronet; sir edward hungerford, knight of the bath; sir paul neele, knight; sir john griffith and sir philip carteret, knights; james hayes, john kirk, francis millington, william prettyman, john fenn, esquires; and john portman, citizen and goldsmith of london; have, at their own great cost, and charges, undertaken an expedition for hudson's bay in the north-west part of america, for the discovery of a new passage into the south sea, and for the finding some trade for furs, minerals, and other considerable commodities, and by such their undertaking have already made such discoveries as to encourage them to proceed further in pursuance of their said design, by means whereof there may probably arise very great advantages to us and our kingdom. and whereas the said undertakers, for their further encouragement in the said design, have humbly besought us to incorporate them, and grant unto them and their successors the sole trade and commerce of all those seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the straits commonly called the hudson's straits, together with all the lands, countries and territories upon the coasts and confines of the seas, straits, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds aforesaid, which are not now actually possessed by any of our subjects, or by the subjects of any other christian prince or state. now know ye, that we, being desirous to promote all endeavours tending to the public good of our people, and to encourage the said undertaking, have, of our especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, given, granted, ratified and confirmed, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant, ratify and confirm, unto our said cousin, prince rupert, christopher duke of albemarle, william earl of craven, henry lord arlington, anthony lord ashley, sir john robinson, sir robert vyner, sir peter colleton, sir edward hungerford, sir paul neele, sir john griffith and sir philip carteret, james hayes, john kirk, francis millington, william prettyman, john fenn and john portman, that they, and such others as shall be admitted into the said society as is hereafter expressed, shall be one body corporate and politic, in deed and in name, by the name of "the governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay," and them by the name of "the governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay," one body corporate and politic, in deed and in name, really and fully forever, for us, our heirs and successors, we do make, ordain, constitute, establish, confirm and declare by these presents, and that by the same name of governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, they shall have perpetual succession, and that they and their successors, by the name of the governor and company of adventures trading into hudson's bay, be, and at all times hereafter shall be personable and capable in law to have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy and retain lands, rents, privileges, liberties, jurisdictions, franchises and hereditaments, of what kind, nature or quality so ever they be, to them and their successors; and also to give, grant, demise, alien, assign and dispose lands, tenements, and hereditaments, and to do and execute all and singular other things by the same name that to them shall or may appertain to do; and that they and their successors, by the name of the governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, may plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended, in whatsoever courts and places, before whatsoever judges and justices and other persons and officers, in all and singular actions, pleas, suits, quarrels, causes and demands whatsoever, of whatsoever kind, nature or sort, in such manner and form as any other our liege people of this our realm of england, being persons able and capable in law, may or can have, purchase, receive, possess, enjoy, retain, give, grant, demise, alien, assign, dispose, plead, defend and be defended, do, permit and execute: and that the said governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, and their successors, may have a common seal to serve for all the causes and businesses of them and their successors, and that it shall and may be lawful to the said governor and company, and their successors, the same seal, from time to time, at their will and pleasure, to break, change, and to make anew or alter, as to them shall seem expedient. and further we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do ordain that there shall be from henceforth one of the same company to be elected and appointed in such form as hereafter in these presents is expressed, which shall be called the governor of the said company; and that the said governor and company shall or may select seven of their number, and in such form as hereafter in these presents is expressed, which shall be called the committee of the said company, which committee of seven, or any three of them, together with the governor or deputy governor of the said company for the time being shall have the direction of the voyages of and for the said company, and the provision of the shipping and merchandises thereunto belonging, and also the sale of all merchandises, goods and other things returned, in all or any the voyages or ships of or for the said company, and the managing and handling of all other business, affairs and things belonging to the said company: and we will, ordain and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that they, the said governor and company, and their successors, shall from henceforth for ever be ruled, ordered and governed according to such manner and form as is hereafter in these presents expressed, and not otherwise; and that they shall have, hold, retain and enjoy the grants, liberties, privileges, jurisdictions and immunities only hereafter in these presents granted and expressed, and no other: and for the better execution of our will and grant in this behalf we have assigned, nominated, constituted and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do assign, constitute and make our said cousin prince rupert, to be the first and present governor of the said company, and to continue in the said office from the date of these presents until the 10th november then next following, if he, the said prince rupert, shall so long live, and so until a new governor be chosen by the said company in form hereafter expressed: and also we have assigned, nominated and appointed, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do assign, nominate and constitute the said sir john robinson, sir john vyner, sir peter colleton, james hayes, john kirk, francis millington and john portman to be the seven first and present committee of the said company, from the date of these presents until the said 10th day of november then also next following, and so on until new committees shall be chosen in form hereafter expressed: and further we will and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company for the time being, or the greater part of them present at any public assembly, commonly called the court general, to be holden for the said company, the governor of the said company being always one, from time to time elect, nominate and appoint one of the said company to be deputy to the said governor, which deputy shall take a corporal oath, before the governor and three or more of the committee of the said company for the time being, well, truly and faithfully to execute his said office of deputy to the governor of the said company, and after his oath so taken, shall and may from time to time, in the absence of the said governor, exercise and execute the office of governor of the said company, in such sort as the said governor ought to do: and further we will and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, and their successors, that they, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being or his deputy to be one, from time to time, and at all times hereafter, shall and may have authority and power, yearly and every year, between the first and last day of november, to assemble and meet together in some convenient place, to be appointed from time to time by the governor, or in his absence by the deputy of the said governor for the time being, and that they being so assembled, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor or deputy of the said governor, and the said company for the time being, or the greater part of them which then shall happen to be present, whereof the governor of the said company or his deputy for the time being to be one, to elect and nominate one of the said company, which shall be governor of the said company for one whole year then next following, which person being so elected and nominated to be governor of the said company, as is aforesaid, before he be admitted to the execution of the said office, shall take a corporal oath before the last governor, being his predecessor, or his deputy, and any three or more of the committee of the said company for the time being, that he shall from time to time well and truly execute the office of governor of the said company in all things concerning the same; and that immediately after the said oath so taken he shall and may execute and use the said office of governor of the said company for one whole year from thence next following: and in like sort we will and grant that as well every one of the above-named to be of the said company of fellowship, as all others hereafter to be admitted or free of the said company, shall take a corporal oath before the governor of the said company or his deputy for the time being to such effect as by the said governor and company or the greater part of them in any public court to be held for the said company, shall be in reasonable and legal manner set down and devised, before they shall be allowed or admitted to trade or traffic as a freeman of the said company: and further we will and grant by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that the said governor or deputy governor, and the rest of the said company, and their successors for the time being, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor or deputy-governor from time to time to be one, shall and may from time to time, and at all times hereafter, have power and authority, yearly and every year, between the first and last day of november, to assemble and meet together in some convenient place, from time to time to be appointed by the said governor of the said company, or in his absence by his deputy; and that they being so assembled, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor or his deputy, and the company for the time being, or the greater part of them which then shall happen to be present, whereof the governor of the said company or his deputy for the time being to be one, to elect and nominate seven of the said company, which shall be a committee of the said company for one whole year from thence next ensuing, which persons being so elected and nominated to be a committee of the said company as aforesaid, before they be admitted to the execution of their office, shall take a corporal oath before the governor or his deputy, and any three or more of the said committee of the said company, being their last predecessors, that they and every of them shall well and faithfully perform their said office of committees in all things concerning the same, and that immediately after the said oath so taken, they shall and may execute and use their said office of committees of the said company for one whole year from thence next following: and moreover, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant under the said governor and company, and their successors, that when and as often as it shall happen, the governor or deputy governor of the said company for the time being, at any time within one year after that he shall be nominated, elected and sworn to the office of the governor of the said company as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from the said office, which governor or deputy governor not demeaning himself well in his said office we will to be removable at the pleasure of the rest of the said company, or the greater part of them which shall be present at their public assemblies commonly called their general courts, holden for the said company, that then and so often it shall and may be lawful to and for the residue of the said company for the time being, or the greater part of them, within a convenient time after the death or removing of any such governor or deputy governor, to assemble themselves in such convenient place as they shall think fit, for the election of the governor or the deputy governor of the said company; and that the said company, or the greater part of them, being then and there present, shall and may, then and there, before their departure from the said place, elect and nominate one other of the said company to be governor or deputy governor for the said company in the place and stead of him that so died or was removed; which person being so elected and nominated to the office of governor or deputy governor of the said company, shall have and exercise the said office for and during the residue of the next year, taking first a corporal oath, as is aforesaid, for the due execution thereof; and this to be done from time to time so often as the case shall so require: and also our will and pleasure is, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, that when and as often as it shall happen any person or persons of the committee of the said company for the time being, at any time within one year next after they or any of them shall be nominated, elected and sworn to the office of committee of the said company as is aforesaid, to die or to be removed from the said office, which committees not demeaning themselves well in their said office, we will to be removable at the pleasure of the said governor and company or the greater part of them, whereof the governor of the said company for the time being or his deputy to be one, that then and so often, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor, and the rest of the company for the time being, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being or his deputy to be one, within convenient time after the death or removing of any of the said committee, to assemble themselves in such convenient place as is or shall be usual and accustomed for the election of the governor of the said company, or where else the governor of the said company for the time being or his deputy shall appoint: and that the said governor and company, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being or his deputy to be one, being then and there present, shall and may, then and there, before their departure from the said place, elect and nominate one or more of the said company to be the committee of the said company in the place and stead of him or them that so died, or were or was so removed, which person or persons so nominated and elected to the office of committee of the said company, shall have and exercise the said office for and during the residue of the said year, taking first a corporal oath, as is aforesaid, for the due execution thereof, and this to be done from time to time, so often as the case shall require: and to the end the said governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay may be encouraged to undertake and effectually to prosecute the said design, of our more especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have given, granted and confirmed, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant and confirm, unto the said governor and company, and their successors, the sole trade and commerce of all these seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the straits, commonly called hudson's straits, together with all the lands and territories upon the countries, coasts, and confines of the seas, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks and sounds aforesaid, that are not already actually possessed by or granted to any of our subjects, or possessed by the subjects of any other christian prince or state, with the fishing of all sorts of fish, whales, sturgeons and all other royal fishes, in the seas, bays, inlets and rivers within the premises, and the fish therein taken, together with the royalty of the sea upon the coasts within the limits aforesaid, and all mines royal, as well discovered as not discovered, of gold, silver, gems and precious stones, to be found or discovered within the territories, limits and places aforesaid, and that the said land be from henceforth reckoned and reputed as one of our plantations or colonies in america, called "rupert's land." and further we do, by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, make, create, and constitute the said governor and company for the time being, and their successors, the true and absolute lords and proprietors of the same territory, limits and places, and of all other the premises, saving always the faith, allegiance and sovereign dominion due to us, our heirs and successors, for the same to have, hold, possess and enjoy the said territory, limits and places, and all and singular other the premises hereby granted as aforesaid, with their and every of their rights, members, jurisdictions, prerogatives, royalties and appurtenances whatsoever, to them the said governor and company, and their successors for ever, to be holden of us, our heirs and successors, as of our manor at east greenwich, in our county of kent, in free and common soccage, and not in capite or by knight's service, yielding and paying yearly to us, our heirs and successors, for the same, two elks and two black beavers, whensoever and as often as we, our heirs and successors, shall happen to enter into the said countries, territories and regions hereby granted. and further, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company, and their successors, from time to time, to assemble themselves, for or about any the matters, causes, affairs, or business of the said trade, in any place or places for the same convenient, within our dominions or elsewhere, and there to hold court for the said company and the affairs thereof; and that also, it shall and may be lawful to and for them, and the greater part of them, being so assembled, and that shall then and there be present, in any such place or places, whereof the governor or his deputy for the time being to be one, to make, ordain and constitute such and so many reasonable laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances as to them, or the greater part of them, being then and there present, shall seem necessary and convenient for the good government of the said company, and of all governors of colonies, forts and plantations, factors, masters, mariners and other officers employed or to be employed in any of the territories and lands aforesaid, and in any of their voyages, and for the better advancement and continuance of the said trade or traffic and plantations, and the same laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances so made, to put in use and execute accordingly, and at their pleasure to revoke and alter the same or any of them, as the occasion shall require: and that the said governor and company, so often as they shall make, ordain or establish any such laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, in such form as aforesaid shall and may lawfully impose, ordain, limit and provide such pains, penalties and punishments upon all offenders, contrary to such laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, or any of them, as to the said governor and company for the time being, or the greater part of them, then and there being present, the said governor or his deputy being always one, shall seem necessary, requisite or convenient for the observation of the same laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances; and the same fines and amerciaments shall and may, by their officers and servants from time to time to be appointed for that purpose, levy, take and have, to the use of the said governor and company, and their successors, without the impediment of us, our heirs or successors, or any of the officers or ministers of us, our heirs, or successors, and without any account therefore to us, our heirs or successors, to be made: all and singular which laws, constitutions, orders, and ordinances, so as aforesaid to be made, we will to be duly observed and kept under the pains and penalties therein to be contained; so always as the said laws, constitutions, orders and ordinances, fines and amerciaments, be reasonable and not contrary or repugnant, but as near as may be agreeable to the laws, statutes or customs of this our realm. and furthermore, of our ample and abundant grace, certain knowledge and mere-motion, we have granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that they and their successors, and their factors, servants and agents, for them and on their behalf, and not otherwise, shall forever hereafter have, use and enjoy, not only the whole, entire, and only trade and traffic, and the whole, entire, and only liberty, use and privilege of trading and trafficking to and from the territory, limits and places aforesaid, but also the whole and entire trade and traffic to and from all havens, bays, creeks, rivers, lakes and seas, into which they shall find entrance or passage by water or land out of the territories, limits and places aforesaid; and to and with all the natives and people inhabiting, or which shall inhabit within the territories, limits and places aforesaid; and to and with all other nations inhabiting any the coasts adjacent to the said territories, limits and places which are not already possessed as aforesaid, or whereof the sole liberty or privilege of trade and traffic is not granted to any other of our subjects. and we, of our further royal favour, and of our more especial grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, have granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the said governor and company, and to their successors, that neither the said territories, limits and places hereby granted as aforesaid, nor any part thereof, nor the islands, havens, ports, cities, towns, or places thereof or therein contained, shall be visited, frequented or haunted by any of the subjects of us, our heirs or successors, contrary to the true meaning of these presents, and by virtue of our prerogative royal, which we will not have in that behalf argued or brought into question: we straightly charge, command and prohibit for us, our heirs and successors, all the subjects of us, our heirs and successors, of what degree or quality soever they be, that none of them, directly or indirectly do visit, haunt, frequent, or trade, traffic, or adventure, by way of merchandise, into or from any of the said territories, limits, or places hereby granted, or any or either of them, other than the said governor and company, and such particular persons as now be or hereafter shall be of that company, their agents, factors and assigns, unless it be by the license and agreement of the said governor and company in writing first had and obtained, under their common seal, to be granted upon pain that every such person or persons that shall trade or traffic into or from any of the countries, territories or limits aforesaid, other than the said governor and company, and their successors, shall incur our indignation, and the forfeiture and the loss of the goods, merchandises and other things whatsoever, which so shall be brought into this realm of england, or any of the dominions of the same, contrary to our said prohibition, or the purport or true meaning of these presents, or which the said governor and company shall find, take and seize in other places out of our dominion, where the said company, their agents, factors or ministers shall trade, traffic or inhabit by the virtue of these our letters patent, as also the ship and ships, with the furniture thereof, wherein such goods, merchandises and other things shall be brought and found; and one-half of all the said forfeitures to be to us, our heirs and successors, and the other half thereof we do, by these presents, clearly and wholly, for us, our heirs and successors, give and grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors: and further, all and every the said offenders, for their said contempt, to suffer such other punishment as to us, our heirs and successors, for so high a contempt, shall seem meet and convenient, and not be in any wise delivered until they and every of them shall become bound unto the said governor for the time being in the sum of one thousand pounds at the least, at no time then after to trade or traffic into any of the said places, seas, straits, bays, ports, havens or territories aforesaid, contrary to our express commandment in that behalf set down and published: and further, of our more especial grace, we have condescended and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors, that we our heirs and successors, will not grant liberty, license or power to any person, or persons whatsoever, contrary to the tenor of these our letters patent, to trade, traffic or inhabit, unto or upon any of the territories, limits or places afore specified, contrary to the true meaning of these presents, without the consent of the said governor and company, or the most part of them: and, of our more abundant grace and favour of the said governor and company, we do hereby declare our will and pleasure to be, that if it shall so happen that any of the persons free or to be free of the said company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, who shall, before the going forth of any ship or ships appointed for a voyage or otherwise, promise or agree, by writing under his or their hands, to adventure any sum or sums of money towards the furnishing any provision, or maintenance of any voyage or voyages, set forth or to be set forth, or intended or meant to be set forth, by the said governor and company, or the most part of them present at any public assembly, commonly called their general court, shall not, within the space of twenty days next after warning given to him or them by the said governor or company, or their known officer or minister, bring in and deliver to the treasurer or treasurers appointed for the company, such sums of money as shall have been expressed and set down in writing by the said person or persons, subscribed with the name of the said adventurer or adventurers, that then and at all times after it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company, or the more part of them present, whereof the said governor or his deputy to be one, at any of their general courts or general assemblies, to remove and disfranchise him or them, and every such person and persons at their wills and pleasures, and he or they so removed and disfranchised, not to be permitted to trade into the countries, territories, and limits aforesaid, or any part thereof, nor to have any adventure or stock going or remaining with or amongst the said company, without the special license of the said governor and company, or the more part of them present at any general court, first had and obtained in that behalf, any thing before in these presents to the contrary thereof in any wise notwithstanding. and our will and pleasure is, and hereby we do also ordain, that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company, or the greater part of them, whereof the governor for the time being or his deputy to be one, to admit into and to be of the said company all such servants or factors, of or for the said company, and all such others as to them or the most part of them present, at any court held for the said company, the governor or his deputy being one, shall be thought fit and agreeable with the orders and ordinances made and to be made for the government of the said company: and further, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, and to their successors, that it shall and may be lawful in all elections and by-laws to be made by the general court of the adventurers of the said company, that every person shall have a number of votes according to his stock, that is to say, for every hundred pounds by him subscribed or brought into the present stock, one vote, and that any of those that have subscribed less than one hundred pounds, may join their respective sums to make up one hundred pounds, and have one vote jointly for the same, and not otherwise: and further, of our especial grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion, we do, for us, our heirs and successors, grant to and with the said governor and company of adventurers of england trading into hudson's bay, that all lands, islands, territories, plantations, forts, fortifications, factories or colonies, where the said company's factories and trade are or shall be, within any of the ports or places afore limited, shall be immediately and from henceforth under the power and command of the said governor and company, their successors and assigns; saving the faith and allegiance due to be performed to us, our heirs and successors, as aforesaid; and that the said governor and company shall have liberty, full power and authority to appoint and establish governors and all other officers to govern them, and that the governor and his council of the several and respective places where the said company shall have plantations, forts, factories, colonies or places of trade within any of the countries, lands, or territories hereby granted, may have power to judge all persons belonging to the said governor and company, or that shall live under them, in all causes, whether civil or criminal, according to the laws of the kingdom, and to execute justice accordingly; and in case any crime or misdemeanor shall be committed in any of the said company's plantations, forts, factories, or places of trade within the limits aforesaid, where judicature cannot be executed for want of a governor and council there, then in such case it shall and may be lawful for the chief factor of that place and his council to transmit the party, together with the offence, to such other plantations, factory or fort where there shall be a governor and council, where justice may be executed, or into this kingdom of england, as shall be thought most convenient, there to receive such punishment as the nature of his offence shall deserve: and moreover, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do give and grant unto the said governor and company, and their successors, free liberty and license, in case they conceive it necessary, to send either ships of war, men or ammunition into any of their plantations, forts, factories, or places of trade aforesaid, for the security and defence of the same, and to choose commanders and officers over them, and to give them power and authority, by commission under their common seal, or otherwise, to continue to make peace or war with any prince or people whatsoever, that are not christians, in any place where the said company shall have any plantations, forts or factories, or adjacent thereto, and shall be most for the advantage and benefit of the said governor and company and of their trade; and also to right and recompense themselves upon the goods, estates, or people of those parts, by whom the said governor and company shall sustain any injury, loss or damage, or upon any other people whatsoever, that shall in any way, contrary to the intent of these presents, interrupt, wrong or injure them in their trade, within the said places, territories and limits granted by this charter: and that it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company, and their successors from time to time, and at all times from henceforth, to erect and build such castles, fortifications, forts, garrisons, colonies or plantations, towns or villages, in any parts or places within the limits and bounds granted before in these presents unto the said governor and company, as they in their discretion shall think fit and requisite, and for the supply of such as shall be needful and convenient to keep and be in the same, to send out of this kingdom to the said castles, forts, fortifications, garrisons, colonies, plantations, towns or villages, all kinds of clothing, provisions or victuals, ammunition and implements necessary for such purpose, paying the duties and customs for the same, as also to transport and carry over such number of men being willing thereunto, or not prohibited, as they shall think fit, and also to govern them in such legal and reasonable manner as the said governor and company shall think best, and to inflict punishment for misdemeanors, or impose such fines upon them for breach of their orders as in these presents are formally expressed: and further, our will and pleasure is, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do grant unto the said governor and company, and to their successors, full power and lawful authority to seize upon the persons of all such english, or any other our subjects, which shall sail into hudson's bay, or inhabit in any of the countries, islands or territories hereby granted to the said governor and company, without their leave and license, and in that behalf first had and obtained, or that shall contemn and disobey their orders, and send them to england; and that all and every person and persons, being our subjects, any ways employed by the said governor and company, within any the parts, places and limits aforesaid, shall be liable unto and suffer such punishment for any offences by them committed in the parts aforesaid, as the president and council for the said governor and company there shall think fit, and the merit of the offence shall require, as aforesaid; and in case any person or persons being convicted and sentenced by the president and council of the said governor and company, in the countries, lands or limits aforesaid, their factors or agents there, for any offence by them done, shall appeal from the same, that then and in such case it shall and may be lawful to and for the said president and council, factors or agents, to seize upon him or them, and to carry him or them home prisoners into england, to the said governor and company, there to receive such condign punishment as his case shall require, and the law of this nation allow of; and for the better discovery of abuses and injuries to be done unto the said governor and company, or their successors, by any servant by them to be employed in the said voyages and plantations, it shall and may be lawful to and for the said governor and company, and their respective president, chief agent or governor in the parts aforesaid, to examine upon oath all factors, masters, pursers, supercargoes, commanders of castles, forts, fortifications, plantations or colonies, or other persons, touching or concerning any matter or thing in which by law or usage an oath may be administered, so as the said oath, and the matter therein contained be not repugnant, but agreeable to the laws of this realm: and we do hereby straightly charge and command all and singular our admirals, vice-admirals, justices, mayors, sheriffs, constables, bailiffs, and all and singular other our officers, ministers, liegemen and subjects whatsoever to be aiding, favouring, helping and assisting to the said governor and company, and to their successors, and their deputies, officers, factors, servants, assigns and ministers, and every of them, in executing and enjoying the premises, as well on land as on sea, from time to time, when any of you shall thereunto be required; any statute, act, ordinance, proviso, proclamation or restraint heretofore had, made, set forth, ordained or provided, or any other matter, cause or thing whatsoever to the contrary in anywise notwithstanding. in witness whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patent. witness ourselves at winchester, the second day of may, in the two-and-twentieth year of our reign. by writ of the privy seal. pigott. the alaska boundary line. it has been said that but for the hudson's bay company british columbia would not have been preserved to the british crown. on the imperial frontier to the far north and west the company early established its posts, and vigorously sought to maintain them against, first, russian, and afterwards american, aggression. [illustration: sketch map of south-east alaska (_showing points in controversy_). (_by permission of messrs. houghton, mifflin & co., publishers of the "atlantic monthly."_)] the american purchase of alaska from russia in 1867 included a strip of the coast (_lisière de côté_) extending from north latitude 54° 40' to the region of mt. st. elias. it was generally understood that this strip was separated from the british possessions by a mountain range (then believed to exist) parallel to the coast, as in event of this range being too remote, by a line parallel to the windings (sinuosities) of the coast, nowhere greater than ten marine leagues from the same. there is nothing to lead one to suppose that the strip of coast was designed to be continuous from the parallel of 54° 40' north latitude. the recent great development of the north-west has shown the singular value of this strip, which the american authorities, ignoring the exact possessions of the anglo-russian treaty of 1825, has assumed to be their territory. recent american writers have been quick to perceive the weakness of their case, and one of these, writing in the _atlantic monthly_, uses this language: "arbitration is compromise.... once before a board of arbitration, the english government has only to set up and vigorously urge all its claims, and more that can easily be invented, and _it is all but absolutely certain_ that although _by tradition and equity_ we should decline _to yield a foot of what we purchased_ in good faith from russia, and which has become doubly valuable to us by settlement and exploration, our lisière will be promptly broken into fragments, and with much show of impartiality divided between the two contracting parties." the italics are mine. tradition and (the american idea of) equity are hardly equal to the language of a treaty negotiated so recently as 1825.[130] convention with russia. his majesty the king of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland, and his majesty the emperor of all the russias, being desirous of drawing still closer the ties of good understanding and friendship which unite them, by means of an agreement which may settle, upon the basis of reciprocal convenience, different points connected with the commerce, navigation, and fisheries of their subjects on the pacific ocean, as well as the limits of their respective possessions on the north-west coast of america, have named plenipotentiaries to conclude a convention for this purpose, that is to say--his majesty the king of the united kingdom of great britain and ireland, the right hon. stratford canning, a member of his said majesty's most hon. privy council, etc.; and his majesty the emperor of all the russias, the sieur charles robert count de nesselrode, his imperial majesty's privy councillor, a member of the council of the empire, secretary of state for the department of foreign affairs, etc., and the sieur pierre de poletica, his imperial majesty's councillor of state, etc.; who, after having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon and signed the following articles:-art. i.--it is agreed that the respective subjects of the high contracting parties shall not be troubled or molested, in any part of the ocean commonly called the pacific ocean, either in navigating the same, in fishing therein, or in landing at such parts of the coast as shall not have been already occupied, in order to trade with the natives, under the restrictions and conditions specified in the following articles. ii.--in order to prevent the right of navigating and fishing, exercised upon the ocean by the subjects of the high contracting parties, from becoming the pretext for an illicit commerce, it is agreed that the subjects of his britannic majesty shall not land at any place where there may be a russian establishment, without the permission of the governor or commandant; and, on the other hand, that russian subjects shall not land, without permission, at any british establishment on the north-west coast. iii.--the line of demarcation between the possessions of the high contracting parties, upon the coast of the continent, and the islands of america to the north-west, shall be drawn in the manner following:--commencing from the southernmost point of the island called prince of wales's island, which point lies in the parallel of 54 degrees, 40 minutes, north latitude, and between the 131st and 133rd degree of west longitude (meridian of greenwich), the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called portland channel, as far as the point of the continent where it strikes the 56th degree of north latitude; from this last-mentioned point the line of demarcation shall follow the summits of the mountains situated parallel to the coast, as far as the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude (of the same meridian); and, finally, from the said point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st degree in its prolongation as far as the frozen ocean, shall form the limit between the russian and british possessions on the continent of america to the north-west. iv.--with reference to the line of demarcation laid down in the preceding article, it is understood:-1st: that the island called prince of wales's island shall belong wholly to russia. 2nd: that wherever the summit of the mountains which extend in a direction parallel to the coast, from the 56th degree of north latitude to the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, shall prove to be at the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between the british possessions and the line of coast which is to belong to russia, as above-mentioned, shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues therefrom. v.--it is moreover agreed, that no establishment shall be formed by either of the two parties within the limits assigned by the two preceding articles to the possessions of the other; consequently, british subjects shall not form any establishment either upon the coast, or upon the border of the continent comprised within the limits of the russian possessions as designated in the two preceding articles; and, in like manner, no establishment shall be formed by russian subjects beyond the said limits. vi.--it is understood that the subjects of his britannic majesty, from whatever quarter they may arrive, whether from the ocean or from the interior of the continent, shall forever enjoy the right of navigating freely, and without any hindrance whatever, all the rivers and streams which in their course towards the pacific ocean may cross the line of demarcation upon the line of coast described in article iii of the present convention. vii.--it is also understood, that for the space of ten years from the signature of the present convention, the vessels of the two powers, or those belonging to their respective subjects, shall mutually be at liberty to frequent without any hindrance whatever, all the inland seas, the gulfs, havens, and creeks on the coast mentioned in article iii for the purpose of fishing and of trading with the natives. viii.--the port of sitka, or novo archangelsk, shall be open to the commerce and vessels of british subjects for the space of ten years from the date of the exchange of the ratification of the present convention. in the event of an extension of this term of ten years being granted to any other power, the like extension shall be granted also to great britain. ix.--the above-mentioned liberty of commerce shall not apply to the trade of spirituous liquors, in fire-arms or other arms, gunpowder or other warlike stores; the high contracting parties reciprocally engaging not to permit the above-mentioned articles to be sold or delivered in any manner whatever, to the natives of the country. x.--every british or russian vessel navigating the pacific ocean, which may be compelled by storms or by accident to take shelter in the ports of the respective parties, shall be at liberty to refit therein, to provide itself with all necessary stores, and to put to sea again, without paying any other than port and lighthouse dues, which shall be the same as those paid by national vessels. in case, however, the master of such vessel should be under the necessity of disposing of a part of his merchandise in order to defray his expenses, he shall conform himself to the regulations and tariffs of the place where he may have landed. xi.--in every case of complaint on account of an infraction of the articles of the present convention, the civil and military authorities of the high contracting parties, without previously acting or taking any forcible measure, shall make an exact and circumstantial report of the matter to their respective courts, who engage to settle the same in a friendly manner, and according to the principles of justice. xii.--the present convention shall be ratified, and the ratifications shall be exchanged at london, within the space of six weeks, or sooner if possible. in witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the same and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms. done at st. petersburg, the 16th (28th) day of february, in the year of our lord, 1825. stratford canning. the count de nesselrode. pierre de poletica. footnote: [130] t. c. mendenhall, in _atlantic monthly_ for april, 1896. governors of the hudson's bay company. his highness prince rupert 1670-1683 h.r.h. james, duke of york (afterwards king james ii.) 1683-1685 john, lord churchill (afterwards duke of marlborough) 1685-1691 sir stephen evance, kt. 1691-1696 the rt. hon. sir william trumbull 1696-1700 sir stephen evance, kt. 1700-1712 sir bibye lake, bart. 1712-1743 benjamin pitt 1743-1746 thomas knapp 1746-1750 sir atwell lake, bart. 1750-1760 sir william baker, kt. 1760-1770 bibye lake 1770-1782 samuel wegg 1782-1799 sir james winter lake, bart. 1799-1807 william mainwaring 1807-1812 joseph berens, junior 1812-1822 sir john henry pelly, bart. 1822-1852 andrew colville 1852-1856 john shepherd 1856-1858 henry hulse berens 1858-1863 rt. hon. sir edmund walker head, bart., k.c.b. 1863-1868 rt. hon. the earl of kimberley 1868-1869 rt. hon. sir stafford h. northcote, bart., m.p. (earl of iddesleigh) 1869-1874 rt. hon. george joachim goschen, m.p. 1874-1880 eden colville 1880-1889 lord strathcona and mount royal, g.c.m.g. 1889deputy-governors of the hudson's bay company. sir john robinson, kt. 1670-1675 sir james hayes, kt. 1675-1685 the hon. sir edward dering, kt. 1685-1691 samuel clarke 1691-1701 john nicholson 1701-1710 thomas lake 1710-1711 sir bibye lake, bart. 1711-1712 captain john merry 1712-1729 samuel jones 1729-1735 benjamin pitt 1735-1743 thomas knapp 1743-1746 sir atwell lake, bart. 1746-1750 sir william baker, kt. 1750-1760 captain john merry 1760-1765 bibye lake 1765-1770 robert merry 1770-1774 samuel wegg 1774-1782 sir james winter lake, bart. 1782-1799 richard hulse 1799-1805 nicholas caesar corsellis 1805-1806 wm. mainwaring 1806-1807 joseph berens, junior 1807-1812 john henry pelly 1812-1822 nicholas garry 1822-1835 benjamin harrison 1835-1839 andrew colville 1839-1852 john shepherd 1852-1856 henry hulse berens 1856-1858 edward ellice, m.p. 1858-1863 sir curtis miranda lampson, bart. 1863-1871 eden colville 1871-1880 sir john rose, bart., g.c.m.g. 1880-1888 sir donald a. smith, g.c.m.g. 1888-1889 the earl of lichfield 1889-1898 index. agricultural and mercantile enterprise, 457 alaska boundary line, 527 albanel, father, journeys to the north, 69 albany, fort, 149 " " attack on, 135 " " capitulation of, 137 " " renamed st. anne, 142 " " the english regain, 153 " " attacked by the french, 193 _albany_, 212 " fate of the, 292 albemarle, duke of, 42 allemand, pierre, 98 america purchases alaska, 488 anglo-russian treaty of 1825, 448 argenson, d', 58 arlington, lord, letter to, 34 ashburton, lord, 456 assiniboines, the, 222 " radisson and groseilliers first meet the, 26 _astarte_, 321 astor, john jacob, 386 astoria--fort george, 387, 445 astronomers at hudson's bay, 294 athabaska, fort, 426 avagour, governor m. d', 28 back, captain, 451 bad lake, the robbery at, 359 baffin, expedition of, 47 bailey, charles, governor of rupert's land, 70, 178 balmerino, lovat, and kilmarnock, lords, 260 barillon, sieur, 141 barlow, capt. george, commanding the _albany_, 212 " governor of albany fort, 193 barre, m. de la, 110 " " receives letter from lewis, 125 " " recalled, 129 barrow, sir john, 284 beaver, varieties of, 238 beechy, captain, 451 bellicose instructions from the company, 258 berens, thomas, 296 bering, capt. vitus, commanding russian expedition, 246 bering's discoveries, 247 bladen, martin, 203 bladen's description of the commission, 205 bois-brulés, the, 383 bolingbroke's letter, 203 bonrepas, sieur, 141 boundaries between french and english territory, 216 bourbon, fort, 96 bourdon, jean, 55 boyle, robert, letter to, 43 _brazen_, 392 bridgar, arrival of, 92 " john, governor of the new settlement at port nelson, 89 " taken prisoner by the french, 134 bristol, defence of, 37 brown, honorable george, 487 browne, sir richard, 39 butterfield's, mrs. mary, letter, 209 button, sir thomas, pursues hudson's discoveries, 46 button's bay, 47 _california_, 264 callieres, m. de, memoir, 57 canada, conquest of, 279 " exerts pressure on the company, 490 " jurisdiction act, 368 canada's debt to the company, 497 cardwell, mr., colonial secretary, 487 carr, robert, 33 cartwright, george, 33 catherine of braganza, 63 cession to canadian government, 493 charles, fort, 70 " fort, jesuit priest at, 77 " the first, 36 " the second, 17 " the second, death of, 129 charlie's, prince, stock confiscated, 261 charlevoix, quotation from, 55 charlton island, winters at, 47 charter, the royal, 515 chechouan river, discovers the, 76 chesnaye, m. de la, 84 chouart surrenders to radisson, 120 _churchill_, 248 " caught in the ice, 138 " captured by the french, 139 churchill, lord, succeeds king james as governor of the company, 139 clandestine trade, 283, 297 coats, captain, 283 " " death by his own hand of, 284 _colbore_, 447 cole, captain, 72 colbert, m., 52, 228 colonial neutrality, negotiations for, 140 coltman, colonel, 423 company's losses by french, 146 comportier, gauthier de, 128 convention with russia, 528 cook, captain, 340 corrigal case, the famous, 369 council of trade, 173 couture, m., 28 craven, lord, 43 crees, the, 220 croix, sieur de la, 125 cumberland house built, 314 dablon, father, 56 dallas, a. e., succeeds simpson as governor, 473 " governor, issues a circular, 483 davis, captain john, 45 duluth's letter to m. de la barre, 125 denonville's letter to seignely, 149 denonville, marquis de, succeeds m. de la barre as governor, 129 " plans the capture of fort nelson, 150 deputation goes to england, 489 _dering_, 159 diggs, sir dudley, 46 _discovery_, 212 dobbs, arthur, 248 " and the north-west passage, 263 " petition rejected by parliament, 268 dobbs' _galley_, 264 douglas, fort, attacked, 399 " thomas, earl of selkirk, 399 " t. m., governor of vancouver island, 465 drummond, sir gordon, governor of canada, 406 _dryad_, 448 duchesneau, intendant, 86 " protests against english encroachment, 86 duffell, 177 duluth in the west, 125 " builds a fort on lake nepigon, 127 duqué, commander of _profound_, 159 duquet, sieur, king's attorney for quebec, 58 east india company, 18 " " transfer of province of bombay, 63 _eddystone_, 392 elgin, lord, governor-general of canada, 462 ellice, edward, 432, 479 _engageante_, 321 england at war with france, 361 english, departure of, 110 _erebus_, 466 esquimaux, first sight of the, 45 " the, 223 expedition to explore the north-west passage, 212 fishery and fur company, the, 352 fitzgerald, james, 296 fletcher, major, 423 fort, construction of the first, 47 forts, building of stone, 280 fox, captain luke, 47 france, joseph la, 239 " war with, 257 franklin, expedition of, 449 " " fate of the, 466 " lieutenant, 427 french activity, 52 " fur trade, 21 " and english ships, meeting of, 159 french attack fort prince of wales--1782, 320 " attack york factory, 324 " declare war against england, 191 " encroachment on trade, 275 " prisoners taken by the _churchill_, 138 " repulsed at albany fort, 193 " send fourteen ships, 150 " surrender of the company's ships to the, 143 " the, at michilimackinac, 182 " the, capture a company's ship, 130 frobisher, sir martin, 45 " intercepts company's indians, 316 " escapes from york factory, 428 _furnace_, 249 fur trade, 20 furs, first sale of, 61 general court held, 62 george the fourth, 437 ghent, treaty of, 445 gibraltar, fort, captured, 408 gillam, zachary (capt. of _nonsuch_), 33, 43 " benjamin, 98 " " meets his father, 99 gladstone, opposition of mr., 463 godey, captain, attaché to lord preston, 112 gorst, thomas, secretary to governor bailey, 72 government assistance, 366 grant, cuthbert, 385 granville, lord, 490 green, henry, 46 grey, earl, letter to, 461 grimington, captain, 153 groseilliers (medard chouart), 23 " death of first wife, 24 " first marriage, 23 " first time in english capital, 34 " in boston, 30 " second marriage, 24 _hampshire_, 159 " goes down with nearly all on board, 161 _happy return_ sails for hudson's bay, 117 _hardi_ goes to the bottom with all on board, 156 hawke, sir edward, 296 hays' island fort, 104 " " " burned, 108 head, sir edmund, 485 hearne returns to england, 307 " blamed for surrendering, 323 hearne's expedition of discovery, 300 " second expedition, 302 " third expedition, 305 henry's expedition, 290 henry, prince, 46 herault, mlle. elizabeth, 24 herbert, sir edward, lord-keeper, 39 hobart, lord, 368 holder, john, 40 holmes, captain, 41 horner, captain john, discharged, 297 horth's, john, meetings at, 62, 80 _hudson's bay_, 159 " " surrendered to the french, 161 hudson's bay company apply for vancouver island, 464 hudson's bay company, arms of the, 67 hudson's bay company, list of nations visiting, 81 hudson's bay company in difficulties, 361 hudson's bay company obtains a new license, 438 hudson's bay company, plan to re-organize, 210 hudson's bay company seek act of parliament to confirm charter conferred by charles ii., 147 hudson's bay company's claims, 196 hudson's bay company's claims after treaty of ryswick, 189 hudson's bay posts, the, 509, 510, 511, 512. hudson's bay, the, governor and company of merchants-adventurers charter from the king, 22, 51, 60 hudson, captain henry, 46 " " " fate of, 46 humes, edward, captain of the _merchant of perpetuana_, 130 hyde, edward, afterwards lord chancellor clarendon, 39 iberville, captures two company's ships, 143 " demands surrender of the fort, 164 " given the rank of lieutenant in the french royal navy, 150 " goes to france, 152 " sails for home in the _envieux_, 152 " sails for quebec in the _hampshire_, 140 " sieur d', accompanies de troyes on his expedition, 131 " takes fort nelson, 156 " treacherous plan, 144 _imploy_ to sail in the spring, 65 iroquois--english allies, 29 ivett, robert, 46 imperial parliament appoints select committee, 469 indian treachery, 185 " country, 218 indians as hunters, 230 " effect of intoxication on the, 229 " intelligence of the, 225 " liking for liquor, 228 " superstition of the, 226 international financial association, 478 isbister, a. k., 461 " joseph, 258 isle a la crosse, lake of, 317 james, captain, 47 " king, applied to for protection, 139 jesuits, relations des, 21, 69 joliet, louis, 53 jonquiere, fort, 244 jenyn's, soame, letter to pitt, 279 ka-chou-touay, 121 kamloops, legend of, 503 kas-kidi-dah, chief of the nodwayes, 72 kilistineaux, makes treaty with the, 48 kirke, sir john, 25 kelsey, henry, recommended for bravery, receives sum of forty pounds, 156, 179 " voyage, 179 knight, governor, 191 " death of, 293 " letter from the company to, 212 l'anglois, jean, 58 labau, murder of, 355 lack of military system company's weakness, 491 lacombe, father, 504 la couture, sieur, 56 " " mythical voyage, 57 lampson, mr., 483 law, john, 206, 208 letters of marque to the company's ships, 259 lewis unwilling to oppose the english, 128 " proposes boundaries, 190 lincoln, earl of, 463 louisburg, fall of, 260 lyddal, william, to supersede bailey as governor, 78 mackenzie, alexander, 329 " reaches the arctic, 336 " sets out for the pacific, 338 " sir alexander & co., 349 mackenzie's expedition to the arctic, 333 " sir alexander, letter, 366 maissoneuve (voyage from rochelle), 23 matonabee, 304 maverick, samuel, 33 ménard, réné, 27 meuron, colonel de, 407 " de, regiment of, 407 mezy is recalled, 52 middleton, captain christopher, 248, 264 " explores for a north-west passage, 251 " has trouble with his men, 252 " lord, 141 " returns without discovering the passage, 253 middleton's report, 220 migichihilinons, 220 milnes, sir robert, 368 _merchant of perpetuana_ captured by the french, 130 monk, lord, governor-general of canada, 486 montreal merchants combine, 328 moon, captain, 142 moor, captain william, 264 moose factory, capture of, 133 moose river fort erected by the french, 73 " " first visit to, 75 " " bailey at, 76 mounslow, captain, 192 mountain house, 504 mowat, trial of, 371 _musquash_, 248. mcclintock, captain, 466 mcdonnell, miles, first governor of the new colony, 379 " surrenders, 399 mcdonnell's proclamation, 395 mcdougall, honorable william, minister of crown lands, 486 mctavish, simon, 249 " " death of, 352 mctavish, governor, resigns, 485 nadouichiouecs, wintered with the, 26 nekauba, dablon reaches, 58 nelson, fort, burning of, 151 " " erection of, 93, 194 " " evacuated by the french, 202 " " surrendered to the french, 154 " " surrendered to the english, 157 " " surrendered to the french, 166 nelson, port, fox landed at, 47 nepisingues, 219 nichols, richard, 33 nodwayes, 47, 71, 219 _nonsuch_ anchors in hudson's bay, 45 " set sail in the, 34 _nonsuch_ weighs anchor, 44 " sails with cargo, 48 norton, governor, 250, 265 " death of governor, 312 new amsterdam, into english hands, 20 new north-west company, 349 new severn fort captured by the french, 143 north-west association formed, 264 north-west association, expedition of the, 264 north-west company, 328-330 north-west company oppose selkirk's scheme, 377 north-west company partners arrested, 420, 427 north-west passage discovered, 468 north-westers demand evacuation of fort douglas, 415 oldenburgh, letter written by, the secretary of the royal society, 43 ontario boundary commission, 59 oregon question, the, 445 ottawas, make treaty with the, 48 " treaty, 459 _owner's love_, 159 pacific scheme, 477 _palmier_, 158 parliament and the north-west passage, 263 parliamentary enquiry, 269 _pelican_, 158 pelly, sir j. h., 461 pérouse, admiral, 321 " la, in the pacific, 344 peter the great, 244 " " " death of, 245 petition to the lords of treasury, 361 phipps' letter to the company, 123 phipps, william, new governor, 118 pishapocanoes, 75 _poli_, 156 policy, the great company's, 506 pond, peter, 317 pontiac at detroit, 288 pontchartrain, 152 " letter to the marquis de vaudreuil, 201 portman, john, 43, 60 preston's, lord, letter to rupert, 42 preston, lord, informed of the return of radisson and groseilliers, 112 preston, lord, induces radisson to join the english, 116 prickett, habbakuk, 46 prettyman, william, 60 _profound_, 159 pulteney, daniel, 203 radisson and groseilliers leave quebec, 111 " arrives in london, 122 " arrives in quebec, 85 " assisted by the jesuits, 85 " captures hays' island fort, 104 " captures the _susan_, 104 " " fort nelson, 105 " departs for hudson's bay, 117 " discovers young gillam, 90 " first marriage of, 24 " in france, 83 " offers his services to the french navy, 82 " overawes the indians, 109 " pierre, 23, 24, 65 " receives pension from the company, 124 " sails from hudson's bay, 122 " takes john bridgar, governor of fort nelson, prisoner, 106 rae, dr., expedition of, 466 red river claimed by united states, 440 red river settlement threatened deadlock, 485 _reformation_, 38 " loss of the, 39 remin, daniel de, seigneur de courcelles, 52 resolution isle sighted, 44 reward offered for radisson's capture, 123 richmond, duke of, governor of canada, 429 riel, louis, 494 robertson, colin, 386 " governor, taken prisoner, 426 robinson, john, lord bishop of london, 195 " sir john, 43 ross, captain, 451 rupert created earl of holdernesse and duke of cumberland, 37 " fort, captured by the french, 134 " illness of, 43 " is sworn a member of the privy council, also the tangier commission; is elected a fellow of the royal society; is appointed member of the council of trade; and also is a member of the royal african company, 41 " second marriage of, 25 " sends for groseilliers, 43 " sent to command the guinny fleet, 41 " prince, 20, 35 " prince, granted charter by king, 50 " prince, is paid a lump sum, 64 rupert, prince, death of, first governor of hudson's bay company, 94 _rupert, the prince_, arrival of, 78 " " " sails from gravesend, 51 " " " to sail in the spring, 64 " " " stuck in the ice, 96 " " " wreck of, 102 rupert's river, 47 russia looks toward the new world, 244 russians on the west coast, 347 russian-american fur company, 348 russian claims, 445 ryswick, treaty of, 148, 168, 187 _salamandre_, 156 sanford, robert, 175 sargeant, governor, 95, 135, 137 saxon, sir charles, 429 _sceptre_, 321 scroggs, john, captain of the _whalebone_, 213 _shark_, 264 _seahorse_ captured by the press-gang, 268 seignely, marquis de, 84 selkirk arrives at fort william, 419 " captures " 421 " winters at " 422 " death of, 432 " lord, arrives in canada, 406 " the earl of, 371 selkirk's immigrants arrive, 380 " project, 375 " proposal accepted, 378 semple, death of, 413 " robert, 404 semple's murderers, trial of, 431 _shaftesbury_, arrival of the, 78 sharpe, mr., company's solicitor, 269 shepherd, captain, of the _shaftesbury_, 78 ships besieged by peddlers, 65 shrewsbury, duke of, 201 " death of thomas, 455 " " sir george, 473 " expedition to the northern coast, 453 " thomas, 453 " george, governor-in-chief of the amalgamated companies, 437, 447 smallpox epidemic, 319 smith, cape, 47 " smith, francis, 264 " donald alexander, governor, 496 south sea company, 208, 209, 211 spanish claims, 346 " main, the, 38 spence, governor, 267 stanion, john, 261 stanton, governor, at moose factory, 177 stickeen river, 448 strange, lord, 271 strathcona, lord, 496 strike of the company's men, 296 strong, william, engaged as secretary to rupert, 40 _st. anne_, 87 " destruction of the, 106 st. peter, fort, 241 st. simon, sieur de, 69 _st. pierre_, 87 " arrives at mouth of st. lawrence, 110 " destruction of the, 106 " re-built, 107 superior, lake, 23, 219 " " reaches shore of, 26 _susan_ returned to the new england merchants, 111 sutherland, lord, 141 tabiti indians encountered, 75 tadoussac, 86 talon, jean, intendant, 22, 52, 69 " returns to france, 52 " writes colbert, 53 tast, admiral, arrival of, 150 thompson, david, 342 three rivers, 24 territorial rights, the surrender of, 487 _terror_, 466 tionnontates, or the tobacco nation, 26 toronto merchants petition legislative council, 471 treaty between russia and great britain, 445 " of 1783, 442 " of neutrality, 140 " with red river indians, 425 troyes, chevalier de, 131 " chevalier de, receives commission to drive the english from northern bay, 131 " de, expedition of, 132 turbulent meetings at hudson's bay house, 496 turner's exploration, 341 union of the two companies, 433 upland indians, 65 utrecht, treaty of, 199 valiere, sieur de, 56 vancouver, fort, 500 vancouver island granted to the company, 464 varennes, death of, 243 " peter gauthier de, 150, 240, 241 " sieur de, marries, 241 " sets out to explore the west, 241 " son reaches the rockies, 243 vaughan, captain david, commanding the _discovery_, 212 vermilion, fort, attack on, 426 _violent_, 158 _wales, prince of_, 392 " prince of, 61 " prince of, fort, built of stone, 281 " prince of, fort, surrenders to the french, 321 walker, jeremiah, 66 william, king, declares war against france, 146 " fort, 389, 418 " fort, restored to the north-westers, 424 " of orange landed at plymouth, 145 " the third's accession to the throne, 146 _william and ann_ wrecked, 447 winnipeg, lake, meeting at, 232 _weesph_, 158 _welcome_, 249 western company, the, 183 west, rev. mr., principal chaplain, 437 weymouth, viscount, 296 _whalebone_, 213 wolseley, lord, expedition of, 495 york, duke of, 20, 61 " " to succeed rupert as governor, 94 " " ascends the throne, 129 " fort, desperate condition of the french at, 194 " factory, 232 " " surrenders to the french, 324 yukon, fort, 502 * * * * * transcriber's note: inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved. obvious typographical errors have been corrected. on page 55, arrét perhaps should be arrêt. on page 103, englishmen perhaps should be englishman. on page 166, fort anne perhaps should be fort st. anne. on page 222, matonabbee perhaps should be matonabee. on page 242, peace--leaving should perhaps be peace-loving. on page 279, secretary pitts should perhaps be secretary pitt. on page 321, and in the index, admiral pérouse should perhaps be la pérouse. on page 411, anglaise perhaps should be anglais. on page 474, unrenumerative should perhaps be unremunerative. the book uses both medard and médard. the book uses both serigny and sérigny. [illustration: prince rupert, _first governor_. james, duke of york, _second governor_. lord churchill, _afterwards_ duke of marlborough, _third governor_. lord strathcona and mount royal, _present governor_. four great governors of the hudson's bay company.] [_frontispiece._] the remarkable history of the hudson's bay company including that of _the french traders of north-western canada and of the north-west, x y, and astor fur companies_ by george bryce, m.a., ll.d. professor in manitoba college, winnipeg; délégué régional de l'alliance scientifique de paris; member of general committee of british association; fellow of american association for advancement of science; president royal society of canada (1909); member of the commission on canadian resources (1909); member of the royal commission on technical education (1910); author of "manitoba" (1882); "short history of canadian people" (1887), makers of canada series (mackenzie, selkirk and simpson); "romantic settlement of lord selkirk's colonists" (1909); "canada" in winsor's nar. and crit. hist. of america, etc., etc. _third edition_ with numerous full-page illustrations and maps london sampson low, marston & co., ltd. preface the hudson's bay company! what a record this name represents of british pluck and daring, of patient industry and hardy endurance, of wild adventure among savage indian tribes, and of exposure to danger by mountain, precipice, and seething torrent and wintry plain! in two full centuries the hudson's bay company, under its original charter, undertook financial enterprises of the greatest magnitude, promoted exploration and discovery, governed a vast domain in the northern part of the american continent, and preserved to the british empire the wide territory handed over to canada in 1870. for nearly a generation since that time the veteran company has carried on successful trade in competition with many rivals, and has shown the vigour of youth. the present history includes not only the record of the remarkable exploits of this well-known company, but also the accounts of the daring french soldiers and explorers who disputed the claim of the company in the seventeenth century, and in the eighteenth century actually surpassed the english adventurers in penetrating the vast interior of rupert's land. special attention is given in this work to the picturesque history of what was the greatest rival of the hudson's bay company, viz. the north-west fur company of montreal, as well as to the extraordinary spirit of the x y company and the astor fur company of new york. a leading feature of this book is the adequate treatment for the first time of the history of the well-nigh eighty years just closing, from the union of all the fur traders of british north america under the name of the hudson's bay company. this period, beginning with the career of the emperor-governor. sir george simpson (1821), and covering the life, adventure, conflicts, trade, and development of the vast region stretching from labrador to vancouver island, and north to the mackenzie river and the yukon, down to the present year, is the most important part of the company's history. for the task thus undertaken the author is well fitted. he has had special opportunities for becoming acquainted with the history, position, and inner life of the hudson's bay company. he has lived for nearly thirty years in winnipeg, for the whole of that time in sight of fort garry, the fur traders' capital, or what remains of it; he has visited many of the hudson's bay company's posts from fort william to victoria, in the lake superior and the lake of the woods region, in manitoba, assiniboia, alberta, and british columbia; in those districts he has run the rapids, crossed the portages, surveyed the ruins of old forts, and fixed the localities of long-forgotten posts; he is acquainted with a large number of the officers of the company, has enjoyed their hospitality, read their journals, and listened with interest to their tales of adventure in many out-of-the-way posts; he is a lover of the romance, and story, and tradition of the fur traders' past. the writer has had full means of examining documents, letters, journals, business records, heirlooms, and archives of the fur traders both in great britain and canada. he returns thanks to the custodians of many valuable originals, which he has used, to the governor of the hudson's bay company in 1881, right hon. g. j. goschen, who granted him the privilege of consulting all hudson's bay company records up to the date of 1821, and he desires to still more warmly acknowledge the permission given him by the distinguished patron of literature and education, the present governor of the hudson's bay company, lord strathcona and mount royal, to read any documents of public importance in the hudson's bay house in london. this unusual opportunity granted the author was largely used by him in 1896 and again in 1899. taking the advice of his publishers, the author, instead of publishing several volumes of annals of the company, has condensed the important features of the history into one fair-sized volume, but has given in an appendix references and authorities which may afford the reader, who desires more detailed information on special periods, the sources of knowledge for fuller research. preface to the third edition the favor which has been shown to the "remarkable history of the hudson's bay company" has resulted in a large measure from its being written by a native-born canadian, who is familiar with much of the ground over which the company for two hundred years held sway. a number of corrections have been made and the book has been brought up to date for this edition. it has been a pleasure to the author, who has expressed himself without fear or favor regarding the company men and their opponents, that he has received from the greater number of his readers commendations for his fairness and insight into the affairs of the company and its wonderful history. george bryce. kilmadock, winnipeg, _august 19, 1910_. contents chapter i the first voyage for trade. page famous companies--"the old lady of fenchurch street"--the first voyage--radisson and groseilliers--spurious claim of the french of having reached the bay--"journal published by prince society"--the claim invalid--early voyages of radisson--the frenchmen go to boston--cross over to england--help from royalty--fiery rupert--the king a stockholder--many hitherto unpublished facts--capt. zachariah gillam--charles fort built on rupert river--the founder's fame 1 chapter ii. hudson's bay company founded. royal charters--good queen bess--"so miserable a wilderness"--courtly stockholders--correct spelling--"the nonsense of the charters"--mighty rivers--lords of the territory--to execute justice--war on infidels--power to seize--"skin for skin"--friends of the red man 12 chapter iii. methods of trade. rich mr. portman--good ship _prince rupert_--the early adventurers--"book of common prayer"--five forts--voting a funeral--worth of a beaver--to hudson bay and back--selling the pelts--bottles of sack--fat dividends--"victorious as cæsar"--"golden fruit" 20 chapter iv. three great governors. men of high station--prince rupert primus--prince james, "nemine contradicente"--the hero of the hour--churchill river named--plate of solid gold--off to the tower 27 chapter v. two adroit adventurers. peter radisson and "mr. gooseberry" again--radisson _v._ gillam--back to france--a wife's influence--paltry vessels--radisson's diplomacy--deserts to england--shameful duplicity--"a hogshead of claret"--adventurers appreciative--twenty-five years of radisson's life hitherto unknown--"in a low and mean condition"--the company in chancery--lucky radisson--a company pensioner 33 chapter vi. french rivalry. the golden lilies in danger--"to arrest radisson"--the land called "unknown"--a chain of claim--imaginary pretensions--chevalier de troyes--the brave lemoynes--hudson bay forts captured--a litigious governor--laugh at treaties--the glory of france--enormous claims--consequential damages 47 chapter vii. ryswick and utrecht. the "grand monarque" humbled--caught napping--the company in peril--glorious utrecht--forts restored--damages to be considered--commission useless 56 chapter viii. dreams of a north-west passage. stock rises--jealousy aroused--arthur dobbs, esq.--an ingenious attack--appeal to the "old worthies"--captain christopher middleton--was the company in earnest? the sloop _furnace_--dobbs' fierce attack--the great subscription--independent expedition--"henry ellis, gentleman"--"without success"--dobbs' real purpose 61 chapter ix. the interesting blue-book of 1749. "le roi est mort"--royalty unfavourable--earl of halifax--"company asleep"--petition to parliament--neglected discovery--timidity or caution--strong "prince of wales"--increase of stock--a timid witness--claims of discovery--to make indians christians--charge of disloyalty--new company promises largely--result nil 70 chapter x. french canadians explore the interior. the "western sea"--ardent duluth--"kaministiquia"--indian boasting--père charlevoix--father gonor--the man of the hour:--verendrye--indian map-maker--the north shore--a line of forts--the assiniboine country--a notable manuscript--a marvellous journey--glory, but not wealth--post of the western sea 78 chapter xi. the scottish merchants of montreal. unyielding old cadot--competition--the enterprising henry--leads the way--thomas curry--the elder finlay--plundering indians--grand portage--a famous mart--the plucky frobishers--the sleeping giant aroused--fort cumberland--churchill river--indian rising--the deadly smallpox--the whites saved 92 chapter xii. discovery of the coppermine. samuel hearne--"the mungo park of canada"--perouse complains--the north-west passage--indian guides--two failures--third journey successful--smokes the calumet--discovers arctic ocean--cruelty to the eskimos--error in latitude--remarkable indian woman--capture of prince of wales fort--criticism by umfreville 100 chapter xiii. forts on hudson bay left behind. andrew graham's "memo."--prince of wales fort--the garrison--trade--york factory--furs--albany--subordinate forts--moose--moses norton--cumberland house--upper assiniboine--rainy lake--brandon house--red river--conflict of the companies 109 chapter xiv. the north-west company formed. hudson's bay company aggressive--the great mctavish--the frobishers--pond and pangman dissatisfied--gregory and mcleod--strength of the north-west company--vessels to be built--new route from lake superior sought--good will at times--bloody pond--wider union, 1787--fort alexandria--mouth of the souris--enormous fur trade--wealthy nor'-westers--"the haunted house" 116 chapter xv. voyages of sir alexander mackenzie. a young highlander--to rival hearne--fort chipewyan built--french canadian voyageurs--trader leroux--perils of the route--post erected on arctic coast--return journey--pond's miscalculations--hudson bay turner--roderick mckenzie's hospitality--alexander mackenzie--astronomy and mathematics--winters on peace river--terrific journey--the pacific slope--dangerous indians--pacific ocean, 1793--north-west passage by land--great achievement--a notable book 124 chapter xvi. the great exploration. grand portage on american soil--anxiety about the boundary--david thompson, astronomer and surveyor--his instructions--by swift canoe--the land of beaver--a dash to the mandans--stone indian house--fixes the boundary at pembina--sources of the mississippi--a marvellous explorer--pacific slope explored--thompson down the kootenay and columbia--fiery simon fraser in new caledonia--discovers fraser river--sturdy john stuart--thompson river--bourgeois quesnel--transcontinental expeditions 133 chapter xvii. the x y company. "le marquis" simon mctavish unpopular--alexander mackenzie, his rival--enormous activity of the "potties"--why called x y--five rival posts at souris--sir alexander, the silent partner--old lion of montreal roused--"posts of the king"--schooner sent to hudson bay--nor'-westers erect two posts on hudson bay--supreme folly--old and new nor'-westers unite--list of partners 148 chapter xviii. the lords of the lakes and forests.--i. new route to kaministiquia--vivid sketch of fort william--"cantine salope"--lively christmas week--the feasting partners--ex-governor masson's good work--four great mackenzies--a literary bourgeois--three handsome demoiselles--"the man in the moon"--story of "bras croche"--around cape horn--astoria taken over--a hot-headed trader--sad case of "little labrie"--punch on new year's day--the heart of a "vacher" 155 chapter xix. the lords of the lakes and forests.--ii. harmon and his book--an honest man--"straight as an arrow"--new views--an uncouth giant--"gaelic, english, french, and indian oaths"--mcdonnell, "le prêtre"--st. andrew's day--"fathoms of tobacco"--down the assiniboine--an entertaining journal--a good editor--a too frank trader--"gun fire ten yards away"--herds of buffalo--packs and pemmican--"the fourth gospel"--drowning of henry--"the weather cleared up"--lost for forty days--"cheepe," the corpse--larocque and the mandans--mckenzie and his half-breed children 166 chapter xx. the lords of the lakes and forests.--iii. dashing french trader--"the country of fashion"--an air of great superiority--the road is that of heaven--enough to intimidate a cæsar--"the bear" and the "little branch"--yet more rum--a great irishman--"in the wigwam of wabogish dwelt his beautiful daughter"--wedge of gold--johnston and henry schoolcraft--duncan cameron on lake superior--his views of trade--peter grant, the ready writer--paddling the canoe--indian folk-lore--chippewa burials--remarkable men and great financiers, marvellous explorers, facile traders 178 chapter xxi. the impulse of union. north-west and x y companies unite--recalls the homeric period--feuds forgotten--men perform prodigies--the new fort re-christened--vessel from michilimackinac--the old canal--wills builds fort gibraltar--a lordly sway--the "beaver club"--sumptuous table--exclusive society--"fortitude in distress"--political leaders in lower canada 189 chapter xxii. the astor fur company. old john jacob astor--american fur company--the missouri company--a line of posts--approaches the russians--negotiates with nor'-westers--fails--four north-west officials join astor--songs of the voyageurs--true britishers--voyage of the _tonquin_--rollicking nor'-westers in sandwich islands--astoria built--david thompson appears--terrible end of the _tonquin_--astor's overland expedition--washington irving's "astoria, a romance"--the _beaver_ rounds the cape--mcdougall and his smallpox phial--the _beaver_ sails for canton 193 chapter xxiii. lord selkirk's colony. alexander mackenzie's book--lord selkirk interested--emigration a boon--writes to imperial government--in 1802 looks to lake winnipeg--benevolent project of trade--compelled to choose prince edward island--opinion as to hudson's bay company charter--nor'-westers alarmed--hudson's bay company's stock--purchases assiniboia--advertises the new colony--religion no disqualification--sends first colony--troubles of the project--arrive at york factory--the winter--the mutiny--"essence of malt"--journey inland--a second party--third party under archibald macdonald--from helmsdale--the number of colonists 200 chapter xxiv. trouble between the companies. nor'-westers oppose the colony--reason why--a considerable literature--contentions of both parties--both in fault--miles macdonell's mistake--nor'-wester arrogance--duncan cameron's ingenious plan--stirring up the chippewas--nor'-westers warn colonists to depart--mcleod's hitherto unpublished narrative--vivid account of a brave defence--chain shot from the blacksmith's smithy--fort douglas begun--settlers driven out--governor semple arrives--cameron last governor of fort gibraltar--cameron sent to britain as a prisoner--fort gibraltar captured--fort gibraltar decreases, fort douglas increases--free traders take to the plains--indians favour the colonists 215 chapter xxv. the skirmish of seven oaks. leader of the bois brûlés--a candid letter--account of a prisoner--"yellow head"--speech to the indians--the chief knows nothing--on fleet indian ponies--an eye-witness in fort douglas--a rash governor--the massacre--"for god's sake save my life"--the governor and twenty others slain--colonists driven out--eastern levy meets the settlers--effects seized--wild revelry--chanson of pierre falcon 229 chapter xxvi. lord selkirk to the rescue. the earl in montreal--alarming news--engages a body of swiss--the de meurons--embark for the north-west--kawtawabetay's story--hears of seven oaks--lake superior--lord selkirk--a doughty douglas--seizes fort william--canoes upset and nor'-westers drowned--"a banditti"--the earl's blunder--a winter march--fort douglas recaptured--his lordship soothes the settlers--an indian treaty--"the silver chief"--the earl's note-book 238 chapter xxvii. the blue-book of 1819 and the north-west trials. british law disgraced--governor sherbrooke's distress--a commission decided on--few unbiassed canadians--colonel coltman chosen--over ice and snow--alarming rumours--the prince regent's orders--coltman at red river--the earl submissive--the commissioner's report admirable--the celebrated reinhart case--disturbing lawsuits--justice perverted--a store-house of facts--sympathy of sir walter scott--lord selkirk's death--tomb at orthes, in france 252 chapter xxviii. men who played a part. the crisis reached--consequences of seven oaks--the noble earl--his generous spirit--his mistakes--determined courage--deserves the laurel crown--the first governor--macdonell's difficulties--his unwise step--a captain in red--cameron's adroitness--a wearisome imprisonment--last governor of fort gibraltar--the metis chief--half-breed son of old cuthbert--a daring hunter--warden of the plains--lord selkirk's agent--a red river patriarch--a faithful witness--the french bard--western war songs--pierriche falcon 260 chapter xxix. governor simpson unites all interests. both companies in danger--edward ellice, a mediator--george simpson, the man of destiny--old feuds buried--gatherings at norway house--governor simpson's skill--his marvellous energy--reform in trade--morality low--a famous canoe voyage--salutes fired--pompous ceremony at norway house--strains of the bagpipe--across the rocky mountains--fort vancouver visited--great executive ability--the governor knighted--sir george goes round the world--troubles of a book--meets the russians--estimate of sir george 270 chapter xxx. the life of the traders. lonely trading posts--skilful letter writers--queer old peter fidler--famous library--a remarkable will--a stubborn highlander--life at red river--badly-treated pangman--founding trading houses--beating up recruits--priest provencher--a fur-trading mimic--life far north--"ruled with a rod of iron"--seeking a fur country--life in the canoe--a trusted trader--sheaves of letters--a find in edinburgh--faithful correspondents--the bishop's cask of wine--red river, a "land of canaan"--governor simpson's letters--the gigantic archdeacon writes--"macargrave's" promotion--kindly sieveright--traders and their books 283 chapter xxxi. the voyageurs from montreal. lachine, the fur traders' mecca--the departure--the flowing bowl--the canoe brigade--the voyageurs' song--"en roulant ma boule"--village of st. anne's--legend of the church--the sailors' guardian--origin of "canadian boat song"--a loud invocation--"a la claire fontaine"--"sing, nightingale"--at the rapids--the ominous crosses--"lament of cadieux"--a lonely maiden sits--the wendigo--home of the ermatingers--a very old canal--the rugged coast--fort william reached--a famous gathering--the joyous return 304 chapter xxxii. explorers in the far north. the north-west passage again--lieutenant john franklin's land expedition--two lonely winters--hearne's mistake corrected--franklin's second journey--arctic sea coast explored--franklin knighted--captain john ross by sea--discovers magnetic pole--magnetic needle nearly perpendicular--back seeks for ross--dease and simpson sent by hudson's bay company to explore--sir john in _erebus_ and _terror_--the paleocrystic sea--franklin never returns--lady franklin's devotion--the historic search--dr. rae secures relics--captain mcclintock finds the cairn and written record--advantages of the search 315 chapter xxxiii. expeditions to the frontier of the fur country. a disputed boundary--sources of the mississippi--the fur traders push southward--expedition up the missouri--lewis and clark meet nor'-westers--claim of united states made--sad death of lewis--lieutenant pike's journey--pike meets fur traders--cautious dakotas--treaty with chippewas--violent death--long and keating fix 49 deg. n.--visit fort garry--follow old fur traders' route--an erratic italian--strange adventures--almost finds source--beltrami county--cass and schoolcraft fail--schoolcraft afterwards succeeds--lake itasca--curious origin of name--the source determined 326 chapter xxxiv. famous journeys in rupert's land. fascination of an unknown land--adventure, science, or gain--lieutenant lefroy's magnetic survey--hudson's bay company assists--winters at fort chipewyan--first scientific visit to peace river--notes lost--not "gratuitous canoe conveyance"--captain palliser and lieutenant hector--journey through rupert's land--rocky mountain passes--on to the coast--a successful expedition--hind and dawson--to spy out the land for canada--the fertile belt--hind's description good--milton and cheadle--winter on the saskatchewan--reach pacific ocean in a pitiable condition--captain butler--the horse blackie and dog "cerf vola"--fleming and grant--"ocean to ocean"--"land fitted for a healthy and hardy race"--waggon road and railway 337 chapter xxxv. red river settlement. 1817-1846. chiefly scottish and french settlers--many hardships--grasshoppers--yellow head--"gouverneur sauterelle"--swiss settlers--remarkable parchment--captain bulger, a military governor--indian troubles--donald mckenzie, a fur trader governor--many projects fail--the flood--plenty follows--social condition--lower fort built--upper fort garry--council of assiniboia--the settlement organized--duncan finlayson governor--english farmers--governor christie--serious epidemic--a regiment of regulars--the unfortunate major--the people restless 348 chapter xxxvi. the prairies: sledge, keel, wheel, cayuse, chase. a picturesque life--the prairie hunters and traders--gaily-caparisoned dog trains--the great winter packets--joy in the lonely forts--the summer trade--the york boat brigade--expert voyageurs--the famous red river cart--shagganappe ponies--the screeching train--tripping--the western cayuse--the great buffalo hunt--warden of the plains--pemmican and fat--the return in triumph 360 chapter xxxvii. life on the shores of hudson bay and labrador. the bleak shores unprogressive--now as at the beginning--york factory--description of ballantyne--the weather--summer comes with a rush--picking up subsistence--the indian trade--inhospitable labrador--establishment of ungava bay--mclean at fort chimo--herds of cariboo--eskimo rafts--"shadowy tartarus"--the king's domains--mingan--mackenzie--the gulf settlements--the moravians--their four missions--rigolette, the chief trading post--a school for developing character--chief factor donald a. smith--journeys along the coast--a barren shore 376 chapter xxxviii. athabasca, mackenzie river, and the yukon. peter pond reaches athabasca river--fort chipewyan established--starting point of alexander mackenzie--the athabasca library--the hudson's bay company roused--conflict at fort wedderburn--suffering--the dash up the peace river--fort dunvegan--northern extension--fort resolution--fort providence--the great river occupied--loss of life--fort simpson, the centre--fort reliance--herds of cariboo--fort norman built--fort good hope--the northern rockies--the yukon reached and occupied--the fierce liard river--fort halkett in the mountains--robert campbell comes to the stikine--discovers the upper yukon--his great fame--the districts--steamers on the water stretches 386 chapter xxxix. on the pacific slope. extension of trade in new caledonia--the western department--fort vancouver built--governor's residence and bachelors' hall--fort colville--james douglas, a man of note--a dignified official--an indian rising--a brave woman--the fertile columbia valley--finlayson, a man of action--russian fur traders--treaty of alaska--lease of alaska to the hudson's bay company--fort langley--the great farm--black at kamloops--fur trader _v._ botanist--"no soul above a beaver's skin"--a tragic death--chief nicola's eloquence--a murderer's fate 399 chapter xl. from oregon to vancouver island. fort vancouver on american soil--chief factor douglas chooses a new site--young mcloughlin killed--liquor selling prohibited--dealing with the songhies--a jesuit father--fort victoria--finlayson's skill--chinook jargon--the brothers ermatinger--a fur-trading junius--"fifty-four, forty, or fight"--oregon treaty--hudson's bay company indemnified--the waggon road--a colony established--first governor--gold fever--british columbia--fort simpson--hudson's bay company in the interior--the forts--a group of worthies--service to britain--the coast becomes canadian 408 chapter xli. pro gloria dei. a vast region--first spiritual adviser--a _locum tenens_--two french canadian priests--st. boniface founded--missionary zeal in mackenzie river district--red river parishes--the great archbishop taché--john west--archdeacon cochrane, the founder--john mccallum--bishop anderson--english missionary societies--archbishop machray--indian missions--john black, the presbyterian apostle--methodist missions on lake winnipeg--the cree syllabic--chaplain staines--bishop bridge--missionary duncan--metlakahtla--roman catholic coast missions--church of england bishop--diocese of new westminster--dr. evans--robert jamieson--education 420 chapter xlii. the hudson's bay company and the indians. company's indian policy--character of officers--a race of hunters--plan of advances--charges against the company--liquor restriction--capital punishment--starving indians--diseased and helpless--education and religion--the age of missions--sturdy saulteaux--the muskegons--wood crees--wandering plain crees--the chipewyans--wild assiniboines--blackfoot indians--polyglot coast tribes--eskimos--no indian war--no police--pliable and docile--success of the company 431 chapter xliii. unrest in rupert's land. 1844-1869. discontent on red river--queries to the governor--a courageous recorder--free trade in furs held illegal--imprisonment--new land deed--enormous freights--petty revenge--turbulent pensioners--heart burnings--heroic isbister--half-breed memorial--mr. beaver's letter--hudson's bay company notified--lord elgin's reply--voluminous correspondence--company's full answer--colonel crofton's statement--major caldwell, a partisan--french petition--nearly a thousand signatures--love, a factor--the elder riel--a court scene--violence--"vive la liberté!"--the recorder checked--a new judge--unruly corbett--the prison broken--another rescue--a valiant doctor--a red river nestor 438 chapter xliv. canada covets the hudson's bay territory. renewal of licence--labouchere's letter--canada claims to pacific ocean--commissioner chief-justice draper--rests on quebec act, 1774--quebec overlaps indian territories--company loses vancouver island--cauchon's memorandum--committee of 1857--company on trial--a brilliant committee--four hundred folios of evidence--to transfer red river and saskatchewan--death of sir george--governor dallas--a cunning scheme--secret negotiations--the watkin company floated--angry winterers--dallas's soothing circular--the old order still--ermatinger's letters--mcdougall's resolutions--cartier and mcdougall as delegates--company accepts the terms 448 chapter xlv. troubles of the transfer of rupert's land. transfer act passed--a moribund government--the canadian surveying party--causes of the rebellion--turbulent metis--american interference--disloyal ecclesiastics--"governor" mcdougall--riel and his rebel band--a blameworthy governor--the "blawsted fence"--seizure of fort garry--riel's ambitions--loyal rising--three wise men from the east--_the new nation_--a winter meeting--bill of rights--a canadian shot--the wolseley expedition--three renegades slink away--the end of company rule--the new province of manitoba 459 chapter xlvi. present status of the company. a great land company--fort garry dismantled--the new buildings--new _v._ old--new life in the company--palmy days are recalled--governors of ability--the present distinguished governor--vaster operations--its eye not dimmed 472 chapter xlvii. the future of the canadian west. the greater canada--wide wheat fields--vast pasture lands--huronian mines--the kootenay riches--yukon nuggets--forests--iron and coal--fisheries--two great cities--towns and villages--anglo-saxon institutions--the great outlook 477 appendix. a.--authorities and references 483 b.--summary of life of pierre esprit radisson 489 c.--company posts in 1856, with indians 491 d.--chief factors (1821-1896) 493 e.--russian america (alaska) 495 f.--the cree syllabic character 497 g.--names of h. b. co. officers in plate opposite page 442 498 index 499 list of illustrations page four great governors of the hudson's bay company _frontispiece_ map of hudson bay and straits 6 arms of the hudson's bay company 18 le moyne d'iberville 52 comedey de maisonneuve 82 junction of the ottawa and st. lawrence 94 map of route of scottish merchants up the ottawa to lake athabasca 96 prince of wales fort 108 the lac des allumettes 116 sir alexander mackenzie 130 daniel william harmon, esq. 130 johann jacob astor 194 casanov, trader and chief 194 fort douglas 226 seven oaks monument 232 lord selkirk 260 sir george simpson 260 fort william, lake superior 272 red river note 284 i.--portage 304 ii.--décharge 304 block house of old h.b. company post 310 map of the far north 314 searchers in the north 320 fort edmonton, on the north saskatchewan 336 jasper house, rocky mountains 336 map of labrador, and the king's domains 378 map of mackenzie river and the yukon 388 sir james douglas 398 fort victoria, b.c. 406 indians of the plains 432 council of hudson's bay company commissioned officers held in winnipeg, 1887 442 fort garry--winter scenes 460 commissioner chipman (winnipeg) 470 hudson's bay company's stores and general offices, winnipeg 472 parliament buildings, victoria, b.c. 478 the hudson's bay company chapter i. the first voyage for trade. famous companies--"the old lady of fenchurch street"--the first voyage--radisson and groseilliers--spurious claim of the french of having reached the bay--"journal published by prince society"--the claim invalid--early voyages of radisson--the frenchmen go to boston--cross over to england--help from royalty--fiery rupert--the king a stockholder--many hitherto unpublished facts--capt. zachariah gillam--charles fort built on rupert river--the founder's fame. charles lamb--"delightful author"--opens his unique "essays of elia" with a picturesque description of the quaint "south sea house." threadneedle street becomes a magnetic name as we wander along it toward bishopsgate street "from the bank, thinking of the old house with the oaken wainscots hung with pictures of deceased governors and sub-governors of queen anne, and the first monarchs of the brunswick dynasty--huge charts which subsequent discoveries have made antiquated--dusty maps, dim as dreams, and soundings of the bay of panama." but lamb, after all, was only a short time in the south sea house, while for more than thirty years he was a clerk in the india house, partaking of the genius of the place. the india house was the abode of a company far more famous than the south sea company, dating back more than a century before the "bubble" company, having been brought into existence on the last day of the sixteenth century by good queen bess herself. to a visitor, strolling down leadenhall street, it recalls the spirit of lamb to turn into east india avenue, and the mind wanders back to clive and burke of macaulay's brilliant essay, in which he impales, with balanced phrase and perfect impartiality, philip francis and warren hastings alike. the london merchants were mighty men, men who could select their agents, and send their ships, and risk their money on every sea and on every shore. nor was this only for gain, but for philanthropy as well. across yonder is the abode of the new england company, founded in 1649, and re-established by charles ii. in 1661--begun and still existing with its fixed income "for the propagation of the gospel in new england and the adjoining parts of america," having had as its first president the hon. robert boyle; and hard by are the offices of the canada company, now reaching its three-quarters of a century. not always, however, as macaulay points out, did the trading companies remember that the pressure on their agents abroad for increased returns meant the temptation to take doubtful or illicit methods to gain their ends. they would have recoiled from the charge of lady macbeth,- "wouldst not play false, and yet wouldst wrongly win." yet on the whole the merchant companies of london bear an honourable record, and have had a large share in laying the foundations of england's commercial greatness. wandering but a step further past east india avenue, at the corner of lime and leadenhall streets, we come to-day upon another building sitting somewhat sedately in the very heart of stirring and living commerce. this is the hudson's bay house, the successor of the old house on fenchurch street, the abode of another company, whose history goes back for more than two centuries and a quarter, and which is to-day the most vigorous and vivacious of all the sisterhood of companies we have enumerated. while begun as a purely trading company, it has shown in its remarkable history not only the shrewdness and business skill of the race, called by napoleon a "nation of shopkeepers," but it has been the governing power over an empire compassing nearly one half of north america, it has been the patron of science and exploration, the defender of the british flag and name, and the fosterer, to a certain extent, of education and religion. not only on the shores of hudson bay, but on the pacific coast, in the prairies of red river, and among the snows of the arctic slope, on the rocky shores of labrador and in the mountain fastnesses of the yukon, in the posts of fort william and nepigon, on lake superior, and in far distant athabasca, among the wild crees, or greasy eskimos, or treacherous chinooks, it has floated the red cross standard, with the well-known letters h. b. c.--an "open sesame" to the resources of a wide extent of territory. the founding of the company has features of romance. these may well be detailed, and to do so leads us back several years before the incorporation of the company by charles ii. in 1670. the story of the first voyage and how it came about is full of interest. two french protestant adventurers--medard chouart and pierre esprit radisson--the former born near meaux, in france, and the other a resident of st. malo, in brittany--had gone to canada about the middle of the seventeenth century. full of energy and daring, they, some years afterwards, embarked in the fur trade, and had many adventures. radisson was first captured by the iroquois, and adopted into one of their tribes. after two years he escaped, and having been taken to europe, returned to montreal. shortly afterwards he took part in the wars between the hurons and iroquois. chouart was for a time assistant in a jesuit mission, but, like most young men of the time, yielded to the attractions of the fur trade. he had married first the daughter of abraham martin, the french settler, after whom the plains of abraham at quebec are named. on her death chouart married the widowed sister of radisson, and henceforth the fortunes of the two adventurers were closely bound up together. the marriage of chouart brought him a certain amount of property, he purchased land out of the proceeds of his ventures, and assumed the title of seignior, being known as "sieur des groseilliers." in the year 1658 groseilliers and radisson went on the third expedition to the west, and returned after an absence of two years, having wintered at lake nepigon, which they called "assiniboines." it is worthy of note that radisson frankly states in the account of his third voyage that they had not been in the bay of the north (hudson bay). the fourth voyage of the two partners in 1661 was one of an eventful kind, and led to very important results. they had applied to the governor for permission to trade in the interior, but this was refused, except on very severe conditions. having had great success on their previous voyage, and with the spirit of adventure inflamed within them, the partners determined to throw off all authority, and at midnight departed without the governor's leave, for the far west. during an absence of two years the adventurers turned their canoes northward, and explored the north shore of lake superior. it is in connection with this fourth voyage (1661) that the question has been raised as to whether radisson and his brother-in-law groseilliers visited hudson bay by land. the conflicting claim to the territory about hudson bay by france and england gives interest to this question. two french writers assert that the two explorers had visited hudson bay by land. these are, the one, m. bacqueville de la potherie, paris; and the other, m. jeremie, governor of the french ports in hudson bay. though both maintain that hudson bay was visited by the two frenchmen, radisson and groseilliers, yet they differ entirely in details, jeremie stating that they captured some englishmen there, a plain impossibility. oldmixon, an english writer, in 1708, makes the following statement:--"monsieur radisson and monsieur gooselier, meeting with some savages in the lake of the assinipouals, in canada, they learnt of them that they might go by land to the bottom of the bay, where the english had not yet been. upon which they desired them to conduct them thither, and the savages accordingly did it." oldmixon is, however, inaccurate in some other particulars, and probably had little authority for this statement. the critical passage. the question arises in radisson's journals, which are published in the volume of the prince society. for so great a discovery the passage strikes us as being very short and inadequate, and no other reference of the kind is made in the voyages. it is as follows, being taken from the fourth voyage, page 224:-"we went away with all hast possible to arrive the sooner at ye great river. we came to the seaside, where we finde an old house all demolished and battered with boullets. we weare told yt those that came there were of two nations, one of the wolf, and the other of the long-horned beast. all those nations are distinguished by the representation of the beasts and animals. they tell us particularities of the europians. we know ourselves, and what europ is like, therefore in vaine they tell us as for that. we went from isle to isle all that summer. we pluckt abundance of ducks, as of other sort of fowles; we wanted not fish, nor fresh meat. we weare well beloved, and weare overjoyed that we promised them to come with such shipps as we invented. this place has a great store of cows. the wild men kill not except for necessary use. we went further in the bay to see the place that they weare to pass that summer. that river comes from the lake, and empties itself in ye river of sagnes (saguenay) called tadousac, wch is a hundred leagues in the great river of canada, as where we are in ye bay of ye north. we left in this place our marks and rendezvous. the wild men yt brought us defended us above all things, if we would come quietly to them, that we should by no means land, & so goe to the river to the other side, that is to the north, towards the sea, telling us that those people weare very treacherous." the claim invalid. we would remark as follows:-1. the fourth voyage may be traced as a journey through lake superior, past the pictured rocks on its south side, beyond the copper deposits, westward to where there are prairie meadows, where the indians grow indian corn, and where elk and buffalo are found, in fact in the region toward the mississippi river. 2. the country was toward that of the nadoneseronons, i.e. the nadouessi or sioux; north-east of them were the christinos or crees; so that the region must have been what we know at present as northern minnesota. they visited the country of the sioux, the present states of dakota, and promised to visit the christinos on their side of the upper lake, evidently lake of the woods or winnipeg. 3. in the passage before us they were fulfilling their promise. they came to the "seaside." this has given colour to the idea that hudson bay is meant. an examination of radisson's writing shows us, however, that he uses the terms lake and sea interchangeably. for example, in page 155, he speaks of the "christinos from the bay of the north sea," which could only refer to the lake of the woods or lake winnipeg. again, on page 134, radisson speaks of the "lake of the hurrons which was upon the border of the sea," evidently meaning lake superior. on the same page, in the heading of the third voyage, he speaks of the "filthy lake of the hurrons, upper sea of the east, and bay of the north," and yet no one has claimed that in this voyage he visited hudson bay. again, elsewhere, radisson uses the expression, "salted lake" for the atlantic, which must be crossed to reach france. 4. thus in the passage "the ruined house on the seaside" would seem to have been one of the lakes mentioned. the christinos tell them of europeans, whom they have met a few years before, perhaps an earlier french party on lake superior or at the sault. the lake or sea abounded in islands. this would agree with the lake of the woods, where the christinos lived, and not hudson bay. whatever place it was it had a great store of cows or buffalo. lake of the woods is the eastern limit of the buffalo. they are not found on the shores of hudson bay. 5. it will be noticed also that he speaks of a river flowing from the lake, when he had gone further in the bay, evidently the extension of the lake, and this river empties itself into the saguenay. this is plainly pure nonsense. it would be equally nonsensical to speak of it in connection with the hudson bay, as no river empties from it into the saguenay. probably looking at the great river winnipeg as it flows from lake of the woods, or bay of islands as it was early called, he sees it flowing north-easterly, and with the mistaken views so common among early voyageurs, conjectures it to run toward the great saguenay and to empty into it, thence into the st. lawrence. 6. this passage shows the point reached, which some interpret as hudson bay or james bay, could not have been so, for it speaks of a further point toward the north, toward the sea. 7. closely interpreted, it is plain that radisson[1] had not only not visited hudson or james bay, but that he had a wrong conception of it altogether. he is simply giving a vague story of the christinos.[2] [illustration: map of hudson bay and straits as known six years before the first hudson's bay company expedition sailed for hudson bay. (_taken from drage's "account of a voyage."_)] on the return of groseilliers and radisson to quebec, the former was made a prisoner by order of the governor for illicit trading. the two partners were fined 4000_l._ for the purpose of erecting a fort at three rivers, and 6000_l._ to go to the general funds of new france. a great enterprise. filled with a sense of injustice at the amount of the fine placed upon them, the unfortunate traders crossed over to france and sought restitution. it was during their heroic efforts to secure a remission of the fine that the two partners urged the importance, both in quebec and paris, of an expedition being sent out to explore hudson bay, of which they had heard from the indians. their efforts in paris were fruitless, and they came back to quebec, burning for revenge upon the rapacious governor. driven to desperation by what they considered a persecution, and no doubt influenced by their being protestant in faith, the adventurers now turned their faces toward the english. in 1664 they went to port royal, in acadia, and thence to new england. boston was then the centre of english enterprise in america, and the french explorers brought their case before the merchants of that town. they asserted that having been on lake assiniboine, north of lake superior, they had there been assured by the indians that hudson bay could be reached. after much effort they succeeded in engaging a new england ship, which went as far as lat. 61, to the entrance of hudson straits, but on account of the timidity of the master of the ship, the voyage was given up and the expedition was fruitless. the two enterprising men were then promised by the ship-owners the use of two vessels to go on their search in 1665, but they were again discouraged by one of the vessels being sent on a trip to sable isle and the other to the fisheries in the gulf of st. lawrence. groseilliers and radisson, bitterly disappointed, sought to maintain their rights against the ship-owners in the courts, and actually won their case, but they were still unable to organize an expedition. at this juncture the almost discouraged frenchmen met the two royal commissioners who were in america in behalf of charles ii. to settle a number of disputed questions in new england and new york. by one of these, sir george carteret, they were induced to visit england. sir george was no other than the vice-chamberlain to the king and treasurer of the navy. he and our adventurers sailed for europe, were captured by a dutch ship, and after being landed on the coast of spain, reached england. through the influence of carteret they obtained an audience with king charles on october 25th, 1666, and he promised that a ship should be supplied to them as soon as possible with which to proceed on their long-planned journey. even at this stage another influence came into view in the attempt of de witt, the dutch ambassador, to induce the frenchmen to desert england and go out under the auspices of holland. fortunately they refused these offers. the war with the dutch delayed the expedition for one year, and in the second year their vessel received orders too late to be fitted up for the voyage. the assistance of the english ambassador to france, mr. montague, was then invoked by groseilliers and radisson, now backed up by a number of merchant friends to prepare for the voyage. through this influence, an audience was obtained from prince rupert, the king's cousin, and his interest was awakened in the enterprise. it was a remarkable thing that at this time the royal house of england showed great interest in trade. a writer of a century ago has said, "charles ii., though addicted to pleasure, was capable of useful exertions, and he loved commerce. his brother, the duke of york, though possessed of less ability, was endowed with greater perseverance, and by a peculiar felicity placed his chief amusement in commercial schemes whilst he possessed the whole influence of the state." "the duke of york spent half his time in the business of commerce in the city, presiding frequently at meetings of courts of directors." it will be seen that the circumstances were very favourable for the french enthusiasts who were to lead the way to hudson bay, and the royal personages who were anxious to engage in new and profitable schemes. the first stock book (1667) is still in existence in the hudson's bay house, in london, and gives an account of the stock taken in the enterprise even before the company was organized by charter. first on the list is the name of his royal highness the duke of york, and, on the credit side of the account, "by a share presented to him in the stock and adventure by the governor and company, 300_l._" the second stockholder on the list is the notable prince rupert, who took 300_l._ stock, and paid it up in the next two years, with the exception of 100_l._ which he transferred to sir george carteret, who evidently was the guiding mind in the beginning of the enterprise. christopher, duke of albemarle--the son of the great general monk, who had been so influential in the restoration of charles ii. to the throne of england, was a stockholder for 500_l._ then came as stockholders, and this before the company had been formally organized, william, earl of craven, well known as a personal friend of prince rupert; henry, earl of arlington, a member of the ruling cabal; while anthony, earl of shaftesbury, the versatile minister of charles, is down for 700_l._ sir george carteret is charged with between six and seven hundred pounds' worth of stock; sir john robinson, sir robert vyner, sir peter colleton and others with large sums. as we have seen, in the year 1667 the project took shape, a number of those mentioned being responsible for the ship, its cargo, and the expenses of the voyage. among those who seem to have been most ready with their money were the duke of albemarle, earl of craven, sir george carteret, sir john robinson, and sir peter colleton. an entry of great interest is made in connection with the last-named knight. he is credited with 96_l._ cash paid to the french explorers, who were the originators of the enterprise. it is amusing, however, to see groseilliers spoken of as "mr. gooseberry"--a somewhat inaccurate translation of his name. two ships were secured by the merchant adventurers, the _eaglet_, captain stannard, and the _nonsuch ketch_, captain zachariah gillam. the former vessel has almost been forgotten, because after venturing on the journey, passing the orkneys, crossing the atlantic, and approaching hudson straits, the master thought the enterprise an impossible one, and returned to london. special interest attaches to the _nonsuch ketch_. it was the successful vessel, but another notable thing connected with it was that its new england captain, zachariah gillam, had led the expedition of 1664, though now the vessel under his command was one of the king's ships.[3] it was in june, 1668, that the vessels sailed from gravesend, on the thames, and proceeded on their journey, groseilliers being aboard the _nonsuch_, and radisson in the _eaglet_. the _nonsuch_ found the bay, discovered little more than half a century before by hudson, and explored by button, fox, and james, the last-named less than forty years before. captain gillam is said to have sailed as far north as 75° n. in baffin bay, though this is disputed, and then to have returned into hudson bay, where, turning southward, he reached the bottom of the bay on september 29th. entering a stream, the nemisco, on the south-east corner of the bay--a point probably not less than 150 miles from the nearest french possessions in canada--the party took possession of it, calling it, after the name of their distinguished patron, prince rupert's river. here, at their camping-place, they met the natives of the district, probably a branch of the swampy crees. with the indians they held a parley, and came to an agreement by which they were allowed to occupy a certain portion of territory. with busy hands they went to work and built a stone fort, in lat. 51° 20' n., long. 78° w., which, in honour of their gracious sovereign, they called "charles fort." not far away from their fort lay charlton island, with its shores of white sand, and covered over with a growth of juniper and spruce. to this they crossed on the ice upon the freezing of the river on december 9th. having made due preparations for the winter, they passed the long and dreary time, finding the cold excessive. as they looked out they saw "nature looking like a carcase frozen to death." in april, 1669, however, the cold was almost over, and they were surprised to see the bursting forth of the spring. satisfied with their journey, they left the bay in this year and sailed southward to boston, from which port they crossed the ocean to london, and gave an account of their successful voyage. the fame of the pioneer explorer is ever an enviable one. there can be but one columbus, and so for all time this voyage of zachariah gillam, because it was the expedition which resulted in the founding of the first fort, and in the beginning of the great movement which has lasted for more than two centuries, will be memorable. it was not an event which made much stir in london at the time, but it was none the less the first of a long series of most important and far-reaching activities. footnotes: [1] see map opposite. [2] mr. miller christie, of london, and others are of opinion that radisson visited hudson bay on this fourth voyage. [3] a copy of the instructions given the captains may be found in state papers, london, charles ii., 251, no. 180. chapter ii. hudson's bay company founded. royal charters--good queen bess--"so miserable a wilderness"--courtly stockholders--correct spelling--"the nonsense of the charters"--mighty rivers--lords of the territory--to execute justice--war on infidels--power to seize--"skin for skin"--friends of the red man. the success of the first voyage made by the london merchants to hudson bay was so marked that the way was open for establishing the company and carrying on a promising trade. the merchants who had given their names or credit for gillam's expedition lost no time in applying, with their patron, prince rupert, at their head, to king charles ii. for a charter to enable them more safely to carry out their plans. their application was, after some delay, granted on may 2nd, 1670. the modern method of obtaining privileges such as they sought would have been by an application to parliament; but the seventeenth century was the era of royal charters. much was said in england eighty years after the giving of this charter, and again in canada forty years ago, against the illegality and unwisdom of such royal charters as the one granted to the hudson's bay company. these criticisms, while perhaps just, scarcely cover the ground in question. as to the abstract point of the granting of royal charters, there would probably be no two opinions to-day, but it was conceded to be a royal prerogative two centuries ago, although the famous scene cannot be forgotten where queen elizabeth, in allowing many monopolies which she had granted to be repealed, said in answer to the address from the house of commons: "never since i was a queen did i put my pen to any grant but upon pretext and semblance made to me that it was both good and beneficial to the subject in general, though private profit to some of my ancient servants who had deserved well.... never thought was cherished in my heart that tended not to my people's good." the words, however, of the imperial attorney-general and solicitor-general, messrs. bethel and keating, of lincoln's inn, when appealed to by the british parliament, are very wise: "the questions of the validity and construction of the hudson's bay company charter cannot be considered apart from the enjoyment that has been had under it during nearly two centuries, and the recognition made of the rights of the company in various acts, both of the government and legislature." the bestowal of such great privileges as those given to the hudson's bay company are easily accounted for in the prevailing idea as to the royal prerogative, the strong influence at court in favour of the applicants for the charter, and, it may be said, in such opinions as that expressed forty years after by oldmixon: "there being no towns or plantations in this country (rupert's land), but two or three forts to defend the factories, we thought we were at liberty to place it in our book where we pleased, and were loth to let our history open with the description of so wretched a colony. for as rich as the trade to those parts has been or may be, the way of living is such that we cannot reckon any man happy whose lot is cast upon this bay." the charter certainly opens with a breath of unrestrained heartiness on the part of the good-natured king charles. first on the list of recipients is "our dear entirely beloved prince rupert, count palatine of the rhine, duke of bavaria and cumberland, etc," who seems to have taken the king captive, as if by one of his old charges when he gained the name of the fiery rupert of edgehill. though the stock book of the company has the entry made in favour of christopher, duke of albemarle, yet the charter contains that of the famous general monk, who, as "old george," stood his ground in london during the year of the plague and kept order in the terror-stricken city. the explanation of the occurrence of the two names is found in the fact that the father died in the year of the granting of the charter. the reason for the appearance of the name of sir philip carteret in the charter is not so evident, for not only was sir george carteret one of the promoters of the company, but his name occurs as one of the court of adventurers in the year after the granting of the charter. john portman, citizen and goldsmith of london, is the only member named who is neither nobleman, knight, nor esquire, but he would seem to have been very useful to the company as a man of means. the charter states that the eighteen incorporators named deserve the privileges granted because they "have at their own great cost and charges undertaken an expedition for hudson bay, in the north-west parts of america, for a discovery of a new passage into the south sea, and for the finding of some trade for furs, minerals, and other considerable commodities, and by such their undertakings, have already made such discoveries as to encourage them to proceed farther in pursuance of their said design, by means whereof there may probably arise great advantage to us and our kingdoms." the full name of the company given in the charter is, "the governor and company of adventurers of england, trading into hudson bay." they have usually been called "the hudson's bay company," the form of the possessive case being kept in the name, though it is usual to speak of the bay itself as hudson bay. the adventurers are given the powers of possession, succession, and the legal rights and responsibilities usually bestowed in incorporation, with the power of adopting a seal or changing the same at their "will and pleasure"; and this is granted in the elaborate phraseology found in documents of that period. full provision is made in the charter for the election of governor, deputy-governor, and the managing committee of seven. it is interesting to notice during the long career of the company how the simple machinery thus provided was adapted, without amendment, in carrying out the immense projects of the company during the two and a quarter centuries of its existence. the grant was certainly sufficiently comprehensive. the opponents of the company in later days mentioned that king charles gave away in his sweeping phrase a vast territory of which he had no conception, and that it was impossible to transfer property which could not be described. in the case of the english colonies along the atlantic coast it was held by the holders of the charters that the frontage of the seaboard carried with it the strip of land all the way across the continent. it will be remembered how, in the settlement with the commissioners after the american revolution, lord shelburne spoke of this theory as the "nonsense of the charters." the hudson's bay company was always very successful in the maintenance of its claim to the full privileges of the charter, and until the time of the surrender of its territory to canada kept firm possession of the country from the shore of hudson bay even to the rocky mountains. the generous monarch gave the company "the whole trade of all those seas, streights, and bays, rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the streights commonly called hudson's streights, together with all the lands, countries, and territories upon the coasts and confines of the seas, streights, bays, lakes, rivers, creeks, and sounds aforesaid, which are not now actually possessed by any of our subjects, or by the subjects of any other christian prince or state." the wonderful water system by which this great claim was extended over so vast a portion of the american continent has been often described. the streams running from near the shore of lake superior find their way by rainy lake, lake of the woods, and lake winnipeg, then by the river nelson, to hudson bay. into lake winnipeg, which acts as a collecting basin for the interior, also run the red river and mighty saskatchewan, the latter in some ways rivalling the mississippi, and springing from the very heart of the rocky mountains. the territory thus drained was all legitimately covered by the language of the charter. the tenacious hold of its vast domain enabled the company to secure in later years leases of territory lying beyond it on the arctic and pacific slopes. in the grant thus given perhaps the most troublesome feature was the exclusion, even from the territory granted, of the portion "possessed by the subjects of any other christian prince or state." we shall see afterwards that within less than twenty years claims were made by the french of a portion of the country on the south side of the bay; and also a most strenuous contention was put forth at a later date for the french explorers, as having first entered in the territory lying in the basin of the red and saskatchewan rivers. this claim, indeed, was advanced less than fifty years ago by canada as the possessor of the rights once maintained by french canada. the grant in general included the trade of the country, but is made more specific in one of the articles of the charter, in that "the fisheries within hudson's streights, the minerals, including gold, silver, gems, and precious stones, shall be possessed by the company." it is interesting to note that the country thus vaguely described is recognized as one of the english "plantations or colonies in america," and is called, in compliment to the popular prince, "rupert's land." perhaps the most astounding gift bestowed by the charter is not that of the trade, or what might be called, in the phrase of the old roman law, the "usufruct," but the transfer of the vast territory, possibly more than one quarter or a third of the whole of north america, to hold it "in free and common socage," i.e., as absolute proprietors. the value of this concession was tested in the early years of this century, when the hudson's bay company sold to the earl of selkirk a portion of the territory greater in area than the whole of england and scotland; and in this the company was supported by the highest legal authorities in england. to the minds of some, even more remarkable than the transfer of the ownership of so large a territory was the conferring upon the company by the crown of the power to make laws, not only for their own forts and plantations, with all their officers and servants, but having force over all persons upon the lands ceded to them so absolutely. the authority to administer justice is also given in no uncertain terms. the officers of the company "may have power to judge all persons belonging to the said governor and company, or that shall live under them, in all causes, whether civil or criminal, according to the laws of this kingdom, and execute justice accordingly." to this was also added the power of sending those charged with offences to england to be tried and punished. the authorities, in the course of time, availed themselves of this right. we shall see in the history of the red river settlement, in the very heart of rupert's land, the spectacle of a community of several thousands of people within a circle having a radius of fifty miles ruled by hudson's bay company authority, with the customs duties collected, certain municipal institutions established, and justice administered, and the people for two generations not possessed of representative institutions. one of the powers most jealously guarded by all governments is the control of military expeditions. there is a settled unwillingness to allow private individuals to direct or influence them. no qualms of this sort seem to have been in the royal mind over this matter in connection with the hudson's bay company. the company is fully empowered in the charter to send ships of war, men, or ammunition into their plantations, allowed to choose and appoint commanders and officers, and even to issue them their commissions. there is a ludicrous ring about the words empowering the company to make peace or war with any prince or people whatsoever that are not christians, and to be permitted for this end to build all necessary castles and fortifications. it seems to have the spirit of the old formula leaving jews, turks, and saracens to the uncovenanted mercies rather than to breathe the nobler principles of a christian land. surely, seldom before or since has a company gone forth thus armed _cap-à-pie_ to win glory and profit for their country. an important proviso of the charter, which was largely a logical sequence of the power given to possess the wide territory, was the grant of the "whole, entire, and only liberty of trade and traffick." the claim of a complete monopoly of trade was held most strenuously by the company from the very beginning. the early history of the company abounds with accounts of the steps taken to prevent the incoming of interlopers. these were private traders, some from the english colonies in america, and others from england, who fitted out expeditions to trade upon the bay. full power was given by the charter "to seize upon the persons of all such english or any other subjects, which sail into hudson's bay or inhabit in any of the countries, islands, or territories granted to the said governor and company, without their leave and license in that behalf first had and obtained." the abstract question of whether such monopoly may rightly be granted by a free government is a difficult one, and is variously decided by different authorities. the "free trader" was certainly a person greatly disliked in the early days of the company. frequent allusions are made in the minutes of the company, during the first fifty years of its existence, to the arrest and punishment of servants or employés of the company who secreted valuable furs on their homeward voyage for the purpose of disposing of them. as late as half a century ago, in the more settled parts of rupert's land, on the advice of a judge who had a high sense of its prerogative, an attempt was made by the company to prevent private trading in furs. very serious local disturbances took place in the red river settlement at that time, but wiser counsels prevailed, and in the later years of the company's régime the imperative character of the right was largely relaxed. the charter fittingly closes with a commendation of the company by the king to the good offices of all admirals, justices, mayors, sheriffs, and other officers of the crown, enjoining them to give aid, favour, help, and assistance. with such extensive powers, the wonder is that the company bears, on the whole, after its long career over such an extended area of operations, and among savage and border people unaccustomed to the restraints of law, so honourable a record. being governed by men of high standing, many of them closely associated with the operations of government at home, it is very easy to trace how, as "freedom broadened slowly down" from charles ii. to the present time, the method of dealing with subjects and subordinates became more and more gentle and considerate. as one reads the minutes of the company in the hudson's bay house for the first quarter of a century of its history, the tyrannical spirit, even so far at the removal of troublesome or unpopular members of the committee and the treatment of rivals, is very evident. this intolerance was of the spirit of the age. in the restoration, the revolution, and the trials of prisoners after rebellion, men were accustomed to the exercise of the severest penalties for the crimes committed. as the spirit of more gentle administration of law found its way into more peaceful times the company modified its policy. [illustration: arms of the hudson's bay company.] the hudson's bay company was, it is true, a keen trader, as the motto, "pro pelle cutem"--"skin for skin"--clearly implies. with this no fault can be found, the more that its methods were nearly all honourable british methods. it never forgot the flag that floated over it. one of the greatest testimonies in its favour was that, when two centuries after its organization it gave up, except as a purely trading company, its power to canada, yet its authority over the wide-spread indian population of rupert's land was so great, that it was asked by the canadian government to retain one-twentieth of the land of that wide domain as a guarantee of its assistance in transferring power from the old to the new régime. the indian had in every part of rupert's land absolute trust in the good faith of the company. to have been the possessor of such absolute powers as those given by the charter; to have on the whole "borne their faculties so meek"; to have been able to carry on government and trade so long and so successfully, is not so much a commendation of the royal donor of the charter as it is of the clemency and general fairness of the administration, which entitled it not only officially but also really, to the title "the honourable hudson's bay company." chapter iii. methods of trade. rich mr. portman--good ship _prince rupert_--the early adventurers--"book of common prayer"--five forts--voting a funeral--worth of a beaver--to hudson bay and back--selling the pelts--bottles of sack--fat dividends--"victorious as cæsar"--"golden fruit." the generation that lived between the founding of the company and the end of the century saw a great development in the trade of the infant enterprise. meeting sometimes at the place of business of one of the committee, and afterwards at hired premises, the energetic members of the sub-committee paid close attention to their work. sir john robinson, sir john kirke, and mr. portman acted as one such executive, and the monthly, and at times weekly meetings of the court of adventurers were held when they were needed. it brings the past very close to us as we read the minutes, still preserved in the hudson's bay house, leadenhall street, london, of a meeting at whitehall in 1671, with his highness prince rupert in the chair, and find the sub-committee appointed to carry on the business. captain gillam for a number of years remained in the service of the company as a trusted captain, and commanded the ship _prince rupert_. another vessel, the _windingoo_, or _wyvenhoe pinck_, was soon added, also in time the _moosongee dogger_, then the _shaftsbury_, the _albemarle_, and the _craven bark_--the last three named from prominent members of the company. not more than three of these ships were in use at the same time. the fitting out of these ships was a work needing much attention from the sub-committee. year after year its members went down to gravesend about the end of may, saw the goods which had been purchased placed aboard the ships, paid the captain and men their wages, delivered the agents to be sent out their commissions, and exercised plenary power in regard to emergencies which arose. the articles selected indicate very clearly the kind of trade in which the company engaged. the inventory of goods in 1672 shows how small an affair the trade at first was. "two hundred fowling-pieces, and powder and shot; 200 brass kettles, size from five to sixteen gallons; twelve gross of knives; 900 or 1000 hatchets," is recorded as being the estimate of cargo for that year. a few years, however, made a great change. tobacco, glass beads, 6,000 flints, boxes of red lead, looking-glasses, netting for fishing, pewter dishes, and pewter plates were added to the consignments. that some attention was had by the company to the morals of their employés is seen in that one ship's cargo was provided with "a book of common prayer, and a book of homilies." about june 1st, the ship, or ships, sailed from the thames, rounded the north of scotland, and were not heard of till october, when they returned with their valuable cargoes. year after year, as we read the records of the company's history, we find the vessels sailing out and returning with the greatest regularity, and few losses took place from wind or weather during that time. the agents of the company on the bay seem to have been well selected and generally reliable men. certain french writers and also the english opponents of the company have represented them as timid men, afraid to leave the coast and penetrate to the interior, and their conduct has been contrasted with that of the daring, if not reckless, french explorers. it is true that for about one hundred years the hudson's bay company men did not leave the shores of hudson bay, but what was the need so long as the indians came to the coast with their furs and afforded them profitable trade! by the orders of the company they opened up trade at different places on the shores of the bay, and we learn from oldmixon that fifteen years after the founding of the company there were forts established at (1) albany river; (2) hayes island; (3) rupert's river; (4) port nelson; (5) new severn. according to another authority, moose river takes the place of hayes island in this list. these forts and factories, at first primitive and small, were gradually increased in size and comfort until they became, in some cases, quite extensive. the plan of management was to have a governor appointed over each fort for a term of years, and a certain number of men placed under his direction. in the first year of the hudson's bay company's operations as a corporate body, governor charles bailey was sent out to take charge of charles fort at rupert's river. with him was associated the french adventurer, radisson, and his nephew, jean baptiste groseilliers. bailey seems to have been an efficient officer, though fault was found with him by the company. ten years after the founding of the company he died in london, and was voted a funeral by the company, which took place by twilight to st. paul's, covent garden. the widow of the governor maintained a contention against the company for an allowance of 400_l._, which was given after three years' dispute. another governor was william lydall, as also john bridgar, governor of the west main; and again henry sargeant, thomas phipps, governor of fort nelson, and john knight, governor of albany, took an active part in the disputes of the company with the french. thus, with a considerable amount of friction, the affairs of the company were conducted on the new and inhospitable coast of hudson bay. to the forts from the vast interior of north america the various tribes of indians, especially the crees, chipewyans, and eskimos, brought their furs for barter. no doubt the prices were very much in favour of the traders at first, but during the first generation of traders the competition of french traders from the south for their share of the indian trade tended to correct injustice and give the indians better prices for their furs. the following is the standard fixed at this time:- guns twelve winter beaver skins for largest, ten for medium, eight for smallest. powder a beaver for 1/2 lb. shot a beaver for 4 lbs. hatchets a beaver for a great and little hatchet. knives a beaver for eight great knives and eight jack knives. beads a beaver for 1/2 lb. of beads. laced coats six beavers for one. plain coats five beavers for one plain red coat. coats for women, laced, 2 yds. six beavers. coats for women, plain five beavers. tobacco a beaver for 1 lb. powder-horn a beaver for a large powder-horn and two small ones. kettles a beaver for 1 lb. of kettle. looking-glass and comb two skins. the trade conducted at the posts or factories along the shore was carried on by the local traders so soon as the rivers from the interior--the nelson and the churchill--were open, so that by the time the ship from london arrived, say in the end of july or beginning of august, the indians were beginning to reach the coast. the month of august was a busy month, and by the close of it, or early in september, the ship was loaded and sent back on her journey. by the end of october the ships arrived from hudson bay, and the anxiety of the company to learn how the season's trade had succeeded was naturally very great. as soon as the vessels had arrived in the downs or at portsmouth, word was sent post haste to london, and the results were laid before a committee of the company. much reference is made in the minutes to the difficulty of preventing the men employed in the ships from entering into illicit trade in furs. strict orders were given to inspect the lockers for furs to prevent private trade. in due time the furs were unladen from the ships and put into the custody of the company's secretary in the london warehouse. the matter of selling the furs was one of very great importance. at times the company found prices low, and deferred their sales until the outlook was more favourable. the method followed was to have an auction, and every precaution was taken to have the sales fair and aboveboard. evidences are not wanting that at times it was difficult for the court of adventurers to secure this very desirable result. the matter was not, however, one of dry routine, for the london merchants seem to have encouraged business with generous hospitality. on november 9th, 1681, the sale took place, and the following entry is found in the minutes: "a committee was appointed to provide three dozen bottles of sack and three dozen bottles of claret, to be given to buyers at ye sale. dinner was also bespoken at 'ye stillyard,' of a good dish of fish, a loyne of veal, two pullets, and four ducks." as the years went on, the same variations in furs that we see in our day took place. new markets were then looked for and arrangements made for sending agents to holland and finding the connections in russia, that sales might be effected. in order to carry out the trade it was necessary to take large quantities of hemp from holland in return for the furs sent. the employment of this article for cordage in the navy led to the influence of important members of the company being used with the earl of marlborough to secure a sale for this commodity. pending the sales it was necessary for large sums of money to be advanced to carry on the business of the company. this was generally accomplished by the liberality of members of the company itself supplying the needed amounts. the company was, however, from time to time gratified by the declaration of handsome dividends. so far as recorded, the first dividend was declared in 1684, and judged by modern standards it was one for which a company might well wait for a number of years. it was for 50 per cent. upon stock. accordingly, the earl of craven received 150_l._, sir james hayes 150_l._, and so on in proportion. in 1688 another dividend of a like amount of 50 per cent. on the stock resulted, and among others, hon. robert boyle, earl churchill, and sir christopher wren had their hearts gladdened. in 1689 profits to the extent of 25 per cent. on the stock were received, and one of the successful captains was, in the exuberance of feeling of the stockholders, presented with a silver flagon in recognition of his services. in 1690, however, took place by far the most remarkable event of a financial kind in the early history of the company. the returns of that year from the bay were so large that the company decided to treble its stock. the reasons given for this were:-(1) the company has in its warehouse about the value of its original stock (10,500_l._). (2) the factories at fort nelson and new severn are increasing in trade, and this year the returns are expected to be 20,000_l._ in beaver. (3) the factories are of much value. (4) damages are expected from the french for a claim of 100,000_l._ the company then proceeded to declare a dividend of 25 per cent., which was equivalent to 75 per cent. on their original stock. it was a pleasing incident to the sovereign of the realm that in all these profits he was not forgotten. in the original charter the only recompense coming to the crown, for the royal gift, was to be the payment, when the territory was entered upon, of "two elks and two black beavers." this may have been a device for keeping up the royal claim, but at any rate 300_l_. in the original stock-book stood to the credit of the sovereign. it had been the custom to send a deputation to present in person the dividends to his majesty, and the pounds sterling were always changed to guineas. on this occasion of the great dividend, king william iii. had but lately returned from his victories in ireland. the deputation, headed by sir edward dering, was introduced to the king by the earl of portland, and the following address, hitherto, so far as known to the writer, unpublished, was presented along with the noble gift:-"your majestie's most loyal and dutiful subjects beg leave to congratulate your majestie's happy return here with honor and safety. and we do daily pray to heaven (that hath god wonderfully preserved your royall person) that in all your undertakings your majestie may be as victorious as cæsar, as beloved as titus, and (after all) have the long and glorious reigne and peacefull end of augustus. "on this happy occasion we desire also most humbly to present to your majestie a dividend of _two hundred and twenty-five guineas_ upon three hundred pounds stock in the hudson's bay company, now rightfully delivered to your majestie. and although we have been the greatest sufferers of any company from those common enemies of all mankind the french, yet when your majestie's just arms shall have given repose to all christendom, we also shall enjoy our share of these great benefits and do not doubt but to appeare often with this golden fruit in our hands, under the happy influence of your majestie's most gracious protection over us and all our concerns." it is true that towards the end of the seventeenth century, as we shall afterwards see, the trade of the company was seriously injured by the attacks of the french on the bay, but a quarter of a century in which the possibility of obtaining such profits had been shown was sufficient to establish the company in the public favour and to attract to it much capital. its careful management from the first led to its gaining a reputation for business ability which it has never lost during two and a quarter centuries of its history. chapter iv three great governors. men of high station--prince rupert primus--prince james, "nemine contradicente"--the hero of the hour--churchill river named--plate of solid gold--off to the tower. the success of the hudson's bay company, and the influence exerted by it during so long a period, has often been attributed to the union of persons of station and high political influence with the practical and far-seeing business men of london, who made up the company. a perusal of the minutes of the first thirty years of the company's history impresses on the mind of the reader that this is true, and that good feeling and patriotism were joined with business tact and enterprise in all the ventures. from the prosperous days of queen elizabeth and her sea-going captains and explorers, certainly from the time of charles ii., it was no uncommon thing to see the titled and commercial classes co-operating, in striking contrast to the governing classes of france, in making commerce and trade a prominent feature of the national life. the first governor of the hudson's bay company, rupert, prince of bavaria, grandson by the mother's side of james i. of england, is a sufficiently well-known character in general history to require no extended notice. his exploits on the royalist side in the civil war, his fierce charges and his swiftness in executing difficult military movements, led to his name being taken as the very embodiment of energy and prowess. in this sense the expression, "the fiery rupert of debate" was applied to a prominent parliamentarian of the past generation. after the restoration of charles ii., prince rupert took up his abode in england, finding it more like home to him than any continental country. enjoying the plaudits of the cavaliers, for whom he had so strenuously fought, he was appointed constable of windsor, a no very onerous position. from the minutes of the hudson's bay company we find that he had lodgings at whitehall, and spent much of his time in business and among scientific circles--indeed, the famous toys called "glass tears," or "rupert's drops," were brought over by him to england from the continent to interest his scientific friends. we have seen already the steps taken by the returned commissioners from the american colonies to introduce radisson and groseilliers to prince rupert, and through him to the royal notice. the success of the expedition of gillam and the building of charles fort on hudson bay led to the prince consenting to head the new company. he had just passed the half century of his age when he was appointed governor of the vast _terra incognita_ lying to the west of the bay to which, in his honour, was given the name rupert's land. the company lost no time in undertaking a new expedition. prince rupert's intimate friend, the earl of craven, was one of the incorporators, and it was with this nobleman that prince rupert's widowed mother, the princess elizabeth, had found a home in the days of adversity. the close connection of the hudson's bay company with the court gave it, we see very plainly, certain important advantages. not only do the generous terms of the charter indicate this, but the detailing of certain ships of the royal navy to protect the merchantmen going out to hudson bay shows the strong bond of sympathy. certainly nothing less than the thorough interest of the court could have led to the firm stand taken by the english government in the controversies with france as to the possession of hudson bay. several excellent paintings of the prince are in existence, one by vandyke in warwick castle, showing his handsome form, and another in knebworth, hertford. the prince was unfortunately not free from the immorality that was so flagrant a feature of the court of charles ii. at that time this was but little taken into account, and the fame of his military exploits, together with the fixing of his name upon so wide an extent of the earth's surface, have served to give posterity an interest in him. for twelve successive years prince rupert was chosen governor at the general court of adventurers, and used his great influence for the company. he died on november 29th, 1682, at the comparatively early age of sixty-three. the death of the first governor was a somewhat severe trial for the infant company. the prince's name had been one to conjure by, and though he had been ably supported by the deputy-governor, sir james hayes, yet there was some fear of loss of prestige to the adventurers on his unexpected death. the members of the company were anxious to keep up, if possible, the royal connection, but they were by no means clear as to the choice of the only available personage who came before their view. james, duke of york, was a man with a liking for business, but he was not a popular favourite. the famous _jeu d'esprit_ of charles ii. will be remembered. when james informed charles ii. that there was a conspiracy on foot to drive him from the throne, "no, james," said charles, "they will never kill me to make you king." the minutes of the company show that much deliberation took place as to the choice of a successor to prince rupert, but at length, in january, 1683, at a general court, the choice was made, and the record reads:--"his royal highness the duke of york was chosen governor of the company, 'nemine contradicente.' "the new governor soon had reasons to congratulate himself on his election, for on april 21st, 1684, sir james hayes and sir edward dering reported to the adventurers their having paid 150 guineas to his royal highness as a dividend on the stock held by him. prince james was chosen governor for three successive years, until the year when, on the death of charles, he became king. while james was not much in favour as a man, yet he possessed decided administrative ability, and whether this was the cause or not, certainly the period of his governorship was a successful time in the history of the company. failing a prince or duke, the lot could not have fallen upon a more capable man than was chosen as the duke of york's successor for the governorship. on april 2nd, 1685, at a general court of the adventurers, the choice fell upon one of the most remarkable men of his time, the right hon. john lord churchill, afterwards duke of marlborough. lord churchill had not yet gained any of his great victories. he was, however, at this time a favourite of the duke of york, and no doubt, on the recommendation of james, had been brought before the court of adventurers. he was one of the most adroit men of his time, he was on the highway to the most distinguished honours, and the adventurers gladly elected him third governor. on april 2nd, 1685, the new governor threw himself heartily into the work of the company. no doubt one so closely connected with the public service could be of more practical value than even a royal duke. the great dividend of which we have already spoken followed the years of his appointment. the success attained but stimulated the company to increase their trade and widen the field of their operations. the river running into the west side of the bay, far to the north, was named in honour of the new governor, churchill river, and in 1686 expansion of trade was sought by the decision to settle at the mouth of this river and use it as a new trading centre for the north and west. without any desire to annoy the french, who claimed the south end of the bay, it was determined to send a ship to the southern part of hudson bay, and a few months later the _yonge_ frigate was dispatched. the fear of attacks from the french, who were known to be in a very restless condition, led to the request being made to the government to station a military force at each fort in hudson bay. it was also the desire of the company that steps should be taken to protect them in their charter rights and to prevent illegal expeditions from going to trade in the bay. all this shows the energy and hopefulness of the company under the leadership of lord churchill. the part taken by lord churchill in the opposition to james, and his active agency in inducing william of orange to come to england, are well known. he was a worshipper of the rising sun. on the arrival of william iii., lord churchill, who was soon raised to the peerage as earl of marlborough, was as popular, for the time, with the new king as he had been with his predecessor. his zeal is seen in his sending out in june, 1689, as governor, the instructions that william and mary should be proclaimed in the posts upon the shores of hudson bay. he was able shortly after to report to his company that 100 marines had been detailed to protect the company's ships on their way to hudson bay. the enthusiasm of the company at this mark of consideration obtained through the influence of lord churchill, was very great, and we learn from the minutes that profuse thanks were given to the governor, and a piece of plate of solid gold, of the value of 100 guineas, was presented to him for his distinguished services. legislation was also introduced at this time into parliament for the purpose of giving further privileges to the adventurers. but the rising tide of fortune was suddenly checked. disaster overtook the governor. william had found some reason for distrusting this versatile man of affairs, and he suspected him of being in correspondence with the dethroned james. no doubt the suspicion was well founded, but the king had thought it better, on account of marlborough's great talents, to overlook his unfaithfulness. suddenly, in may, 1692, england was startled by hearing that the earl of marlborough had been thrown into the tower on an accusation of high treason. for seven years this determined soldier had led the company to success, but his imprisonment rendered a change in the governorship a necessity. marlborough was only imprisoned for a short time, but he was not re-elected to the position he had so well filled. at the general court of adventurers in november of the year of marlborough's fall, sir stephen evance was chosen governor. this gentleman was re-elected a number of times, and was governor of the company at the close of the century. two decades, and more, of the formative life of the company were thus lived under the ægis of the court, the personal management of two courtly personages, and under the guidance of the leading general of his time. as we shall see afterwards, during a part of this period the affairs of the company were carried on in the face of the constant opposition of the french. undoubtedly heavy losses resulted from the french rivalry, but the pluck and wisdom of the company were equally manifested in the confidence with which they risked their means, and the strong steps taken to retain their hold on hudson bay. this was the golden age of the hudson's bay company. when money was needed it was often cheerfully advanced by some of the partners; it was an honour to have stock in a company which was within the shadow of the throne; its distinguished governors were re-elected so long as they were eligible to serve; again and again the committee, provided with a rich purse of golden guineas, waited on his majesty the king to give return for the favour of the royal charter; and never afterward can the historian point in the annals of the company to so distinguished a period. chapter v. two adroit adventurers. peter radisson and "mr. gooseberry" again--radisson _v._ gillam--back to france--a wife's influence--paltry vessels--radisson's diplomacy--deserts to england--shameful duplicity--"a hogshead of claret"--adventurers appreciative--twenty-five years of radisson's life hitherto unknown--"in a low and mean condition"--the company in chancery--lucky radisson--a company pensioner. a mysterious interest gathers around two of the most industrious and, it must be added, most diplomatic and adroit of the agents of the company, the two frenchmen, pierre esprit radisson and medard chouart, afterwards the sieur de groseilliers. acquainted with the far northern fur trade, their assistance was invaluable. we have seen in a former chapter that finding little encouragement either in new france or their mother country, they had transferred their services to england, and were largely instrumental in founding the hudson's bay company. in the first voyage of the adventurers to hudson's bay, it came about that while groseilliers was lucky in being on the _nonsuch_ ketch, which made its way into the bay, on the other hand, radisson, to his great chagrin, was on board the companion ship, the _eaglet_, which, after attempting an entrance and failing, returned to england. it has been stated that during the time of his enforced idleness in london, while the party was building charles fort on prince rupert's river, radisson was busy interesting the leading men of the city in the importance of the adventure. immediately on the return of the company of the _nonsuch_, steps were taken for the organization of the hudson's bay company. this, as we have seen, took place in may, 1670, and in the same year radisson and groseilliers went out with governor bailey, and assisted in establishing trade on the shores of the bay. on their return, in the autumn of 1671, to london, the two adventurers spent the winter there, and, as the minutes of the company show, received certain money payments for their maintenance. in october, 1673, the sloop _prince rupert_ had arrived at portsmouth from hudson bay, and there are evidences of friction between radisson and captain gillam. radisson is called on to be present at a meeting of the general court of the company held in october, and afterwards gillam is authorized to advance the amounts necessary for his living expenses. in the company minutes of june 25th, 1674, is found the following entry:--"that there be allowed to mr. radisson 100 pounds per annum from the time of his last arrival in london, in consideration of services done by him, out of which to be deducted what hath been already paid him since that time, and if it shall please god to bless this company with good success hereafter that they shall come to be in a prosperous condition they will then re-assume the consideration thereof." during the next month a further sum was paid radisson. the restless radisson could not, however, be satisfied. no doubt he felt his services to be of great value, and he now illustrated what was really the weakness of his whole life, a want of honest reliability. the company had done as well for him as its infant resources would allow, but along with groseilliers he deserted from london, and sought to return to the service of france under the distinguished prime minister colbert. the shrewd colbert knew well radisson's instability. this feature of his character had been further emphasized by another event in radisson's life. he had married a daughter of sir john kirke, one of the hudson's bay company promoters, and a member of the well-known family which had distinguished itself in the capture of canada, nearly fifty years before. this english and domestic connection made colbert suspicious of radisson. however, he agreed to pay radisson and groseilliers the sum of their debts, amounting to 400_l._, and to give them lucrative employment. the condition of his further employment was that radisson should bring his wife to france, but he was unable to get either his wife or her father to consent to this. the kirke family, it must be remembered, were still owners of a claim amounting to 341,000_l._ against france, which had been left unsettled during the time of champlain, when england restored canada to france. for seven years radisson vacillated between the two countries. under the french he went for one season on a voyage to the west indies, and was even promised promotion in the french marine. at one time he applied again to the hudson's bay company for employment, but was refused. the fixed determination of his wife not to leave england on the one hand, and the settled suspicion of the french government on the other, continually thwarted him. at length, in 1681, radisson and groseilliers were sent by the french to canada, to undertake a trading expedition to hudson bay. the lack of money, and also of full confidence, led to their venture being poorly provided for. in july, 1682, rendezvous was made at ile percée, in the lower st. lawrence, by radisson in a wretched old vessel of ten tons, and by groseilliers in a rather better craft of fifteen tons burthen. no better could be done, however, and so, after many mishaps, including serious mutinies, dangers of ice and flood, and hairbreadth escapes, the two vessels reached the mouth of the hayes river on hudson bay. they determined to trade at this point. groseilliers undertook to build a small fort on this river, and radisson went inland on a canoe expedition to meet the natives. in this radisson was fairly successful and gathered a good quantity of furs. the french adventurers were soon surprised to find that an english party had taken possession of the mouth of the nelson river, and were establishing a fort. radisson opened communication with the english, and found them in charge of governor bridgar, but really led by young gillam, son of the old captain of the _nonsuch_. the versatile frenchman soon met a fine field for his diplomatic arts. he professed great friendship for the new comers, exchanged frequent visits with them, and became acquainted with all their affairs. finding the english short of provisions, he supplied their lack most generously, and offered to render them any service. governor bridgar was entirely unable to cope with the wiles of radisson. matters were so arranged that jean baptiste groseilliers, his nephew, was left in charge of the forts, to carry on the trade during the next winter, and with his brother-in-law, groseilliers, and governor bridgar, somewhat of a voluntary prisoner, radisson sailed away to canada in gillam's ship. on reaching canada governor de la barre restored the ship to the english, and in it bridgar and gillam sailed to new england, whence in due time they departed for england. the whole affair has a quixotic appearance, and it is not surprising that radisson and groseilliers were summoned to report themselves to colbert in france and to receive his marked displeasure. their adventure had, however, been so successful, and the prospects were so good, that the french government determined to send them out again, in two ships, to reap the fruits of the winter's work of the younger groseilliers. now occurred another of radisson's escapades. the french expedition was ready to start in april. the day (24th) was fixed. radisson asked for delay, pleading important private business in england. on may 10th he arrived in england, and we find him, without any compunction, entering into negotiations with the hudson's bay company, and as a result playing the traitor to his engagements in france, his native country. the entry in the company's minutes bearing on this affair is as follows:- "_may 12th, 1684._ "sir james hayes and mr. young, that peter esprit radisson has arrived from france; that he has offered to enter their service; that they took him to windsor and presented him to his royal highness; that they had agreed to give him 50_l._ per annum, 200_l._ worth of stock, and 20_l._ to set him up to proceed to port nelson; and his brother (in-law) groseilliers to have 20_s._ per week, if he come from france over to britain and be true. radisson took the oath of fidelity to the company." a few days later radisson took the ship _happy return_ to hudson bay. sailing immediately to hayes river, radisson found that his nephew, j. baptiste groseilliers, had removed his post to an island in the river. on his being reached, radisson explained to him the change that had taken place, and that he proposed to transfer everything, establishment and peltry, to the hudson's bay company. young groseilliers, being loyal to france, objected to this, but radisson stated that there was no option, and he would be compelled to submit. the whole quantity of furs transferred to radisson by his nephew was 20,000--an enormous capture for the hudson's bay company. in the autumn radisson returned in the hudson's bay company's ship, bringing the great store of booty. at a meeting of the committee of the company (october 7th), "a packet was read from pierre radisson showing how he had brought his countrymen to submit to the english. he was thanked, and a gratuity of 100 guineas given him." it is also stated that "a promise having been made of 20_s._ per week to groseilliers, and he not having come, the same is transferred to his son in the bay." the minute likewise tells us that "sir william young was given a present of seven musquash skins for being instrumental in inviting radisson over from france." from this we infer that sir william, who, as we shall afterwards see, was a great friend and promoter of radisson, had been the active agent in inducing radisson to leave the service of france and enter that of the english company. the company further showed its appreciation of radisson's service by voting him 100_l._ to be given to four frenchmen left behind in hudson bay. jean baptiste groseilliers, nephew of radisson, was also engaged by the company for four years in the service at 100_l._ a year. radisson seems to have had some dispute with the company as to the salary at this time. on may 6th, 1685, his salary when out of england was raised to 100_l._ a year, and 300_l._ to his wife in case of his death. radisson refused to accept these terms. the company for a time would not increase its offer, but the time for the ship to sail was drawing nigh, and the committee gave way and added to the above amount 100_l._ of stock to be given to his wife. john bridgar was appointed governor at port nelson for three years, and radisson superintendent of the trade there. radisson was satisfied with the new terms, and that the company was greatly impressed with the value of his services is seen in the following entry: "a hogshead of claret being ordered for mr. radisson, 'such as mr. r. shall like.'" in the year 1685-6 all hitherto printed accounts of radisson leave our redoubtable explorer. we are, for the history up to this date, much indebted to the prince society of boston for printing an interesting volume containing the journals of radisson, which are preserved in the british museum in london and in the bodleian library in oxford. dr. n. e. dionne, the accomplished librarian of the legislative library, quebec, has contributed to the proceedings of the royal society of canada very appreciative articles entitled, "chouart and radisson." in these he has relied for the detail of facts of discovery almost entirely on the publication of the prince society. he has, however, added much genealogical and local canadian material, which tends to make the history of these early explorers more interesting than it could otherwise be. a resident of manitoba, who has shown an interest in the legends and early history of canada, mr. l. a. prudhomme, st. boniface, judge of the county, has written a small volume of sixty pages on the life of radisson. like the articles of dr. dionne, this volume depends entirely for its information on the publication of the prince society. readers of fiction are no doubt familiar with the appearance of radisson in gilbert parker's novel, "the trail of the sword." it is unnecessary to state that there seems no historic warrant for the statement, "once he attempted count frontenac's life. he sold a band of our traders to the iroquois." the character, thoroughly repulsive in this work of fiction, does not look to be the real radisson; and certainly as we survey the bloody scene, which must have been intended for a period subsequent to frontenac's return to canada in 1689, where radisson fell done to death by the dagger and pistol of the mutineer bucklaw and was buried in the hungry sea, we see what was purely imaginary. of course, we do not for a moment criticize the art of the historic novelist, but simply state that the picture is not that of the real radisson, and that we shall find radisson alive a dozen or more years after the tragic end given him by the artist. these three works, as well as the novel, agree in seeing in radisson a man of remarkable character and great skill and adroitness. further history. the prince society volume states: "we again hear of radisson in hudson bay in 1685, and this is his last appearance in public records as far as is known." the only other reference is made by dionne and prudhomme in stating that charlevoix declares "that radisson died in england." patient search in the archives of the hudson's bay company in london has enabled the writer to trace the history of radisson on for many years after the date given, and to unearth a number of very interesting particulars connected with him; indeed, to add some twenty-five years hitherto unknown to our century to his life, and to see him pass from view early in 1710. in 1687, radisson was still in the employ of the company, and the committee decided that he should be made a denizen or subject of england. he arrived from hudson bay in october of this year, appeared before the hudson's bay company committee, and was welcomed by its members. it was decided that 50_l._ be given as a gratuity to the adventurer till he should be again employed. on june 24th, 1688, radisson again sailed in the ship for hudson bay, and during that year he was paid 100_l._ as 50 per cent. dividend on his 200_l._ worth of stock, and in the following year 50_l._ as 25 per cent. dividend on his stock. as the following year, 1690, was the time of the "great dividend," radisson was again rejoiced by the amount of 150_l._ as his share of the profits. the prosperity of the company appears to have led to an era of extravagance, and to certain dissensions within the company itself. the amounts paid radisson were smaller in accordance with the straits in which the company found itself arising from french rivalry on the bay. in 1692 sir william young is seen strongly urging fuller consideration for radisson, who was being paid at the reduced rate of 50_l._ a year. in the hudson's bay company letter-book of this period we find a most interesting memorial of sir william young's in behalf of radisson, with answers by the company, on the whole confirming our narrative, but stating a few divergent points. we give the memorial in full. dated december 20th, 1692, being plea of william young, in behalf of pierre esprit radisson:-"radisson, born a frenchman, educated from a child in canada, spent youth hunting and commercing with the indians adjacent to hudson bay, master of the language, customs, and trade. "radisson being at new england about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years past, met there with colonel nichols, governor of new york, and was by him persuaded to go to england and proffer his services to king charles the second, in order to make a settlement of an english factory in that bay. "at his arrival, the said king, giving credit to radisson for that undertaking, granted to prince rupert, the duke of albemarle, and others, the same charter we do still claim by, thereby constituting them the proprietors of the said bay, under which authority he, the said radisson, went immediately and made an english settlement there according to his promises. "on his return to england the king presented him with a medal and gold chain. when rejected by the company, he was compelled to return to canada, his only place of abode. joined the french and led an expedition to hudson bay. with the aid of indians destroyed company's factory and planted a new england factory in port nelson river. "during the winter radisson did no violence to the english, but supplied them with victuals, powder, and shot when their ship was cast away. refused a present from the indians to destroy the english, and gave them a ship to convey them away. afterwards settled the french factory higher up the same river, where his alliance with the indians was too strong for new england or old england, and immediately after he went to france. mr. young, member of the hudson's bay company, with leave from sir james hayes, deputy-governor, tried to hire him back to hudson's bay company's service with large promises. during negotiations, radisson unexpectedly arrived in london. company's ships were ready to sail. had just time to kiss the king's hand at windsor and that of the duke of york, then governor. they commended him to the care and kindness of sir james hayes and the hudson's bay company, and commanded that he should be made an english citizen, which was done in his absence. "before sending him, the company gave him two original actions in hudson's bay company stock, and 50_l._ for subsistence money, with large promises of future rewards for expected service. "arriving at port nelson he put company in entire possession of that river, brought away the french to england, and took all the beavers and furs they had traded and gave them to the company without asking share of the profits, although they sold for 7,000_l._ "he was kindly welcomed in england and again commended by the king. committee presented him with 100 guineas, and entered in the books that he should have 50_l._ added to the former 50_l._, until the king should find him a place, when the last 50_l._ should cease. had no place given him. sir edward dering, deputy governor, influenced committee to withdraw 50_l._, so he had only 50_l._ to maintain self, wife, and four or five children, and servants, 24_l._ of this going for house-rent. when chief factor at nelson, was tempted by servants to continue to cheat the company, was beaten because he refused. "prays for payment of 100_l._ and arrears, because: "1. all but sir edward dering think it just and reasonable. "2. no place was given in lieu of 50_l._ "3. of fidelity to the company in many temptations. "4. he never asked more than the company chose to give. "5. imprisoned in bay in time of trade for not continuing to cheat the company. "6. the company received from port nelson, after he gave it them, 100,000_l._ worth of furs, which is now believed would have been lost, with their whole interest in the bay, if he had not joined them when invited. "7. the original actions and the 100_l._ revert to the company at his death. "8. income inadequate to maintain wife and children in london. "9. debts great from necessity. would be compelled to leave wife and children and shift for himself. "10. he cannot sell original actions, since they cease with his life. "11. of king charles' many recommendations to kindness of company. "12. french have a price on his head as a traitor, so that he cannot safely go home. "13. mr. young further pleads that as mr. radisson was the author of the company's prosperity, so he (mr. young) was the first to persuade him to join their service. that he (mr. young) had been offered a reward for his services in persuading him, which he had utterly refused. but now that this reward be given in the form of maintenance for radisson in his great necessity, &c." the committee passes over the sketch of radisson's life, which they do not gainsay. in the second paragraph, they observe that mr. young stated their neglect to maintain mr. radisson without mentioning their reasons for so doing, which might have shown whether it was their unkindness or radisson's desert. they go on to take notice of the fact that about 1681 or 1682, radisson and groseilliers entered into another contract with the company and received 20_l._ soon afterwards they absconded, went to france, and thence to canada. next year they joined their countrymen in an expedition to port nelson, animated by the report of mr. abram to the company that it was the best place for a factory. they took their two barks up as far as they durst for fear of the english. then the french in the fall built a small hut, which mr. young says was too strong for either new england or old england without guns or works--a place merely to sleep in, manned only with seven french. this expedition, mr. young saith, was at first prejudicial to the company, but afterward of great advantage, which he cannot apprehend. in another place mr. young is pleased to state that the new england settlement was so strong that the old could not destroy it. old england settlement was only a house unfortified, which bridgar built to keep the goods dry, because gillam's boat arrived late. "1. mr. young says all are in favour of radisson but sir edward dering, we have not met with any who are in favour but mr. young. those who give gratuity should know why. "2. that he had no place or honour given him is no reason for giving gratuity, there being no contract in the case. "3. never found him accused of cheating and purloining, but breach of contract with company, after receiving their money, we do find him guilty of. "4. says he never did capitulate with the company. find he did (see minutes), may 6th, 1685. "5. cannot believe radisson was beaten by the company's servants. greater increase of furs after he left, &c., &c., &c." this memorial and its answer show the rather unreasonable position taken by the company. in the time of its admiration for radisson and of fat dividends, it had provided liberal things; but when money became scarce, then it was disposed to make matters pleasing to itself, despite the claims of radisson. in the year following the presenting of the memorial, it is stated in the minutes that "radisson was represented to the company as in a low and mean condition." at this time it was ordered that 50_l._ be paid radisson and to be repaid out of the next dividend. the unreasonable position assumed by the company, in withholding a part of the salary which they had promised in good faith, filled radisson with a sense of injustice. no doubt guided by his friend, sir william young, who, on account of his persistence on behalf of the adventurer, was now dropped from the committee of the company, radisson filed a bill in chancery against the company, and in july, 1694, notice of this was served upon the committee. much consternation appears to have filled their minds, and the deputy-governor, sir samuel clark, reported shortly after having used 200_l._ for secret service, the matter being seemingly connected with this case. notwithstanding the great influence of the company, the justice of radisson's claims prevailed, and the court of chancery ordered the payment of arrears in full. the committee afterwards met sir william young and richard craddock, who upheld radisson's claim. it is reported that they agreed to settle the matter by paying radisson 150_l._, he giving a release, and that he should be paid, under seal, 100_l._ per annum for life, except in those years when the company should make a dividend, and then but 50_l._ according to the original agreement. radisson then received, as the minutes show, his salary regularly from this time. in 1698, the company asked for the renewal by parliament of its charter. radisson petitioned parliament for consideration, asking that before the request made by the company for the confirmation of the privileges sought were granted, a clause should be inserted protecting him in the regular payment of the amounts due to him from time to time by the company. at the time of his petition to parliament he states that he has four young children, and has only the 100_l._ a year given by the company to live on. in the year 1700 he was still struggling with his straitened circumstances, for in that year he applied to the company to be appointed warehouse-keeper for the london premises, but his application was refused. his children, of whom he is said to have had nine, appear to have passed over to canada and to have become a part of the canadian people. his brother-in-law, groseilliers, had also returned to his adopted canada, but is stated to have died before 1698. regularly during the succeeding years the quarterly amount is voted to radisson by the company, until january 6th, 1710, when the last quota of 12_l._ 10_s._ was ordered to be given. about this time, at the ripe age of seventy-four, passed away pierre esprit radisson, one of the most daring and ingenious men of his time. we know nothing of his death, except from the fact that his pension ceased to be paid. judge prudhomme, to whose appreciative sketch of radisson in french we have already referred, well summarizes his life. we translate:-"what a strange existence was that of this man! by turns discoverer, officer of marine, organizer and founder of the most commercial company which has existed in north america, his life presents an astonishing variety of human experiences. "he may be seen passing alternately from the wigwams of the miserable savages to the court of the great colbert; from managing chiefs of the tribes to addressing the most illustrious nobles of great britain. "his courage was of a high order. he looked death in the face more than a hundred times without trepidation. he braved the tortures and the stake among the iroquois, the treacherous stratagems of the savages of the west, the rigorous winters of the hudson bay, and the tropical heat of the antilles. "of an adventurous nature, drawn irresistibly to regions unknown, carried on by the enthusiasm of his voyages, always ready to push out into new dangers, he could have been made by fenimore cooper one of the heroes of his most exciting romances. "the picture of his life consequently presents many contrasts. the life of a brigand, which he led with a party of iroquois, cannot be explained away. "he was blamable in a like manner for having deserted the flag of france, his native country. the first time we might, perhaps, pardon him, for he was the victim of grave injustice on the part of the government of the colony. "no excuse could justify his second desertion. he had none to offer, not one. he avowed very candidly that he sought the service of england because he preferred it to that of france. "in marrying the daughter of mr. john kirke, he seems to have espoused also the nationality of her family. as for him, he would have needed to change the proverb, and, in the place of 'one who marries a husband takes his country,' to say, 'one who marries a wife takes her country.' "the celebrated discover of the north-west, the illustrious le verendrye, has as much as radisson, and even more than he, of just reason to complain of the ingratitude of france; yet how different was his conduct! "just as his persecutions have placed upon the head of the first a new halo of glory, so they have cast upon the brow of the second an ineffaceable stain. "souls truly noble do not seek in treason the recompense for the rights denied them." (for a detailed chronological account of radisson's life, see appendix b, page 487.) chapter vi. french rivalry. the golden lilies in danger--"to arrest radisson"--the land called "unknown"--a chain of claim--imaginary pretensions--chevalier de troyes--the brave lemoynes--hudson bay forts captured--a litigious governor--laugh at treaties--the glory of france--enormous claims--consequential damages. the two great nations which were seeking supremacy in north america came into collision all too soon on the shores of hudson bay. along the shore of the atlantic, england claimed new england and much of the coast to the southward. france was equally bent on holding new france and acadia. now that england had begun to occupy hudson bay, france was alarmed, for the enemy would be on her northern as well as on her southern border. no doubt, too, france feared that her great rival would soon seek to drive her golden lilies back to the old world, for new france would be a wedge between the northern and southern possessions of england in the new world. the movement leading to the first voyage to hudson bay by gillam and his company was carefully watched by the french government. in february, 1668, at which time gillam's expedition had not yet sailed, the marquis de denonville, governor of canada, appointed an officer to go in search of the most advantageous posts and occupy the shores of the baie du nord and the embouchures of the rivers that enter therein. among other things the governor gave orders "to arrest especially the said radisson and his adherents wherever they may be found." intendant talon, in 1670, sent home word to m. colbert that ships had been seen near hudson bay, and that it was likely that they were english, and were "under the guidance of a man des grozeliers, formerly an inhabitant of canada." the alarm caused the french by the movements of the english adventurers was no doubt increased by the belief that hudson bay was included in french territory. the question of what constituted ownership or priority of claim was at this time a very difficult one among the nations. whether mere discovery or temporary occupation could give the right of ownership was much questioned. colonization would certainly be admitted to do so, provided there had been founded "certain establishments." but the claim of france upon hudson bay would appear to have been on the mere ground of the hudson bay region being contiguous or neighbouring territory to that held by the french. the first claim made by france was under the commission, as viceroy to canada, given in 1540 by the french king to sieur de roberval, which no doubt covered the region about hudson bay, though not specifying it. in 1598 lescarbot states that the commission given to de la roche contained the following: "new france has for its boundaries on the west the pacific ocean within the tropic of cancer; on the south the islands of the atlantic towards cuba and hispaniola; on the east, the northern sea which washes its shores, embracing in the north the land called unknown toward the frozen sea, up to the arctic pole." the sturdy common sense of anglo-saxon england refused to be bound by the contention that a region admittedly "unknown" could be held on a mere formal claim. the english pointed out that one of their expeditions under henry hudson in 1610 had actually discovered the bay and given it its name; that sir thomas button immediately thereafter had visited the west side of the bay and given it the name of new wales; that captain james had, about a score of years after hudson, gone to the part of the bay which continued to bear his name, and that captain fox had in the same year reached the west side of the bay. this claim of discovery was opposed to the fanciful claims made by france. the strength of the english contention, now enforced by actual occupation and the erection of charles fort, made it necessary to obtain some new basis of objection to the claim of england. it is hard to resist the conclusion that a deliberate effort was made to invent some ground of prior discovery in order to meet the visible argument of a fort now occupied by the english. m. de la potherie, historian of new france, made the assertion that radisson and groseilliers had crossed from lake superior to the baie du nord (hudson bay). it is true, as we have seen, that oldmixon, the british writer of a generation or two later, states the same thing. this claim is, however, completely met by the statement made by radisson of his third voyage that they heard only from the indians on lake superior of the northern bay, but had not crossed to it by land. we have disposed of the matter of his fourth voyage. the same historian also puts forward what seems to be pure myth, that one jean bourdon, a frenchman, entered the bay in 1656 and engaged in trade. it was stated also that a priest, william couture, sent by governor d'avaugour of new france, had in 1663 made a missionary establishment on the bay. these are unconfirmed statements, having no details, and are suspicious in their time of origination. the hudson's bay company's answer states that bourdon's voyage was to another part of canada, going only to 53° n., and not to the bay at all. though entirely unsupported, these claims were reiterated as late as 1857 by hon. joseph cauchon in his case on behalf of canada _v._ hudson's bay company. m. jeremie, who was governor of the french forts in hudson bay in 1713, makes the statement that radisson and groseilliers had visited the bay overland, for which there is no warrant, but the governor does not speak of bourdon or couture. this contradiction of de la potherie's claim is surely sufficient proof that there is no ground for credence of the stories, which are purely apocryphal. it is but just to state, however, that the original claim of roberval and de la roche had some weight in the negotiations which took place between the french and english governments over this matter. m. colbert, the energetic prime minister of france, at any rate made up his mind that the english must be excluded from hudson bay. furthermore, the fur trade of canada was beginning to feel very decidedly the influence of the english traders in turning the trade to their factories on hudson bay. the french prime minister, in 1678, sent word to duchesnau, the intendant of canada, to dispute the right of the english to erect factories on hudson bay. radisson and groseilliers, as we have seen, had before this time deserted the service of england and returned to that of france. with the approval of the french government, these facile agents sailed to canada and began the organization, in 1681, of a new association, to be known as "the northern company." fitted out with two small barks, _le st. pierre_ and _la ste. anne_, in 1682, the adventurers, with their companions, appeared before charles fort, which groseilliers had helped to build, but do not seem to have made any hostile demonstration against it. passing away to the west side of the bay, these shrewd explorers entered the river ste. therese (the hayes river of to-day) and there erected an establishment, which they called fort bourbon. this was really one of the best trading points on the bay. some dispute as to even the occupancy of this point took place, but it would seem as if radisson and groseilliers had the priority of a few months over the english party that came to establish a fort at the mouth of the adjoining river nelson. the two adventurers, radisson and groseilliers, in the following year came, as we have seen, with their ship-load of peltries to canada, and it is charged that they attempted to unload a part of their cargo of furs before reaching quebec. this led to a quarrel between them and the northern company, and the adroit fur traders again left the service of france to find their way back to england. we have already seen how completely these two frenchmen, in the year 1684, took advantage of their own country at fort bourbon and turned over the furs to the hudson's bay company. the sense of injury produced on the minds of the french by the treachery of these adventurers stirred the authorities up to attack the posts in hudson bay. governor denonville now came heartily to the aid of the northern company, and commissioned chevalier de troyes to organize an overland expedition from quebec to hudson bay. the love of adventure was strong in the breasts of the young french _noblesse_ in canada. four brothers of the family le moyne had become known for their deeds of valour along the english frontier. leader among the valorous french-canadians was le moyne d'iberville, who, though but twenty-four years of age, had already performed prodigies of daring. maricourt, his brother, was another fiery spirit, who was known to the iroquois by a name signifying "the little bird which is always in motion." another leader was ste. helene. with a party of chosen men these intrepid spirits left the st. lawrence in march, 1685, and threaded the streams of the laurentian range to the shore of hudson bay. [illustration: le moyne d'iberville.] after nearly three months of the most dangerous and exciting adventures, the party reached their destination. the officers and men of the hudson's bay company's service were chiefly civilians unaccustomed to war, and were greatly surprised by the sudden appearance upon the bay of their doughty antagonists. at the mouth of the moose river one of the hudson's bay company forts was situated, and here the first attack was made. it was a fort of considerable importance, having four bastions, and was manned by fourteen guns. it, however, fell before the fierce assault of the forest rangers. the chief offence in the eyes of the french was charles fort on the rupert river, that being the first constructed by the english company. this was also captured and its fortifications thrown down. at the same time that the main body were attacking charles fort, the brothers le moyne, with a handful of picked men, stealthily approached in two canoes one of the company's vessels in the bay and succeeded in taking it. the largest fort on the bay was that in the marshy region on albany river. it was substantially built with four bastions and was provided with forty-three guns. the rapidity of movement and military skill of the french expedition completely paralyzed the hudson's bay company officials and men. governor sargeant, though having in albany fort furs to the value of 50,000 crowns, after a slight resistance surrendered without the honours of war. the hudson's bay company employés were given permission to return to england and in the meantime the governor and his attendants were taken to charlton island and the rest of the prisoners to moose fort. d'iberville afterwards took the prisoners to france, whence they came back to england. a short time after this the company showed its disapproval of governor sargeant's course in surrendering fort albany so readily. thinking they could mark their disapprobation more strongly, they brought an action against governor sargeant in the courts to recover 20,000_l._ after the suit had gone some distance, they agreed to refer the matter to arbitration, and the case was ended by the company having to pay to the governor 350_l._ the affair, being a family quarrel, caused some amusement to the public. the only place of importance now remaining to the english on hudson bay was port nelson, which was near the french fort bourbon. d'iberville, utilizing the vessel he had captured on the bay, went back to quebec in the autumn of 1687 with the rich booty of furs taken at the different points. these events having taken place at a time when the two countries, france and england, were nominally at peace, negotiations took place between the two powers. late in the year 1686 a treaty of neutrality was signed, and it was hoped that peace would ensue on hudson bay. this does not seem to have been the case, however, and both parties blame each other for not observing the terms of the act of pacification. d'iberville defended albany fort from a british attack in 1689, departed in that year for quebec with a ship-load of furs, and returned to hudson bay in the following year. during the war which grew out of the revolution, albany fort changed hands again to the english, and was afterwards retaken by the french, after which a strong english force (1692) repossessed themselves of it. for some time english supremacy was maintained on the bay, but the french merely waited their time to attack fort bourbon, which they regarded as in a special sense their own. in 1694 d'iberville visited the bay, besieged and took fort bourbon, and reduced the place with his two frigates. his brother de chateauguay was killed during the siege. in 1697 the bay again fell into english hands, and d'iberville was put in command of a squadron sent out for him from france, and with this he sailed for hudson bay. the expedition brought unending glory to france and the young commander. though one of his warships was crushed in the ice in the hudson straits and his remaining vessels could nowhere be seen when he reached the open waters of the bay, yet he bravely sailed to port nelson, purposing to invest it in his one ship, the _pelican_. arrived at his station, he observed that he was shut in on the rear by three english men-of-war. his condition was desperate; he had not his full complement of men, and some of those on board were sick. his vessel had but fifty guns; the english vessels carried among them 124. the english vessels, the _hampshire_, the _dering_, and the _hudson's bay_, all opened fire upon him. during a hot engagement, a well-aimed broadside from the _pelican_ sank the _hampshire_ with all her sails flying, and everything on board was lost; the _hudson's bay_ surrendered unconditionally, and the _dering_ succeeded in making her escape. after this naval duel d'iberville's missing vessels appeared, and the commander, landing a sufficient number of men, invested and took port nelson. the whole of the hudson bay territory thus came into the possession of the french. the matter has always, however, been looked at in the light of the brilliant achievement of this scion of the le moynes. few careers have had the uninterrupted success of that of pierre le moyne d'iberville, although this fortune reached its climax in the exploit in hudson bay. nine years afterwards the brilliant soldier died of yellow fever at havana, after he had done his best in a colonization enterprise to the mouth of the mississippi which was none too successful. though the treaty of ryswick, negotiated in this year of d'iberville's triumphs, brought for the time the cessation of hostilities, yet nearly fifteen years of rivalry, and for much of the time active warfare, left their serious traces on hudson's bay company affairs. a perusal of the minutes of the hudson's bay company during this period gives occasional glimpses of the state of war prevailing, although it must be admitted not so vivid a picture as might have been expected. as was quite natural, the details of attacks, defences, surrenders, and parleys come to us from french sources rather than from the company's books. that the french accounts are correct is fully substantiated by the memorials presented by the company to the british government, asking for recompense for losses sustained. in 1687 a petition was prepared by the hudson's bay company, and a copy of it is found in one of the letter-books of the company. this deals to some extent with the contention of the french king, which had been lodged with the british government, claiming priority of ownership of the regions about hudson bay. the arguments advanced are chiefly those to which we have already referred. the claim for compensation made upon the british government by the company is a revelation of how seriously the french rivalry had interfered with the progress of the fur trade. after still more serious conflict had taken place in the bay, and the company had come to be apprehensive for its very existence, another petition was laid before his majesty william iii., in 1694. this petition, which also contained the main facts of the claim of 1687, is so important that we give some of the details of it. it is proper to state, however, that a part of the demand is made up of what has since been known as "consequential damages," and that in consequence the matter lingered on for at least two decades. the damages claimed were:- 1682. captain gillam and cargo on _prince rupert_. £ _s._ _d._ (captain and a number of men, cargo, and ship all lost in hostilities.) governor bridgar and men seized and carried to quebec moderate damages 25,000 0 0 september, 1684. french with two ships built a small house and interrupted indian trade damages 10,000 0 0 1685. french took _perpetuana_ and cargo to quebec. damages 5,000 0 0 for ship, master, and men damages 1,255 16 3 1686. french destroyed three of company's ships at bottom of bay, and also three ships' stores, etc., and took 50,000 beaver skins, and turned out to sea a number of his majesty's subjects 50,000 0 0 1682-6. five years' losses about forts (10,000 beaver skins yearly) 20,000 0 0 1688. company's ships _churchill_ and _young_ seized by french 10,000 0 0 1692. company sent out expedition to retake forts, which cost them 20,000 0 0 1686-93. french possessed bottom of the bay for seven years. loss, 10,000_l._ a year 70,000 0 0 damages 20,000 0 0 --------------- total damages claimed £211,255 16 3 ================ chapter vii. ryswick and utrecht. the "grand monarque" humbled--caught napping--the company in peril--glorious utrecht--forts restored--damages to be considered--commission useless. louis xiv. of france, by his ambition and greed in 1690, united against himself the four nations immediately surrounding him--germany, spain, holland, and england, in what they called "the grand alliance." battles, by land and sea for six years, brought louis into straits, unrelieved by such brilliant episodes as the naval prodigies wrought by d'iberville on hudson bay. in 1696, "le grand monarque" was sufficiently humbled to make overtures for peace. the opposing nations accepted these, and on may 9th, 1697, the representatives of the nations met at william iii.'s château of neuberg hansen, near the village of ryswick, which is in belgium, a short distance from the hague. louis had encouraged the jacobite cause, james iii. being indeed a resident of the castle of st. germain, near paris. this had greatly irritated william, and one of the first things settled at the treaty was the recognition of william as rightful king of england. article vii. of the treaty compelled the restoration to the king of france and the king of great britain respectively of "all countries, islands, forts, and colonies," which either had possessed before the declaration of war in 1690. however satisfactory this may have been in acadia and newfoundland, we find that it did not meet the case of the hudson bay, inasmuch as the ownership of this region was, as we have seen, claimed by both parties before the war. in the documents of the company there is evidence of the great anxiety caused to the adventurers when the news reached london, as to what was likely to be the basis of settlement of the treaty. the adventurers at once set themselves to work to bring influence to bear against the threatened result. the impression seemed to prevail that they had been "caught napping," and possibly they could not accomplish anything. their most influential deputation came to the hague, and, though late in the day, did avail somewhat. no doubt article vii. of the treaty embodies the results of their influence. it is so important for our purpose that we give it in full:--"commissioners should be appointed on both sides to examine and determine the rights and pretensions which either of the said kings have to the places situated in hudson bay; but the possession of those places which were taken by the french during the peace that preceded this war, and were retaken by the english during this war, shall be left to the french, by virtue of the foregoing articles. the capitulation made by the english on september 5th, 1695, shall be observed according to the form and tenor; the merchandises therein mentioned shall be restored; the governor at the fort taken there shall be set at liberty, if it be not already done; the differences which have arisen concerning the execution of the said capitulation and the value of the goods there lost, shall be adjudicated and determined by the said commissioners; who immediately after the ratification of the present treaty, shall be invested with sufficient authority for the setting of the limits and confines of the lands to be restored on either side by virtue of the foregoing article, and likewise for exchanging of lands, as may conduce to the mutual interest and advantage of both kings." this agreement presents a few salient points:-1. the concession to france of rights (undefined, it is true), but of rights not hitherto acknowledged by the english. 2. the case of the company, which would have been seriously prejudiced by article vii., is kept open, and commissioners are appointed to examine and decide boundaries. 3. the claim for damages so urgently pressed by the hudson's bay company receives some recognition in the restoration of merchandize and the investigation into the "value of the goods lost." 4. on the whole, the interests of the hudson's bay company would seem to have been decidedly prejudiced by the treaty. the affairs of the company were in a very unfortunate condition for fifteen years after the treaty of ryswick. the treaty took place in the very year of d'iberville's remarkable victories in the bay. that each nation should hold that of which it was in actual possession meant that of the seven hudson's bay company forts, only fort albany was left to the company. the company began to petition at once for the appointment of the commissioners provided by the treaty, to settle the matter in dispute. the desperate condition of their affairs accounts for the memorials presented to the british government by the company in 1700 and in the succeeding year, by which they expressed themselves as satisfied to give the french the southern portion of the bay from rupert's river on the east and albany fort on the west. about the time of the second of these proposals the hudson's bay company sent to the british government another petition of a very different tone, stating their perilous condition, arising from their not receiving one-fifth of the usual quantity of furs, even from fort albany, which made their year's trade an absolute loss; they propose that an expedition of "three men-of-war, one bomb-vessel, and 250 soldiers" should be sent to dislodge the french and to regain the whole bay for them, as being the original owners. no steps on the part of the ryswick commissioners seem to have been taken toward settling the question of boundaries in hudson bay. the great marlborough victories, however, crushed the power of france, and when louis xiv. next negotiated with the allies at utrecht--"the ferry of the rhine"--in 1713, the english case was in a very different form from what it had been at the treaty of ryswick. two years before the treaty, when it was evident that the war would be brought to an end, the hudson's bay company plucked up courage and petitioned strongly to be allowed the use of the whole of hudson bay, and to have their losses on the bay repaid by france. several times during the war had france sued for peace at the hands of the allies, but the request had been refused. to humble france seemed to be the fixed policy of all her neighbours. at the end of the war, in which france was simply able to hold what she could defend by her fortresses, the great kingdom of louis xiv. found itself "miserably exhausted, her revenue greatly fallen off, her currency depreciated thirty per cent., the choicest of her nobles drafted into the army, and her merchants and industrious artisans weighed down to the ground by heavy imposts." this was england's opportunity, and she profited by it. besides "the balance of power" in europe being preserved, great britain received nova scotia, newfoundland, certain west india islands, and the undisturbed control of the iroquois. sections x. and xi. of the treaty are of special value to us in our recital. by the former of these the entire west coast of hudson bay became british; the french were to evacuate all posts on the bay and surrender all war material within six months; commissioners were to be appointed to determine within a year the boundary between canada and the british possessions on hudson bay. section xi. provided "that the french king should take care that satisfaction be given, according to the rule of justice and equity, to the english company trading to the bay of hudson, for all damages and spoil done to their colonies, ships, persons, and goods, by the hostile incursions and depredations of the french in time of peace." this was to be arrived at by commissioners to be appointed. if the hudson's bay company, to quote their own language in regard to the treaty of ryswick, had been left "the only mourners by the peace," they were to be congratulated on the results of the treaty of utrecht. as in so many other cases, however, disputed points left to be settled by commissioners lingered long before results were reached. six years after the treaty of utrecht, the memorial of the hudson's bay company shows that while they had received back their forts, yet the line of delimitation between canada had not been drawn and their losses had not been paid. in the preceding chapter we have a list of the claims against the french as computed in 1694, amounting to upwards of 200,000_l._; now, however, the amount demanded is not much above 100,000_l._, though the memorial explains that in making up the above modest sum, they had not counted up the loss of their forts, nor the damage done to their trade, as had been done in the former case. immediately after the time of this memorial of the company, the commissioners were named by great britain and france, and several meetings took place. statements were then given in, chiefly as to the boundaries between the british and french possessions in the neighbourhood of hudson bay and canada. the commissioners for several years practised all the arts of diplomacy, and were farther and farther apart as the discussions went on. no result seems to have been reached, and the claims of the hudson's bay company, so far as recorded, were never met. peace, however, prevailed in hudson bay for many years; the indians from the interior, even to the rocky mountains, made their visits to the bay for the first forty years of the eighteenth century, and the fur trade, undisturbed, became again remunerative. chapter viii. dream of a north-west passage. stock rises--jealousy aroused--arthur dobbs, esq.--an ingenious attack--appeal to the "old worthies"--captain christopher middleton--was the company in earnest?--the sloop _furnace_--dobbs' fierce attack--the great subscription--independent expedition--"henry ellis, gentleman"--"without success"--dobbs' real purpose. when peace had been restored by the treaty of utrecht, the shores of the bay, which had been in the hands of the french since the treaty of ryswick, were given over to great britain, according to the terms of the treaty; they have remained british ever since. the company, freed from the fears of overland incursions by the french from canada, and from the fleets that had worked so much mischief by sea, seems to have changed character in the _personnel_ of the stockholders and to have lost a good deal of the pristine spirit. the charge is made that the stockholders had become very few, that the stock was controlled by a majority, who, year after year, elected themselves, and that considering the great privileges conferred by the charter, the company was failing to develop the country and was sleeping in inglorious ease on the shores of hudson bay. certain it is that sir bibye lake was re-elected governor year after year, from 1720 to 1740. it would appear, however, to have been a spirit of jealousy which animated those who made these discoveries as to the company's inaction. the return of peace had brought prosperity to the traders; and dividends to the stockholders began to be a feature of company life which they had not known for more than a quarter of a century. as we shall see, the stock of the company was greatly increased in 1720, and preparations were being made by the committee for a wide extension of their operations. about this time a man of great personal energy appears on the scene of english commercial life, who became a bitter opponent of the company, and possessed such influence with the english government that the company was compelled to make a strenuous defence. this was arthur dobbs, esq., an irishman of undoubted ability and courage. he conducted his plan of campaign against the company along a most ingenious and dangerous line of attack. he revived the memory among the british people of the early voyages to discover a way to the riches of the east, and appealed to the english imagination by picturing the interior of the north american continent, with its vast meadows, splendid cascades, rich fur-bearing animals, and numberless races of indians, picturesquely dressed, as opening up a field, if they could be reached, of lucrative trade to the london merchants. to further his purpose he pointed out the sluggish character of the hudson's bay company, and clinched his arguments by quoting the paragraph in the charter which stated that the great privileges conferred by generous charles ii. were bestowed in consideration of their object having been "the discovery of a new passage into the south sea." dobbs appealed to the sacrifices made and the glories achieved in earlier days in the attempt to discover the north-west passage. in scores of pages, the indefatigable writer gives the accounts of the early voyages. we have but to give a passage or two from another author to show what a powerful weapon dobbs wielded, and to see how he succeeded in reviving a question which had slumbered well nigh a hundred years, and which again became a living question in the nineteenth century. this writer says:--"it would lead us far beyond our limits were we to chronicle all the reasons urged, and the attempts made to 'finde out that short and easie passage by the north-west, which we have hitherto so long desired.' under the auspices of the 'old worthies' really--though ostensibly countenanced by kings, queens, and nobles--up rose a race of men, daring and enthusiastic, whose names would add honour to any country, and embalm its history. "commencing with the reign of henry vii., we have first, john cabot (1497), ever renowned; for he it was who first saw and claimed for the 'banner of england,' the american continent. sebastian, his son, follows in the next year--a name honourable and wise. nor may we omit master robert thorne of bristol (1527); master hore (1536); and master michael lok (1545), of london--men who knew 'cosmography' and the 'weighty and substantial reasons' for 'a discovery even to the north pole.' for a short time arctic energy changed its direction from the north-west to the north-east (discoveries of the muscovy company), but wanting success in that quarter, again reverted to the north-west. then we find martin frobisher, george best, sir humphrey gilbert, james davis, george waymouth, john knight, the cruelly treated henry hudson, james hall, sir thomas button, fotherbye, baffin and bylot, 'north-west' luke fox, thomas james, &c. "thus, in the course of sixty years--now breaking the icy fetters of the north, now chained by them; now big with high hope 'of the passage,' then beaten back by the terrific obstacles, as it were, guarding it--notwithstanding, these men never faltered, never despaired of finally accomplishing it. their names are worthy to be held in remembrance; for, with all their faults, all their strange fancies and prejudices, still they were a daring and glorious race, calm amid the most appalling dangers; what they did was done correctly, as far as their limited means went; each added something that gave us more extended views and a better acquaintance with the globe we inhabit--giving especially large contributions to geography, with a more fixed resolution to discover the 'passage.' by them the whole of the eastern face of north america was made known, and its disjointed lands in the north, even to 77 deg. or 78 deg. n. their names will last while england is true to herself." mr. dobbs awakened much interest among persons of rank in england as to the desirability of finding a north-west passage. especially to the lords of the admiralty, on whom he had a strong hold, did he represent the glory and value of fitting out an expedition to hudson bay on this quest. dobbs mentions in his book the unwilling efforts of the hudson's bay company to meet the demand for a wider examination of the bay which took place a few years after the peace of utrecht. in 1719, captain james knight received orders from the company to fit out an expedition and sail up the west coast of the bay. this he did in two ships, the _albany_ frigate, captain george barlow, and the _discovery_, captain david vaughan. captain john scroggs, in the ship _whalebone_, two years afterward, sailed up the coast in search of the expedition. it is maintained by the opponents of the company that these attempts were a mere blind to meet the search for a north-west passage, and that the company was averse to any real investigation being made. it is of course impossible to say whether this charge was deserved or not. the fact that no practicable north-west passage has ever been discovered renders the arguments drawn from the running of the tides, &c., of no value, and certainly justifies the company to some extent in its inaction. the fact that in 1736 the hudson's bay company yielded to the claim raised by dobbs and his associates, is to be noted in favour of the company's contention that while not believing in the existence of the north-west passage, they were willing to satisfy the excited mind of the english public. their expedition of the _churchill_ sloop, captain napper, and the _musquash_ sloop, captain crow, accomplished nothing in solving the question in dispute. disappointed with the efforts made by the company at his request, dobbs, in 1737, took in hand to organize an expedition under government direction to go upon the search of the "passage." at this time he opened communication with captain christopher middleton, one of the best known captains in the service of the hudson's bay company. middleton, being satisfied with the company's service, refused to leave it. dobbs then asked him to recommend a suitable man, and also arranged with middleton to be allowed to examine the records kept of his voyages, upon the hudson's bay company ships. this, however, came to nothing. about 1740 captain middleton had cause to differ with the company on business matters, and entertained dobbs' proposition, which was that he should be placed in command of a british man-of-war and go in search of the long-sought north-west passage. middleton gave the hudson's bay company a year's notice, but found them unwilling to let him retire. he had taken the step of resigning deliberately and adhered to it, though he was disappointed in his command not being so remunerative as he expected. in may, 1741, captain middleton received his orders from the lords of the admiralty to proceed upon his journey and to follow the directions given him as to finding a north-west passage. these had been prepared under dobbs' supervision. directions are given as to his course of procedure, should he reach california, and also as to what should be done in case of meeting japanese ships. middleton was placed in charge of her majesty's sloop the _furnace_, and had as a companion and under his orders the _discovery pink_, william moore, master. in due time, hudson bay was reached, but in august the season seemed rather late to proceed northward from "cary's swan's nest," and it was decided to winter in the mouth of churchill river. on july 1st, 1742, the expedition proceeded northward. most complete observations were made of weather, land, presence of ice, natives of the coast, depth of bay, rivers entering bay, tides, and any possible outlets as far as 88 deg. or 89 deg. w. longitude. observations were continued until august 18th, when the expedition sailed home to report what it had found. captain middleton read an important paper on "the extraordinary degrees and surprising effects of cold in hudson bay," before the royal society in london. no sooner had middleton reached the orkneys on his return voyage than he forwarded to dobbs, who was in ireland, a letter and an abstract of his journal. lest this should have gone astray, he sent another copy on his arrival in the thames. the report was, on the whole, discouraging as to the existence of a north-west passage. dobbs, however, was unwilling to give up his dream, and soon began to discredit middleton. he dealt privately with the other officers of the ships, middleton's subordinates, and with surprising skill turned the case against captain middleton. the case of dobbs against captain middleton has been well stated by john barrow. middleton was charged with neglect in having failed to explore the line of coast which afforded a probability of a passage to the north-west. the principal points at issue appear to have been in respect to the following discoveries of middleton, viz. the wager river, repulse bay, and the frozen strait. as regards the first, mr. dobbs asserted that the tide came through the so-called river from the westward; and this question was settled in the following year by captain moore, who entirely confirmed captain middleton's report. repulse bay, which well deserves the name it bears, was no less accurately laid down by captain middleton, and of the frozen strait, sir edward parry remarks, "above all, the accuracy of captain middleton is manifest upon the point most strenuously urged against him, for our subsequent experience has not left the smallest doubt of repulse bay and the northern part of welcome bay being filled by a rapid tide, flowing into it from the eastward through the frozen strait." dobbs, by a high order of logic chopping, succeeded in turning the case, for the time being, against captain middleton. seldom has greater skill been used to win a cause. he quotes with considerable effect a letter by sir bibye lake, addressed to the governor of the prince of wales fort, churchill river, reading: "notwithstanding an order to you, if captain middleton (who is sent ahead in the government's service to discover a passage north-west) should by inevitable necessity be brought into real distress and danger of his life and loss of his ship, in such case you are then to give him the best assistance and relief you can." dobbs' whole effort seems to be to show that middleton was hiding the truth, and this, under the influence of his old masters, the hudson's bay company. a copy of dobbs' criticisms, laid before the lords of the admiralty, was furnished captain middleton, and his answer is found in "vindication of the conduct," published in 1743. "an account of the countries adjoining to hudson bay" by arthur dobbs, esq., is a book published in the year after, and is really a book of note. a quarto, consisting of upwards of 200 pages, it showed a marvellous knowledge of colonization in america, of the interior of the continent at that time, and incidentally deals with captain middleton's journal. its account of the journey of "joseph la france, a french canadese indian," from lake superior by way of lake winnipeg to hudson bay, is the first detailed account on record of that voyage being made. evidently arthur dobbs had caught the ear of the english people, and the company was compelled to put itself in a thorough attitude of defence. dobbs with amazing energy worked up his cause, and what a writer of the time calls, "the long and warm dispute between arthur dobbs, esq. and captain middleton," gained much public notice. the glamour of the subject of a north-west passage, going back to the exploits of frobisher, baffin, and button, touched the national fancy, and no doubt the charge of wilful concealment of the truth made against the hudson's bay company, repeated so strenuously by dobbs, gained him adherents. parliament took action in the matter and voted 20,000_l._ as a reward for the discovery of a north-west passage. this caused another wave of enthusiasm, and immediately a subscription was opened for the purpose of raising 10,000_l._ to equip an expedition for this popular enterprise. it was proposed to divide the whole into 100 shares of 100_l._ each. a vigorous canvass was made to secure the amount, and the subscription list bears the names of several nobles, an archbishop, a bishop, and many esquires. a perusal of the names suggests that a number of them are irish, and no doubt were obtained by mr. dobbs, who was often at lisburn in ireland. the amount raised was 7,200_l._ the expedition, we hear afterwards, cost upwards of 10,000_l._, but the money needed was, we are told, willingly contributed by those who undertook the enterprise. mr. dobbs, as was suitable, was a leading spirit on the committee of management. two ships were purchased by the committee, the _dobbs_ galley, 180 tons burden, captain william moore, and the _california_, 140 tons, captain francis smith. on may 24th, 1746, the two vessels, provisioned and well fitted out for the voyage, left the mouth of the thames, being in company with the two ships of the hudson's bay company going to the bay, the four ships being under the convoy of the ship _loo_, of forty guns, as france was at this time at war with england. the voyage was rather prosperous, with the exception of a very exciting incident on board the _dobbs_ galley. a dangerous fire broke out in the cabin of the vessel, and threatened to reach the powder-room, which was directly underneath, and contained "thirty or forty barrels of powder, candles, spirits, matches, and all manner of combustibles." though, as the writer says, "during the excitement, you might hear all the varieties of sea eloquence, cries, prayers, curses, and scolding, mingled together, yet this did not prevent the proper measures being taken to save the ship and our lives." the story of the voyage is given to us in a very interesting manner by henry ellis, gentleman, agent for the proprietors of the expedition. though nearly one hundred pages are taken up with the inevitable summaries of "the several expeditions to discover a north-west passage," yet the remaining portion of the book is well written. after the usual struggle with the ice in hudson strait, as it was impossible to explore southward during the first season, the _dobbs_ galley and the _california_ sailed for port nelson, intending to winter there. they arrived on august 26th. ellis states that they were badly received by the hudson's bay officers at the first. they, however, laid up their ships in hayes river, and built an erection of logs on the shore for the staff. the officers' winter quarters were called "montague house," named after the duke of montague, patron of the expedition. after a severe winter, during which the sailors suffered with scurvy, and, according to ellis, received little sympathy from the occupants of york fort, the expedition left the mouth of the hayes river on june 24th, to prosecute their discovery. after spending the summer coasting hudson bay and taking careful notes, the officers of the vessels gladly left the inhospitable shore to sail homeward, and the two ships arrived in yarmouth roads on october 14th, 1747. "thus ended," says ellis, "this voyage, without success indeed, but not without effect; for though we did not discover a north-west passage ... we returned with clearer and fuller proofs ... that evidently such a passage there may be." it will be observed that ellis very much confirms captain middleton's conclusions, but mr. dobbs no doubt made the best of his disappointment, and, as we shall see, soon developed what had been from the first his real object, the plan for founding a rival company. chapter ix. the interesting blue-book of 1749. "le roi est mort"--royalty unfavourable--earl of halifax--"company asleep"--petition to parliament--neglected discovery--timidity or caution--strong "prince of wales"--increase of stock--a timid witness--claims of discovery--to make indians christians--charge of disloyalty--new company promises largely--result nil. arthur dobbs, esq., was evidently worsted in his tilt with the hudson's bay company. his fierce onslaught upon captain middleton was no doubt the plan of attack to enable him to originate the expedition of the _dobbs_ galley and _california_. even this voyage had brought little better prospect of the discovery of a north-west passage, except the optimistic words of ellis, the use of which, indeed, seemed very like the delectable exercise of "extracting sunbeams from cucumbers." but the energy of the man was in no way dampened. indeed, the indications are, as we survey the features of the time, that he had strong backing in the governing circles of the country. time was when the hudson's bay company basked in the sunshine of the court. it is, perhaps, the penalty of old institutions that as rulers pass away and political parties change, the centre of gravity of influence shifts. perhaps the hudson's bay company had not been able to use the convenient motto, "le roi est mort: vive le roi!" at any rate the strong court influence of the company had passed away, and there is hardly a nobleman to be found on the list of stockholders submitted by the company to the committee of the lords. on the other hand, when henry ellis, the historian of the expedition, writes his book in the year after his return, he is permitted to dedicate it to his royal highness frederick, prince of wales, is privileged to refer in his dedication to a "gracious audience" allowed him by the prince after his return, and to speak of "the generous care" expressed by the prince "for the happy progress of his design." again, in a similar dedication of a book written four years afterwards by joseph robson, a former employé of the hudson's bay company, but a book full of hostility to the company, allusion is made to the fact that the earl of halifax, lord commissioner of trade and plantations, gave his most hearty approval to such plans as the expedition sought to carry out. it is said of lord halifax, who was called the father of colonies: "he knows the true state of the nation--that it depends on trade and manufactures; that we have more rivals than ever; that navigation is our bulwark and colonies our chief support; and that new channels should be industriously opened. therefore, we survey the whole globe in search of fresh inlets which our ships may enter and traffic." those familiar with the work of lord halifax will remember that the great colonization scheme by which nova scotia was firmly grappled to the british empire and the city of halifax founded, was his; and the charge made by dobbs that for a generation the "company had slept on the shores of the bay," would appeal with force to a man of such energetic and progressive nature as the lord commissioner. accordingly, dobbs now came out boldly; not putting the discovery of the north-west passage in the front of his plan, but openly charging the hudson's bay company with indolence and failure, and asking for the granting of a charter to a rival company. as summed up by the sub-committee to which the petition of dobbs and his associates was submitted, the charges were:-i. the company had not discovered, nor sufficiently attempted to discover, the north-west passage into the southern seas. ii. they had not extended their settlements to the limits given them by their charter. iii. they had designedly confined their trade within very narrow limits: (_a_) had abused the indians. (_b_) had neglected their forts. (_c_) ill-treated their own servants. (_d_) encouraged the french. the hudson's bay company, now put on their mettle, exhibited a considerable amount of activity, and filed documents before the committee that in some respects met the charges against them. they claimed that they had in the thirty years preceding the investigation done a fair amount of exploratory work and discovery. in 1719, they had sent out the _albany_ frigate and _discovery_ to the northern regions, and neither of them returned to tell the tale. in the same year its vessels on the bay, the _prosperous_ and the _success_, one from york factory, the other from prince of wales fort, had sailed up the coast on exploratory expeditions. two years afterward, the _prosperous_, under kelsey, made a voyage, and the _success_, under captain napper, had sailed from york fort and was lost. in the same year the _whalebone_, under captain john scroggs, went from england to prince of wales fort, and after wintering there, in the following year made a decided effort on behalf of the passage, but returned unsuccessful. in the year when dobbs became so persistent (1737) james napper, who had been saved from the wreck of the _success_ sixteen years before, took command of the _churchill_ from prince of wales fort, but on the exploration died, and the vessel returned. the _musquash_, under captain crow, accompanied the _churchill_, but returned with no hope of success. this was the case presented by the hudson's bay company. it was still open to the opponents of the company to say, as they did, that the hudson's bay company was not in earnest, wanted nothing done to attract rivals, and were adepts in concealing their operations and in hoodwinking the public. a more serious charge was that they had not sought to reach the interior, but had confined their trade to the shores of the bay. here it seems that the opponents of the company made a better case. it is indeed unaccountable to us to-day, as we think that the company had now been eighty years trading on the bay and had practically no knowledge of the inheritance possessed by them. at this very time the french, by way of lake superior, had journeyed inland, met indian tribes, traded with them, and even with imposing ceremonies buried metal plates claiming the country which the hudson's bay company charter covered as lying on rivers, lakes, &c., tributary to hudson bay. it is true they had submitted instructions to the number of twenty or thirty, in which governors and captains had been urged to explore the interior and extend the trade among the indian tribes. but little evidence could be offered that these communications had been acted on. the chief dependence of the company seems to have been on one henry kelsey, who went as a boy to hudson bay, but rose to be chief officer there. the critics of the company were not slow to state that kelsey had been a refugee from their forts and had lived for several seasons among the indians of the interior. even if this were so, it is still true that kelsey came to be one of the most enterprising of the wood-runners of the company. dobbs confronted them with the fact that the voyage from lake superior to hudson bay had been only made once in their history, and that by joseph la france, the canadian indian. certainly, whether from timidity, caution, inertia, or from some deep-seated system of policy, it was true that the company had done little to penetrate the interior. the charge that the company abused the indians was hardly substantiated. the company was dependent on the goodwill of the indians, and had they treated them badly, their active rivals, the french, would simply have reaped the benefit of their folly. that the price charged the indians for goods was as large as the price paid for furs was small, is quite likely to have been true. civilized traders all the world over, dealing with ignorant and dependent tribes, follow this policy. no doubt the risks of life and limb and goods in remote regions are great, and great profits must be made to meet them. it is to be remembered, however, that when english and french traders came into competition, as among the iroquois in new york state, and afterwards in the lake superior district, the quality of the english goods was declared by the indians better and their treatment by the english on the whole more honest and aboveboard than that by the french. that traders should neglect their own forts seems very unlikely. those going to the hudson bay main expected few luxuries, and certainly did not have an easy life, but there was on the part of the company a vast difference in treatment as compared with that given to the fur traders in new france as they went to the far west. no doubt pressure for dividends prevented expenditure that was unnecessary, but a perusal of the experience of champlain with his french fur company leads us to believe that the english were far the more liberal and considerate in the treatment of employés. the fortress of the river churchill, known as the prince of wales fort, with its great ruins to be seen to-day, belonging to this period, speaks of a large expense and a high ideal of what a fort ought to be. during the examination of witnesses by the committee, full opportunity was given to show cases of ill-treatment of men and poor administration of their forts. twenty witnesses were examined, and they included captains, merchants, and employés, many of whom had been in the service of the company on the bay, but whether, as robson says, "it must be attributed either to their confusion upon appearing before so awful an assembly, or to their having a dependence on the company and an expectation of being employed again in their service," little was elicited at all damaging to the company. the charge of the fewness of the forts and the smallness of the trade was more serious. that they should have a monopoly of the trade, and should neither develop it themselves, nor allow others to develop it, would have been to pursue a "dog in the manger" policy. they stated that they had on an average three ships employed solely on their business, that their exports for ten years immediately preceding amounted to 40,240_l._ and their imports 122,835_l._, which they claimed was a balance of trade satisfactory to england. the objection that the whole capital of the company at the commencement, 10,500_l._, was trifling, was perhaps true, but they had made great profits, and they used them in the purchase of ships and the building of forts, and now had a much more valuable property than at the beginning. that they had been able to increase their stock so largely was a tribute to the profits of their business and to its ability to earn dividends on a greatly increased capital stock. the increase of stock as shown by the company was as follows:- original stock £10,500 trebled in 1690 31,500 trebled in 1720 94,500 at this time there was a movement to greatly increase the stock, but the stringency of the money market checked this movement, and subscriptions of ten per cent. were taken, amounting to 3,150_l._ only. this was also trebled and added to the original 94,500_l._, making a total stock of 103,950_l._ some three years after the investigation by the committee, one of the witnesses, joseph robson, who gave evidence of the very mildest, most non-committal character, appears to have received new light, for he published a book called, "an account of six years' residence in hudson's bay." he says in the preface, speaking of the evidence given by him in the investigation, "for want of confidence and ability to express myself clearly, the account i then gave was far from being so exact and full as that which i intended to have given." what the influence was that so effectually opened robson's eyes, we do not know. the second part of this work is a critique of the evidence furnished by the company, and from the vigour employed by this writer as compared with the apathy shown at the investigation, it is generally believed that in the meantime he had become a dependent of dobbs. the plea put forward by the petitioners for the granting of a charter to them contained several particulars. they had, at their own cost and charges, fitted out two ships, the _dobbs_ galley and _california_, in search of the north-west passage to the west and southern ocean. their object was, they claimed, a patriotic one, and they aimed at extending the trade of great britain. they maintained that though the reward offered had been 20,000_l._, it was not sufficient to accomplish the end, as they had already spent more than half of that sum. notwithstanding this, they had discovered a number of bays, inlets, and coasts before unknown, and inasmuch as this was the ground of the charter issued by charles ii. to the hudson's bay company, they claimed like consideration for performing a similar service. the petitioners made the most ample promise as to their future should the charter be granted. they would persevere in their search for the passage to the southern ocean of america, of which, notwithstanding the frequent failures in finding it, they had a strong hope. the forward policy of lord halifax of extensive colonization they were heartily in favour of, and they undertook to settle the lands they might discover. the question had been raised during the investigation, whether the company had done anything to civilize the natives. they had certainly done nothing. probably their answer was that they were a trading company, and never saw the indians except in the months of the trading season, when in july and august they presented themselves from the interior at the several factories. the petitioners promised, in regard to the natives, that they would "lay the foundation for their becoming christians and industrious subjects of his majesty." beyond the sending out of a prayer-book from time to time, which seemed to indicate a desire to maintain service among their servants, the company had taken no steps in this direction. the closing argument for the bestowal of a charter was that they would prevent french encroachments upon british rights and trade on the continent of america. the petition makes the very strong statement that the hudson's bay company had connived at, or allowed french and english to encroach, settle, and trade within their limits on the south side of the bay. whatever may have been in the mind of the petitioners on this subject of conniving with the french, a perusal of the minutes of the company fails to show any such disposition. the company in charles ii.'s times was evidently more anti-french than the government. they disputed the claim of the french to any part of the bay, and strongly urged their case before the english commissioners at the treaty of ryswick. one of their documents, seemingly showing them to be impressed with the claim of priority of ownership of the french king, did propose a division of the bay, giving the south part of the bay to the french and the remainder to themselves. it is easy to understand a trading company wishing peace, so that trade might go on, and knowing that hudson bay, with its enormous coast line, afforded wide room for trade, proposing such a settlement. no doubt, however, the reference is to the great competition which was, in a few years, to extend through the interior to the rocky mountains. this was to be indeed a battle royal. arthur dobbs, judging by his book, which shows how far ahead he was of his opponents in foresight, saw that this must come, and so the new company promises to penetrate the interior, cut off the supply of furs from the french, and save the trade to britain. a quarter of a century afterwards, the hudson's bay company, slow to open their eyes, perceived it too, and as we shall see, rose from their slumbers, and entered the conflict. the report was made to the privy council, expressing appreciation of the petition, and of the advanced views enunciated, but stating that the case against the hudson's bay company had not yet been made out. so no new charter was granted! chapter x. french canadians explore the interior. the "western sea"--ardent duluth--"kaministiquia"--indian boasting--père charlevoix--father gonor--the man of the hour: verendrye--indian map maker--the north shore--a line of forts--the assiniboine country--a notable manuscript--a marvellous journey--glory but not wealth--post of the western sea. even the french in canada were animated in their explorations by the dream of a north-west passage. the name lachine at the rapids above montreal is the memorial of la salle's hope that the western sea was to be reached along this channel. the lake superior region seems to have been neglected for twenty years after radisson and groseilliers had visited lake nepigon, or lake assiniboines, as they called it. but the intention of going inland from lake superior was not lost sight of by the french explorers, for on a map (parl. lib. ottawa) of date 1680, is the inscription in french marking the kaministiquia or pigeon river, "by this river they go to the assinepoulacs, for 150 leagues toward the north-west, where there are plenty of beavers." the stirring events which we have described between 1682 and 1684, when radisson deserted from the hudson's bay company and founded for the french king fort bourbon on the bay, were accompanied by a new movement toward lake superior, having the purpose of turning the stream of trade from hudson bay southward to lake superior. at this time governor de la barre writes from canada that the english at hudson bay had that year attracted to them many of the northern indians, who were in the habit of coming to montreal, and that he had despatched thither sieur duluth, who had great influence over the western indians. greysolon duluth was one of the most daring spirits in the service of france in canada. duluth writes (1684) to the governor from lake nepigon, where he had erected a fort, seemingly near the spot where radisson and groseilliers had wintered. duluth says in his ardent manner: "it remains for me, sir, to assure you that all the savages of the north have great confidence in me, and that enables me to promise you that before the lapse of two years not a single savage will visit the english at hudson bay. this they have all promised me, and have bound themselves thereto, by the presents i have given, or caused to be given them. the klistinos, assinepoulacs, &c., have promised to come to my fort.... finally, sir, i wish to lose my life if i do not absolutely prevent the savages from visiting the english." duluth seems for several years to have carried on trade with the indians north and west of lake nepigon, and no doubt prevented many of them from going to hudson bay. but he was not well supported by the governor, being poorly supplied with goods, and for a time the prosecution of trade by the french in the lake superior region declined. the intense interest created by d'iberville in his victorious raids on hudson bay no doubt tended to divert the attention of the french explorers from the trade with the interior. the treaties of ryswick and utrecht changed the whole state of affairs for the french king, and deprived by the latter of these treaties of any hold on the bay, the french in canada began to turn their attention to their deserted station on lake superior. now, too, the reviving interest in england of the scheme for the discovery of the north-west passage infected the french. six years after the treaty of utrecht, we find (mss. ottawa) it stated: "messrs. de vaudreuil and begin having written last year that the discovery of the western sea would be advantageous to the colony, it was approved that to reach it m. de vaudreuil should establish these posts, which he had proposed, and he was instructed at the same time to have the same established without any expense accruing to the king--as the person establishing them would be remunerated by trade." in the year 1717 the governor sent out a french lieutenant, sieur de la noue, who founded a fort at kaministiquia. in a letter, de la noue states that the indians are well satisfied with the fort he has erected, and promise to bring there all those who had been accustomed to trade at hudson bay. circumstances seem to have prevented this explorer from going and establishing a fort at tekamiouen (rainy lake), and a third at the lake still farther to the north-west. it is somewhat notable that during the fifty years succeeding the early voyages of radisson and groseilliers on lake superior, the french were quite familiar with the names of lakes and rivers in the interior which they had never visited. it will be remembered, however, that the same thing is true of the english on hudson bay. they knew the names assiniboines, christinos, and the like as familiar terms, although they had not left the bay. the reason of this is easily seen. the north-west indian is a great narrator. he tells of large territories, vast seas, and is, in fact, in the speech of hiawatha, "iagoo, the great boaster." he could map out his route upon a piece of birch-bark, and the maps still made by the wild north-western indians are quite worthy of note. it will be observed that the objection brought by the french against the hudson's bay company of clinging to the shores of the bay, may be equally charged against the french on the shore of lake superior, or at least of lake nepigon, for the period from its first occupation of at least seventy years. no doubt the same explanation applies in both cases, viz. the bringing of their furs to the forts by the indians made inland exploration at that time unnecessary. but the time and the man had now come, and the vast prairies of the north-west, hitherto unseen by the white man, were to become the battle-ground for a far greater contest for the possession of the fur trade than had yet taken place either in hudson bay or with the dutch and english in new york state. the promoting cause for this forward movement was again the dream of opening up a north-west passage. the hold this had upon the french we see was less than that upon frobisher, james, middleton, or dobbs among the english. speaking of the french interest in the scheme, pierre margry, keeper of the french archives in paris, says: "the prospect of discovering by the interior a passage to the _grand océan_, and by that to china, which was proposed by our officers under henry iv., louis xiii., and louis xiv., had been taken up with renewed ardour during the regency. memorial upon memorial had been presented to the conseil de marine respecting the advisability and the advantage of making this discovery. indeed, the père de charlevoix was sent to america, and made his great journey from the north to the south of new france for the purpose of reliably informing the council as to the most suitable route to pursue in order to reach the western sea. but the ardour which during the life of philip of orleans animated the government regarding the exploration of the west became feeble, and at length threatened to be totally extinguished, without any benefit being derived from the posts which they had already established in the country of the sioux and at kaministiquia." "the regent, in choosing between the two plans that father charlevoix presented to him at the close of his journey for the attainment of a knowledge of the western sea, through an unfortunate prudence, rejected the suggestion, which, it is true, was the most expensive and uncertain, viz. an expedition up the missouri to its source and beyond, and decided to establish a post among the sioux. the post of the sioux was consequently established in 1727. father gonor, a jesuit missionary who had gone upon the expedition, we are told, was, however, obliged to return without having been able to discover anything that would satisfy the expectations of the court about the western sea." at this time michilimackinac was the depôt of the west. it stood in the entrance of lake michigan--the gitche gumee of the indian tribes, near the mouth of the st. mary river, the outlet of lake superior; it was at the head of lake huron and georgian bay alike. many years afterwards it was called the "key of the north-west" and the "key of the upper lakes." a round island lying a little above the lake, it appealed to the indian imagination, and, as its name implies, was likened by them to the turtle. to it from every side expeditions gathered, and it became the great rendezvous. at michilimackinac, just after the arrival of father gonor, there came from the region of lake superior a man whose name was to become illustrious as an explorer, pierre gaultier de varennes, sieur de la verendrye. we have come to know him simply by the single name of verendrye. this great explorer was born in three rivers, the son of an old officer of the french army. the young cadet found very little to do in the new world, and made his way home to france. he served as a french officer in the war of the spanish succession, and was severely wounded in the battle of malplaquet. on his recovery, he did not receive the recognition that he desired, and so went to the western wilds of canada and took up the life of a "coureur de bois." verendrye, in pursuing the fur trade, had followed the somewhat deserted course which radisson and groseilliers had long before taken, and which a decade before this la noue had, as we have seen, selected. the fort on lake nepigon was still the rendezvous of the savages from the interior, who were willing to be turned aside from visiting the english on hudson bay. from the indians who assembled around his fort on lake nepigon, in 1728, verendrye heard of the vast interior, and had some hopes of reaching the goal of those who dreamt of a western sea. an experienced indian leader named ochagach undertook to map out on birch bark the route by which the lakes of the interior could be reached, and the savage descanted with rapture upon the furs to be obtained if the journey could be made. verendrye, filled with the thought of western discovery, went to quebec, and discussed his purpose with the governor there. he pointed out the route by way of the river of the assiniboels, and then the rivers by which lake ouinipegon might be reached. his estimate was that the western sea might be gained by an inland journey from lake superior of 500 leagues. [illustration: chomedey de maisonneuve. a daring pioneer of new france. (_from his statue in montreal._)] governor beauharnois considered the map submitted and the opinions of verendrye with his military engineer, chaussegros de lery; and their conclusions were favourable to verendrye's deductions. verendrye had the manner and character which inspired belief in his honesty and competence. he was also helped in his dealings with the governor at quebec by the representations of father gonor, whom we have seen had returned from the fort established among the sioux, convinced that the other route was impracticable. father gonor entirely sympathized with verendrye in the belief that the only hope lay in passing through the country of the christinos and assiniboels of the north. the governor granted the explorer the privilege of the entire profit of the fur trade, but was unable to give any assistance in money. verendrye now obtained the aid of a number of merchants in montreal in providing goods and equipment for the journey, and in high glee journeyed westward, calling at michilimackinac to take with him the jesuit father messager, to be the companion of his voyage. near the end of august, 1731, the expedition was at pigeon river, long known as grand portage, a point more than forty miles south-westward of the mouth of the kaministiquia. this was a notable event in history when verendrye and his crew stood ready to face the hardships of a journey to the interior. no doubt the way was hard and long, and the men were sulky and discouraged, but the heroism of their commander shone forth as he saw into the future and led the way to a vast and important region. often since that time have important expeditions going to the north-west been seen as they swept by the towering heights of thunder cape, and, passing onward, entered the uninviting mouth of kaministiquia. eighty-five years afterward, lord selkirk and his band of one hundred de meuron soldiers appeared here in canoes and penetrated to red river to regain the lost fort douglas. one hundred and twenty-six years after verendrye, according to an account given by an eye-witness--an old hudson's bay company officer--a canadian steamer laden high above the decks appeared at the mouth of the kaministiquia, bearing the dawson and hind expedition, to explore the plains of assiniboia and pave the way for their admission to canada. one hundred and thirty-nine years after verendrye, sir garnet wolseley, with his british regulars and canadian volunteers, swept through thunder bay on their way to put down the red river rebellion. and now one hundred and sixty-nine years after verendrye, the splendid steamers of the canadian pacific railway company thrice a week in summer carry their living cargo into the mouth of the kaministiquia to be transported by rail to the fast filling prairies of the west. yes! it was a great event when verendrye and his little band of unwilling voyageurs started inland from the shore of lake superior. verendrye, his valiant nephew, de la jemeraye, and his two sons, were the leaders of the expedition. grand portage avoids by a nine mile portage the falls and rapids at the mouth of the pigeon river, and northward from this point the party went, and after many hardships reached rainy lake in the first season, 1731. here, at the head of rainy river, just where it leaves the lake, they built their first fort, st. pierre. the writer has examined the site of this fort, just three miles above the falls of rainy river, and seen the mounds and excavations still remaining. this seems to have been their furthest point reached in the first season, and they returned to winter at kaministiquia. in the next year the expedition started inland, and in the month of june reached their fort st. pierre, descended the rainy river, and with exultation saw the expanse of the lake of the woods. the earliest name we find this lake known by is that given by verendrye. he says it was called lake minitie (cree, ministik) or des bois. (1) the former of these names, minitie, seems to be ojibway, and to mean lake of the islands, probably referring to the large number of islands to be found in the northern half of the lake. the other name (2), lac des bois, or lake of the woods, would appear to have been a mistranslation of the indian (ojibway) name by which the lake was known. the name (3) was "pikwedina sagaigan," meaning "the inland lake of the sand hills," referring to the skirting range of sand hills running for some thirteen miles along the southern shore of the lake to the east of the mouth of rainy river, its chief tributary. another name found on a map prepared by the hudson's bay company in 1748 is (4) lake nimigon, probably meaning the "expanse," referring to the open sheet of water now often called "la traverse." two other names, (5) clearwater lake and (6) whitefish lake, are clearly the extension of clearwater bay, a north-western part of the lake, and whitefish bay, still given by the indians to the channel to the east of grande presqu'île. on the south-west side of the lake of the woods verendrye's party built fort st. charles, probably hoping then to come in touch with the sioux who visited that side of the lake, and with whom they would seek trade. at this point the prospect was very remote of reaching the western sea. the expenses were great, and the fur trade did not so far give sufficient return to justify a further march to the interior. unassisted they had reached in 1733 lake ouinipegon (winnipeg), by descending the rapid river from lake of the woods, to which they gave the name of maurepas. the government in quebec informed the french minister, m. de maurepas, that they had been told by the adventurous jemeraye that if the french king would bear the expense, they were now certain that the western sea could be reached. they had lost in going to lake ouinipegon not less than 43,000 livres, and could not proceed further without aid. the reply from the court of france was unfavourable; nothing more than the free privilege of the fur trade was granted the explorers. in the following year verendrye built a fort near lake ouinipegon, at the mouth of the maurepas river (which we now know as winnipeg river), and not far from the present fort alexander. the fort was called fort maurepas, although the explorers felt that they had little for which to thank the french minister. still anxious to push on further west, but prevented by want of means, they made a second appeal to the french government in 1735. but again came the same reply of refusal. the explorers spent their time trading with the indians between lake winnipeg and grand portage, and coming and going, as they had occasion, to lake superior, and also to michilimackinac with their cargoes. while at fort st. charles, on the shores of the lake of the woods, in 1736, a great disaster overtook the party. verendrye's eldest son was very anxious to return to kaministiquia, as was also the jesuit priest, anneau, who was in company with the traders. verendrye was unwilling, but at last consented. the party, consisting of the younger verendrye and twenty men, were ruthlessly massacred by an ambush of the sioux on a small island some five leagues from fort st. charles, still known as massacre island. a few days afterwards the crime was discovered, and verendrye had difficulty in preventing his party from accepting the offer of the assiniboines and christinos to follow the sioux and wreak their vengeance upon them. during the next year fort maurepas was still their farthest outpost. the ruins of fort st. charles on the south side of the north-west angle of the lake of the woods were in 1908 discovered by st. boniface historical society and the remains of young verendrye's party found buried in the ruins of the chapel. though no assistance could be obtained from the french court for western discovery, and although the difficulties seemed almost insurmountable, verendrye was unwilling to give up the path open to him. he had the true spirit of the explorer, and chafed in his little stockade on the shores of lake winnipeg, seeking new worlds to conquer. if it was a great event when verendrye, in 1731, left the shores of lake superior to go inland, it was one of equal moment when, penniless and in debt, he determined at all hazards to leave the rocks and woods of lake winnipeg, and seek the broad prairies of the west. his decision being thus reached, the region which is now the fertile canadian prairies was entered upon. we are fortunate in having the original journal of this notable expedition of 1738, obtained by mr. douglas brymner, former archivist at ottawa. this, with two letters of bienville, were obtained by mr. brymner from a french family in montreal, and the identity of the documents has been fully established. this journal covers the time from the departure of verendrye from michilimackinac on july 20th, till say 1739, when he writes from the heart of the prairies. on september 22nd the brave verendrye left fort maurepas for the land unknown. it took him but two days with his five men to cross in swift canoes the south-east expanse of lake winnipeg, enter the mouth of red river, and reach the forks of the red and assiniboine rivers, where the city of winnipeg now stands. it was thus on september 24th of that memorable year that the eyes of the white man first fell on the site of what is destined to be the great central city of canada. a few crees who expected him met the french explorer there, and he had a conference with two chiefs, who were in the habit of taking their furs to the english on hudson bay. the water of the assiniboine river ran at this time very low, but verendrye was anxious to push westward. delayed by the shallowness of the assiniboine, the explorer's progress was very slow, but in six days he reached the portage, then used to cross to lake manitoba on the route to hudson bay. on this portage now stands the town of portage la prairie. the assiniboine indians who met verendrye here told him it would be useless for him to ascend the assiniboine river further, as the water was so low. verendrye was expecting a reinforcement to join his party, under his colleague, m. de la marque. he determined to remain at portage la prairie and to build a fort. verendrye then assembled the indians, gave them presents of powder, ball, tobacco, axes, knives, &c., and in the name of the french king received them as the children of the great monarch across the sea, and repeated several times to them the orders of the king they were to obey. it is very interesting to notice the skill with which the early french explorers dealt with the indians, and to see the formal way in which they took possession of the lands visited. verendrye states that the indians were greatly impressed, "many with tears in their eyes." he adds with some _naïveté_, "they thanked me greatly, promising to do wonders." on october 3rd, verendrye decided to build a fort. he was joined shortly after by messrs. de la marque and nolant with eight men in two canoes. the fort was soon pushed on, and, with the help of the indians, was finished by october 15th. this was the beginning of fort de la reine. at this stage in his journal verendrye makes an important announcement, bearing on a subject which has been somewhat discussed. verendrye says, "m. de la marque told me he had brought m. de louvière to the forks with two canoes to build a fort there for the accommodation of the people of the red river. i approved of it if the indians were notified." this settles the fact that there was a fort at the forks of the red and assiniboine rivers, and that it was built in 1738. in the absence of this information, we have been in the habit of fixing the building of fort rouge at this point from 1735 to 1737. there can now be no doubt that october, 1738, is the correct date. from french maps, as has been pointed out, fort rouge stood at the mouth of the assiniboine, on the south side of the river, and the portion of the city of winnipeg called fort rouge is properly named. it is, of course, evident that the forts erected by these early explorers were simply winter stations, thrown up in great haste. verendrye and his band of fifty-two persons, frenchmen and indians, set out overland by the mandan road on october 18th, to reach the mandan settlements of the missouri. it is not a part of our work to describe that journey. suffice it to say that on december 3rd he was at the central fort of the mandans, 250 miles from his fort at portage la prairie. being unable to induce his assiniboine guides and interpreters to remain for the winter among the mandans, verendrye returned somewhat unwillingly to the assiniboine river. he arrived on february 10th at his fort de la reine, as he says himself, "greatly fatigued and very ill." verendrye in his journal gives us an excellent opportunity of seeing the thorough devotion of the man to his duty. from fort michilimackinac to the missouri, by the route followed by him, is not less than 1,200 miles, and this he accomplished, as we have seen with the necessary delay of building a fort, between july 20th and december 3rd--136 days--of this wonderful year of 1738. struggling with difficulties, satisfying creditors, hoping for assistance from france, but ever patriotic and single-minded, verendrye became the leading spirit in western exploration. in the year after his great expedition to the prairies, he was summoned to montreal to resist a lawsuit brought against him. the prevailing sin of french canada was jealousy. though verendrye had struggled so bravely to explore the country, there were those who whispered in the ear of the minister of the french court that he was selfish and unworthy. in his heart-broken reply to the charges, he says, "if more than 40,000 livres of debt which i have on my shoulders are an advantage, then i can flatter myself that i am very rich." in 1741 a fruitless attempt was made to reach the mandans, but in the following year verendrye's eldest surviving son and his brother, known as the chevalier, having with them only two canadians, left forte de la reine, and made in this and the succeeding year one of the most famous of the verendrye discoveries. this lies beyond the field of our inquiry, being the journey to the missouri, and up to an eastern spur of the rocky mountains. parkman, in his "a half century of conflict," has given a detailed account of this remarkable journey. going northward over the portage la prairie, verendrye's sons had discovered what is now known as lake manitoba, and had reached the saskatchewan river. on the west side of lake manitoba they founded fort dauphin, while at the west end of the enlargement of the saskatchewan known as cedar lake, they built fort bourbon and ascended the saskatchewan to the forks, which were known as the poskoiac. tardy recognition of verendrye's achievements came from the french court in the explorer being promoted to the position of captain in the colonial troops, and a short time after he was given the cross of the order of st. louis. beauharnois and his successor galissionière had both stood by verendrye and done their best for him. indeed, the explorer was just about to proceed on the great expedition which was to fulfil their hopes of finding the western sea, when, on december 6th, he passed away, his dream unrealized. he was an unselfish soul, a man of great executive ability, and one who dearly loved his king and country. he stands out in striking contrast to the bigots and jonquières, who disgraced the name of france in the new world. from the hands of these vampires, who had come to suck out the blood of new france, verendrye's sons received no consideration. their claims were coolly passed by, their goods shamelessly seized, and their written and forcible remonstrance made no impression. legardeur de st. pierre, more to the mind of the selfish bigot, was given their place and property, and in 1751 a small fort was built on the upper waters of the saskatchewan, near the rocky mountains, near where the town of calgary now stands. this was called in honour of the governor, fort la jonquière. a year afterward, st. pierre, with his little garrison of five men, disgusted with the country, deserted fort la reine, which, a few weeks after, was burned to the ground by the assiniboines. the fur trade was continued by the french in much the same bounds, so long as the country remained in the hands of france. we are fortunate in having an account of these affairs given in de bougainville's memoir, two years before the capture of canada by wolfe. the forts built by verendrye's successors were included under the "post of the western sea" (la mer de l'ouest). bougainville says, "the post of the western sea is the most advanced toward the north; it is situated amidst many indian tribes, with whom we trade and who have intercourse with the english, toward hudson bay. we have there several forts built of stockades, trusted generally to the care of one or two officers, seven or eight soldiers, and eighty _engagés canadiens_. we can push further the discoveries we have made in that country, and communicate even with california." this would have realized the dream of verendrye of reaching the western sea. "the post of la mer de l'ouest includes the forts of st. pierre, st. charles, bourbon, de la reine, dauphin, poskoiac, and des prairies (de la jonquière), all of which are built with palisades that can give protection only against the indians." "the post of la mer de l'ouest merits special attention for two reasons: the first, that it is the nearest to the establishments of the english on hudson bay, and from which their movements can be watched; the second, that from this post, the discovery of the western sea may be accomplished; but to make this discovery it will be necessary that the travellers give up all view of personal interest." two years later, french power in north america came to an end, and a generation afterward, the western sea was discovered by british fur traders. chapter xi. the scottish merchants of montreal. unyielding old cadot--competition--the enterprising henry--leads the way--thomas curry--the older finlay--plundering indians--"grand portage"--a famous mart--the plucky frobishers--the sleeping giant aroused--fort cumberland--churchill river--indian rising--the deadly smallpox--the whites saved. the capture of canada by general wolfe in 1759 completely changed the course of affairs in the western fur country. michilimackinac and sault ste. marie had become considerable trading centres under the french _régime_, but the officers and men had almost entirely been withdrawn from the outposts in the death struggle for the defence of quebec and montreal. the conquest of canada was announced with sorrow by the chief captain of the west, charles de langlade, on his return after the capitulation of montreal. the french canadians who had taken indian wives still clung to the fur country. these french half-breed settlements at michilimackinac and neighbouring posts were of some size, but beyond lake superior, except a straggler here and there, nothing french was left behind. the forts of the western post fell into decay, and were in most cases burnt by the indians. not an army officer, not a priest, not a fur trader, remained beyond kaministiquia. the french of michilimackinac region were for a time unwilling to accept british rule. old trader, jean baptiste cadot, who had settled with his indian wife, anastasie, at sault ste. marie, and become a man of wide influence, for years refused to yield, and a french canadian author says: "so the french flag continued to float over the fort of sault ste. marie long after the _fleur-de-lis_ had quitted for ever the ramparts of quebec. under the shadow of the old colours, so fruitful of tender memories, he was able to believe himself still under the protection of the mother-country." however, cadot ended by accepting the situation, and an author tells us that like cadot, "were the la cornes, the langlades, the beaujeus, the babys, and many others who, after fighting like lions against england, were counted a little later among the number of her most gallant defenders." for several years, however, the fur trade was not carried on. the change of flag in canada brought a number of enterprising spirits as settlers to quebec and montreal. the highland regiments under generals amherst and wolfe had seen montreal and quebec. a number of the military became settlers. the suppression of the jacobite rebellion in scotland in 1745 had led to the dispersion of many young men of family beyond the seas. some of these drifted to montreal. many of the scottish settlements of the united states had remained loyal, so that after the american revolution parties of these loyalists came to montreal. thus in a way hard to explain satisfactorily, the english-speaking merchants who came to canada were largely scottish. in a government report found in the haldimand papers in 1784, it is stated that "the greater part of the inhabitants of montreal (no doubt meaning english-speaking inhabitants) are presbyterians of the church of scotland." it was these scottish merchants of montreal who revived the fur trade to the interior. washington irving, speaking of these merchants, says, "most of the clerks were young men of good families from the highlands of scotland, characterized by the perseverance, thrift, and fidelity of their country." he refers to their feasts "making the rafters resound with bursts of loyalty and old scottish songs." the late archbishop taché, a french canadian long known in the north-west, speaking of this period says, "companies called english, but generally composed of scotchmen, were found in canada to continue to make the most of the rich furs of the forests of the north. necessity obliged them at first to accept the co-operation of the french canadians, who maintained their influence by the share they took in the working of these companies.... this circumstance explains how, after the scotch, the french canadian element is the most important." the first among these scottish merchants to hie away from montreal to the far west was alexander henry, whose "travels and adventures in canada and the indian territories between the years 1760 and 1766" have the charm of narrative of an irving or a parkman. he knew nothing of the fur trade, but he took with him an experienced french canadian, named campion. he appeared at michilimackinac two years after the conquest by wolfe, and in the following year visited sault ste. marie with its stockaded fort, and formed a friendship with trader cadot. in the following year, henry was a witness of the massacre at michilimackinac, so graphically described by parkman in his "conspiracy of pontiac." henry's account of his own escape is a thrilling tale. in 1765 henry obtained from the commandant at michilimackinac licence of the exclusive trade of lake superior. he purchased the freight of four canoes, which he took at the price of 10,000 good, merchantable beavers. with his crew of twelve men, and supplies of fifty bushels of prepared indian corn, he reached a band of indians on the lake who were in poverty, but who took his supplies on trust, and went off to hunt beaver. in due time the indians returned, and paid up promptly and fully the loans made to them. by 1768 he had succeeded in opening up the desired route of french traders, going from michilimackinac to kaministiquia on lake superior and returning. his later journeys we may notice afterwards. of the other merchants who followed henry in reviving the old route, the first to make a notable adventure was the scotchman thomas curry. procuring the requisite band of voyageurs and interpreters, in 1766 he pushed through with four canoes, along verendrye's route, even to the site of the old french fort bourbon, on the west of cedar lake, on the lower saskatchewan river. curry had in his movement something of the spirit of verendrye, and his season's trip was so successful that, according to sir alexander mackenzie, his fine furs gave so handsome a return that "he was satisfied never again to return to the indian country." [illustration: junction of the ottawa and st. lawrence (near cedars).] another valorous scotchman, james finlay, of montreal, took up the paddle that curry had laid down, and in 1768, with a force equal to that of curry, passed into the interior and ascended the saskatchewan to nipawi, the farthest point which verendrye had reached. he was rewarded with a generous return for his venture. but while these journeys had been successful, it would seem that the turbulent state of the indian tribes had made other expeditions disastrous. in a memorial sent by the fur traders a few years later to the canadian government, it is stated that in a venture made from michilimackinac in 1765 the indians of rainy lake had plundered the traders of their goods, that in the next year a similar revolt followed, that in the following year the traders were compelled to leave a certain portion of their goods at rainy lake to be allowed to go on to lake ouinipique. it is stated that the brothers, benjamin and james frobisher, of montreal, who became so celebrated as fur traders, began a post ten years after the conquest. these two merchants were englishmen. they speedily took the lead in pushing forward far into the interior, and were the most practical of the fur traders in making alliances and in dealing successfully with the indians. in their first expedition they had the same experience in their goods being seized by the thievish indians of rainy lake; but before they could send back word the goods for the next venture had reached grand portage on lake superior, and they were compelled to try the route to the west again. on this occasion they managed to defy the pillaging bands, and reached fort bourbon on the saskatchewan. they now discovered that co-operation and a considerable show of force was the only method of carrying on a safe trade among the various tribes. it was fortunate for the montreal traders that such courageous leaders as the frobishers had undertaken the trade. the trade to the north-west thus received a marvellous development at the hands of the montreal merchants. nepigon and the kaministiquia, which had been such important points in the french _régime_, had been quite forgotten, and grand portage was now the place of greatest interest, and so continued to the end of the century. it is with peculiar interest a visitor to-day makes his way to grand portage. the writer, after a difficult night voyage over the stormy waters of lake superior, rowed by the keeper of a neighbouring lighthouse, made a visit a few years ago to this spot. grand portage ends on a bay of lake superior. it is partially sheltered by a rocky island which has the appearance of a robber's keep, but has one inhabitant, the only white man of the region, a french canadian of very fair means. on the bay is to-day an indian village, chiefly celebrated for its multitude of dogs. a few traces of the former greatness of the place may be seen in the timbers down in the water of the former wharves, which were extensive. few traces of forts are now, a century after their desertion by the fur traders, to be seen. the portage, consisting of a road fairly made for the nine or ten miles necessary to avoid the falls on pigeon river, can still be followed. no horse or ox is now to be found in the whole district, where at one time the traders used this means of lightening the burden of packing over the portage. the solitary road, as the traveller walks along it, with weeds and grasses grown up, brings to one a melancholy feeling. the bustle of voyageur and trader and indian is no more; and the reflection made by irving comes back, "the lords of the lakes and forests have passed away." and yet grand portage was at the time of which we are writing a place of vast importance. here there were employed as early as 1783, by the several merchants from montreal, 500 men. one half of these came from montreal to grand portage in canoes of four tons burden, each managed by from eight to ten men. as these were regarded as having the least romantic portion of the route, meeting with no indians, and living on cured rations, they were called the "mangeurs de lard," or pork eaters. the other half of the force journeyed inland from grand portage in canoes, each carrying about a ton and a half. living on game and the dried meat of the buffalo, known as pemmican, these were a more independent and daring body. they were called the "coureurs de bois." for fifteen days after august 15th these wood-runners portaged over the nine or ten miles their burdens. men carrying 150 lbs. each way have been known to make the portage and return in six hours. when the canoes were loaded at the west end of the portage with two-thirds goods and one-third provisions, then the hurry of the season came, and supplies for lake winnipeg, the saskatchewan, and far distant athabasca were hastened on apace. the difficulties of the route were at many a décharge, where only the goods needed to be removed and the canoes taken over the rapids, or at the portage, where both canoes and load were carried past dangerous falls and fierce rapids. the dash, energy, and skill that characterized these mixed companies of scottish traders, french voyageurs, half-breed and indian _engagés_, have been well spoken of by all observers, and appeal strongly to the lovers of the picturesque and heroic. [illustration: map of route of scottish merchants up the ottawa to lake athabasca.] a quarter of a century after the conquest we have a note of alarm at the new competition that the company from hudson bay had at last undertaken. in the memorial before us it is stated that disturbance of trade is made by "new adventurers." it is with a smile we read of the daring and strong-handed traders of montreal saying, "those adventurers (evidently h. b. co.), consulting their own interests only, without the least regard to the management of the natives or the general welfare of the trade, soon occasioned such disorders, &c.... since that time business is carried on with great disadvantages." this reference, so prosaically introduced, is really one of enormous moment in our story. the frobishers, with their keen business instincts and daring plans, saw that the real stroke which would lead them on to fortune was to divert the stream of trade then going to hudson bay southward to lake superior. accordingly, with a further aggressive movement in view, joseph frobisher established a post on sturgeon lake, an enlargement of the saskatchewan, near the point known by the early french as poskoiac. a glance at the map will show how well chosen sturgeon lake fort was. northward from it a watercourse could be readily followed, by which the main line of water communication from the great northern districts to hudson bay could be reached and the northern indians be interrupted in their annual pilgrimage to the bay. but, as we shall afterward see, the sleeping giant of the bay had been awakened and was about to stretch forth his arms to grasp the trade of the interior with a new vigour. two years after frobisher had thrown down the pledge of battle, it was taken up by the arrival of samuel hearne, an officer of the hudson's bay company, and by his founding fort cumberland on sturgeon lake, about two miles below frobisher's fort. hearne returned to the bay, leaving his new fort garrisoned by a number of orkney men under an english officer. during the same year an explorer, on behalf of the hudson's bay company, visited red river, but no fort was built there for some time afterward. the building of fort cumberland led to a consolidation on the part of the montreal merchants. in the next year after its building, alexander henry, the brothers frobisher, trader cadot, and a daring trader named pond, gathered at sturgeon lake, and laid their plans for striking a blow in retaliation, as they regarded it, for the disturbance of trade made by the hudson's bay company in penetrating to the interior from the bay. cadot, with four canoes, went west to the saskatchewan; pond, with two, to the country on lake dauphin; and henry and the frobisher brothers, with their ten canoes and upwards of forty men, hastened northward to carry out the project of turning anew the northern indians from their usual visit to the bay. on the way to the churchill river they built a fort on beaver lake. in the following year, a strong party went north to churchill or english river, as joseph frobisher now called it. when it was reached they turned westward and ascended the churchill, returning at serpent's rapid, but sending thomas frobisher with goods on to lake athabasca. from the energy displayed, and the skill shown in seizing the main points in the country, it will be seen that the montreal merchants were not lacking in ability to plan and decision to execute. the two great forces have now met, and for fifty years a battle royal will be fought for the rivers, rocks, and plains of the north country. at present it is our duty to follow somewhat further the merchants of montreal in their agencies in the north-west. there can be no doubt that the competition between the two companies produced disorder and confusion among the indian tribes. the indian nature is excitable and suspicious. rival traders for their own ends played upon the fears and cupidity alike of the simple children of the woods and prairies. they represented their opponents in both cases as unreliable and grasping, and party spirit unknown before showed itself in most violent forms. the feeling against the whites of both parties was aroused by injustices, in some cases fancied, in others real. the assiniboines, really the northern branch of the fierce sioux of the prairies, were first to seize the tomahawk. they attacked poplar fort on the assiniboine. after some loss of life, bruce and boyer, who were in charge of the fort, decided to desert it. numerous other attacks were made on the traders' forts, and it looked as if the prairies would be the scene of a general indian war. the only thing that seems to have prevented so dire a disaster was the appearance of what is ever a dreadful enemy to the poor indian, the scourge of smallpox. the assiniboines had gone on a war expedition against the mandans of the missouri river, and had carried back the smallpox infection which prevailed among the mandan lodges. this disease spread over the whole country, and several bands of indians were completely blotted out. of one tribe of four hundred lodges, only ten persons remained; the poor survivors, in seeking succour from other bands, carried the disease with them. at the end of 1782 there were only twelve traders who had persevered in their trade on account of the discouragements, but the whole trade was for two or three seasons brought to an end by this disease. the decimation of the tribes, the fear of infection by the traders, and the general awe cast over the country turned the thoughts of the natives away from war, and as masson says, "the whites had thus escaped the danger which threatened them." two or three years after the scourge, the merchants of montreal revived the trade, and, as we shall see, made a combination which, in the thoroughness of its discipline, the energy of its operations, the courage of its promoters, and the scope of its trade, has perhaps never been equalled in the history of trading companies. chapter xii. discovery of the coppermine. samuel hearne--"the mungo park of canada"--perouse complains--the north-west passage--indian guides--two failures--third journey successful--smokes the calumet--discovers arctic ocean--cruelty to the eskimos--error in latitude--remarkable indian woman--capture of prince of wales fort--criticism by umfreville. such an agitation as that so skilfully planned and shrewdly carried on by arthur dobbs, esq., could not but affect the action of the hudson's bay company. the most serious charge brought against the company was that, while having a monopoly of the trade on hudson bay, it had taken no steps to penetrate the country and develop its resources. it is of course evident that the company itself could have no reason for refusing to open up trade with the interior, for by this means it would be expanding its operations and increasing its profits. the real reason for its not doing so seems to have been the inertia, not to say fear, of hudson's bay company agents on the bay who failed to mingle with the bands of indians in the interior. now the man was found who was to be equal to the occasion. this was samuel hearne. except occasional reference to him in the minutes of the company and works of the period, we know little of samuel hearne. he was one of the class of men to which belonged norton, kelsey, and others--men who had grown up in the service of the company on the bay, and had become, in the course of years, accustomed to the climate, condition of life, and haunts of the indians, thus being fitted for active work for the company. samuel hearne became so celebrated in his inland expeditions, that the credit of the hudson's bay company leaving the coast and venturing into the interior has always been attached to his name. so greatly, especially in the english mind, have his explorations bulked, that the author of a book of travels in canada about the beginning of this century called him the "mungo park of canada." in his "journey," we have an account of his earlier voyages to the interior in search of the coppermine river. this book has a somewhat notable history. in the four-volume work of la perouse, the french navigator, it is stated that when he took prince of wales fort on the churchill river in 1782, hearne, as governor of the fort, surrendered it to him, and that the manuscript of his "journey" was seized by the french commander. it was returned to hearne on condition that it should be published, but the publication did not take place until thirteen years afterwards. it is somewhat amusing to read in perouse's preface (1791) the complaint that hearne had not kept faith with him in regard to publishing the journal, and the hope is expressed that this public statement in reminding him of his promise would have the desired effect of the journal being published. four years afterwards hearne's "journey" appeared. a reference to this fine quarto work, which is well illustrated, brings us back in the introduction to all the controversies embodied in the work of dobbs, ellis, robson, and the "american traveller." hearne's orders were received from the hudson's bay company, in 1769, to go on a land expedition to the interior of the continent, from the mouth of the churchill as far as 70 deg. n. lat., to smoke the calumet of peace with the indians, to take accurate astronomical observations, to go with guides to the athabasca country, and thence northward to a river abounding with copper ore and "animals of the fur kind," &c. it is very noticeable, also, that his instructions distinctly tell him "to clear up the point, if possible, in order to prevent further doubt from arising hereafter respecting a passage out of hudson bay into the western ocean, as hath lately been represented by the 'american traveller.'" the instructions made it plain that it was the agitation still continuing from the days of dobbs which led to the sending of hearne to the north country. hearne's first expedition was made during the last months of the year 1769. it is peculiarly instructive in the fact that it failed to accomplish anything, as it gives us a glimpse of the difficulties which no doubt so long prevented the movement to the interior. in the first place, the bitterly severe months of november and december were badly chosen for the time of the expedition. on the sixth day of the former of these months hearne left prince of wales fort, taking leave of the governor, and being sent off with a salute of seven guns. his guide was an indian chief, chawchinahaw. hearne ascertained very soon, what others have found among the indians, that his guide was not to be trusted; he "often painted the difficulties in the worst colours" and took every method to dishearten the explorer. three weeks after starting, a number of the indians deserted hearne. shortly after this mishap, chawchinahaw and his company ruthlessly deserted the expedition, and two hundred miles from the fort set out on another route, "making the woods ring with their laughter." meeting other indians, hearne purchased venison, but was cheated, while his indian guide was feasted. the explorer remarks:--"a sufficient proof of the singular advantage which a native of this country has over an englishman, when at such a distance from the company's factories as to depend entirely on them for subsistence." hearne arrived at the fort after an absence of thirty-seven days, as he says, "to my own mortification and the no small surprise of the governor." hearne was simply illustrating what has been shown a hundred times since, in all foreign regions, viz., native peoples are quick to see the inexperience of men raw to the country, and will heartlessly maltreat and deceive them. however, british officers and men in all parts of the world become at length accustomed to dealing with savage peoples, and after some experience, none have ever equalled british agents and explorers in the management and direction of such peoples. early in the following year hearne plucked up courage for another expedition. on this occasion he determined to take no europeans, but to trust to indians alone. on february 23rd, accompanied by five indians, hearne started on his second journey. following the advice of the governor, the party took no indian women with them, though hearne states that this was a mistake, as they were "needed for hauling the baggage as well as for dressing skins for clothing, pitching our tent, getting firing, &c." during the first part of the journey deer were plentiful, and the fish obtained by cutting holes in the ice of the lakes were excellent. hearne spent the time of the necessary delays caused by the obtaining of fish and game in taking observations, keeping his journal and chart, and doing his share of trapping. meeting, as soon as the spring opened, bands of indians going on various errands, the explorer started overland. he carried sixty pounds of burden, consisting of quadrant, books and papers, compass, wearing apparel, weapons and presents for the natives. the traveller often made twenty miles a day over the rugged country. meeting a chief of the northern indians going in july to prince of wales fort, hearne sent by him for ammunition and supplies. a canoe being now necessary, hearne purchased this of the indians. it was obtained by the exchange of a single knife, the full value of which did not exceed a penny. in the middle of this month the party saw bands of musk oxen. a number of these were killed and their flesh made into pemmican for future use. finding it impossible to reach the coppermine during the season, hearne determined to live with the indians for the winter. the explorer was a good deal disturbed by having to give presents to indians who met him. some of them wanted guns, all wanted ammunition, iron-work, and tobacco; many were solicitous for medicine; and others pressed for different articles of clothing. he thought the indians very inconsiderate in their demands. on august 11th the explorer had the misfortune to lose his quadrant by its being blown open and broken by the wind. shortly after this disaster, hearne was plundered by a number of indians who joined him. he determined to return to the fort. suffering from the want of food and clothing, hearne was overtaken by a famous chief, matonabbee, who was going eastward to prince of wales fort. the chief had lived several years at the fort, and was one who knew the coppermine. matonabbee discussed the reasons of hearne's failure in his two expeditions. the forest philosopher gave as the reason of these failures the misconduct of the guides and the failure to take any women on the journey. after maintaining that women were made for labour, and speaking of their assistance, said matonabbee, "women, though they do everything, are maintained at a trifling expense, for as they always stand cook, the very licking of their fingers in scarce times is sufficient for their subsistence." plainly, the northern chief had need of the ameliorating influence of modern reformers. in company with the chief, hearne returned to the fort, reaching it after an absence of eight months and twenty-two days, having, as he says, had "a fruitless or at least an unsuccessful journey." hearne, though beaten twice, was determined to try a third time and win. he recommended the employment of matonabbee as a guide of intelligence and experience. governor norton wished to send some of the coast indians with hearne, but the latter refused them, and incurred the ill-will of the governor. hearne's instructions on this third journey were "in quest of a north-west passage, copper-mines, or any other thing that may be serviceable to the british nation in general, or the hudson's bay company in particular." the explorer was now furnished with an elton's quadrant. this third journey was begun on december 7th, 1770. travelling sometimes for three or four days without food, they were annoyed, when supplies were secured, by the chief matonabbee taking so ill from over-eating that he had to be drawn upon a sledge. without more than the usual incidents of indian travelling, the party pushed on till a point some 19 deg. west of churchill was reached, according to the calculations of the explorer. it is to be noted, however, that hearne's observations, measurements, and maps, do not seem to be at all accurate. turning northward, as far as can be now made out, about the spot where the north-west traders first appeared on their way to the churchill river, hearne went north to his destination. his indian guides now formed a large war party from the resident indians, to meet the eskimos of the river to which they were going and to conquer them. the explorer announces that having left behind "all the women, children, dogs, heavy baggage, and other encumbrances," on june 1st, 1771, they pursued their journey northward with great speed. on june 21st the sun did not set at all, which hearne took to be proof that they had reached the arctic circle. next day they met the copper indians, who welcomed them on hearing the object of their visit. hearne, according to orders, smoked the calumet of peace with the copper indians. these indians had never before seen a white man. hearne was considered a great curiosity. pushing on upon their long journey, the explorers reached the coppermine river on july 13th. hearne was the witness of a cruel massacre of the eskimos by his indian allies, and the seizure of their copper utensils and other provisions, and expresses disgust at the enormity of the affair. the mouth of the river, which flows into the arctic ocean, was soon reached on july 18th, and the tide found to rise about fourteen feet. hearne seems in the narrative rather uncertain about the latitude of the mouth of the coppermine river, but states that after some consultation with the indians, he erected a mark, and took possession of the coast on behalf of the hudson's bay company. in hearne's map, dated july, 1771, and purporting to be a plan of the coppermine, the mouth of the river is about 71 deg. 54´ n. this was a great mistake, as the mouth of the river is somewhere near 68 deg. n. so great a mistake was certainly unpardonable. hearne's apology was that after the breaking of his quadrant on the second expedition, the instrument which he used was an old elton's quadrant, which had been knocking about the prince of wales fort for nearly thirty years. having examined the resources of the river and heard of the mines from which the copper indians obtained all the metal for the manufacture of hatchets, chisels, knives, &c., hearne started southward on his return journey on july 18th. instead of coming by the direct route, he went with the indians of his party to the north side of lake athabasca on december 24th. having crossed the lake, as illustrating the loneliness of the region, the party found a woman who had escaped from an indian band which had taken her prisoner, and who had not seen a human face for seven months, and had lived by snaring partridges, rabbits, and squirrels. her skill in maintaining herself in lonely wilds was truly wonderful. she became the wife of one of the indians of hearne's party. in the middle of march, 1772, hearne was delivered a letter, brought to him from prince of wales fort and dated in the preceding june. pushing eastward, after a number of adventures, hearne reached prince of wales fort on june 30th, 1772, having been absent on his third voyage eighteen months and twenty-three days. hearne rejoices that he had at length put an end to the disputes concerning a north-west passage through hudson bay. the fact, however, that during the nineteenth century this became again a living question shows that in this he was mistaken. the perseverance and pluck of hearne have impressed all those who have read his narrative. he was plainly one of the men possessing the subtle power of impressing the indian mind. his disasters would have deterred many men from following up so difficult and extensive a route. to him the hudson's bay company owes a debt of gratitude. that debt consists not in the discovery of the coppermine, but in the attitude presented to the northern indians from the bay all the way to lake athabasca. hearne does not mention the montreal fur traders, who, in the very year of his return, reached the saskatchewan and were stationed at the churchill river down which he passed. first of white men to reach athapuscow, now thought to have been great slave lake, samuel hearne claimed for his company priority of trade, and answered the calumnies that his company was lacking in energy and enterprise. he took what may be called "seizen" of the soil for the english traders. we shall speak again of his part in leading the movement inland to oppose the nor'-westers in the interior. his services to the hudson's bay company received recognition in his promotion, three years after his return home from his third voyage, to the governorship of the prince of wales fort. to hearne has been largely given the credit of the new and adventurous policy of the hudson's bay company. hearne does not, however, disappear from public notice on his promotion to the command of prince of wales fort. when war broke out a few years later between england and france, the latter country, remembering her old successes under d'iberville on hudson bay, sent a naval expedition to attack the forts on the bay. umfreville gives an account of the attack on prince of wales fort on august 8th and 9th, 1772. admiral de la perouse was in command of these war vessels, his flagship being _le sceptre_, of seventy-four guns. the garrison was thought to be well provided for a siege, and la perouse evidently expected to have a severe contest. however, as he approached the fort, there seemed to be no preparations made for defence, and, on the summons to surrender, the gates were immediately thrown open. [illustration: prince of wales fort.] umfreville, who was in the garrison and was taken prisoner on this occasion, speaks of the conduct of the governor as being very reprehensible, but severely criticizes the company for its neglect. he says:--"the strength of the fort itself was such as would have resisted the attack of a more considerable force; it was built of the strongest materials, the walls were of great thickness and very durable (it was planned by the ingenious mr. robson, who went out in 1742 for that purpose), it having been forty years in building and attended with great expense to the company. in short, it was the opinion of every intelligent person that it might have made an obstinate resistance when attacked, had it been as well provided in other respects; but through the impolitic conduct of the company, every courageous exertion of their servants must have been considered as imprudent temerity; for this place, which would have required four hundred men for its defence, the company, in its consummate wisdom, had garrisoned with only thirty-nine." in this matter, umfreville very plainly shows his animus to the company, but incidentally he exonerates hearne from the charge of cowardice, inasmuch as it would have been madness to make defence against so large a body of men. as has been before pointed out, we can hardly charge with cowardice the man who had shown his courage and determination in the three toilsome and dangerous journeys spoken of; rather would we see in this a proof of his wisdom under unfortunate circumstances. the surrender of york factory to la perouse twelve days afterwards, without resistance, was an event of an equally discouraging kind. the company suffered great loss by the surrender of these forts, which had been unmolested since the treaty of utrecht. chapter xiii. forts on hudson bay left behind. andrew graham's "memo."--prince of wales fort--the garrison--trade--york factory--furs--albany--subordinate forts--moose--moses norton--cumberland house--upper assiniboine--rainy lake--brandon house--red river--conflict of the companies. the new policy of the company that for a hundred years had carried on its operations in hudson bay was now to be adopted. as soon as the plan could be developed, a long line of posts in the interior would serve to carry on the chief trade, and the forts and factories on hudson bay would become depôts for storage and ports of departure for the old world. it is interesting at this point to have a view of the last days of the old system which had grown up during the operations of a century. we are fortunate in having an account of these forts in 1771 given by andrew graham, for many years a factor of the hudson's bay company. this document is to be found in the hudson's bay company house in london, and has been hitherto unpublished. the simplicity of description and curtness of detail gives the account its chief charm. prince of wales fort.--on a peninsula at the entrance of the churchill river. most northern settlement of the company. a stone fort, mounting forty-two cannon, from six to twenty-four pounders. opposite, on the south side of the river, cape merry battery, mounting six twenty-four pounders with lodge-house and powder magazine. the river 1,006 yards wide. a ship can anchor six miles above the fort. tides carry salt water twelve miles up the river. no springs near; drink snow water nine months of the year. in summer keep three draught horses to haul water and draw stones to finish building of forts. staff:--a chief factor and officers, with sixty servants and tradesmen. the council, with discretionary power, consists of chief factor, second factor, surgeon, sloop and brig masters, and captain of company's ship when in port. these answer and sign the general letter, sent yearly to directors. the others are accountant, trader, steward, armourer, ship-wright, carpenter, cooper, blacksmith, mason, tailor, and labourers. these must not trade with natives, under penalties for so doing. council mess together, also servants. called by bell to duty, work from six to six in summer; eight to four in winter. two watch in winter, three in summer. in emergencies, tradesmen must work at anything. killing of partridges the most pleasant duty. company signs contract with servants for three or five years, with the remarkable clause: "company may recall them home at any time without satisfaction for the remaining time. contract may be renewed, if servants or labourers wish, at expiry of term. salary advanced forty shillings, if men have behaved well in first term. the land and sea officers' and tradesmen's salaries do not vary, but seamen's are raised in time of war." a ship of 200 tons burden, bearing provisions, arrives yearly in august or early september. sails again in ten days, wind permitting, with cargo and those returning. sailors alone get pay when at home. the annual trade sent home from this fort is from ten to four thousand made beaver, in furs, felts, castorum, goose feathers, and quills, and a small quantity of train oil and whalebone, part of which they receive from the eskimos, and the rest from the white whale fishery. a black whale fishery is in hand, but it shows no progress. york factory.--on the north bank of hayes river, three miles from the entrance. famous river nelson, three miles north, makes the land between an island. well-built fort of wood, log on log. four bastions with sheds between, and a breastwork with twelve small carriage guns. good class of quarters, with double row of strong palisades. on the bank's edge, before the fort, is a half-moon battery, of turf and earth, with fifteen cannon, nine-pounders. two miles below the fort, same side, is a battery of ten twelve-pounders, with lodge-house and powder magazine. these two batteries command the river, but the shoals and sand-banks across the mouth defend us more. no ship comes higher than five miles below the fort. governed like prince of wales fort. complement of men: forty-two. the natives come down nelson river to trade. if weather calm, they paddle round the point. if not, they carry their furs across. this fort sends home from 7,000 to 33,000 made beaver in furs, &c., and a small quantity of white whale oil. severn fort.--on the north bank of severn river. well-built square house, with four bastions. men: eighteen. commanded by a factor and sloop master. eight small cannon and other warlike stores. sloop carries furs in the fall to york factory and delivers them to the ship, with the books and papers, receiving supply of trading goods, provisions, and stores. severn full of shoals and sand banks. sloop has difficulty in getting in and out. has to wait spring tides inside the point. trade sent home, 5,000 to 6,600 made beaver in furs, &c. albany fort.--on south bank of albany river, four miles from the entrance. large well-built wood fort. four bastions with shed between. cannon and warlike stores. men: thirty; factor and officers. river difficult. ship rides five leagues out and is loaded and unloaded by large sloop. trade, including two sub-houses of east main and henley, from 10,000 to 12,000 made beaver, &c. (this fort was the first europeans had in hudson bay, and is where hudson traded with natives.) henley house.--one hundred miles up the river from albany. eleven men, governed by master. first founded to prevent encroachments of the french, when masters of canada, and present to check the english. east main house.--entrance of slude river. small square house. sloop master and eleven men. trade: 1000 to 2000 made beaver in furs, &c. depth of water just admits sloop. moose factory.--south bank of moose river, near entrance. well-built wood fort--cannon and warlike stores. twenty-five men. factor and officers. river admits ship to good harbour, below fort. trade, 3,000 to 4,000 made beavers in furs, &c. one ship supplies this fort, along with albany and sub-forts. these are the present hudson's bay company's settlements in the bay. "all under one discipline, and excepting the sub-houses, each factor receives a commission to act for benefit of company, without being answerable to any person or persons in the bay, more than to consult for good of company in emergencies and to supply one another with trading goods, &c., if capable, the receiver giving credit for the same." the movement to the interior was begun from the prince of wales fort up the churchill river. next year, after his return from the discovery of the coppermine, samuel hearne undertook the aggressive work of going to meet the indians, now threatened from the saskatchewan by the seductive influences of the messrs. frobisher, of the montreal fur traders. the governor at prince of wales fort, for a good many years, had been moses norton. he was really an indian born at the fort, who had received some education during a nine years' residence in england. of uncultivated manners, and leading far from a pure life, he was yet a man of considerable force, with a power to command and the ability to ingratiate himself with the indians. he was possessed of undoubted energy, and no doubt to his advice is very much due the movement to leave the forts in the bay and penetrate to the interior of the country. in december of the very year (1773) in which hearne went on his trading expedition inland, norton died. in the following year, as we have seen, hearne erected cumberland house, only five hundred yards from frobisher's new post on sturgeon lake. it was the intention of the hudson's bay company also to make an effort to control the trade to the south of lake winnipeg. hastily called away after building cumberland house, hearne was compelled to leave a colleague, mr. cockings, in charge of the newly-erected fort, and returned to the bay to take charge of prince of wales fort, the post left vacant by the death of governor norton. the hudson's bay company, now regularly embarked in the inland trade, undertook to push their posts to different parts of the country, especially to the portion of the fur country in the direction from which the montreal traders approached it. the english traders, as we learn from umfreville, who was certainly not prejudiced in their favour, had the advantage of a higher reputation in character and trade among the indians than had their canadian opponents. from their greater nearness to northern waters, the old company could reach a point in the saskatchewan with their goods nearly a month earlier in the spring than their montreal rivals were able to do. we find that in 1790 the hudson's bay company crossed south from the northern waters and erected a trading post at the mouth of the swan river, near lake winnipegoosis. this they soon deserted and built a fort on the upper waters of the assiniboine river, a few miles above the present hudson's bay company post of fort pelly. a period of surprising energy was now seen in the english company's affairs. "carrying the war into africa," they in the same year met their antagonists in the heart of their own territory, by building a trading post on rainy lake and another in the neighbouring red lake district, now included in north-eastern minnesota. having seized the chief points southward, the aroused company, in the next year (1791), pushed north-westward from cumberland house and built an establishment at ile à la crosse, well up toward lake athabasca. crossing from lake winnipeg in early spring to the head waters of the assiniboine river, the spring brigade of the hudson's bay company quite outdid their rivals, and in 1794 built the historic brandon house, at a very important point on the assiniboine river. this post was for upwards of twenty years a chief hudson's bay company centre until it was burnt. on the grassy bank of the assiniboine, the writer some years ago found the remains of the old fort, and from the well-preserved character of the sod, was able to make out the line of the palisades, the exact size of all the buildings, and thus to obtain the ground plan. brandon house was on the south side of the assiniboine, about seventeen miles below the present city of brandon. its remains are situated on the homestead of mr. george mair, a canadian settler from beauharnois, quebec, who settled here on july 20th, 1879. the site was well chosen at a bend of the river, having the assiniboine in front of it on the east and partially so also on the north. the front of the palisade faced to the east, and midway in the wall was a gate ten feet wide, with inside of it a look-out tower (guérite) seven feet square. on the south side was the long store-house. in the centre had stood a building said by some to have been the blacksmith's shop. along the north wall were the buildings for residences and other purposes. the remains of other forts, belonging to rival companies, are not far away, but of these we shall speak again. the same activity continued to exist in the following year, for in points so far apart as the upper saskatchewan and lake winnipeg new forts were built. the former of these was edmonton house, built on the north branch of the saskatchewan. the fort erected on lake winnipeg was probably that at the mouth of the winnipeg river, near where fort alexander now stands. in 1796, another post was begun on the assiniboine river, not unlikely near the old site of fort de la reine, while in the following year, as a half-way house to edmonton on the saskatchewan, carlton house was erected. the red river proper was taken possession of by the company in 1799. alexander henry, junr., tells us that very near the boundary line (49 degrees n.) on the east side of the red river, there were in 1800 the remains of a fort. such was the condition of things, so far as the hudson's bay company was concerned, at the end of the century. in twenty-five years they had extended their trade from edmonton house, near the rockies, as far as rainy lake; they had made cumberland house the centre of their operations in the interior, and had taken a strong hold of the fertile region on the red and assiniboine rivers, of which to-day the city of winnipeg is the centre. undoubtedly the severe competition between the montreal merchants and the hudson's bay company greatly diminished the profits of both. according to umfreville, the hudson's bay company business was conducted much more economically than that of the merchants of montreal. the company upon the bay chiefly employed men obtained in the orkney islands, who were a steady, plodding, and reliable class. the employés of the montreal merchants were a wild, free, reckless people, much addicted to drink, and consequently less to be depended upon. the same writer states that the competition between the two rival bodies of traders resulted badly for the indians. he says: "so that the canadians from canada and the europeans from hudson bay met together, not at all to the ulterior advantage of the natives, who by this means became degenerated and debauched, through the excessive use of spirituous liquors imported by these rivals in commerce." one thing at any rate had been clearly demonstrated, that the inglorious sleeping by the side of the bay, charged by dobbs and others against the old company, had been overcome, and that the first quarter of the second century of the history of the hudson's bay company showed that the company's motto, "pro pelle cutem," "skin for skin," had not been inappropriately chosen. chapter xiv. the north-west company formed. hudson's bay company aggressive--the great mctavish--the frobishers--pond and pangman dissatisfied--gregory and mcleod--strength of the north-west company--vessels to be built--new route from lake superior sought--good-will at times--bloody pond--wider union, 1787--fort alexandria--mouth of the souris--enormous fur trade--wealthy nor'-westers--"the haunted house." the terrible scourge of smallpox cut off one-half, some say one-third of the indian population of the fur country. this was a severe blow to the prosperity of the fur trade, as the traders largely depended on the indians as trappers. the determination shown by the hudson's bay company, and the zeal with which they took advantage of an early access to the northern indians, were a surprise to the montreal traders, and we find in the writings of the time, frequent expressions as to the loss of profits produced by the competition in the fur trade. the leading fur merchants of montreal determined on a combination of their forces. chief among the stronger houses were the frobishers. joseph frobisher had returned from his two years' expedition in 1776, "having secured what was in those days counted a competent fortune," and was one of the "characters" of the commercial capital of canada. the strongest factor in the combination was probably simon mctavish, of whom a writer has said "that he may be regarded as the founder of the famous north-west company." mctavish, born in 1750, was a highlander of enormous energy and decision of character. while by his force of will rousing opposition, yet he had excellent business capacity, and it was he who suggested the cessation of rivalries and strife among themselves and the union of their forces by the canadian traders. [illustration: the lac des allumettes.] accordingly the north-west company was formed 1783-4, its stock being apportioned into sixteen parts, each stockholder supplying in lieu of money a certain proportion of the commodities necessary for trade, and the committee dividing their profits when the returns were made from the sale of furs. the united firms of benjamin and joseph frobisher and simon mctavish administered the whole affair for the traders and received a commission as agents. the brightest prospect lay before the new formed company, and they had their first gathering at grand portage in the spring of 1784. but union did not satisfy all. a viciously-disposed and self-confident trader, peter pond, had not been consulted. pond was an american, who, as we have seen in 1775, accompanied henry, cadot, and frobisher to the far north-west. two years later he had gone to lake athabasca, and forty miles from the lake on deer river, had built in 1778 the first fort in the far-distant region, which became known as the fur emporium of the north-west. pond had with much skill prepared a great map of the country for presentation to the empress catherine of russia, and at a later stage gave much information to the american commissioners who settled the boundary line under the treaty of paris. pond was dissatisfied and refused to enter the new company. another trader, peter pangman, an american also, had been overlooked in the new company, and he and pond now came to montreal, determined to form a strong opposition to the mctavish and frobisher combination. in this they were successful. one of the rising merchants of montreal at this time was john gregory, a young englishman. he was united in partnership with alexander norman mcleod, an ardent highlander, who afterwards rose to great distinction as a magnate of the fur trade. pangman and pond appealed to the self-interest of gregory, mcleod & company, and so, very shortly after his projected union of all the canadian interests, mctavish saw arise a rival, not so large as his own company, but in no way to be despised. to this rival company also belonged an energetic, strong-willed scotchman, who afterwards became the celebrated sir alexander mackenzie, his cousin roderick mckenzie--a notable character, a trader named ross, and also young finlay, a son of the pioneer so well known twenty years before in the fur trading and civil history of canada. pond signalized himself by soon after deserting to the older company. the younger company acted with great vigour. leaving mcleod behind to manage the business in montreal, the other members found themselves in the summer at grand portage, where they established a post. they then divided up the country and gave it to the partners and traders. athabasca was given to ross; churchill river to alexander mackenzie; the saskatchewan to pangman; and the red river country to the veteran trader pollock. the north-west company entered with great energy upon its occupation of the north-west country. we are able to refer to an unpublished memorial presented by them, in 1784, to governor haldimand, which shows very well their hopes and expectations. they claim to have explored and improved the route from grand portage to lake ouinipique, and they ask the governor to grant them the exclusive privilege of using this route for ten years. they recite the expeditions made by the montreal traders from their posts in 1765 up to the time of their memorial. they urge the granting of favours to them on the double ground of their having to oppose the "new adventurers," as they call the hudson's bay company, in the north, and they claim to desire to oppose the encroachments of the united states in the south. they state the value of the property of the company in the north-west, exclusive of houses and stores, to be 25,303_l._ 3_s._ 6_d._; the other outfits also sent to the country will not fall far short of this sum. the company will have at grand portage in the following july 50,000_l._ (original cost) in fur. they further ask the privilege of constructing a small vessel to be built at detroit and to be taken up sault ste. marie to ply on lake superior, and also that in transporting their supplies on the king's ships from niagara and detroit to michilimackinac, they may have the precedence on account of the shortness of their season and great distance interior to be reached. they state that they have arranged to have a spot selected at sault ste. marie, whither they may have the fort transferred from michilimackinac, which place had been awarded by the treaty of paris to the americans. they desire another vessel placed on the lakes to carry their furs to detroit. this indicates a great revival of the fur trade and vigorous plans for its prosecution. a most interesting statement is also made in the memorial: that on account of grand portage itself having been by the treaty of paris left on the american side of the boundary on lake superior, they had taken steps to find a canadian route by which the trade could be carried on from lake superior to the interior. they state that they had sent off on an expedition a canoe, with provisions only, navigated by six canadians, under the direction of mr. edward umfreville, who had been eleven years in the service of the hudson's bay company, and who along with his colleague, mr. verrance, knew the language of the indians. we learn from umfreville's book that "he succeeded in his expedition much to the satisfaction of the merchants," along the route from lake nepigon to winnipeg river. the route discovered proved almost impracticable for trade, but as it was many years before the terms of the treaty were carried into effect, grand portage remained for the time the favourite pathway to the interior. the conflict of the two montreal companies almost obscured that with the english traders from hudson bay. true, in some districts the competition was peaceful and honourable. the nephew of simon mctavish, william mcgillivray, who afterwards rose to great prominence as a trader, was stationed with one of the rival company, roderick mckenzie, of whom we have spoken, on the english river. in 1786 they had both succeeded so well in trade that, forming their men into two brigades, they returned together, making the woods resound with the lively french songs of the voyageurs. the attitude of the traders largely depended, however, on the character of the men. to the athabasca district the impetuous and intractable pond was sent by the older company, on his desertion to it. here there was the powerful influence of the hudson's bay company to contend against, and the old company from the bay long maintained its hold on the northern indians. to make a flank movement upon the hudson's bay company he sent cuthbert grant and a french trader to slave lake, on which they established fort resolution, while, pushing on still farther, they reached a point afterwards known as fort providence. the third body to be represented in athabasca lake was the small north-west company by their _bourgeois_, john ross. ross was a peaceable and fair man, but pond so stirred up strife that the employés of the two companies were in a perpetual quarrel. in one of these conflicts ross was unfortunately killed. this added to the evil reputation of pond, who in 1781 had been charged with the murder of a peaceful trader named wadin, in the same athabasca region. when roderick mckenzie heard at ile à la crosse of the murder, he hastened to the meeting of the traders at grand portage. this alarming event so affected the traders that the two companies agreed to unite. the union was effected in 1787, and the business at headquarters in montreal was now managed by the three houses of mctavish, frobisher, and gregory. alexander mackenzie was despatched to athabasca to take the place of the unfortunate trader ross, and so became acquainted with the region which was to be the scene of his triumphs in discovery. the union of the north-west fur companies led to extension in some directions. the assiniboine valley, in one of the most fertile parts of the country, was more fully occupied. as in the case of the hudson's bay company, the occupation of this valley took place by first coming to lake winnipeg and ascending the swan river (always a fur trader's paradise), until, by a short portage, the upper assiniboine was reached. the oldest fort in this valley belonging to the nor'-westers seems to have been built by a trader, robert grant, a year or two after 1780. it is declared by trader john mcdonnell to have been two short days' march from the junction of the qu'appelle and assiniboine. well up the assiniboine, and not far from the source of the swan river, stood fort alexandria, "surrounded by groves of birch, poplar, and aspen," and said to have been named after sir alexander mackenzie. it was 256 feet in length by 196 feet in breadth; the "houses, stores, &c., being well built, plastered on the inside and outside, and washed over with a white earth, which answers nearly as well as lime for white-washing." connected with this region was the name of a famous trader, cuthbert grant, the father of the leader of the half-breeds and nor'-westers, of whom we shall speak afterwards. at the mouth of shell river on the assiniboine stood a small fort built by peter grant in 1794. when the nor'-westers became acquainted with the route down the assiniboine, they followed it to its mouth, and from that point, where it joined the red river, descended to lake winnipeg and crossed to the winnipeg river. in order to do this they established in 1785, as a halting place, pine fort, about eighteen miles below the junction of the souris and assiniboine rivers. at the mouth of the souris river, and near the site of the brandon house, already described as built by the hudson's bay company, the north-west company built in 1795 assiniboine house. this fort became of great importance as the depôt for expeditions to the mandans of the missouri river. the union of the montreal companies resulted, as had been expected, in a great expansion of the trade. in 1788 the gross amount of the trade did not exceed 40,000_l._, but by the energy of the partners it reached before the end of the century more than three times that amount--a remarkable showing. the route now being fully established, the trade settled down into regular channels. the agents of the company in montreal, messrs. mctavish & co., found it necessary to order the goods needed from england eighteen months before they could leave montreal for the west. arriving in canada in the summer, they were then made up in packages for the indian trade. these weighed about ninety pounds each, and were ready to be borne inland in the following spring. then being sent to the west, they were taken to the far points in the ensuing winter, where they were exchanged for furs. the furs reached montreal in the next autumn, when they were stored to harden, and were not to be sold or paid for before the following season. this was forty-two months after the goods were ordered in canada. this trade was a very heavy one to conduct, inasmuch as allowing a merchant one year's credit, he had still two years to carry the burden after the value of the goods had been considered as cash. toward the end of the century a single year's produce was enormous. one such year was represented by 106,000 beavers, 32,000 marten, 11,800 mink, 17,000 musquash, and, counting all together, not less than 184,000 skins. the agents necessary to carry on this enormous volume of trade were numerous. sir alexander mackenzie informs us that there were employed in the concern, not including officers or partners, 50 clerks, 71 interpreters and clerks, 1,120 canoe-men, and 35 guides. the magnitude of the operations of this company may be seen from the foregoing statements. the capital required by the agents of the concern in montreal, the number of men employed, the vast quantities of goods sent out in bales made up for the western trade, and the enormous store of furs received in exchange, all combined to make the business of the north-west company an important factor in canadian life. canada was then in her infancy. upper canada was not constituted a province until the date of the formation of the north-west company. montreal and quebec, the only places of any importance, were small towns. the absence of manufactures, agriculture, and means of inter-communication or transport, led to the north-west company being the chief source of money-making in canada. as the fur merchants became rich from their profits, they bought seigniories, built mansions, and even in some cases purchased estates in the old land. simon mctavish may be looked upon as a type. after a most active life, and when he had accumulated a handsome competence, simon mctavish owned the seigniory of terrebonne, receiving in 1802 a grant of 11,500 acres in the township of chester. he was engaged at the time of his death, which took place in 1804, in erecting a princely mansion at the foot of the mountain in montreal. for half a century the ruins of this building were the dread of children, and were known as mctavish's "haunted house." the fur-trader's tomb may still be recognized by an obelisk enclosed within stone walls, near "ravenscrag," the residence of the late sir hugh allan, which occupies the site of the old ruin. _surely the glory of the lords of the lakes and the forest has passed away._ chapter xv. voyages of sir alexander mackenzie. a young highlander--to rival hearne--fort chipewyan built--french canadian voyageurs--trader leroux--perils of the route--post erected on arctic coast--return journey--pond's miscalculations--hudson bay turner--roderick mckenzie's hospitality--alexander mackenzie--astronomy and mathematics--winters on peace river--terrific journey--the pacific slope--dangerous indians--pacific ocean, 1793--north-west passage by land--great achievement--a notable book. one of the chiefs of the fur traders seems to have had a higher ambition than simply to carry back to grand portage canoes overflowing with furs. alexander mackenzie had the restless spirit that made him a very uncertain partner in the great schemes of mctavish, frobisher & co., and led him to seek for glory in the task of exploration. coming as a young highlander to montreal, he had early been so appreciated for his ability as to be sent by gregory, mcleod & co. to conduct their enterprise in detroit. then we have seen that, refusing to enter the mctavish company, he had gone to churchill river for the gregory company. the sudden union of all the montreal companies (1787) caused, as already noted, by pond's murder of ross, led to alexander mackenzie being placed in charge in that year of the department of athabasca. the longed-for opportunity had now come to mackenzie. he heard from the indians and others of how samuel hearne, less than twenty years before, on behalf of their great rivals, the hudson's bay company, had returned by way of lake athabasca from his discovery of the coppermine river. he longed to reach the arctic sea by another river of which he had heard, and eclipse the discovery of his rival. he even had it in view to seek the pacific ocean, of which he was constantly hearing from the indians, where white men wearing armour were to be met--no doubt meaning the spaniards. mackenzie proceeded in a very deliberate way to prepare for his long journey. having this expedition in view, he secured the appointment of his cousin, roderick mckenzie, to his own department. reaching lake athabasca, roderick mckenzie selected a promontory running out some three miles into the lake, and here built (1788) fort chipewyan, it being called from the indians who chiefly frequented the district. it became the most important fort of the north country, being at the converging point of trade on the great watercourses of the north-west. on june 3rd, 1789, alexander mackenzie started on his first exploration. in his own birch-bark canoe was a crew of seven. his crew is worthy of being particularized. it consisted of four french canadians, with the wives of two of them. these voyageurs were françois barrieau, charles ducette, or cadien, joseph landry, or cadien, pierre de lorme. to complete the number was john steinbruck, a german. the second canoe contained the guide of the expedition, an indian, called the "english chief," who was a great trader, and had frequented year by year the route to the english, on hudson bay. in his canoe were his two wives, and two young indians. in a third canoe was trader leroux, who was to accompany the explorer as far north as slave lake, and dispose of the goods he took for furs. leroux was under orders from his chief to build a fort on slave lake. starting on june 3rd, the party left the lake, finding their way down slave river, which they already knew. day after day they journeyed, suffered from myriads of mosquitoes, passed the steep mountain portage, and, undergoing many hardships, reached slave lake in nine days. skirting the lake, they departed north by an unknown river. this was the object of mackenzie's search. floating down the stream, the horn mountains were seen, portage after portage was crossed, the mouth of the foaming great slave lake river was passed, the snowy mountains came in view in the distance, and the party, undeterred, pressed forward on their voyage of discovery. the usual incidents of early travel were experienced. the accidents, though not serious, were numerous; the scenes met with were all new; the natives were surprised at the bearded stranger; the usual deception and fickleness were displayed by the indians, only to be overcome by the firmness and tact of mackenzie; and forty days after starting, the expedition looked out upon the floating ice of the arctic ocean. mackenzie, on the morning of july 14th, erected a post on the shore, on which he engraved the latitude of the place (69 deg. 14´ n.), his own name, the number of persons in the party, and the time they remained there. his object having been thus accomplished, the important matter was to reach lake athabasca in the remaining days of the open season. the return journey had the usual experiences, and on august 24th they came upon leroux on slave lake, where that trader had erected fort providence. on september 12th the expedition arrived safely at fort chipewyan, the time of absence having been 102 days. the story of this journey is given in a graphic and unaffected manner by mackenzie in his work of 1801, but no mention is made of his own name being attached to the river which he had discovered. we have stated that peter pond had prepared a map of the north country, with the purpose of presenting it to the empress of russia. being a man of great energy, he was not deterred from this undertaking by the fact that he had no knowledge of astronomical instruments and little of the art of map-making. his statements were made on the basis of reports from the indians, whose custom was always to make the leagues short, that they might boast of the length of their journeys. computing in this way, he made lake athabasca so far from hudson bay and the grand portage that, taking captain cook's observations on the pacific coast four years before this, the lake was only, according to his calculations, a hundred or a hundred and fifty miles from the pacific ocean. the effect of pond's calculations, which became known in the treaty of paris, was to stimulate the hudson's bay company to follow up hearne's discoveries and to explore the country west of lake athabasca. they attempted this in 1785, but they sent out a boy of fifteen, named george charles, who had been one year at a mathematical school, and had never made there more than simple observations. as was to have been expected, the boy proved incompetent. urged on by the colonial office, they again in 1791 organized an expedition to send astronomer philip turnor to make the western journey. unaccustomed to the far west, and poorly provided for this journey, turner found himself at fort chipewyan entirely dependent for help and shelter on the nor'-westers. he was, however, qualified for his work, and made correct observations, which settled the question of the distance of the pacific ocean. mr. roderick mckenzie showed him every hospitality. this expedition served at least to show that the pacific was certainly five times the distance from lake athabasca that pond had estimated. [illustration: sir alexander mackenzie.] after coming back from the arctic sea, alexander mackenzie spent his time in urging forward the business of the fur trade, especially north of lake athabasca; but there was burning in his breast the desire to be the discoverer of the western sea. the voyage of turner made him still more desirous of going to the west. like hearne, alexander mackenzie had found the want of astronomical knowledge and the lack of suitable instruments a great drawback in determining his whereabouts from day to day. with remarkable energy, he, in the year 1791, journeyed eastward to canada, crossed the atlantic ocean to london, and spent the winter in acquiring the requisite mathematical knowledge and a sufficient acquaintance with instruments to enable him to take observations. he was now prepared to make his journey to the pacific ocean. he states that the courage of his party had been kept up on their reaching the arctic sea, by the thought that they were approaching the mer de l'ouest, which, it will be remembered, verendrye had sought with such passionate desire. in the very year in which mackenzie returned from great britain, his great purpose to reach the pacific coast led him to make his preparations in the autumn, and on october 10th, 1792, to leave fort chipewyan and proceed as far up peace river as the farthest settlement, and there winter, to be ready for an early start in the following spring. on his way he overtook mr. finlay, the younger, and called upon him in his camp near the fort, where he was to trade for the winter. leaving mr. finlay "under several volleys of musketry," mackenzie pushed on and reached the spot where the men had been despatched in the preceding spring to square timber for a house and cut palisades to fortify it. here, where the boncave joins the main branch of the peace river, the fort was erected. his own house was not ready for occupation before december 23rd, and the body of the men went on after that date to erect five houses for which the material had been prepared. troubles were plentiful; such as the quarrelsomeness of the natives, the killing of an indian, and in the latter part of the winter severe cold. in may, mackenzie despatched six canoes laden with furs for fort chipewyan. the somewhat cool reception that mackenzie had received from the other partners at grand portage, when on a former occasion he had given an account of his voyage to the arctic sea, led him to be doubtful whether his confrères would fully approve the great expedition on which he was determined to go. he was comparatively a young man, and he knew that there were many of the traders jealous of him. still, his determined character led him to hold to his plan, and his great energy urged him to make a name for himself. mackenzie had found much difficulty in securing guides and voyageurs. the trip proposed was so difficult that the bravest shrank from it. the explorer had, however, great confidence in his colleague, alexander mackay, who had arrived at the forks a few weeks before the departure. mackay was a most experienced and shrewd man. after faithfully serving his company, he entered, as we shall see, the astor fur company in 1811, and was killed among the first in the fierce attack on the ship _tonquin_, which was captured by the natives. mackenzie's crew was the best he could obtain, and their names have become historic. there were besides mackay, joseph landry and charles ducette, two voyageurs of the former expedition, baptiste bisson, françois courtois, jacques beauchamp, and françois beaulieu, the last of whom died so late as 1872, aged nearly one hundred years, probably the oldest man in the north-west at the time. archbishop taché gives an interesting account of beaulieu's baptism at the age of seventy. two indians completed the party, one of whom had been so idle a lad, that he bore till his dying day the unenviable name of "cancre"--the crab. having taken, on the day of his departure, the latitude and longitude of his winter post, mackenzie started on may 9th, 1793, for his notable voyage. seeing on the banks of the river elk, buffalo, and bear, the expedition pushed ahead, meeting the difficulties of navigation with patience and skill. the murmurs of his men and the desire to turn back made no impression on mackenzie, who, now that his highland blood was up, determined to see the journey through. the difficulties of navigation became extreme, and at times the canoes had to be drawn up stream by the branches of trees. at length in longitude 121° w. mackenzie reached a lake, which he considered the head of the ayugal or peace river. here the party landed, unloaded the canoes, and by a portage of half-a-mile on a well-beaten path, came upon another small lake. from this lake the explorers followed a small river, and here the guide deserted the party. on june 17th the members of the expedition enjoyed, after all their toil and anxiety, the "inexpressible satisfaction of finding themselves on the bank of a navigable river on the west side of the first great range of mountains." running rapids, breaking canoes, re-ascending streams, quieting discontent, building new canoes, disturbing tribes of surprised indians, and urging on his discouraged band, mackenzie persistently kept on his way. he was descending on tacouche tesse, afterwards known as the fraser river. finding that the distance by this river was too great, he turned back. at the point where he took this step (june 23rd) was afterwards built alexandria fort, named after the explorer. leaving the great river, the party crossed the country to what mackenzie called the west road river. for this land journey, begun on july 4th, the explorers were provided with food. after sixteen days of a most toilsome journey, they at length came upon an arm of the sea. the indians near the coast seemed very troublesome, but the courage of mackenzie never failed him. it was represented to him that the natives "were as numerous as mosquitoes and of a very malignant character." his destination having been reached, the commander mixed up some vermilion in melted grease and inscribed in large characters on the south-east face of the rock, on which they passed the night, "alexander mackenzie, from canada, by land the twenty-second of july, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-three." after a short rest the well-repaid explorers began their homeward journey. to ascend the pacific slope was a toilsome and discouraging undertaking, but the energy which had enabled them to come through an unknown road easily led them back by a way that had now lost its uncertainty. mackenzie says that when "we reached the downward current of the peace river and came in view of fort mcleod, we threw out our flag and accompanied it with a general discharge of fire-arms, while the men were in such spirits and made such an active use of their paddles, that we arrived before the two men whom we left in the spring could recover their senses to answer us. thus we landed at four in the afternoon at the place which we left in the month of may. in another month (august 24th) fort chipewyan was reached, where the following winter was spent in trade." it is hard to estimate all the obstacles overcome and the great service rendered in the two voyages of alexander mackenzie. readers of the "north-west passage by land" will remember the pitiable plight in which lord milton and dr. cheadle, nearly seventy years afterwards, reached the coast. mackenzie's journey was more difficult, but the advantage lay with the fur-traders in that they were experts in the matters of north-west travel. time and again, mackenzie's party became discouraged. when the pacific slope was reached, and the voyageurs saw the waters begin to run away from the country with which they were acquainted, their fears were aroused, and it was natural that they should be unwilling to proceed further. mackenzie had, however, all the instincts of a brave and tactful leader. on one occasion he was compelled to take a stand and declare that if his party deserted him, he would go on alone. this at once aroused their admiration and sympathy, and they offered to follow him. at the point on the great river where he turned back, the indians were exceedingly hostile. his firmness and perfect self-control showed the same spirit that is found in all great leaders in dealing with savage or semi-civilized races. men like frontenac, mackenzie, and general gordon seemed to have a charmed life which enabled them to exercise a species of mesmeric influence over half-trained or entirely uncultivated minds. from the wider standpoint, knowledge was supplied as to the country lying between the two great oceans, and while it did not, as we know from the voyages seeking a north-west passage in this century, lay the grim spectre of an arctic channel, yet it was a fulfilment of verendrye's dream, and to alexander mackenzie, a canadian bourgeois, a self-made man, aided by his scotch and french associates, had come the happy opportunity of discovering "la grande mer de l'ouest." alexander mackenzie, filled with the sense of the importance of his discovery, determined to give it to the world, and spent the winter at fort chipewyan in preparing the material. in this he was much assisted by his cousin, roderick mckenzie, to whom he sent the journal for revision and improvement. early in the year 1794, the distinguished explorer left lake athabasca, journeyed over to grand portage, and a year afterward revisited his native land. he never returned to the "upper country," as the athabasca region was called, but became one of the agents of the fur-traders in montreal, never coming farther toward the north-west than to be present at the annual gatherings of the traders at grand portage. the veteran explorer continued in this position till the time when he crossed the atlantic and published his well-known "voyages from montreal," dedicated to "his most sacred majesty george the third." the book, while making no pretensions to literary attainment, is yet a clear, succinct, and valuable account of the fur trade and his own expeditions. it was the work which excited the interest of lord selkirk in rupert's land and which has become a recognized authority. in 1801 this work of alexander mackenzie was published, and the order of knighthood was conferred upon the successful explorer. on his return to canada, sir alexander engaged in strong opposition to the north-west company and became a member of the legislative assembly for huntingdon county, in lower canada. he lived in scotland during the last years of his life, and died in the same year as the earl of selkirk, 1820. thus passed away a man of independent mind and of the highest distinction. his name is fixed upon a region that is now coming into greater notice than ever before. chapter xvi. the great exploration. grand portage on american soil--anxiety about the boundary--david thompson, astronomer and surveyor--his instructions--by swift canoe--the land of beaver--a dash to the mandans--stone indian house--fixes the boundary at pembina--sources of the mississippi--a marvellous explorer--pacific slope explored--thompson down the kootenay and columbia--fiery simon fraser in new caledonia--discovers fraser river--sturdy john stuart--thompson river--bourgeois quesnel--transcontinental expeditions. a number of events conspired to make it necessary for the north-west company to be well acquainted with the location of its forts within the limits of the territory of the united states, in some parts of which it carried on operations of trade, and to understand its relation to the hudson's bay company's territory. the treaty of amity and commerce, which is usually connected with the name of john jay, 1794, seemed to say that all british forts in united states territory were to be evacuated in two years. this threw the partners at grand portage into a state of excitement, inasmuch as they knew that the very place of their gathering was on the american side of the boundary line. david thompson, astronomer and surveyor. at this juncture the fitting instrument appeared at grand portage. this was david thompson. this gentleman was a londoner, educated at the blue coat school, in london. trained thoroughly in mathematics and the use of astronomical instruments, he had obtained a position in the hudson's bay company. in the summer of 1795, with three companions, two of them indians, he had found his way from hudson bay to lake athabasca, and thus showed his capability as an explorer. returning from his western expedition, he reported to mr. joseph colon, the officer in charge at york fort, by whose orders he had gone to athabasca, and expressed himself as willing to undertake further explorations for the company. the answer was curt--to the effect that no more surveys could then be undertaken by the company, however desirable. thompson immediately decided to seek employment elsewhere in the work for which he was so well qualified. leaving the bay and the company behind, attended only by two indians, he journeyed inland and presented himself at the summer meeting of the north-west fur-traders at grand portage. without hesitation they appointed him astronomer and surveyor of the north-west company. astronomer thompson's work was well mapped out for him. (1) he was instructed to survey the forty-ninth parallel of latitude. this involved a question which had greatly perplexed the diplomatists, viz. the position of the source of the mississippi. many years after this date it was a question to decide which tributary is the source of the mississippi, and to this day there is a difference of opinion on the subject, i.e. which of the lakes from which different branches spring is the true source of the river. the fact that the sources were a factor in the settling of the boundary line of this time made it necessary to have expert testimony on the question such as could be furnished by a survey by thompson. (2) the surveyor was to go to the missouri and visit the ancient villages of the natives who dwelt there and who practised agriculture. (3) in the interests of science and history, to inquire for the fossils of large animals, and to search for any monuments that might throw a light on the ancient state of the regions traversed. (4) it was his special duty to determine the exact position of the posts of the north-west company visited by him, and all agents and employés were instructed to render him every assistance in his work. astronomer thompson only waited the departure of one of the great northern brigades to enter upon the duties of his new office. these departures were the events of the year, having in the eyes of the fur-traders something of the nature of a caravan for mecca about them. often a brigade consisted of eight canoes laden with goods and well-manned. the brigade which thompson accompanied was made up of four canoes under trader mcgillies, and was ready to start on august 9th, 1796. he had taken the observation for grand portage and found it to be 48 deg. (nearly) n. latitude and 89 deg. 3´ 4´´ (nearly) w. longitude. he was now ready with his instruments--a sextant of ten inches radius, with quicksilver and parallel glasses, an excellent achromatic telescope, one of the smaller kind, drawing instruments, and a thermometer, and all of these of the best make. the portage was wearily trudged, and in a few days, after a dozen shorter portages, the height of land was reached in 48 deg. n. latitude, and here begins the flow of water to hudson bay. it was accordingly the claim of the hudson's bay company that their territory extended from this point to the bay. at the outlet of rainy lake still stood a trading post, where verendrye had founded his fort, and the position of this was determined, 48 deg. 1´ 2´´ n. latitude. in this locality was also a post of the hudson's bay company. no post seems at this time to have been in use on rainy river or lake of the woods by any of the trading companies, though it will be seen that the x y company was at this date beginning its operations. at the mouth of the winnipeg river, however, there were two establishments, the one known as lake winnipeg house, or bas de la rivière, an important distributing point, now found to be in 50 deg. 1´ 2´´ n. latitude. there was also near by it the hudson's bay company post, founded in the previous year. thompson, being in company with his brigade, which was going to the west of lake manitoba, coasted along lake winnipeg, finding it dangerous to cross directly, and after taking this roundabout, in place of the 127 miles in a straight line, reached what is now known as the little saskatchewan river on the west side of lake winnipeg. going by the little saskatchewan river through its windings and across the meadow portage, he came to lake winnipegoosis and, northward along its western coast, reached swan river, the trappers' paradise. swan river post was twelve miles up the river from its mouth, and was found to be in 52 deg 24´ n. latitude. crossing over to the assiniboine (stone indian) river, he visited several posts, the most considerable being fort tremblant (poplar fort), which some think had its name changed to fort alexandria in honour of sir alexander mackenzie. john mcdonnell, north-west trader of this period, says:--"fort tremblant and the temporary posts established above it furnished most of the beaver and otter in the red river returns, but the trade has been almost ruined since the hudson's bay company entered the assiniboine river by the way of swan river, carrying their merchandise from one river to the other on horseback--three days' journey--who by that means, and the short distance between swan river and their factory at york fort, from whence they are equipped, can arrive at the _coude de l'homme_ (a river bend or angle) in the assiniboine river, a month sooner than we can return from grand portage, secure the fall trade, give credits to the indians, and send them to hunt before our arrival; so that we see but few in that quarter upon our arrival." the chief trader of this locality was cuthbert grant, who, as before mentioned, was a man of great influence in the fur trade. the astronomer next went to the fort between the swan and assiniboine rivers, near the spot where the famous fort pelly of the present day is situated. taking horses, a rapid land journey was made to belleau's fort, lying in 53 deg. n. latitude (nearly). the whole district is a succession of beaver meadows, and had at this time several hudson's bay company posts, as already mentioned. thompson decided to winter in this beaver country, and when the following summer had fairly set in with good roads and blossoming prairies, he came, after journeying more than 200 miles southward, to the qu'appelle river post, which was at that time under a trader named thorburn. thompson was now fairly on the assiniboine river, and saw it everywhere run through an agreeable country with a good soil and adapted to agriculture. arrived at assiniboine house, he found it in charge of john mcdonnell, brother of the well-known miles mcdonnell, who, a few years later, became lord selkirk's first governor on red river. ensconcing himself in the comfortable quarters at assiniboine house, thompson wrote up in ink his journals, maps, astronomical observations, and sketches which he had taken in crayon, thus giving them more permanent form. he had now been in the employ of the north-west company a full year, and in that time had been fully gratified by the work he had done and by the cordial reception given him in all the forts to which he had gone. assiniboine house, or, as he called it, stone indian house, was found to be a congenial spot. it was on the north side of the assiniboine river, not far from where the souris river empties its waters into the larger stream, though the site has been disputed. one of the astronomer's clearly defined directions was to visit the mandan villages on the missouri river. he was now at the point when this could be accomplished, although the time chosen by him, just as winter was coming on, was most unsuitable. his journey reminds us of that made by verendrye to the mandans in 1738. the journey was carefully prepared for. with the characteristic shrewdness of the north-west company, it was so planned as to require little expenditure. thompson was to be accompanied chiefly by free-traders, i.e. by men to whom certain quantities of goods would be advanced by the company. by the profits of this trade expenses would be met. the guide and interpreter was rené jussaume (a man of very doubtful character), who had fallen into the ways of the western indians. he had lived for years among the mandans, and spoke their language. another free-trader, hugh mccracken, an irishman, also knew the mandan country, while several french canadians, with brossman, the astronomer's servant man, made up the company. each of the traders took a credit from mr. mcdonnell of from forty to fifty skins in goods. ammunition, tobacco, and trinkets, to pay expenses, were provided, and thompson was supplied with two horses, and his chief trader, jussaume, with one. the men had their own dogs to the number of thirty, and these drew goods on small sleds. crossing the assiniboine, the party started south-westward, and continued their journey for thirty-three days, with the thermometer almost always below zero and reaching at times 36 deg. below. the journey was a most dangerous and trying one and covered 280 miles. thompson found that some hudson's bay traders had already made flying visits to the mandans. on his return, thompson's itinerary was, from the missouri till he reached the angle of the souris river, seventy miles, where he found abundant wood and shelter, and then to the south end of turtle mountain, fourteen miles. leaving turtle mountain, his next station was twenty-four miles distant at a point on the souris where an outpost of assiniboine house, known as ash house, had been established. another journey of forty-five miles brought the expedition back to the hospitable shelter of mr. mcdonnell at stone indian house. thompson now calculated the position of this comfortable fort and found it to be 49 deg. 41´ (nearly) n. latitude and 101 deg. 1´ 4´´ (nearly) w. longitude. the astronomer, after spending a few weeks in making up his notes and surveys, determined to go eastward and undertake the survey of the red river. on february 26th, 1798, he started with three french canadians and an indian guide. six dogs drew three sleds laden with baggage and provisions. the company soon reached the sand hills, then called the manitou hills, from some supposed supernatural agency in their neighbourhood. sometimes on the ice, and at other times on the north shore of the assiniboine to avoid the bends of the river, the party went, experiencing much difficulty from the depth of the snow. at length, after journeying ten days over the distance of 169 miles, the junction of the assiniboine and red river, at the point where now stands the city of winnipeg, was reached. there was no trading post here at the time. it seems somewhat surprising that what became the chief trading centre of the company, fort garry, during the first half of this century should, up to the end of the former century, not have been taken possession of by any of the three competing fur companies. losing no time, thompson began, on march 7th, the survey, and going southward over an unbroken trail, with the snow three feet deep, reached in seven days pembina post, then under the charge of a leading french trader of the company, named charles chaboillez. wearied with a journey of some sixty-four miles, which had, from the bad road, taken seven days, thompson enjoyed the kind shelter of pembina house for six days. this house was near the forty-ninth parallel and was one of the especial points he had been appointed to determine. he found pembina house to be in latitude 48 deg. 58´ 24´´ n., so that it was by a very short distance on the south side of the boundary line. thompson marked the boundary, so that the trading post might be removed, when necessary, to the north side of the line. a few years later, the observation taken by thompson was confirmed by major long on his expedition of 1823, but the final settlement of where the line falls was not made till the time of the boundary commission of 1872. pushing southward in march, the astronomer ascended red river to the trading post known as upper red river, near where the town of grand forks, north dakota, stands to-day. here he found j. baptiste cadot, probably the son of the veteran master of sault ste. marie, who so long clung to the flag of the golden lilies. thompson now determined to survey what had been an object of much interest, the lake which was the source of the great river mississippi. to do this had been laid upon him in his instructions from the north-west company. making a détour from grand forks, in order to avoid the ice on the red lake river, he struck the upper waters of that river, and followed the banks until he reached red lake in what is now north-eastern minnesota. leaving this lake, he made a portage of six miles to turtle lake, and four days later reached the point considered by him to be the source of the mississippi. turtle lake, at the time of the treaty of 1783, was supposed to be further north than the north-west angle of the lake of the woods. this arose, thompson tells us, from the voyageurs counting a pipe to a league, at the end of which time it was the fur-traders' custom to take a rest. each pipe, that is, the length of time taken to smoke a pipe, however, was nearer two miles than three, so that the head waters of the mississippi had been counted 128 miles further north than thompson found them to be. it is to be noted, however, that the astronomer thompson was wrong in making turtle lake the source of the mississippi. the accredited source of the mississippi was discovered, as we shall afterwards see, in july, 1832, to be lake itasca, which lies about half a degree south-west of turtle lake. thompson next visited red cedar lake, in the direction of lake superior. here he found a north-west trading house, upper red cedar house, under the command of a partner, john sayer, whose half-blood son afterward figured in red river history. he found that sayer and his men passed the winter on wild rice and maple sugar as their only food. crossing over to sand lake river, mr. thompson found a small post of the north-west company, and, descending this stream, came to sand lake. by portage, reaching a small stream, a tributary of st. louis river, he soon arrived at that river itself, with its rapids and dalles, and at length reached the north-west trading post near the mouth of the river, where it joined the fond du lac. having come to lake superior, the party could only obtain a dilapidated northern canoe, but with care it brought them, after making an enormous circuit and accomplishing feats involving great daring and supreme hardship, along the north shore of the lake to grand portage. on hearing his report of two years' work, the partners, at the annual meeting at grand portage, found they had made no mistake in their appointment, and gave him the highest praise. the time had now come, after the union of the north-west company and the x y company, for pushing ahead the great work in their hands and examining the vast country across the rocky mountains. the united company in 1805 naturally took up what had been planned several years before, and sent david thompson up the saskatchewan to explore the columbia river and examine the vast "sea of mountains" bordering on the pacific ocean. the other partner chosen was simon fraser, and his orders were to go up the peace river, cross the rockies, and explore the region from its northern side. we shall see how well fraser did his part, and meanwhile we may follow thompson in his journey. in 1806, we find that he crossed the rockies and built in the following year a trading-house for the north-west company on the lower columbia. thompson called his trading post kootenay house, and indeed his persistent use of the term "kootenay" rather than "columbia," which he well knew was the name of the river, is somewhat remarkable. coming over the pass during the summer he returned to kootenay house and wintered there in 1807-1808. during the summer of 1808, he visited possibly grand portage, certainly fort vermilion. fort vermilion, a short distance above the present fort pitt, was well down the north branch of the saskatchewan river, and on his way to it, thompson would pass fort augustus, a short distance below where edmonton now stands, as well as fort george. he left fort vermilion in september, and by october 21st, the saskatchewan being frozen over, he laid up canoes for the winter, and taking horses, crossed the rocky mountains, took to canoes on the columbia river again, and on november 10th arrived at his fort of kootenay house, where he wintered. on this journey, thompson discovered howse's pass, which is about 52 deg. n. latitude. in 1809, thompson determined on extending his explorations southward on the columbia river. a short distance south of the international boundary line, he built a post in september of that year. he seems to have spent the winter of this year in trying new routes, some of which he found impracticable, and can hardly be said to have wintered at any particular spot. in his pilgrimage, he went up the kootenay river, which he called mcgillivray's river, in honour of the famous partner, but the name has not been retained. hastening to his post of kootenay house, he rested a day, and travelling by means of canoes and horses, in great speed came eastward and reached fort augustus, eight days out from kootenay, june 22nd, 1810. from this point he went eastward, at least as far as rainy lake, leaving his "little family" with his sister-in-law, a cree woman, at winnipeg river house. returning, he started on october 10th, 1810, for athabasca. he discovered the athabasca pass on the "divide," and on july 3rd, 1811, started to descend the columbia, and did so, the first white man, as far as lewis river, from which point lewis and clark in 1805, having come over the rocky mountains, had preceded him to the sea. near the junction of the spokane river with the columbia, he erected a pole and tied to it a half-sheet of paper, claiming the country north of the forks as british territory. this notice was seen by a number of the astor employés, for ross states that he observed it in august, with a british flag flying upon it. thompson's name among the indians of the coast was "koo-koo-suit." ross cox states that "in the month of july, 1811, mr. david thompson, astronomer to the north-west company, of which he was also a proprietor, arrived with nine men in a canoe at astoria from the interior. this gentleman came on a voyage of discovery to the columbia, preparatory to the north-west company forming a settlement at the mouth of the river. he remained at astoria until the latter end of july, when he took his departure for the interior." thompson was thus disappointed on finding the american company installed at the mouth of the columbia before him, but he re-ascended the river and founded two forts on its banks at advantageous points. thompson left the western country with his indian wife and children soon after this, and in eastern canada, in 1812-13, prepared a grand map of the country, which adorned for a number of years the banqueting-room of the bourgeois at fort william and is now in the government buildings at toronto. in 1814 he definitely left the upper country, and was employed by the imperial government in surveying a part of the boundary line of the united states and canada. he also surveyed the watercourses between the ottawa river and georgian bay. he lived for years at the river raisin, near williamstown, in upper canada, and was very poor. at the great age of eighty-seven, he died at longueil. he was not appreciated as he deserved. his energy, scientific knowledge, experience, and successful work for the company for sixteen years make him one of the most notable men of the period. simon fraser, fur-trader and explorer. as we have seen, the entrance by the northern access to the pacific slope was confided to simon fraser, and we may well, after considering the exploits of david thompson, refer to those of his colleague in the service. simon fraser, one of the most daring of the fur-traders, was the son of a scottish u.e. loyalist,[4] who was captured by the americans at burgoyne's surrender and who died in prison. the widowed mother took her infant boy to canada, and lived near cornwall. after going to school, the boy, who was of the roman catholic faith, entered the north-west company at the age of sixteen as a clerk, and early became a bourgeois of the company. his administrative ability led to his being appointed agent at grand portage in 1797. a few years afterwards, fraser was sent to the athabasca region, which was at that time the point aimed at by the ambitious and determined young nor'-westers. by way of peace river, he undertook to make his journey to the west side of the rocky mountains. leaving the bulk of his command at the rocky mountain portage, he pushed on with six men, and reaching the height of land, crossed to the lake, which he called mcleod's in honour of his prominent partner, archibald norman mcleod. stationing three men at this point, fraser returned to his command and wintered there. in the spring of 1806 he passed through the mountains, and came upon a river, which he called stuart river. john stuart, who was at that time a clerk, was for thirty years afterwards identified with the fur trade. stuart lake, in british columbia, was also called after him. on the stuart river, fraser built a post, which, in honour of his fatherland, he called new caledonia, and this probably led to this great region on the west of the mountains being called new caledonia. stuart was left in charge of this post, and fraser went west to a lake, which since that time has been called fraser lake. he returned to winter at the new fort. fraser's disposition to explore and his success thus far led the company to urge their confrère to push on and descend the great river tacouche tesse, down which alexander mackenzie had gone for some distance, and which was supposed to be the columbia. it was this expedition which created fraser's fame. the orders to advance had been brought to him in two canoes by two traders, jules maurice quesnel and (hugh) faries. leaving behind faries with two men in the new fort, fraser, at the mouth of the nechaco or stuart river, where afterward stood fort george, gathered his expedition, and was ready to depart on his great, we may well call it terrific, voyage, down the river which since that time has borne his name. his company consisted of stuart, quesnel, nineteen voyageurs, and two indians, in four canoes. it is worthy of note that john stuart, who was fraser's lieutenant, was in many ways the real leader of the expedition. having been educated in engineering, stuart, by his scientific knowledge, was indispensable to the exploring party. on may 22nd a start was made from the forks. we have in masson's first volume preserved to us simon fraser's journal of this remarkable voyage, starting from the rockies down the river. the keynote to the whole expedition is given us in the seventh line of the journal. "having proceeded about eighteen miles, we came to a strong rapid which we ran down, nearly wrecking one of our canoes against a precipice which forms the right bank of the river." a succession of rapids, overhung by enormous heights of perpendicular rocks, made it almost as difficult to portage as it would have been to risk the passage of the canoes and their loads down the boiling cauldron of the river. nothing can equal the interest of hearing in the explorer's own words an incident or two of the journey. on the first wednesday of june he writes: "leaving mr. stuart and two men at the lower end of the rapid in order to watch the motions of the natives, i returned with the other four men to the camp. immediately on my arrival i ordered the five men out of the crews into a canoe lightly loaded, and the canoe was in a moment under way. after passing the first cascade she lost her course and was drawn into the eddy, whirled about for a considerable time, seemingly in suspense whether to sink or swim, the men having no power over her. however, she took a favourable turn, and by degrees was led from this dangerous vortex again into the stream. in this manner she continued, flying from one danger to another, until the last cascade but one, where in spite of every effort the whirlpools forced her against a low projecting rock. upon this the men debarked, saved their own lives, and continued to save the property, but the greatest difficulty was still ahead, and to continue by water would be the way to certain destruction. "during this distressing scene, we were on the shore looking on and anxiously concerned; seeing our poor fellows once more safe afforded us as much satisfaction as to themselves, and we hastened to their assistance; but their situation rendered our approach perilous and difficult. the bank was exceedingly high and steep, and we had to plunge our daggers at intervals into the ground to check our speed, as otherwise we were exposed to slide into the river. we cut steps in the declivity, fastened a line to the front of the canoe, with which some of the men ascended in order to haul it up, while the others supported it upon their arms. in this manner our situation was most precarious; our lives hung, as it were, upon a thread, as the failure of the line, or a false step of one of the men, might have hurled the whole of us into eternity. however, we fortunately cleared the bank before dark." every day brought its dangers, and the progress was very slow. finding the navigation impossible, on the 26th fraser says: "as for the road by land, we could scarcely make our way with even only our guns. i have been for a long period among the rocky mountains, but have never seen anything like this country. it is so wild that i cannot find words to describe our situation at times. we had to pass where no human being should venture; yet in those places there is a regular footpath impressed, or rather indented upon the very rocks by frequent travelling. besides this, steps which are formed like a ladder by poles hanging to one another, crossed at certain distances with twigs, the whole suspended from the top, furnish a safe and convenient passage to the natives down these precipices; but we, who had not had the advantage of their education and experience, were often in imminent danger, when obliged to follow their example." on the right, as the party proceeded along the river, a considerable stream emptied in, to which they gave the name shaw's river, from one of the principal wintering partners. some distance down, a great river poured in from the left, making notable forks. thinking that likely the other expedition by way of the saskatchewan might be on the upper waters of that river at the very time, they called it thompson river, after the worthy astronomer, and it has retained the name ever since. but it would be a mistake to think that the difficulties were passed when the forks of the thompson river were left behind. travellers on the canadian-pacific railway of to-day will remember the great gorge of the fraser, and how the railway going at dizzy heights, and on strong overhanging ledges of rock, still fills the heart with fear. on july 2nd the party reached an arm of the sea and saw the tide ebbing and flowing, showing them they were near the ocean. they, however, found the indians at this part very troublesome. fraser was compelled to follow the native custom, "and pretended to be in a violent passion, spoke loud, with vehement gestures, exactly in their own way, and thus peace and tranquillity were instantly restored." the explorer was, however, greatly disappointed that he had been prevented by the turbulence of the natives from going down the arm of the sea and looking out upon the pacific ocean. he wished to take observations on the sea coast. however, he got the latitude, and knowing that the columbia is 45 deg. 20´ n., he was able to declare that the river he had followed was not the columbia. how difficult it is to distinguish small from great actions! here was a man making fame for all time, and the idea of the greatness of his work had not dawned upon him. a short delay, and the party turned northward on july 4th, and with many hardships made their way up the river. on their ascent few things of note happened, the only notable event being the recognition of the fame of the second bourgeois, jules quesnel, by giving his name to a river flowing into the fraser river from the east. the name is still retained, and is also given to the lake which marks the enlargement of the river. on august 6th, the party rejoined faries and his men in the fort on stuart lake. the descent occupied forty-two days, and, as explorers have often found in such rivers as the fraser, the ascent took less time than the descent. in this case, their upward journey was but of thirty-three days. fraser returned to the east in the next year and is found in 1811 in charge of the red river district, two years afterward in command on the mackenzie river, and at fort william on lake superior, in 1816, when the fort was taken by lord selkirk. after retiring, he lived at st. andrews on the ottawa and died at the advanced age of eighty-six, having been known as one of the most noted and energetic fur-traders in the history of the companies. thus we have seen the way in which these two kings of adventure--fraser and thompson--a few years after sir alexander mackenzie, succeeded amid extraordinary hardships in crossing to the western sea. the record of the five transcontinental expeditions of these early times is as follows:-(1) alexander mackenzie, by the tacouche tesse and bellacoola river, 1793. (2) lewis and clark, the american explorers, by the columbia river, 1805. (3) simon fraser by the river that bears his name, formerly the tacouche tesse, 1808. (4) david thompson, by the columbia river, 1811. (5) the overland party of astorians, by the columbia, 1811. these expeditions shed a flood of glory on the anglo-saxon name and fame. footnote: [4] the united empire loyalists were those british patriots who left the united states after the revolution. chapter xvii. the x y company. "le marquis" simon mctavish unpopular--alexander mackenzie his rival--enormous activity of the "potties"--why called x y--five rival posts at souris--sir alexander, the silent partner--old lion of montreal roused--"posts of the king"--schooner sent to hudson bay--nor'-westers erect two posts on hudson bay--supreme folly--old and new nor'-westers unite--list of partners. for some years the montreal fur companies, in their combinations and readjustments, had all the variety of the kaleidoscope. agreements were made for a term of years, and when these had expired new leagues were formed, and in every case dissatisfied members went into opposition and kept up the heat and competition without which it is probable the fur trade would have lost, to those engaged in it, many of its charms. in 1795 several partners had retired from the north-west company and thrown in their lot with the famous firm that we have seen was always inclined to follow its own course--messrs. forsyth, richardson and co. for a number of years this independent montreal firm had maintained a trade in the districts about lake superior. the cause of this disruption in the company was the unpopularity, among the wintering partners especially, of the strong-willed and domineering chief in montreal--simon mctavish. one set of bourgeois spoke of him derisively as "le premier," while others with mock deference called him "le marquis." sir alexander mackenzie had been himself a partner, had resided in the far west, and he was regarded by all the traders in the "upper country" as their friend and advocate. although the discontent was very great when the secession took place, yet the mere bonds of self-interest kept many within the old company. alexander mackenzie most unwillingly consented to remain in the old company, but only for three years, reserving to himself the right to retire at the end of that time. notwithstanding their disappointment, and possibly buoyed up with the hope of having the assistance of their former friend at a later period, the members of the x y company girt themselves about for the new enterprise in the next year, so that the usual date of this company is from the year 1795. whether it was the circumstance of its origination in dislike of "le premier," or whether the partners felt the need of greater activity on account of their being weaker, it must be confessed that a new era now came to the fur trade, and the opposition was carried on with a warmth much greater than had ever been known among the old companies. a casual observer can hardly help feeling that while not a member of the new company at this date, alexander mackenzie was probably its active promoter behind the scenes. the new opposition developed without delay. striking at all the salient points, the new company in 1797 erected its trading house at grand portage, somewhat more than half-a-mile from the north-west trading house and on the other side of the small stream that there falls into the bay. a few years after, when the north-west company moved to kaministiquia, the x y also erected a building within a mile of the new fort. the new company was at some time in its history known as the new north-west company, but was more commonly called the x y company. the origin of this name is accounted for as follows. on the bales which were made up for transport, it was the custom to mark the north-west company's initials n.w. when the new company, which was an offshoot of the old, wished to mark their bales, they simply employed the next letters of the alphabet, x y. they are accordingly not contractions, and should not be written as such. it was the habit of members of the older company to express their contempt for the secessionists by calling them the "little company" or "the little society." in the athabasca country the rebellious traders were called by their opponents "potties," probably a corruption of "les petits," meaning members of "la petite compagnie." when these names were used by the french canadian voyageurs, the x y company was referred to. however disrespectfully they may have been addressed, the traders of the new company caused great anxiety both to the north-west company and to the hudson's bay company, though they regarded themselves chiefly as rivals of the former. pushing out into the country nearest their base of supplies on lake superior, they took hold of the red river and assiniboine region, as well as of the red lake country immediately south of and connected with it. the point where the souris empties into the assiniboine was occupied in the same year (1798) by the x y company. it had been a favourite resort for all classes of fur-traders, there having been no less than five opposing trading houses at this point four years before. no doubt the presence of the free-trading element such as mccracken and jussaume, whom we find in the souris region thus early, made it easier for smaller concerns to carry on a kind of business in which the great north-west company would not care to be engaged. meanwhile dissension prevailed in the north-west company. the smouldering feeling of dislike between "le marquis" and alexander mackenzie and the other fur-trading magnates broke out into a flame. as ex-governor masson says: "these three years were an uninterrupted succession of troubles, differences, and misunderstandings between these two opposing leaders." at the great gathering at the grand portage in 1799, alexander mackenzie warned the partners that he was about to quit the company, and though the winterers begged him not to carry out his threat, yet he remained inexorable. the discussion reported to mr. mctavish was very displeasing to him, and in the following year his usual letter to the gathering written from montreal was curt and showed much feeling, he saying, "i feel hurt at the distrust and want of confidence that appeared throughout all your deliberations last season." alexander mackenzie, immediately after the scene at grand portage, crossed over to england, published his "voyages," and received his title. he then returned in 1801 to canada. flushed with the thought of his successes, he threw himself with great energy into the affairs of the opposing company, the x y, or, as it was also now called, that of "sir alexander mackenzie and company." if the competition had been warm before, it now rose to fever heat. the brigandage had scarcely any limit; combats of clerk with clerk, trapper with trapper, voyageur with voyageur, were common. strong drink became, as never before or since, a chief instrument of the rival companies in dealing with the indians. a north-west company trader, writing from pembina, says: "indians daily coming in by small parties; nearly 100 men here. i gave them fifteen kegs of mixed liquor, and the x y gave in proportion; all drinking; i quarrelled with little shell, and dragged him out of the fort by the hair. indians very troublesome, threatening to level my fort to the ground, and their chief making mischief. i had two narrow escapes from being stabbed by him; once in the hall and soon afterwards in the shop." such were the troubles of competition between the companies. the new company made a determined effort to compete also in the far-distant peace river district. in october of this year two prominent partners of the new company arrived with their following at the peace river. one of these, pierre de rocheblave, was of a distinguished family, being the nephew of a french officer who had fought on the _monongahela_ against braddock. the other was james leith, who also became a prominent fur-trader in later days. illustrating the keenness of the trade conflict, john mcdonald, of garth, also says in 1798, writing from the upper saskatchewan, "we had here (fort augustus), besides the hudson's bay company, whose fort was within a musket shot of ours, the opposition on the other side of the new concern i have already mentioned, which had assumed a powerful shape under the name of the x y company, at the head of which was the late john ogilvy in montreal, and at this establishment mr. king, an old south trader in his prime and pride as the first among bullies." sir alexander mackenzie did wonders in the management of his company, but the old lion at montreal, from his mountain château, showed a remarkable determination, and provided as he was with great wealth, he resolved to overcome at any price the opposition which he also contemptuously called the "little company." in 1802, he, with the skill of a great general, reconstructed his company. he formed a combination which was to continue for twenty years. into this he succeeded in introducing a certain amount of new blood; those clerks who had shown ability were promoted to the position of bourgeois or partners. by this progressive and statesmanlike policy, notwithstanding the energy of the x y company, the old company showed all the vigour and enthusiasm of youth. an employé of the north-west company, livingston, had a few years before established a post on slave lake. animated with the new spirit of his superiors, he went further north still and made a discovery of silver, but on undertaking to open trade communications with the eskimos, the trader unfortunately lost his life. other expeditions were sent to the missouri and to the sources of the south saskatchewan; it is even said that in this direction a post was established among the fierce tribes of the bow river, west of the present town of calgary. looking out for other avenues for the wonderful store of energy in the north-west company, the partners took into consideration the development of the vast fisheries of the st. lawrence and the interior. simon mctavish rented the old posts of the king--meaning by these tadoussac, chicoutimi, assuapmousoin, and mistassini, reached by way of the saguenay; and ile jérémie, godbout, mingan, masquaro, and several others along the north shore of the lower st. lawrence or the gulf. the annual rent paid for the kings posts was 1000_l._ but the greatest flight of the old fur king's ambition was to carry his operations into the forbidden country of the hudson bay itself. in furtherance of this policy, in 1803 the north-west company sent a schooner of 150 tons to the shores of hudson bay to trade, and along with this an expedition was sent by land by way of st. john and mistassini to co-operate in establishing stations on the bay. by this movement two posts were founded, one at charlton island and the other at the mouth of the moose river. many of the partners were not in favour of these expeditions planned by the strong-headed old dictator, and the venture proved a financial loss. simon mctavish, though comparatively a young man, now thought of retiring, and purchased the seigniory of terrebonne, proposing there to lead a life of luxury and ease, but a stronger enemy than either the x y or hudson's bay company came to break up his plans. death summoned him away in july, 1804. the death of simon mctavish removed all obstacles to union between the old and new north-west companies, and propositions were soon made to sir alexander mackenzie, and his friends, which resulted in a union of the two companies. we are fortunate in having preserved to us the agreement by which the two companies--old and new north-west companies--were united. the partners of the old company were given three-quarters of the stock and those of the new one-quarter. the provisions of the agreement are numerous, but chiefly deal with necessary administration. one important clause is to the effect that no business other than the fur trade, or what is necessarily depending thereon, shall be followed by the company. no partner of the new concern is to be allowed to have any private interests at the posts outside those of the company. by one clause the new north-west company is protected from any expense that might arise from simon mctavish's immense venture on the hudson bay. it may be interesting to give the names of the partners of the two companies, those who were not present, from being mostly in the interior and whose names were signed by those having powers of attorney from them, being marked att. the north-west or x y company. alex. mackenzie. thomas forsyth, att. john richardson. john inglis, att. james forsyth, att. john mure, att. john forsyth. alex. ellice, att. john haldane, att. thomas forsyth, att. late leith, jameson & co. (by trustees). john ogilvie. p. de rocheblane, att. alex. mckenzie, att. (2). john macdonald, att. james leith, att. john wills, att. old north-west company. john finlay, att. duncan cameron, att. james hughes, att. alex. mckay, att. hugh mcgillies, att. alex. henry, jr., att. john mcgillivray, att. james mckenzie, att. simon fraser, att. john d. campbell, att. d. thompson, att. john thompson, att. john gregory. wm. mcgillivray. duncan mcgillivray, att. wm. hallowell. rod. mckenzie. angus shaw, att. dl. mckenzie, att. wm. mckay, att. john mcdonald, att. donald mctavish, att. john mcdonnell, att. arch. n. mcleod, att. alex. mcdougall, att. chas. chaboillez, att. john sayer, att. peter grant, att. alex. fraser, att. æneas cameron, att. anyone acquainted in the slightest degree with the early history of canada will see in these lists the names of legislative councillors, members of assembly, leaders in society, as well as of those who, in the twenty years following the signing of this agreement, by deeds of daring, exploration, and discovery, made the name of the north-west company illustrious. these names represent likewise those who carried on that wearisome and disastrous conflict with the hudson's bay company which in time would have ruined both companies but for the happy union which took place, when the resources of each were well-nigh exhausted. chapter xviii. the lords of the lakes and forests.--i. new route to kaministiquia--vivid sketch of fort william--"cantine salope"--lively christmas week--the feasting partners--ex-governor masson's good work--four great mackenzies--a literary bourgeois--three handsome demoiselles--"the man in the moon"--story of "bras croche"--around cape horn--astoria taken over--a hot-headed trader--sad case of "little labrie"--punch on new year's day--the heart of a "vacher." the union of the opposing companies from montreal led to a great development of trade, and, as we have already seen, to important schemes of exploration. roderick mckenzie, the cousin of sir alexander, in coming down from rainy lake to grand portage, heard of a new route to kaministiquia. we have already seen that umfreville had found out a circuitous passage from nepigon to winnipeg river, but this had been considered impracticable by the fur-traders. accordingly, when the treaty of amity and commerce made it certain that grand portage had to be given up, it was regarded as a great matter when the route to kaministiquia became known. this was discovered by mr. roderick mckenzie quite by accident. when coming, in 1797, to canada on leave of absence, this trader was told by an indian family near rainy lake that a little farther north there was a good route for large canoes, which was formerly used by the whites in their trading expeditions. taking an indian with him, mckenzie followed this course, which brought him out at the mouth of the kaministiquia. this proved to be the old french route, for all along it traces were found of their former establishments. strange that a route at one time so well known should be completely forgotten in forty years. in the year 1800 the north-west company built a fort, called the new fort, at the mouth of the kaministiquia, and, abandoning grand portage, moved their headquarters to this point in 1803. in the year after the union of the north-west and x y companies the name fort william was given to this establishment, in honour of the hon. william mcgillivray, who had become the person of greatest distinction in the united north-west company. as giving us a glimpse of the life of "the lords of the lakes and forests," which was led at fort william, we have a good sketch written by a trader, gabriel franchère, who was a french canadian of respectable family and began life in a business place in montreal. at this stage, says a local writer, "the fur trade was at its apogee," and franchère was engaged by the astor company and went to astoria. returning over the mountains, he passed fort william. his book, written in french, has been translated into english, and is creditable to the writer, who died as late as 1856 in st. paul, minnesota. franchère says of fort william, rather inaccurately, that it was built in 1805. this lively writer was much impressed by the trade carried on at this point, and gives the following vivid description:-"fort william has really the appearance of a fort from the palisade fifteen feet high, and also that of a pretty village from the number of buildings it encloses. in the middle of a spacious square stands a large building, elegantly built, though of wood, the middle door of which is raised five feet above the ground plot, and in the front of which runs a long gallery. in the centre of this building is a room about sixty feet long and thirty wide, decorated with several paintings, and some portraits in crayon of a number of the partners of the company. it is in this room that the agents, the clerks, and the interpreters take their meals at different tables. at each extremity of the room are two small apartments for the partners." "the back part of the house is occupied by the kitchen and sleeping apartments of the domestics. on each side of this building there is another of the same size, but lower; these are divided lengthwise by a corridor, and contain each twelve pretty sleeping-rooms. one of these houses is intended for the partners, the other for the clerks. "on the east side of the fort there is another house intended for the same purpose, and a large building in which furs are examined and where they are put up in tight bales by means of a press. behind, and still on the same side, are found the lodges of the guides, another building for furs, and a powder magazine. this last building is of grey stone, and roofed in with tin. in the corner stands a kind of bastion or point of observation. "on the west side is seen a range of buildings, some of which serve for stores and others for shops. there is one for dressing out the employés; one for fitting out canoes; one in which merchandise is retailed; another where strong drink, bread, lard, butter, and cheese are sold, and where refreshments are given out to arriving voyageurs. this refreshment consists of a white loaf, a half pound of butter, and a quart of rum. the voyageurs give to this liquor store the name 'cantine salope.' "behind is found still another row of buildings, one of which is used as an office or counting-house, a pretty square building well lighted; another serves as a store; and a third as a prison. the voyageurs give to the last the name 'pot au beurre.' at the south-east corner is a stone shed roofed with tin. farther back are the workshops of the carpenters, tinsmiths, blacksmiths, and their spacious courts or sheds for sheltering the canoes, repairing them, and constructing new ones. "near the gate of the fort, which is to the south, are the dwelling-houses of the surgeon and resident clerk. over the entrance gate a kind of guard-house has been built. as the river is deep enough at its entrance, the company has had quays built along the fort as a landing-place for the schooners kept on lake superior for transporting peltries, merchandise, and provisions from fort william to sault ste. marie, and _vice versa_. "there are also on the other side of the river a number of houses, all inhabited by old french-canadian voyageurs, worn out in the service of the north-west company, without having become richer by it. fort william is the principal factory of the north-west company in the interior and a general rendezvous of the partners. the agents of montreal and the proprietors wintering in the north nearly all assemble here every summer and receive the returns, form expeditions, and discuss the interests of their commerce. "the employés wintering in the north spend also a portion of the summer at fort william. they form a great encampment to the west, outside the palisades. those who are only engaged at montreal to go to fort william or to rainy lake, and who do not winter in the north, occupy another space on the east side. the former give to the latter the name 'mangeurs de lard.' a remarkable difference is observed between the two camps, which are composed of three or four hundred men each. that of the 'mangeurs de lard' is always very dirty and that of the winterers neat and clean." but the fur-traders were by no means merely business men. perhaps never were there assemblages of men who feasted more heartily when the work was done. the christmas week was a holiday, and sometimes the jollity went to a considerable excess, which was entirely to be expected when the hard life of the voyage was taken into consideration. whether at fort william, or in the north-west company's house in st. gabriel street, montreal, or in later day at lachine, the festive gatherings of the nor'-westers were characterized by extravagance and often by hilarious mirth. the luxuries of the east and west were gathered for these occasions, and offerings to bacchus were neither of poor quality nor limited in extent. with scotch story and jacobite song, intermingled with "la claire fontaine" or "malbrouck s'en va," those lively songs of french canada, the hours of evening and night passed merrily away. at times when they had been feasting long into the morning, the traders and clerks would sit down upon the feast-room floor, when one would take the tongs, another the shovel, another the poker, and so on. they would arrange themselves in regular order, as in a boat, and, vigorously rowing, sing a song of the voyage; and loud and long till the early streaks of the east were seen would the rout continue. when the merriment reached such a height as this, ceremony was relaxed, and voyageurs, servants, and attendants were admitted to witness the wild carouse of the wine-heated partners. we are fortunate in having the daily life of the fur-traders from the lower st. lawrence to the very shores of the pacific ocean pictured for us by the partners in the "journals" they have left behind them. just as the daily records of the monks and others, dreary and uninteresting as many of them at times are, commemorated the events of their time in the "saxon chronicle" and gave the material for history, so the journals of the bourgeois, often left unpublished for a generation or two, and the works of some of those who had influence and literary ability enough to issue their stories in the form of books, supply us with the material for reproducing their times. from such sources we intend to give a few sketches of the life of that time. we desire to express the greatest appreciation of the work of ex-governor masson, who is related to the mckenzie and chaboillez families of that period, and who has published no less than fourteen journals, sketches of the time; of the painstaking writing of an american officer, dr. coues, who has with great care and success edited the journals of alexander henry, jr., and such remains as he could obtain of david thompson, thus supplementing the publication by charles lindsey, of toronto, of an account of thompson. we acknowledge also the patient collection of material by tassé in his "canadiens de l'ouest," as well as the interesting journals of harmon and others, which have done us good service. valuable reminiscences. the name of mckenzie (hon. roderick mckenzie) was one to conjure by among the fur-traders. from the fact that there were so many well-known partners and clerks of this name arose the custom, very common in the highland communities, of giving nicknames to distinguish them. four of the mckenzies were "le rouge," "le blanc," "le borgne" (one-eyed), and "le picoté" (pock-marked). sir alexander was the most notable, and after him his cousin, the hon. roderick, of whom we write. this distinguished man came out as a highland laddie from scotland in 1784. he at once entered the service of the fur company, and made his first journey to the north-west in the next year. his voyage from ste. anne, on montreal island, up the fur-traders' route, was taken in gregory mcleod & co.'s service. at grand portage mckenzie was initiated into the mysteries of the partners. pushed into the north-west, he soon became prominent, and built the most notable post of the upper country, fort chipewyan. on his marriage he became allied to a number of the magnates of the fur company. his wife belonged to the popular family of chaboillez, two other daughters of which were married, one to the well-known surveyor-general of lower canada, joseph bouchette, and another to simon mctavish, "le marquis." roderick mckenzie was a man of some literary ability and taste. he proposed at one time writing a history of the indians of the north-west and also of the north-west company. in order to do this, he sent circulars to leading traders, and thus receiving a number of journals, laid the foundation of the literary store from which ex-governor masson prepared his book on the bourgeois. between him and his cousin, sir alexander mackenzie, an extensive correspondence was kept up. extracts from the letters of the distinguished partner form the burden of the "reminiscences" published by masson. many of the facts have been referred to in our sketch of sir alexander mackenzie's voyages. for eight long years roderick mckenzie remained in the indian country, and came to canada in 1797. some two years afterward sir alexander mackenzie left the old company and headed the x y company. at that time roderick mckenzie was chosen in the place of his cousin in the north-west company, and this for several years caused a coolness between them. his "reminiscences" extend to 1829, at which time he was living in terrebonne, in lower canada. he became a member of the legislative council in lower canada, and he has a number of distinguished descendants. roderick mckenzie closes his interesting "reminiscences" with an elaborate and valuable list of the proprietors, clerks, interpreters, &c., of the north-west company in 1799, giving their distribution in the departments, and the salary paid each. it gives us a picture of the magnitude of the operations of the north-west company. tales of the north-west. few of the nor'-westers aimed at collecting and preserving the folk-lore of the natives. at the request of roderick mckenzie, george keith, a bourgeois who spent a great part of his life very far north, viz. in the regions of athabasca, mackenzie river, and great bear lake, sent a series of letters extending from 1807 onward for ten years embodying tales, descriptions, and the history of the indian tribes of his district. his first description is that of the beaver indians, of whom he gives a vocabulary. he writes for us a number of tales of the beaver indians, viz. "the indian hercules," "two lost women," "the flood, a tale of the mackenzie river," and "the man in the moon." one letter gives a good account of the social manners and customs of the beaver indians, and another a somewhat complete description of the rocky mountains and mackenzie river country. descriptions of the filthy lake and grand river indians and the long arrowed indians, with a few more letters with reference to the fur trade, make up the interesting collection. george keith may be said to have wielded the "pen of a ready writer." we give his story of the man in the moon. _a tale, or tradition, of the beaver indians._ "in the primitive ages of the world, there was a man and his wife who had no children. the former was very singular in his manner of living. being an excellent hunter, he lived entirely upon the blood of the animals he killed. this circumstance displeased his wife, who secretly determined to play him a trick. accordingly one day the husband went out hunting, and left orders with his wife to boil some blood in a kettle, so as to be ready for supper on his return. when the time of his expected return was drawing nigh, his wife pierced a vein with an awl in her left arm and drew a copious quantity of blood, which she mixed with a greater quantity of the blood of a moose deer, that he should not discover it, and prepared the whole for her husband's supper. "upon his return the blood was served up to him on a bark dish; but, upon putting a spoonful to his mouth, he detected the malice of his wife, and only saying that the blood did not smell good, threw the kettle with the contents about her ears. "night coming on, the man went to bed and told his wife to observe the moon about midnight. after the first nap, the woman, awaking, was surprised to find that her husband was absent. she arose and made a fire, and, lifting up her eyes to the moon, was astonished to see her husband, with his dog and kettle, in the body of the moon, from which he has never descended. she bitterly lamented her misfortunes during the rest of her days, always attributing them to her malicious invention of preparing her own blood for her husband's supper." interesting autobiography. among all the nor'-westers there was no one who had more of the scottish pride of family than john mcdonald, of garth, claiming as he did to be descended from the lord of the isles. his father obtained him a commission in the british army, but he could not pass the examination on account of a blemish caused by an accident to his arm. the sobriquet, "bras croche" clung to him all his life as a fur trader. commended to simon mctavish, the young man became his favourite, and in 1791 started for the fur country. he was placed under the experienced trader, angus shaw, and passed his first winter in the far-off beaver river, north of the saskatchewan. next winter he visited the grand portage, and he tells us that for a couple of weeks he was feasting on the best of everything and the best of fish. returning to the saskatchewan, he took part in the building of fort george on that river, whence, after wintering, the usual summer journey was made to grand portage. here, he tells us, they "met the gentlemen from montreal in goodfellowship." this life continued till 1795. he shows us the state of feeling between the companies. "it may not be out of the way to mention that on new year's day, during the customary firing of musketry, one of our opponent's bullies purposely fired his powder through my window. i, of course, got enraged, and challenged him to single combat with our guns; this was a check upon him ever after." remaining in the same district, by the year 1800 he had, backed as he was by powerful influence, his sister being married to hon. william macgillivray, become a partner in the company. two years afterward he speaks of old cuthbert grant coming to the district, but in the spring, this officer being sick, mcdonald fitted up a comfortable boat with an awning, in which grant went to the kaministiquia, where he died. in 1802, mcdonald returned from fort william and determined to build another fort farther up the river to meet a new tribe, the kootenays. this was "rocky mountain house." visiting scotland in the year after, he returned to be dispatched in 1804 to english river, where he was in competition with a hudson's bay company trader. in the next year he went back to the saskatchewan, saying that, although a very dangerous department, he preferred it. going up the south branch of the saskatchewan, he erected the "new chesterfield house" at the mouth of the red deer river, and there met again a detachment of hudson's bay company people. in 1806 he, being unwell, spent the year chiefly in montreal, after which he was appointed to the less exacting field of red river. one interesting note is given us as to the red river forts. he says, "i established a fort at the junction of the red and assiniboine rivers and called it 'gibraltar,' though there was not a rock or a stone within three miles." as we shall see afterwards, the building of this fort, which was on the site of the city of winnipeg, had taken place in the year preceding. with his customary energy in erecting forts, he built one a distance up the qu'appelle river, probably fort espérance. while down at fort william in the spring, the news came to him that david thompson was surrounded in the rocky mountains by blackfoot war parties. mcdonald volunteered to go to the rescue, and with thirty chosen men, after many dangers and hardships, reached thompson in the land of the kootenays. mcdonald was one of the traders selected to go to britain and thence by the ship _isaac todd_ to the mouth of the columbia to meet the astor fur company. he started in company with hon. edward ellice. at rio janeiro mcdonald shipped from the _isaac todd_ on board the frigate _phoebe_. on the west coast of south america they called at "juan fernandez, robinson crusoe's island." they reached the columbia on november 30th, 1813, and in company with trader mcdougall took over astoria in king george's name, mcdonald becoming senior partner at astoria. in april, 1814, mcdonald left for home across the mountains, by way of the saskatchewan, and in due time arrived at fort william. he came to sault ste. marie to find the fort built by the americans, and reached montreal amid some dangers. the last adventure mentioned in his journal was that of meeting in terrebonne lord selkirk's party who were going to the north-west to oppose the nor'-westers. the veteran spent his last days in the county of glengarry, ontario, and died in 1860, between eighty-nine and ninety years of age. his career had been a most romantic one, and he was noted for his high spirit and courage, as well as for his ceaseless energy as a trader. two journals and a description. james mckenzie, brother of hon. roderick mckenzie, was a graphic, though somewhat irritable writer with a good style. he has left us "a journal from the athabasca country," a description of the king's posts on the lower st. lawrence, with a journal of a jaunt through the king's posts. this fur trader joined the north-west company. in 1799 he was at fort chipewyan. his descriptions are minute accounts of his doings at his fort. he seems to have taken much interest in his men, and he gives a pathetic account of one of these trappers called "little labrie." labrie had been for six days without food, and was almost frozen to death. he says: "little labrie's feet are still soaking in cold water, but retain their hardness. we watched him all last night; he fainted often in the course of the night, but we always brought him to life again by the help of mulled wine. once in particular, when he found himself very weak and sick, and thought he was dying he said, 'adieu; je m'en vais; tout mon bien à ceux qui ont soin de moi.' 10th, about twelve o'clock, labrie was freed from all his agonies in this world." mckenzie evidently had a kind heart. the candid writer gives us a picture of new year's day, january 1st, 1890. "this morning before daybreak, the men, according to custom, fired two broadsides in honour of the new year, and then came in to be rewarded with rum, as usual. some of them could hardly stand alone before they went away; such was the effect of the juice of the grape on their brains. after dinner, at which everyone helped themselves so plentifully that nothing remained to the dogs, they had a bowl of punch. the expenses of this day, with fourteen men and women, are: 61-1/2 fathoms spencer twist (tobacco), 7 flagons rum, 1 ditto wine, 1 ham, a skin's worth of dried meat, about 40 white fish, flour, sugar, &c." mckenzie had many altercations in his trade, and seems to have been of a violent temper. he found fault with one of the x y people, named perroue, saying it was a shame for him to call those who came from scotland "vachers" (cow-boys). he said he did not call all, but a few of them "vachers." "i desired him to name one in the north, and told him that the one who served him as a clerk was a 'vacher,' and had the heart of a 'vacher' since he remained with him." mckenzie has frequent accounts of drunken brawls, from which it is easy to be seen that this period of the opposition of the two montreal companies was one of the most dissolute in the history of the fur traders. the fur trader's violent temper often broke out against employés and indians alike. he had an ungovernable dislike to the indians, regarding them simply as the off-scourings of all things, and for the voyageurs and workmen of his own company the denunciations are so strong that his violent language was regarded as "sound and fury, signifying nothing." chapter xix. the lords of the lakes and forests.--ii. harmon and his book--an honest man--"straight as an arrow"--new views--an uncouth giant--"gaelic, english, french, and indian oaths"--mcdonnell, "le prêtre"--st. andrew's day--"fathoms of tobacco"--down the assiniboine--an entertaining journal--a good editor--a too frank trader--"gun fired ten yards away"--herds of buffalo--packs and pemmican--"the fourth gospel"--drowning of henry--"the weather cleared up"--lost for forty days--"cheepe," the corpse--larocque and the mandans--mckenzie and his half-breed children. a good trader and a good book. to those interested in the period we are describing there is not a more attractive character than daniel williams harmon, a native of vermont, who entered the north-west company's service in the year 1800, at the age of 22. after a number of years spent in the far west, he brought with him on a visit to new england the journal of his adventures, and this was edited and published by a puritan minister, daniel haskel, of andover, massachusetts. harmon and the book are both somewhat striking, though possibly neither would draw forth universal admiration. the youngest of his daughters was well known as a prominent citizen of ottawa, and had a marked reverence for the memory of her father. [illustration: daniel william harmon, esq.] leaving lachine in the service of mctavish, frobisher & co., the young fur trader followed the usual route up the ottawa and reached in due course grand portage, which he called "the general rendezvous for the fur traders." he thus describes the fort: "it is twenty-four rods by thirty, is built on the margin of the bay, at the foot of a hill or mountain of considerable height. within the fort there is a considerable number of dwelling-houses, shops, and stores; the houses are surrounded by palisades, which are about eighteen inches in diameter. the other fort, which stands about 200 rods from this, belongs to the x y company. it is only three years since they made an establishment here, and as yet they have had but little success." harmon was appointed to follow john mcdonald, of garth, to the upper saskatchewan. on the way out, however, harmon was ordered to the swan river district. here he remained for four years taking a lively interest in all the parts of a trader's life. he was much on the assiniboine, and passed the sites of brandon, portage la prairie, and winnipeg of to-day. in october, 1805, harmon, having gone to the saskatchewan, took as what was called his "country wife" a french canadian half-breed girl, aged fourteen. he states that it was the custom of the country for the trader to take a wife from the natives, live with her in the country, and then, on leaving the country, place her and her children under the care of an honest man and give a certain amount for her support. as a matter of fact, harmon, years after, on leaving the country, took his native spouse with him, and on lake champlain some of his younger children were born. there were fourteen children born to him, and his north-west wife was to her last days a handsome woman, "as straight as an arrow." during harmon's time athabasca had not only the x y company, but also a number of forts of the hudson's bay company. cumberland house was the next place of residence of the fur trader, and at this point the hudson's bay company house was in charge of peter fidler. harmon's journal continues with most interesting details of the fur trade, which have the charm of liveliness and novelty. allusions are constantly made to the leading traders, mcdonald, fraser, thompson, quesnel, stuart, and others known to us in our researches. in the course of time (1810) harmon found his way over the rocky mountain portage and pursued the fur trade in mcleod lake fort and stuart's lake in new caledonia, and here we find a fort called, after him, harmon's fort. his description of the indians is always graphic, giving many striking customs of the aborigines. about the end of 1813 harmon's journal is taken up with serious religious reflections. he had been troubled with doubts as to the reality of christianity. but after reading the scriptures and such books as he could obtain, he tells us that a new view of things was his, and that his future life became more consistent and useful. he records us a series of the resolutions which he adopted, and they certainly indicate a high ideal on his part. in 1816 he had really become habituated to the upper country. he gives us a glimpse of his family:-"i now pass a short time every day, very pleasantly, in teaching my little daughter polly to read and spell words in the english language, in which she makes good progress, though she knows not the meaning of one of them. in conversing with my children i use entirely the cree indian language; with their mother i more frequently employ the french. her native tongue, however, is more familiar to her, which is the reason why our children have been taught to speak that in preference to the french language." in his journal, which at times fully shows his introspections, he gives an account of the struggle in his own mind about leaving his wife in the country, as was the custom of too many of the clerks and partners. he had instructed her in the principles of christianity, and by these principles he was bound to her for life. after eight and a half years spent on the west side of the rocky mountains, harmon arrived at fort william, 1819, having made a journey of three thousand miles from his far-away post in new caledonia. montreal was soon after reached, and the journal comes to a close. a busy bourgeois. we have seen the energy and ability displayed by john mcdonald, of garth, known as "le bras croch." another trader, john mcdonald, is described by ross cox, who spent his life largely in the rocky mountain region. he was known as mcdonald grand. "he was 6 ft. 4 in. in height, with broad shoulders, large bushy whiskers, and red hair, which he allowed to grow for years without the use of scissors, and which sometimes, falling over his face and shoulders, gave to his countenance a wild and uncouth appearance." he had a most uncontrollable temper, and in his rage would indulge in a wild medley of gaelic, english, french, and indian oaths. but a third john mcdonnell was found among the fur traders. he was a brother of miles mcdonnell, lord selkirk's first governor of the red river settlement. john mcdonnell was a rigid roman catholic, and was known as "le prêtre" ("the priest"), from the fact that on the voyage through the fur country he always insisted on observing the church fasts along with his french canadian employés. mcdonnell, on leaving the service of the north-west company, retired to point fortune, on the ottawa, and there engaged in trade. we have his journal for the years 1793-5, and it is an excellent example of what a typical fur trader's journal would be. it is minute, accurate, and very interesting. during this period he spent his time chiefly in trading up and down the assiniboine and red rivers. a few extracts will show the interesting nature of his journal entries:-_fort espérance, oct. 18th, 1793._--neil mckay set out to build and winter at the forks of the river (junction of the qu'appelle and assiniboine), alongside of mr. peter grant, who has made his pitch about seven leagues from here. mr. n. mckay's effects were carried in two boats, managed by five men each. mr. c. grant set out for his quarters of river tremblant, about thirty leagues from here. the dogs made a woeful howling at all the departures. _oct. 19th._--seventeen warriors came from the banks of the missouri for tobacco. they slept ten nights on their way, and are emissaries from a party of assiniboines who went to war upon the sioux. _oct. 20th._--the warriors traded a few skins brought upon their backs and went off ill pleased with their reception. after dark, the dogs kept up a constant barking, which induced a belief that some of the warriors were lurking about the fort for an opportunity to steal. i took a sword and pistol and went to sleep in the store. nothing took place. _oct. 31st._--two of mr. n. mckay's men came from the forts, supposing this to be all saints' day. raised a flag-staff poplar, fifty feet above the ground. _nov. 23rd._--the men were in chase of a white buffalo all day, but could not get within shot of him. faignant killed two buffalo cows. a mild day. _nov. 30th._--st. andrew's day. hoisted the flag in honour of the titulary saint of scotland. a beautiful day. expected messrs. peter grant and neil mckay to dinner. they sent excuse by bonneau. _dec. 2nd._--sent mr. peter grant a town and country magazine of 1790. poitras' wife made me nine pairs of shoes (moccasins). _jan. 1st, 1794._--mr. grant gave the men two gallons of rum and three fathoms of tobacco, by the way of new year's gift. (it is interesting to follow mcdonnell on one of his journeys down the assiniboine.) _may 1st._--sent off the canoes early in the morning. mr. grant and i set out about seven. slept at the forks of river qu'appelle. _may 4th._--killed four buffalo cows and two calves and camped below the fort of mountain à la bosse (near virden), about two leagues. _may 5th._--arrived at ange's river la souris fort (below brandon). _may 17th._--passed fort des trembles and portage la prairie. _may 20th._--arrived at the forks red river (present city of winnipeg) about noon. _may 24th._--arrived at the lake (winnipeg) at 10 a.m. _may 27th._--arrived at the sieur's fort (fort alexander at the mouth of winnipeg river). mcdonnell also gives in his journal a number of particulars about the cree and assiniboine indians, describing their religion, marriages, dress, dances, and mourning. the reader is struck with the difference in the recital by different traders of the lives lived by them. the literary faculty is much more developed in some cases than in others, and john mcdonnell was evidently an observing and quick-witted man. he belonged to a u. e. loyalist scottish family that took a good position in the affairs of early canada. a full and interesting autobiography. that the first trader of the north-west whom we have described, alexander henry, should have been followed in the north-west fur trade by his nephew, alexander henry, jr., is in itself a thing of interest; but that the younger henry should have left us a most voluminous and entertaining journal is a much greater matter. the copy of this journal is in the parliamentary library at ottawa, and forms two large bound folio volumes of 1,642 pages. it is not the original, but is a well-approved copy made in 1824 by george coventry, of montreal. for many years this manuscript has been in the parliamentary library, and extracts have been made and printed. recently an american writer, dr. coues, who has done good service in editing the notable work of lewis and clark, and also that of zebulon s. pike, has published a digest of henry's journal and added to it very extensive notes of great value. the greatest praise is due to this author for the skill with which he has edited the journal, and all students of the period are indebted to one so well fitted to accomplish the task. the journal opens, in 1799, with henry on the waters of a tributary of lake manitoba, he having arrived from grand portage by the usual fur traders' route. in this place he built a trading house and spent his first winter. in the following year the trader is found on the red river very near the forty-ninth parallel of north latitude, and is engaged in establishing a post at the mouth of the pembina river, a tributary of red river. at this post henry remains until 1808, going hither and thither in trading expeditions, establishing new outposts, counter-working the rival traders of the x y company, and paying his visits from time to time to grand portage. henry's entries are made with singular clearness and realistic force. he recites with the utmost frankness the details of drunken debauchery among the indians, the plots of one company to outdo the other in trading with the indians, and the tricks of trade so common at this period in the fur trade. a few examples of his graphic descriptions may be given. "at ten o'clock i came to the point of wood in which the fort was built, and just as i entered the gate at a gallop, to take the road that led to the gate, a gun was fired about ten yards from me, apparently by a person who lay in the long grass. my horse was startled and jumped on one side, snorting and prancing; but i kept my seat, calling out, 'who is there?' no answer was returned. i instantly took my gun from my belt, and cocked her to fire, forgetting she was not loaded and i had no ammunition. i could still see the person running in the grass, and was disappointed in not having a shot at him. i again called out, 'who is there?' 'c'est moi, bourgeois.' it proved to be one of my men, charbonneau. i was vexed with him for causing me such consternation." red river. "_february 28th, 1801._--wolves and crows are very numerous, feeding on the buffalo carcasses that lie in every direction. i shot two buffalo cows, a calf, and two bulls, and got home after dark. i was choking with thirst, having chased the buffalo on snow-shoes in the heat of the day, when the snow so adheres that one is scarcely able to raise the feet. a draught of water was the sweetest beverage i ever tasted. an indian brought in a calf of this year, which he found dead. it was well grown, and must have perished last night in the snow. this was thought extraordinary; they say it denotes an early spring. "_march 5th._--the buffalo have for some time been wandering in every direction. my men have raised and put their traps in order for the spring hunt, as the raccoons begin to come out of their winter quarters in the daytime, though they retire to the hollow trees at night. on the 8th it rained for four hours; fresh meat thawed. on the 9th we saw the first spring bird. bald eagles we have seen the whole winter, but now they are numerous, feeding on the buffalo carcasses." during the red river period henry made a notable journey in 1806 across the plains to the mandans on the missouri. two years afterward he bids farewell to red river and the assiniboine, and goes to carry on trade in the saskatchewan. while on the saskatchewan, which was for three years, he was in charge of important forts, viz. fort vermilion, terre blanche, and the rocky mountain house. his energy and acquaintance with the prairie were well shown in his exploration of this great region, and the long journeys willingly undertaken by him. his account of the western prairies, especially of the assiniboines, is complete and trustworthy. in fact, he rejoices in supplying us with the details of their lives and manners which we might well be spared. a gap of two years from 1811 is found in henry's journal, but it is resumed in 1813, the year in which he crosses the rocky mountains and is found in the party sent by the north-west company to check the encroachments on the columbia of the astor fur company. his account of the voyage on the pacific is regarded as valuable, and dr. coues says somewhat quaintly: "his work is so important a concordance that if franchère, cox, and ross be regarded as the synoptical writers of astoria, then henry furnishes the fourth gospel." after the surrender of astoria to the north-west company and its occupation by the british, some of the nor'-westers returned. john mcdonald, of garth, as we have seen, crossed the mountains. in his journal occurs a significant entry: "mr. la rogue brings the melancholy intelligence that messrs. d. mctavish, alexander henry, and five sailors were drowned on may 22nd last, in going out in a boat from fort george to the vessel called the _isaac todd_." ross cox gives a circumstantial account of this sad accident, though, strange to say, he does not mention the name of henry, while giving that of d. mctavish. it is somewhat startling to us to find that henry continued his journal up to the very day before his death, his last sentence being, "the weather cleared up." a trader lost for forty days. lying before the writer is the copy of a letter of john pritchard, of the x y company, written in 1805, giving an account of a forty days' adventure of a most thrilling kind. pritchard was in charge of the x y fort at the mouth of the souris river on the assiniboine. he had on june 10th gone with one of the clerks up the river assiniboine, intending to reach qu'appelle fort, a distance of 120 miles. all went well till montagne à la bosse was reached, where there was a trading house. going westward, the two traders were separated in looking for the horses. pritchard lit fires for two days, but could attract no attention. then he realized that he was lost. misled by the belts of timber along the different streams, he went along the pipestone, thinking he was going towards the assiniboine. in this he was mistaken. painfully he crept along the river, his strength having nearly gone. living on frogs, two hawks, and a few other birds, he says at the end of ten days, "i perceived my body completely wasted. nothing was left me but my bones, covered with a skin thinner than paper. i was perfectly naked, my clothes having been worn in making shoes, with which i protected my bruised and bleeding feet." some days after, pritchard found a nest of small eggs and lived on them. he says, "how mortifying to me to see the buffalo quenching their thirst in every lake near to which i slept, and geese and swans in abundance, whilst i was dying of hunger in this land of plenty, for want of wherewith to kill." after trying to make a hook and line to fish, and failing; after being tempted to lie down and give up life, he caught a hen grouse, which greatly strengthened him, as he cooked and ate it. he had now crossed the souris river, thinking it to be the assiniboine, and came upon a great plain where the prairie turnip (psoralea esculenta) grew plentifully. pushing southward, being sustained by the bulbs of this "pomme blanche," as it is called by the french voyageurs, pritchard came at length to whitewater lake, near turtle mountain, and here found two vacant wintering houses of the fur traders. he now was able to identify his locality and to estimate that he was sixty miles directly south of his trading post. his feet, pierced by the spear grass (stipa spartea), were now in a dreadful condition. he found a pair of old shoes in the vacant fort and several pairs of socks. he determined to move northward to his fort. soon he was met by a band of indians, who were alarmed at his worn appearance. the natives took good care of him and carried him, at times unconscious, to his fort, which he reached after an absence of forty days. he says, "picture to yourself a man whose bones are scraped, not an atom of flesh remaining, then over these bones a loose skin, fine as the bladder of an animal; a beard of forty days' growth, his hair full of filth and scabs. you will then have some idea of what i was." the hudson's bay company officer, mckay, from the neighbouring fort, was exceedingly kind and supplied his every want. the cree indians after this adventure called pritchard the manitou or great spirit. the assiniboines called him cheepe--or the corpse, referring to his wan appearance. for weeks after his return the miserable trader was unable to move about, but in time recovered, and lived to a good old age on the banks of the red river. to the last day of his life he referred to his great deliverance, and was thoroughly of the opinion that his preservation was miraculous. assiniboine to missouri. we are fortunate in having two very good journals of journeys made in the early years of the century from the forts at the junction of the souris and assiniboine river to the missouri river. as was described in the case of david thompson, this was a long and tedious journey, and yet it was at one time within the plans of the north-west company to carry their trade thither. few of the french canadian gentlemen entered into the north-west company. one of these, who became noted as an indian trader, was françois antoine larocque, brother-in-law of quesnel, the companion of simon fraser. of the same rank as himself, and associated with him, was a trader, charles mckenzie, who entered the north-west company as a clerk in 1803. the expedition to the mandans under these gentlemen, left fort assiniboine on november 11th, 1804, a party in all of seven, and provided with horses, five of which carried merchandise for trade. after the usual incidents of this trying journey, the missouri was reached. the notable event of this journey was the meeting with the american expedition of lewis and clark, then on its way to cross overland to the pacific ocean. larocque in his journal gives information about this expedition. leaving philadelphia in 1803, the expedition, consisting of upward of forty men, had taken till october to reach the mandans on the missouri. the purposes of the expedition of lewis and clark were:-(1) to explore the territory towards the pacific and settle the boundary line between the british and american territories. (2) to quiet the indians of the missouri by conference and the bestowment of gifts. larocque was somewhat annoyed by the message given him by lewis and clark, that no flags or medals could be given by the north-west company to the indians in the missouri, inasmuch as they were american indians. larocque had some amusement at the continual announcement by these leaders that the indians would be protected so long as they should behave as dutiful children to the great father, the president of the united states. in the spring the party returned, after wintering on the missouri. in 1805, during the summer, another expedition went to the missouri; in 1806, charles mckenzie went in february to the mandans, and, returning, made a second journey in the same year to the missouri. the account given by mckenzie of the journeys of 1804-6 is an exceedingly well written one, for this leader was fond of study, and, we are told, delighted especially in the history of his native land, the highlands of scotland. charles mckenzie had married an indian woman, and became thoroughly identified with the north-west. he was fond of his native children, and stood up for their recognition on the same plane as the white children. after the union of the north-west company and the hudson's bay company, the english influence largely prevailed. thinking that his son, who was well educated at the red river seminary, was not sufficiently recognized by the company, mckenzie wrote bitterly, "it appears the present concern has stamped the cain mark upon all born in this country. neither education nor abilities serve them. the honourable company are unwilling to take natives, even as apprenticed clerks, and the favoured few they do take can never aspire to a higher status, be their education and capacity what they may." mckenzie continued the fur trade until 1846, when he retired and settled on the red river. his son, hector mckenzie, now dead, was well known on the red river, and accompanied one of the explorations to the far north. larocque did not continue long in the fur trade, but went to montreal and embarked in business, in which he was very unsuccessful. he spent the last years of his life in retirement and close study, and died in the grey nunnery in a lower canadian parish. chapter xx. the lords of the lakes and forests.--iii. dashing french trader--"the country of fashion"--an air of great superiority--the road is that of heaven--enough to intimidate a cæsar--"the bear" and the "little branch"--yet more rum--a great irishman--"in the wigwam of wabogish dwelt his beautiful daughter"--wedge of gold--johnston and henry schoolcraft--duncan cameron on lake superior--his views of trade--peter grant, the ready writer--paddling the canoe--indian folk-lore--chippewa burials--remarkable men and great financiers, marvellous explorers, facile traders. a dashing french trader--françois victor malhiot. a gay and intelligent french lad, taken with the desire of leading the life of the traders in the "upper country" (_pays d'en haut_), at the age of fifteen deserted school and entered the north-west company. in 1796, at the age of twenty, he was promoted to a clerkship and sent to a post in the upper part of the red river country. on account of his inferior education he was never advanced to the charge of a post in the company's service, but he was always noted for his courage and the great energy displayed by him in action. in 1804 malhiot was sent to wisconsin, where he carried on trade. for the north-west company there he built a fort and waged a vigorous warfare with the other traders, strong drink being one of the most ready weapons in the contest. in 1801 the trader married after the "country fashion" (_à la façon du pays_), i.e. as we have explained, he had taken an indian woman to be his wife, with the understanding that when he retired from the fur trade, she should be left provided for as to her living, but be free to marry another. malhiot tired of the fur trade in 1807 and returned to lower canada, where he lived till his death. malhiot's indian wife was afterwards twice married, and one of her sons by the third marriage became a member of the legislature in lower canada. a brother of malhiot's became a colonel in the british army in india, and another brother was an influential man in his native province. few traders had more adventures than this french canadian. stationed west of lake superior, at lac du flambeau, malhiot found himself surrounded by men of the x y company, and he assumed an air of great superiority in his dealings with the indians. two of his companions introduced him to the savages as the brother of william mcgillivray, the head of the north-west company. he says, "this thing has produced a very good effect up to the present, for they never name me otherwise than as their 'father.' i am glad to believe that they will respect me more than they otherwise would have done, and will do themselves the honour of trading with me this winter." speaking of the rough country through which he was passing, malhiot says, "of all the passages and places that i have been able to see during the thirteen years in which i travelled, this is the most frightful and unattractive. the road of the portage is truly that of heaven, for it is strait, full of obstacles, slippery places, thorns, and bogs. the men who pass it loaded, and who are obliged to carry over it bales, certainly deserve the name of 'men.' "this villainous portage is only inhabited by owls, because no other animal could find its living there, and the cries of these solitary birds are enough to frighten an angel and to intimidate a cæsar." malhiot maintained his dignified attitude to the indians and held great conferences with the chiefs, always with an eye to the improvement of trade. to one he says:-"my father,--it is with great joy that i smoke in thy pipe of peace and that i receive thy word. our chief trader at kaministiquia will accept it, i trust, this spring, with satisfaction, and he will send thee a mark of his friendship, if thou dost continue to do well. so i take courage! only be as one, and look at the fort of the x y from a distance if thou dost wish to attain to what thou desirest." in april, 1805, the trader says, "my people have finished building my fort, and it is the prettiest of any in the indian country. long live the north-west company! honour to malhiot!" malhiot gives a very sad picture of the degeneracy of the trade at this time, produced by the use of strong drink in gaining the friendship of the indians. a single example may suffice to show the state of affairs. _april 26th._--"the son of 'whetstone,' brother-in-law of chorette, came here this evening and made me a present of one otter, 15 rats, and 12 lbs. of sugar, for which i gave him 4 pots of rum. he made them drunk at chorette's with the 'indians,' the 'bear,' and 'the little branch.' when they were well intoxicated, they cleared the house, very nearly killed chorette, shot la lancette, and broke open the store-house. they carried away two otters, for which i gave them more rum this morning, but without knowing they had been stolen. all this destruction occurred because chorette had promised them more rum, and that he had not any more." malhiot's journal closes with the statement that after a long journey from the interior he and his party had camped in view of the island at grand portage. an irishman of distinction. in the conflict of the north-west, x y, and hudson's bay companies, it is interesting to come upon the life and writing of an irishman, a man of means, who, out of love for the wilds of lake superior, settled down upon its shores and became a "free trader," as he was called. this was john johnston, who came to montreal, enjoyed the friendship of sir guy carleton, the governor of canada, and hearing of the romantic life of the fur traders, plunged into the interior, in 1792 settled at la pointe, on the south side of lake superior, and established himself as an independent trader. a gentleman of birth and education, johnston seems to have possessed a refined and even religious spirit. filled with high thoughts inspired by a rocky and romantic island along the shore, he named it "contemplation island." determined to pass his life on the rocky but picturesque shores of lake superior, johnston became friendly with the indian people. the old story of love and marriage comes in here also. the chief of the region was wabogish, the "white fisher," whose power extended as far west as the mississippi. in the wigwam of wabogish dwelt his beautiful daughter. her hand had been sought by many young braves, but she had refused them all. the handsome, sprightly irishman had, however, gained her affections, and proposed to her father for her. writing long afterward he describes her as she was when he first saw her, a year after his arrival on the shores of lake superior. "wabogish or the 'white fisher,' the chief of la pointe, made his sugar on the skirts of a high mountain, four days' march from the entrance of the river to the south-east. his eldest daughter, a girl of fourteen, exceedingly handsome, with a cousin of hers who was two or three years older, rambling one day up the eastern side of the mountain, came to a perpendicular cliff exactly fronting the rising sun. near the base of the cliff they found a piece of yellow metal, as they called it, about eighteen inches long, a foot broad, four inches thick and perfectly smooth. it was so heavy that they could raise it only with great difficulty. after examining it for some time, it occurred to the eldest girl that it belonged to the 'gitche manitou,' 'the great spirit,' upon which they abandoned the place with precipitation. "as the chippewas are not idolaters, it occurs to me that some of the southern tribes must have emigrated thus far to the north, and that the piece either of copper or of gold is part of an altar dedicated to the sun. if my conjecture is right, the slab is more probably gold--as the mexicans have more of that metal than they have of copper." the advances of johnston toward chief wabogish for marriage to his daughter were for a time resisted by the forest magnate. afraid of the marriages made after the country fashion, he advised johnston to return to his native country for a time. if, after a sufficient absence, his affection for his daughter should still remain strong, he would consent to their marriage. johnston returned to ireland, disposed of his property, and came back to lake superior to claim his bride. johnston settled at sault ste. marie, where he had a "very considerable establishment with extensive plantations of corn and vegetables, a beautiful garden, a comfortable house, a good library, and carried on an important trade." during the war of 1814 he co-operated with the british commandant, colonel mcdonald, in taking the island of michilimackinac from the americans. while absent, the american expedition landed at sault ste. marie, and set fire to johnston's house, stables, and other buildings, and these were burnt to the ground, his wife and children viewing the destruction of their home from the neighbouring woods. masson says: "a few years afterwards, mr. johnston once more visited his native land, accompanied by his wife and his eldest daughter, a young lady of surpassing beauty. every inducement was offered to them to remain in the old country, the duke and duchess of northumberland having even offered to adopt their daughter. they preferred, however, returning to the shores of lake superior, where miss johnston was married to mr. henry schoolcraft, the united states indian agent at sault ste. marie, and the distinguished author of the 'history of the indian tribes of the united states.'" mr. johnston wrote "an account of lake superior" at the request of roderick mckenzie. this we have, but it is chiefly a geographical description of the greatest of american lakes. johnston died at sault ste. marie in 1828. a determined trader of lake superior. a most daring and impulsive celt was duncan cameron. he and his family were scottish u. e. loyalists from the mohawk river in new york state. as a young man he entered the fur trade, and was despatched to the region on lake superior to serve under mr. shaw, the father of angus shaw, of whom we have already spoken. in 1786 cameron became a clerk and was placed in charge of the nepigon district, an important field for his energies. though this region was a difficult one, yet by hard work he made it remunerative to his company. speaking of his illness, caused by exposure, he says, in writing a letter to his friend, "i can assure you it is with great difficulty i can hold my pen, but i must tell you that the x y sends into the nepigon this year; therefore, should i leave my bones there, i shall go to winter." in response to the application of roderick mckenzie, duncan cameron sent a description of the nepigon district and a journal of one of his journeys to the interior. from these we may give a few extracts. passing over his rather full and detailed account of saulteaux indians of this region, we find that he speaks in a journal which is in a very damaged condition, of his visit to osnaburgh fort, a hudson's bay company fort built in 1786, and of his decision to send a party to trade in the interior. there is abundant evidence of the great part played by strong drink at this time in the fur country. "cotton shirt, a haughty indian chief, has always been very faithful to me these several years past. he is, without exception, the best hunter in the whole department, and passes as having in consequence great influence over me. one of his elder brothers spoke next and said that he was now grown up to a man; that 'his fort,' as he calls osnaburgh, was too far off for the winter trade; that if i left anyone here, he would come to them with winter skins; he could not live without getting drunk three or four times at least, but that i must leave a clerk to deal with him, as he was above trading with any young under-strappers. i told him that if i consented to leave a person here, i would leave one that had both sense and knowledge enough to know how to use him well, as also any other great man. this indian had been spoiled by the h. b. people at osnaburgh fort, where we may consider him master. he had been invited to dine there last spring." "this great english partisan, a few weeks ago, had his nose bit off by his son-in-law at the door of what he calls 'his fort.' he is not yet cured, and says that a great man like him must not get angry or take any revenge, especially when he stands in awe of the one who ill-used him, for there is nothing an indian will not do rather than admit himself to be a coward." "my canoe was very much hampered; i put a man and his wife in the small canoe and embarked in the other small canoe with my guides, after giving some liquor to the old man and his sons, who must remain here to-day to try and pack all their three canoes. we went on as well as we could against a cold head wind till the big canoe got on a stone which nearly upset her and tore a piece two feet square out of her bottom. she filled immediately and the men and goods were all in danger of going to the bottom before they reached the shore; notwithstanding their efforts, she sank in three feet of water. we hastened to get everything out of her, but my sugar and their molasses were damaged, but worse than all, my powder, which i immediately examined, was considerably damaged." "having decided to establish a fort, we all set to work; four men to build, one to square boards for the doors, timber for the floors, and shelves for the shops, the two others to attend the rest.... there are now eight indians here, all drunk and very troublesome to my neighbour, who, i believe, is as drunk as themselves; they are all very civil to me, and so they may, for i am giving them plenty to drink, without getting anything from them as yet." "this man (an indian from red lake) tells me that the english (h. b. co.), the x y, and mr. adhemar (a free trader) were striving who would squander the most and thereby please the indians best, but the consequence will be that the indians will get all they want for half the value and laugh at them all, in the end. he told me that an indian, who i know very well to have no influence on anyone but himself, got five kegs of mixed high wines to himself alone between the three houses and took 200 skins credit; that all the indians were fifteen days without getting sober. i leave it to any rational being to judge what that indian's skins will cost." "another circumstance which will tend to injure the trade very much, so long as we have the hudson's bay company against us, is the premium they allow every factor or master on whatever number of skins they obtain. those people do not care at what price they buy or whether their employés gain by them, so long as they have their premium, which sets them in opposition to one another almost as much as they are to us. the honourable hudson's bay company proprietors very little knew their own interest when they first allowed this interest to their 'officers,' as they call them, as it certainly had not the desired effect, for, if it added some to their exertions, it led in a great degree to the squandering of their goods, as they are in general both needy and selfish." peter grant, the historiographer. while many journals and sketches were forwarded to mr. roderick mckenzie, none of them were of so high a character in completeness and style as that of mr. peter grant on the saulteaux indians. peter grant, as quite a young man at the age of twenty, joined the north-west company in 1784. seven years afterward he had become a partner, had charge of rainy lake district, and afterward that of the red river department. his sketch of the indians marks him as a keen observer and a facile writer. some of his descriptions are excellent:-"the fruits found in this country are the wild plum, a small sort of wild cherry, wild currants of different kinds, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, brambleberries, blackberries, choke cherries, wild grapes, sand cherries, a delicious fruit which grows on a small shrub near sandy shores, and another blueberry, a fine fruit not larger than a currant, tasting much like a pear and growing on a small tree about the size of a willow. (no doubt the saskatoon berry.--ed.) in the swamp you find two kinds of cranberries. hazel nuts, but of very inferior quality, grow near the banks of the rivers and lakes. a kind of wild rice grows spontaneously in the small muddy creeks and bays." "the north-west company's canoes, manned with five men, carry about 3,000 lbs.; they seldom draw more than eighteen inches of water and go generally at the rate of six miles an hour in calm weather. when arrived at a portage, the bowman instantly jumps in the water to prevent the canoe from touching the bottom, while the others tie their slings to the packages in the canoe and swing them on their backs to carry over the portage. the bowman and the steersman carry their canoe, a duty from which the middle men are exempt. the whole is conducted with astonishing expedition, a necessary consequence of the enthusiasm which always attends their long and perilous voyages. it is pleasing to see them, when the weather is calm and serene, paddling in their canoes, singing in chorus their simple, melodious strains, and keeping exact time with their paddles, which effectually beguiles their labours. when they arrive at a rapid, the guide or foreman's business is to explore the waters previous to their running down with their canoes, and, according to the height of the water, they either lighten the canoe by taking out part of the cargo and carry it overland, or run down the whole load." speaking of the saulteaux, grant says, "the saulteaux are, in general, of the common stature, well proportioned, though inclining to a slender make, which would indicate more agility than strength. their complexion is a whitish cast of the copper colour, their hair black, long, straight, and of a very strong texture, the point of the nose rather flat, and a certain fulness in the lips, but not sufficient to spoil the appearance of the mouth. the teeth, of a beautiful ivory white, are regular, well set, and seldom fail them even in the most advanced period of life; their cheeks are high and rather prominent, their eyes black and lively, their countenance is generally pleasant, and the symmetry of their features is such as to constitute what can be called handsome faces. "their passions, whether of a benevolent or mischievous tendency, are always more violent than ours. i believe this has been found to be the case with all barbarous nations who never cultivate the mind; hence the cruelties imputed to savages, in general, towards their enemies. though these people cannot be acquitted from some degree of that ferocious barbarity which characterizes the savages, they are, however, free from that deliberate cruelty which has been so often imputed to other barbarous natives. they are content to kill and scalp their enemy, and never reserve a prisoner for the refined tortures of a lingering and cruel death. "the saulteaux have, properly speaking, no regular system of government and but a very imperfect idea of the different ranks of society so absolutely necessary in all civilized countries. their leading men or chief magistrates are petty chiefs, whose dignity is hereditary, but whose authority is confined within the narrow circle of their own particular tribe or relatives. there are no established laws to enforce obedience; all is voluntary, and yet, such is their confidence and respect for their chiefs, that instances of mutiny or disobedience to orders are very rare among them. "as to religion, gitche manitou, or the 'master of life,' claims the first rank in their devotion. to him they attribute the creation of the heavens, of the waters, and of that portion of the earth beyond the sea from which white people come. he is also the author of life and death, taking pleasure in promoting the happiness of the virtuous, and having, likewise, the power of punishing the wicked. wiskendjac is next in power. he is said to be the creator of all the indian tribes, the country they inhabit and all it contains. the last of their deities is called matchi-manitou, or the 'bad spirit,' he is the author of evil, but subject to the control of the gitche manitou. though he is justly held in great detestation, it is thought good policy to smooth his anger by singing and beating the drum. "when life is gone, the body of the dead is addressed by some friend of the deceased in a long speech, in which he begs of him to take courage, and pursue his journey to the great meadow, observing that all his departed friends and relations are anxiously waiting to receive him, and that his surviving friends will soon follow. "the body is then decently dressed and wrapped in a new blanket, with new shoes, garnished and painted with vermilion, on the feet. it is kept one night in the lodge, and is next day buried in the earth. after burial they either raise a pole of wood over the grave, or enclose it with a fence. at the head of the grave a small post is erected, on which they carve the particular mark of the tribe to whom the deceased belonged. the bodies of some of their most celebrated chiefs are raised upon a high scaffold, with flags flying, and the scalps of their enemies. it is customary with their warriors, at the funeral of their great men, to strike the post and relate all their martial achievements, as they do in the war dance, and their funeral ceremonies generally conclude by a feast round the grave." grant, in 1794, built the post on the assiniboine at the mouth of shell river, and five years afterward was in charge of the fort on the rainy lake. about the same time he erected a post, probably the first on the red river, in the neighbourhood of the present village of st. vincent, near 49° n. lat., opposite pembina. he seems to have been in the indian country in 1804, and, settling in lower canada, died at lachine in 1848, at the grand old age of eighty-four. thus have we sought to sketch, from their own writings, pictures of the lords of the fur trade. they were a remarkable body of men. great as financiers, marvellous as explorers, facile as traders, brave in their spirits, firm and yet tactful in their management of the indians, and, except during the short period from 1800-1804, anxious for the welfare of the red men. looking back, we wonder at their daring and loyalty, and can well say with washington irving, "the feudal state of fort william is at an end; its council chamber is silent and desolate; its banquet-hall no longer echoes to the auld world ditty; the lords of the lakes and forests have passed away." chapter xxi. the impulse of union. north-west and x y companies unite--recalls the homeric period--feuds forgotten--men perform prodigies--the new fort re-christened--vessel from michilimackinac--the old canal--wills builds fort gibraltar--a lordly sway--the "beaver club"--sumptuous table--exclusive society--"fortitude in distress"--political leaders in lower canada. to the termination of the great conflict between the north-west and the x y companies we have already referred. the death of simon mctavish removed a difficulty and served to unite the traders. the experience and standing of the old company and the zeal and vigour of the new combined to inspire new hope. great plans were matured for meeting the opposition of the hudson's bay company and extending the trade of the company. the explorations of david thompson and simon fraser, which, as we have seen, produced such great results in new caledonia, while planned before, were now carried forward with renewed vigour, the enterprise of the nor'-westers being the direct result of the union. the heroic deeds of these explorers recall to us the adventurous times of the homeric period, when men performed prodigies and risked their lives for glory. the explanation of this hearty co-operation was that the old and new companies were very closely allied. brothers and cousins had been in opposite camps, not because they disliked each other, but because their leaders could not agree. now the feuds were forgotten, and, with the enthusiasm of their celtic natures, they would attempt great things. the "new fort," as it had been called, at the mouth of the kaministiquia, was now re-christened, and the honoured name of the chieftain mcgillivray was given to this great depôt--fort william. it became a great trading centre, and the additions required to accommodate the increased volume of business and the greater number of employés, were cheerfully made by the united company. standing within the great solitudes of thunder bay, fort william became as celebrated in the annals of the north-west company, as york or albany had been in the history of the hudson's bay company. a vessel came up from lake erie, bringing supplies, and, calling at michilimackinac, reached the sault ste. marie. boats which had come down the canal, built to avoid the st. mary rapids, here met this vessel. from the st. mary river up to fort william a schooner carried cargoes, and increased the profits of the trade, while it protected many from the dangers of the route. the whole trade was systematized, and the trading houses, duplicated as they had been at many points, were combined, and the expenses thus greatly reduced. as soon as the company could fully lay its plans, it determined to take hold in earnest of the red river district. accordingly we see that, under instructions from john mcdonald, of garth, a bourgeois named john wills, who, we find, had been one of the partners of the x y company, erected at the junction of the red and assiniboine rivers, on the point of land, a fort called fort gibraltar. wills was a year in building it, having under him twenty men. the stockade of this fort was made of "oak trees split in two." the wooden picketing was from twelve to fifteen feet high. the following is a list of buildings enclosed in it, with some of their dimensions. there were eight houses in all; the residence of the bourgeois, sixty-four feet in length; two houses for the servants, respectively thirty-six and twenty-eight feet long; one store thirty-two feet long; a blacksmith's shop, stable, kitchen, and an ice-house. on the top of the ice-house a watch-tower (guérite) was built. john wills continued to live in this fort up to the time of his death a few years later. such was the first building, so far as we know, erected on the site of the city of the plains, and which was followed first by fort douglas and then by fort garry, the chief fort in the interior of rupert's land. it was to this period in the history of the united company that washington irving referred when he said: "the partners held a lordly sway over the wintry lakes and boundless forests of the canadas almost equal to that of the east india company over the voluptuous climes and magnificent realms of the orient." some years before this, a very select organization had been formed among the fur traders in montreal. it was known as the "beaver club." the conditions of the membership were very strict. they were that the candidate should have spent a period of service in the "upper country," and have obtained the unanimous vote of the members. the gatherings of the club were very notable. at their meetings they assembled to recall the prowess of the old days, the dangers of the rapids, the miraculous deliverances accomplished by their canoe men, the disastrous accidents they had witnessed. their days of feasting were long remembered by the inhabitants of montreal after the club had passed away. the sumptuous table of the club was always open to those of rank or distinction who might visit montreal, and the approval of the club gave the entry to the most exclusive society of montreal. still may be met with in montreal pieces of silverware and glassware which were formerly the property of the "beaver club," and even large gold medals bearing the motto, "fortitude in distress," used by the members of the club on their days of celebration. it was at this period that the power of the fur trading magnates seemed to culminate, and their natural leadership of the french canadians being recognized in the fur trade, many of the partners became political leaders in the affairs of lower canada. the very success of the new company, however, stirred up, as we shall see, opposition movements of a much more serious kind than they had ever had to meet before. sir alexander mackenzie's book in 1801 had awakened much interest in britain and now stimulated the movement by lord selkirk which led to the absorption of the north-west company. the social and commercial standing of the partners started a movement in the united states which aimed at wresting from british hands the territory of new caledonia, which the energy of the north-west company of explorers had taken possession of for the british crown. it will, however, be to the glory of the north-west company that these powerful opposition movements were mostly rendered efficient by the employment of men whom the nor'-westers had trained; and the methods of trade, borrowed from them by these opponents, were those continued in the after conduct of the fur trade that grew up in rupert's land and the indian territories beyond. chapter xxii. the astor fur company. old john jacob astor--american fur company--the missouri company--a line of posts--approaches the russians--negotiates with nor'-westers--fails--four north-west officials join astor--songs of the voyageurs--true britishers--voyage of the _tonquin_--rollicking nor'-westers in sandwich islands--astoria built--david thompson appears--terrible end of the _tonquin_--astor's overland expedition--washington irving's "astoria, a romance"--the _beaver_ rounds the cape--mcdougall and his smallpox phial--the _beaver_ sails for canton. among those who came to montreal to trade with the nor'-westers and to receive their hospitality was a german merchant of new york, named john jacob astor. this man, who is the ancestor of the distinguished family of astors at the present time in new york, came over from london to the new world and immediately began to trade in furs. for several years astor traded in montreal, and shipped the furs purchased to london, as there was a law against exporting from british possessions. after jay's treaty of amity and commerce (1794) this restriction was removed, and astor took canadian furs to the united states, and even exported them to china, where high prices ruled. [illustration: johann jacob astor.] while astor's ambition led him to aim at controlling the fur trade in the united states, the fact that the western posts, such as detroit and michilimackinac, had not been surrendered to the united states till after jay's treaty, had allowed the british traders of these and other posts of the west to strengthen themselves. such daring traders as murdoch cameron, dickson, fraser, and rolette could not be easily beaten on the ground where they were so familiar, and where they had gained such an ascendancy over the indians. the mackinaw traders were too strong for astor, and the hope of overcoming them through the agency of the "american fur company," which he had founded in 1809, had to be given up by him. what could not be accomplished by force could, however, be gained by negotiation, and so two years afterward, with the help of certain partners from among the nor'-westers in montreal, astor bought out the mackinaw traders (1811), and established what was called the "south-west company." during these same years, the st. louis merchants organized a company to trade upon the missouri and nebraska rivers. this was known as the missouri company, and with its 250 men it pushed its trade, until in 1808, one of its chief traders crossed the rocky mountains, and built a fort on the western slope. this was, however, two years afterward given up on account of the hostility of the natives. a short time after this, the company passed out of existence, leaving the field to the enterprising merchant of new york, who, in 1810, organized his well-known "pacific fur company." [illustration: casanov. trader and chief.] during these eventful years, the resourceful astor was, with the full knowledge of the american government, steadily advancing toward gaining a monopoly of the fur trade of the united states. jonathan carver, a british officer, had, more than thirty years before this, in company with a british member of parliament named whitworth, planned a route across the continent. had not the american revolution commenced they would have built a fort at lake pepin in minnesota, gone up a tributary of the mississippi to the west, till they could cross, as they thought would be possible, to the missouri, and ascending it have reached the rocky mountain summit. at this point they expected to come upon a river, which they called the oregon, that would take them to the pacific ocean. the plan projected by carver was actually carried out by the well-known explorers lewis and clark in 1804-6. astor's penetrating mind now saw the situation clearly. he would erect a line of trading posts up the missouri river and across the rockies to the columbia river on the pacific coast and while those on the east of the rockies would be supplied from st. louis, he would send ships to the mouth of the columbia, and provide for the posts on the pacific slope from the west. with great skill astor made approaches to the russian fur company on the pacific coast, offering his ships to supply their forts with all needed articles, and he thus established a good feeling between himself and the russians. the only other element of danger to the mind of astor was the opposition of the north-west company on the pacific coast. he knew that for years the montreal merchants had had their eye on the region that their partner sir alexander mackenzie, had discovered. moreover, their agents, thompson, fraser, stuart, and finlay the younger, were trading beyond the summit of the rockies in new caledonia, but the fact that they were farther north held out some hope to astor that an arrangement might be made with them. he accordingly broached the subject to the north-west company and proposed a combination with them similar to that in force in the co-operation in the south-west company, viz. that they should take a one-third interest in the pacific fur company. after certain correspondence, the north-west company declined the offer, no doubt hoping to forestall astor in his occupation of the columbia. they then gave orders to david thompson to descend the columbia, whose upper waters he had already occupied, and he would have done this had not a mutiny taken place among his men, which made his arrival at the mouth of the columbia a few months too late. astor's thorough acquaintance with the north-west company and its numerous employés stood him in good stead in his project of forming a company. after full negotiations he secured the adhesion to his scheme of a number of well-known nor'-westers. prominent among these was alexander mckay, who was sir alexander mackenzie's most trusted associate in the great journey of 1793 to the pacific ocean. mckay had become a partner of the north-west company, and left it to join the pacific fur company. most celebrated as being in charge of the astor enterprise on the coast was duncan mcdougall, who also left the north-west company to embark in astor's undertaking. two others, david stuart and his nephew robert stuart, made the four partners of the new company who were to embark from new york with the purpose of doubling the cape and reaching the mouth of the columbia. a company of clerks and _engagés_ had been obtained in montreal, and the party leaving canada went in their great canoe up lake champlain, took it over the portage to the hudson, and descended that river to new york. they transferred the picturesque scene so often witnessed on the ottawa to the sleepy banks of the hudson river, and with emblems flying, and singing songs of the voyageurs, surprised the spectators along the banks. arrived at new york the men with bravado expressed themselves as ready to endure hardships. as irving puts it, they declared "they could live hard, lie hard, sleep hard, eat dogs--in short, endure anything." but these partners and men had much love for their own country and little regard to the new service into which desire for gain had led them to embark. it was found out afterwards that two of the partners had called upon the british ambassador in new york, had revealed to him the whole scheme of mr. astor, and enquired whether, as british subjects, they might embark in the enterprise. the reply of the diplomat assured them of their full liberty in the matter. astor also required of the employés that they should become naturalized citizens of the united states. they professed to have gone through the ceremony required, but it is contended that they never really did so. the ship in which the party was to sail was the _tonquin_, commanded by a captain thorn, a somewhat stern officer, with whom the fur traders had many conflicts on their outbound journey. the report having gone abroad that a british cruiser from halifax would come down upon the _tonquin_ and arrest the canadians on board her, led to the application being made to the united states frigate _constitution_ to give the vessel protection. on september 10th, 1810, the _tonquin_ with her convoy put out and sailed for the southern main. notwithstanding the constant irritation between the captain and his fur trading passengers, the vessel went bravely on her way. after doubling cape horn on christmas day, they reached the sandwich islands in february, and after paying visits of ceremony to the king, obtained the necessary supplies of hogs, fruits, vegetables, and water from the inhabitants, and also engaged some twenty-four of the islanders, or kanakas, as they are called, to go as employés to the columbia. like a number of rollicking lads, the nor'-westers made very free with the natives, to the disgust of captain thorn. he writes:--"they sometimes dress in red coats and otherwise very fantastically, and collecting a number of ignorant natives around them, tell them they are the great chiefs of the north-west ... then dressing in highland plaids and kilts, and making bargains with the natives, with presents of rum, wine, or anything that is at hand." on february 28th the _tonquin_ set sail from the sandwich islands. the discontent broke out again, and the fur traders engaged in a mock mutiny, which greatly alarmed the suspicious captain. they spoke to each other in gaelic, had long conversations, and the captain kept an ever-watchful eye upon them; but on march 22nd they arrived at the mouth of the columbia river. mckay and mcdougall, as senior partners, disembarked, visited the village of the chinooks, and were warmly welcomed by comcomly, the chief of that tribe. the chief treated them hospitably and encouraged their settling in his neighbourhood. soon they had chosen a site for their fort, and with busy hands they cut down trees, cleared away thickets, and erected a residence, stone-house, and powder magazine, which was not, however, at first surrounded with palisades. in honour of the promoter of their enterprise, they very naturally called the new settlement astoria. as soon as the new fort had assumed something like order, the _tonquin_, according to the original design, was despatched up the coast to trade with the indians for furs. alexander mckay took charge of the trade, and sought to make the most of the honest but crusty captain. the vessel sailed on july 5th, 1811, on what proved to be a disastrous journey. as soon as she was gone reports began to reach the traders at astoria that a body of white men were building a fort far up the columbia. this was serious news, for if true it meant that the supply of furs looked for at astoria would be cut off. an effort was made to find out the truth of the rumour, without success, but immediately after came definite information that the north-west company agents were erecting a post at spokane. we have already seen that this was none other than david thompson, the emissary of the north-west company, sent to forestall the building of astor's fort. though too late to fulfil his mission, on july 15th the doughty astronomer and surveyor, in his canoe manned by eight men and having the british ensign flying, stopped in front of the new fort. thompson was cordially received by mcdougall, to the no small disgust of the other employés of the astor company. after waiting for eight days, thompson, having received supplies and goods from mcdougall, started on his return journey. with him journeyed up the river david stuart, who, with eight men, was proceeding on a fur-trading expedition. among his clerks was alexander ross, who has left a veracious history of the "first settlers on the oregon." stuart had little confidence in thompson, and by a device succeeded in getting him to proceed on his journey and leave him to choose his own site for a fort. going up to within 140 miles of the spokane river, and at the junction of the okanagan and columbia, stuart erected a temporary fort to carry on his first season's trade. in the meantime the _tonquin_ had gone on her way up the coast. the indians were numerous, but were difficult to deal with, being impudent and greedy. a number of them had come upon the deck of the _tonquin_, and captain thorn, being wearied with their slowness in bargaining and fulness of wiles, had grown impatient with the chief and had violently thrown him over the side of the ship. the indians no doubt intended to avenge this insult. next morning early, a multitude of canoes came about the _tonquin_ and many savages clambered upon the deck. suddenly an attack was made upon the fur traders. alexander mckay was one of the first to fall, being knocked down by a war club. captain thorn fought desperately, killing the young chief of the band, and many others, until at last he was overcome by numbers. the remnant of the crew succeeded in getting control of the ship and, by discharging some of the deck guns, drove off the savages. next morning the ship was all quiet as the indians came about her. the ship's clerk, mr. lewis, who had been severely wounded, appeared on deck and invited them on board. soon the whole deck was crowded by the indians, who thought they would secure a prize. suddenly a dreadful explosion took place. the gunpowder magazine had blown up, and lewis and upward of one hundred savages were hurled into eternity. it was a fierce revenge! four white men of the crew who had escaped in a boat were captured and terribly tortured by the maddened indian survivors. an indian interpreter alone was spared to return to astoria to relate the tale of treachery and blood. astor's plan involved, however, the sending of another expedition overland to explore the country and lay out his projected chain of forts. in charge of this party was william p. hunt, of trenton, new jersey, who had been selected by astor, as being a native-born american, to be next to himself in authority in the company. hunt had no experience as a fur trader, but was a man of decision and perseverance. with him was closely associated donald mckenzie, who had been in the service of the north-west company, but had been induced to join in the partnership with astor. hunt and mckenzie arrived in montreal on june 10th, 1811, and engaged a number of voyageurs to accompany them. with these in a great canoe the party left the church of la bonne ste. anne, on montreal island, and ascended the ottawa. by the usual route michilimackinac was reached, and here again other members of the party were enlisted. the party was also reinforced by the addition of a young scotchman of energy and ability, ramsay crooks, and with him an experienced and daring missouri trader named robert mclellan. at mackinaw as well as at montreal the influence of the north-west company was so strong that men engaged for the journey were as a rule those of the poorest quality. thus were the difficulties of the overland party increased by the falstaffian rabble that attended the well-chosen leaders. the party left mackinaw, crossed to the mississippi, and reached st. louis in september. at st. louis the explorers came into touch with the missouri company, of which we have spoken. the same hidden opposition that had met them in montreal and mackinaw was here encountered. nothing was said, but it was difficult to get information, hard to induce voyageurs to join them, and delay after delay occurred. near the end of october st. louis was left behind and the missouri ascended for 450 miles to a fort nodowa, when the party determined to winter. during the winter hunt returned to st. louis and endeavoured to enlist additional men for his expedition. in this he still had the opposition of a spaniard, manuel de lisa, who was the leading spirit in the missouri company. after some difficulty hunt engaged an interpreter, pierre dorion, a drunken french half-breed, who was, however, expert and even accomplished in his work. a start was at last made in january, and irving tells us of the expedition meeting daniel boone, the famous old hunter of kentucky, one who gloried in keeping abreast of the farthest line of the frontier, a trapper and hunter. the party went on its way ascending the river, and was accompanied by the somewhat disagreeable companion lisa. at length they reached the country of the anckaras, who, like the parthians of old, seemed to live on horseback. after a council meeting the distrust of lisa disappeared, and a bargain was struck between the spaniard and the explorer by which he would supply them with 130 horses and take their boats in exchange. leaving in august the party went westward, keeping south at first to avoid the blackfeet, and then, turning northward till they reached an old trading post just beyond the summit. the descent was now to be made to the coast, but none of them had the slightest conception of the difficulties before them. they divided themselves into four parties, under the four leaders, mckenzie, mclellan, hunt, and crooks. the two former took the right bank, the two latter the left bank of the river. for three weeks they followed the rugged banks of this stream, which, from its fierceness, they spoke of as the "mad river." their provisions soon became exhausted and they were reduced to the dire necessity of eating the leather of their shoes. after a separation of some days the plan was struck upon by mr. hunt of gaining communication across the river by a boat covered with horse skin. this failed, and the unfortunate voyageur attempting to cross in it was drowned. after a time the lewis river was reached. trading off their horses, mckenzie's party, which was on the right bank, obtained canoes from the natives, and at length on january 18th, 1812, this party reached astoria. ross cox says: "their concave cheeks, protuberant bones, and tattered garments strongly indicated the dreadful extent of their privations; but their health appeared uninjured and their gastronomic powers unimpaired." after the disaster of the horse-skin boat the two parties lost sight of one another. mr. hunt had the easier bank of the river, and, falling in with friendly indians, he delayed for ten days and rested his wearied party. though afterward delayed, hunt, with his following of thirty men, one woman, and two children, arrived at astoria, to the great delight of his companions, on february 15th, 1812. various accounts have been given of the journey. those of ross cox and alexander ross are the work of actual members of the astor company, though not of the party which really crossed. washington irving's "astoria" is regarded as a pleasing fiction, and he is very truly spoken of by dr. coues, the editor of henry and thompson's journals, in the following fashion:--"no story of travel is more familiar to the public than the tale told by irving of this adventure, because none is more readable as a romance founded upon fact.... irving plies his golden pen elastically, and from it flow wit and humour, stirring scene, and startling incident, character to the life. but he never tells us where those people went, perhaps for the simple reason that he never knew. he wafts us westward on his strong plume, and we look down on those hapless astorians; but we might as well be ballooning for aught of exactitude we can make of this celebrated itinerary." in october, 1811, the second party by sea left new york on the ship _beaver_, to join the traders at the mouth of the columbia. ross cox, who was one of the clerks, gives a most interesting account of the voyage and of the affairs of the company. with him were six other cabin passengers. the ship was commanded by captain sowles. the voyage was on the whole a prosperous one, and cape horn was doubled on new year's day, 1812. more than a month after, the ship called at juan fernandez, and two months after crossed the equator. three weeks afterward she reached the sandwich islands, and on april 9th, after a further voyage, arrived at the mouth of the columbia. on arriving at astoria the newcomers had many things to see and learn, but they were soon under way, preparing for their future work. there were many risks in thus venturing away from their fort. chief trader mcdougall had indeed found the fort itself threatened after the disaster of the _tonquin_. he had, however, boldly grappled with the case. having few of his company to support him, he summoned the indians to meet him. in their presence he informed them that he understood they were plotting against him, but, drawing a corked bottle from his pocket, he said: "this bottle contains smallpox. i have but to draw out the cork and at once you will be seized by the plague." they implored him to spare them and showed no more hostility. such recitals as this, and the sad story of the _tonquin_ related to ross cox and his companions, naturally increased their nervousness as to penetrating the interior. the _beaver_ had sailed for canton with furs, and the party of the interior was organized with three proprietors, ramsay crooks, robert mclellan, and robert stuart, who, with eight men, were to cross the mountains to st. louis. at the fort there remained mr. hunt, duncan mcdougall, b. clapp, j. c. halsey, and gabriel franchère, the last of whom wrote an excellent account in french of the astor company affairs. chapter xxiii. lord selkirk's colony. alexander mackenzie's book--lord selkirk interested--emigration a boon--writes to imperial government--in 1802 looks to lake winnipeg--benevolent project of trade--compelled to choose prince edward island--opinions as to hudson's bay company's charter--nor'-westers alarmed--hudson's bay company's stock--purchases _assiniboia_--advertises the new colony--religion no disqualification--sends first colony--troubles of the project--arrive at york factory--the winter--the mutiny--"essence of malt"--journey inland--a second party--third party under archibald macdonald--from helmsdale--the number of colonists. the publication of his work by alexander mackenzie, entitled, "voyages from montreal through the continent of north america, &c.," awakened great interest in the british isles. among those who were much influenced by it was thomas, earl of selkirk, a young scottish nobleman of distinguished descent and disposition. the young earl at once thought of the wide country described as a fitting home for the poor and unsuccessful british peasantry, who, as we learn from wordsworth, were at this time in a most distressful state. during his college days the earl of selkirk had often visited the highland glens and crofts, and though himself a southron, he was so interested in his picturesque countrymen that he learned the gaelic language. not only the sad condition of scotland, but likewise the unsettled state of ireland, appealed to his heart and his patriotic sympathies. he came to the conclusion that emigration was the remedy for the ills of scotland and ireland alike. accordingly we find the energetic earl writing to lord pelham to interest the british government in the matter. we have before us a letter with two memorials attached. this is dated april 4th, 1802, and was kindly supplied the writer by the colonial office. the proposals, after showing the desirability of relieving the congested and dissatisfied population already described, go on to speak of a suitable field for the settlement of the emigrants. and this we see is the region described by alexander mackenzie. lord selkirk says: "no large tract remains unoccupied on the sea-coast of british america except barren and frozen deserts. to find a sufficient extent of good soil in a temperate climate we must go far inland. this inconvenience is not, however, an insurmountable obstacle to the prosperity of a colony, and appears to be amply compensated by other advantages that are to be found in some remote parts of the british territory. at the western extremity of canada, upon the waters which fall into lake winnipeg and which in the great river of port nelson discharge themselves into hudson bay, is a country which the indian traders represent as fertile, and of a climate far more temperate than the shores of the atlantic under the same parallel, and not more severe than that of germany or poland. here, therefore, the colonists may, with a moderate exertion of industry, be certain of a comfortable subsistence, and they may also raise some valuable objects of exportation.... to a colony in these territories the channel of trade must be the river of port nelson." it is exceedingly interesting, in view of the part afterwards played by lord selkirk, to read the following statement: "the greatest impediment to a colony in this quarter seems to be the hudson's bay company monopoly, which the possessors cannot be expected easily to relinquish. they may, however, be amply indemnified for its abolition without any burden, perhaps even with advantage to the revenue." the letter then goes on to state the successful trade carried on by the canadian traders, and gives a scheme by which both the hudson's bay company and the north-west company may receive profits greater than those then enjoyed, by a plan of issuing licences, and limiting traders to particular districts. further, the proposal declares: "if these indefatigable canadians were allowed the free navigation of the hudson bay they might, without going so far from port nelson as they now go from montreal, extend their traffic from sea to sea, through the whole northern part of america, and send home more than double the value that is now derived from that region." the matter brought up in these proposals was referred to lord buckinghamshire, colonial secretary, but failed for the time being, not because of any unsuitableness of the country, but "because the prejudices of the british people were so strong against emigration." during the next year lord selkirk succeeded in organizing a highland emigration of not less than 800 souls. not long before the starting of the ships the british government seems to have interfered to prevent this large number being led to the region of lake winnipeg, and compelled lord selkirk to choose the more accessible shore of prince edward island. after settling his colonists on the island, lord selkirk visited montreal, where he was well received by the magnates of the north-west company, and where his interest in the far west was increased by witnessing, as astor also did about the same time, the large returns obtained by the "lords of the lakes and forests." years went past, and lord selkirk, unable to obtain the assent of the british government to his great scheme of colonizing the interior of north america, at length determined to obtain possession of the territory wanted for his plans through the agency of the hudson's bay company. about the year 1810 he began to turn his attention in earnest to the matter. with characteristic scottish caution he submitted the charter of the hudson's bay company to the highest legal authorities in london, including the names romilly, holroyd, cruise, scarlett, and john bell. their clear opinion was that the hudson's bay company was legally able to sell its territory and to transfer the numerous rights bestowed by the charter. they say, "we are of opinion that the grant of the soil contained in the charter is good, and that it will include all the country, the waters of which run into hudson bay, as ascertained by geographical observation." lord selkirk, now fully satisfied that the hudson's bay company was a satisfactory instrument, proceeded to obtain control of the stock of the company. the partners of the north-west company learned of the steps being taken by lord selkirk and became greatly alarmed. they were of the opinion that the object of lord selkirk was to make use of his great emigration scheme to give supremacy to the hudson's bay company over its rivals, and to injure the nor'-westers' fur trade. so far as can be seen, lord selkirk had no interest in the rivalry that had been going on between the companies for more than a generation. his first aim was emigration, and this for the purpose of relieving the distress of many in the british isles. as showing the mind of lord selkirk in the matter we have before us a copy of his lordship's work on emigration published in 1805. this copy is a gift to the writer from lady isabella hope, the late daughter of lord selkirk. in this octavo volume, upwards of 280 pages, the whole question of the state of the highlands is ably described. tracing the condition of the highlanders from the rebellion of 1745, and the necessity of emigration, lord selkirk refers to the demand for keeping up the highland regiments as being less than formerly, and that the highland proprietors had been opposed to emigration. his patriotism was also stirred in favour of preventing the flow of british subjects to the united states, and in his desire to see the british possessions, especially in america, filled up with loyal british subjects. he states that in his prince edward island company in 1803 he had succeeded in securing a number from the isle of skye, whose friends had largely gone to north carolina, and that others of them were from ross, argyle, and inverness, and that the friends of these had chiefly gone to the united states. after going into some detail as to the management of his prince edward island highlanders, he speaks of the success of his experiment, and gives us proof of his consuming interest in the progress and happiness of his poor fellow-countrymen. it is consequently almost beyond doubt the fact that it was his desire for carrying out his emigration scheme that led him to obtain control of the hudson's bay company, and not the desire to introduce a colony to injure the north-west trade, as charged. there can be no doubt of lord selkirk's thoroughly patriotic and lofty aims. in 1808 he published a brochure of some eighty pages on "a system of national defence." in this he shows the value of a local militia and proposes a plan for the maintenance of a sufficient force to protect great britain from its active enemy, napoleon. he maintains that a volunteer force would not be permanent; and that under any semblance of peace that establishment must immediately fall to pieces. his only dependence for the safety of the country is in a local militia. with his plan somewhat matured, he continued in 1810 to obtain possession of stock of the company, and succeeded in having much of it in the hands of his friends. by may, 1811, he had with his friends acquired, it is said, not less than 35,000_l._ of the total stock, 105,000_l._ sterling. a general court of the proprietors was called for may 30th, and the proposition was made by lord selkirk to purchase a tract of land lying in the wide expanse of rupert's land and on the red river of the north, to settle, within a limited time, a large colony on their lands and to assume the expense of transport, of outlay for the settlers, of government, of protection, and of quieting the indian title to the lands. at the meeting there was represented about 45,000_l._ worth of stock, and the vote on being taken showed the representatives of nearly 30,000_l._ of the stock to be in favour of accepting lord selkirk's proposal. among those who voted with the enterprising earl were his kinsmen, andrew wedderburn, esq. (having nearly 4,500_l._ stock), william mainwaring, the governor joseph berens, deputy-governor john henry pelly, and many other well-known proprietors. the opposition was, however, by no means insignificant, william thwaytes, representing nearly 10,000_l._, voted against the proposal, as did also robert whitehead, who held 3,000_l._ stock. the most violent opponents, however, were the nor'-westers who were in england at the time. two of them had only purchased stock within forty-eight hours of the meeting. these were alexander mackenzie, john inglis, and edward ellice, the three together representing less than 2,500_l._ the projector of the colony having now beaten down all opposition, forthwith proceeded to carry out his great plan of colonization. his project has, of course, been greatly criticized. he has been called "a kind-hearted but visionary scottish nobleman," and his relative, sir james wedderburn, spoke of him fifty years afterwards as "a remarkable man, who had the misfortune to live before his time." certainly lord selkirk met with gigantic difficulties, but these were rather from the north-west company than from any untimeliness in his emigration scheme. lord selkirk soon issued the advertisement and prospectus of the new colony. he held forth the advantage to be derived from joining the colony. his policy was very comprehensive. he said: "the settlement is to be formed in a territory where religion is not the ground of any disqualification; an unreserved participation in every privilege will therefore be enjoyed by protestant and catholic without distinction." the area of the new settlement was said to consist of 110,000 square miles on the red and assiniboine rivers, and one of the most fertile districts of north america. the name assiniboia was given it from the assiniboine, and steps were taken immediately to organize a government for the embryo colony. active measures were then taken by the earl of selkirk to advance his scheme, and it was determined to send out the first colony immediately. some years before, lord selkirk had carried on a correspondence with a u. e. loyalist colonist, miles macdonell, formerly an officer of the king's royal regiment of new york, who had been given the rank of captain in the canadian militia. macdonell's assistance was obtained in the new enterprise, and he was appointed by his lordship to superintend his colony at red river. many incorrect statements have been made about the different bands of colonists which found their way to red river. no less than four parties arrived at red river by way of york or churchill factories between the years 1811 and 1815. facts connected with one of them have been naturally confused in the memories of the old settlers on red river with what happened to other bands. in this way the author has found that representations made to him and embodied in his work on "manitoba," published in 1882, were in several particulars incorrect. fortunately in late years the letter-book of captain miles macdonell was acquired from the misses macdonell of brockville, and the voluminous correspondence of lord selkirk has been largely copied for the archives at ottawa. these letters enable us to give a clear and accurate account of the first band of colonists that found its way to the heart of the continent and began the red river settlement. in the end of june, 1811, captain miles macdonell found himself at yarmouth, on the east coast of england, with a fleet of three vessels sent out by the hudson's bay company for their regular trade and also to carry the first colonists. these vessels were the _prince of wales_, the _eddystone_, and an old craft the _edward and anne_, with "old sail ropes, &c., and very badly manned." this extra vessel was evidently intended for the accommodation of the colonists. by the middle of july the little fleet had reached the pentland firth and were compelled to put into stromness, when the _prince of wales_ embarked a number of orkneymen intended for the company's service. the men of the hudson's bay company at this time were largely drawn from the orkney islands. proceeding on their way the fleet made rendezvous at stornoway, the chief town of lewis, one of the hebrides. here had arrived a number of colonists or employés, some from sligo, others from glasgow, and others from different parts of the highlands. many influences were operating against the success of the colonizing expedition. it had the strenuous opposition of sir alexander mackenzie, then in britain, and the newspapers contained articles intended to discourage and dissuade people from embarking in the enterprise. mr. reid, collector of customs at stornoway, whose wife was an aunt of sir alexander mackenzie, threw every impediment in the way of the project, and some of those engaged by lord selkirk were actually lured away by enlisting agents. a so-called "captain" mackenzie, denominated a "mean fellow," came alongside the _edward and anne_, which had some seventy-six men aboard--glasgow men, irish, "and a few from orkney"--and claimed some of them as "deserters from her majesty's service." the demand was, however, resisted. it is no wonder that in his letter to lord selkirk captain macdonell writes, "all the men that we shall have are now embarked, but it has been an herculean task." a prominent employé of the expedition, mr. moncrieff blair, posing as a gentleman, deserted on july 25th, the day before the sailing of the vessels. a number of the deserters at stornoway had left their effects on board, and these were disposed of by sale among the passengers. among the officers was a mr. edwards, who acted as medical man of the expedition. he had his hands completely full during the voyage and returned to england with the ships. another notable person on board was a roman catholic priest, known as father bourke. captain macdonell was himself a roman catholic, but he seems from the first to have had no confidence in the priest, who, he stated, had "come away without the leave of his bishop, who was at the time at dublin." father bourke, we shall see, though carried safely to the shores of hudson bay, never reached the interior, but returned to britain in the following year. after the usual incidents of "an uncommon share of boisterous, stormy, and cold weather" on the ocean, the ships entered hudson bay. experiencing "a course of fine mild weather and moderate fair winds," on september 24th the fleet reached the harbour of york factory, after a voyage of sixty-one days out from stornoway, the _eddystone_, which was intended to go to churchill, not having been able to reach that factory, coming with the other vessels to york factory. the late arrival of the colony on the shores of hudson bay made it impossible to ascend the nelson river and reach the interior during the season of 1811. accordingly captain macdonell made preparations for wintering on the bay. york factory would not probably have afforded sufficient accommodation for the colonists, but in addition captain macdonell states in a letter to lord selkirk that "the factory is very ill constructed and not at all adapted for a cold country." in consequence of these considerations, captain macdonell at once undertook, during the fair weather of the season yet remaining, to build winter quarters on the north side of the river, at a distance of some miles from the factory. no doubt matters of discipline entered into the plans of the leader of the colonists. in a short time very comfortable dwellings were erected, built of round logs, the front side high with a shade roof sloping to the rear a foot thick--and the group of huts was known as "nelson encampment!" the chief work during the earlier winter, which the captain laid on his two score men, was providing themselves with fuel, of which there was plenty, and obtaining food from the factory, for which sledges drawn over the snow were utilized by the detachments sent on this service. the most serious difficulty was, however, a meeting, in which a dozen or more of the men became completely insubordinate, and refused to yield obedience either to captain macdonell or to mr. w. h. cook, the governor of the factory. every effort was made to maintain discipline, but the men steadily held to their own way, lived apart from macdonell, and drew their own provisions from the fort to their huts. this tended to make the winter somewhat long and disagreeable. captain macdonell, being a canadian, knew well the dangers of the dread disease of the scurvy attacking his inexperienced colonists. the men at the fort prophesied evil things in this respect for the "encampment." the captain took early steps to meet the disease, and his letters to governor cook always contain demands for "essence of malt," "crystallized salts of lemon," and other anti-scorbutics. though some of his men were attacked, yet the sovereign remedy so often employed in the "lumber camps" of america, the juice of the white spruce, was applied with almost magical effect. as the winter went on, plenty of venison was received, and the health of his wintering party was in the spring much better than could have been anticipated. after the new year had come, all thoughts were directed to preparations for the journey of 700 miles or thereabouts to the interior. a number of boats were required for transportation of the colonists and their effects. captain macdonell insisted on his boats being made after a different style from the boats commonly used at that time by the company. his model was the flat boat, which he had seen used in the mohawk river in the state of new york. the workmanship displayed in the making of these boats very much dissatisfied captain macdonell, and he constantly complained of the indolence of the workmen. in consequence of this inefficiency the cost of the boats to lord selkirk was very great, and drew forth the objections of the leader of the colony. captain macdonell had the active assistance of mr. cook, the officer in charge of york, and of mr. auld, the commander of churchill, the latter having come down to york to make arrangements for the inland journey of the colonists. by july 1st, 1812, the ice had moved from the river, and the expedition started soon after on the journey to red river. the new settlers found the route a hard and trying one with its rapids and portages. the boats, too, were heavy, and the colonists inexperienced in managing them. it was well on toward autumn when the company, numbering about seventy, reached the red river. no special preparation had been made for the colonists, and the winter would soon be upon them. some of the parties were given shelter in the company fort and buildings, others in the huts of the freed men, who were married to the indian women, and settled in the neighbourhood of the forks, while others still found refuge in the tents of the indian encampment in the vicinity. governor macdonell soon selected point douglas as the future centre of the colony and what is now kildonan as the settlement. on account of the want of food the settlers were taken sixty miles south to pembina and there, by november, a post, called fort daer from one of lord selkirk's titles, was erected for the shelter of the people and for nearness to the buffalo herds. the governor joined the colony in a short time and retired with them early in 1813 to their settlement. while governor macdonell was thus early engaged in making a beginning in the new colony, lord selkirk was seeking out more colonists, and sent out a small number to the new world by the hudson's bay company ships. before sailing from stornoway the second party met with serious interruption from the collector of customs, who, we have seen, was related to sir alexander mackenzie. the number on board the ships was greater, it was claimed, than the "dundas act" permitted. through the influence of lord selkirk the ships were allowed to proceed on their voyage. prison fever, it is said, broke out on the voyage, so that a number died at sea, and others on the shore of hudson bay. a small number, not more than fifteen or twenty, reached red river in the autumn of 1813. during the previous winter governor macdonell had taken a number of the colonists to pembina, a point sixty miles south of the forks, where buffalo could be had, as has already been mentioned on the previous page. on returning, after the second winter, to the settlement, the colonists sowed a small quantity of wheat. they were not, however, at that time in possession of any horses or oxen and were consequently compelled to prepare the ground with the hoe. lord selkirk had not been anxious in 1812 to send a large addition to his colony. in 1813 he made greater efforts, and in june sent out in the _prince of wales_, sailing from orkney, a party under mr. archibald macdonald, numbering some ninety-three persons. mr. macdonald has written an account of his voyage, and has given us a remarkably concise and clear pamphlet. having spent the winter at churchill, macdonald started on april 14th with a considerable number of his party, and, coming by way of york factory, reached red river on june 22nd, when they were able to plant some thirty or forty bushels of potatoes. the settlers were in good spirits, having received plots of land to build houses for themselves. governor macdonell went northward to meet the remainder of archibald macdonald's party, and arrived with them late in the season. on account of various misunderstandings between the colony and the north-west company, which we shall relate more particularly in another chapter, 150 of the colonists were induced by a north-west officer, duncan cameron, to leave the country and go by a long canoe journey to canada. the remainder, numbering about sixty persons, making up about thirteen families, were driven from the settlement, and found refuge at norway house (jack river) at the foot of lake winnipeg. an officer from lord selkirk, colin robertson, arrived in the colony to assist these settlers, but found them driven out. he followed them to norway house, and with his twenty clerks and servants, conducted them back to red river to their deserted homes. while these disastrous proceedings were taking place on red river, including the summons to governor macdonell to appear before the courts of lower canada to answer certain charges made against him, lord selkirk was especially active in great britain, and gathered together the best band of settlers yet sent out. these were largely from the parish of kildonan, in sutherlandshire, scotland. governor macdonell having gone east to canada, the colony was to be placed under a new governor, a military officer of some distinction, robert semple, who had travelled in different parts of the world. governor semple was in charge of this fourth party of colonists, who numbered about 100. with this party, hastening through his journey, governor semple reached his destination on red river in the month of october, in the same year in which they had left the motherland. thus we have seen the arrival of those who were known as the selkirk colonists. we recapitulate their numbers:- in 1811, reaching red river in 1812 70 in 1812, reaching red river in 1813 15 or 20 in 1813, reaching red river in two parties in 1814 93 in 1815, reaching red river in the same year 100 making deduction of the irish settlers there were of the highland colonists about 270 less those led by the north-west company in 1814 to canada 140 permanent highland settlers 130 of these but two remained on the banks of the red river in 1897, george bannerman and john matheson, and they have both died since that time. we shall follow the history of these colonists further; suffice it now to say that their settlement has proved the country to be one of great fertility and promise; and their early establishment no doubt prevented international complications with the united states that might have rendered the possession of rupert's land a matter of uncertainty to great britain. chapter xxiv. trouble between the companies. nor'-westers oppose the colony--reason why--a considerable literature--contentions of both parties--both in fault--miles macdonell's mistake--nor'-wester arrogance--duncan cameron's ingenious plan--stirring up the chippewas--nor'-westers warn colonists to depart--mcleod's hitherto unpublished narrative--vivid account of a brave defence--chain shot from the blacksmith's smithy--fort douglas begun--settlers driven out--governor semple arrives--cameron last governor of fort gibraltar--cameron sent to britain as a prisoner--fort gibraltar captured--fort gibraltar decreases, fort douglas increases--free traders take to the plains--indians favour the colonists. to the most casual observer it must have been evident that the colony to be established by lord selkirk would be regarded with disfavour by the north-west company officers. the strenuous opposition shown to it in great britain by sir alexander mackenzie, and by all who were connected with him, showed quite clearly that it would receive little favour on the red river. first, it was a hudson's bay scheme, and would greatly advance the interests of the english trading company. that company would have at the very threshold of the fur country a depôt, surrounded by traders and workmen, which would give them a great advantage over their rivals. secondly, civilization and its handmaid agriculture are incompatible with the fur trade. as the settler enters, the fur-bearing animals are exterminated. a sparsely settled, almost unoccupied country, is the only hope of preserving this trade. thirdly, the claim of the hudson's bay company under its charter was that they had the sole right to pursue the fur trade in rupert's land. their traditional policy on hudson bay had been to drive out private trade, and to preserve their monopoly. fourthly, the nor'-westers claimed to be the lineal successors of the french traders, who, under verendrye, had opened up the region west of lake superior. they long after maintained that priority of discovery and earlier possession gave them the right to claim the region in dispute as belonging to the province of quebec, and so as being a part of canada. the first and second parties of settlers were so small, and seemed so little able to cope with the difficulties of their situation, that no great amount of opposition was shown. they were made, it is true, the laughing-stock of the half-breeds and indians, for these free children of the prairies regarded the use of the hoe or other agricultural implement as beneath them. the term "pork-eaters," applied, as we have seen, to the voyageurs east of fort william, was freely applied to these settlers, while the indians used to call them the french name "jardinières" or clod-hoppers. a considerable literature is in existence dealing with the events of this period. it is somewhat difficult, in the conflict of opinion, to reach a basis of certainty as to the facts of this contest. the indian country is proverbial for the prevalence of rumour and misrepresentation. moreover, prejudice and self-interest were mingled with deep passion, so that the facts are very hard to obtain. the upholders of the colony claim that no sooner had the settlers arrived than efforts were made to stir up the indians against them; that besides, the agents of the north-west company had induced the metis, or half-breeds, to disguise themselves as indians, and that on their way to pembina one man was robbed by these desperadoes of the gun which his father had carried at culloden, a woman of her marriage ring, and others of various ornaments and valuable articles. there were, however, it is admitted, no specially hostile acts noticeable during the years 1812 and 1813. the advocates of the north-west company, on the other hand, blame the first aggression on miles macdonell. during the winter of 1813 and 1814 governor macdonell and his colonists were occupying fort daer and pembina. the supply of subsistence from the buffalo was short, food was difficult to obtain, the war with the united states was in progress and might cut off communication with montreal, and moreover, a body of colonists was expected to arrive during the year from great britain. accordingly, the governor, on january 8th, 1814, issued a proclamation. he claimed the territory as ceded to lord selkirk, and gave the description of the tract thus transferred. the proclamation then goes on to say: "and whereas the welfare of the families at present forming the settlements on the red river within the said territory, with those on their way to it, passing the winter at york or churchill forts on hudson bay, as also those who are expected to arrive next autumn, renders it a necessary and indispensable part of my duty to provide for their support. the uncultivated state of the country, the ordinary resources derived from the buffalo, and other wild animals hunted within the territory, are not deemed more than adequate for the requisite supply; wherefore, it is hereby ordered that no persons trading in furs or provisions within the territory, for the honourable the hudson's bay company, the north-west company, or any individual or unconnected traders whatever, shall take out any provisions, either of flesh, grain, or vegetables, procured or raised within the territory, by water or land-carriage for one twelvemonth from the date hereof; save and except what may be judged necessary for the trading parties at the present time within the territory, to carry them to their respective destinations, and who may, on due application to me, obtain licence for the same. the provisions procured and raised as above, shall be taken for the use of the colony, and that no losses may accrue to the parties concerned, they will be paid for by british bills at the customary rates, &c." the nor'-westers then recalled the ceremonies with which governor macdonell had signalized his entrance to the country: "when he arrived he gathered his company about him, made before it some impressive ceremonies, drawn from the conjuring book of his lordship, and read to it his commission of governor or representative of lord selkirk; afterwards a salute was fired from the hudson's bay company fort, which proclaimed his taking possession of the neighbourhood." the governor, however, soon gave another example of his determination to assert his authority. it had been represented to him that the north-west company officers had no intention of obeying the proclamation, and indeed were engaged in buying up all the available supplies to prevent his getting enough for his colonists. convinced that his opponents were engaged in thwarting his designs, the governor sent john spencer to seize some of the stores which had been gathered in the north-west post at the mouth of the souris river. spencer was unwilling to go, unless very specific instructions were given him. the governor had, by lord selkirk's influence in canada, been appointed a magistrate, and he now issued a warrant authorizing spencer to seize the provisions in this fort. spencer, provided with a double escort, proceeded to the fort at the souris, and the nor'-westers made no other resistance than to retire within the stockade and shut the gate of the fort. spencer ordered his men to force an entrance with their hatchets. afterwards, opening the store-houses, they seized six hundred skins of dried meat (pemmican) and of grease, each weighing eighty-five pounds. this booty was removed into the hudson's bay company fort (brandon house) at that place. we have now before us the first decided action that led to the serious disturbances that followed. the question arises, was the governor justified in the steps taken by him? no doubt, with the legal opinion which lord selkirk had obtained, he considered himself thoroughly justified. the necessities of his starving people and the plea of humanity were certainly strong motives urging him to action. no doubt these considerations seemed strong, but, on the other hand, he should have remembered that the idea of law in the fur traders' country was a new thing, that the nor'-westers, moreover, were not prepared to credit him with purity of motive, and that they had at their disposal a force of wild bois brûlés ready to follow the unbridled customs of the plains. further, even in civilized communities laws of non-intercourse, embargo, and the like, are looked upon as arbitrary and of doubtful validity. all these things should have led the governor, ill provided as he was with the force necessary for his defence, to hesitate before taking a course likely to be disagreeable to the nor'-westers, who would regard it as an assertion of the claim of superiority of the hudson's bay company and of the consequent degradation of their company, of which they were so proud. in their writings the north-west company take some credit for not precipitating a conflict, but state that they endured the indignity until their council at fort william should take action in the following summer. at this council, which was interesting and full of strong feeling against their fur-trading rivals, the nor'-westers, under the presidency of the hon. william mcgillivray, took decided action. in the trials that afterwards arose out of this unfortunate quarrel, john pritchard, whose forty days' wanderings we have recorded, testified that one of the north-west agents, mackenzie, had given him the information that "the intention of the north-west company was to seduce and inveigle away as many of the colonists and settlers at red river as they could induce to join them; and after they should thus have diminished their means of defence, to raise the indians of lac rouge, fond du lac, and other places, to act and destroy the settlement; and that it was also their intention to bring the governor, miles macdonell, down to montreal as a prisoner, by way of degrading the authority under which the colony was established in the eyes of the natives of that country." simon mcgillivray, a north-west company partner, had two years before this written from london that "lord selkirk must be driven to abandon his project, for his success would strike at the very existence of our trade." two of the most daring partners of the north-west company were put in charge of the plan of campaign agreed on at fort william. these were duncan cameron and alexander macdonell. the latter wrote to a friend, from one of his resting-places on his journey, "much is expected of us ... so here is at them with all my heart and energy." the two partners arrived at fort gibraltar, situated at the forks of the red and assiniboine rivers, toward the end of august. the senior partner, macdonell, leaving cameron at fort gibraltar, went westward to the qu'appelle river, to return in the spring and carry out the plan agreed on. cameron had been busy during the winter in dealing with the settlers, and let no opportunity slip of impressing them. knowing the fondness of highlanders for military display, he dressed himself in a bright red coat, wore a sword, and in writing to the settlers, which he often did, signed himself, "d. cameron, captain, voyageur corps, commanding officer, red river." he also posted an order at the gate of his fort purporting to be his captain's commission. some dispute has arisen as to the validity of this authority. there seems to have been some colour for the use of this title, under authority given for enlisting an irregular corps in the upper lakes during the american war of 1812, but the legal opinion is that this had no validity in the red river settlement. cameron, aiming at the destruction of the colony, began by ingratiating himself with a number of the leading settlers. knowing the love of the highlanders for their own language, cameron spoke to them gaelic in his most pleasing manner, entertained the leading colonists at his own table, and paid many attentions to their families. promises were then made to a number of leaders to provide the people with homes in upper canada, to pay up wages due by the hudson's bay company or lord selkirk, and to give a year's provisions free, provided the colony would leave the red river and accept the advantages offered in canada. this plan succeeded remarkably well, and it is in sworn evidence that on three-quarters of the colony reaching fort william, a settler, campbell received 100_l._, several others 20_l._, and so on. some of the best of the settlers, amounting to about one-quarter of the whole, refused all the advances of the subtle captain. another method was taken with this class. the plan of frightening them away by the co-operation of the cree indians had failed, but the bois brûlés, or half-breeds, were a more pliant agency. these were to be employed. cameron now (april, 1815) made a demand on archibald macdonald, acting governor, to hand over to the settlers the field pieces belonging to lord selkirk, on the ground that these had been used already to disturb the peace. this startling order was presented to the governor by settler campbell on the day on which the fortnightly issue of rations took place at the colony buildings. the settlers in favour of cameron then broke open the store-house, and took nine pieces of ordnance and removed them to fort gibraltar. the governor having arrested one of the settlers who had broken open the store-house, a number of the north-west company clerks and servants, under orders from cameron, broke into the governor's house and rescued the prisoner. about this time miles macdonell, the governor, returned to the settlement. a warrant had been issued for his arrest by the nor'-westers, but he refused for the time to acknowledge the jurisdiction of the magistrates. cameron now spread abroad the statement that if the settlers did not deliver up the governor, they in turn would be attacked and driven from their homes. certain colonists were now fired at by unseen assailants. about the middle of may, the senior partner, alexander macdonell, arrived from qu'appelle, accompanied by a band of cree indians. the partners hoped through these to frighten the settlers who remained obdurate, but the indians were too astute to be led into the quarrel, and assured governor miles macdonell that they were resolved not to molest the newcomers. an effort was also made to stir up the chippewa indians of sand lake, near the west of lake superior. the chief of the band declared to the indian department of canada that he was offered a large reward if he would declare war against the selkirk colonists. this the chippewas refused to do. early in june the lawless spirit followed by the nor'-westers again showed itself. a party from fort gibraltar went down with loaded muskets, and from a wood near the governor's residence fired upon some of the colony employés. mr. white, the surgeon, was nearly hit, and a ball passed close by mr. burke, the storekeeper. general firing then began from the wood and was returned from the house, but four of the colony servants were wounded. this expedition was under cameron, who congratulated his followers on the result. the demand for the surrender of the governor, in answer to the warrant issued, was then made, and at the persuasion of the other officers of the settlement, and to avoid the loss of life and the dangers threatened against the colonists, governor miles macdonell surrendered himself and was taken to montreal for trial, though no trial ever took place. the double plan of coaxing away all the settlers who were open to such inducement, and of then forcibly driving away the residue from the settlement, seemed likely to succeed. one hundred and thirty-four of the colonists, induced by promises of free transport, two hundred acres of land in upper canada, as well as in some cases by substantial gifts, deserted the colony in june (1815), along with cameron, and arrived at fort william on their way down the lakes at the end of july. these settlers made their way in canoes along the desolate shores of lake superior and georgian bay, and arrived at holland landing, in upper canada, on september 5th. many of them were given land in the township of west guillimbury, near newmarket, and many of their descendants are there to this day. the nor'-westers now continued their persecution of the remnant of the settlers. they burnt some of their houses and used threats of the most extreme kind. on june 25th, 1815, the following document was served upon the disheartened colonists:-"all settlers to retire immediately from the red river, and no trace of a settlement to remain. "cuthbert grant. "bostonnais pangman. "william shaw. "bonhomme montour." the conflict resulting at this time may be said to be the first battle of the war. a fiery highland trader, john mcleod, was in charge of the hudson's bay company house at this point, and we have his account of the attack and defence, somewhat bombastic it may be, but which, so far as known to the author, has never been published before. copy of diary in provincial library, winnipeg. "in 1814-15, being in charge of the whole red river district, i spent the winter at the forks, at the settlement there. on june 25th, 1815, while i was in charge, a sudden attack was made by an armed band of the n.-w. party under the leadership of alexander macdonell (yellow head) and cuthbert grant, on the settlement and hudson's bay company fort at the forks. they numbered about seventy or eighty, well armed and on horseback. having had some warning of it, i assumed command of both the colony and h. b. c. parties. mustering with inferior numbers, and with only a few guns, we took a stand against them. taking my place amongst the colonists, i fought with them. all fought bravely and kept up the fight as long as possible. many all about me falling wounded; one mortally. only thirteen out of our band escaped unscathed. "the brunt of the struggle was near the h. b. c. post, close to which was our blacksmith's smithy--a log building about ten feet by ten. being hard pressed, i thought of trying the little cannon (a three or four-pounder) lying idle in the post where it could not well be used. "one of the settlers (hugh mclean) went with two of my men, with his cart to fetch it, with all the cart chains he could get and some powder. finally, we got the whole to the blacksmithy, where, chopping up the chain into lengths for shot, we opened a fire of chain shot on the enemy which drove back the main body and scattered them, and saved the post from utter destruction and pillage. all the colonists' houses were, however, destroyed by fire. houseless, wounded, and in extreme distress, they took to the boats, and, saving what they could, started for norway house (jack's river), declaring they would never return. "the enemy still prowled about, determined apparently to expel, dead or alive, all of our party. all of the h. b. company's officers and men refused to remain, except the two brave fellows in the service, viz. archibald currie and james mcintosh, who, with noble hugh mclean, joined in holding the fort in the smithy. governor macdonell was a prisoner. "in their first approach the enemy appeared determined more to frighten than to kill. their demonstration in line of battle, mounted, and in full 'war paint' and equipment was formidable, but their fire, especially at first, was desultory. our party, numbering only about half theirs, while preserving a general line of defence, exposed itself as little as possible, but returned the enemy's fire, sharply checking the attack, and our line was never broken by them. on the contrary, when the chain-firing began, the enemy retired out of range of our artillery, but at a flank movement reached the colony houses, where they quickly and resistlessly plied the work of destruction. to their credit be it said, they took no life or property. "of killed, on our side, there was only poor john warren of h. b. c. service, a worthy brave gentleman, who, taking a leading part in the battle, too fearlessly exposed himself. of the enemy, probably, the casualties were greater, for they presented a better target, and we certainly fired to kill. from the smithy we could and did protect the trade post, but could not the buildings of the colonists, which were along the bank of the red river, while the post faced the assiniboine more than the red river. fortunately for us in the 'fort' (the smithy) the short nights were never too dark for our watch and ward. "the colonists were allowed to take what they could of what belonged to them, and that was but little, for as yet they had neither cow nor plough, only a horse or two. there were boats and other craft enough to take them all--colonists and h. b. c. people--away, and all, save my three companions already named and myself, took ship and fled. for many days after we were under siege, living under constant peril; but unconquerable in our bullet-proof log walls, and with our terrible cannon and chain shot. "at length the enemy retired. the post was safe, with from 800_l._ to 1000_l._ sterling worth of attractive trade goods belonging to the hudson's bay company untouched. i was glad of this, for it enabled me to secure the services of free men about the place--french canadians and half-breeds not in the service of the n.-w. company--to restore matters and prepare for the future. "i felt that we had too much at stake in the country to give it up, and had every confidence in the resources of the h. b. company and the earl of selkirk to hold their own and effectually repel any future attack from our opponents. "i found the free men about the place willing to work for me; and at once hired a force of them for building and other works in reparation of damages and in new works. so soon as i got my post in good order, i turned to save the little but precious and promising crops of the colonists, whose return i anticipated, made fences where required, and in due time cut and stacked their hay, &c. "that done i took upon me, without order or suggestion from any quarter, to build a house for the governor and his staff of the hudson's bay company at red river. there was no such officer at that time, nor had there ever been, but i was aware that such an appointment was contemplated. "i selected for this purpose what i considered a suitable site at a point or sharp bend in the red river about two miles below the assiniboine, on a slight rise on the south side of the point--since known as point douglas, the family name of the earl of selkirk. possibly i so christened it--i forget. "it was of two stories; with main timbers of oak; a good substantial house; with windows of parchment in default of glass." here ends mcleod's diary. the indians of the vicinity showed the colonists much sympathy, but on june 27th, after the hostile encounter, some thirteen families, comprising from forty to sixty persons, pursued their sad journey, piloted by friendly indians, to the north end of lake winnipeg, where the hudson's bay company post of jack river afforded some shelter. mcleod and, as he tells us, three men only were left. these endeavoured to protect the settlers' growing crops, which this year showed great promise. the expulsion may now be said to have been complete. the day after the departure of the expelled settlers, the colony dwellings, with the possible exception of the governor's house, were all burnt to the ground. in july the desolate band reached jack river house, their future being dark indeed. deliverance was, however, coming from two directions. colin robertson, a hudson's bay company officer, arrived from the east with twenty canadians. on reaching the red river settlement, he found the settlers all gone, but he followed them speedily to their rendezvous on lake winnipeg and returned with the refugees to their deserted homes on red river. they were joined also by about ninety settlers from the highlands of scotland, who had come through to red river in one season. the colony was now rising into promise again. a number of the demolished buildings were soon erected; the colony took heart, and under the new governor, robert semple, a british officer who had come with the last party of settlers, the prospects seemed to have improved. the governor's dwelling was strengthened, other dwellings were erected beside it, and more necessity being now seen for defence, the whole assumed a more military aspect, and took the name, after lord selkirk's family name, fort douglas. though a fair crop had been reaped by the returned settlers from their fields, yet the large addition to their numbers made it necessary to remove to fort daer, where the buffalo were plentiful. this party was under the leadership of sheriff alexander macdonell, though governor semple was also there. the autumn saw trouble at the forks. the report of disturbances having taken place between the nor'-westers and hudson's bay company employés at qu'appelle was heard, as well as renewed threats of disturbance in the colony. colin robertson in october, 1815, captured fort gibraltar, seized duncan cameron, and recovered the field-pieces and other property taken by the nor'-westers in the preceding months. though the capture of cameron and his fort thus took place, and the event was speedily followed by the reinstatement of the trader on his promise to keep the peace, yet the report of the seizure led to the greatest irritation in all parts of the country where the two companies had posts. all through the winter, threatenings of violence filled the air. the bois brûlés were arrogant, and, led by their faithful leader, cuthbert grant, looked upon themselves as the "new nation." returning, after the new year of 1816, from fort daer, governor semple saw the necessity for aggressive action. fort gibraltar was to become the rendezvous for a bois brûlés force of extermination from qu'appelle, fort des prairies (portage la prairie), and even from the saskatchewan. to prevent this, colin robertson, under the governor's direction, recaptured fort gibraltar and held cameron as a prisoner. this event took place in march or april of 1816. the legality of this seizure was of course much discussed between the hostile parties. it was deemed wise, however, to make a safe disposal of the prisoner cameron. he was accordingly dispatched under the care of colin robertson, by way of jack river, to york factory, to stand his trial in england. thus were reprisals made for the capture and removal of miles macdonell in the preceding year, both actions being of doubtful legality. on account of the failure of the hudson's bay company ship to leave york factory in that year, cameron did not reach england for seventeen months, where he was immediately released. the fall of fort gibraltar was soon to follow the deportation of its commandant. the matter of the dismantling of fort gibraltar was much discussed between governor semple and his lieutenant, colin robertson. the latter was opposed to the proposed destruction of the nor'-wester fort, knowing the excitement such a course would cause. however, after the departure of robertson to hudson bay in charge of cameron, the governor carried out his purpose, and in the end of may, 1816, the buildings were pulled down. a force of some thirty men were employed, and, expecting as they did, a possible interruption from the west, the work was done in a week or a little more. the materials were taken apart; the stockade was made into a raft, the remainder was piled upon it, and all was floated down red river to the site of fort douglas. the material was then used for strengthening the fort and building new houses in it. thus ended fort gibraltar. a considerable establishment it was in its time; its name was undoubtedly a misnomer so far as strength was concerned; yet it points to its origination in troublous times. [illustration: fort douglas.] the vigorous policy carried out in regard to fort gibraltar was likewise shown in the district south of the forks. as we have seen, to the south, fort daer had been erected, and thither, winter by winter, the settlers had gone for subsistence. here, too, was the nor'-wester fort of pembina house. during the time when governor semple and colin robertson were maturing their plans, it was determined to seize pembina. no sooner had the news of cameron's seizure reached fort daer, than sheriff macdonell, who was in charge, organized an expedition, took pembina house, and its officers and inhabitants. the prisoners were sent to fort douglas, and were liberated on pledges of good behaviour, and the military stores were also taken to fort douglas. the reasons given by the colony people for this course are "self-defence and the security of the lives of the settlers." about the end of april, the settlers returned from fort daer, and were placed on their respective lots along the red river. all events now plainly pointed to armed disturbances and bloodshed. the policy of governor semple was too vigorous when the inflammable elements in the country were borne in mind. there was in the country a class called "free canadians," i.e. those french canadian trappers and traders not connected with either company, who obtained a precarious living for themselves, their indian wives, and half-breed children. these, fearing trouble, betook themselves to the plains. the indians of the vicinity seemed to have gained a liking for the colonists and their leaders. when they heard the threatenings from the west, two of the chiefs came to governor semple and offered the assistance of their bands. this the governor could not accept, whereat the chiefs gave voice to their sorrow and disappointment. governor semple seems to have disregarded all these omens of coming trouble, and to have acted almost without common prudence. no doubt, having but lately come to the country, he failed to understand the daring character of his opponents. chapter xxv. the skirmish of seven oaks. leader of the bois brûlés--a candid letter--account of a prisoner--"yellow head"--speech to the indians--the chief knows nothing--on fleet indian ponies--an eye-witness in fort douglas--a rash governor--the massacre--"for god's sake save my life"--the governor and twenty others slain--colonists driven out--eastern levy meets the settlers--effects seized--wild revelry--chanson of pierre falcon. the troubles between the hudson's bay and north-west companies were evidently coming to a crisis. the nor'-westers laid their plans with skill, and determined to send one expedition from fort william westward and another from qu'appelle eastward, and so crush out the opposition at red river. from the west the expedition was under cuthbert grant, and he, appealing to his fellow metis, raised the standard of the bois brûlés and called his followers the "new nation." early in march the bois brûlés' leader wrote to trader j. d. cameron, detailing his plans and expectations. we quote from his letter: "i am now safe and sound, thank god, for i believe that it is more than colin robertson, or any of his suite, dare offer the least insult to any of the bois brûlés, although robertson made use of some expressions which i hope he will swallow in the spring. he shall see that it is neither fifteen, thirty, nor fifty of his best horsemen that can make the bois brûlés bow to him. our people at fort des prairies and english river are all to be here in the spring. it is hoped that we shall come off with flying colours, and _never to see any of them again in the colonizing way in red river_.... we are to remain at the forks to pass the summer, for fear they should play us the same trick as last summer of coming back; but they shall receive a warm reception." the details of this western expedition are well given by lieutenant pierre chrysologue pambrun, an officer of the canadian voltigeurs, a regiment which had distinguished itself in the late war against the united states. pambrun had entered the service of the hudson's bay company as a trader, and been sent to the qu'appelle district. having gone west to qu'appelle, he left that western post with five boat loads of pemmican and furs to descend the assiniboine river to the forks. early in may, near the grand rapids, pambrun and his party touched the shore of the river, when they were immediately surrounded by a party of bois brûlés and their boats and cargoes were all seized by their assailants. the pemmican was landed and the boats taken across the river. the unfortunate pambrun was for five days kept in durance vile by cuthbert grant and peter pangman, who headed the attacking party, and the prisoner was carried back to qu'appelle. while pambrun was here as prisoner, he was frequently told by cuthbert grant that the half-breeds were intending in the summer to destroy the red river settlements; their leader often reminded the bois brûlés of this, and they frequently sang their war songs to waken ardour for the expeditions. captors and prisoner shortly afterward left the western fort and went down the river to grand rapids. here the captured pemmican was re-embarked and the journey was resumed. near the forks of the qu'appelle river a band of indians was encamped. the indians were summoned to meet commander macdonell, who spoke to them in french, though pangman interpreted. "my friends and relations,--i address you bashfully, for i have not a pipe of tobacco to give you. all our goods have been taken by the english, but we are now upon a party to drive them away. those people have been spoiling the fair lands which belonged to you and the bois brûlés, and to which they have no right. they have been driving away the buffalo. you will soon be poor and miserable if the english stay. but we will drive them away if the indians do not, for the north-west company and the bois brûlés are one. if you (speaking to the chief) and some of your young men will join i shall be glad." the chief responded coldly and gave no assistance. next morning the indians departed, and the party proceeded on their journey. pambrun was at first left behind, but in the evening was given a spare horse and overtook grant's cavalcade at the north-west fort near brandon house. at the north-west fort pambrun saw tobacco, carpenters' tools, a quantity of furs, and other things which had been seized in the hudson's bay fort, brandon house, and been brought over as booty to the nor'-westers. resuming their journey the traders kept to their boats down the assiniboine, while the bois brûlés went chiefly on horseback until they reached portage la prairie. sixty miles had yet to be traversed before the forks were reached. the bois brûlés now prepared their mounted force. cuthbert grant was commander. dressed in the picturesque garb of the country, the metis now arrived with guns, pistols, lances, bows, and arrows. pambrun remained behind with alexander macdonell, but was clearly led to believe that the mounted force would enter fort douglas and destroy the settlement. on their fleet indian ponies these children of the prairie soon made their journey from portage la prairie to the selkirk settlement. we are indebted to the facile narrator, john pritchard, for an account of their arrival and their attack. he states that in june, 1816, he was living at red river, and quite looked for an attack from the western levy just described. watch was constantly kept from the guérite of fort douglas for the approaching foe. the half-breeds turned aside from the assiniboine some four miles up the river to a point a couple of miles below fort douglas. governor semple and his attendants followed them with the glass in their route across the plain. the governor and about twenty others sallied out to meet the western party. on his way out he sent back for a piece of cannon, which was in the fort, to be brought. soon after this the half-breeds approached governor semple's party in the form of a half moon. the highland settlers had betaken themselves for protection to fort douglas, and in their gaelic tongue made sad complaint. a daring fellow named boucher then came out of the ranks of his party, and, on horseback, approached semple and his body-guard. he gesticulated wildly, and called out in broken english, "what do you want? what do you want?" governor semple answered, "what do _you_ want?" to this boucher replied, "we want our fort." the governor said, "well, go to your fort." nothing more was said, but governor semple was seen to put his hand on boucher's gun. at this juncture a shot was fired from some part of the line, and the firing became general. many of the witnesses who saw the affair affirmed that the shot first fired was from the bois brûlés' line. the attacking party were most deadly in their fire. semple and his staff, as well as others of his party, fell to the number of twenty-two. the affair was most disastrous. pritchard says:-"i did not see the governor fall, though i saw his corpse the next day at the fort. when i saw captain rogers fall i expected to share his fate. as there was a french canadian among those who surrounded me, and who had just made an end of my friend, i said, 'lavigne, you are a frenchman, you are a man, you are a christian. for god's sake save my life; for god's sake try and save it. i give myself up; i am your prisoner.'" to the appeals of pritchard lavigne responded, and, placing himself before his friend, defended him from the infuriated half-breeds, who would have taken his life. one primeau wished to shoot pritchard, saying that the englishman had formerly killed his brother. at length they decided to spare pritchard's life, though they called him a _petit chien_, told him he had not long to live, and would be overtaken on their return. it transpired that governor semple was not killed by the first shot that disabled him, but had his thigh-bone broken. a kind french canadian undertook to care for the governor, but in the fury of the fight an indian, who was the greatest rascal in the company, shot the wounded man in the breast, and thus killed him instantly. the bois brûlés, indeed, many of them, were disguised as indians, and, painted as for the war dance, gave the war whoop, and made a hideous noise and shouting. when their victory was won they declared that their purpose was to weaken the colony and put an end to the hudson's bay company opposition. cuthbert grant then proceeded to complete his work. he declared to pritchard that "if fort douglas were not immediately given up with all the public property, instantly and without resistance, man, woman, and child would be put to death. he stated that the attack would be made upon it the same night, and if a single shot were fired, that would be the signal for the indiscriminate destruction of every soul." this declaration of cromwellian policy was very alarming. pritchard believed it meant the killing of all the women and children. he remonstrated with the prairie leader, reminding him that the colonists were his father's relatives. somewhat softened by this appeal, grant consented to spare the lives of the settlers if all the arms and public property were given up and the colony deserted. an inventory of property was accordingly taken, and in the evening of the third day after the battle, the mournful company, for a second time, like acadian refugees, left behind them homes and firesides and went into exile. the joyful news was sent west by the victorious metis. pambrun at portage la prairie received news from a messenger who had hastened away to report to macdonell the result of the attack. hearing the account given by the courier, the trader was full of glee. he announced in french to the people who were anxiously awaiting the news, "sacré nom de dieu, bonnes nouvelles, vingt-deux anglais de tués." those present, especially lamarre, macdonell, and sieveright, gave vent to their feelings boisterously. many of the party mounted their indian ponies and hastened to the place of conflict; others went by water down the assiniboine. the commander sent word ahead that the colonists were to be detained till his arrival. pambrun, being taken part of the way by water, was delayed, and so was too late in arriving to see the colonists. cuthbert grant and nearly fifty of the assailing party were in the fort. pambrun, having obtained permission to visit seven oaks, the scene of the conflict, was greatly distressed by the sight. the uncovered limbs of many of the dead were above ground, and the bodies were in a mangled condition. this unfortunate affair for many a day cast a reproach upon the nor'-westers, although the prevailing opinion was that grant was a brave man and conducted himself well in the engagement. [illustration: seven oaks monument.] we have now to enquire as to the movements of the expedition coming westward from fort william. the route of upwards of four hundred miles was a difficult one. accordingly, before they reached red river, fort douglas was already in the hands of the nor'-westers. with the expedition from fort william came a non-commissioned officer of the de meuron regiment, one of the swiss bodies of mercenaries disbanded after the war of 1812-15. this was frederick damien huerter. his account is circumstantial and clear. he had, as leading a military life, entered the service of the nor'-westers, and coming west to lake superior, followed the leadership of the fur trader alexander norman mcleod and two of the officers of his old regiment, lieutenants missani and brumby. arriving at fort william, a short time was given for providing the party with arms and equipment, and soon the lonely voyageurs, on this occasion in a warlike spirit, were paddling themselves over the fur traders' route in five large north canoes. on the approach to rainy lake fort, as many of the party as were soldiers dressed in full regimentals, in order to impress upon the indians that they had the king's authority. strong drink and tobacco were a sufficient inducement to about twenty of the indians to join the expedition. on the day before the fight at seven oaks, the party had arrived at the fort known as bas de la rivière, near lake winnipeg. guns and two small brass field-pieces, three pounders, were put in order, and the company crossed to the mouth of the red river, ascended to nettley creek, and there bivouacked, forty miles from the scene of action and two days after the skirmish. they had expected here to meet the qu'appelle brigade of cuthbert grant. no doubt this was the original plan, but the rashness of the governor and the hot blood of the metis had brought on the engagement, with the result we have seen. knowing nothing of the fight, the party started to ascend the river, and soon met seven or eight boats, laden with colonists, under the command of the sheriff of the red river settlement. mcleod then heard of the fight, ordered the settlers ashore, examined all the papers among their baggage, and took possession of all letters, account books, and documents whatsoever. even governor semple's trunks, for which there were no keys, were broken open and examined. the colonists were then set free and proceeded on their sad journey, charles grant being detailed to seeing them safely away. huerter says:-"on the 26th i went up the river to fort douglas. there were many of the partners of the north-west company with us. at fort douglas the brigade was received with discharges of artillery and fire-arms. the fort was under mr. alexander macdonell, and there was present a great gathering of bois brûlés, clerks, and interpreters, as well as partners of the company. on our arrival archibald norman mcleod, our leader, took the management and direction of the fort, and all made whatever they chose of the property it contained. the bois brûlés were entirely under the orders and control of mcleod and the partners. mcleod occupied the apartments lately belonging to governor semple. after my arrival i saw all the bois brûlés assembled in a large outer room, which had served as a mess-room for the officers of the colony. "i rode the same day to the field of 'seven oaks,' where governor semple and so many of his people had lost their lives, in company with a number of those who had been employed on that occasion--all on horseback. at this period, scarcely a week after june 19th, i saw a number of human bodies scattered about the plain, and nearly reduced to skeletons, there being then very little flesh adhering to the bones; and i was informed on the spot that many of the bodies had been partly devoured by dogs and wolves." there was a scene of great rejoicing the same evening at the fort, the bois brûlés being painted and dancing naked, after the manner of savages, to the great amusement of their masters. on june 29th most of the partners and the northern brigade set off for the rapids at the mouth of the saskatchewan. the departure of the grand brigade was signalized by the discharge of artillery from fort douglas. the nor'-westers were now in the ascendant. the bois brûlés were naturally in a state of exultation. their wild indian blood was at the boiling point. fort douglas had been seized without opposition, and for several days the most riotous scenes took place. threats of violence were freely indulged in against the hudson's bay company, lord selkirk, and the colonists. as pritchard remarks, there was nothing now for the discouraged settlers but to betake themselves for the second time to the rendezvous at the north of lake winnipeg, and there await deliverance at the hands of their noble patron, lord selkirk. the exuberance of the french half-breeds found its way into verse. we give the chanson of pierre falcon and the translation of it:-chanson écrite par pierre falcon. voulez-vous écouter chanter une chanson de vérité? le dix-neuf de juin les bois brûlés sont arrivés comme des braves guerriers, sont arrivés à la grenouillère. nous avons fait trois prisonniers des orcanais? ils sont ici pour piller notre pays, etant sur le point de débarquer, deux de nos gens se sont écriés, "voilà l'anglais qui vient nous attaquer." tous aussitôt nous sommes dévirés pour aller les rencontrer. j'avons cerné la bande de grenadiers; ils sont immobiles?--ils sont démentés? j'avons agi comme des gens d'honneur, nous envoyâmes un ambassadeur. "gouverneur, voulez-vous arrêter un petit moment, nous voulons vous parler." le gouverneur, qui est enragé, il dit à ses soldats, "tirez." le premier coup l'anglais le tire, l'ambassadeur a presque manqué d'être tué, le gouverneur se croyant l'empereur, il agit avec rigueur, le gouverneur, se croyant l'empereur, a son malheur agit avec trop de rigueur. ayant vu passé les bois brûlés, il a parti pour nous épouvanter. il s'est trompé; il s'est bien fait tuer quantité de ses grenadiers. j'avons tué presque toute son armée; de la bande quatre de cinq se sont sauvés si vous aviez vu les anglais et tous les bois brûlés après- de butte en butte les anglais culbutaient; les bois brûlés jetaient des cris de joie. qui en a composé la chanson? c'est pierre falcon, le bon garçon. elle a été faite et composée sur la victoire qui nous avons gagnée. elle a été faite et composée. chantons la gloire de tous ces bois brûlés. song written by pierre falcon. come, listen to this song of truth, a song of brave bois brûlés, who at frog plain took three captives, strangers come to rob our country. where dismounting there to rest us, a cry is raised, "the english! they are coming to attack us." so we hasten forth to meet them. i looked upon their army, they are motionless and downcast; so, as honour would incline us, we desire with them to parley. but their leader, moved with anger, gives the word to fire upon us; and imperiously repeats it, rushing on to his destruction. having seen us pass his stronghold, he has thought to strike with terror the bois brûlés.--ah! mistaken, many of his soldiers perish. but a few escaped the slaughter, rushing from the field of battle; oh, to see the english fleeing! oh, the shouts of their pursuers! who has sung this song of triumph? the good pierre falcon has composed it, that his praise of these bois brûlés might be evermore recorded. chapter xxvi. lord selkirk to the rescue. the earl in montreal--alarming news--engages a body of swiss--the de meurons--embark for the north-west--kawtawabetay's story--hears of seven oaks--lake superior--lord selkirk--a doughty douglas--seizes fort william--canoes upset and nor'-westers drowned--"a banditti"--the earl's blunder--a winter march--fort douglas recaptured--his lordship soothes the settlers--an indian treaty--"the silver chief"--the earl's note-book. the sad story of the beleaguered and excited colonists reached the ears of lord selkirk through his agents. the trouble threatening his settlers determined the energetic founder to visit canada for himself, and, if possible, the infant colony. accordingly, late in the year 1815, in company with his family--consisting of the countess, his son, and two daughters--he reached montreal. the news of the first dispersion of the colonists, their flight to norway house, and the further threatenings of the bois brûlés, arrived about the time of their coming to new york. lord selkirk hastened on to montreal, but it was too late in the season, being about the end of october, to penetrate to the interior. he must winter in montreal. he was here in the very midst of the enemy. with energy, characteristic of the man, he brought the matter of protection of his colony urgently before the government of lower canada. in a british colony surely the rights of property of a british subject would be protected, and surely the safety of hundreds of loyal people could not be trifled with. as we shall see in a later chapter, the high-minded nobleman counted without his host; he had but to live a few years in the new world of that day to find how skilfully the forms of law can be adapted to carry out illegal objects and shield law-breakers. as early as february of that year (1815), dreading the threatenings even then made by the north-west company, he had represented to lord bathurst, the british secretary of state, the urgent necessity of an armed force, not necessarily very numerous, being sent to the red river settlement to maintain order in the colony. now, after the outrageous proceedings of the summer of 1815 and the arrival of the dreary intelligence from red river, lord selkirk again brings the matter before the authorities, this time before sir gordon drummond, governor of lower canada, and encloses a full account of the facts as to the expulsion of the settlers from their homes, and of the many acts of violence perpetrated at red river. nothing being gained in this way, his lordship determined to undertake an expedition himself, as soon as it could be organized, and carry assistance to his persecuted people, who, he knew, had been gathered together by colin robertson, and to whom he had sent as governor, mr. semple, in whom he reposed great confidence. we have seen that during the winter of 1815-16, peace and a certain degree of confidence prevailed among the settlers, more than half of whom were spending their first winter in the country. fort douglas was regarded as strong enough to resist a considerable attack, and the presence of governor semple, a military officer, was thought a guarantee for the protection of the people. during the winter, however, lord selkirk learned enough to assure him that the danger was not over--that, indeed, a more determined attack than ever would be made as soon as the next season should open. he had been sworn in as a justice of the peace in upper canada and for the indian territories; he had obtained for his personal protection from the governor the promise of a sergeant and six men of the british army stationed in canada, but this was not sufficient. he undertook a plan of placing upon his own land in the colony a number of persons as settlers who could be called upon in case of emergency, as had been the intention in the case of the highland colonists, to whom muskets had been furnished. the close of the napoleonic wars had left a large number of the soldiers engaged in these wars out of employment, the british government having been compelled to reduce the size of the army. during the napoleonic wars a number of soldiers of adventure from switzerland and italy, captured by britain in spain, entered her service and were useful troops. two of these regiments, one named "de meuron," and the other "watteville," had been sent to canada to assist in the war against the united states. this war being now over also, orders came to sir gordon drummond to disband the two regiments in may, 1815. the former of the regiments was at the time stationed at montreal, the latter at kingston. from these bodies of men lord selkirk undertook to provide his colony with settlers willing to defend it. the enemies of lord selkirk have been very free in their expression of opinion as to the worthlessness of these soldiers and their unfitness as settlers. it is worthy of notice, however, that the nor'-westers did not scruple to use messrs. missani and brumby, as well as reinhard and huerter of the same corps, to carry out their own purposes. the following order, given by sir john coape sherbrooke, effectually disposes of such a calumny:- "quebec, july 26th, 1816. "in parting with the regiments 'de meuron' and 'watteville,' both of which corps his excellency has had the good fortune of having under his command in other parts of the world, sir john sherbrooke desires lieutenant-colonel de meuron and lieutenant-colonel may, and the officers and men of these corps will accept his congratulations on having, by their conduct in the canadas, maintained the reputation which they have deservedly acquired by their former services. his excellency can have no hesitation in saying that his majesty's service in these provinces has derived important advantages during the late war from the steadiness, discipline, and efficiency of these corps. "j. harvey, lieutenant-colonel, d.a.g." testimony to the same effect is given by the officer in command of the garrison of malta, on their leaving that island to come to canada. these men afforded the material for lord selkirk's purpose, viz. to till the soil and protect the colony. like a wise man, however, he made character the ground of engagement in the case of all whom he took. to those who came to terms with him he agreed to give a sufficient portion of land, agricultural implements, and as wages for working the boats on the voyage eight dollars a month. it was further agreed that should any choose to leave red river on reaching it, they should be taken back by his lordship free of expense. early in june, 1816, four officers and about eighty men of the "de meurons" left montreal in lord selkirk's employ and proceeded westward to kingston. here twenty more of the "watteville" regiment joined their company. thence the expedition, made up by the addition of one hundred and thirty canoe-men, pushed on to york (toronto), and from york northward to lake simcoe and georgian bay. across this bay and lake huron they passed rapidly on to sault ste. marie, lord selkirk leaving the expedition before reaching that place to go to drummond's isle, which was the last british garrison in upper canada, and at which point he was to receive the sergeant and six men granted for his personal protection by the governor of canada. at drummond's island a council was held with kawtawabetay, an ojibway chief, by the indian department, lieut.-colonel maule, of the 104th regiment, presiding. kawtawabetay there informed the council that in the spring of 1815 two north-west traders, mckenzie and morrison, told him that they would give him and his people all the goods or merchandise and rum that they had at fort william, leach lake, and sand lake, if he, the said kawtawabetay, and his people would make and declare war against the settlers in red river. on being asked by the chief whether this was at the request of the "great chiefs" at montreal or quebec, mckenzie and morrison said it was solely from the north-west company's agents, who wished the settlement destroyed, as it was an annoyance to them. the chief further stated that the last spring (1816), whilst at fond du lac superior, a nor'-wester agent (grant) offered him two kegs of rum and two carrots of tobacco if he would send some of his young men in search of certain persons employed in taking despatches to the red river, pillage these bearers of despatches of the letters and papers, and kill them should they make any resistance. the chief stated he had refused to have anything to do with these offers. on being asked in the council by lord selkirk, who was present, as to the feelings of the indians towards the settlers at red river, he said that at the commencement of the red river settlement some of the indians did not like it, but at present they are all glad of its being settled. lord selkirk soon hastened on and overtook his expedition at sault ste. marie, now consisting of two hundred and fifty men all told, and these being maintained at his private expense. they immediately proceeded westward, intending to go to the extreme point of lake superior, near where the town of duluth now stands, and where the name fond du lac is still retained. the expedition would then have gone north-westward through what is now minnesota to red lake, from which point a descent could have been made by boat, through red lake river and red river to the very settlement itself. this route would have avoided the nor'-westers altogether. westward bound, the party had little more than left sault ste. marie, during the last week of july, when they were met on lake superior by two canoes, in one of which was miles macdonell, former governor of red river, who brought the sad intelligence of the second destruction of the colony and of the murder of governor semple and his attendants. his lordship was thrown into the deepest despair. the thought of his governor killed, wholesale murder committed, the poor settlers led by him from the highland homes, where life at least was safe, to endure such fear and privation, was indeed a sore trial. to any one less moved by the spirit of philanthropy, it must have been a serious disappointment, but to one feeling so thorough a sympathy for the suffering and who was himself the very soul of honour, it was a crushing blow. he resolved to change his course and to go to fort william, the headquarters of the nor'-westers. he now determined to act in his office as magistrate, and sought to induce two gentlemen of sault ste. marie, messrs. ermatinger and askin, both magistrates, to accompany him in that capacity. they were unable to go. compelled to proceed alone, he writes from sault ste. marie, on july 29th, to sir john sherbrooke, and after speaking of his failure to induce the two gentlemen mentioned by him to go, says, "i am therefore reduced to the alternative of acting alone, or of allowing an audacious crime to pass unpunished. in these circumstances i cannot doubt that it is my duty to act, though i am not without apprehension that the law may be openly resisted by a set of people who have been accustomed to consider force as the only true criterion of right." one would have said, on looking at the matter dispassionately, that the governor-general, with a military force so far west as drummond isle in georgian bay, would have taken immediate steps to bring to justice the offenders. governor sherbrooke seems to have felt himself powerless, for he says in a despatch to lord bathurst, "i beg leave to call your lordship's serious attention to the forcible and, i fear, too just description given by the earl of selkirk of the state of the red river territory. i leave to your lordship to judge whether a banditti such as he describes will yield to the influence, or be intimidated by the menaces of distant authority." it may be well afterwards to contrast this statement of the governor's with subsequent despatches. it must not be forgotten that while "the banditti" was pursuing its course of violence in the far-off territory, and, as has been stated, thoroughly under the direction and encouragement of the north-west company partners, the leading members of this company, who held, many of them, high places in society and in the government in montreal, were posing as the lovers of peace and order, and were lamenting over the excesses of the indians and bois brûlés. by this course they were enabled to thwart any really effective measures towards restoring peace at the far-away "seat of war." the action of the north-west company may be judged from the following extracts from a letter of the hon. john richardson, one of the partners, and likewise a member of the executive council of lower canada, addressed to governor sherbrooke. he says on august 17th, 1816: "it is with much concern that i have to mention that blood has been shed at the red river to an extent greatly to be deplored; but it is consolatory to those interested in the north-west company to find that none of their traders or people were concerned, or at the time within a hundred miles of the scene of contest." what a commentary on such a statement are the stories of pambrun and huerter, given in a previous chapter! what a cold-blooded statement after all the plottings and schemes of the whole winter before the attack! what a heartless falsehood as regards the indians, who, under so great temptations, refused to be partners in so bloody an enterprise! the resolution of lord selkirk to go to fort william in the capacity of a magistrate was one involving, as he well knew, many perils. he was not, however, the man to shrink from a daring enterprise having once undertaken it. to fort william, then, with the prospect of meeting several hundreds of the desperate men of the north-west company, lord selkirk made his way. so confident was he in the rectitude of his purpose and in the justice of his cause, that he pushed forward, and without the slightest hesitation encamped upon the kaministiquia, on the south side of the river, in sight of fort william. the expedition arrived on august 12th. a demand was at once made on the officers of the north-west company for the release of a number of persons who had been captured at red river after the destruction of the colony and been brought to fort william. the nor'-westers denied having arrested these persons, and to give colour to this assertion immediately sent them over to lord selkirk's encampment. on the 13th and following days of the month of august, the depositions of a number of persons were taken before his lordship as a justice of the peace. the depositions related to the guilt of the several nor'-wester partners, their destroying the settlement, entering and removing property from fort douglas, and the like; and were made by pambrun, lavigne, nolin, blondeau, brisbois, and others. it was made so clear to lord selkirk that the partners were guilty of inciting the attacks on the colony and of approving the outrages committed, that he determined to arrest a number of the leaders. this was done by regular process--by warrants served on mr. mcgillivray, kenneth mckenzie, simon fraser, and others, but these prisoners were allowed to remain in fort william. in one case, that of a partner named john mcdonald, resistance having been offered, the constables called for the aid of a party of the de meurons, who had crossed over from the encampment with them in their boats. the leaving of the prisoners with their liberty in fort william, however, gave the opportunity for conspiracy; and it was represented to lord selkirk that fort william would be used for the purposes of resistance, and that the prisoners arrested would be released. the facts leading to this belief were that a canoe, laden with arms, had left the fort at night; that eight barrels of gunpowder had been secreted in a thicket, and that these had been taken from the magazine; while some forty stand of arms, fresh-loaded, had been found in a barn among some hay. these indications proved that an attempt was about to be made to resist the execution of the law, and accordingly the prisoners were placed in one building and closely guarded, while lord selkirk's encampment was removed across the river and pitched in front of the fort to prevent any surprise. a further examination of the prisoners took place, and their criminality being so evident, they were sent to york, upper canada. three canoes, well manned and containing the prisoners, left the fort on august 18th, under the charge of lieutenant fauche, one of the de meuron officers. the journey down the lakes was marred by a most unfortunate accident. one of the canoes was upset some fifteen miles from sault ste. marie. this was caused by the sudden rise in the wind. the affair was purely accidental, and there were drowned one of the prisoners, named mckenzie, a sergeant and a man of the de meurons, and six indians. the prisoners were taken to montreal and admitted to bail. the course taken by lord selkirk at fort william has been severely criticized, and became, indeed, the subject of subsequent legal proceedings. one of the nor'-wester apologists stated to governor sherbrooke "that the mode of proceeding under lord selkirk's orders resembled nothing british, and exceeded even the military despotism of the french in holland." no doubt it would have been better had lord selkirk obtained other magistrates to take part in the proceedings at fort william, but we have seen he did try this and failed. had it been possible to have had the arrests effected without the appearance of force made by the de meurons, it would have been more agreeable to our ideas of ordinary legal proceedings; but it must be remembered he was dealing with those called by a high authority "a banditti." could fort william have been left in the hands of its possessors, it would have been better; but then there was clear evidence that the nor'-westers intended violence. to have left fort william in their possession would have been suicidal. it would probably have been better that lord selkirk should not have stopped the canoes going into the interior with north-west merchandise, but to have allowed them to proceed was only to have assisted his enemies--the enemies, moreover, of law and order. thousands of pounds' worth of his property stolen from fort douglas by the agents of the north-west company, and the fullest evidence in the depositions made before him that this was in pursuance of a plan devised by the company and deliberately carried out! several hundreds of lawless voyageurs and unscrupulous partners ready to use violence in the wild region of lake superior, where, during fifty years preceding, they had committed numerous acts of bloodshed, and had never been called to account! the worrying reflection that homeless settlers and helpless women and children were crying, in some region then unknown to him, for his assistance, after their wanton dispersion by their enemies from their homes on the banks of red river! all these things were sufficient to nerve to action one of far less generous impulses than lord selkirk. is it at all surprising that his lordship did not act with all the calmness and scrupulous care of a judge on the bench, who, under favourable circumstances, feels himself strong in his consciousness of safety, supported by the myriad officers of the law, and surrounded by the insignia of justice? the justification of his course, even if it be interpreted adversely, is, that in a state of violence, to preserve the person is a preliminary to the settlement of other questions of personal right. one thing at least is to lord selkirk's credit, that, as soon as possible, he handed over the law-breakers to be dealt with by the canadian courts, where, however, unfortunately, another divinity presided than the blind goddess of justice. let us now see where we are in our story. lord selkirk is at fort william. the nor'-wester partners have been sent to the east. it is near the end of august, and the state of affairs at fort william does not allow the founder to pass on to his colony for the winter. he is surrounded by his de meuron settlers. during the months of autumn the expedition is engaged in laying in supplies for the approaching winter, and opening up roads toward the red river country. the season was spent in the usual manner of the lake superior country, shut out from the rest of the world. the winter over, lord selkirk started on may 1st, 1817, for red river, accompanied by his body-guard. the de meurons had preceded him in the month of march, and, reaching the interior, restored order. the colonizer arrived at his colony in the last week of june, and saw, for the first time, the land of his dreams for the preceding fifteen years. in order to restore peace, he endeavoured to carry out the terms of the proclamation issued by the government of canada, that all property taken during the troubles should be restored to its original owners. this restitution was made to a certain extent, though much that had been taken from fort douglas was never recovered. the settlers were brought back from their refuge at norway house, and the settlement was again organized. the colonists long after related, with great satisfaction, how lord selkirk cheered them by his presence. after their return to their despoiled homesteads a gathering of the settlers took place, and a full consideration of all their affairs was had in their patron's presence. this gathering was at the spot where the church and burying-ground of st. john's are now found. "here," said his lordship, pointing to lot number four, on which they stood, "here you shall build your church; and that lot," said he, pointing to lot number three across the little stream called parsonage creek, "is for the school." the people then reminded his lordship that he had promised them a minister, who should follow them to their adopted country. this he at once acknowledged, saying, "selkirk never forfeited his word;" while he promised to give the matter attention as soon as practicable. in addition, lord selkirk gave a document stating that, "in consideration of the hardships which the settlers had suffered, in consequence of the lawless conduct of the north-west company, his intention was to grant gratuitously the twenty-four lots which had been occupied to those of the settlers who had made improvements on their lands before they were driven away from them in the previous year." before the dispersion of this public gathering of the people, the founder gave the name, at the request of the colonists, to their settlement. the name given by him to this first parish in rupert's land was that of kildonan, from their old home in the valley of helmsdale, in sutherlandshire, scotland. in more fully organizing the colony, his lordship ordered a complete survey to be made of the land, and steps to be taken towards laying out roads, building bridges, erecting mills, &c. it will be remembered, as already stated, that at the inception of the colony scheme, in 1811, the nor'-westers had threatened the hostility of the indians. it may be mentioned as a strange fact that, to this day, it is a trick of the bois brûlés, taking their cue from the nor'-westers, when making any demand, to threaten the government with the wrath of the indians, over whom they profess to exercise a control. we have already seen that the nor'-westers' boast as to their influence over the indians was empty. in the publications of the nor'-westers of 1816-20 a speech is sometimes set forth of an indian chief, "grandes oreilles," breathing forth threatenings against the infant settlement. it is worthy of notice that even this resource is swept away by the author of the speech, a nor'-wester trader, confessing that he had manufactured the speech and "grandes oreilles" had never spoken it. within three weeks of his arrival at red river lord selkirk carried out his promise of making a treaty with the indians. all the indians were most willing to do this, as on many occasions during the troubles they had, by giving early information as to the movements of the nor'-westers, and by other means, shown their sympathy and feeling toward the settlers. the object of the treaty was simply to do what has since been done all over the north-west territories--to extinguish the indian title. the treaty is signed alike by ojibway, cree, and assiniboine chiefs, the last mentioned being a tribe generally considered to belong to the sioux stock. lord selkirk afterwards made a treaty, on leaving the red river, with the other sioux nations inhabiting his territory. the chiefs were met at red river by his lordship, and those whose names are attached to the treaty are, giving their french names in some cases as shorter than the indian, le sonent, robe noire, peguis, l'homme noir, and grandes oreilles. his lordship seems to have had a most conciliatory and attractive manner. it is worth while closing this chapter by giving extracts from the speeches of these indian chiefs, taken down at the grand council at which lord selkirk smoked the pipe of peace with the assembled warriors. peguis, the saulteaux chief, always the fast friend of the colonists, said, "when the english settlers first came here we received them with joy. it was not our fault if even the stumps of the brushwood were too rough for their feet; but misfortunes have since overtaken them. evil-disposed men came here, calling themselves great chiefs, sent from our great father across the big lake, but we believe they were only traders, pretending to be great chiefs on purpose to deceive us. they misled the young men who are near us (a small party of bois brûlés encamped in the neighbourhood), and employed them to shed the blood of your children and to drive away the settlers from this river. we do not acknowledge these men as an independent tribe. they have sprung up here and there like mushrooms and we know them not. "at the first arrival of the settlers we were frequently solicited by the north-west company to frighten them away; but we were pleased to see that our great father had sent some of his white children to live among us, and we refused to do or say anything against them. the traders even demanded our calumets, and desired to commit our sentiments to paper, that they might send to our great father; but we refused to acknowledge the speeches which they wished to put into our mouths. we are informed that they have told a tale that it was the indians who drove away and murdered the children of our great father, but it is a falsehood. "as soon as i saw the mischief that happened i went to lake winnipeg with a few friends to wait for news from the english, but i could meet none. we have reasons to be friends of the colony. when there were only traders here we could not get a blanket, or a piece of cloth, without furs to give in exchange. our country is now almost destitute of furs, so that we were often in want; from the people of the colony we get blankets and cloth for the meat we procure them. the country abounds with meat, which we can obtain, but to obtain furs is difficult." next, l'homme noir, a chief of the assiniboines, who had come from a long distance, addressing lord selkirk, particularly declares, "we were often harassed with solicitations to assist the bois brûlés in what they have done against your children, but we always refused. we are sure you must have had much trouble to come here. we have often been told you were our enemy; but we have to-day the happiness to hear from your own mouth the words of a true friend. we receive the present you give us with great pleasure and thankfulness." after this, robe noire, an ojibway chief, spoke in like terms; when the veritable grandes oreilles, to whose spurious war speech we have already referred, said as follows:-"i am happy to see here our own father. clouds have overwhelmed me. i was a long time in doubt and difficulty, but now i begin to see clearly. "we have reason to be happy this day. we know the dangers you must have encountered to come so far. the truth you have spoken pleases us. we thank you for the present you give us. there seems an end to our distress, and it is you who have relieved us. "when our young men are drunk they are mad; they know not what they say or what they do; but this must not be attended to; they mean no harm." long after, selkirk was remembered and beloved by these indian tribes, who spoke of him as the "silver chief." so much for the founder's work in his colony in 1817. his affairs urgently required attention elsewhere. in the language of a writer of the period, "having thus restored order, infused confidence in the people, and given a certain aid to their activity, lord selkirk took his final leave of the colony." with a guide and a few attendants he journeyed southward, passing through the country of the warlike sioux, with whom he made peace. the writer had at one time in his possession a note-book with, in lord selkirk's writing, an itinerary of his journey from red river colony, in which familiar names, such as rivière sale, rivière aux gratias, pembina, and the like, appear with their distances in leagues. among other memoranda is one, "lost on the prairie," and the distance in leagues estimated as lost by the misadventure. every traveller over the manitoba prairie will take a feeling interest in that entry. passing through the mississippi country, he seems to have proceeded eastward to washington; he next appears in albany, and hastens back to upper canada, without even visiting his family in montreal, though he had been absent from them for upwards of a year. in upper canada his presence was urgently needed to meet the artful machinations of his enemies. chapter xxvii. the blue-book of 1819 and the north-west trials. british law disgraced--governor sherbrooke's distress--a commission decided on--few unbiassed canadians--colonel coltman chosen--over ice and snow--alarming rumours--the prince regent's order--coltman at red river--the earl submissive--the commissioner's report admirable--the celebrated reinhart case--disturbing lawsuits--justice perverted--a store-house of facts--sympathy of sir walter scott--lord selkirk's death--tomb at orthes, in france. the state of things in rupert's land in 1816 was a disgrace to british institutions. that subjects of the realm, divided into two parties, should be virtually carrying on war against each other on british soil, was simply intolerable. not only was force being used, but warrants were being issued and the forms of law employed on both sides to carry out the selfish ends of each party. an impartial historian cannot but say that both parties were chargeable with grievous wrong. sir john coape sherbrooke, governor-general of canada, felt very keenly the shameful situation, and yet the difficulties of transport and the remote distance of the interior where the conflict was taking place made interference almost impossible. he was in constant communication with lord bathurst, the imperial colonial secretary. governor sherbrooke's difficulties were, however, more than those of distance. the influence of the north-west company in canada was supreme, and public sentiment simply reflected the views of the traders. the plan of sending a commission to the interior to stop hostilities and examine the conflicting statements which were constantly coming to the governor, seemed the most feasible; but with his sense of british fair-play, governor sherbrooke knew he could find no one suitable to recommend. at last, driven to take some action, sir john named mr. w. b. coltman, a merchant of quebec and a lieutenant-colonel in the militia, a man accustomed to government matters, and one who bore a good reputation for fairness and justice. with this commissioner, who did not enter on his task with much alacrity, was associated major fletcher, a man of good legal qualifications. the commissioners were instructed to proceed immediately to the north-west. they were invested with the power of magistrates, and were authorized to make a thorough investigation into the troubles which were disturbing the country. "you are particularly," say the instructions, "to apply yourselves to mediate between the contending parties in the aforesaid territories; to remove, as far as possible, all causes of dissension between them; to take all legal measures to prevent the recurrence of those violences which have already so unhappily disturbed the public peace; and generally to enforce and establish, within the territory where you shall be, the influence and authority of the laws." various accidents prevented the commissioners from leaving for the indian country as soon as had been expected. they did not reach york (toronto) till november 23rd, and on their arriving on the shores of lake huron they found the lake frozen over and impassable. they could do nothing themselves other than return to york, but they succeeded in fitting out an expedition under north-western auspices to find its way over the ice and snow to fort william, carrying the revocation of all the commissions of magistrates west of sault ste. marie and the news of the new appointments in their stead. reports during the winter continued to be of a disquieting kind, and as the spring drew nigh, preparations were made for sending up the commissioners with a small armed force. the gravity of the situation may be judged from the steps taken by the imperial government and the instructions sent out by the authority of george, the prince regent, to governor sherbrooke to issue a proclamation in his name calling on all parties to desist from hostilities, and requiring all military officers or men employed by any of the parties to immediately retire from such service. all property, including forts or trading stations, was to be immediately restored to the rightful owners, and any impediment or blockade preventing transport to be at once removed. it is worthy of note that the proclamation and instructions given had the desired effect. coltman and his fellow commissioner left in may for the field of their operations, accompanied by forty men of the 37th regiment as a body-guard. on arriving at sault ste. marie, commissioner coltman, after waiting two or three weeks, hastened on to fort william, leaving fletcher and the troops to follow him. on july 2nd he wrote from the mouth of the river winnipeg, stating that his presence had no doubt tended to preserve peace in the north-west, and that in two days he would see lord selkirk in his own fort douglas at red river. three days after the despatch of this letter, commissioner coltman arrived at red river. he immediately grappled with the difficulties and met them with much success. the news of lord selkirk's actions had all arrived at montreal through the north-west sources, so that both in quebec and london a strong prejudice had sprung up against his lordship. colonel coltman found, however, that lord selkirk had been much misrepresented. the illegal seizures he had made at fort william were dictated only by prudence in dealing with what he considered a daring and treacherous enemy. he had submitted to the ordinance recalling magistrates' commissions immediately on receiving it. colonel coltman was so impressed with lord selkirk's reasonableness and good faith that he recommended that the legal charges made against him should not be proceeded with. colonel coltman then started on his return journey, and wrote that he had stopped at the mouth of the winnipeg river for the purpose of investigating the conspiracy, in which he states he fears the north-west company had been implicated, to destroy the selkirk settlement. the energetic commissioner returned to quebec in november of that year. governor sherbrooke had the satisfaction of reporting to lord bathurst the return of mr. coltman from his mission to the indian territories, and "that the general result of his exertions had been so far successful, that he had restored a degree of tranquillity there which promises to continue during the winter." colonel coltman's report, of about one hundred folio pages, is an admirable one. his summary of the causes and events of the great struggle between the companies is well arranged and clearly stated. the writer, in an earlier work, strongly took up lord selkirk's view of the case, and criticised coltman. subsequent investigations and calmer reflection have led him to the conclusion that while lord selkirk was in the right and exhibited a high and noble character, yet the provoking circumstances came from both directions, and colonel coltman's account seems fairly impartial. the cessation of hostilities brought about by the influence of colonel coltman did not, however, bring a state of peace. the conflict was transferred to the courts of lower and upper canada, these having been given power some time before by the imperial parliament to deal with cases in the indian territories. a _cause célèbre_ was that of the trial of charles reinhart, an employé of the north-west company, who had been a sergeant in the disbanded de meuron regiment. having gone to the north-west, he was during the troubles given charge of a hudson's bay company official named owen keveny, against whom it was urged that he had maltreated a servant of the north-west company. in bringing keveny down from lake winnipeg to rat portage, it was brought against reinhart that at a place called the falls of the river winnipeg, he had brutally killed the prisoner under his charge. while lord selkirk was at fort william, reinhart arrived at that point and made a voluntary confession before his lordship as a magistrate. this case was afterwards tried at quebec and gave rise to an argument as to the jurisdiction of the court, viz. whether the point where the murder occurred on the river winnipeg was in upper canada, lower canada, or the indian territories. though reinhart was found guilty, sentence was not carried out, probably on account of the uncertainty of jurisdiction. the reinhart case became an important precedent in settling the boundary line of upper canada, and also in dealing with the troubles arising out of the riel rebellion of 1869. in the year after colonel coltman's return, numerous cases were referred to the courts, all these arising out of the violence at red river. colonel coltman had bound lord selkirk, though only accused of an offence amounting to a misdemeanour, in the large sum of 6,000_l._ and under two sureties of 3,000_l._ each--in all 12,000_l._ mr. gale, lord selkirk's legal adviser, called attention to the illegality of this proceeding, but all to no effect. after lord selkirk had settled up his affairs with his colonists, he journeyed south from the red river to st. louis in the western states, and then went eastward to albany in new york, whence he appeared in sandwich in upper canada, the circuit town where information had been laid. here he found four accusations made against him by the north-west company. these were: (1) having stolen eighty-three muskets at fort william; (2) having riotously entered fort william, august 13th; (3) assault and false imprisonment of deputy-sheriff smith; (4) resistance to legal warrant. on these matters being taken up, the first charge was so contradictory that the magistrates dismissed it; but the other three could not be dealt with on account of the absence of witnesses, and so bail was accepted from lord selkirk of 350_l._ for his appearance. when lord selkirk presented himself at montreal to answer to the charges for which colonel coltman's heavy bail had bound him, the court admitted it had no jurisdiction, but with singular high-handedness bound lord selkirk to appear in upper canada under the same bail. in montreal in may, 1818, an action was brought before chief justice monk and justice bowen against colin robertson and four others, charging them with riotously destroying fort gibraltar, the nor'-wester fort. a number of witnesses were called, including miles macdonell, john pritchard, auguste cadot, and others. a verdict of not guilty was rendered. in september of the same year a charge was laid against lord selkirk and others of a conspiracy to ruin the trade of the north-west company. this was before the celebrated chief justice powell. the grand jury refused to give the chief justice an answer in the case. the court was summarily adjourned, and legislation was introduced at the next meeting of the legislature of upper canada to remedy defects in the act in order that the case might be tried. afterward the cases were taken up in york, and deputy-sheriff smith was given a verdict against lord selkirk for 500_l._, and mckenzie, a north-west partner, a verdict of 1,500_l._ for false imprisonment at fort william. the general impression has always prevailed there that the whole procedure in these cases against lord selkirk was high-handed and unjust, though it is quite possible that lord selkirk had exceeded his powers in the troubled state of affairs at fort william. on his lordship's side charges were also brought in october, 1818. in the full court chief justice powell and justices campbell and boulter presided. the most notable of these cases was against cuthbert grant, boucher, and sixteen others as either principals or accessories in the murder of robert semple on june 19th, 1816. a few days later, in the same month, a slightly different charge was brought against six of the north-west partners in connection with the murder of governor semple. upwards of three hundred pages of evidence gave a minute and complete account of the affair of seven oaks and of the whole conflict as found in a volume of canadian trials. in these two cases a verdict of not guilty was also rendered. two other trials, one by lord selkirk's party against paul brown for robbery of a blanket and a gun, and the other against john cooper and hugh bannerman for stealing a cannon in a dwelling-house of lord selkirk, were also carried through, with in both cases a verdict of not guilty. the evidence in these cases was printed by both parties, with foot-notes, giving a colour to each side concerned of a more favourable kind. so much for this most disheartening controversy. it would be idle to say that lord selkirk was faultless; but as we dispassionately read the accounts of the trials, and consider that while lord selkirk was friendless in canada, the north-west company had enormous influence, we cannot resist the conclusion that advantage was taken of his lordship, and that justice was not done. it is true that, in the majority of cases, the conclusion was reached that it was impossible to precisely place the blame on either side; but we cannot be surprised that lord selkirk, harassed and discouraged by the difficulties of his colony and his treatment in the courts of upper canada and lower canada, should write as he did in october, 1818, to the duke of richmond, the new governor-general of canada:-"to contend alone and unsupported, not only against a powerful association of individuals, but also against all those whose official duty it should have been to arrest them in the prosecution of their crimes, was at the best an arduous task; and, however confident one might be of the intrinsic strength of his cause, it was impossible to feel a very sanguine expectation that this alone would be sufficient to bear him up against the swollen tide of corruption which threatened to overwhelm him. he knew that in persevering under existing circumstances he must necessarily submit to a heavy sacrifice of personal comfort, incur an expense of ruinous amount, and possibly render himself the object of harassing and relentless persecution." though lord selkirk crossed the atlantic in 1818, yet the sounds of the judicial battle through which he had passed were still in his ears. in june his friend, sir james montgomery, brought the matter before the british house of commons, moving for all the official papers in the case. the motion was carried, and the blue book containing this matter is a store-house where we may find the chief facts of this long and heart-breaking struggle recorded. in june, 1818, we find in a copy of a letter in the possession of the writer, written by sir walter scott, a reference to the very poor health of his lordship. worn out and heart-broken by his trials, lord selkirk did not rally, but in the course of a few months died at pau, in the south of france, april, 1820. his countess and daughters had accompanied him to montreal on his canadian visit, and they were now with him to soothe his dying hours and to see him laid to rest in the protestant cemetery of orthes. though he was engaged in a difficult undertaking in seeking so early in the century to establish a colony on the red river, and though it has been common to represent him as being half a century before his time, yet we cannot resist the conclusion that he was an honourable, patriotic, and far-seeing man, and that the burden of right in this grand conflict was on his side. chapter xxviii. men who played a part. the crisis reached--consequences of seven oaks--the noble earl--his generous spirit--his mistakes--determined courage--deserves the laurel crown--the first governor--macdonell's difficulties--his unwise step--a captain in red--cameron's adroitness--a wearisome imprisonment--last governor of fort gibraltar--the metis chief--half-breed son of old cuthbert--a daring hunter--warden of the plains--lord selkirk's agent--a red river patriarch--a faithful witness--the french bard--western war songs--pierriche falcon. the skirmish of seven oaks was the most notable event that ever occurred on the prairies of rupert's land or in the limits of the fur country. it was the crisis which indicated the determination of the company, whose years were numbered by a century and a half, to hold its own in a great contest, and of the pluck of a british nobleman to show the "_perfervidum ingenium scotorum_," and unflinchingly to meet either in arms or legal conflict the fur-trading oligarchy of that time in canada. it represented, too, the fierce courage and desperate resource of the traders of the great canadian company, who, we have seen, were called by washington irving "the lords of the lakes and forests." it was also the _dénouement_ which led the old and the new worlds' fur companies, despite the heat of passion and their warmth of sentiment, to make a peace which saved both from impending destruction. it led, moreover, to the sealing up for half a century of rupert's land to all energetic projects and influx of population, and allowed sir george simpson to build up for the time being the empire of the buffalo, the beaver, and the fox, instead of developing a home of industry. crises such as this develop character and draw out the powers of men who would otherwise waste their sweetness on the desert air. the shock of meeting of two such great bodies as the hudson's bay company and the north-west company enabled men to show courage, loyalty, honest indignation, decision of character, shrewdness, diplomatic skill, and great endurance. these are the elements of human character. it is ever worth while to examine the motives, features of action, and ends aimed at by men under the trying circumstances of such a conflict. at the risk of some repetition we give sketches of the lives of several of the leading persons concerned. the earl of selkirk. [illustration: lord selkirk.] chief, certainly, of the actors who appeared on this stage was lord selkirk. born to the best traditions of the scottish nobility, thomas douglas belonged to the angus-selkirk family, which represented the douglases of border story, one of whom boasted that no ancestor of his had for ten generations died within chambers. lord daer, as his title then was, had studied at edinburgh university, was an intimate friend of sir walter scott, and though a lowlander, had formed a great attachment for the highlanders and had learned their language. he was, moreover, of most active mind, broad sympathies, and generous impulses. at the age of thirty years, having become earl of selkirk, he sought to take part in assisting the social condition of britain, which was suffering greatly from the napoleonic wars. he took a large colony of highlanders to prince edward island, acquired land in upper canada and also in new york state, and then, solely for the purpose of helping on his emigration project, entered on the gigantic undertaking of gaining control of the hudson's bay company. in all these things he succeeded. we have seen the conflicts into which he was led and the manly way in which he conducted himself. we do not say he made no mistakes. we frankly admit that he went beyond the ordinary powers of a magistrate's commission at fort william. but we believe his aim was good. he was convinced that the nor'-westers had no legal right to the hudson's bay company lands over which they traded. he believed them to be unscrupulous and dangerous, and his course was taken to meet the exigency of the case. it must be remembered his responsibility was a great one. his highland and irish colonists at red river were helpless; he was their only defence; no british law was present at red river to help them. they were regarded as intruders, as enemies of the fur trade, and he felt that loyalty and right compelled him to act as he did. no doubt it seemed to the canadian traders--who considered themselves as the successors of the french who, more than three-quarters of a century before, had established forts at what was called the post of the western sea--a high-handed and even foolhardy thing to bring his colony by way of hudson bay, and to plant them down at the forks on red river, in a remote and probably unsuccessful colony. however, in the main the legal right was with his lordship. the popular feeling in canada toward lord selkirk was far from being a pure one, and a fair-minded person can hardly refrain from saying it was an interested and selfish one. certainly, as we see him, lord selkirk was a high-minded, generous, far-seeing, adventurous, courageous, and honourable man. we may admit that his opinion of the north-west company opponents was a prejudiced and often unjust one. but we linger on the picture of his lordship returning from montreal with his countess, their two young daughters, the one afterward lady isabella hope, and the other lady katherine wigram, with the young boy who grew up to be the last earl of selkirk; we think of him worried by the lawsuits and penalties of which we have spoken, going home to meet the british government somewhat prejudiced against him as having been a personage in what they considered a dangerous _émeute_: we follow him passing over to france, attended by his family, and dying in a foreign land--and we are compelled to say, how often does the world persecute its benefactors and leave its greatest uncrowned. the protestant cemetery at orthes contains the bones of one who, under other circumstances, might have been crowned with laurel. governor miles macdonell. engaged by lord selkirk to lead his first company and superintend the planting of his colony, capt. miles macdonell found himself thrust into a position of danger and responsibility as local governor at red river. he was a man with a considerable experience. of highland origin, he had with his father, john macdonell, called "scotas," from his residence in scotland, settled in the valley of the mohawk river, on the estates of sir william johnson, in new york state. the estates of sir william were a hotbed of loyalism, and here was enlisted by his son, sir john johnson, under the authority of the british government, at the time of the american revolution, the well-known king's royal regiment of new york, familiarly known as the "royal greens." the older macdonell was a captain in this regiment, and miles, as a boy of fifteen, was commissioned as ensign. afterward the young macdonell returned to scotland, where he married, and again came to canada. following a military career, he was engaged by lord selkirk shortly before the war of 1812 to lead his colony to the red river. we have seen how faithfully, both at york factory and the red river, he served his lordship. the chief point in dispute in connection with governor macdonell is whether the embargo against the export of supplies from red river in 1814 was legal or not. if it was not, then on him rests much of the responsibility for the troubles which ensued. the seizure of pemmican, belonging to the north-west company, at the mouth of the souris river, seems to have been high-handed. undoubtedly miles macdonell believed it to be necessary for the support of the settlers in the country. his life was one of constant worry after this event. reprisals began between the parties. these at length ended in miles macdonell being seized by the north-west company agents on june 22nd, 1815, and taken as a prisoner to fort william, and thence to montreal. macdonell lived upon the ottawa till the time of his death in 1828. he was a man of good mind and seemingly honest intentions. his military education and experience probably gave him the habits of regularity and decision which led to the statement made of him by the hon. william mcgillivray, "that he conducted himself like a turkish bashaw." the justification of governor macdonell seems to be that the nor'-westers had determined early in the history of the colony to destroy it, so that the charges made against the governor were merely an advantage taken of disputed points. capt. macdonell's management at york factory was certainly judicious, and there seems but the one debatable point in his administration of red river, and that was the proclamation of january 8th, 1814. duncan cameron. one of the most notable leaders on the nor'-wester side was duncan cameron, who has the distinction of being the last commanding officer of fort gibraltar. like miles macdonell, duncan cameron was the son of a highland u. e. loyalist, who had been settled on the hudson in new york state. he entered the north-west company in 1785 and fourteen years after was in charge of nepigon district, as we have seen. he gained much distinction for his company by his daring and skilful management of the plan to induce the selkirk settlers to leave red river and settle in upper canada. coming from the meeting of the nor'-westers in grand portage, in 1814 cameron took up his abode in fort gibraltar, and according to the story of his opponents did so with much pomp and circumstance. miles macdonell says:--"mr. duncan cameron arrived at red river, sporting a suit of military uniform, gave himself out as captain in his majesty's service, and acting by the king's authority for sir george prevost." every well-informed person looked upon this as a self-created appointment, at most a north-west trick; but it had a very considerable effect upon the lower class of people. in regard to this the writer in his work on "manitoba," london, 1882, took up strong ground against cameron. the calming influence of years, and the contention which has been advanced that there was some ground for cameron claiming the commission in the "voyageur corps" which he formerly held, has led the writer to modify his opinion somewhat as to cameron. cameron succeeded in leading away about three-quarters of the colony. this he was appointed to do and he seems to have done it faithfully. the means by which he appealed to the highland colonists may have been less dignified than might have been desired, yet his warm highland nature attracted his own countrymen in the settlement, and they probably needed little persuasion to escape from their hardships to what was to them the promised land of upper canada. in the following year (1816), as already stated, cameron was in command of fort gibraltar, and it was determined by governor semple to destroy the north-west fort and bring its material down the river to supplement the colony establishment, fort douglas. before this was done the same treatment that was given to governor macdonell by the nor'-westers in arresting him was meted out to cameron. he was seized by colin robertson and carried away to york factory, to be taken as a prisoner to england. this high-handed proceeding was objectionable on several grounds. the imperial parliament had transferred the right of dealing with offences committed in rupert's land to the courts of canada, so that robertson's action was clearly _ultra vires_. moreover, if the hudson's bay company under its charter exercised authority, it is questionable whether that gave the right to send a prisoner to britain for trial, the more that no definite charge was laid against cameron. certainly cameron had reason to complain of great injustice in this arrest. taking him all in all, he was a hot, impulsive highland leader of men, persuasive and adroit, and did not hesitate to adopt the means lying nearest to attain his purpose. the fact that from 1823 to 1828, after he had left the company's service, he represented the county of glengarry in the upper canadian legislature, shows that those who knew him best had a favourable opinion about this last commander of fort gibraltar. fort gibraltar was never rebuilt, its place and almost its very site under the united company being taken by the original fort garry. sir roderick cameron, of new york, who has been connected with the australian trade, was a son of duncan cameron. cuthbert grant. the skirmish of seven oaks brought into view a fact that had hardly made itself known before, viz., that a new race, the metis, or half-breed children of the fur traders and employés by indian women, were becoming a guild or body able to exert its influence and beginning to realize its power. of this rising and somewhat dangerous body a young scottish half-breed, cuthbert grant, had risen to sudden prominence as the leader. his father, of the same name, had been a famous north-west trader, and was looked upon as the special guardian of the upper assiniboine and swan river district. he had died in 1799, but influential as he had been, the son became from circumstances much more so. the north-west company knew that the scottish courage and endurance would stand them in good stead, and his indian blood would give him a great following in the country. educated in montreal, he was fitted to be the leader of his countrymen. his dash and enthusiasm were his leading characteristics. when the war party came down from qu'appelle and portage la prairie, young cuthbert grant was its natural leader. when the fight took place he was well to the front in the _mêlée_, and it is generally argued that his influence was exerted toward saving the wounded and preventing acts of barbarity, such as savage races are prone to when the passions are aroused. on the night of june 19th, when the victory had come to his party, cuthbert grant took possession of fort douglas, and the night was one for revelry exceeding what his highland forbears had ever seen, or equal to any exultation of the red man in his hour of triumph. in after years, when peace had been restored, cuthbert grant settled in the neighbourhood of white horse plains, a region twenty miles west of red river on the assiniboine, and here became an influential man. he was the leader of the hunt against the buffalo, on which every year the adventurous young men went to bring back their winter supply of food. in order that this might be properly managed, to protect life in a dangerous sport and to preserve the buffalo from wanton destruction, strict rules were agreed on and penalties attached to their breach. the officer appointed by the council of assiniboia to carry out these laws was called the "warden of the plains." this office cuthbert grant filled. of the fifteen members of the council of assiniboia, grant was one, and he largely reflected the opinion of the french half-breed population of the red river settlement. he was the hero of the plain hunters, and the native bards never ceased to sing his praises. his case is a remarkable example of the power that native representatives obtain among mixed communities. john pritchard. the name of john pritchard carries us back on the red river to the beginning of the century--to a time even before the coming of the selkirk colony. his descendants to the fourth generation are still found in manitoba and are well known. he was born in 1777 in a small village in shropshire, england, and received his education in the famous grammar school of shrewsbury. early in the century he emigrated to montreal. at that time the ferment among the fur traders was great. the old north-west company of montreal had split into sections, and to the new company, or x y company, young pritchard was attached. we first hear of him at the mouth of the souris river in 1805, and shortly after in charge of one of the forts at that point where the souris river empties into the assiniboine. we have already given the incident of pritchard being lost on the prairie for forty days. pritchard does not seem to have taken kindly to the united north-west company, for at the time of the seven oaks affair we find him as one of the garrison occupying fort douglas, although he represents himself as being a settler on the red river. after the skirmish of seven oaks pritchard sought to escape with the other settlers to the north of lake winnipeg, but was made prisoner by the north-west company's agents and taken to fort william. thence he went east to montreal and gave evidence in connection with the trials arising out of the red river troubles. pritchard was a capable and ready man. his evidence is clear and well expressed. he had much facility in doing business, and had a smooth, diplomatic manner that stood him in good stead in troublous times. pritchard afterwards entered lord selkirk's service and as his agent went over to london. returning to the red river settlement, he married among the people of kildonan, and lived not far from the kildonan church, on the east side of the river. a number of his letters have been printed, which show that he took a lively interest in the affairs of the settlement, especially in its religious concerns. it is not, then, remarkable that among his descendants there should be no less than seven clergymen of the church of england. it is interesting to know that the hudson's bay company voted him about 1833 a gratuity of 25_l._ in consideration of valuable services rendered by him to education, and especially in the establishment of sunday schools and day schools. this man, whose life was a chronicle of the history of the settlement, passed away in 1856 and was buried in st. john's churchyard. pierre falcon, the rhymester. among the wild rout of the nor'-westers at the skirmish of seven oaks was a young french half-breed, whose father was a french canadian engaged in the fur trade, and his mother an indian woman from the missouri country. the young combatant had been born in 1793, at elbow fort, in the swan river district. taken as a child to canada, young pierre lived for a time at laprairie, and at the age of fifteen returned with his father to the red river, and with him engaged in the service of the north-west company. what part falcon took in the affair at seven oaks we are not told, except that he behaved bravely, and saw governor semple killed. pierre falcon was, however, the bard or poet of his people. this characteristic of falcon is quite remarkable, considered in connection with the time and circumstances. that a man who was unable to read or write should have been able to describe the striking events of his time in verse is certainly a notable thing. he never tires singing in different times and metres the valour of the bois brûlés at seven oaks. "voulez-vous écouter chanter une chanson de vérité? le dix-neuf juin, la bande des bois brûlés sont arrivés comme des braves guerriers." then with french gaiety and verve he gives an account of the attack on the orkneymen, as he calls them, and recites the governor's action and his death. falcon finishes up the chanson with a wild hurrah of triumph- "les bois brûlés jetaient des cris de joie." the lively spirit of the rhymester broke out in song upon all the principal events which agitated the people of the settlement. joseph tassé, to whom we are chiefly indebted in this sketch, says of him, "all his compositions are not of the same interest, but they are sung by our voyageurs to the measured stroke of the oar, on the most distant rivers and lakes of the north-west. the echoes of the assiniboine, the mackenzie, and hudson bay will long repeat them." the excitable spirit of the rhymer never left him. at the time of the riel rebellion (1869-70) falcon was still alive, and though between seventy and eighty years of age, he wished to march off with his gun to the fray, declaring that "while the enemy would be occupied in killing him his friends would be able to give hard and well-directed blows to them." for about half a century he lived on the white horse plains, twenty miles or more up the assiniboine from winnipeg, and became an influential man in the neighbourhood. his mercurial disposition seems to have become more settled than in his fiery youth, for though unlettered, he was made a justice of the peace. his verse-making was, of course, of a very simple and unfinished kind. one of his constant fashions was to end it with a declaration that it was made by falcon, the singer of his people. "qui en a fait la chanson? un poète de canton; au bout de la chanson nous vous le nommerons. un jour étant à table, a boire et à chanter, a chanter tout au long la nouvelle chanson. amis, buvons, trinquons, saluons la chanson de pierriche falcon, ce faiseur de chanson." the last line being often varied to "pierre falcon, le bon garçon." chapter xxix. governor simpson unites all interests. both companies in danger--edward ellice, a mediator--george simpson, the man of destiny--old feuds buried--gatherings at norway house--governor simpson's skill--his marvellous energy--reform in trade--morality low--a famous canoe voyage--salutes fired--pompous ceremony at norway house--strains of the bagpipe--across the rocky mountains--fort vancouver visited--great executive ability--the governor knighted--sir george goes around the world--troubles of a book--meets the russians--estimate of sir george. affairs in rupert's land had now reached their worst and had begun to mend, the strong hand of british law had made itself felt, and hostilities had ceased from fort william to far-off qu'appelle and to the farther distant mackenzie river. the feeling of antagonism was, however, stirring in the bosoms of both parties. the death of lord selkirk in france brought the opposing fur traders closer together, and largely through the influence of hon. edward ellice, a prominent nor'-wester, a reconciliation between the hostile companies took place and a union was formed on march 26th, 1821, under the name of the hudson's bay company. the affairs of both companies had been brought to the verge of destruction by the conflicts, and the greatest satisfaction prevailed both in england and canada at the union. the prospect now was that the stability of the english company and the energy of the canadian combination would result in a great development of the fur trade. as is so often the case, the man for the occasion also appeared. this was not an experienced man, not a man long trained in the fur trade, not even a man who had done more than spend the winter in the fur country at lake athabasca. he was simply a young clerk, who had approved himself in the london hudson's bay company office to andrew colville, a relation of the earl of selkirk. he was thus free from the prejudices of either party and young enough to be adaptable in the new state of things. this man was george simpson, a native of ross-shire, in scotland. he was short of stature, but strong, vigorous, and observing. he was noted for an ease and affability of manner that stood him in good stead all through his forty years of experience as chief officer of the hudson's bay company. he became a noted traveller, and made the canoe voyage from montreal to the interior many times. for many years the nor'-westers, as we have seen, held their annual gathering at grand portage on lake superior, and it was to this place that the chief officers had annually resorted. the new element of the english company coming in from hudson bay now made a change necessary. accordingly, norway house on lake winnipeg became the new centre, and for many years the annual gathering of the company leaders in the active trade took place here. the writer has had the privilege of perusing the minutes of some of these gatherings, which were held shortly after governor simpson was appointed. these are valuable as showing the work done by the young governor and his method of dealing with difficulties. [illustration: sir george simpson.] while it has always been said that governor simpson was dictatorial and overbearing, it will be seen that at this stage he was conciliatory and considerate. he acted like the chairman of a representative body of men called together to consult over their affairs, the members having equal rights. on june 23rd, 1823, one of his first meetings was held at norway house. reports were given in detail from the various posts and districts in turn. bow river, at the foot of the rocky mountains, was reported as abandoned; from the upper red river, it was stated that on account of prairie fires the buffalo were few, and that the wild assiniboines had betaken themselves to the saskatchewan to enjoy its plenty. from lower red river came the news that the attempt to prevent the natives trading in furs had been carried rather too far. furs belonging to a petty trader, laronde, had been seized, confiscated, and sent to hudson bay. it was learned that laronde had not been duly aware of the new regulations, and it was ordered that compensation be made to him. this was done, and he and his family were fully satisfied. the catholic mission at pembina had been moved down to the forks, where now st. boniface stands, and the desire was expressed that the traders should withdraw their trade as much as possible from the south side of the united states' boundary line. the reports from the selkirk settlement were of a favourable kind. the sioux, who had come from their land of the dakotas to meet lord selkirk, were not encouraged to make any further visits. the selkirk colony was said to be very prosperous, and it is stated that it was the intention of the new company soon to take over the property belonging to lord selkirk in the colony. some conflicts had arisen in the lac la pluie (rainy lake) district, and these were soothed and settled. reference is made to the fact that grand portage having been found to be on united states' territory, new arrangements had been made for avoiding collision with the americans. reports were even given in of prosperous trade in the far-distant columbia, and steps were taken at various points to reduce the number of posts, the union of the companies having made this possible. in all these proceedings, there may be seen the influence of the diplomatic and shrewd young governor doing away with difficulties and making plans for the extension of a successful trade in the future. it was not surprising that the council invested governor simpson with power to act during the adjournment. sometimes at moose factory, now at york, then at norway house, and again at red river, the energetic governor paid his visits. he was noted for the imperious and impetuous haste with which he drove his voyageurs through the lonely wilds. for years a story was prevalent in the red river country that a stalwart french voyageur, who was a favourite with the governor, was once, in crossing the lake of the woods, so irritated by the governor's unreasonable urging, that he seized his tormentor, who was small in stature, by the shoulders, and dipped him into the lake, giving vent to his feelings in an emphatic french oath. [illustration: fort william, lake superior. _as seen by the writer in 1865._] the governor knew how to attach his people to himself, and he gathered around him in the course of his career of forty years a large number of men most devoted to the interests of the company. his visits to fort garry on the red river were always notable. he was approachable to the humblest, and listened to many a complaint and grievance with apparent sympathy and great patience. he had many of the arts of the courtier along with his indomitable will. at another of his gatherings at norway house with the traders in 1823 we have records of the greatest interest. the canoe had been the favourite craft of the nor'-westers, but he now introduced boats and effected a saving of one-third in wages, and he himself superintended the sending of an expedition of four boats with twenty men by way of nelson river from york factory to far distant athabasca. he was quick to see those who were the most profitable as workmen for the company. on one occasion he gives his estimate as follows: "canadians (i.e., french canadians) preferable to orkneymen. orkneymen less expensive, but slow. less physical strength and spirits. obstinate if brought young into the service. scotch and irish, when numerous, quarrelsome, independent, and mutinous." at this time it was determined to give up the practice of bestowing presents upon the indians. it was found better to pay them liberally for their pelts, making them some advances for clothing. the minutes state at this time that there was little progress in the moral and religious instruction of the indians. the excessive use of spirits, which still continued, was now checked; the quantity given in 1822 and 1823 was reduced one-half and the strength of the spirits lowered. missionaries could not be employed with success, on account of the small number of indians at any one point. the only hope seemed to be to have schools at red river and to remove the children from their parents to these. many difficulties, arising from the objections of the parents, were, however, sure to come in the way. evidences were not wanting of chief factors being somewhat alienated from the governor, but those dissatisfied were promptly invited to the council and their coolness removed. in carrying out discipline among the men some difficulty was experienced, as the long conflicts between the companies had greatly demoralized the employés. one plan suggested was that offenders should be fined and the fines vested in a charitable fund. it was found that this would only do for europeans. "a blow was better for a canadian," and though this was highly reprobated, it was justified by experience. at a meeting at york factory instructions were given to chief factor stuart on lake superior to complete and launch a new vessel much larger than the _discovery_, then afloat. captain bayfield, r.n., the british officer surveying the lakes, wintered at this time with his crew at fort william, and the work of surveying the lakes promised to take him three summers. the following entry, september 5th, 1823, shows the considerate way in which the governor sought the advice of his council:--"governor simpson requested permission to visit england. if granted, will hold himself ready to return to canada in 1825 and proceed by express canoe in time to make arrangements for the season." at the same date, 1823, a step in advance was taken in having a permanent and representative council to regulate the affairs of red river settlement. the entry reads, "captain robert parker pelly, governor of assiniboia, rev. mr. west, rev. mr. jones, mr. logan added to the council. jacob corrigal, chief trader, appointed sheriff, vice andrew stewart, deceased. rev. mr. jones appointed chaplain at a salary of 100_l._ during absence of mr. west. he will officiate at red river." there lies before the writer a work entitled "peace river; a canoe voyage from the hudson bay to the pacific." it was written by archibald macdonald and annotated between forty and fifty years after by malcolm mcleod, of ottawa. it gives a graphic account of the state maintained by governor simpson and his method of appealing to the imagination of the indians and company servants alike. the journey was made from ocean to ocean, the point of departure being york factory, on hudson bay, and the destination fort vancouver, on the columbia river. in addition to macdonald, governor simpson took with him dr. hamlyn as medical adviser, and in two light canoes, provided with nine men each, the party went with extraordinary speed along the waterways which had already been the scenes of many a picturesque and even sanguinary spectacle. fourteen chief officers--factors and traders--and as many more clerks were summoned on july 12th, 1828, to give a send-off to the important party. as the pageant passed up hayes river, loud cheers were given and a salute of seven guns by the garrison. the voyageurs then struck up one of the famous chansons by which they beguiled the lonely waterways, and with their dashing paddles, hastened away to the interior. so well provided an expedition, with its tents for camping, suitable utensils for the camp fire, arms to meet any danger, provisions including wine for the gentlemen, and spirits for the voyageurs, was not long in ascending the watercourses to norway house, where the outlet of lake winnipeg was reached. the arrival at norway house was signalized by much pomp. the residents of the fort were on the qui vive for the important visitor. the union jack, with its magic letters "h. b. c.," floated from the tall flag-staff of norway pine, erected on signal hill. indians from their neighbouring haunts were present in large numbers, and the lordly red men, at their best when "en fête," were accompanied by bevies of their dusky mates, who looked with admiring gaze on the "kitche okema" who was arriving. the party had prepared for the occasion. they had, before reaching the fort, landed and put themselves in proper trim and paid as much attention to their toilets as circumstances would permit. fully ready, they resumed their journey, and with flashing paddles speeded through the deep rocky gorge, quickly turned the point, and from the gaudily painted canoe of the governor with high prow, where sat the french canadian guide, who for the time commanded, there pealed forth the strains of the bagpipes, while from the second canoe was heard the sound of the chief factor's bugle. as the canoes came near the shore, the soft and lively notes fell on the ear of "la claire fontaine" from the lively voyageurs. altogether, it was a scene very impressive to the quiet residents of the post. the time of the governor was very fully occupied at each stopping-place. a personal examination and inspection of each post, of its officers and employés, buildings, books, trade, and prospects was made with "greatest thoroughness." fond as the governor was of pomp, when the pageant was passed, then he was a man of iron will and keenest observation. his correspondence at each resting-place was great, and he was said to be able to do the work of three men, though twelve years after the date of the present journey he became affected with partial blindness. fort chipewyan had always maintained its pre-eminence as an important depôt of the fur trade. the travelling emperor of the fur traders was captured by its picturesque position as well as by its historic memories. here he found william mcgillivray, with whose name the fur traders conjured, and under invitation from the governor the former nor'-wester and his family joined the party in crossing the rockies. the waving of flags, firing of guns, shouting of the indians and employés, and the sound of singing and bagpipe made the arrival and departure as notable as it had been at norway house. a little more than a month after they had left york factory the indomitable travellers entered peace river, in order to cross the rocky mountains. fort vermilion, fort dunvegan, st. john, all had their objects of interest for the party, but one of the chief was that it was a scarce year, and at dunvegan, as well as at fort mcleod across the mountains, there was not enough of food at hand to supply the visitors. cases of dispute were settled by the governor, who presided with the air of a chief justice. caution and advice were given in the most impressive fashion, after the manner of a father confessor, to the indians, fault being found with their revelries and the scenes of violence which naturally followed from these. from mcleod to fort st. james the journey was made by land. thus the crest of the rocky mountains was crossed, the voyageurs packing on their shoulders the impedimenta, and horses being provided for the gentlemen of the party. this was the difficult portage which so often tried the traders. fort st. james, it will be remembered, was at lake stuart, where fraser started on his notable journey down the fraser river. it was the chief place and emporium of new caledonia. the entry is thus described: "unfurling the british ensign, it was given to the guide, who marched first. after him came the band, consisting of buglers and bagpipers. next came the governor, mounted, and behind him hamlyn and macdonald also on horses. twenty men loaded like beasts of burden, formed the line; after them a loaded horse; and finally, mcgillivray with his wife and family brought up the rear." thus arranged, the imposing body was put in motion. passing over a gentle elevation, they came in full view of the fort, when the bugle sounded, a gun was fired, and the bagpipes struck up the famous march of the clans, "si coma leum codagh na sha" ("if you will it, war"). trader douglas, who was in charge of the fort, replied with small ordnance and guns, after which he advanced and received the distinguished visitors in front of the fort. passing on, by september 24th the party came to fort alexandria, four days down the fraser, and reached kamloops, the junction of the north and south thompson. at every point of importance, the governor took occasion to assemble the natives and employés, and gave them good advice, "exhorting them to honesty, frugality, temperance," finishing his prelections with a gift of tobacco or some commodity appreciated by them. running rapids, exposed to continual danger, but fortunate in their many escapes, they reached fort langley, near the mouth of the fraser river, two days less than three months from the time of their starting from york factory. from this point, governor simpson made his way to fort vancouver on the columbia, then the chief post on the pacific coast, and in the following year returned over the mountains, satisfied that he had gained much knowledge and that he had impressed himself on trader, _engagé_, and indian chief alike. with marvellous energy, the governor-in-chief, as he was called, covered the vast territory committed to his care. establishments in unnecessary and unremunerative places were cut down or closed. governor simpson, while in some respects fond of the "show and circumstance" which an old and honourable company could afford, was nevertheless a keen business man, and never forgot that he was the head of a company whose object was trade. it cannot be denied that the personal element entered largely into his administration. he had his favourites among the traders, he was not above petty revenges upon those who thwarted his plans, and his decisions were sometimes harsh and tyrannical, but his long experience, extending over forty years, was marked on the whole by most successful administration and by a restoration of the prestige of the company, so nearly destroyed at the time of the union. in the year 1839, when the colonial office was engaged in settling up the canadian rebellion which a blundering colonial system had brought upon both lower and upper canada, the british government sought to strengthen itself among those who had loyally stood by british influence. governor simpson and the whole staff of the hudson's bay company had been intensely loyal, and it was most natural and right that the young queen victoria, who had lately assumed the reins of power, should dispense such a favour as that of knighthood on the doughty leader of the fur traders. sir george simpson worthily bore the honours bestowed upon him by his sovereign, and in 1841 undertook a voyage round the world, crossing, as he did so, rupert's land and the territories in his rapid march. two portly volumes containing an itinerary of the voyage, filling nine hundred pages, appeared some five years after this journey was completed. this work is given in the first person as a recital by the governor of what he saw and passed through. internal evidence, however, as well as local tradition on the red river, shows another hand to have been concerned in giving it a literary form. it is reported that the moulding agent in style and arrangement was judge thom, the industrious and strong-minded recorder of the red river settlement. the work is dedicated to the directors of the hudson's bay company. these were nine in number, and their names are nearly all well known in connection with the trade of this period. sir john henry pelly, long famous for his leadership; andrew colville, deputy-governor, who, by family connection with lord selkirk, long held an important place; benjamin harrison; john halkett, another kinsman of lord selkirk; h. h. berens; a. chapman, m.p.; edward ellice, m.p., a chief agent in the union and a most famous trader; the earl of selkirk, the son of the founder; and r. weynton. the names of almost all these traders will be found commemorated in forts and trading-posts throughout rupert's land. leaving london, march 3rd, 1841, the governor called at halifax, but disembarked at boston, went by land to montreal, and navigation being open on may 4th on the st. lawrence, he and his party started and soon reached ste. anne, on montreal island. the evidence of the humour of sir george's editor, who knew montreal well, is seen in his referring to moore's "canadian boat song," in saying, "at ste. anne's rapid, on the ottawa, we neither sang our evening hymn nor bribed the lady patroness with shirts, caps, &c., for a propitious journey; but proceeded." following the old canoe route, georgian bay and lake superior were soon passed over, though on the latter lake the expedition was delayed about a week by the ice, and here too sir george met the sad news of the unfortunate death of his kinsman, thomas simpson, of whom we shall speak more fully in connection with arctic exploration. taking the route from fort william by kaministiquia, the travellers hastened over the course by way of rainy lake and river and lake of the woods. in referring to rainy river the somewhat inflated style of the editor makes sir george speak without the caution which every fur trader was directed to cultivate in revealing the resources of the fur country. a decade afterwards mr. roebuck, before the committee of the house of commons, "heckled" sir george over this fulsome passage. the passage is: "from the very brink of the river (rainy river) there rises a gentle slope of greenwood, crowned in many places with a plentiful growth of birch, poplar, beech, elm, and oak. is it too much for the eye of philanthropy to discern, through the vista of futurity, this noble stream, connecting, as it does, the fertile shores of two spacious lakes, with crowded steamboats on its bosom and populous towns on its borders?" following the usual route by river winnipeg, lake winnipeg, and red river, fort garry was soon reached, and here the governor somewhat changed his plans. he determined to cross the prairies by light conveyances, and accordingly on july 3rd, at five in the morning, with his fellow-travellers, with only six men, three horses, and one light cart, the emperor of the plains left fort garry under a salute and with the shouting of the spectators, as he started on his journey to skirt the winding assiniboine river. a thousand miles over the prairie in july is one of the most cheery and delightsome journeys that can be made. the prairie flowers abound, their colours have not yet taken on the full blaze of yellow to be seen a month later, and the mosquitoes have largely passed away on the prairies. the weather, though somewhat warm, is very rarely oppressive on the plains, where a breeze may always be felt. this long journey the party made with most reckless speed--doing it in three weeks, and arriving at edmonton house, to be received by the firing of guns and the presence of nine native chiefs of the blackfeet, piegans, sarcees, and bloods, dressed in their grandest clothes and decorated with scalp locks. "they implored me," says the governor, "to grant their horses might always be swift, that the buffalo might instantly abound, and that their wives might live long and look young." four days sufficed at edmonton on the north saskatchewan to provide the travellers with forty-five fresh horses. they speedily passed up the saskatchewan river, meeting bands of hostile sarcees, using supplies of pemmican, and soon catching their first view of the white peaks of the rocky mountains. deep muskegs and dense jungles were often encountered, but all were overcome by the skill and energy of the expert fur trader row and their guide. through clouds of mosquitoes they advanced until the sublime mountain scenery was beheld whenever it was not obscured with the smoke arising from the fires through this region, which was suffering from a very dry season. at length fort colville, on the columbia river, was gained after nearly one thousand miles from edmonton; and this journey, much of it mountain travelling, had averaged forty miles a day. the party from fort garry had been travelling constantly for six weeks and five days, and they had averaged eleven and a half hours a day in the saddle. the weather had been charming, with a steady cloudless sky, the winds were light, the nights cool, and the only thing to be lamented was the appearance of the whole party, who, with tattered garments and crownless hats, entered the fort. embarking below the chaudière falls of the columbia, the company took boats, worked by six oars each, and the water being high they were able to make one hundred, and even more miles a day, in due course reaching fort vancouver. at fort vancouver governor simpson met trader douglas--afterward sir james douglas. he accompanied the party, which now took horses and crossed country by a four days' journey to fort nisqually. here on the shore of puget sound lay the ship _beaver_, and embarking on her the party went on their journey to sitka, the chief place in alaska, whence the governor exchanged dignified courtesies with the russian governor etholin, and enjoyed the hospitality of his "pretty and lady-like" wife. in addition, governor simpson examined into the company's operations (the hudson's bay company had obtained exclusive licence of this sleepy alaska for twenty years longer), and found the trade to be 10,000 fur seals, 1000 sea otters, 12,000 beaver, 2500 land otters,----foxes and martins, 20,000 sea-horse teeth. the return journey was made, the _beaver_ calling, as she came down the coast, at forts stikine, simpson, and mcloughlin. in due course fort vancouver was reached again. sir george's journey to san francisco, thence to sandwich islands, again direct to alaska, and then westward to siberia, and over the long journey through siberia on to st. petersburg, we have no special need to describe in connection with our subject. the great traveller reached britain, having journeyed round the globe in the manner we have seen, in nineteen months and twenty-six days. enough has been shown of sir george's career, his administration, method of travel, and management, to bring before us the character of the man. at times he was accompanied on his voyages to more accessible points by lady simpson, and her name is seen in the post of fort frances on rainy river and in lake frances on the upper waters of the liard river, discovered and named by chief factor robert campbell. sir george lived at lachine, near montreal, where so many retired hudson's bay company men have spent the sunset of their days. he took an interest in business projects in montreal, held stock at one time in the allan line of steamships, and was regarded as a leader in business and affairs in montreal. he passed away in 1860. sir e. w. watkin, in his work, "recollections of canada and the states," gives a letter from governor dallas, who succeeded sir george, in which reference is made to "the late sir george simpson, who for a number of years past lived at his ease at lachine, and attended more apparently to his own affairs than to those of the company." whether this is a true statement, or simply the biassed view of dallas, who was rather rash and inconsiderate, it is hard for us to decide. governor simpson lifted the fur trade out of the depth into which it had fallen, harmonised the hostile elements of the two companies, reduced order out of chaos in the interior, helped, as we shall see, various expeditions for the exploration of rupert's land, and though, as tradition goes and as his journey around the world shows, he never escaped from the witchery of a pretty face, yet the business concerns of the company were certainly such as to gain the approbation of the financial world. chapter xxx. the life of the traders. lonely trading posts--skilful letter writers--queer old peter fidler--famous library--a remarkable will--a stubborn highlander--life at red river--badly-treated pangman--founding trading houses--beating up recruits--priest provencher--a fur-trading mimic--life far north--"ruled with a rod of iron"--seeking a fur country--life in the canoe--a trusted trader--sheaves of letters--a find in edinburgh--faithful correspondents--the bishop's cask of wine--red river, a "land of canaan"--governor simpson's letters--the gigantic archdeacon writes--"macargrave's" promotion--kindly sieveright--traders and their books. it was an empire that governor simpson established in the solitudes of rupert's land. the chaos which had resulted from the disastrous conflict of the companies was by this napoleon of the fur trade reduced to order. men who had been in arms against one another--macdonell against macdonell, mcleod against mcleod--learned to work together and gathered around the same council board. the trade was put upon a paying basis, the indians were encouraged, and under a peaceful rule the better life of the traders began to grow up. it is true this social life was in many respects unique. the trading posts were often hundreds of miles apart, being scattered over the area from labrador to new caledonia. still, during the summer, brigades of traders carried communications from post to post, and once or twice in winter the swift-speeding dog-trains hastened for hundreds of miles with letters and despatches over the icy wastes. there grew up during the well-nigh forty years of george simpson's governorship a comradeship of a very strong and influential kind. leading posts like york factory on hudson bay, fort garry in the red river settlement, fort simpson on the mackenzie river, and fort victoria on the pacific coast, were not only business centres, but kept alive a hudson's bay company sentiment which those who have not met it can hardly understand. letters were written according to the good old style. not mere telegraphic summaries and business orders as at the present day, but real news-letters--necessary and all the more valuable because there were no newspapers in the land. the historian of to-day finds himself led back to a very remarkable and interesting social life as he reads the collection of traders' letters and hears the tales of retired factors and officers. specimens and condensed statements from these materials may help us to picture the life of the period. queer old peter fidler. traditions have come down from this period of men who were far from being commonplace in their lives and habits. among the most peculiar and interesting of these was an english trader, peter fidler, who for forty years played his part among the trying events preceding governor simpson's time, and closed his career in the year after the union of the companies. the quaint old trader, peter fidler, is said to have belonged to the town of bolsover, in the county of derby, england, and was born august 16th, 1769. from his own statement we know that he kept a diary in the service of the company beginning in 1791, from which it is inferred that he arrived in rupert's land about that time and was then engaged in the fur trade. eight years afterwards he was at green lake, in the saskatchewan district, and about the same time in isle à la crosse. in this region he came into active competition with the north-west company traders, and became a most strenuous upholder of the claims of the hudson's bay company. promoted on account of his administrative ability, he is found in the early years of the new century at cumberland house, the oldest post of the company in the interior. his length of service at the time of the establishment of the selkirk colony being above twenty years, he was entrusted with the conduct of one of the parties of settlers from hudson bay to red river. [illustration: red river note.] in his will, a copy of which lies before the writer, it is made quite evident that fidler was a man of education, and he left his collection of five hundred books to be the nucleus of a library which was afterwards absorbed into the red river library, and of which volumes are to be seen in winnipeg to this day. but fidler was very much more than a mere fur trader. he is called in his will "surveyor" and trader for the honourable hudson's bay company. he was stated to have made the boundary survey of the district of assiniboia, the limits of which have been already referred to in the chapter on lord selkirk. he also surveyed the lots for the selkirk settlers, in what was at that time the parish of kildonan. the plan of the selkirk settlement made by him may be found in amos's trials and in the blue book of 1819, and this proved to be of great value in the troublesome lawsuits arising out of the disputes between the fur companies. the plan itself states that the lots were established in 1814; and we find them to be thirty-six in number. about the same time fidler was placed in charge of the red river district, and it is said that the traders and clerks found him somewhat arbitrary and headstrong. as the troubles were coming on, and governor semple had taken command of the red river company's fort and colony, fidler was placed in charge of brandon house, then a considerable hudson's bay company fort. he gives an account of the hostilities between the companies there and of the seizure of arms. he continues actively engaged in the company's service, and from his will being made at norway house, this would seem to have been his headquarters, although in the official statement of the administration of his effects he is stated to be "late of york factory." mr. justice archer martin, in his useful book, "hudson's bay company's land tenure," gives us an interesting letter of alexander mclean to peter fidler, dated 1821. this is the time of the union of the hudson's bay company and the north-west company. in the letter mention is made of the departure for new york of (mr. nicholas) garry, a gentleman of the honourable committee, and of mr. simon mcgillivray, one of the north-west company. we have spoken elsewhere of mr. garry's visit, and a few years afterward fort garry was named after this officer. the chief interest to us, however, centres in fidler's eccentric will. we give a synopsis of it:-(1) he requests that he may be buried at the colony of red river should he die in that vicinity. (2) he directs that his journals, covering twenty-five or thirty years, also four or five vellum bound books, being a fair copy of the narrative of his journeys, as well as astronomical and meteorological and thermometrical observations, also his manuscript maps, be given to the committee of the honourable hudson's bay company. (3) the books already mentioned making up his library, his printed maps, two sets of twelve-inch globes, a large achromatic telescope, wilson's microscope, and a brass sextant, a barometer, and all his thermometers were to be taken by the governor of the red river colony and kept in government hands for the general good of the selkirk colonists. (4) cattle, swine, and poultry, which he had purchased for one hundred pounds from john wills, of the north-west company, the builder of fort gibraltar, were to be left for the sole use of the colony, and if any of his children were to ask for a pair of the aforesaid animals or fowls their request was to be granted. (5) to his indian wife, mary fidler, he bequeathed fifteen pounds a year for life to be paid to her in goods from the hudson's bay company store, to be charged against his interest account in the hands of the company. (6) the will required further that of all the rest of the money belonging to him, in the hands of the hudson's bay company or the bank of england, as well as the legacy left him by his uncle jasper fidler and other moneys due him, the interest be divided among his children according to their needs. (7) after the interest of fidler's money had been divided among his children till the youngest child peter should come of age, the testator makes the following remarkable disposal of the residue: "all my money in the funds and other personal property after the youngest child has attained twenty-one years of age, to be placed in the public funds, and the interest annually due to be added to the capital and continue so until august 16th, 1969 (i being born on that day two hundred years before), when the whole amount of the principal and interest so accumulated i will and desire to be then placed at the disposal of the next male child heir in direct descent from my son peter fidler" or to the next-of-kin. he leaves his "copyhold land and new house situated in the town of bolsover, in the county of derby," after the death of mary fidler, the mother of the testator, to be given to his youngest son, peter fidler. this will was dated on august 16th, 1821, and fidler died in the following year. the executors nominated were the governor of the hudson's bay company, the governor of the selkirk settlement, and the secretary of the hudson's bay company. some time after the death of this peculiar man, john henry pelly, governor-in-chief of the hudson's bay company, donald mckenzie, governor of the selkirk settlement, and william smith, secretary of the hudson's bay company, renounced the probate and execution of the will, and in october, 1827, "thomas fidler," his natural and lawful son, was appointed by the court to administer the will. a considerable amount of interest in this will has been shown by the descendants of peter fidler, a number of whom still live in the province of manitoba, on the banks of the red and assiniboine rivers. lawyers have from time to time been appointed to seek out the residue, which, under the will, ought to be in process of accumulation till 1969, but no trace of it can be found in hudson's bay company or bank of england accounts, though diligent search has been made. stubborn john mcleod. john mcleod has already figured in our story. coming out with lord selkirk's first party from the island of lewis, as one of the "twelve or thirteen young gentleman clerks," he, as we have seen, gave a good account of himself in the "imminent and deadly breach," when he defended the hudson's bay company encampment at the forks against the fierce nor'-westers. his journal account of that struggle we found to be well told, even exciting. it further gives a picture of the fur trader's life, as seen with british eyes and by one of hudson's bay company sympathies. he met at the forks, immediately on his arrival, three chiefs of the nor'-westers. one of these was john wills, who, as an old x y trader, had joined the nor'-westers and shortly after built fort gibraltar. a second of the trio was benjamin frobisher, of the celebrated montreal firm of that name, who perished miserably; and the last was alexander macdonell, who was commonly known as "yellow head," and afterward became the "grasshopper governor." mcleod vividly describes the scene on his arrival, when the hudson's bay company, as represented by trader william hillier, formally transferred to miles macdonell, lord selkirk's agent, the grant of land and the privileges pertaining thereto. the ceremony was performed in the presence of the settlers and other spectators. mcleod quaintly relates that the three bourgeois mentioned were present on his invitation, but wills would not allow his men to witness the transaction, which consisted of reading over the concession and handing it to macdonell. hugh henney, the local officer in charge of the hudson's bay company affairs, then read over the concession in french for the benefit of the voyageurs and free traders. mcleod relates a misadventure of irascible peter fidler in dealing with a trader, pangman, who afterwards figured in red river affairs. after henney had taken part in the formal cession, he departed, leaving mcleod and pangman in charge of the hudson's bay company interests at the forks. mcleod states that prior to this time (1813), the hudson's bay company "_had no house at this place_," thus disposing of a local tradition that there was a hudson bay trading post at the forks before lord selkirk's time. mcleod, however, proceeded immediately to build "a good snug house." this was ready before the return of the fall craft (trade), and it was this house that mcleod so valiantly defended in the following year. during the summer mcleod found pangman very useful in meeting the opposition of the north-west company traders. peter pangman was a german who had come from the united states, and was hence called "bostonnais pangman," the title bostonnais being used in the fur-trading country for an american. fidler, who had charge of the district for the hudson's bay company, refused to give the equipment promised by henney to pangman. mcleod speaks of the supreme blunder of thus losing, for the sake of a few pounds, the service of so capable a man as pangman. pangman left the hudson's bay company service, joined the nor'-westers, and was ever after one of the most bitter opponents of the older company. after many a hostile blow dealt to his opponents, pangman retired to canada, where he bought the seigniory of lachenaie, and his son was an influential public man in lower canada, hon. john pangman. events of interest rapidly followed one another at the time of the troubles. after the fierce onset at the forks had been met by mcleod, he was honoured by being sent 500 miles south-westward by his senior officer, colin robertson, with horses, carts, and goods, to trade with the indians on the plains. this daring journey he accomplished with only three men--"an orkneyman and two irishmen." in early winter he had returned to pembina, where he was to meet the newly-appointed governor, robert semple. mcleod states that semple was appointed under the resolution of the board of directors in london on may 19th, 1811, first governor of assiniboia. from this we are led to think that miles macdonell was lord selkirk's agent only, and was governor by courtesy, though this was not the case. the unsettled state of the country along the boundary line is shown in a frightful massacre spoken of by mcleod. on a journey down the red river, mcleod had spent a night near christmas time in a camp of the saulteaux indians. he had taken part in their festivities and passed the night in their tents. he was horrified to hear a few days after at pembina that a band of sioux had, on the night of the feast, fallen upon the camp of saulteaux, which was composed of thirty-six warriors, and that all but three of those making up the camp had been brutally killed in a night attack. on his return to his post mcleod passed the scene of the terrible massacre, and he says he saw "the thirty-three slain bodies scalped, the knives and arrows and all that had touched their flesh being left there." mcleod was noted for his energy in building posts. he erected an establishment on turtle river; and in the year after built a trading house beyond lake winnipeg, at the place where oxford house afterward stood. mcleod, being possessed of courage and energy, was sent west to saskatchewan, where, having wintered in the district with traders bird and pruden, and faced many dangers and hardships, he returned to red river and was among those arrested by the nor'-westers. he was sent to montreal, where, after some delay, the charge against him was summarily dismissed. he was, while there, summoned as a witness in the case against reinhart in quebec. in montreal mcleod was rejoiced to meet lady selkirk, the wife of his patron, from whom he received tokens of confidence and respect. the trader had a hand in the important movement by which lord selkirk provided for his french and german dependents on the red river, who belonged to the roman catholic faith, the ordinances of religion. as we shall see, lord selkirk secured, according to his promise, the two priests provencher and dumoulin, and with them sent out a considerable number of french canadians to red river. mcleod's account of his part in the matter is as follows:--"on my way between montreal and quebec, i took occasion, with the help of the good roman catholic priests, dumoulin of three rivers, and provencher of montreal, to beat up recruits for the hudson's bay company service and the colony among the french canadians. on the opening of navigation about may 1st, i started, in charge with a brigade of seven large canoes, and with about forty canadians, some with their families, headed by my two good friends the priests--the first missionaries in the north since the time of the french before the conquest. without any loss or difficulty, i conducted the whole through to norway house, whence in due course they were taken in boats and schooner to red river. at this place we had a navy on the lake, but lately under the command of lieutenant holt, one of the victims of 1816. holt had been of the swedish navy." at norway house mcleod's well-known ability and trustworthiness led to his appointment to the far west, "and from this time forth his field was northward to the arctic." he had the distinguished honour of establishing a permanent highway, by a line of suitable forts and trade establishments to the peace river region. while in charge of his post he had the pleasure of entertaining franklin (the noble sir john) on his first arctic land expedition, and afterwards at norway house saw the same distinguished traveller on his second journey to the interior of the north land. after the union of the companies, mcleod, now raised to the position of chief trader, was the first officer of the old hudson's bay company to be sent across the rocky mountains to take charge of the district in new caledonia. among the restless and vindictive natives of that region he continued for many years with a good measure of success, and ended up a career of thirty-seven years as a successful trader and thorough defender of the name and fame of the hudson's bay company, by retiring to spend the remainder of his days, as so many of the traders did, upon the ottawa river. willard ferdinand wentzel's dislikes and the new régime. wentzel was a norwegian who had entered the north-west company in 1799, and spent most of his time in athabasca and mackenzie river districts, where he passed the hard life of a "winterer" in the northern department. he was intelligent, but a mimic--and this troublesome cleverness prevented his promotion in the company. he co-operated with franklin the explorer in his journey to the arctic ocean. wentzel was a musician--according to franklin "an excellent musician." this talent of his brightened the long and dreary hours of life and contributed to keep all cheerful around him. a collection of the voyageur songs made by him is in existence, but they are somewhat gross. wentzel married a montagnais indian woman, by whom he had two children. one of them lived on the red river and built the st. norbert roman catholic church in 1855. from wentzel's letters we quote extracts showing the state of feeling at the time of the union of the fur companies in 1821 and for a few years afterwards. _march 26th, 1821._--"in athabasca, affairs seem to revive; the natives are beginning to be subjected by the rivalship in trade that has been carried on so long, and are heartily desirous of seeing themselves once more in peaceable times, which makes the proverb true that says, 'too much of a good thing is good for nothing.' besides, the hudson's bay company have apparently realized the extravagance of their measures; last autumn they came into the department with fifteen canoes only, containing each about fifteen pieces. mr. simpson (afterward sir george), a gentleman from england last spring, superintends their business. his being a stranger, and reputedly a gentlemanly man, will not create much alarm, nor do i presume him formidable as an indian trader. indeed, mr. leith, who manages the concerns of the north-west company in athabasca, has been so liberally supplied with men and goods that it will be almost wonderful if the opposition can make good a subsistence during the winter. fort chipewyan alone has an equipment of no less than seventy men, enough to crush their rivals." (editor's note.--another year saw simpson governor of the united company.) _april 10th, 1823._--"necessity rather than persuasion, however, influenced me to remain; my means for future support are too slender for me to give up my employment, but the late revolution in the affairs of the country (the coalition of the hudson's bay company with the north-west company in 1821) now obliges me to leave it the ensuing year, as the advantages and prospects are too discouraging to hold forth a probability of clearing one penny for future support. salaries do not exceed one hundred pounds sterling, out of which clerks must purchase every necessity, even tobacco, and the prices of goods at the bay are at the rate of one hundred and fifty or three hundred per cent. on prime cost, therefore i shall take this opportunity of humbly requesting your advice how to settle my little earnings, which do not much exceed five hundred pounds, to the best advantage." _march 1st, 1824._--"respecting the concerns of the north-west (country), little occurs that can be interesting to canada. furs have lost a great deal of their former value in europe, and many of the chief factors and traders would willingly compound for their shares with the company for one thousand five hundred pounds, in order to retire from a country which has become disgusting and irksome to all classes. still, the returns are not altogether unprofitable; but debts, disappointments, and age seem to oppress everyone alike. _engagés'_ prices are now reduced to twenty-five pounds annually to a boute (foreman), and twenty pounds to middlemen, without equipment or any perquisites whatever. in fact, no class enjoys the gratuity of an equipment. besides, the committee at home insist upon being paid for families residing in posts and belonging to partners, clerks, or men, at the rate of two shillings for every woman and child over fourteen years of age, one shilling for every child under that age. this is complained of as a grievance by all parties, and must eventually become very hard on some who have large families to support. in short, the north-west is now beginning to be ruled with a rod of iron." (evidently wentzel is not an admirer of the new régime.) finlay's search for fur. the name of finlay was a famous one among the traders. as we have seen, james finlay was one of the first to leave montreal, and penetrate among the tribes of indians, in search of fur, to the far distant saskatchewan. his son james was a trader, and served in the firm of gregory, mcleod & co. as was not uncommon, these traders had children by the indian women, having a "country marriage," as it was called. as the result of these there was connected with the finlay family a half-breed named jaceo, or jacko finlay, who took his part in exploration in the rocky mountains in company with david thompson. besides these, there was a well-known trader, john finlay, who is often difficult to separate from the other traders of the name. the writer has lying before him a manuscript, never hitherto published, entitled "a voyage of discovery from the rocky mountain portage in peace river, to the sources of finlay's branch, and north-westward: summer, 1824." this is certified by chief factor mcdougall, to-day of prince albert, to be the journal of john finlay. as it illustrates the methods by which the fur country was opened, we give a few extracts. _may 13th._--"rainy weather. in the evening, left rocky mountain portage establishment. crossed over to the portage and encamped for the night.... the expedition people are as follows: six effective canoe men, joseph le guard, antoine perreault (bowman), joseph cunnayer, j. b. tourangeau, j. m. bouche, and louis olsen (middleman), m. mcdonald, manson, and myself, besides le prise, and wife, in all ten persons. le prise is in the double capacity of hunter and interpreter." finlay speaks of "the existing troubles in this quarter caused by the murderers of our people at st. john's, roving about free and, it is said, menacing all; but as this is an exploratory voyage, and the principal motive to ascertain the existence of beaver in the country we are bound for, we shall do our best to accomplish the intentions of the voyage." _17th._--"encamped at the hill at the little lake on the top of the hills at the west side of the portage. mr. m. shot a large fowl of the grouse kind, larger than the black heath cock in scotland. found some dried salmon in exchange with mr. stunt for pemmican--a meal for his men, and this year he seems independent of the peace river, at least as far as dunvegan: they have nothing in provisions at the portage." finlay is very much in the habit of describing the rock formations seen on his voyage. his descriptions are not very valuable, for he says, "i am not qualified to give a scientific description of the different species and genera of the different substances composing the strata of the rocky mountains." _22nd may._--"in this valley, about four miles before us right south, finlay's branch comes in on the right: a mile and a half below finlay's branch made a portage of five hundred paces. at a rapid here we found the canny _cache_ (a hiding place for valuables); said to be some beaver in it of last year's hunt." _23rd._--"met a band of indians, who told us they were going up the small river--(evidently this had been named after the elder finlay, as this instances its familiarity)--on the left, to pass the summer, and a little before another river on the right; that there were some beavers in it, but not so many as the one they were to pass the summer in." _24th._--"to-day some tracks of the reindeer, mountain sheep and goats, but the old slave (hunter) has killed nothing but a fowl or beaver now and then." _25th._--"i have never seen in any part of the country such luxuriance of wood as hereabout, the valley to near the tops of the mountains on both sides covered with thick, strong, dark-green branching pines. we see a good many beaver and some fowl, game (bustards), and duck, but kill few." finlay declares to the slave, the hunter of his party, his intention to go up the large branch of the finlay. "this is a disappointment to him as well as to the people, who have indulged their imaginations on this route falling on the liard river, teeming in beaver and large animals." _7th june._--"this afternoon we have seen a great deal of beaver work, and killed some bustards and canadian grey geese; we have seen no swans, and the ducks, with few exceptions, are shabby." finlay gives a statement of his journey made so far, thus:- rocky mountain portage to entrance of finlay's branch 6 days. to deserter's portage 4 ,, to large branch 5 ,, to point du mouton 4 ,, to end of portage 4 ,, to fishing lakes 3 ,, - 26 days. -finlay gives his views as to a "beaver country." "in some of the large rivers coming into finlay's branch, where soft ground with wood, eligible for beaver, had been accumulated, beaver were to be found. otherwise, except such places as here and here, the whole country is one continued mountain valley of rock and stone, and can by no means come under the denomination of a beaver country, in the common acceptation of the word, on the waters of the hudson's bay and mackenzie river." _june 15th._--"very fine warm weather; huge masses of snow falling down from the mountains with a noise resembling thunder. those snow _déboules_ seem irresistible, shivering the trees to atoms, carrying all clean before them, forming ruins as if the tower of babel or the pyramids of egypt had been thrown down from their foundations." _june 29th._--"made a good fishery to-day: 7 trout, 12 carp, 1 small white fish, like those at mcleod's lake in western caledonia." finlay closes his journal of seventy-five closely-written quarto pages at the lake high in the mountains, where he saw a river rising. this lake we see from the map to be the source of the liard river. a trusted trader and his friends. not very long ago it was the good fortune of the writer to be in edinburgh. he was talking to his friend, a well-known writer to the signet. the conversation turned on the old fur-trading days, and in a short time author and lawyer found themselves four stories high, in a garret, examining boxes, packages, and effects of james hargrave and his son joseph, who as fur traders, father and son, had occupied posts in the hudson's bay company service extending from 1820 to 1892. several cases were filled with copies of a book entitled "red river," published by the younger hargrave in 1871. other boxes enclosed the library of father and son. two canvas bags contained many pounds of new farthings, which, by some strange mischance, had found their way to the hudson bay and had been returned as useless. miscellaneous articles of no value to the searchers lay about, but in one large valise were many bundles of letters. these were done up in the most careful manner. the packages were carefully tied with red tape, and each, securely sealed with three black ominous seals, emphasized the effect of the directions written on them, in some cases "to be opened only by my son," in others, "to be opened only by my children." after some delay the permission of the heirs was obtained, and the packages were opened and examined. they were all letters written between 1821 and 1859 by fur-trading friends to james hargrave, who had carefully preserved them, folded, docketed, and arranged them, and who had, in the last years of his life at "burnside house," his residence at brockville, canada, kept the large correspondence as the "apple of his eye." the vast majority of the letters, numbering many hundreds in all, had been addressed to york factory. for most of his life hargrave had been in charge of york factory, on hudson bay. york factory was during the greater part of this fur trader's life, as it had been for more than a century before his time, the port of entry to which goods brought by ship from britain had been borne to the interior of rupert's land, and also the port from which the ships had carried their precious cargoes of furs to the mother country. james hargrave had thus become the trusted correspondent of governor and merchant, of bishop and clergyman, of medical man and educationist. he was emphatically a middleman, a sort of janus, looking with one face to the london merchants and with the other to the dwellers in rupert's land. but hargrave was also a letter-writer, and a receiver of many news letters and friendly letters, a man who enjoyed conversation, and when this could not be had with his friends _tête-à-tête_, his social chats were carried on by means of letters, many months and even years apart. by degrees he rose in the service. from the first a friend of the emperor-governor, he has the good wishes of his friends expressed for his first rise to the post of chief trader, which he gained in 1833, and by-and-by came his next well-deserved promotion to be chief factor in 1844. along with all these letters was a book handsomely bound for keeping accounts and private memoranda. this book shows james hargrave to have been a most methodical and painstaking man. in it is contained a list of all the promotions to official positions of commissioned officers for nearly forty years, from the atlantic to the pacific. here also is an account of his investments, and the satisfactory statement that, during his nearly forty years of service, his shares of the profits, investments, and re-investments of what he did not use, allowed him to retire from active service with, as the result of his labour, about 8,700_l._ the writer has sought to glean from the hundreds of letters in the edinburgh garret what is interesting in the life of rupert's land, so far as is shown in the writing and acting of this old fur trader and his friends. many of the letters are from governor simpson. these letters of the governor are chiefly written from red river or norway house--the former the "fur traders' paradise," the latter the meeting-place of the council, held once a year to decide all matters of business. occasionally a letter of the governor's is from bas de la rivière (i.e. the mouth of the winnipeg river), written by that energetic officer, as might be said, "on the wing," and in a few cases from london, england, whither frequently governor simpson crossed on the business of the company. governor simpson's remarks as to society in red river, 1831, are keen and amusing:--"as yet we have had one fête, which was honoured by the presence of all the elegance and dignity of the place from his reverence of juliopolis (bishop provencher) down to friend cook, who (the latter) was as grave and sober as a bishop.... by-the-bye, we have got a very 'rum' fellow of a doctor here now: the strangest compound of skill, simplicity, selfishness, extravagance, musical taste, and want of courtesy, i ever fell in with. the people are living on the fat of the earth, in short, red river is a perfect land of canaan as far as good cheer goes.... do me the favour to pick out a couple pounds of choice snuff for me and send them by mr. miles." a short time after this, governor simpson, writing, says, speaking of the completion of st. john's church, afterward the cathedral church, and referring to the discontent of the selkirk settlers, with which he had small sympathy, "we have got into the new church, which is really a splendid edifice for red river, and the people are less clamorous about a gaelic minister than they were." the good governor had his pleasant fling at the claim made by the highlanders to have their private stills when he says, "and about whiskey they say not one word, now that rum is so cheap, and good strong 'heavy wet' in general use." speaking of one of the chief officers who was off duty, the governor says "chief factor charles is like a fish out of water, having no musquash to count, nor chipewyans to trade with; he is as brisk and active as a boy, and instead of showing any disposition to retire, wishes to volunteer to put a finishing hand to the as yet fruitless attempt at discovering the north-west passage." governor simpson knows well the art of flattery, and his skill in managing his large force of company officers and men is well seen. he states to hargrave that he once predicted at the board that the traders of york factory would yet have a seat at the board. this, he stated, gave mortal offence to some members, but he was to bear the prediction in mind. he compliments him on sending the best-written letter that he has received for a long time, and we find that in the following year hargrave was made chief trader. this was the occasion for numerous congratulations from his friends archdeacon cochrane of red river, trader sieveright, and others. the news of the time was common subject of discussion between the traders in their letters. governor simpson gave an account of the outbreak of cholera in the eastern states and provinces, and traces in a very graphic way its dangerous approach towards rupert's land. up to august, 1832, fifteen hundred people had died in montreal. the pestilence had reached mackinaw, and two hundred of the steamboat passengers were carried off, and some near sault ste. marie. "god grant," says the governor, "it may not penetrate further into our wilds, but the chances are decidedly against us." that the hudson's bay company officers were not traders only is made abundantly evident. in one of his letters, governor simpson states that their countryman, sir walter scott, has just passed away, he thanks hargrave for sending him copies of _blackwood's magazine_, and orders are often given for fresh and timely books. a little earlier we find the minute interest which the fur traders took in public events in a letter from chief factor john stuart, after whom stuart's lake, in new caledonia, was named. he speaks to hargrave of the continuation of southey's "history of the war of the peninsula" not being published, and we know from other sources that this history fell still-born, but stuart goes on to say that he had sent for col. napier's "history of the peninsular war." "napier's politics," says stuart, "are different, and we shall see whether it is the radical or a laurel (southey was poet laureate) that deserves the palm." these examples but illustrate what all close observers notice, that the officers of the hudson's bay company not only read to purpose, but maintained a keen outlook for the best and most finished contemporary literature. much additional evidence might be supplied on this point. all through governor simpson's letters there is a strain of sympathy for the people of the company that is very beautiful. these show that instead of being a hard and tyrannical man, the governor had a tender heart. in one of his letters he expresses sympathy for trader heron, who had met misfortune. he speaks of his great anxiety for a serious trouble that had arisen in rev. mr. jones's school at red river, and hopes that it may not injure education; he laments at considerable length over mr. j. s. mctavish's unfortunate accident. having heard of hargrave's long illness he sends a letter of warm sympathy, and this in the midst of a flying visit, and in london in the following year pays every attention by giving kind, hospitable invitations to hargrave to enjoy the society of himself and lady simpson. the racy letters of governor simpson are by no means more interesting than those of many others of hargrave's friends. ordinary business letters sometimes seem to have a humorous turn about them even fifty years after they were written. the roman catholic bishop provencher (bishop of juliopolis _in partibus infidelium_) affords an example of this. he writes in great distress to hargrave as to the loss of a cask of white wine (_une barrique de vin blanc_). he had expected it by the york boats sent down by the great red river merchant, andrew mcdermott.... the cask had not arrived. the good bishop cannot understand it, but presumes, as it is december when he writes, that it will come in the spring. the bishop's last remark is open to a double meaning, when he says, "leave it as it is, for he will take it without putting it in barrels." the bishop in a more important matter addresses governor simpson, and the governor forwards his letter to york factory. in this bishop provencher thanks him for giving a voyage in the canoes, from red river to montreal, to priest harper, and for bringing up sub-deacon poiré, a "young man of talent." he also gives hearty thanks for a passage, granted by the governor on the fur traders' route from the st. lawrence, to two stonemasons. "i commence," he said, "to dig the foundation of my church to-morrow." he asks for a passage down and up for members of his ecclesiastical staff. he wants from york factory forty or fifty hoes for mr. belcour to use in teaching the indians to cultivate potatoes and indian corn, and he naïvely remarks, "while thus engaged, he will at the same time cultivate their spirits and their hearts by the preaching of the word of god." the eye for business is seen in the bishop's final remark that he thinks "that the shoes from the bay will cost much less than those made by the smiths at red river." archdeacon cochrane, a man of gigantic form and of amazing _bonhomie_, who has been called the "founder of the church of england on red river," writes several interesting letters. beginning with business he drifts into a friendly talk. one of his letters deals with the supplies for the school he had opened (1831) at st. andrew's, red river, another sings the praises of his new church at the rapids: "it is an elegant little church, pewed for three hundred and forty people, and finished in the neatest manner it could be for red river. the ceiling is an arc of an ellipse, painted light blue. the moulding and pulpit brown; the jambs and sashes of the windows white." a little of the inner working of the fur-trading system in the predominance of scottish influence is exhibited by archdeacon cochrane in one letter to hargrave. referring to hargrave's promotion to the chief tradership, not yet bestowed, the old clergyman quaintly says, "are you likely to get another feather in your cap? i begin to think that your name will have to be changed into macargrave. a 'mac' before your name would produce a greater effect than all the rest of your merits put together. can't you demonstrate that you are one of the descendants of one of the great clans?" among the correspondence is a neat little note to hargrave (1826) from rev. david jones, the archdeacon's predecessor, written at red river, asking his company to a family dinner on the next monday, at 2 p.m.; and a delicate missive from acting-governor bulger, of red river, asking hargrave to accept a small quantity of snuff. among hargrave's correspondents are such notable fur traders as cuthbert grant, the leader of the bois brûlés, who had settled down on white horse plains, on the assiniboine river, and was the famous captain of the buffalo hunters; and william conolly, the daring chief factor of new caledonia. events in fort churchill are well described in the extensive correspondence of j. g. mctavish, long stationed there; and good governors finlayson and mcmillan of red river are well represented; as well as alexander ross, the historian of the red river affairs. a full account of the wanderings from york factory to the far distant pacific slope of mr. george barnston, who afterwards was well known in business circles as a resident of montreal, could be gathered, did time permit, from a most regular correspondence with hargrave. probably the man most after the york chief factor's own heart was a good letter writer, john sieveright, who early became chief trader and afterwards chief factor in 1846. sieveright had become acquainted with hargrave at sault ste. marie. afterwards he was removed to fort coulonge on the upper ottawa, but he still kept up his interest in hargrave and the affairs of rupert's land. sieveright has a play of humour and pleasant banter that was very agreeable to hargrave. he rallies him about an old acquaintance, the handsome daughter of fur trader johnston, of sault ste. marie, who, it will be remembered, married an indian princess. he has a great faculty of using what other correspondents write to him, in making up very readable and well written letters to his friends. for many years sieveright was at fort coulonge, and thus was in touch with the hudson's bay company house at lachine, the centre of the fur trade on this continent. every year he paid a visit to headquarters, and had an advantage over the distant traders on the saskatchewan, mackenzie, and nelson rivers. he, however, seemed always to envy them their lot. writing of fort coulonge, he gives us a picture of the fur trader's life: "this place has the advantage of being so near the civilized world as to allow us to hear now and then what is going on in it; but no society or amusement to help pass the time away. in consequence i cannot help reading a great deal too much--injurious at any time of life--particularly so when on the wrong side of fifty. i have been lately reading john galt's 'southernan,' not much to be admired. his characters are mostly all caricatures. if place will be allowed in paper trunk, i shall put that work and 'laurie todd' in for your acceptance." chapter xxxi. the voyageurs from montreal. lachine, the fur traders' mecca--the departure--the flowing bowl--the canoe brigade--the voyageur's song--"en roulant ma boule"--village of st. anne's--legend of the church--the sailor's guardian--origin of "canadian boat song"--a loud invocation--"a la claire fontaine"--"sing, nightingale"--at the rapids--the ominous crosses--"lament of cadieux"--a lonely maiden sits--the wendigo--home of the ermatingers--a very old canal--the rugged coast--fort william reached--a famous gathering--the joyous return. montreal, to-day the chief city of canada, was, after the union of the companies, the centre of the fur trade in the new world. the old nor'-wester influence centred on the st. lawrence, and while the final court of appeal met in london, the forces that gave energy and effect to the decrees of the london board acted from montreal. at lachine, above the rapids, nine miles from the city, lived governor simpson, and many retired traders looked upon lachine as the mecca of the fur trade. even before the days of the lachine canal, which was built to avoid the rapids, it is said the pushing traders had taken advantage of the little river st. pierre, which falls into the st. lawrence, and had made a deep cutting from it up which they dragged their boats to lachine. to the hardy french voyageurs, accustomed to "portage" their cargoes up steep cliffs, it was no hardship to use the improvised canal and reach lachine at the head of the rapids. [illustration: i.--portage.] [illustration: ii.--décharge.] accordingly, lachine became the port of departure for the voyageurs on their long journeys up the ottawa, and on to the distant fur country. heavy canoes carrying four tons of merchandise were built for the freight, and light canoes, some times manned with ten or twelve men, took the officers at great speed along the route. the canoes were marvels of durability. made of thin but tough sheets of birch bark, securely gummed along the seams with pitch, they were so strong, and yet so light, that the indians thought them an object of wonder, and said they were the gift of the manitou. the voyageurs were a hardy class of men, trained from boyhood to the use of the paddle. many of them were iroquois indians--pure or with an admixture of white blood. but the french canadians, too, became noted for their expert management of the canoe, and were favourites of sir george simpson. like all sailors, the voyageurs felt the day of their departure a day of fate. very often they sought to drown their sorrows in the flowing bowl, and it was the trick of the commander to prevent this by keeping the exact time of the departure a secret, filling up the time of the voyageurs with plenty to do and leaving on very short notice. however, as the cargo was well-nigh shipped, wives, daughters, children, and sweethearts too, of the departing canoe men began to linger about the docks, and so were ready to bid their sad farewells. in the governor's or chief factor's brigade each voyageur wore a feather in his cap, and if the wind permitted it a british ensign was hoisted on each light canoe. farewells were soon over. cheers filled the air from those left behind, and out from lachine up lake st. louis, an enlargement of the st. lawrence, the brigade of canoes were soon to shoot on their long voyage. no sooner had "le maître" found his cargo afloat, his officers and visitors safely seated, than he gave the cheery word to start, when the men broke out with a "chanson de voyage." perhaps it was the story of the "three fairy ducks," with its chorus so lively in french, but so prosaic, even in the hands of the poetic mclennan, when translated into english as the "rolling ball":- "derrière chez nous, il y a un étang (behind the manor lies the mere), en roulant ma boule. (chorus.) trois beaux canards s'en vont baignant. (three ducks bathe in its waters clear.) en roulant ma boule. rouli, roulant, ma boule roulant, en roulant, ma boule roulant, en roulant ma boule." and now the paddles strike with accustomed dash. the voyageurs are excited with the prospect of the voyage, all scenes of home swim before their eyes, and the chorister leads off with his story of the prince (fils du roi) drawing near the lake, and with his magic gun cruelly sighting the black duck, but killing the white one. with falling voices the swinging men of the canoe relate how from the snow-white drake his "life blood falls in rubies bright, his diamond eyes have lost their light, his plumes go floating east and west, and form at last a soldier's bed. en roulant ma boule (sweet refuge for the wanderer's head), en roulant ma boule, rouli, roulant, ma boule roulant, en roulant ma boule roulant, en roulant ma boule." as the brigade hies on its way, to the right is the purplish brown water of the ottawa, and on the left the green tinge of the st. lawrence, till suddenly turning around the western extremity of the island of montreal, the boiling waters of the mouth of the ottawa are before the voyageurs. since 1816 there has been a canal by which the canoes avoid these rapids, but before that time all men and officers disembarked and the goods were taken by portage around the foaming waters. and now the village of ste. anne's is reached, a sacred place to the departing voyageurs, and here at the old warehouse the canoes are moored. among the group of pretty canadian houses stands out the gothic church with its spire so dear an object to the canoe men. the superstitious voyageurs relate that old bréboeuf, who had gone as priest with the early french explorers, had been badly injured on the portage by the fall of earth and stones upon him. the attendance possible for him was small, and he had laid himself down to die on the spot where stands the church. he prayed to ste. anne, the sailors' guardian, and on her appearing to him he promised to build a church if he survived. of course, say the voyageurs, with a merry twinkle of the eye, he recovered and kept his word. at the shrine of "la bonne ste. anne" the voyageur made his vow of devotion, asked for protection on his voyage, and left such gift as he could to the patron saint. coming up and down the river at this point the voyageurs often sang the song:- "dans mon chemin j'ai rencontré deux cavaliers très bien montés;" with the refrain to every verse:- "a l'ombre d'un bois je m'en vais jouer, a l'ombre d'un bois je m'en vais jouer." ("under the shady tree i go to play.") it is said that it was when struck with the movement and rhythm of this french chanson that thomas moore, the irish poet, on his visit to canada, while on its inland waters, wrote the "canadian boat song," and made celebrated the good ste. anne of the voyageurs. whether in the first lines he succeeded in imitating the original or not, his musical notes are agreeable:- "faintly as tolls the evening chime, our voices keep tune and our oars keep time." certainly the refrain has more of the spirit of the boatman's song:- "row, brothers, row; the stream runs fast, the rapids are near and the daylight's past." the true colouring of the scene is reflected in "we'll sing at ste. anne;" and- "ottawa's tide, this trembling moon, shall see us float over thy surges soon." ste. anne really had a high distinction among all the resting-places on the fur trader's route. it was the last point in the departure from montreal island. religion and sentiment for a hundred years had consecrated it, and a short distance above it, on an eminence overlooking the narrows--the real mouth of the ottawa--was a venerable ruin, now overgrown with ivy and young trees, "château brillant," a castle speaking of border foray and indian warfare generations ago. if the party was a distinguished one there was often a priest included, and he, as soon as the brigade was fairly off and the party had settled down to the motion, reverently removing his hat, sounded forth a loud invocation to the deity and to a long train of male and female saints, in a loud and full voice, while all the men at the end of each versicle made response, "qu'il me bénisse." this done, he called for a song. none of the many songs of france would be more likely at this stage than the favourite and most beloved of all french canadian songs, "a la claire fontaine." the leader in solo would ring out the verse- "a la claire fontaine, m'en allent promener, j'ai trouvé l'eau si belle, que je m'y sois baigné." ("unto the crystal fountain, for pleasure did i stray; so fair i found the waters, my limbs in them i lay.") then in full chorus all would unite, followed verse by verse. most touching of all would be the address to the nightingale- "chantez, rossignol, chantez, toi qui as le coeur gai; tu as le coeur à rire, moi, je l'ai à pleurer." ("sing, nightingale, keep singing, thou hast a heart so gay; thou hast a heart so merry, while mine is sorrow's prey.") the most beautiful of all, the chorus, is again repeated, and is, as translated by lighthall:- "long is it i have loved thee, thee shall i love alway, my dearest; long is it i have loved thee, thee shall i love alway." the brigade swept on up the lake of two mountains, and though the work was hard, yet the spirit and exhilaration of the way kept up the hearts of the voyageurs and officers, and as one song was ended, another was begun and carried through. now it was the rollicking chanson, "c'est la belle françoise," then the tender "la violette dandine," and when inspiration was needed, that song of perennial interest, "malbrouck s'en va-t-en guerre." a distance up the ottawa, however, the scenery changes, and the river is interrupted by three embarrassing rapids. at carillon, opposite to which was port fortune, a great resort for retired fur traders, the labours began, and so these rapids, carillon, long sault, and chute au blondeau, now avoided by canals, were in the old days passed by portage with infinite toil. up the river to the great chaudière, where the city of ottawa now stands, they cheerfully rowed, and after another great portage the upper ottawa was faced. the most dangerous and exacting part of the great river was the well-known section where two long islands, the lower the calumet, and the allumette block the stream, and fierce rapids are to be encountered. this was the _pièce de résistance_ of the canoe-men's experience. around it their superstitions clustered. on the shores were many crosses erected to mark the death, in the boiling surges beside the portage, of many comrades who had perished here. between the two islands on the north side of the river, the hudson's bay company had founded fort coulonge, used as a depôt or refuge in case of accident. no wonder the region, with "deep river" above, leading on to the sombre narrows of "hell gate" further up the stream, appealed to the fear and imagination of the voyageurs. ballad and story had grown round the boiling flood of the calumet. as early as the time of champlain, the story goes that an educated and daring frenchman named cadieux had settled here, and taken as his wife one of the dusky ottawas. the prowling iroquois attacked his dwelling. cadieux and one indian held the enemy at bay, and firing from different points led them to believe that the stronghold was well manned. in the meantime, the spouse of cadieux and a few indians launched their canoes into the boiling waters and escaped. from pool to pool the canoe was whirled, but in its course the indians saw before them a female figure, in misty robes, leading them as protectress. the christian spouse said it was the "bonne ste. anne," who led them out of danger and saved them. the iroquois gave up the siege. cadieux's companion had been killed, and the surviving settler himself perished from exhaustion in the forest. beside him, tradition says, was found his death-song, and this "lament de cadieux," with its touching and attractive strain, the voyageurs sang when they faced the dangers of the foaming currents of the upper ottawa. the whole route, with its rapids, whirlpools, and deceptive currents, came to be surrounded, especially in superstitious minds, with an air of dangerous mystery. a traveller tells us that a prominent fur trader pointed out to him the very spot where his father had been swept under the eddy and drowned. the camp-fire stories were largely the accounts of disasters and accidents on the long and dangerous way. as such a story was told on the edge of a shadowy forest the voyageurs were filled with dread. the story of the wendigo was an alarming one. no crew would push on after the sun was set, lest they should see this apparition. some said he was a spirit condemned to wander to and fro in the earth on account of crimes committed, others believed the wendigo was a desperate outcast, who had tasted human flesh, and prowled about at night, seeking in camping-places of the traders a victim. tales were told of unlucky trappers who had disappeared in the woods and had never been heard of again. the story of the wendigo made the camping-place to be surrounded with a sombre interest to the traders. unbelievers in this mysterious ogre freely declared that it was but a partner's story told to prevent the voyageurs delaying on their journey, and to hinder them from wandering to lonely spots by the rapids to fish or hunt. one of the old writers spoke of the enemy of the voyageurs- "il se nourrit des corps des pauvres voyageurs, des malheureux passants et des navigateurs." ("he feeds on the bodies of unfortunate men of the river, of unlucky travellers, and of the mariners.") impressed by the sombre memories of this fur traders' route, a traveller in the light canoes in fur-trading days, dr. bigsby, relates that he had a great surprise when, picking his way along a rocky portage, he "suddenly stumbled upon a young lady sitting alone under a bush in a green riding habit and white beaver bonnet." the impressionable doctor looked upon this forest sylph and doubted whether she was "one of those fairy shepherds and shepherdesses who hereabouts live on simplicity and watercresses." after confused explanations on the part of both, the lady was found to be an ermatinger, daughter of the well-known trader of sault ste. marie, who with his party was then at the other end of the portage. we may now, with the privilege accorded the writer, omit the hardships of hundreds of miles of painful journeying, and waft the party of the voyageurs, whose fortunes we have been following, up to the head of the west branch of the ottawa, across the vaz portages, and down a little stream into lake nipissing, where there was an old-time fort of the nor'-westers, named la ronde. across lake nipissing, down the french river, and over the georgian bay with its beautiful scenery, the voyageurs' brigade at length reached the river st. mary, soon to rest at the famous old fort of sault ste. marie. sault ste. marie was the home of the ermatingers, to which the fairy shepherdess belonged. [illustration: block house of old h. b. company post. sault ste. marie.] the ermatinger family, whose name so continually associates itself with sault ste. marie, affords a fine example of energy and influence. shortly after the conquest of canada by wolfe, a swiss merchant came from the united states and made canada his home. one of his sons, george ermatinger, journeyed westward to the territory now making up michigan, and, finding his way to sault ste. marie, married, engaged in the fur trade, and died there. still more noted than his brother, charles oaks ermatinger, going westward from montreal, also made sault ste. marie his home. a man of great courage and local influence in the war of 1812, the younger brother commanded a company of volunteers in the expedition from fort st. joseph, which succeeded that summer in capturing michilimackinac. his fur-trading establishment at sault ste. marie was situated on the south side of the river, opposite the rapids. when this territory was taken possession of by the troops of the united states in 1822, the fur trader's premises at sault ste. marie were seized and became the american fort. for some years after this seizure trader ermatinger had a serious dispute with the united states government about his property, but finally received compensation. true to the ermatinger disposition, the trader then withdrew to the canadian side, retained his british connection, and carried on trade at sault ste. marie, drummond island, and elsewhere. a resident of sault ste. marie informs the writer that the family of ermatinger about that place is now a very numerous one, "related to almost all the families, both white and red." very early in the century (1814), a passing trader named franchère arrived from the west country at the time that the american troops devastated sault ste. marie. charles ermatinger then had his buildings on the canadian side of the river, not far from the houses and stores of the north-west company, which had been burnt down by the american troops. ermatinger at the time was living on the south side of the river temporarily in a house of old trader nolin, whose family, the traveller tells us, consisted of "three half-breed boys and as many girls, one of whom was passably pretty." ermatinger had just erected a grist mill, and was then building a stone house "very elegant." to this home the young lady overtaken by dr. bigsby on the canoe route belonged. of the two nephews of the doughty old trader of sault ste. marie, charles and francis ermatinger, who were prominent in the fur trade, more anon. the dashing rapids of the st. mary river are the natural feature which has made the place celebrated. the exciting feat of "running the rapids" is accomplished by all distinguished visitors to the place. john busheau, or some other dusky canoe-man, with unerring paddle, conducts the shrinking tourist to within a yard of the boiling cauldron, and sweeps down through the spray and splash, as his passenger heaves a sigh of relief. the obstruction made by the rapids to the navigation of the river, which is the artery connecting the trade of lakes huron and superior, early occupied the thought of the fur traders. a century ago, during the conflict of the north-west company and the x y, the portage past the rapids was a subject of grave dispute. ardent appeals were made to the government to settle the matter. the x y company forced a road through the disputed river frontage, while the north-west company used a canal half a mile long, on which was built a lock; and at the foot of the canal a good wharf and store-house had been constructed. this waterway, built at the beginning of the century and capable of carrying loaded canoes and considerable boats, was a remarkable proof of the energy and skill of the fur traders. the river and rapids of st. mary past, the joyful voyageurs hastened to skirt the great lake of superior, on whose shores their destination lay. deep and cold, lake superior, when stirred by angry winds, became the grave of many a voyageur. few that fell into its icy embrace escaped. its rocky shores were the death of many a swift canoe, and its weird legends were those of the inini-wudjoo, the great giant, or of the hungry heron that devoured the unwary. cautiously along its shores jean baptiste crept to michipicoten, then to the pic, and on to nepigon, places where trading posts marked the nerve centres of the fur trade. at length, rounding thunder cape, fort william was reached, the goal of the "mangeur de lard" or montreal voyageur. around the walls of the fort the great encampment was made. the river kaministiquia was gay with canoes; the east and west met in rivalry--the wild couriers of the west and the patient boatmen of the east. in sight of the fort stood, up the river, mckay mountain, around which tradition had woven fancies and tales. its terraced heights suggest man's work, but it is to this day in a state of nature. here in the days of conflict, when the opposing trappers and hunters went on their expeditions, old trader mckay ascended, followed them with his keen eye in their meanderings, and circumvented them in their plans. the days of waiting, unloading, loading, feasting, and contending being over, the montreal voyageurs turned their faces homeward, and with flags afloat, paddled away, now cheerfully singing sweet "alouette." "ma mignonette, embrassez-moi. nenni, monsieur, je n'oserais, car si mon papa le savait." (my darling, smile on me. no! no! good sir, i do not dare, my dear papa would know! would know!) "but who would tell papa?" "the birds on the forest tree." "ils parlent français, latin aussi, hélas! que le monde est malin d'apprendre aux oiseaux le latin." ("they speak french and latin too, alas! the world is very bad to tell its tales to the naughty birds.") bon voyage! bon voyage, mes voyageurs! [illustration: map of the far north.] chapter xxxii. explorers in the far north. the north-west passage again--lieut. john franklin's land expedition--two lonely winters--hearne's mistake corrected--franklin's second journey--arctic sea coast explored--franklin knighted--captain john ross by sea--discovers magnetic pole--magnetic needle nearly perpendicular--back seeks for ross--dease and simpson sent by hudson's bay company to explore--sir john in _erebus_ and _terror_--the paleocrystic sea--franklin never returns--lady franklin's devotion--the historic search--dr. rae secures relics--captain mcclintock finds the cairn and written record--advantages of the search. the british people were ever on the alert to have their famous sea captains explore new seas, especially in the line of the discovery of the north-west passage. from the time of dobbs, the discomfiture of that bitter enemy of the hudson's bay company had checked the advance in following up the explorations of davis and baffin, whose names had become fixed on the icy sea channels of the north. captain phipps, afterwards lord mulgrave, had been the last of the great captains who had taken part in the spasm of north-west interest set agoing by dobbs. two generations of men had passed when, in 1817, the quest for the north-west passage was taken up by captain william scoresby. scoresby advanced a fresh argument in favour of a new effort to attain this long-harboured dream of the english captains. he maintained that a change had taken place in the seasons, and the position of the ice was such as probably to allow a successful voyage to be made from baffin's bay to behring strait. sir john barrow with great energy advocated the project of a new expedition, and captain john ross and edward parry were despatched to the northern seas. parry's second expedition enabled him to discover fury and hecla strait, to pass through lancaster strait, and to name the continuation of it barrow strait, after the great patron of northern exploration. franklin's land expedition. meanwhile john franklin was despatched to cross the plains of rupert's land to forward arctic enterprise. this notable man has left us an heritage of undying interest in connection with this movement. a native of lincolnshire, a capable and trusted naval officer, who had fought with nelson at copenhagen, who had gone on an arctic voyage to spitzbergen, and had seen much service elsewhere, he was appointed to command the overland expedition through rupert's land to the arctic sea, while lieutenant parry sought, as we have seen, the passage with two vessels by way of lancaster sound. accompanied by a surgeon--dr. richardson--two midshipmen, back and hood, and a few orkneymen, lieutenant franklin embarked from england for hudson bay in june, 1819. wintering for the first season on the saskatchewan, the party were indebted to the hudson's bay company for supplies, and reached fort chipewyan in about a year from the time of their departure from england. the second winter was spent by the expedition on the famous barren grounds of the arctic slope. their fort was called fort enterprise, and the party obtained a living chiefly from the game and fish of the region. in the following summer the franklin party descended the coppermine river to the arctic sea. here hearne's mistake of four degrees in the latitude was corrected and the latitude of the mouth of the coppermine river fixed at 67° 48´ n. having explored the coast of the arctic sea eastward for six degrees to cape turnagain and suffered great hardships, the survivors of the party made their return journey, and reached britain after three years' absence. franklin was given the rank of captain and covered with social and literary honours. three years after his return to england, captain franklin and his old companions went upon their second journey through rupert's land. having reached fort chipewyan, they continued the journey northward, and the winter was spent at their erection known as fort franklin, on great bear lake. here the party divided, one portion under franklin going down the mackenzie to the sea, and coasting westward to return reef, hoping to reach captain cook's icy cape of 1778. in this they failed. dr. richardson led the other party down the mackenzie river to its mouth, and then, going eastward, reached the mouth of the coppermine, which he ascended. by september both parties had gained their rendezvous, fort franklin, and it was found that unitedly they had traced the coast line of the arctic sea through thirty-seven degrees of longitude. on the return of the successful adventurer, after an absence of two years, to england, he was knighted and received the highest scientific honours. captain john ross by sea. when the british people become roused upon a subject, failure seems but to whet the public mind for new enterprise and greater effort. the north-west passage was now regarded as a possibility. after the coast of the arctic ocean had been traced by the franklin-richardson expedition, to reach this shore by a passage from parry's fury and hecla strait seemed feasible. two years after the return of franklin from his second overland journey, an expedition was fitted out by a wealthy distiller, sheriff felix booth, and the ship, the _victory_, provided by him, was placed under the command of captain john ross, who had already gained reputation in exploring baffin's bay. captain ross was ably seconded in his expedition by his nephew, captain james ross. going by baffin's bay and through lancaster sound, prince regent's inlet led ross southward between cockburn island and somerset north, into an open sea called after his patron, gulf of boothia, on the west side of which he named the newly-discovered land boothia felix. he even discovered the land to the west of boothia, calling it king william land. his ship became embedded in the ice. after four winters in the arctic regions he was rescued by a whaler in barrow strait. one of the most notable events in this voyage of ross's was his discovery of the north magnetic pole on the west side of boothia felix. during his second winter (1831) captain ross determined to gratify his ambition to be the discoverer of the point where the magnetic needle stands vertically, as showing the centre of terrestrial magnetism for the northern hemisphere. after four or five days' overland journey, with a trying headwind from the north-west, he reached the sought-for point on june 1st. we deem it only just to state the discovery in the words of the veteran explorer himself:-"the land at this place is very low near the coast, but it rises into ridges of fifty or sixty feet high about a mile inland. we could have wished that a place so important had possessed more of mark or note. it was scarcely censurable to regret that there was not a mountain to indicate a spot to which so much interest must ever be attached; and i could even have pardoned any one among us who had been so romantic or absurd as to expect that the magnetic pole was an object as conspicuous and mysterious as the fabled mountain of sinbad, that it was even a mountain of iron, or a magnet as large as mont blanc. but nature had here erected no monument to denote the spot which she had chosen as the centre of one of her great and dark powers; and where we could do little ourselves towards this end, it was our business to submit, and to be content in noting in mathematical numbers and signs, as with things of far more importance in the terrestrial system, what we could ill distinguish in any other manner. "the necessary observations were immediately commenced, and they were continued throughout this and the greater part of the following day.... the amount of the dip, as indicated by my dipping-needle, was 89° 59´, being thus within one minute of the vertical; while the proximity at least of this pole, if not its actual existence where we stood, was further confirmed by the action, or rather by the total inaction, of several horizontal needles then in my possession.... there was not one which showed the slightest effort to move from the position in which it was placed. "as soon as i had satisfied my own mind on this subject, i made known to the party this gratifying result of all our joint labours; and it was then that, amidst mutual congratulations, we fixed the british flag on the spot, and took possession of the north magnetic pole and its adjoining territory, in the name of great britain and king william the fourth. we had abundance of material for building in the fragments of limestone that covered the beach; and we therefore erected a cairn of some magnitude, under which we buried a canister containing a record of the interesting fact, only regretting that we had not the means of constructing a pyramid of more importance and of strength sufficient to withstand the assaults of time and of the esquimaux. had it been a pyramid as large as that of cheops i am not quite sure that it would have done more than satisfy our ambition under the feelings of that exciting day. the latitude of this spot is 70° 5´ 17´´ and its longitude 96° 46´ 45´´." thus much for the magnetic pole. this pole is almost directly north of the city of winnipeg, and within less than twenty degrees of it. one of lady franklin's captains--captain kennedy, who resided at red river--elaborated a great scheme for tapping the central supply of electricity of the magnetic pole, and developing it from winnipeg as a source of power. sir george back, the explorer. in the third year of captain ross's expedition his protracted absence became a matter of public discussion in britain. dr. richardson, who had been one of franklin's followers, offered to take charge of an overland expedition in search of ross, but his proposition was not accepted. mr. ross, a brother of sir john and father of captain james ross, was anxious to find an officer who would take charge of a relief expedition, and the british government favoured the enterprise. captain george back, one of the midshipmen who had accompanied franklin, was favourably regarded for the important position. the hudson's bay company was in sympathy with the exploration of its arctic possessions and gave every assistance to the project. nicholas garry, the deputy-governor of the company, ably supported it; and the british government at last gave its consent to grant two thousand pounds, provided the hudson's bay company would furnish, according to its promise, the supplies and canoes free of charge, and that captain ross's friends would contribute three thousand pounds. captain back cordially accepted the offer to command the expedition, and his orders from the government were to find captain ross, or any survivors or survivor of his party; and, "subordinate to this, to direct his attention to mapping what remains unknown of the coasts which he was to visit, and make such other scientific observations as his leisure would admit." in 1833 captain back crossed the atlantic, accompanied by a surgeon, dr. richard king, and at montreal obtained a party of four regulars of the royal artillery. pushing on by the usual route, he reached lake winnipeg, and thence by light canoe arrived at fort resolution on great slave lake in august. he wintered at fort reliance, near the east end of great slave lake, which was established by roderick mcleod, a hudson's bay company officer, who had received orders to assist the expedition. before leaving this point a message arrived from england that captain ross was safe. notwithstanding this news, in june of the following year back and his party crossed the country to artillery lake, and drew their boats and baggage in a most toilsome manner over the ice of this and three other lakes, till the great fish river was reached and its difficult descent begun. on july 30th the party encamped at cape beaufort, a prominent point of the inlet of the arctic ocean into which the great fish river empties. the expedition again descended the river and returned to england, where it was well received, and captain back was knighted for his pluck and perseverance. an expedition under back in the next year, to go by ship to wager bay and then to cross by portage the narrow strip of land to the gulf of boothia, was a failure, and the party with difficulty reached britain again. a hudson's bay company expedition--dease and simpson. [illustration: sir john franklin. lady franklin. sir george back. sir john richardson. searchers in the north.] dr. richard king, who had been back's assistant and surgeon, now endeavoured to organize an expedition to the arctic ocean by way of lake athabasca and through a chain of lakes leading to the great fish river. this project received no backing from the british government or from the hudson's bay company. the company now undertook to carry out an expedition of its own. the reasons of this are stated to have been--(1) the interest of the british public in the effort to connect the discoveries of captains back and ross; (2) they are said to have desired a renewal of their expiring lease for twenty-one years of the trade of the indian territories; (3) the fact was being pointed out, as in former years, that their charter required the company to carry on exploration. in 1836 the hudson's bay company in london decided to carrying out the expedition, and gave instructions to governor simpson to organize and despatch it. at norway house, at the meeting of the governor and officers of that year, steps were taken to explore the arctic coast. an experienced hudson's bay company officer, peter warren dease, and with him an ardent young man, thomas simpson, a relation of the governor, was placed in charge. the party, after various preparations, including a course of mathematics and astronomy received by thomas simpson at red river, made its departure, and fort chipewyan was reached in february, where the remainder of the winter was spent. as soon as navigation opened, the descent of the mackenzie river was made to the mouth. the party then coasting westward on the arctic ocean, passed franklin's "return reef," reached boat extreme, and simpson made a foot journey thence to cape barrow. having returned to the mouth of the mackenzie river, the great bear lake, where fort confidence had been erected by the advance guard of the party, was reached. the winter was passed at this point, and in the following spring the expedition descended the copper-mine river, and coasting eastward along the polar sea, reached cape turnagain in august. returning and ascending the coppermine for a distance, the party halted, and simpson made a land journey eastward to new territory which he called victoria land, and erected a pillar of stones, taking possession of the country, "in the name of the honourable company, and for the queen of great britain." their painful course was then retraced to fort confidence, where the second winter was spent. on the opening of spring, the company descended to the coast to carry on their work. going eastward, they, after much difficulty, reached new ground, passed dease's strait, and discovered cape britannia. taking two years to return, simpson arrived at fort garry, and disappointed at not receiving further instructions, he joined a freight party about to cross the plains to st. paul, minnesota. while on the way he was killed, either by his half-breed companions or by his own hand. his body was brought back to fort garry, and is buried at st. john's cemetery. the hudson's bay company thus made an earnest effort to explore the coast, and through its agents, dease and simpson, may be said to have been reasonably successful. the search for franklin. after the return of sir john franklin from his second overland expedition in rupert's land, sir john was given the honourable position of lieutenant-governor of tasmania, and on his coming again to england, was asked by the admiralty to undertake a sea voyage for the purpose of finding his way from lancaster sound to behring's strait. sir john accepted the trust, and his popularity led to the offer of numerous volunteers, who were willing to undertake the hazards of the journey. two excellent vessels, the _erebus_ and _terror_, well fitted out for the journey, were provided, and his expedition started with the most glowing hopes of success, on may 19th, 1845. many people in britain were quite convinced that the expectation of a north-west passage was now to be realized. we know now only too well the barrier which lay in franklin's way. almost directly north-east of the mouth of fish river, which back and simpson had both found, there lies a vast mass of ice, which can neither move toward behring's strait on account of the shallow opening there, or to baffin's bay on account of the narrow and tortuous winding of the channels. this, called by sir george nares the paleocrystic sea, we are now aware bars the progress of any ship. franklin had gone down on the west side of north somerset and boothia, and coming against the vast barrier of the paleocrystic sea, had been able to go no further. two years after the departure of the expedition from which so much was expected, there were still no tidings. preparations were made for an expedition to rescue the adventurers, and in 1848 the first party of relief sailed. for the next eleven years the energy and spirit and liberality of the british public were something unexampled in the annals of public sympathy. regardless of cost or hazard, not less than fifteen expeditions were sent out by england and the united states on their sad quest. lady franklin, with a heroism and skill past all praise, kept the eye of the nation steadily on her loss, and sacrificed her private fortune in the work of rescue. we are not called upon to give the details of these expeditions, but may refer to a few notable points. the hudson's bay company at once undertook a journey by land in quest of the unfortunate navigator. dr. richardson, who had gone on franklin's first expedition, along with a well-known hudson's bay company officer, dr. rae, scoured the coast of the arctic sea, from the mouth of the mackenzie to that of the coppermine river. for two years more, dr. rae continued the search, and in the fourth year (1851) this facile traveller, by a long sledge journey in spring and boat voyage in summer, examined the shores of wollaston and victoria land. a notable expedition took place in the sending out by lady franklin herself of the _prince albert_ schooner, under captain kennedy, who afterwards made his home in the red river settlement. his second in command was lieutenant bellot, of the french navy, who was a plucky and shrewd explorer, and who, on a long sledge journey, discovered the strait which bears his name between north somerset and boothia. the names of mcclure, austin, collinson, sir edmund belcher, and kellett stand out in bold relief in the efforts--fruitless in this case--made to recover traces of the unfortunate expedition. the first to come upon remains of the franklin expedition was dr. john rae, who, we have seen, had thoroughly examined the coast along the arctic ocean. the writer well remembers meeting dr. rae many years after in the city of winnipeg and hearing his story. rae was a lithe, active, enterprising man. in 1853, he announced that the drawback in former expeditions had been the custom of carrying a great stock of provisions and useless impedimenta, and so under hudson's bay company auspices he undertook to go with gun and fishing tackle up the west coast of hudson bay. this he did, ascended chesterfield inlet, and wintered with eight men at repulse bay. in the next season he made a remarkable journey of fifty-six days, and succeeded in connecting the discoveries of captain james ross with those of dease and simpson, proving king william land to be an island. rae discovered on this journey plate and silver decorations among the eskimos, which they admitted had belonged to the franklin party. dr. rae was awarded a part of the twenty thousand pounds reward offered by the imperial government. the british people could not, however, be satisfied until something more was done, and lady franklin, with marvellous self-devotion, gave the last of her available means to add to the public subscription for the purchase and fitting out of the little yacht _fox_, which, under captain leopold mcclintock, sailed from aberdeen in 1857. having in less than two years reached bellot strait, mcclintock's party was divided into three sledging expeditions. one of them, under captain mcclintock, was very successful, obtaining relics of the lost franklin and his party and finding a cairn which contained an authoritative record of the fortunes of the company for three years. sir john had died a year before this record was written. captain mcclintock was knighted for his successful effort and the worst was now at last known. the attempt of sir john and the efforts to find him reflect the highest honour on the british people. and not only sentiment, but reason was satisfied. as had been said, "the catastrophe of sir john franklin's expedition led to seven thousand miles of coast line being discovered, and to a vast extent of unknown country being explored, securing very considerable additions to geographical knowledge. much attention was also given to the collection of information, and the scientific results of the various search expeditions were considerable." chapter xxxiii. expeditions to the frontier of the fur country. a disputed boundary--sources of the mississippi--the fur traders push southward--expedition up the missouri--lewis and clarke meet nor'-westers--claim of united states made--sad death of lewis--lieutenant pike's journey--pike meets fur traders--cautions dakotas--treaty with chippewas--violent death--long and keating fix 49 deg. n.--visit fort garry--follow old fur traders' route--an erratic italian--strange adventures--almost finds source--beltrami county--cass and schoolcraft fail--schoolcraft afterwards succeeds--lake itasca--curious origin of name--the source determined. the treaty of paris was an example of magnanimity on the part of great britain to the united states, her wayward transatlantic child, who refused to recognize her authority. it is now clearly shown that lord shelbourne, the english premier, desired to promote good feeling between mother and daughter as nations. accordingly the boundary line west of lake superior gave over a wide region where british traders had numerous establishments, and where their occupation should have counted for possession. in the treaty of amity and commerce, eleven years afterward, it was agreed that a line drawn from lake of the woods overland to the source of mississippi should be the boundary. but, alas! the sources of the mississippi for fifty years afterward proved as difficult a problem as the source of the nile. in the first decade of this century it was impossible to draw the southern line of rupert's land. the united states during this period evinced some anxiety in regard to this boundary, and, as we shall see, a number of expeditions were despatched to explore the country. the sources of the mississippi naturally afforded much interest to the government at washington, even though the convention of london of 1818 had settled the 49 deg. n. as the boundary. the region west of the mississippi, which was known as louisiana, extended northward to the british possessions, having been transferred by spain to the united states in 1803. a number of expeditions to the marches or boundary land claim a short notice from us, as being bound up with the history and interests of the hudson's bay company. lewis and clarke's expedition. of these, a notable and interesting voyage was that of captains meriwether lewis and william clarke, of the united states army. this expedition consisted of nearly fifty men--soldiers, volunteers, adventurers, and servants. being a government expedition, it was well provided with stores, indian presents, weapons, and other necessary articles of travel. leaving wood river, near st. louis, the party started up the missouri in three boats, and were accompanied by two horses along the bank of the river to bring them game or to hunt in case of scarcity. after many adventures the expedition, which began its journey on may 14th, 1804, reached the headquarters of the mandan indians on the missouri on october 26th. the mandans, or, as they have been called, the white bearded sioux, were at this time a large and most interesting people. less copper-coloured than the other indians, agricultural in habit, pottery makers, and dwelling in houses partly sunk in the earth, their trade was sought from different directions. we have seen already that verendrye first reached them; that david thompson, the astronomer of the north-west company, visited them; that harmon and others, north-west traders, met them; that fur traders from the assiniboine came to them; that even the hudson's bay company had penetrated to their borders. the mandans themselves journeyed north to the assiniboine and carried indian corn, which they grew, to rupert's land to exchange for merchandise. the mandan trail can still be pointed out in manitoba. a fur trader, hugh mccracken, met lewis and clarke at this point, and we read, "that he set out on november 1st on his return to the british fort and factory on the assiniboine river, about one hundred and fifty miles from this place. he took a letter from captain lewis to the north-west company, enclosing a copy of the passport granted by the british minister in the united states." this shows the uncertainty as to the boundary line, the leaders of the expedition having provided themselves with this permission in case of need. in dealing with the mandans, captain lewis gave them presents, and "told them that they had heard of the british trader, mr. laroche, having attempted to distribute medals and flags among them; but that these emblems could not be received from any other than the american nation, without incurring the displeasure of their great father, 'the president. on december 1st the party was visited by a trader, henderson, who came from the hudson's bay company. he had been about eight days on his route in a direction nearly south, and brought with him tobacco, beads, and other merchandise to trade for furs, and a few guns which were to be exchanged for horses. on december 17th hugh harvey and two companions arrived at the camp, having come in six days from the british establishment on the assiniboine, with a letter from mr. charles chaboillez, one of the north-west company, who, with much politeness, offered to render us any service in his power." with the expedition of lewis and clarke we have little more to do. it successfully crossed from the sources of the missouri, over the rocky mountains to the columbia, descended it to the mouth, and returned by nearly the same route, reaching the mouth of the missouri in 1806. the expedition of lewis and clarke has become the most celebrated of the american transcontinental ventures. its early presence at the mouth of the columbia river gave strength to the claim of the united states for that region; it was virtually a taking possession of the whole country from the mississippi to the pacific ocean; it had a picturesqueness and an interest that appealed to the national mind, and the melancholy death of captain lewis, who, in 1809, when the american government refused to fulfil its engagements with him, blew out his brains, lends an impressiveness to what was really a great and successful undertaking. pike's expedition. the source or sources of the mississippi was, as we have seen, an important matter in settling the boundary line between the possessions of great britain and the united states. the matter having occupied the authorities at washington, zebulon m. pike, a lieutenant of the united states army, was sent to examine the country upon the upper mississippi and to maintain the interests of the government in that quarter. leaving st. louis on august 9th, 1805, he ascended the "father of waters," and reached prairie du chien in september. here he was met by the well-known free-traders who carried on the fur trade in this region. their names were fisher, frazer and woods. these men were in the habit of working largely in harmony with the north-west company traders, and, on account of their british origin, were objects of suspicion to the united states authorities. pushing on among the indians, by the help of french canadian interpreters, he came to lake pepin. on the shores of this lake pike met murdoch cameron, the principal british free-trader on the upper minnesota river. cameron was a shrewd and daring scotchman, noted for his generosity and faithfulness. he was received with distinction by pike, and the trader as shown by his grave, pointed out many years afterward on the banks of the minnesota, was in every way worthy of the attention. shortly after this, pike passed near where the city of st. paul, minn., stands to-day, the encampment of j. b. faribault, a french canadian free-trader of note, whose name is now borne by an important town south of st. paul. pike held a council with the dakota indians, and purchased from them a considerable amount of land for military purposes, for which the senate paid them the sum of two thousand dollars. pike seems to have cautioned the dakotas or sioux to beware of the influence of the english, saying, "i think the traders who come from canada are bad birds among the chippeways, and instigate them to make war upon their red brothers, the sioux." about the end of october, unable to proceed further up the mississippi on account of ice, pike built a blockhouse, which he enclosed with pickets, and there spent the most severe part of the winter. at his post early in december he was visited by robert dickson, a british fur trader, described by neill as "a red-haired scotchman, of strong intellect, good family, and ardent attachment to the crown of england, who was at the head of the indian trade in minnesota." pike himself speaks of dickson as a "gentleman of general commercial knowledge and of open, frank manners." explanations took place between the government agent and the trader as to the excessive use of spirits by the indians. on december 10th pike started on a journey northward in sleds, taking a canoe with him for use so soon as the river should open. when pike arrived near red cedar lake, he was met by four chippewa indians, a frenchman, and one of the north-west traders, named grant. going with grant to his establishment on the shores of the lake, pike tells us, "when we came in sight of the house i observed the flag of great britain flying. i felt indignant, and cannot say what my feelings would have excited me to had grant not told me that it belonged to the indians." on february 1st pike reached leech lake, which he considered to be the main source of the mississippi. he crossed the lake twelve miles to the establishment of the north-west company, which was in charge of a well-known north-west trader, hugh mcgillies. while he was treated with civility, it is plain from his cautions to mcgillies and his bearing to him, that he was jealous of the influence which british traders were then exercising in minnesota. having made a treaty with the chippewa indians of red lake, pike's work was largely accomplished, and in april he departed from this region, where he had shown great energy and tact, to give in his report after a voyage of some nine months. a most melancholy interest attaches to this gentlemanly and much-respected officer of the united states. in the war of 1812-15, pike, then made a general, was killed at the taking of york (toronto), in upper canada, by the explosion of the magazine of the fort evacuated by general sheaffe. pike, as leader on this mississippi expedition, as commanding an expedition on the rio grande, where he was captured by the spaniards, and as a brave soldier, has handed down an honourable name and fame. long and keating. the successful journey of lewis and clarke, as well as the somewhat useful expedition of lieutenant pike, led the united states government to send in 1823 an expedition to the northern boundary line 49 deg. n., which had been settled a few years before. in charge of this was major stephen h. long. he was accompanied by a scientific corps consisting of thomas say, zoologist and antiquary; samuel seymour, landscape painter and designer; and william h. keating, mineralogist and geologist, who also acted as historian of the expedition. leaving philadelphia in april, the company passed overland to prairie du chien on the mississippi, ascended this river, and going up its branch, the minnesota, reached the town of mendota in the month of july. a well-known french half-breed, joseph renville, acted as guide, and several others joined the party at this point. after journeying up the minnesota river, partly by canoe, and partly by the use of horses, they reached in thirteen days big stone lake, which is considered to be the source of the river. following up the bed of a dried-up stream for three miles, they found lake traverse, the source of the red river, and reached pembina village, a collection of fifty or sixty log huts inhabited by half-breeds, numbering about three hundred and fifty. we have already seen how the north-west and hudson's bay companies had posts at this place, and that it had been visited regularly by the selkirk settlers as being in proximity to the open plains where buffalo could be obtained. on the day after long's arrival he saw the return of the buffalo hunters from the chase. the procession consisted of one hundred and fifteen carts, each loaded with about eight hundred pounds of the pressed buffalo meat. there were three hundred persons, including the women. the number of horses was about two hundred. twenty hunters, mounted on their best steeds, rode abreast, giving a salute as they passed the encampment of the expedition. one of major long's objects in making his journey was to ascertain the point where the parallel of 49 deg. n. crossed the red river. for four days observations were taken and a flag-staff planted a short distance south of the 49th parallel. the space to the boundary line was measured off, and an oak post fixed on it, having on the north side the letters g. b., and on the south side u. s. this post was kept up and was seen by the writer in 1871. in 1872, a joint expedition of british and american engineers took observations and found long's point virtually correct. they surveyed the line of 49 deg. eastward to lake of the woods and westward to the rocky mountains. posts were erected at short distances along the boundary line, many of them of iron, with the words on them, "convention of london, 1818." his work at pembina having been accomplished, major long gave up, on account of the low country to be passed, the thought of following the boundary line eastward to the lake of the woods. he sold his horses and took canoes down the river to the hudson's bay company at fort garry, where he was much interested in the northern civilization as well as in the settlers who had fort douglas as their centre. it was august 17th when long's expedition left fort douglas and went down the red river. it took but two days to reach the mouth of the river and cross lake winnipeg to fort alexander at the mouth of the winnipeg river. six days more brought the swift canoe-men up the river to lake of the woods. at the falls of rainy river was the hudson's bay company establishment, then under the charge of fur trader mcgillivray. on the opposite side of the river was the fort of the american fur company. following the old route, they reached grand portage, september 12th, and thence the expedition returned to the east. major long's expedition was a well-conducted and successful enterprise. its members were of the highest respectability, and the two volumes written by secretary keating have the charm of real adventure about them. beltrami's dash. when major long was leaving fort snelling, on the mississippi, to go upon the expedition we have just described, an erratic but energetic and clever italian, named j. c. beltrami, asked to be allowed to accompany him. this aspiring but wayward man has left us a book, consisting of letters addressed to madame la comtesse compagoni, a lady of rank in florence, which is very interesting. on starting he wrote, "my first intention, that of going in search of the real source of the mississippi, was always before my eyes." beltrami, while clever, seems to have been a man of insufferable conceit. on the journey to big stone lake and thence along the river, in the buffalo hunts, in conferences with the sioux, the italian adventurer awakened the resentment of the commander of the expedition, who refused to allow him to accompany his party further. this proved rather favourable to the purpose of beltrami, who, with a half-breed guide and chippewa indians, started to go eastward, having a mule and a dog train as means of transport. after a few days' journey the guide left him, returning with the mule and dog train to pembina. next his indian guide deserted him, fearing the sioux, and beltrami was left to make his way in a canoe up the river to red lake. inexperienced in the management of a birch bark canoe, beltrami was upset, but he at length proceeded along the bank and shallows of the river, dragging the canoe with a tow line after him, and arrived in miserable plight at red lake. here he engaged a guide and interpreter, and writes that he went "where no white man had previously travelled." he was now on the highway to renown. he was taken from point to point on the many lakes of northern minnesota, and affixed names to them. on august 20th, 1823, he went over several portages, led by his guide to turtle lake, which was to him a source of wonder, as he saw it from the flow of waters south to the gulf of mexico, north to the frozen sea, east to the atlantic, and west toward the pacific ocean. his own words are: "a vast platform crosses this distinguished supreme elevation, and, what is more astonishing, in the midst of it rises a lake. how is this lake formed? whence do its waters proceed? this lake has no issue! and my eyes, which are not deficient in sharpness, cannot discover in the whole extent of the clearest and widest horizon any land which rises above it. all places around it are, on the contrary, considerably lower." beltrami then went to examine the surrounding country, and found the lake, to which he gave the name of lake julia, to be bottomless. this lake he pronounces to be the source of the mississippi river. this opinion was published abroad and accepted by some, but later explorations proved him to be wrong. a small lake to the south-west, afterwards found to be the true source, was described to him by his guide as lac la biche, and he placed this on his chart as "doe lake," the west source of the mississippi. it is a curious fact that lake julia was the same lake surveyed twenty-five years before by astronomer thompson. after further explorations, beltrami returned to fort snelling, near st. paul, minn., being clothed in indian garments, with a piece of bark for a hat. the intrepid explorer found his way to new orleans, where he published "la découverte des sources du mississippi." though the work was criticized with some severity, yet beltrami, on his arrival at london in 1827, published "a pilgrimage in europe and america" in two volumes, which are the source of our information. the county in minnesota, which includes both julia and doe lakes, is appropriately called beltrami county. cass and schoolcraft. lewis cass, of new hampshire was appointed governor of michigan in 1813. six years after this he addressed the secretary of war in washington, proposing an expedition to and through lake superior, and to the sources of the mississippi. it was planned for an examination of the principal features of the north-west tributary to lake superior and the mississippi river. this was sanctioned in 1820, and the expedition embarked in may of that year at detroit, michigan, henry schoolcraft being mineralogist, and captain d. b. douglas topographer and astronomer. the expedition, after much contrary weather, reached sault ste. marie, and the governor, after much difficulty, here negotiated a treaty with the indians. going by way of the fond du lac, the party entered the st. louis river, and made a tiresome portage to sandy lake station. this fur-trading post the party left in july, and ascended the upper mississippi to the upper cedar lake, the name of which was changed to lake cassina, and afterwards cass lake. from the indians governor cass learned that lac la biche--some fifty miles further on--was the true source of the river, but he was deterred by their accounts of the lowness of the water and the fierceness of the current from attempting the journey any further. the expedition ingloriously retired from the project, going down to st. anthony falls, ascending the wisconsin river, and thence down fox river. the governor himself in september arrived in detroit, having crossed the southern peninsula of michigan on horseback. hon. j. w. brown says: "when governor cass abandoned his purpose to ascend the mississippi to its source, he was within an easy distance, comparatively speaking, of the goal sought for. less timidity had often been displayed in canoe voyages, even in the face of low water, and an o-z-a-win-dib or a keg-wed-zis-sag, indian guides, would have easily won the battle of the day for governor cass." schoolcraft at length succeeds. henry rowe schoolcraft, of good family, was born in new york state, and was educated in that state and in vermont. his first expedition was in company with de witt clinton in a journey to missouri and arkansas. on his return he published two treatises which gave him some reputation as an explorer and scientist. we have already spoken of the part taken by him in the expedition of governor cass. he received after this the appointment of "superintendent of indian affairs" at sault ste. marie, and to this we are indebted for the treasury of indian lore published in four large quarto volumes, from which longfellow obtained his tale of "hiawatha." in 1830 schoolcraft received orders from washington, ostensibly for conference with the indians, but in reality to determine the source of the mississippi. the rev. w. t. boutwell, representing a board of missions, accompanied the expedition. lac la biche was already known to exist, and to this schoolcraft pointed his expedition. on their journey outward schoolcraft suddenly one day asked boutwell the greek and latin names for the headwaters or true source of a river. mr. boutwell could not recall the greek, but gave the two latin words--_veritas_ (truth) and _caput_ (head). these were written on a slip of paper, and mr. schoolcraft struck out the first and last three letters, and announced to boutwell that "itasca shall be the name." it is true that schoolcraft wrote a stanza in which he says, "by fair itasca shed," seemingly referring to an indian maiden. boutwell, however, always maintained his story of the name, and this is supported by the fact that the word was never heard in the ojibway mythology. the party followed the same route as that taken by governor cass on his journey, reaching cass lake on july 10th, 1832. taking the advice of ozawinder, a chippewa indian, they followed up their journey in birch bark canoes, went up the smaller fork of the mississippi, and then by portage reached the eastern extremity of la biche or itasca lake. the party landed on the island in the lake which has since been known as schoolcraft island, and here raised their flag. after exploring the shores of the lake, he returned to cass lake, and, full of pride of his discovery, journeyed home to sault ste. marie. on the map drawn to illustrate schoolcraft's inland journey occurs, beside the lake of his discovery, the legend, "itasca lake, the source of the mississippi river; length from gulf of mexico, 3,160 miles; elevation, 1,500 ft. reached july 13th, 1832." [illustration: fort edmonton, on the north saskatchewan.] [illustration: jasper house, rocky mountains.] chapter xxxiv. famous journeys in rupert's land. fascination of an unknown land--adventure, science, or gain--lieutenant lefroy's magnetic survey--hudson's bay company assists--winters at fort chipewyan--first scientific visit to peace river--notes lost--not "gratuitous canoe conveyance"--captain palliser and lieutenant hector--journey through rupert's land--rocky mountain passes--on to the coast--a successful expedition--hind and dawson--to spy out the land for canada--the fertile belt--hind's description good--milton and cheadle--winter on the saskatchewan--reach pacific ocean in a pitiable condition--captain butler--the horse blackie and dog "cerf vola"--fleming and grant--"ocean to ocean"--"land fitted for a healthy and hardy race"--waggon road and railway. the vast area of rupert's land and the adjoining indian territories have always had a fascination for the british imagination; and not alone its wide extent, but its being a fur traders' paradise, and in consequence largely a "terra incognita," has led adventurous spirits to desire to explore it. just as sir john mandeville's expedition to the unknown regions of asia in the fourteenth century has appealed to the hardy and brave sons of britain from that early day; and in later times the famous ride of colonel burnaby to khiva in our own generation has led central asia to be viewed as a land of mystery; so the plains of rupert's land, with the reputed chinese wall thrown around them by the hudson's bay company's monopoly, have been a favourite resort for the traveller, the mighty hunter, and the scientist. it is true no succeeding records of adventure can have the interest for us that gathers around those of the intrepid verendrye, the mysterious hearne, or the heroic alexander mackenzie, whose journeys we have already described, yet many daring adventurers who have gone on scientific or exploratory expeditions, or who have travelled the wide expanse for sport or for mere curiosity, may claim our attention. lefroy's magnetic survey. the discovery of the magnetic pole by sir john ross, and the continued interest in the problems connected with the arctic sea, the romance of the north land, and the dream of a north-west passage, led to the desire to have a scientific survey of the wide expanse of rupert's land. the matter was brought to the notice of the royal society by major, afterwards general sir edward sabine, a noted student of magnetism. sir john herschell, the leading light on the subject of physics, succeeded in inducing the society to pronounce a favourable opinion on the project, and the strong influence of the royal society, under the presidency of the marquis of northampton, induced the lords of the treasury to meet the estimated expenses, nine hundred and ten pounds, with the understanding that, as stated by the president, gratuitous canoe conveyance would be provided by the hudson's bay company in the territories belonging to them. lieutenant, afterwards general sir henry lefroy, a young artillery officer, was selected to go upon the journey. a circular letter was sent to the hudson's bay company posts by governor simpson, directing that every assistance should be given to the survey. lefroy, having wintered in montreal, was given a passage on may 1st, 1842, on the canoes for the north-west. passing up the ottawa and along the fur traders' route, he soon reached sault ste. marie and fort william; magnetic observations, accurate observations of latitude and longitude being made at the hudson's bay company posts along the route. kakabeka falls and the various points along the kaministiquia route were examined, and exchanging the "canot de maître" for the "canot de nord," by way of lake of the woods and lake winnipeg, the observer arrived at fort garry on june 29th, having found sir george simpson at lower fort garry. after a close examination of the red river valley and some geological observations on the west side of lake winnipeg, lefroy made his way to norway house, and then by the watercourses, four hundred miles, to york factory. having done good work on the bay, he made the return journey to norway house, and on august 22nd, cumberland house on the saskatchewan was gained. here he adopted the latitude and longitude taken by franklin's two land expeditions, and here took seven independent observations of variation and dip of the magnetic needle. now striking energetically northward, and stopping long enough at the posts to take the necessary observations, the explorer arrived at fort chipewyan on september 23rd. it was twelve years since the dwellers on lake athabasca had been visited by any traveller from the south, and lefroy's voyageurs, as they completed their three thousand miles of journey, decked out in their best apparel, made the echoes of the lake resound with their gay chansons. lefroy wintered in the fort, where the winter months were enjoyed in the well-selected library of the company and the new experiences of the fur trader's life, while his voyageurs went away to support themselves at a fishing station on the lake. the summer of 1843 was spent in a round of thirteen hundred and forty miles, going from lake athabasca, up the peace river to fort dunvegan, then by way of lower slave lake to edmonton, and down the saskatchewan to cumberland. lefroy claims that no scientific traveller had visited the peace river since the time of alexander mackenzie, fifty-five years before. unfortunately, lefroy's notes of this journey and some of his best observations were lost in his return through the united states, and could not be replaced. in march, 1844, lieutenant lefroy left lake athabasca, and travelled on snow shoes to fort resolution on great slave lake, and thence to fort simpson, four hundred and fifty miles, having his instruments for observation borne on dog sleds. this journey was made in nineteen days. waiting at the fort till may, he accomplished the descent of the mackenzie river after the breaking up of the ice, and reached fort good hope. the return journey to fort resolution was made at a very rapid rate, and the route thence to lake athabasca was followed. the diary ends june 30th, 1844. at the close of the expedition some misunderstanding arose as to the settlement of the accounts. the hudson's bay company had promised to give "gratuitous canoe conveyance." the original plan of the journey was, however, much changed, and lieutenant lefroy was a much greater expense to the company than had been expected. a bill of upwards of twelve hundred pounds was rendered by the hudson's bay company to the royal society. after certain explanations and negotiations a compromise of eight hundred and fifty pounds was agreed on, and this was paid by the treasury department to the company. the work done by lieutenant lefroy was of the most accurate and valuable kind. his name is remembered as that of one of the most trustworthy of the explorers of the plains of rupert's land and the north, and is commemorated by fort lefroy in the rocky mountains. it is true his evidence, recorded in the blue book of 1857, was somewhat disappointing, but his errors were those of judgment, not of prejudice or intention. palliser and hector. the approach of the time when the twenty-one years' lease of the indian territories granted by the imperial parliament to the hudson's bay company was drawing near a close in 1857, when the committee of the house of commons met in february of this year to consider the matter. a vast mass of evidence was taken, and the consideration of the blue book containing this will afford us material for a very interesting chapter. the interest in the matter, and the necessity for obtaining expert information, led the imperial government to organize an expedition under captain john palliser, r.n.a., of the royal engineers. with captain palliser, who was to go up the canadian lakes to the interior, was associated lieutenant blakiston, r.n., who received orders to proceed by ship to york factory and meet the main expedition at some point in rupert's land. the geologist of the expedition was james hector, m.d. (edin.). j. w. sullivan was secretary and m. e. bourgeau, botanist. after the usual incidents of an ocean voyage, some difficulty with the customs authorities in new york arose as to the entry of astronomical instruments, which was happily overcome, and after a long journey by way of detroit, sault ste. marie was reached, where palliser found two birch bark canoes and sixteen voyageurs awaiting him, as provided by the hudson's bay company. sir george simpson had lately passed this point. journeying along the fur traders' route, the explorers found themselves expected at fort frances, on rainy river. here a deputation of indians waited upon them, and the old chief discoursed thus: "i do not ask for presents, although i am poor and my people are hungry, but i know you have come straight from the great country, and we know that no men from that country ever came to us and lied. i want you to declare to us truthfully what the great queen of your country intends to do to us when she will take the country from the fur company's people. all around me i see the smoke of the white men to rise. the 'long knives' (the americans) are trading with our neighbours for their lands and they are cheating them and deceiving them. now, we will not sell nor part with our lands." having reached fort garry, captain palliser divided his party, sending one section west, and himself going south to the boundary line with the other. going west from pembina, palliser reached the french half-breed settlement of st. joseph (st. jo.), and some days afterwards turtle mountain. thence he hurried across country to fort ellice to meet the other portion of his expedition. while the tired horses rested here he made an excursion of a notable kind to the south-west. this was to the "roches percées" on the souris river. this is a famous spot, noted for the presence of tertiary sandstone exposures, which have weathered into the most fantastic shapes. it is a sacred spot of the indians. here, as at the "red pipestone quarry," described by longfellow, and not more than one hundred and fifty miles distant from it, sioux, assiniboines, and crees meet in peace. though war may prevail elsewhere, this spot is by mutual agreement kept as neutral. at this point palliser saw a great camp of assiniboines. returning from this side excursion, the captain resumed his command, and having obtained mckay, the hudson's bay company officer at fort ellice, with governor christie's permission, set off by way of qu'appelle lakes for the elbow of the saskatchewan. on the south saskatchewan palliser came to the "heart of the buffalo country." the whole region as far as the eye could reach was covered with the buffalo in bands varying from hundreds to thousands. so vast were the herds, that he began to have serious apprehensions for his horses, as "the grass was eaten to the earth, as if the place had been devastated by locusts." crossing the saskatchewan the explorers went northward to fort carlton on the north branch, where the party wintered while captain palliser returned to canada, paying 65_l._ to a red river trader to drive him five hundred and twenty miles from fort garry to crow wing, the nearest minnesota settlement. palliser's horse, for which he had bargained, was killed at pembina, and he walked the four hundred and fifty miles of the journey, which was made with painful slowness by the struggling horses and sleds of the traders. in june of the following year palliser left fort carlton, part of his command going to the red deer river, the other part to visit fort pitt and edmonton house. from edmonton the explorer reports that during the summer, his men had succeeded in finding a pass through the rocky mountains, one not only practicable for horses, but which, with but little expense, could be rendered available for carts also. he also states the passes discovered by him to be:-(1) kananaskis pass and vermilion pass; (2) lake pass and beaver foot pass; (3) little fork pass; (4) kicking horse pass--six in all, which, with the north kootenay (on british territory), make up seven known passes. having wintered at edmonton, he satisfied himself that this region so far north and west is a good agricultural region, that the saskatchewan region compares favourably with that of the red river valley, that the rule of the country should be given over by the hudson's bay company to the general government, and that a railway could be built easily from the red river to the eastern foot of the rocky mountains. orders having reached palliser to proceed, he undertook, in the summer of 1859, a journey across the rocky mountains, following in part the old hudson's bay company trail. on st. andrew's day, the party arrived at the hudson's bay company post at vancouver on the columbia, and was welcomed by mr. graham, the officer in charge. taking steamer down the columbia with his assistant sullivan, captain palliser went to victoria, a hudson's bay company establishment on vancouver island, whither they were followed by dr. hector. journeying south-west to san francisco, he returned, _viâ_ isthmus of panama, to new york and england. the expedition was one of the best organized, best managed, and most successful that visited rupert's land. the report is a sensible, well-balanced, minute, and reliable account of the country passed over. hind and dawson's exploration. in the same year that palliser's expedition was despatched by the british government to examine the resources and characteristics of rupert's land, a party was sent by the canadian government with similar ends in view, but more especially to examine the routes and means of access by which the prairies of the north-west might be reached from lake superior. the staff of the party was as follows: george gladman, director; professor henry youle hind, geologist; w. h. e. napier, engineer; s. j. dawson, surveyor. these, along with several foremen, twelve caughnawaga iroquois, from near lachine, and twelve ojibway indians from fort william, made up a stirring canoe party of forty-four persons. in july, 1857, the expedition left toronto, went by land to collingwood on lake huron, embarked there on the steamer _collingwood_, and passing by sault st. marie, reached on august 1st fort william at the mouth of the kaministiquia. mr. john mcintyre, the officer of the hudson's bay company in charge of fort william, has given to the writer an account of the arrival of the party there with their great supply canoes, trading outfit, and apparatus, piled up high on the steamer's deck--a great contrast to the scanty but probably more efficient means of transport found on a hudson's bay company trading journey. the party in due time went forward over the usual fur traders' route, which we have so often described, and arrived at fort garry early in september. as the object of the expedition was to spy out the land, the red river settlement, now grown to considerable size, afforded the explorers an interesting field for study. simple though the conditions of life were, yet the fact that six or seven thousands of human beings were gaining a livelihood and were possessed of a number of the amenities of life, made its impress on the visitors, and hind's chapters vi. to x. of his first volume are taken up with a general account of the settlement, the banks of the red river, statistics of population, administration of justice, trade, occupations of the people, missions, education, and agriculture at red river. having arrived at the settlement, the leaders devised plans for overtaking their work. the approach of winter made it impossible to plan expeditions over the plains to any profit. mr. gladman returned by canoe to lake superior early in september, napier and his assistants took up their abode among the better class of english-speaking half-breeds between the upper and lower forts on the banks of the red river. mr. dawson found shelter among his roman catholic co-religionists half a mile from fort garry. he and his party were to be engaged during the winter between red river and the lake of the woods, along the route afterwards called the dawson road, while hind followed his party up the western bank of red river to pembina, and his own account is that there was of them "all told, five gentlemen, five half-breeds, six saddle horses, and five carts, to which were respectively attached four poor horses and one refractory mule." this party was returning to canada, going by way of crow wing, thence by stage coach to st. paul, on the mississippi, then by rail unbroken to toronto, which was reached after an absence of three and a half months. the next season hind was placed in charge of the expedition, and with new assistants went up the lakes in may, leading them by the long-deserted route of grand portage instead of by kaministiquia. the journey from lake superior to fort garry was made in about twenty-one days. on their arrival at red river the party found that mr. dawson had gone on an exploring tour to the saskatchewan. having organized his expedition hind now went up the assiniboine to fort ellice. the qu'appelle valley was then explored, and the lake reached from which two streamlets flow, one into the qu'appelle and thence to the assiniboine, the other into the saskatchewan. descending the saskatchewan, at the mouth of which the grand rapids impressed the party, they made the journey thence up lake winnipeg and red river to the place of departure. the tour was a most interesting one, having occupied all the summer. hind was a close observer, was most skilful in working with the hudson's bay company and its officers, and he gained an excellent view of the most fertile parts of the country. his estimate of it on the whole has been wonderfully borne out by succeeding years of experience and investigation. milton and cheadle. the world at large, after hind's expedition and the publication of his interesting observations, began to know more of the fur traders' land and showed more interest in it. in the years succeeding hind's expedition a number of enterprising canadians reached fort garry by way of st. paul, minn., and took up their abode in the country. a daring band of nearly 200 canadians, drawn by the gold fever, started in 1862, on an overland journey to cariboo; but many of them perished by the way. three other well-known expeditions deserve notice. the first of these was in 1862 by viscount milton and dr. cheadle. coming from england by way of minnesota to fort garry, they stopped at red river settlement, and by conveyance crossed the prairies in their first season as far as fort carlton on the north saskatchewan, and wintered there. the season was enjoyable, and in spring the explorers ascended the saskatchewan to edmonton, and then, by way of the yellow head pass, crossed the rocky mountains. their descent down the thompson river was a most difficult one. the explorers were nearly lost through starvation, and on their arrival by way of fraser river at victoria their appearance was most distressing and their condition most pitiable. a few years ago, in company with a party of members of the british association, dr. cheadle visited winnipeg, and at a banquet in the city expressed to the writer his surprise that the former state of scarcity of food even on red river had been so changed into the evident plenty which manitoba now enjoys. milton and cheadle's "the north-west passage by land" is a most enjoyable book. captain butler. in the early months of the year 1870, when red river settlement was under the hand of the rebel louis riel, a tall, distinguished-looking stranger descended the red river in the steamer _international_. news had been sent by a courier on horseback to the rebel chief that a dangerous stranger was approaching. the stalwart irish visitor was captain w. f. butler, of h.m. 69th regiment of foot. as the _international_ neared fort garry, butler, with a well-known resident of red river settlement, sprang upon the river-bank from the steamer in the dark as she turned into the assiniboine river. he escaped to the lower part of the settlement, but the knowledge that he had a letter from the roman catholic archbishop taché led to the rebel chief sending for and promising him a safe-conduct. butler came and inspected the fort, and again departed to lake winnipeg, river winnipeg, and lake of the woods, where he accomplished his real mission, in telling to general wolseley, of the relief expedition coming to drive away the rebels, the state of matters in the red river. captain butler then went west, crossed country to the saskatchewan, descended the river, and in winter came through, by snow-shoe and dog train, over lakes winnipegoosis and manitoba to the east, and then to europe. love of adventure brought captain butler back to the north-west. in 1872 he journeyed through the former fur traders' land, reaching lake athabasca in march, 1873. ascending the peace river, he arrived in northern british columbia in may. through three hundred and fifty miles of the dense forests of new caledonia he toiled to reach quesnel, on the fraser, four hundred miles north of victoria, british columbia, where he in due time landed. captain butler has left a graphic, perhaps somewhat embellished, account of his travels in the books, "great lone land" and "wild north land." the central figure of his first book is the faithful horse "blackie" and of the second the eskimo dog "cerf-vola." the appreciative reader feels, however, especially in the latter, the spirit and power of milton's and cheadle's "north-west passage by land" everywhere in these descriptive works. fleming and grant. third of these expeditions was that undertaken in 1872, under the leadership of sandford fleming, which has been chronicled in the work "ocean to ocean," by rev. principal grant. the writer saw this expedition at winnipeg in the summer of its arrival. it came for the purpose of crossing the plains, as a preliminary survey for a railway. the party came up the lakes, and by boat and portage over the traders' route, and the dawson road from lake of the woods to red river, and halted near fort garry. going westward, they for the most part followed the path of milton and cheadle. fort carlton and then edmonton house were reached, and the yellow head pass was followed to the north thompson river. the forks of the river at kamloops were passed, and then the canoe way down the fraser to the sea was taken. the return journey was made by way of san francisco. the expedition did much to open the way for canadian emigration and to keep before the minds of canadians the necessity for a waggon road across the rocky mountains and for a railway from ocean to ocean as soon as possible. dr. grant's conclusion was: "we know that we have a great north-west, a country like old canada--not suited for lotus-eaters to live in, but fitted to rear a healthy and hardy race." chapter xxxv. red river settlement. 1817-1846. chiefly scottish and french settlers--many hardships--grasshoppers--yellow head--"gouverneur sauterelle"--swiss settlers--remarkable parchment--captain bulger, a military governor--indian troubles--donald mackenzie, a fur trader, governor--many projects fail--the flood--plenty follows--social condition--lower fort built--upper fort garry--council of assiniboia--the settlement organized--duncan finlayson governor--english farmers--governor christie--serious epidemic--a regiment of regulars--the unfortunate major--the people restless. the cessation of hostilities between the rival companies afforded an opportunity to lord selkirk's settlement to proceed with its development. to the scared and harassed settlers it gave the prospects of peace under their governor, alexander macdonell, who had been in the fur trade, but took charge of the settlement after the departure of miles macdonell. the state of affairs was far from promising. the population of scottish and irish settlers was less than two hundred. there were a hundred or thereabout of de meurons, brought up by lord selkirk, and a number of french voyageurs, free traders or "freemen" as opposed to _engagés_, and those who, with their half-breed families, had begun to assemble about the forks and to take up holdings for themselves. for the last mentioned, the hunt, fishing, and the fur trade afforded a living; but as to the settlers and de meurons, providence seemed to favour them but little more than the hostile nor'-westers had done. the settlers were chiefly men who were unacquainted with farming, and they had few implements, no cattle or horses, and the hoe and spade were their only means of fitting the soil for the small quantity of grain supplied them for sowing. other means of employment or livelihood there were none. in 1818 the crops of the settlers were devoured by an incursion of locusts. on several occasions clouds of these destructive insects have visited red river, and their ravages are not only serious, but they paralyze all effort on the part of the husbandmen. the description given by the prophet joel was precisely reproduced on the banks of the red river, "the land is as the garden of eden before them, and behind them is a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them." there was no resource for the settlers but to betake themselves to pembina to seek the buffalo. in the next year they sowed their scanty seed, but the young "grasshoppers," as they were called, rose from the eggs deposited in the previous year, and while the wheat was in the blade, cleared it from the fields more thoroughly than any reaper could have done. this scourge continued till the spring of 1821, when the locusts disappeared suddenly, and the crop of that year was a bountiful one. during these years the colony was understood to be under the personal ownership of lord selkirk. he regarded himself as responsible, as lord paramount of the district, for the safety and support of the colonists. in the first year of the settlement he had sent out supplies of food, clothing, implements, arms, and ammunition; a store-house had been erected; and this continued during these years to be supplied with what was needed. it was the governor's duty to regulate the distribution of these stores and to keep account of them as advances to the several settlers, and of the interest charged upon such advances. whilst the store was a boon, even a necessity, to the settlers, it was also an instrument of oppression. alexander macdonell was called "gouverneur sauterelle" ("grasshopper governor"), the significant statement being made by ross "that he was so nicknamed because he proved as great a destroyer within doors as the grasshoppers in the fields." he seems, moreover, to have been an extravagant official, being surrounded by a coterie of kindred spirits, who lived in "one prolonged scene of debauchery." with the departure of the grasshoppers from the country departed also the unpopular and unfaithful governor. it was only on the visit of mr. halkett, one of lord selkirk's executors, that macdonell's course of "false entries, erroneous statements, and over-charges" was discovered, and the accounts of the settlers adjusted to give them their rights. the disgraceful reign of governor macdonell was brought to a close none too soon. during the period of governor macdonell's rule a number of important events had taken place. the union of the two rival companies was accomplished. clergy, both roman catholic and of the church of england, had arrived in the colony. a farm had been begun by the colony officers on the banks of the assiniboine, and the name of hayfield farm was borne by it. perhaps the most notable event was the arrival at red river of a number of swiss settlers. these were brought out by colonel may, late of the de watteville regiment. a native of berne, he had come to canada, but not to red river. the swiss were in many ways an element of interest. crossing the ocean by hudson's bay company's ships they arrived at york factory in august, 1821, and were borne in the company's york boats to their destination. gathered, as they had been, from the towns and villages of switzerland, and being chiefly "watch and clock makers, pastry cooks, and musicians," they were ill-suited for such a new settlement as that of red river, where they must become agriculturists. they seem to have been honest and orderly people, though very poor. it will be remembered that the de meurons had come as soldiers; they were chiefly, therefore, unmarried men. the arrival of the swiss, with their handsome sons and daughters, produced a flutter of excitement in the wifeless de meuron cabins along german creek. the result is described in the words of a most trustworthy eye-witness of what took place: "no sooner had the swiss emigrants arrived than many of the germans, who had come to the settlement a few years ago from canada and had houses, presented themselves in search of a wife, and having fixed their attachment with acceptance, they received those families in which was their choice into their habitations. those who had no daughters to afford this introduction were obliged to pitch their tents along the banks of the river and outside the stockades of the fort, till they removed to pembina in the better prospects of provisions for the winter." the whole affair was a repetition of the old sabine story. in connection with these de meurons and swiss, it may be interesting to mention a remarkable parchment agreement which the writer has perused. it is eleven feet long, and one and a half feet wide, containing the signatures of forty-nine settlers, of which twenty-five are those of de meurons or swiss, the remainder being of highlanders and norwegians. among these names are bender, lubrevo, quiluby, bendowitz, kralic, wassloisky, joli, jankosky, wachter, lassota, laidece, warcklur, krusel, jolicoeur, maquet, and lalonde. this agreement binds the earl of selkirk or his agents not to engage in the sale of spirituous liquors or the fur trade, but to provide facilities for transport of goods from and into the country, and at moderate rates. the settlers are bound to keep up roads, to support a clergyman, and to provide for defence. the document is not only a curiosity, but historically valuable. there is no date upon it, but the date is fixed by the signatures, viz. "for the buffalo wool company, john pritchard." that company, we know, began, and as we shall see afterwards, failed in the years 1821 and 1822. this, accordingly, is the date of the document marking the era of the fusion of the hudson's bay company and the nor'-westers. the de meurons and swiss never took kindly to red river. so early as 1822, after wintering at pembina, a number of them, instead of turning their faces toward fort garry, went up the red river into minnesota, and took up farms where st. paul now stands, on the mississippi. they were the first settlers there. among their names are those of garvas, pierrie, louis massey, and that of perry, men who became very rich in herds in the early days of minnesota. on the removal of governor macdonell, captain a. bulger was, in june, 1822, installed as governor of assiniboia. his rule only lasted one year and proved troublous, though he was a high-minded and capable official. there lies before the writer, "papers referring to red river," consisting chiefly of a long letter published by the captain in india, written in 1822 to andrew colville, one of the executors of lord selkirk. one of his chief troubles was the opposition given him by the hudson's bay company officer clarke, who was in charge of their establishment at the forks. every effort was put forth by clarke to make bulger's position uncomfortable, and the opposition drove the captain away. bulger also had a worrying experience with peguis, the chief of the indians on the lower red river. though peguis and the other chiefs had made a treaty with lord selkirk and ceded certain lands to his lordship, they now, with the fickleness of children, repented of their bargain and sought additional payment for the concession. bulger's military manner, however, overcame the chief, and twenty-five lashes administered to an indian who had attempted violence had a sobering effect upon the red man. governor bulger expresses himself very freely on the character of the de meuron settlers. he says: "it is quite absurd to suppose they will ever prove peaceable and industrious settlers. the only charm that red river possesses in their eyes, and, i may say, in the eyes of almost all the settlers, is the colony stores. their demands are insatiable, and when refused, their insolence extreme. united as they are among themselves, and ferocious in their dispositions, nothing can be done against them." it is but fair, however, to state that the captain had a low opinion both of the hudson's bay company's officers and of the french canadian freemen. governor bulger, on retiring, made the following suggestions, which show the evils which he thought needed a remedy, viz. "to get courts and magistrates nominated by the king; to get a company of troops sent out to support the magistrates and keep the natives in order; to circulate money; to find a market for the surplus grain; to let it be determined whether the council at york factory are justified in preventing the settlers from buying moose or deer skin for clothing and provisions." the governor's closing words are, "if these things cannot be done, it is my sincere advice to you to spend no more of lord selkirk's money upon red river." governor bulger was succeeded by robert pelly, who was the brother of sir j. h. pelly, the governor of the company in london. it seems to have been about this time that the executors of lord selkirk, while not divesting themselves of their red river possessions, yet in order to avoid the unseemly conflicts seen in bulger's time, entrusted the administration of their affairs to the company's officers at red river. we have seen in a former chapter the appointment of the committee to manage these red river affairs at norway house council. after two years pelly retired, and donald mckenzie, a fur trader who had taken part in the stirring events of astoria, to which we have referred, became governor. the discontent of the settlers, and the wish to advance the colony, led the company for a number of years after the union of the companies to try various projects for the development of the colony. though the recital of these gives a melancholy picture of failure, yet it shows a heartiness and willingness on the part of the company to do the best for the settlers, albeit there was in every case bad management. immediately after the union of the two fur companies in 1821, a company to manufacture cloth from buffalo wool was started. this, of course, was a mad scheme, but there was a clamour that work should be found for the hungry immigrants. the company began operations, and every one was to become rich. $10,000 of money raised in shares was deposited in the hudson's bay company's hands as the bankers of the "buffalo wool company," machinery was obtained, and the people largely gave up agriculture to engage in killing buffalo and collecting buffalo skins. trade was to be the philosopher's stone. in 1822 the bubble burst. it cost $12.50 to manufacture a yard of buffalo wool cloth on red river, and the cloth only sold for $1.10 a yard in london. the hudson's bay company advanced $12,500 beyond the amount deposited, and a few years afterwards was under the necessity of forgiving the debt. the hudson's bay company had thus its lesson in encouraging the settlers. the money distributed to the settlers through this company, however, bought cattle for them, several hundred cattle having been brought from illinois that year. a model farm for the benefit of the settlers was next undertaken. buildings, implements, and also a mansion, costing $3,000, for the manager, were provided. a few years of mismanagement and extravagance brought this experiment to an end also, and the founders were $10,000 out of pocket. such was another scheme to encourage the settlers. driven to another effort by the discontent of the people, governor simpson tried another model farm. at a fine spot on the assiniboine, farm dwellings, barns, yards, and stables were erected and fields enclosed, well-bred cattle were imported, also horses. the farm was well stocked with implements. mismanagement, however, again brought its usual result, and after six years the trial was given up, there having been a loss to the company of $17,500. nothing daunted, the red river settlers started the "assiniboine wool company," but as it fell through upon the first demand for payment of the stock, it hurt nobody, and ended, according to the proverb, with "much cry and little wool." another enterprise was next begun by governor simpson, "the flax and hemp company," but though the farmers grew a plentiful quantity of these, the undertaking failed, and the crop rotted on the fields. a more likely scheme for the encouragement of the settlers was now set on foot by the governor, viz. a new sheep speculation. sheep were purchased in missouri, and after a journey of nearly fifteen hundred miles, only two hundred and fifty sheep out of the original fourteen hundred survived the hardships of the way. a tallow company is said to have swallowed up from $3,000 to $5,000 for the hudson's bay company, and a good deal of money was spent in opening up a road to hudson bay. thus was enterprise after enterprise undertaken by the company, largely for the good of the settlers. if ever an honest effort was made to advance an isolated and difficult colony, it was in these schemes begun by the hudson's bay company here. the most startling event during the rule of governor mackenzie was the red river flood in 1826. the winter of this year had been severe, and a great snowfall gave promise of a wet and dangerous spring. the snow had largely cleared away, when, early in the month of may, the waters began rising with surprising rapidity. the banks of the rivers were soon unable to contain the floods, and once on the prairie level the waters spread for miles east and west in a great lake. the water rose several feet in the houses of the settlers. when the wind blew the waves dashed over the roofs. buildings were undermined and some were floated away. the settlers were compelled to leave their homes, and took flight to the heights of stony mountain, little mountain, bird's hill, and other elevations. for weeks the flood continued, but at last, on its receding, the homeless settlers returned to their battered and damaged houses, much disheartened. the crops, however, were sown, though late, and a fair harvest was gathered in that unpromising year. the flood was the last straw that broke the back of the endurance of de meurons and swiss colonists. they almost all withdrew from the country and became settlers in minnesota and other states of the american union. either from pride or real dislike, the selkirk settlers declared that they were well rid of these discontented and turbulent foreigners. the year of the flood seems to have introduced an era of plenty, for the people rebuilt their houses, cultivated their fields, received full returns for their labour, and were enabled to pay off their debts and improve their buildings. during governor mckenzie's régime at the time of the flood, the population of the red river settlement had reached fifteen hundred. after this, though the colony lost by desertions, as we have seen, yet it continued to gain by the addition of retiring hudson's bay company officers and servants, who took up land as allowed by the company in strips along the river after the lower canadian fashion, for which they paid small sums. there were in many cases no deeds, simply the registration of the name in the company's register. a man sold his lot for a horse, and it was a matter of chance whether the registration of the change in the lot took place or not. this was certainly a mode of transferring land free enough to suit an english radical or even henry george. the land reached as far out from the river as could be seen by looking under a horse, say two miles, and back of this was the limitless prairie, which became a species of common where all could cut hay and where herds could run unconfined. wood, water, and hay were the necessaries of a red river settler's life; to cut poplar rails for his fences in spring and burn the dried rails in the following winter was quite the authorized thing. there was no inducement to grow surplus grain, as each settler could only get a market for eight bushels of wheat from the hudson's bay company. it could not be exported. pemmican from the plains was easy to get; the habits of the people were simple; their wants were few; and while the condition of red river settlement was far from being that of an arcadia, want was absent and the people were becoming satisfied. to governor mckenzie, who ruled well for eight years, credit is due largely for the peace and progress of the period. alexander ross, who came from the rocky mountains to red river in 1825, is the chronicler of this period, and it is with amusement we read his gleeful account of the erection of the first stone building, small though it was, on the banks of red river. lime had been burnt from the limestone, found abundantly along the lower part of the red river, during the time of governor bulger. it was in 1830 that the hudson's bay company built a small powder magazine of stone, near fort garry. this was the beginning of solid architecture in the settlement. in the following year the hudson's bay company, evidently encouraged by the thrift and contentment of the people, began the erection of a very notable and important group of buildings some nineteen miles down the river from the forks. this was called lower fort garry. it was built on the solid rock, and was, and is to this day, surrounded by a massive stone wall. various reasons have been advanced for the building of this, the first permanent fort so far from the old centre of trade, and of the old associations at the "forks." some have said it was done to place it among the english people, as the french settlers were becoming turbulent; some that it was at the head of navigation from lake winnipeg, being north of the st. andrew's rapids; and some maintained that the site was chosen as having been far above the high water during the year of flood, when fort douglas and upper fort garry had been surrounded. the motive will probably never be known; but for a time it was the residence of the governor of rupert's land when he was in the country, and was the seat of government. four years afterwards, when alexander christie had replaced mr. donald mckenzie as local governor, fort garry or upper fort garry was begun in 1835 at the forks, but on higher ground than the original fort garry of 1821, which had been erected after the union of the companies. this fort continued the centre of business, government, education, and public affairs for more than three decades and was the nucleus of the city of winnipeg. sold in the year 1882, the fort was demolished, and the front gate, now owned by the city, is all that remains of this historic group of buildings. the destruction of the fort was an act of vandalism, reflecting on the sordid man who purchased it from the hudson's bay company. in governor christie's time the necessity was recognized of having a form of government somewhat less patriarchal than the individual rule of the local governor had been. accordingly, the council of assiniboia was appointed by the hudson's bay company, the president being sir george simpson, the governor of rupert's land, and with him fourteen councillors. it may be of interest to give the names of the members of this first council. besides the president there were: alexander christie, governor of the colony; rev. d. t. jones, chaplain h. b. c.; right rev. bishop provencher; rev. william cochrane, assistant chaplain; james bird, formerly chief factor, h. b. c.; james sutherland, esq.; w. h. cook, esq.; john pritchard, esq.; robert logan, esq.; sheriff alex. ross; john mccallum, coroner; john bunn, medical adviser; cuthbert grant, esq., warden of the plains; andrew mcdermott, merchant. it is generally conceded, however, that the council did not satisfy the public aspirations. the president and councillors were all declared either sinecurists or paid servants of the company. the mass of the people complained at not being represented. it was, however, a step very much in advance of what had been, although there was a suspicion in the public mind that it had something of the form of popular government without the substance. at the first meeting of the council a number of measures were passed. to preserve order a volunteer corps of sixty men was organized, with a small annual allowance per man. of this body, sheriff ross was commander. the settlement was divided into four districts, over each of which a justice of the peace was appointed, who held quarterly courts in their several jurisdictions. at this court small actions only were tried, and the presiding magistrate was allowed to refer any case of exceptional difficulty to the court of governor and council. this higher court sat quarterly also. in larger civil cases and in criminal cases the law required a jury to be called. a jail and court-house were erected outside the walls of fort garry. to meet the expense involved under the new institutions a tax of 7-1/2 per cent. duty was levied on imports and a like duty on exports. the hudson's bay company also agreed to contribute three hundred pounds a year in aid of public works throughout the settlement. the year 1839 was notable in the history of the colony. a new governor, duncan finlayson, was appointed, and steps were taken also to improve the judicial system which had been introduced. an appointment was made of the first recorder for red river settlement. the new appointee was a young scottish lawyer from montreal, named adam thom. he had been a journalist in montreal, was of an ardent and somewhat aggressive disposition, but was a man of ability and broad reading. judge thom was, however, a company officer, and as such there was an antecedent suspicion of him in the public mind. it was pointed out that he was not independent, receiving his appointment and his salary of seven hundred pounds from the company. in montreal he had been known as a determined loyalist in the late papineau rebellion, and the french people regarded him as hostile to their race. the population of the settlement continued to increase. in the last year of governor finlayson's rule, twenty families of lincolnshire farmers and labourers came to the country to assist with their knowledge of agriculture. after five years' rule governor finlayson retired from office, and was succeeded for a short time by his old predecessor, mr. alexander christie. a serious epidemic visited the red river in the year 1846. ross describes it in the following graphic way: "in january the influenza raged, and in may the measles broke out; but neither of these visitations proved fatal. at length in june a bloody flux began its ravages first among the indians, and others among the whites; like the great cry in egypt, 'there was not a house where there was not one dead,' on red river there was not a smiling face on 'a summer's day.' from june 18th to august 2nd, the deaths averaged seven a day, or three hundred and twenty-one in all, being one out of every sixteen of our population. of these one-sixth were indians, two-thirds half-breeds, and the remainder white. on one occasion thirteen burials were proceeding at once." during this year also the oregon question, with which we shall afterwards deal, threatened war between great britain and the united states. the policy of the british government is, on the first appearance of trouble, to prepare for hostilities. accordingly the 6th royal regiment of foot, with sappers and artillery, in all five hundred strong, was hurried out under colonel crofton to defend the colony. colonel crofton took the place of alexander christie as governor. the addition of this body of military to the colony gave picturesqueness to the hitherto monotonous life of red river. a market for produce and the circulation of a large sum of money marked their stay on red river. the turbulent spirits who had made much trouble were now silenced, or betook themselves to a safe place across the boundary line. chapter xxxvi. the prairies: sledge, keel, wheel, cayuse, chase. a picturesque life--the prairie hunters and traders--gaily caparisoned dog trains--the great winter packets--joy in the lonely forts--the summer trade--the york boat brigade--expert voyageurs--the famous red river cart--shagganappe ponies--the screeching train--tripping--the western cayuse--the great buffalo hunt--warden of the plains--pemmican and fat--the return in triumph. the great prairies of rupert's land and their intersecting rivers afforded the means for the unique and picturesque life of the prairie hunters and traders. the frozen, snowy plains and lakes were crossed in winter by the serviceable sledge drawn by eskimo dogs, familiarly called "eskies" or "huskies." when summer had come, the lakes and rivers of the prairies, formerly skimmed by canoes, during the fifty years from the union of the companies till the transfer of rupert's land to canada, were for freight and even rapid transit crossed and followed by york and other boats. the transport of furs and other freight across the prairies was accomplished by the use of carts--entirely of wood--drawn by indian ponies, or by oxen in harness, while the most picturesque feature of the prairie life of red river was the departure of the brigade of carts with the hunters and their families on a great expedition for the exciting chase of the buffalo. these salient points of the prairie life of the last half-century of fur-trading life we may with profit depict. sledge and packet. under the régime established by governor simpson, the communication with the interior was reduced to a system. the great winter event at red river was the leaving of the north-west packet about december 10th. by this agency every post in the northern department was reached. sledges and snow-shoes were the means by which this was accomplished. the sledge or toboggan was drawn by three or four "huskies," gaily comparisoned; and with these neatly harnessed dogs covered with bells, the traveller or the load of valuables was hurried across the pathless snowy wastes of the plains or over the ice of the frozen lakes and rivers. the dogs carried their freight of fish on which they lived, each being fed only at the close of his day's work, and his allowance one fish. the winter packet was almost entirely confined to the transport of letters and a few newspapers. during sir george simpson's time an annual file of the _montreal gazette_ was sent to each post, and to some of the larger places came a year's file of the london _times_. a box was fastened on the back part of the sledge, and this was packed with the important missives so prized when the journey was ended. going at the rate of forty or more miles a day with the precious freight, the party with their sledges camped in the shelter of a clump of trees or bushes, and built their camp fire; then each in his blankets, often joined by the favourite dog as a companion for heat, sought rest on the couch of spruce or willow boughs for the night with the thermometer often at 30 deg. or 40 deg. below zero f. the winter packet ran from fort garry to norway house, a distance of 350 miles. at this point the packet was all rearranged, a part of the freight being carried eastward to hudson bay, the other portion up the saskatchewan to the western and northern forts. the party which had taken the packet to norway house, at that point received the packages from hudson bay and with them returned to fort garry. the western mail from norway house was taken by another sledge party up the saskatchewan river, and leaving parcels at posts along the route, reached its rendezvous at carlton house. the return party from that point received the mail from the north, and hastened to fort garry by way of swan river district, distributing its treasures to the posts it passed and reaching fort garry usually about the end of february. at carlton a party of runners from edmonton and the upper saskatchewan made rendezvous, deposited their packages, received the outgoing mail, and returned to their homes. some of the matter collected from the upper saskatchewan and that brought, as we have seen, by the inland packet from fort garry was taken by a new set of runners to mackenzie river, and athabasca. thus at carlton there met three parties, viz. from fort garry, edmonton, and athabasca. each brought a packet and received another back in return. the return packet from carlton to fort garry, arriving in february, took up the accumulated material, went with it to norway house, the place whence they had started in december, thus carrying the "red river spring packet," and at norway house it was met by another express, known as the "york factory spring packet," which had just arrived. the runners on these various packets underwent great exposure, but they were fleet and athletic and knew how to act to the best advantage in storm and danger. they added a picturesque interest to the lonely life of the ice-bound post as they arrived at it, delivered their message, and again departed. keel and canoe. the transition from winter to spring is a very rapid one on the plains of rupert's land. the ice upon the rivers and lakes becomes honey-combed and disappears very soon. the rebound from the icy torpor of winter to the active life of the season that combines spring and summer is marvellous. no sooner were the waterways open in the fur-trading days than freight was hurried from one part of the country to another by means of inland or york boats. these boats, it will be remembered, were introduced by governor simpson, who found them more safe and economical than the canoe generally in use before his time. each of these boats could carry three or four tons of freight, and was manned by nine men, one of them being steersman, the remainder, men for the oar. four to eight of these craft made up a brigade, and the skill and rapidity with which these boats could be loaded or unloaded, carried past a portage or décharge, guided through rapids or over considerable stretches of the lakes, was the pride of their indian or half-breed tripsmen, as they were called, or the admiration of the officers dashing past them in their speedy canoes. the route from york factory to fort garry being a long and continuous waterway, was a favourite course for the york boat brigade. many of the settlers of the red river settlement became well-to-do by commanding brigades of boats and carrying freight for the company. in the earlier days of governor simpson the great part of the furs from the interior were carried to fort garry or the grand portage, at the mouth of the saskatchewan, and thence past norway house to hudson bay. from york factory a load of general merchandise was brought back, which had been cargo in the company's ship from the thames to york. lake winnipeg is generally clear of ice early in june, and the first brigade would then start with its seven or eight boats laden to the gunwales with furs; a week after, the second brigade was under way, and thus, at intervals to keep clear of each other in crossing the portages, the catch of the past season was carried out. the return with full supplies for the settlers was earnestly looked for, and the voyage both ways, including stoppages, took some nine weeks. far up into the interior the goods in bales were taken. one of the best known routes was that of what was called, "the portage brigade." this ran from lake winnipeg up the saskatchewan northward, past cumberland house and ile à la crosse to methy portage, otherwise known as portage la loche, where the waters part, on one side going to hudson's bay, on the other flowing to the arctic sea. the trip made from fort garry to portage la loche and return occupied about four months. at portage la loche the brigade from the mackenzie river arrived in time to meet that from the south, and was itself soon in motion, carrying its year's supply of trading articles for the far north, not even leaving out peel's river and the yukon. the frequent transhipments required in these long and dangerous routes led to the secure packing of bales, of about one hundred pounds each, each of them being called an "inland piece." seventy-five made up the cargo of a york boat. the skill with which these boats could be laden was surprising. a good half-breed crew of nine men was able to load a boat and pack the pieces securely in five minutes. the boat's crew was under the command of the steersman, who sat on a raised platform in the stern of the boat. at the portages it was the part of the steersman to raise each piece from the ground and place two of them on the back of each tripsman, to be held in place by the "portage strap" on the forehead. it will be seen that the position of the captain was no sinecure. one of the eight tripsmen was known as "bowman." in running rapids he stood at the bow, and with a light pole directed the boat, giving information by word and sign to the steersman. the position of less responsibility though great toil was that of the "middlemen," or rowers. when a breeze blew, a sail hoisted in the boat lightened their labours. the captain or steersman of each boat was responsible to the "guide," who, as a commander of the brigade, was a man of much experience, and consequently held a position of some importance. such were the means of transport over the vast water system of rupert's land up to the year 1869, although some years before that time transport by land to st. paul in minnesota had reached large proportions. since the date named, railway and steamboat have directed trade into new channels, for even mackenzie river now has a hudson's bay company steamboat. cart and cayuse. the lakes and rivers were not sufficient to carry on the trade of the country. accordingly, land transport became a necessity. if the ojibway indians found the birch bark canoe and the snow-shoe so useful that they assigned their origin to the manitou, then certainly it was a happy thought when the famous red river cart was similarly evolved. these two-wheeled vehicles are entirely of wood, without any iron whatever. the wheels are large, being five feet in diameter, and are three inches thick. the felloes are fastened to one another by tongues of wood, and pressure in revolving keeps them from falling apart. the hubs are thick and very strong. the axles are wood alone, and even the lynch pins are wooden. a light box frame, tightened by wooden pegs, is fastened by the same agency and poised upon the axle. the price of a cart in red river of old was two pounds. the harness for the horse which drew the cart was made of roughly-tanned ox hide, which was locally known as "shagganappe." the name "shagganappe" has in later years been transferred to the small-sized horse used, which is thus called a "shagganappe pony." the carts were drawn by single ponies, or in some cases by stalwart oxen. these oxen were harnessed and wore a collar, not the barbarous yoke which the ox has borne from time immemorial. the ox in harness has a swing of majesty as he goes upon his journey. the indian pony, with a load of four or five hundred pounds in a cart behind him, will go at a measured jog-trot fifty or sixty miles a day. heavy freighting carts made a journey of about twenty miles a day, the load being about eight hundred pounds. a train of carts of great length was sometimes made to go upon some long expedition, or for protection from the thievish or hostile bands of indians. a brigade consisted of ten carts, under the charge of three men. five or six more brigades were joined in one train, and this was placed under the charge of a guide, who was vested with much authority. he rode on horseback forward, marshalling his forces, including the management of the spare horses or oxen, which often amounted to twenty per cent. of the number of those drawing the carts. the stopping-places, chosen for good grass and a plentiful supply of water, the time of halting, the management of brigades, and all the details of a considerable camp were under the care of this officer-in-chief. one of the most notable cart trails and freighting roads on the prairies was that from fort garry to st. paul, minnesota. this was an excellent road, on the west side of the red river, through dakota territory for some two hundred miles, and then, by crossing the red river into minnesota, the road led for two hundred and fifty miles down to st. paul. the writer, who came shortly after the close of the fifty years we are describing, can testify to the excellence of this road over the level prairies. at the period when the sioux indians were in revolt and the massacre of the whites took place in 1862, this route was dangerous, and the road, though not so smooth and not so dry, was followed on the east side of the red river. every season about three hundred carts, employing one hundred men, departed from fort garry to go upon the "tip," as it was called, to st. paul, or in later times to st. cloud, when the railway had reached that place. the visit of this band coming from the north, with their wooden carts, "shagganappe" ponies, and harnessed oxen, bringing huge bales of precious furs, awakened great interest in st. paul. the late j. w. taylor, who for about a quarter of a century held the position of american consul at winnipeg, and who, on account of his interest in the north-west prairies, bore the name of "saskatchewan taylor," was wont to describe most graphically the advent, as he saw it, of this strange expedition, coming, like a midianitish caravan in the east, to trade at the central mart. on sundays they encamped near st. paul. there was the greatest decorum and order in camp; their religious demeanour, their honest and well-to-do appearance, and their peaceful disposition were an oasis in the desert of the wild and reckless inhabitants of early minnesota. another notable route for carts was that westward from fort garry by way of fort ellice to carlton house, a distance of some five hundred miles. it will be remembered that it was by this route that governor simpson in early days, palliser, milton, and cheadle found their way to the west. in later days the route was extended to edmonton house, a thousand miles in all. it was a whole summer's work to make the trip to edmonton and return. on the hudson's bay company reserve of five hundred acres around fort garry was a wide camping-ground for the "trippers" and traders. day after day was fixed for the departure, but still the traders lingered. after much leave-taking, the great train started. it was a sight to be remembered. the gaily-caparisoned horses, the hasty farewells, the hurry of women and children, the multitude of dogs, the balky horses, the subduing and harnessing and attaching of the restless ponies, all made it a picturesque day. the train in motion appealed not only to the eye, but to the ear as well, the wooden axles creaked, and the creaking of a train with every cart contributing its dismal share, could be heard more than a mile away. in the far-west the early traders used the cayuse, or indian pony, and "travoie," for transporting burdens long distances. the "travoie" consisted of two stout poles fastened together over the back of the horse, and dragging their lower ends upon the ground. great loads--almost inconceivable, indeed--were thus carried across the pathless prairies. the red river cart and the indian cayuse were the product of the needs of the prairies. plain hunters and the buffalo. a generation had passed since the founding of the selkirk settlement, and the little handful of scottish settlers had become a community of five thousand. this growth had not been brought about by immigration, nor by natural increase, but by what may be called a process of accretion. throughout the whole of rupert's land and adjoining territories the employés of the company, whether from lower canada or from the orkney islands, as well as the clerks and officers of the country, had intermarried with the indian women of the tribes. when the trader or company's servant had gained a competence suited to his ideas, he thought it right to retire from the active fur trade and float down the rivers to the settlement, which the first governor of manitoba called the "paradise of red river." here the hunter or officer procured a strip of land from the company, on it erected a house for the shelter of his "dusky race," and engaged in agriculture, though his former life largely unfitted him for this occupation. in this way, four-fifths of the population of the settlement were half-breeds, with their own traditions, sensibilities, and prejudices--the one part of them speaking french with a dash of cree mixed with it, the other english which, too, had the form of a red river patois. we have seen that tripping and hunting gave a livelihood to some, if not the great majority, but these occupations unfitted men for following the plough. in addition there was no market for produce, so that agriculture did not in general thrive. one of the favourite features of red river, which fitted in thoroughly with the roving traditions of the large part of the population, was the annual buffalo hunt, which, for those who engaged in it, occupied a great portion of the summer. we have the personal reminiscences of the hunt by alexander ross, sometime sheriff of assiniboia, which, as being lively and graphic, are worthy of being reproduced. ross says: "buffalo hunting here, like bear baiting in india, has become a popular and favourite amusement among all classes; and red river, in consequence, has been brought into some degree of notice by the presence of strangers from foreign countries. we are now occasionally visited by men of science as well as men of pleasure. the war road of the savage and the solitary haunt of the bear have of late been resorted to by the florist, the botanist, and the geologist; nor is it uncommon nowadays to see officers of the guards, knights, baronets, and some of the higher nobility of england and other countries coursing their steeds over the boundless plains and enjoying the pleasures of the chase among the half-breeds and savages of the country. distinction of rank is, of course, out of the question, and at the close of the adventurous day all squat down in merry mood together, enjoying the social freedom of equality round nature's table and the novel treat of a fresh buffalo steak served up in the style of the country, that is to say, roasted on a forked stick before the fire; a keen appetite their only sauce, cold water their only beverage. looking at this assemblage through the medium of the imagination, the mind is led back to the chivalric period of former days, when chiefs and vassals took counsel together.... "with the earliest dawn of spring the hunters are in motion like bees, and the colony in a state of confusion, from their going to and fro, in order to raise the wind and prepare themselves for the fascinating enjoyments of hunting. it is now that the company, the farmers, the petty traders are all beset by their incessant and irresistible importunities. the plain mania brings everything else to a stand. one wants a horse, another an axe, a third a cart; they want ammunition, they want clothing, they want provisions; and though people refuse one or two they cannot deny a whole population, for, indeed, over-much obstinacy would not be unattended with risk. thus the settlers are reluctantly dragged into profligate speculation. "the plain hunters, finding they can get whatever they want without ready money, are led into ruinous extravagances; but the evil of the long credit system does not end here.... so many temptations, so many attractions are held out to the thoughtless and giddy, so fascinating is the sweet air of freedom, that even the offspring of the europeans, as well as natives, are often induced to cast off their habits of industry and leave their comfortable homes to try their fortunes in the plains. "the practical result of all this may be stated in a few words. after the expedition starts there is not a man-servant or maid-servant to be found in the colony. at any season but seed-time and harvest-time, the settlement is literally swarming with idlers; but at these urgent periods money cannot procure them. "the actual money value expended on one trip, estimating also their lost time, is as follows:- 1210 carts (in 1840) £1815 620 hunters (two months) at 1_s._ a day 1860 650 women (two months) at 9_d._ 1460 360 boys and girls (two months) at 4_d._ 360 403 buffalo runners (horses) at 15_l._ 6045 655 cart horses at 8_l._ 5240 586 draught oxen at 6_l._ 3516 guns, gunpowder, knives, axes, harness, camp equipage, and utensils (estimate approaching) 3700 ---- say £24,000 "from fort garry, june 15th, 1840, the cavalcade and followers went crowding on to the public road, and thence, stretching from point to point, till the third day in the evening, when they reached pembina (sixty miles south of fort garry), the great rendezvous on such occasions. when the hunters leave the settlement it enjoys that relief which a person feels on recovering from a long and painful sickness. here, on a level plain, the whole patriarchal camp squatted down like pilgrims on a journey to the holy land in ancient days, only not quite so devout, for neither scrip nor staff were consecrated for the occasion. here the roll was called and general muster taken, when they numbered on this occasion 1,630 souls; and here the rules and regulations for the journey were finally settled. the officials for the trip were named and installed into office, and all without the aid of writing materials. "the camp occupied as much ground as a modern city, and was formed in a circle. all the carts were placed side by side, the trams outward. within this line of circumvallation, the tents were placed in double, treble rows, at one end, the animals at the other, in front of the tents. this is the order in all dangerous places, but where no danger is apprehended, the animals are kept on the outside. thus the carts formed a strong barrier, not only for securing the people and their animals within, but as a place of shelter and defence against an attack of the enemy from without. in 1820 the number of carts assembled for the first trip was 540 " 1825 " " " " " " " " " " 680 " 1830 " " " " " " " " " " 820 " 1835 " " " " " " " " " " 970 " 1840 " " " " " " " " " " 1210 "there is another appendage belonging to the expedition, and these are not always the least noisy, viz. the dogs or camp followers. on the present occasion they numbered no fewer than 542. in deep snow, where horses cannot conveniently be used, dogs are very serviceable animals to the hunters in these parts. the half-breed, dressed in his wolf costume, tackles two or three sturdy curs into a flat sled, throws himself on it at full length, and gets among the buffalo unperceived. here the bow and arrow play their part to prevent noise. and here the skilful hunter kills as many as he pleases, and returns to camp without disturbing the band. "but now to the camp again--the largest of the kind, perhaps, in the world. the first step was to hold a council for the nomination of chiefs or officers for conducting the expedition. ten captains were named, the senior on this occasion being jean baptiste wilkie, an english half-breed, brought up among the french, a man of good sound sense and long experience, and withal a fine, bold-looking, and discreet fellow, a second nimrod in his way. "besides being captain, in common with the others, he was styled the great war chief or head of the camp, and on all public occasions he occupied the place of president. all articles of property found without an owner were carried to him and he disposed of them by a crier, who went round the camp every evening, were it only an awl. each captain had ten soldiers under his orders, in much the same way as policemen are subject to the magistrate. ten guides were likewise appointed, and here we may remark that people in a rude state of society, unable either to read or write, are generally partial to the number ten. their duties were to guide the camp each in his turn--that is day about--during the expedition. the camp flag belongs to the guide of the day; he is therefore standard bearer in virtue of his office. "the hoisting of the flag every morning is the signal for raising camp. half an hour is the full time allowed to prepare for the march; but if anyone is sick or their animals have strayed, notice is sent to the guide, who halts till all is made right. from the time the flag is hoisted, however, till the hour of camping arrives it is never taken down. the flag taken down is a signal for encamping. while it is up the guide is chief of the expedition. captains are subject to him, and the soldiers of the day are his messengers; he commands all. the moment the flag is lowered his functions cease, and the captains' and soldiers' duties commence. they point out the order of the camp, and every cart as it arrives moves to its appointed place. this business usually occupies about the same time as raising camp in the morning; for everything moves with the regularity of clockwork. "all being ready to leave pembina, the captains and other chief men hold another council and lay down the rules to be observed during the expedition. those made on the present occasion were:-(1) no buffalo to be run on the sabbath day. (2) no party to fork off, lag behind, or go before, without permission. (3) no person or party to run buffalo before the general order. (4) every captain with his men in turn to patrol the camp and keep guard. (5) for the first trespass against these laws, the offender to have his saddle and bridle cut up. (6) for the second offence the coat to be taken off the offender's back and to be cut up. (7) for the third offence the offender to be flogged. (8) any person convicted of theft, even to the value of a sinew, to be brought to the middle of the camp, and the crier to call out his or her name three times, adding the word 'thief' at each time. "on the 21st the start was made, and the picturesque line of march soon stretched to the length of some five or six miles in the direction of south-west towards côte à pique. at 2 p.m. the flag was struck, as a signal for resting the animals. after a short interval it was hoisted again, and in a few minutes the whole line was in motion, and continued the route till five or six o'clock in the evening, when the flag was hauled down as a signal to encamp for the night. distance travelled, twenty miles. "the camp being formed, all the leading men, officials, and others assembled, as the general custom is, on some rising ground or eminence outside the ring, and there squatted themselves down, tailor-like, on the grass in a sort of council, each having his gun, his smoking bag in his hand, and his pipe in his mouth. in this situation the occurrences of the day were discussed, and the line of march for the morrow agreed upon. this little meeting was full of interest, and the fact struck me very forcibly that there is happiness and pleasure in the society of the most illiterate men, sympathetically if not intellectually inclined, as well as among the learned, and i must say i found less selfishness and more liberality among those ordinary men than i had been accustomed to find in higher circles. their conversation was free, practical, and interesting, and the time passed on more agreeably than could be expected among such people, till we touched on politics. "of late years the field of chase has been far from pembina, and the hunters do not so much as know in what direction they may find the buffalo, as these animals frequently shift their ground. it is a mere leap in the dark, whether at the outset the expedition takes the right or the wrong road; and their luck in the chase, of course, depends materially on the choice they make. the year of our narrative they travelled a south-west or middle course, being the one generally preferred, since it leads past most of the rivers near their sources, where they are easily crossed. the only inconvenience attending this choice is the scarcity of wood, which in a warm season is but a secondary consideration. "not to dwell on the ordinary routine of each day's journey, it was the ninth day from pembina before we reached the cheyenne river, distant only about 150 miles, and as yet we had not seen a single band of buffalo. on july 3rd, our nineteenth day from the settlement, and at a distance of little more than 250 miles, we came in sight of our destined hunting grounds, and on the day following we had our first buffalo race. our array in the field must have been a grand and imposing one to those who had never seen the like before. no less than 400 huntsmen, all mounted, and anxiously waiting for the word 'start!' took up their position in a line at one end of the camp, while captain wilkie, with his spyglass at his eye, surveyed the buffalo, examined the ground, and issued his orders. at eight o'clock the whole cavalcade broke ground, and made for the buffalo; first at a slow trot, then at a gallop, and lastly at full speed. their advance was over a dead level, the plain having no hollow or shelter of any kind to conceal their approach. we need not answer any queries as to the feeling and anxiety of the camp on such an occasion. when the horsemen started the cattle might have been a mile and a half ahead, but they had approached to within four or five hundred yards before the bulls curved their tails or pawed the ground. in a moment more the herd took flight, and horse and rider are presently seen bursting in among them. shots are heard, and all is smoke, dash, and hurry. the fattest are first singled out for slaughter, and in less time than we have occupied with the description, a thousand carcases strew the plain. "the moment the animals take to flight the best runners dart forward in advance. at this moment a good horse is invaluable to his owner, for out of the 400 on this occasion, not above fifty got the first chance of the fat cows. a good horse and an experienced rider will select and kill from ten to twelve animals at one heat, while inferior horses are contented with two or three. but much depends on the nature of the ground. on this occasion the surface was rocky, and full of badger holes. twenty-three horses and riders were at one moment sprawling on the ground. one horse, gored by a bull, was killed on the spot, two men disabled by the fall. one rider broke his shoulder blade; another burst his gun and lost three of his fingers by the accident; and a third was struck on the knee by an exhausted ball. these accidents will not be thought over-numerous considering the result; for in the evening no less than 1,375 buffalo tongues were brought into camp. "the rider of a good horse seldom fires till within three or four yards of his object, and never misses. and, what is admirable in point of training, the moment the shot is fired his steed springs on one side to avoid stumbling over the animal, whereas an awkward and shy horse will not approach within ten or fifteen yards, consequently the rider has often to fire at random and not infrequently misses. many of them, however, will fire at double that distance and make sure of every shot. the mouth is always full of balls; they load and fire at the gallop, and but seldom drop a mark, although some do to designate the animal. "of all the operations which mark the hunter's life and are essential to his ultimate success, the most perplexing, perhaps, is that of finding out and identifying the animals he kills during a race. imagine 400 horsemen entering at full speed a herd of some thousands of buffalo, all in rapid motion. riders in clouds of dust and volumes of smoke which darken the air, crossing and recrossing each other in every direction; shots on the right, on the left, behind, before, here, there, two, three, a dozen at a time, everywhere in close succession, at the same moment. horses stumbling, riders falling, dead and wounded animals tumbling here and there, one over the other; and this zigzag and bewildering _mêlée_ continued for an hour or more together in wild confusion. and yet, from practice, so keen is the eye, so correct the judgment, that after getting to the end of the race, he can not only tell the number of animals which he had shot down, but the position in which each lies--on the right or on the left side--the spot where the shot hit, and the direction of the ball; and also retrace his way, step by step, through the whole race and recognize every animal he had the fortune to kill, without the least hesitation or difficulty. to divine how this is accomplished bewilders the imagination. "the main party arrived on the return journey at pembina on august 17th, after a journey of two months and two days. in due time the settlement was reached, and the trip being a successful one, the returns on this occasion may be taken as a fair annual average. an approximation to the truth is all we can arrive at, however. our estimate is nine hundred pounds weight of buffalo meat per cart, a thousand being considered the full load, which gives one million and eighty-nine thousand pounds in all, or something more than two hundred pounds weight for each individual, old and young, in the settlement. as soon as the expedition arrived, the hudson's bay company, according to usual custom, issued a notice that it would take a certain specified quantity of provisions, not from each fellow that had been on the plains, but from each old and recognized hunter. the established price at this period for the three kinds over head, fat, pemmican, and dried meat, was two pence a pound. this was then the company's standard price; but there is generally a market for all the fat they bring. during the years 1839, 1840, and 1841, the company expended five thousand pounds on the purchase of plain provisions, of which the hunters got last year the sum of twelve hundred pounds, being rather more money than all the agricultural class obtained for their produce in the same year. it will be remembered that the company's demand affords the only regular market or outlet in the colony, and, as a matter of course, it is the first supplied." [illustration: map of labrador and the king's domains.] chapter xxxvii. life on the shores of hudson bay and labrador. the bleak shores unprogressive--now as at the beginning--york factory--description of ballantyne--the weather--summer comes with a rush--picking up subsistence--the indian trade--inhospitable labrador--establishment of ungava bay--mclean at fort chimo--herds of cariboo--eskimo crafts--"shadowy tartarus"--the king's domains--mingan--mackenzie--the gulf settlements--the moravians--their four missions--rigolette, the chief trading post--a school for developing character--chief factor donald a. smith--journeys along the coast--a barren shore. life on the shores of hudson bay is as unchangeable as the shores and scenery of the coast are monotonous. the swampy, treeless flats that surround the bay simply change from the frozen, snow-clad expanse which stretches as far as the eye can see in winter, to the summer green of the unending grey willows and stunted shrubs that cover the swampy shores. for a few open months the green prevails, and then nature for eight months assumes her winding sheet of icy snow. for two hundred and fifty years life has been as unvarying on these wastes as travellers tell us are the manners and customs of living of the bedouins on their rocky araby. no log shanties give way in a generation to the settler's house, and then to the comfortable, well-built stone or brick dwelling, which the fertile parts of america so readily permit. the accounts of mclean, rae, ryerson, and ballantyne of the middle of the nineteenth century are precisely those of robson, ellis, or hearne of the eighteenth century, or indeed practically those of the early years of the company in the seventeenth century. the ships sail from gravesend on the thames with the same ceremonies, with the visit and dinner of the committee of the directors, the "great guns," as the sailors call them, as they have done for two centuries and a quarter, from the days of zachariah gillam and pierre esprit radisson. no more settlement is now seen on hudson bay than in the early time, unless it be in the dwellings of the christianized and civilized swampy crees and in the mission houses around which the indians have gathered. york factory, up to the middle of the nineteenth century, retained its supremacy. however, at times, fort churchill, with its well-built walls and formidable bastions, may have disputed this primacy, yet york factory was the depôt for the interior almost uninterruptedly. to it came the goods for the northern department, by way in a single season of the vessel the _prince rupert_, the successor of a long line of _prince ruperts_, from the first one of 1680, or of its companions, the _prince albert_ or the _prince of wales_. by these, the furs from the far north found their way, as at the first, to the company's house in london. york factory is a large square of some six acres, lying along hayes river, and shut in by high stockades. the houses are all wooden, and on account of the swampy soil are raised up to escape the water of the spring-time floods. at a point of advantage, a lofty platform was erected to serve as a "look-out" to watch for the coming ship, the great annual event of the slow-passing lives of the occupants of the post. the flag-staff, on which, as is the custom at all hudson's bay company posts, the ensign with the magic letters h. b. c. floats, speaks at once of many an old tradition and of great achievements. ballantyne in his lively style speaks of his two years at the post, and describes the life of a young hudson's bay company officer. the chief factor, to the eye of the young clerk, represents success achieved and is the embodiment of authority, which, on account of the isolation of the posts and the absence of all law, is absolute and unquestioned. york factory, being a depôt, has a considerable staff, chiefly young men, who live in the bachelors' hall. here dwell the surgeon, accountant, postmaster, half a dozen clerks, and others. in winter, ballantyne says, days, if not weeks, passed without the arrival of a visitor, unless it were a post from the interior, or some cree trader of the neighbourhood, or some hungry indian seeking food. the cold was the chief feature of remark and consideration. at times the spirit thermometer indicated 65 deg. below zero, and the uselessness of the mercury thermometer was then shown by a pot of quicksilver being made into bullets and remaining solid. every precaution was taken to erect strong buildings, which had double windows and double doors, and yet in the very severe weather, water contained in a vessel has been known to freeze in a room where a stove red hot was doing its best. it is worthy of notice, however, that even in arctic regions, a week or ten days is as long as such severe weather continues, and mild intervals come regularly. on the bay the coming of spring is looked for with great expectation, and when it does come, about the middle of may, it sets in with a "rush;" the sap rises in the shrubs and bushes, the buds burst out, the rivers are freed from ice, and indeed, so rapid and complete is the change, that it may be said there are only two seasons--summer and winter--in these latitudes. as summer progresses the fare of dried geese, thousands of which are stored away for winter use, of dried fish and the white ptarmigan and wood partridge that linger about the bushes and are shot for food, is superseded by the arrival of myriads of ducks and geese and the use of the fresh fish of the bay. in many of the posts the food throughout the whole year is entirely flesh diet, and not a pound of farinaceous food is obtainable. this leads to an enormous consumption of the meat diet in order to supply a sufficient amount of nourishment. an employé will sometimes eat two whole geese at a meal. in dr. rae's celebrated expedition from fort churchill, north along the shore of hudson bay, on his search for sir john franklin, the amount of supplies taken was entirely inadequate for his party for the long period of twenty-seven months, being indeed only enough for four months' full rations. in rae's instructions from sir george simpson it is said, "for the remaining part of your men you cannot fail to find subsistence, animated as you are and they are by a determination to fulfil your mission at the cost of danger, fatigue, and privation. whenever the natives can live, i can have no fears with respect to you, more particularly as you will have the advantage of the eskimos, not merely in your actual supplies, but also in the means of recruiting and renewing them." the old forts still remained in addition to the two depôt posts, york and moose factory, there being churchill, severn, rupert's house, fort george, and albany--and the life in them all of the stereotyped description which we have pictured. besides the preparation in summer of supplies for the long winter, the only variety was the arrival of indians with furs from the interior. the trade is carried on by means of well-known standards called the "castor" or "beaver." the indian hands his furs over to the trader, who sorts them into different lots. the value is counted up at so many--say fifty--castors. the indian then receives fifty small bits of wood, and with these proceeds to buy guns, knives, blankets, cloth, beads, or trinkets, never stopping till his castors are all exhausted. the castor rarely exceeds two shillings in value. while resembling in its general features the life on the bay, the conduct of the fur trader on the shore of labrador and throughout the labrador peninsula is much more trying and laborious than around the bay. the inhospitable climate, the heavy snows, the rocky, dangerous shore, and the scarcity in some parts of animal life, long prevented the fur companies from venturing upon this forbidding coast. the northern part of labrador is inhabited by eskimos; further south are tribes of swampy crees. between the eskimos and indians deadly feuds long prevailed. the most cruel and bloody raids were made upon the timid eskimos, as was done on the coppermine when hearne went on his famous expedition. mclean states that it was through the publication of a pamphlet by the moravian missionaries of labrador, which declared that "the country produced excellent furs," that the hudson's bay company was led to establish trading posts in northern labrador. the stirring story of "ungava," written by ballantyne, gives what is no doubt in the main a correct account of the establishment of the far northern post called "fort chimo," on ungava bay. the expedition left moose factory in 1831, and after escaping the dangers of floating ice, fierce storms, and an unknown coast, erected the fort several miles up the river running into ungava bay. the story recalls the finding out, no doubt somewhat after the manner of the famous boys' book, "the swiss family robinson," the trout and salmon of the waters, the walrus of the sea, and the deer of the mountain valleys, but the picture is not probably overdrawn. the building of fort chimo is plainly described by one who was familiar with the exploration and life of the fur country; the picture of the tremendous snowstorm and its overwhelming drifts is not an unlikely one for this coast, which, since the day of cortereal, has been the terror of navigators. mclean, a somewhat fretful and biassed writer, though certainly not lacking in a clear and lively style, gives an account of his being sent, in 1837, to take charge of the district of north labrador for the company. on leaving york factory in august the brig encountered much ice, although it escaped the mishaps which overtook almost all small vessels on the bay. the steep cliffs of the island of akpatok, which stands before ungava bay, were very nearly run upon in the dark, and much difficulty was experienced in ascending the ungava, or south river, to fort chimo. the trader's orders from governor simpson were to push outposts into the interior of labrador, to support his men on the resources of the country, and to open communication with esquimaux bay, on the labrador coast, and thus, by means of the rivers, to establish an inland route of inter-communication between the two inlets. mclean made a most determined attempt to establish the desired route, but after innumerable hardships to himself and his company, retired, after nearly four months' efforts, to fort chimo, and sent a message to his superior officer that the proposed line of communication was impracticable. mclean gives an account of the arrival of a herd of three hundred reindeer or cariboo, and of the whole of them being captured in a "pound," as is done in the case of the buffalo. the trader was also visited by eskimos from the north side of hudson strait, who had crossed the rough and dangerous passage on "a raft formed of pieces of driftwood picked up along the shore." the object of their visit was to obtain wood for making canoes. the trader states that the fact of these people having crossed "hudson's strait on so rude and frail a conveyance" strongly corroborates the opinion that america was originally peopled from asia by way of behring's strait. it became more and more evident, however, that the ungava trade could not be profitably continued. great expense was incurred in supplying ungava bay by sea; the country was poor and barren, and the pertinacity of the eskimos in adhering to their sealskin dresses made the trade in fabrics, which was profitable among the indians, an impossibility at ungava. mclean continued his explorations and was somewhat successful in opening the sought-for route by way of the grand river, and, returning to fort chimo, wintered there. having been promoted by sir george simpson, mclean obtained leave to visit britain, and before going received word from the directors of the company that his recommendation to abandon ungava bay had been accepted, and that the ship would call at that point and remove the people and property to esquimaux bay. mclean, in speaking of the weather of hudson straits during the month of january (1842), gives expression to his strong dislike by saying, "at this period i have neither seen, read, nor heard of any locality under heaven that can offer a more cheerless abode to civilized man than ungava." referring also to the fog that so abounds at this point as well as at the posts around hudson bay, the discontented trader says: "if pluto should leave his own gloomy mansion _in tenebris tartari_, he might take up his abode here, and gain or lose but little by the exchange." but the enterprising fur-traders were not to be deterred by the iron-bound coast, or foggy shores, or dangerous life of any part of the peninsula of labrador. early in the century, while the hudson's bay company were penetrating southward from the eastern shore of hudson bay, which had by a kind of anomaly been called the "east main," the north-west company were occupying the north shore of the st. lawrence and met their rivals at the head waters of the saguenay. the district of which tadoussac was the centre had from the earliest coming of the french been noted for its furs. that district all the way down to the west end of the island of anticosti was known as the "king's domains." the last parish was called murray bay, from general murray, the first british governor of quebec, who had disposed of the district, which furnished beef and butter for the king, to two of his officers, captains nairn and fraser. the north-west company, in the first decade of the nineteenth century, had leased this district, which along with the seigniory of mingan that lay still further down the gulf of st. lawrence, was long known as the "king's posts." beyond the seigniory of mingan, a writer of the period mentioned states that the labrador coast had been left unappropriated, and was a common to which all nations at peace with england might resort, unmolested, for furs, oil, cod-fish, and salmon. a well-known trader, james mckenzie, after returning from the athabasca region, made, in 1808, a canoe journey through the domains of the king, and left a journal, with his description of the rocky country and its inhabitants. he pictures strongly the one-eyed chief of mingan and father labrosse, the nestor for twenty-five years of the king's posts, who was priest, doctor, and poet for the region. mckenzie's voyage chiefly inclined him to speculate as to the origin and religion of the natives, while his description of the inland indians and their social life is interesting. his account of the manners and customs of the montagners or shore indians was more detailed than that of the nascapees, or indians of the interior, and he supplies us with an extensive vocabulary of their language. mckenzie gives a good description of the saguenay river, of chicoutimi, and lake st. john, and of the ruins of a jesuit establishment which had flourished during the french régime. whilst the bell and many implements had been dug up from the scene of desolation, the plum and apple trees of their garden were found bearing fruit. from the poor neglected fort of assuapmousoin mckenzie returned, since the fort of mistassini could only be reached by a further journey of ninety leagues. this north-west post was built at the end of lake mistassini, while the hudson's bay company fort, called birch point, was erected four days' journey further on toward east main house. leaving the saguenay, mckenzie followed the coast of the st. lawrence, passing by portneuf, with its beautiful chapel, "good enough for his holiness the pope to occupy," after which--the best of the king's posts for furs--ile jérémie was reached, with its buildings and chapels on a high eminence. irregularly built godbout was soon in view, and the seven islands fort was then come upon. mingan was the post of which mckenzie was most enamoured. its fine harbour and pretty chapel drew his special attention. the "man river" was famous for its fisheries, while masquaro, the next port, was celebrated for the supply of beavers and martins in its vicinity. the salmon entering the river in the district are stated to be worthy of note, and the traveller and his company returned to quebec, the return voyage being two hundred leagues. since the time of mckenzie the fur trade has been pushed along the formerly unoccupied coast of labrador. even before that time the far northern coast had been taken up by a brave band of moravians, who supported themselves by trade, and at the same time did christian work among the eskimos. their movement merits notice. as early as 1749 a brave hollander pilot named erhardt, stimulated by reading the famous book of henry ellis on the north-west passage, made an effort to form a settlement on the labrador coast. he lost his life among the deceitful eskimos. years afterward, count zinzendorf made application to the hudson's bay company to be allowed to send moravian missionaries to the different hudson's bay company posts. the union of trader and missionary in the moravian cult made the company unwilling to grant this request. after various preparations the moravians took up unoccupied ground on the labrador coast, in 56 deg. 36´ n., where they found plenty of wood, runlets of sparkling water and a good anchorage. they erected a stone marked g.r. iii., 1770, for the king, and another with the inscription v.f. (unitas fratrum), the name of their sect. their first settlement was called nain, and it was soon followed by another thirty miles up the coast known as "okkak." thirty miles south of nain they found remains of the unfortunate movement first made by the society, and here they established a mission, calling it "hopedale." when they had become accustomed to the coast, they showed still more of the adventurous spirit and founded their most northerly post of hebron, well nigh up to the dreaded "ungava bay." a community of upwards of eleven hundred christian eskimos has resulted from the fervour and self-denial of these humble but faithful missionaries. their courage and determination stand well beside that of the daring fur traders. the hudson's bay company was not satisfied with mingan as their farthest outward point. in 1832 and 1834, captain bayfield, r.n., surveyed the labrador coast. in due time the company pushed on to the inlet known as hamilton inlet or esquimaux bay, on the north side of which the fort grew up, known as rigolette. here a farm is maintained stocked with "cattle, sheep, pigs and hens," and the place is the depôt of the hudson's bay company and of the general trade of the coast. farther up two other sub-posts are found, viz., aillik, and on the opposite side of the inlet kaipokok. the st. lawrence and labrador posts of the hudson's bay company have been among the most difficult and trying of those in any part where the company carries on its vast operations from atlantic to pacific. this labrador region has been a noble school for the development of the firmness, determination, skill, and faithfulness characteristic of both the officers and men of the hudson's bay company. most notable of the officers of the first rank who have conducted the fur trade in labrador is lord strathcona and mount royal, the present governor of the company. coming out at eighteen, donald alexander smith, a well-educated scottish lad, related to peter and cuthbert grant, and the brothers john and james stuart, prominent officers, whose deeds in the north-west company are still remembered, the future governor began his career. young smith, on arriving at montreal (1838), was despatched to moose factory, and for more than thirty years was in the service, in the region of hudson bay and labrador. rising to the rank of chief trader, after fourteen years of laborious service he reached in ten years more the acme of desire of every aspirant in the company, the rank of chief factor. his years on the coast of labrador, at rigolette, and its subordinate stations were most laborious. the writer has had the privilege from time to time of hearing his tales, of the long journey along the frozen coast, of camping on frozen islands, without shelter, of storm-staid journeys rivalling the recitals of ballantyne at fort chimo, of cold receptions by the moravians, and of the doubtful hospitalities of both indians and eskimos. every statement of cortereal, gilbert, or cabot of the inhospitable shore is corroborated by this successful officer, who has lived for thirty years since leaving labrador to fill a high place in the affairs both of canada and the empire. one of his faithful subordinates on this barren coast was chief factor p. w. bell, who gained a good reputation for courage and faithfulness, not only in labrador, but on the barren shore of lake superior. the latter returned to labrador after his western experience, and retired from the charge of the labrador posts a few years ago. it is to the credit of the hudson's bay company that it has been able to secure men of such calibre and standing to man even its most difficult and unattractive stations. chapter xxxviii. athabasca, mackenzie river, and the yukon. peter pond reaches athabasca river--fort chipewyan established--starting-point of alexander mckenzie--the athabasca library--the hudson bay company roused--conflict at fort wedderburn--suffering--the dash up the peace river--fort dunvegan--northern extension--fort resolution--fort providence--the great river occupied--loss of life--fort simpson, the centre--fort reliance--herds of cariboo--fort norman built--fort good hope--the northern rockies--the yukon reached and occupied--the fierce liard river--fort halkett in the mountains--robert campbell comes to the stikine--discovers the upper yukon--his great fame--the districts--steamers on the water stretches. (the map on page 388 should be consulted while this chapter is being read.) less than twenty years after the conquest of canada by the british, the traders heard of the lake athabasca and mackenzie river district. the region rapidly rose into notice, until it reached the zenith as the fur traders' paradise, a position it has held till the present time. as we have seen, samuel hearne, the hudson's bay company adventurer--the mungo park of the north--first of white men, touched, on his way to the coppermine, lake athapuscow, now thought to have been great slave lake. it was the good fortune, however, of the north-west company to take possession of this region first for trade. lake and river athabasca. the daring montreal traders, who had seized upon the saskatchewan and pushed on to lake ile à la crosse, having a surplus of merchandise in the year 1778, despatched one of their agents to lake athabasca, and "took seisin" of the country. as already stated, the man selected was the daring and afterwards violent trader peter pond. on the river athabasca, some thirty miles south of the lake, pond built the first indian trading post of the region, which, however, after a few years was abandoned and never afterwards rebuilt. fort chipewyan. less than ten years after this pioneer led the way, a fort was built on the south side of lake athabasca, at a point a few miles east of the entrance of the river. to this, borrowing the name of the indian nation of the district, was given the name fort chipewyan. this old fort became celebrated as the starting-place of the great expedition of alexander mackenzie, when he discovered the river that bears his name and the polar sea into which it empties. at this historic fort also, roderick mckenzie, cousin of the explorer, founded the famous "athabasca library," for the use of the officers of the company in the northern posts, and in its treasures lieutenant lefroy informs us he revelled during his winter stay. at the beginning of the century the x y company aggressively invaded the athabasca region, and built a fort a mile north of fort chipewyan, near the site of the present roman catholic mission of the nativity. as the conflict between the north-west and hudson's bay companies waxed warm, the former company, no doubt for the purpose of being more favourably situated for carrying on the trade with the mackenzie river, removed their fort on lake athabasca to the commanding promontory near the exit of slave river from the lake. renewed and often enlarged, fort chipewyan has until recently remained the greatest depôt of the north country. the hudson's bay company aroused. the fierceness of the struggle for the fur trade may be seen in the fact that the hudson's bay company (1815) with vigour took up a site on an island in front of fort chipewyan and built fort wedderburn, at no greater distance than a single mile, and though it was not their first appearance on the lake, yet they threw themselves in considerable force into the contest, numbering, under john clark, afterward chief factor, ten clerks, a hundred men, and fourteen large canoes loaded with supplies. many misfortunes befell the new venture of the company. a writer of the time says, "no less than fifteen men, one woman, and several children perished by starvation. they built four trade posts on the peace river (lower) and elsewhere in the autumn; but not one of them was able to weather out the following winter. all were obliged to come to terms with their opponents to save the party from utter destruction. that year the athabasca trade of the north-west company was four hundred packs against only five in all secured by the hudson's bay company." three years afterward the old company, with british pluck, again appeared on this lake, having nineteen loaded canoes. trader clark was now accompanied by the doughty leader, colin robertson, whose prowess we have already seen in the red river conflict. it will be remembered that in the year before the union of the companies, george simpson, the young clerk, arrived on lake athabasca with fifteen loaded canoes. he was chiefly found at fort wedderburn and a short distance up the peace river. it is not certain that the prospective governor ever visited slave lake to the north. he gives, however, the following vivid summary of his winter's experience in athabasca: "at some seasons both whites and indians live in wasteful abundance on venison, buffalo meat, fish, and game of all kinds, while at other times they are reduced to the last degree of hunger, often passing several days without food. in the year 1820 our provisions fell short at the establishment, and on two or three occasions i went for two or three whole days and nights without having a single morsel to swallow, but then again, i was one of a party of eleven men and one woman which discussed at one sitting meal no less than three ducks and twenty-two geese!" this winter's knowledge was of great value to the man afterwards called to be the arbiter of destiny of many a hard-pressed trader. other forts are mentioned as having been established by both companies at different points on the athabasca river, but their period of duration was short. in some cases these abandoned forts have been followed by new forts, in recent times, on the same sites. the peace river. soon after the arrival of the first traders in the athabasca district, the fame of the peace river--the indian "unjijah," a mighty stream, whose waters empty into the river flowing from lake athabasca--rose among the adventurers. an enterprising french canadian trader, named boyer, pushed up the stream and near a small tributary--red river--established the first post of this great artery, which flows from the west, through the rocky mountains. long abandoned, this post has in late years been re-established. the peace river has ever had a strange fascination for trader and tourist, and a few years after boyer's establishment became known, a trading house was built above the "chutes" of the river. this was afterwards moved some distance up stream and became the well-known fort vermilion. this fort has remained till the present day. farther still up the peace river, where the smoky river makes its forks, a fort was erected whose stores and dwelling-houses were on a larger scale than those of the mother establishment of fort chipewyan, having had stockaded walls, a good powder magazine, and a good well of water. this fort for a time was known as mcleod's fort, but in the course of events its site was abandoned. fort dunvegan, famous to later travellers, was first built on the south side of the river, and was the headquarters of the beaver indians, from whom the north-west company received a formal gift of the site. the present fort is on the opposite side of the peace river. it will be remembered, however, that it was from the post at the mouth of smoky river that alexander mackenzie, having wintered, started on his great journey to the pacific. in later years the hudson's bay company has maintained a fort at this point as an outpost of dunvegan. early in the century we find allusions to the fact that the catch of beaver was, from over-hunting, declining in the peace river country, and that, in consequence, the north-west company had been compelled to give up several of their forts. around fort st. john's a tragic interest gathers. john mclean, in his "notes of a twenty-five years' service," speaks of reaching on his journey--1833--the "tenantless fort," where some years before a massacre had taken place. it had been determined by the hudson's bay company to remove the fort to rocky mountain portage. the tribe of tsekanies, to whom the fort was tributary, took this as an insult. at the time of removal the officer in charge, mr. hughes, had sent off a part of his men with effects of the fort intended for the new post. hughes was shot down on the riverside by the indians. the party of boatmen, on returning, "altogether unconscious of the fate that awaited them, came paddling towards the landing-place, singing a voyageur's song, and just as the canoe touched the shore, a volley of bullets was discharged at them, which silenced them for ever. they were all killed on the spot." an expedition was organized by the traders to avenge the foul murder, but more peaceful counsels prevailed. most of the fugitives paid the penalty of their guilt by being starved to death. the deserted fort was some twenty miles below the present fort st. john's. the present fort was built in the latter half of the century, and its outpost of hudson's hope, together with the trade station at battle river, below dunvegan, was erected about a generation ago. great slave lake. the extension of the fur trade to great slave lake dates back to within seven years after the advent of peter pond on the athabasca river. the famous trader, cuthbert grant, father of the "warden of the plains," who figured in the seven oaks fight, led the way, and with him a frenchman, laurent leroux. reaching this great lake, these ardent explorers built a trading post on slave river, near its mouth. a short time afterwards the traders moved their first post to moose deer island, a few miles from the old site, and here the north-west company remained until the time of the union of the companies. the impulse of union led to the construction of a new establishment on the site chosen by the hudson's bay company for the erection of their post some six years before. the new post was called fort resolution, and was on the mainland two miles or more from the island. this post marked the extreme limit of the operations of the hudson's bay company up to the time of the union. when alexander mackenzie determined to make his first great voyage, he started from fort chipewyan and bravely pushing out into the unknown wilds, left great slave lake and explored the river that bears his name. here he promised the tribe of the yellow knife indians to establish a post among them in the next year. the promise was kept to the letter. the new post, built at the mouth of the yellow knife river, was called fort providence. it was afterwards removed to a large island in the north arm of the lake, and to this the name fort rae, in honour of the celebrated arctic explorer, john rae, was given. near this new station there has been for years a roman catholic mission. it was from the neighbourhood of these forts on the lake that captain franklin set out to build his temporary station, fort enterprise, one hundred miles from his base of supplies. fort rae has remained since the time of its erection a place of some importance. it formed the centre of the northern operations of captain dawson, r.a., on his expedition for circumpolar observation in recent times. after the hudson's bay company had transferred rupert's land to canada, a new post was opened on the slave river, midway between athabasca and great slave lake. it was called fort smith, in honour of chief commissioner donald a. smith, now lord strathcona and mount royal. near the site of fort smith are the dangerous noyé rapids of slave river, where grant and leroux, on their voyage to great slave lake, lost a canoe and five of its occupants. from fort smith southward to smith landing a waggon or cart road has been in use up to the present time. now this is to be converted into a tramway. [illustration: map of mackenzie river and the yukon.] mackenzie river. northward the course of the fur traders' empire has continually made its way. leaving great slave lake four years before the close of the eighteenth century, along the course of alexander mackenzie's earlier exploration, duncan livingston, a north-west company trader, built the first fort on the river eighty miles north of the lake. three years later the trader, his three french-canadian voyageurs and indian interpreter, were basely killed by the eskimos on the lower mackenzie river. a year or two afterward a party of fur traders, under john clark, started on an expedition of exploration and retaliation down the river, but again the fury of the eskimos was roused. in truth, had it not been for a storm of fair wind which favoured them, the traders would not have escaped with their lives. very early in the present century, fort simpson, the former and present headquarters of the extensive mackenzie river district, was built, and very soon after its establishment the prominent trader, and afterwards chief factor, george keith, is found in charge of it. it is still the great trading and church of england mission centre of the vast region reaching to the arctic sea. during the first half of the century, big island, at the point where the mackenzie river leaves great slave lake, was, on account of its good supply of white fish, the wintering station for the supernumerary district servants of the hudson's bay company. though this point is still visited for fishing in the autumn, yet in later years the trade of this post has been transferred to another built near the roman catholic mission at fort providence, forty miles farther down the river. on hay river, near the point of departure of the mackenzie river from the lake, several forts have been built from time to time and abandoned, among them a fort george referred to by the old traders. the eastern end of the lake, known as fond du lac, became celebrated, as we have already seen, in connection with the arctic explorers, sir george back and dr. richard king, for here they built fort reliance and wintered, going in the spring to explore the great fish river. in after years, on account of the district being the resort for the herds of cariboo, fort reliance was rebuilt, and was for a time kept up as an outpost of fort resolution for collecting furs and "country provisions." it may be re-occupied soon on account of the discoveries of gold and copper in the region. journeying down the mackenzie river, we learn that there was a fur traders' post of the montreal merchants sixty miles north of fort simpson. in all probability this was but one of several posts that were from time to time occupied in that locality. at the beginning of the century the north-west company pushed on further north, and had a trading post on the shore of great bear lake, but almost immediately on its erection they were met here by their rivals, the x y company. at this point, reached by going up the bear river from its junction with the mackenzie on the south-west arm of the lake, chief factor peter dease built fort franklin for the use of the great arctic explorer, after whom he named the fort. fort norman, on the mackenzie. to explore new ground was a burning desire in the breasts of the nor'-westers. immediately in the year of their reunion with the x y company, the united north-west company established a post on the mackenzie river, sixty miles north of the mouth of bear river. indeed, the mouth of bear river on the mackenzie seems to have suggested itself as a suitable point for a post to be built, for in 1810 fort norman had been first placed there. for some reason the post was moved thirty or forty miles higher up the river, but a jam of ice having occurred in the spring of 1851, the fort was mainly swept away by the high water, though the occupants and all the goods were saved. in the same year the mouth of the bear river came into favour again, and fort norman was built at that point. after this time the fort was moved once or twice, but was finally placed in its present commanding position. it was in quite recent times that, under chief factor camsell's direction, a station half-way between fort norman and fort simpson was fixed and the name of fort wrigley given to it. fort good hope. not only did the impulse of union between the north-west and x y companies reach bear river, but in the same year, at a point on the mackenzie river beyond the high perpendicular cliffs known as "the ramparts," some two hundred miles further north than fort norman, was fort good hope erected. here it remained for nearly a score of years as the farthest north outpost of the fur trade, but after the union of the north-west and hudson's bay companies it was moved a hundred miles southward on the river and erected on manitoulin island. after some years (1836) an ice jam of a serious kind took place, and though the inmates escaped in a york boat, yet the fort was completely destroyed by the rushing waters of the angry mackenzie. the fort was soon rebuilt, but in its present beautiful situation on the eastern bank of the river, opposite the old site on manitoulin island. during governor simpson's time the extension of trade took place toward the mouth of the mackenzie river. a trader, john bell, who not only faced the hardships of the region within the arctic circle, but also gained a good name in connection with sir john richardson's expedition in search of franklin, built the first post on peel's river, which runs into the delta of mackenzie river. bell, in 1846, descended the rat river, and first of british explorers set eyes on the lower yukon. in the following year the hudson's bay company established la pierre's house in the heart of the rocky mountains toward the arctic sea, and chief trader murray built and occupied the first fort yukon. this fort the hudson's bay company held for twenty-two years, until the territory of alaska passed into the hands of the people of the united states. rampart house was built by the hudson's bay company within british territory. both rampart house and la pierre's house were abandoned a few years ago as unprofitable. a similar fate befell fort anderson, two degrees north of the arctic circle, built for the eastern eskimos on the anderson river, discovered in 1857 by chief factor r. macfarlane, a few years before the transfer of the territory of the hudson's bay company to canada. no doubt the withdrawal from fort anderson was hastened by the terribly fatal epidemic of scarlatina which prevailed all over the mackenzie river district in the autumn and early winter of 1865. more than eleven hundred indians and eskimos, out of the four thousand estimated population, perished. the loss of the hunters caused by this disease, and the difficulties of overland transport, led to the abandonment of this out-of-the-way post. the liard river. the conflict of the north-west and x y companies led to the most extraordinary exploration that rupert's land and the indian territories have witnessed. at the time when the mackenzie river, at the beginning of the century, was being searched and occupied, a fort known as the forks was established at the junction of the liard and mackenzie rivers. this fort, called, after the union of the hudson's bay and north-west companies, fort simpson, became the base of operations for the exploration of the liard river. we have followed the course of trade by which the mackenzie itself was placed under tribute; it may be well also to look at the occupation of the liard, the most rapid and terrible of all the great eastern streams that dash down from the heart of the rocky mountains. the first post to be established on this stream was fort liard, not far below the junction of the western with the east branch of the river. there was an old fort between fort liard and fort simpson, but fort liard, which is still occupied by the hudson's bay company, began almost with the century, and a few years afterwards was under the experienced trader, george keith. probably, at an equally early date, fort nelson, on the eastern branch of the river, was established. in the second decade of the century, alexander henry, the officer in charge, and all of his people were murdered by the indians. the post was for many years abandoned, but was rebuilt in 1865, and is still a trading post. it was probably shortly after the union of the north-west and hudson's bay companies that fort halkett, far up the western branch of the river, was erected. after forty or fifty years of occupation, fort halkett was abandoned, but a small post called toad river was built some time afterward, half way between its site and that of fort liard. in 1834, chief trader john m. mcleod, not the mcleod whose journal we have quoted, pushed up past the dangerous rapids and boiling whirlpools, and among rugged cliffs and precipices of the rocky mountains, discovered dease river and dease lake from which the river flows. robert campbell, an intrepid scottish officer of the hudson's bay company, in 1838, succeeded in doing what his predecessors had been unable to accomplish, viz. to establish a trading-post on dease lake. in the summer of the same year campbell crossed to the pacific slope and reached the head waters of the stikine river. in opening his new post campbell awakened the hostility of the coast indians. he and his men became so reduced in supplies that they subsisted for some time on the skin thongs of their moccasins and snow shoes and on the parchment windows of their huts, boiled to supply the one meal a day which kept them alive. in the end campbell was compelled to leave his station on the dease lake, and the fort was burnt by the indians. discovery of the upper yukon. under orders from governor simpson, campbell, in 1840, undertook the exploration that has made his name famous. this was to ascend the northern branch of the wild and dangerous liard river. for this purpose he left the mountain post, fort halkett, and passing through the great gorge arrived at lake frances, where he gave the promontory which divides the lake the name "simpson's tower." leaving the lake and ascending one of its tributaries, called by him finlayson's river, he reached the interesting reservoir of finlayson's lake, of which, at high water, one part of the sheet runs west to the pacific ocean and the other to the arctic sea. with seven trusty companions he crossed the height of land and saw the high cliffs of the splendid river, which he called "pelly banks," in honour of the then london governor of the company. the company would have called it campbell's river, but the explorer refused the honour. going down the stream a few miles on a raft, campbell then turned back, and reached fort halkett after an absence of four months. highly complimented by governor simpson, campbell, under orders, in the next year built a fort at lake frances, and in a short time another establishment at pelly banks. descending the river, the explorer met at the junction of the lewis and pelly banks a band of indians, who would not allow him to proceed further, and indeed plotted to destroy him and his men. eight years after his discovery of pelly banks, campbell started on his great expedition, which was crowned with success. reaching again the junction of the pelly and lewis rivers, he erected a post, naming it fort selkirk, although it was long locally known as campbell's fort. two years after the building of fort selkirk, campbell, journeying in all from the height of land for twelve hundred miles, reached fort yukon, where, as we have seen, trader murray was in charge. making a circuit around by the porcupine river and ascending the mackenzie river, campbell surprised his friends at fort simpson by coming up the river to fort simpson. in 1852, a thievish band of coast indians called the chilkats plundered fort selkirk and shortly afterward destroyed it. its ruins remain to this day, and the site is now taken up by the canadian government as a station on the way to the yukon gold-fields. campbell went home to london, mapped out with the aid of arrowsmith the country he had found, and gave names to its rivers and other features. a few years ago an officer of the united states army, lieutenant schwatka, sought to rob campbell of his fame, and attempted to rename the important points of the region. campbell's merit and modesty entitle him to the highest recognition. the trading posts of the great region we are describing have been variously grouped into districts. previous to the union of the north-west and hudson's bay companies, from athabasca north and west was known as the "athabasca-mackenzie department," their returns all being kept in one account. this northern department was long under the superintendency of chief factor edward smith. a new district was, some time after the transfer of the indian territories to canada, formed and named "peace river." the management has changed from time to time, fort dunvegan, for example, for a period the headquarters of the peace river district, having lost its pre-eminence and been transferred to be under the chief officer on lesser slave lake. the vast inland water stretches of which we have spoken have been the chief means of communication throughout the whole country. without these there could have been little fur trade. the distances are bewildering. the writer remembers seeing bishop bompas, who had left the far distant fort yukon to go to england, and who by canoe, york boat, dog train, snow shoe, and waggon, had been nine months on the journey before he reached winnipeg. the first northern inland steamer in these remote retreats was the _graham_ (1882), built by the company at fort chipewyan on lake athabasca, by captain john m. smith. three years later the same captain built the screw-propeller _wrigley_, at fort smith, on the slave river; and a few years afterward, this indefatigable builder launched at athabasca landing the stern-wheeler _athabasca_, for the water stretches of the upper athabasca river. how remarkable the record of adventure, trade, rivalry, bloodshed, hardship, and successful effort, from the time, more than a century ago, when peter pond started out on his seemingly desperate undertaking! chapter xxxix. on the pacific slope. extension of trade in new caledonia--the western department--fort vancouver built--governor's residence and bachelor's hall--fort colville--james douglas, a man of note--a dignified official--an indian rising--a brave woman--the fertile columbia valley--finlayson, a man of action--russian fur traders--treaty of alaska--lease of alaska to the hudson's bay company--fort langley--the great farm--black at kamloops--fur trader v. botanist--"no soul above a beaver's skin"--a tragic death--chief nicola's eloquence--a murderer's fate. the great exploration early in the century secured the pacific slope very largely to the north-west company. several of their most energetic agents, as the names of the rivers running into the pacific ocean show, had made a deep impression on the region even as far south as the mouth of the columbia river. on the union of the north-west and hudson's bay companies, governor simpson threw as much energy into the development of trade in the country on the western side of the rocky mountains as if he had been a thorough-going nor'-wester. in his administration from ocean to ocean he divided the trading territory into four departments, viz. montreal, the southern, the northern, and the western. in each of these there were four factors, and these were, in the western or rocky mountain department, subject to one chief. under the chief factor the gradation was chief trader, chief clerk, apprenticed clerk, postmaster, interpreter, voyageur, and labourer. this fuller organization and the cessation of strife resulted in a great increase of the trade of the hudson's bay company on the coast as well as the east side of the rocky mountains. the old fort of astoria, which was afterwards known as fort george, was found too far from the mountains for the convenience of the fur traders. accordingly in 1824-5, a new fort was erected on the north side of the columbia river, six miles above its junction with the willamette river. the new fort was called fort vancouver, and was built on a prairie slope about one mile back from the river, but it was afterwards moved nearer the river bank. the new site was very convenient for carrying on the overland traffic to puget sound. this fort was occupied for twenty-three years, until international difficulties rendered its removal necessary. fort vancouver was of considerable size, its stockade measuring 750 ft. in length and 600 ft. in breadth. the governor's residence, bachelor's hall, and numerous other buildings made up a considerable establishment. about the fort a farm was under cultivation to the extent of fifteen hundred acres, and a large number of cattle, sheep, and horses were bred upon it and supplied the trade carried on with the russians in the far north. farther up the columbia river, where the walla walla river emptied in, a fort was constructed in 1818. the material for this fort was brought a considerable distance, and being in the neighbourhood of troublesome tribes of indians, care was taken to make the fort strong and defensible. still further up the columbia river and near the mountains, an important post, fort colville, was built. this fort became the depôt for all the trade done on the columbia river; and from this point the brigade which had been organized at fort vancouver made its last call before undertaking the steep mountain climb which was necessary in order that by the middle of march it might reach norway house and be reported at the great summer meeting of the fur traders' council there. this task needed a trusty leader, and for many years chief factor, afterward sir james, douglas became the man on whom governor and council depended to do this service. the mention of the name of james douglas brings before us the greatest and most notable man developed by the fur trade of the pacific slope. the history of this leader was for fifty years after the coalition of the companies in 1821, the history of the hudson's bay company on the pacific. [illustration: sir james douglas.] born near the beginning of the century, a scion of the noble house of douglas, young douglas emigrated to canada, entered the north-west company, learned french as if by magic, and though little more than a lad, at once had heavy responsibilities thrown upon him. he was enterprising and determined, with a judicious mixture of prudence. he had capital business talents and an adaptability that stood him in good stead in dealing with indians. the veteran chief factor, mcloughlin, who had served his term in the nor'-wester service about lake superior and lake nepigon, was appointed to the charge of the pacific or western district. he discerned the genius of his young subordinate, and with the permission of the directors in london, after a short interval, took douglas west of the mountains to the scene of his future successes. the friendship between these chiefs of the pacific coast was thus early begun, and they together did much to mould the british interests on the pacific coast into a comely shape. while mcloughlin crossed at once to the columbia and took charge of fort vancouver, he directed douglas to go north to new caledonia, or what is now northern british columbia, to learn the details of the fur trade of the mountains. douglas threw himself heartily into every part of his work. he not only learned the indian languages, and used them to advantage in the advancement of the fur trade, but studied successfully the physical features of the country and became an authority on the pacific slope which proved of greatest value to the company and the country for many a day. douglas had as his headquarters fort st. james, near the outlet of stuart lake, i.e. just west of the summit of the rocky mountains. he determined to enforce law and do away with the disorder which prevailed in the district. an indian, who some time before had murdered one of the servants of the hudson's bay company, had been allowed to go at large. judgment being long deferred, the murderer thought himself likely to be unmolested, and visited stuart lake. douglas, learning of his presence, with a weak garrison seized the criminal and visited vengeance on him. the indians were incensed, but knowing that they had to deal with a doughty douglas, employed stratagem in their reprisals. the old chief came very humbly to the fort and, knocking at the gate, was given admittance. he talked the affair over with douglas, and the matter seemed in a fair way to be settled when another knock was heard at the gate. the chief stated that it was his brother who sought to be admitted. the gate was opened, when in rushed the whole of the nisqually tribe. mclean vividly describes the scene which ensued: "the men of the fort were overpowered ere they had time to stand on their defence. douglas, however, seized a wall-piece that was mounted in the hall, and was about to discharge it on the crowd that was pouring in upon him, when the chief seized him by the hands and held him fast. for an instant his life was in the utmost peril, surrounded by thirty or forty indians, their knives drawn, and brandishing them over his head with frantic gestures, and calling out to the chief, "shall we strike? shall we strike?" the chief hesitated, and at this critical moment the interpreter's wife (daughter of an old trader, james mcdougall) stepped forward, and by her presence of mind saved him and the establishment. "observing one of the inferior chiefs, who had always professed the greatest friendship for the whites, standing in the crowd, she addressed herself to him, exclaiming, 'what! you a friend of the whites, and not say a word in their behalf at such a time as this! speak! you know the murderer deserved to die; according to your own laws the deed was just; it is blood for blood. the white men are not dogs; they love their own kindred as well as you; why should they not avenge their murder?'" the moment the heroine's voice was heard the tumult subsided; her boldness struck the savages with awe. the chief she addressed, acting on her suggestion, interfered, and being seconded by the old chief, who had no serious intention of injuring the whites, and was satisfied with showing them that they were fairly in his power, douglas and his men were set at liberty, and an amicable conference having taken place, the indians departed much elated with the issue of their enterprise. douglas spent his four years in the interior in a most interesting and energetic life. the experience there gained was invaluable in his after career as a fur trader. in 1826, at bear lake, at the head of a branch of the river skeena, he built a fort, which he named fort connolly, in honour of his superior officer, the chief of the pacific department. other forts in this region date their origin to douglas's short stay in this part of the mountains. douglas also had an "affair of the heart" while at fort st. james. young and impressionable, he fell in love with nellie, the daughter of mr. connolly, a young "daughter of the country," aged sixteen. she became his wife and survived him as lady douglas. his life of adventure in the rocky mountains came to an end by the summons of chief factor mcloughlin to appear at fort vancouver, the chief point of the company's trade on the pacific slope. in two years more the rising young officer became chief trader, and three years afterward he had reached the high dignity of chief factor. his chief work was to establish forts, superintend the trade in its different departments, and inspect the forts at least annually. his vigilance and energy were surprising. he became so noted that it was said of him: "he was one of the most enterprising and inquisitive of men, famous for his intimate acquaintance with every service of the coast." though james douglas rose by well marked tokens of leadership to the chief place on the pacific coast, yet the men associated with him were a worthy and able band. his friend, chief factor dr. john mcloughlin, who had been his patron, was a man of excellent ability. mcloughlin was of a sympathetic and friendly disposition, and took an interest in the settlement of the fertile valley of the columbia. his course seems to have been disapproved of by the london committee of the company, and his place was given to douglas, after which he spent his life in oregon. his work and influence cannot, however, be disregarded. he passed through many adventures and dangers. he was fond of show, and had a manner which might well recommend him to sir george simpson, governor-in-chief. from a trader's journal we learn: "mcloughlin and his suite would sometimes accompany the south-bound expeditions from fort vancouver, in regal state, for fifty or one hundred miles up the willamette, when he would dismiss them with his blessing and return to the fort. he did not often travel, and seldom far; but on these occasions he indulged his men rather than himself in some little variety.... it pleased mrs. mcloughlin thus to break the monotony of her fort life. upon a gaily-caparisoned steed, with silver trappings and strings of bells on bridle reins and saddle skirt, sat the lady of fort vancouver, herself arrayed in brilliant colours and wearing a smile which might cause to blush and hang its head the broadest, warmest, and most fragrant sunflower. by her side, also gorgeously attired, rode her lord, king of the columbia, and every inch a king, attended by a train of trappers, under a chief trader, each upon his best behaviour." but a group of men, notable and competent, gathered around these two leaders of the fur trade on the pacific coast. these comprised roderick finlayson, john work, a. c. anderson, w. f. tolmie, john tod, s. black, and others. these men, in charge of important posts, were local magnates, and really, gathered together in council, determined the policy of the company along the whole coast. in 1827 the spirit of extension of the trading operations took possession of the hudson's bay company. in that year the officers at fort vancouver saw arrive from the thames the schooner _cadboro_, seventy-two tons burthen. she became as celebrated on the pacific coast as any prominent fur trader could have become. it was said of this good ship, "she saw buried every human body brought by her from england, save one, john spence, ship carpenter." her arrival at this time was the occasion for an expedition to occupy the lower fraser with a trading post. john mcmillan commanded the expedition of twenty-five men. leaving fort vancouver in boats, and, after descending the columbia for a distance, crossing the country to puget's sound, they met the _cadboro_, which had gone upon her route. transported to the mouth of the fraser river, which empties into the gulf of georgia, they, with some difficulty, ascended the river and planted fort langley, where in the first season of trade a fair quantity of beaver was purchased, and a good supply of deer and elk meat was brought in by the hunters. the founding of fort langley meant virtually the taking hold of what we now know as the mainland of british columbia. the reaching out in trade was not favoured by the indians of the columbia. two years after the founding of fort langley, a hudson's bay company ship from london, the _william and ann_, was wrecked at the mouth of the columbia river. the survivors were murdered by the indians, and the cargo was seized and secreted by the savage wreckers. chief factor mcloughlin sent to the indians, demanding the restoration of the stolen articles. an old broom was all that was brought to the fort, and this was done in a spirit of derision. the schooner _vancouver_--the first ship of that name--(150 tons burthen), built on the coast, was wrecked five years after, and became a total loss. in the same year as the wreck of the _william and ann_, it was strongly impressed upon the traders that a sawmill should be erected to supply the material for building new vessels. chief factor mcloughlin determined to push this on. he chose as a site a point on the willamette river, a tributary of the columbia from the south, where oregon city now stands. he began a farm in connection with the mill, and in a year or two undertook the construction of the mill race by blasting in the rock, and erected cottages for his men and new settlers. the indians, displeased with the signs of permanent residence, burnt mcloughlin's huts. it is said it was this enterprise that turned the hudson's bay company committee in london against the veteran trader. years afterwards, edward ellice, the fur-trade magnate residing in england, said, "dr. mcloughlin was rather an amphibious and independent personage. he was a very able man, and, i believe, a very good man; but he had a fancy that he would like to have interests in both countries, both in united states and in english territory.... while he remained with the hudson's bay company he was an excellent servant." among the traders far up in the interior, in command of fort kamloops, which was at the junction of the north and south thompson, was a scotchman named samuel black. there came as a visitor to his fort a man of science and a countryman of his own. this man was david douglas. he was an enthusiast in the search for plants and birds. he was indefatigable as a naturalist, did much service to the botany of western america, and has his name preserved in the characteristic tree of the pacific slope--the douglas fir. douglas, on visiting black, was very firm in the expression of his opinions against the company, saying, "the hudson's bay company is simply a mercenary corporation; there is not an officer in it with a soul above a beaver's skin." black's caledonian blood was roused, for he was a leading spirit among the traders, having on the union of the companies been presented with a ring with the inscription on it, "to the most worthy of the worthy nor'-westers." he challenged the botanist to a duel. the scientist deferred the meeting till the morning, but early next day black tapped at the parchment window of the room where douglas was sleeping, crying, "mister douglas, are ye ready?" douglas disregarded the invitation. david douglas some time after visited hawaii, where, in examining the snares for catching wild cattle, he fell into the pit, and was trampled to death by a wild bullock. the death of samuel black was tragic. in 1841, tranquille, a chief of the shushwaps, who dwelt near kamloops, died. the friends of the chief blamed the magic or "evil medicine" of the white man for his death. a nephew of tranquille waited his opportunity and shot chief trader black. the hudson's bay company was aroused to most vigorous action. a writer says: "the murderer escaped. the news spread rapidly to the neighbouring posts. the natives were scarcely less disturbed than the white men. the act was abhorred, even by the friends and relatives of tranquille. anderson was at nisqually at the time. old john tod came over from fort alexandria, mclean from fort colville, and mckinley and ermatinger from fort okanagan. from fort vancouver mcloughlin sent men.... cameron was to assist tod in taking charge of kamloops. all traffic was stopped. "tod informed the assembled shushwaps that the murderer must be delivered up. the address of nicola, chief of the okanagans, gives a fine example of indian eloquence. he said: 'the winter is cold. on all the hills around the deer are plenty; and yet i hear your children crying for food. why is this? you ask for powder and ball, they refuse you with a scowl. why do the white men let your children starve? look there! beneath yon mound of earth lies him who was your friend, your father. the powder and ball he gave you that you might get food for your famishing wives and children, you turned against him. great heavens! and are the shushwaps such cowards, dastardly to shoot their benefactor in the back while his face was turned? yes, alas, you have killed your father! a mountain has fallen! the earth is shaken! the sun is darkened! my heart is sad. i cannot look at myself in the glass. i cannot look at you, my neighbours and friends. he is dead, and we poor indians shall never see his like again. he was just and generous. his heart was larger than yonder mountain, and clearer than the waters of the lake. warriors do not weep, but sore is my breast, and our wives shall wail for him. wherefore did you kill him? but you did not. you loved him. and now you must not rest until you have brought to justice his murderer.' "the old man was so rigid in expression that his whole frame and features seemed turned to stone. "archibald mckinley said, 'never shall i forget it; it was the grandest speech i ever heard.' "the murderer was soon secured and placed in irons, but in crossing a river he succeeded in upsetting the boat in the sight of nicola and his assembled indians. the murderer floated down the stream, but died, his death song hushed by the crack of rifles from the shore." thus by courage and prudence, alas! not without the sacrifice of valuable lives, was the power of the hudson's bay company and the prestige of great britain established on the pacific coast. chapter xl. from oregon to vancouver island. fort vancouver on american soil--chief factor douglas chooses a new site--young mcloughlin killed--liquor selling prohibited--dealing with the songhies--a jesuit father--fort victoria--finlayson's skill--chinook jargon--the brothers ermatinger--a fur-trading junius--"fifty-four, forty, or fight"--oregon treaty--hudson's bay company indemnified--the waggon road--a colony established--first governor--gold fever--british columbia--fort simpson--hudson's bay company in the interior--the forts--a group of worthies--service to britain--the coast become canadian. the columbia river grew to be a source of wealth to the hudson's bay company. its farming facilities were great, and its products afforded a large store for supplying the russian settlements of alaska. but as on the red river, so here the influx of agricultural settlers sounded a note of warning to the fur trader that his day was soon to pass away. with the purpose of securing the northern trade, fort langley had been built on the fraser river. the arrival of sir george simpson on the coast on his journey round the world was the occasion of the company taking a most important step in order to hold the trade of alaska. in the year following sir george's visit, chief factor douglas crossed puget sound and examined the southern extremity of vancouver island as to its suitability for the erection of a new fort to take the place in due time of fort vancouver. douglas found an excellent site, close beside the splendid harbour of esquimalt, and reported to the assembled council of chief factors and traders at fort vancouver that the advantages afforded by the site, especially that of its contiguity to the sea, would place the new fort, for all their purposes, in a much better position than fort vancouver. the enterprise was accordingly determined on for the next season. a tragic incident took place at this time on the pacific coast, which tended to make the policy of expansion adopted appear to be a wise and reasonable one. this was the violent death of a young trader, the son of chief trader mcloughlin, at fort taku on the coast of alaska, in the territory leased from the russians by the hudson's bay company. the murder was the result of a drunken dispute among the indians, in which, accidentally, young mcloughlin had been shot. sir george simpson had just returned to the fort from his visit to the sandwich islands, and was startled at seeing the russian and british ships, with flags at half-mast, on account of the young trader's death. the indians, on the arrival of the governor, expressed the greatest penitence, but the stern lycurgus could not be appeased, and this calamity, along with one of a similar kind, which had shortly before occurred on the stikine river, led sir george simpson and the russian governor etholin to come to an agreement to discontinue at once the sale of spirituous liquor in trading with the indians. the indians for a time resorted to every device, such as withholding their furs unless liquor was given them, but the traders were unyielding, and the trade on the coast became safer and more profitable on account of the disuse of strong drink. the decision to build a new fort having been reached in the next spring, the moving spirit of the trade on the coast, james douglas, with fifteen men, fully supplied with food and necessary implements, crossed in the _beaver_ from nisqually, like another eneas leaving his untenable city behind to build a new troy elsewhere. on the next day, march 13th, the vessel came to anchor opposite the new site. a graphic writer has given us the description of the beautiful spot: "the view landwards was enchanting. before them lay a vast body of land, upon which no white man then stood. not a human habitation was in sight; not a beast, scarcely a bird. even the gentle murmur of the voiceless wood was drowned by the gentle beating of the surf upon the shore. there was something specially charming, bewitching in the place. though wholly natural it did not seem so. it was not at all like pure art, but it was as though nature and art had combined to map out and make one of the most pleasing prospects in the world." the visitor looking at the city of victoria in british columbia to-day will say that the description is in no way overdrawn. not only is the site one of the most charming on the earth, but as the spectator turns about he is entranced with the view on the mainland, of mount olympia, so named by that doughty captain, john meares, more than fifty years before the founding of this fort. the place had been already chosen for a village and fortification by the resident tribe, the songhies, and went by the indian name of camosun. the indian village was a mile distant from the entrance to the harbour. when the _beaver_ came to anchor, a gun was fired, which caused a commotion among the natives, who were afraid to draw near the intruding vessel. next morning, however, the sea was alive with canoes of the songhies. the trader immediately landed, chose the site for his post, and found at a short distance tall and straight cedar-trees, which afforded material for the stockades of the fort. douglas explained to the indians the purpose of his coming, and held up to them bright visions of the beautiful things he would bring them to exchange for their furs. he also employed the indians in obtaining for him the cedar posts needed for his palisades. the trader showed his usual tact in employing a most potent means of gaining an influence over the savages by bringing the jesuit father balduc, who had been upon the island before and was known to the natives. gathering the three tribes of the south of the island, the songhies, clallams, and cowichins, into a great rustic chapel which had been prepared, father balduc held an impressive religious service, and shortly after visited a settlement of the skagits, a thousand strong, and there too, in a building erected for public worship, performed the important religious rites of his church before the wondering savages. it was the intention of the hudson's bay company to make the new fort at camosun, which they first called fort albert, and afterwards fort victoria--the name now borne by the city, the chief trading depôt on the coast. [illustration: fort victoria, b.c.] as soon as the buildings were well under way, chief factor douglas sailed northward along the coast to re-arrange the trade. fort simpson, which was on the mainland, some fifteen degrees north of the new fort and situated between the portland canal and the mouth of the skeena river, was to be retained as necessary for the alaska trade, but the promising officer, roderick finlayson, a young scotchman, who had shown his skill and honesty in the northern post, was removed from it and given an important place in the new establishment. living a useful and blameless life, he was allowed to see the new fort become before his death a considerable city. charles ross, the master of fort mcloughlin, being senior to finlayson, was for the time being placed in charge of the new venture. the three minor forts, taku, stikine, and mcloughlin, were now closed, and the policy of consolidation led to fort victoria at once rising into importance. on the return of the chief factor from his northern expedition, with all the employés and stores from the deserted posts, the work at fort victoria went on apace. the energetic master had now at his disposal fifty good men, and while some were engaged at the buildings--either store-houses or dwellings--others built the defences. two bastions of solid block work were erected, thirty feet high, and these were connected by palisades or stockades of posts twenty feet high, driven into the earth side by side. the natives encamped alongside the new work, looked on with interest, but as they had not their wives and children with them, the traders viewed them with suspicion. on account of the watchfulness of the builders, the indians, beyond a few acts of petty theft, did not interfere with the newcomers in their enterprise. three months saw the main features of the fort completed. on entering the western gate of the fort, to the right was to be seen a cottage-shaped building, the post office, then the smithy; further along the walls were the large store-house, carpenter's shop, men's dormitory, and the boarding-house for the raw recruits. along the east wall were the chapel, chaplain's house, then the officers' dining-room, and cook-house attached. along the north wall was a double row of store-houses for furs and goods, and behind them the gunpowder magazine. in the north-west corner was the cottage residence of the chief factor and his family. the defences of the fort were important, consisting of two bastions on the western angles, and these contained six or eight nine-pounders. the south tower was the real fort from which salutes were fired; the north tower was a prison; and near the western or front gate stood the belfry erection and on its top the flag-staff. such was the first fort albert or victoria. victoria rapidly grew into notice, and in due time roderick finlayson, the man of adaptation and force, on the death of his superior officer became chief factor in charge. the writer met the aged fur trader years after he had retired from active service, and spent with him some hours of cheerful discourse. large and commanding in form, finlayson had the marks of governing ability about him. he lacked the adroitness of mcloughlin, the instability of tod, and the genius of douglas, but he was a typical scotchman, steady, patient, and trustworthy. like an old patriarch, he spent his last days in victoria, keeping a large extent of vacant city property in a common. urged again and again to sell it when it had become valuable, the sturdy pioneer replied that he "needed it to pasture his 'coo.'" one of the things most striking in all the early traders was their ability to master language. many of the officers of the company were able to speak four languages. on the pacific coast, on account of the many indian tongues differing much from each other, there grew up a language of commerce, known as the chinook jargon. it was a most remarkable phenomenon; it is still largely in use. the tribe most familiar to the traders at the beginning of the century was the chinooks. english-speaking, french, and united states traders met with them, and along with them the kanakas, or sandwich island workmen, with many bands of coast indians. a trade has developed upon the pacific coast, the chinook jargon has grown, and now numbers some five hundred words. of these, nearly half were chinook in origin, a number were from other indian languages, almost a hundred were french, and less than seventy english, while several were doubtful. the then leading elements among the traders were known in the jargon as respectively, pasai-ooks, french, a corruption of français; king chautchman (king george man), english; and boston, american. the following will show the origin and meaning of a few words, showing changes made in consonants which the indians cannot pronounce. _french._ _jargon._ _meaning._ le mouton. lemoots. sheep. chapeau. seahpo. hat. sauvage. siwash. indian. _english._ _jargon._ _meaning._ fire. piah. fire or cook. coffee. kaupy. coffee. handkerchief. hat'atshum. handkerchief. _chinook._ _jargon._ _meaning._ tkalaitanam. kali-tan. arrow. thliakso. yokso. hair. --- klootchman. woman. songs, hymns, sermons, and translations of portions of the bible are made in the jargon, and used by missionaries and teachers. several dictionaries of the dialect have been published. among the out-standing men who were contemporaries upon the pacific coast of finlayson were the two brothers ermatinger. already it has been stated that they were nephews of the famous old trader of sault ste. marie. their father had preferred england to canada, and had gone thither. his two sons, edward and francis, were, as early as 1818, apprenticed by their father to the hudson's bay company and sent on the company's ship to rupert's land, by way of york factory. edward, whose autobiographical sketch, hitherto unpublished, lies before us, tells us that he spent ten years in the fur trade, being engaged at york factory, oxford house, red river, and on the columbia river. desirous of returning to the service after he had gone back to canada, he had received an appointment to rupert's land again from governor simpson. this was cancelled by the governor on account of a grievous quarrel with old charles, the young trader's uncle, on a sea voyage with the governor to britain. for many years, however, edward ermatinger lived at st. thomas, ontario, where his son, the respected judge ermatinger, still resides. the old gentleman became a great authority on hudson's bay affairs, and received many letters from the traders, especially, it would seem, from those who had grievances against the company or against its strong-willed governor. francis ermatinger, the other brother, spent between thirty and forty years in the far west, especially on the pacific coast. an unpublished journal of francis ermatinger lies before us. it is a clear and vivid account of an expedition to revenge the death of a trader, alexander mackenzie, and four men who had been basely murdered (1828) by the tribe of clallam indians. the party, under chief factor alexander mcleod, attacked one band of indians and severely punished them; then from the ship _cadboro_ on the coast, a bombardment of the indian village took place, in which many of the tribe of the murderers were killed, but whether the criminals suffered was never known. that francis ermatinger was one of the most hardy, determined, and capable of the traders is shown by a remarkable journey made by him, under orders from sir george simpson on his famous journey round the world. ermatinger had left fort vancouver in charge of a party of trappers to visit the interior of california. sir george, having heard of him in the upper waters of one of the rivers of the coast, ordered him to meet him at monterey. this ermatinger undertook to do, and after a terrific journey, crossing snowy chains of mountains, fierce torrents in a country full of pitfalls, reached the imperious governor. ermatinger had assumed the disguise of a spanish caballero, and was recognized by his superior officer with some difficulty. ermatinger wrote numerous letters to his brothers in canada, which contained details of the hard but exciting life he was leading. most unique and peculiar of all the traders on the pacific coast was john tod, who first appeared as a trader in the selkirk settlement and wrote a number of the hargrave letters. in 1823 he was sent by governor simpson, it is said, to new caledonia as to the penal settlement of the fur traders, but the young scotchman cheerfully accepted his appointment. he became the most noted letter-writer of the pacific coast, indeed he might be called the prince of controversialists among the traders. there lies before the writer a bundle of long letters written over a number of years by tod to edward ermatinger. tod, probably for the sake of argument, advocated loose views as to the validity of the scriptures, disbelief of many of the cardinal christian doctrines, and in general claimed the greatest latitude of belief. it is very interesting to see how the solemn-minded and orthodox ermatinger strives to lead him into the true way. tod certainly had little effect upon his faithful correspondent, and shows the greatest regard for his admonitions. the time of sir george simpson's visit to the coast on his journey round the world was one of much agitation as to the boundary line between the british and united states possessions on the pacific coast. by the treaty of 1825 russia and britain had come to an agreement that the russian strip along the coast should reach southward only to 54 deg. 40´ n. lat. the united states mentioned its claim to the coast as far north as the russian boundary. however preposterous it may seem, yet it was maintained by the advocates of the monroe doctrine that great britain had no share of the coast at all. the urgency of the american claim became so great that the popular mind seemed disposed to favour contesting this claim with arms. thus originated the famous saying, "fifty-four, forty, or fight." the hudson's bay company was closely associated with the dispute, the more that fort vancouver on the columbia river might be south of the boundary line, though their action of building fort victoria was shown to be a wise and timely step. at length in 1846 the treaty between great britain and the united states was made and the boundary line established. the oregon treaty, known in some quarters as the ashburton treaty, provided that the 49th parallel of latitude should on the mainland be the boundary, thus handing over fort vancouver, walla walla, colville, nisqually, and okanagan to the united states, and taking them from their rightful owners, the hudson's bay company. article two of the great treaty, however, stated that the company should enjoy free navigation of the columbia river, while the third article provided that the possessory rights of the hudson's bay company and all other british subjects on the south side of the boundary line should be respected. the decision in regard to the boundary led to changes in the hudson's bay company establishments. dr. mcloughlin, having lost the confidence of the company, threw in his lot with his united states home, and retired in the year of the treaty to oregon city, where he died a few years after. his name is remembered as that of an impulsive, good-hearted, somewhat rash, but always well-meaning man. though fort victoria became the depôt for the coast of the trade of the company, fort vancouver, with a reduced staff, was maintained for a number of years by the company. while under charge of chief trader wark, a part of the fields belonging to the company at fort vancouver were in a most high-handed manner seized by the united states for military purposes. the senior officer, mr. grahame, on his return from an absence, protested against the invasion. in june, 1860, however, the hudson's bay company withdrew from the columbia. the great herd of wild cattle which had grown up on the columbia were disposed of by the company to a merchant of oregon. the company thus retired to the british side of the boundary line during the three years closing with 1860. steps were taken by the hudson's bay company to obtain compensation from the united states authorities. a long and wearisome investigation took place; witnesses were called and great diversity of opinion prevailed as to the value of the interest of the company in its forts. the hudson's bay company claimed indemnity amounting to the sum of 2,000,000 dols. witnesses for the united states gave one-tenth of that amount as a fair value. compensation of a moderate kind was at length made to the company by the united states. on its withdrawal from oregon the hudson's bay company decided on opening up communication with the interior of the mainland up the fraser river. this was a task of no small magnitude, on account of the rugged and forbidding banks of this great river. a. caulfield anderson, an officer who had been in the company's service for some fourteen years before the date of the oregon treaty and was in charge of a post on the fraser river, was given the duty of finding the road to the interior. he was successful in tracing a road from fort langley to kamloops. the indians offered opposition to anderson, but he succeeded in spite of all hindrances, and though other routes were sought for and suggested, yet anderson's road by way of the present town of hope and lake nicola to kamloops afterwards became one great waggon road to the interior. no sooner had the boundary line been fixed than agitation arose to prepare the territory north of the line for a possible influx of agriculturists or miners and also to maintain the coast true to british connection. the hudson's bay company applied to the british government for a grant of vancouver island, which they held under a lease good for twelve years more. mr. gladstone opposed the application, but considering it the best thing to be done in the circumstances, the government made the grant (1847) to the company under certain conditions. the company agreed to colonize the island, to sell the lands at moderate rates to settlers, and to apply nine-tenths of the receipts toward public improvements. the company entered heartily into the project, issued a prospectus for settlers, and hoped in five years to have a considerable colony established on the island. steps were taken by the british government to organize the new colony. the head of the government applied to the governor of the company to name a governor. chief factor douglas was suggested, but probably thinking an independent man would be more suitable, the government gave the appointment to a man of respectability, richard blanshard, in the end of 1849. the new governor arrived, but no preparations had been made for his reception. no salary was provided for his maintenance, and the attitude of the hudson's bay company officially at fort victoria was decidedly lacking in heartiness. governor blanshard's position was nothing more than an empty show. he issued orders and proclamations which were disregarded. he visited fort rupert, which had been founded by the company on the north-east angle of the island, and there held an investigation of a murder of three sailors by the newitty indians. governor blanshard spent much of his time writing pessimistic reports of the country to britain, and after a residence of a year and a half returned to england, thoroughly soured on account of his treatment by the officers of the company. the colonization of vancouver island proved very slow. a company of miners for nanaimo, and another of farmers from sooke, near victoria, came, but during governor blanshard's rule only one _bonâ-fide_ sale of land was made, and five years after the cession to the company there were less than five hundred colonists. chief factor douglas succeeded to the governorship and threw his accustomed energy into his administration. the cry of monopoly, ever a popular one, was raised, and inasmuch as the colony was not increasing sufficiently to satisfy the imperial government, the great committee of the house of commons of 1857 was appointed to examine the whole relation of the company to rupert's land and the indian territories. the result of the inquiry was that it was decided to relieve the hudson's bay company of the charge of vancouver island at the time of expiry of their lease. the hudson's bay company thus withdrew on the pacific coast to the position of a private trading company, though sir james douglas, who was knighted in 1863, continued governor of the crown colony of vancouver island, with the added responsibility of the territory on the mainland. at this juncture the gold discovery in the mainland called much attention to the country. thousands of miners rushed at once to the british possessions on the pacific coast. fort victoria, from being a lonely traders' post, grew as if by magic into a city. thousands of miners betook themselves to the fraser river, and sought the inland gold-fields. all this compelled a more complete organization than the mere oversight of the mainland by governor douglas in his capacity as head of the fur trade. accordingly the british government determined to relieve the hudson's bay company of responsibility for the mainland, which they held under a licence soon to expire, and to erect new caledonia and the indian territories of the coast into a separate crown colony under the name of british columbia. in lord lytton's dispatches to governor douglas, to whom the governorship of both of the colonies of vancouver island and british columbia was offered, the condition is plainly stated that he would be required to sever his connection with the hudson's bay company and the puget sound agricultural company, and to be independent of all local interests. here we leave sir james douglas immersed in his public duties of governing the two colonies, which in time became one province under the name of british columbia, thus giving up the guidance of the fur-trading stations for whose up-building he had striven for fifty years. the posts of the hudson's bay company on the pacific coast in 1857 were:- _vancouver island_- fort victoria. fort rupert. nanaimo. _fraser river_- fort langley. _thompson river_- kamloops. fort hope. _north-west coast_- fort simpson. _new caledonia_- stuart lake. mcleod lake. fraser lake. alexandria. fort george. babines. connolly lake. chapter xli. pro gloria dei. a vast region--first spiritual adviser--a _locum tenens_--two french canadian priests--st. boniface founded--missionary zeal in mackenzie river district--red river parishes--the great archbishop taché--john west--archdeacon cochrane, the founder--john mccallum--bishop anderson--english missionary societies--archbishop machray--indian missions--john black, the presbyterian apostle--methodist missions on lake winnipeg--the cree syllabic--chaplain staines--bishop cridge--missionary duncan--metlakahtla--roman catholic coast missions--church of england bishop--diocese of new westminster--dr. evans--robert jamieson--education. wherever british influence has gone throughout the world the christian faith of the british people has followed. it is true, for one hundred and fifty years the ships to hudson bay crossed regularly to the forts on the bay, and beyond certain suggestions as to service to the employés, no recognition of religion took place on hudson bay, and no christian clergyman or missionary visitor found his way thither. the company was primarily a trading company, its forts were far apart, and there were few men at any one point. the first heralds of the cross, indeed, to reach rupert's land were the french priests who accompanied verendrye, though they seem to have made no settlements in the territory. it is said that after the conquest of canada, when the french traders had withdrawn from the north-west, except a few traditions in one of the tribes, no trace of christianity was left behind. the first clergyman to arrive in rupert's land was in connection with lord selkirk's colony in 1811. a party of lord selkirk's first colonists having come from sligo, the founder sent one father bourke to accompany the party to red river. the wintering at york factory seems to have developed some unsatisfactory traits in the spiritual adviser, and he did not proceed further than the shore of the bay, but returned to his native land. the necessity of providing certain spiritual oversight for his scottish colonists occupied lord selkirk's mind. in 1815 james sutherland, an elder authorized by the church of scotland to baptize and marry, arrived with one of the bands of colonists at red river. the first point in the agreement between lord selkirk and his colonists was "to have the services of a minister of their own church." this was lord selkirk's wish, and mr. sutherland was sent as _locum tenens_. for three years this devout man performed the duties of his sacred office, until in the conflict between the rival companies he was forcibly taken away to canada by the north-west company. lord selkirk entered into correspondence with the roman catholic authorities in lower canada as to their appointing priests to take charge of the french and de meurons of his colony. we have already seen in the sketch of john mcleod that two french priests, joseph norbert provencher and sévère dumoulin, proceeded to the north-west and took up a position on the east side of red river nearly opposite the site of the demolished fort gibraltar. on account of the preponderance of the german-speaking de meurons, the settlement was called st. boniface, after the german patron saint. though these pioneer priests endured hardships and poverty, they energetically undertook their work, and maintained a school in which, shortly after, we are told, there were scholars in the "humanities." with great zeal the roman catholic church has carried its missions to the indians, even to distant athabasca and mackenzie river. in 1822 the priest provencher was made a bishop under the title of bishop of juliopolis (_in partibus infidelium_). his jurisdiction included rupert's land and the north-west or indian territories. besides the work among the indians, the bishop organized the french settlements along the red and assiniboine rivers into parishes. in addition to st. boniface, some of these were st. norbert, st. françois xavier, st. charles, st. vital, and the like, until, at the close of the hudson's bay company's rule in 1869, there were nine french parishes. the indian missions have been largely carried on by a society of the roman catholic church known as the oblate fathers. a sisterhood of the grey nuns have also taken a strong hold of the north-west. in the year 1844 a young french priest named alexandre antonin taché came to the north-west and led the way in carrying the faith among the indians of the mackenzie river. a most interesting work of father taché, called "vingt années de missions," gives the life and trials of this devoted missionary. in a few years the young priest was appointed coadjutor of bishop provencher, and on the death of that prelate in 1853, young monseigneur taché succeeded to the see under the name of the bishop of st. boniface. bishop taché became a notable man of the red river settlement. he was a man of much breadth of view, kindliness of manner, and of great religious zeal. as an educational and public man, he wielded, during the whole time of the hudson's bay company's later régime, a potent influence. a year or two after the elevation of bishop taché to the vacant place of bishop provencher, bishop grandin was appointed a bishop of the interior and took up his abode at ile à la crosse. the roman catholic church has done much in bringing many wild tribes under the civilizing influence of christianity. though lord selkirk was compelled to betake himself to france in 1820 in search of health, he did not forget his promise to his scottish colonists on red river. he entrusted the task of procuring a clergyman for them to mr. john pritchard, who, we have seen, had entered the service of his lordship. pritchard, acting under the direction of the committee of the hudson's bay company, seems to have taken a course that lord selkirk would hardly have approved. to some extent disregarding the promise made to the scottish settlers, either the agent or the committee applied to the church missionary society to appoint a chaplain for the hudson's bay company at red river. the choice made was a most judicious one, being that of rev. john west, who wrote a very readable book on his experiences, in which the condition of the settlement, along with an account of his missionary labours, are described. a little volume, written by miss tucker, under the name of "the rainbow of the north," also gives an interesting account of the founding of the protestant faith in the settlement. mr. west arrived in red river settlement in october, 1820, and at once began his labours by holding services in fort garry. for a time he was fully occupied in marrying many who had formerly lived as man and wife, though already married after the indian fashion, and in baptizing the children. he at once opened a school. mr. west made an exploratory journey five or six hundred miles westward, visiting indian tribes. in 1823 he erected the first protestant place of worship on the red river, and in the same year was joined by rev. david jones, who was left in charge when mr. west returned to england. two years afterwards rev. william cochrane and his wife arrived at red river. mr. cochrane, afterward archdeacon cochrane, was a man of striking personality, and to him has been given the credit of laying the foundation of the church of england in the red river settlement. the indians to the north of the settlement on red river were visited and yielded readily to the solicitations of the missionaries. early among these self-denying indian missionaries was the rev. a., afterwards archdeacon, cowley. churches were erected in the parishes that were set apart in the same way as the french parishes; st. john's, st. paul's, st. andrew's, st. clement's, st. james, headingly, and the like, to the number of ten, were each provided with church and school. rev. mr. jones did not neglect the educational interests of his wide charge. having become convinced of the necessity of establishing a boarding-school to meet the wants of the scattered families of rupert's land, mr. jones brought out mr. john mccallum, a student of king's college, aberdeen, who had found his way to london. coming to red river in 1833, mccallum began the school which has since become st. john's college. at first this school was under the church missionary society, but a decade after its founding it was conducted by mccallum himself, with an allowance from the company. in 1844 an episcopal visit was made to red river by the first protestant bishop who could reach the remote spot. this was dr. mountain, bishop of montreal. he published a small work giving an account of his visit. many confirmations took place by the bishop, and mr. cowley was made a priest. john mccallum had taken such a hold upon the selkirk settlers that it was deemed advisable to ordain him, and for several years he carried on the school along with the incumbency of the parish church. mccallum only lived for five years after the bishop's visit. in 1838 james leith, a wealthy chief factor of the hudson's bay company, bequeathed in his will twelve thousand pounds to be expended for the benefit of the indian missions in rupert's land. leith's family bitterly opposed this disposition of their patrimony, but the master of the rolls, hearing that the hudson's bay company was willing to add three hundred pounds annually to the interest accruing from the leith bequest, gave the decision against them, and thus secured an income to the see of seven hundred pounds a year. in 1849 the diocese of rupert's land was established by the crown, and rev. david anderson, of oxford university, was consecrated first bishop of rupert's land. in the autumn of the same year bishop anderson arrived at red river, by way of york factory, and his first public duty was to conduct the funeral of the lamented john mccallum. after an incumbency of fifteen years bishop anderson returned to england and resigned the bishopric. in 1865 dr. robert machray arrived at red river, having been consecrated bishop by the archbishop of canterbury. under bishop anderson the college successfully begun by mccallum languished, for the bishop seemed more intent on mission work than education. in the year after his arrival, bishop machray revived the institution under the name of st. john's college. it was of much service to the colony. by the time of the passing away of the power of the hudson's bay company, four years after the arrival of bishop machray, substantial stone churches and school-houses had been erected in almost all of the parishes mentioned as organized by the church of england. to the church of england belonged nearly all the english-speaking half-breed population of the colony, as well as a large number of the hudson's bay company officers. bishop machray's diocese covered a vast area. from hudson bay to the rocky mountains was under his jurisdiction. much work was done amongst the indian tribes. at moose factory on the bay, another devoted labourer was working diligently. it is true the missions were widely scattered, but of the twenty-four clergymen belonging to the diocese of rupert's land, fifteen were among the indians at the time of the cessation of the hudson's bay company's rule. the remainder were in the parishes of red river such as st. john's, st. andrew's, st. paul's, headingly, poplar point, and portage la prairie. the assistance rendered not only by the church missionary society, but also by the society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts, the colonial and continental church society, and the society for the promotion of christian knowledge, was very great, and future generations will be indebted to the benevolence and liberality of the english people in sending spiritual assistance to rupert's land. a perusal of the work, "red river settlement," by alexander ross, shows that a long and somewhat disappointing struggle was maintained by the selkirk settlers to obtain the fulfilment of lord selkirk's promise to send them a minister of their own faith. scottish governors came and departed, but no scottish minister came. sir george simpson arrived on his yearly visits at fort garry, and was often interviewed by the settlers of kildonan, but the governor, though pleasant and plausible enough, was impenetrable as the sphinx. petitions were sent to the hudson's bay company and to the scottish general assembly, but they seldom reached their destination and effected nothing. the people conformed to the service of the church of england in the vicinity of their parish. they were treated by the episcopal clergy with much consideration. their own psalter was used in their worship, the service was made as simple as they could well desire, but the people, with highland tenacity, held to their own tenets for forty years, and maintained among themselves regular cottage meetings for prayer and praise. at length the question arose as to the possession of the church property and the right of burial in st. john's burial-ground. the scottish settlers maintained their right to the church and churchyard. a very acrimonious discussion arose. in the end the matter was referred to mr. eden colville, a company director, who was in the settlement on business. mr. colville informed the writer that he claimed the credit of settling the dispute. another site on the river bank two or three miles to the north of st. john's, called la grenouillère, or frog plain, consisting of several hundred acres, was handed over to the scottish settlers for church, manse, and glebe. this was in 1851, and though the kildonan people were still given the right to bury their dead in st. john's, in the future their chief interest centred in the new plot. the presence in red river of mr. ballenden, a countryman of the kildonan people, as hudson's bay company governor of fort garry, led to an application being made to their friends in scotland to send them a minister. indeed, the call had been made again and again for a generation. this request was transmitted to canada to dr. robert burns, a man of warm missionary zeal and great wisdom. sir george simpson had been communicated with, and deemed it wise to reverse his former policy of inaction and promised certain aid and countenance, should a presbyterian minister be found to care for the parish of kildonan. dr. burns had among his acquaintances a recent graduate of knox college, toronto, named john black. him the zealous doctor urged, if not commanded, to go to red river. this trust was accepted, and after a tedious and uncertain journey rev. john black arrived at red river, september, 1851. the kildonan people immediately rallied around their new clergyman, who, though not able to speak gaelic as they desired, yet became an idol to his people. in 1853 a church was erected, with the aid of a small grant from the hudson's bay company, and the foundations of presbyterianism were laid. in 1865 rev. james nisbet, who had come a few years before to assist mr. black, organized a mission to the cree indians, and named his mission church on the banks of the saskatchewan, prince albert. growing by slow degrees, the presbyterian interest increased and was represented at the end of the hudson's bay company's rule by four or five clergymen. schools as maintained by voluntary contributions were erected in the presbyterian parishes of kildonan and little britain. manitoba college was planned and arranged for in the closing year of the hudson's bay company's régime. the methodists, with the fervour and missionary zeal which has always characterized them, determined to aid in evangelizing the indians of rupert's land. it was the english methodists who first showed a desire in this direction. they agreed to send the indians a clergyman suited for the work, if the canadian methodist church would send a few labourers trained in indian work in canada. james evans, an englishman who had been long in canada, and had laboured for years among the indians of upper canada, consented to go to rupert's land and take the superintendence of the others sent out. leaving montreal with the three english missionaries and two educated young ojibways, peter jacobs and henry b. steinhauser, the party went by canoes up the lakes and then along the old fur traders' route, and arrived at norway house, at the foot of lake winnipeg, in 1840. evans made norway house his headquarters, george barnley went to moose factory, william mason to rainy lake and river winnipeg, and robert t. rundle to edmonton. the missions to the hudson bay and rainy lake were soon given up, but rossville and oxford house, on lake winnipeg, and several points near edmonton, are the evidence to-day of the faithful self-denying work done by these early methodist pioneers. having no whites in the country, the operations of the methodist church in rupert's land were, up to the time of the hudson's bay company's transfer, confined to the indians of rupert's land. mr. evans, the superintendent of these missions, became very celebrated by the invention of a syllabic system of writing introduced among the crees. the plan is simple, and an intelligent indian who has never seen the system[5] can in a short time learn to read and write the syllabic. the syllabic has spread widely over rupert's land, and the different churches use, especially among the crees, this ingenious invention in printing the bible and service books. when lord dufferin, a number of years ago, visited the north-west as governor-general of canada, on hearing of evans' invention he remarked, "the nation has given many a man a title and a pension and a resting-place in westminster abbey who never did half so much for his fellow-creatures." some claim has been made for mason as being the inventor of this character, but there seems to be no ground for the claim. john ryerson, a canadian methodist divine, in 1854 visited rupert's land from canada, and after seeing the missions on lake winnipeg, went from york factory to england. the taking over of the mission by the canadian methodist church resulted from this visit. these are the main movements of a religious kind that took place within the borders of rupert's land and the territories east of the rocky mountains up to the end of the hudson's bay company's régime. a great service was rendered to the whites and indians alike, to the hudson's bay company, to the kildonan settlers, and all the native people by the patient work of the four churches named. the best feeling, and in many cases active co-operation, were given by these churches to each other. the work done by these churches laid the foundation for the general morality and advanced social life which prevailed in red river and in the regions beyond. on the pacific slope the hudson's bay company took an immediate control of the religious and educational instruction of the people, upon the organization of vancouver island as a colony (1849). the rev. robert staines was sent as chaplain and teacher to fort victoria, and was given a salary and an allowance for carrying on a boarding-school in which he was assisted by his wife. mr. staines did not agree with the company, went to britain as a delegate from the dissatisfied employés, but died of injuries received on his homeward voyage. mr. staines' successor was the rev. edward cridge. the new chaplain was well provided for by the company, being secured a parsonage and glebe of one hundred acres, and three hundred pounds a year, one hundred pounds annually being as chaplain of the company. mr. cridge became a prominent clergyman of the colony, but in later years left his mother church to become bishop of the reformed episcopal church. in 1859 bishop hills was made first bishop of the united colonies of vancouver island and british columbia. twenty years afterward the diocese was divided into (1) vancouver island and the islands, as _diocese of columbia_, (2) the southern mainland as _diocese of new westminster_, and (3) the northern mainland as _diocese of new caledonia_. the church of england in british columbia has enjoyed large gifts from the baroness burdett-coutts. one of the most remarkable missions of modern times is that of metlakahtla, begun under the auspices of the church of england by william duncan. the village he founded became an example of civilization among the indians, as well as a handmaid to the christian work done. unfortunately, the model indian village has been largely broken up by a misunderstanding between mr. duncan and his bishop. the first missionary of note of the roman catholic church on the coast was father demers, who became bishop of vancouver island and new caledonia. the oblate fathers were early on the ground in british columbia, the first of the order having baptized upwards of three thousand men, women, and children of indian tribes, the songhies, saanechs, and cowichins, near victoria. many churches, schools, and hospitals have been founded by the energetic and self-denying roman catholics who have made british columbia their home. bishop seghers succeeded the venerable bishop demers in his diocese. ten years after the formation of vancouver island as a crown colony, revs. dr. evans, l. robson, and two other ministers undertook work for the methodist church on the coast. good foundations were laid by the clergymen named, and still better by rev. thomas crosby, who joined them after a few years' service, and entered heartily into efforts to evangelize the indians. he had great success among the flathead indians. in 1861 the first presbyterian minister arrived--rev. john hall, from ireland, and he undertook work in victoria. in the year following, rev. robert jamieson came from canada as a representative of the canadian presbyterian church and settled at new westminster. churches were soon built in victoria, nanaimo, and new westminster, that now contain strong and vigorous congregations. all of the churches were under deep obligations to the hudson's bay company for protection, assistance, and sympathy in their undertakings on the coast. the inrush of gold seekers threw a great responsibility upon all the churches, and it was well that the company, merely for motives of self-interest, should regard the influence of the missionaries among the fierce tribes of the mountains, of both island and mainland, as of the greatest importance. the record of self-denying missionaries of the churches has justified all the patronage and favour rendered them by the hudson's bay company. footnote: [5] see appendix f. chapter xlii. the hudson's bay company and the indians. the company's indian policy--character of officers--a race of hunters--plan of advances--charges against the company--liquor restriction--capital punishment--starving indians--diseased and helpless--education and religion--the age of missions--sturdy saulteaux--the muskegons--wood crees--wandering plain crees--the chipewyans--wild assiniboines--blackfeet indians--polyglot coast tribes--eskimos--no indian war--no police--pliable and docile--success of the company. from time to time the opponents of the company have sought to find grounds for the overthrow of the licence to trade granted by the government of britain over the indian territories. one of the most frequent lines of attack was in regard to the treatment of the indians by the fur traders. it may be readily conceded that the ideal of the company's officials was in many cases not the highest. the aim of governor simpson in his long reign of forty years was that of a keen trader. a politic man, the leader of the traders when in montreal conformed to the sentiment of the city, abroad in the wilds he did very little to encourage his subordinates to cultivate higher aims among the natives. often the missionary was found raising questions very disturbing to the monopoly, and this brought the company officers into a hostile attitude to him. undoubtedly in some cases the missionaries were officious and unfair in their criticisms. but, on the other hand, the men and officers of the company were generally moral. men of education and reading the officers usually were, and their sentiment was likely to be in the right direction. the spirit of the monopoly--the golden character of silence, and the need of being secretive and uncommunicative--was instilled into every clerk, trapper, and trader. [illustration: blood indians. (squaws and papooses.) assiniboines. (indians and squaws on their ponies.) indians of the plains.] but the tradition of the company was to keep the indian a hunter. there was no effort to encourage the native to agriculture or to any industry. to make a good collector of fur was the chief aim. for this the indian required no education, for this the wandering habit needed to be cultivated rather than discouraged, and for this it was well to have the home ties as brittle as possible. hence the tent and teepee were favoured for the indian hunter more than the log cottage or village house. it was one of the most common charges against the company that in order to keep the indian in subjection advances were made on the catch of furs of the coming season, in order that, being in debt, he might be less independent. the experience of the writer in red river settlement in former days leads him to doubt this, and certainly the fur traders deny the allegation. the improvident or half-breed indian went to the company's store to obtain all that he could. the traders at the forts had difficulty in checking the extravagance of their wards. frequently the storekeeper refused to make advances lest he should fail in recovering the value of the articles advanced. fitzgerald, a writer who took part in the agitation of 1849, makes the assertion in the most flippant manner that to keep the indians in debt was the invariable policy of the company. no evidence is cited to support this statement, and it would seem to be very hard to prove. the same writer undertakes, along the line of destructive criticism, to show that the hudson's bay company does not deserve the credit given it of discouraging the traffic in strong drink, and asserts that "a beaver skin was never lost to the company for want of a pint of rum." this is a very grave charge, and in the opinion of the writer cannot be substantiated. the bishop of montreal, r. m. ballantyne, and the agents of the missionary societies are said either to have little experience or to be unwilling to tell on this subject what they knew. this critic then quotes various statements of writers, extending back in some cases thirty or forty years, to show that spirituous liquors were sold by the company. it is undoubted that at times in the history of the fur trade, especially at the beginning of the century, when the three companies were engaged in a most exacting competition, as we have fully shown, in several cases much damage was done. on the pacific coast, too, eight or ten years before this critic wrote, there was, as we have seen, excess. at other times, also, at points in the wide field of operations, over half a continent, intoxicating liquor was plentiful and very injurious, but no feeling was stronger in a hudson's bay company trader's mind than that he was in a country without police, without military, without laws, and that his own and his people's lives were in danger should drunkenness prevail. self-preservation inclined every trader to prevent the use of spirits among the indians. the writer is of opinion that while there may have been many violations of sobriety, yet the record of the hudson's bay company has been on the whole creditable in this matter. the charges of executing capital punishment and of neglecting the indians in years of starvation may be taken together. the criticism of the people of red river was that the company was weak in the execution of the penalties of the law. they complained that the company was uncertain of its powers and that the hand of justice was chained. the marvel to an unprejudiced observer is that the company succeeded in ruling so vast a territory with so few reprisals or executions. in the matter of assisting the indians in years of scarcity, it was the interest of the fur company to save the lives of its trappers and workers. but those unacquainted with the vast wastes of rupert's land and the far north little know the difficulties of at times obtaining food. the readers of milton and cheadle's graphic story or our account of robert campbell's adventures on the stikine, know the hardships and the near approach to starvation of these travellers. dr. cheadle, on a visit to winnipeg a few years ago, said to the writer that on his first visit the greatest difficulty his party had was to secure supplies. there are years in which game and fish are so scarce that in remote northern districts death is inevitable for many. the conditions make it impossible for the company to save the lives of the natives. relief for the diseased and aged is at times hard to obtain. smallpox and other epidemics have the most deadly effect upon the semi-civilized people of the far-off hunter's territory. the charge made up to 1849 that the hudson's bay company had done little for the education and religious training of the indians was probably true enough. outside of red river and british columbia they did not sufficiently realize their responsibility as a company. since that time, with the approval and co-operation in many ways of the company, the various missionary societies have grappled with the problem. the indians about hudson bay, on lake winnipeg, in the mackenzie river, throughout british columbia, and on the great prairies of assiniboia, are to-day largely christianized and receiving education. the saulteaux, or indians who formerly lived at sault ste. marie, but wandered west along the shore of lake superior and even up to lake winnipeg, are a branch of the algonquin ojibways. hardy and persevering, most conservative in preserving old customs, hard to influence by religious ideas, they have been pensioners of the hudson's bay company, but their country is very barren, and they have advanced but little. very interesting, among their relations of algonquin origin, are the muskegons, or swampy crees, who have long occupied the region around hudson bay and have extended inland to lake winnipeg. docile and peaceful, they have been largely influenced by christianity. under missionary and company guidance they have gathered around the posts, and find a living on the game of the country and in trapping the wild animals. related to the muskegons are the wood crees, who live along the rivers and on the belts of wood which skirt lakes and hills. they cling to the birch-bark wigwam, use the bark canoe, and are nomadic in habit. they may be called the gipsies of the west, and being in scattered families have been little reached by better influences. another branch of the algonquin stock is the plain crees. these indians are a most adventurous and energetic people. leaving behind their canoes and huskie dogs, they obtained horses and cayuses and hied them over the prairies. birch-bark being unobtainable, they made their tents, better fitted for protecting them from the searching winds of the prairies and the cold of winter, from tanned skins of the buffalo and moose-deer. for seven hundred miles from the mouth of the saskatchewan they extend to the foot hills of the rocky mountains. meeting in their great camps, seemingly untameable as a race of plain hunters, they were, up to the time of the transfer to canada, almost untouched by missionary influence, but in the last thirty years they have been placed on reserves by the canadian government and are in almost all cases yielding to christianizing agencies. north of the country of the crees live tribes with very wide connections. they call themselves "tinné" or "people," but to others they are known as chipewyans, or athabascans. they seem to be less copper-coloured than the other indians, and are docile in disposition. this nation stretches from fort churchill, on hudson bay, along the english river, up to lake athabasca, along the peace river into the very heart of the rocky mountains, and even beyond to the coast. they have proved teachable and yield to ameliorating influences. probably the oldest and best known name of the interior of rupert's land, the name after which lord selkirk called his colony of assiniboia, is that belonging to the wild assiniboines or stony river sioux. the river at the mouth of which stands the city of winnipeg was their northern boundary, and they extended southward toward the great indian confederacy of the sioux natives or dakotas, of which indeed they were at one time a branch. tall, handsome, with firmly formed faces, agile and revengeful, they are an intelligent and capable race. these indians, known familiarly as the "stonies," have greatly diminished in numbers since the time of alexander henry, jun., who describes them fully. in later years they have been cut down with pulmonary and other diseases, and are to-day but the fragment of a great tribe. they have long been friendly with the plain crees, but are not very open to christianity, though there are one or two small communities which are exceptions in this respect. very little under hudson's bay company control were the blackfoot nation, along the foot hills of the rocky mountains, near the national boundary. ethnically they are related to the crees, but they have always been difficult to approach. living in large camps during hudson's bay company days, they spent a wild, happy, comfortable life among the herds of wandering buffalo of their district. since the beginning of the canadian régime they have become more susceptible to civilizing agencies, and live in great reserves in the south-west of their old hunting grounds. a perfect chaos of races meets us among the indians of british columbia and alaska, and their language is polyglot. seemingly the result of innumerable immigrations from malayan and mongolian sources in asia, they have come at different times. one of the best known tribes of the coast is the haidas, numbering some six thousand souls. the nutka indians occupy vancouver island, and have many tribal divisions. to the selish or flatheads belong many of the tribes of the lower fraser river, while the shushwaps hold the country on the columbia and okanagan rivers. mention has been made already of the small but influential tribe of chinooks near the mouth of the columbia river. while differing in many ways from each other, the indians of the pacific coast have always been turbulent and excitable. from first to last more murders and riots have taken place among them than throughout all the vast territory held by the hudson's bay company east of the rocky mountains. while missionary zeal has accomplished much among the western coast indians, yet the "bad indian" element has been a recognized and appreciable quantity among them so far as the company is concerned. last among the natives who have been under hudson's bay company influence are the eskimos or innuits of the far north. they are found on the labrador coast, on coppermine river, on the shore of the arctic sea, and on the alaskan peninsula. dressed in sealskin clothing and dwelling in huts of snow, hastening from place to place in their sledges drawn by wolf-like dogs called "eskies" or "huskies," these people have found themselves comparatively independent of hudson's bay company assistance. living largely on the products of the sea, they have shown great ingenuity in manufacturing articles and implements for themselves. the usual experience of the company from ungava, through the mackenzie river posts, and the trading houses in alaska has been that they were starved out and were compelled to give up their trading houses among them. little has been done, unless in the yukon country, to evangelize the eskimos. the marvel to the historian, as he surveys the two centuries and a quarter of the history of the hudson's bay company, is their successful management of the indian tribes. there has never been an indian war in rupert's land or the indian territories--nothing beyond a temporary _émeute_ or incidental outbreak. thousands of miles from the nearest british garrison or soldier, trade has been carried on in scores and scores of forts and factories with perfect confidence. the indians have always respected the "kingchauch man." he was to them the representative of superior ability and financial strength, but more than this, he was the embodiment of civilization and of fair and just dealing. high prices may have been imposed on the indians, but the company's expenses were enormous. there are points among the most remote trading posts from which the returns in money were not possible in less than nine years from the time the goods left the fenchurch street or lime street warehouses. with all his keen bargaining and his so-called exacting motto, "pro pelle cutem," the trader was looked upon by the indians as a benefactor, bringing into his barren, remote, inhospitable home the commodities to supply his wants and make his life happier. while the indians came to recognize this in their docile and pliable acceptance of the trader's decisions, the trader also became fond of the red man, and many an old fur trader freely declares his affection for his indian ward, so faithful to his promise, unswerving in his attachment, and celebrated for never forgetting a kindness shown him. the success of the company was largely due to honourable, capable, and patient officers, clerks, and employés, who with tact and justice managed their indian dependents, many of whom rejoiced in the title of "a hudson's bay company indian." chapter xliii. unrest in rupert's land (1844-69). discontent on red river--queries to the governor--a courageous recorder--free trade in furs held illegal--imprisonment--new land deed--enormous freights--petty revenge--turbulent pensioners--heart-burnings--heroic isbister--half-breed memorial--mr. beaver's letter--hudson's bay company notified--lord elgin's reply--voluminous correspondence--company's full answer--colonel crofton's statement--major caldwell, a partisan--french petition--nearly a thousand signatures--love, a factor--the elder riel--a court scene--violence--"vive la liberté"--the recorder checked--a new judge--unruly corbett--the prison broken--another rescue--a valiant doctor--a red river nestor. the fuller organization of assiniboia, after its purchase by the hudson's bay company from the heirs of the earl of selkirk, encouraged the authorities at red river to assert the rights which the company had always claimed--viz. the monopoly of the fur trade in rupert's land and the imposition of heavy freights on imports and exports by way of hudson bay. the privilege of exporting tallow, the product of the buffalo, had been accorded on reasonable terms to a prominent resident of the red river, named james sinclair. the first venture, a small one, succeeded; but a second larger consignment was refused by the company, and, after lying nearly two years at york factory, the cargo was sold to the company. twenty leading half-breeds then petitioned the company to be allowed to export their tallow and to be given a reasonable freight charge. no answer was returned to this letter. the half-breeds were thus rising in intelligence and means; being frequently employed as middlemen in trafficking in furs, they learned something of the trade and traffic. the half-breed settlers of the red river settlement have always claimed special privileges in rupert's land as being descended from the aboriginal owners. it was under such circumstances that governor christie, following, it is supposed, legal direction, in 1844 issued two proclamations, the first, requiring that each settler, before the company would carry any goods for him, should be required to declare that he had not been engaged in the fur trade; the second, that the writer of every letter write his name on the outside of it, in order that, should he be suspected of dealing in furs, it might be opened and examined. this was a direct issue, and they determined to bring the matter to a crisis. twenty leading natives (half-breeds of red river settlement), among them a number well known, such as james sinclair, john dease, john vincent, william bird, and peter garrioch, in 1845 approached alexander christie, governor of the settlement, requesting answers to fourteen queries. these questions required satisfaction as to whether half-breeds could hunt, buy, sell, or traffic in furs, and also what were the restrictions in this matter upon europeans, &c. a pacific and soothing reply was made by governor christie, but the company soon began to take steps to repress the free trade in furs, and the council of rupert's land passed certain regulations, among others one placing a duty of twenty per cent. upon imports, but exempting from their tax settlers who were free of the charge of trading in furs. this was a vexatious regulation and roused great opposition. all these devices had a legal smack about them, and were no doubt the suggestions of judge thom, the recorder of red river, a remarkable man, who, six years before this time, had come from montreal to put legal matters in order in the red river settlement. the recorder entered _con amore_ into the matter, and advised the assertion of claims that had fallen into disuse for many years among the different classes of residents in the settlement. the redoubtable judge, who, it will be remembered, was said to have been at the elbow of sir george simpson in writing his "journey round the world," now evolved another tyrannical expedient. a new land deed was devised, and whosoever wished to hold land in the settlement was compelled to sign it. this indenture provided that if the land-holder should invade any privileges of the company and fail to contribute to the maintenance of clergy and schools, or omit to do his work upon the public roads, or carry on trade in skins, furs, peltry, or dressed leather, such offender should forfeit his lands. this was certainly un-british and severe, and we may look upon it as the plan of the judge, who failed to understand the spirit of his age, and would have readily fallen in with a system of feudal tenure. the writer in after years met this judge, then very old, in london, and found him a kindly man, though with scottish determination, willing to follow out his opinions logically, however rash or out of place such a course might be. if the hudson's bay company found itself in a sea of trouble, and hostile to public sentiment in the settlement, it had to blame its own creation, the valorous recorder of red river. the imposition of enormous freights, adopted at this time for carrying goods by way of york factory to england, in order to check trade, was a part of the same policy of "thorough" recommended by this legal adviser. sinclair, already mentioned, became the "village hampden" in this crisis. taking an active part in his opposition to this policy of restriction, he found that he was to be punished, by the "company's ship" from england to york factory refusing to carry for him any freight. it was partly the oregon question and partly the unsettled state of public opinion in red river that led to a british regiment being for a time stationed at the red river settlement. on the removal of these troops the pensioners, a turbulent band of old discharged soldiers, came from britain and were settled upon the assiniboine, above fort garry. a writer who knew them well ventures to suggest that they were of the same troublesome disposition as the former de meurons of lord selkirk. coming ostensibly to introduce peace they brought a sword. sooner or later the discontent and irritation produced by judge thorn's inspiration was sure to reach its culmination, and this it did in the sayer affair afterwards described. the cause of the complaints from the red river settlement found a willing and powerful advocate in mr. alexander k. isbister, a young london barrister, and afterwards a prominent educationalist. he was a native of rupert's land, and had a dash of indian blood in his veins, and so took up the brief for his compatriots in a formidable series of documents. mr. isbister's advocacy gave standing and weight to the contention of the red river half-breeds, and a brave and heroic fight was made, even though the point of view was at times quite unjust to the company. in 1847, isbister, with five other half-breeds of red river, forwarded, to the secretary of state for the colonies, a long and able memorial, setting forth the grievances of the petitioners. the document sets forth in short that the company had "amassed a princely revenue" at the expense of the natives, allowed their wards to pass their lives in the darkest heathenism, broke their pledges to exclude strong drink from the indian trade, were careless of the growing evil of want and suffering in the territory, paid little for the furs, and persecuted the natives by checking them in their barter of furs, and followed a short-sighted and pernicious policy. this was assuredly a serious list of charges. earl grey in due time called on isbister and his friends for a more specific statement of the grievances, and wrote to the governor of assiniboia, to the london governor of the hudson's bay company, and to the governor-general of canada, lord elgin, asking their attention to the allegations of the petition. some two months after lord grey's letter was received, the hudson's bay company governor, sir j. h. pelly, submitted a long and minute answer to the various charges of the petitioners. as is usually the case, both parties had some advantages. as to the enormous profits, the company were able to show that they had unfortunately not been able to make "more than the ordinary rate of mercantile profit." they replied as to the religious interests of the natives, that their sole objects, as stated in the charter, were trade and the discovery of a north-west passage, but that they had helped at a considerable annual expense the church missionary society, wesleyan missionary society, and a roman catholic missionary society. the company gives a most indignant denial to the charge that they had resumed the trade in spirituous liquors with the indians, though admitting in the neighbourhood of red river the use of small quantities of strong drink in meeting the american traders. this answer did not, however, quiet the storm. isbister returned to the attack, giving the evidence of mr. alexander simpson, a trader on the pacific coast, and the extensive and strong letter of the rev. herbert beaver, the former chaplain of the hudson's bay company at fort vancouver. isbister also raised the question of the validity of the company's charter. the company again replied, and so the battle raged, reply and rejoinder, quotations and evidence _ad libitum_. isbister may not have proved his case, but his championship won the approbation of many independent observers. lord elgin, the efficient and popular governor-general of canada, gave such reply as he was able. he states that the distance of red river was so great and the intercourse so little, that taking into account the peculiar jurisdiction of the company, he found it difficult to obtain the information sought. as to the complaints about the religious neglect of the indians, lord elgin states that disappointments in this matter occur in other quarters as well as in the hudson's bay company territories, but declares that the result of his inquiries in the matter "is highly favourable to the company, and that it has left in his mind the impression that the authority which they exercise over the vast and inhospitable region subject to their jurisdiction is on the whole very advantageous to the indians." lord elgin states that he is much indebted for his information to colonel crofton, the commander of the 6th royal regiment, which we have seen was stationed for a time at red river. colonel crofton afterwards gave to the colonial secretary what one would say was rather an unjudicial reply. he said, "i unhesitatingly assert that the government of the hudson's bay company is mild and protective, and admirably adapted, in my opinion, for the state of society existing in rupert's land, where indians, half-breeds, or europeans are happily governed, and live protected by laws which i know were mercifully and impartially administered by mr. thom, the recorder, and by the magistrates of the land." in regard to this opinion, while no doubt an honest expression of views, it is plain that colonel crofton did not understand the aspiration for self-government which prevails in western communities. the reply of the governor of assiniboia, major caldwell, was likewise favourable to the company. alexander ross, in his "red river settlement," criticizes the method taken by major caldwell to obtain information. according to ross, the governor sent around queries to a few select individuals, accepting no one "below what the major considered a gentleman." this, the critic says, was the action of a man "who had never studied the art of governing a people." ross, who did not admire the company greatly, however, sums up the whole matter by saying, "the allegations of harsh conduct or maladministration preferred against the hudson's bay company by mr. isbister and his party were in general totally unfounded and disproved," and therefore neither major caldwell's inquiries nor the inspiration of his genius were required. notwithstanding major caldwell's optimism and lord elgin's favourable reply, there was really a serious condition of affairs in red river settlement. along with the petition of isbister and his five english half-breed compatriots, there was one far more formidable from the french half-breeds, who to the number of nine hundred and seventy-seven subscribed their names. presented to her majesty the queen, in most excellent terms, in the french language, their petition sought, decrying the monopoly as severe:-1. that as good subjects they might be governed by the principles of the british constitution; 2. that as british subjects they demanded their right to enjoy the liberty of commerce; 3. they requested the sale of lands to strangers, and that a portion of the proceeds should be applied to improve the means of transport. french and english half-breeds were now united in a common purpose. a strange story is related as to the way in which the english-speaking half-breeds came to throw in their lot with their french fellow-countrymen. a company officer had left his two daughters at fort garry to be educated. one of them was the object of the affection of a young scotch half-breed, and at the same time of a young highlander. the young lady is said to have preferred the metis, but the stern parent favoured the highlander. the scotchman, fortified by the father's approval, proceeded to upbraid the metis for his temerity in aspiring to the hand of one so high in society as the lady. as love ruined troy, so it is said this affair joined french and english half-breeds in a union to defeat the company. the agitation went on, as isbister and his friends corresponded with the people of red river and succeeded so well in gaining the ear of the british government. among the french people one of the fiercest and most noisy leaders was louis riel, the revolutionary "miller of the seine." this man, the father of the rebel chief of later years, was a french half-breed. a tribune of the people, he had a strong ascendency over the ignorant half-breeds. he was ready for any emergency. it is often the case that some trifling incident serves to bring on a serious crisis in affairs. a french settler, named guillaume sayer, half-breed son of an old bourgeois in the north-west company, had bought a quantity of goods, intending to go on a trading expedition to lake manitoba. the company proceeded to arrest him, and, after a stiff resistance, he was overcome by force and imprisoned at fort garry. as the day of trial drew near the excitement grew intense. governor caldwell was a well-known martinet; the recorder was regarded as the originator of the policy of restriction. he was, moreover, believed to be a francophobe, having written a famous series of newspaper communications in montreal, known as the "antigallic letters." the day of trial had been fixed for ascension day, may 17th, and this was taken as a religious affront by the french. the court was to meet in the morning. on the day of the trial hundreds of french metis, armed, came from all the settlements to st. boniface church, and, leaving their guns at the church door, entered for service. at the close they gathered together, and were addressed in a fiery oration by riel. a french canadian admirer, writing of the matter, says, "louis riel obtained a veritable triumph on that occasion, and long and loud the hurrahs were repeated by the echoes of the red river." crossing by way of point douglas, the metis surrounded the unguarded court house at fort garry. the governor, judge, and magistrate arrived, and took their seats at eleven o'clock. a curious scene now ensued: the magistrates protested against the violence; riel in loud tones declared that they would give the tribunal one hour, and that if justice were not done them, they would do it themselves. an altercation then took place between judge thom and riel, and with his loud declaration, "et je déclare que de ce moment sayer est libre----" drowned by the shouts of the metis, the trial was over. sayer and his fellow-prisoners betook themselves to freedom, while the departing metis cried out, "le commerce est libre! le commerce est libre! viva la liberté!" this crisis was a serious one. judge thom, so instructed by governor simpson, never acted as recorder again. the five years' struggle was over. the movement for liberty continued to stimulate the people. five years afterward the plan of the agitators was to obtain the intervention of canada. accordingly a petition, signed by roderick kennedy and five hundred and seventy-four others, was presented to the legislative assembly of canada. the grievances of the people of red river were recited. it was stated that application had been made to the imperial parliament without result, and this through "the chicanery of the company and its false representations." in 1857 the toronto board of trade petitioned the canadian assembly to open the hudson's bay company territories to trade. restlessness and uncertainty largely prevailed in red river, though there were many of the colonists who paid little attention to what they considered the infatuated conduct of the agitators. no truer test of the success of government can be found than the respect and obedience shown by the people for the law. red river settlement, judged by this standard, had a woful record at this time. after the unfortunate sayer affair, recorder thom was superseded, and for a time (1855 to 1858) judge johnson, of montreal, came to fort garry to administer justice and to act as governor. judge black, a capable trader who had received a legal training, was appointed to the office of recorder, but soon found a case that tried his judicial ability and skill. a clergyman named corbett, who had been bitterly hostile to the company, testified to certain extreme statements against the company in the great investigation of 1857. he then returned to his parish of headingly in the settlement. a criminal charge was brought against him, for which he was found guilty in the courts and sentenced to six months' imprisonment. the opponents of the company, seemingly without ground, but none the less fiercely, declared that the trial was a persecution by the company and that corbett was innocent. strong in this belief, the mob surrounded the prison at fort garry, overawed the old french jailor, and, rescuing corbett, took him home to his parish. among those who had been prominent in the rescue was james stewart, long afterward a druggist and meteorological observer in winnipeg. stewart and some of his companions were arrested for jail-breaking and cast into prison. some forty or fifty friends of stewart threatened violence should he be kept a prisoner. the governor, bishop, and three magistrates met to overawe the insurgents, but the determined rescuers tore up the pickets enclosing the prison yard, broke open the jail, and made the prisoner a free man. such insubordination and tumult marked the decline of the company's power as a governing body. this lawlessness was no doubt stimulated by the establishment of a newspaper in 1859--_the nor'-wester_--which from the first was hostile to the company. the system of government by the council of assiniboia had always been a vulnerable point in the management by the company, and the newspaper constantly fanned the spirit of discontent. in the year 1868, when the hudson bay company régime was approaching its end, another violent and disturbing affair took place. this was the arrest of dr. schultz, a canadian leader of great bodily strength and determination, who had thrown in his lot with the red river people. as a result of a business dispute, schultz was proceeded against in the court, and an order issued for seizure of his goods. on his resisting the sheriff in the execution of his duty, he was, after a severe struggle, overpowered, taken captive, and confined in fort garry jail. on the following day the wife of dr. schultz and some fifteen men forcibly entered the prison, overpowered the guards, and, breaking open his cell, rescued the redoubtable doctor. hargrave says, "this done, the party adjourned along with him to his house, where report says, 'they made a night of it.'" these events represented the decadence of the company's rule; they indicated the rise of new forces that were to compel a change; and however harmful to those immediately involved they declared unmistakably that the old order changeth, giving place to new. typical of his times, there sat through the court scenes of these troublous days the old "clerk of court and council," william robert smith. with long grey beard he held his post, and was the genius of the place. he was the nestor of red river. a bluecoat boy from london, he had come from school far back in 1813, to enter on the fur trade in rupert's land. at oxford house, ile à la crosse, little slave lake, and norway house, he served eleven faithful years as a clerk, when he retired and became a settler of red river. he was the first to settle near lower fort garry, and named the spot "little britain," from one of his old london localities. farming, teaching, catechizing for the church, acting precentor, a local encyclopædia, and collector of customs, he passed his versatile life, till, the year before the sayer _émeute_, he became clerk of court, which place, with slight interruption, he held for twenty years. how remarkable to think of the man of all work, the company's factotum, reaching in his experience from the beginning to well-nigh the ending of the selkirk settlement! one who knew him says, "from his long residence in the settlement he has seen governors, judges, bishops, and clergymen, not to mention such birds of passage as the company's local officers, who come and go, himself remaining to record their doings to their successors." [illustration: council of hudson's bay company commissioned officers held in winnipeg, 1887. (_see_ appendix g. for names.)] chapter xliv. canada covets the hudson's bay territory. renewal of licence--labouchere's letter--canada claims to pacific ocean--commissioner chief-justice draper--rests on quebec act, 1774--quebec overlaps indian territories--company loses vancouver island--cauchon's memorandum--committee of 1857--company on trial--a brilliant committee--four hundred folios of evidence--to transfer red river and saskatchewan--death of sir george--governor dallas--a cunning scheme--secret negotiations--the watkin company floated--angry winterers--dallas's soothing circular--the old order still--ermatinger's letters--mcdougall's resolutions--cartier and mcdougall as delegates--company accepts the terms. as is well known to those who have followed the history of the hudson's bay company, while the possession of rupert's land was secured by charter, the territory outside rupert's land was secured to the company by licence. this licence ended every twenty-one years. the licence in force at the time of the troubles which have been described was to terminate in 1859. accordingly, three or four years before this date, as their athabasca, new caledonia, and british columbia possessions had become of great value to them, the company with due foresight approached the british government with a request for the renewal of their tenure. men of understanding on both sides of the atlantic saw the possible danger of a refusal to their request, on account of the popular ferment which had taken place both in red river and british columbia. others thought the time had come for ending the power of the company. sir henry labouchere, secretary of state for the colonies, entered into correspondence with sir edmund head, governor-general of canada, on the subject. anxious about the state of things in every part of the empire as the colonial office always is, the turbulence and defiance of law in red river settlement called for special attention. accordingly the governor-general was informed that it was the intention of the home government to have, not only the question of the licence discussed, but also the "general position and prospects" of the company considered, by a committee of the house of commons. the canadian government was therefore cordially invited to have its views, as well as those of the canadian community, represented before the committee. this invitation was the thing for which canada had been waiting. a despatch was sent by the canadian government, in less than seven weeks from the time when the invitation left downing street, accepting the proposal of the mother country. the canadian ministry was pleased that british-american affairs were receiving such prominent notice in england. it suggested the importance of determining the limits of canada on the side towards rupert's land, and went on to state that the general opinion strongly held in the new world was "that the western boundary of canada extends to the pacific ocean." reference is made to the danger of complications arising with the united states, and the statement advanced that the "question of the jurisdiction and title claimed by the hudson's bay company is to canada of paramount importance." in 1857 chief justice draper crossed to great britain as canadian representative, with a very wide commission to advance canadian interests. he was called before the committee appointed by the house of commons, and answered nearly two hundred questions relating to canada and to the hudson's bay company interests in rupert's land and beyond. the capable and active-minded chief justice kept before the committee these points:-(1) what he conceived to be the true western boundary of canada, and in so doing gave his opinion, based on the quebec act of 1774, that canada should be allowed to extend to the rocky mountains and should have the privilege of exploring and building roads in that region. (2) the earnest desire of the canadian people that rupert's land and the indian territories should be maintained as british territory. (3) that canada should be allowed to extend her settlements into these territories. chief justice draper argued his case with great clearness and cogency, and made an excellent impression upon the committee. the matter of the company's hold on vancouver island seems to have been settled without any great difficulty. mr. richard blanshard, the former governor, who received so cool a reception in vancouver island, gave a plain and unvarnished tale. the company had evidently made up its mind to surrender all its claims to vancouver island. and the island, as we have seen, became independent. canada entered with great spirit into the case presented before the committee. the question of the licence was quite overshadowed by the wider discussion covering the validity of the hudson's bay company charter, the original boundary line of the province of canada, and the manner in which the company had carried out its responsibilities. an industrious minister of the canadian government, hon. joseph cauchon, with true gallic fire and a french canadian spirit, prepared a memorandum of a most elaborate kind on the hudson's bay company's claim and status. in this, mr. cauchon goes back to the earliest times, shows the limits of occupation by the french explorers, follows down the line of connection established by the north-west traders, deals with the troubles of lord selkirk, and concludes that the red river and the saskatchewan are not within the limits of the company's charter. this vigorous writer then deals with the treaty of paris, the quebec act, and the discoveries of canadian subjects as giving canada a jurisdiction even to the rocky mountains. as might have been expected, the committee of 1857 became a famous one. the whole economy of the company was discussed. the ground gone over by isbister and others during the preceding decade supplied the members with material, and the proceedings of the committee became notable for their interest. the committee held eighteen meetings, examined twenty-nine witnesses, and thoroughly sifted the evidence. the _personnel_ of the committee was brilliant. the secretary of state was chairman. mr. roebuck and mr. gladstone represented the inquiring and aggressive element. lord stanley and lord john russell added their experience, edward ellice--"the old bear"--watched the case for the company, and mr. lowe and sir john pakington took a lively interest in the proceedings and often interposed. altogether the committee was constituted for active service, and every nook and cranny of rupert's land and the adjoining territories was thoroughly investigated. among the witnesses was the distinguished governor simpson. he was at his best. mr. roebuck and he had many a skirmish, and although sir george was often driven into a corner, yet with surprising agility he recovered himself. old explorers such as john ross, dr. rae, col. lefroy, sir john richardson, col. crofton, bishop anderson, col. caldwell, and dr. king, gave information as to having visited rupert's land at different periods. their evidence was fair, with, as could be expected in most cases, a "good word" for the company. rev. mr. corbett gave testimony against the company, governor blanshard in the same strain, a. k. isbister, considerably moderated in his opposition, gave evidence as a native who had travelled in the country, while john mcloughlin, a rash and heady agitator, told of the excitement in red river settlement. edward ellice became a witness as well as a member of the committee, and with adroitness covered the retreat of any of his witnesses when necessity arose. from time to time, from february to the end of july, the committee met, and gathered a vast amount of evidence, making four hundred pages of printed matter. it is a thesaurus of hudson's bay company material. it revealed not only the localities of this unknown land to england and the world, but made everyone familiar with the secret methods, devices, and working of the fur trade over a space of well-nigh half a continent. the committee decided to recommend to parliament that it is "important to meet the just and reasonable wishes of canada to assume such territory as may be useful for settlement; that the districts of the red river and the saskatchewan seem the most available; and that for the order and good government of the country," arrangements should be made for their cession to canada. it was also agreed that those regions where settlement is impossible be left to the exclusive control of the hudson's bay company for the fur trade. the committee not only recommended that vancouver island should be made independent, but that the territory of the mainland in british columbia should be united with it. four years after the sitting of this committee, which gave such anxiety to the hudson's bay company, sir george simpson, after a very short illness, passed away, having served as governor for forty years. in an earlier chapter his place and influence have been estimated and his merits and defects shown. sir george, in his high office as governor of rupert's land, was succeeded by a. j. dallas, a scottish merchant, who had been in business in china, had retired, and afterwards acted as chief factor of the hudson's bay company at fort victoria, in vancouver island, and had then married the daughter of governor james douglas. dallas had shown great nerve and judgment in british columbia, in a serious brush with the united states authorities in 1859. three years after this event he was called to succeed the great governor of rupert's land. on his appointment to this high position, he took up his residence at fort garry, and had, in conjunction with the local governor, william mctavish, to face the rising tide of dissatisfaction which showed itself in the corbett and stewart rescues. writers of the period state that dallas lacked the dignity and tact of old sir george. in his letters, however, governor dallas shows that he thoroughly appreciated the serious state of matters. he says: "i have had great difficulty in persuading the magistrates to continue to act. mr. william mctavish, governor of assiniboia, has resigned his post." governor dallas says he "finds himself with all the responsibility and semblance of authority over a vast territory, but unsupported, if not ignored, by the crown." he states that people do not object to the _personnel_ of the hudson's bay company government, but to the "system of government." he fears the formation of a provisional government, and a movement for annexation to the united states, which had been threatened. he is of opinion that the "territorial right should revert to the crown." these are strong, honest words for an official of the company whose rule had prevailed for some two centuries. and now governor dallas appears co-operating in an ingenious and adroit financial scheme with mr. e. w. watkin, a member of the british house of commons, by which the hudson's bay company property changed hands. edward watkin was a financial agent, who had much to do with the grand trunk railway of canada, and had an intimate knowledge of canadian affairs. he had succeeded in interesting the colonial secretary of state, the duke of newcastle, in a railway, road, and telegraphic scheme for connecting the british possessions in north america. difficulties having arisen in inducing staid old governor berens, the london head of the company, to accept modern ideas, a plan was broached of buying out the whole hudson's bay company possessions and rights. difficulty after difficulty was met and surmounted, and though many a time the scheme seemed hopeless, yet in the end it succeeded, though not without much friction and heart-burning. watkin describes graphically the first interview between three members of the hudson's bay company, berens, eden colville, and lyall, of the first part, and glynn, newmarch, himself, and three other capitalists of the second part. the meeting took place in the hudson's bay company house, fenchurch street, february 1st, 1862. "the room was the 'court' room, dark and dirty, faded green cloth, old chairs almost black, and a fine picture of prince rupert. governor berens, an old man and obstinate, was somewhat insulting in his manner. we took it patiently." it was a day of fate for the old company. many interviews afterwards took place between watkin and the accountant and solicitors of the company. the company would hear of no dealings, except on the basis of a cash payment. the men of capital accordingly succeeded in interesting the "international financial association," a new corporation looking for some great scheme to lay before the public. at length the whole shares, property, and rights of the hudson's bay company were taken over, the final arrangements being made by mr. richard potter on june 1st, 1863. thus the company begun in so small a way by prince rupert and his associates nearly two centuries before, sold out, and the purchase money of one and a half millions of pounds was paid over the counter to the old company by the new association. a new company was now to be organized whose stock would be open for purchase, and the international association would, on such organization being formed, hand over the company's assets to the new stockholders. in a short time the company was reconstituted, sir edmund head being the new governor, with, as prominent members of the board of directors, richard potter, eden colville, e. b. watkin, and an american fur trader of experience, sir curtis lampson. secretly as the negotiations for the formation of a new company had been conducted, the news of the affair reached canada and rupert's land, and led to anxious inquiries being made and to a memorial from the company's officers being presented to the board of directors asking for information. so thoroughly secret had the interviews between the london parties been carried on that the officials of the london office knew nothing of them, and stated in their reply to the memorialists that the rumours were incorrect. in july, when the transfer had been consummated and the news of it appeared in the public press, it created surprise and indignation among the chief factors and chief traders, who, under the deed poll or company arrangement which had been adopted in 1821, though somewhat modified thirteen years later, had been regarded as having certain partnership rights in the company. mr. edward watkin informs us, in his interesting "reminiscences," that he had intended that the "wintering partners," as the officers in rupert's land were called, should have been individually communicated with, but that on account of his hasty departure to canada the matter had been overlooked. it certainly was irritating to the officers of the fur trade to learn for the first time from the public press of an arrangement being perfected involving their whole private interests. watkin expresses his great apprehension lest the news in a distorted form should reach the distant regions of the fur country, where the company had one hundred and forty-four posts, covering the continent from labrador to sitka, vancouver island and san francisco. he feared also that there would be a new company formed to occupy the ground with the old. on reaching canada, mr. watkin was agreeably surprised at the arrival of governor dallas from red river in montreal. after consultation it was decided on that the governor should send a conciliatory circular to the commissioned officers of the company, explaining the objects of the new company, and stating that all the interests of the wintering partners would be conserved. it is evident that the attitude of the officers had alarmed even such stout-hearted men as watkin and dallas. there lies before the writer also a personal letter, dated london, july 23rd, 1863, signed by edmund head, governor, to a chief trader of the company, stating that it was the intention of the committee "to carry on the fur trade as it has been hitherto carried on, under the provisions of the deed poll." none of the collateral objects of the company "should interfere with the fur trade." he begs the officers to "have with him free and unreserved communication through the usual channel." evidently the echo of the angry voices in athabasca had been heard in london. the old deed poll, which they had intended to suspend, as shown by watkin, was thus preserved. this document secured them as follows: according to both deed polls of 1821 and 1834, forty per cent. of the net profits of the trade, divided into eighty-five shares of equal amount, were distributed annually among the wintering partners of the company. a chief trader received an eighty-fifth share of the profits, and a chief factor two eighty-fifth shares. both had certain rights after retiring. the proposed abolition of these terms of the deed poll and the substitution therefor of certain salaries with the avowed purpose of reducing the expenses, of course meant loss to every wintering partner. the interests thus involved justified the most strenuous opposition on the part of the partners, and, unless the proposal were modified, would almost certainly have led to a disruption of the company. in harmony with governor head's circular letter no action in the direction contemplated was taken until 1871, when, on the receipt of the three hundred thousand pounds voted by canada to the company, the sum of one hundred and seven thousand and fifty-five pounds was applied to buying out the vested rights of the wintering partners, and the agitation was quieted. the effect of the arrangement made for the payment of officers of the company since 1871, as compared with their previous remuneration, has been a subject of discussion. there lies before the writer an elaborate calculation by an old hudson's bay company officer to the effect that under the old deed poll a chief factor would receive two eighty-fifth shares, his total average being seven hundred and twenty pounds per annum; and under the new (taking the average of twenty-five years) two and one half-hundredths shares, amounting to five hundred and thirty-two pounds annually, or a loss nearly of one hundred and eighty-eight pounds; similarly that a chief trader would receive three hundred and nineteen pounds, as against three hundred and sixty formerly, or a loss per annum of forty-one pounds. besides this, the number of higher commissioned officers was reduced when the old deed poll was cancelled, so that the stockholders received the advantage from there being fewer officials, also the chances of promotion to higher offices were diminished. during the progress of these internal dissensions of the hudson's bay company public opinion had been gradually maturing in canada in favour of acquiring at least a portion of rupert's land. at the time of the special committee of 1857, it will be remembered the hind-gladman expedition had gone to spy out the land. a company, called the north-west transportation company, was about the same time organized in toronto to carry goods and open communication from fort william by way of the old fur traders' route to fort garry. the merits and demerits of the north-western prairies were discussed in the public press of canada. edward ermatinger, whose name has been already mentioned, was a steady supporter of the claim of the hudson's bay company in a series of well-written letters in the _hamilton spectator_, a journal of upper canada. taking the usual line of argument followed by the company, he showed the small value of the country, its inhospitable climate, its inaccessibility, and magnified the legal claim of the hudson's bay company against the canadian contention. it is amusing to read in after years, when his opinion of sir george simpson was changed, his declaration of regret at having been led to so strenuously present his views in the _spectator_. ten years had passed after the setting of the great committee of 1857, and nothing practical as to the transfer of the country to canada had been accomplished. the confederation movement had now widened the horizon of canadian public men. in the very year of the confederation of the canadian provinces (1867), hon. william mcdougall, who had been a persistent advocate of the canadian claim to the north-west, moved in the dominion parliament a series of resolutions, which were carried. these resolutions showed the advantage, both to canada and the empire, of the dominion being extended to the pacific ocean; that settlement, commerce, and development of the resources of the country are dependent on a stable government being established; that the welfare of the red river settlers would be enhanced by this means; that provision was contained in the british north-american act for the admission of rupert's land and the north-west territory to the dominion; that this wide country should be united to canada; that in case of union the legal rights of any corporation, as the hudson's bay company, association, or individual should be respected; that this should be settled judicially or by agreement; that the indian title should be legally extinguished; and that an address be made to her majesty to this effect. the resolutions were carried by a large majority of the house. this was a bold and well-conceived step, and the era of discussion and hesitancy seemed to have passed away in favour of a policy of action. the hudson's bay company, however, insisted on an understanding being come to as to terms before giving consent to the proposed action, and a despatch to the dominion government from her majesty's government called attention to this fact. as soon as convenient, a delegation, consisting of hon. george e. cartier and hon. william mcdougall, proceeded to england to negotiate with the company as to terms. the path of the delegates on reaching england proved a thorny one. the attitude of the imperial government was plainly in favour of recognizing some legal value in the chartered rights of the company, a thing denied by some, specially mr. mcdougall. no progress was being made. at this juncture d'israeli's government was defeated, and a delay resulted in waiting for a new government. earl granville was the new secretary of state for the colonies. while negotiations were going on, the hudson's bay company sent in to the secretary of state a rather hot complaint that canadian surveyors and road builders had entered upon their territory to the west of the lake of the woods. this was quite true, but the action had been taken by the canadian government under the impression that all parties would willingly agree to it. not being at this juncture able to settle anything, the commissioners returned to canada. the imperial government was, however, in earnest in the matter, and pressed the hudson's bay company to consent to reasonable terms, the more that the government by the company in red river was not satisfactory--an indisputable fact. at length the company felt bound to accept the proposed terms. the main provisions of bargain were that the company should surrender all rights in rupert's land; that canada pay the company the sum of three hundred thousand pounds; that the company be allowed certain blocks of land around their posts; that they be given one-twentieth of the arable land of the country; and that the company should be allowed every privilege in carrying on trade as a regular trading company. thus was the concession of generous charles the second surrendered after two centuries of honourable occupation. chapter xlv. troubles of the transfer of rupert's land. transfer act passed--a moribund government--the canadian surveying party--causes of the rebellion--turbulent metis--american interference--disloyal ecclesiastics--governor mcdougall--riel and his rebel band--a blameworthy governor--the "blawsted fence"--seizure of fort garry--riel's ambitions--loyal rising--three wise men from the east--_the new nation_--a winter meeting--bill of rights--canadian shot--the wolseley expedition--three renegades slink away--the end of company rule--the new province of manitoba. the old company had agreed to the bargain, and the imperial act was passed authorizing the transfer of the vast territory east of the rocky mountains to canada. canada, with the strengthening national spirit rising from the young confederation, with pleasure saw the dominion government place in the estimates the three hundred thousand pounds for the payment of the hudson's bay company, and an act was passed by the dominion parliament providing for a government of the north-west territories, which would secure the administration of justice, and the peace, order, and good government of her majesty's subjects and others. it was enacted, however, that all laws of the territory at the time of the passing of the act should remain in force until amended or repealed, and all officers except the chief to continue in office until others were appointed. and now began the most miserable and disreputable exhibition of decrepitude, imbecility, jesuitry, foreign interference, blundering, and rash patriotism ever witnessed in the fur traders' country. this was known as the red river rebellion. the writer arrived in fort garry the year following this wretched affair, made the acquaintance of many of the actors in the rebellion, and heard their stories. the real, deep significance of this rebellion has never been fully made known. whether the writer will succeed in telling the whole tale remains to be seen. the hudson's bay company officials at red river were still the government. this fact must be distinctly borne in mind. it has been stated, however, that this government had become hopelessly weak and inefficient. governor dallas, in the words quoted, admitted this and lamented over it. were there any doubt in regard to this statement, it was shown by the utter defiance of the law in the breaking of jail in the three cases of corbett, stewart, and dr. schultz. no government could retain respect when the solemn behests of its courts were laughed at and despised. this is the real reason lying at the root of the apathy of the english-speaking people of the red river in dealing with the rebellion. they were not cowards; they sprang from ancestors who had fought britain's battles; they were intelligent and moral; they loved their homes and were prepared to defend them; but they had no guarantee of leadership; they had no assurance that their efforts would be given even the colour of legality; the broken-down jail outside fort garry, its uprooted stockades and helpless old jailor, were the symbol of governmental decrepitude and were the sport of any determined law-breaker. it has been the habit of their opponents to refer to the annoyance of the hudson's bay company committee in london with canada for in 1869 sending surveyors to examine the country before the transfer was made. reference has also been made to the dissatisfaction of the local officers at the action taken by the company in dealing with the deed poll in 1863; some have said that the hudson's bay company officials at fort garry did not admire the canadian leaders as they saw them; and others have maintained that these officers cared nothing for the country, provided they received large enough dividends as wintering partners. [illustration: south and east faces, 1840. from sketch by wife of governor finlayson. illustration: east face, in year 1882, when fort was dismantled. x spot where scott was executed. fort garry--winter scenes.] now, there may be something in these contentions, but they do not touch the core of the matter. the hudson's bay company, both in london and fort garry, were thoroughly loyal to british institutions; the officers were educated, responsible, and high-minded men; they had acted up to their light in a thoroughly honourable manner, and no mere prejudice, or fancied grievance, or personal dislike would have made them untrue to their trusts. but the government had become decrepit; vacillation and uncertainty characterized every act; had the people been behind them, had they not felt that the people distrusted them, they would have taken action, as it was their duty to do. the chronic condition of helplessness and governmental decay was emphasized and increased by a sad circumstance. governor william mctavish, an honourable and well-meaning man, was sick. in the midst of the troubles of 1863 he would willingly have resigned, as governor dallas assures us; now he was physically incapable of the energy and decision requisite under the circumstances. moreover, as we shall see, there was a most insidious and dangerous influence dogging his every step. his subordinates would not act without him, he could not act without them, and thus an absolute deadlock ensued. moreover, the council of assiniboia, an appointed body, had felt itself for years out of touch with the sentiment of the colony, and its efforts at legislation resulted in no improvement of the condition of things. woe to a country ruled by an oligarchy, however well-meaning or reputable such a body may be! turn now from this picture of pitiful weakness to the unaccountable and culpable blundering of the canadian government. cartier and mcdougall found out in england that sending in a party of surveyors before the country was transferred was offensive to the hudson's bay company. more offensive still was the method of conducting the expedition. it was a mark of sublime stupidity to profess, as the canadian government did, to look upon the money spent on this survey as a benevolent device for relieving the people suffering from the grasshopper visitation. the genius who originated the plan of combining charity with gain should have been canonized. moreover, the plan of contractor snow of paying poor wages, delaying payment, and giving harsh treatment to such a people as the half-breeds are known to be was most ill advised. the evidently selfish and grasping spirit shown in this expedition sent to survey and build the dawson road, yet turning aside to claim unoccupied lands, to sow the seeds of doubt and suspicion in the minds of a people hitherto secluded from the world, was most unpatriotic and dangerous. it cannot be denied, in addition, that while many of the small band of canadians were reputable and hard-working men, the course of a few prominent leaders, who had made an illegitimate use of the nor'-wester newspaper, had tended to keep the community in a state of alienation and turmoil. what, then, were the conditions? a helpless, moribund government, without decision, without actual authority on the one hand, and on the other an irritating, selfish, and aggressive expedition, taking possession of the land before it was transferred to canada, and assuming the air of conquerors. look now at the combustible elements awaiting this combination. the french half-breeds, descendants of the turbulent bois brûlés of lord selkirk's times; the old men, companions of sayer and the elder riel, who defied the authority of the court, and left it shouting, "vive la liberté!" now irritated by the dawson road being built in the way just described; the road running through the seigniory given by lord selkirk to the roman catholic bishop, the road in rear of their largest settlements, and passing through another french settlement at pointe des chênes! further, the lands adjacent to these settlements, and naturally connected with them, being seized by the intruders! furthermore, the natives, antagonized by the action of certain canadians who had for years maintained the country in a state of turmoil! were there not all the elements of an explosion of a serious and dangerous kind? two other most important forces in this complicated state of things cannot be left out. the first of these is a matter which requires careful statement, but yet it is a most potential factor in the rebellion. this is the attitude of certain persons in the united states. for twenty years and more the trade of the red river settlement had been largely carried on by way of st. paul, in the state of minnesota. the hudson bay route and york boat brigade were unable to compete with the facilities offered by the approach of the railway to the mississippi river. accordingly long lines of red river carts took loads of furs to st. paul and brought back freight for the company. the red river trade was a recognized source of profit in st. paul. familiarity in trade led to an interest on the part of the americans in the public affairs of red river. hot-headed and sordid people in red river settlement had actually spoken of the settlement being connected with the united states. now that irritation was manifested at red river, steps were taken by private parties from the united states to fan the flame. at pembina, on the border between rupert's land and the united states, lived a nest of desperadoes willing to take any steps to accomplish their purposes. they had access to all the mails which came from england to canada marked "vià pembina." pembina was an outpost refuge for law-breakers and outcasts from the united states. its people used all their power to disturb the peace of red river settlement. in addition, a considerable number of americans had come to the little village of winnipeg, now being begun near the walls of fort garry. these men held their private meetings, all looking to the creation of trouble and the provocation of feeling that might lead to change of allegiance. furthermore, the writer is able to state, on the information of a man high in the service of canada, and a man not unknown in manitoba, that there was a large sum of money, of which an amount was named as high as one million dollars, which was available in st. paul for the purpose of securing a hold by the americans on the fertile plains of rupert's land. here, then, was an agency of most dangerous proportions, an element in the village of winnipeg able to control the election of the first delegate to the convention, a desperate body of men on the border, who with machiavelian persistence fanned the flame of discontent, and a reserve of power in st. paul ready to take advantage of any emergency. a still more insidious and threatening influence was at work. here again the writer is aware of the gravity of the statement he is making, but he has evidence of the clearest kind for his position. a dangerous religious element in the country--ecclesiastics from old france--who had no love for britain, no love for canada, no love for any country, no love for society, no love for peace! these plotters were in close association with the half-breeds, dictated their policy, and freely mingled with the rebels. one of them was an intimate friend of the leader of the rebellion, consulted with him in his plans, and exercised a marked influence on his movements. this same foreign priest, with jesuitical cunning, gave close attendance on the sick governor, and through his family exercised a constant and detrimental power upon the only source of authority then in the land. furthermore, an irish student and teacher, with a fenian hatred of all things british, was a "familiar" of the leader of the rebellion, and with true milesian zeal advanced the cause of the revolt. can a more terrible combination be imagined than this? a decrepit government with the executive officer sick; a rebellious and chronically dissatisfied metis element; a government at ottawa far removed by distance, committing with unvarying regularity blunder after blunder; a greedy and foreign cabal planning to seize the country, and a secret jesuitical plot to keep the governor from action and to incite the fiery metis to revolt! the drama opens with the appointment, in september, 1869, by the dominion government, of the hon. william mcdougall as lieutenant-governor of the north-west territories, his departure from toronto, and his arrival at pembina, in the dakota territory, in the end of october. he was accompanied by his family, a small staff, and three hundred stand of arms with ammunition. he had been preceded by the hon. joseph howe, of the dominion government, who visited the red river settlement ostensibly to feel the pulse of public opinion, but as commissioner gaining little information. mr. mcdougall's commission as governor was to take effect after the formal transfer of the territory. he reached pembina, where he was served with a notice not to enter the territory, yet he crossed the boundary line at pembina, and took possession of the hudson's bay fort of west lynn, two miles north of the boundary. meanwhile a storm was brewing along red river. a young french half-breed, louis riel, son of the excitable miller of the seine of whom mention was made--a young man, educated by the roman catholic bishop taché, of st. boniface, for a time, and afterwards in montreal, was regarded as the hope of the metis. he was a young man of fair ability, but proud, vain, and assertive, and had the ambition to be a cæsar or napoleon. he with his followers had stopped the surveyors in their work, and threatened to throw off the approaching tyranny. professing to be loyal to britain but hostile to canada, he succeeded, in october, in getting a small body of french half-breeds to seize the main highway at st. norbert, some nine miles south of fort garry. the message to mr. mcdougall not to enter the territory was forwarded by this body, that already considered itself the _de facto_ government. a canadian settler at once swore an affidavit before the officer in charge of fort garry that an armed party of french half-breeds had assembled to oppose the entrance of the governor. here, then, was the hour of destiny. an outbreak had taken place, it was illegal to oppose any man entering the country, not to say a governor, the fact of revolt was immediately brought to fort garry, and no amount of casuistry or apology can ever justify governor mctavish, sick though he was, from immediately not taking action, and compelling his council to take action by summoning the law-abiding people to surround him and repress the revolt. but the government that would allow the defiance of the law by permitting men to live at liberty who had broken jail could not be expected to take action. to have done so would have been to work a miracle. the rebellion went on apace; two of the so-called governor's staff pushed on to the barricade erected at st. norbert. captain cameron, one of them, with eyeglass in poise, and with affected authority, gave command, "remove that blawsted fence," but the half-breeds were unyielding. the two messengers returned to pembina, where they found mr. mcdougall likewise driven back and across the boundary. did ever british prestige suffer a more humiliating blow? the act of rebellion, usually dangerous, proved in this case a trivial one, and riel's little band of forty or fifty badly-armed metis began to grow. the mails were seized, freight coming into the country became booty, and the experiment of a rising was successful. in the meantime the authorities of fort garry were inactive. the rumour came that riel thought of seizing the fort. an affidavit of the chief of police under the government shows that he urged the master of fort garry to meet the danger, and asked authority to call upon a portion of the special police force sworn in, shortly before, to preserve the peace. no governor spoke; no one even closed the fort as a precaution; its gates stood wide open to friend or foe. this exhibition of helplessness encouraged the conspirators, and riel and one hundred of his followers (november 2nd) unopposed took possession of the fort and quartered themselves upon the company. in the front part of the fort lived the governor; he was now flanked by a body-guard of rebels; the master of the fort, a burly son of britain, though very gruff and out of sorts, could do nothing, and the young napoleon of the metis fattened on the best of the land. riel now issued a proclamation, calling on the english-speaking parishes of the settlement to elect twelve representatives to meet the president and representatives of the french-speaking population, appointing a meeting for twelve days afterwards. mr. mcdougall, on hearing of the seizure of the fort, wrote to governor mctavish stating that as the hudson bay company was still the government, action should be taken to disperse the rebels. a number of loyal inhabitants also petitioned governor mctavish to issue his proclamation calling on the rebels to disperse. the sick and helpless governor, fourteen days after the seizure of the fort and twenty-three days after the affidavit of the rising, issued a tardy proclamation condemning the rebels and calling upon them to disperse. the convention met november 16th, the english parishes having been cajoled into electing delegates, thinking thus to soothe the troubled land. after meeting and discussing in hot and useless words the state of affairs, the convention adjourned till december 1st, it being evident, however, that riel desired to form a provisional government of which he should be the joy and pride. the day for the reassembling of the convention arrived. riel and his party insisted on ruling the meeting, and passed a "bill of rights" consisting of fifteen provisions. the english people refused to accept these propositions, and, after vainly endeavouring to take steps to meet mr. mcdougall, withdrew to their homes, ashamed and confounded. meanwhile mr. mcdougall was chafing at the strange and humiliating situation in which he found himself. with his family and staff poorly housed at pembina and the severe winter coming on, he could scarcely be blamed for irritation and discontent. december 1st was the day on which he expected his commission as governor to come into effect, and wonder of wonders, he, a lawyer, a privy councillor, and an experienced statesman, went so far on this mere supposition as to issue a proclamation announcing his appointment as governor. as a matter of fact, far away from communication with ottawa, he was mistaken as to the transfer. on account of the rise of the rebellion this had not been made, and mr. mcdougall, in issuing a spurious proclamation, became a thing of contempt to the insurgents, an object of pity to the loyalists, and the laughing-stock of the whole world. his proclamation at the same time authorizing colonel dennis, the canadian surveyor in red river settlement, to raise a force to put down the rebellion, was simply a _brutum fulmen_, and was the cause to innocent, well-meaning men of trouble and loss. colonel dennis succeeded in raising a force of some four hundred men, and would not probably have failed had it not transpired that the two proclamations were illegal and that the levies were consequently unauthorized. such a thing to be carried out by william mcdougall and colonel dennis, men of experience and ability! surely there could be no greater fiasco! the canadian people were now in a state of the greatest excitement, and the canadian government, aware of its blundering and stupidity, hastened to rectify its mistakes. commissioners were sent to negotiate with the various parties in red river settlement. these were vicar-general thibault, who had spent long years in the roman catholic missions of the north-west, colonel de salaberry, a french canadian, and mr. donald a. smith, the chief officer of the hudson's bay company, then at montreal. on the last of these commissioners, who had been clothed with very wide powers, lay the chief responsibility, as will be readily seen. a number of canadians--nearly fifty--had been assembled in the store of dr. schultz, at the village of winnipeg, and, on the failure of mr. mcdougall's proclamation, were left in a very awkward condition. with arms in their hands, they were looked upon by riel as dangerous, and with promises of freedom and of the intention of riel to meet mcdougall and settle the whole matter, they (december 7th) surrendered. safely in the fort and in the prison outside the wall, the prisoners were kept by the truce-breaker, and the metis contingent celebrated the victory by numerous potations of rum taken from the hudson's bay company stores. riel now took a step forward in issuing a proclamation, which has generally been attributed to the crippled postmaster at pembina, one of the dangerous foreign clique longing to seize the settlement. he also hoisted a new flag, with the fleur-de-lis worked upon it, thus giving evidence of his disloyalty and impudence. other acts of injustice, such as seizing company funds and interfering with personal liberty, were committed by him. on december 27th--a memorable day--mr. donald a. smith arrived. his commission and papers were left at pembina, and he went directly to fort garry, where riel received him. the interview, given in mr. smith's own words, was a remarkable one. riel vainly sought to induce the commissioner to recognize his government, and yet was afraid to show disrespect to so high and honoured an officer. for about two months commissioner smith lived at fort garry, in a part of the same building as governor mctavish. mr. smith says of this period, "the state of matters at this time was most unsatisfactory and truly humiliating. upwards of fifty british subjects were held in close confinement as political prisoners; security for persons or property there was none.... the leaders of the french half-breeds had declared their determination to use every effort for the purpose of annexing the territory to the united states." mr. smith acted with great wisdom and decision. his plan evidently was to have no formal breach with riel but gradually to undermine him, and secure a combination by which he could be overthrown. many of the influential men of the settlement called upon mr. smith, and the affairs of the country were discussed. riel was restless and at times impertinent, but the commissioner exercised his scottish caution, and bided his time. at this time a newspaper, called _the new nation_, appeared as the organ of the provisional government. this paper openly advocated annexation to the united states, thus showing the really dangerous nature of the movement embodied in the rebellion. during all these months of the rebellion, bishop taché, the influential head of the roman catholic church, had been absent in rome at the great council of that year. one of his most active priests left behind was father lestanc, the prince of plotters, who has generally been credited with belonging to the jesuit order. lestanc had sedulously haunted the presence of the governor; he was a daring and extreme man, and to him and his fellow-frenchman, the curé of st. norbert, much of riel's obstinacy has been attributed. commissioner smith now used his opportunity to weaken riel. he offered to send for his commission to pembina, if he were allowed to meet the people. riel consented to this. the commission was sent for, and riel tried to intercept the messenger, but failed to do so. the meeting took place on january 19th. it was a date of note for red river settlement. one thousand people assembled, and as there was no building capable of holding the people, the meeting took place in the open air, the temperature being twenty below zero. the outcome of this meeting was the election and subsequent assembling of forty representatives--one half french, the other half english--to consider the matter of commissioner smith's message. six days after the open-air meeting the convention met. a second "bill of rights" was adopted, and it was agreed to send delegates to ottawa to meet the dominion government. a provisional government was formed, at the request, it is said, of governor mctavish, and riel gained the height of his ambition in being made president, while the fledgling fenian priest, o'donoghue, became "secretary of the treasury." the retention of the prisoners in captivity aroused a deep feeling in the country, and a movement originated in portage la prairie to rescue the unfortunates. this force was joined by recruits at kildonan, making up six hundred in all. awed by this gathering, riel released the prisoners, though he was guilty of an act of deepest treachery in arresting nearly fifty of the assiniboine levy as they were returning to their homes. among them was major boulton, who afterwards narrowly escaped execution, and who has written an interesting account of the rebellion. the failure of the two parties of loyalists, and their easy capture by riel, raises the question of the wisdom of these efforts. no doubt the inspiring motive of these levies was in many cases true patriotism, and it reflects credit on them as men of british blood and british pluck, but the management of both was so unfortunate and so lacking in skill, that one is disposed, though lamenting their failures, to put these expeditions down as dictated by the greatest rashness. the elevation of riel served to awaken high ambitions. the late archbishop taché, in a later rebellion, characterized riel as a remarkable example of inflated ambition, and called his state of mind that of "megalomania." riel now became more irritable and domineering. he seemed also bitter against the english for the signs of insubordination appearing in all the parishes. the influence of the violent and dastardly lestanc was strong upon him. the anxious president now determined to awe the english, and condemned for execution a young irish canadian prisoner named thomas scott. commissioner smith and a number of influential inhabitants did everything possible to dissuade riel, but he persisted, and scott was publicly executed near fort garry on march 4th, 1870. "whom the gods destroy, they first make mad." the execution of scott was the death-knell of riel's hopes. canada was roused to its centre. determined to have no further communication with riel, commissioner smith as soon as possible left fort garry and returned to canada. the arrival of bishop taché, who had returned at the request of the canadian government, took place in due time. probably the real attitude of bishop taché will never be known, though his strong french canadian associations and love of british connection make it seem hardly possible that he could have been implicated in the rebellion. bishop taché endeavoured to overcome the terrible mistake of riel. commissioners were despatched to ottawa, the most important of them father ritchot, of st. norbert, whose hand had been in the plot from the beginning. carrying down a "bill of rights" from the provisional government, which, however, there is clear evidence ritchot and others took the liberty of altering, they were instrumental in having a bill passed through the dominion parliament, establishing manitoba as a province. for the establishment of peace, an expedition was organized by canada, consisting of british regulars and canadian volunteers, under colonel wolseley. coming from canada up the fur-traders' route, through lake of the woods, down winnipeg river, across lake winnipeg, and up the red river, the expedition arrived, to the great joy of the suffering people of the settlement, on august 24th, 1870. after eleven months of the most torturing anxiety had been endured, the sight of the rescuing soldiery sent the blood pulsing again through their veins. as the troops approached fort garry, three slinking figures were seen to leave the fort and escape across the assiniboine. these were the "president riel," "adjutant-general" lepine, and the scoundrel o'donoghue. "they folded their tents like the arabs, and as silently stole away." colonel wolseley says, "the troops then formed line outside the fort, the union jack was hoisted, a royal salute fired, and three cheers were given for the queen, which were caught up and heartily re-echoed by many of the civilians and settlers who had followed the troops from the village." the transfer of rupert's land had been completed, and the governing power of the famous old company was a thing of the past. chapter xlvi. present status of the company. a great land company--fort garry dismantled--the new buildings--new _v._ old--new life in the company--palmy days are recalled--governors of ability--the present distinguished governor--vaster operations--its eye not dimmed. relieved of the burden of government, the hudson's bay company threw itself heartily into the work of developing its resources. mr. donald a. smith, who had done so much to undermine the power of riel, returned to manitoba as chief commissioner of the company, and proceeded to manage its affairs in the altered conditions of the country. representing enormous interests in the north-west, mr. smith entered the first local legislature at winnipeg, and soon after became for a time a member of the canadian house of commons. one of the most important matters needing attention was the land interests of the company. the company claimed five hundred acres around fort garry. this great tract of land, covering now one of the most important parts of the city of winnipeg, was used as a camping-ground, where the traders from the far west posts, even as far as edmonton, made their "corrals" and camped during their stay at the capital. some opposition was developed to this claim, but the block of land was at length handed over to the company, fifty acres being reserved for public purposes. the allotment of wild land to the company of one-twentieth went on in each township as it was surveyed, and though all this land is taxable, yet it has become a great source of revenue to the company. important sites and parcels of land all over the country have helped to swell its resources. the great matter of adapting its agencies to meet the changed conditions of trade was a difficult thing. the methods of two centuries could not be changed in a day. the greatest difficulty lay in the officers and men remote from the important centres. it was reported that in many of the posts no thorough method of book-keeping prevailed. the dissatisfaction arising from the sale made by the company in 1863, and the uncertainty as to the deed poll, no doubt introduced an element of fault-finding and discontent into the company's business. some of the most trusted officers retired from the service. the resources of the company were, however, enormous, its credit being practically unlimited, and this gave it a great advantage in competing with the canadian merchants coming to the country, the majority of whom had little capital. ten years after the transfer fort garry was sold, and though it came back on the hands of the company, yet _miserabile dictu_, the fort had been dismantled, thrown down, and even the stone removed, with the exception of the front gate, which still remains. this gate, with a portion of ground about it, has been given by the hudson's bay company to the city of winnipeg as a small historic park. since the time of sale, large warehouses have been erected, not filled, as were the old shops, with bright coloured cloths, moccasins, and beads, fitted for the indian and native trade, but aiming at full departments after the model of maple and shoolbred, of the mother city of london. these shops are represented in the plate accompanying this description. [illustration: hudson's bay company's stores and general offices, winnipeg.] the trade thus modified has been under the direction of men of ability, who succeeded mr. donald a. smith, such as messrs. wrigley, brydges, and a number of able subordinates. the extension of trade has gone on in many of the rising towns of the canadian west, where the hudson's bay company was not before represented, such as portage la prairie, calgary, lethbridge, prince albert, vancouver, &c. in all these points the company's influence has been a very real and important one. the methods of trade, now employed, require a skill and knowledge never needed in the old fur-trading days. the present successful commissioner, c. c. chipman, esq., resident in winnipeg, controls and directs interests far greater than sir george simpson was called upon to deal with. present and past presents a contrast between ceaseless competition and a sleepy monopoly. [illustration: commissioner chipman (winnipeg). executive officer of h.b. co. in canada.] the portions of the country not reached, or likely to be reached by settlement, have remained in possession of the hudson's bay company almost solely. the canadian government has negotiated treaties with the indians as far north as lake athabasca, leaving many of the chipewyans and eskimos still to the entire management of the company. the impression among the officers of the company is that under the deed poll of 1871 they are not so well remunerated as under the former régime. it is difficult to estimate the exact relation of the present to the past, inasmuch as the opening up of the country, the improvement of transportation facilities, and the cheapening of all agricultural supplies has changed the relative value of money in the country. under this arrangement, which has been in force for twenty-four years, the profits of the wintering partners are divided on the basis of one-hundredth of a share. of this an inspecting chief factor receives three shares; a chief factor two and a half; a factor two; and a chief trader one and a half shares. the average for the twenty-five years of the one-hundredth share has been 213_l._ 12_s._ 2-1/2_d._ since 1890 a more liberal provision has been made for officers retiring, and since that time an officer on withdrawing in good standing receives two years' full pay and six years' half pay. later years have seen a further increase. a visit to the hudson's bay house on the corner of leadenhall and lime streets, london, still gives one a sense of the presence of the old company. while in the new world great changes have taken place, and the visitor is struck with the complete departure from the low-ceiling store, with goods in disorder and confusion, with metis smoking "kinni-kinnik" till the atmosphere is opaque--all this to the palatial buildings with the most perfect arrangements and greatest taste; yet in london "the old order changeth" but slowly. it is true the old building on fenchurch street, london, where "the old lady" was said by the nor'-westers to sit, was sold in 1859, and the proceeds divided among the shareholders and officers for four years thereafter. but the portraits of prince rupert, sir george simpson, and the copy of the company charter were transferred bodily to the directors' room in the building on lime street. the strong room contains the same rows of minutes, the same dusty piles of documents, and the journals of bygone years, but the business of a vast region is still managed there, and the old gentlemen who control the hudson's bay company affairs pass their dividends as comfortably as in years gone by, with, in an occasional year, some restless spirit stirring up the echoes, to be promptly repressed and the current of events to go on as before. since 1871, however, it is easy to see that men of greater financial ability have been at the head of the councils of the hudson's bay company, recalling the palmy days of the first operations of the company. after five years' service, sir edmund head, the first governor under the new deed poll, gave way, to be followed for a year by the distinguished politician and statesman, the earl of kimberley. for five years thereafter, sir stafford northcote, who held high government office in the service of the empire, occupied this position. he was followed for six years by one who has since gained a very high reputation for financial ability, the rt. hon. g. j. goschen. eden colville, who seems to carry us back to the former generation--a man of brisk and alert mind, and singularly free from the prejudices and immobility of governor berens, the last of the barons of the old régime--held office for three years after mr. goschen. for the last ten years the veteran of kindly manner, warm heart, and genial disposition, lord strathcona and mount royal, has occupied this high place. the clerk, junior officer, and chief factor of thirty hard years on the inhospitable shores of hudson bay and labrador, the commissioner who, as donald a. smith, soothed the riel rebellion, and for years directed the reorganization of the company's affairs at fort garry and the whole north-west, the daring speculator who took hold, with his friends, of the minnesota and manitoba railway, and with midas touch turned the enterprise to gold, a projector and a builder of the canadian pacific railway, the patron of art and education, has worthily filled the office of governor of the hudson's bay company, and with much success reorganized its administration and directed its affairs. the company's operations are vaster than ever before. the greatest mercantile enterprise of the greater canada west of lake superior; a strong land company, still keeping up its traditions and conducting a large trade in furs; owning vessels and transportation facilities; able to take large contracts; exercising a fatherly care over the indian tribes; the helper and assistant of the vast missionary organizations scattered over northern canada, the company since the transfer of rupert's land to canada has taken a new lease of life; its eye is not dim, nor its natural force abated. chapter xlvii. the future of the canadian west. the greater canada--wide wheat fields--vast pasture lands--huronian mines--the kootenay riches--yukon nuggets--forests--iron and coal--fisheries--two great cities--towns and villages--anglo-saxon institutions--the great outlook. in 1871, soon after rupert's land and the indian territories were transferred to canada, it was the fortune of the writer to take up his abode in winnipeg, as the village in the neighbourhood of fort garry was already called. the railway was in that year still four hundred miles from winnipeg. from the terminus in minnesota the stage coach drawn by four horses, with relays every twenty miles, sped rapidly over prairies smooth as a lawn to the site of the future city of the plains. the fort was in its glory. its stone walls, round bastions, threatening pieces of artillery and rows of portholes, spoke of a place of some strength, though even then a portion of stone wall had been taken down to give easier access to the "hudson's bay store." it was still the seat of government, for the canadian governor lived within its walls, as the last company governor, mctavish, had done. it was still the scene of gaiety, as the better class of the old settlers united with the leaders of the new canadian society in social joys, under the hospitable roof of governor archibald. since that time forty years have well-nigh passed. the stage coach, the red river cart, and the shagganappe pony are things of the past, and great railways with richly furnished trains connect st. paul and minnesota with the city of winnipeg. more important still, the skill of the engineer has blasted a way through the archæan rocks to fort william, lake superior, more direct than the old fur-traders' route; the tremendous cliffs of the north shore of lake superior have been levelled and the chasm bridged. to the west the prairies have been gridironed with numerous lines of railway, the enormous ascents of the four rocky mountain ranges rising a mile above the sea level have been crossed, and the giddy heights of the fraser river cañon traversed. the iron band of the canadian pacific railway, one of whose chief promoters was lord strathcona and mount royal, the present governor of the company, has joined ocean to ocean. the canadian northern railway runs its line from lake superior through winnipeg and edmonton to british columbia. it has in prospect a transcontinental railway from the atlantic to the pacific ocean. the grand trunk pacific railway has in operation a perfectly built line from lake superior through winnipeg and edmonton to the rocky mountains, and with the backing of the canadian government guarantees a most complete connection between the eastern and western shores of the continent. a wonderful transformation has taken place in the land since the days of sir george simpson and his band of active chief factors and traders. it is true, portions of the wide territory reaching from labrador to the pacific ocean will always be the domain of the fur-trader. the labrador, ungava, and arctic shores of canada will always remain inhospitable, but the archæan region on the south and west of hudson bay undoubtedly contains great mineral treasures. the canadian government pledges itself to a completed railway from the prairie wheat fields to york factory on hudson bay. this will bring the seaport on hudson bay as near britain as is new york, and will make an enormous saving in transportation to western canada. what a mighty change from the day when the pessimistic french king spoke of all canada, as "only a few orpents of snow." mackenzie river district is still the famous scene of the fur trade, and may long continue so, though there is always the possibility of any portion of the vast waste of the far north developing, as the yukon territory has done, mineral wealth rivalling the famous sands of pactolus or the riches of king solomon's mines. under canadian sway, law and order are preserved throughout this wide domain, although the hudson's bay company officers still administer law and in many cases are magistrates or officers for the government, receiving their commissions from ottawa. peace and order prevail; the arm of the law has been felt in keewatin, the mackenzie river, and distant yukon. but it is to the fertile prairies of the west and valleys and slopes of the pacific coast we look for the extension of the greater canada. while the hon. william mcdougall was arguing the value of the prairie land of the west, his canadian and other opponents maintained "that in the north-west the soil never thawed out in summer, and that the potato or cabbage would not mature." with this opinion many of the hudson's bay company officers agreed, though it is puzzling to the resident of the prairie to-day to see how such honourable and observing men could have made such statements. the fertile plains have been divided into three great provinces, manitoba (1871), saskatchewan and alberta (1905). manitoba, which at the time of the closing of the hudson's bay company régime numbered some 12,000 or 15,000 whites and half-breeds and as many more indians, has (in 1909) a population of well-nigh half a million--the city of winnipeg itself exceeding more than one quarter of that number. saskatchewan and alberta probably make up between them another half million of people in this prairie section. these being the three great bread-providing provinces of the dominion, produced in 1909 on 297,000,000 of acres, which is but 8 per cent. of their total arable land, of wheat, oats, barley and flax, 132-1/3 million dollars' worth of cereals. the city of winnipeg, which, when the writer first saw the hamlet bearing that name, had less than three hundred souls, has now become a beautiful city, which drew forth the admiration of the whole british association on the occasion of their visit to it in 1909. its assessment in 1910 was 157-3/5 millions of dollars, and the amount of building in that year reached 11,000,000 dollars. the city has under construction at winnipeg river, fifty miles from the city, 60,000 horsepower of electric energy, which will be transmitted by cable to the city in 1911 for manufacturing purposes. up till 1882 the hudson's bay company store was a low building, a wooden erection made of lumber sawn by whip-saw or by some rude contrivance, having what was known in the old red river days as a "pavilion roof." its highly-coloured fabrics suited to the trade of the country did not relieve its dingy interior. to-day the hudson's bay company departmental stores and offices, built of dark red st. louis brick, speak of the enormous progress made in the development of the country. the hudson's bay company store, great as it now is, has been equalled and even perhaps surpassed by private enterprises of great magnitude. winnipeg, as being from its geographical position half way between the international boundary line and lake winnipeg, is the natural gateway between eastern and western canada. it is becoming the greatest railway centre of canada, and is familiarly spoken of as the "chicago of western canada." it bids fair also to be a great manufacturing centre. in spite of its recent date and unfinished facilities for power its manufactured output has grown from 8-2/3 millions of dollars in 1900 to 25,000,000 in 1910. from 1902, when its bank clearings were 188-1/3 millions of dollars, these grew in 1909 to 770-2/3 millions. all this is not surprising when the marvellous immigration and consequent development is shown by the railway mileage of western canada, which has grown from 3,680 miles in 1900 to 11,472 miles in 1909; and when the annual product, chiefly of cattle and horses, reached in the latter year the sum of 175,000,000 of dollars. british columbia, including the new caledonia, kootenay country, and vancouver island of the fur-traders, is a land of great resources. its population has increased many times over. its great salmon fisheries, trade in timber, coal mines, agricultural productiveness, and genial climate have long made it a favourite dwelling-place for english-speaking colonists. [illustration: parliament buildings, victoria, b.c. with statue of capt. george vancouver above; figures of sir james douglas and chief justice begbie in niches; and the obelisk of sir james douglas, erected by the people of british columbia.] in late years much prominence has been given to this province by the discovery of its mineral products. gold, silver, and lead mines in the kootenay region, which was discovered by old david thompson, and in the cariboo district, have lately attracted many immigrants to british columbia; the adjoining territory of the yukon, brought to the knowledge of the world by chief factor robert campbell, has surpassed all other parts of the fur-traders' land in rich productiveness, although the region lying between the lake of the woods and lake superior, along the very route of the fur-traders, is becoming famous by its production of gold, silver, and other valuable metals. throughout the wide west great deposits of coal and iron are found, the basis of future manufactures, and in many districts great forests to supply to the world material for increasing development. what, then, is to be the future of this canadian west? the possibilities are illimitable. the anglo-saxon race, with its energy and pluck, has laid hold of the land so long shut in by the wall built round it by the fur-traders. this race, with its dominating forcefulness, will absorb and harmonize elements coming from all parts of the world to enjoy the fertile fields and mineral treasures of a land whose laws are just, whose educational policy is thorough and progressive, whose moral and religious aspirations are high and noble, and which gives a hearty welcome to the industrious and deserving from all lands. the flow of population to the canadian west during the first decade of this century has been remarkable. not only has there been a vast british immigration of the best kind, but some 150,000 to 200,000 of industrious settlers from the continent of europe have come to build the railways, canals, and public works of the country, and they have been essential for its agricultural development. several hundreds of thousands of the best settlers have come from the united states, a large proportion of them being returned canadians or the children of canadians. on the shores of burrard inlet on the pacific ocean another place of great importance is rising--vancouver city, the terminus of the canadian pacific railway. victoria, begun, as we have seen, by chief factor douglas as the chief fort along the pacific coast, long held its own as the commercial as well as the political capital of british columbia, but in the meantime vancouver has surpassed it in population, if not in influence. all goes to show that the hudson's bay company was preserving for the generations to come a most valuable heritage. the leaders of opinion in canada have frequently, within the last five years of the century, expressed their opinion that the second generation of the twentieth century may see a larger canadian population to the west of lake superior than will be found in the provinces of the east. william cullen bryant's lines, spoken of other prairies, will surely come true of the wide canadian plains:- "i listen long ... and think i hear the sound of that advancing multitude which soon shall fill these deserts. from the ground comes up the laugh of children, the soft voice of maidens, and the sweet and solemn hymn of sabbath worshippers. the low of herds blends with the rustling of the heavy grain over the dark brown furrows." the french explorers are a reminiscence of a century and a half ago; the lords of the lakes and forests, with all their wild energy, are gone for ever; the astorians are no more; no longer do the french canadian voyageurs make the rivers vocal with their chansons; the pomp and circumstance of the emperor of the fur-traders has been resolved into the ordinary forms of commercial life; and the rude barter of the early trader has passed into the fulfilment of the poet's dream, of the "argosies of magic sails," and the "costly bales" of an increasing commerce. the hudson's bay company still lives and takes its new place as one of the potent forces of the canadian west. appendix a. authorities and references. (chapters i.-vi.) voyages among the north american indians, 1652-84 (prince society). histoire de l'amérique septentrionale, 1772, by m. bacqueville de la potherie. m. jeremie. the british empire in america, 2 vols. london, 1708. anon. (john oldmixon.) minutes and stock book of hudson's bay company, hudson's bay company house, lime street, london. imperial (hudson's bay company) blue book, 1749. memo. of chief justice draper. imperial blue book, 1857. imperial hudson's bay company blue book, 1857. appendix 9. stock book of hudson's bay company offices, lime street, london. documents, &c., on boundaries. (ottawa, 1871.) hudson's bay company statement of rights, 1850. documents, &c., on boundaries. (ottawa, 1871.) documents of early french settlements. the materials for chapters iii. and iv. are almost exclusively obtained from the unpublished minutes of the company, 1671-1690, at hudson's bay company house, lime street, london. the material of chapter v. is largely from the minutes and letter-books of the company at the hudson's bay company's house, lime street, london. the complete story of radisson's life is now for the first time given to the world by the author. instructions to sieur de troyes. documents, &c. ottawa, 1871. n.y. hist. collection. vol. ix., p. 67. massachusetts archives, boston. french documents. hist, de la nouvelle france, par marc l'escarbot (1618). minutes of hudson's bay company, lime street, london. bacqueville de la potherie. histoire de l'amérique septentrionale. histoire du canada, par f. x. garneau. letter-books of hudson's bay company, lime street, london. (chapters vii.-x.) extracts from treaty of ryswick in documents on boundary. ottawa, 1873. minutes and letter-book of hudson's bay company. (london.) extracts from treaty of utrecht, in documents, &c., on boundary. (ottawa.) 1873. letter-books of hudson's bay company. (london.) account of the countries adjoining hudson bay, by arthur dobbs, esq. london, 1744. discovery of the n.-w. passage. (several authors. ottawa parliamentary library.) middleton. reply to arthur dobbs, 1744. john barrow--voyages. a voyage to hudson bay by the dobbs galley and california, by henry ellis, gentleman. london, 1748. six years' residence in hudson bay, by joseph robson, late surveyor, &c. london, 1759. imperial blue book of imperial parliament relating to hudson's bay company. 1749. n. y. hist. coll., vol. ix. pp. 205, 209. archives de paris, 2nd series, vol. iv. p. 263. canadian archives. ottawa. manuscripts canadian parl. lib. (ottawa. third series, vol. 6.) pierre margry in paris, moniteur of 1852. journal of verendrye (original), 1738, canadian archives. (ottawa.) de bougainville's memoir, given in pierre margry's relations, &c. (paris.) 1867. "memoirs and documents, &c." from library, paris. five volumes by pierre margry. (chapters xi.-xiii.) canadiens de l'ouest. joseph tassé, 2 vols. (montreal.) 1878. papers of governor haldimand. canadian archives. (ottawa.) astoria. washington irving. sketches of n.w. of america. bishop taché. (montreal.) 1870. travels and adventures, &c., between 1760-1766. alex. henry, senr., 1809. alexander mackenzie's voyages. london, 1801. memorial of north-west traders. canadian archives. (ottawa.) (original.) les bourgeois du nord-ouest, par l. r. masson. 2 vols., quebec, 1889-90. a journey from prince of wales fort, in hudson bay, to the northern ocean, by samuel hearne. 4to. london: strahan and cadell, 1795. voyage de la perouse autour du monde. 4 vols. 8vo. paris, 1798. the present state of hudson bay, by edward umfreville. charles stalker. london, 1796. observations on hudson bay, by andrew graham, factor. presented to james fitzgerald. (manuscript, 1771.) hudson's bay company house, london. (chapters xiv.-xxii.) voyages of alexander mackenzie. (history of fur trade.) london, 1801. 8vo. haldimand papers. archives dept. ottawa. (unpublished.) umfreville. (supra.) masson's bourgeois du nord-ouest. (supra.) journal of alexander henry. manuscript. (ottawa library.) journals of alexander henry and of david thompson, by elliott coues. 3 vols. f. p. harper. new york, 1897. the columbia river, by ross cox. 2 vols. london: h. colbren and n. bentley, 1832. simon fraser's journal, 1808. masson. (supra.) voyage, 1811-14, by gabriel franchère. (translation, new york, 1854.) roderick mckenzie's reminiscences. masson. (supra.) james mckenzie. george keith. john mcdonald of garth. masson. (supra.) journal, 1820, by daniel harmon. andover. letters of john pritchard. edited by writer, published in winnipeg. charles mckenzie's journeys. masson. (supra.) malhiot's journeys. masson. (supra.) trader john johnston, of sault ste. marie. masson. (supra.) duncan cameron and peter grant. (masson.) astoria, by washington irving. ross cox. (supra.) the columbia river, by alex. ross, 1849. journal of gabriel franchère. (supra.) (chapters xxiii.-xxviii.) (_selkirk literature._) highland emigration, by lord selkirk (1805). highland clearances. pamphlets, advocates' library, edinburgh. red river settlement, by alex. ross. london: smith, elder & co. narrative of destruction, &c. archibald macdonald, london, 1816. narrative of occurrences in n.a. anon., london, 1817. lord selkirk's settlement in n.a. anon., london, 1817. blue-book on red river settlement of imperial house of commons, 1819. report of canadian trials, &c. a. amos, london, 1820. do. do. anon., montreal. memorial to duke of richmond. earl of selkirk, montreal. canadiens de l'ouest, by joseph tassé. diary of john mcleod, in prov. library, winnipeg. (unpublished.) manitoba, by the writer. london, 1882. (chapters xxix.-xxxi.) minutes of council meetings in norway house, in hudson's bay house, london, and in toronto. (unpublished.) journey round the world, by governor simpson, 1847. "peace river," by archibald macdonald. annotated by malcolm mcleod, ottawa. peter fidler's will. copy in possession of writer. hudson's bay company land tenures, by mr. justice martin, victoria, b.c. journal of john mcleod. parl. library, winnipeg. (supra.) wentzel's journal. f. masson. (supra.) journal of john finlay. manuscript, unpublished, property of chief factor macdougall, prince albert, n.-w.t. collection of 100 letters from many fur traders to chief factor james hargrave. curwen, edinburgh. (unpublished.) the shoe and canoe. london, 1850. dr. j. bigsby. gabriel franchère. (supra.) picturesque canada. toronto. collection of letters in possession of judge ermatinger, st. thomas, ont. letter of judge steere. sault ste. marie. songs of dominion, by w. d. lighthall. london, 1889. (chapters xxxii.-xxxvi.) journey to polar sea, 1819-22, by john franklin. london, 1823. second journey, 1825-7. london, 1823. arctic expedition, 1829, by john and james ross. arctic land expedition, by george back, 1836. arctic searching expedition. 2 vols., 1851. expedition to shores of arctic sea, by john rae, 1850. arctic voyages (several authors, parl. library, ottawa). travels, by lewis and clark, 3 vols. london, 1815. travels on the western territories, 1805-7, by zebulon m. pike. keating (and long)'s expedition, 2 vols., 1825. j. c. beltrami. pilgrimage of discovery of sources of mississippi. london, 1828. brewer (cass and schoolcraft), sources of the mississippi, published by minn. historical society. j. h. lefroy. magnetic survey. journal of explorations, by palliser (and hector). london, 1863. narrative of the canadian exploring expedition, by hind (and dawson), 2 vols., 1860. the north-west passage by land, by milton and cheadle. london, 1865. ocean to ocean, by g. m. grant, 1873. red river, by alex. ross. london, 1856. captain bulger's letters, published for private circulation, 1823. notes on the flood of red river of 1852, by bishop anderson. red river. j. j. hargrave, montreal, 1871. parchment roll, property of late george mctavish, winnipeg. journal of the red river country, by the rev. john west. london, 1824. (chapters xxxvii., xxxviii.) hudson bay, by r. m. ballantyne. london, 1848. dr. rae. (supra.) notes on 25 years of service, by john mclean. 2 vols. london, 1849. ungava bay, by r. m. ballantyne. london, 1871. explorations in labrador, by h. y. hind, 1863. moravian missions. the important chapter xxxviii. was largely prepared by a chief factor of the hudson's bay company, who had long served on the mackenzie river. chief factor campbell's discoveries were chiefly obtained from a journal of that officer now in the hands of his son, at norway house. (chapters xxxix.-xlvii.) bancroft's north-west coast, 2 vols. san francisco, 1884. history of british columbia, 1890. begg's history of british columbia. journal of trader ermatinger, property of judge ermatinger, st. thomas, ont. chinook jargon, by horatio hall. london, 1890. todd, collection of letters belonging to judge ermatinger. (supra.) coues, alex. henry. (supra.) miles macdonell's letters. archives vol. ottawa. vingt années de missions, &c., by bishop taché, 1888. rainbow of the north, by a.l.o.e. (miss tucker). notes by rev. john west. (supra.) red river, by hargrave. (supra.) journey of bishop of montreal, 1844. pub. 1849. red river settlement, by alex. ross. (supra.) john black, apostle of red river, by the writer, 1898. hudson bay, by rev. john ryerson. toronto, 1855. james evans. wm. briggs, toronto. cree syllabic. history of british columbia. (supra.) hudson's bay territories, &c., by r. m. fitzgerald and martin. london, 1849. indian tribes. "canada."--an encyclopedia. article by writer. bancroft's tribes of the pacific coast. imperial government blue-books, 1849-51. history of manitoba, by donald gunn. ottawa, 1880. imperial blue-book of 1857. canada and the states, by sir e. w. watkin, london. blue-books of canada. ermatinger letters. (supra.) begg's creation of manitoba. toronto, 1871. report of donald a. smith. canadian blue-book of 1871. boulton's reminiscences of the north-west rebellion, by major boulton, 1886. red river troubles. report of canadian house of commons. facts and figures, from hudson's bay company offices. appendix b. summary of life of pierre esprit radisson. a. earlier life and voyages (1636-1663). i. _birth and immigration._ pierre esprit radisson, born in paris (afterwards lived at st. malo) 1636 (though some claim that he was born in 1620, this is incorrect, for in his petition read in the house of commons, london, march 11th, 1698, he states that he is sixty-two years of age.) arrived with his father's family in canada, may (settled at three rivers.) 1651 ii. _western voyages._ first voyage to the iroquois country (captured by the iroquois.) 1652 escaped and fled to holland 1653 returned to canada 1654 second voyage to onondaga 1657 third voyage, visited sioux and assiniboines through the mississippi country 1658-60 returned to montreal with 500 indians 1660 fourth voyage, to region north of lake superior 1661 held great council with the indians 1662 leaves the country of the crees and returns to montreal 1663 iii. _in english service._ quarrels with french governor. goes to boston from quebec 1664 crosses to england 1665 vessel engaged to go to hudson bay delayed 1666 disturbed condition of england causes further delay 1667 _eaglet_, on which radisson embarked, did not reach hudson bay; _nonsuch_, with groseilliers on board, did 1668 _nonsuch_ returns to england 1669 hudson's bay company chartered through assistance of groseilliers and radisson 1670 radisson first visits hudson bay 1670 radisson returns and winters in london 1671 radisson, with captain gillam, goes to hudson bay 1672 returns to london and winters there 1673 iv. _enters french service._ radisson and groseilliers desert england for france, october 1674 radisson goes on expedition to the antilles crosses under french auspices to canada 1681 goes to hudson bay on french ship 1682 winters in hudson bay, captures gillam's ship, and returns to canada 1683 crosses to france, and undertakes new expedition to hudson bay 1684 v. _deserts france and returns to england._ radisson joins english, and goes immediately to hudson bay, may 12th 1684 seizes 20,000 furs from french and comes to london 1684 sails again to hudson bay 1685 vi. _further history._ made a denizen of england 1687 sails for hudson bay 1688 receives share of the great dividend 1690 sir john young applies for increase of radisson's allowance 1692 radisson files a bill in chancery against company 1694 " petitions parliament for consideration 1698 " applies to company for position 1700 " receives last allowance from company (probably his death) 1710 appendix c. list of hudson's bay company posts in 1856, with the several districts and the number of indians in each. _athabasca district_ (1,550)- fort chipewyan. dunvegan. vermilion. fond du lac. _mackenzie river district_ (10,430)- fort simpson. fort au liard. fort halkett. yukon. peel's river. lapierre's house. fort good hope. fort rae. fort resolution. big island. fort norman. _english river district_ (1,370)- ile à la crosse. rapid river. green lake. deer's lake. portage la loche. _saskatchewan district_ (28,050)- edmonton. carlton. fort pitt. rocky mount house. lac la biche. lesser slave lake. fort assiniboine. jasper's house. fort à la corne. _cumberland district_ (750)- cumberland house moose lake. the pas. _swan river district_ (2,200)- fort pelly. fort ellice. qu'appelle lakes. shoal river. touchwood hills. egg lake. _red river district_ (8,250, including half-breeds and whites)- fort garry. lower fort garry. white house plain. pembina. manitoba. reed lake. _lac la pluie district_ (2,850)- fort frances. fort alexander. rat portage. white dog. lac du bonnet. lac de boisblanc. shoal lake. _norway house district_ (1,080)- norway house. berens river. nelson river. _york district_ (1,500)- york factory. churchill. severn. trout lake. oxford house. _albany district_ (1,100)- albany factory. marten's falls. osnaburg. lac seul. _kinogumissee district_ (400)- metawagamingue. kuckatoosh. _lake superior district_ (1,330)- michipicoten. batchewana. mamainse. pic. long lake. lake nipigon. fort william. pigeon river. lac d'orignal. _lake huron district_ (1,100)- lacloche. little current. mississangie. green lake. whitefish lake. _sault ste. marie district_ (150)- sault ste. marie. _moose district_ (730)- moose factory. hannah bay. abitibi. new brunswick. _east main district_ (700)- great whale river. little whale river. fort george. _rupert's river district_ (985)- rupert's house. mistasini. teniskamay. waswonaby. mechiskan. pike lake. nitchequon. kaniapiscow. _temiscamingue district_ (1,030)- temiscamingue house. grand lac. kakabeagino. lake nipissing. hunter's lodge. temagamingue. _fort coulonge district_ (375)- lac des allumettes. joachin. matawa. _lac des sables district_ (150)- buckingham. rivière desert. _lachine district_- lachine house. _st. maurice district_ (280)- three rivers. weymontachingue. kikandatch. _king's posts district_ (1,100)- tadoussac. chicoutimé. lake st. john's. ile jérémie. godbout. sepen islands. _mingan district_ (700)- mingan. musquarro. natosquan. _esquimaux bay district_ (500)- north-west river. fort nascopie. rigolette. kikokok. _columbia district_ (2,200)- fort vancouver. umpqua. cape disappointment. chinook point. carveeman. champoeg. nisqually. cowelitz. _colville district_ (2,500)- fort colville. pend oreilles river. flat heads. kootenay. okanagan. _snake country district_ (700)- walla walla. fort hall. fort boisé. _vancouver island district_ (12,000)- fort victoria. fort rupert. nanaimo. _fraser river district_ (4,000)- fort langley. _n.w. coast district_ (45,000)- fort simpson. _thomson river district_ (2,000)- kamloops. fort hope. _new caledonia district_ (12,000)- stuart lake. mcleod's lake. fraser's lake. alexandria. fort george. babines. conolly's lake. honolulu (sandwich isles). _total, 34 districts_:- indians 149,060 not enumerated 6,000 eskimos 4,000 ------ total 159,060 less whites and half-breeds 10,000 ------ 149,060 in all under hudson's bay company rule, about 150,000. appendix d. list of chief factors in the hudson's bay company service from the coalition of 1821 to the year 1896. note.--under the deed polls of 1821, 1834, and 1871, there were 263 commissioned officers, and it is estimated that their nationalities were as follows:- french canadian 11 irish 22 english 59 scotch 171 -- 263 -- 1821. thomas vincent. john macdonald. john thompson. james bird. james leith. john haldane. colin robertson. alexander stewart. james sutherland. john george mctavish. john clarke. george keith. john dugald cameron. john charles. john stuart. alexander kennedy. edward smith. john m'loughlin. john davis. james keith. joseph beioly. angus bethune. donald mckenzie. alexander christie. john mcbean. 1823. william mcintosh. 1825. william conolly. john rowand. 1827. james mcmillan. 1828. allan mcdonnell. john lee lewis. peter warren dease. 1830. roderick mckenzie, senr. 1832. duncan finlayson. 1834. peter s. ogden. 1836. john p. pruden. alex. mcleod. 1838. john faries. angus cameron. samuel black. 1840. james douglas. donald ross. 1842. archibald mcdonald. 1844. robert s. miles. james hargrave. 1845. nicol finlayson. 1846. john e. harriott. john work. john sieveright. 1847. murdo mcpherson. george barnston. 1848. john ballenden. 1850. john rae. william sinclair. 1851. hector mckenzie. william mctavish. dugald mctavish. 1854. edward h. hopkins. john swanston. john mckenzie. 1855. james anderson. (a). 1856. william mcneill. william f. tolmie. 1859. james anderson. (b). roderick finlayson. 1860. william j. christie. charles dodd. 1861. john m. simpson. james a. grahame. 1862. james r. clare. wemyss m. simpson. donald a. smith. 1864. james s. clouston. joseph gladman. 1866. william mcmurray. 1867. robert campbell. robert hamilton. 1868. william l. hardisty. joseph w. wilson. 1869. james g. stewart. 1872. james bissett. george s. mctavish. richard hardisty. 1873. robert crawford (factor). william h. watt (factor). john macintyre (factor). 1874. william charles. john h. mctavish. alexander munro. 1875. lawrence clarke. r. macfarlane. roderick ross (factor). 1879. peter warren bell. joseph fortescue. colin rankin. archibald mcdonald. samuel k. parson. james h. lawson (factor). ewen macdonald (factor). joseph j. hargrave (chief trader). 1883. james l. cotter. 1884. julian s. camsell. 1885. horace belanger. 1886. william h. adams (factor). 1887. james mcdougall. 1888. peter mckenzie. e. k. beeston (chief trader). 1892. william clark. w. s. becher (chief trader). 1893. william k. broughton. 1896. alexander matheson (factor). appendix e. russian america (alaska). in 1825 great britain made a treaty with russia as to the north-west coast of america. the boundary line that has since been a subject of much dispute with the united states, which bought out the rights of russia, was thus laid down in the treaty:-iii. "the line of demarcation between the possessions of the high contracting parties, upon the coast of the continent and the islands of america to the north-west, shall be drawn in the manner following:--commencing from the southernmost point of the island called prince of wales's island, which point lies in the parallel of 54 degrees 40 minutes, north latitude, and between the 131st and 133rd degree of west longitude (meridian of greenwich); the said line shall ascend to the north along the channel called portland channel, as far as the point of the continent where it strikes the 56th degree of north latitude; from this last-mentioned point the line of demarcation shall follow the summits of the mountains situated parallel to the coast, as far as the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude (of the same meridian); and finally, from the said point of intersection, the said meridian line of the 141st degree in its prolongation as far as the frozen ocean, shall form the limit between the russian and british possessions on the continent of america to the north-west. iv. "with reference to the line of demarcation laid down in the preceding article, it is understood:-1st. "that the island called prince of wales's island shall belong wholly to russia. 2nd. "that wherever the summit of the mountains which extend in a direction parallel to the coast, from the 56th degree of north latitude to the point of intersection of the 141st degree of west longitude, shall prove to be at the distance of more than ten marine leagues from the ocean, the limit between the british possessions and the line of coast which is to belong to russia, as above mentioned, shall be formed by a line parallel to the windings of the coast, and which shall never exceed the distance of ten marine leagues therefrom." the hudson's bay company, in the year following the treaty, pushed their posts to the interior, and obtained a hold on the indians from the coast inward. making use of their privilege of ascending the river from the coast, they undertook to erect a post upon one of these rivers. this led the russian american fur company to make a vigorous protest, and a long correspondence ensued on the matter. at length, in 1839, the hudson's bay company, chiefly in order to gain access to their indians of the interior, leased the strip of coast territory from fort simpson to cross sound for a period of ten years. the following is an extract from the agreement made february 6th, 1839, between the hudson's bay and russian american fur companies:-"the russian fur company cede to the hudson's bay company for a period of ten years, commencing june 1st, 1840, the coast (exclusive of the islands) and the interior country situated between cape spencer and latitude 54° 40´ or thereabouts for an annual rental of two thousand seasoned otters. "the hudson's bay company agree to sell to the russian fur company 2,000 otters taken on the west side of the mountains at the price of 23_s._ sterling per skin, and 3,000 seasoned otters taken on the east side of the rocky mountains at 32_s._ sterling per skin. the hudson's bay company agree to sell to the russian fur company 2,000 ferragoes (120 lbs. each) of wheat annually for a term of ten years, at the price of 10_s._ 9_d._ sterling per ferrago, also flour, peas, barley, salted beef, butter, and pork hams at fixed prices, under certain provisions. "the hudson's bay company relinquish the claim preferred by them for damages sustained by them, arising from the obstruction presented by the russian authorities to an expedition fitted out by the hudson's bay company for entering the stikine river." the agreement was continued after the expiration of ten years, but the rental fine changed from a supply of otters to a money payment of 1,500_l._ a year. the hudson's bay company, as we have seen, pushed their posts down the yukon river, and only withdrew them after alaska, in 1867, passed into the possession of the united states. an officer of the hudson's bay company, james mcdougall, at present a chief factor of the company, was the last in command of the company posts in alaska, and performed the duty of withdrawing them. appendix f. the cree syllabic characters. i. initials or primals. [=a] [=e] [=o] ä ii. syllabics. p[=a] p[=e] p[=o] pä t[=a] t[=e] t[=o] tä ch[=a] ch[=e] ch[=o] chä k[=a] k[=e] k[=o] kä m[=a] m[=e] m[=o] mä n[=a] n[=e] n[=o] nä s[=a] s[=e] s[=o] sä y[=a] y[=e] y[=o] yä iii. finals or terminals. = m = k = w = n = p = r = s = t = l = h = aspirate = ow = christ examples of word formation. = ma-n[=e]-t[=o] = spirit. = n[=e]-p[=e] = water. = o-m[=e]-m[=e] = the pigeon. = me-s-ta-t[=e]-m = horse (big dog). = n[=e]-pa-n = summer. = k[=a]-n[=a]-p[=a]-k = a snake. appendix g. key to plate facing page 442. 5th row (_standing_) e.k. w.h. murdoch beeston, adams, matheson, _jr. _factor_. _jr. chief chief trader_. trader_. 4th row (_standing_) w.j. dr. w.m. robert wm. jas. arch. alex. r. mclean, mckay, campbell, clark, mcdougall, mcdonald, lillie, _chief _chief _ex-chief _factor _factor_ _chief _ex-chief trader_. trader_. trader_. (now (_now factor_. trader_. chief chief factor)_. factor_). 3rd row (_standing_) cuthbert jas. colin saml. k. peter rodk. jas. l. w. f. sinclair, ander rankin, parson, bell, mac lawson, gaird _jr. son, _chief _chief _chief farlane,_factor_. ner, chief _jr. factor._ factor_. factor_. _chief _jr. trader_. chief factor_. chief trader_. trader_. 2nd row (_sitting_) alex. alex. thos. richard laurence matheson, munro, smith, hardisty, clarke, _chief _chief _assist. _chief _chief trader_ factor_. commis factor_. factor_. (_now sioner_. factor_). commissioner horace joseph belanger, wrigley. _chief factor_. 1st row (_sitting_) david j.s. joseph james l. james armit, camsell, fortescue, cotter, alexander, _jr. _chief _chief _chief _chief chief factor_. factor_. factor_. factor_. trader_. commissioned officers of h.b. co. at winnipeg council 1887. index "à la claire fontaine," 306. albemarle, duke of, 9. "alouette," 312. alliance, the grand, 56. allumette, 307. american fur company, 329. anderson, a. c., 414. arlington, earl of, 9. astor, john jacob, 192. astoria founded, 196. assiniboia, council of, 354. assiniboine indians, 87, 432. " wool company, 351. athabasca, first traders of, 97. " lake and river, 383. back, sir george, 317. beaver club, 190. _beaver_, ship, 200. beaulieu, françois, 127. beltrami, j. c. (explorer), 330. " work of, 331. black, rev. john, pioneer, 423. " judge, 442. " samuel, trader, 402. blackfeet indians, 432. blanshard, governor, 414. bois-brûlés turbulence, 219. boothia felix, discovery of, 315. boulton, major, 467. bourbon, fort, 50, 52. bourdon, jean, 49. bourke, father, 417. brandon house, 112. brymner, douglas, archivist, 86. buffalo wool company, 350. " hunting, 365. bulger, governor, 348. butler, capt. w. f., 343. button, sir thomas, 48. cadieux's lament, 308. cadot, j. baptiste, 91. caldwell, major, 440. _california_, ship, 67. calumet, 307. campbell, robert, 393 _et seq._ cameron, duncan, 181-184, 219, 262. " murdoch, fur trader, 326. canada company, 2. canadian boat song, 305. canoe voyage by gov. simpson, 273-275. cart and cayuse, 361. cart trails, 362. carver, jonathan, 193. cass, lewis, explorer, 331. cauchon, joseph, memo. of, 447. calvalcade, the hunting, 366. charter, h. b. c., 13 _et seq._ charters, royal, 12. charles, fort, 11. chilkats, the, 394. chimo, fort, 377. chinook jargon, 409. chipewyan, fort, 124, 126, 384. " tribe, 432. chipman, c. c., 470. christie, governor, 354. christinos (kris), 5, 6. christy, miller, 7. churchill, lord, governor, 30. " " in tower, 31. church societies on red river, 422. cochrane, archdeacon, 299, 420. colbert, m., 49. colleton, sir peter, 9. coltman, w. b., commissioner, 252-4. columbia, british, of to-day, 477. colville, gov. eden, 423. committee of 1857, 446. company, the northern, 50. conolly, trader, 400. coppermine river discovered, 104. councils of traders, 271. couture, william, 49. cox, ross, 200. craven, earl of, 9. cree syllabic, 424. cridge, bishop, 426. crofton, col., 439. crosby and evans, revs. 426. cumberland, first house built, 97. curry, thomas, 93. daer, fort, 212, 225. dallas, gov. a. j., 449. dawson, s. j., surveyor, 340. " road, 341. dease lake, 393. " and simpson, arctic explorers, 318. deed polls, old and new, 452. d'iberville, 52, 53. " victory of, 53. demers, bishop, 426. de meurons, 239. denonville, marquis de, 47. de witt, dutch ambassador, 8. dickson, robert, free trader, 327. dionne, dr. n. e., 38. dividends, company, 24. dobbs, arthur, 62. _dobbs_, galley, 67. douglas, fort, 224, 226. " sir james, 397. " david, botanist, 403. draper, chief justice, 446. duluth, greysolon, 79. duncan of metlakahtla, 426. _eaglet_, ship, 10. elgin, lord, 429. ellice, hon. edward, 268. ellis, henry, 68. enterprise, fort, 388. ermatinger, miss, 309. " family, 309, 310. " traders, 410. " francis, 411. " edward, 410, 454. eskimos, 433. evans, rev. james, 424. falcon, pierre, 235. " (song of triumph), 235. " translation, 236. " sketch of, 266. faribault, j. b., 326. fidler, peter, sketch of, 282. " " will of, 284. finlay, john, journal of, 291-294. finlay, james, 93. finlayson, gov. d., 355. " roderick, 408. fleming and grant, expedition of, 344. flax and hemp co., 351. flood, red river, 351. fort william built, 155. " " description of, 155 _et seq._, 189. franchère, gabriel, 155, 201. franklin, sir john, 314. " " search for, 320. " " " " by dr. rae, 321. franklin, sir john, search for, by capt. mcclintock, 322. fraser, simon, 142 _et seq._ french half-breeds' petition, 440. " " turbulent, 1869, 458. french priests interfere, 460. garry, fort, 355. " " camping-ground, 366. " " lower, 353. gibraltar, fort, 189. " " destroyed, 226. gillam, capt. zachariah, 10. gold discovery in b.c., 415. gonor, father, 83. good hope, fort, 390. governors, recent, 472. graham, andrew, journal of, 108. grand portage, 95. grant, cuthbert, senr., 120. " " junr., 236. " p. (historiographer), 184-7. gravesend, 20. gregory, mcleod and co., 116. groseilliers (medard chouart), 3, 33. groseilliers, j. baptiste, 37. half-breeds dissatisfied, 436. halifax, lord, 71. hargrave, jas., letters of traders, 294. hargrave, joseph, work of, 294. harmon, daniel, 165-7. hayes, sir james, 36. head, gov. edmund, 452. hearne, samuel, 99 _et seq._, 383. hector, dr. james, 337. henry, alex., senr., 93. " " jr., 169-173. hills, bishop, 426. hind, h. y., explorer, 340. hudson, henry, 48. hudson bay, early governors on, 22. hudson bay, early forts, 108. " " bleak shore of, 373. " " house, 20. " " co. ships, 20. " " " claims of, 54. " " " stores, 470. hunt, william, astorian, 198. hunting regulations, 368. indian chiefs on red river, 248. indians and h. b. c., 429. " in debt, 429. " of b. c., 433. " loyal to co., 434. isbister, a. k., 437 _et seq._ james, capt., 48. jamieson, rev. robert, 427. johnson, judge, 442. johnston, john, trader (sault ste. marie), 179-181, 300. johnston, miss, 181. jones, rev. david, 300, 420. kaministiquia, 94, 311. kamloops rising, 403. keating, w. h., expedition of, 328. keel and canoe, 359. keith, george, tales of, 160. kelsey, henry, 73. kennedy and bellot, expedition of, 321. keveny, owen (murdered), 254. king, dr. richard, 318. "king's domains," 379. " posts," 379. kirke, sir john, 20. labrador, mclean on, 376. lachine, 302. la france, joseph, 67. lefroy, lieut. (sir henry), 335. " (expedition), 335. leith's bequest, 421. le moyne, the brothers, 51. lescarbot, 48. lestane, the dastard, 466. lewis and clark, expedition of, 324. liard, river, 392. lincolnshire farmers, 355. locust visitation, 346. long, stephen h., expedition of, 328. mccallum, rev. john, 420. macdonell, miles, 207. " estimate of, 260. macdonell, alexander (grasshopper governor), 346. mcdonald of garth (autobiography), 161. " on the pacific, 163. " grand, 167. mcdonnell, john, diary, 169. mcdougall, duncan, astorian, 194. " hon. william, 455, 461. mcgillies, hugh, free trader, 327. machray, archbishop, 421. mackay, alexander, 127, 196. mckay, trader, 311. mackenzie, alexander, 116, 123 _et seq._ mackenzie, alexander, 1st voyage, 124. mackenzie, alexander, 2nd voyage, 127 _et seq._ mackenzie, alexander, book of, 130. mackenzie, river, 388. mckenzie, roderick, 158. mckenzie, james, journals, 163, 379. mckenzie, charles (journey to mandans), 174. mckenzie, governor, donald, 350. mcleod, alex. norman, 116. " john, diary of, 221, 285. mclean, john, on labrador, 377. mcloughlin, chief factor, 400. " young (murdered), 406. mctavish, simon, 115, 121. mctavish, governor william, 449. " " (sick and weak), 458. magnetic pole, discovery of, 315. " " and capt. kennedy, 317. magnet survey by lefroy, 335. malhiot, françois v., 177-179. mandans, 98, 325. manitoba college, 424. margry, pierre, 81. maurepas, river, 85. metis, 442. michilimackinac, 81. middleton, capt. c., 64 _et seq._ milton and cheadle, explorations by, 342. mingan, 379. missouri company, 193. model farms, 351. montague, 8. moravians in labrador, 380. mulgrave, lord, 313. muskegons (crees), 431. nelson, port, 52. nemisco, river, 10. nepigon, 79. new england company, 2. nicola's eloquence, 403. nisbet, rev. james, 424. nonsuch ketch, 10. north-west company formed, 115. " " officers, 152. nor'-westers unite, 188-191. north-west passage sought (early), 63. north-west passage by land, 343. norman, fort, 390. norton, moses, 111. noue, de la, 80. ochagach, 82. oldmixon, 4. oppression of judge thom, 436. orkneymen, early, 97. " vs. french canadians, 271. ottawa, 302. ouinipegon, lake, 88. paleocrystic sea, 320. pacific fur company, 193. palliser, capt. j., 337. pambrun's story, 229-30. pangman, peter, 116, 286, 287. parker, gilbert, novelist, 38. peace river, 386. peel's river post, 391. pelly, governor, 350. " gov. j. h., 438. perouse on hudson bay, 106. pigeon river, 95. pike, zebulon m., explorer, 326. plain hunters, 364. pond, peter, 97, 116, 119, 125. portaging, 307. portman, mr., 20. posts on pacific, 416. potherie, de la, 4. prince society, 39. prince of wales fort taken, 106. pritchard, john (lost), 172-174. " story of, 230. " estimate of, 265. "pro pelle cutem," 19. provencher, bishop, 288, 296, 299, 418. providence, fort, 388. prudhomme, judge, 38. quesnel, jules maurice, 143. radisson, pierre esprit, 3, 33 _et seq._ rae, dr. john, explorer, 321. red river plague, 356. " rebellion, 460. reine, de la, fort, 88. reinhart, charles, prisoner, 254. reliance, fort, 389. renville, joseph, guide, 328. resolution, fort, 388. riel, elder, 441. " younger, rebellion, 461. rigolette, 381. robertson, colin, 226, 228. roberval, sieur de, 48. robinson, sir john, 9. robson, joseph, 75. roches percées, 338. rocky mt. passes, 339. rolling ball, the, 303. ross, captain john, 315. " alexander, 353. rouge, fort, 88. rupert, prince, 8. " " sketch of, 27 _et seq._ " " river, 10. ryswick, 56 _et seq._ " treaty, terms of, 57. ste. anne's, 304. st. charles, fort, massacre, 86. st. james, fort, outbreak, 398. st. john's college, 421. st. pierre, legardeur de, 89. sargeant, governor, 52. saskatchewan river discovered, 89. saulteaux indians, 431. sault ste. marie, 310. sayer "rising," 441. schoolcraft, h. r., explorer, 332. " " discovers lake itasca, 333. schultz, dr., rescued, 444. scoresby, capt. w., 313. scott, thomas, executed, 467. selkirk, earl of, 202. " " purchases h.b.c. stock, 206. selkirk, earl of, on emigration, 205. " " colony to prince edward island, 205. selkirk, earl of, colony to red river, 208-213. selkirk, earl of, opposition to, 214. " " rescue by, 237-242. " " estimate of, 259. semple, governor, 225 _et seq._ shagganappe, 362. shelburne, lord, 15, 323. sherbrooke, gov. gen., 242, 251. sieveright, trader, 300. simpson, gov. g., 269, 297, 385, 410, 412. simpson, gov. g., knighted, 276. " " voyage round the world, 277. simpson, lady, 280. " fort, 389. " " on pacific, 408. " thos., death of, 320. sinclair, a leader, 436. slave lake, 387. sledge and packet, 357. smith, donald a., 381, 464. " william robert, clerk, 444. south-west fur company, 193. staines, rev. robert, 425. stannard, captain, 10. status, present, of co., 473. stewart, jas., rescued, 443. stikine river, 393. strathcona and mt. royal, lord, 381, 475. stuart, john, 142. sturgeon lake, fort, built, 96. sutherland james, catechist, 418. swiss settlers, 347. " depart, 348. taché, archbishop, 419, 468. tallow company, 351. terms of company's transfer, 455. thom, recorder adam, 355. thompson, david, astronomer, 132 _et seq._ thorn, captain, 195. tod, john, trader, 411. _tonquin_, ship, 195. trade standards, early, 22. transcontinental journeys (early), 146. trials, north-west, 255, 256. troyes, chevalier de, 50. turner, astronomer, 126. umfreville, edw., 106, 113. ungava, 377. utrecht, treaty of, 58. vancouver, fort, 397. " given up, 413. " island, lease of, 414. " colonization, 415. " city, 478. verendrye, 82 _et seq._ victoria, fort, founded, 406. vyner, sir robert, 9. wark, chief trader, 413. watkin, e. w., scheme of, 451. wedderburn, fort, 384. wendigo, the, 308. wentzel, w. f., story of, 289. " opinions of, 291. west, rev. john, 420. western sea, 79. _william and ann_, wreck of, 402. william iii., address to, 25. " great dividend paid, 25. winnipeg, city of, 476. wolseley, col., 468. woods, lake of, 84. x y company, 147 _et seq._ " " officers, 152. york, duke of, 9. " " made governor, 29. " factory, description of, 374. young, sir william, 36. yukon, fort, 391. " upper, discovery of, 393. zinzendorf, count, 380. printed by the east of england printing works london and norwich +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ | transcriber's note: | | | | * obvious punctuation and spelling errors repaired. others | | are listed below. original spelling and its variations were not | | standardized. | | | | * word combinations that appeared with and without hyphens | | were changed to the predominant form if it could be determined, | | or to the hyphenated form if it could not. | | | | * corrections in the spelling of names were made when those | | could be verified. otherwise the variations were left as they | | were. | | | | * footnotes were moved to the ends of the chapters in which they | | they belonged and numbered in one continuous sequence. | | | | * variant forms retained and errors corrected: | | athabasca or athapuscow lake (pp. 106, 386). athapuscow is | | spelling in french texts. both forms were retained. | | | | philip 'turner' changed to philip 'turnor' (p. 127). | | | | astor 'brought' out changed to 'bought' out (p. 194). | | | | 'it the' grandest speech changed to 'it was the' grandest | | speech (p. 407). | | | | * other notes: | | *transcription of the seven oaks monuments inscription (p. 232):| | | | seven | | oaks | | | | erected in 1891 | | by the | | manitoba historical society | | through the generosity of the | | countess of selkirk | | on the site of seven oaks | | where fell | | governor robert semple and | | twenty of his officers and men | | | | june 19 1816 | | | | * "the map on page 384 should be consulted...." 384 | | changed to 388 (p. 386). | | | | * in appendix b, page 490, the row "radisson goes on expedition | | to the antilles" is missing the date in the original. | | | +--------------------------------------------------------------------+